Bestiary

[amalgamatemods]

Bestiary
	Imperial Soldier Species: Human Strengths: Armed with firearms, sidearms, bayonets, combat knives, and occasionally explosives. Can carry gas masks and first aid kits. Fanatically loyal to Empress Asha. Weaknesses: Vulnerable to disease, hunger, and fatigue, just like any other human. Carries gunpowder and explosives, making them vulnerable to fire. Have absolutely no defense against magic. Unless in a vehicle, cannot outrun characters who have super-speed, or can fly. Notes: The backbone of the Imperial Military, and makes up the bulk of their forces. They all undergo firearms training and basic combat training, but are regarded by the military brass as being little more than disposable cannon fodder. That said, they are important; they are required to crew the heavy machinery, including the Empire’s fearsome airships. Those who show promise on the battlefield are promoted, but almost everyone in the military, except for those with the right connections, have started off wearing the immediately-recognizable blue coats of Asha’s finest, prominently displaying the Imperial Crest on the right arm.
	Imperial Heavy Trooper Species: Human Strengths: Armed with larger firearms, such as handheld Gatling guns, flamethrowers, shotguns, and clockwork rocket launchers. Helmets contain built-in filtration systems, short-range radio communications, and zoom-lenses. Armor drastically increases physical strength, and is completely bullet-proof. Fanatically loyal to Empress Asha. An elite unit makes up her Royal Guard. Given water-resistant coating to prevent rusting; however, this will not help if completely submerged. No artificial intelligence, making hacking useless. However, radio communications can be disrupted or jammed. Weaknesses: Vulnerable to disease, hunger, and fatigue, just like any other human. Armor conducts electricity and is prone to overheating. Armor is heavy, and while it does enhance physical strength, it is not designed for prolonged use, and can lead to exhaustion or overheating. Not designed for use in water, and soldiers who wear the armor in water are at risk of drowning due to it being impossible to swim while wearing; Heavy Troopers in deep water WILL sink and probably drown. Notes: Veteran Imperial Soldiers are often hand-picked to wear the Imperial HMA-114 Golden Fleece-class Power Armor, which is considered a badge of honor among the Imperial Military. The armor has several compartments for ammunition and grenades, and can shrug small arms fire like it’s nothing. However, it cannot withstand explosions, and tends to overheat and conduct electricity. Those with a keen eye can also find weak points in the armor; namely, under the neck, the underarms, and knee and elbow joints. The best of the best are selected for the Royal Guard, which are strictly outside of the chain of command and answer directly to Empress Asha herself. They bear the Imperial Crest on the right side of the breastplate.
	Imperial Alchemic Elite Species: Alchemic-Ore Enhanced Human Strengths: Undergone Alchemic Ore experimentation and capable of using magic. Fanatically loyal to Empress Asha. Enhanced durability, strength, and speed. Weaknesses: Some are known to display psychotic behavior. Can have poor physical health; not all react favorably to exposure to the Ore. Shortened lifespan, with few exceptions. Many become addicted to the Ore, exacerbating the negative symptoms. Few in number compared to other troops. Built in 'killswitch' accessible only to Empress Asha herself. Notes: The best of the best of the Imperial Army, these soldiers have undergone Alchemic Ore exposure and have gained magical powers as a result. Immediately recognizable by their glowing blue masks and armor, the sight of these soldiers being deployed to the battlefield have been known to cause panic in enemy soldiers, sometimes resulting in an immediate surrender. Compared to the numbers of the rest of the military, this elite vanguard of troops are extremely limited in number, due to a low number of volunteers, and an even lower number of volunteers who survive exposure to Alchemic Ore. Due to the extreme lack of humans who display an affinity for magic in Imperial territory, these troopers are in high demand, and there's never enough at any given point to meet it. Most of those who undergo Alchemic Ore exposure do not do so without negative side effects. Many have been known to suffer adverse effects to their health, including bizarre, sometimes psychotic behavior, as well as deteriorating physical health. Continued exposure to the Ore seems to work as a temporary treatment - provided, of course, they survived their first exposure - but no permanent solution has been discovered. There are rumors that the Elite claim to hear the Ore 'speaking' to them... but no truth to these rumors have ever been confirmed, and the Imperial Research Bureau vehemently deny their veracity.
	Imperial HMA-291 Orion-class Walker Species: Human-piloted Machine Strengths: Equipped with long-range cannons and missile-launchers, as well as secondary anti-personnel machine guns. Designed to instill fear. Capable of shrugging off all but heavy ordinance or high-powered magic. Can trample almost anything not of greater or equal size. Built-in clockwork hydraulics allow for high-impact trauma to the feet, allowing for aerial drops by airships. Weaknesses: Requires a crew of four to function properly. Extremely heavy; not designed for long-distance travel or speed. Leg joints are lightly armored; damage to legs would topple it. Filled to the brim with gunpowder. Not designed for use in water. Cannot go higher than knee-length in a body of water. While not equipped with artificial intelligences, they do make use of electronic radar systems and radio communications, which can be jammed or tampered with. Notes: The workhorse of the Imperial Military, the Orion, along with the Draco-class Air-Battleship, has been striking fear into the hearts of the Empire’s enemies for years. Capable of firing a shell effective at distances reaching up to two kilometers, the Orion is used as the main land assault vehicle and mobile artillery for the Empire. A tripodal walker, it is capable of traversing almost any terrain, though is less effective in marshlands, desert, or mountains. It’s main flaw is that it is not designed for long-distance travel, or for speed, and thus generally relies on airships for deployment. As such, the leg and hip joints have built-in hydraulics to absorb the impact of an aerial drop.
	Spine-backed Bloodhound Species: Mutated Canine Strengths: Enough strength to crush bones in its jaws. Saliva is a vector for disease, if allowed to enter the bloodstream. Fiercely loyal to its master or handler. Superior sense of smell can detect magic. Skin tough enough to resist blades or blunt-forcetrauma. Spines sharp enough to pierce light armor. Capable of swimming, though not long distances or in turbulent water. Spikes allow unique ability to climb rocks. Weakneses: Sense of smell almost too sensitive; vulnerable to gasses, airborne poisons, or strong, foul smells. Skin is not bulletproof. Can enter a frenzied state that makes it difficult for the handler to control them. Cannot swim underwater; will drown eventually. Padded feet and heavy weight make them a poor choice to use in deep snow, marshland, or dry sands. Poor sense of vision; if deprived of the sense of smell, are almost blind. Extreme carnivores; like any dog, they can be baited or lured by the smell of fresh meat. Notes: Created by Imperial Alchemists, Spine-backed Bloodhounds are the beast of choice for the military. While most commonly employed by the Imperial Military, some are owned domestically with a special license. They are known for their fierce loyalty to their owners, to the exclusion of almost anyone else. They are also extremely territorial and protective, and make for the perfect animal guards. However, the amount of attention alchemists paid in developing their sense of smell have cost them the use of their eyes, rendering them nearly blind; skilled thieves and criminals routinely trade in special coating that blocks scent in order to thwart these massive beasts, however, a lot of it is needed to confuse or even render them useless. Furthermore, due to their appetites, the smell of fresh blood or fresh meat can drive them into a feeding frenzy, much like a shark, making them difficult if not dangerous to handle. In order to drug or poison one, it would take almost twice the amount of chemical needed for an animal twice its size.
	Demons Species: Malevolent Spirit Strengths: Completely immortal; they can be banished, harmed, even defeated, but never killed. Capable of possessing a mortal. Their ‘true forms’ are capable of fighting on their own, but they must be summoned to the mortal plane before they are able to use it. Often make deals with mortals, promising them power or wealth; but these deals almost always come with a catch, such as the mortal’s soul. Weaknesses: Loathed by most mortals, and those who worship them are considered heretics and cultists. Indeed, it is a crime in most nations to consort with them. Demons have a major weakness against Light/Holy elemental attacks, and have a natural aversion to consecrated ground. Can be exorcised from a possessed mortal, though more powerful demons are capable of resisting this. Cannot affect the natural world without being summoned, and summoning them is considered highly dangerous as there is no guarantee that the demon summoned will willingly cooperate with the summoner. Notes: Most stories mothers tell their children at night to scare them into behaving often begin and end with demons. Demons are the scourge of the world, giving even Empress Asha pause; indeed, most world religions, not to mention common sense, regard demons are inherently malevolent beings who exist only to cause chaos and destruction. The truth is more complicated than that. While demons typically regard humans as inherently inferior and pawns to be used in whatever game they are playing at best, they generally don’t simply kill humans for the fun of it, instead opting to tempt them into making deals with them in exchange for something of tangible value, such as their soul or the souls of others. What they actually need those souls for, however, has never been truly explained, and most mortals are too terrified of them to find out. Demons can take any form they please depending on their level of power, ranging from monstrous forms, to forms stereotypical of a demon, to forms that are otherwise indistinguishable from normal humans aside from a few minor details.
	Ghoul Strengths: Capable of shapeshifting into the forms of various animals. For some reason, they prefer the appearance of a hyena. They can assume the form of any person or creature whose flesh or blood they have ingested. Their claws are coated in a powerful paralytic toxin. Weaknesses: While their bodies can endure extreme amounts of pain and stress, damage to their heads or decapitation will quickly neutralize them. They have a major weakness to holy or light energy. Notes: The natural predators of the undead; where there are undead, there are ghouls drawn to their foul stench. Indeed, some argue that they smell even worse than the undead they feed upon, due to their extremely poor hygiene. The constant ingestion of reanimated flesh have caused their bodies to excrete a deadly paralytic toxin that they coat their own claws with, making them a huge threat to humans. They are often seen in the much drier parts of the empire or in wastelands, luring children and women alike to their death. They are extremely vulgar and gluttonous evil spirits; being called a 'ghoul' is one of the worst insults you can hear in Elsweit, and is considered fighting words. They also tend to venture to graveyards, showing no respect for the dead by digging up caskets to feed upon their contents. Some ghouls have shown human-levels of speech and intelligence, but the majority are every bit as mindless and incoherent as the undead they feed upon.
	Nymph Species: Nature Spirit Strengths: They never seem to age, thus giving the impression that they are immortal. Their voices have an eerily beautiful tone that hypnotizes mortals, making it impossible for them to resist their call. They also seem to be capable of reading minds, using a mortal's innermost desires to lure them into a false sense of security. Weaknesses: They are extremely weak and fragile, and those who can find a way to resist their call will always have the upper hand. Their very nature causes them to stay near their habitat. If they stay too far, they will eventually die. Notes: Nymphs come in different shapes and forms of beautiful, naked woman, but don’t let them fool you. These seemingly-gentle spirits are anything but gentle. Believed to be related to faeries, there are stories abound of men and women being lured to the sea or lakes by their beautiful voices, never to be seen again. Where their victims go, nobody knows; and nobody wants to find out. However, they are rather weak, and rely purely on the element of surprise to claim their victims.
	Skeleton Warriors Species: Undead Strengths: Capable of using a weapon every bit as effectively as the living, despite a lack of muscle mass. They have absolutely no free will, and cannot question the will of their creator. As such, they will stop at nothing to achieve the goal they were given, and lack any sense of compassion, remorse, or reluctance. They are neither alive nor dead, and thus the only way to 'kill' one is to destroy one completely or otherwise render them incapable of action. Weaknesses: The dead flesh that can still be found on them ignites very easily, and thus, undead have a weakness to fire. The evil magic used to animate them can be 'purified' by blessed weapons or light magic. The lack of free will or self-awareness causes them to fall the ground, helpless, if their link to whatever is controlling them is severed. Stronger forms of undead will fly into a frenzy and attack both friend or foe before 'dying.' Notes: These skeletal warriors are comprised of animated bones of the dead. Their rest has been disturbed by someone - or something - using a highly illegal and forbidden form of magic, bringing life to bodies that should have never been disturbed in the first place. They are mindless and unflinching soldiers that are incapable of questioning their master. They excel in the art of swordsmanship, and feel no pain, fear, or compassion. They seem to have an aversion to sunlight, and are thus rarely seen, if ever, during the day. They’re often lurking at night in dark place, and they can always be felt by the chilling sensation the living feel when they are near.
	Harpies Species: Half Bird/Half Human Strengths: Capable of reaching a top speed that would rival most models of airships, allowing them to board an airship very easily. Talons are razor-sharp, and can shred light armor. Have shown rudimentary levels of intelligence, and have developed a swarm mentality. Weaknesses: Their hand-woven clothing provides almost no defense against modern weaponry. Feathers burn easily, and thus, they are weak against fire and electricity. Notes: Winged creatures with the lower body of a bird, and the head of a woman. The scourge of airships everywhere, they are regarded as foul creatures hostile to humans, and thus the Elsweit military have orders to shoot them on sight. While they have displayed some level of intelligence and ingenuity, they are feral and disorganized, making them a nuisance at worst for the heavily-armed air-battleships employed by the Elsweit military, though they are a major problem for merchant airships. They are likely to prey on people at will and do not discriminate. All captured harpies or recovered harpy bodies have been female; there have been no documented sightings of male harpies, leading many to wonder if they even exist at all.
	Faeries Species: Sprites/Spirits Strengths: They are believed to be benevolent spirits, but are rarely if ever seen. Usually invisible to humans, unless they wish to be seen or heard. Capable of using almost any type of magic, with some legends even stating that they are the origin of magic in the world. Capable of flight. Weaknesses: Physically weak, and more or less incapable of fighting using physical weapons. Iron causes their skin to burn, as well as severely weakens their magic to the point of them feeling physically ill. A natural aversion to cities, mostly due to pollution and the over-abundance of steel and iron in city infrastructure. Notes: Faeries are a creature so rarely seen in the world that some question their existence at all. They are a form of spirit often seen as metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural. The legends that do tell of their existence describe them as being known to protect from malice, and describe them as the natural enemy of demons. Those lucky few who do claim to have seen one describe them as incredibly beautiful creatures with a humanoid appearance, but some are not as kind as the legends describe, claiming that they are angry at humans for destroying the environment of the world with industry. Both male and female faeries exist, but almost all alleged sightings of faeries involved females. Elsweit's official stance on these sightings dismiss them as a hoax.