Apocalypse Frog Swarm

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At a Glance

A magical beast.

Apocalypse frogs have an attack which causes an affliction called eternal torpor.

Sources

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Loquasphinx

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At a Glance

A magical beast— specifically a sphinx.

Sources

Disclaimer

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Threskisphinx

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At a Glance

A magical beast— specifically a sphinx.

Sources

Disclaimer

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Saurosphinx

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At a Glance

A magical beast— specifically a sphinx.

Sources

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Crocosphinx

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At a Glance

A magical beast— specifically a sphinx.

Sources

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Canisphinx

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At a Glance

A magical beast— specifically a sphinx.

Sources

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Hydrae

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.


At a Glance

A category of magical beasts.


Variations


Climitat

See individual types.


Notable Individuals

See individual types.


Sources

See individual types.


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Sphinx

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At a Glance

A category of magical beasts.

Sources

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Abrian

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

At a Glance

A magical beast.

Absurd Adversary

Even within the context of a fantasy world which breaks many of the “rules” that govern our own, this monster is irrational and/or fundamentally stupid, earning it a spot in my Absurd Adversaries list.

  • “…a human-sized flightless birdlike creature…”Flightless birds are ridiculous to begin with, so if you’re going to turn one into a monster (instead of an easily ignored animal) then you better have a great concept. I don’t know if there was a great concept in the designer’s head, but this monster fails to deliver.
  • …far more intelligent than they look.” — Well that shouldn’t be hard, since an abrian looks like a flightless bird. Unfortunately its intelligence score is still 7, which places it right between an ogre and an orc. I get that that’s smart enough for some creatures to be dangerous, but in combination with the next couple of bullet points here it prevents the abrian from being taken seriously.
  • “…engage in trade with nomads and traveling merchants.” — What, exactly, do they trade? They’re not smart enough to engage in crafts, as noted above. After all, I don’t see ogres and orcs being big on craftsmanship, and that’s the ballpark the abrian is playing in. The next point also demonstrates that the abrian is physically incapable of both craftsmanship and the exchange of trade goods.
  • “…a pair of scaly, atrophied humanoid arms…” — ’nuff said.

Well, this all comes together to paint a pretty picture. A pretty stupid picture, that is. A flock of comparatively dumb, mostly defenseless, totally flightless birds, who want to acquire stuff (barding?) and maybe magic items from passersby in exchange for feathers, eggs, and dung.

Since they’re kinda stupid, they probably get cheated a lot, which helps explain their evil alignment. They can’t carry much of anything (shriveled clawlike hands and reduced carrying capacity) and they’re not really equipped to don armor or use weapons.

They have to depend on their trading partners to do all the lifting and carrying, so presumably a group of abrians surrounds each merchant and threatens to shriek if the merchant tries to cheat them. The merchant would have to deliver his payment to the abrian’s treasury and stack it himself, and then carry away his feathers and eggs by himself, escorted the whole way by this watchful pack of mean birdbrains.

The stench alone would be enough to keep most merchants away. What would make you that desperate to acquire abrian feathers?

The abrian’s only ranged attack is its shriek, which has a 20 foot range and a wimpy DC 12 Fort save. A single quasit could wipe out an entire “communal flock” of 40 abrians in an afternoon. It would be a waste of the quasit’s time, but hey… any diversion is a good diversion when you want to escape your superiors’ notice for a while.

I dunno, I guess the abrian could be useful for humor, but it would inevitably be centered around how absurd this creature is. Which makes it a nice fit for this category.

Sources

Disclaimer

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Jackal Lord

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

At a Glance

Unseen lords among bandits and villains, jackal lords are merely legend to most common folk.

The Xaeyruudh Campaign

In the Xaeyruudh campaign, jackal lords venerate Set, and are usually of neutral-evil alignment.

A handful of jackal lords dabble in intrigue across the southern and eastern Realms.

  • Rival lords lair in castles near the Muhjari town of Thalathat and the Imaskari ruin of Darrabhal. While human cartographers see only the political boundaries of Murghôm on the west and Semphar to the east, the jackals see things as north versus south. Neither of them regards human kings or armies as anything more than pawns.
  • The elusive leader of the vicious bandits operating in Lapaliiya‘s eastern hinterland is a jackal lord. He has established a very light-handed control over the city of Kormul, and little happens there without his knowledge. His larger plans include usurping the throne of Lapaliiya, and has already planted a web of spies and “sleepers” in various noble and merchant houses of Sheirtalar.
  • At least one jackal lord controls parts of the western Raurin near Rolling Stone Gap.
  • Another is thought to lair somewhere on the Katakoro Plateau.

Sources

  • Fiend Folio [88661] pages 105-107
  • All details of individuals are being developed for the Xaeyruudh campaign

Disclaimer

Wizards of the Coast, Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Forgotten Realms, and their logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the United States and other countries. This blog is not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored, or specifically approved by Wizards of the Coast LLC.