loading . . . A Bestiary Herein I read the monster manual entries from OD&D in order and try to parse them into groupings and categories that let me use them at the table.
Every attempt to read OD&D is some sort of bizarre self mortification ritual. It's not the text itself, it's the grappling with it that's important.
This post is a quasi-continuation of my quickly-abandoned Domesday Book project. It is heavily inspired by Idraluna Archive's OD&D SOP and Gearing's &&Monsters.
## **Normal Men**
**Bandits:** Almost nobody, except for certain heathen kingdoms of Faraway, has a standing regular army. Rather, local kings will raise their banners and give out spears at the Weapontake, transforming Serfs and Peasants into Soldiers. When the war is over, Soldiers that have not won battle spoils (or won _too many_ battle spoils) or who have no home to return to are transformed into Bandits. Bandit leaders carry ragged banners to kingdoms that no longer exist.
**Berserkers:** Berserkers are Men troubled by dragondreams, which are sent out from sleeping dragons and shared by humans who live too close to their draconic lairs. Thoughtforms too large and too ancient enter their head. It starts as a headache, which leads to a certain irritability and belligerence. Soon, they learn that only battle will dull the sharp pain in their head. And they're good at it: when they slip into the berserk state, weapons bounce from their bodies. All berserkers have _damage reduction 1-4_ while berserk.
> _PROPER Berserkers are mighty of stature, hirsute of face and body, generously thewed and sinewed; their interest is not in war but in battle. In times of peace, therefore, they are dour and melancholy, with little occupation, save sharpening their weapons and mending their scanty battle harnesses. They are thus inclined to drink._
> - The Book of Weird by Barbara Nindle Byfield
**Brigands** : If Bandits are formerly conscripted Soldiers, Brigands are simple thieves and bullies who practice the same art without the history of war. Where a King cannot extend the power of his Knights, Brigands may take tax collection into their own hands and set themselves as petty lords over a road, keep, or township.
**Dervishes** : The Prophetess declared that the world would not be remade until the True Song was sung by the four Angels that stand on the four corners of the world. The Dervishes are crusaders-cum-missionaries who pursue a solemn oath to find these Angels and convert them. They have left their home realm and, with steel and song, proselytize their religion.
**Nomads** : The Plains and the Steppes are strange places, magical and treacherous. The weather of that place is not like the weather of the world. It has made a strange people, both fell in battle and fey in mood. They tell of the time of Starfall, when the chariots of the gods crashed into earth and carved both Plains and Steppes in their falling. They carry the weapons of the gods in hereditary clanships. Their lances fire magical bolts stronger than crossbow bolts.
**Buccaneers & Pirates**: Those who sail the seas come in two varieties: those who have letters from an enemy polity saying that they're allowed to plunder your vessel and those who have no such letters. Beware them both, for the end result is the same.
**Cavemen** : There was a time that the Cavemen--who call themselves Morlocks--ate the Men of the surface world, cultivating them as a farmer cultivates cattle. But the gods have delivered heroes unto Men, who find treasure that enriches their lives and makes them poor prey. The Cavemen are always lurking, though, and in ancient times made tunnels that crisscross the entire world. At any point, they may emerge from an undiscovered underground portal and reveal an entire hive of them, teeming below.
**Mermen** : Mermen are like Berserkers--they have been changed by the dragondreams. But the dragons that sleep in the abyss of the ocean are not like the dragons of the earth and sky. Eventually, mermen follow their deep dreams and leave their families behind and walk into the water. Later, after a battle with the cursed mermen, someone might look down at a dead merman body and say, "Why, it's Damen. Damen from Two-Wells. I knew him from before. From before he was turned to this...thing."
**Orc** : Both Berserkers and Mermen are troubled unwittingly by nearby draconic influence. Orcs seek Dragons out and pledge themselves to them. They believe that Dragons are the engines that God uses to burn down and remake the world, and wish to aid them in this holy mission so that the new age can start, free from sin.
Their devotion to their Dragon cult changes Orcs more overtly than those who only suffer dragondreams. As they take damage, their scars heal in strange ways. Broken nails become claws; broken teeth become fangs.
The only thing that has saved the world thus far is that neither Dragons nor their tribes of Orcs coordinate.
[Author's note: Normal Men is given as a header at the beginning of the Monster section of OD&D, saying "There are several categories of Normal Men." But there is no demarcation for when we leave this section. I have chosen to draw the line here, after orcs.]
## Fairies, Unseelie
**Goblins** : A child stolen by a fairy becomes a Goblin. Goblins are like children's nightmares: scary but simple. Cartoonishly evil, not really evil. Goblins reclaim tunnels and passages built by Cavemen of old, popping out from hidden pipes and stealing whatever they want. Elves regularly steal human children to use as currency in trade with the Goblin King.
**Hobgoblins (Goblin Kings)** : A Goblin that eats other Goblins becomes a Hobgoblin. Goblin Kings are all Hobgoblins--their servants obsequiously serve them lest they get eaten. They get enormously fat on this diet and settle down for a life of sedentary rule, like Jabba the Hutt. When Goblin Kings go to war with each other, the losing king is brought back to the victor's chambers, where he is eaten.
**Ogres** : A Hobgoblin who eats several other Goblin Kings eventually grows into an Ogre. With the combined strength of many Goblins roiling around their guts, Ogres are much more mobile than they were when they were Hobgoblins, and much bigger--almost a small Giant. Sometimes, bits of the devoured Hobgoblins all constitute the same Ogre, with several arguing heads or multiple quarreling limbs.
[Author's note: The advice from Gygax that players can play monsters, but must start as a weak monster that levels up into a strong monster, implies a sort of Pokemon-esque evolutionary chain for D&D monsters. I've leaned into that implied worldbuilding here.]
**Kobolds** : Kobolds are evil Dwarves, warped by the Chaos auras that radiate out from magical items. The Chaos sickness makes them soft-brained, sickly. Individually, they are weak. Collectively, they operate in a strangely coordinated way--like ants. Chaos-sickness might not be a disease, but a psionic possession by some stranger force, from deeper within the Underworld.
**Gnolls** : A cross between Gnomes and Trolls (created by the wicked wizard, Lord Dunsany). They have two types: Gnomish creatures the size of Trolls, and Trollish creatures the size of Gnomes. The less said about them, the better.
**Trolls** : Trolls lie in wait under bridges, in crevasses, at the bottom of latrines, and other such foul places in hopes of reaching up and catching prey. They will extort those they catch or eat them. Usually, Trolls will be sporting, and give those they capture a chance to match them in strength or in riddles. They are untidy with their bones.
> _TROLLS are subject to sunburn, bad teeth, and warts. Assume the worst of Trolls; they are always barefoot, do not like to sit down, and their blood is black and scalding._
> - The Book of Weird by Barbara Nindle Byfield
## Fairies, Seelie
**Unicorns** : The Unicorn is sought after because there is much virtue in their horn. At a touch, it cures poisons. Alchemists can also make it into a potion of longevity and a variety of aphrodisiacs and fertility drugs. Because of this, they are universally wary and flee from hunters. They are occasionally used as mounts by Elfin dames.
**Sprites** : When the first baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces--and that is the beginning of fairies. Sprites are Elfish ghosts. When they wish to wear flesh, they are "adopted" by an Elfish couple, who allow them to incarnate. When an Elf dies, their spirit returns to its Spritely form. A Sprite is naturally invisible but can become visible at will. Sprites come in two varieties: **Nixies** and **Pixies**.
**- Nixie** : These Sprites dwell near freshwater springs, waterfalls, and pools. A Nixie-haunted pool bestows a random magical effect based on the Nixie's disposition--some are harmful, some are helpful. Being confused with Naiads enrages them, and they will attempt to drown the offender.
- **Pixie** : These Sprites dwells under mounds, in flowers, or under mushrooms. When encountered, they are usually on some errand, which the players distract them from. They are excellent sources of rumors. Sometimes, a cloud of a dozen or so Pixies will decide to act as a godmother for a fortunate child. They will appear during birthdays and bestow blessings or magic items that turn them into Heroes.
> _FAIRIES are much more involved with Men than Elves, either setting things to rights or to wrongs. They have an unfortunate tendency to malice and mischief, and even though their original intentions are good they are woefully scatterbrained and forget their mission if the opportunity to tattle, stir up trouble, or inform on someone appears._
> - The Book of Weird by Barbara Nindle Byfield
**Gnomes** : Gnomes live hidden in woodlands. They are a bit bigger (and certainly more rotund) than Sprites, but smaller than Dwarves, who are their cousins. They concern themselves much more with birds and beasts than Men: they heal their hurts, release them from traps, and feed them in scanty winter months. Like Dwarves, they can advance their crafting skills to supernatural degrees. All Gnomes live in pairs and mate for life, giving forth a single set of twins from their coupling.
> _GNOMES and Dwarves, now no more than distant cousins, originally came from a common ancestor._
> - The Book of Weird by Barbara Nindle Byfield
**Dwarves** : Dwarves are craftsmen without parallel. Each year, a working Dwarf will produce a single masterpiece. To Men, these masterpieces appear to be magical.
Dwarves truck with Men only out of necessity, and only to learn their ways to better protect their treasures: Dwarven "adventurers" (such as they are) are usually journeymen who go into the world to further their craft then report back what they have learned. Each Dwarf that leaves through their hidden doors makes sure he takes his Hood of Invisibility with him. They trade with Gnomes and Elves for foodstuff. They hate Cavemen, Dragons, and Goblins very much. They pity Kobolds.
> > _DWARVES own all treasure underground and all treasure that originated underground. Dwarves do not steal; they reclaim what belonged to them in the beginning._
>
>> - The Book of Weird by Barbara Nindle Byfield
**Elfs** : Elfs are the nobles of the Seelie Court, handling disputes and dispensing justice when such things need doing. They also call the other fairies to war and lead the Wild Hunt. They act accordingly: they are genteel, beautifully arrayed, and wonderfully literate. They are accomplished weavers, and their kite strings, fishing line, and harps are coveted. They don't get involved with Men unless their natural foresight indicates they should; negative reaction rolls indicate that the PCs must be driven away less doom befall their court, positive reaction rolls indicate that the PCs must be given aid. Rarely, a winged Elf is born--they serve a special role in Elfin society, and must found a new kingdom in a new location.
**Treants** : Elfs awaken trees to serve as the guardians of their forest kingdoms. Treants are about as intelligent as sheepdogs.
## Titanomachy
**Giants:** In the Dawn Age, Giants were the rulers of all, but are now greatly diminished both in prestige and in height. Few Giants are under 12' in height, but may grow to any height if their long lives are uninterrupted. Giants desire to accumulate symbols of royalty to reclaim their "proper status"; they especially wish to capture and live in castles.
As a Giant grows in height, they take on different honorifics. For example, Young Giants are "tall as hills," and are called Hill Giants. The oldest Giants have "their heads in the clouds" and are called Cloud Giants.
Some Giants are **Cyclopses.** Although they have varied appearances, being stunted and malformed, they all have one eye. Cyclopses, unlike other Giants, cannot grow in height and power.
The very oldest and tallest giants are called **Titans**. They are all sealed away in the Underworld.
> _GIANTS prefer to inhabit castles captured from Men rather than build their own; if no castles are available or suitable they will live in caves, on mountainsides, or out of doors. If they have a castle they make few improvements on it other than enlarging the dungeons for themselves and their prisoners; it is otherwise left to go to rack and ruin._
> - The Book of Weird by Barbara Nindle Byfield
**Dryads** : Dryads are minor goddesses who live inside the oldest trees of the forest. At night, they sing haunting songs and dance moon-clad through the woods. Those that join their reveries are placed under a Charm effect and induced to stay with the Dryad for a year and a day. The Dryad considers this marriage. There's 2-in-6 chance that upon being encountered, the Dryad already has one such spouse. Dryads die if their trees are ever cut down.
[Author's Note: Keeping the D&D naming convention here is personally annoying to me. Just call them "Nymphs" and have their elemental association determine a more granular name: Dryad, Naiad, Nereid, etc.]
**Minotaur** : _The_ Minotaur was a bull-headed monster trapped in a labyrinth during the Dawn Age. Today, the term refers to a script-based disease that occurs when magic-users copy spells incorrectly. When a certain type of grammatical mistake is made, the magic-user is transformed and mutated: head swelling, protuberant growths, muscles swelling. The "bull-headed" appearance is poetic at best.
Those transformed into minotaurs are compelled towards some goal under the earth, and dash into the tunnels built by Cavemen in search of it. Minotaurs do not speak, and only engage with those who try to slow their progress through the underground, though they also eat those they kill. Because of the similarity in behavior, some theorize there is still only one Minotaur--a singular logoform that possesses all those who suffer minotaurism--but these theories are untested.
> _The Minotaur is classically a bull-headed man (and all of us who_ _have debated rules are well acquainted with such)._
> - Dungeons & Dragons, Monsters & Treasure by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson
**Centaurs** : In the Dawn Age, Centaurs had a sophisticated culture--one much more advanced than human culture of today. After a failed rebellion against the gods, their race was magically lobotomized. Today, they live in small family-based herds in the wild. They are exceedingly violent. Negotiating with one is like negotiating with a polar bear that can wield a spear.
Wizards can dispel this curse on a personal basis, awakening single Centaurs to sentience, but have little reason to do so.
**Hydra** : In the Dawn Age, proto-dragons were common. One such was the hydra. Damnably hard to kill, if even a 1/20th of its body isn't destroyed utterly with fire, it will regenerate. That's why they're still slurking around in modern times.
**Medusae** : A race of cacogen from a distant star, stranded here after their ship crashed in the Barrier Peaks. They have bred (spawned? cloned?) somewhat. In appearance, they look like human women with the lower bodies of serpents. Their hairs are prehensile. From their eyes, they can fire a beam that stuns and paralyzes living creatures. They wish to return to their sphere, but the materials and craftsmen of our modern world frustrate this goal.
**Pegasi** : The gods keep a certain number of winged horses--the pegasi--in reserve and grant them to true Heroes in furtherance of their goodly quest. In the same way that magic swords can only be wielded by Fighters, only Lawful Fighters who undertake a worthy quest will receive a pegasus.
## Undead
**Skeletons and Zombies** : When a body is raised and animated by magic but the soul is not returned, an Undead Servant is created. Lacking a soul, the body lacks all self direction, and will continue to decompose and deteriorate. The Wizard (or Sorceress, Witch, or Warlock) that animated the Undead Servant must carefully and specifically direct the Undead Servant, who will follow the letter but not the spirit of their commands. Skeletons are stronger than Zombies, and smell better.
**Mummies** : The same spells that raise Skeletons and Zombies raise Mummies, but the target of the spell is the Wizard himself. Done as part of a death-ritual, the Wizard confines himself to his sarcophagus and breathes the last incantation with his death rattle. If done correctly, the Mummy is like the lesser undead, but is self directed since the target and the caster are one and the same.
**Ghouls** : Victims of a disease with no cure, Ghouls can only eat mannish carrion. Like Lepers, they become desiccated, with rotting skin and parched lips. Like Lepers, they linger outside of the city and ask for alms. They are all but blind during the day but can see at night. They are sometimes found in the employ of Vampires, since they both require frequent victims but eat different parts of the Man.
**Wights** : The Necromancer Lord was defeated in the last age, but his undead still trouble the earth when discovered. Sealed in tombs and barrows, Wights suck the life from those unhappy treasure hunters who dare to trespass on their burial places. They are vulnerable only to silver weapons.
**Wraith** : A Wraith is a Wight that has gathered enough power to walk abroad from its tomb. They make their way towards the remains of the Necromancer Lord's fortress. The Wise fear that when another Wraiths return to their master's domain, he will rise again to trouble the world.
**Specters** : Let us not call Specters monsters. They are just the lingering ghosts of those who once lived who have too much life left over. Animals signal their coming, first: Owls will hoot to warn you. Slowly, the Specter's presence will fill the place they dwelled in life. They usually want something. It behooves you to find out what, because they make themselves more and more known until they get it.
**Vampires** : Everything you've heard about Vampires is true: their ability to transform into beasts or a mist, their aversion to holy symbols and garlic, their need to rest in their coffins, their nigh invulnerability. They are savage opponents! Luckily, travel for them is difficult, so they are easy to avoid--unless you are trying to steal into their castles.
> _To become a Vampire, the following steps may be taken._
> _1. Be born of the offspring of a Witch and The Devil..._
>
> _2. Lead during life a career of more than ordinary wickedness, dissolution, and sin..._
>
> _3. Be a Werewolf towards the end of life, for this will give you contact with Vampires and you can ask one yourself how to proceed further._
>
> _4. Live in a Slavonic country. They possess the highest ratio of Vampires to people and odds are therefore greater that you will become one. Also, there is an excellent chance you will be bitten by a vampire and if this happens often enough you will automatically become a Vampire after death._
>
> _5. Die excommunicated from the Church, if possible by suicide._
>
> _6. See to it that you are buried with mutilated rites in desecrated ground._
> - The Book of Weird by Barbara Nindle Byfield
**Werewolves** : Werewolves are humans brought to close to death by a Wolf but denied the chance to die. They linger near death as a Werewolf and can take a half-Man, half-Wolf form at night, during the full moon, or at certain times of the year. Duration varies depending on a number of factors.
Werewolves are sometimes thought to be a sub-type of Vampires: a strain of the genus that lingers overlong in the wolf-form. Stories of "families" of Werewolves are Peasant superstition, told by wicked Cobblers. Stories of other types of Lycanthropes--Werehyenas and Weretigers, etc., are unfortunately true.
> _Werewolves are of two sorts: voluntary and involuntary. Those who have been bitten once too often by a Vampire, or have been cursed into Wewrewolfdom by a malevolent Witch, or have inadvertently placed themselves in the hands of an evil or incompetent experimenter with youth-giving elixirs and potions are all involuntary Werewolves._
> - The Book of Weird by Barbara Nindle Byfield
## Animals
**Basilisk:** A toad's egg incubated by a chicken, the Basilisk is the King of all Serpents. It's said their glance is death, but this refers to the fact that it can shoot a jet of venom from its eye. Indeed, they are so venomous, that they leave a trail of poison oozing in their wake. Merely touching it is deadly. They love to look at their own reflections (like many kings). They are opposed by the goodly King of Frogs.
**Cockatrice:** A chicken's egg incubated by a toad, the Cockatrice is a less clever but not less dangerous than the Basilisk. Their venom is delivered by their spurs; it petrifies their victims. They use petrification to keep fields of statues fresh for later consumption. The Cockatrice's tears reverses the process. They are sometimes also called Cock o' the Field.
**Gorgons** : The "cattle of the gods," Gorgons are oxen with incredibly-hard scaled hides. They can breathe a vapor of petrification 1d4 times a day.
In the same way that Australian possums (Phalangeriformes) were named for the Virginia possum (_Didelphis virginiana_) because people saw them and said "Hey, ain't you that feller from America?", the cattle-Gorgon are named after an entirely different class of petrifying monsters. See also: Medusae.
**Griffon:** A species of winged Lions. Beast-masters of the lands of Faraway have been known to tame them and ride them--a right exclusively given to their shahs and sultans. Griffons are naturally hostile to Horses; even tamed Griffons will go berserk in a horse's presence and attempt to kill it.
**Manticore** : A Tiger that eats a man becomes a Manticore. Like the Alzabo, it incorporates the man's personality into its own: whistling his songs, walking his roads, calling for his wife by name to come out of the house and be devoured too. The more men the Manticore eats, the stronger and cleverer it becomes. They also grow quite vain--gifts of fancy hats allow you to avoid their double rows of razor sharp teeth. Manticores sometimes form faux family groups with Harpies.
**Rocs** : A breed of Eagles large enough to predate on Elephants. They speak the Common tongue. Though they hate evil monsters and the Unseelie Court, they claim a right to any walking thing under the sun as their prey, and have been known to swallow up Maidens, Hermits, and Elves. They are a proud race, refusing to be anyone's servants. Intimations that they could be used as steeds is their gravest insult.
**Horses** : Everyone knows what a Horse is. All Horses count their birthdays from New Year's Day.
## Dragons
There are six types of dragons that incarnate in this age: five evil dragons (manifestations of the Destroyer) and one good (manifestations of the Preserver).
**White** : Manifestations of the starving winter. Their breath is like a storm of ice. They are strong against earth and water, but weak against fire and lightning.
**Black** : Manifestations of decay: the corruption of the body, old age, rust. Their breath is like acid. They are strong against earth but weak against water.
**Green** : Manifestations of sickness, poison, and toxic plants. Their breath is a choking cloud. They are weak against air.
**Blue** : Manifestations of the destruction of nature: the thunderstorm, the earthquake, the tsunami. Their breath is lightning. They are weak against fire, but strong against lightning and water.
**Red** : Manifestations of the coming apocalypse. Their breath is fire. They are strong against all elements except for water.
**Golden** : Manifestations of God's promise to preserve Mankind. They are expert magicians. They also breathe flame.
**Draconic Abilities:** For every 10 hit points a dragon has, they manifest one of the following abilities. The GM should randomly determine which abilities a particular dragon has:
1. _Corrosive Spittle_ : Every bite attack that hits reduces the victim's armor class by 1.
2. _Venomous Spittle_ : If a character is hit with a bite attack, they must Save vs Poison or become poisoned. If poisoned, they suffer 1 damage at the end of their turn. If a poisoned character is hit with another bite attack, a second saving throw is not allowed: the character automatically increases the damage they take by 1.
3. _Forked Tongue_ : At the beginning of combat, all characters who can hear the dragon must Save vs Doom. On a failure, the dragon gets to make a surprise attack against each character who failed.
4. _Clanging Scales:_ On an attack roll of 1 against the dragon, the weapon used is destroyed--blunted by the scales as they grind together.
5. _Smoking Nostrils_ : The dragon can make an additional breath attack each combat.
6. _Scalding Blood_ : On a successful melee attack against the dragon, the dragon deals the attacker 1/2 of the damage taken.
7. _Lashing Tail_ : The dragon can make an additional attack every round with its tail: +[HD], 1d8 damage.
8. _Terrible Jaws_ : The dragon's bite attack is increased by one dice step.
**Wyvern** : A Wyvern is to a Dragon as a Duke is to a King. They are winged, and walk on the wings like Dragons from _Game of Thrones_. They are fond of songs. They have the Lashing Tail and Venomous Spittle draconic abilities.
## A Wizard Did It
**Chimera:** There are many known spells in a Wizard's repertoire with unknown purpose or uncertain practicality. The spell that creates a chimera is one of these. Yes, you _can_ combine a goat, a proto-dragon, and a lion into a singular beast that acts more-or-less like a natural predator--but why would you? Why did the ancients invent this spell? Why was it passed down from generations? Why did you bother to gather these animals together and cast it?
**
**
**Invisible Stalker** : These spirits are called "Invisible Stalkers," but are more correctly named "Phantoms" by true scholars of magic. A Phantom is a temporary spirit, not one that pre-existed in another realm, given animation by a spell. Each spell that summons a Phantom creates one specifically for some task--like summoning a hammer for hammering or a pot for cooking. The most terrible of these are those summoned to assassinate. Once the Phantom has accomplished its task, it returns to non-being. The longer it takes for a Phantom to accomplish its task, the more the magic breaks down, and the less likely to succeed it is, which makes it break down more. Think Mr. Meeseeks.
> _THERE are Spirits to whom time and space do not exist. They travel swiftly, circling and girdling the earth in the twinkling of an eye, always to a purpose. These Spirits are sent or summoned, and they must be allowed to depart when their tasks are accomplished._
> _Phantoms and Specters are the creations of magic and are not true Spirits; they are usually temporary and are intended to baffle, confuse, and distract you._
> - The Book of Weird by Barbara Nindle Byfield
**
**
**Elementals:** A Phantom conjured into a body of raw element--a boulder stone, a pond, a bonfire, a storm cloud, etc.--takes on a physical body and is no longer Invisible. These are called Elementals.
**Hippogriff** : Because Griffons are hostile to Horses, crossbreeding them is considered impossible. Impossible, that is, without the aid of magic. The result is a Hippogriff, which is much like a Griffon in appearance but more equine. Importantly, the Hippogriff's flight is magical in nature and not bound by natural laws. A Hippogriff can fly to the moon. Those on its back are not troubled by the Chaos that fills the space between the spheres.
**Living Statues, Robots, Golems, Androids** : Different names for the same concept, the fundamental principle is the same: create a Homunculus (a tiny person) through occult means, then build for him a suit of armor capable of being moved by his miniscule movements, then insert him therein. Note that they are different from Gargoyles (see below).
> _Robots, Golems, Androids: Self-explanatory monsters which are totally subjective as far as characteristics are concerned._
> - Dungeons & Dragons, Monsters & Treasure by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson
## Ex Miscellanea
**Angels & Demons**: The greatest of the Spirits are called Angels or Demons. They are of a kind, but have obvious differences in goals and temperament. Angels have their habitation in the Upper Air, from which they compose their bodies. Demons, being fallen, dwell in the Inferno, from which they make their bodies. In their "natural" shapes, both are Giant sized. Both may assume human or animal forms at will. Both categories have many divisions between Thrones, Wheels, Pits, Principalities, etc.
In Faraway, Angels and Demons are given rather more Arabesque names (Djinn and Efreet).
Devils seem like Demons, but are emanations or incarnations of the singular Devil. They sometimes keep company together.
**
**
**Gargoyles** : Despite their frightful appearance, Gargoyles are aligned with Law. They are carven by the Church as guardians, after all! A statue, after hearing so many sermons and after drinking so much holy water, eventually absorbs enough soul substance that it awakens. Gargoyles will protect the site of their birth, challenging those that approach with physical, mental, and moral tests.
**Juggernaut** : Of course, not all holy statues sit sedentary. Some are taken from their sanctuaries and paraded around the town on certain high holidays during the year. Some form the basis of mobile shrines, placed on temple chariots and moved from place to place. When these Gargoyles awaken, they are called Juggernauts. They move on a power all their own, dispensing justice as they move from place to place.
**Purple Worm** : Biochemical monsters grown by Cavemen before their degeneration for the purpose of hollowing out their caves. Left unchecked, their manipulated evolutionary processes have run amok. Purple Worms can grow to prodigious size. One is borrowing even now below the earth that is large enough to swallow cities. He is called...HIS MAJESTY THE WORM.
**Oozes, Slimes, Jellies, Puddings, Et Cetera** : The same biochemical processes that created Purple Worms created a variety of gelatinous, giant, single-celled organisms that come in a variety of colors and levels of viscosity. Based on their color, expert Alchemists may deduce them being vulnerable or resistant to different elements, but these differences are mostly academic. https://riseupcomus.blogspot.com/2026/05/a-bestiary.html
