This page is a selection of monsters created by the Monsters & Magic community. Some are original, some are conversions of classic creatures. Use them to add a twist of the unexpected to your game! Thanks to the contributors below for providing these monsters – if you’d like to put up your creatures in the Monsters & Magic Bestiary, please get in touch at info@mindjammer.com.
List of Creatures
The following creatures have been added to the Bestiary. Click on any of them to go straight to the stat block.
Creature Statistics
Fairy |
| by Ether UK |
Attacks: Bite +1 (+1d2)
Physical Defence: 16
Mental Defence: 15
Movement: 6 (-2) (on ground) / 12 (+1) (flying)
Range: Hand (Bite)
Hit Dice: 1 (level 1)
PHP: 4
MHP: 10
Motivation: Steal Souls, befriend someone soon to die, use a spirit to gain love from people they knew in life
Actions: Flitter, dart, trick, guide, forewarn, capture, hide, tease, shapechange, harass cleric
Special Defence: Immune to poison, sleep, gas
Monstrous Effects: Steal Soul
Attributes: Str: 7 (-2), Dex: 16 (+6), Con:10 (0), Int: 12 (+1), Wis: 12 (+1), Cha: 10 (0)
Size: S
Alignments: N, NE
Treasure: R, S, T, X
Fairies are magical creatures, jealous of the souls of mortal beings. Their ageless natures are little comfort when they know they will cease to exist once their physical bodies are gone. They resemble small elven humanoids, 2 to 3 inches tall, always beautiful whether male or female. They have soft, waxlike features, being formed from pure magical essence. They can shapechange in an instant, from a thing of beauty to a horrid biting annoyance.
A fairy’s skin glimmers, and at night can increase in luminosity like a fire bug, bright enough to see by or follow. A fairy can concentrate to extinguish this light altogether. Fairies are held aloft by transparent dragonfly-like wings.
Fairies covet mortal souls. Once a soul departs its body, a fairy can capture it, and take the form of the deceased. Over time this burns away the soul, eventually destroying it forever.
Fairies may steal the soul of a dying person. Evil fairies may try to cause death to do so, usually by trickery due to their small size and lack of offensive capability. They use their fairy light to lure travellers at night from the beaten path, leading them into river, swamp or marsh to drown, or even over the edge of a cliff. Some fairies amass treasure, knowing that the greed of mortals will tempt them to seek it out, whereupon they lead such would-be robbers to their deaths.
Fairies who want to avoid causing death themselves may linger around those who are likely to die, such as the gravely ill. Thus the very presence of a fairy is taken as an ill omen.
Adventurers are also good candidates, especially the young and inexperienced; a fairy may offer itself as an ally, helping them find treasure, scouting for enemies and providing light in darkness, until one of the adventurers dies, and the fairy can steal his soul. Cunning fairies may even pretend to sacrifice themselves to “resurrect” the fallen, taking the dead adventurer’s form and later sneaking away when everyone is sleeping to enjoy their newly acquired soul. Some fairies do both, helping adventurers to gain their trust, then betraying them to their deaths.
Fairies are enemies of ghosts. While they prefer fresh souls, they latch onto any restless spirit, and frequent graves searching for those visiting their mortal remains. Occasionally fairies attend funerals, hoping the departed will appear.
Fairy magic twists the natural laws of the world and time. A person fated to have their soul stolen by a fairy may cross paths with that fairy using their form. Such encounters are brief, as the fairy is soon displaced to its proper time; but encountering such a doppelgänger is an ill omen, indicating the person will soon die.
Fairies seek strength in numbers, dwelling in hive-like structures underground called fairy mounds, specially designed to act as storage places for stolen souls. A fairy community collects and shares souls; up to 10 may be stored in a mound. The captured souls believe themselves in a fantastical realm where they interact with other spirits.
Occasionally such a trapped soul sends a dream message to loved ones, speaking of being captured and taken to a fairy land. Loved ones sometimes mount rescue missions in response.
Stealing a soul is a mental attack; when a soul is reduced to 0 MHP the fairy can assume its form, gaining the physical characteristics the soul had in life, and even magical versions of their belongings. A fairy can maintain this form for 1 hour per PHP the soul had in life. If a fairy in such a form can convince another person that they truly are the deceased, and receive love or affection in return, they can replenish the soul’s reserves, restoring 1d4 PHP.
Fairies dislike divine magic, and can be turned as undead. A cleric may quote scripture to impose a consequence on the fairy. As a result, fairies harass and intimidate clerics. While they won’t attack directly, they spoil their food, put pine needles in their clothes and bedding, and generally make themselves a nuisance.
Fairies are susceptible to Detect Magic and Dispel Magic, and are immune to anything affecting physical bodies, including poison, gas, or Sleep spells.
When reduced to 0 PHP a fairy dissipates into raw magic, releasing any captured souls. It’s unknown if the fairy is destroyed permanently, or if they may reform.
Fairies complicate mortal relations with spirits and souls. Adventurers who use resurrection and raise dead spells can find their efforts obstructed by a fairy stealing the departed soul.
Fairies can be a boon for groups willing to pay the price, and a weapon against ghosts, liches and necromancers. Such alliances are always temporary.
Note:
Players may play fairy characters. Their magical natures are balanced by their small size and vulnerability to clerics, a class they can never take. Fairies operate best as thieves but make ineffective fighters (and can never be paladins). Fairy magic users may expend PHP on a 1-for-1 basis to add bonuses to their spells.
Glaistig |
| by Ether UK |
Attacks: Fist +5 (+1d4) / Thrown Stone +3 (+1d4)
Physical Defence: 15 (12 if made visible)
Mental Defence: 13
Movement: 12
Range: Hand (Fist); short (Stone)
Hit Dice: 3 (level 3)
PHP: 12
MHP: 10
Motivation: Be part of a community, be appreciated
Actions: Do house work, shepherd, irritate, frighten, trip, harass, punish, throw things.
Special Defences: Invisible
Monstrous Effects: Bless
Attributes: Str 14 (+2), Dex 10 (+0), Con 10 (+0), Int 10 (+0), Wis 10 (+0), Cha 7 (-2)
Size: M
Alignments: N, NG, NE
Treasure: J
A Glaistig is a human woman who has fallen under a mysterious enchantment that renders her invisible. This may be the work of faeries, witches, wizards, or the gods themselves; perhaps the woman was obsessed with being popular, or perhaps she was ignored for too long. A common factor is that the victim often lives in a rural area.
Very few people ever see a Glaistig. Those who perceive the unseen describe them as ordinary women but for their grey skin. Folklore suggests that they have long red hair and wear green dresses, but this is almost certainly false.
Although invisible, a Glaistig is still corporeal, and can move objects and be touched. She becomes physically stronger, yet needs little food or water beyond a few morsels of bread or cheese and sips of milk or water – things she easily obtains from locals. She needs next to no sleep, and exposure to the elements has no ill-effects, nor do they fall ill.
Even the most outgoing women become shy once transformed into a Glaistig. They restrict themselves to single sentences, laughter, singing or crying, and flee if engaged in prolonged conversation.
Nevertheless, a Glaistig has a strong need to belong to a community, and engages in house work, helps shepherds bring in their flocks, milks farmers’ cows, and spends the long nights repairing garments and fishing nets. All they ask in return is some small acknowledgement – a thank-you or an offering of milk or bread. Glaistig keep a small trove of trinkets, more out of a desire for belongings than greed.
Those who ignore a Glaistig, or fail to recognise her benevolent nature, face her wrath. She takes vengeance by petty acts of sabotage and irritation, staining clothes, putting dirt in food, hiding valuables, and making it appear that husbands are cheating on their wives. Some frighten the unwary, whispering when a victim is alone, or screaming them awake in the middle of the night. Some go further, throwing rocks and killing livestock. While they don’t intend to kill a victim, they may injure him.
In combat a Glaistig uses their invisibility to avoid injury and strike her opponent from behind. She throws stones to make her victim retreat, and trips him if he gets too close, always aiming to put distance between herself and her victim, rather than killing him.
It’s possible to make a Glaistig visible by throwing water, flour or dye over her. This makes her easier to hit, denying her tactics. Rather than being pleased others can see her, this can send a Glaistig into a rage.
Those who gain a Glaistig’s favour – or those who force her to bargain for her life – can benefit from her blessing, which is a special effect. Her blessing gives an individual two choices: to be ingenious but not prosperous, or prosperous but not ingenious.
Those who choose the former gain a +3 Intelligence, but any treasure points they or their fellows receive are halved; if they choose the latter, the group’s treasure points are doubled, but the individual suffers a -3 Intelligence.
This blessing may be removed, either by increasing the target’s Intelligence back to (or above) its original score (however temporarily), or by other members of the party giving the victim a significant amount of treasure (the amount is at the GM’s discretion).
Typically a Glaistig gives their blessing once; extremely generous Glaistig may bestow their blessing every 12 months, but never on the same person twice.
While Glaistig are known in rural areas, they are rare enough that others may attribute their activities to ghosts, brownies, fairies, and witches. This can cause confusion when clerics try to exorcise an apparent undead, and tragically make a Glaistig’s life much harder by those she is trying to help.
Heroes gain victory not by defeating a Glaistig but by identifying what she is and helping her. It’s enough to permit her to live in a loving environment, although heroes may go further and try to find a way to lift her enchantment. The most tragic fate for a Glaistig is to die of old age, unknown and invisible. It’s said if a Glaistig dies unnoticed, her spirit will return as a ghost or banshee.
Note:
Human female PCs may become Glaistigs, leading to an adventure to remove the enchantment. Modify the victim’s statistics as follows:
- Increase physical defence (AC) to account for invisibility; metal armour is sufficiently noisy to negate this benefit.
- Reduce Charisma by 3 points.
- Increase Strength by 4 points.
If a character decides she likes being a Glaistig, she should take a personal trait reflecting this the next time she advances.
Trow |
| by Ether UK |
Attacks: Claw +6 (+1d8+6), Club +6 (+1d10)
Physical Defence: 16
Mental Defence: 8
Movement: 12
Range: hand (claw), reach (club)
Hit Dice: 6 (level 6)
PHP: 24
MHP: 14
Motivation: Raise family, hunt for food, keep out of the Sun, be left alone, seek replacement baby
Actions: Steal baby, lurk around homestead, shelter from sunlight, huddle, be good neighbour
Special Defence: Turn to rock
Monstrous Effects: N/A
Attributes: Str: 16 (+6), Dex: 7 (-2), Con: 14 (+2), Int: 7 (-2), Wis: 7 (-2), Cha: 7 (-2)
Size: L
Alignments: N, NG, NE
Treasure: D
Also known as “the Grey Neighbours”, Trow came from across the northern sea. Resembling ogres or trolls, they’re simple-minded, lumbering folk, with incredible strength. They have three eyes, although all but one are often covered by their long, dirty hair.
Carnivorous, they often hunt sheep and cows near farms; they don’t eat other races, finding them too small and straggly.
Trow turn to stone in direct sunlight; their skin rapidly calcifies, rather than their bodies actually becoming inert matter. They’re as hard as stone in this form, requiring great force to harm.
At sunset, Trow break out of their shells, leaving discarded husks of rock, a telltale sign of their presence.
Trow are rudimentarily intelligent, capable of speech. A simple people with simple desires, abstract ideas, books and art, culture, science and religion are lost on them.
Family is important to Trow. Once their children come of age (usually 10 to 15 years), Trow seek out other family groups to find their children mates. Once paired a child leaves its parents’ care.
A Trow encountered alone means something terrible has happened; the Trow is typically heartbroken, and takes his sorrow out on his surroundings. Only a new mate or another Trow family can sooth its soul.
Tragically Trow lack the intelligence to care for their offspring, and most infants do not survive the rough handling at their parents’ hands. Yet when a Trow couple loose their only child they are heartbroken, and if there is a baby of another race nearby they will steal it to replace their own. Such an ill-fated infant has an even lower chance of survival than the Trow’s own flesh and blood.
Trow admire other races, seeing them successfully raise their children, and try to copy other families they observe, sneaking into their homes to use their facilities or steal their tools. They wish to be “good neighbours”, and try to make local communities like them, or at least not hunt them. Their lack of intelligence often lets them down again, and they often misunderstand the simplest customs; they’ll invite themselves to dinner, then abduct the family to return the favour, trying to feed them a whole cow; or give presents they’ve taken from neighbours, before helping themselves to their host’s possessions.
Trow get on well with faeries, and many believe the Trow to be fey folk. In fact Trow are simply unaware that fairies befriend them to steal their souls.
Nonetheless, fairies can be good friends to Trow, warning them of danger, finding food, or guiding them through unfamiliar territory. Faeries try to ensure Trow breed, to provide a constant supply of souls.
Fairies have taught Trow some simple herbal remedies, and give them enchanted items to improve their health. The Trow have promised to keep this secret, but they often leave their medicine and artefacts in the woods or close to the homes of other races.
Some Trow are evil, finding it easier to bully or steal from others. Other Trow oppose this; this often destructive infighting can paint the Trow in a very poor light.
If someone of another race is for the death of a Trow child, its parents can declare vengeance. Mistakes often occur, and grieving Trow can’t easily be reasoned with.
Mindjammer Press 