Prologue (3k)
Chapter One: Designing Beasts (61k)
Chapter Two: New Rules for Familiars (2k)
Chapter Three: Familiars and Saga Development (42k)
Chapter Four: Popular Familiars (103k)
Chapter Five: Quadrapeda (84k)
Chapter Six: Birds (84k)
Chapter Seven: Serpents (62k)
Chapter Eight: Worms (9k)
Chapter Nine: Fish (13k)
Appendix One: Humans as Familiars (12k)
Appendix Two: Familiars of the Realms (70k)
Appendix Three: Forms, Effects and Sizes (11k)
Bibliography (6k)
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The ant is a tiny creature, but it is fascinating nonetheless.
Ants work in great teams, laying in supplies of wheat for the
winter. The method of ant labour is reminiscent of an army, yet
better ordered, for all ants march in order, and do not jostle
each other for their treasured corn. Ants who meet never fight
for grain, but the one without will follow the tracks of the one
with, so learning the location of the wheat field.
When the grain is stored the ant will divide its treasure into two parts, so that should water germinate one storehouse's seeds, the other will sustain the tribe through the cold months. If one storehouse is made damp, the ant waits for warm weather and spreads out its larder to dry, preserving its precious stock from germination and mildews. Ants know barley from wheat by the taste of the stalks, and will not touch barley. In Ethiopia, I have heard it claimed, there are ants, the size and shape of dogs, which dig up gold with their paws and stockpile it, much as European ants do corn. I am unaware if they are supposed to eat it, however. Herodotus records similar ants in the desert that lies in Pactycia. These ants are shaped as the European ant, so they do not have the paws of the Ethiopian creatures. They form nests by burrowing, as other ants do, and the sand which they excavate forms mounds. As these ants are of a size somewhere between that of a fox and a dog, the piles created by their mining are impressively large. As the sand in which they dig is rich in gold, these mounds are also extremely valuable. The Indians who seek this sand carefully plan their campaigns. Each takes three camels; one, which he rides, must be a female which has recently given birth. They plan their arrival at the ants' nest so that it is during the hottest part of the day, when the ants retreat underground. In this distant land it is hottest during the morning, and cools toward evening, when it becomes very cold. These Indians are of dark complexion, but still need to soak themselves in water to survive the heat. The men fill leather bags with gold dust, then leap upon their camels and ride away as fast as they can. The Indian ants smell the men and give chase. These ants are swifter than a horse. They are said to be the swiftest creatures living. None of the men would escape if the ants did not pause to assemble battle formations. As the chase continues the male camels tire. They are cut from their leading reins. As they weaken they are torn to pieces. This distracts the foremost ants. The female camel, which longs to return to its recently-born child, is driven to exceptional exertions, through which only its maternal instinct sustains it. After a vast distance the ants cease their pursuit. It is said that most of the gold of India is collected in this fashion, although some little is mined. There is a creature half ant and half lion, created at times by stray magic, but these things rapidly starve to death, as they are part carnivore, part herbivore but not, unfortunately, able to eat omnivorously. |
Herodotus notes that the Indians who raid the nests of ants live in the country of Pactycia, around the city of Caspatyrus and live as Bactrians do. Here he uses "Indian" to differentiate dark-skinned people from other groups. Pactycia is difficult to place, but Herodotus mentions an expedition along the Indus river that began in Caspatyrus. Since Pactycia and Assyria were separate adminstrative areas, this places it somewhere at the northern end of the river. This, in turn, places the desert filled with gold somewhere south of the eastern end of the Black Sea.
Statistics:
(Ants are too tiny to have statistics.)
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The antelope is native to the banks of the River Euphrates, although
perhaps it is found in other places. It is so keen of hearing
that no hunter may ambush it and so swift that it cannot be captured
through chase. When it becomes thirsty it goes down to the river
to drink, but its horns, with which it saws down trees, become
snared in the hircene (hedgehog) bush. After struggling
for some time it cries out and hunters, hearing it despair, come
to spear it. Religious authorities extrapolate from this a lesson
concerning the virtue of sobriety. Others remark that the horns
are as the two testaments, and the bush as ensaring sin, from
which one may cut oneself free.
I have seen several antelope horns. Although they have no magical properties of themselves, I have a small knife made of one which is sharper than the finest steel, and a companion of mine has a chisel whose blade is a piece of antelope's horn, enchanted for durability. |
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Characteristics: Cun: -1, Per: +2, Pre: +1, Com: -1, Str: +1,
Stm: +1, Dex: +1, Qik: +6
Size: 0 Personality Traits: Brave -2 Weapon (Horns): Init: +10, Atk: +5, Dfn: +7, Dam: +11 Soak: +5 Fatigue: +1 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, -1 -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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The ape derives its name from its acts of mimicry. Authorities
of the Church teach that the ape is made to mock Man so as to
make his sins more clear. They are called "simia" because
their nostrils are pressed together like those of the female goat.
The face of the ape is coarse and the rump even more disgusting.
Apes learn quickly, but this can be used against them. Hunters
capture apes either by pretending to wash their faces with lime,
so that the ape does the same and blinds itself, or by taking
off their boots, putting them back on, and retiring, leaving behind
a weighted or tethered boot, so that the ape will put it on and
be captured.
It is said of the monkey, by Aesop amongst others that if one bears twins she will love one and hate the other. If pressed by hunters he will carry her beloved while the abhorred will hang along her back, clutching around her neck. If she tires, the foolish monkey will drop the loved child, while she continues to carry, involuntarily, the one she hates. I have heard reports of many strange varieties of ape. Some claim that the satyr is an ape. These satyrs have faces which are almost pleasant and are filled with energy and restless. They are easy to catch and train, but die if they are not kept beneath the sky of Ethiopia, and so I have never seen one living, although I have created them dead, with the Arts Animal. Monkeys are like apes, but have tails. Baboons are a type of ape capable of huge leaps and it has a fierce bite. Sphinxes are a type of ape with hairy arms that may be trained out of their wildness. Of apes I must say this. Despite the teachings of the authorities that the ape is entirely devoid of good, and is brutal and ugly, my esteemed colleague Luciene of Cyprus has a familiar monkey of excellent, if excitable, character and I have passed many pleasant afternoons contemplating its antics. The intelligence granted by familiarisation makes the monkey easily trained, and its hands make it more useful in the laboratory than many other creatures. As magi of the Order the ape should be of interest to us, for it was the symbol of Thoth and wisdom to the Egyptians. Since the Seekers claim Hermetic magic is a descendant of that of Egypt, and since Thoth was their Hermes, we should not dismiss the ape as casually as we might. |
Odd varieties of ape appear in the illustrations of bestiaries. Satyrs are sometimes used to illustrate apes and baboons are often shown as cynocephalii, that is, with dogs' heads. These strange creatures can use ape statistics, but the storyguides may modify their scores slightly.
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Characteristics: Cun: 0, Per: +1, Pre: -2, Com: +1, Str: +1,
Stm: +2, Dex: 0, Qik: 0
Size: 0 Personality Traits: Mimicry: +3 Weapon (Bite): Init: +3, Atk: +3, Dfn: +1, Dam: +2 Soak: +3 Fatigue: +2 Fatigue Levels: OK, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, -1, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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| I have not heard many good uses for the parts of an ape. Satyrs can be used to induce licentiousness, debauchery and drunkenness, I am told. For this their horns are particularly valuable. The Silk People think that monkeys may be used as charms of good health and prosperity. These monkeys seem to be a sort of beneficent sprite. |
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The ass and the onager are the one species, with the second being
wild, the first domesticated. The ass is a stupid creature, and
gets its name because people sit on it. Had it not been that
asses were domesticated before horses, horses might be called
asses instead. Asses are Arcadian in origin, and the largest
came from there, and may yet still. The domestic ass is sluggish
and stubborn, yet it bears loads for humans and does not complain
while working. These beasts continue in great hardship and will
survive cruelty and neglect.
The onager is African and lives in herds with a single male and many females. The mothers among these tribes hide their young, for the male, who will brook no competition, will bite away the testicles of male foals. Generally asses bray seldom, usually when hungry, but on the night of March 25 the onager brays once each hour, and then also on the day. Thus it marks the day when night and daylight are of equal length, the Spring Equinox. Why it does this is conjectured upon by many, and hints of diabolic connections are common in the literature. The acanthis is a little bird that eats young thistles, and it is the enemy of the onager, as they compete for food. |
The following statistics are correct for both domestic and wild asses, save that the domestic has a Cunning of -2 and has the Personality traits of Long-suffering +2, and Stubborn +2.
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Characteristics: Cun: 0, Per: +1, Pre: -1, Str: +2, Stm: +3,
Dex: +1, Qik: +1
Size: +2 Personality Traits: Jealous +4, Wild +3 Weapon (Bite): Init: +6, Atk: +6, Dfn: +2, Dam: +7 Soak: +6 Fatigue: +3 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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Winter awakens desire in the bear. Gestation occurs thirty days
after conception. This short gestation leaves the cubs unformed
and the mother, during the winter, lies with them in the womb
of the earth, sculpting them with her tongue and warming them
at her breast. During the first fortnight of this internment
she eats not at all, although some authorities suggest that they
eat not at all for all three months, becoming fat by licking their
paws. The winter makes the males so torporous that even if they
are wounded they do not awaken. When bears emerge in the spring
the sunlight is blindingly bright to their eyes. Bears love to
eat honey, and will throw hives into rivers, thereby killing the
bees. If they eat the apple of the mandrake plant they must eat
ants or die, and use these as a physic for other disorders also.
Bears fight with many animals, being of their nature ferocious, especially when defending their mate or cubs They have a foul odour on their breath that disgusts other animals. If attacking an ox they leap upon its back and hold its horns, biting it between the blades of the shoulders until it dies. Other authorities suggest that the bear instead attacks the nostrils, since on an ox these are tender. Bear bile has many medicinal uses, as do dried bear eyes. Ground with pepper the bile restores hair. If mixed with honey it is useful for the ills of cold such as asthma, weak spleen and troubled liver. A preserved right eye will protect a child from nightmares, while a preserved left eye, worn around the arm cures malaria, a disease of the Africans. The tooth of a bear, given to a child as a talisman, will prevent teething trouble. Numidian bears have the longest hair. |
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Characteristics: Cun: +1, Per: +3, Pre: +3, Str: +4, Stm: +8,
Dex: 0, Qik: 0
Size: +2 Personality Traits: Ferocious +3
Weapon (Maul): Init: +6, Atk: +12, Def: +3, Dam: +17
Soak: +25 Fatigue: +7 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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| The sow is a wallower in muck, delighting in slime and dung and mud and all dirty things. Disgusting as they are, they taste excellent! The boar is a wild beast that has great teeth with which it slashes its enemies. It delights similarly in muck. To the ancients of Egypt the Boar was evil incarnate, representing Set, the lord of evil, in his guise as the swallower of the Sun. Pigs become boars if let go wild. |
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Characteristics: Cun: +1, Per: +3, Pre: +3, Com: -2, Str: +4,
Stm: +8, Dex: 0, Qik: 0
Size: +2 Personality Traits: Gluttony +2, Stubborn +3
Weapon (Bite): Init: +4, Atk: +4, Def: 0, Dam: +6
Soak: +15 Fatigue: +2 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0/0, -1, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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| ...The spell you describe alters the digestive tract? The bonnacon, mentioned in its title, is an Asian beast, with the body and head of a bull, but the mane of a horse. Its horns wind back upon themselves, so that they do no harm. When put to flight the creature vents odure at its pursuers. The stench thus produced is sufficiently powerful to scorch everything for at least two acres, some authorities claim three. Pliny suggests that the bonnacon's vile emission can ignite vegetation and singe away the hair of hunting dogs. Gerald [a historian companion at Magvillius] indicates that this spell was created for the Gauntleting of a Flambeau magus. I had thought it of Perdo technique, not the Muto... |
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Characteristics: Cun: 0, Per: +2, Pre: -2, Com: -1, Str: +4,
Stm: +3, Dex: 0, Qik: +1
Size: +2 Personality Traits: Cowardly +2 Weapon: None Defence: 0 Soak: +10 Fatigue: +3 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
Powers: Fiery Flatulence: The creature can spray an area of up to three acres with it's bowel contents, starting fires and singeing hair. Characters failing a Stm roll of 9+ are stunned for three rounds, which allows the creature time to escape. Virtuous bonnacons often have even more destructive bowel contents. |
Vis: 3 pawns Creo, stomach.
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The bullock is the young bull, and the ox the bull lacking testicles.
The buffalo is like the ox, but is wild and unyokable. Each
has different properties.
The bull is a strong animal, which can be used to till the soil. The finest bulls in the world are Indian. These are golden, and as swift as birds. In combat they are terribly fierce, as they have hide so tough as to turn weapons, can open their mouths the width of their heads and fight with a desperate passion so strong that if captured they die. Bullocks were sacrificed to Jupiter in ancient days. The ox is peacefully if kept with its yoke-mates, of whom it is fond. They encourage tired brethren with a low sound from the throat. They can predict changes in the weather and will retreat to their stables before rain begins. Once it concludes they will stretch out their necks, to demonstrate their desire to recommence their labours. The buffalo is so wild that it cannot be yoked. It is African in origin and is related to the German Auroch. The auroch is the huge bull that provides the enormous drinking horns of German princes. It is said that the growth of horns is faster in hot climates, so buffalo have the largest horns. |
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Characteristics: Cun: 0, Per: +2, Str: +7, Stm: +5, Dex:
0, Qik: +1
Size: 2 Free Virtues and Flaws:
Personality Traits: Eager +1 Weapon: None Defence: 0 Soak: +12 Fatigue: +7 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -5, Incapacitated |
Bulls and bullocks use these statistics also, but lack weather sense and have large horns. (Init: +5, Atk: +4, Dam: +5)
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The camel comes in greatest quantity from Arabia, although the
finest camels are Bactrian and have only a single hump. Camels
are rare in Europe because they sicken if taken from their native
air. Camels come in two other types, the swift, which takes only
light loads, and the slow, which takes far heavier. This swift
camel is called a dromedary and may cover one hundred miles in
a day. The camel is not odd only in its hump, but in its feet,
which are padded. The pad acts to prevent the camel's hoof sinking
into the sand.
Camels often behave madly. This distemper can be caused by many things, and the wise man carries a rod with which to chastise the camel, or defend himself from it should it become completely unbiddable. Camels go mad when they do not get what they want, or when they are feeling ill at ease, or when the mating season has come. Females are enraged in war, in which they are used because they are stronger than the males, especially if they are yet to breed. A drug has been found to make camels chaste, to increase their usefulness as steeds of war. All camels hate horses and are long-lived, some achieving a century in age. Camels are famed for their abstinence from water. A camel may go without drinking for up to three days, after which it must drink vast amounts to slake its thirst and store up water for the days ahead. Camels prefer muddied water and if taken to a pure stream will stir up the bottom to make their beverage murky. There is a story about the use of camels, by an Indian tribe, to obtain gold from ants, but I shall record that elsewhere. |
Note that Bactria is called Afghanistan currently.
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Characteristics: Cun: -2, Per: 0, Pre: -2, Com: -1, Str:
+2, Stm: +3 (+5 against heat exhaustion, dromedaries add 1), Dex:
0, Qik: 0 (dromedaries add 1)
Size: 2 Free Virtues and Flaws:
Personality Traits:
Humble +3 to Europeans, although Arabic magi might insist that
this is really Stubborn.
Weapon (Bite): Init: +3, Atk: +3, Dfn: +0, Dam: +6 Soak: +6 Fatigue: +3 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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Medieval bestiarists had odd ideas concerning the type of harness that a camel rider would require. Their diagrams are complicated and inaccurate, partially because their camels are anatomically unsound. A bestiarist's camel has far less prominent humps than a real camel does.
The vast majority of bestiarists had never seen a crocodile, and the descriptions that they had heard were fragmentary or inaccurate. The bestiarist's crocodile is, to us, an alien monster.
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The crocodile is about 20 cubits (30 feet long) and is of a yellowish
hue, the colour of crocuses. It lives on land during the day
and in the waters of the River Nile by night. It is like an ox
in appearance, and is as stout as the trunk of a tree. Its skin
is hard enough to deflect rocks thrown at it. Its upper jaw moves
when it bites, the lower remaining still. It is found only in
the Euphrates and Nile rivers. After eating people it weeps.
It is useful in spells that mask hypocrisy. The dung of the
crocodile is used by women to remove their wrinkles and restore
their youth. When this paste is washed or sweated off their aged
appearance returns.
There is a land-crocodille in eastern Lybia. It is somewhat shorter than the water crocodille, and even its Virtuous form looks like the mundane water crocodille. |
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Characteristics: Cun: -1, Per: 0, Pre: +2, Str: +5, Stm: +6,
Dex: -1, Qik: -1
Size: +3 Free Virtues and Flaws:
Personality Traits: Hypocritical +5
Weapon (Bite): Init: +3, Atk: +4, Dfn: -2, Dam: +16
Soak: +16 (underbelly +3) Fatigue: +6 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3/-3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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This is what I have heard of elephants. The elephant is like a
mountain, hence its name. It is vast and wrinkled, being for
the most part grey in colour. It has tusks like a boar, but far
vaster. It also has large ears and a nose like a long, flexible
tube that ends in a funnel. It sleeps by leaning against trees
sufficiently stout to support its weight. It has no knees, so
it may be captured by sawing partway through its resting tree
during the day. I have seen commoner samples of the elephant,
however, and they had knees and lacked the funnel on their noses.
The Persians and Indians sometimes place small wooden towers
upon their backs and fight from these positions, using bow or
javelin.
The elephant is a terrible weapon, for whatever it lifts in its trunk it can break, and whatever it tramples is crushed. It is fortunate that the elephant is merciful. If it meets travellers lost in the desert it will lead them to other people. In battle it will tend the wounded and the exhausted. If it meets a flock of sheep it will herd them on their way, so that no missile might strike them. The elephant lives in herds, although, since adultery is unknown amongst them, they do not fight one another. They trample to death snakes which they see. Bulls flee the elephant in terror, yet it is terrified of the mouse. It similarly fears piglets, gnats and horned rams. It is said that the smallest of elephants in each herd is that which raises up its fellows if they stumble. It is also the magical property of this smallest elephant that whenever its hair and bones are burned no evil thing can do harm, not even mighty dragons. The male elephant lacks any desire to breed. To become gravid the female must harvest the fruit of the mandrake tree which grows near paradise, or Eden, which she eats, then feeds to the male to arouse him. I am unsure if this mandragora is the same as that we have in Europe. They mate back to back and she conceives instantly. She gestates her young for two years, then births them while standing in the supportive waters of a lake. During the birth the male elephant acts as a sentry, since elephant cubs are a delicacy prized by dragons and serpents. The female gives birth only once, and to a single cub. Having closely questioned several elephants I have found them either unable or unwilling to disclose the place where Eden is. In the distant East, some mages with which I have consulted claim the existence of winged elephants, and note that elephants, since they resemble clouds, can be used in magic that affects weather. They also state that a small quanitity of the ivory of the elephant cures leprosy, patches of its skin the auge and the burning of its fat, they say, will cure headaches if burned, and the patient forces to inhale the smoke. |
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Characteristics: Cun: 0, Per: +1, Pre: +5, Com: 0, Str: +7, Stm:
+7, Dex: 0, Qik: -1
Size: +5 Free Virtues and Flaws:
Personality Traits: Lustful -5, Merciful +4, Gentle +3
Weapon (Tusks): Init: +4, Atk: +6, Dfn: -4, Dam: +15
Soak: +15 Fatigue: +7 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0/0, -1/-1, -3/-3, -5/-5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0/0/0, -1/-1, -3/-3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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The Parandus is the size of an ox that lives in Ethiopia. It
is as shaggy as a yak and has the colouring of a bear. It has
the footprints of an ibex and the head and branches of a stag.
When the parandus is frightened it changes its shape, becoming
whatever is nearby.
The pelt of an Ethiopian elk is worth 4 pawns of vis if coloured as a bear, and 8 pawns of vis if hiding at time of death. No-one has ever killed a hiding European elk for vis, they being rare, and so whether this trait is also theirs is unknown. Well, it is -said- that the elk is scarce, but since they can look like rocks and trees it can be enjoyable to have a forest of them living nearby and moving about, to the consternation of the mages. Caesar states that the elk has no knees and rests by leaning on a tree. It may be captured by weakening its leaning tree, so that it breaks when the creature next tries to rest. Lacking knees the fallen beast cannot rise. The elk suffers from vertigo, which it cures by putting its left hind leg in its left ear. The ground hoof of the elk is a powerful medicine against falling sickness, sea sickness, vertigo and epilepsy. |
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Characteristics: Cun: -1, Per: +2, Str: +1, Stm: +7, Dex:
+1, Qik: +1
Magic Might: 10 Size: 1 Powers: Bestiaries disagree as to whether this creature changes shape or only colour. The statistics for the two powers are very similar. Choose one or the other. Chameleon MuIm(or An) 15: 1 point The coat of the elk changes colour to match it's surroundings. So long as it stays still, it requires an Awareness roll of 15+ for it to be spotted. Some elks change shape instead of colour. Personality Traits: Brave -2 Weapon (Horns): Init: +7, Atk: +6, Dfn: +1, Dam: +15 Soak: +10 Fatigue: +1 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, -1 -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0/0, -1, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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Vis: 4 pawns Muto, coat.
| Frogs are quaint creatures that dwell in boggy places. Their cousins, the toads, are said to cause warts if handled. Such creatures were common familiars among the ancient magi of the barbarians. Amongst the magi-priests of Egypt, the frog Gods were symbols for the Nile, rain and fertility. The Frog Goddess, Hekt, was the midwife of the world and the protectress of new-borns and their mothers. |
|
Characteristics: Cun: -2, Per: +1, Str: -2, Stm: 0, Dex: +1,
Qik: +1
Size: -4 Free Virtues and Flaws: Poisonous: Many varieties of frog or toad are poisonous, but these toxins are rarely fatal to humans. Those that lick or bite a toad should make a Stm roll of 10+, losing a Body level if they fail and a long-term fatigue level if they succeed. Sucking toads sometimes gives visions, which should be purchased separately as a virtue. Personality Traits: Agreeable +3 Weapon: None Defence: +5 Soak: 0 Fatigue: +1 Fatigue Levels: OK, -3, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, -3, Incapacitated |
| There are domestic goats and wild ones. The first we call hyrcus, the second caper or caprea, which means "to capture" as goats do wild places, or a rustling noise, such as wild goats make. The Greeks also call wild goats gazelles, as they have such keen sight. The domestic goat is a creature of unquenchable lusts. So hot is its passionate blood that it will dissolve diamonds. The wild goat, however, is a serene creature. From the tops of mountains it can view those who approach and determine their intent. If harmed the wild goat seeks out the dittany plant, which expels iron from wounds, so healing them.] |
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Characteristics: Cun: +1, Per: +4 (vision +6 if wild), Pre: +3,
Str: +1, Stm: +1, Dex: 0, Qik: +1
Size: -1 Free Virtues and Flaws:
Personality Traits: Lustful +4 if tame, Serene +4 if wild Weapon (Horns): Init: +5, Atk: +7, Dfn: +5, Dam: +6 Soak: +6 Fatigue: 0 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, -1 -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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The griffin lives north of the deserts of India, building nests
in high mountains. The griffin hates horses, and finds them delectable
meals. It is sufficiently strong to capture a horse or ox and
carry it off to its high perch, for secure feeding. It enjoys
dismembering people, but scholars seem unable to agree as to the
creature's size or colour. As I have seen drinking cups made
of the claws of griffins, I believe them to be huge. The griffin
crafts its nest of gold, lays an agate in it, then defends it
fanatically. Some custos barracks in covenants are marked with
an heraldic griffin, in the hope of inspiring the turb to similar
loyalty.
Among the ancient Greeks these birds were sacred to Apollo and Nemesis. Some griffins have serpentine tails, which has led a few Hermetic scholars to hypothesise a link to dragons. Griffins may be the guardians of the resting places of the Old Ones. Perhaps the Arimaspians, the tribe of Scythians who live near to the griffins and try to steal their gold, know something of the tombs of the Old Ones. The area may be highly magical, as all of this tribe are distorted as if by a potent magical aura. They each have only a single eye, but are otherwise the same as people of other tribes. I have met three who are Hermetic magi. |
Note that some bestiaries record the griffin as coming from the deserts of India others as from the North, and yet others as from north of the deserts of India. The Greeks usually said they came from Scythia.
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Characteristics: Cun: 0, Per: +6, Pre: +5, Str: +7, Stm: +9,
Dex: +2, Qik: +2
Magic Might: 30 Size: +4 Free Virtues and Flaws:
Personality Traits: Protective of nest +7
Weapon (Claws): Init: +11, Atk: +11, Dfn: +3, Dam: +21
Soak: +17 Fatigue: +9 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3/-3, -5/-5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3/-3, -5/-5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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Vis: 18 pawns Animal, heart.
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The hare is a light-footed animal, running swiftly. It is excellent
eating, and of cowardly character. Some hares changes genders
each year, but others are entirely androgynous. The hares of
Egypt are born with their eyes open, and do not blink their entire
lives. A hare crossing one's path is said to bring ill-luck,
possibly because many witches are thought to be able to take the
form of hares. The flesh of the hare, if consumed, causes melancholy.
Hares are the only animal which have the property of superinfetation. If one opens the womb of a hare, one finds many feotuses, all in various stages of development. The hare is exceptionally fertile, because it is harmless, and is prey for so many creatures. |
|
Characteristics: Cun: -1, Per: +1, Pre: -3, Com: -2, Str: -3,
Stm: +1, Dex: +2, Qik: +5
Size: -3 Personality Traits: Melancholy +2 Weapon: None Soak: -4 Fatigue: 0 Fatigue Levels: OK, -1, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, -1, Incapacitated |
|
The hedgehog is a small animal that is coated in tiny spikes.
When assaulted by a predator it rolls itself into a ball, so
that it may not be bitten. The hedgehog shows considerable intelligence.
In the construction of its burrow it provides two holes for ventilation,
one each north and south, and fills in that one through which
a cold draught blows, excavating it afresh when the weather changes.
It is said to gather grapes, and by some even apples, by plucking
them, then rolling on them, to secure them to their backs. They
then carry this fruit back to their brood.
The Order of Hopolites use the hedgehog as their symbol, as it was the familiar of one of their greatest marshals, Jerome of Tytalus. Jerome co-ordinated the conspiracy against Tasgillia and her circle of corrupted magi. The majority of modern Tytalus are descended from Jerome and his hopolite followers, as very few "neutrals" survived his purge of the House. The Covenant he founded as his base of operations, Ice Mirrors, still exists in the Greater Alps, and is used as a school for those few hopolites willing to take Perpetual Vows of Service. |
|
Characteristics: Cun: +2, Per: +2, Pre: +1, Com: -1, Str: -3,
Stm: 0, Dex: 0, Qik: +1
Size: -3 Virtues and Flaws: Spiny: Any botched attack against a hedgehog probably leads to injury of the attacker upon the creature's spines. Personality Traits: Devoted (family) +3 Weapon (Spines): Init: +2, Atk: +1, Def: +6, Dam: -2 Some sources suggest that these spines are projectable, while others say that they are poisonous. Poisonous Spines: act as a PeCo/An30 spell and costs 1 might point. If injured by a spine the attacker requires a Stm roll of 8+ to avoid death. Soak: -2 Fatigue: 0 Fatigue Levels: OK, -3, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, -3, Incapacitated Abilities:
|
|
Horses are spirited animals. They love to race and to fight,
and can be encouraged in these pursuits by the trumpet of battle
and the cry of the rider.
Horses can scent battle and it enflames them. They can smell friend from foe, and will attack with hoof and teeth those whom its nose sets them against. Many horses will not suffer to be ridden by a master other than their original. Some horses will fight on after their master's death, seeking vengeance upon their lord's murderer. Horses will weep for men, and in this they may be unique. They sorrow also for defeat, but are joyous in victory. The sexual desire of mares may be removed by clipping their manes. Should they come to foal a tuft of hair appears on their foreheads that is a potent love charm. Although usually attentive mothers, if a foal is taken directly after birth from its mother, then returned, she will not suckle it. Horses are selected for four properties, according to the ancient authorities. These are form, beauty, colour and temperament. Form is a matter of musculature and firmness of body. Beauty is a matter of sleekness and alertness. Of colours there are many, and some are better than others. Ashen horses must be avoided. Temperament is the courage and energy of the horse, its speed and bidability. Three other things are said of horses. The male is the longer-lived of the horses, some living to seventy years of age. The deeper the nose of the horse dips into the water, the hotter its spirit. Men can predict if they will loose a battle by their horses' reluctance to enter it. This is why Bjornaer magi ask their equine fellows if they should enter Marches or not. |
|
Characteristics: Cun: -2, Per: 0, Str: +3, Stm: +4, Dex: 0,
Qik: 0
Size: 2 Personality Traits: Spirited +3 Weapon (Hooves): Init: +4, Atk: +4, Dfn: +0, Dam: +7 Soak: +7 Fatigue: +4 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
|
|
The hyena is created by the intermingling of a cat with a dog.
It can change genders. Its spine is a single bone, so it cannot
twist around and turns by walking in an arc.
The hyena delights in human flesh and lairs in churchyards, where it plunders the graves, devouring corpses. It hides at night about the homes of shepherds, learning the tones of their voices. Then by impersonation it lures people outside, to consume them. It vomits, and makes the sound of a man being ill to lure out dogs, for the same purpose. If its shadow falls upon a dog, the creature loses its voice. Hunters seeking the hyena must approach it from the left, or be struck from their horses and maddened. Madness also occurs if a hyena follows a man's tracks. Within the eye of this beast is a magical stone called hyenia. It has two properties. That which a hyena looks at thrice is struck immobile. If a hyena is killed and this stone taken it can be placed under the tongue to endow the gift of prophecy. In Ethiopia this creature mates with the lion, creating a second monster, the leucrota or crocote. Crocotes are territorial and never stray from their places. They lack gums and have only a single tooth, which is covered in a capsule to prevent it becoming damaged. The crocote has the hyena's powers of imitation. Among the Arabs, it is said that some sorcerers can return from the dead in the shape of a hyena, or that the evil deeds of magicians can take that form. |
|
Characteristics: Cun: +4, Per: +4, Pre: -2, Com: +1, Str: +1,
Stm: +2, Dex: +2, Qik: +2
Magic Might: 15 Size: -1 Weapon (Bite): Init: +6, Atk: +6, Dfn: +5, Dam: +6 Soak: +3 Fatigue: +2 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, -1 -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
Powers: Change Gender (MuAn 5, 0 points): Hyenas can change gender when they wish. Mock the Word of Man (CrAu5, 0 points): The hyena can perfectly mimic a human voice. Strike Dumb (ReCo/An 20, 1 point): If the hyena's shadow touches a person or animal that creature cannot speak until sunrise or sunset. Freeze Prey (ReCo 25, ReAn 25, 2 points): If the hyena thrice circles its prey, it is held immobile until it makes a Stm roll of 11+, until sunrise or sunset. Some authorities suggest the hyena looking thrice at the target suffices for this power to be used. |
Vis: 5 Intelligo, hyenia.
|
The ibex is a creature that dwells in the mountains. It has two
horns, each incredibly strong. Should the ibex fall from a height
into a precipice, so long as it lands upon its horns it is unharmed.
It is apparent that sometimes the horns of the ibex dig so deeply
into the soft ground in which it lands that it becomes vulnerable
to hunters. Some say that the ibex, and other goats, breathe
through their horns.
The magi of Verditius make quite a deal of money selling trinkets of enchanted ibex horn to the nobility, who purchase them for children learning horsemanship. The Arabs find ledanon, from which they manufacture perfume, and from which they make most of their incense, in the beards of he-goats which have browsed upon certain bushes. I am unclear wether these goats are wild or tame. |
|
Characteristics: Cun: +1, Per: +3 (vision +6), Str: 0, Stm:
0, Dex: 0, Qik: 0
Size: -1 Personality Traits: Lustful +4 Weapon (Horns): Init: +4, Atk: +4, Dfn: +2, Dam: +5 Soak: +3 Fatigue: 0 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, -1 -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Incapacitated |
|
The crocote and leucrota are apparently the same creature. The
crocote has been described under the entry for its father the
hyena. It is an Ethiopian beast, while the leucrota is Indian.
It may be that lions in these countries differ in some regard,
or hyenas, which alters their offspring one from the other. It
may also be that the leucrota has been created by poor translations.
I have created a crocote by magic, yet the leucrota eludes me.
The leucrota is also said to be the child of the hyena and the lioness. It has a supple body and is swifter than any other wild animal. It is the size of an ass. It has cloven hooves, the rear parts of a stag, the chest and forelegs of a lion and the head of a horse. The head is split to the ears by a mouth. In detail, after this, authorities disagree, some stating that the leucrota has a single bone for teeth, others strips of bone. Similarly they disagree as to whether it impersonates speech, or merely makes the sound of human chatter. The creature which I created was of the first sort in both disputes. Perhaps the leucrota has the other attributes, if it exists at all. |
|
Characteristics: Cun: +1, Per: +2, Pre: -4, Com: -2, Str: +2,
Stm: +3, Dex: +1, Qik: +8
Magic Might: 10 Size: +2 Weapon (Bite): Init: +6, Atk: +5, Dfn: +10, Dam: +5 Soak: +7 Fatigue: +5 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
Powers: Mock the Word of Man (CrAu5, 0 points): The leucrota shares the hyena's talent for mimicry. |
Vis: 2 Creo, palate.
|
Leo is the king of beasts. He is a symbol of the power of God,
and when acting as the Hand of the Lord cannot fail in his tasks.
Lions are filled with courage, resolution and strength. Magi
beware, for no power on Earth may shift the lion, if blessed,
from His purpose.
Lions are creatures of the mountains who rival, in combat, the elephant and the dragon. They have many magical abilities attributed to them. They sleep with their eyes open, these orbs remaining awake while the muscles rest. They use their tails as a brush to obscure their trails. The lion is merciful and sparing women, children, prisoners and the prostrate, except possibly when hungry. He will lead prisoners home. An ill lion will devour an ape as a physic. They carry their courage in their chest and their strength in their head. Lions are temperate, dining on one day and drinking on the next. Should their meal be undigested on the following dining day, they fast. A lion who has bitten off more than he can chew will remove the piece of meat with his paw. Lions also do this if forced to flee when eating. The lion will not eat yesterday's food, or food from a previous meal that it has left uneaten. As lions age they lose their teeth. The tooth of lions aids teething in children. Lions mate face to face. A lioness, in her first season, gives birth to five cubs. Each year thereafter she gives birth to one less cub, becoming sterile after the birth of her fifteenth child. Their young are born dead, and bought to life by the breath of their fathers, usually on the third day. Certain authorities claim that each lioness has but one cub, for as it quickens it accidentally lacerates its mother with its claws, so that when she gives it birth, then ejects also her shredded womb. Lions fear flames, creaking wheels, and the call of a white cockerel. Such lions are terrified of the scorpion and can be killed with serpent venom. Lions will hunt and trample these creatures, because a small quantity of their ashes, smeared upon meat left at a crossroad, will bring death upon consumption to the lion. They will not look upon the spear of a hunter. Lions, virtuous or base, come in three varieties. Those who are short and have curly manes are peaceful, while the long lions, with straight manes are fierce. Lionesses are known for their pride. They lie in ditches to ambush their prey, and so they may be captured by the digging of a ditch upon their usual path. Into this bait is put, and when the lioness leaps down to seize the bait, she finds that the hole is too narrow to allow her to escape. She has been captured through seeking the forbidden. The lion of Asia has served as the symbol of the sun god, and is sympathetically linked with gold. It is seen as the rival of the eagle, one representing sovereignty over the Earth, the other over the air. The lion winged is linked to spiritual flame. Among the Aegyptian priests, the lion was the symbol of flooding, as the Sun rose into Leo during the Nile's deluge. Of the magicians further south than Egypt it is known that they may take the shapes of lions. Few magi have had great cats as familiars during the Hermetic period of magical history, due to a lack of trade with Africa. Although some few are summoned using instant Creo Animals spells, it's difficult to maintain breeding stocks of great cats, save at the largest of covenants. In Roman times fantastic animals were a valuable export from Northern Africa, and, as increasing numbers of magi move to the edges of Europe, this trade is being revived. |
|
Characteristics: Int: +2, Per: +4, Pre: +6, Com: +2, Str: +5,
Stm: +4, Dex: +1, Qik: +1
Magic/Divine Might: 20 Size: +2 Free Virtues and Flaws:
Personality Traits: Brave +6, Compassionate +6, Angry (when injured) +3, Peaceful (only after bathing) +5 Weapon (Bite): Init: +14, Atk: +15, Dfn: +9, Dam: +23 Soak: +11 Fatigue: +4 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0/0/0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0/0/0/0, -1, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
Powers: Roar (CrMe 15, 1 point) All who hear the roar of the lion must make a Brave roll of 7+ or be frozen in fright. |
Vis: 4 pawns Animal, heart, 10 pawns Rego, mane. Those who steal the mane of the lion are cursed, by God, with madness (PeMe 50+, may not be healed by Hermetic magic for more than a day at a time). If the mane is taken for holy purpose, or by a pious person, the wrath of God may not be evoked.
| The lynx is a wolf, spotted like a pard. Its urine hardens into a yellow gemstone, like topaz, that men find valuable, so the lynx buries it. Its sight is so keen that it may see through walls... |
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Dear Mater
We have asked abd-Kitab to leave the covenant. He has developed a lynx heartshape, so we cannot feel trust for him. Can a such a magus transform without spying on his sodalis, however accidentally? When we were sending him away he leered at us in a most disgusting manner. Mater, can the lynx see through things other than stone? Linen, for example?... Yours in trust, Camille |
Use the statistics given in the Wolf entry, with the following exceptions: The lynx is Greedy (+3). It is Ferocious when it's urine is discovered. Its suggested power is "Vision Beyond Bounds (InTe??, 0 points) which allows it to see through walls. A cache of topaz is worth 3 pawns of Terram vis.
| The manticore is a beast of India. It is red in colour, with the body of a lion and the head of a man. The eyes of the manticore are grey, and its mouth has three rows of teeth, with which it devours the unfortunate. It has a tail with a sting like that of a scorpion. It has the ability, through the power of its feet, to leap obstacles, so that the widest ditch cannot keep it away. |
|
Characteristics: Cun: 0, Per: +1, Pre: -1, Str: +4, Stm:
+4, Dex: 0, Qik: 0
Size: +2
Weapon (Bite): Init: +6, Atk: +7, Dfn: +5, Dam: +17
* Posionous, if stung a character must make a Stm roll of 9+ or lose 2 Body levels. Soak: +12 Fatigue: +4 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
|
Vis: 5 pawns Animal.
The mole is an eyeless creature, linked magically to the earth and to the withering of crops.
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Characteristics: Cun: -1, Per: +3, Pre: -3, Str: -6, Stm: -6,
Dex: +2, Qik: +4
Size: -6 Weapon: None Defence: +9 Soak: -2 Fatigue: -3 Fatigue Levels: OK, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, Incapacitated Abilities:
|
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The mouse, the authorities agree, is born of the dampness of the
earth. There are mice of many types, including the shrew and
weasel. As with some aquatic creatures, the liver of the mouse
waxes and wanes with the moon.
Hermetic history includes suprisingly few mice. They are more popular with urban than with rural magi, which makes them increasingly popular in the Roman and Norman Tribunals. Among Bjornaer magi, rodents are rare as primary forms, although there have been some beavers Initially this rarity as familiars may appear strange, as most covenants have mice, and they have many generations of descendants over a covenant's life, so at least some of them should develop accidents of form. Very few of these mice become familiars because when magi are in that heightened state of awareness that leads them, by omens, to a familiar, they instinctively edit out partners which they consider unsuitable. Most magi are so attuned to power, fierceness and might that their minds do not register the presence of these magical rodents, save as vis sources to be consumed in the process of the binding. Those who survive are usually the favoured food of familiar raptors and cats, so their numbers are kept low by predation. The Bonisagus, who are far more interested in convenience and skill than in muscular might find mystical mice quite readily. The third Primus of Bonisagus discovered his familiar sixteen minutes after declaring that he'd begin searching. It was nibbling the corner of a book in the covenant library. The Trinomans, who use owl feathers as their mark, often terrify mice, but some few slip into this subsection of the house. |
The fundamental drive of rodents is for security. Among the smaller rodents this can be seen in their packing, swarming behaviour. Unlike larger, hunting, animals individuals tend not to be differentiated by their coloration's, which prevents a predator from locking onto them while they are fleeing in the swarm. Smaller rodents are particularly aware of threats on an environmental scale, hence their habit of leaving ships before they sink, and trooping out of covenants just before the hopolites arrive.
|
Characteristics: Cun: -1, Per: +3, Str: -5, Stm: -1, Dex:
+1, Qik: +1
Size: -5 Weapon (Bite): Init: +2, Atk: +2, Def: +7, Dam: -5 Soak: -5 Fatigue: -1 Fatigue Levels: OK, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, Incapacitated Abilities
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| The dormouse fattens in its sleep. Since they lie comatose through the winter, they are as fat as butter in the springtime. My cat recommends them to the feline gourmand. |
Use mouse statistics for dormice.
|
The terms "pard", "leopard" and "panther"
have changed their meanings since the Greeks first wrote of them.
The wise Pliny wrote of the panther and said the pard was the
male of that species. Some claim the leopard is a lion posed
in a certain fashion. Certain others use the term "leopard"
to refer to panthers. Others, further, call the pard a sinful
beast, and call its offspring by the lion a creature like a mule
or ass. All such errors I shall now dispel, having seen some
of these creatures myself.
The panther is a wonderful beast. It is of many colours, and has a breath so sweet that all animals follow it. I can vouch from my own experiments that world of Forms does not contain a panther, so they cannot be created by Hermetic magic. The Form of the panther is Jesus Himself, as can be seen by its miraculous, and of course educative, powers. The panther is a worldly reflection of Jesus. The panther has a coat of diverse colours and is very beautiful. It sleeps for three days at a time, then gives a roar. The breath it emits is so sweet that animals come to it, and follow it wherever it leads them, save the Dragon, which is afraid of the Panther and hides itself beneath the ground. It is said by some that the panther then eats the creatures it has summoned and falls asleep, but these pagan authorities may have some other beast in mind. The pard is extremely swift, and is mottled. I can say little of the pard, not having seen it, but I have read a book in which the panther is discussed twice, and the later of these may be the pard. This beast is said to be coloured with little circles of yellow, white and black. Pliny notes that this panther, and he calls male panthers pards, gives birth only once to three cubs. He notes that the claws of the kittens so scourge the womb of their mother, when they are birthed, that no seed planted within it will grow. It may be that Pliny spoke truly and that there are no female pards, merely the male panther. There is said to be a creature called the bicorne, which looks as a panther does. It feeds only on henpecked husbands, and therefore is a fat and merry. It breeds with the chichevache, which consumes only virtuous women, and is therefore gaunt. The leopard is a creature that is vile of nature, being created through the sinful union of the pard and the lion. The Antichrist is compared to the leopard, spotted with sin, in the Book of Books. Fortunately his skin is so soft that a light stroke will break it. He is easily wounded, but the leopard has a ready remedy for injury in the consumption of mice. His flesh and grease can be boiled in olive juice to manufacture an ointment which cures infections of the skin. The blood of leopards... |
|
Characteristics: Cun: +2, Per: +3, Pre: +1, Str: +2, Stm: +2,
Dex: +2, Qik: +2
Infernal Might: 18 Size: +1 Personality Traits: Mean +4 Weapon (Bite): Init: +8, Atk: +8, Dfn: +5, Dam: +10 Soak: -5 (+6 if non-virtuous) Fatigue: +2 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0/0, -1, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
Powers: Pleasant Breath (ReAn30, 4 points): The leopard shares the panther's ability to attract animals, but it then consumes them. Dragons are as afraid of the leopard's breath as the panther's. |
Vis: 4 Rego, tongue.
|
Characteristics: Cun: +1, Per: +3, Pre: +3, Str: +2, Stm: +2,
Dex: +2, Qik: +2
Magic Might: 18 Size: +1 Personality Traits: Gentle +2 Attack: Init: +6, Atk: +6, Dfn: +3, Dam: +6 Soak: +6 Fatigue: +2 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0/0, -1, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
Powers: Pleasant Breath (ReAn30, 4 points): Animals are attracted to the panther and will follow it. Dragons will flee the panther and hide from it, regardless of penetration rolls. In combat the snort of the panther may, at the option of the gamesmaster, kill serpents. |
Vis: 4 Rego, tongue.
The illustrators of the bestiaries drew a dog-like beast to represent the panther. A mage discovering a mundane, that is realistic, panther has found a house cat with the equivalent of giant's blood.
| The chameleon is similar to the pard, being multicoloured, but it can change its colours about, to blend with its surroundings. The chameleon-pard is Ethiopian. It is like a pard in that it has white spots, it has the feet of an ox and the neck of a horse. It differs in that it has a camel's head. |
The non-virtuous camel-leopard is the giraffe, but the creature has been so distorted by bestiarists as to virtually unrecognisable. For the chameleon-pards, a separate, cat- like, animal, use panther statistics, but with the added power:
Change Colours (MuIm15, 1 point) The cameleon-pard can change its colour so precisely that, when hiding, it requires the observer to make an alterness roll of 15+ to discern it.
|
The "dea" as the Greek magi call this creature, is a
worm that extinguishes flames and lives. It is for this reason,
and not that they revel in fire, that they are so closely linked
with the House of Flambeau, being the mark of the Line of Apromor,
which prefers the art of Perdo.
The slimy poison of the salamander can kill whole townships. Its two prefered tricks are to crawl over the trees of an orchard, contaminating the fruit, or dive into wells, making the water fatal to its drinkers. |
Newts also use these statistics, but have none of the mystical properties of salamanders.
|
Magic Might: 20
Characteristics: Cun: -2, Per: -1, Str: -2, Stm: 0, Dex: +1, Qik: -1 Size: -3 Virtues and Flaws: Poisonous: Requires a Stamina roll of 10+ to avoid the loss of a Body level. A new roll must be made each round until either one is successful or the victim dies. Armour is no protection against this toxin, which is spread by touch. Resistance to Fire: Salamanders cannot be harmed by heat attacks. Power: Extinguish Fire PeIg 20, 1 point. A salamander extinguishes any fire that it touches, although larger fires may cost more than a single point to destroy. If attacked by a fire spirit the salamander may destroy them at the cost of one of it's own points for every five might of the creature. Weapon: None Defence: +5 Soak: 0 Fatigue: +1 Fatigue Levels: OK, -3, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, -3, Incapacitated |
Vis: 8 pawns Perdo, skin.
|
The sheep is a soft and fluffy animal, with no strong defence
against its enemies. Sheep have, since ancient times, been sacrificed
by hedge magicians to the creatures that give them power. There
is a type of sheep that has two upper teeth in addition to the
usual eight lower, and these are particularly toothsome to these
potent spirits. Sheep fatten themselves on grass when they sense
the winter's approach.
The ram is a sheep which protects its females with its horns. These creatures are coarse and difficult, although they also made excellent sacrifices in ancient times. The ram's forehead is infested with maggots, and these produce an itching which drives the animals to madness. They charge each other, smashing together their foreheads, which crushes these parasites and relieves the rams of their presence until the next mating season. The lamb is the most innocent an innocuous of creatures. It has one great talent, which is that it can recognise, and be recognised, by its mother, even among hundreds of similar creatures. There is a type of lamb in Africa, the Barbary lamb, which grows on trees. Since it is attached by a short stem it eats all of the foliage within reach and then dies of starvation. It has flesh that tastes of fish and blood that tastes of honey. Powdered, its bones allow divination of the future. The Tartar lamb also grows upon a plant, in this case with five stems. It is small and golden, and wolves delight in the bloody juice which they draw from it. As it is a vegetable it retains life until the last portion is eaten. In Arabia there are two odd types of sheep. The first has a broad, flat tail, eighteen inches across. The second has a tail about four and a half feet long. Since the rubbing ofthe ground would create sores were these animals left unaided, their shepherds make a tiny cart for each of them, and fix it so that their tail is carried in it. |
These statistics are correct for the ram.
|
Characteristics: Cun: 0, Per: +2, Str: +2, Stm: +2, Dex: +1,
Qik: +1
Size: 0 Personality Traits: Mean +1 Weapon (Horns): Init: +5, Atk: +5, Dfn: +4, Dam: +10 Soak: +4 Fatigue: +2 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0 -1, -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
|
|
The stag uses the snake as a medicine. When it is it sticks its
nose down the serpent's hole and snuffles up the creature. The
venom of the serpent then burns the sickness from the stag. After
being cured the stag needs to drink heartily, so that it can purge
the poison from its system. After the use of a serpent thus,
all signs of age disappear from the stag. Stags can be adjudged
for age using their teeth. The great Alexander put collars upon
stags to see how long they lived, and they did not age in the
century of their captivity.
Another medicine used by the stag is the herb dittany, which is uses to draw out arrow with which it has been struck. Stags are easily startled, which makes them easy prey for archers. Stags can hear anything while their ears are pricked, but nothing while they are laid flat. The pan pipe entrances them. When the stag hears hunting hounds it works itself upwind of them and then remains very still. Other authorities insist that they flee downwind, so that their scent is carried with them. Stags seek new pastures regularly. When, in their travel, stags cross a river each lays its head on the rear of the stag ahead. By this arrangement even the weakest is supported. When fording streams in this fashion stags move very rapidly, as none wishes to be fouled by the fellow upon which its head rests. Until Arcturus rises does do not conceive, even if they have mated before. At this time stags are made wild with passion and will fight one another. When does give birth they keep their young hidden in foliage by kicking them. As soon as the fawns are old enough the parents exercise them, teaching them to sprint and leap over chasms. Fawns are docile and gentle creatures, incapable of defending themselves with violence. Near the River Phais on the Black Sea is found a stag with the hairy fore-quarters of the he-goat. In Greek it is called a tragelaphus. |
|
Characteristics: Cun: +1, Per: +2 (hearing +7), Str: 0, Stm:
0, Dex: +1, Qik: +2
Size: 0 Personality Traits: Brave +1
Weapon (Horns) - Hart: Init: +5, Atk: +4, Dfn: +3, Dam: +13
(Assumes that the hind is Size -1) Soak: +2 Fatigue: 0 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, -1 -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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The stag is linked, through similarity, to regenerative Heathen powers. Its horns, which are shed and regrown, are reminiscent of trees, which shed and regrow. It is said of the Covenant of Black Wings that their garden contains a grove of planted stag horns. The right horn of the stag makes better medicine than the left. Burning stags horns puts serpents to flight.
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The tiger is the epitome of speed. In Eastern languages the tiger
is called "arrow". The Tigris, the swiftest river in
the world, is named for the tiger. It runs faster than a horse.
Tigers are found primarily around the Caspian Sea.
Stealing a tiger cub is a difficult process. One method is to throw balls of glass at the pursuing tigress. Her reflection in the ball sometimes balks her, making her believe that the cub has been discarded. She settles to suckle it, and so the thief may flee from her. This method is not guaranteed to be effective, and even if it is, it simply buys additional time in which to prepare for the inevitable assault. The maternal instinct of the tiger is incredibly strong. The Tiger is linked to the cult of Dionysius, where it represents cruelty and the wrath of the god. In some writings it is said that the Tiger is accursed of God for the murder of a thief of one of its children. Other writers note that the tiger is covered in coloured spots. The Silk People have a myth of five tigers, each of a different colour and linked to an element. The fifth lion is the "centre" and rules the others. It is golden. |
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Characteristics: Cun: +2, Per: +3, Pre: +3, Com: -1, Str: +3,
Stm: +3, Dex: +2, Qik: +5
Magic Might: 10 Size: +2 Free Virtues and Flaws:
Power: Swiftness of an Arrow (MuAn15, 2 points): The Tiger draws closer to its Form, in a way similar to being under the "Immaculate Beast" spell (ArM4 p.109). This adds three to its Quickness. Personality Traits: Relentless +3, Vengeful +4 Weapon (Bite): Init: +10, Atk: +10, Dfn: +5, Dam: +15 Soak: +9 Fatigue: +6 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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Non-virtuous tigers have far more useful abilities than these.
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Several creatures have been given the name of unicorn and I shall
attempt to disentangle them here. Initially the creature described
was a sort of rhinoceros, which is the Greek term for unicorn.
Some writers use these terms interchangeably, although in truth
the rhinoceros is a huge creature, much like an elephant, save
that it has smaller ears, no trumpet, and is striped in white
and black. The rhinoceros was bought to the arena by the Romans
and I have seen carvings of them. Arabs whom I have consulted,
say that the rhinoceros has no concern for virgins. They tell
me that the rhinoceros hates elephants and charges then, rearing
upon its back legs to strike it in the shoulder with its horn.
The horn of a rhinoceros is a cubit long and is both harder and
sharper than the tusk of the elephant, so the blow is terrible.
The horn of the rhinoceros then remains stuck in the elephant
and both creatures perish. The Arabs say that each female rhinocerous
has but a single calf in its lifetime.
An odd creature, the monocerous, may be the virtuous rhinoceros, but is more likely to be a separate creature. It has the body of a horse, the feet of an elephant and tail of a stag. It has a terrible bray and its horn, sometimes four feet in length, can pierce anything. It cannot be captured, although it may be taken dead. It cares not a whit for virgins. Caesar also described a unicorn as a bull shaped like a stag, with a single horn projecting from between its ears. The virtuous rhinoceros is more likely to be the Re'em, of which there are only two, one in the East and one in the West, and they mate each 70 years, according to the Kabbalist Jacob of Barcelona. The second creature called "unicorn" in the common parlance of magi is a small, goat-like horse, so tiny it can run beneath an elephant and cut its stomach open with its horn. It is so fleet and fierce that only by the maiden ploy may it be captured. Henceforward I shall call this creature a Lesser Unicorn. The Greater Unicorn is a horse with a horn. It is often linked to the divine and sometimes serves as a protector of women. Some unicorns of the Greater or Lesser type are said to be able to transform into doves. Neither the greater nor lesser unicorn may be captured save using a maiden, in whose lap they fall asleep. Some claim that unicorns have a white body, a red head and blue eyes. The earliest Greek sources suggest that the Unicorn hates humans. The unicorns described are huge and black, with a taste for human flesh, twisted red horns and a desire to rape virgins. It may be that a type of unicorn, with a tendency to rape and murder, has become extinct. It is an important caution to magi, however, that not all unicorns fall meekly asleep in the lap of a maiden. Some attempt to seize her charms in more forthright fashion. |
Unicorns, much like dragons, should be designed on a case-by-case basis, since they seem to be the product, as the dragons are, of the slow coalescence of several traditions, to varying degrees, in many places. There is no single "unicorn" in the way there is a single griffin or centaur. The statistics below should serve as a guide. Many unicorns are too powerful to become familiars, and you should seek your storyguide's approval before generating a player-character unicorn. Aristotle and Pliny both stated that the oryx was the "real" unicorn.
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Characteristics: Cun: -1, Per: +1, Pre: +4, Com: 0, Str: +6,
Stm: +3, Dex: -1, Qik: -1
Size: +4 Free Virtues and Flaws:
Personality Traits: Fierce +3 (in reedy places), Timid +3 (elsewhere)
Weapon (Horn*): Init: +4, Atk: +9, Dfn: -5, Dam: +21
* The strength and sharpness of the rhinoceros's horn is so great that, at the storyguide's discretion, this attack ignores armour. Soak: +12 Fatigue: +5 Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3/-3, -5/-5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3/-3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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Arabic scholars note that if rhinoceros horn and gall are burned they offset spells and the evil eye.
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Characteristics: Cun: +2, Per: +3, Pre: +7, Com: +2, Str:
+1, Stm: +1, Dex: +3, Qik: +4
Magic Might: 40 Size: -1 Free Virtues and Flaws:
Suggested Power: Purify the Fouled Body (Cr?? 25, 1 point) - The alicorn cures poisoning if touched by a sufferer. It retains this power even if severed from the creature, and goblets of unicorn horn are popular with nobles who fear assassination. Larger areas can be decontaminated by expending more points. Estimates of the availability of such goblets go as high as two dozen in all of Europe, some of which are narwal horns. One may tell true alicorn by drawing, with the tip of the horn, a circle on the ground. If a scorpion is unable to escape this circle, then the horn is genuine. Personality Traits: Noble +3, Tame -4, Wild +5 (these two swap values in the presence of a maiden), Meek +4 Weapon (Horn): Init: +12, Atk: +16, Dfn: +12, Dam: +10 Soak: +5 Fatigue: +1 Fatigue Levels: OK, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, -1, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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Vis: 15 pawns Creo, horn.
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Characteristics: Cun: +2, Per: +3, Pre: +2, Str: +1, Stm:
+4, Dex: +3, Qik: +5
Size: +2 Free Virtues and Flaws: Dreadful cry: Whenever the monocerous gives voice to this cry, all creatures nearby must make Brave rolls of 6+ or flee. Cannot be taken alive. It violates this creature's fundamental nature to be captured alive. Personality Traits: Brave +4, Love of liberty +7 Weapon (Horn*): Init: +12, Atk: +16, Dfn: +12, Dam: +10 * Non-magical armour is, at the storyguide's discretion, valueless against this attack due to the supernatural toughness and sharpness of the monocerous' horn. Soak: +5 Fatigue: +1 Fatigue Levels: OK, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, -1, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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The mythical yale is the size of a horse, but less sturdy, having,
in some cases, a deer-like frame. It has a black coat and, in
some cases, the lower jaw of a boar. In others the jaw is untusked
but grows the beard of a goat. The horns of the yale are very
long, and it can swivel them independently of each other. It
preserves one horn so that it has a spare in case the other is
damaged in combat. Some authorities state that the horns are
flexible.
It may be that the goat-headed yale and the horse-bodied yale are separate species. I have never seen, or conjured, a yale. I believe they may be a virtuous form of water buffalo. It is, however, possible that the yales are faerie beasts, or some other common animals who have a breeding colony in a powerful aura, and have developed accidents of form. Similar things are seen elsewhere, for example the winged rats of The Covenant of the Winged Victory. |
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Characteristics: Cun: -1, Per: +2, Pre: +1, Str: 0, Stm: 0,
Dex: +1, Qik: +1
Size: 0 Weapon (Horns): Init: +7, Atk: +7, Dfn: +4, Dam: +8 Soak: +1 Fatigue: 0 Fatigue Levels: OK, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, -1, -3 -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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