All posts by Oscar Rios

“Here, in this desert, there live amid the sand great ants, in size somewhat less than dogs, but bigger than foxes. The Persian king has a number of them, which have been caught by the hunters in the land whereof we are speaking. Those ants make their dwellings underground, and like the Greek ants, which they very much resemble in shape, throw up sand heaps as they burrow.”

Herodotus, The Third book of Histories

Despite their name these terrors of the desert are found in many places. They are said to be similar in form to the ants of Greece, aside from their size, which is reported to be larger than a fox but smaller than a dog. They are very territorial and attack any living thing approaching one of their mounds. As many as fifty of these creatures come swarming out of their mounds at the first sign of intrusion.

The Succo were rare even at the height of Stygia’s power, but now only a few remain. These creatures began as the issue of unholy unions between human sorcerers and priests and the Great Old One Atlach-Nacha. They appear to be enormous spiders with a vaguely human like face amid their eight eyes and fangs (females often with long hair, males often with facial hair), and human-like hands at the end of their first pair of legs. These hands are too feeble to wield a weapon, but can be used for fine work, such as opening doors, using fine tools, tying and untying knots, or writing messages on paper of wax tablets. They can speak but only in whispers,
although they can scream and screech quite loudly when enraged.

Once a species of early human, these creatures were driven underground by waves of invaders. In the dark depths of the earth they slowly transformed into a race perfectly suited to a life below the surface of the earth. They appear as grey skinned humanoids, with large black eyes, scraggly white hair, busy eyebrows, and thick beards. They are squat of build, standing at most five feet tall, with broad muscular shoulders. Ordantani see perfectly well in total darkness, but full daylight is now nearly blinding to them. However they suffer no ill effects from torch light, lamps, or diffused sunlight.

These extremely dangerous guardian creatures were created by the wizards of Lomar, to guard the lands of their estates. While the secrets of their creation and the ability to control or command them has been lost to history, those scholars who know of the Fallen Kingdoms and the Shadow War surmise that such monsters were created by magically cross breeding a terrestrial lion with certain unknown extraterrestrial mythos creatures. Luckily, they cannot breed, and no new Nemean lions have been created in millennia. Unfortunately, they are incredibly dangerous, immortal unless slain through violence, and nearly indestructible.

This creature is found far north of the Antonine Wall in the wilds of Caledonia, land of the savage Picts. It is greatly feared in those lands but mostly unknown in other countries. Legends tell that these creatures are created when a normal snake’s head is cut off. If the dying snake finds it’s severed heat the two halves can be rejoined, and the snake then transforms into the dreaded Beithir. It is often called The Lightning Serpent, as the creatures are most often seen after thunder storms.

They gather frankincense by burning that storax which Phoinikes carry to Hellas; they burn this and so get the frankincense; for the spice-bearing trees are guarded by small Winged Snakes of varied color, many around each tree; these are the snakes that attack Aigyptos Nothing except the smoke of storax will drive them away from the trees . . .

Herodotus, Histories III

In the Roman province of Arabia there lives a most unusual, and dangerous, serpent that is found nowhere else on earth. They are small (about a foot long), aggressive, colorful and armed with deadly venom. What marks them as unique is that they possess a pair of leathery bat-like winged. They fly with a nimble grace and if need be swoop down to attack with deadly accuracy. Their colors seem to constantly shift in the light, and their moods, sometimes rippling across their bodies in pulsing patterns when agitated.

These creatures are shape changing humanoid predators. Their natural form is a large, powerfully built creature with long claws on both hands and feet. Their powerful jaws can open quite wide and are filled with sharp teeth and bone crushing shearing plates. Their eyes are red and they possess night vision equal to that of a tiger. However, they are usually found in their camouflage form, appearing as a normal average human being. Shifting into their natural form can be done in about 2 minute, but assuming their human form takes half an hour. Their camouflaged form is typically 35-45 SIZ points smaller than their natural once in appearance, but their weight remains constant.

This non-corporeal parasitic entity from another dimension is one of a number of creatures that feed upon very powerful human emotions. This particular variety desires the feelings of profound loss and mourning. The first Beloved Dead was summoned to earth by a reckless wizard seeking to restore their beloved to life. They opened a gateway to another dimension and invited the soul of their lost love back into its body. What they got instead was a powerful, malevolent parasite which played upon their grief and ultimately claimed their life.

These strange creatures violate most laws of physics. They existing in a parallel dimension of darkness and possess the ability to briefly manifest in our reality through interdimensional weak points created by sinister magic. They serve the Great Old One Nyogtha, Thing That Should Not Be. Powerful wizards who serve Nyogtha are sometimes taught the ritual needed to open a doorway for a Parcel of Darkness. These creatures then lurk near these weak points, waiting to ambush and attack anyone not directly under the protection of Nyogtha.

The Fallen Arabians
Art by Brad Hicks for the OctoberNomicon Art Contest

These creatures first appear after the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC) during the Second Persian Invasion of Greece. They were once men, conscripted soldiers of the Arabian tribe, and part of the massive army led by the Persian King Xerxes. They were used as fodder, hurled against the Spartan simply to tire the formidable Greek soldiers before more valuable solders faced them. Thousands of these Arabians died in a single morning accomplishing nothing. Their bodies lay forgotten and unburied, fed upon by crows and wild dogs.  But for the Fallen Arabians death brought them neither rest nor freedom. These men are still called to fight and die, only this time by the dark powers of the Elder Goddess Nemesis, and her cultists. Continue reading »