So as I have been creating new posts exposing some of the new Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition content we are going to provide in our upcoming release of Gatewalkers: The World of Watorial, I realized we haven’t given any information on some of the new monsters we are including in this massive sourcebook. So it’s time to meet some of the Nightmare Creatures…
With the coming of Chaos, the world was warped by the influx of its unnatural power and influence, known as The Changing. With its arrival, many new and nightmarish creatures were created and some commonly known creatures were changed subtly increasing their power. These new monstrosities and abominations are fuel for the most deranged of nightmares, enough to sometimes break the mind of those who see them and survive to half coherently retell what they encountered. These are the children of the changing, the children of chaos, these are the nightmare fuel…
Bear Owl
The creature known as the bear owl is known to have been originally the fearsome owl bear. The coming of the Changing caught a small area that was home to many of these animals. The warping effect of the chaos reversed the experiment that was the owl bear and recombined it into its new form, that of a bear-headed and clawed owl body standing nearly two-foot tall and hunting in small family packs.
Fearsome and territorial, they do not shy away from attacking things bigger than they are. Usual tactics include using their unsettling and fearful roar, sometimes in unison before attacking, and seeking to blind their prey before attacking another target.
Blood Ice
The creatures known as Blood Ice were first encountered in the Winterlands of the southern continent of Indifrica. These abominations of nature are humanoid, composed of living ice with elongated fingers ending in razor-sharp ice-like talons and jagged fangs.
They stalk, kill, and devour any warm-blooded creature found throughout the frozen lands. Nearly impossible to see in the frozen wilds, they easily travel about unseen as they search for prey, that is until they feed. When they consume fresh blood, their circulatory system is seen as the blood pumps through them, but it only lasts a few minutes before they metabolize it.
Though they seem undead they are not, and when great snowstorms arise, they gather in packs from five to twenty and attack large settlements. During these times the tribes of the north are most vigil, for many times when the season of trade has come many have found empty camps and settlements, with only frozen blood to tell the tale.
Bumble Bird Swarm
The quick and deadly Bumble Bird is the horrid compilation of the bumblebee and hummingbird resulting in the body of a bumble bee with the head and wings of the hummingbird. They tend to build large hives made of twigs and mud, housing a family of around eight to twelve members.
When disturbed or threatened they quickly react to defend the family hive, darting quickly in and stinging the trespasser then darting away to swing back around to do it again. This continues until whatever threatened them leaves the area.
When encountered in the wild away from the hive, they tend to be very docile even allowing themselves to be touched before darting away to the next flowering plant to gather nectar and pollen.
Childer
Possibly the most horrific of the spawn created by the Changing is the truly tragic and horrible Childer, a grotesque spider whose body looks like the head of a small child.
These atrocities of nature use their bodies as lures, making web disguised traps and body decoys to lure in adults who seek to help the “child”. They have a natural ability to mimic the human voices of children, usually the voice of a victim, and produce an illusion of an injured child’s body.
A gathering of too many of their kind draw suspicion, so they are solitary hunters. They use traps to detain their prey rushing in quickly to deliver a lethal bite. Failing that they will seemingly flee, only to stalk the unfortunate potential victim attacking at night. If they attack at night, they focus on one victim trying to sedate and then drag them away for later. When there is multiple potential prey, they use a high-pitched and horrible scream which paralyzes all that hear it in a short range allowing it to rush forth quickly bite a victim then drag them away.