In the world of Dungeons and Dragons, there are many, many planes of existence. Most of the time, these planes are very greatly separated, as set apart by walls as thick as stone. Other times, however, these walls are thinner than the cheap material used to build low income apartment buildings.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), this is a near constant state in the region of Illanova, leading to a small bit of... Well, the only true way to describe them are Beasts infused with energy from the Elemental Planes: Water, Fire, Earth, and Air. Here are a few that have been able to be recorded.
We are starting this exposé on a creature that does not exactly confine itself to a singular element. The Wotter is a very special Elemental Beast, being in the stage of the Water Element most of the time, almost never truly converting to their other stages. In this stage, the Wotter is a very friendly and social animal, even making use of something some people refer to as ‘Pack Tactics’, comparing it to the increased strength of Goblins and Kobolds in large groups. When a Wotter’s internal body temperature goes below 32 degrees, or above 212, is when the Wotter changes. When below it’s freezing point, the Wotter’s body turns to the Ice Paraelement, becoming increasingly more hostile and being far more sturdy. When above it’s boiling point, the Wotter’s body turns to the Steam Paraelement, becoming very tired and lethargic. Overall, the Wotter is a very interesting Elemental Beast as it not only exists in one state of matter, but multiple!
Digging up from caves and rocky regions, the Quartzcupine is quite literally as the name suggests! Porcupines with large crystals instead of the typical quills! Still relatively small, these animals have very soft and smooth undersides made of a semi-clay like substance, while their backs are covered in large spikes of pure crystals, including quartz, amethyst, ruby, sapphire, and diamond, some rarer breeds even being topaz and amber. These are very common pets in Illanova do to their very simple management! A few rocks a day and these little guys are good and fed!
Alright, that’s all the cute ones out of the way, now we move onto the real Beasts. Apologies to anyone with arachnophobia or pyrophobia, but we are beginning with two fairly similar creatures: The Molten Fider and Scorchpion, Fire Elemental arachnids. Literal creatures of nightmares, these hot arachnids are very entuned with their Elemental lineage, the Fider capable of building large web structures out of forever flaming silk, and the Scorchpion’s ‘stinger’ acting more as a funnel in which it spews a cone of fire out of. A special type hell, truly.
Depending on where you stand (and your current sense of smell), the Aerial Skunk could also return to the ‘cute’ category. A fuzzy little lad, the Aerial Skunk is the most closely related to it’s non-Elemental counterpart, taking the form of a simple skunk with a small difference. An Aerial Skunk is capable of turning it’s body, both entirely or partially, in a cloud of putrid smelling gas that can cause a sensation similar to Poisoning to those who inhale it. Even if only partially transformed in this gaseous state, it is capable of a type of flight.
Last on our little jaunt of the Elemental Beasts is a return to the Elemental Plane of Fire, with the Molten Frog! It is just a frog, but made out of lava. They enjoy sitting high up on rocks where they can get more heat from sunlight!
This is far from the very lengthy list of creatures touched by the Elemental Planes, but it is a decent introduction to the world of Elemental Beasts. We hope you enjoyed!
