Wild Life on the Egg
Giant Vermin
The Wild places of the Egg are occupied by a variety of mundane and magical beasts. Giant Monstrous vermin of all types are fairly common. Giant spiders hunt the forests, Giant Scorpions lay hidden in the Deserts. Colonies of Giant Ants are generally well documented sites (due to the use of ants as beasts of burden) but every now and again a feral colony is discovered in the mountains or collapses a village.
Humans
Humans are vicious beasts that either pray on travelers through their forest or prairie homes or on wild or domesticated dwarves or orcs. They are clever pack hunters that usually travel in groups of 5 to 7. Larger groups than that tend to split off and follow secondary alpha males. Humans are never domesticated because of their natural psionic resonance with each other. In groups larger than their normal pack size a hive mind can form. The collective minds are very predatory and clever and can pose a great threat to a run of the mill farmer. Some Psion scholars have written ways of linking to the natural human telepathy, gaining a faithful companion in the process. Physically humans look like ugly hairless hunched over baboons they run on their knuckles but fight on their hind legs lashing out with their fists.
Elves
Elves come in many varieties from the solo predatory Dark elves to the tiny High Elf pets of the wealthy. They are all natural predators, with the smaller varieties keeping homes free of vermin and kobolds. They are lithe creatures, hairless and quadrupedal. Their heads have small manes of hair falling down to their necks. Their face are fairly flat with pointed noses. Their forelimbs end in grasping hand like claws. Most varieties have a long tail that has a tendency to flick back and forth.
Dwarves
Dwarves are a fairly common sight all over the Egg. The come in several sub-species but domestic dwarves are usually kept by burrowing races such as badgers. Dwarves of all sizes have large round heads with beady dark eyes almost entirely hidden by thick eyebrows. Their brows and manes grow long but generally not as quickly as the hair surrounding their chin and upper lip. A dwarfs beard must be trimmed very often by their masters. It is not uncommon for affectionate masters to braid the beards of their favorites. Dwarf bodies are round and low to the ground with four stumpy legs. Their fore limbs are very powerful and clawed for use in burrowing through the earth. The smaller dwarf breeds are about 4’ long and 2’6” at the shoulder. The larger beasts of burden can grow up to 10’ long and 6’ at the shoulder and weight over a ton. Some dwarf breeds, the deeper dwelling varieties lack a mane all together but still have their long beards. In the wild and domesticated dwarves make burrows and line them with shed bits of beard hair for warmth. This practice is very aggravating to dwarf owners that like a tidy stable. Wild dwarves also have the peculiar habit of leaving chewed mushrooms and vegetation in pools of stagnant water near their dens. Dwarven saliva speeds up the fermentation process of the vegetation yielding a potent beverage for the dwarven young and old alike.
Kobolds
Tiny reptilian pests there is almost no space a kobold cannot get to. They have been witnessed squeezing through key holes and under larder doors. Kobolds are disgusting little beings standing about a foot tall, they tend to sit hunched over and crawl around on their longer fore limbs and hop about on their hind legs. Kobolds have long snouts and sharp tiny teeth and claws. They are very wiry and appear to have almost no muscly at all. In color they run the gamut of dark gray to bright green depending on their habitat. They are a particular menace in big cities with lots of places to hide and lots of People storing and throwing out food for them to get into. Domestic Elves are the natural predator of Kobolds. The large temple elves that many priesthoods maintain can keep a whole block nearly free of the pests if allowed to roam free.
Goblinoids
A broad classification of short snouted, mottled skinned creatures with short, often patchy fur. The common species are Goblins, Hobgoblins, and Bugbears and are found in one form or the other in almost all environments, from the northern glaciers to the tunnels of the underdark. More exotic breeds like Varags and Blues are only rarely and either stick to a single region, like the Forestkith, or are kept by breeders in remote kingdoms, like Varags.
Goblins are the most numerous variety of goblinoid. They usually travel in large packs and either surround and pull down large game or simply scavenge off the kills of stronger predators. A typical goblin is a lean quadruped with a set of sharp yellow teeth and floppy triangular ears. Their legs are reverse jointed like a wolf and their fore legs are far better for running on than for using their stubby claws for combat. An average goblin is about 2’ at the shoulder and 3’ in length not counting their stubby tails.
Hobgoblins are a breed of goblin that were originally bred for combat by the now extinct nation of Hobbe. The breed has become very common. They are a staple in the watch patrols of many cities and are often kept as pets to provide both companionship and security to traveling people and isolated farmers. With the prevalence of the domesticated breed wild hobgoblins have also become more common. A single feral hobgoblin might join a goblin pack and take the alpha position, being both stronger and more intelligent hobgoblin led packs can be very dangerous. A pack of all hobgoblins is fairly rare but can pose a serious threat to a traveling caravan. In appearance Hobgoblins are similar to goblins only they are much larger, standing 4’ at the shoulder, and they have much smaller ears that stand upright like an elf’s.
Bugbears are a large omnivorous predator that superficially resemble a cross between a goblin and a bear. Their snouts are shorter, barely protruding from the rest of the face, and their forelimbs are much stronger and more dexterous. A bug bear is capable of grabbing with its claws and pulling a rider from his steed. A typical bugbear stands over 12 feet tall when rearing up on its hind legs and is more than three times as broad as a hobgoblin, Making them the largest of the common goblinoid species.
Orcs are four legged hoofed beasts with flat noses, large heads and shoulders, and tusks jutting out from their lower jaw. Orcs come in a variety of colors from grays and browns to greens. Domesticated orcs are about 4 feet at the shoulder and tend to be kept in muddy pens to keep them cool. Wild orcs have shaggier fur than domesticated orcs and grow much larger. Barbarians are known to shepherd large groups of orcs across the plains and through forests, occasionally the barbarians will let a few orcs go feral and use them as riding mounts.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:23, Tue 23 June 2015.