More Creatures of Krynn

In its vast land masses and depths of its oceans, Dragonlance has some truly original creatures to enrich your imaginations and games with. Let’s take a look at some more creatures of Krynn. Buy Bestiary of Krynn: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/23333/Bestiary-of-Krynn-Revised-35?affiliate_id=50797

Time Stamps:

0:00 Intro
1:33 Amphi Dragon
2:08 Sea Dragons
2:26 Prickleback
2:47 King of the Deep
3:12 Death Statues
3:37 Slig / Ghaggler
4:04 Revenants
4:32 Wemic
4:52 Desir
5:26 Fire Minions
5:47 Gurik Cha’ahl
6:17 Skrit
6:53 Horax
7:25 Othlorx Dragons
10:11 Outro

Transcript

Cold Open

We are cracking open our bestiary and uncovering more information about the various creatures of Krynn.

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to discuss more creatures of Krynn. I would like to take a moment and thank my collaborator patrons, the Heroes of the Lance, and invite you to consider becoming a patron or member of this channel by visiting the links in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate link. I am referencing the many sourcebooks of both first and second editions for this information. If there are any creatures you would like included in future episodes, please leave a comment below.

Discussion

We have discussed the effects of the Greystone on the various creatures of Krynn, but there is no way to cover the vast scope of Dragonlance’s denizens in one creature episode alone, so I am returning from the Great Library of the Ages in Palanthas after much research with more wild and wonderful creatures. In the last episode we began with dragons, and since this campaign setting has them in the name, let’s return to feature even more dragon kin, only this time we are submerging ourselves in Krynn’s vast oceans for the Amphi Dragon. Coming in at 25 feet long, the Amphi dragon is no small creature. It looks like a giant toad with a small tail and vestigial wings. It is a mix of a Green Dragon and a Sea Dragon. Like a chameleon, it can change its skin color to match its surroundings making it nearly undetectable. It is able to use its tongue to catch its prey, and even spit acid. That’s not all however as its skin is covered by yellow warts which contain acid as well. Krynn’s Sea Dragons resemble giant turtles with a dragon’s head. It hunts using sonar and is able to breath a cloud of steam. It is capable of ESP, even controlling other sea creatures to assist it if needed.

Staying beneath the waters, deep under the Blood Sea, let’s take a look at the Prickleback. These are aquatic versions of the Manticore. They are ostensibly fishy pincushions, firing spines at its prey. They are masters at concealment, remaining nearly undetectable if desired. The King of the Deep was created from the life essences of former priests of Istar. It has the body of a fish, covered in hair with the head of a squid and two monstrous pincers. It regenerates and projects a roar striking fear into its prey. It’s even said that its mouth is a gate leading directly to the Abyss itself! Death Statues are the vessels of the King of the Deep’s essences. They look like petrified remains of men. They are capable of animation however and will attack relentlessly with their mar maces. Their gaze is of the void of the Abyss and if you gaze into their stone eyes you could be killed instantly!

Let’s travel back on the surface of Krynn where the Slig are larger, distant cousins of Goblins. Standing at six feet tall, they have fangs, and are covered in tough skin featuring horns. They have caustic saliva that they spit into their victims eyes. They live in tribes of four or more warriors. There is an aquatic version called the Ghaggler which lives in deep open water, often attacking ships.

Revenants are not exclusive to Dragonlance but the variety found around the Blood Sea are. The Cataclysm killed the inhabitants of this region and now they seek revenge on those responsible. The problem is, they don’t know who it is, so they question all who cross their paths asking if they are the One. Their stare can paralyze you with terror, and unlike the traditional revenant, they are not decomposed. Wemic are large lion-centaurs which roam the plains of Nordmaar. They travel in great bands. Wemic are pragmatic and tend to fight on behalf of what they see as the winning side of a battle. They have worked with the Dragon Highlords throughout the War of the Lance, but are not averse to changing factions.

Traveling to Taladas reveals new creatures to be wary of like the Desir. They stand at six to seven feet, though hunched over. Their disgusting appearance is due to plates or natural armor and pasty, green-white rubbery flesh which exudes slimy gel often polluted with dirt and debris. They have an aura of stench and decay about them. They prefer to attack their prey with their poisonous bite. Though they dwell deep beneath the surface, in tribes of over 50! Taladas is also home to Fire Minions, fearsome elemental beings who manifest from flames themselves. They are warriors but not much is known about them as their habitat isn’t conducive to biological study. They have a weakness in water, and are immune to all forms of fire, obviously. The Gurik Cha’ahl, or Ghost People, are an offspring of the Ilquar goblins of Taladas. Visibly they resemble goblins only with severe abnormalities, which caused their parents to abandon them. They are not brave and will not fight to the death, preferring to sneak and steal, causing as much damage as quickly as possible. They are solitary and rarely trust any other creature, preferring the life of the predator and scavenger.

Crawling across the surface of the deserts of Taladas are the Skrit. These hulking carnivorous beetles are approximately five to six feet in height! They resemble fleas and are protected by a domed carapace mottled black and brown. They hunt similar to ticks, waiting for its prey to wander near, then attack with its needle-like mouth, pumping in a paralyzing enzyme. Once latched on it will try to drag its prey back to its lair to feed. It will then inject a second enzyme that slowly dissolves its food into a soupy gelatinous mass. If we delve beneath the surface again we may run into the Horax. These are insectoid creatures. They sport twelve legs with powerful mandibles and durable chitinous plates down their backs. They are able to climb nearly any surface after their prey and they are ferocious! They prefer to attack in packs maximising on speed to kill. Their natural armor is at times fashioned for humanoid use by The Glass Sailors of Taladas.

Finally, I would like to discuss the Othlorx. The othlorx are a combination of both chromatic and metallic dragons who refused the call of Takhisis and their good dragon cousins to enter into the War of the Lance. Takhisis cursed her dragons for refusing her call, stripping them of their magic. Othlorx dragons are in most respects the same as their traditional brothers with the following exceptions. Black Dragons found in the southern wilderness of Taladas are xenophobic, crazed and unpredictable. At times wildly aggressive and other cordial and highly eccentric. Blue Dragons have turned wildly aggressive to humans as they started the Dragonwars, and are cursed to honor their words precisely, thus are reticent to make any promises or agreements whatsoever. Brass Dragons are shunned by their cousins, which affects them as they are social creatures. This makes them starved for attention, visiting nearby tribes of abducting travelers for companionship. Bronze Dragons are ignorant to the goings on in the world and are seen as backward by their cousins. They hate minotaurs with a violent passion and are friendly to the creatures of the sea. Copper Dragons turned from humorous and friendly to bitter and disenchanted with how they were treated. They are not above antagonizing their good dragon cousins, enjoy the amusing Taladas Gnomes and see the Minoi for the cosmic joke that they are. Green Dragons are not changed by Takhisis’ curse other than being bound to their territories. This means they will attack any and all who enter and they cannot leave to mate; dwindling their numbers in the following years. Red Dragons were stripped of their self confidence. They still desire bloodshed and the spoils of battle but have a near crippling sense of inferiority. They have turned to ambushing opponents and being overly vain and boastful to overcompensate. Silver Dragons stayed to protect the humans of Taladas, but were overcome with guilt for not entering the war where so many of their kind were killed. This guilt causes them to travel disguised among men, helping in any way they are capable. They have turned to aggressively stamping out evil in all its forms. And lastly the White Dragons have changed the most. They have also been stripped of their powers, but blessed with great intelligence to know exactly what they have lost. This has amplified their rage and savageness.

Outro

And that’s all the time I have to discuss more creatures of Krynn. I will return in the future to highlight some of the Lost Creatures of Krynn. Do you have a favorite creature covered? Are there any that you would like to see featured? And finally what do you think is the quintessential Dragonlance creature? Leave a comment below.

I am able to create these weekly videos because of your attention and support. If you are not already a patron or member of this YouTube channel, I would like to invite you to consider becoming one. If you would like to pick up any edition of Dragonlance gaming materials, feel free to use my affiliate link in the description.

This channel is all about celebrating the wonderful world of the Dragonlance Saga, and I hope you will join me in the celebration. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time, remember:

After writing a battle scene between gods and dragons, nothing beats going shopping with a coupon. – Margaret Weis