Bestiary¶

"Something out there is bigger than you. Something else is smarter. A few are both. The rest are dinner."

Ghelmyon's wilderness is not empty. From sewer rats to roosting rocs, the bestiary catalogs the things that hunt, hoard, and haunt the world you're walking through. Each entry is a small field guide habitat, weaknesses, what drops when you bring it down, and the behaviour quirk that decides whether your first round is a kill or a corpse-recovery quest for someone else later.

This page is the player-facing overview. Specific entries live in-engine; query them with /bestiary once you've encountered a creature in the wild.

At a glance¶


Catalogued	125 (complete)
Threat range	CR 1 (rat) to CR 5 (roc, wendigo, aboleth)
Most common encounter	Wolf, bandit, skeleton, wild boar
First creatures most players meet	Rat, large rat, bat, feral cat, wolf, bandit, skeleton, wild boar
Parley-eligible	About 1 in 8 - see Parley vs combat
Yields skinning materials	Most natural creatures; constructs and elementals do not

Threat ladder (CR distribution):

CR	Tier	Examples
1	Vermin	Rat, large rat, kobold, cave rat, bat, feral cat
2	Light threat	Wolf, spider, skeleton, goblin, wild boar, dryad, imp, lizardfolk, mountain lion, fey wisp
3	Standard	Bandit, bear, ghost, troll, dire wolf, ghoul, gnoll, harpy, mimic, hobgoblin, centaur, salamander, peryton, pseudodragon, myconid
4	Dangerous	Wight, basilisk, drake, manticore, mummy, hag, owlbear, werewolf, lamia, vampire spawn, wyvern, gelatinous cube, doppelganger, nightmare, bulette, dragonelle
5	Legendary	Wraith, hill giant, cyclops, chimera, frost giant, kraken, werebear, wendigo, roc, naga, gorgon, aboleth, unicorn, medusa, cyclops brood giant

Reading a bestiary entry¶

Each catalog entry has the same shape. Once you've fought a creature once, /bestiary <name> shows you:

Field	What it tells you
Display name	The proper name. Use this in conversation; underscore-ids are an engine thing.
Threat (CR 1-5)	Rough difficulty. CR 1 is a 30-second fight; CR 5 is a story beat.
Habitat	Where you'll find it. Region tags map to the world's canonical biomes.
Weaknesses	What hits hard. Sometimes a damage type (fire / silver / cold-forged iron); sometimes a tactic (called shot to the eye, throw a salt-line, parley in the old courtesies).
Resistances	What bounces off. Includes immunities - ordinary piercing doesn't bother a wraith, fire heals a salamander, lightning heals a shambling mound.
Loot hints	What the corpse yields, including curio / alchemy / smith-grade / rumor-token tags.
Skinning yield	Material harvested with the Skinning sub-skill. Quality scales with skill rank - a master skinner pulls fine-quality bear pelt where a novice pulls scraps.
Behavior	Combat quirks. Most fights are won or lost on whether you read this row first.
Description	Flavour. Worth reading once for atmosphere.

Save-DC mechanics. Many entries gate effects on a saving throw Constitution save vs paralysis from a carrion crawler, Wisdom save vs a banshee's scream, Reflex save vs a gelatinous cube. The DC is folded into the behaviour line; the higher the CR, the nastier the DC.

By region¶

Where you walk decides what walks at you. The full catalog spreads across nine canonical biomes:

Ghelmyon (city and undercity)¶

CR 1-4. The wild has fingers under the cobbles.

Rat, large rat, cave rat, feral cat (CR 1) - sewers, alleys, cellars
Carrion crawler, giant centipede (CR 2-3) - sewer mains, the lower undercity tunnels
Bone construct, bone golem (CR 3) - necromancer workshops, sealed crypts
Vampire spawn (CR 3) - sealed wine-cellars beneath merchant houses
Fire elemental, salamander (CR 3) - lava-vents beneath the old ruins
Aboleth (CR 5) - sunken cisterns far below the temple

Iron Pass (mountains and high passes)¶

CR 3-5. Cold work, and most of it can fly.

Mountain lion, harpy (CR 2-3) - scree slopes and ruined watchtowers
Hill giant, ogre, cyclops, frost giant (CR 4-5) - bald hills and high snowfields
Griffon, wyvern, hippogriff, chimera, roc (CR 3-5) - high crags and storm-eyrie spires
Winter wolf, wendigo (CR 4-5) - above the snowline, where the cold never breaks
Tatzelwurm (CR 3) - scree-slopes; leave a milk-bowl at the cairn and it lets you pass

Thornwood (deep forest)¶

CR 2-5. Old growth. Old rules. Old things watching.

Wolf, dire wolf, bear, cave bear (CR 2-3) - forest floor and deep groves
Wild boar, dire boar (CR 2-3) - lowland thickets and oak-mast clearings
Owlbear, displacer beast, thornwood bear (CR 4) - deep territories and sacred groves
Dryad, fey wisp, thornwood spider (CR 2-3) - old-growth groves the Verdathi tend
Werewolf, werebear (CR 4-5) - under the full moon, where bitten woodsmen went home and changed

Greenweald (downs, meadows, broken stoneworks)¶

CR 2-5. Open country with old shrines crumbling in it.

Centaur (CR 3) - high meadows and pilgrim roads
Cockatrice, basilisk (CR 3-4) - abandoned poultry-yards and broken stoneworks
Peryton, pegasus (CR 3) - high cloud-cover ridges and altar-peaks
Gorgon (CR 5) - petrified-forest reaches east of the wood
Couatl (CR 4) - abandoned sun-temples
Unicorn (CR 5) - the blessed glade three days south; she chooses who sees her

Darkhollow (crypts, ruins, deep galleries)¶

CR 2-5. Most of what's down here was not always down here.

Skeleton, zombie, ghoul, ghost, wight, wraith (CR 2-5) - the undead column, in escalating order
Banshee, mummy (CR 4) - old graveyards and sealed tombs
Skeleton knight (CR 3) - barrow-tombs and ruined battlefield chapels
Bone golem, lich acolyte (CR 3-4) - necromancer workshops
Giant spider, cave spider queen, phase spider, darkmantle (CR 3-4) - web-choked towers and roof-ambushes
Medusa, naga (CR 5) - sealed temple sancta and ruined oracle-shrines

King's Road (highways, plains, ruined steadings)¶

CR 2-5. The civilized route - until it isn't.

Bandit, bandit captain, mercenary (CR 3-4) - highway camps and conflict-zone borders
Goblin, hobgoblin, gnoll, kobold (CR 1-3) - abandoned border-forts and ambush points
Lizardfolk, swamp troll, hag, shambling mound (CR 2-4) - marsh-pockets and standing pools
Bulette (CR 4) - the dry plains east of the road, surfacing from below
Barghest, nightmare (CR 4) - blackened battlefields where bodies were left unburied

Sunken Mines (deep underground)¶

CR 3-5. The dwarves left it. Other things moved in.

Tunnel worm, bulette, cyclops brood giant (CR 4-5) - the deepest galleries
Phase spider, myconid (CR 3) - abandoned arcane-vaults and fungal galleries
Chitin drake (CR 4) - the sand-dunes east, near the foothills

Sea & coast (Mag-Mell, harbour mouth, sunk reefs)¶

CR 5. Deep water keeps deep things.

Kraken (CR 5) - the trench beyond the harbour
Aboleth (CR 5) - drowned dwarf-galleries and salt-bitter under-lakes

Mountain peaks (above the treeline)¶

CR 3-5. Wing country.

Griffon, hippogriff (CR 3-4)
Wyvern, dragonelle, roc (CR 4-5)
Couatl, pegasus, unicorn (CR 3-5) - the sacred end of the scale

By class taxonomy¶

The catalog also splits along what kind of thing you're fighting. Crafting reagents, weapon picks, and parley options all key off these.

Beasts (territorial wildlife)¶

Wolves, boars, bears, lynxes - natural predators. Most yield pelts, meat, fangs. Fire works. Pack-hunters call reinforcements.

Wolf, dire wolf, winter wolf
Bear, cave bear, thornwood bear (Verdathi-tagged)
Wild boar, dire boar
Mountain lion, feral cat
Rat, large rat, cave rat, bat

Undead¶

Crypt-dwellers and battlefield revenants. Holy and silver damage shine; ordinary piercing struggles. Fear-aura common.

Skeleton, skeleton knight, zombie, ghoul, wight, wraith
Ghost, banshee, mummy
Bone construct, bone golem
Lich acolyte (phylactery-anchored)
Vampire spawn (sunlight-vulnerable)

Lycanthropes¶

Cursed shapechangers. Silver bypasses regeneration entirely - without it the kill never finishes. A werewolf bite contracts the curse on a failed Constitution save; the next full moon does the rest.

Werewolf
Werebear (parley-eligible if you know the human name)
Barghest (grows by feeding on corpses)

Aberrations¶

Things that should not be. Mind-effects, illusion, and shapes that don't match what's there.

Aboleth (older than memory; speaks in three voices)
Lamia (illusion-veiled; charm-touch drains Wisdom)
Myconid (colony-mind; spore-puff causes confusion)
Displacer beast (illusion-tinged hide; first strikes miss)
Phase spider (steps through walls)
Doppelganger (reads thought-on-contact; takes faces)
Mimic (the chest you were about to open)
Darkmantle (the ceiling stalactite that isn't)

Fey¶

Forest-bound creatures bound by old rules. Iron hurts them on contact. Bargains are real and binding.

Dryad (charm-song; will not leave her bound tree)
Fey wisp (does not fight - leads)
Pegasus, unicorn (parley-or-leave)
Peryton (must eat its kill's heart or cannot truly die)
Pseudodragon (bonds for life with the right caster)
Couatl (winged-serpent prophet; speaks in your own tongue)

Dragonkin¶

Wingless drakes, half-grown dragonelles, wyverns and the cold cousins. Scaled hide turns ordinary steel; called shots find the soft underbelly.

Drake (wingless, breath-weapon, magpie hoard)
Wyvern (paralytic tail-sting)
Dragonelle (juvenile dragon; can be parleyed if you speak Draconic)
Chitin drake (sand-burrowing desert cousin)
Cockatrice (the small-and-mean end of the scale; petrifying peck)
Chimera (three heads, three threats)

Elementals¶

No flesh to skin - the kill yields a heart-shard or ember-charge. Each is vulnerable to its opposite.

Fire elemental (water = massive damage)
Ice elemental (fire = melts the lattice)
Salamander (heat aura; lava-vent dweller)
Frost giant (parley-able if you speak the old greetings)

Constructs¶

Animated frames with no morale and no fatigue. The binding rune or phylactery is usually the real target.

Bone golem (smash the binding-skull - the lattice collapses)
Bone construct (Lore-check the rune)
Shambling mound (lightning HEALS it - warn casters loudly)

Goblinoids¶

Cowardly individually, dangerous in packs. Kill the matriarch / sergeant / boss and the rest scatter.

Kobold (trap-layer; sunlight-penalty)
Goblin (rock-thrower; the boss yells from the back)
Hobgoblin (disciplined; fights in formation; honours surrender)
Gnoll (matriarch-led pack; cackle-fear)
Bugbear (knuckle-walking solo brute)

Giants & big game¶

The wall-of-meat tier. Boulders before melee; called shots to knee, eye, or breath-vent end fights early.

Hill giant, frost giant, cyclops, cyclops brood giant
Ogre, troll, swamp troll
Owlbear, bulette, gorgon

Parley-eligible vs combat-only¶

About 1 in 8 catalogued creatures has a parley path. Approach with the right gesture and you skip the fight entirely - or buy yourself a single binding boon.

Creature	What to bring
Frost giant	Northern greetings, a salt-gift, no drawn iron, no forge-smoke
Werebear	Approach unarmed; address the human name they had before the curse
Naga	The shrine-greeting, warm milk, a sworn secret, a clean blade
Couatl	A clean record (no broken oaths); speak truth in any tongue
Pegasus	Salt-and-apples, no drawn iron, patient bearing
Unicorn	A clean year (no betrayed trust). She scents the wrong at 300 yards.
Dragonelle	Speak its name in Draconic; offer a finer treasure than its hoard
Hag / hag coven	Sign a name in the soul-ledger - the price is always more than it sounds
Lamia	A freely-given memory or sworn secret
Hobgoblin	Honourable surrender terms - they will hold to the parley for years
Centaur	Tight quarters refused; meet in the open and treat as equals
Cyclops brood giant	The trade-cant of stone-masonry; bring a dwarven chisel-and-hammer
Lizardfolk	Learn the hand-signs; they trade fairly
Tatzelwurm	Leave a milk-bowl at the trailhead cairn
Myconid	A colony-elder cap or the Verdathi spore-greeting + organic offering

Players who only stab get a fraction of the bestiary's depth. Players who read the behaviour line find half the catalog willing to talk first.

Quality-graded skinning¶

Every natural kill is also a trade good. The Skinning sub-skill under Survival gates yield quality:

Skill rank	Yield
Untrained	Scraps. Half the hide is ruined; alchemists pay junk-rates.
Novice (1-3)	Standard pelt. Sellable; not impressive.
Journeyman (4-6)	Fine quality possible on cooperative kills.
Master (7+)	Excellent / cloak-grade / barding-grade. Some yields require two or three skinners working together (giants, dragonkin, gorgon, roc).

Materials drop into the crafting economy:

Hides and pelts → leatherworker → cloaks, armor backings
Fangs, claws, horns → curio merchants, alchemists, fletchers
Scales and chitin plates → blacksmith and armorer
Venom sacs, ember-glands, ink-sacs → alchemist (reagent components)
Spirit essences and binding-runes → necromancer / Pale Order (handle carefully)
Feathers → fletcher (high-quality arrows)

Many entries are explicit about needing multiple skinners for the full yield - a roc takes three skinners and a full day before the carcass freezes. Bring help.

Sacrilege tags. A small set of kills (unicorn, pegasus, couatl, thornwood bear) are tagged Verdathi-grade sacrilege. The pelt is curse-tagged, honest tanners refuse it, and the gift-yield from a clean parley-end is the only honourable harvest.

Where to find creatures in-game¶

/bestiary - list creatures you've encountered, with kill counts. Once you've fought one, the field-guide entry is permanently unlocked for review.

/bestiary <name> - pull up a specific entry. Habitat, weaknesses, loot, behaviour, the full card. Use display names ("dire wolf", "frost giant") rather than ids.

Examining a carcass - fresh kills can be skinned with the Skinning sub-skill. Quality grades by rank. Some bodies also yield intel - a contract-letter on a mercenary names the employer; a locket on a doppelganger names the person it was eating.

Track-and-hunt at zone-run venues. Many outdoor classes (hunter, ranger, forager, trapper, woodsman) run zone-runs at specialized venues - game-trail hunts in the Thornwood, ice-fishing on the high ridges, alpine herb-gathering above Iron Pass. These funnel creatures of the appropriate tier into your path with the correct biome-tag.

The notice board. Town guard, Rangers Lodge, and Hunters Lodge all post bounty contracts on specific creatures - a "missing livestock" notice usually means a thornwood-bear or hill-giant; an "urgent" rumor of howling at the wood-edge usually means a werewolf has settled in. Bounties pay coin AND reputation with the posting faction.