Warm Hill

Mean, dog-faced, and cowardly, pugwampis are loved by no one—not even other gremlins. These gremlins take disproportionate amounts of enjoyment from the accidents and missteps of other creatures, often going to great lengths to manufacture the perfect deadfalls or stumbling blocks. They then wait nearby, both to laugh at the inevitable mishaps and to make sure their personal unluckiness is passed off on their victims. Pugwampis live in caves or ruined buildings, occasionally venturing forth to find victims upon which to inf lict their sick senses of humor. Their “jokes” tend to involve spikes and excrement, or sometimes pits full of spiders or campsites that flood with swamp water. Certainly only the pugwampis consider their jokes funny. As all pugwampis are somewhat deaf, when not trying to be stealthy, they tend to scream and yell loudly so they can hear themselves and each other. At some point in the distant past, pugwampis became enamored of gnolls, seeing in the beast-men a kindred form and thus aspiring to the height and deadly prowess of the savage warriors, whom they honor as gods. Gnolls, for their part, hate pugwampis even more than other creatures, mostly because of the gremlins’ weakness and sickening fawning, though they sometimes keep the gremlins around just to torment them.

These carnivorous, wide-jawed marsupials typically hunt at night and have a reputation for savagery. By day, they nest in hollow trees or clusters of bushes.

Though related to raptors and other birds of prey, vultures mainly feed on carrion they spot or scent from on high. Vultures have weak claws compared to predatory birds, but their sharp and wickedly hooked beaks tear living flesh as readily as the sharpest blade. Despite dining on carrion, vultures prefer their corpses newly dead rather than rotten. Some even hunt smaller prey when food is scarce.

These notorious predators have an undeniable thirst for blood. Chupacabras prefer to prey upon the weak and slow, often watching potential prey from hiding for long periods before attacking. Spry and stealthy, they prefer to keep to areas of high grass and protective rock, their slightly ref lective scales allowing them to blend in well with such surroundings. With a preference for lone travelers and farm animals (particularly goats), chupacabras leave little evidence of their presence apart from the grisly blood-drained husks of their meals, often leading locals to believe a reckless vampire lives in the area. A typical chupacabra measures nearly 5-1/2 feet from muzzle to tail tip and stands just under 4 feet tall. Slightly built and light of bone, most weigh close to a hundred pounds. They mate rarely and only during the hottest months, with the females each producing a single egg that hatches into a tiny, dehydrated creature. The mother typically leaves helpless prey in her cave so the hatchling can immediately feed. Although chupacabras are typically solitary, in bountiful areas small gangs of the beasts can form. These groups work well together, becoming bold enough to attack larger groups of animals and more dangerous prey. Stories of chupacabras attacking travelers or laying siege to farmhouses typically stem from the hunting practices of such gangs. It is not unusual for older chupacabras to grow to Medium size. These larger specimens tend to be leaders of chupacabra gangs, or, more commonly, loners capable of tormenting entire villages on their own. Some chupacabras are mutants with large reptilian wings, and have been known to carry off goats and children. A flying chupacabra has a fly speed of 60 feet (average), which increases to 90 feet (average) when invigorated from drinking blood. A winged chupacabra is the same CR as the normal variety.

Distantly related to wyverns, amphipteres are equally cruel and prone to violence. Like wyverns, they have serpentine bodies and bat-like wings. Unlike wyverns, however, amphipteres must use the long claws on the tips of their wings to propel their bodies along as they awkwardly leap and soar a few feet off the ground. They’re also longer and much leaner than wyverns, and instead of a wyvern’s poisonous stinger, an amphiptere has a broad, arrow-shaped spur at the end of its long tail. Capable of piercing armor and shattering bone, an amphiptere’s tail skewers prey much like a fisher might spear a fish.  Amphipteres average 18 feet in length, though most of this length is the tail, and they weigh around 1,600 pounds.

Larger even than condors, giant vultures dwell only in regions where carrion is both large and plentiful, such as the primeval wildernesses where megafauna roam. They also flock to regions torn by war, feasting on the dead with no concern for allegiance or race. Giant vultures rarely wait for wounded creatures to finish dying before they feed, and are much braver than most wild animals. A giant vulture, for example, wouldn’t think twice about swooping down on a heavily armored column of soldiers just to snatch up a few wounded stragglers from the end of the line. A giant vulture stands more than 13 feet tall, has a wingspan of over 30 feet, and weighs 500 to 600 pounds.

The least intelligent of the common sphinxes, hieracosphinxes are a cowardly, cruel-hearted lot. All are male. They despise the larger and cleverer androsphinxes and criosphinxes. Toward gynosphinxes they hold a twisted mix of a lust and hate, simultaneously envying their beauty and power while craving them as mates. Hieracosphinxes attack other sphinxes whenever they have them at a disadvantage. Male sphinxes of other species they tear to shreds or drive away, whereas they prefer to leave gynosphinxes ravaged but alive. The other species of sphinx likewise hold nothing but disdain for hieracosphinxes, and typically attack these vile beasts on sight. Hieracosphinxes guard their territory ruthlessly against weaker intruders, seldom giving warning before they attack. They have no use for banter and riddles, making most efforts at diplomacy rather ineffective, but can be convinced to call off their attacks by convincing shows of force coupled with information on the location of weaker prey or a gynosphinx. Though poor fliers, they still prefer to fight from the air, the better to escape if the combat turns against them. As they lack the ego and resourcefulness of the rest of their breed, hieracosphinxes can be pressed into service of mounts, particularly by those of similarly evil dispositions. Hieracosphinxes chafe under such service but submit to more powerful riders, though they still inflict their foul tempers on any weaker creatures that happen by. A grown hieracosphinx can easily consume a full horse’s worth of meat in a day, making their upkeep rather expensive. Even with these drawbacks, hieracosphinx eggs command values of up to 1,500gp on the open market, as do young hieracosphinxes. It takes 3 years for a hieracosphinx to reach maturity, after which an untrained hieracosphinx only rarely accepts a rider without magical compulsion. Trainers, though hard to come by, charge thousands of gold pieces to rear and train a hieracosphinx, owing to the risk to life and limb. A light load for a hieracosphinx is up to 350 pounds; a medium load, 351–700 pounds; and a heavy load, 701–1,050 pounds. A typical hieracosphinx is just short of 9 feet long and weighs 600 pounds. Hieracosphinxes detest bearing a rider into battle, thus increasing the DCs of any combat-related Ride checks by +5.

Manticores are fierce predators that patrol a wide area in search of fresh meat. A typical manticore is about 10 feet long and weighs about 1,000 pounds. Some have more human-like heads, usually with beards. Males and females look much alike. Manticores eat any meat, even carrion, though they prefer human flesh and rarely pass up an opportunity for such a delicacy. They are smart and social enough to bargain with or bully evil humanoids into alliances or offering tribute, and more powerful creatures may hire or bribe them to guard or patrol a place or area. They like lairs in high places, such as hilltops and caves in cliffs. Although manticores were likely a magical creation, they have long since established themselves as a naturally occurring species. Curiously, manticores seem strangely fecund, and can interbreed with a number of other similarly shaped creatures, including lions, dire lions, lamias, sphinxes, and even chimeras. The progeny of a manticore and an unusual mate is summarized on the table below.

Phase spiders are voracious predators from the Ethereal Plane who hunt on the Material Plane. When prey is located, the spider shifts to the Ethereal Plane to prepare an ambush. Against a lone victim, the spider shifts to the Material Plane, bites the victim, then retreats back to the Ethereal Plane to wait for the poison to take effect. Against multiple foes, a phase spider follows these same tactics, and on each round a foe remains in reach at the start of its turn, it repeats this gambit. If no foes are in reach, it moves while ethereal to prepare an attack on an available target, but unless it feels safe in spending an entire round on the Material, it won’t phase back to attack unless it can do so while saving a move action for an escape. Phase spiders are the natural enemy of another denizen of the Ethereal Plane—the xill. The two races have long fought a bloody war with no real prospect of a resolution anytime soon. Were phase spiders less horrifying and alien in appearance, they might find the allies they need to defeat the sinister xill among other races, but their monstrous forms and often overwhelming hunger make diplomacy difficult. On the Ethereal Plane, phase spiders can manipulate the raw smoky ether in a manner similar to how a spider manipulates webs. Vast, complex nests of semisolid ether float idly through the eddies of the Ethereal Plane, each supporting numerous phase spiders. The creatures enjoy each other’s company, but have no real concept of family—a newborn phase spider is fully capable of fending for itself and is treated no differently by its parents or siblings than any other. The typical phase spider is 8 feet long and weighs about 700 pounds.

These bizarre beings have the bodies of hawks, owls, or eagles, but the heads of beautiful human women. Their faces typically reflect the human ethnicity dominant in the area in which they lair, and they almost always bear a vibrant and youthful countenance. All sirens are female and long-lived. The oldest known sirens haunt their territories for nearly a millennium, although most only live for a few hundred years. Sirens require male humanoids to mate, and several times per decade either capture or rescue bold or comely sailors who enter their territories. Stories abound of sirens dying— either through heartache or suicide—when sailors they attempted to lure overcame their compelling powers and escaped their grasps. Sirens always live near the sea, where their powerful voices can carry over the waves and attract the attention of unwary sailors who trespass near their isles. A typical siren has a wing span of 8 feet, and weighs 120 pounds.

Devil monkeys are so named for their bright red-orange fur and distinct hair tufts that resemble horns. Despite their name and strange appearance, these primates have no connection to devils or other supernatural creatures, although their penchant for violence and lairing in regions not typically noted for primate fauna often sparks rumors of strange monsters or mythical invaders. In truth, devil monkeys are giant relatives of baboons. Like their smaller cousins, devil monkeys have doglike muzzles and large canine teeth. Their tails are relatively short and not prehensile. Devil monkeys mostly move around on all fours, but when they rest on their haunches, their heads can reach up to 18 feet high. A typical devil monkey weighs 15,000 pounds.  Owing to their rarity, reclusiveness, and unusual appearance, devil monkeys are often surrounded by legends. In many cases, they are mistaken for other creatures. Their spoor might suggest an unusually large bear or other predator, while those who catch sight of the primate may mistake it for a devil or other fiend. Even when they’re recognized as a kind of monkey, the fact that they may live far from typical monkey territory often adds to their air of sinister mystery.

Wyverns are nasty, brutish, and violent reptilian beasts akin to more powerful dragons. They are always aggressive and impatient, and are quick to resort to force in order to accomplish their goals. For this reason, dragons generally look down upon wyverns, considering their distant cousins nothing more than primitive savages with a distinct lack of style or wit. In most cases, this generalization is spot-on. Although far from animalistic in intellect, and capable of speech, most wyverns simply can’t be bothered with the subtlety of diplomacy, and prefer to fight first and parley later, and even then only if faced with a foe they can neither defeat nor flee from. Wyverns are territorial creatures. Though they occasionally hunt in small groups for large prey, they are generally solitary creatures, hunting in areas ranging in size from 100 to 200 square miles. Wyverns have been known to fight to the death among themselves for the right to hunt a territory rich with prey. Although constantly hungry and prone to mayhem, a wyvern that can be befriended (usually through a delicate combination of flattery, intimidation, food, and treasure) becomes a powerful ally. They often serve giants and monstrous humanoids as guardians, and some lizardfolk and boggard tribes even use them as mounts, although such arrangements are quite costly in terms of food and gold, for few are the wyverns who would willingly serve as steeds for lesser creatures for long. A wyvern is about 16 feet in length, half of which is tail. The average wyvern weighs 2,000 pounds.

Temperamental and avaricious, the behir spends most of its time slithering through the sandy hills and desert cliffs that make up its territory, preying upon all creatures who dare to enter its hunting grounds. The creature’s six pairs of powerful, clawed legs remain folded against its sides most of the time, only extending in combat to grapple foes or carry the behir forward in a terrifying, low-slung gallop, or else when climbing the sheer cliff faces common to behir lairs. The average behir is 40 feet long and weighs 4,000 pounds. In addition to the two prominent horns on its head, many have additional decorative spines at regular intervals along the central ridges of their backs. While territorial and bestial in its fury, the behir is neither stupid nor necessarily evil, though its selfcenteredness and tendency to lay claim to everything visible from its high lairs frequently bring it into conf lict with other races. As such, a behir can often be bought off or reasoned with by those brave negotiators willing to get close enough to make their pitch. In these cases, a behir’s tendency to attack first and ask questions later (or not at all) means that anyone seeking to strike a deal must bring powerful incentives and impress the behir immediately with his offer. It’s often been speculated that behirs are somehow related to blue dragons, but the exact nature of this link remains unknown. Most dragons deny any such association and look down on the behir for its relative lack of intelligence—a snubbing that infuriates the already short-tempered behir. Thanks to this casual disparagement, many behirs carry deep grudges against dragons, and attack without pause any who cross into their territories.

The apex predators known as megaprimatuses rule virtually unchallenged among prehistoric beasts in lost, forgotten realms. Highly territorial, a megaprimatus attempts to intimidate any other large, threatening creatures out of its chosen domain, and fights them if they don’t retreat. Once a megaprimatus resorts to violence, it shows no mercy, and its enemy must either escape or die.  A megaprimatus’s diet consists of plants—especially large bunches of fruits or melons—and meat. Larger dinosaurs and megafauna are favored prey for the beast, and the megaprimatus enjoys the fight just as much as the meal.  Creatures that clearly don’t pose any danger to a megaprimatus, such as smaller dinosaurs or even humanoids, can usually coexist in its domain. A population of herd dinosaurs or a humanoid settlement can thrive in its territory as the megaprimatus chases off giant predators. People living in this sort of situation might collect large quantities of fruit and deliver it to the ape to prevent it from getting so hungry it goes on a rampage and inadvertently crashes through their homes.  Its tendency to overlook smaller creatures can lead to a megaprimatus’s downfall, because it is woefully underprepared to deal with the ingenuity of humanoids, whose implements of war are powerful enough to bring down a creature even as mighty as a megaprimatus.

The nephilim are the offspring of demigods who bred with humans. This joining resulted in a race of giant-sized beings possessed of a shard of divine power and the mortal consciousness of humans. A nephilim stands 11 feet tall and weighs 1,100 pounds. Its divine heritage grants it a lifespan of almost 600 years. Nephilim are a nomadic, secretive race. This isolationism has only heightened the wild tales surrounding them, making it even harder for other races to trust them. While the ancient animosity humans once had against them has been largely forgotten, zealots occasionally try to mount pogroms and crusades to wipe the nephilim out forever. The nephilim have proven strikingly resistant to these efforts.

This whimsical dragon spends most of its time in combat trying to annoy and frustrate its enemies.

Moon giants dwell in rocky badlands and other scarred, deserted places. They revere the moon, stars, and comets and seek wisdom in these celestial bodies’ movements. Though they are normally placid scholars, more likely to enter a lively philosophical debate with other creatures than a brawl, moon giants can become violent when disturbed or when under the influence of a bad moon.  Most moon giants stand about 24 feet tall and weigh almost 18,000 pounds.

Whip spiders have eight legs, but walk on only the rear six. The remaining legs are longer and used as antennae-like feelers, the “whips” that give the creature its name.  A whip spider’s pedipalps are long, spined appendages highly adapted to striking and grasping prey. The titanic whip spider is also referred to as the “mancatcher” whip spider, so named for its extremely long pedipalps that end in slender, spiked claws resembling the weapon. The pedipalps vary in size and function in other species, such as the obsidian whip spider’s stout, spiked pedipalps, or the saber whip spider’s long blades in place of claws.  While the titanic whip spider is the largest known of the species, other species exist in different sizes and with various special abilities. The following table lists the most common variants.