Summary

The Khondra are the most well known and feared monsters by the common people. They form in ever-growing packs that, if left unchecked, have the ability to overrun outposts or even city-states. Their unstable genetics mean that no two Khondra are exactly alike, further increasing the risk of letting the Khondra packs get too large and unmanageable. Only slightly smarter than many other high-order predators, the Khondra have no culture beyond their packs and the driving need to hunt and kill fresh meat. A regular task of any city-based group of hired blades is to hunt down nearby Khondra packs and cull them before they threaten the walls and passing caravans.

Geographic Distribution

Khondra are found everywhere life is found. Even remote islands are sometimes found to have a pack of the beasts, with no clear sign how they could have got there. They tend to be most populus in crowded or dense places like forests or ruins, where they can stalk their prey while hiding from larger more dangerous predators.

Lore

There are two major theories regarding the Khondra and their seeming omnipresence on Dia. The first is that they may be a native species, already present before the gods settled the first sentients from the Iatrus Collective on the world. This would mean that there were a natural, likely top-level predator whose adaptations were suited to their survival after colonization. A second theory is that they are actually part of the colonization process, seeded to provide an important niche in the ecosystem and to encourage the use and training of heroes even in low risk areas. Since the answer likely relies on a person's theological view of the god's, its unlikely the debate will be resolved soon.

The Khondra always seem to be the edge of any settlement and stays in the mind of the common people. Many stories told to children to warn of the dangers of the unsettled wilds involve the Khondra. They are also a popular menace in penny-books and bard's tales as they serve as good thoughtless evil for any story.

This has led to rumors of Khondra that exceed the expectations of their race - Khondra that can plan or control their peers, Khondra that can talk or reason. Even the slightest hint of such a thing is enough to have the townsfolk scrambling to hire adventurers for a purging.