View source

From Fax Encyclopedicus

=Creatures of Eä (Valinor, the Void, and Arda)= The Eä cosmology is filled with various creatures of all shapes and kinds. To fully describe them all, types have been changed, subtypes have been added (or in some cases, removed altogether), and descriptive terms have been changed. ==Types== Many types haven't been changed at all, while others have been removed or otherwise modified. A new type is added, one that encompasses incorporeal creatures, both living and undead. '''Aberration-''' Aberrations are now called '''Nameless Things'''. The original nameless things are the spawn of Morgoth, creatures he bred for his foul purposes in the ages unnumbered before the first age of the Sun. Since then, Sauron and other cruel masters have created more of these hideous creatures for other twisted reasons. Regardless, Nameless Things are almost always evil, but mostly intelligent. Type is unchanged, except for it's name. '''Animal-''' Animals are the natural creatures that inhabit Arda. Type is unchanged. '''Construct-''' This type does not exist. '''Deathless-''' This type no longer exists. '''Dragon-''' Dragons were bred during the First Age by Morgoth, for use in his war to eliminate the Noldor and conquer Beleriand. Since then, the Dragons have been in a steady rate of decline. Smaug, the last of the Great Dragons, was slain late in the Third Age. Since then, lesser breeds of only animal intelligence have been coming into existence, with each new species being progressively smaller. This type is unchanged, except that dragons are no longer immune to sleep effects. '''Elemental-''' No longer exists, but the elemental subtypes still do. '''Fey-''' Fey are now called '''Nature Spirits'''. Nature Spirits are immortal creatures made by the Music of the Ainur, which also created the material universe. They were an after effect of the world's creation, and are the world's spirit made into flesh. They are few in number, but are extremely powerful and among the few creatures that are naturally inclined towards magic. They are otherwise unchanged. '''Giant-''' Giants are a rather diverse race, but they are usually humanoids of large size or larger. Most do not openly associate with the Free Peoples, and are very secretive. Others are corrupted or bred by the Dark Lord's servants. It is unknown how the natural giants were created, but judging from their appearance they can be assumed to belong to the Race of Man. The Giant type remains unchanged. '''Humanoid-''' Humanoids are the dominant creatures in Middle-Earth. They are extremely diverse, from the leaders of the Free Peoples to the slaves and foot soldier's of the Enemy. The most blessed of the Humanoid races are the Children of Ilúvatar, and they are the most dominant of all the humanoid races. This type is unchanged. '''Magical Beast-''' Magical Beasts are now just called Beasts. Beasts are intelligent animals or creatures of the natural order with unusual powers. Beasts come in many forms, but are restricted to those that animals and vermin have. Beasts can be evil, neutral, or good. This type remains the same in all but name. '''Monstrous Humanoid-''' There are some humanoids so twisted to evil by Sauron or his master before him, that they become animal-like (or vice versa, with animals becoming more manlike from the undying will of the Enemy). Monstrous Humanoids are almost always evil, and are among the most feared of the Enemy. They embody the fact that evil can corrupt even the best into monsters beyond redemption. Even the vile Orc is not as evil as these beasts in man shape. This type remains the same. '''Ooze-''' This type is not used. '''Outsiders-''' Outsiders are now called '''Immortals'''. Immortals refer to the immortal spirits of those that can live without a hröa, a body to be incarnate in. These mysterious creatures come from three places. The majority of them are in Valinor, another plane of existence that used to be part of the world. The majority of the Ainur, Immortals purposely created by Ilúvatar, who is the one God and Father of All, live in Valinor. The Void, a plane mostly absent of life and left empty when Ilúvatar created Eä, has a few Immortals. These are evil abortions of life that strive for the darkness, always hungry. The remaining Immortals live with their maker outside the circles of the world, with no physical manifestation at all. The type remains unchanged. '''Plant-''' Plants can be found everywhere in Eä, except the Void. They exist both as mundane plants, and beings of animal or Mannish intelligence. Type doesn't change, except that intelligent moving plants do need to sleep. '''Undead-''' This type is now called '''Walking Dead'''. That is because these creatures are not truly undead, but are corpses possessed by the fëar of an Immortal, usually a fell spirit. Walking Dead are always corporeal, and have no memory of who they were in life. These creatures had their most widespread use during the Angmar War, when the Witch King created an entire army of the creatures to bring an end to the Kingdom of Arthedain. This type remains the same. '''Vermin-''' A wide variety of insects and spiders can be found all over Arda and the Void. Type remains the same. ==Subtypes== Many Subtypes exist in Middle-Earth to supplement the main Types. '''Air Subtype-''' Same as the regular one. Usually, Manwë (Vala of Wind and Air) and his Immortal servants have the Air subtype. '''Angel Subtype-''' Does not exist. '''Aquatic-''' Various creatures live in the seas of the Earth. '''Archon-''' Does not exist. '''Augmented-''' Only exists when a creature receives an acquired template, not when it has an inherited template. '''Chaotic-''' Does not exist. '''Cold-''' This is an elemental subtype that can be added to any creature with strong ties to frigidness and cold. See Cold subtype for more information. '''Dragon-blooded-''' Does not exist. '''Dwarf-''' Dwarves are not of the Chosen Children of Ilúvatar, instead being made by Aulë the Smith. Iluvatar gave them life, and "adopted" them as his Children. As such, the Dwarves were the third race to live in Middle-Earth, after the Elves and the Orcs. Because they were not originally made of hröa, but rather stone turned flesh, their fëar go back into the ground upon death. '''Earth:''' This elemental subtype is given to creatures with ties to the Earth (such as Aulë, Vala of the Forge, and his servants). '''Elf-''' The Elves are the first Children of Ilúvatar, and the first of the common races to walk upon Arda. They are the noblest and wisest of all races. Currently, they are in decline, as the various races of Elves are leaving Arda to sail to Valinor. The Elves are Immortal, and are thus tied to Eä. As such, they have the Curse of Eälar. '''Evil-''' This subtype is given to corrupted Ainur and Immortals from the Void. '''Extraplanar-''' Creatures that leave their home plane to go to other areas of Eä gain this subtype. '''Fire-''' Many creatures have connections to Fire. This gives the same abilities as the normal ones. '''Goblinoid-''' This subtype does not exist. Any creature used in this campaign that would have this subtype in a normal campaign now has the Orc subtype. '''Good-''' Immortals from Valinor (including the Ainur) have this subtype. '''Incorporeal-''' does not exist. It is now part of the Unseen type. '''Lawful-''' Does not exist. '''Native-''' This subtype is given to Immortals that have become fully incarnated in their hröa, and are then bound to it in Arda. '''Reptilian-''' Does not exist. '''Shapechanger-''' Generally, only Ainur have the ability to change form, but there are a few rare instances were others have this special ability. '''Swarm-''' See the swarm subtype in the monster manual for more information. '''Water-''' Creatures with strong connection to water (such as Ulmo, Vala of Water, and his servants) have this subtype. See subtype for more information. ==New Type== '''Unseen-''' This is a new type, encompassing all incorporeal creatures. They exist in the Wraith-world, a plane of existence that co-exists with the world. Unseen include undead like Shades, and still living creatures that have survived so long their hröa have faded, like Wraiths. While they belong in the Wraith-world, they are partially formed in the real world, so they are able to manipulate objects while remaining virtually indestructible. '''Features-''' Unseen have the following features:<br> * 12-sided Hit Die<br> * Base Attack Bonus to 3/4 total Hit Die (like Cleric) <br> * Good Will Saves <br> * Skill Points equal to (6+ Intelligence modifier, 1 minimum) per Hit Die. <br> '''Traits-''' Unseen have the following traits (unless otherwise noted in the creature's entry): <br> * No constitution score <br> * Blindsense 20 feet <br> * Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain. Immune to damage to its physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution), as well as to fatigue and exhaustion effects. <br> * Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects. <br> * Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless). <br> * Uses its Charisma modifier for Concentration checks. <br> * Not at risk of death from massive damage, but when reduced to 0 hit points or less, it is immediately destroyed. <br> * Deflection bonus to AC equal to it's Charisma modifier. <br> * Immunity to non-magical forms of attack. <br> * Treated as having Total concealment. <br> ==New Subtypes== '''Ainur'''- undergoing revisions '''Ancient Evil-''' Many creatures were made during the First Age. Many of these creatures were old even then, as they were made in the Ages before the Sun. Regardless, after the fall of Morgoth, many of these creatures went into hiding. These creatures are referred to as Ancient Evil, as they have been hidden in the shadows for over four thousand years. They often have damage reduction (amount specified in creature entry) that can only be bypassed by Beleriand weaponry. '''Great'''- Great Dragons are extinct. They represent the largest of the dragons (always gargantuan or colossal in size). They also have excellent ability scores (almost always above 20), and intelligence scores are not restrained to 2. They also have a variety of Great Dragon only special attacks and qualities, like ''dragon-spell''. '''Shadow'''- These creatures have a connection with Shadow. They generally have concealment powers of some kind. '''Urulóki'''- Urulóki are dragons that can breath fire. '''Valar'''- The Valar are Illuvatar's best servants, and they look after Eä for him. They have divine ranks (but never above 21).

Return to Types and Subtypes in a LOTR Campaign.