Baby bestiary pdf download

The archons themselves remain silent upon this mystery. All hound archons are driven by a constant sense of responsibility. Most begin their lives as personal guardians, but since their lifespan is measured in centuries they often outlive their charge and take on other roles. Whether as wandering knights, loyal soldiers or simply the friendly neighbour who can repair whatever is broken, they are only happy when helping others.

Hound archons are equally at home on two legs or four, though the latter is less common due to their sensitivity to social ridicule. This is a shame, as their four-legged running speed is almost unmatched. For some reason, this self-consciousness does not extend to clothes, for which they feel little need except in the coldest climes.

Acquiring a Hound Archon Archon pups cannot be purchased from even the most specialized dealers: do not trust anyone who claims they can sell you one, as it will be an ordinary dog that has been magically altered. This practice is unethical, but sadly commonplace. Likewise, stealing a pup from the celestial realms cannot be recommended, on either a moral or practical basis. To raise an archon pup, you must come across one largely by chance.

There are two ways this can happen: Individuals who are destined to be great heroes often receive a pair of guardian pups, which turn up on their doorstep or follow them home during childhood. Unfortunately, since hound archons are a rare sight, many people do not recognize the strange animals following their child around and may drive them away.

Rejected pups will adopt as a surrogate ward anyone who takes them in and shows them goodwill, and often grow into particularly conscientious guardians. The other way to acquire a pup is even more unlikely. Some archons arrive on this plane not to watch over a specific person, but a specific place.

These often take the form of unassuming strays wandering the streets or corridors of an area, subtly guarding their posts for years. Befriending a stray puppy is therefore always worth doing; there is little cost for such a kindness, and while the animal is unlikely to be an archon, it has been known to happen.

General Care By the time they reach the our realm, archon pups are already mobile and can eat soft, ground meat. They grow fast, taking a year to reach their adult size, but do not reach intellectual maturity until five years or so.

Since full-grown archons stand well over six feet, this is a particularly challenging period for surrogate parents. During this time they need a lot of play, a lot of cuddling, a firm set of boundaries, and a diet rich in meat protein. Many people struggle with knowing whether to care for their furry children as dogs or people.

The answer lies somewhere in the middle. For instance, your archons should be taught to sit at the table and eat with a knife and fork, but should not be expected to sleep in a bed, as they are far more comfortable curled up by the fire. My recommendation is to be open and observant, encouraging civilized behaviours that do not distress your pups and accepting the habits that remain stubbornly canine. Bathroom training is the one exception, if you want your archons to be accepted in society.

A hound archon will never, ever chase a stick, and it is recommended you do not insult yours by attempting it. Her many heads are wreathed in laurels of their own poisonous breath, and her blood is so toxic that even the smell of it can kill.

Hydrae are not immortal—though the myths would have you believe otherwise—but live for two centuries or more. Each lives a solitary life in the heart of a swamp or marsh, surrounded for miles around by the lethal miasma of her breath. The hydra has no need to hunt. Each day when the sun is high and the swamp steams warmly, she emerges from her subterranean lair and devours the creatures who have succumbed to her breath since she last fed.

Some lie half-paralyzed and gasping for air and she eats these first, for she likes her food alive and squirming. She swallows small animals whole, but seizes larger prey and holds it in the air with several of her heads while the others each take it in turn to hold and consume. The hydra has at least seven heads, but may have more. If one of her heads is severed its neck splits and grows two more over a matter of seconds. The number of heads a hydra can sustain is determined by her size: a large and ancient specimen could have over a hundred heads, but the usual maximum is twenty or so.

When she reaches her limit, the hydra will begin to slough older or injured heads in order to grow new ones. Hydrae have been known to gnaw off their own heads, so even if a specimen has never been attacked she may have more than seven.

All hydrae are female, and each reproduces only a few times in her centuries-long life. To do so, she leaves her territory and buries a single viable egg in composting organic matter. She bites herself and soaks the nest in her toxic blood to protect it from predators, then abandons the egg to its fate.

Live hydrae have been captured successfully in the past, but I cannot in good conscience recommend attempting this feat. By far the most common way to acquire a hydra is in the egg, once the mother has left it. The egg does not need to be turned or otherwise coddled, but if its leathery shell is allowed to dry out or its temperature drops too much, it will die.

The egg is more resistant to temperature increases, and many breeders believe that maintaining a higher temperature and soaking the egg in blood throughout incubation will result in a particularly powerful specimen. In my opinion, this is nonsense. General Care Hydrae prefer a damp environment and will become sickly if you fail to keep them properly hydrated.

They grow rapidly after hatching and need a substantial quantity of small prey to fuel their development. Containment of the hydra's caustic breath is a foremost consideration, as it can endanger every living thing for miles around.

I highly recommend using special masks or charms to protect yourself from her miasma; the air shield spell works marvelously. Training Your young hydra will react very well to live food used as motivation, but you must have the attention of all her heads when trying to train her. You will need a large stick to tap any heads that are acting out of line until all heads are properly conditioned. Richard Bellingham Rearing Difficulty Difficult Intelligence Clever Contrary to popular belief, kraken are not giant sea-monsters, but are found in swamps, fresh- and salt-water marshlands, or any watery area thick with plant matter.

Closely related to octopuses and squids, they reach at most 15 feet 4. They are, however, indiscriminate in their feeding habits, making a mature kraken a danger to small boats and shore traffic.

When at rest, kraken spread out their bodies and change color to blend with the aquatic vegetation, making them excellent ambush predators. Some kraken have small spines in their tentacles that are used to attack prey and leech fluids from the victim, and all kraken have a large beak beneath their ring of tentacles which is capable of crushing anything from shell and bone to metal armor.

Kraken lack separate genders, and can both create and fertilize their own eggs, although they prefer not to. Usually solitary creatures, during breeding they instinctively leave their territories to seek out deeper water and band together, enfolding one another in what looks very much like genuine affection. They remain in these breeding groups for up to a year, after which they will separate and return to their own territories to lay eggs.

After laying, the adult will guard its egg sacs for several weeks, moving on when the sacs have thickened sufficiently. About 20 days after that the new krakens hatch, devour their egg sacs and leave the nursery. Ongoing loud sounds discomfort and irritate them, and quickly encourage them to move to a new location.

This can be very useful in gaining access to their eggs, although be warned that a sufficiently upset kraken may choose to lash out at the source of irritation in lieu of fleeing. Egg Sac Care Kraken egg sacs require no direct care other than to maintain the temperature and salinity in which the eggs were laid. Egg sacs and juvenile krakens do not cope well with sudden changes and may die.

A fascinating hunting strategy seen in swamp-based kraken is to place one or two tentacles out of the water and allow them to dry out, providing a passable disguise as an exposed mangrove root. Oblivious creatures walking over them are quickly swept underwater and consumed. General Care Once your kraken hatches, continue to maintain its tank with water resembling that of its origin. Kraken are not fussy eaters and will take any prey that can fit through their beaks.

They should be encouraged to capture their own food, but a clean habitat is important to ensure rubbish is not accidentally consumed. Remember not to upset them with singing or other loud noises. Newborn kraken are less than a foot in length and grow slowly during the first three years of life.

During this time they are particularly vulnerable to predation, so their instinct is to stay constantly camouflaged. This occasionally leads inexperienced caretakers to lose their animal by emptying out its tank, in the belief that it has already escaped. After three years, the kraken experiences a rapid period of growth that brings it up to full size over a matter of months. Be prepared for this growth spurt, or you may lose your tank—and possibly your house. Mature kraken are far more tolerant of changes to their water conditions.

At some point, however, their breeding instincts will emerge. This will be obvious, as your previously independent animal will begin trying to attach itself to friendly or tolerant creatures of any species. There is no harm to this, so long as the new playmates are large enough to avoid accidental smothering or drowning, and many caretakers encourage this cuddling behavior for the health of the kraken.

Training Wild kraken are self-sufficient from birth and consider any other species predator or prey, but hand-raised animals can develop functional relationships with their carer. Patience and careful training are necessary to teach krakens to be gentle with smaller creatures, but they have successfully been trained to capture without killing and even rescue people from drowning. Kraken are curious and clever, and often show a knack for puzzles.

They can easily solve block jigsaws or untie knots, and many trainers encourage puzzle-solving to keep them entertained and boost intelligence and dexterity. Some unscrupulous handlers have even used juvenile kraken for shadier tasks like lock-picking or theft. Brie Sheldon Rearing Difficulty Tricky Intelligence Clever The misleadingly-named lightning lizard is not in fact a lizard, but a dinosaur. Like their close cousin, the velociraptor, lighting lizards are quick, agile, and smart.

Adult lizards can grow up to 1 foot 0. Hatchlings are tiny, measuring a mere 3 inches 8 cm when they hatch, and ride on their parent's or owner's head for the first few months of their lives to avoid being squashed.

Naturally social animals, in the wild lightning lizards live and hunt in a family group, called a lounge. They communicate with each other through a wide variety of chirps and hisses, indicating everything from affection and playfulness to hunger, fear or aggression.

Lightning lizards raised from the egg are utterly loyal and will view you as just another member of their family. Lightning lizards are carnivorous and will eat anything with a heartbeat, if it is smaller than them. Individual lizards are also happy to hunt their own prey, and a few lightning lizards about your home will keep it pest-free. Egg Care Lightning lizard eggs are oblong, an inch long and have a soft, opaque shell. They must have an electrical current run through them at least once a day, and preferably constantly, in order to stay viable.

The water should be kept warm enough to heat the eggs, but make sure to remove them after half an hour, as their shells are water-permeable and any more risks oversaturating them. Despite their tiny size, lightning lizard hatchlings have mighty personalities. A shock to the toes or the back of the leg is just part and parcel of owning these tricky creatures. Due to their high animal intelligence, it is recommended to make sure your pets get at least three hours of engaged activity each day to keep them happy and stimulated.

Native to the tropics, these small creatures are not cold-blooded, but love warmth. Keep them indoors in winter or year-round in colder areas, and if travelling in a cold climate, make sure to keep your lizards wrapped up tight or against your own body for warmth the latter will also help keep you warm, if lightly singed.

Lightning lizards love storms. Owners of these beasts can often tell when a storm is coming days before it arrives, because of the excited chirps released by their lizards. If the climate is warm enough, allow your lizards outside to frolic in bad weather and you will see them perform a unique dance to display their excitement: wildly bobbing their heads from side-toside, slapping their feet on the ground, and emitting tiny shocks.

Many hunters use a lounge of lightning lizards for catching small creatures like rabbits, because of their speed and trainability. The lounge is able to run ahead of their owner, encircle their prey, and trap them in a lightning barrier set up between each beast.

The closer lightning lizards are to one another, the stronger the electrical current becomes. In recent times, hunting with lightning lizards has also become a popular pastime among the children of nobles. Elizabeth Chaipraditkul Rearing Difficulty Tricky Intelligence Civilized A common species of swampy jungles, the semi- aquatic lizardfolk thrive in hot, humid environments.

They are widely regarded as brutal, unintelligent monsters, highly territorial and easily provoked. Since their preferred habitat is valued by non-varanid societies for its richness in food and other resources, confrontations are common. How varanid society functioned prior to contact with other species is now, alas, a matter of speculation, as much of their current culture has been shaped by their fierce independence in the face of centuries of prejudice, enslavement and even attempted extermination.

This has turned them into a strongly martial people, suspicious of outsiders and ready to defend themselves from any perceived threat. Their parenting style is no exception. Whelps are taught to be highly independent, and are able to care for themselves within a year of hatching; they explore and learn the hazards of the marshes through direct experience.

Although this means parents leaving their children to their own devices, no whelp is ever truly unprotected, since the entire tribe will keep an eye on them.

Even varanids of another tribe will generally return a wandering whelp to their kin, if they find one getting into trouble. As with any communal, sentient species, it is highly unethical to remove eggs or young from their parent tribe. However, given the regularity of clashes with other species, you may well come across an orphaned egg or hatchling.

Raising a varanid is very rewarding, although you must be prepared to encounter prejudice against both yourself and your ward. Unlike birds, lizardfolk do not sit on their eggs to keep them warm, but use a well-insulated nest situated inside an earthen mound. Creating artificial humidity can lead to foreign molds growing on the eggs, which can weaken the shell and potentially harm the infant, so eggs may require occasional gentle cleaning. General Care A whelp's first year of life is their most vulnerable.

Initially somewhat frail, they must spend the first weeks after hatching in shallow water, where they learn to swim and hold their breath for long periods. Feed your varanid on pre-chewed or otherwise softened meat during this time. Once their legs grow strong enough, whelps will voluntarily leave their pool and start to wander around, intensely curious about everything.

At this point they will lose their egg teeth and grow in proper fangs, and can transition to a diet of cooked meat and vegetables. Lizardfolk scales remain soft and routinely shed during the first nine months of their life, after which they begin to grow in their harder, more durable adult scales. Rearing Although lizardfolk tribes are renowned for their combat prowess, those who have raised varanids away from their kind observe that their natural instincts are friendly and inquisitive rather than martial.

I myself reared a whelp named Yarik who took a keen interest in my hobby of needlework and who was able to surpass me in the art despite his large claws.

Nonetheless, there are many who see lizardfolk as good for nothing but warriors. If you really must raise your varanid to fight, they prefer to learn aggressive combat styles that favor hit-and-run tactics. Lizardfolk lairs are often regarded as sinister, evil places due to the tendency for the varanids to decorate them with the bones of defeated enemies and burning braziers to their reptilian gods.

L egends say that the medusae are actually an offshoot of the naga, descended from an ancient faction whose hatred of humankind led to a war of extermination so disastrous that the naga's own gods intervened. The rebel naga were cursed and their bodies transformed to be completely human from the waist up, sharing the visage of their hated enemy.

Furthermore, they were cursed so that anyone they gazed upon in anger would be turned to stone. These medusae, as they came to be known, were exiled from all other peoples, sent into hiding to nurse forever their bitter hatred. The medusa's human-like head supports a hydra crown of eight scaled appendages closely emulating small asps, each terminating in a triangular head complete with eyes, mouth, venomous fangs, and a ganglial swelling sufficient to strike at targets and flinch from threats without involving the main brain.

Their acidic venom poisons normal creatures but medusae are immune. Adults weigh — pounds 68— kilograms , with a total body length of 10—15 feet 3—4. It is this calcified flesh on which the medusa feeds. The medusa's digestive processes are unique. Before consumption by the true head, prey is chewed upon by the cranial asps, injecting corrosive venom to soften and process the stony material so the medusa can eat it.

Special stomach acids further break down the fragments so the medusa's gut can extract nutrition, most of which is stored in fat reserves that allow them to go long periods without feeding. When pregnant, however, the mother-to-be must eat frequently. Breeding takes place between a mated Medusae do not lactate, but crush their victims to powder and give it to daughters as a paste with water.

During their childhood years, maturing individuals learn to use and focus their medusal gaze through a concentrated glare from the main eyes. A daughter gains resistance to the gaze effect through exposure to the glares of parents and siblings.

Cures Alchemists speak of one natural remedy for calcification. The healer must extract large quantities of medusa snake venom, or the stomach acids of any obligate petrivores rock-eating creatures , and brew the liquid into a foamy solution. Carefully soaking the calcified body can soften the flesh to normal. Sometimes the victim even survives. General Care A daughter of medusa is as intelligent and complex as a human child and even more challenging to rear.

Some writings suggest substituting a diet of powdered bone, blood, and crushed limestone, with unknown success. If brought to maturity, a medusa could be a powerful ally or a dangerous servant. The deadly gaze is by no means constant, so a cautious caretaker might attempt this feat, but young medusae are as prone as any sentient to temper tantrums towards their parent figures, especially as they near adolescence. Even the best-natured daughter may one day glare at you in anger. Depending on the maturity of the medusa and the honest intensity of dislike, a hapless caregiver could feel anything from a momentary tingle of numbness to the horrifying onrush of total, unintended petrification.

There is one glimmer of hope. The breath catches, muscles seize, the heart skips—and if the victim cannot resist, their vitality flees in terror. However, a carer who can resist this fear, whether through careful conditioning or strong magic, might survive their daughter's anger and live to play with them another day.

Joel Sparks Rearing Difficulty Tricky Intelligence Civilized Of all the strange creatures described within these pages, myconids may well be the strangest. Each begins life as a sentient network of millions of microscopic filaments spread throughout the soil. These networks overlap one another, and range in size from a few square feet to an entire forest.

In a sense, they are the earth itself come to life, although the nature of that life is so alien to most thinking beings that communication is near impossible, let alone understanding.

This is no matter of simple copulation; myconids seek true love, and will remain in their humanoid forms for as long as it takes to find it. While aboveground, they gather in colonies and are welcoming to visitors, but tend to avoid contact with the other civilizations. This may be inherited caution, since they have historically been blamed as the source of ruined crops or even plagues.

Back to login. Already have an account? Login here. In a world of myth and magic, great heroes vanquish terrible monsters and earn a place in legend. But what about the babies left behind? This book is the first exploration of a new kind of adventure, the raising of young monsters to become loyal companions, beloved friends or fearsome guardians. If you are looking for something novel to spice up a fantasy roleplaying campaign, or simply want to see a different side to the creatures of fantasy art, the Baby Bestiary Book has all the monstrous cuteness you could want.

Andreas did an exemplary job of getting together a group of artists with the sort of talent that can turn an Owlbear cute and a Displacer Beast loveable. When you design a tabletop adventures the old quotes about one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration can prove all too true. You might have a hundred and one potential encounters, advice articles and random tables at your fingertips, but until that keystone idea falls into place nothing really hangs together.

The Baby Bestiary Volume 2 Kickstarter aims to not only fund a completely new book, but also support a fresh reprint of the original volume. That means if you missed out on it the first time you can grab both or even up the ante for a real coffee table experience. The original Baby Bestiary adopted the concept of a hands-on guide to rearing specimens of various beast and monsters.

Whether as familiar, guardian, companion or simply a pet, the text accompanying each picture explained how the budding beastmaster might go about rearing, raising and schooling the most unlikely of creatures. Wonderful read and amazing art. It's a great fun read and perfect for your coffee table as well. Lots of great monsters, and they're babies too By S. Boca Our 4 year old loves this. Lots of great monsters, and they're babies too!

The illustrations range from good to excellent with lots of familiar and some less familiar monsters Owlbear, that's you! Just over half the book is text which is written in character with tongue firmly in cheek. Anyone who has watched too much My Little Pony will recognize most of these, and any dice-rollers will recognize all of them.

A very impressive product from a small company and a big-hearted Kickstarter success. By Chad Michael Middleton D'awwww Though the Blink Puppy looks more like a hellhound, which is weird, but that's my only issue. All fluff, no crunch btw. Posting Komentar. If this gets resolved I will raise my rating. Timothy B. Andreas Walters has put together a fantastic book that is part monster manual, part field guide, part ecology book and a huge part art book.

The book is a densely packed 81 full-color pages. Easily one of the best-looking books to be nominated [ Tim W. I think this isa great little book for exploring ideas around beast master type characters. My daughter loved it as well and anything that gets the young'uns interested in gaming cannot be a bad thing! See All Ratings and Reviews. Browse Categories. Wolfenoot Sale. Rule System. Apocalypse World Engine. BRP Basic Roleplaying. Modiphius 2d Savage Worlds.

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