Creature Character Feature Oidhche-Yorath – Illusory Gentleman and Dream-Spinner Night Spirit (Setting: Uncanny Hosts) A fleeting double-image in your peripheral vision startles you before it takes a full second to realize that there is someone standing there on the other side of the room. The being is tall and thin but not gangly. He leans on a silver and ebony cane, although it looks like he hardly needs it, as he seemingly floats a fraction of an inch from the floor. He is dressed in the finest waistcoat you could imagine, and the rest of his garb is equally well-tailored, complete with top hat. It's all in black, with only a few accents of white and silver here and there. Disturbingly, even though his clothes seem normal (if extravagantly austere) he himself would hardly be considered such. His features are uncannily aquiline and covered in glossy raven feathers, and what would pass for hair are long plumes of the same color. His eyes are unsettling, almost too black, his white pupils the most prominent feature of all. He gives a flash of a smile, a grin that is altogether far too jovial as if he alone were in knowledge of something altogether amusing and frightening. You spot teeth that appear entirely too sharp before his smile quickly changes to one of gentlemanly appreciation. Rilvor – High Enforcer of Camazotz Xibalban (Setting: Alteir/The Thirteen Continents) A blur of motion crossed your vision only a moment before your companion was crushed under the massive feet of a dark form, a whiff of myrrh and foul flowers assailing your nostrils. A skull fastened upon a golden headdress grins at you, surrounded by fans of ruby feathers. Hair like blood spills from the creature's upturning head, it's face covered in black and white fur giving it a vague inverted skull impression. A broad chest puffs just before he opens huge jaws and shrieks horribly at you, fangs the size of daggers framing a pointed tongue. The monster stands and becomes terrifyingly tall, his body covered in both an elaborate pectoral and leather kilt. Massive bat wings unfurl from his side as he moves, creating a wet rending sound and holding the fresh heart of your companion in his three fingers. You could swear this thing is grinning sadistically at you as he devours the organ in front of you. Foley “The White Knight” - 1920's Mobster Pharaoh Hound (Setting: Raining Cats and Dogs) The door whines behind you as you step into the room, its tenebrous lighting obscuring all but the figure before you and the table next to him. A black fedora obscures his face, showing only pink canine ears from its side. An ominous point of red joins the darkness as he takes a long puff from his cigar. A coarse, sardonic voice calls out “Come on over where I can see ya better mack”. You spy a thick revolver and a scotch glass laying before him, gloved fingers plinking one-two-three at the glass edges like gunshots. You take your seat as he watches, the silence broken by the exhaling of a cloud of smoke. Avoiding looking at his face, a charcoal gray shirt seems strangled by the silver tie about it. The voice growls across the table at you “We got business to discuss” before he stands, the black pinstripe suit barely slimming his built frame. With but two strides he crosses the table and stands over you, his white furred face easily visible. Sharp teeth clench the cigar as he leans down and brings his red eyes to bear, their blue pupils fixed directly upon your own. “And don't you think you're gonna be backin' out, see?” Acriss – Redeemed Ranger Gorgon/Medusa (Setting: Alteir/The Thirteen Continents) You heard it again. A faint sound like a pit filled with angry vipers. Your eyes searching the ground, you didn't even notice the threat until a silver chain covered in barbs and spikes wrapped around your legs. A much louder hissing sound greets your sight flicking up to behold a black leather-clad figure partially obscured by a large green cloak. Its thin body adjusts the stance and grip upon the chain while you stare in horror at the host of snakes writhing out from under the hood. As it cocks its head slightly a leather gorget with panthers across it comes into view, and the hissing lowers in volume. Entrancing patterns are upon a light metal mask on its face; The grip on the chain lessens as it reaches to lift the visor up. You find yourself screaming, your arms held up in defense of a gaze that never came. His smoldering red eyes stare back at you impassively, awaiting some explanation. Vomauro – Ruin Delver Thu'Marath (Setting: Alteir/The Thirteen Continents) Taking a few more steps into the darkness down the dilapidated stone hallway, you heard the faintest scratching sound like charcoal on stone. It stops suddenly, and you carefully make your way forward. You heard another scratching sound, a different one like claws on stone just around the corner. The silence bears down as you lean your head around for a look; Your eyes come to meet with bright yellow ones, the green-rimmed pupils widening in fear as a shriek breaks the silence. Emboldened, you chase after the fleeing creature as it flees deeper into the tomb. It's small stature belies how impressively fast the lapis-colored reptilian creature moves, the air filled with jingling sounds as the bell-and-jewelry decorated tail whips about. Following the sounds into a dead-end you light a torch and proceed with caution right as the wiry form launches through the air at you, long bone spurs protruding from under its forearm in an attempt to stab. After managing to wrench off the latched on lizard it scurries to the destroyed wall, diving into the sand right before your eyes. Jahrinthar – Houngan of Shango Troll (Setting: Shadowrun) Opening the door to the shop you hear a customer alarm go off, a rumbling thunder boom playing through the tribal music blaring through the speakers. Moving past the racks of magical paraphernalia you approach the counter and behold a large, mocha-colored man standing almost twice your height. He looks down at you with an inscrutable smile, two tusks protruding from his lips, with an air of absolute confidence. He lifts one arm and points down at you with a finger, a leather cord covered in beads and feathers hanging from his wrist. A thick Jamaican accent booms over the music “I know what you be commin' for”. With a wide smile he turns to the shelves behind him, jars filled with fluid and questionable objects lining them. Your eyes cast about one of the most impressive displays of braids and dreadlocks you've ever seen, each of them tipped with a different charm of either wood or bone. His face, with those intense yellow-gold eyes, had distracted you from the huge spiraling horns that curled about his pointed ears. Suddenly he turns back about, and you catch sight of the long braided goatee hanging from his chin...and the human fingertip capping it. “Jahrinthar knows.” he announces, the booming thunder playing once more. Xorothix – Gene splicing politician Genetically modified Mithral dragon (Setting: Alteir/The Thirteen Continents) You enter into the expansive noble's court to face the figure sitting upon the throne in the center. He stands to receive you, his luxurious purple and lavender garments revealing just enough to enhance the sex appeal of this incredibly attractive man. His powerfully built body resembles an elf somewhat, though its platinum scales and long tail give the impression of a Planetouched or thrice-descended draconic human. His voice comes out, smooth and deep “I called you here to discuss the conclusion of our business”. You hear the soft latching of the door behind you, and the teal lips of your host curl in the most unpleasant of smiles. You think his face would look almost benevolent and cosmopolitan, were it not for the small horns protruding from the sides of his face. In a flash, you watch in horror as his form becomes that of a huge dragon. The ground quakes as he takes a step forward, his thick body resembling that of an overlarge stocky cat. You stare at the odd bright green throat accentuated by a black filigree collar, your fearful mind imagining wildly.”No useful parts in this one.” he booms as massive teal jaws open up to a mouth filled with ivory that immediately lunge forward. Pyroxenite – Master Blacksmith Magma L'tahr (Setting: Alteir/The Thirteen Continents) Entering into the smith's workshop, you are instantly assailed by the smell of molten metal and waves of heat. Peering down the cylindrical room into the workshop, you spot a brawny looking bird-man hammering upon a red-hot axe with thunderous blows. Nearby him, a forge filled with with molten iron illuminates the otherwise dark underground area. You spy him adjusting his leather apron before delivering one massive blow to the axe and bouncing the hammer right out of his hands into the forge. “Ah blast it” he says in an amused, jovial tune before reaching right in and extracting the still-dripping hammer without the slightest notice for the unbearable heat. With the new angle of the light you finally get a good look at his feathers, their mossy green and pale yellow-cream colors highlighted well under the glow of melted metal. You manage to note that this L'tahr keeps his fine, lacy crest feathers tied in a ponytail while he works before deciding to come back when he isn't busy. Whitby Flanwed – Librarian Noble Gnome Lich (Setting: D&D) The ornate darkwood carriage comes to a halt before you, its lanterns casting a soft orange glow about the night. The door opens for you, revealing a warm and inviting interior. An elderly voice rasps out “Come inside from this horrible night, I insist.”. Inside you are presented with a tiny man of incredible age, his skin wrinkled and withered. He offers his hand forward while introducing himself, eyes like deep moss agate fixated on you. His skin feels cold and terribly dry, but perhaps that is merely his old age. A couple of pleasantries later and he picks from his pile of books again, completely unconcerned with your presence as the carriage lurches forward. Burwor – Vice-loving shadow-fearing Noctumancer Gnome (Setting: D&D) This tiny man stands atop a barstool at the gambling table. His jovial shouting and excited gestures contradict the spidery laced dark robes he wears, a wide-brimmed dark hat with a black feather stuck through it sitting atop his head. His skin looks more than merely shaded, in fact as you look closer it looks smoky colored itself save where a long scar drags across the width of his face. Not long the shouting from the men over the dice table goes from jovial to angry and accusatory, and you watch with interest as one of the roughnecks shoves the little man right off of the stool. His hat spilled to the floor, you see the gnome's head has thin, wispy white hair. He wipes at his face for a moment and you notice a strange eye-mark upon his forehead gazing implacably. “You bully!” he shouts in fury, the superior grinning man opposite him standing up. You notice what the man does not, for the angered small one's shadow has grown quite long indeed...and seems to be moving of its own accord. Sulroth - Glade Guardian Serpentine nature spirit (Setting: Alteir/The Thirteen Continents) Coming into a beautiful glade, your eyes are immediately drawn to the clear waters. They almost sparkle as you approach them, so pure are they. You can even see fish but they dart away suddenly as a large, earthy colored serpentine head approaches from the deeps. Your eyes lock with its slitted sapphire orbs, the dark skin about them thinning somewhat. Long blue barbels from its chin quiver as it observes carefully. You catch a glimpse of broad shoulders coated in mahogany scales just before he suddenly surges out from the water, a red turning to azure hood reminiscent of luna moth wings unfurling and surrounding this magnificent creature in a halo of droplets that refract the light like glittering gems. You take note of the fins running down the length of his serpent lower half while he moves around you, a blue forked tongue flickering while he stays just out of your reach. Tridymite – High Priest of Twilenn Lunar L'tahr (Setting: Altier/The Thirteen Continents) A prickling along the back of your neck as you stand amidst this ethereal and eerily silent temple causes your eyes to cast up; A man of largely avian features flies through the air towards you in descent, his rounded and broad owl-like wings making not a sound. His stark yet opalescent white feathers catch the shaft of moonlight filtering in from the roof, and you shiver at the almost ghostly quality of his approach. Landing at last his elaborate charm decorated pectoral and kilt settle along his body like a dark shroud, the patterns along it vaguely reminding you of what you imagine their skeleton might look like. He regards you with a solemn expression from eyes the blue-black color of the twilight sky. His onyx beak and crest remain motionless as he waits for you to speak. Xynrith – Interstellar Hunter Zilloxian (Setting: None) Approaching the containment tube leaking the frigid air, your mind conjures up what creatures might lie within. Without warning the door bursts open and a form flies out from it with a spine-chilling shriek whose alien nature escapes description. It hovers in the air before you, this strange androgynous humanoid form with a body seemingly made from some gelatinous material. Your eyes can make out what appears to be some sort of glowing translucent skeleton present within the creature's body. Bits of cyberware implanted within lead wires up into the oddly shaped head, where a cybernetic visored mask covers what you imagine to be a formless and frightening visage indeed. Nuclei and veins are suspended in its head, and you find your attention drawn into focus again as its twin pairs of single-fanged mandibles click together. A machine-like masculine voice announces “Scanning...”. Your body tenses in anticipation of the assault when its visor projects a hologram: “Hello!” Zemourebourg – Eternal Guardian Manservant Alchemical Zombie Construct (Setting: Uncanny Hosts) The chamber door slams shut behind you, engulfing you in darkness lit solely by a small lantern. Not a moment later you hear a heavy step from somewhere in the blackness; Another followed by another as something begins moving, the ground trembling under your feet. A tall figure begins to form in the dark, a pale blot emerging from the engulfing mass. The ominous sound of a growling groan sets your heart screaming in your ears. A massive dead man stomps forth, his ensorceled flesh flaring brightly. An incredible looking greataxe is hefted over its shoulder, the runes along it spelling doom and destruction. You behold the faintest shimmer of what looked like gears in its rotted throat as its mouth opens, the thick arms heaving the axe up as the deep monotone voice shouts “FOR THE MISTRESS.”