Monsters

Many monsters have origins outside of the material plane. How then do they fit into Therovar and the isolated plane model? Many monsters are rooted in the material plane and exist just as you've known them before. Monsters that are from outer planes may have changed slightly to align with the world, or just had some changes to their origins and backstories. We will break down monsters by types - getting more specific for some of the more commonly seen or popular monsters in D&D.
 

Types Unchanged

The following monster types can exist mostly as written in the monster manual. If minor changes are needed they can be discussed in specific with your DM, but most changes should be easily worked out if needed at all.
  Beasts, Constructs, Giants, Humanoids, Monstrosity, Oozes, Plants, Undead
 

Types Changed or Shifted

Below we go over monster types that need shifting based on their nature and inherent lore. For each type we will touch on how the overall change affects some popular monsters
 

Aberration

Aberrations are typically otherworld beings hailing from the stars or deep in the other planes. In Therovar it is commonly regarded that these creatures are sicknesses that are trying to infect the world. Born of nightmares or deeply cursed areas of the land, these creatures come to fruition in order to harm the natural order and exist merely to harm or take over themselves.

• Mind Flayer

  Scattered sects of mind flayers can be found throughout Therovar. Scholars believe that mind flayers are the tainted remnants of an ancient civilization. Sages that reached too far, their minds unraveling until their bodies followed. They now haunt ruins and deeply cursed places, seeking to rebuild their psionic network and take over.

• Beholders

  Most believe beholders are born from visions - when an unstable and powerful mind dreams too vividly of power. Reality bends around these powerful minds ego and paranoia and a Beholder pops into existence. The beholders themselves are the worse parts of their origin. Narcissistic and paranoid beyond belief, beholders think of themselves - not as a race but as a being - to be better than everyone else. Monks of Shu'Yun Zhen regard these creatures as a warning against ego unchecked by discipline.

 

Celestials

Most celestial type creatures are not present in Therovar. The few that persist are not angels or deva, but things like unicorns, couatl, pegasus, and giant creatures. Celestials are seen as fragments of Mother Isha made material to some, while those not under her say they are powerful spirits born of faith itself in any ideal.

• Unicorn

  Unicorns are regarded as myth, but those that study myth say they were born in the union of moonlight and sacred grounds. Beautiful and sacred creatures, many say they are proof the world still remembers its purity. Others say they are a lie the world tells itself to forget the rot underneath.

• Couatl

  These radiant, serpentine creatures may be linked to ancient temples hidden deep in jungles or lost beneath the sands. They are said to be bound by pacts made to these sites long before memory and are protectors of these areas. Some adventurers claim to have interacted with these creatures and are granted powerful items or great insight.

 

Dragons

Dragons exist very similarly in Therovar as in classic DnD. Sentient creatures that follow their own paths and are dangerous to disturb. These creatures vary based on their color and origins, some shapeshifting and taking part in mortal culture while others recluse themselves only leaving to add to their hoard or feast. Dragons are seen as apex both in their own eyes and in the eyes of many mortals. There are no thoughts of a draconic pantheon among dragons as why would they need one? They are the pinnacle of natural evolution, untouched by the needs of lesser creatures to justify their existence through worship or divine origin. Dragons generally regard the idea of gods with disdain, and to speak of gods is, at best, met with silence. At worst, with fire. They do not pray, serve, or need.

• Green Dragons

  Feared as lords of hidden groves and corrupted wilds, green dragons are thought to survive still in Verdath. Great beasts that fall into the natural order of the land, they take root in mountain-sized trees or burrows in the hills. They can sometimes be spotted flying in the surrounding territories and are less commonly known to leave Verdath and live in forests around Therovar.
   

• Bronze Dragons

  Bronze dragons are thought to dwell in storm-ridden coasts and cliffs acting as guardians of sailors and townships nearby. Stories tell of bronze dragons assuming a human form and living among people in cities, completely unassuming to passersby. Perhaps this is where the whispers of a dragon living in Stillwater's Vigil come from today. Of course, that talk is heresy amongst the Chosen of Sanctia.

 

Elementals (Type)

Elemental creatures are classically not just creatures hailing from elemental planes, but also creatures created out of elements. Wizards or other magical classes can create elemental creatures by imbuing an element with life and magics. For this then, not all elementals need to be radically changed. For the ones that do, instead of hailing from a plane of their element, it is commonly regarded that these creatures are not summoned, but awakened. In powerful sites of living natural energy these creatures may manifest. A roaring fire that burns for days may give birth to a fire elemental; a crack in the mountains may spew forth a boulder that takes life.
 

• Elementals (Creature)

  Elementals are primordial forces in nature. To many they are not monsters but natural disasters wearing flesh. Natural disasters of sufficient force may give rise to these creatures, although exactly how or what conditions are needed are a mystery. Perhaps it is a spirit wandering through this disaster that attaches to the forces.

• Mephits

  Mephits are different than elementals. They are less pure and often a conglomeration of multiple forces. These creatures are thought to not be born from the land, but leaked into existence by elemental volatility. When a magma flow ceases into a river, mephits may crawl into existence. Multiple types (such as steam, mud, smoke, water, and sand) may all crawl into existence in swathes.

 

Fey

Fey do exist in Therovar, even with no connection to a plane such as the Feywild. Even with no known alternate planes, scholars agree that fey creatures do not belong. Several prevailing theories exist, none of which are certain. One claims that fey come from the dreams of the divine. When the gods of Therovar have especially charged dreams these may spill out into the mortal world creating these creatures. Another says that fey are remnants or reflections of Therovar and what might be. When the possibilities of reality fold together incorrectly the possibilities collapse into one creating these creatures. Regardless of origin all agree: fey are not to be trusted. They are bound to laws no one understands and will stick to these more than any others life.

• Hags

  Hags are dangerous creatures of the fey. Thought to spring into existence when the gods worry of the future, or perhaps when a mortal learns forbidden fey knowledge and are warped beyond comprehension. Hags are always solitary to start, but gravitate by unseen forces to other hags, usually forming a coven of 3 to magnify their power. Hags are known to weave fate and steal futures in exchange for temporary wealth in the present. Hags are also known to anchor themselves to an idea or object they hate the most. It is said you can only kill a hag by joining them with this object.

• Dryads

  Dryads are echoes of the forest, not tied to fey but to nature. One theory prevails that dryads are created when someone tries to cut down a sacred grove or slay a sacred beast. The punishment of desecrating natural order. Once born, dryads are generally docile towards those who are of no threat to their home, and often given gifts or offerings by locals. It is known that dryads spring forth from Verdath and the Blight as well. These dryads are more twisted and ruthless than the normal ones found around Therovar, and avoided at all costs.

Fiend

Fiends are often dismissed as myth or blasphemy. No greater devils stride the land, no infernal hosts march from portals. What exists are embers of something ancient, dark, and buried. No scholars in all of Therovar have been able to prove their existence, and yet... stories persist. Those that believe state there is a fire deep below the surface that burns and creates twisted beings. Others think that when arcane experiments or divine punishment fracture a soul a whole new being springs forth. Sanctia specifically outright denies their existence. Acknowledging them draws suspicion and those who claim to have seen one are silenced, discredited, or burned. Still, the Chosen will sometimes ask questions with unusual urgency when rumors surface.

• Hell Hound

  Giant dogs wreathed in fire have been spotted at times in Therovar. Thought to be beasts mangled by The Red Waste that expand looking for prey, these hounds are an omen. Their existence is not fully acknowledged, but other explanations fall through when a body appears with scorched chunks of flesh missing.

• Succubus/Incubi

  These beings are whispers of faithless spirits and unchecked desire. Among believers, the leading theory is that souls killed in passion or left broken by a lover transform into these vile things. They are thought to feed on devotion and lust but are unconfirmed as they leave no physical trace behind. Mangled bodies sucked dry or people left in ruin cite succubi as the cause with no trace of proof.