8 Snakes & Their Unusual Venoms

These are giant evil snakes or anything, they're just snakes. All snakes here have 1 hit point (die on any hit) and AC 14 unless otherwise stated. Because of fast they can strike, they don't make attack rolls, instead just make a save vs poison. Upon failure, you suffer their venom effect. If you aren't surprised by them, you can try to attack and kill them before they bite. Snakes bite once and then run away, unless they predate on people.

[1] Thunder Asp
This small snake has a dark gray body with yellow highlight scales; giving it the impression of a lightning bolt. It can open its mouth in a threat display, which shows off its bright yellow fangs that spark with electricity when exposed to the static electricity in the air. Its spit acts as a conductor, so whenever it opens its mouth a sudden shock is generated.

Venom Effect- An electrical shock. You take 1d6+1 lightning damage. You also twitch and take 1d3 damage to your Dexterity from fried nerves.

[2] Skin Snake
It has no scales (set AC to 10) and looks like a little dismembered penis slithering around. Kind of gross, but cute in a weird way. The skin snake doesn't come out during the day or night, since it's too hot or cold, and its very sensitive, preferring to run across smooth stones then irritating sand and gravel. The skin snake will still bite when threatened like other snakes- before going back to its burrow lined with various bits of nesting material to keep it comfortable.

Venom Effect- The skin snake's venom makes the victim feel uncomfortable and itchy. Rashes break out over your skin very easily. You have to make a saving throw every exploration turn you are wearing armor- you cannot wear any armor for the next exploration turn if you fail the saving throw. This effect lasts for about two days.

[3] Cookie Snake
This snake is named after a specific type of cookie; the snickerdoodle. (or maybe the cookie is named after the snake, nobody knows). It has about the color and texture you'd expect, though the snake itself tastes terrible even as far as snakemeat goes.

Venom Effect- Once bitten, unusual yellow discharge will start to leak from your eyes. You get -2 to attack rolls, and disadvantage on ranged attacks or spell-aiming rolls. This discharge is sometimes collected as a minor magical reagent for certain magic user spells, but is only useful fresh (leading to keeping cookie snakes). The discharge will continue to come out for an hour, or six turns, before clearing up.

[4] Frazetta Viper
This snake is a small dull brown. Despite its camouflaged color, it tends to sun bathe on the top of stones in the sun, giving it a golden tan.

Venom Effect- Anyone bit by this snake has their body's muscular system hijacked. Over the next three days, they gain an intense amount of muscle mass while stealing vital elements from their organs and blood- they gain +1d2 Strength per day, losing an equal amount of Constitution at the same rate. This venom technically does no damage, but can be very deadly simply because some people's bodies essentially starve themselves to death to build huge, unnecessary muscle mass. At the end of the three days the person experiences massive fatigue, pass out, and loses all Strength gains over their one hour bout of unconsciousness. Their Constitution takes time to come back (one point per day). 

Intense amounts of bloodletting will prevent a day's worth of Strength gain/Con loss, but deals 1d3 damage from the blood loss instead.

[5] Serpent-of-the-Stones
This snake is quite large, treat it as a 1 HD creature. It has a black and gray body color with a long, flat head. The Serpent of the Stones is a creatures said to be distantly related to dragons; due to its habit of phasing into stones and sleeping in them for many years, only to spring out again when a careless mason or miner splits the rock. The main power of this snake is its extremely magically potent venom that allows living things (but nothing else) to pass through and into whatever its venom has touched. It can use these on rocks to slither inside, but flesh can also yield. These snakes can do this to eat your liver, which they do to any large bodied, warm blooded animal.

Venom Effect- When bitten, you get two saves. The first is to avoid the bite. The second is to clutch and claw at your skin to prevent the snake from eating your liver. If you fail both saves, you die. If you fail one save, the snake will be knocked loose. Additionally, any other living thing you touch for the next hour has a 1 in 6 chance to phase partially into you; no AC roll required to hit with natural weapons like claws and teeth and so on.

[6] Hoop Snake
This snake is very aggressive and will bite its tail to roll towards its prey, especially on the downhill slopes of mountains. You save at -2 unless you see the snake coming, which is difficult as you will be looking at it from the dead on straight angle unless another party member is watching out. The snake is very agile and fast; it can zigzag through a field of caltrops for example.

Venom Effect- Save or die poison. People who die from this have their muscles clench and contort- their faces are always found in a look of extreme surprise. You can also save yourself by stepping behind a tree, in which case the snake will struck the tree causing it to wilt, blacken, and die instead.

[7] Diary Moccasin
An unusual viper with a yellowish scale color, flecked by black spots. The spots on its back are random and unique for each snake; many local cultures use them as a form of divination. Their venom has a mental effect associated with it- forgetfulness, flights of fantasy, and obliviousness. Those who are bitten want to write down their experiences and ideas, leading to a sort of absent mindedness and foolishness that weakens them to magic.

Venom Effect- Once bitten, the victim loses 1d3 points of Wisdom per day. You cannot drop below half your original Wisdom, rounding up, from the effects of this poison. The victim also seeks to write things down and will scratch things into wood or their own skin if unable to write in a book or on tablets. Those who are illiterate will draw pictograms instead. The victim of the bite must spend at least one turn per hour scrawling things down.

Anyone who reads something they've written, at the time of this venom or not, gains an inside knowledge of the bite victim which makes them vulnerable to magic from that person, as though reading their true name or essence on the page. You can totally burn and destroy everything you wrote down if you didn't lose any of it; but during the venom you'll have a spasm if anyone tries to take your crazed writings away from you. The effects of this venom last about a week.

[8] Magnetic Biter
This snake looks a silvery color with blue highlights, especially around the tip of its tail and its head. It has a constant magnetic field around its body; consider it as having +2 AC at least against heavy weapons, which try to veer away from it as though magnetically opposed.

Venom Effect- Anyone bitten by this snakes experiences magnetic "pulses" that rip through their body, deals 1d4 damage every exploration turn you are wearing or holding metal objects. If you are wearing no metal items, you still take 1 damage from the iron in your blood beings forced out through your skin in tiny, impossible to see metal flakes. You get a save every hour to end the effect.

Angered Nature Spirit Generator

 

All Angered Nature Spirits begin with:

• 8 HD
• AC of 16
• Morale of 16
• +5 To-Hit
• Divine Nature - Immune to Death &Wish magic effects. Has magic resistance to other spells at 50% (Either chance to resist or lessened the effect of the spells by this amount)
  
• Resistance to all Elements- Half damage taken from Fire, Lightning, Frost.
• An Animal Form (Roll on the Appearance subtable to make them more supernatural looking- otherwise they just look like big/regal versions of normal animals) The Animal Form is also the type of Animal the nature spirit can commune with freely. Each spirit can be accompanied by 2d6 HD worth of animals of its form whenever it is encountered.
  
• Alignment of True Neutral
  

Spirit's Animal Form & Attacks - Roll d12
[1] Boar (Gore attack at 2d8, Charge on first round of combat deals +1d6 damage, +1 AC) Appears as a massive, hulking boar with a long shaggy coat and huge, magnificent tusks.

Boar-Spirit Appearance Subtable - (2 in 6 chance for each to be True.)
Golden tusks
Unnatural coat color (Roll 1d4 on the Color Table)
Pig-Nose shimmers like crystal
Six Legs
Eyes glow red with unnatural rage

[2] Stag (Horn attack at 1d8, two Hoof attacks at 1d6, regenerates 1 Hit-Point each exploration turn, Runs unimpeded thru foliage & is immune to Entangling Roots) Majestic stag with long branching antlers. It moves in total silence and disappears into brush.

Stag-Spirit Appearance Subtable - (2 in 6 chance for each to be True)
Has the face of an old man w/ long white Beard
Bird nest or bee hive in its Antlers
Flowers bloom from where its hooves step
Long, Snake-like neck
Smell of petrichor follows it

[3] Wolf (Bite at 2d10, Can track scents) Majestic white wolf. Hugely predatory, but serene.

Wolf-Spirit Appearance Subtable - (2 in 6 chance for each to be True)
Mouth constantly drips blood
Tail is wrapped up in briers and thorns
Blue streak from end of nose to tip of the tail
Body streaked in symmetrical scars
Furless, skinless, muscle fibers and mad eyes
Instead of a white wolf, it's a black wolf

[4] Bear (Bite at 1d10, Two claw attacks at 1d8 each, +1 HD, enrages at half health increasing die size of all attacks by one unit and being unable to retreat, -25% Magic Resistance) Huge bumbling bear. Typically thought to be unintelligent and lazy, but fearsome.

Bear-Spirit Appearance Subtable - (2 in 6 chance for each to be True)
Many weapons stuck in its back
Bone ridges follow along its spine
Long, lemur-like ringed tail
Has human back-feet, leaves humanoid tracks like Bigfoot
Cool metal-band style facepaint

[5] Fox (Bite at 1d6, has an extra Nature Power, -2 Morale, shift Alignment one step towards Chaotic) The archetypal trickster, though lacking in direct strength.

Fox-Spirit Appearance Subtable - (2 in 6 chance for each to be True)
Fur color shimmers as it moves
Extra tails (Roll 1d8+1 for number of total tails)
Wears a shiny, fist-sized glass bead around its neck, tied on by a golden cord
Whiskers are many times longer then they should be, flow like they are trailing in water

[6] Horse (Kick attack at 1d10, Can Hoof-Stomp once every three rounds- save or be knocked prone, can Trample downed characters dealing 2d12, -4 Morale, Fast- cannot be escaped from or chased unless you have horses) Massive, majestic stallion or mare. Double the number of horses accompanying it- they are noncombatants.

Horse-Spirit Appearance Subtable - (2 in 6 chance for each to be True)
Flowers grow in its mane
Hooves are made of mossy stone
Looks wet and drips water like a Kelpie
Whinny ends in a thunderclap
Tail seamlessly transforms down its length into fog or mist

[7] Snake (Bite at 1d8- save or die poison, Constriction attack at 1d10 damage per round and can't move- must make a hard save to escape, +1 AC, surprises 4 in 6 times) Massive viper, bigger then an anaconda with emerald green scales.

Snake-Spirit Appearance Subtable - (2 in 6 chance for each to be True)
Scales are black instead
Eyes are milky white, as though blind. (Can't see, but uses other scents equally well as sight)
Two tiny vestigial arms on upper body
Rattle on end of tail
Water constantly trickles down crest of head off tip of nose like snake-waterfall

[8] Lion (Bite at 1d12, Two claw attacks at 1d10, Roars at the start of combat causing morale check for hirelings and all mundane animals) Majestic, powerful, deadly. This lion spirit only appears with Lionnesses, as it is the King of the Beasts.

Lion-Spirit Appearance Subtable - (2 in 6 chance for each to be True)
Mane has appearance of space; filled with stars and galaxies
Ground quakes when it roars
Tip of its tail is bristled like a Morning-Star
Vestigial wings
Has the spots of a giraffe OR Stripes of a zebra
Top of face is covered in forefather's skull like a helmet

[9] Crocodile (Bite at 2d8- if target is not killed will grip and deathroll, no save, knocks everyone prone who were adjacent and automatically hits each round until freed or target is slain, +1 AC, can swim) Great beast of the rivers. Prefers to attack from water, but can gallop as fast as a man on land.

Crocodile-Spirit Appearance Subtable - (2 in 6 chance for each to be True)
White OR Pink
Tip of nose has a hand-shaped limb (Can ambush from water if you try to "save" drowning victim)
Scales are knocked loose easily- turn into rose petals
Teeth are especially long, wicked, and scary looking
Fish frills & fins on arms and back, gills
Eyeballs are golden orbs (Made of actual gold- worth 250c each when removed from corpse)

[10] Ape (Two Giant-Fist attacks at 1d8, can use weapons like boulders and logs, climbs, intelligent, cannot be surprised, shift Alignment towards Lawful) Massive Ape-Spirit of the forests and jungles. Travels with a trope who watch its back at all times.

Ape-Spirit Appearance Subtable - (2 in 6 chance for each to be True)
Blood red fur
Huge dumptruck ass
Wears facepaint
Hole in center of each hand
Big golden belly; slaps like a war drum

[11] Panther (Bite at 1d10, Two claw attacks at 1d8, surprises 5 in 6 times) Massive spirit of a predatory cat. Could refer to a black panther, but also to leopards for African inspired settings or Jaguars for South-American inspired places instead.

Panther-Spirit Appearance Subtable - (2 in 6 chance for each to be True)
(After surprise round & in combat) Appears like a glowing psychedelic suggestion of a cat
Appears with a silver crown on its head. Doesn't fall off until dead. (Treasure worth 300c)
Leaves behind black feathers when it jumps
Can walk weightlessly on any surface, like palm fronds or water
Inside of mouth/lips and nose are a weird color (Roll 1d8 on the Color Table)

[12] Hawk (Beak at 1d8, Two Talon attacks at 1d12, flight, true sight) The powerful spirit of birds-of-prey; the hawk can see you from any distance and see the invisible and hidden.

Hawk-Spirit Appearance Subtable - (2 in 6 chance for each to be True)
Several rusted manacles adorn each leg, just above the talons
Instead of a Hawk, make it an Owl (Silent flight instead of super-vision)
Has a massive, colorful plume on its head
Peacock style tail; works fine in flight
Wind kicked up by its wings is unnaturally cold

Spirit's Nature Power - Roll 1d8
Nature Powers are like spells for the purposes of saving throws and other mechanics, BUT cannot be countered and are immune to antimagic spells or antimagic fields- these are divine powers. Unless otherwise stated; Nature Powers can be used once per round.
[1] Regeneration (Heal itself or an ally by 1d6 once per round) Infused with life energy.
[2] Musk (Save or fail spells in adjacent squares, scent lingers for a turn.) Animal odor.
[3] Geyser (Deals 1d4 damage to random enemy) The ground splits, releasing boiling steam.
[4] Butterflies (Emits 1d3-1 Butterflies per round, if they land on a weapon they cannot be used to attack until knocked away or blown off) Tiny white butterflies of peace; make weapons impotent.
[5] Animate Golems (Creates 1d3 HD worth of Lesser Golems from surrounding area each round) Rocks, mud, sand, water, foliage all converge and twist into humanoid shapes every round.
[6] Acid Puke (Stream of acid deals 1d10 damage, Must give up Bite/Beak attack to use if it has one- otherwise can use freely. Throwing distance) Pukes up its stomach acid.
[7] Elemental Control (Roll 1d4- Fire, Water, Earth, Air. Creature can Control Elements in the area. Elemental blasts deal 1d6 damage) Creature has decent control over one of the four elements. Can be used to change terrain, throw projectiles, counter spells, etc. The element is only rolled once.
[8] Whirlwind (Moves thru, 1d4 damage to each it passes thru. Increase monster's base speed by +25%). Turns into a spinning gust of wind that can move through solid objects. If it moves through a creatures space, it deals damage to them from the whipping winds.

Why is this Spirit Angry? - Roll 1d8
[1] Bloated (+1 HD) Spirit is even larger then normal. Went mad after eating a full harvest.
[2] Bewitched (+25% Magic Resistance) Branded by arcane symbols- they failed to control it.
[3] Defiled (Acid resistance, Corrodes non-magic weapons that hit) Grove polluted by waste.
[4] Betrayed (+1 morale, +3 HP, 3 in 6 chance for each element on the Spirit Appearance subtable) Once worshiped guardian spirit, its pact broken. More otherworldly then the others.
[5] Iron Ball (+1 damage to attacks/powers, shift Alignment towards Evil) Evil human weapon, stuck in its flesh, festering.
[6] Petrified (+1 AC) Body is half stone, cracking and reforming, as though covered in plaster or hit with an unsuccessful Flesh to Stone spell.
[7] Beyond Sight (+1 To-Hit, Dispel illusions it looks at) Its eyes glow with supernatural being. It has seen things nothing of this world should; human sorcerers have contacted outer beings.
[8] Awakened (-2 to hit, -1 HD, -1 Damage to attacks/powers, double accompanying creatures) This spirit has only recently been awoken. Its anger is from the change sine the old times, though it is still sleepy and ignorant from its time spent dormant.

Spirit's Revenge - Roll d8
This is a constant effect that is constantly emitting from the angered spirit. This is its revenge against the intelligent races and peoples of the world who have angered it. This is how the spirit is retaliating against people; the effect is widespread and will hit everyone and everything in the area where it is. Assume a small valley worth of space or a full hex/hex + all surrounding hexes.
[1] Fear (Hirelings get -1 to morale rolls, -1 to all saving throws vs this Spirit) Nature's wrath.
[2] Rage (+1d6 HD animals accompany it) Fills the hearts of its kind with rage; move against man.
[3] Growth (Casts Entangling Roots at start of combat) Plants spring up to consume brick.
[4] Smoke (You take 1 more damage from every source) Bellows blackness. It is a spirit of death.
[5] Famine (Every day, use double rations) Hunger and bottomless bellies.
[6] Fire (Immune to Fire Damage, gains flame spew attack at 2d6 once per three rounds, save for half) This spirit brings forth nature's most destructive element. To burn for the regrowth.
[7] Destruction (Items break on attack rolls of 1 or vs rolls of 20) Machines tend to fail around it. The closer you get and the more complex the machine; the easier it fails. Anything manmade.
[8] Storms (Missiles have disadvantage to hit, low visibility) Surrounded by a storm. Could be a dust storm, thunderstorm, rain storm, hail storm, etc. Whichever fits the animal best.

Spirit Reaction-Check Rules
This spirit is usually of Neutral alignment, as it is both an animal and a being that supports that natural order of the world. But it is angered- angered at humans or intelligent races that bring technology, destroy the forest, strip the hills for metal, and bring death and subjugation to the animals.

As such, the creature is not normally aggressive but because of its anger, it will attack intelligent, bipedal beings. It has a 5 in 6 chance to attack humans or other races on sight. This chance is reduced by -1 for each of the following the party has when encountering the spirit.

• Majority of the party hails from tribal/in tune with nature societies (including Elves)
• Characters prostate themselves and do not make eye contact
• Anyone in the party can Speak with Animals. Talking to it won't stop it from mauling you necessarily though.
  
• Party has at least one wild animal companion. Dogs, cats, etc. don't count. Give this a +2 bonus instead of the animal companion is the same type as the Spirit; or they can talk in animal noises so the companion can defend these humans as being "the good ones".
• If the Nature Spirit is a prey animal, then if nobody in the party has meat in their belly (has eaten meat for rations that day or the day before). If the Nature Spirit is a predator animal, then the opposite. If your character is biological incapable of eating plants/meat, then tough shit.
  

Optionally, you can also increase the chance of attack on sight by +1 for each of the following being true. For values over 6 on your X in 6 chance, consider adding every point over 6 to morale as it takes revenge on those who violate mother nature.

• Carrying an open flame (torch, burning spell, etc)
• Majority of the party made up of spellcasters (in settings where magic is "unnatural)
  
• Anyone wearing fullplate/heavy armor
  
• Anyone who is responsible for a large amount of environmental damage, like if you accidentally started a forest fire once or you are a nobleman who drained a swamp to build a castle and so on. Even without outward signs or proof of this, the spirit just knows what you did.

What does it do to the dead bodies of people its slain? - Roll 1d6
[1] Makes a loud howl; hundreds of vultures fly down to pick at the remains.
[2] Drags the bodies to the edge of clearings or the sides of the road bordering wilderness. Warning.
[3] Drags the bodies to trees and thickets- thrown for the roots.
[4] Eats them. Of course.
[5] Rips them up and wears their entrails around its neck. Stained red with invader blood.
[6] Pisses on them. This may seem purely spiteful, but it also speeds up how fast they decompose. Within 2 days the corpse is half liquefied, turned to rich soil with flowers sprouting from it.

What will the Spirit do for you if you manage to calm it? - 1d8
[1] Will raise a baby for you. The baby becomes a wild person, but in tune with nature.
[2] Lead you to a secret healing spring in the wilderness. Cures 1 mutation and restores HP.
[3] Lead you to an ancient burial site of a warrior. Buried with golden sword and silver shield.
[4] Teaches you one random nature spell. If you're a Druid, you get to pick the spell.
[5] Blessing of Power. Grants you +1d2 points of Strength and maximum Hit Points.
[6] Touches you on the forehead, marks you with a symbol. Animals of its type are now never aggressive towards you.
[7] Watching the majestic spirit clams your heart. Restore some sanity / heal 1d3 Mental attribute points / gain some Conviction if you're playing GLOG.
[8] Gives you a magic staff made of green wood. The staff grants magical powers over nature, and enhances natural spells cast by one caster level. The end of the staff has a green leaf which shows how much energy it has left; wilting and dying when the staff is expended.

What reaction does it have to Animal-People of its Type in the party? - 1d6
[1] Revulsion. Attacks them first.
[2] Curiosity.
[3] Confusion.
[4] Can't tell the difference between them and a man.
[5] Paternal/preening behavior. Doesn't want to kill them.
[6] Instant attraction. Engages courtship rituals.

Fox Raiding the Chicken Coop Rules

“Red whisker, come to play

home from home, never stay.”

Every Fox has two scores, Cleverness and Hunger. Cleverness is how clever and quick the fox is at both breaking your defenses and evading capture, and Hunger is a changing score based on how many of your chickens the Fox will kill when it gets in the coop.

Every Fox starts with 1d6 Cleverness and a Hunger score of 1 or 2. Every season, the Hunger score increases by +1. Of course, the Fox is eating more then just your chickens, this is just a vague approximation of it getting more and more desperate of eating whatever it eats out in the forest, and getting more and more confident about its hunting.

The exception to this rule of during the Spring, where female foxes raise young. If the Fox hunting your chickens is a vixen, increase hunger by +1d4 so she can feed her kits.

The Fox's cleverness is directly countered by your defenses. The chicken coop itself counts as 1 to 3 based on if it has a door and how well made it is. Stationary defenses, such as locks, doors, chains, walls, barriers, scent markers, scarecrows, minor magical sigils and so on grant +1 defense. Active defenses, such as active spells, guard dogs or human watchmen, or having a cockrel among your hens count as +2 defense each.

Every time the Fox succeeds at raiding your chicken coop, its hunger is sated this season. The Fox's hunger drops to Cleverness score if it was higher, and otherwise stays the same. You have a bunch of feathers on the ground and missing chickens.

Every time the Fox fails at raiding your chicken coop, its Cleverness increases by one.

When the Fox has become too dangerous and troublesome to deal with with a few simple defenses or guard dogs; you need to go on a hunt. You must take a number of fox hounds equal or greater to the Fox's cleverness, or else it will slip away. Other hunting rules include tracking, shooting, and dealing with elves screeching at you about “animal cruelty” or something- make these up yourself. 

[Class] Elephant

Elephant

HD- d12

Maximum AC- 14 / Minimum Starting Hit-Points- 12

Not an elephant man, or a special magical creature; you're an Elephant. You're an animal. You are incredibly empathetic, live a long time, can express yourself through art and can suffer from PTSD- You're a person. Objectively, even if you can't talk.

You don't get a lot of special skills; except for the fact you're a huge ass elephant. Several people can ride on you comfortably, you can crush things underfoot and be a living siege weapon. You can also be armored, but you're so large you're easy to hit either way. At least your skin is thick; consider your base AC to be 10. You're quite big, and as such are not subject to the penalties for being overwhelmed from Huge adversaries. Sometimes people hunt you for your experience points.

Generate your stats as normal, except Intelligence. Elephants use their stats a little differently-

Your Strength score is considered “giant”, which means you only use it to determine your strength relative to other giant beings. To anything not giant, like a normal human or monster, just consider your strength as 30 and you have a +5 modifier if it matters. When contesting your strength with other huge or supernatural beings, your strength modifier of your “giant” strength is what is used. So an ogre or half-giant might have something like 8-10 Giant Strength, Giants may have 12-14, Titans may have 16+, and so on. Use your normal modifier tables for this. Increase your “Giant Strength” score every odd level, starting at 3^rd level.

You Constitution score is considered “giant”. Any poison or venom that isn't lethal to humans has no effect on you. If it's lethal to humans, it deals 1d6 damage to you over an exploration turn. You resist other drugs in a similar way. Your body is so big that dosing you with anything requires a lot of drug and a high potency. Increase your min/max AC by +1 at 5^th and 10^th level.

Your normal Dexterity score is used, but it only applies to your trunk. If it's at least +1 you can use a weapon in your trunk, clumsily. If it's a +2 you can swordfight with your trunk, and can even learn blade arts. For anything else involving agility, use a default Dexterity of just 2 with a -3 modifier.

You generate your Intelligence as 2d4. You gain +1 Intelligence every even level, up to a cap of 9.

At 10^th level, you become a Matriarch or Patriarch. Normally elephant herds are lead by the oldest female, but since this is a fantasy world males can do it too. You gain the trust and can lead a herd of up to 2d10 elephants, who rely on you to find water during the dry months.

Additionally, you gain one supernatural Elephant power, which is agreed upon by you and your DM. Your elephant power can be flapping your ears to fly, a trumpet call with your trunk so powerful it shakes down walls, magic ivory, etc. Every year, 2d8 poachers will try to bring you in.

The Hu

We know from hence the races came. Lizard Man. Goat Man. Horse Man. Each one is the uplifted, enchanted form of an animal given a bipedal shape and a mind to create and build.

But what about Humans. Humans are clearly Hu-Mans, made from a Hu and uplifted into a Man. But what's a Hu? What were Hu-Mans before they became Men?

The Hu

The Hu are flightless bipedal birds. They have no feathers, only bare skin, and form small tight-knit communities as dwellers in shallow caves and large wooden canopies of fallen trees. They squawk and have no known language. They do not use tools, but can weave 'basket-like' nests to protect their young. They form these into bowls to carry their eggs from nest to nest in case of trouble, which is about the only thing their small, clumsy wings can carry.

Hus live in small colonies and form into mating pairs. They are known to be highly protective of their young, and due to poor differentiation between them, mothers and fathers will dab the tip of their beaks into pond scum or clay and “draw” a small symbol on their chick's bodies. Due to the fact the Hu never bathe, this symbol stays with them until young adulthood when they no longer need looking after. This is one of the few occasions of body art among animals, an activity mostly reserved for members of the intelligent races. The Hu have also been known to mark the same symbols onto fallen tree logs, and will build “bridges” of long sticks between fallen logs for the grubs within to climb between them. By doing this, the Hu are ranching small worms and other creatures to fresh wood to eat before the Hu eat them as a valuable source of protein.

The Hu survive off a diet of nuts and seeds in addition to their grub “farming”. Because it can be hard and tedious to pluck up seeds with their beaks when they don't have a long neck to make ground foraging easy; the Hu will instead roll a stone over the seeds with their feet, crushing them up into dust in small communal recession areas, which are then mixed with water, which is carried in with a small bowl. The Hu will then often fight over who gets to eat the soupy mixture; the tallest male and the prettiest females dance and bump chests until the winner is determined, in which case they get to eat the soup. Sometimes this takes so long the soup mildly ferments, and the Hu will sometimes seemingly prolong these “fights” to allow this to happen. While the losers of these battles can still get food, losing means going off and pout in a corner in shame. Sometimes, Hu kick one of their baskets over their own head, which is assumed to be a method to “hide” themselves from the rest of their flock during periods of stress and isolation from the group.

There is an unmistakable element of sadness and awareness in their eyes. It is clear these things have the capacity to be human. It is clear all who are Men, were once Hu in some way. All of their behaviors are instinctual, but human behaviors dulled without the intellect of being -Man. The Hu are nonetheless a rambunctious species despite their shyness and rarity.

Hu (1 HD, -2 AC, 1d2 beak, panicked squawking)

Numbers- 1d6 tending to grub logs, 2d6 fighting over seed-drink, 3d20 in large nesting colony

Morale- 4

The Hu are an extremely weak creature. It is trivial for a person with weapons or armor to kill the Hu, do to their exposed naked bodies and lack of offensive weaponry. The main advantage of the Hu is their large numbers; in which case a failed morale check causes all Hu within the hex to hear it, putting them on edge and making it more likely for them to avoid surprise and avoid notice entirely. Hu are known to pick up nests and move over a single warning call, so it is almost impossible to sneak up on a colony by surprise.

(Idea stolen from Skerples.)

8 Origins for Animal-People

Art @vu06 (Potentially NSFW)

8 Origins for Animal-People

[1] The most domesticated animals. Domesticated animals become not only comfortable around people, but eventually start to stand and look like them too. May be the result of an ancient people or empire that domesticated animals a lot more thoroughly then normal villagers do now.

[2] Created by the Gods. Maybe they were created out of various animals to take the god's favorite attributes; the God of War creating people out of bloodthirsty wolves or bears, or the God of Plenty selecting cows and pigs as their mortal race avatars to represent them.

[3] They were once humans who wore animal skins to transform into them, or gain their powers at certain times. The suits were cursed, or the blood of these people mixed with the blood of the animals, turning them into half human creatures.

[4] Cursed by the Gods- animals or humans twisted into mockeries of both.

[5] Animal people are just really polite, well educated animals. Regular animals go around on all fours and eat gross, rotting food or each other because they just haven't been civilized. Leads to a more fairy tale style setting, where rabbits may have tea down in their burrows. Don't think about their lack of thumbs too much; donkeys stand up and swing swords around with awkward hoof-hands.

[6] Created in a arcane laboratory by an ancient progenitor race. Different animals were selected based on their usefulness- genetic super soldiers, laboring slaves, submissive house servants and so on. The original race was probably snake people or something, just to make it more confusing.

[7] Whenever a human breeds with an animal, this is the result. Kind of funny, kind of gross. Weird fantasy genetics- hopefully nobody tries to breed these with other half breeds, else you'll have some horrible chimera monsters.

[8] They're aliens from another planet or dimension. Them looking like animals in this world is just coincidence. It's convergent evolution.

[Classes] Eight Mini-Animal Classes

These classes aren't really intended to be for full player character. Instead, they are more like minor classes for secondary characters like animal companions, or for quick replacement PCs with a relatively low power level. Each one has a maximum level of 4 with the same XP requirements as a normal class. Additionally, treat their maximum AC as their base AC, as they don't usually wear armor beyond their natural fur and other protection.

However, unlike normal classes these animals only get XP for treasure spent directly on them. Buying them a solid gold collar, feeding them decadent treats, paying the wages of a falconer for your Witch Owls and so on. These classes are also just animals, just very smart and loyal ones. As such they cannot speak unless otherwise noted, but can understand human speech and follow orders. Treat their loyalty as a normal hireling +1 for their owner, with another +2 if they were raised from birth by that person.

To pick a random animal class, roll a 1d8.

Art @Ovopack, as usual.

[1] Witch Owl

HD- d3

Max AC- 13 / Minimum Hit-Points- 2

You're a wise, magical owl. Witch Owls cannot speak, but can still 'hoo' in response to words and answer questions this way. They can also learn to cast spells, not requiring to speak magical incantations to do so. They gain spell slots according to the table below.

Additionally; Witch Owl's can fly. Being able to fly has some great advantages. Plus your talons act as instant death for any tiny 0 HD creatures like rats or tiny pixies that you catch, but only deal 1d2 damage to normal creatures if you try to scratch their eyes out.

Character Level	1st Level Spells	2nd Level Spells
1	1
2	2
3	2	1
4	2	2

[2] Raccoon Burglar

HD- d4

Max AC- 14 / Minimum Hit-Points- 3

You're a cute little raccoon. You're sneaky and are good enough with your little paws to pick locks. Treat your lockpicking skill as a 0 level Thief at 1^st level. Once you are 2^nd level, treat yourself as a 1^st level thief, and then at 4^th level, treat yourself as a 3^rd level thief.

As a raccoon, you're also sneaky and can blend in in urban environments. Gain +1 to sneak and stealth rolls at 1^st and 3^rd levels. You can also scavenge enough food to survive in a city or town and don't get sick from eating it, obviously.

[3] Tiny Giant Spider

HD- d4

Max AC- 13 / Minimum Hit-Points- 2

You're a very small giant spider. Big enough to be held in both hands like a cat, but not so big as to be a monster. Spiders of this size and breed can actually be trained pretty well, but you freak people out with your huge unblinking creepy eyes and just from being a spider.

At 1^st level you can shot web as the spell Web once per day. At 2^nd and 3^rd level you can an extra shot. Finally at 4^th level your ability progresses and you can now perform large feats of construction like making a net to catch someone else who is falling down or create some simple cloth from spiderweb.

[4] Bat Guide

HD- d3

Max AC- 12 / Minimum Hit-Points- 2

You're a big old ugly bat. You can fly, but more importantly you can navigate and “see” in total darkness using echolocation. You're a bit weak with fragile bones and no fur or scales to protect you, especially in enclosed spaces where you'll be most useful.

You can't hurt people at all with your physical body, your teeth are too small and claws too weak. At 2^nd level, you get +1 to your Max AC. At 3^rd level, you can do a power screech that kills small creatures with 0 HD or breaks small glass objects. Finally at 4^th level, you grow retractable vampire fangs and can bite things for 1d2 damage. Every point of damage you do with this bite is also healed, as long as you are drinking the blood from a healthy living creature.

[5] Python Assassin

HD- d6

Max AC- 12 / Minimum Hit-Points- 4

You're a large, fat snake that kills people. You don't have any venom, you do it by constriction. You can climb pretty well, starting at 2^nd level, and can slither up walls and steep slopes better then a person. You sneak attack people by falling on them or hiding in baskets to leap out. Your bite is weak and only useful for swallowing helpless prey; you can only hurt things by squeezing them, either a full body constriction or around the throat. You can only squeeze things as big as a man or smaller with a Strength modifier of +2 or less, as anything stronger can just rip you off.

Whenever you constrict someone, they must make a saving throw minus your level. If they fail, they either cannot act this round or take 1d6 suffocating damage. If they succeed this saving throw, then they mark one check against you. If they get a number of checks equal to your level+1, they can slip out of your grasp. Once a person has been constricted, you can't constrict them again until you sneak up on them a second time.

[6] Octopus

HD- d4

Max AC- 12 / Minimum Hit-Points- 2

You are an octopus. You are unrealistically strong and capable on land, but still need to be kept moist or else you will slowly dry out and die. You also have 8 limbs, but not all of them are useful right away. You are surprisingly intelligent, can slip into small spaces, and can change color to camouflage, giving you advantage on sneak rolls made while stationary. You can still wear up to 8 magic rings, which makes you exactly as overpowered as you think it does. You can also swim really fast and breath underwater; but you need to use all your limbs to swim.

You have soft skin. Unlike the other animals, you treat your base AC as 8. You gain your AC by wielding shields and weapons. Add your level to your grapple rolls or saves. Finally, you get to use multiple arms. The number of arms you can use usefully is equal to your levelx2. “Useful” arms include using weapons or shields. You still need at least the same number of arms holding weapons or shields as arms dedicated to motion to crawl around on land, else you're stuck in place.

[7] Brutal Stag

HD- d8

Max AC- 16 / Minimum Hit-Points- 6

You're a spirit of nature. But not the peaceful or nurturing kind, you represent the brutality of nature. You have a dark brown coat that becomes black at night, and your eyes can turn red or glow bright white as the moon. Your impressive antlers are both a target for overzealous hunters and also a symbol of your power; they are an ill omen. Roll on the table below every time you appear.

Brutal Stag Horn Table- Roll 1d8

1. Dripping with blood, constantly.
2. Several venomous snakes wrapped around your horns, trying to mate with them
3. Human heart, suspended above both your antlers, floating in midair.
4. Antlers have a clod of dirt stuck to them, grass growing on them.
5. Supernaturally large, a cold wind chimes as it blows through them.
6. Shrike has built its nest here. Several corpses of small rodents have been flung and impaled on your antlers, the shrike a spirit in your honor.
7. Several skulls of smaller animals, placed atop the tips of your antlers with ritualistic intent. They can cackle and whisper spell incantations to friendly witches.
8. Has a rival, lesser stag's head stuck on your antlers. You can fling it off and the severed head will scream at people.

You have a hoof attack at 1d4+1 and a gore attack at 1d8+1, impaling people on your horns. Each level past the 1^st, gain +1 to hit with your attacks. Whenever you roll your hit points, reroll 1s.

[8] Donkey-Corn

HD- d8

Max AC- 15 / Minimum Hit-Points- 6

You look like a big dumb donkey with a blunt, gray horn on your head. You're the more pedestrian, less magical, and less cool kind of unicorn. For extra jokes, make your horn an actual carrot or a stick just tied to your head. You're bigger then the other animal classes and at the very least get a 1d4 hoof attack. You can also carry a smallish person on your back and carry a decent amount of gear strapped to you.

At 2^nd level you can use your horn as a holy symbol, letting you turn undead once per day. At 4^th level you can touch someone with your horn once per day and heal them 1d6 hit points.

Art @PerryBibleFellowship (occasional NSFW)

6 Ways for Dogs to shoot Arrows

Art @gaudibuendia

I found this cute picture and I instantly started thinking about animal companions, playable animals, and fantastic animals to have in a war. Including in this might be hyper competent archer dogs. These archer dogs I think are more implied to be like a walking quiver and assistant to a human archer. But more importantly how the HELL does a dog shoot a bow?

Ways for Dogs to Shoot Arrows – Roll 1d4

[1] One end of the bow is heavy and has a clawed foot design. This allows it to be stuck into the ground and stand on its own weight. Then the bowstring is drawn back by the dog's mouth and launches the arrow, which is either placed first on a special ramp on the arrow to align it or put in the dog's mouth with the dog skillfully placing the string into the arrow nock in their maw. Also; this would cause some serious burns and cuts from the arrow's fletching or bowstring. Maybe a leather lip guard might be needed like a typical archer bracer.

[2] The crossbow is attached to the dog's back like a saddle. It can be fired either by a special mouth lever, or just fired at will in an abstract sort of way as a mobile weapon. The dog might be able to reload it by rolling over and placing the bolt back on with their teeth, but in a more realistic or practical setting would require a human or something to load it each time.

[3] The dog can throw down the bow and it has small studs on both ends of the bow; these prop up the bow horizontally. It has a duck-bill style design so whichever way it falls, it will always fall with the bow angled upwards at a shallow angle. The dog places the arrow on the string and pulls back with either their mouth or both front paws and releases to fire.

[4] The dog has a minor amount of anthropomorphism. They can fire the bow while standing, though they can't walk or pick things up like a human, but instead jump up on their feet like a dog could and then shrug the bow off their shoulders, firing it similar to a human before putting it back on their head and running like a regular dog would afterwards to reposition.

[5] Prehensile tail. Slinging the bow across the dog's back at an angle, the tail could wrap around the string and pull it back while the dog uses its mouth, biting near the arrow head, to position the arrows onto the pow and fire. Awkward position but could be fired pretty organically and on the move. Naturally this technique doesn't work with stubby crop-tailed dogs.

[6] Dog rolls onto back, uses hind legs to pull bowstring. Holds bow with front paws, aims upside down, tongue lolled out everywhere with each trick shot.

Swortoise

Swortoise

HD- 2 to 4

AC- 10 to 12

Morale- 8

Attacks- 1d2 bite when out, 1d8+1 Slash when in sword-mode

Abilities- +2 to Hit with all attacks, Straighten into Sword, Supernatural Skill

The Swortoise is an unusual offshoot of the tortoise. Tortoises and turtles are likened to shields or armor, and when threatened they curl up into a ball when threatened to defend themselves. Swortoises are like that, except when they are threatened they straighten out into a sword. The shell of the Swortoise is much more brittle then a regular turtle shell, but is built for offense instead of defense. The Swortoise can straighten to become a sword, which jumps up into the air to fight the aggressor. This sword is quiet powerful and despite being made of shell, has a blade that can cut.

While in the air, the Swortoise is bullshit fast and strong. It can move with quick slashes, parry blows, penetrate defenses, slice and exposed parts and even sever heads. The animals is still purely acting in instinct and defense, it's method of defense is just a screaming offense. The Swortoise can parry you if it's attack roll for this round was higher then yours when you go to attack it. This only happens if the Swortoise attacks first; essentially setting itself up in a situation to deflect your blows.

Finally; a few varieties of Swortoise exist. Mostly, there are smaller ones and larger ones who are older. Despite being older and less physically fit, the old Swortoise have a more seasoned and experienced fighting style, and may even know 1d3 low level blade arts.

100 Random Animal Table

Roll 1d6 for Livestock

Roll 1d10 for Domestic Animal

Roll 1d20 for Common Animal

Roll 1d20+40 for Aquatic Animal

Roll 1d50 for Simple Animal

Roll 1d50+50 for Obscure Animal

Roll 1d6+94 for a Dinosaur

Roll 1d100 for Totally Random Animal

Roll	Animal	Roll	Animal
1	Sheep	51	Shrimp
2	Goat	52	Lobster
3	Cattle	53	Swordfish
4	Horse	54	Orca / Killer Whale
5	Donkey	55	Urchin
6	Pig	56	Squid
7	House Cat	57	Hermit Crab
8	Dog	58	Barracuda
9	Pidgeon / Dove	59	Manta Ray
10	Chicken	60	Angler Fish
11	Wolf	61	Dingo
12	Fox	62	Slug
13	Deer	63	Sugar Glider
14	Rat / Mouse	64	Woolly Mammoth
15	Rabbit	65	Sabertooth
16	Songbird	66	Bobcat
17	Eagle	67	Beaver
18	Bear (Brown/Black)	68	Ferret
19	Lizard	69	Ant
20	Snake (Venomous)	70	Beetle
21	Lion	71	Jackal
22	Elephant	72	Mountain Lion / Puma
23	Frog	73	Fruit Bat
24	Scorpion	74	Flamingo
25	Bee / Wasp	75	Panther (Black)
26	Spider	76	Possum
27	Hippopotamus	77	Polar Bear
28	Crocodile	78	Newt
29	Hyena	79	Porcupine
30	Panda	80	Boar / Warthog
31	Giraffe	81	Horny Toad
32	Otter	82	Iguana
33	Snail	83	Tick
34	Badger	84	Maggot / Grub
35	Python	85	Earthworm
36	Kangaroo	86	Tarantula
37	Tiger	87	Stork
38	Jaguar	88	Peacock
39	Owl	89	Sloth
40	Penguin	90	Lemur
41	Fish	91	Dragonfly
42	Eel	92	Shrew
43	Starfish	93	Toad
44	Octopus	94	Preying Mantis
45	Jellyfish	95	Velociraptor
46	Shark	96	Brontosaurus
47	Whale	97	Stegosaurus
48	Crab	98	Pterodactyl
49	Dolphin	99	Triceretops
50	Turtle	100	Tyrannosaurs Rex

[Class] Witch-Goat

Witch-Goat

HD- d8; Witch as MU

AC- Base 12 from shaggy hide, max 14, witch max 12

You are not a witch. You are the Witch's goat. Or, you are her “familiar”. If your game uses alignment, you and your witch are always Chaotic. The Witch-Goat seduces young human and halfling women to the side of chaos and teaches them dark magic, and acts as their guide as well as master. Your witch advances exactly as an MU and has all the same spells, saves, equipment, and combat abilities of a generic MU. Your generated stats apply to you, the goat, and not to your witch. You can however substitute your Intelligence for hers when it comes to spellcraft. You grant magic to your witch, she does not need to truly understand or be capable of it without you.

Without a Witch, you cannot cast spells. You are physically a goat and cannot use weapons or put on armor on your own, even if you could acquire some that could fit you- You'd need someone else to put it on you. You start with the thief skill Climb Sheer Surfaces at 100% from your natural goat climbing ability. You can also gore people with your horns at 1d6 damage. You cannot speak. You can however perform several minor supernatural feats, usually used to demonstrate your power or to frighten the superstitious. These include being able to speak as a faint whisper within someone's ear, which is exclusive to your Witch or the girl you are grooming to become your witch. You can also rear up on two legs, make a scream that sounds like a man, or infect other animals you spend at least a day with diseases or cause them to exhibit supernatural events; like bloody milk or sudden panic. You can also cause nightmares in humans by staring at them as they sleep; or the window of the room they are sleeping in.

Your witch must commune with you to cast spells for the rest of the day; but you do not need to be present to her when casting. While she explores dungeons, you merely eat grass back on the farm. If your witch is killed or converted away from you; you can start grooming a new Witch who begins at 1^st level. You level up as normal; any Witch you groom can advance twice as quickly if you are a higher level, and you can also perform a sacrilegious, depraved ritual once per lunar cycle in the deepest woods with your Witch to advance her up a level immediately, as long as that is still equal or below your Witch-Goat level. In order for any girl to become your Witch, you have to convert her from her normal alignment step by step into Chaos, and get her to surrender herself to you. Some scholars believe that the demand of the Witch-Goat for young witches to give themselves to Satan is a universal concept; it simply requires giving total control to the familiar spirit, and any culturally offensive or chaotic being or figure can be stood in by the goat.

At 10^th level, you have become a Goat of the Sabbath and attract a coven of witches. The coven of 13 witches is made up of 10 level 1 witches, 2 medium level witch hirelings, and your primary witch as the leader. It is trivially easy to get them to do something you want, and they spread the message of Chaos into both their communities and the surrounding woods, attracting allied creatures and monsters of chaos. The other witches in the coven only occasionally cast spells or request your dark presence to aid them in their trivial lives, or are ex-witches who have become old and you have discarded for more attractive, younger witches. The lesser Witches in your coven do not need to commune with you every day to use spells; and instead carry your magic inside them until they cast an enchantment.

Also, you can transform into a man-shaped goat; a huge bipedal unnatural goat man capable of using tools and casting your own dark magic during the right night in the lunar cycle. In this form you count as having maximum HP, deal 1d12 damage with your cloven hooves, and your witches can freely fly through the air, dancing around your horns and screaming in the night. You also permanently grow a second penis, vertical to the first.