Wednesday 17 January 2018

Desert Beastmen


Beastmen Types to date

Basic Abhuman Class - dated a bit now
Common
Highland
Aquatic
Underground

Will get around to working out abilities for each type for my beastmen/abhuman class which id better revise. A compilation of all these beastmen posts would be possible some time. A bunch of elemental abhumans would be good to describe sometime. Vegetal and fungal ones possible too. Possibly something like some other odd ones like orcs, barbarians and a frankenstein monster types too. I did batmen twice so will need to fix and replace one or split into vampire bats or something and replace one. A post on this soon...

d10 Desert Beast Men

1 Falconmen
2 Cobramen
3 Gilamen
4 Hyenamen

5 Scorpionmen
6 Foxmen
7 Scarabmen
8 Camelmen
9 Ostrichmen
10 Cheetahmen
11 Lynxmen
12 Jackalmen


Falcon Men

These ancient warriors serve the sun and sky gods, fighting evils such as snakes, scorpions, vultures and others. They especially hate undead and necromancers. They are fanatic warriors who are harsh judges. They live on high rocky outcrops and mountains where they can see troubles from far away. They have long aided humans and protected them from ancient evils. They do look down on humans for being morally weak and prone to corruption. They think paladins have some hope.  Different tribes live in different climates but the desert ones are the most numerous and active. In their tower monasteries they keep libraries of evils they fought and arcane records of ancient wars between law and chaos. They spend most of their days training and in study waiting for the apocalypse to begin. They are always wary for the signs of doomsday and waiting to wage war on the armies of chaos. Sometimes they adopt human orphans and train them in hopes they will improve humanity. Some have come to serve in solar temples or might visit on high holy days. Some guard ancient relics and holy places. Their rigid thinking makes them inflexible and intolerant of weakness or moral failing. Trying to convince them of anything is very difficult but possible. They are highly thought of as teachers by some priests and holy warriors who may live with them for a year.   

d12 Falconmen Troubles

1 Falcon men found a corrupted village tainted by evil. Priests were hoping on saving them but falconmen cane and killed them all and burned down the community and stole the youngest children.
2 Falcon men have been seen searching for something. They have killed several bandits and other hostile creatures but wont say what they are searching for
3 A temple was uncovered and looters began to dig for a entrance but falconmen came and killed them all and have occupied the ruin
4 A lone falconman arrived in the village and has become the local lawman. The villagers don't mind but he has been executing bandits and any travellers committing acts of vice or dishonesty a bit too much
5 Assmen worshipping their storm war god have been fighting falcon men in the area. Both have been escalating and recruiting others to fight and pressuring humans to choose one side
6 A falconman and his chariot team have been holding up a road or well examining travellers for moral purity and goodness. Those that fail are decapitated and heads put on spears by the road road

7 A gold tipped pyramid structure has been exposed by weather and a falconman fanatic has turned up to guard it from any intruders
8 A falconman monastery has declared a crusade on chaos and evil. Anyone with less than perfect faith in law and good is to be purged, and the gods can sort out any mistakes 
9 A falcon man, last of his tribe is trying to recruit humans to join him in exterminating those who killed his kin. If he cannot appeal to idealism he offers the wealth of the villains
10 A bitter old falconman has been guarding holy scriptures in the hills for years. Some local murder hobos think he has golden eggs and plot to murder him
11 A team of falcon men have been sent by their prophet to exterminate a cult infesting human lands. Without proof humans are horrified by the murder spree
12 Humans stole a relic from a ruin and the falconmen want it back. They have tracked the thieves to the city and killed several of the looters already

Cobramen
This tribe of serpent men are a splinter group who developed their own culture and feel superior to their kin. Cobramen mostly live in deserts and tropics and many have remained hidden using vile cults as proxies to deal with the world. Cobra cultists use drugs, assassination, hypnosis and kidnapping as every day practise. They use exotic martial arts and strange weapons and the peoples who live near them are terrified and dare not peak the cult name or do anything to antagonise them. 
The cobra cult also has hybrids with cobra bloodlines who often become leaders. Cobramen have hidden complexes under their ancient ruined temples and deep in caves. Some of the more savage and degenerate ones live in burrows in sandy hills and they snatch victims to eat from local communities. Cobramen leaders are also known to be magicians and are willing to create undead, summon demons and even become vampires or lichs. They carry some genetic fault which has been weakening their blood line for aeons. Albinism is common for the cave tribes and many of their holymen have anemia. Breeding with humans has helped to strengthen them but they find this chore disgusting. They do mix with werecobras and cobra changelings who are part of some complex hierarchy. They also have other monsters they have bred with like demons and giant snakes. They may ally with other reptilians and draconic creatures or use pet basilisks but other such creatures know the cobramen think they are the master race.

d12 Cobramen Troubles

1 A cobra cult have begun murdering and killing like the old days and people are calling for the army to hunt and destroy them, but the authorities are not yet convinced
2 A number of youths missing for months were killed robbing a caravan wearing the cobra cult turbans and tattoos. Mourning parents beg adventurers to avenge them and rescue other missing people
3 Youths reported finding ruins and treasure in the hills. They never returned but some of the gold they brought back had the mark of the cobra kings and the locals are scared of reprisals
4 Cobra cultists have been active in the area murdering but a scholar believes he knows where the buried temple and possibly the cobra masters can be found
5 Everyone avoids the swamp ruins crawling with cobras but of late the cobras have been found in local villages and in fields biting workers. Marks of the cobra cult have been found on several bodies
6 Investigators sent to find the cobra cult were found turned to stone in poses of agony. One was turned to flesh by a wizard and died of snakebite moments later. Locals are worried

7 Coins of the cobra cult dynasty have been turning up in the marketplace and people are suspicious. But on the bright side the local thieves guild has vanished
8 A pile of sacrifice victim corpses were flushed out of a drain after a storm. Most had snakebites and many had missing limbs. A cobra cult in the sewers have people afraid

9 The cobra cult thugs have been attacking all over the countryside, snake monsters growing more common and drums and chanting are heard in the woods. Undead are now walking the streets by night and cobra hybrid vampires have been attacking in peoples homes
10 A strange fever has been infecting locals and those with the sickness have been wandering into night. One family tied up their grandma with the wandering fever and she grew scales, snake eyes and fangs before escaping. Now the priest has died of a snakebite and people are getting suspicious 
11 Local children found a cave when rabbiting with cobra shrine carvings. Since the word got out strangers have been visiting and poking around the cave. Now the children who made the discovery have disappeared
12 Most locals had never seen cobra till recently but now they are more common. Cobra handcrafts and images are becoming more common. Some of the locals are even keeping them as pets in baskets and bathing them with their babies

Gilamen
These large reptile men are slow moving ponderous creatures with stumpy tails, red and black scaly skin and terrible breath. They have a venomous bite but many claim the creatures kill with their terrible breathe and tell many untrue stories about them. Some claim they don't excrete normally and vomit up feces to explain their bad breath.  Mostly they live in desert caves and prefer to be left alone but occasionally they get riled up and form large gangs. Mostly they do this to return their homelands to peace and quiet but they have been known to war with insect and arachnid peoples. 
Most are peaceful and stay at home but their size and ferocity make them desirable by others as fearsome warriors. Their reputations does not help. Individuals might strike out and come to serve others or move into a village and become guardians. Occasionally they are kidnapped to use as gladiators  or guardsmen and these reluctant warriors are bad tempered and are feared as savage and brutal fighters. Strangely the school of magic they like most is druidry. Occasionally desert dwelling lizard men or snake men like to employ them as elite body guards or champions. All kids of desert kings and leaders like the same. Druids also employ them occasionally and they might guard sacred oasis and hidden wells or be employed as guards for travel. Occasionally someone kidnaps one of their children and all the available adults unite to form a war band to chase the evil doer. They are quite saddened by the rest of the worlds treatment of them and know they are in decline. Apparently in ancient times they were more common and even waged war on enemies intruding on their desert lands and were mercenaries for other reptilians but now they are suspicious of almost everyone except druids. Sometimes they ride giant lizards or use them as pack animals


d12 Gilamen Troubles
1 A horrible reptilian monster has moved into a hillside cave and locals are frightened and want it gone
2 Some slavers have brought gilamen children in a caged waggon into a village while on their way to market. A force of angry gilamen are in pursuit and the slavers try to get the locals believing the monsters are simply on the warpath and need to be stopped
3 A gilaman seeks help to recover some eggs from his homeland. He poorly understands humans and has upset many in his quest. A druid has offered to recruit adventurers to help him and smooth over troubles with locals
4 A serpentman wizard has convinced some gilamen to unite to drive off humans from the area convincing them the humans are a threat. A local druid is suspicious the gilamen have someone pulling their strings
5 Gilamen gladiators have escaped and many are in a panic in fear of the monsters who have heard only of their brutality in public fighting pits
6 A village for years has enjoyed good relations with a friendly gilaman who kept out all kinds of riff raff and troublemakers. They fear he has been kidnapped by fightpit slavers
7 A gilaman has had his family murdered and seeks revenge. He has taken secret chaos potions and called on ancient demons to aid him and assembles a chaos warband of reptilian monsters out for blood

8 A gilaman elder seeks adventurers who can help him. A dungeon has stolen eggs for years and have turned their children into murderous thugs working for a dungeon boss. He wants someone to kill the boss and convince the gilamen to return to their homeland where they can live in peace
9 A gilaman druid was peacefully attending his grove when a gang tried to kidnap him. The gilaman thinks it is time to cull the local humans and has created wood golems and giant animals to help. He could be stopped but bringing him the true criminals would be easier and bring peace
10 A huge gilaman has taken to guarding a local well and locals are afraid. None have though of talking to him or asking who he guards the well from
11 A ruthless lizardman vampire has charmed several gilamen to bring him humans to drink blood from. Some might realise their behaviour is not normal for the previously peaceful creatures
12 A thug has raised a gila since a egg and uses him to extort money from people or has it menace a road and pretend to drive it off for a reward. The gila's mom has heard of him and wants someone to save him from this shameful life

Hyanamen

These vile horrors are long enemies of human kind and served many of the great ancient evils and demons. Cowardly bullies with great strength and ferocity. Greedily devour victims sometimes stopping in a fight to wolf down some spilled innards. They prefer to outnumber or appear stronger than their enemies but thankfully they are not very persistent and flee when the odds turn. Humans dread them, for hyenamen prey on humans like no other monster. They love to eat human hands and greedily stuff themselves on the dead. They take prisoners for slaves and food and will kill and eat any who are too slow or weak. The laughter they make is terrifying and they enjoy taunting victims and hunting them to exhaustion. Their worship of demons is well known and often they will serve any evilhuman cult knowing their purpose is to kill and terrorise. They make orcs seem subtle and sophisticated. If they cannot kill humans all kinds of deihumans are delicious and anything made of meat is fair go. Sometimes people leave out poison bait for them or poison the innards of a corpse. They chop off hands or wolf down innards first choice because they are easy to swallow quickly.  Most cannot tell males from females apart, even scholars of anatomy get it wrong. Some say the females are bigger and fiercer and abuse male prisoners more. Often they use normal hyenas as dogs and the terrible dinocrocuta are even bigger the size of a cavebear. In ancient times they were more common and there were arctic tundra versions. Now they mostly thrive in wastelands where humans don't kill them all. Any organised humans will try to exterminate hyenamen. Even orcs and humanoids can have uses and be dealt with or paid off. Hyenamen only value meat and terror. They might accumulate loot but it is best used as bait or to buy slaves or weapons. For some reason they like morningstars and flails possibly from devotion to their demon gnoll patron. Some gain additional powers and mutations from demons such as carry disease, invisibility in darkness or more. Their fur colour often is related to the cults they follow. Some become priests and are greatly revered. Most beastmen hate lycanthropes but were hyena are considered kin and some hyenamen take on the condition they regard as holy. Hyenamen establish kingdoms often in wastelands. Other races sometimes employ them as skirmishers or shock troops. Gnolls are a common name also used for them

Troubles With Gnollmen1 A local vegetable farmer disappeared on the way to market. Chunks of bone were found in the area and some blood and his family don't know what happened
2 Hideous laughter from the darkness has been terrorising a village for nights and some animals have vanished
3 Up in the hills a shrine to darkness has been reclaimed by a priest who has brought hyenamen with him as helpers until he can make some undead. Unfortunately the hyenamen have eaten every old bone in the caves and the priest reluctantly needs the troublemakers
4 Hyenamen riding huge Dinocrocuta have been raiding the kingdom taking whole communities back to their hill country wasteland to feast on
5 A hyenaman and his pack of hyenas have been terrorising the countryside stealing sheep and driving traders away
6 A tribe of hyenadon riding hyenamen have been raiding farms and attacking travellers. The nobles have offered a reward because the hyena flee the local knights sent after them and their mounts can handle rougher terrain than horses
7 A hyenaman priest of darkness and his black furred tribe have been taking hostages and demanding ransoms. Any who cant pay find a pile of broken bones left on their doorsteps
8 A hyena cult worshiping a disease demon have been hit and run raiding leaving those injured to slowly die and spread the plague. The particular sickness makes the victim have violent berserk rages which the hyenamen think is a virtue and the disease never is lethal to them
9 A dungeon lord has been building in secret for several years scheming to control the area. Of late his hyenamen have been sneaking off to eat villagers and people are suspicious the hyena retreat somewhere secret in the area. The exposure has forced the boss to advance his plans
10 A band of hyenamen worship the slime god and after devouring the occupants of a farm house leave gelatinous and slime monster spoors behind to clean up the mess. Someone came home from market and saw the horrors finishing of her family and has called for help
11 Distant horrible laughter and drums have been heard in the hills and people have been disappearing. The local law offer a reward
12 Hyenamen have occupied a old empty dungeon and enslaved kobolds to repair the tunnels. WHen the kobolds finish they will be eaten and the hyenamen will start raiding. They hope to attract a evil priest

Scorpionmen
These awful beings were created by chaos to torment the children of the gods. They utterly hate all other life and murder and devour freely. They often guard unholy places and entrances to the underworld. Many have additional limbs one set often with huge claws making weapons and tools meaningless. Their poison stinger tails are their fiercest weapons. The are kin to other scorpion monsters such as scorpion centaurs, were scorpions and giant scorpions and often live and work with them. Some confuse them with scorpion centaurs when they ride giant scorpions. They can live in the most barren of regions in the worst conditions. They serve numerous scorpion demon ancestors and some carry chaos mutations. They often live in caves and burrows and practise foul sacrificial rites in the dark. They can track prey for miles and often position themselves over a wide area but just in sight of each other. Thus when one attacks more swarm in for the kill. They occasionally form vast armies who besiege entire cities, Those that carry shields like to use polished reflective ones which in large gatherings dazzle enemies in the sun. Very few other creatures trust them or tolerate them. They simply cannot resist the temptation to eat other creatures for long. In elder times there were aquatic versions who were among the first creatures to move to the land. Other types live in caves and may hove long feelers to hunt in the dark. Many variations in colour schemes and camouflage exist. Yellow in deserts, black for night hunters, cobalt blue, green and many more varieties. In recent years they have been increasing in numbers as rituals to turn men into the monsters has been circulated among cults

Troubles With Scorpionmen
1 A whole opened up in a road and a carriage fell down. All the passengers and the horses went missing but the guard saw horrible scorpion men in the hole. Now the hole is filled in with rubble and broken carriage
2 Scorpion men worshipping mother Tiamat have sworn to help destroy humans in the area. They have been digging up a ancient machine but have no idea how to use it so have started kidnapping wizards. Some of them have draconic mutations 
3 A cave in the hills has been guarded by scorpion me for generations. A wizard wants someone to kill them and find out if the cave is a portal to the underworld or tablets of the old gods
4 Scorpion men have opened a tomb, eaten the remains inside and set up as a base to terrorise the region 
5 Scorpion men serving a part demonic scorpion centaur king have been raiding civilization, tearing down walls, filling in wells and burning houses and eating everyone they catch
6 Scorpionmen serving a scorpion queen have set up a lair. They kidnap men to be her mates and if they survive she turns them into scorpionmen. She is also laying eggs and plans to overrun the country
7 Scorpionmen guarding a relic of the old gods have realized their god is never coming back and taken a peak. A machine that makes rando monsters and teleports them into available lairs nearby. They have moved into a local empty dungeon and begun robbing merchants
8 A scorpion cult have been busy for decades causing trouble murdering and kidnapping. Now they have learned how to make devotees become scorpionmen and have increased their operations with their superior fighting force
9 Scorpions have always been common in a certain patch of wasteland and adventurers with anti poison magic went to explore it. They found ruins of a scorpionman city with angry scorpionmen inside worshiping their demon ancestor. They got out with some jewels and wild tales
10 A local swamp has had bodies of frogmen, fishmen and eelmen wash ashore. The fishermen are afraid and have heard drums from the sunken temple ruins. Marine scorpionmen have been revived by a catfishman wizard to aid him turning the swamp into his personal kingdom of evil 
11 A cult of darkness have recently found the secret of making scorpion men and have created a band to guard their temple in the hills from greedy adventurers. The cult have recently been turning gold into lead just to offend the sun god and local merchants are outraged
12 A band of nomad scum who have been decimated after being hunted by civilised people retaliating for decades of raids have been seen again. But now they are scorpion men. Nobles have raised a reward for any who can kill them and find out how they changes into monsters

Foxmen
These sneaky thieving killers are much hated and wage war with farmers. They lie and deceive if given the chance but most people know not to trust them even if they can be charismatic. They delight in thieving and murder and mostly act alone as they are selfish and don't even trust each other for long, just long enough to breed. If they do join a gang they do so temporarily for a big heist. They often join gangs of mixed beastmen or even start their own. Sadly many of their schemes ae simply to break into farmyards and kill all livestock. Sometimes their followers are disappointed this is the extent of their scheming. Some have more elaborate schemes like stealing gold, kidnapping or joining some group to betray them. Often they get bloodlust and start killing everything they can reach even killing farmers once all the livestock are dead. Some enjoy taking wild risks or talking to their victims more than they should. this is often their downfall but they enjoy scaring victims and feeling superior. They see themselves as charming gentlemen but are more like sociopathic serial killers. There have been cases of more sociable ones who behave better but they are rare. They like gold to buy fancy clothes and decor for their lairs. Stealing luxury goods is a favorite heist. They are very vain about their tails and take threats to them seriously. They have a special hatred of furriers and anyone wearing fox fur. There are various varieties who live in deserts, tundra and woodlands. Some have begun to sneak into cities making lairs in abandoned lots, sewers or murdering a dandy and taking their house and clothes. They are suspicious and jealous of changeling fox spirits or were foxes and will try to kill them as rivals. When young they can be more appealing and more sociable. Their horrible melancholic noises scare many animals and farming folk. They are interested in sorcery and wizardry and magic of deception.

Troubles With Foxmen
1 Someone is kidnapping village women who walk alone so now family members travel with them but now women vanish and their escorts are found murdered
2 A foxman has taken over a bandit gang and leading them to increasingly brazen exploits and horrible murders
3 A colourful fox dandy has been luring children into his carriage with candy and toys and taking them to his secret lair
4 Someone broke into a brothel at night and murdered all the workers and customers. Local officials and criminals are furious
5 Someone has been robbing butcher shops and killing the butchers and their families. The murderer seems to have used the butcher tools and murder victims to make sausages
6 A wealthy candy maker has closed their doors of late disappointing his rich clients. A dandy foxman has taken over and is making horrid treats like glazed kidneys and candied eyeballs for monsters to enjoy. He thinks he is a genius
7 A artist colony has been silent of late and used to send for food daily to the village. A foxman has taken them prisoner and is slowly torturing them to death one by one while critiquing their life's work. He complains bitterly that because he is a fox nobody takes his superior art seriously
8 Someone has been murdering tailors about town. The foxman culprit has been demanding fancy pants and kills any not made to his standards. He criticises his enemies dress during fights 
9 A cunning burglar has been stealing bejewelled golden artisan eggs and the usual guilds are denying they did it or offering to sell the eggs back. The noble collector is outraged and other eggs have been stolen also. A huge reward has been offered
10 A girl told a story of how a kind foxman took her to his home for tea and cake. Locals are terrorfied this is a bad sign and locking their houses and barns at sunset, even the tavern!
11 Someone has been sending love letters to lonely rich men luring them to a isolated village then murdering them. The culprit is a cunning fox lady who feigns innocence if caught, she will fight if cornered but will try to cut a deal offering one of her treasure caches
12 A foxman has kidnapped a band of minstrels and has been forcing them to perform for him and his friends. The Inn expecting the minstrels is worried as they were good friends

Scarabmen
These insect men are maligned for their appearance but are also associated with solar cults and by collecting dung they help reduce disease in cattle. People do dislike the fact they build huge towering citadels and castles from excrement and roll gigantic boulders of dung carelessly around crushing people. In their castles they build mighty temples to the sun god from dung and cover it in gold leaf. Other nocturnal breeds prefer the moon and silver and some subterranean ones prefer lead and worship the anti sun the god of darkness. Their evil cult worship shadow demons and create shadows from the dead. They roll spheres of magical darkness focused on their dungballs they roll at or ram enemies.The chaotic type who rolled disease carrying poison balls into waterways and wells. They eat flesh by choice and often are mutated. All types also dig elaborate tunnel complexes that sometimes adopted by others and become dungeon complexes. Visitors are sometimes surprised when the scarabmen roll huge boulders of dung that just fit in the tunnels. They can be employed to make constructions and excavations and are more friendly than termite men and other burrowing insectoids. They helped the first god-kings build pyramids and ziggurats long ago. They built dams, walls, forts, wells, canals and more of the great ancient kingdoms. They don't stop walking and bowl over anything in their way. Sometimes hundreds move together, each with a ball of feces as tall as they are running. They are friendly and willing to trade and make deals as long as you don't slow them down. All scarabs use any available spell casters styles depending on their clan. They like literacy, magic and machines ever so much but like them made of feces if possible

Troubles With Scarabmen
1 Chaos scarabmen come through a gateway and begin to build a great temple altar to summon a god of chaos. Their hungry workers require hunters who roll giant balls of meat and bone and offal
2 A clan of sun god scarabmen arrive and start building a monument. It gets bigger and blots out the sun for part of the day and locals mad. They are building a huge obelisk with chambers inside and plan a gold capstone
3 Scarabmen wizards Have built a underground device to open a planar portal. The great arcane machine is causing earthquakes on the surface
4 Chaos scarabmen of the plague god attack a community with filthy rancid diseased dung balls, leaving the village covered in tons of feces
5 A dazzling golden domed sun temple has been erected, now the scarab men have armed as hoplites and ready to defend it
6 Lunar scarabs say they are from the moon where they live off leviathan moon worm  feces. They crashed in a balloon and are now stranded. They are hard working, gullible and easily exploited or enslaved
7 Darkness Scarabs are at work in secret tunnels which are magically dark
8 The Silver Scarab moon cult are building monuments to the moon gods and goddess all over the countryside 
9 Scarabs worshipping the great desert demon Thon are building him a pyramid in the mountain. Soon it will open a gate to their lord 
10 Scarabs have invented a game where they roll giant dungballs from a hilltop at waggons on the lowlands road. Merchants are getting annoyed at being run down and goods damaged with feces
11 Scarabs have built artificial metal constructs but dont know how to give them souls. While waiting evil spirits have taken them over and they will pay adventurers to return them
12 Scarabs have built a tower that can be used to call the sungod to blast heathens countries from afar. Sucha weapon is a terrible temptation no mortal should have and several factions want to destroy it and others want to use it themselves

Camelmen
Camelmen are a stoic people capable of great pasion. They can be very pleased or angry or in love. They can be quite friendly and welcoming to strangers but some tribes are hostile and suspicious often a product of bad history rather than evil. They themself employ normal camels and use them for long distance trade. The shaggier two humped camels are more cold resistant and a hybrid  camelman type tolerates heat and cold well. They are related to llamamen, guanacomen and alpacamen and a few other races. They are notorious for their spitting skills and they spit on people they dislike and have spitting contests. They can live a week without food and four days without water giving them a tremendous advantage over most races and traders. Some remark they have beautiful eyes and they certainly can be charismatic traders. Most carry large loads and some are quite strong. They are not the most magical race but some are priests or druids and the few who use other magic like illusion magic for some reason. They are good workers hauling water for irrigation and moving rocks in mines. They are quite hedonistic when not working hard and enjoy feasts and parties with dancing, wine and lots of shouting. Many are nomadic and might use caravans especially in the lands beyond deserts with more rain. Some live in cities as rich merchants and bankers and are well respected. Some enjoy piercings in their ears, lips and noses. Some wear decorative clothing with beadwork and silk and exotic hats and headgear. They have wandered the earth to every known continent but have struggled more in some places. Most humans find them among the most amiable of beastmen. Some are jerks but they telegraph it a mile of so humans know to avoid them. Camelmen have many strange sects and foreign gods they have discovered on their far and wide travels. Most of these help them deal with diverse cultures rather than hinder this

Troubles With Camelmen
1 A caravan of nomadic camel men have parked on the village common and most people have never seen such creatures. They are up late drinking and celebrating and some locals start to blame local problems on them

2 A caravan of camelmen from afar have been kidnapped and local merchants want them free, someone has to find who did this and why and stop them
3 A wily camelman trader is selling strange treasures he dug up in the far south some are more powerful than advertised or have strange flaws
4 A sect of camel men have been insulted by humans mocking their religion. A mad cult leader has summoned a masked band of followers who now raid shrines and burn them and they rough up common folk and punish them according to their own strict laws like "no trousers they are the implements of the devil"
5 A camel prophet has dreamed there is a genius in a lamp that must be rescued in the area and his sect is dedicated to freeing the lesser divinity plus the prophet realy wants a wish
6 A man wants to marry a camelmaiden the both families are outraged. The poor merchant youth has been sending notes with servants that he and his love need to be rescued
7 A camelman worshiper of Sindar the moon god is searching for a ancient relic lost aeons ago by his people. They want to use the relic to blast a channel through the mountains to facilitate trade then destroy it. Honestly.
8 A oasis for aeons has been guarding by camalmen who worship the water nymph but others are jealous of non humans with such a good location. A human merchant has bee rousing up people against the camels accusing them of devil worship, black lotus dealing and corrupting local youth with jobs
9 Camelmen bandits also like grave robbing on the side and a band wandering the area found a forbidden crypt of the old ones releasing a demon and attracting a cult. The surviving camelmen are mostly drinking it off but they might help imprison or slay the demon
10 A famous camelmaid dancer is travelling through the area with her troupe and a cult who disapprove have been sabotaging them and trying to intimidate the show 
11 A camelman assassin has joined a merchant caravan and since arriving has killed several guildsmen and merchants and will continue till exposed then he will flee to the assassins mountain back home. People think he a goofy fool nobody would suspect
12 A camel man wizard is seeking ancestors of a ancient hero so he can listen to the dreams of their past incarnation to find a treasure. He uses drugs, hypnosis and a ritual to make the ancestors dream their past lives then a spell to see the dream. He has no intention of sharing

Ostrichmen
This maligned race warred with humans who taught that ostrich folk were demon birds. They do worship wind and sky spirits humans don't always approve of. Some do worship demons but these were tribes that were almost slaughtered by humans and desperate. Having survived persecution they are wary of humans but willing to trade. They like grasslands and deserts and are kin to other flightless birdmen who were robbed to power of flight. They have mighty kicks and pecks but use bows, spears, javelins and darts to great effect. They mostly fight like skirmishers more than hopolites but some have. They use their speed and endurance to harass enemies and might follow them for days. They have served empires as scouts and skirmishers. Superior eye sight and long distance running have helped. Some temples employ them as they make excellent guards. They quite enjoy elaborate uniforms and armour and they are good at moving in unison or standing still like statues. They are not especially magical by inclination but a few are priests or druids or shaman. They do have a code of honour and make reliable mercenaries. They often worship sun gods and sky gods or divinities of planes. Some turn to banditry as a means to live.

Troubles With Ostrichmen
1 Ostrichmen scouts for foreign enemies sneaking through areas making maps
2 Ostrichmen bandits have settled in the woods and think this is a great place to live
3 Chaos ostrichmen in a hidden cave plan to destroy humans with black magic, disease and sabotage
4 A chorus line of ostrichwomen dancers have been kidnapped by hyenamen and the girls manager needs someone to save them from being eaten
5 A force of uniformed ostrich men have been scouring the area hunting a criminal fugitive who tells everyone they are demons and must be stopped
6 A ostrichman bounty hunter is hunting a egg thief who has been selling their eggs for craftsmen to make into artworks
7 A zealous ostrich warrior is hunting chaos and inspecting villages for cults, but in response they have been warning people about a demon bird man deceiver who must be purged
8 Ostrich folk each morning perform a dance to the sun but a back serpentman worshiping a god of darkness has been harassing them with monsters and spells, the ostriches are looking for help and fear what will happen if they don't perform their dance 
9 A giant eagle landed carrying ostrichman passengers speaking a strange language want to trade. Some of the locals are scared and think them demons
10 Ostriches are seeking a cult of darkness hidden in a dank cave in the area. Wary of underground places the birdmen require help from human adventurers and offer the cult's treasure
11 Ostrichmen cavalry riding terror birds passing through area, look about in alien manner, possibly question if any lizard men or batmen about with poor language skills
12 Ostrichman scholars have come to question humans about their culture, beliefs and other trivium, following everyone for days with pesky questions. Eventually they decide to move on for more stimulating subjrcts

Cheetahmen
The cheetahmen are a ferocious warrior tribe who hunt by sprinting and ambush.  Many use simple weapons like javelins, darts, atlatl, spiked clubs and throwing sticks. They are quite proud of taking down foes with no weapons also. They worship ancient ancestor totem spirits and have tribal shamen. They live secretively in hiding because they don't get along with other cats or other rival races. Most of their victims are not so keen on them either. They prefer grassy plains but the areas near farmland are good too. Siblings often live together even for years until they marry. Some employ siblings as guards, huntsmen or scouts but they charge more than humans would. It is a status symbol for nobles to have them on staff. They adapt to palace living quite well and are very loyal. They like to weave huts and rafts and other goods, and sometimes daub their huts in mud as well living in clusters of huts forming a wall around them. Some who came to the city adapted well, some became warriors or thieves but they don't tend to have the attention span to be priests or wizards. Those that livin in civilization a few generations might learn magic. Some shamen exist among them or some serve evil demon cult and learn sorcery. Some have belonged to murderous cults and serve a demon ancestor. Even the more neutral ones can be a menace taking game and attacking a weak victim. Some good ones serve solar cults as champions and are guardians of holy men and relics. Some serve royalty to protect good and proper monarchs they respect. You cannot force them to serve you without holding their siblings or lovers or children hostage. This is a dangerous thing to do because they will seek to betray and kill any who threaten their loved ones. Sometimes they use regular cheetahs as hunting dogs and might serve some rich master. After years of serving a rich foreigner they will return hume to visit if they can and many retire to rural mud hut life with a few modern conveniences.

Troubles With Cheetahmen
1 A local cheese wheel rolling contest was spoiled by teen cheetahmen who stole all the cheeses half way down the hill. The farmers are angry and want cheese back or money
2 Cheetahmen siblings are touring the country on holiday from some distant court which the will report to when home. They are interested in the common folk of the land and merchants but are haughty from living like gods. They require some guides
3 A cheetahman nomad has travelled far from home and is challenging himself to become might to return home with higher status. He likes to run along side carriages and hold them up for fun which the locals and the royal coach service dislike
4 A cheetahmaiden was kept as a slave and has escaped. She wants help to escape the unjust bounty hunters out to trap her again
5 Ancient cheetahmen somehow from aeons ago when there was a great northern tundra-savana between continents. The savage brothers have poor language skills but are trying to get friendly
6 A Cheetahwoman has come to compete against the fastest humans in the local sports games event as part of a upcoming festival
7 A cheetahman hunter has come to hunt exotic beasts and wants to join adventurers to find strange creatures to kill and eat
8 A cheetahman has come to the area looking for hyenamen who killed his mate. He just want them dead but will offer those who join his hunt any treasure
9 A couple of young cheetahmen have escaped slavery and want protection of a safe place or somehow to get a boat home. They don't really have anything to offer but trouble from their former owners
10 A crazed cheetaman has been hiding in the woods and has begun to work with bandits. He has been a useful scout, a distraction and a tracker. Locals want the band destroyed
11 A chhetaman is searching for a cursed idol a sailor stole from his village decades ago. Now he has tracked the man to a abandoned old house the sailor retired in as a captain. Some say it is haunted and the cheetaman says the idol is to blame and will get worse
12 A cheetahman is looking for a gift for his lord and would like to join some dungeon explorers for a single great artwork suitable for his lord

Lynxmen
Lynx are medium wildcats with large padded feet, tufts on their ears and short stumpy tails. The lynxmen belong to several types adapted for desert, tundra or forest. They quite like nesting in caves or hollow logs but often settle in abandoned human homes and begin to use human tools. They rapidly move from hunter gatherers with stone tools to metal use and some have moved into cities and enjoy fancy clothing. They will live in family groups when there is plenty of food but will go out alone when there are only a few. Highly adaptable you can find them across the world working with humans even as sailors, fishermen, lumberjacks, adventurers, hunters, exotic guards and criminals. Like humans they have a diverse moral compass and a wide range of magical interests and skill sets. Like many beastmen there are dwarf strains called lynxlings that only stand 4 foot tall and are more shy and rare. Mostly they don't conflict with humans directly but might fight over game or humans might dislike a empty house being squatted by these catfolk. In wild populations some become druids but civilized ones might learn anything and are certainly smart enough for wizardry. They do prefer forest and nature cults or sometimes solar cults. Quite a few join adventurers from curiosity at first and they make excellent thieves. Once civilized they can be quite charming and luxury loving. They dislike wolves, dogs and canines mostly.

Troubles With Lynxmen
1 A landlord has discovered lynx squatters on his properties and wants some one to evict them or get them to pay rent
2 A old lynx trapper and rospecter come into town looking for adventurers. He has found a unknown dungeon in a mountain cave and thinks the discovery worth money
3 A mother lynx and her babies is looking for a job, most local humans wont employ her or give her a chance. Her children might make good followers one day
4 Lots of local dogs have gone missing of late killed by some hairy wild person in the hills. Turns out to be a bitter lynxman who was attacked by dogs once and now hates them all
5 A lynxboy has found a cave system while looking for rabbits. He wants some adventurers to give him some gold or or a apprenticeship in return for revealing the location
6 Lynxmen hunters have found a orc camp and come to warn locals. They will guide warriors to attack the camp
7 A lynxman was guarding a elf merchant who has been kidnapped by goblins. The lynx needs some help in recovering the master and offers a reward in elf goods or magic
8 A lynxwoman and her gnome friends have been coming to town trading rare books and jewelry and many are curious where they got them from. They lynx and gnomes share a burrow in the forested hill country
9 A lynx fisherman says he has seen a giant carp that he thinks is the same one who bit off a wizards hand and stole his ring. He needs some help to get the reward
10 A lynx ferryman has been transporting a gang to a secret entrance into a bridge and he is sure now they are a cult. He is looking for some shifty adventurers who can deal with them without incriminating him
11 A lynx occupying a old house found several dungeon maps and he wouldn't mind some experienced adventurers to investigate them
12 A guild of lynx thieves has been granting charity to lynx families in the countryside and have been steadily growing. The standard guild is not impressed and trying to get them persecuted by the authorities to soften them up. The lynx would like some adventurers to help them and possibly fight the guild or make a truce

Jakalmen
Jackalmen have a frightening reputation for being associated with the dead. Some are allied with gods who protect tombs of the dead others serve demons who rob and eat the dead. This makes people wary and suspicious of them and adventurers often come into conflict with the wicked or the good ones. When guarding tombs they are quite intolerant and unforgiving. Sometimes they get visions of grave robbers and travel some way to slay them and return stolen goods. Sometimes they will repair a tomb, restoring artworks, fixing traps and upgrading curses. The evil ones are the opposite who defile graves, eat corpses and vandalize burial grounds. They worship demons and work with undead who they revere. A few devoted to chaos or cruel tricksters who act contrary to most of the race. Some are shamen and dedicated to keeping spirits dwelling where they should live and contacting the dead. Some visit them with offerings to learn about their loved ones in the afterlife. Most are monogamous pairs and they can run long distance. They are very smart and make cunning magicians, many of them become priests or wizards. Many underworld gods use them as servants and guards and many live in the underworldWhile often not evil they revere undead more than most living races do. They do not fear death or underworld powers and are naturally skilled at necromancy. They mostly are surprisingly well civil except the insane ones. They sometimes are overzealous and have inhuman priorities. Mostly they live in ancient deserts and grasslands but have been spreading into civilization and temperate areas. Their cunning often outwits larger scavengers and hunters. They get on tolerably well with vulturemen but not hyenamen. They often wear simple loincloths and gold or silver tattoos but will wear gilded armour or polished bronze. Many jackal spirits are found near gravesites and the underworld 

Troubles With Jackalmen
1 Some locals robbed a tomb a few years back and jackalmen have demanded the treasure back in a week or curses will befall the whole village
2 A temple tomb was exposed in a landslide and gilded armoured jackalmen led by a priest have arrived to defend it
3 The village graveyard has a jackalman undead hunting priest arrive and make camp. The locals are alarmed and afraid to ask why
4 Jackalmen have been in town with their waggons buying stones, urns and tools. Some say they are repairing a old tomb complex that was emptied decades ago. 
Jackalmen have been sent by a god to make a nice tomb for a important mummy lord
6 Jackalmen have built a settlement with walls of bone and undead farmers serving them (former thieves). Local authorities want to send a mission to determine if they are hostile or just strange foriegners
7 A great funeral barge was washed ashore and wreckers dragged it into their cave. Jackalmen have arrived in a funeral barge and insist that boat found was on the way to the underworld forever and cannot be delayed. Now the wreckers are ghouls serving a evil mummy lord who does not want to go to hell and wants corpses to build a army
8 A jackalman has arrived in a passing skybarge and has built a small pyramid he now guards
9 A jackalman is seeking a rod that can release undead by inserting in their mouths. The relic has been kept hidden by a evil cult in a desecrated tomb. The jackal seeks allies to recover the rod that is needed elsewhere
10 Jackalmen were repairing some tombs but their human suppliers stole them from another tomb. The jackalmen have killed them and taken over the funeral memorial workshop surprising locals
11 An old jackalman wants some young adventurers to take his coded crypt keeper manual detailing several dungeon tomb complexes and every trap and curse. He says his cult will reward you for turning in the book and can even return a dead friend back to life. The old jackal dies and the book has condition activated curses and in invulnerable to most harm
12 A jackalman necromancer has adopted a former tomb complex and declared all the living locals are descended from grave robbers or profited from it. Thus he intends to punish them all by making undead especially from locals families

2 comments:

  1. Hyaenodon have nothing to do with hyenas but Dinocrocruta rock and would be big enough to ride.

    From Prehistoric Wildlife .com:

    ‬"More grisly fossil evidence also suggests that‭ ‬Neanderthals were even eaten by cave hyena,‭ ‬perhaps‭ ‬actively hunted out in the open or perhaps caught sleeping in a cave that was raided in the night by hyena.‭ ‬There is also evidence and theories to suggest that cave hyena were responsible for preventing early humans from crossing the Bering Strait land bridge from Asia into North America.‭"

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