Strun's Monster guide

MORTAL BEASTS
 
Lycans
 
Humanoids struck with a curse of unknown origin, bound to the life of a beast controlled by the moon.
Most commonly seen in the forms of a wolf-human hybrid, however other beast hybrids have been reported, so all beasts are presumed capable of adapting to the lycan curse.
Those under the effects of the curse tend to find themselves waking up (sometimes naked or in torn clothes) in a place they did not fall asleep. Often they see the corpses of those they devoured the night before, with no memory of the act.
It appears the closer the moon is to being full, the more powerful this curse becomes, eventually overtaking its host and transforming them into this beast hybrid, the Lycanthrope.
Lycans are fast, ferocious, and brutal foes. Do not take them lightly.
Their skin, even in humanoid form at times, is pulled tight and feels like steel when you try to harm them. The only know ways of harming them are through fire, and magic.
It should also be noted, that silver weaponry seems to burn through this natural armour, striking the beast true. Due to sharing this trait being shared with Infernal fiends, I believe the curse may originate from a deal with those devils.
Sadly at this point, I have yet to find a cure for - This page of the journal seems oddly unfinished
 
DRAGONS
 
Dragons are ancient, and extremely powerful forces of nature. Said to be the direct descendants of the planet, and magic itself. Their power goes so far as to shape the world around them if they inhabit an area long enough. I cannot stress enough how dangerous and powerful these beings are, and are to be respected in battle. From what we know, dragons split into 4 categories; Chromatic, Metallic, Gemstone, and Offspring.
 
Chromatic Dragons
 
Chromatic dragons have direct heritage to Tiamat, the Queen of dragons. Their scales are either Red, Blue, Black, White, or Green and their elemental affinity aligns with this. (Fire, Lightning, Acid, Frost, and Poison) As expected, a dragon is immune to it's own elemental affinity. Chromatic dragons are vain, greedy, an vile monsters. They raid towns, pillage cities, and enslave populations. This greed can be used against them to bargain for your lives.
 
UNDEAD
 
Creatures brought back from beyond the realm of death, or sometimes born from it. In rare cases a person may choose to live in Undeath, casting aside mortality to live off of souls forever. Any who do this should be slaughtered with no remorse. Below are further detailed entries for some I have encountered.
 
Zombies
 
Corpses raised to life once more though perverse magic, rightfully banned and abhorred. Slow and stupid.
Nothing too special about these monsters, other than their uncanny ability to shrug of returning to death.
Best way's I've found it to strike them with fire, or bring a holy person.
 
Skeleton
 
Similar to the above entry, only lacking flesh.
Due to this however they move faster, and even seem capable of using weaponry.
Weak to clubs and other smashing implements.
 
Ghouls and Ghasts
 
A Ghoul, from a distance, my seem like a zombie. While their behaviour may be similar, they are smarter. A ghoul is not a risen corpse like zombie, it is a humanoid transformed. Believed to originate from a cannibalistic demon cult, the Ghoul continues this behaviour of feasting upon flesh with a voracious appetite. They are fast and durable, but luckily not resistant to steel. They bite and scratch, however the scratch has been known to deliver a paralyzing toxin. A Ghast is a stronger, more threatening Ghoul.
 
 
Ghosts, Shadows, Spectres and more
 
Ghosts and their ilk, are incorporeal beings believed to be the soul of a creature. Usually, Ghosts are not to be feared or harmed. They are simply lost souls looking to move to the afterlife, and are more nuisance than threat.
When a Ghost becomes hostile or angered, It is now classed as a Spectre or another form of Hostile Ghost. The main thing to note when fighting Ghosts, is that they are hard to see due to the incorporeal nature, and even harder to kill. They will resist all forms of physical damage, even if it's source is magical. Due to lacking a physical body, poison and necrosis have no effect. They fear sunlight.
 
Due to how similar Apparitions are, I shall only list each variants unique properties to save paper.
 
Poltergeist - Mischievous, can effect the environment around it. Usually found throwing books and chairs at people. Low threat.
Spectre - Can drain a targets Vitality, weakening them for some time. High threat to common populace, Mid threat to a hunter.
Shadow - A more deadly spectre, that seems to sap its prey's very strength, causing rapid onset muscle atrophy. Anyone killed by this atrophy rise soon as a new Shadow. High threat, priority target.
 
Will-o'-wisp
 
Small orbs of light that often float around swamps, caves, and other places know for concealing danger. They are thought to be malevolent spirits, due to their nature of luring unsuspecting creatures to their deaths, via other monsters, or dangerous terrain like sudden deep water or a fragile cliff edge. They lure prey to its near death, then absorb the last essence of it's life to feed. Similar to apparitions in it's difficulty to kill. It can deliver powerful shocks of electricity to defend itself if needed, meaning they are immune to it.
 
LICH
 
One of the most powerful and feared kinds of Undead. A Lich is a powerful arch-mage who has cast aside their mortal form in order to gain eternal life. The ritual to do so is barbaric and monstrous, involving mass sacrifice and usually the murder of young children. They rip their soul from their own body, storing it in an object of some significance to them, called a Phylactery. This binds it in such a way that if their physical form is slain, it will reform next to the phylactery. To sustain this form of undeath, the Lich must continually feed souls to it's phylactery, or be consumed by it. Let me be clear, Liches are among the strongest beings one can stumble across, and should be treated as something from which you flee if not prepared. They are impervious to non magical sources of harm, and have the flexibility of decades of magic behind them. Each one is Unique, and must be fought with the knowledge you can gain on it before hand.
 
FIENDS (IFERNAL)
 
Infernal Fiends, better known as Devils, inhabit a plane known as the nine hells. Born evil by nature, from the remains of tormented souls, or those stolen through contracts and deals. Resilient against mundane weapons, use magic or silver to send their lives back to the Styx. Although they seek to claim human souls, they are intelligent and willing to converse with Mortality, even going as far as to make deals with them. While these contracts may seem good at first, Devils will always have a card up their sleeve. It is a game for your soul, and you should be very careful what you say around a devil, lest ye be bound to a contract. It should also be known that Killing a devil merely sends in back to the hells, and it will return in time. To truly kill one, it is said you must slay them in their home plane, or find a way to banish the soul.
 
Imps
 
Tiny little buggers, with bat wings and tails. Mischievous little shits who love to pull pranks and get up to no good. They can even shapeshift into small beasts like crows, and turn invisible. Not too much of a threat to a trained person, but can definitely kill a common layman. Venomous too, in their bites and tail. Seem to resist cold, and are immune to fire and poisons. Not inherently evil, as some find them selves in the service of mages. More a nuisance than a threat.
 
Spined Devils
 
One of the few devils I've fought personally. Small compared to a standard humanoid, but still a considerable size. Large bat wings, covered in spines. Long arms, capable of wielding weapons. Shares the common resistances of devils, with cold harming it less, and fire and poison being useless. Fast fuckers, who seem to enjoy swooping by and hitting their target before fucking off again. Can launch it's spines towards you, unsure if they're coated in poison as they didn't hit me. It appears devils dissolve into sludge when they die, making it hard to get an autopsy. Seemed oddly resistant to my blood curses, but requires investigation.
 
Lemure
 
These one's I've only read about and seen drawings of. Best way I can describe them is humanoid sludge. Said to rely only in Avernus, the first plane of the Hells. Supposedly they are souls of the rotten, or those whose souls were stolen by a devil (usually through contract) that take form after their physical death, and emerge from the river Styx. Sad and sorry state to end up in, poor bastards.
 
FIENDS (ABYSSAL)
 
Abyssal Fiends, known as Demons inhabit the infinite abyss. Unlike the Devils, Demons do not converse, or bargain often. They simply slaughter and feast upon the souls they find. Similarly resistant to mundane weapons, yet silver provides now benefit here, they only sure way to kill them is to use magic. Demons also reconstitute themselves when slain, only done in the abyss. They are believed to be only truly slain in their own plain, much like devils.
 
Quasit
 
Tiny bug eyed little gits, look like a humanoid insect. It's essentially the demonic version of an Imp, keeping it's shapeshifting, poison, and invisibility. However they differ in hardiness, still immune to poisons, but resist the elements it seems.
Also seem to have an ability to frighten other creatures, through what feels like a magic means. Not too much of a threat, but still irritating.
 
FIENDS (OTHER)
 
Some fiends are not bound to the hells or the abyss, instead inhabiting a variety of the lower plains. I know a lot less about these fiends, as I have not encountered any myself.
 
FEY - Read these entries carefully!
 
Fey are magical beings that Inhabit the Fae-wild. They are chaotic by nature, and have a love of pranks and causing mischief. Some however take a more perverse joy, seeking to dominate an individual, enslaving them or just killing them. They seem no more resistant to weaponry on the whole than most creatures, with individual exceptions. The most important thing to note with the Fae, is that name have power. NEVER give your full true name to a Fae, as this gives their magics the ability to effect you with no resistance.
 
ABERRATIONS
 
Creatures that don't fit into the above categories, for one reason or another. Deformed, or simply their form is beyond our understanding, these creatures simply look like they should not exist naturally.
 
Otgyugh
 
Creature appears to be an Aberration, due to it's unnatural body formations.
Very rare in the sense it's a tri-ped, (Three legged) and also has notable features such as it's toothy mouth similar to a shark, two tentacles covered in teeth, and also a final tentacle covered in eyes.
It's teeth are long and narrow, and seem to contain a rather severe toxin which should be avoided. (not seen in practice)
Skin is blubbery, peachy coloured and has a odour like decay and feceas.
It appears to not be resistant, nor vulnerable to any know methods of killing.
It's blood was a clear whitish colour, and also smelled as horrid as the body.