Ariadne's Codex of Strings

"Do not be fooled. They might be warriors of nature, but their steel is castle-forged, and damn sharp."

Moss Knight Concept

"Plants tend to stay still, and thus, their own titans are often ancient trees, earthbound fungal networks, or living, interconnected mounds–hardly a threat. The Goliath Cactus is one of the few exceptions to the rule."

A Goliath Cactus

"And though we might not succeed, I assure you, comrades, the King in Yellow shall know the meaning of terror, hammered into its aberrant mind by the battle cries of a thousand golden warriors!"

Afterlife Magister Geld Stormwalker of the Sixth Company

"When we approached Krakatan, the largest tree in existence, it made us know just how unwelcome we really were. A dozen ancient treants awakened, causing the earth to rumble as their roots left the tropical soil. The enigmatic mists were soon to follow, I knew, so we used our recall scroll to flee before becoming fertilizer. Something yet rages against the unification of the blooms…"

A Greater Treant

"The Undermountain possesses a vibrant, monstrous ecosystem. It’s a perilous region, filled with forgotten creatures and cults to eldritch gods. Sometimes, entities from these depths find their way to the Teng Halls and roam the derelict ironworks, hunting for adventurer flesh."

The Strggler Concept

"It gets its name from the way in which it hunts. The Straggler imitates the cries for help of the people that were left behind, drawing in its victims and ambushing them. It prefers lone prey, the stragglers of the group, which it cruelly draws in by making them believe there are others in the same situation and that perhaps together they may survive."

The Straggler

"Flamecallers exemplify the values of a true Shaper: tenacity, determination, and purpose. They are often solemn in nature, maybe because their inner fire burns so bright it demands an iron will just to keep it contained."

A Flamecaller, or Shaper of Fire

"Earthbreakers are stubborn. Like their chosen element, they are unmoving, brash, and profoundly determined. Oddly, they happen to be the most gentle of all Shapers, in tune with nature and the elements."

An Earthbreaker, or Shaper of the Earth

"Dozens of constructs swarm the corridors and halls, some of them as small as a spider, others as large as dragons. Their task is evident: to find and absorb radiation leaks, and to conduct repairs where organic bodies would fail."

A Radiation Eater

"A scorpion with too many eyes, an oily black carapace, and a double-pointed stinger with a center fashioned like a morningstar–one would be forgiven for thinking it an aberration. But Nature is strange, and the Morningstar Scorpion is, in fact, the very nemesis of such creatures."

The Morningstar Scorpion

"Beyond the sturdy walls of the Blackstone, Selem’s Marsh extends for well over a hundred leagues. Seawater penetrates in thousands of small currents around the peninsula, merging into stagnant lagoons and slithering streams that intone a ceaseless echoing chant of mud and mold."

Selem's Marsh

"A majestic being that is found, albeit rarely, in almost every sea of the material plane. This colorful aquatic beast was brought into existence artificially by the now infamous, then admired Theophrastus, who was investigating how gigantism affects the lifespan of different species."

The Giant Sea Angel

"The story of Athenia can hardly be told without speaking of Ariadne Stringweaver, its greatest heroine, and Theseus, her companion who trod a path from hero to king, and then to disgraced villain."

The cover of Ariadne's Book of Legends

"There are few enough non-aberrant species that are a meld of beasts and mortals, for the soul compositions of these lifeforms are extremely different and wholly incompatible unless extensively modified by divine will or some other higher power. The Isark, bull-men of the Soulfrost Expanse, stand as an exception to the rule. Rarer still are the races that spawned as a hybrid of mortals and plants or fungi; the Celymbrae are the only such species that count a significant population."

The Celymbrae Species

"A stalwart warrior falls to his knees, exhausted. The battle rages on: a new regiment has joined the opposing side. Their situation is desperate. The warrior takes a deep breath and calls upon the very earth. As he raises his hands, he imprints his will upon the land and commands it to break. A chasm opens where the reinforcements were to arrive, breaking the battlefield in two."

An Earthbreaker, Shaper of the Earth

"The Fall of Selem came with a warning–the realms of Amanis could very well be in danger, should the Blackstone fall. If that titan of ink reappeared… doom would come."

The Blackstone Wall

"An eerie aquatic species that looks much like a ghost, and is indeed partly ethereal–a rare quality for a plant to possess."

The Spectre Algae