Ronin's Beastiary

"In this following pages I will document the various creatures encountered in this new realm. Comparing and contrasting with information gleamed from creatures of various classes ranging from aberrata to plantae."""

Humanoids
''One would be mistaken as a student of various creatures to skip Humanum. Some scholars think the classification is best left to anthropologists and not true scholars or arcane practitioners. But they would be remiss in the study of the most fascinating of creatures that parallel the line between the conscious races and the more bestial.''

Werewolves, Hominis Lupus:
Physical Description: Most would recognize the wolf like features of this bipedal humanoid. Only the very skilled would be able to tell them apart from another person of their race while in their 'normal' form. Most scholars agree that Werewolves are simply members of a conscious race cursed with Lycanthropy. While in Lycan form they usually grow in height, grow a thick fur, fangs and sharp claws. Their skeletal structure breaks and reforms into a build more apropriate for the animal/humanoid hybrid they become. It is said that a person with a poor diet would have a weaker transformation according to Ulruant. There is much debate as to the existence of Lycans that remain in their feral form without reverting to their human form as sourced by certain tribes in the south of Faerun. It seems that in Barovia Lycans have a wider range of transformation able to transform to various other creatures. The term 'Werewolf' is a misnomer used by the general populace whereas the Lycans prefer to refer to themselves as mentioned. In Faerun, there are tribes of Elves able to transform at will to Wolf form, but this is unrelated to the curse of Lycanthropy and it is done in commune with nature.

Diet: They feed on what they hunt, rumors for their preference for children has sparked much debate. If they have a natural taste for humanoid children surely there should be more incidents, and why go to the extent of kidnapping? Surely the beasts of the forests and wilds should be enough to sustain them. Various theories surround this agenda but regardless the thrill of the hunt is a known feature of Lycans.

Behaviour and Risk Assessment: Being humanoids they are capable of higher level of thought. While in their cursed form they submit conscious thought to the primal brain. However, skilled Lycans are known to be able to retain their higher thinking capacity. Due to the somewhat arcane nature of the curse of Lycanthropy this submission to the primal self also makes them vulnerable to Silver. It is thought the nature of the chemical affects their transformation since the change itself is due to the curse and not a true physical change, some theorize that silver has Weave affecting properties and travelers in Barovia should travel with silvered weapons. Silver melts at around 961 degrees Celsius which is achievable with a low level of skill. They tend to hunt in packs and with Dire wolves so avoid dense forests on lonely nights, especially those with a full moon. It is unknown if wolves prefer to hunt on full moons or their transformation has more potency on such nights.

Undead, Immortuos
''The study of Undead has usually fallen under the domain of Divine study since the question as to why a creature would continue existence when its soul should have traveled to the Far Plane is against many teachings. The common skeleton or zombie has such prevalence that most of the general populace are aware of them. A novice warlock or arcane practitioner knows that the soul is a malleable and it is usually the naive that meddle without full understanding.''

Vampire, Nosferatu:
My first reading of such creatures came from an old tome from the Red Wizards of Thay, renown practitioners of magic in Faerun if not somewhat bigoted and who meddle in darker magical arts. Their Necromancers were shocked by the power of a certain individual who was Undead himself but a master of their art. They noted his complete mastery of Sixth level summoning both Demonic and Undead. A post script noted that all the wizards were found with bite marks in the neck and drained of their blood the following morning.

Further Classification: One should note the difference of the various form of Nosferatu. Some are weaker and servile to others of their kind. Usually the older they are, the more powerful. A skilled Vampire is not a common monster or creature, they are master manipulators and live as people do... but in darkness. If a vampire drains one's blood completely and then that person is buried in unhallowed ground; they rise as vampire spawn, weakest of their kind.

Diet: Their particular curse of Undead differs from the rotting of the Zombie grouping or the magical endurance of Skeletons. They sustain themselves on Blood which has various arcane properties which allows them longevity and even a 'normal' appearance if not for darker eyes. longer claws and trademark lengthening of the canines bilaterally. Some theorize a vampire with a good diet can maintain a presentable humanoid form and they turn more bestial if they go hungry.

Behavior and Risk Assessment: It is difficult to say if all Higher or Elderly vampires are a clear risk, of course they are due to their need of blood but further data is needed to verify what the sources of blood can be. Regardless, if a skilled elderly vampire is a risk to you I probably have little advice to give. As for the lesser more animal like Vampire Spawn they are weak to sunlight and running water. The weakness to Sunlight is believed to be due to the change in the arcane nature of their blood post transformation which makes it reactive to the energy of the sun. As for running water, moving water has long shown to be a good vessel of magical energy as noted by certain Druidic ley lines.

Some Barovian locals swear that if one is brave enough to find a vampire in his resting place, a stake to the heart would be enough to kill it in one blow. However, this seems like wishful thinking to me.

Ghoul, Alghul:
The earliest notes I could find on the existence of the ghouls or alghulan come from Calimshan. A man famous Sorcerer known for consorting with Djinn had a habit of consuming the flesh of other mortals.

Physical Description: Upon his death he was transformed to a thin tall form of undead with grey sallow skin, a long tongue, extended claws and fingers and finally a voracious appetite for flesh. There are changes in the canines similar to the vampires but the jagged teeth and elongation extends to the first and second premolars.

Diet: Maybe the original Ghoul only fed on corpses during his lifetime but now any Ghoul you come across hunt the living and the dead to satisfy their hunger for flesh, but they do not consume one another usually hunting in groups. Old carrion properly wrapped and stuffed with herbs to cover its scent in your pack can be taken out as useful bait in Ghoul infested areas. Make sure that dogs do not react to its scent or else Ghouls would as well, only those skilled at masking scents should try this.

Behavior and Risk Assessment: Ghouls have a sort of toxin concentrated around their claws that can paralyze most humanoids. Facing a few in the Death House of Barovia I noticed that I (being an elf) was immune to their toxins. Possibly due to the nature of our bloodline and our resistance to certain other specific toxins. Some theorize the paralyzing effect is due to the build up of bad humor due the fact that rotting flesh remains trapped under their claws. It is best to attempt to avoid or distract Ghouls and if you need to fight them stay out of range of their claws.

Shades, Spectres, Ghosts, Apparitions:
Proper classification of the various types of ethereal undead can be a textbook on its own. The common thread between them is the transitory and metaphysical aspect of a soul that is unable to transcend to the Far Plane and be assigned to the appropriate plane of existence. If the circumstances of their death is particularly unfortunate the apparition tends to be more powerful or sadistic and cruel with an intent to harm living creatures.Physical Description: In general, the quality that they share is their amorphous and ethereal nature. One might ask what is the exact difference between a shadow and a ghost or a wraith and a specter? Think of a continuum, a spectrum, where the apparition retains their human memories and form. The weakest of them are mere shadows of their former selves with no memory and just a malicious hunger. A ghost can sometimes not be aggressive and retain their memories, or worse, it can be the spirit of a once powerful and spiteful practitioner of the arcane arts, a wraith. That is a logical way I can see of ordering them.

Diet: They do not have a need for physical sustenance but they survive on the life force of others. Some draining the strength of the living and only clinging to our plane of existence out of spite and jealousy for the life that they are devoid of. Physical contact is not recommended even with those that seem friendly or mournful.

Behavior and Risk Assessment: For the simpler and less intelligent forms of apparitions like shadows, they are to be avoided or exterminated. Shadows or shades are exactly as described, dark shadows that hate light and the warmth of life. As for ghosts... listen to them if they wish to speak but if they do not and mean you harm try to avoid direct eye contact for they wish to instill in you the fear and pain that holds them to the material plane.