The Wild Things of Lakeport

Hey Game Fans, we’re back for another part of a feature on the Homebrew setting of Lakeport.  Today we’re going to look at some of the more monstrous elements that traveled with the Orcs and Goblins.  For more info on the Orcs and Goblins, check out our article here.  Let’s dig a little deeper into the Wild things.  Great creatures of monstrous proportions travelled with Orcs and Goblins on the Great Migration.  Cyclopses, Minotaurs, Trolls, Ettins and even more exotic creatures made that journey.  Today we’re going to discuss some of those creatures and some of the more exotic creatures that came after.  

The Wild Things

These creatures have a few marked similarities, but the differences are mostly physical and are the deciding factor that separates the Cyclopses from the Minotaurs from the Ettins from the Trolls.  These are creatures of a primordial age and are suffused with the energy of that bygone era.  There are bizarre chimeric hybrids and combinations between these creatures and only they know exactly what one of them is.  

They share a dislike for civilized lands and spend their time in isolated glens and hidden worlds away from the lands of smaller folk.  They are not inherently malicious or antagonistic towards the civilized world, but they are exemplars of nature and the natural world, and are truly the wildest of beasts in the forest.  

Physical Characteristics

All of these creatures share a few key physical traits.  All of these creatures are size large, and are fairly typical bipeds (two arms, two legs).  As avatars of nature, these creatures typically eschew armor and forged weapons, and most are armed with simple weapons of an improvised nature (tree limb clubs are a fan favorite for all, as are throwing rocks).  

Trolls

Trolls are thickly muscled humanoids who are covered in a thick layer of photoreactive bark.  Not true plant creatures, Trolls have a few characteristics of plant life, including the ability to turn sunlight into energy.  This stimulates a regenerative ability that makes trolls very durable and astonishingly hard to kill.  Trolls live in small bands of 10 to 20 in the deepest parts of the forest.  They try to live in peace and quiet with the natural world, and when that natural world is disturbed, they are often the first sentients to take action to restore the balance of the natural world.  

Ettins

Ettins are two headed creatures that are typically at odds with themselves.  The two heads usually represent extreme ends of a spectrum, and the two heads often spend their time arguing and bickering back and forth with one another.  They are muscular humanoids who (aside from having two heads) look like most others. They are large creatures who often swing a club in each hand.  These are typically referred to as the WIld Things of the Hills, where they live solitary lives.  Even other Ettins have a hard time managing the bickering between the two heads, and baby ettins are often left to their own devices.  The natural toughness of an Ettin is a great boon to these lone Ettins, and a surprising number of them survive to maturity.

Cyclops

Cyclops are humanoids that have a single massive eye in their brow in place of the two eyes that most humanoids (and other creatures) have.  The Wild Things of the Mountains, the Cyclopses live in extended family clans that cover a specific territory.  Of all the Wild Things, the Cyclopses are the most religious, and venerate a maternal deity.  The eldest Cyclops in a given clan is typically a high priest, and unlike their cousins, Cyclops are known to forge weapons and armor for times of emergency.  Cyclopses are rumored to be able see the past and the future, and are sought out as Oracles by the foolhardy or the wealthy.

Minotaurs

Amalgamations of Bulls and humanoids, Minotaurs are covered in a thin layer of fur from head to hoof and they display a variety of colorations and patterns.  The Wild Things of the Plains, Minotaurs roam the Amber sea in herds numbering in the hundreds.  Ostensibly peaceful, the herds can be driven to violence and war to protect their territory and their young.  Minotaurs of both sexes have thick, curved horns on their heads and most decorate them with precious metals or gemstones.  Warlike tribes often festoon their horns with trophies taken from defeated foes.  

Chimerics

The magic that suffuses the Wild Things is an ancient and potentially dangerous thing.  It can rapidly change a Wild thing and give it the appearance and abilities of another type of Wild Thing.  These hybrids are often referred to as Chimerics, and are either celebrated by the people they came from, or are shunned to walk a singular path.  Chimerics have a host of unusual abilities and are more than just a combination of the Wild Things they are made of.  

Collusei

Chimerics who are exposed to more of the magic that created the wild things can be further changed by its power.  Growing far larger and far more powerful than their lesser kin, the Collusei are a rumor to the outside world.  The Wild Things know they are real, and these primordial emissaries are sought after for the strength of their connection to the ancient world.  A Collusei is often forty to fifty feet tall, and they are as unique in appearance as the fingerprints of lesser creatures.  These creatures often spend their time asleep, waiting for something to happen and rouse them from their slumbers.  Such events are rare, but often portent great change in the world.  

Stats

Statistics and entries for all of these creatures will appear in the Monsters of Lakeport document

Religion

The Wild Things venerate an ancient nature deity that they brought with them on the Great Migration.  She is a changer of flesh and bone, and is responsible for the development of chimerics and the growth of her chosen emissaries, the Collusei.  Whether she ultimately intends Bane or Boon is yet to be seen, but her people are a powerful resource that she carefully guards.