The Best of Select: Games 13

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Do not edit. 00001749 aerdrie faenya 0,11 *leax 638,4 ama*terasu* 880,6 Angel 1248,19 anhur 2230,7 anshar 2675,6 ant * ant 3029,4 anu 3250,5 *ape 3546,5 *rchon 3806,13 *shikaga *akauji 4548,18 asphynx 5532,5 balrog 5828,9 horned devil 6361,2 incubus succubus 6457,4 erinyes 6678,2 marilith 6775,5 barbed devil 7058,2 vrock 7154,4 hezrou 7382,2 bone devil 7505,2 nalfeshnee 7625,3 ice devil 7777,4 pit fiend 7995,4 juiblex jubilex 8199,6 yeenoghu 8567,5 orcus 8851,3 geryon 9037,3 dispater 9201,2 *lzebub 9285,3 asmodeus 9446,4 demogorgon 9655,4 athame 9887,5 *athen* 10170,12 barbarian 10865,22 basilisk 12065,4 bat giant bat 12250,9 *bee 12785,6 *beetle 13100,6 blind io 13423,8 brigit 13957,10 bugbear 14596,17 *camaxtli 15583,7 *cat kitten 16025,4 *erberus kerberos 16210,8 chameleon 16643,12 *haro*n 17352,7 chih*sung*tzu 17739,2 *hromatic *ragon tiamat 17763,15 *centaur 18675,17 cockatrice 19751,23 chickatrice 21034,3 pyrolisk 21219,4 couatl 21465,10 cram* 22027,7 *crocodile 22397,5 *roesus kroisos 22671,8 crom 23144,9 *yclops 23567,32 *ark *ne 24854,9 djinn* 25325,9 *dog pup* 25835,5 shadow wolf 26161,4 mist wolf 26402,5 dwarf* 26699,21 *arendil *lwing 28023,19 displacer beast 29197,8 *dragon *xoth 29681,10 *elemental 30279,7 eel giant eel 30613,7 elbereth 30902,20 electric eel 31695,6 *elf* *lvenking 32009,19 erevan ilesere 33117,10 ettin 33663,3 eye of the aethiopica 33797,7 floating eye 34264,7 glowing eye 34694,7 freezing sphere flaming sphere shocking sphere 35074,5 bloodshot eye 35266,4 blinking eye 35474,4 beholder 35698,5 fog cloud 35937,21 ghost 36479,9 *giant giant humanoid 36984,6 gnome* gnomish wizard 37350,14 goblin 38151,12 *oblin *ing 38886,11 gold gold piece zorkmid 39428,9 *golem 39928,3 gremlin 40077,4 galltrit A faster, but less hardy variety of the common gremlin. 40260,1 dretch These bloated, pathetic creatures are beneath even imps in 40262,4 rutterkin These gaunt demons are thralls of the quasits, and used 40445,4 nupperibo 40628,4 blood imp 40837,7 grid bug 41159,3 hobbit 41332,10 hobgoblin 41965,23 heart of ahriman 43291,5 hell hound* 43532,9 hermes 44063,19 *ippocrates 45156,25 hom*nculus 46650,8 *horsem* *eath *amine hunger *estilence war 47115,26 huan*ti 48570,6 *u*h*eto*l 48893,8 humanoid 49259,5 human arch*eologist cave*man elf healer knight *priest* Arch Priest rogue samurai wizard 49545,7 imp 49978,13 iguana 50670,1 ishtar 50717,18 issek 51829,7 jackal 52190,6 jaguar 52556,4 *Kop* *kop* 52788,6 ki-rin 53185,9 jabberwock vorpal* 53613,15 kamadan 54113,5 katana 54353,4 *kobold* 54562,6 King Arthur *arthur 54846,22 *kobold* 56123,5 kos 56402,9 koto 56888,2 kraken 56909,9 *lady offler 57396,27 leprechaun 58787,18 leocrotta leu*otta 59870,7 *lich 60286,7 lizard 60735,8 loki 61163,14 *ord *arnarvon 62008,3 *ord *ato 62121,4 *ord *urt* 62320,12 lug* 62936,9 lurker* 63439,6 lycanthrope *were* 63704,10 magic mirror of merlin 64266,4 mail d*emon 64454,3 ma*annon* 64555,7 manes 64946,5 marduk 65151,10 *aster *ssassin 65767,21 master key of thievery 66723,6 *aster of *hieves 67027,11 medusa 67689,6 *mimic 68030,6 *inotaur* 68350,14 mit*ra* 69166,15 mitre of holiness 70078,5 *mold shrieker *fung* 70336,13 mind flayer 71186,6 mithril* 71554,6 mumak* 71913,9 moloch 72404,15 *mummy 73296,8 naginata 73699,17 nalfenshee 74701,4 *alzok 74851,7 neanderthal* 75254,4 newt 75441,4 ninja-to 75597,2 Norn *norn 75624,13 nunchaku 76415,2 *nymph 76437,9 odin 76953,22 ogre* 78246,16 *naga* *naja* 79216,4 *ooze *pudding *jelly *cube *blob 79468,4 orcrist 79686,10 oracle delphi p*thia 80232,7 orb of detection 80628,5 orb of fate 80894,8 *orc* Uruk-hai 81364,15 owlbear 82270,6 palantir of westernesse 82599,5 *elias 82858,4 platinum yendorian express card 83026,7 poseido*n 83433,18 ptah 84431,9 *purple worm 84943,7 osaku 85308,1 piercer 85356,8 quantum mechanic 85799,2 quadruped 85921,5 quetzalcouatl 86232,10 raiden 86826,11 rabid rabbit 87412,6 barking spider 87744,5 rot worm 87927,5 green slime 88115,6 athol 88364,4 rat * rat 88466,3 rhaumbusun 88576,5 rock mole 88797,14 rothe 89657,4 scramper 89807,4 squealer 90010,6 mangler 90345,5 sake 90570,1 rust monster 90592,3 sasquatch 90748,4 sceptre of might 90966,6 scorpio* 91289,6 shad* 91590,11 *haman *arnov 92257,4 shan*lai*ching 92423,6 shito 92711,2 skeleton 92742,7 *snake serpent water moccasin python pit viper cobra 93157,22 snickersnee 94630,6 *soldier sergeant lieutenant captain 94870,9 solonor thelandira 95370,9 *spider 95940,3 staff of aesculapius 96130,4 *stalker 96409,3 sting 96584,11 susano*o 97250,5 *tail 97565,1 tanko 97624,2 tengu 97686,7 thoth 98105,17 thoth amon 99220,3 tiger tigress 99359,7 titan 99726,11 tourist 100348,17 trapper 101374,5 *troll olog-hai 101617,15 tsurugi 102540,6 tsurugi of muramasa 102882,6 *woflower guide 103216,21 tyaa 104287,15 tyr 105252,13 *hulk 105963,6 valkyrie 106254,12 *unicorn unicorn horn 106959,21 vampire vampire lord Vlad* vlad* 108093,6 vampire bat 108382,5 *vortex vortices 108649,7 warg 109016,17 water d*mon 109910,4 *wight 110062,24 winter wolf 111351,7 *izard of *alance 111706,6 wolf 112009,6 wraith *azgul 112302,16 xorn 113321,10 wakizashi 113870,2 *long worm worm tooth crysknife 113992,7 wizard of yendor 114362,10 xan 114976,12 ya 115638,2 yeti 115760,3 yugake 115946,4 yumi 116144,4 *zombie 116368,5 zruty 116640,2 . 116741,0 Aerdrie Faenya is the elven goddess of air and weather. As a rain- bringer, she is revered as a source of fertility. She is, however, perceived as a somewhat distant goddess, and the fact that she is also revered by some aarakocra slightly diminishes the strength of elven devotion to her (as does her definite neutral tendency in alignment). The goddess herself takes delight in the freedom of the skies, the music of wind instruments, and (sometimes) fairly severe and violent thunderstorms. She is friendly to all avians, aarakocra, ki-rin, and lammasu. [ Monster Mythology, by TSR inc. ] An Aleax, according to the AD&D Fiend Folio, is a creature that looks exactly like the character, and is sent by the character's god to punish alignment violations. Obviously - and luckily - in Nethack this is not the case. The Shinto sun goddess, Amaterasu Omikami is the central figure of Shintoism and the ancestral deity of the imperial house. One of the daughters of the primordial god Izanagi and said to be his favourite offspring, she was born from his left eye. She is the sibling of Susano-Wo, the storm god. [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. [...] So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. [ the Gospel after Matthew, 13:37-42,49-50 ] An Egyptian god of War and a great hunter, few gods can match his fury. Unlike many gods of war, he is a force for good. The wrath of Anhur is slow to come, but it is inescapable once earned. Anhur is a mighty figure with four arms. He is often seen with a powerful lance that requires both of his right arms to wield and which is tipped with a fragment of the sun. He is married to Mehut, a lion-headed goddess. A primordial Babylonian-Akkadian deity, Anshar is mentioned in the Babylonian creation epic _Enuma Elish_ as one of a pair of offspring (with Kishar) of Lahmu and Lahamu, and who in turn created Anu Anshar is linked with heaven whilst Kishar is identified with earth. [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] This giant variety of the ordinary ant will fight just as fiercely as its small, distant cousin. Various varieties exist, and they are known and feared for the relentless persecution of their victims. Anu was the Babylonian god of the heavens, the old, unchanging monarch of the north star. He was the oldest of the Babylonian gods, the father of all gods, and the ruler of heaven and destiny. Anu features strongly in the _atiku_ festival in Babylon, Uruk and other cities. Four-handed, tailless, mammal of the order of Primates, of the sub-order of _Anthropoidea_, which of all mammals most closely resembles man (both in appearance and in behaviour). [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] Archons are the primary inhabitants of the Seven Heavens. The five varieties of archon (Lantern, Hound, Warden, Sword, and Tome) have wholly different appearances. The various types look like spheres of light, dog-faced humanoids, bear-like humanoids, winged humanoids, and hawk-like humanoids respectively. Although there is a distinct hierarchy among the varieties, there is no rivalry or jealousy there. Each has his role to fulfil and that is recognition enough for an archon. However strange and frightening their appearance, archons never seem evil. Rather, they appear as beings at peace with themselves and their environment. [ Monstrous Compendium 8, by TSR inc. ] Ashikaga Takauji was a medieval daimyo of the Minamoto clan who joined forces with Emperor Go-Daigo to topple the Hojo regime. On July 8, 1336, he and his samurai entered Kyoto, forced Go-Daigo to retire, after which he seized power himself and installed a puppet prince on the throne (the current Japanese imperial family are the descendants of this puppet emperor that Ashikaga installed). Go-Daigo escaped, though, wouldn't admit to have been defeated, and opened a new "capital" in Yoshino (south of Kyoto), where he and few of his descendants claimed to be running a government, known as the "Southern Court". The period between 1337 and 1392, when Japan was ruled by two courts, is known as the Nambokucho. That "government" disappeared, naturally, after a few generations, and Ashikaga's Muromachi regime lasted for a long time. The last Ashikaga daimyo in power was the 14th descendant of Takauji. This small, inoffensive-looking snake shares the feared power of petrification with its distant relatives the cockatrice and basilisk. Just one touch from its blunt snout can render one motionless for all eternity. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] ... It came to the edge of the fire and the light faded as if a cloud had bent over it. Then with a rush it leaped the fissure. The flames roared up to greet it, and wreathed about it; and a black smoke swirled in the air. Its stream- ing mane kindled, and blazed behind it. In its right hand was a blade like a stabbing tongue of fire; in its left it held a whip of many thongs. 'Ai, ai!' wailed Legolas. 'A Balrog! A Balrog is come!' [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] Horned devils lack any real special abilities, though they are quite difficult to kill. The incubus and succubus are male and female versions of the same demon, one who lies with a human for its own purposes, usually to the detriment of the mortals who are unwise in their dealings with them. These female-seeming devils attack hand to hand and poison their unwary victims as well. The marilith, a type V demon, has a torso shaped like that of a human female, and the lower body of a great snake. It has multiple arms, and can freely attack with all of them. Since it is intelligent enough to use weapons, this means it can cause great damage. Barbed devils lack any real special abilities, though they are quite difficult to kill. The vrock is one of the weaker forms of demon, being only a type I. It resembles a cross between a human being and a vulture and does physical damage by biting and by using the claws on both its arms and feet. ``Hezrou'' is the common name for the type II demon. It is among the weaker of demons, but still quite formidable. Bone devils attack with weapons and with a great hooked tail which causes a loss of strength to those they sting. Not only do these demons, which are of type IV, do physical damage with their claws and bite, but they are capable of using magic as well. Ice devils are large semi-insectoid creatures, who are equally at home in the fires of Hell and the cold of Limbo, and who can cause the traveller to feel the latter with just a touch of their tail. Pit fiends are among the more powerful of devils, capable of attacking twice with weapons as well as grabbing and crush- ing the life out of those unwary enough to enter their domains. Little is known about the Faceless Lord, even the correct spelling of his name. He does not have a physical form as we know it, and those who have peered into his realm claim he is a slime-like creature who swallows other creatures alive, spits acidic secretions, and causes disease in his victims which can be almost instantly fatal. Yeenoghu, the demon lord of gnolls, still exists although all his followers have been wiped off the face of the earth. He casts magic projectiles at those close to him, and a mere gaze into his piercing eyes may hopelessly confuse the battle-weary adventurer. Orcus, Prince of the Undead, has a rams head and a poison stinger. He is most feared, though, for his powerful magic abilities. His wand causes death to those he chooses. Geryon is an arch-devil sometimes called the Wild Beast, attacking with his claws and poison sting. His ranking in Hell is rumored to be quite low. Dispater is an arch-devil who rules the city of Dis. He is a powerful mage. Baalzebub has been known as the lord of the flies. His bite drips poison, and a mere glance into his eyes can stun the hapless invader of his realm. It is said that Asmodeus is the overlord over all of hell. His appearance, unlike many other demons and devils, is human apart from his horns and tail. He can freeze flesh with a touch. Demogorgon, the prince of demons, wallows in filth and can spread a quickly fatal illness to his victims while rending them. He is a mighty spellcaster, and he can drain the life of mortals with a touch of his tail. The consecrated ritual knife of a Wiccan initiate (one of four basic tools, together with the wand, chalice and pentacle). Traditionally, the athame is a double-edged, black-handled, cross-hilted dagger of between six and eighteen inches length. Athena, the Greek goddess of war and peace, the peaceful arts, and wisdom. Patron defender of many Greek cities, Athens in particular (then called Pallas Athena), she is a major goddess of the Greek pantheon and, according to Hesiod, the daughter of Metis (Wisdom) and Zeus, born fully armed from his head. A goddess of battle and allegedly a snake goddess, she is a deity who also stands for discipline against the more unruly conduct of such as Hermes and Poseidon. Her symbol is the Aegis, the skin of a sacrificial goat. She is also associated with ship-building and domestic crafts. [ after the Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] Hrun the Barbarian crept soundlessly along the corridors, which were lit with a light so violet that it was almost black. his earlier confusion was gone. This was obviously a magical temple, and that explained everything. ... Observe Hrun, as he leaps cat-footed across a suspicious tunnel mouth. Even in this violet light his skin gleams coppery. There is much gold about his person, in the form of anklets and wristlets, but otherwise he is naked except for a leopardskin loincloth. He took that in the steaming forests of Howondaland, after killing its owner with his teeth. In his right hand he carried the magical black sword Kring, which was forged from a thunderbolt and has a soul but suffers no scabbard. Hrun had stolen it only three days before from the impregnable palace of the Archmandrite of B'Ituni, and he was already regretting it. It was beginning to get on his nerves. "I tell you it went down that last passage on the right," hissed Kring in a voice like the scrape of a blade over stone. "Be silent!" "All I said was -" "Shut up!" [ The colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett ] At first glance an unassuming lizard; at first touch instantaneous petrification. Such is the life of the feared basilisk. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] A bat, flitting in the darkness outside, took the wrong turn as it made its nightly rounds and came in through the window which had been left healthfully open. It then proceeded to circle the room in the aimless fat-headed fashion habitual with bats, who are notoriously among the less intellectually gifted of God's creatures. Show me a bat, says the old proverb, and I will show you something that ought to be in some kind of a home. [ A Pelican at Blandings, by P.G. Wodehouse ] This giant variety of its useful normal cousin normally appears in small groups, looking for raw material to produce the royal jelly needed to feed their queen. At rare occasions, one may stumble upon a bee-hive, in which the queen is being well provided for, and guarded against intruders. Beetle: common name for the insects with sings shaped like shields (_Coleoptera_), one of the ten sub-species into which the insects are divided, characterized by the shields (the front pair of wings) under which the back-wings are folded. [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] On this particular day Blind Io, by dint of constant vigilance the chief of the gods, sat with his chin on his hand and looked at the gaming board on the red marble table in front of him. Blind Io had got his name because, where his eyes sockets should have been, there were nothing but two areas of blank skin. His eyes, of which he had an impressively large number, led a semi-independent life of their own. Several were currently hovering above the table. [ The colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett ] Brigit (Brigid, Bride, Banfile), which means the Exalted One, was the Celtic (continental Europe and Irish) fertility goddess. She was originally celebrated on 1 February in the festival of Imbolc, which coincided with the beginning of lactation in ewes and was regarded in Scotland as the date on which Brigit deposed the blue- faced hag of winter. The Christian calendar adopted the same date for the Feast of St. Brigit. There is no record that a Christian saint ever actually existed, but in Irish mythology she became the midwife to the Virgin Mary. [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] Bugbears are giant, hairy cousins of goblins who frequent the same areas as their smaller relatives. Bugbears are large and very muscular, standing 7' tall. Their hides range from light yellow to yellow brown and their thick coarse hair varies in colour from brown to brick red. Though vaguely humanoid in appearance, bugbears seem to contain the blood of some large carnivore. Their eyes recall those of some savage bestial animal, being greenish white with red pupils, while their ears are wedge shaped, rising from the top of their heads. A bugbear's mouth is full of long sharp fangs. Bugbears have two main goals in life: survival and treasure. They are superb carnivores, winnowing out the weak and careless adventurer, monster, and animal. Goblins are always on their toes when bugbears are present, for the weak or stupid quickly end up in the stewpot. [ Monstrous Manual, by TSR, Inc. ] A classical Mesoamerican Aztec god, also known as Mixcoatl- Camaxtli (the Cloud Serpent), Camaxtli is the god of war. He is also a deity of hunting and fire who received human sacrifice of captured prisoners. According to tradition, the sun god Tezcatlipoca transformed himself into Mixcoatl-Camaxtli to make fire by twirling the sacred fire sticks. [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] Well-known quadruped domestic animal from the family of predatory felines (_Felis ochreata domestica_), with a thick, soft pelt; often kept as a pet, to catch mice, etc. Cerberus, or Kerberos in Greek, was the three-headed dog that guarded the Gate of Hell. He allowed any dead to enter, and likewise prevented them all to leave ever again. He was subdued only twice: once when Orpheus put him asleep by playing bewitching music on his lyre, and the other time when Hercules confronted him and took him to the world of the living (as his twelfth and last labour). 1. Name of a family (_Chameleonidae_) and race (_Chameleo_) of scaly lizards, especially the _Chameleo vulgaris_ species, with a short neck, claws, a grasping tail, a long, extendable tongue and mutually independent moving eyes. When it is scared or angry, it inflates itself and its transparent skin shows its blood: the skin first appears greenish, then darker and finally spotted red; the final colour depends on the background colour as well, hence (figurative) the implication of fickleness, unreliability. 2. [Capitalized:] a constellation of the southern hemisphere (Chameleo). [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] When an ancient Greek died, his soul went to the nether world: the Hades. To reach the nether world, the souls had to cross the Styx, the river that separated the living and the dead. The Styx could be crossed by ferry, whose shabby ferryman, stricken in years, was called Charon. The deceased's next-of-kin would place a coin under his tongue, to pay the ferryman. A Chinese rain god. Avaricious, supremely vain, and profoundly Lawful Evil, Tiamat proclaims herself the creator of all evil dragonkind, and certainly many evil dragons revere her as their creator and patron deity. She infests the uppermost of the Nine Hells with her consorts, each a Great Wyrm of different colour - one red, one white, one green, one blue, and one black. Tiamat's Avatar appears as a gigantic five-headed dragon with one head of each of the chromatic (evil) dragon types. Each head's colour runs the length of the neck and into the forepart of het body as stripes, gradually blending to three stripes of grey, blue-green, and purple over her back and hind-quarters, then merging into a muddy dark brown tail. Her underbelly and legs are greenish white fading into her upper body colours. [ Monster Mythology, by TSR inc. ] Of all the monsters put together by the Greek imagination the Centaurs (Kentauroi) constituted a class in themselves. Despite a strong streak of sensuality in their make-up, their normal behaviour was moral, and they took a kindly thought of man's welfare. The attempted outrage of Nessos on Deianeira, and that of the whole tribe of Centaurs on the Lapith women, are more than offset by the hospitality of Pholos and by the wisdom of Cheiron, physician, prophet, lyrist, and the instructor of Achilles. Further, the Cen- taurs were peculiar in that their nature, which united the body of a horse with the trunk and head of a man, involved an unthinkable duplication of vital organs and important members. So grotesque a combination seems almost un-Greek. These strange creatures were said to live in the caves and clefts of the mountains, myths associating them especially with the hills of Thessaly and the range of Erymanthos. [ Mythology of all races, Vol. 1, pp. 270-271 ] Once in a great while, when the positions of the stars are just right, a seven-year-old rooster will lay an egg. Then, along will come a snake, to coil around the egg, or a toad, to squat upon the egg, keeping it warm and helping it to hatch. When it hatches, out comes a creature called basil- isk, or cockatrice, the most deadly of all creatures. A sin- gle glance from its yellow, piercing toad's eyes will kill both man and beast. Its power of destruction is said to be so great that sometimes simply to hear its hiss can prove fatal. Its breath is so venomous that it causes all vege- tation to wither. There is, however, one creature which can withstand the basilisk's deadly gaze, and this is the weasel. No one knows why this is so, but although the fierce weasel can slay the basilisk, it will itself be killed in the struggle. Perhaps the weasel knows the basilisk's fatal weakness: if it ever sees its own reflection in a mirror it will perish instant- ly. But even a dead basilisk is dangerous, for it is said that merely touching its lifeless body can cause a person to sicken and die. [ Mythical Beasts by Deirdre Headon (The Leprechaun Library) and other sources ] This beastie is the recently-hatched broodling of a cockatrice, a creature feared by adventurers great and small for its petrifying peck. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] A single glance from this red-feathered cockatrice can cause even the bravest adventurer to burst into flames, their flesh withering and blackening and curling beneath the creature's baleful gaze. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] The couatl are feathered serpents of myth and lore. It is believed that they are distant relatives of dragons, though this remains unproven. So rare as to be considered legendary, the couatl are some of the most beautiful creatures in existence. A couatl has the body of a long serpent and feathered wings the colour of the rainbow. Occasionally sent as messengers from the gods to their erring servants, a couatl will always seek to punish those who deserve it. [ 2nd ed. Monstrous Compendium, by TSR, Inc. ] If you want to know what cram is, I can only say that I don't know the recipe; but it is biscuitish, keeps good indefinitely, is supposed to be sustaining, and is certainly not entertaining, being in fact very uninteresting except as a chewing exercise. It was made by the Lake-men for long journeys. [ The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien] A big animal with the appearance of a lizard, constituting an order of the reptiles (_Loricata_ or _Crocodylia_), the crocodile is a large, dangerous predator native to tropical and subtropical climes. It spends most of its time in large areas of water. Croesus (in Greek: Kroisos), the wealthy last king of Lydia; his empire was destroyed when he attacked Cyrus in 549, after the oracle of Delphi (q.v.) had told him: "if you attack the Persians, you will destroy a mighty empire". Herodotus relates of his legendary conversation with Solon of Athens, who impressed upon him that being rich does not imply being happy and that no one should be considered fortunate before his death. Warily Conan scanned his surroundings, all of his senses alert for signs of possible danger. Off in the distance, he could see the familiar shapes of the Camp of the Duali Tribe. Suddenly, the hairs on his neck stand on end as he detects the aura of evil magic in the air. Without thought, he readies his weapon, and mutters under his breath: "By Crom, there will be blood spilt today." And after he had milked his cattle swiftly, he again took hold of two of my men and had them as his supper. Then I went, with a tub of red wine, to stand before the Cyclops, saying: "A drop of wine after all this human meat, so you can taste the delicious wine that is stored in our ship, Cyclops." He took the tub and emptied it. He appreciated the priceless wine that much that he promptly asked me for a second tub. "Give it", he said, "and give me your name as well". ... Thrice I filled the tub, and after the wine had clouded his mind, I said to him, in a tone as sweet as honey: "You have asked my name, Cyclops? Well, my name is very well known. I'll give it to you, if you give me the gift you promised me as a guest. My name is Nobody. All call me thus: my father and my mother and my friends." Ruthlessly he answered to this: "Nobody, I will eat you last of all; your host of friends will completely precede you. That will be my present to you, my friend." And after these words he fell down backwards, restrained by the all-restrainer Hupnos. His monstrous neck sild into the dust; the red wine squirted from his throat; the drunk vomited lumps of human flesh. [ the Ulysses, chapter epsilon, by Homer ] ... But he ruled rather by force and fear, if they might avail; and those who perceived his shadow spreading over the world called him the Dark Lord and named him the Enemy; and he gathered again under his government all the evil things of the days of Morgoth that remained on earth or beneath it, and the Orcs were at his command and multiplied like flies. Thus the Black Years began ... [ The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] The djinn are genies from the elemental plane of Air. There, among their kind, they have their own societies. They are sometimes encountered on earth and may even be summoned here to perform some service for powerful wizards. These often leave them about for later service, safely tucked away in a flask or lamp. Once in a while, such a tool is found by a lucky rogue, and some djinn are known to be so grateful when released that they might grant their rescuer a wish. A domestic animal, the _tame dog_ (_canis familiaris_), of which numerous races exist. The male is called dog, while the female is called bitch. Because of its known loyalty to men and kindness to children, it is the world's most popular domestic animal. It can easily be trained to perform various tasks. This evil creature (_canis tenebrous_) lurks in the darker, more sinister corners of the world. Its bite is known for its chilling effect upon humanoid flesh, and it is not a tameable animal. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] This hazy canine (_canis precipitous_) is thought to have a good heart hiding somewhere within its green, silky hide. Unfortunately, the beast is usually ravenous, as its diet of mist is not very filling, at least compared to human flesh. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] Dwarfs have faces like men (ugly men, with wrinkled, leathery skins), but are generally either flat-footed, duck-footed, or have feet pointing backwards. They are of the earth, earthy, living in the darkest of caverns and venturing forth only with the cloaks by which they can make themselves invisible, and other disguised as toads. Miners often come across them, and sometimes establish reasonably close relations with them. ... The miners of Cornwall were always delighted to hear a bucca busily mining away, for all dwarfs have an infallible nose for precious metals. Among other things, dwarfs are rightly valued for their skill as blacksmiths and jewellers: they made Odin his famous spear Gungnir, and Thor his hammer; for Freya they designed a magnificent necklace, and for Frey a golden boar. And in their spare time they are excellent bakers. Ironically, despite their odd feet, they are particularly fond of dancing. They can also see into the future, and consequently are excellent meteorologists. The can be free with presents to people they like, and a dwarfish gift is likely to turn to gold in the hand. But on the whole they are a snappish lot. [ The Immortals, by Derek and Julia Parker ] Bright Earendil was then lord of the people that dwelt nigh to Sirion's mouths; and he took to wife Elwing the fair, and she bore to him Elrond and Elros, who are called the Half-elven. ... Then Earendil, first of living Men, landed on the immortal shores; and he spoke there to Elwing and to those that were with him, and they were three mariners who had sailed all the seas beside him: Falathar, Erellont, and Aerandir were their names. And Earendil said to them: "Here none but myself shall set foot, lest you fall under the wrath of the Valar. But that peril I will take on myself alone, for the sake of the Two Kindreds." But Elwing answered: "Then would our paths be sundered for ever; but all thy perils I will take on myself also." And she leaped into the white foam and ran towards him; but Earendil was sorrowful, for he feared the anger of the Lords of the West upon any of Middle-earth that should dare to pass the leaguer of Aman. And there they bade farewell to the companions of their voyage, and were taken from them for ever. [ The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] A large, panther-like felid with a half-dozen legs, two tentacles, and the appetite of a ravenous dragon. Its glossy blue-black coat radiates magical energy, and it was once though that these creatures could appear in other than their actual position. This, however, has recently been proven to not be the case; rather, they can instantly switch position with their attacker, causing great disorientation and distress. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] In the West the dragon was the natural enemy of man. Although preferring to live in bleak and desolate regions, whenever it was seen among men it left in its wake a trail of destruction and disease. Yet any attempt to slay this beast was a perilous undertaking. For the dragon's assailant had to contend not only with clouds of sulphurous fumes pouring from its fire-breathing nostrils, but also with the thrashings of its tail, the most deadly part of its serpent-like body. [Mythical Beasts by Deirdre Headon (The Leprechaun Library)] Elementals are manifestations of the basic nature of the universe. There are four known forms of elementals: air, fire, water, and earth. Some mystics have postulated the necessity for a fifth type, the spirit elemental, but none have ever been encountered, at least on this plane of ex- istence. Fish, shaped like a serpent (_Anguilla anguilla_). The female lays its eggs somewhere upstream, whence the offspring swims to a warm sea to mate. From there, they return to their place of birth to lay eggs. [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] ... Even as they stepped over the threshold a single clear voice rose in song. A Elbereth Gilthoniel, silivren penna miriel o menel aglar elenath! Na-chaered palan-diriel o galadhremmin ennorath, Faluinos, le linnathon nef aear, si nef aearon! Frodo halted for a moment, looking back. Elrond was in his chair and the fire was on his face like summer-light upon the trees. Near him sat the Lady Arwen. ... He stood still enchanted, while the sweet syllables of the elvish song fell like clear jewels of blended word and melody. "It is a song to Elbereth," said Bilbo. "They will sing that, and other songs of the Blessed Realm, many times tonight. Come on!" [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] South-American fish (_Gymnotus electricus_), living in fresh water. Shaped like a serpent, it can grow up to 2 metres. This eel is known for its electrical organ which enables it to paralyse creatures up to the size of a horse. [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] The Elves sat round the fire upon the grass or upon the sawn rings of old trunks. Some went to and fro bearing cups and pouring drinks; others brought food on heaped plates and dishes. "This is poor fare," they said to the hobbits; "for we are lodging in the greenwood far from our halls. If ever you are our guests at home, we will treat you better." "It seems to me good enough for a birthday-party," said Frodo. Pippin afterwards recalled little of either food or drink, for his mind was filled with the light upon the elf-faces, and the sound of voices so various and so beautiful that he felt in a waking dream. ... Sam could never describe in words, nor picture clearly to himself, what he felt or thought that night, though it remained in his memory as one of the chief events of his life. The nearest he ever got was to say: "Well, sir, if I could grow apples like that, I would call myself a gardener. But it was the singing that went to my heart, if you know what I mean." [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] Erevan is a fickle, unpredictable elven deity who specializes in shapechanging. He is a woodland lover and always wearing green somewhere about his person, but he is a god of thieves and rogues too, and has a definite weakness for fine wines. Erevan is revered by some members of the small sylvan races, such as sprites and pixies. He is a trickster god in some ways, but Erevan really is utterly unpredictable. He simply has a primary love causing mischief. [ Monster Mythology, by TSR inc. ] The two-headed giant, or ettin, is a vicious and unpredictable hunter that stalks by night and eats any meat it can catch. This is a powerful amulet of ESP. In addition to its standard powers, it regenerates the energy of anyone who carries it, allowing them to cast spells more often. It also reduces any spell damage to the person who carries it by half, and protects from magic missiles. Finally, when invoked it has the power to instantly open a portal to any other area of the dungeon, allowing its invoker to travel quickly between areas. Floating eyes, not surprisingly, are large, floating eyeballs which drift about the dungeon. Though not dangerous in and of themselves, their power to paralyse those who gaze at their large eye in combat is widely feared. Many are the tales of those who struck a floating eye, were paralysed by its mystic powers, and then nibbled to death by some other creature that lurked around nearby. One would disbelieve, at first, a tale such as that of the glowing eye. For who would believe that one had in fact encountered a yard-wide luminescent eyeball, whose blinding glare was enough to cause one to be struck blind. But I tell you that such creatures _do_ exist, and that they are little more than nuisances. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] Glowing spheres of energy are these, and when they explode, all in their midst shall be enveloped in their element, and not for the better. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] The red, angry glare of a three-foot wide eye is nothing to take lightly, especially when the gaze of said eye can stun any hapless onlooker. Tread carefully! [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] A single glance from this bluish eyeball can magically transport one across an entire floor, perhaps to a safer or more dangerous location than the one in which one had been. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] The grandfather of any sort of floating eyeball, this gigantic thing has a dozen or more tiny eyelets, all of which stare until one is consumed in flame, stunned, blinded, or worse. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on. [ Fog, by Carl Sandburg ] Open the door now. Go roll up the collar of your coat To walk in the changing scarf of mist. Tell your sins here to the pearl fog And know for once a deepening night Strange as the half-meanings Alurk in a wise woman's mousey eyes. Yes, tell your sins and know how careless a pearl fog is Of the laws you have broken. [ Pearl Fog, by Carl Sandburg ] The souls of the perished dead gathered to the place, up out of Erebos, brides, and young unmarried men, and long-suffering elders, virgins, tender and with the sorrows of young hearts upon them, and many fighting men killed in battle, stabbed with brazen spears, still carrying their bloody armour upon them. These came swarming around my pit from every direction with inhuman clamour, and green fear took hold of me. [ the Ulysses, chapter lambda, by Homer ] Giants have always walked the earth, though they are rare in these times. They range in size from little over nine feet to a towering twenty feet or more. The larger ones use huge boulders as weapons, hurling them over large distances. All types of giants share a love for men - roasted, boiled, or fried. Their table manners are legendary. ... And then a gnome came by, carrying a bundle, an old fellow three times as large as an imp and wearing clothes of a sort, especially a hat. And he was clearly just as frightened as the imps though he could not go so fast. Ramon Alonzo saw that there must be some great trouble that was vexing magical things; and, since gnomes speak the language of men, and will answer if spoken to gently, he raised his hat, and asked of the gnome his name. The gnome did not stop his hasty shuffle a moment as he answered 'Alaraba' and grabbed the rim of his hat but forgot to doff it. 'What is the trouble, Alaraba?' said Ramon Alonzo. 'White magic. Run!' said the gnome ... [ The Charwoman's Shadow, by Lord Dunsany. ] Goblins are bipeds, with hideous, monkey-like faces. Due to their pointy jaws their skull looks like that of a baboon. Males and females are hardly distinguishable. Both may grow up to 1.5 metres and have a thin, fluffily hairy skin, ranging in colour from reddish to greyish brown. Since this thin skin does not provide enough protection, they like to dress in sleazy apparels they have captured. Goblins are sneaky, stupid cowards: an especially unpleasant combination of character traits. They live together in large groups in deserted houses, ruins, and caverns because they are too lazy to build anything of their own. [ het Boek van de Regels; Het Oog des Meesters ] The Great Goblin gave a truly awful howl of rage when he looked at it, and all his soldiers gnashed their teeth, clashed their shields, and stamped. They knew the sword at once. It had killed hundreds of goblins in its time, when the fair elves of Gondolin hunted them in the hills or did battle before their walls. They had called it Orcrist, Goblin-cleaver, but the goblins called it simply Biter. They hated it and hated worse any one that carried it. [ The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] A metal of characteristic yellow colour, the most precious metal used as a common commercial medium of exchange. Sym- bol, Au; at. no. 79; at. wt. 197.2. It is the most malle- able and ductile of all metals, and very heavy (sp. gr., 19.3). It is quite unalterable by heat, moisture, and most corrosive agents, and therefore well suited for its use in coin and jewelry. [ Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language, Second Edition ] These creatures, not quite living but not really nonliving either, are created from inanimate materials by powerful mages or priests. The gremlin is a highly intelligent and completely evil creature. It lives to torment other creatures and will go to great lengths to inflict pain or cause injury. the heirarchy of the Netherworld. Their pale, pustulent bodies reek of slime and filth, and their flesh is bitter and bilious. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] by those imps for tasks which they are too cowardly to personally perform. Rutterkin are pallid, splotchy, and disgusting things. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] One of the minor servants of the great devils, nupperibo are spiky, deep-green creatures whose only purpose in life is to serve their diabolical masters. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] These slippery imps are sometimes found near water, where they lurk just below the surface to leap out and assault the unwary adventurer. Be warned, however, that they do not need to stay in their usual home, and may be found anywhere, especially in damp areas. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] These electrically based creatures are not native to this universe. They appear to come from a world whose laws of motion are radically different from ours. Hobbits are an unobtrusive but very ancient people, more numerous formerly than they are today; for they love peace and quiet and good tilled earth: a well-ordered and well- farmed countryside was their favourite haunt. They do not and did not understand or like machines more complicated than a forge-bellows, a water-mill, or a handloom, although they were skillful with tools. Even in ancient days they were, as a rule, shy of "the Big Folk", as they call us, and now they avoid us with dismay and are becoming hard to find. [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] Hobgoblin. Used by the Puritans and in later times for wicked goblin spirits, as in Bunyan's 'Hobgoblin nor foul friend', but its more correct use is for the friendly spir- its of the brownie type. In 'A midsummer night's dream' a fairy says to Shakespeare's Puck: Those that Hobgoblin call you, and sweet Puck, You do their work, and they shall have good luck: Are you not he? and obviously Puck would not wish to be called a hobgoblin if that was an ill-omened word. Hobgoblins are on the whole, good-humoured and ready to be helpful, but fond of practical joking, and like most of the fairies rather nasty people to annoy. Boggarts hover on the verge of hobgoblindom. Bogles are just over the edge. One Hob mentioned by Henderson, was Hob Headless who haunted the road between Hurworth and Neasham, but could not cross the little river Kent, which flowed into the Tess. He was exorcised and laid under a large stone by the roadside for ninety-nine years and a day. If anyone was so unwary as to sit on that stone, he would be unable to quit it for ever. The ninety-nine years is nearly up, so trouble may soon be heard of on the road between Hurworth and Neasham. [ Katharine Briggs, A dictionary of Fairies ] This luckstone has been passed down from ancient times. In addition to its standard powers of a luckstone, it grants stealth to anyone who carries it. When invoked, it grants the power of levitation to the invoker. Hell hounds are fire-breathing canines from another plane of existence brought here in the service of evil beings. A hell hound resembles a large hound with rust-red of red-brown fur and red, glowing eyes. The markings, teeth, and tongue are soot black. It stands two to three feet high at the shoulder, and has a distinct odour of smoke and sulphur. The baying sounds it makes have an eerie, hollow tone that send a shiver through any who hear them. [ Monstrous Manual, by TSR, Inc. ] Hermes. Messenger and herald of the Olympians. Being required to do a great deal of travelling and speaking in public, he became the god of eloquence, travellers, merchants, and thieves. He was one of the most energetic of the Greek gods, a Machiavellian character full of trickery and sexual vigour. Like other Greek gods, he is endowed with not-inconsiderable sexual prowess which he directs towards countryside nymphs and with which he also maintains a healthy and thriving population of sheep and goats! He is a god of boundaries, guardian of graves and patron deity of shepherds. He is usually depicted as a handsome young man wearing winged golden sandals and holding a magical herald's staff consisting of intertwined serpents, the kerykeion. He is reputedly the only being able to find his way to the underworld ferry of Charon and back again. He is said to have invented among other things the lyre, Pan's Pipes, numbers, the alphabet, weights and measures, and sacrifices. Hippocrates of Kos. Famous physicist and most important physician of the antiquity (460-370 b.C.). A "Corpus Hippocratum" has been preserved, encompassing over 50 discourses on various medical topics. It has proven to be impossible to trace the real source of these discourses, though. They originate from the medical faculties of Kos and Knidos. Perhaps half a dozen or so has been drawn up by Hippocrates proper, among other things an essay entitled _Epidemics, a Prognosis_ and _On Air, Earth and Place_ in which he handled the effects that the environs have on men's health. His works show his scientific orientation and methods, since he pressed the importance of the relation cause-result, and subsequently the significance of careful observation of medical facts. To his contemporary colleagues and those of centuries afterwards, Hippocrates was a model of the perfect practitioner: earnest and reserved. Even literary relevance of his work is not to be neglected: it was drafted in clear, Ionic prose. There exist a collection of _Aphorisms_ as well that is attributed to Hippocrates. His name has been passed down the ages through "Hippocrates' Oath", the oath taken by all young physicians, thus accepting the general ethics of their profession. [ XYZ van de Grieks-Romeinse oudheid, by G.H. Halsberghe and Guido Halsberghe ] Homunculi are small mystical beings created by magicians for spying and other special tasks. The average homunculus is vaguely humanoid in form. It is 18 inches tall, and its greenish, reptilian skin may have spots or warts. They have leathery, bat- like wings with a span of 24 inches and a mouth filled with long, pointed teeth that can inject a potent sleeping venom. [ 2nd ed. Monstrous Compendium, by TSR, Inc. ] [Pestilence:] And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. [War:] And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. [Famine:] And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. [Death:] And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. [ Revelations of John, 6:1-8 ] The first of the five mythical Chinese emperors, Huan Ti is known as the yellow emperor. He rules the _moving_ heavens, as opposed to the _dark_ heavens. He is an inventor, said to have given mankind among other things the wheel, armour and the compass. He is the god of fortune telling and war. Huehuetotl, or Huhetotl, which means Old God, was the Aztec (classical Mesoamerican) god of fire. He is generally associated with paternalism and one of the group classed as the Xiuhtecuhtli complex. His is known to send his minions to wreck havoc upon ordinary humans. [ after the Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] Humanoids are all approximately the size of a human, and may be mistaken for one at a distance. They are usually of a tribal nature, and will fiercely defend their lairs. Usually hostile, they may even band together to raid and pillage human settlements. These strange creatures live mostly on the surface of the earth, gathering together in societies of various forms, but occasionally a stray will descend into the depths and commit mayhem among the dungeon residents who, naturally, often resent the intrusion of such beasts. They are capable of using weapons and magic, and it is even rumored that the Wizard of Yendor is a member of this species. ... imps ... little creatures of two feet high that could gambol and jump prodigiously; ... [ The Charwoman's Shadow, by Lord Dunsany ] An 'imp' is an off-shoot or cutting. Thus an 'ymp tree' was a grafted tree, or one grown from a cutting, not from seed. 'Imp' properly means a small devil, an off-shoot of Satan, but the distinction between goblins or bogles and imps from hell is hard to make, and many in the Celtic countries as well as the English Puritans regarded all fairies as devils. The fairies of tradition often hover uneasily between the ghostly and the diabolic state. [ Katharine Briggs, A Dictionary of Fairies ] A big, fleet footed lizard with strong jaws. Ishtar (the star of heaven) is the Mesopotamian goddess of fertility and war. She is usually depicted with wings and weapon cases at her shoulders, carrying a ceremonial double-headed mace- scimitar embellished with lion heads, frequently being accompanied by a lion. She is symbolized by an eight-pointed star. [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] She was capricious in love, wilful and imperious in action. As the mother goddess, Ishtar was moved to pity and sorrow at the suffering of the earthly children and at the hardships imposed by pestilence and flood; but she was cruel and callous as the goddess of love, her rites being celebrated with such licentiousness by her followers that the name of Ishtar and of the centres of her worship became synonymous with wickedness and immorality. As the goddess of war she was so terrible that even the gods trembled at the while warlike people sang her praises. [ The Encyclopaedia of Myths and Legends of All Nations, by Herbert Spencer Robinson and Knox Wilson ] Issek of the Jug appears as a tall man with twisted wrists and ankles. Issek is said to give enduring power to anyone under torture. Torture can be loosely defined and includes such things as a wife who constantly shouts at her husband or a little boy being picked on by a larger bully. [ Legends and Lore, by TSR, inc. ] Jackals are timid scavengers that run from the threat of other predators. When attacking, the jackal darts in to bite its victim and quickly retreats to a safe distance. If more than one jackal is trying to down an animal, they attack in a haphazard fashion with little or no coordination of effort. [ Monstrous Manual, by TSR, Inc. ] Large, flesh-eating animal of the cat family, of Central and South America. This feline predator (_Panthera onca_) is sometimes, less correctly, called panther. [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] The typical policeman of 1920's movies, the Keystone Kop was modeled like the English "bobby", with a long brass-buttoned overcoat, carrying long nightsticks that he (more often than not) whapped himself with, rather than anyone else. The Keystone Kops were very slapstick-like, relying on speed and numbers to achieve their comedy, rather than sophisticated wit. The ki-rin is a noble creature that roams the sky in search of good deeds to reward or malefactors to punish. The ki-rin's coat is covered with luminous golden scales like a sunrise on a clear morning. The thick mane and tail are a darker gold. The horn and hooves are gold tinged with pink. The eyes are a deep violet. The ki-rin has a melodious voice. [ Monstrous Manual, by TSR, Inc. ] "Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!" He took his vorpal sword in hand; Long time the manxome foe he sought -- So rested he by the Tumtum tree, And stood awhile in thought. And, as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came! [ Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll ] This odd creature looks like a leopard with snakes growing from its shoulders. It has a sleep-inducing breath that can be fatal to the unwary traveler. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] Also known as the samurai sword, the katana is a long, single-edged sword with slightly curved blade. Its long handle is designed to allow it to be wielded with either one or two hands. The race of kobolds are reputed to be an artificial creation of a master wizard (demi-god?). They are about 3' tall with a vaguely dog-like face. They bear a violent dislike of the Elven race, and will go out of their way to cause trouble for Elves at any time. Ector took both his sons to the church before which the anvil had been placed. There, standing before the anvil, he commanded Kay: "Put the sword back into the steel if you really think the throne is yours!". But the sword glanced off the steel. "Now it is your turn", Ector said facing Arthur. The young man lifted the sword and thrust with both arms; the blade whizzed through the air with a flash and drilled the metal as if it were mere butter. Ector and Kay dropped to their knees before Arthur. "Why, father and brother, do you bow for me?", Arthur asked with wonder in his voice. "Because now I know for sure that you are the king, not only by birth but also by law", Ector said. "You are no son of mine nor are you Kay's brother. Immediately after your birth, Merlin the Wise brought you to me to be raised safely. And though it was me that named you Arthur when you were baptised, you are really the son of brave king Uther Pendragon and queen Igraine..." And after these words, the lord rose and went to see the archbishop to impart to him what had passed. [ Van Gouden Tijden Zingen de Harpen, by Vladimir Hulpach, Emanuel Frynta, and Vackav Cibula ] The race of kobolds are reputed to be an artificial creation of a master wizard (demi-god?). They are about 3' tall with a vaguely dog-like face. They bear a violent dislike of the Elven race, and will go out of their way to cause trouble for Elves at any time. Kos is a northern barbarian god who loves battle and bold deeds. He is the god of dooms because he brings trouble to anyone who doesn't live up to his strict codes of honour and action. These codes and the interest of the god apply to all facets of the hard life of the northern barbarians. Kos is just as interested in the building of a safe and sturdy long house as he is in the sharpness of a warrior's axe. [ Legends and Lore, by TSR, inc. ] A Japanese harp. Out from the water a long sinuous tentacle had crawled; it was pale-green and luminous and wet. Its fingered end had hold of Frodo's foot, and was dragging him into the water. Sam on his knees was now slashing at it with a knife. The arm let go of Frodo, and Sam pulled him away, crying out for help. Twenty others arms came rippling out. The dark water boiled, and there was a hideous stench. [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] Blind Io took up the dice-box, which was a skull whose various orifices had been stoppered with rubies, and with several of his eyes on the Lady he rolled three fives. She smiled. This was the nature of the Lady's eyes: they were bright green, lacking iris or pupil, and they glowed from within. The room was silent as she scrabbled in her box of pieces and, from the very bottom, produced a couple that she set down on the board with two decisive clicks. The rest of the players, as one God, craned forward to peer at them. "A wenegade wiffard and fome fort of clerk," said Offler the Crocodile God, hindered as usual by his tusks. "Well, weally!" With one claw he pushed a pile of bone-white tokens into the centre of the table. The Lady nodded slightly. She picked up the dice-cup and held it as steady as a rock, yet all the Gods could hear the three cubes rattling about inside. And then she sent them bouncing across the table. A six. A three. A five. Something was happening to the five, however. Battered by the chance collision of several billion molecules, the die flipped onto a point, spun gently and came down a seven. Blind Io picked up the cube and counted the sides. "Come _on_," he said wearily, "Play fair." [ The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett ] The Irish Leprechaun is the Faeries' shoemaker and is known under various names in different parts of Ireland: Cluri- caune in Cork, Lurican in Kerry, Lurikeen in Kildare and Lu- rigadaun in Tipperary. Although he works for the Faeries, the Leprechaun is not of the same species. He is small, has dark skin and wears strange clothes. His nature has some- thing of the manic-depressive about it: first he is quite happy, whistling merrily as he nails a sole on to a shoe; a few minutes later, he is sullen and morose, drunk on his home-made heather ale. The Leprechaun's two great loves are tobacco and whiskey, and he is a first-rate con-man, impos- sible to out-fox. No one, no matter how clever, has ever managed to cheat him out of his hidden pot of gold or his magic shilling. At the last minute he always thinks of some way to divert his captor's attention and vanishes in the twinkling of an eye. [ A Field Guide to the Little People by Nancy Arrowsmith & George Moorse ] ...the leucrocotta, a wild beast of extraordinary swiftness, the size of the wild ass, with the legs of a Stag, the neck, tail, and breast of a lion, the head of a badger, a cloven hoof, the mouth slit up as far as the ears, and one contin- uous bone instead of teeth; it is said, too, that this animal can imitate the human voice. [ Curious Creatures in Zoology, John Ashton ] Once in a great while, an evil master wizard or priest will manage through use of great magics to extend his or her life far beyond the normal span of a human. The usual effect of this is to transform the human, over time, into an undead of great magical power. A Lich hates life in any form; even a touch from one of these creatures will cause a numbing cold in the victim. They all possess the capability to use magic. 1. A sub-order (_Lacertilia_ or _Sauria_) of the long-tailed creeping animals, especially of the family of the _Lacertidae_. There are three major kinds: the ordinary lizard (Lacerta agilis), the wall-lizard (L. muralis), and the small lizard (L. vivipara). 2. [Capitalized:] a constellation of the northern hemisphere (Lacerta). [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] Loki, or Lopt, is described in Snorri's _Edda_ as being "pleasing and handsome in appearance, evil in character, and very capricious in behaviour". He is the son of the giant Farbauti and of Laufey. Loki is the Norse god of cunning, evil, thieves, and fire. He hated the other gods and wanted to ruin them and overthrow the universe. He committed many murders. As a thief, he stole Freyja's necklace, Thor's belt and gauntlets of power, and the apples of youth. Able to shapechange at will, he is said to have impersonated at various times a mare, flea, fly, falcon, seal and an old crone. As a mare he gave birth to Odin's horse Sleipnir. He also allegedly sired the serpent of Midgard, the mistress of the netherworld, Hel, and the wolf Fenrir which will devour the sun at Ragnarok. Lord Carnarvon was the financial patron of Howard Carter, the discoverer of King Tutanchamon's tomb. Lord Sato is the family head of the Taro Clan, and a mighty daimyo. He is a loyal servant of the Emperor, and will go do everything in his power to further the imperial cause. The dwarfs, whose father was Ivaldr, lived in the very heart of the hills. ... At the other end of the ladder were the giants, who stole summer and brought winter in its place. They lived in Jotumheim. Some of the giants were Hrungnir, who was killed by Thor; Hresvelgr, living in the far north, who produced winds and tempests by simply moving his wings; and Surtr, a southern giant, who guarded Muspelheim, the fire-land, with his flaming sword. [ The Encyclopaedia of Myths and Legends of All Nations, by Herbert Spencer Robinson and Knox Wilson ] Lugh, or Lug, was the sun god of the Irish Celts. One of his weapons was a rod-sling which worshippers sometimes saw in the sky as a rainbow. As a tribal god, he was particularly skilled in the use of his massive, invincible spear, which fought on its own accord. One of his epithets is _lamfhada_ (of the long arm). He was a young and apparently more attractive deity than Dagda, the father of the gods. Being able to shapeshift, his name translates as lynx. The lurker is a carnivorous scavenger found in caves, its greyish belly textured like stone. The lurker typically attaches itself to a ceiling, where it is very difficult to detect, unless actually prodded. [ Monstrous Manual, by TSR, Inc. ] Lycanthropes are humans who can transform themselves to resemble normal animals or monsters. True lycanthropes are those to whom lycanthropy is a genetic trait: they breed with other lycanthropes and produce baby lycanthropes. Only true lycanthropes can infect others with lycanthropy. Infected lycanthropes are those whose lycanthropy results from being wounded by a true lycanthrope. A slain lycanthrope always reverts to its natural humanoid form after having been killed. [ Monstrous Manual, by TSR, Inc. ] This powerful mirror was created by Merlin, the druid, in ages past when trees sang and rocks danced. It protects all who carry it from magic missiles, and gives them ESP. It is rumoured that these strange creatures can be harmed by domesticated canines only. Normally called Manannan, Ler's son was the patron of merchants and sailors. Manannan had a sword which never failed to slay, a boat which propelled itself wherever its owner wished, a horse which was swifter than the wind, and magic armour which no sword could pierce. He later became god of the sea beneath which he lived in Tir na nOc, the underworld. Manes are the most pathetic beings that wander the lower layers of the Abyss. These creatures are as vast and endless as the layers themselves. [ Monstrous Compendium 8, by TSR inc. ] First insisting on recognition as supreme commander, Marduk defeated the Dragon, cut her body in two, and from it created heaven and earth, peopling the world with human beings who not unnaturally showed intense gratitude for their lives. The gods were also properly grateful, invested him with many titles, and eventually permitted themselves to be embodied in him, so that he became supreme god, plotting the whole course of known life from the paths of the planets to the daily events in the lives of men. [ The Immortals, by Derek and Julia Parker ] He strolled down the stairs, followed by a number of assassins. When he was directly in front of Ymor he said: "I've come for the tourist." ... "One step more and you'll leave here with fewer eyeballs than you came with," said the thiefmaster. "So sit down and have a drink, Zlorf, and let's talk about this sensibly. _I_ thought we had an agreement. You don't rob - I don't kill. Not for payment, that is," he added after a pause. Zlorf took the preferred beer. "So?" he said. "I'll kill him. Then you rob him. Is he that funny looking one over there?" "Yes." Zlorf stared at Twoflower, who grinned at him. He shrugged. He seldom wasted time wondering why people wanted other people dead. It was just a living. "Who is your client, may I ask?" said Ymor. Zlorf held up a hand. "Please!" he protested. "Professional etiquette." [ The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett ] This skeleton key was fashioned in ages past and imbued with a powerful magic which allows it to open any locks. When carried, it grants its owner warning, teleport control, and reduces all physical damage by half. Finally, when invoked, it has the ability to disarm any trap. There was a flutter of wings at the window. Ymor shifted his bulk out of the chair and crossed the room, coming back with a large raven. After he'd unfastened the message capsule from its leg it flew up to join its fellows lurking among the rafters. Withel regarded it without love. Ymor's ravens were notoriously loyal to their master, to the extent that Withel's one attempt to promote himself to the rank of greatest thief in Ankh-Morpork had cost their master's right hand man his left eye. But not his life, however. Ymor never grudged a man his ambitions. [ The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett ] This hideous creature from ancient Greek myth was the doom of many a valiant adventurer. It is said that one gaze from its eyes could turn a man to stone. One bite from the nest of snakes which crown its head could cause instant death. The only way to kill this monstrosity is to turn its gaze back upon itself. Mimics were originally created by wizards to protect themselves from treasure hunters. A good meal (one or two humans) can sustain them for weeks. Mimics pose as stonework, doors, statues, stairs, chests, or other common items made from stone, wood, and metal. [ Monstrous Manual, by TSR, Inc. ] Every year, king Aegeus of Athens was to send seven boys and seven girls to Crete, to do penance for the fact that the son of king Minos of Crete had died in Athens. None of these adolescents ever returned: upon arrival on Crete, Minos sent them into the Labyrinth, a maze that no one was ever able to leave. Here they were to be eaten by the minotaur. The minotaur or minotauros was a monster, half man and half bull, the result of queen Pasiphae's unnatural love for a bull that had appeared from the sea. Out of shame, king Minos had Daedalus build the Labyrinth, to hide the minotaur in. Eventually prince Theseus volunteered to sail to Crete. With the help of princess Ariadne he managed to kill the minotaur, and escape from the Labyrinth. Originating in India (Mitra), Mithra is a god of light who was translated into the attendant of the god Ahura Mazda in the light religion of Persia; from this he was adopted as the Roman deity Mithras. He is not generally regarded as a sky god but a personification of the fertilizing power of warm, light air. According to the _Avesta_, he possesses 10,000 eyes and ears and rides in a chariot drawn by white horses. Mithra, according to Zarathustra, is concerned with the endless battle between light and dark forces: he represents truth. He is responsible for the keeping of oaths and contracts. He is attributed with the creation of both plants and animals. His chief adversary is Ahriman, the power of darkness. [ The Encyclopaedia of Myths and Legends of All Nations, by Herbert Spencer Robinson and Knox Wilson ] This helm of brilliance performs all of the normal functions of a helm of brilliance, but also has the ability to protect anyone who carries it from fire. When invoked, it boosts the energy of the invoker, allowing them to cast more spells. Fungi are simple plants that lack chlorophyll, true stems, roots, and leaves. They are incapable of photosynthesis and live as parasites or saprophytes. Ordinary fungi are well known to man: molds, yeast, mildew, mushrooms, and puffballs. These plants include both useful and harmful varieties. Ordinary fungi do not attack or defend themselves, but they are prolific and can spread where unwanted. Adventurers who have lost rations to mold or clothing to mildew have had unpleasant encounters with fungi. Molds are a variety of spore-producing fungi that form in decaying food or in warm, moist places. These fungi usually have a woolly or furry texture. While most molds are harmless, there are some that pose a deadly threat to adventurers. [ Monstrous Manual, by TSR, Inc. ] This creature has a humanoid body, but has tentacles around its covered mouth and only three long fingers on each hand. Mind flayers are telepathic, and love to devour intelligent beings, especially humans. If they hit their victim with a tentacle, the mind flayer will slowly drain it of all intelligence, eventually killing the victim. _Mithril_! All folk desired it. It could be beaten like copper, and polished like glass; and the Dwarves could make of it a metal, light and yet harder than tempered steel. Its beauty was like to that of common silver, but the beauty of _mithril_ did not tarnish or grow dim. [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] ... the Mumak of Harad was indeed a beast of vast bulk, and the like of him does not walk now in Middle-Earth; his kin that live still in latter days are but memories of his girth and majesty. On he came, ... his great legs like trees, enormous sail-like ears spread out, long snout upraised like a huge serpent about to strike, his small red eyes raging. His upturned hornlike tusks ... dripped with blood. [ The Two Towers, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not: Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people. [ Leviticus, 20:1-5 ] Mummies are corpses native to dry desert areas, where the dead are entombed by a precess known as mummification. When their tombs are disturbed, the corpses become animated into a weird unlife state, whose unholy hatred of life causes them to attack living things without mercy. Mummies are usually clothed in rotting strips of linen. [ Monstrous Manual, by TSR, Inc. ] A Japanese pole-arm, fitted with a curved single-edged blade. The blades ranged in length from two to four feet, mounted on shafts about four to five feet long. The naginata were cut with a series of short grooves near to the tang, above which the back edge was thinned, but not sharpened, so that the greater part of the blade was a flattened diamond shape in section. Seen in profile, the curve is slight or non-existent near the tang, becoming more pronounced towards the point. "With his naginata he killed five, but with the sixth it snapped asunder in the midst and, flinging it away, he drew his sword, wielding it in the zigzag style, the interlacing, cross, reversed dragonfly, waterwheel, and eight-sides-at-once styles of fencing and cutting down eight men; but as he brought down the ninth with a mighty blow on the helmet, the blade snapped at the hilt." [ Story of Tsutsui no Jomio Meishu, from Tales of Heike ] Not only do these demons, which are of type IV, do physical damage with their claws and bite, but they are capable of using magic as well. Nalzok is Moloch's cunning and unfailingly loyal battle lieutenant, to whom he trusts the command of warfare when he does not wish to exercise it himself. Nalzok is a major demon, known to command the undead. He is hungry for power, and secretly covets Moloch's position. Moloch doesn't trust him, but, trusting his own power enough, chooses to take no action for now. Neanderthal. 1. Valley between Duesseldorf and Elberfeld in Germany, where an ancient skull of a prehistoric race was found. 2. Human(oid) of the race mentioned above. (kinds of) small animal, like a lizard, which spends most of its time in the water. [ Oxford's Student's Dictionary of Current English ] A Japanese broadsword. The Norns were the three Norse Fates, or the goddesses of fate. Female giants, they brought the wonderful Golden Age to an end. They cast lots over the cradle of every child that was born, and placed gifts in the cradle. Their names were Urda, Verdandi, and Skuld, representing the past, the present and the future. Urda and Verdandi were kindly disposed, but Skuld was cruel and savage. Their tasks were to sew the web of fate, to water the sacred ash, Yggdrasil, and to keep it in good condition by placing fresh earth around it daily. In her fury, Skuld often spoiled the work of her sisters by tearing the web to shreds. [ The Encyclopaedia of Myths and Legends of All Nations, by Herbert Spencer Robinson and Knox Wilson ] A Japanese flail. A female creature from Roman and Greek mythology, the nymph occupied rivers, forests, ponds, etc. A nymph's beauty is beyond words: an ever-young woman with sleek figure and long, thick hair, radiant skin and perfect teeth, full lips and gentle eyes. A nymph's scent is delightful, and her long robe glows, hemmed with golden threads and embroidered with rainbow hues of unearthly magnificence. A nymph's demeanour is graceful and charming, her mind quick and witty. Odin. Also called Sigtyr (god of Victory), Val-father (father of the slain), One-Eyed, Hanga-god (god of the Hanged), Farma-god (god of cargoes), Hapta-god (god of prisoners), and Othin. He is the prime god of the Norsemen: god of war and victory, wisdom and prophecy, poetry, the dead, air and wind, hospitality, and magic. As the god of war and victory, Odin is ruler of the Valkyries, warrior-maidens who lived in the halls of Valhalla in Asgard, the hall of dead heroes where he held his court. These chosen ones will defend the realm of the gods against the Frost Giants on the final day of reckoning, Ragnarok. As god of the wind, Odin rides through the air on his eight-footed horse, Sleipnir, wielding Gungner, his spear, normally accompanied by his ravens, Hugin and Munin, who he would also use as his spies. As a god of hospitality, he enjoyed visiting the earth in disguise to see how people were behaving and to see how they would treat him, not knowing who he was. Odin is usually represented as a one-eyed wise old man with a long white beard and a wide-brimmed hat (he gave one of his eyes to Mimir, the guardian of the well of wisdom in Hel, in exchange for a draught of knowledge). Any one who has once met a gluttonous, nude, angry ogre, will not easily forget this encounter - if he survives it at all. Both male and female ogres can easily grow as tall as three metres. Build and facial expression would remind one of a Neanderthal. Its small, pointy, keen teeth are striking. Since ogres avoid direct sunlight, their ragged, unfurry skin is as white as a sheet. They enjoy coating their body with lard and usually wear nothing but a loin-cloth. An elf would smell its rancid stench at ten metres distance. Ogres are solitary creatures: very rarely one may encounter a female with two or three young. They are the only real carnivores among the humanoids, and its favourite meal is - not surprisingly - human flesh. They sometimes ally with orcs or goblins, but only when they anticipate a good meaty meal. [ het Boek van de Regels; Het Oog des Meesters ] The naga is a mystical creature with the body of a snake and the head of a man or woman. They will fiercely protect the territory they consider their own. Some nagas can be forced to serve as a guardian by a spell caster of great power. These giant amoeboid creatures look like nothing more than puddles of slime, but they both live and move, feeding on metal or wood as well as the occasional dungeon explorer to supplement their diet. The Great Goblin gave a truly awful howl of rage when he looked at it, and all his soldiers gnashed their teeth, clashed their shields, and stamped. They knew the sword at once. It had killed hundreds of goblins in its time, when the fair elves of Gondolin hunted them in the hills or did battle before their walls. They had called it Orcrist, Goblin-cleaver, but the goblins called it simply Biter. They hated it and hated worse any one that carried it. [ The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] The oracle of Delphi: a priestess of Apolloon, known by the Greek as the Puthia. Seated on a tripod above a chasm, stupefied by its sulphurous vapours, she emitted incoherent sounds, which other priests translated into predictions (usually in rhyme). One of her most famous oracles was given to Croesus (q.v.). [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] This Orb is a crystal ball of exceptional powers. When carried, it grants ESP, limits damage done by spells to half what it normally would be, and protects the carrier from magic missiles. When invoked, it allows the carrier to become invisible. Some say that Odin himself created this ancient crystal ball, although others argue that Loki created it and forged Odin's signature on the bottom. In any case, it is a powerful artifact. Anyone who carries it is granted the gift of warning, and all damage, spell and physical alike, is reduced by half. It also gives luck to whoever uses it. Finally, when invoked it has the power to teleport the invoker between levels. Orcs, bipeds with a humanoid appearance, are related to the goblins, but much bigger and more dangerous. The average orc is only moderately intelligent, has broad, muscled shoulders, a short neck, a sloping forehead and a thick, dark, fur. Their lower eye- teeth are pointing forward, like a boar's ones. Female orcs are more lightly built and bare-chested. Not needing any clothing, they do like to dress in variegated apparels. Suspicious by nature, orcs live in tribes or hordes. They tend to live underground as well as above ground (but they dislike sunlight). Orcs can use all weapons, tools and armours that are used by men. Since they don't have the talent to fashion these themselves, they are constantly hunting for them. There is nothing a horde of orcs cannot use. [ het Boek van de Regels; Het Oog des Meesters ] Owlbears are probably the crossbred creation of a demented wizard; given the lethality of this creation, it is quite likely that the wizard who created them is no longer alive. As the name might already suggest, owlbears are a cross between a giant owl and a bear. The are covered with fur and feathers. The elves of long ago created this powerful crystal ball. When carried, it grants ESP, regeneration, and reduces all damage caused by spells to one-half of what it would normally be. When invoked, it tames creatures in its vicinity. Pelias is a compassionate man, proficient in the ways of magic, seeking to fight the ways of evil. To this cause, he has recently joined the Duali Tribe. This is an ancient artifact made of an unknown material. It is rectangular in shape, very thin, and inscribed with unreadable ancient runes. When carried, if grants the one who carries it ESP, and reduces all physical damage done to the carrier by half. It also protects from magic missile attacks. Finally, its power is such that when invoked, it can charge other objects. Poseido(o)n, lord of the seas and father of rivers and fountains, was the son of Chronos and Rhea, brother of Zeus, Hades, Hera, Hestia and Demeter. His rank of ruler of the waves he received by lot at the Council Meeting of the Gods, at which Zeus took the upper world for himself and gave dominion over the lower world to Hades. Poseidon is associated in many ways with horses and thus is the god of horses. He taught man how to ride and manage the animal he invented and is looked upon as the originator and guardian deity of horse races. His symbol is the familiar trident or three-pronged spear with which he can split rocks, cause or quell storms, and shake the earth, a power which makes him the god of earthquakes as well. Physically, he is shown as a strong and powerful ruler, every inch a king. [ The Encyclopaedia of Myths and Legends of All Nations, by Herbert Spencer Robinson and Knox Wilson ] Known under various other names (Nu, Neph, Cenubis, Amen-Kneph, Khery-Bakef), Ptah is the creator god and god of craftsmen. He is usually depicted as wearing a closely fitting robe with only his hands free. His most distinctive features are the invariable skull-cap exposing only his face and ears, and the _was_ or rod of domination which he holds, consisting of a staff surmounted by the _ankh_ symbol of life. He is otherwise symbolized by his sacred animal, the bull. A gargantuan version of the harmless rain-worm, the purple worm poses a huge threat to the ordinary adventurer. It is known to swallow whole and digest its victims within only a few minutes. These worms are always on guard, sensitive to the minutest vibrations in the earth, but may also be awakened by a remote shriek. The osaku is a small tool for picking locks. Ye Piercer doth look like unto a stalactyte, and hangeth from the roofs of caves and caverns. Unto the height of a man, and thicker than a man's thigh do they grow, and in groups do they hang. If a creature doth pass beneath them, they will by its heat and noise perceive it, and fall upon it to kill and devour it, though in any other way they move but exceeding slow. [ the Bestiary of Xygag ] These creatures are not native to this universe; they seem to have strangely derived powers, and unknown motives. The woodlands and other regions are inhabited by multitudes of four-legged creatures which cannot be simply classified. They might not have fiery breath or deadly stings, but ad- venturers have nevertheless met their end numerous times due to the claws, hooves, or bites of such animals. Quetzalcoatl, or the feathered serpent, is one of the four suns which are manifestations of the Aztec sun god Tezcatlipoca. Some of his other names are White Tezcatlipoca, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, and nine-wind. The heroic creator of the Aztecs, he is also identified as the god of the wind. According to one of many traditions he fashioned mankind from his own blood and provided food by turning himself into an ant so as to steal a grain of maize which the ants had hidden inside a mountain. [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] Raiden is the god of thunder and the patron of fletchers. A constant companion of Susanoo's he loves nothing better than beating his drums while the storm god rages. When he wishes, he can beat these drums so loudly that they act as drums of panic. Raiden is fond of eating human flesh, and receives a meal any time a man is slain by an arrow. He can send a lightning bolt to attack any being on earth. In his true form, Raiden has a horned, grotesque head and long, vicious looking claws. [ Legends and Lore, by TSR, inc. ] It is told by an ancient wizard named Tim that these are evil rodents with nasty sharp pointy teeth, and that once upon a time, one such creature decimated half-a-dozen knights, and was only slain through use of a high-powered explosive device not unlike a wand of fireballs. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] I have heard that these horrible creatures are surrounded by a foul stench. However, their poisonous bite is far more dangerous. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] Woe to the adventurer who is bitten by one of these foul maggots! They carry a hideous pestilence that can lay low the hardiest warrior! [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] The touch of this noxious pustulent growth causes flesh to dissolve into blobby gobs of green slime. Only the immediate application of flame can thwart the spread of this infectious nightmare. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] A giant Indonesian bat, usually found in large packs. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] Rats are long-tailed rodents. They are aggressive, omnivorous, and adaptable, often carrying diseases. This odd-looking small purple lizard is harmless by itself, but its paralyzing gaze can render one immobile and helpless against stronger opponents. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] The rock mole is the size of a small dog. It is a rodent, distantly related to beavers; it is hairless, with a huge head and large spadelike teeth. Most specimens have six legs, but some have eight and a few rare creatures have ten. The creature's hide is a very light yellow - almost colourless - and resembles very pliable leather. Its brown eyes are very small and set close together, each being heavily protected by surrounding ridges of bone. Its jaws are unusually large, allowing it to eat through rock and hard metal with ease, including the equipment which unwary adventurers have left about the dungeon floor. Often, a single rock mole will be able to leave a dungeon a maze of chewed-out corridors by the time it is located and slain. [ 2nd ed. Monstrous Compendium, by TSR, Inc. ] The rothe (pronounced roth-AY) is a musk ox-like creature with an aversion to light. It prefers to live underground near lichen and moss. This crawly, four-legged beast is covered in tiny green spikes, much like a cactus. It is feared for its crippling sting and often runs in small packs. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] This loathsome paunchy creature is noisy even when simply resting or feeding, at these times emitting a chilling wheezy sound. But woe to the adventurer who startles a squealer, for the loud shrieks that the sickly creature screams will attract all the evil denizens within earshot! [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] At first glance, one knows that one has met a mangler. The cockeyed combination of claws, horns, and teeth could only serve one purpose -- the rending of hapless human flesh. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] Japanese rice wine. These strange creatures live on a diet of metals. They will turn a suit of armour into so much useless rusted scrap in no time at all. An ape-like humanoid native to densely forested mountains, the sasquatch is also known as "bigfoot". Normally benign are rarely seen, this creature is reputed to be a relative of the ferocious yeti. This quarterstaff was created aeons ago in some unknown cave, and has been passed down from generation to generation of cavemen. It is a very mighty quarterstaff indeed, and in addition will protect anyone who carries it from magic missile attacks. When invoked, it causes conflict in the area around it. A sub-species of the spider (_Scorpionidae_), the scorpion distinguishes itself from them by having a lower body that ends in a long, jointed tail tapering to a poisonous sting. They have eight legs and pincers. [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] Shades are shadowy, undead creatures, with a chilling touch. According to most knowledgeable sages, shadows appear to have been magically created, perhaps as part of some ancient curse laid upon some long-dead enemy. The curse affects only humanoids, so it would seen that it affects the soul or spirit. When a shade's victim is slain, the majority of his essence is shifted to the Negative Material plane. Only a shadow of their former self remains on the Prime Material plane, and the transformation always renders the victim both terribly insane and undeniable evil. [ Monstrous Manual, by TSR, Inc. ] Making his quarters in the Caves of the Ancestors, Shaman Karnov unceasingly tries to shield his neanderthal people from Tiamat's minions' harassments. The chinese god of Mountains and Seas, also the name of an old book (also Shan Hai Tjing), the book of mountains and seas, which handles about the monster Kung Kung trying to seize power from Yao, the fourth emperor. [ Spectrum Atlas van de Mythologie ] A Japanese stabbing knife. Skeletons are magically operated undead monsters, created as guardians or warriors by powerful evil magic users. They appear to have no ligaments or musculature which would allow movement. Instead, the (usually humanoid) bones are magically joined together when the skeleton is created. They have no eyes, nor internal organs, and one can usually see right through them. Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. [ Genesis, 3:1-6,13-15 ] Ah, never shall I forget the cry, or the shriek that shrieked he, As I gnashed my teeth, and from my sheath I drew my Snickersnee! --Koko, Lord high executioner of Titipu [ The Mikado, by Sir W.S. Gilbert ] The soldiers of Yendor are well-trained in the art of war, many trained by the Wizard himself. Some say the soldiers are explorers who were unfortunate enough to be captured, and put under the Wizard's spell. Those who have survived encounters with soldiers say they travel together in platoons, and are fierce fighters. Because of the load of their combat gear, however, one can usually run away from them, and doing so is considered a wise thing. Solonor Thelandira is the elven god of hunting, archery, and survival in wild and harsh places. In his latter aspect, he is worshipped by no few elven fighters, in addition to those rangers, hunters, and woodsmen who revere him. Solonor has a primary concern with the integrity of nature, with the balance between exploitation and agriculture on the one hand and fallow, wild, and undeveloped terrains on the other. His skills of bowmanship are said to be unequalled by any being. [ Monster Mythology, by TSR inc. ] Spiders are aggressive predators, living above as well as below ground. They have eight legs, and many spin webs for the capture of other creatures as food. Most are poisonous. This staff is considered sacred to all healers, as it truly holds the powers of life an death. When wielded, it protects its user from all life draining attacks, and additionally gives him or her the power of regeneration. When invoked, it will heal the invoker. The invisible stalker is a creature from the elemental plane of Air. For the benefit of the reader, a detailed ASCII drawing of this creature is provided below: There was the usual dim grey light of the forest-day about him when he came to his senses. The spider lay dead beside him, and his sword-blade was stained black. Somehow the killing of the giant spider, all alone and by himself in the dark without the help of the wizard or the dwarves or of anyone else, made a great difference to Mr. Baggins. He felt a different person, and much fiercer and bolder in spite of an empty stomach, as he wiped his sword on the grass and put it back into its sheath. "I will give you a name," he said to it, "and I shall call you Sting." [ The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] The Shinto chthonic and weather god and brother of the sun goddess Amaterasu, he was born from the nose of the primordial creator god izanagi and represents the physical, material world. He has been expelled from heaven and taken up residence on earth. [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] They say that cutting a worm in two may cut it into two. Samurai plate armour of the Yamato period (300-710 A.D.). The tengu was the most troublesome creature of Japanese legend. Part bird and part man, with red beak for a nose and flashing eyes, the tengu was notorious for stirring up feuds and prolonging enmity between families. Indeed, the belligerent tengus were supposed to have been man's first instructors in the use of arms. [Mythical Beasts by Deirdre Headon (The Leprechaun Library)] The Egyptian god of the moon and wisdom, Thoth is the parton deity of scribes and of knowledge, including scientific, medical and mathematic writing, and is said to have given mankind the art of hieroglyphic writing. Hi is important as a mediator and counsellor amongst the gods and is the scribe of the Heliopolis Ennead pantheon. According to mythology, he was born from the head of the god Seth. He may be depicted in human form with the head of an ibis, wholly as an ibis, or as a seated baboon sometimes with its torso covered in feathers. His attributes include a crown which consists of a crescent moon surmounted by a moon disc. Thoth is generally regarded as a benign deity. He is also scrupulously fair and is responsible not only for entering in the record the souls who pass to afterlife, but of adjudicating in the Hall of the Two Truths. The Pyramid Texts reveal a violent side of his nature by which he decapitates the adversaries of truth and wrenches out their hearts. [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] Thoth Amon is an evil wizard from Robert E. Howard's Conan series. He was one of the far eastern wizards that had it out for Conan. 1. A well-known tropical predator (_Felis tigris_): a feline. It has a yellowish skin with darker spots or stripes. 2. Figurative: _a paper tiger_, something that is meant to scare, but has no really scaring effect whatsoever (after a statement by Mao Ze Dong, August 1946). [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] Gaea, mother earth, arose from the Chaos and gave birth to Uranus, heaven, who became her consort. Uranus hated all their children, because he feared they might challenge his own authority. Those children, the Titans, the Gigantes and the Cyclopes, were banished to the nether world. Their enraged mother eventually released the youngest titan, Chronos (time), and encouraged him to castrate his father and rule in his place. Later, he too was challenged by his own son, Zeus, and he and his fellow titans were ousted from mount Olympus. [ Greek Mythology, by Richard Patrick ] The road from Ankh-Morpork to Chrim is high, white and winding, a thirty-league stretch of potholes and half-buried rocks that spirals around mountains and dips into cool green valleys of citrus trees, crosses liana-webbed gorges on creaking rope bridges and is generally more picturesque than useful. Picturesque. That was a new word to Rincewind the wizard (BMgc, Unseen University [failed]). It was one of a number he had picked up since leaving the charred ruins of Ankh-Morpork. Quaint was another one. Picturesque meant - he decided after careful observation of the scenery that inspired Twoflower to use the word - that the landscape was horribly precipitous. Quaint, when used to describe the occasional village through which they passed, meant fever-ridden and tumbledown. Twoflower was a tourist, the first ever seen on the discworld. Tourist, Rincewind had decided, meant "idiot". [ The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett ] The trapper is found only in caves and other dark places. It can alter its shape to be almost undetectable. When prey wanders upon a trapper, its edges rise up and wrap around the victim. [ Monstrous Manual, by TSR, Inc. ] Trolls may be classified somewhere between humans and giants. They can grow as tall as 4 metres and are very raggedly built. As they age, their grey-brownish, leathery skin can become very thick, almost like bark. Trolls like to dress up in animal furs; their grey, felt-like hairs of the head and beard often reach far below the shoulders. They prefer living in holes, but are also encountered in forests and under bridges. They lead a solitary life, are often out of temper, and have a tendency to melancholy. It is rumoured that when they grow older (somewhere between their 170-est and 230-est year), they develop a certain sense of humour and may be entertained by crude jokes. None the less, even a benignant troll should be approached with care. To a troll, "pity" is a four-letter-word. [ het Boek van de Regels; Het Oog des Meesters ] The tsurugi, also known as the long samurai sword, is an extremely sharp, two-handed blade favored by the samurai. It is made of hardened steel, and is manufactured using a special process, causing it to never rust. The tsurugi is rumored to be so sharp that it can occasionally cut opponents in half! This most ancient of swords has been passed down through the leadership of the Samurai legions for hundreds of years. It is said to grant luck to its wielder, but its main power is terrible to behold. It has the capability to cut in half any creature it is wielded against, instantly killing that creature. "Rincewind!" Twoflower sprang off the bed. The wizard jumped back, wrenching his features into a smile. "My dear chap, right on time! We'll just have lunch, and than I'm sure you've got a wonderful programme lined up for this afternoon!" "Er -" "That's great!" Rincewind took a deep breath. "Look," he said desperately, "let's eat somewhere else. There's been a bit of a fight down below." "A tavern brawl? Why didn't you wake me up?" "Well, you see, I - _what_?" "I thought I made myself clear this morning, Rincewind. I want to see genuine Morporkian life - the slave market, the Whore Pits, the Temple of Small Gods, the Beggar's Guild... and a genuine tavern brawl." A faint note of suspicion entered Twoflower's voice. "You _do_ have them, don't you? You know, people swinging on chandelier, swordfights over the table, the sort of thing Hrun the Barbarian and the Weasel are always getting involved in. You know - _excitement_." [ The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett ] Tyaa is a force of evil and chaos. She chooses to manifest her powers through the actions of malicious birds. She has created an offshoot of the raven that is both smarter and stronger than its ancestral cousin. It should be noted that, while she prefers to employ the Birds of Tyaa, she is perfectly capable of using any carnivorous bird to do her will on Nehwon. The city of Lankhmar has always been her favourite because she has the most worshippers in this place. Tyaa's cult has been banned in Lankhmar because of its evil teachings and ways. This has only caused the movement to go underground and to other cities. There are several large caches of diamonds and jewels hidden in several abandoned manors in Lankhmar. The high priestess of the cult knows of these locations and will use these riches to support the cult and make it grow. [ Legends and Lore, by TSR, inc. ] Tyr (also known as Tiwaz, Ziu or Saxnot), the son of Odin, was the god of war and athletic activities. Tyr was a shining or glistening god. His Anglo-Saxon name was Tiw or Tiu, and the day set apart for him, Tiwes daeg, gives us our Tuesday. Tyr's right hand was bitten off in a terrific struggle by Fenrir, one of Loki's offspring, a monster wolf. In the last and greatest battle (Ragnarok), Tyr killed - and was killed by - Garm, the hell-hound guarding the Gnipa Cave. Wrestlers, fighters, runners and other athletes called on Tyr for aid. [ The Encyclopaedia of Myths and Legends of All Nations, by Herbert Spencer Robinson and Knox Wilson ] Umber hulks are powerful subterranean predators whose iron-like claws allow them to burrow through solid stone in search of prey. They are tremendously strong: muscles bulge beneath their thick, scaly hides and their powerful arms and legs all carry great claws. The Valkyries were the thirteen choosers of the slain, the beautiful warrior-maids of Odin who rode through the air and over the sea. They watched the progress of the battle and selected the heroes who were to fall fighting. After they were dead, the maidens rewarded the heroes by kissing them and then led their souls to Valhalla, where the warriors lived happily in an ideal existence, drinking and eating without restraint and fighting over again the battles in which they died and in which they had won their deathless fame. [ The Encyclopaedia of Myths and Legends of All Nations, by Herbert Spencer Robinson and Knox Wilson ] Men have always sought the elusive unicorn, for the single twisted horn which projected from its forehead was thought to be a powerful talisman. It was said that the unicorn had simply to dip the tip of its horn in a muddy pool for the water to become pure. Men also believed that to drink from this horn was a protection against all sickness, and that if the horn was ground to a powder it would act as an antidote to all poisons. Less than 200 years ago in France, the horn of a unicorn was used in a ceremony to test the royal food for poison. Although only the size of a small horse, the unicorn is a very fierce beast, capable of killing an elephant with a single thrust from its horn. Its fleetness of foot also makes this solitary creature difficult to capture. However, it can be tamed and captured by a maiden. Made gentle by the sight of a virgin, the unicorn can be lured to lay its head in her lap, and in this docile mood, the maiden may secure it with a golden rope. [Mythical Beasts by Deirdre Headon (The Leprechaun Library)] The Oxford English Dictionary is quite unequivocal: _vampire_ - "a preternatural being of a malignant nature (in the original and usual form of the belief, a reanimated corpse), supposed to seek nourishment, or do harm, by sucking the blood of sleeping persons. ..." Where normal bats (and even their giant counterparts) usually are nothing but annoying pests, the vampire bat can pose a dangerous threat to the unsuspecting adventurer. As its name implies, it is quite fond of uncovered necks and loves to pet them. Swirling clouds of pure elemental energies, the vortices are thought to be related to the larger elementals. Though the vortices do no damage when touched, they are noted for being able to envelop unwary travellers. The hapless fool thus swallowed by a vortex will soon perish from exposure to the element the vortex is composed of. Suddenly Aragorn leapt to his feet. "How the wind howls!" he cried. "It is howling with wolf-voices. The Wargs have come west of the Mountains!" "Need we wait until morning then?" said Gandalf. "It is as I said. The hunt is up! Even if we live to see the dawn, who now will wish to journey south by night with the wild wolves on his trail?" "How far is Moria?" asked Boromir. "There was a door south-west of Caradhras, some fifteen miles as the crow flies, and maybe twenty as the wolf runs," answered Gandalf grimly. "Then let us start as soon as it is light tomorrow, if we can," said Boromir. "The wolf that one hears is worse than the orc that one fears." "True!" said Aragorn, loosening his sword in its sheath. "But where the warg howls, there also the orc prowls." [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] Although their brethren are usually found elsewhere, a few demons prefer the cold waters of the Dungeon of Doom above life in Hell... "Sam!" he called. "Pippin! Merry! come along! Why don't you keep up?" ... "Where are you?" he cried again, both angry and afraid. "Here!" said a voice, deep and cold, that seemed to come out of the ground. "I am waiting for you!" "No!" said Frodo; but he did not run away. His knees gave, and he fell on the ground. Nothing happened, and there was no sound. Trembling he looked up, in time to see a tall dark figure like a shadow against the stars. It leaned over him. He thought there were two eyes, very cold though lit with a pale light that seemed to come from some remote distance. Then a grip stronger and colder than iron seized him. The icy touch froze his bones, and he remembered no more. When he came to himself again, for a moment he could recall nothing except a sense of dread. Then suddenly he knew that he was imprisoned, caught hopelessly; he was in a barrow. A Barrow-wight had taken him, and he was probably already under the dreadful spells of the Barrow-wights about which whispered tales spoke. He dared not move, but lay as he found himself: flat on his back upon a cold stone with his hands on his breast. [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] The most dangerous member of the species, the winter wolf is known for its great size and foul disposition. Living only in chill regions, they can unleash a stream of frost from their lungs. The winter wolf is beautiful, with glistening white or silver fur and eyes of pale blue or silver. [ Monstrous Manual, by TSR, Inc. ] The Wizard of Balance holds office in his hidden tower, only reachable by magical means, where he teaches his apprentices the enigmatic skills of occultism. He considers himself a guardian of the equilibrium of the universe, and goes out of his way to promote stability. The wolf is a very active, cunning carnivore, capable of surviving in nearly every climate. Shrouded in mystery and suspicion, they are viewed as vicious killers that slaughter men and animals alike for the lack of better things to do. [ Monstrous Manual, by TSR, Inc. ] Immediately, though everything else remained as before, dim and dark, the shapes became terribly clear. He was able to see beneath their black wrappings. There were five tall figures: two standing on the lip of the dell, three advancing. In their white faces burned keen and merciless eyes; under their mantles were long grey robes; upon their grey hairs were helms of silver; in their haggard hands were swords of steel. Their eyes fell on him and pierced him, as they rushed towards him. Desperate, he drew his own sword, and it seemed to him that it flickered red, as if it was a firebrand. Two of the figures halted. The third was taller than the others: his hair was long and gleaming and on his helm was a crown. In one hand he held a long sword, and in the other a knife; both the knife and the hand that held it glowed with a pale light. He sprang forward and bore down on Frodo. [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] The xorn are natives to the elemental plane of Earth. The xorn's body is made of a pebbly, stone-like material. It has a large, powerful mouth on top of its head with three long arms, tipped with sharp talons, symmetrically positioned every 120 degrees around it. Between the arms are large, stone-lidded eyes that see in all directions. At its base are three thick, short legs, each directly beneath an eye. The whole body is designed for burrowing, mouth first. [ Monstrous Manual, by TSR, Inc. ] The samurai warrior traditionally wears two swords; the wakizashi is the shorter of the two. See also katana. [The crysknife] is manufactured in two forms from teeth tak- en from dead sandworms. The two forms are "fixed" and "un- fixed." An unfixed knife requires proximity to a human body's electrical field to prevent disintegration. Fixed knives are treated for storage. All are about 20 centime- ters long. [ Dune, by Frank Herbert ] No one knows how old this mighty wizard is, or from whence he came. It is known that, having lived a span far greater than any normal man's, he grew weary of lesser mortals; and so, spurning all human company, he forsook the dwellings of men and went to live in the depths of the Earth. He took with him the mystical artifact, the Amulet of Yendor, which is said to hold great power indeed. Many have sought to find the wizard and his treasure, but none have found him and lived to tell the tale. Woe be to the incautious adventurer who disturbs this mighty sorcerer! They sent their friend the mosquito [xan] ahead of them to find out what lay ahead. "Since you are the one who sucks the blood of men walking along paths," they told the mosqui- to, "go and sting the men of Xibalba." The mosquito flew down the dark road to the Underworld. Entering the house of the Lords of Death, he stung the first person that he saw... The mosquito stung this man as well, and when he yelled, the man next to him asked, "Gathered Blood, what's wrong?" So he flew along the row stinging all the seated men until he knew the names of all twelve. [ Popul Vuh, as translated by Ralph Nelson ] The arrow of choice of the samurai, ya are made of very straight bamboo, and are tipped with hardened steel. An ape-like humanoid native to inaccessible mountain tops, the yeti is also known as "the abominable snowman". Whether or not the title "man" is appropriate remains unknown. Japanese leather archery gloves. Gloves made for use while practising had thumbs reinforced with horn. Those worn into battle had thumbs reinforced with a double layer of leather. The samurai is highly trained with a special type of bow, the yumi. Like the ya, the yumi is made of bamboo. With the yumi-ya, the bow and arrow, the samurai is an extremely accurate and deadly warrior. The zombi... is a soulless human corpse, still dead, but taken from the grave and endowed by sorcery with a mechanical semblance of life, -- it is a dead body which is made to walk and act and move as if it were alive. [ W. B. Seabrook ] The zruty are wild and gigantic beings, living in the wil- dernesses of the Tatra mountains.