Monsters (Memory Fading)
From The CBG Wiki
|
|
Lay of the Land ~
People and Culture ~
History and Stories ~
Religion and Cosmology ~
Magic and Technology |
|
This Memory Fading page is a stub. More information will be provided eventually. |
There are a lot of creatures in Memory Fading that are not in the Monsters Manual. Some of these are in replacement to typical D&D monsters, some are just additions. For instance, typical goblinoids such as orcs, hobgoblins, ogres, etc. have no place in Memory Fading.
Contents |
Somewhat Common Villains and Creatures
This is a list of the creatures and villains that PCs may encounter randomly if they're not too careful.
Drumen
Drumen are large, bipedal humanoids known for being roving packs of marauders. They are covered in thick, matted fur, except for their back, which is hairless and covered in scales. They have short, curved horns on their forehead above their large, typically gray eyes. They are believed to be descended from the ancient brishkur race, and possibly even a split subspecies from trakloks. They speak their own guttural language, and some can speak other languages such as common and Traklokish.
Drumen live in large tribes, often composed of hundreds of the beasts, almost always under the leadership of some sort of shamanistic ruler. They are cruel and sadistic, often killing simply for pleasure or for the act itself, and often will rise against their leaders. Often in Balorand, they are under the somewhat tyrannical leadership of giants, and are treated almost as cannon fodder along with gretches and other creatures.
Grael
For reasons unknown, sometimes a vampire will drain a victim of most of their blood without actually killing them. Then, they will leave them for dead as the blood drains out into the ground. Victims who suffer through this horrible death rise as grael, undead under the complete and utter control of the vampire. These undead creatures are cunning and swift. They often act like typical zombies at first, shambling slowly, then at the last minute, leaping into action. They retain most of the features and skills of their previous life, including weapon proficiencies. They generally do not decay very fast, still looking mostly human even months after being turned into undead. Their one feature that defines them as undead are their glowing, red eyes.
Gretch
These flying, loathsome creatures are terrible to behold. They stand roughly nine feet tall, with large, leathery bat-like wings coming from the center of their back. Their clawed hands are slightly longer than a human's in proportion to their body, and they use them to attack viciously. Their heads generally frighten those who have never encountered them before (and indeed, often frighten hardened warriors); most of their head is taken over by a huge, gaping mouth filled with hundreds of razor-like teeth. Where there eyes should be are simply two hollows, as black as the abyss. And of course, they have horns.
Gretches have no true societal structure, unless they are forced under control of giants or drumen shamans. They make quite an effective fighting force when in numbers, but it is extremely hard to control more than a few gretches at a time without magic.
Grihm
Fadings have covered Alsa Eru for several hundred years now. Ever since their creation, grihm have walked the earth. Grihm form when a living being enters a fading and cannot escape. They eventually fade and take on the properties of shadows, and can escape the fading and roam the areas around it during dusk and dawn, when the shadows are longest. They must return to the fading during daytime and nighttime. Their features are hard to grasp; they seem to keep the same basic humanoid shape of their previous live, but their physicality is replaced by pure shadow. The shadow drags behind them like a torn cloak. They feed off the living and can create "Lesser Grihm," beings under their control who die quickly after being turned into grihm.
Ker
Kers are small, terrible humanoids, also known as "diggers." They have two short, spiny legs that they walk on, and two spiny appendages where arms would usually be found. They also have a set of larger, muscular arms that protrude from the sides of their stomach, which they use to both attack with, to run on "all fours" like a large cat or wolf, or to dig through earth. Their heads are possibly the most horrible part of them, almost resembling an innocent infant, except for their red-tinted eyes, and their mouths filled with razor-sharp teeth.
Kers get their other name, "diggers," from their primary ability, which is to dig beneath enemy encampments, burrow up through the earth, and attack, kill, and drag away anyone they come across. Many a sleeping soldier or even farmer has found themselves being dragged beneath the earth by these heinous creatures. They are often used in stories meant to frighten children, but they are very, very real, and very, very evil.
The Immortals
This is a list of creatures and villains that serve higher purposes than typical "baddies."
Dragons
Mythology says that other than the Aedryn, the only other sentient race in the world were the Dragons. Dragons at one time numbered in the hundred, with lesser drakes, wyverns, and serpents serving their needs and whims. When Aune fell, many Dragons left Ord, but a dozen stayed. These creatures have grown very old, and very strong over the millenia since Aune's death. Some have fallen to the hands of mortals (or other immortals), and rumor says that only seven remain. However, since none have been seen in over six hundred years, those rumors don't hold much sway in the conversations of scholars.
Shadakin
The Shadakins are an ancient race of demons who ruled Ord after the Ancients disappeared. For many centuries, they ruled over the sydhi with an iron fist, until the sydhi were able to harness the fabled Words of Changing themselves to banish the Shadakins to the Realm of Shadow. Ever since, the Shadakin have bided their time, hoping to eventually take back the land they claim as rightfully theirs.
Shadakins are tall, humanoid demons with dark gray skin that seems to move and writhe like the shadows. They have broad shoulders with spiked ridges, and long, clawed hands that seem to grow even longer as they approach their victims. They wear cloaks of pure shadow that can change into massive bat-like wings when needed.
Only a few of the Shadakins' names are known in legend and mythology, and what little information about them is presented below.
- Maltzgrimm
- Rumors say that Maltzgrimm is the first and most powerful of the Shadakins, created by foul magicks and rituals related to the Evil Underneath. Maltzgrimm was one of the first Shadakins to be banished to the Shadow Realm, and was thus able to build his power in that realm for a longer time than the rest of the Shadakins, who came afterwards.
- Azhmak
- Azhmak is one of the most powerful Shadakins, and is Maltzgrimm's general.
- Krul
- Krul is one of the most powerful Shadakins, and wishes to rule the Shadow Realm instead of Maltzgrimm.
Vampires
Vampires are an immortal race, first created when a dying man, bleeding out his life, made a pact with a dark entity, and the two became one. Vampires are manipulative, powerful beings that gain pleasure from power over mortals. There are not many, for the vampires are greedy and prideful of their power, and have no wish for too many like them to gain influence and power where they could have power. Few know of the existence of vampires until their death at the hand of do-gooder adventurers, but the names of several ancient vampires have slipped onto the pages of scholarly texts.
- Vortegan
- The first vampire. Status unknown.
- Sammael
- A powerful vampire, sired by Vortegan, living somewhere in the Far West. Status unknown.
- Khamael
- The brother of Sammael, lived amongst the Gaardans, but was killed about a thousand years ago.
- Thael
- A sahuagin vampire that raised a massive army of sahuagins, morkoths and locathahs and attacked much of Alsa Eru. Status unknown.
- Alexi
- The only known sydhi vampire. Status unknown.
- Thadrus
- Sired by Sammael. Status unknown.
- Wystor
- Sired by Sammael. Killed by myari warriors many centuries ago.
