28.11.08

Bestiary - Dragons and Their Kin

afanc (lake/large river monster; variety also found in oceans; similar to a huge smooth-skinned crocodile, adults comparable to dragons in size; usually venomous, a dangerous and vicious predator)

amphiptere (legless, winged serpent; adults are comparable to dragons in size; another race that originated from dragons and still rarely comes from dragon eggs, though the vast majority are born of amphiptere; very rarely breathes fire but all known amphiptere have deadly venomous fangs)

basilisk (smallish, cat- or hound-sized reptile; no wings; shy and relatively innocuous, if surprised or threatened can cast a killing stare at its attacker; also, its bite is lethally poisonous, the equal of the krait or the taipan)

burach-bhadi (large serpentine monster; nine eyes, front and back of head; craves horse blood; usually venomous, its bite often causes infection as well, and it can drain a huge amount of blood like a lamprey)

dragons - drakes and orms (drakes are the quintessential winged dragons; orms are slightly more common than drakes, perhaps 51-49% or so; orms often make up for their lack of flight with ferocity; myriad forms, most can breathe fire, some breathe freezing gas, others lack hazardous breath but these usually possess a potent venom in their huge fangs - haemotoxic, neurotoxic or both)

gargoyle (rarely, a stunted, "runt" dragon baby becomes a gargoyle; some dragons will care for them, others kill the runts; they can develop into terrifying little creatures in their own right - some with wings some without; some breathe fire, others vomit potent toxin; gargoyles are often either dark in color, gray or chameleon and often take up residence in older structures, mountain passes, ruins, etc)

hydra (another monster spawned by the chaotic nature of dragon birth; quite rare among a clutch of dragon's eggs, hydra have grown in number as they have multiplied with each other - in the same manner as most gargoyles are now the young of other gargoyles; hydra are generally of cunning animal intelligence and although a fearsome opponent generally prefer animal prey to those nasty, dangerous humans and sidhe)

loathly worm (type of sea serpent; actually it is generally a lake or large river monster; similar to an orm, loathly worms almost never breathe flame or gas, but most are venomous; some that are not are powerful constrictors)

sea serpents / mosasaur / ichthyosaur, et al (these dinosaur-type water beasts are frequently encountered by ships and fishermen and the races of the water; they are animals that are thinly related to dragons, but nonetheless dangerous predators)

wyvern (drake and orm forms; wyvern are wild and predaceous creatures that came from dragons; some wyvern can breathe fire, but this is rare; much more commonly it is venomous, and most wyvern carry disease - their claws can spread a number of infections and their bite in addition to being venomous always results in a dangerously infected wound)