The rhino (as it’s colloquially known) is a family of large armored mammalian herbivores native to Africa and Asia. The name rhinoceros means “horn-nose” in Greek, which is a reference to the most distinctive aspect of the creature: the large horn on the front of its head.
Category Archives: Adventure Creatures
Robots and Androids
A robot is a mechanical construct that’s created to do a specific job; it has little to no independent thought. An android takes this idea to the next level: It may be a mechanical construct, but it can think, learn, and adapt.
Screaming Blue Murders
Screaming blue murders, around one-third to two-thirds of a meter long, resemble human babies, the only discernible difference from normal babies being a pallid blue hue to their skin that gives them a sickly complexion, as well as a knowing look in their eyes that goes beyond their apparent infancy.
Sea Creatures
Many creature dwell beneath in Earth’s oceans. Their presence can sometimes give dues about what’s to come: The sudden dispersal of a school of fish could tell alert individuals that an immense predator is about co arrive in the area. Heroes may encounter jellyfish that have washed ashore after being poisoned by undersea construction. Or, they could find sea creatures displaying unusual behavior, such as circling a peculiar rock formation emitting waves of psionic energy. Electric eels could bolt from an otherwise safe haven when something long dead awakens.
Serial Killers
One of the true horrors of reality is that evil does not have to wear a monstrous mask to be effective. It often chooses to walk the earth in an average-looking, nonthreatening form that easily blends into the background. Serial killers are urban predators who utilize circumstance and the indifference of the world around them to stalk victims. These sadistic fiends come from all walks of life. Their prey rarely suspects their true intentions until it’s far too late. On some occasions, serial killers make benign contact with their quarry. The good Samaritan who stops to fix your tire today might stalk you tomorrow!
Small Predatory Mammals
Ferrets are a domesticated animal raised originally to hunt rabbits and mice. They are small, quick, and immensely curious creatures. They weigh about one kilogram and are around half a meter in length.
Snakes
Snakes have played the pan of villains since biblical times, and few creatures have the reptile’s natural ability to evoke primal fear in humans. Snakes can be cast as familiars for occult villains or might become the vessel for a vengeful druid’s spirit. An escaped serpent could adapt to life in the sewers of a large metropolis and dominate the subterranean world of an urban jungle. Heroes might also find themselves searching the jungle for a rare snake to harvest its venom for medicinal purposes.
Soldiers
European Armies
The aftermath of the French Revolution resulted in the formation of mass armies, which were used with great aplomb by Napoleon in his bid for Empire. The mass armies of the Napoleonic era led to the almost universal adoption of conscription by the continental European states, a tradition that is only now beginning to end in favor of professional, all-volunteer militaries. The United Kingdom, ever apart, has a tradition of a small professional military, though they did use conscription in both World Wars (and after the Second World War into the 1950s).
Swans
The regal white beauty of the swan cannot be matched. These charming white-feathered birds have been seen for ages as instruments of wisdom, creativity, divine inspiration, and love. Some places, such as Finland, once considered the swan to be a holy bird. In others, it’s a form taken by supernatural beings. It’s quite likely that characters could encounter a bird endowed with supernatural abilities, such as providing a protective aura, transferring extraordinary gifts, and serving as divine messengers. The swan also has its own constellation, Cygnus (which means “swan”).
Tauntors
Tauntors resemble dwarfish humans, with large heads and spindly bodies. Their eyes have a yellowish cast to them, and their finger nails are long and clawlike. They appear in groups, the number of which is always a multiple of three or five.