Metamor Keep Creatures and Monsters

-- Misha Brightleaf

These creatures range from 4' to 5 1/2' in height. Most are green in color but I've seen brown and black coloration also. Mammalian, they breed like rabbits (sorry about that Phil. I couldn't pass up the joke). Lutins can interbreed with human and half-lutins have occurred but are very rare. A lutin is an adult at age five and live to be about twenty. Some people say that a lutin has the life span equal to a humans. I wouldn't know. I've never seen one older than thirty and never heard of one dying of old age. Life for a lutin is short and violent. Tough as nails, they can survive and flourish in almost any environment. What they lack individually is more than made up for in sheer numbers. There greatest strength is their numbers. You will never see a lutin alone. A lone lutin will soon be a dead lutin.

Society

The strongest bully and control the weak. Tribal by nature. Typical tribe names like Rippers, Slashers, Silent Knives. Violence is a key part of lutin society. The various tribes, and clans are constantly fighting each other. It takes a very powerful leader to unite the lutins onto one army. Some past leaders include Grim Ironfist, and Turack the slaughterer. Nasoj is trying to unite the tribes but with limited success. His failure to take Metamor Keep before weighs heavily against him. Still, the idea that he may someday succeed is a very serious threat. One that many work to stop.

Living Places:

Lutins will live anywhere. They can build in stone and are fairly good at it, but they prefer to steal or bully their way into other peoples buildings. A common occurrence in the north is a tribal stronghold. Sometimes wood, sometimes stone, sometimes dug underground, but most often a little of all three. Ramshackle in appearance but surprising strong, they are meant to shelter the whole tribe from an attack (usually from another tribe).

Weapons and Warfare:

Lutins are scavengers and will go into battle using whatever they can find. Some will have steel swords, others spears, bows, bronze knives, slings, clubs or whatever they can find, steal, or make. They have also been known to use poison on their weapons.

Lutins know how to make steel and the larger tribes do have forges, and weapon smiths, but steel weapons remain in short supply. I myself own a long sword I took from a lutin chief I killed. It's entirely lutin made and is of high quality steel. The sword's edge is sharp enough to cut paper without tearing. Thankfully such weapons are in short supply. I have seen lutin weapons made of sharpened stones, bronze, copper, wood, bone (human bone being favorite material), and iron.

Animals:

Lutins are known to have domesticated various animals for guards, pets and mounts for cavalry. Known creatures are: ponies, dogs, wolves, giant cats, dire wolves (giant wolves, the size of a pony), ferrets, and giant spiders. Basically lutins will use anything they can beat or bribe into obeying them.

Magic:

There are lutin magic users. Much of lutin magic is shamanistic but other types have appeared. Lutins are immune to the curse of Metamor Keep, but half-lutins aren't. At least 1 half-lutin has been changed by the keeps magic.

The human like creatures stand from 10' to 20' tall. They are best described as large, powerful and phenomenally stupid. Driven by their base emotions, they are easily bribed with food or liquor (especially liquor).

Smaller and smarter than giants, and a lot more dangerous. Often found as leaders of their own gangs or even tribes of lutins.

Not as large as ogres but three-times tougher. Even stupider than giants, they are basically large killing machines. Often bribed by lutins to fight for them.

No doubt you have heard tales spoken of the legendary were-beasts. The legends surrounding these creatures are as varried as their forms. From the oft spoken of werewolf to the lesser known wererodent, these creatures come in many shapes and forms. In fact, were-creatures may be a whole group of creatures, not just a single one. Tales tell of them as demonic, or completely anamilistic, or as normal in mind as you or I.

Their is a lot of variation in this curse, if it is even a curse. Some have complete control over the degree of their form, much as an animorph Metamorian can. Others are goverened by cycles of nature; usually tied to the movement of the sun or the moon. Some have a morphic form, some do not.

Few have been encountered near Metamor, though one is known to inhabit the Keep itself.

6 legged monster. Covered in thick fur. Likes the taste of lutins. Named for the sound it makes while running.

Like a trap door spider. The size of a small horse. Lurks in a camouflaged hole.

The term lurker is also used to describe shadowy figures, often at the edge of presception, that are seen within the halls of Metamor. There is no relation between the two other then name.

A Shrieker isn't from this world. They are born in the Underworld. Nobody knows how. They can only come to this world when somebody opens a gateway between the two. Wessex would know more about them, since his studies have always been towards the darker side of magic. Very powerful and rarely seen.

Another creature not of this world. A humanoid figure, devoid of light. Ice cold to the touch.

The Binoq are rarely seen, I've only caught glimpses as I said before. They live up in these mountains, and in the great glacier itself. They are short fleet-footed little men from what I've heard others luckier than I describe. Apparently, thousands of years ago they walked freely among the plains, in the eastern Midlands, but were driven back into their homes in the mountains over the years by the expanding human kingdoms. According to legend, they once walked the halls of Metamor themselves, but that is legend.