Where one might see a true hound, flanks dark and teeth sharp another might spy a hunting-hawk, circling overhead. Whatever their shape, it comes from the beholder, not the beholden beast itself. These things are Death's harrowing-crew, the spirits bound to Death to stalk the after-lands looking for ghosts who might have gotten away from the great queue that leads to the Gates and to their final rest. Those lost or escaped souls find themselves stalked by the beasts and, if caught, either carried back or torn apart, as depends the ferocity of the creatures. Instinct: to hunt and capture

• scent out an escaped soul

The phase spider lies in wait just on the edge of reality until prey ventures too close to it. Once in range, the spire will 'phase' into our world and bite before 'phasing' back into nothing. The problem with the phase spider, however, is not it's bite but the poison in injects. The poison shuts down the creature's organs one by one until they die. Then, while the body is still warm, the spider returns to claim its prize. Instinct: to feed

• phase in to bite
• Phase out of reality
• Poison
• Organize attack

"A large burly goblin sent out from the Sheqlands to engage in raids against the lands around Bryntyrion they roam throughout the Bryn and encroach upon the Southlands, it is not unusual for travellers to be set upon by roaming bands of these creatures" Instinct: To Burn, Pillage and Steal

• Relishes combat
• Blows warhorn

"What happened to him? The prince, I mean?" "Oh, the other boy turned out to be a Dark Mist. It got inside the prince and possessed him. He started killing people and casting bad, bad spells on them so they would die, leaving perfect places for other Mists to grow. Once everyone in the village died-except me, I escaped-the Mist killed him, and corrupted his soul- thus creating a Dark Mist out of the prince." "Are they real?" "Very real indeed- but I'll keep you safe. "Thank you." Created by Zola Instinct: to corrupt

• Take a physical form
• Trick somebody into betraying their allies
• Creat enchanted darkness that takes over someone's mind
• Kill somebody that is in its control

"The Bound Man is the spectral form of Baston Aufford was a knight who came from the South, filled with pride and holy conviction he set out to smite the dark creatures of the Deep Wood. Baston died there. There are many tales of his end, many overblown and inaccurate. His body was moved to the Bryn woods and a funeral barrow built with a colossal statue in his honour to serve as a lasting symbol of his desire to purge evil from the Bryn. His servants and retainers were also buried in the barrow. One day a woman arrived at the Barrow and had a team of slaves open the sepulchre, slipping inside she made her way to the burial chamber. She was Fria Aufford, who had married Baston before he journeyed north, and who had been left behind waiting for his return for years. It was not until she arrived at Bryntyrion that she heard of Baston's death, casting herself onto his Sarcophagus in grief she cursed him saying "Let his heart not stop until he has suffered for as long as I." She then drove a dagger into her heart, being a place of inherent magical potency, coupled with her blood sacrifice bound Baston's spirit to the tomb where he suffers still for Fria suffered much more pain than the ten years she was abandoned would suggest." Instinct: Seek release

• Appeals to visitors
• Will attempt to get visitors to release him from his bonds, by telling them the story of his imprisonment
• Will attack should his request be refused

"Swarms of disease ridden rats that will fight at the behest of their king and to defend their nests." Instinct: Defend Territory, Obey Their King

• Swarm
• chance of infecting with a pestilence

"Boiko was cast out of the Sheqlands and his tribe, without companionship and scorned by his species he crawled into the Knight's Barrow and waited to die. Death never came however, instead Boiko discovered the rats. They brought him food and he found he could use his magic to control them, for the first time Boiko found acceptance and so too the rats found a host, they swarm over Boiko to the point where it is difficult to tell where he ends and they begin." Instinct: Defend territory

• Controls the Swarm
• Summons necrotic fog
• Every round roll 1d10 on a success call forth 1d4 rat swarms

"All those who wander the deeps of the Northern Forests know, that when mist arrives amongst the trees, there in no shame in fleeing. Those few that have not tell tales of men flayed alive by great horrifying spirits that stalk the mist. A mage once told me that the mist entraps the souls of those it kills and by smothering them in its essence breeds more of its horrific feeders." Instinct: To replicate

• Creates a thick mist
• Anything killed by it are transformed into Mist Feeders

"The Banshee Owl is known to many as a portent of impending death though few realize how accurate a description this truly is. Folklore attests that the Banshee Owl is sent out as a messenger from the underworld to tell the members of the family about an impending bereavement, while I have personally never seen a Banshee Owl do such a thing but their purpose is definitely linked intrinsically to death, once I saw a man who had caught sight of one such owl amongst the trees, I saw him as he struggled his body gripped in a rigour mortis like paralysis, it was then the Owl's third eye opened and I saw the man begin to age, his body rapidly wasting away to a thin dust like vapour as his bones crumbled to be blown away on the wind. Thankfully the creature, apparently sated vanished in a haze of cyan light." Instinct: to feed on souls

• Transfixes pray
• Phase between planes
• Has knowledge of one dead/dying person

"The Volgra as they like to be known are a race of hulking humanoids not similar in size and stature to the savage troll or ogre. Where the difference becomes apparent is in their intelligence and mannerisms. These colossal creatures can live for seemingly hundreds of years at a time and have over such long lifespans perfected the art of patience. However one must not mistake them for friendly for the Volgra are anything but, at best the creatures hold a begrudging tolerance for the younger races and at worst, particularly when their traditions are threatened, they can be a cadre of formidable opponents." Instinct: Keep with tradition

• Will charge with horns
• Particularly interested in historical artifacts
• Polite unless insulted