Monsters & Species Guide II (H-M)

Hag, Annis
Often the head of a coven, the Annis hag is one of the more powerful hags to exist from the Feywild. The Annis hag, like all other hags, is twisted by the idea of tormenting the innocent and the pure – but the Annis hag takes her greatest pleasures from tormenting, corrupting, and otherwise killing innocent, young children. They perform ancient, dark rituals with the blood of the innocent children that grants them visions and powers. There are legends that state that the Bullywugs, which originally populated in the Feywild were innocent children twisted and turned into bullywugs by magic performed on them by Annis hags during their experiments.

Hag, Bheur
The Bheur hag lives in frozen regions of the Feywild; but frequently enter the Prime Material Plane to bring torment to the dying. She often hears the desperate cries of those trapped on a frozen mountain and will come to them in their most desperate moment, disguised as a wounded hunter – and bring them to her cabin in the snow; where she offers them warmth, food and drink – unaware that the food and drink is poisoned and paralyzes them; and they’re forced to watch the Bheur feed upon their flesh – as the Bheur thrives on devouring the flesh of the living – but has no qualms of eating the flesh of the dead. And when she does, she does it in such a brutal fashion that those who bare witness to her savagery are often found later, should they survive, completely and incurably insane. What often also draws the attention of a Bheur hag are those who are selfish in these winter regions; such as someone hoarding more food than they need to while others starve around them; the Bheur will make the person more and more greedy – and watch as the others around them die, eventually leaving the person alone, with the bodies of their companions all dead around them – then the Bheur devours the person. Vicious and cruel, some say the Bheur are the coldest of all the hags – not just in body temperature and region – but in their hearts, if they indeed have one, as well.

Hobgoblin, Devastator
More Hobgoblins leaving from Utsukkuen have been seen on the main continent, as well as the newly discovered continent. The native Hobgoblins of Utsukkuen are diverse in their skills, with the Hobgoblin Devastator being a well trained Mage, capable of casting spells quite easily. Initially when a select few Hobgoblins began learning magic, they were shunned by other Hobgoblins who did not like – nor understand – magic. However, during a large scale battle, it’d been the Hobgoblin Devastators and their use of magic who turned the tide of the battle and ensure victory for their kind. Since then, most large armies have several Hobgoblin Devastators at the ready to rain down their magic and destruction.

Hobgoblin, Iron Shadow
These are the Hobgoblins that have learned the way of the Monks and have some minor spell casting ability, also hailing from Utsukkuen. There is some rumor that the Iron Shadow come from the spirits of slain human Monks of Utsukkuen channeled into pregnant female hobgoblins through a dark ritual. The Iron Shadow Hobgoblins tend to act as spies and assassins for the hobgoblins. While they regret to using such forces, rather than direct combat, they know that the many armies they’ve faced in the past have deployed such manners of behavior during times of war, that the hobgoblins who had been so focused on fighting honorably were finding their highest ranking officers assassinated in the middle of the night. Now, the Iron Shadow are one of the most prized members of the hobgoblin army, understanding their ability for stealth and quiet spying and, when the need arises, assassination of a powerful enemy. Their spell-abilities often aid the Hobgoblin Devastators who are the primary casters among the Hobgoblin armies.

Ki-Rin
The Ki-Rin is a beautiful, majestic creature hailing from Utsukkuen. The Ki-Rin is the embodiment of truth – and those with evil in the hearts often crumble at the sight of such a magnificent creature. It has long been believed that it was the involvement of an ancient Ki-Rin that began the first Monk order, showing them that there was another force in the world to be channeled that was similar to magic – but known as Ki (which is why the energy is named Ki – named after the Ki-Rin). The Ki-Rin have been known to appear in times of great importance among mortals to warn them the severity of what they may be about to face. One of the most well known Ki-Rin is one by the name of Kalaris.

Kobolds

  • Kobold Dragonshield – These are Kobolds that have managed to impress a dragon and faithfully give their life defending the dragon and doing whatever it asks of them.
  • Kobold Inventor – The Kobold inventor is said to have a number of strong similarities to Tinker Gnomes; with an obsession to create objects of great use
  • Kobold Scale Sorcerer – It is said that the Scale Sorcerer bloodlines began with a Chromatic Dragon bestowing a boon of power upon wise Kobolds

Korred
These unusual Fey typically remain in the Feywild; but curiosity has claimed many who venture into the mountain caverns of the Prime Material Plane in search of new minerals which they collect. However, for the few who are aware of the Korred’s (supposed) magical hair and the properties (such as the Drow), they’re actively hunted on the Prime Material Plane for that reason. The Korred tend to stay away from other humanoids (in fear that they’re all out to hunt down the Korred and the legends of their “magical hair” that has surfaced).

Leucrotta
The Leucrotta is a foul beast – in appearance and odor. Created by Yeegowhen as beasts of burden for gnolls – these creatures are so foul tempered that gnolls don’t ride them, but rather use them as beasts of burden. They constantly smell of decay which is so retched and strong that even standing near them can make one ill. They contain an eerie ability to mimic any sound or voice that they’ve heard once; able to mimic it exactly (but can’t say any new phrases – only to repeat the exact phrase it has heard). The gnolls often use the creatures ability to mimic to relive the sounds of those that died at their hands. In the Broken Lands, their odor is so powerful, it keeps the extremely dangerous sand sharks at bay.

Meenlock
The true origins of the Meenlocks are unknown – however, it is widely believed that the Illithid (Mind Flayers) during one of their experiments in an attempt to awaken the mind of simple creatures, such as insects, had created a new species by tampering with the genetic structure of these insects and some form of humanoid. The Meenlocks have telepathic abilities that are specific to tampering with one’s fears, as well as manipulate the shadows and teleport through the darkness. Their home in the Shadow Vale is ripe with dark corners that allow the Meenlock to easily move around. Meenlocks hunt in packs – using their ability to generate fear, and shadow stepping – to drive their prey into traps.

Mind Flayers

  • Mind Flayer, Alhoon – The Alhoon are Mind Flayers who seek Arcane magic for power, and in doing so severe their tie from the Elder Brain evolution – and typically look towards Lichdom – and this study of the arcane is what has generated such creatures as Meenlocks
  • Mind Flayer, Elder Brain – The Mind Flayer Elders, will come together – and a process that unites their minds – called the Evastachi -(‘of one mind’) will evolve the most powerful mind into an Elder Brain – the Mind Flayer enters a vat – and their flesh rips away, and exposes their mind – which then feeds on the remnants of the flesh in the vat to grow
  • Ulitharid – These illithid are extremely rare – when a Illithid tadpole emerges from an elder brain that is so powerful, when it emerges, it is a noticeably taller and far more powerful form of an Illithid. It’s immediately noticeable when they reach maturity as they will suddenly grow in size, as well spawn a total of six tentacles. These illithid are destined to break away from the colony and take other illithid with them to go conquer new areas.

Mindwitness
The exact origins of the Mindwitness are unknown, however, plenty of horror stories have come from the Shadow Vale that details several possibilities. One theory is that an Alhoon, who had hoped to siphon a powerful Beholder’s magic, had managed to sneak in and bring it to a Mind Pool – where Illithid enter to become Elder Brains – and the stunned Beholder was placed there inside the pool – it’s flesh devoured, similar to how the Illithid’s flesh is ripped apart – and this Alhoon Illithid thought it could capture the magic released – however, what rose from the Mind Pool was a new beast – something that was a mixture of an Elder Brain and the old Beholder self. A similar version of that story tells of how a Beholder charmed an Illithid to take it to the Mind Pool in hopes of awakening the potential psionic mental abilities that the Illithid displayed. One thing has been confirmed, however, that whatever their true origin – the Mindwitness is not the master – for they faithful serve the Illithid and are believed to have psychic connections to their masters.

Morkoth
There are legends and stories that speak about Morkoth – but their existence has never been confirmed. Plenty of sailors had crafted stories surrounding the Morkoth. The Morkoth, in all the legends and tales, is a large squid like creature, that bares a striking resemblance to the Kraken – so much so, that typically the story goes – that those who are consumed by a Kraken are eventually reborn as Morkoth – forever to swim the oceans, with memories of their previous life – driven to the point of insanity – where they will viciously collect everything to see if it bare some secret on how to return to their previous life. The story says that those reborn as Morkoth are also born with the magical abilities heard in all the stories – as a side effect of being birth from such a horror as the dreaded Kraken.