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    306 views128 pages

    GURPS Fantasy Bestiary

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    Pedro Luciano

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    FANTASY BESTIARY FANTASTIC CREATURES FOR FANTASY ROLEPLAYING By Steffan O’Sullivan Edited by Steve Jackson Additional material by Mark Evans, Mike Hurst, Steve Jackson, ‘Thomas Kane, Mike Moe, Ian A. Ralph, Gus Smedstad and Warren Spector Cover by Carol Heyer Illustrated by Thomas Baxa Additional illustrations by Kent Burles, Clifford VanMeter, Rick Lowry, Sean Murray and Dan Smith GURPS System Design f Steve Jackson Chief Operations Officer § Gene Seabolt GURPS Line Editor §{ Sean Punch Design, Production and Typography Jack Elmy Art Direction if Alain H. Dawson GURPS Errata Coordinator { Hunter Johnson Playtesting and comments by Creede Lambard, Chris Mangell, D ‘Tina Popielski, Willan B. Rhodes, B Daniel U, Thibault ‘and OCLC for their research facilities. Special thanks to Joyce Bruce. GURPS ante alsceing praia registered iademar of Steve Jackson Games lncorporta Pyramid and Mlumiti Olin and the names fal Products published by Steve Jason Games Incoporat are repstredrademarks or trademarks of Steve lckson Games Icoperte, of ed nesters, GURPS Fantasy Bestar s copyright © 1990, 199 by Steve Jackson Gates Incorporated. ll rihts eerved ISBN 1.55636-1849 2345678910 STEVE JACKSON GAMES CONTENTS INTRODUCTION How to Use This Book About GURPS Humans Rumors About the Author Technical Terms Key to Animal Statistics Names Campaign Styles 1. CREATURES 2. DRAGONS Types of Dragons Dragons of Various Cultures. 3. FABULOUS PLANTS.. 4. VENOM ‘Venom Types cee Nonhuman Reactions 10 Venoms Amphisbaena Hemorrhosis. 5. MAGICAL EFFECTS Invisibility, Darkness and Mirrors. Spells . 6. MOTIFS Giant Animals, Hybrid Animals Unnatural Power of Flight Animals with Multiple or Unusual Heads Raising Dust. Tupitat : Animals with Multiple or Unusual Limbs. Animals with Full or Partial Invulnerability Regeneration Many Lives. : Animals with Magical Powers Animals that Curse or Bring Luck Mana Organs : - Animals with Devastating Breath or Looks. Unnaturally Venomous Animals Animals Living in Abnormal Habitats Casting Spells on Magical Animals Unnaturally Camivorous Animals. Animals That Are Part Human Peotone +82 32 36 95 102 102 = 102 103 - 103 - 104 105 105 108 109 109 109, 109 109 109 110 Mt Mt 112 113 113 113 14 214 14 14 us Animals That Are Part Mineral Soothing Savage Beasts . . Animals That Transform. Miscellaneous Motifs Talking Animals... . Plant Motifs Demonic Animals. Monstrous Plants and Plant-Animal Hybrids . Combinations of the Above Legends about Real Creatures... Raven. ALPHABETICAL CHART HABITAT CHART. INDEX ns 15 116 16 17 47 17 1g = 118 118. 118. 19 INTRODUCTION his is u book of imaginary creatures... based on myth, folklore, fiction and ‘my own imagination, ‘Translating myth and legend to gue mechanics often requires changing the original story a lite. As a folklorist, I regret this, bu it is unavoidable. Ifyou disagree withthe treatment of any creature in this book, please feel free to change it! 've enjoyed working on this book, and hope you catch some of that enjoyment ~ don’t let a minor disagreement get in the way of your fun! ‘An important point to remember abut the creatures in this bok: until the 18th century (ater in most countries), most people betieved that most ofthese unimalsreal- ly existed! "None of these creatures are suitable to play as characters. This was a deliberate choice ~ those Fantasy races are found in GURPS Fantasy Folk. There are occasion- al intclligent creatures herein, but they would not be fitting as PCs or even compan- jon NPCs, ‘The GURPS Fantasy Bestiary is dedicated to everyone working to prevent the extinction of animal species. This book is full of creatures that cannot be found on this earth; we don't need to add any real animals to that list. As with my other books, I will donate a portion of my royalties to groups working to save the planet. Enjoy, and watch out for gullet snakes! Steffan O'Sullivan How To UsE THis Book The book is largely alphabetical, with two exceptions. Since there are many types of dragons (all of which have rules in common), they are found in their own chapter Likewise, there are rules common to all plants, so al plants are grouped together. Otherwise, all creatures, regardless of habitat, will he found in chapter one There are also two tables of creatures. One is by Habitat, containing a short description of each animal in a given habitat, and the page number to find full stats and text. The other is a straight alphabetical listing, giving page number and the Attributes, Move/Dodge, PD/DR, Damage, Reach and Size for each creature. Also included is a discussion of Mythological Motifs. This chapter deta “authentic” ways to create or alter fabulous beasts. These patterns are culled from leg- ends all over the world; simply reading this section will suggest ways to run a game with an authentic mythical fel. Also included isa section on GMing magical animals, This is included for those who do not have access to GURPS Magic, That book can enhance your understand- ing of certain animals, but is nor necessary to use this book! Introduction ABOUT GURPS Steve Jackson Games is commited toil suppor of the GURPS system, Our addres 1s S) Games, Box 18957, Austin, TX 78760. Please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) any time you’ write tt Resources now available include: Pyramid (wwsigames.com/pyramia): (Our online magazine includes new rules and aicles for GURPS. It also covers all the hobby’s top games ~ AD&D, Traveller, World of Darkness, Call of Cthulhu, Shadowrun and many mote - and other 8} Games releases lke In Nomine, INWO, Car Wars, Toon, Ogre Miniatures and. more. ‘And Pyramid subscribers also have access to Playtest files online, to see (and comment 0) new books before they're released. ‘New supplements and adventures. GURPS continues to grow, and we'll be happy to let you know what's new. A current catalog is available for an SASE. Or check out our Web site (below). Errata. Everyone makes mistakes, includ ing us ~ but we do our best to fix our ern, Up-to-date errata sheets for all GURPS releases, including this book, are always available from SI Games; be sure t0 include san SASE with your request. Or download them from the Web — see below. ‘Q&A. We do our best to answer any game question accompanied by an SASE, Gamer input. We value your comments: We will consider them, not only for new ‘products, but also when we update this book, oa later printings! “Internet. Visit us on the World Wide Webs at www.sjgames.com for an online catalog, ‘errata and updates, and hundreds of pages ‘of information. We also have conferences ‘on Compuserve and America Online. GURPS has its own Usenet group, too: ‘ee.games frp gurps GURPSnet. Much of the online discussin ‘of GURPS happens on this e-mail lst. To Join, send mail to majordomo @io.com with “subscribe GURPSnet-." in the body, oF point your World Wide Web brovser to wwrw:io.com/GURPSnetiwww. Page References ‘Sce GURPS Compendium I, p. 181, for a {ull Tist of abbreviations for GURPS titles. ‘Any page reference that begins with a B tefers the GURPS Basie Set, Third Edition Revised; 2, p. B1O2 means p. 102 of the GURPS Basie Set. Cl refers © Compendium J, Cll to Compendium 1, M to Magic, Second Edition, G to Grimoire, and BY GURPS Bestiary. @ HUMANS The word “human,” as used in this book, refers to any fantasy race. This is simply for easier reading. In olher words, if «creature is Aescribed as eating. humans, that doesn’t ‘mean it will ignore an Elf or Halfling to attack the human beings in the party? ABOUT THE AUTHOR Steffan O'Sullivan isa storyteller, clown, performing ars teacher, librarian, finance instructor, technical writer and’ GURPS author living either in North Carolina or New Hampshire, depending on when you read this. He has a degree in European history, another one in physical theater, and has stud- ied transpersonal psychology and folklore for years. He traveled and lived in Europe for ‘moze than two years. Gaming i his foremost ‘hobby, and has been since 1961 when he is- covered a certin Baltimore based company that he is stil fond of, eventhough they've recently been bought by Hasbro, His other hhobbies include hiking, snowshoeing and reading, He isan amateur baseball historian, Which isthe only aspect ofthe modern world he really understands. He wishes that cars ‘and television didnot exis. His other books for SJ Games are the GURPS Bestiary, GURPS Swashbucklers, and GURPS Bunnies & Burrows. He is also the author of the Fudge and Sherpa roleplay ing games TECHNICAL TERMS Arboreal. At home in the tees; no DX penaly for wee movement oF ations. Biome. A community of plants and ani- ‘mals living together in a geographic region having a certain type of climate Carnivore. A flesh-eating animal or plant Diurnal. Active by day. Gregarious. Sociable, living in herds, sroups or locks. Habitat. The natural sbode or locality of san animal ‘Herbivore, An animal that eats plant mat ter ‘Nocturna, Active by night. The creature hha the Night Vision advantage. Omnivore. A animal that eats both plant ‘matter and animal flesh ‘Solitary. Living ot being alone Unique. A unique creature in myth or leg- fend had no equal ~ there was only one, not “an entire species, Example: there is only one Medusa in Greek mythology ~ once Perseus killed her, there were no more. The GM may make a species out of a unique creature, if desired. Player Information When a creatare is encountered, the GM should not just read its stats to the play- crs. Tell them only what they see! If the players do not recognize the creature from the description, and the GM thinks they should, then an 1Q roll may be allowed for each character to see if the character realizes what he is facing. ‘A successful Zoology or Naturalist roll (Sometimes at a penalty) would allow the ‘adventurer some idea of the creature's ST, DX, IQ, HT, Move, PD, DR, etc. An expe- rienced and literate naturalist might have read of the éxeare and recognize it from old descriptions. But even if the beast is wholly new, a geod naturalist could make a guess about its bssic abilities by looking at it. For a “natural” creature, or a creature similar in importent ways to a natural creature, a Survival roll fo the appropriate te rain would also provide information — not about the creature's mating habits or ec nomic value, but about its hazards or its use {0 someone in the wild. The GM does not have to provide exact stats, nor let players refer to this book, but such hints as “stronger than a lion, smarter than a fox.” etc, will give the players some clue as to what they ate facing Ramors Rumors are listed for many of the creatures in this book. In most cases, the rumors refleet different versions of the legends concerning the monsters. One legend for each creature was chosen to be the “official” GURPS version. A game of this nature needs standards, not only for communication, but also as an aid to those new to the game. Individual GMs may adjust the creatures as they see fit, of course, and the rumors are provided to assist in that process ~ and to keep the players on their toes! The rumors in this book can be either true or false, as the GM decides. Experienced (and adventurous) Game Masters are free to use any of the rumors to cre ate a version of a creature that is “official” in their world. The number of monsters in this book can be dramatically increased simply by treating every rumor for each eres ture as a different animal — and there is nothing to stop a GM from using the rumors, of one animal with any other species! Chapter 6 contains a collection of mythological motifs. These can also be thought of as generic rumors. These motifs are s0 universal and occur so frequently that they ‘can be used as true or false rumors to enhance any animal in this book or in the GURPS Bestiary. Although mest rumors in a TL3 society will be oral, there are written ones. Scholars can glean rumors from libraries with a good Research roll ~ scrolls, gri- imoites, bestiaries, explorers’ diaries, official documents, mythologies, natural history treatises letters, etc, can all be sources of rumors. One Hungarian tale even tells of a clue written on a gold leaf at the top of an oak tree! ‘Bards and others who make a Literature skill roll might remember scraps of songs or ancient tales, Rumors can also be conflicting, of course, and sometimes the adventurers will hear too many of them! The denizens of a local lower-class bar may even come to blows over whether a given creature has a poisonous breath or a paralyzing glance. Current gossip about a creature may conflict with ancient writings, and travelers from ‘afar may very well have a different description of a creature’s strengths and weak- nesses than the locals. The village priest may assure the party that the only way to defeat a certain monster is through fasting and prayer, while the blacksmith will swear by cold iron, Travelers’ tales are notoriously exaggerated — another great way to introduce rumors both true and false. Don’t make it too easy for them (0 tell the truth from the lies — as in any aspect of Game Mastering, constantly varying storytelling technique keeps the players guessing and improves the game. Gleaning the wheat from the chaff is one of the party’s major tasks, and one they'll enjoy. With luck, they'll remember the right choice among all the wrong ones! KEY To ANIMAL STATISTICS ST. DX, 10, HT. HT will often have two numbers separated by a slash (€.2. 15/35). The first number is the “health” the creature would roll agains, the second number is “hit points” ST and “hit points” are sometimes given as a range. DX, IQ, and “health” are given as single numbers: they may vary by a point or so in either direction for any species. Move/Dodge. Some creatures have more than one Move ~ flying and on the ground, for example. The listed speed in this case is for the most common situation, ©. flying for birds. Move for other situations is given in the text. See p. B144 for ‘Move figures of encumbered animals. To determine Speed in a situation where com- bat phasing is important, use Dodge Dodge (most animals’ only active defense) is 14 Move or !/2 DX, whichever is better, up to a maximum of 10. Animals with the Combat Reflexes advantage have a +1 10 their Dodge alread calculated into this figure PD/DR. PD anc! DR, if any, from the creature's hide or armor, Some of itis mag- ically produced. This usually won't vary much within a particular species. Damage. Listed damage is that for the creature's most common attack; damage for other forms of atack is given in the text. Listed damage is for in average member of the species; stronger animals may do more, Abbreviations: imp = impaling dam- age, cut = cutting damage, cr = crushing damage ‘Reach. Most creatutes attack in “close combat” ~a grapple or slam, followed by an attempt to crush or bite the foe, or rip it to pieces. C = Close Combat 1,2, reach in hexey; R = Ranged attack; see description Size, The animal's size in hexes. Small creatures take up less than @ hex (repre- sented by “

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