A common pest near cities and towns, black rats such as this one often find their ways into homes and grain storage to make a mess of things.

Normally a shy and rather docile tundra creature, the ermines in this area have been taken over by murderous intent. At first this may seem a ridiculous threat, until one realizes that being slaughtered by a pack of crazed ermines ranks up there with such ignoble deaths as drowning in a vat of butter. Something magical in this area is driving these little white furies insane.

Every desert traveler's nightmare is to find a scorpion within their bedroll. The dire scorpion is a nightmare made real terror, for it dwarfs its normal sized kin. Though known for catching lizards and the occasional large rodent, this scorpion is not above snipping a chunk of flesh from a man-sized foe with its eight inch long claws.

Practically otherworldly with their twisted mockeries of life, dybbuks infest the upper regions of the Southmount. Such are their numbers that the smaller welps are pushed over the cliffs. Those that survive the fall do not live for long, as they prove easy prey for hunters brave enough to face these foothills.

Notable for their excessively large teeth and grey-green colouring, the forest rat is not unlike its city-dwelling brethren. A hideous and potentially rabid pest, the best thing a magus could do is stomp it out of existance with his or her golem.

Though commonly referred to as weasels, these ferocious little things are more obscure in their heritage. Beneath bristly white fur is the glimpse of ruddy brown scales of reptilian likeness, and its eyes reveal a rage that is normally born of sentience. Yet these foul weasel things appear to lack entirely in intelligence; or rather if they do have conscious thoughts, they are well buried within a furious insanity.

One of many wanderers in this place, this soul in particular has completely lost itself, and listlessly trudges onwards for all eternity.

About the size of a man's fist, the minor wolf spider often nests in rotting tree stumps, waiting for prey to stumble past before greedily rushing out for a meal.

Flat and round like a cobblestone, the muck toad is large, surprisingly voracious, and not above attacking those which disturb its murky home. Often discovered quite by accident as an adventurer steps upon what seems to be sturdy ground, it is sadly all too easy to disturb these amphibians to rise in wart-covered rage.

Old wives claim that pygmy goats were magically created by city-bound mages who wished to raise more convenient livestock, but something went wrong. While their size had been reduced, they were highly tempermental creatures, willing to attack anything larger than themselves. Whatever the truth of such stories, these angry little goats are completely feral, and no one would cry if one or two were smashed beneath some golem's fists.

Well known for being venomous, this breed of rattlesnake somehow manages to grow quite large despite the relative scarcity of prey in the arid desert. Luckily, poisonous bites mean very little to a golem.

A terrible breed of goblin, the redcap is reviled for fashioning crude hats and scarves from the bloodied scalps of its victims. They breed like rabbits, infest old tunnels, and prove themselves a complete nuisance even when they're not plotting murder.

Small but fairly fast, shrieking wolves use their size to their advantage in the mountainous regions. Many believe they have been moving in from the north and east, driven here by some more terrible threat, but no one has dared venture out to prove this allegation. Still, these wolves must be put down lest their numbers threaten human populations in the region... plus that shrieking is really annoying.

Brought to this continent by careless sailors, spined rat populations have been growing for nearly a century. They were never a true threat until the alchemical exploits of the Kernian civil war, where seepage has generated some bizarre mutations. The spines are not poisonous, but nobody in their right mind would keep one as a pet.

Amazing leapers, sky hounds often manage to snatch small birds that fly too low. Ravenous things, they have been known to clear a mountain top of all eggs, rodents, and birds within a matter of weeks before moving on.

No one is quite sure if the alchemists and their magic are responsible for the walking mushrooms of the Ironwood. If not for their high pitched wails, they would be little threat since their crude limbs are soft and spongey. Sadly, the Ironwood often echoes with the sonic attacks of ambulatory mushrooms.

The group that call themselves the Black Stone range from the merely ne'er-do-wells to those who are outright sociopathic individuals. Many of the more disturbed individuals have taken to lying in wait in the deserts, looking to rob caravans and traders of everything precious. Since these encounters often end in the death of the merchant, few would cry if the raiders were beaten to a pulp by some magus' golems.

Packs of normal wolves are often seen in the northern regions, but more common in the Cairnfields are groups of their animated skeletons. These boney mockeries of life silently stalk the tundra, dragging down prey and feasting upon it, only to have their meals drop in bite-sized chunks through empty ribs.

Crafted in another age, dwarves assembled from bronze and iron still roam Old Forge Mountain. Likely these constructs were once used to peacefully mine for precious ore, but their behaviour is now erratic and dangerous from the passage of time. They seem capable of reassembly once destroyed, so perhaps these small golems shall outlive all modern magi as they did their original masters.

A strange malady infects goblins of various breeds on occasion, clogging up their skin with patches of tiny mushrooms. In addition to its repulsive modifications to the goblins' appearance, it also debilitates their small minds. Goblins with this sickness tend to stand around drooling until movement catches their bulging eyes and they attack.

While intelligent men become craftsmen, mages, or even respected leaders, those goblins that pass for intelligent tend to turn to lives of crime. Often these foul little creatures will shout out an ultimatum (failing to realize that few speak goblinese), quickly grow frustrated, and then rush in to attack with crude weapons. In the end, the only thing that distinguishes a goblin bandit is the black headband.

In places of great natural power, beings from other worlds tend to slip into the realm of Muelsfell. Sometimes these are ominous events, but most magi tend to accept small elementals as a fact of life and treat them as they would any wild and dangerous creature. Ice elementals are no exception.

From birth, each kobold is given a path, whether that be warrior, miner, or mage, and expected to excel (by kobold standards) in that profession. Those that take up the mantle of archer have been known to hit rather small targets and sometimes even remember to bring enough ammunition to last a entire battle. Usually these are murdered in their sleep out of jealousy, and their bows taken by less adept kobolds.

Few serpents are as thick or muscular as the leatherhead boas, and their powerful coils can bring down even boars. Typically that lie in wait beneath the murky water, eyes and forked tongue on alert for prey. When they spot something suitable, they can spring out of the water half their body length to strike.

Not especially smart, strong, or fast (or in fact at all suited to life beyond lurking in scum-covered ponds and eating field mice), this breed of goblin has one thing going for it: a mouth filled with sharp teeth. They're also fairly capable at fashioning crude bows and spears, and love hording anything shiny.

Like ocean squid that fishermen sometimes bring back or find washed upon a shore, the rock squid has multiple tentacles and wide saucer-like eyes. The similarity ends there, however, for this is a beast from some other place and does just fine breathing air. Its grey rubbery skin is dusty rather than moist and slick, and seems capable of nesting in the most unsettling places.

Perhaps in ancient years past, this was a shining - and still breathing - example of a proud warrior. Now this sad corpse is nothing more than a mindless killing machine. Luckily, it's not a huge threat to a golem.

Gaunt, vicious, and tireless, the snowfield wights of the northwest are a mystery. The heraldry of their aged attire matches no known region, yet their numbers are such that they must have spawned from a numerous people. It may forever remain a mystery, as the nearly mindless wights are not forthcoming about their origins.

Infesting the Zaulfung in awful numbers, amphisbaena - commonly known as two-headed serpents - have long been rumoured to be related to the Cataclysm. Though no proof of such a connection can be found, their very nature seems to imply a magical origin. A favoured tactic of these bizarre and temperamental snakes is to wait in the trees and drop upon passing creatures.

Prized for their thick, woolly coats, these mastiffs are not the easiest to hunt. They tend to lurk in somewhat inaccessible areas of the mountains, though their considerable bites are not to be ignored.

Though predominately natural creatures, cougars have fallen victim to the alchemical disasters that sully the natural splendors of Kern. In exchange for the pain of scarred skin and flesh, they are all but immune to flame of any sort. Never predictable before, acid-borne cougars are as likely to flee as they are to vent their alchemical-induced pain on anything or anyone.

A dark kobold that has mastered his art to the point that he is actually doing more harm to his tribe's enemies than himself is given the title of Sorcerer. These "sorcerers" make up the bulk of the tribe's rank-n-file troops.

All that lives can potentially end up as a tortured undead, and the Faeries of Muelsfell are no exception. It takes remarkably corrupt magic to raise a Fae into hideous unlife, but when one does arise its once beautiful twittering song becomes a terrifyingly powerful scream capable of shattering bone or metal with equal ease.

Coated in thick ice of a greenish tint, the frostwights are slightly less common than the snowfield wights. It's likely they are spawned from the same group of people as those lesser undead, but they give no further clues as to their shared origins. Sometimes the sun will glint just right through the frostwight's icy covering, however, hinting at bracelets and necklaces, rings and finery -- the attire of a nobleman.

The goblin scouts are masters of concealment, stealth and speed. They can never be caught while out scouting for the tribe... or at least that's what they'd like to think. This particularly witless small grey creature is often caught out in the open, napping in the sun using his crossbow for a pillow.

Though much like the terrible little things that often scurry in the night, this spider is massive in size and could probably drag down a large dog or small pony.

the plains wild dogs are opportunist feeders. preferring to either scavenge carrion or pick off sick and weak prey.

Before the Cataclysm, the Mosswash covered a far smaller area. Farmers from that time cut blocks of peat from the bogs to burn in their fireplaces. Alas, many were lost in this somewhat dangerous task, presumed drowned and lost forever. Now the magical glop of the Mosswash brings back these old souls in the form of bog mummies who mindlessly vent their rage on anything nearby.

Like its smaller cousin, the giant river otter has a curious yet guarded disposition towards most creatures it encounters. It will however, fiercely defend itself if threatened (especially if there are otter pups nearby). It also shows a surprising level of intelligence. Like the Marsh Dragons, the giant otters will sometimes assist the occasional elven war party out hunting Bayou vampires.

By force or unethical choice, some souls have taken golem research to heretical limits. Patchwork grafts of iron, bronze, and brass have turned these men into powerful lunatics, resistant to damage but at the cost of their sanity. Groups of these things now stalk the ruins, venting their aggression on any available target.

Generally thought of as 'touched' even by their fellows, some kobolds decide to wear strips of black clothing and use exotic weapons like nunchuku. Despite taking the influence of certain human cultures too far, they can sometimes prove surprisingly adept in combat.

When fur-clad hunters of the frozen wastes speak of deadly threats, it is understandable to hear the dangers of ice dragons and snow bears. It is somewhat disconcerting when brave warriors tremble as they describe the dire belly slide of a sabre-toothed penguin. What insanity spawned these little black and white missiles of pointy death can not and should not be fathomed.

Villagers have often spoken of wise old hermits who perch high upon mountain cliffs, awaiting a time to impart epiphanies to some determined traveler. Upon Mount Kestrel, there are no such wise men, but rather terrible, hairy beasts perched and waiting upon those high cliffs. What these yeti might impart upon a traveler would only involve blood, screams, and unbridled fury.

Almost all wild animals, medium-size or larger, are superior hand-to-hand combatants when compared to an unarmed human. The Dire Kangaroo seems to be keenly aware of this fact.

Those with the discipline and drive to endure their initiate years, go on to become adepts. This is the stage where formal martial arts training begins. The adepts are also given more responsibility. When not actively training, they work as cooks, gardeners, and handymen.

Though as bizarre as any mad alchemist's terrible dreams, scorpion lizards are a naturally occuring monstrosity -- or rather, if they are in fact abnormal creations, their origins are buried so far in the past that no one could guess what spawned them. With a long, blackened tail tipped with a deadly stinger, no one could mistake these for some other fauna.

The adepts are the lowest caste of formally-trained mountain kobolds. Their main duties consist of maintaining tribal infrastructure and technology, and to assist the tinkers and engineers with their various projects. In wartime, the adepts train and lead the tribe's mustered war parties.

Worst of all the redcaps, the redcap prodigy wears the bloody scalps of its victims and paints its body in their blood. Stalking the shafts of the The Miner's Belt, it leaves a trail of animated bodies in its wake. Even redcaps avoid the prodigy for fear of the cave-ins caused by the prodigy's thunderclap attack.

The toadlins were bred by a former resident of Arzenbourg as entertaining food for his eight legged 'pets.' Part goblin and part toad, they quickly adapted to their surroundings and multiplied into vast numbers.

Though they can be more ferocious than a grizzly, most cave bears prefer to keep to themselves. Unfortunately, since adventurers tend to delve into caverns in search of gemstones and other precious secrets, provoking a cave bear into a fully raging assault is all too easy to do. A swipe of a cave bear's claw can send a flesh golem to the ground.

Pulled by two mighty boars, the gray goblin war chariot bristles with spikes, blades and spinning wheel scythes. It carries two spear wielding goblins at near suicidal speed along the rock mountain paths.

The tinkers usually oversees special project groups and, during times of war, do double duty as crew chiefs for the tribe's war engines. Kobold Engineer and noted theater commander Rolf von Schnauzewitz was the first non-human to win the prestigious Rube Goldberg Award while he was still a young tinker. The award catagory was "Breakfast Tech".

The rock ogres have always had a violently antagonistic relationship with the mountain giants of the Southmount. The giants have size and strength, while the ogres have numbers and organization. These characteristics have always kept their conflict in check, with neither side gaining a significant advantage. Recently, there have been disturbing reports of ogres and giants actually cooperating - if you define cooperating as mortal enemies not attacking each other on sight.

Indescribably ugly, the snaggle is a small hairy creature, all teeth and claws, that smells like it's been dead for two weeks and left somewhere warm and damp. They have no known predator as nothing can stand the sight or smell of the beast. However a little known fact is that they actually taste like honey roasted ham.

Legends speak of an ancient, sprawling empire that once ruled all of Askari and enslaved all manner of foul monster. Though silent, animated remains offer tantalizing clues to the truth: undead trolls, their slave collars still worn, prowl the sands eternal.

Also known as the landshark, the bulette is a terrifying predator that lives only to eat. Their shape resembles an oceanic shark, with four clawed digging limbs replacing fins and an dull brown armoured carapace covering their backs. A bulette attacks anything it regards as edible, choosing the easiest or closest prey first. The only creatures it refuses to eat are elves,(and it dislikes the taste of dwarves). When it senses something edible (that is, senses movement), it breaks to the surface, crest first, and begins its attack. They like to eat rock squid most of all.

Perhaps twice as tall as the average human, ogres are violent, brutish creatures known for intense bouts of rage. They would be a serious threat if they could only bear the company of their own kind. As it is, swamp ogres only leave the swamps as lone raiders intent on stealing a horse or two for dinner and smashing anything they can't carry.

Proud reptilian warriors, the Saurian are large scaled lizard men recently arrived from the west. The Saurian Spearmen serve in the Vanguard of the Saurian Queen's Army.

This faceless grey swordsman carries his weapon to battle long after his death, his faded chainmail making light scraping sounds as he walks tirelessly onwards.

A gelatinous cube is an amorphous creature that lives only to eat. They inhabit underground areas throughout the world, scouring caverns, ruins, and dungeons in search of organic matter, living or dead. Their amorphous nature often causes piercing weapons like spears and arrows to go straight through them.

Phorusrhacos, a 3 meter tall flight less bird, is a fast and agile predator of the Great Plains. They can spot their prey from a great distance on the open plains then hunt them down with ruthless ease.

A tentacled creeper is a carnivorous plant that has grown extensively through over-exposure to magic. They attempt to grab anything moving with their rubbery pseudopods and hold them under the marsh to drown while they rend them to shreds.

Third again as tall as a regular troll, the skeletal brute is another example of the ancient enslavement of trolls. One can not shed a tear, for these are dangerous foes and are typically armed with a massive hammer capable of sending men and horses flying through the air with a single blow.

Proud reptilian warriors, the Saurian are large scaled lizardfolk recently arrived from the west. The Saurian Royal Guard are the Saurian queen's personal troops, handpicked from the best female Saurians in their armed forces.

Especially skilled and talented monks are elevated to master status by the grandmasters or Magnum Opus. Masters are usually assigned to be dojo overseers and are responsible for the training and well-being of the lower castes. Most masters practice a trade or two on their personal time. Some have become exceptional and highly sought-after craftsmen. Occasionally, a grandmaster position becomes available. The masters conduct a series of ritualized combat duels to decide who among them becomes the latest grandmaster. The Magnum Opus oversees the duels and prevents them from becoming lethal.

Smallest of all the dragons, the strip skinned grass dragon is a middle of the food chain hunter. By the nature of it's environment the dragon is a reclusive nocturnal plains hunter.

The flammwagen is a mountain kobold war engine designed to support an infantry advance by destroying enemy strongpoints and barricades. Though effective in its designed use, the flammwagen has a inherent design flaw that makes it very unpopular with its crews. When the vehicle is at speed, the flametongue's discharge has a tendency to fall back and envelope the vehicle. This usually results in the detonation of the stored chukka ammo - to the detriment of the crew or anything else within 50 meters. More sadistically inclined kobold commanders use flammwagen assignments as a form of punishment.

Like all other magic-using races, the dark kobolds have developed their own methods of golem production. However, they seem to use them mainly for attacking specific targets (i.e. rival mages), hence their referrence to golems as "stalkers". Relatively crude in appearance to non-kobold golems, the stalkers are still quite effective in their assigned tasks. Unlike other races, the dark kobolds prefer an insectoid golem pattern rather than the usual humanoid one. The stalker carries no ranged armaments, which is highly unusual for dark kobold machines.

Mounted on the back of a 30 foot high speed reptile, the Lizard Riders are fast moving shock troops of the Suarian Queens forces.

That beasts of burden must be fed and maintained must have been the impetus for some gnome inventor in the creation of clockwork elephants. Surely these tireless workers were a boon when hauling massive quantities of mined minerals. Yet these creatures, too, must be fed, even if such are diets of oil and maintained with shiny new gears. Centuries with no caring owners have resulted in unstable behemoths wandering the mountains, smashing those they encounter.

Hot-tempered like their name suggests, Fire dragons are brutal and merciless. However, they are also intelligent and cunning. They will patiently stalk prey (for days even), and wait for the ideal moment to employ their fearsome breath weapon to spectacular and deadly effect.

The marauder is a large, steam-driven, nominally humanoid iron golem who's head and upper chest has been replaced with an armored cockpit for its kobold crew. The 2-kobold crew consist of a driver that steers and fights the golem in melee combat, and a gunner that operates the formidable eight-demon chukka. Any opponent that survives the chukka's explosive barrage is usually quickly dispatched by the marauder's two oversized, heavily armored, and spiked battle fists. Though "marauder" is the official designation for this war engine, its crews affectionately call it "der schnitzelmaker".

This dark kobold engine of war is a sight to behold. A 30-meter long, smoke belching, heavily armored trapezoid box chugging along on 8 huge armored wheels. It is crewed by about a dozen dark kobold initiates, mages, and a high arcanist or two. The godslayer also bristles with cannon to supplement it's already fearsome arcane firepower. Even mighty mountain giants think twice before engaging these sinister engines of death.

A creature born from the cold malice of winter, an ice fiend stalks for energy to sustain its form. This usually comes in the form of blood, but these creatures are not above feeding upon magical energy.

A happy-go-lucky nomadic creature, the plains giant is in its mind 'an easy to get along with, friendly sort of chap'. Unfortunately, due to a language barrier and being commonly mistaken for hill giants, the plains giants assume every one else isn't. In order to defend themselves from unlikable sorts, they tend to attack first, preferably from behind.

Sand dragons ingest large amounts of sand and combine it with their already fearsome sonic attack. The result is a wide stream of high-speed particles that will strip the flesh from the bones of living creatures within seconds. Sand dragons are rather curious by nature. They prefer to converse, rather than fight.

This faceless grey mage wears tattered grey robes, its wispy colorless hair falling more than to the floor. It walks onwards, silent in its approach.

These reclusive giants stand a head taller and have an even meaner temper than their more common cousins the mountain giants.

One of the smaller dragon species, the Mithril Dragon's relative fragility is more than offset by their blinding speed. It is one of the fastest winged creatures in Muelsfell. Some sages say that this creature can produce a shockwave phenomenon called a 'sonic boom' when in a steep dive. The effects of its powerful breath weapon is more likely the actual cause.

These horrid abominations are not native to Muelsfell. Many months ago, a certain clan's portal experiments went horribly wrong and the resulting inter-dimensional rift released a number of these creatures from whatever dimension they inhabit. Most believe that they are some form of undead. Like undead, they feed off the life energy of living beings - but they also have a strong attraction to magical energy (such as those that animate golems). They are large creatures, vaguely humanoid in shape with all black translucent bodies - except for the eyes, which look like two glowing, angry red orbs. The mages from the clan that was responsible for the "little mishap" estimate that no more than a few dozen entered Muelsfell before the inter-dimensional rift was sealed...everyone has their fingers crossed on that one.

There can be only one, and this little kobold is pretty much it. With his unmatched intelligence, wit, and martial skills, Jet Wang has retained his title and position as Dragonclan Magnum Opus for eight straight years. He is one of the fortunate few that has been personally instructed by Narimasa and has been awarded with Narimasa's blessings. Humble and unassuming, he is well liked and respected by his clanmates and all others that has had the privilege of making his acquaintance.

Scorpy was originally a prototype battle golem designed by the dark kobolds of the Southmount. With two large and powerful attack claws and an arcane energy emitter in its "tail", it was a truly impressive war engine. However, it was lost when it was endowed with a little too much free will and promptly went "frankenstein". It turned on and killed its creators. It then fled to the southern wastes where it was not seen or heard from for many years. Recently however, Scorpitron sightings and attacks have been growing at an alarming rate. Scholars say that perhaps some of Scorpy's various mechanical systems have been failing and the golem has been searching for scrap parts and a way to repair itself.

Arrogant, avaricious, petty, violent - these traits describe Caerula even when she's in the best of moods. She is absolutely merciless to all perceived threats - which is pretty much anything or anyone on the Icerush that has had the misfortune of attracting her attention. On a positive note, she does make the absolute best pistachio ice cream in all of Muelsfell.

Akhenaten is a wise ancient dragon that was born into the second age of Muelsfell. Many sages from across the land seek his wisdom on many subjects, but when the topic of The Great Cataclysm is brought up, the normally talkative dragon becomes strangely quiet or evasive. Of course those who are more wealth-driven just want his loot.

Embodied by the loam, clay, sand, and rock, given life by potent planar energies, an earthen titan is a truely awe-inspiring force of nature. Their hard exterior and massive bulk give them unparalled stamina and deadly force, but their forms do not tend towards any expeditious movement. Fighting one is like fighting a landslide.

"Fire and Ice" -not only does this describe Gwendolyn's repertoire of powerful breath weapons, but also her temperament as well. Rash and impulsive one moment, cold and calculating the next. This unpredictability makes her a very dangerous opponent to those that would foolishly challenge her.

A giant golem relic from pre-Cataclysm times, this metallic abomination was created using magics now lost to Muelsfell. The Rusting Guardian faithfully stands guard at its old post. Whatever or whoever it guarded has long since passed into dust, yet guard on it does.

A dragon's body harbors special energies that is usually manifested as a breath weapon. Narimasa does not rely on a breath weapon, but instead channels his energies through his unique and surprisingly graceful unarmed combat style. This makes him a formidable melee opponent. Through the centuries, Narimasa has occasionally taught his fighting secrets to those he deems worthy - both dragon and non-dragon alike.