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thecreaturecodex · 5 years

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Escornau

Image © instagram user zarva_barroso, accessed at Deskgram here

[Comissioned by @wannabedemonlord. The escornau is from the town of Ahigal, which kept its horn as a relic until the 19th century--the horn is since lost, destroyed as a sign of idol worship, so whatever the horn belonged to is a mystery. The artist above interpreted it as a lonely creature which needed a friend, hence the orc/goblin/fanged guy talking to it on its back. I did not go with that particular interpretation, since in the legend it killed a lot of people...]

Escornau CR 11 NE Magical Beast This immense creature stands taller than an elephant. Its forequarters are those of a bull, its hindquarters are those of a horse, and it has a head like an enormous boar. A spiraling horn grows from its forehead, and its eyes are narrow and mean.

An escornau is a monstrous variation of the unicorn, with all of the kindness and generosity of that species replaced by rage and bloodlust. Escornaus go out of their way to inflict suffering, property damage and death. Strangely, their horns still have great healing properties—escornaus typically use this selfishly on themselves only. They only possess a flicker of intelligence and live as beasts. Some escornaus are used as mounts, guards or beasts of burden by powerful outsiders that hate the gods, such as asuras or demodands.

In combat, escornaus are simple and direct. They tend to spread their blows about, attacking multiple targets at once in order to enjoy the pain they cause. A lucky strike can impale a foe on their long horn, and escornaus enjoy carrying the carcasses of these victims as trophies until they have rotted away and lost structural integrity. The hide of an escornau turns away all but enchanted and blessed weapons, and they are especially vulnerable to divine magic. Even the sound of mundane but earnest prayer drives them into a rage, and may be useful in causing the beast to focus fire on a single opponent or make foolish errors. Escornaus use their healing abilities on themselves to keep in combat, but will flee if overwhelmed or if its enemies have ample access to divine spells.

Escornau Horn The horn of an escornau can be used as a reagent for item crafting the same way a unicorn horn can, which poses less of a moral challenge, but more of a logistic challenge to adventurers. The horns have great healing powers without being processed. The horn can be used as a jar of restorative ointment; each application wears away more of the horn, until the whole thing is destroyed on the fifth use.

Escornau CR 11 XP 12,800 NE Huge magical beast Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft., detect good, keen scent, low-light vision, Perception +15 Defense AC 23, touch 8, flat-footed 23 (-2 size, +15 natural) hp 137 (11d10+77) Fort +14, Ref +9, Will +7; -2 vs. divine spells DR 10/magic and good; Resist acid 10, fire 10 Defensive Abilities ferocity; Weakness impious Offense Speed 50 ft. Melee gore +20 (2d8+11/19-20), bite +20 (1d8+11), 2 hooves +15 (1d6+5) Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks impaling critical, trample (DC 26, 2d6+16) Spell-like Abilities CL 11th, concentration +13 Constant—detect good 1/day—greater teleport Statistics Str 32, Dex 11, Con 25, Int 3, Wis 18, Cha 14 Base Atk +11; CMB +24 (+26 bull rush); CMD 34 (36 vs. bull rush, 38 vs. trip) Feats Awesome Blow, Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (gore), Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack Skills Acrobatics +5 (+13 jumping), Climb +15, Perception +15, Survival +12; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception, +4 Survival Languages Abyssal (cannot speak) SQ lay on hands (6/day, 5d6), mercy (diseased, nauseated, shaken), piercing blows Ecology Environment warm plains and hills Organization solitary Treasure special (see above) Special Abilities Impious (Ex) An escornau takes a -2 penalty to all saves against divine spells and channeled energy. Impaling Critical (Ex) On a successful critical hit with its gore attack, an escornau may make a combat maneuver check to grapple an opponent at least one size smaller than it. If it succeeds, the opponent gains the grappled condition and is impaled on the escornau’s horn, taking damage from the gore attack each round. The escornau does not need to make checks to maintain the grapple, but must make a combat maneuver check if it wishes to move with the grappled opponent or pin them. The escornau may attack with its gore attack if its impaled opponent is two or more sizes smaller than it, but it cannot have multiple opponents impaled at once, and takes a -2 penalty for attacking with its gore when it has an opponent impaled. If the impaled creature succeeds in freeing itself, it takes damage equal to the gore attack’s damage. Lay on Hands (Su) An escornau gains the lay on hands ability of a paladin with a level equal to its Hit Dice. Mercy (Su) An escornau can remove conditions with its lay on hands ability, as a paladin with a level equal to its Hit Dice. Piercing Blows (Su) An escornau’s natural weapons overcome damage reduction as if they were cold iron, silver and evil-aligned.

#escornau #unicorn #chimera #spanish folklore #pathfinder rpg

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bugcthulhu · 6 years

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Spanish/Iberian mythological creatures: What Even edition

Oricuerno: The “main” Spanish take on the unicorn (the other being the Escornau). White-furred with a purple head, blue or red eyes, deer hooves topped by small wings, and a twisted black, red and white horn. Usually living in the highest mountain peaks, has the power to turn women into men, and also cure poisonings and purify waters. Its entire body is considered a powerful amulet

Caltrí Snake: Massive and thick-bodied, with red scales. Devours any human it encounters, but weeps for them after the deed is done. Also known as the Calcatrix, which apparently was used to refer to crocodiles.

Cassandre: A beast of multiple colours whose pleasant smell attracts most animals but kills snakes. Between these traits and that it’s commonly assumed to be a lynx, it serves as the local version of the medieval “panthers”

Jancana: Extremely similar to the cantabrian Ojancano and sometimes treated as its female counterpart, while also a separate being. A hideous, deformed, wrinkled ogress with a single eye (plus two small ones in the nape) and either long, messy hair or snakes in place of hair. Can transform into beautiful women or giant snakes; in the latter case they can only return to their true selves after coiling six times around a man then tongue-kissing them. Also just generally rape men and cut off their tongues afterwards.

Blue-Legs Garrules: Female child-eater that enters houses through the chimney. Sometimes shown as the partner-in-crime of fellow bogeyman Camunyes

Velludo: “Hairy One” A headless horse that runs across mountains and empty streets at night, perpetually chased by six furious dogs. Said to be the spirit of a muslim king that murdered his sons (which would be the dogs)

Lobizon: A werewolf present both in Argentina and parts of Portugal, born from a curse that supposedly befalls the seventh son in any family. A pig-like hairy dog, with blazing red eyes and floppy ears. Devours children and carrion but especially craves animal excrement, a diet that renders its human form yellow-skinned and sickly

Vera Dwarf: Said to live close to a natural fountain, following close whoever approaches to collect water. Those with a good heart are allowed to pass and protected from all harm, but those with bad intentions are mercilessly beaten. Mentioned sometimes to grow in size as they watch over travellers

Silbán. A long, haired, long-legged giant whose lair was a cave high in a mountain only he could reach. Raided a nearby village to kidnap and devour women with impunity until he fell in love with his latest would-be-victim. She then escaped his clutches and conspired with the villagers to make him drink poisoned milk.

Cabrichocho: A blue lamb that subsists entirely on sap and butterflies. Hopelessly smitten with human women, to the point it mimics human speech in an attempt to win them over. Its hide is sought after by wizards, for it grants flight to the wearer.

Docejo: Bird-like being with a single wing, a single eye, and human lips instead of a beak. Drinks only from a specific river (the Jucar) and will in fact die if it ingests water from anywhere else. Loves music, and entertains itself by loudly burping at night.

Rosemunho: Evil spirit that appears in the form of whirlwind or a dust devil. Pulls travellers within itself only to toss them to their deaths somewhere else. Can be driven off by just throwing a stone or stick in its direction, because it will go hurl that instead.

Mairu: Giants said to be responsible for the construction of dolmens and other megalithic constructs across the Basque Country. Usually presented as an all-male race, with lamias as their counterpart, but some myths bring up female Mairu (Mairi) noted for their immense strength. Their arm bones – sometimes the entire preserved arm- possess magical properties

Hodei: Deity embodying storms, hail and thunder, appearing as clouds. Malevolent, brings down lightning to ruin the crops of farmers. Sometimes considered another of the earth goddess Mari and the dragon Sugaar’s many children

Darro Goblin: A cryptid whose sole witness described it as something between a monkey and a dog that walked on two legs, with an enormous head and exceedingly hairy ears. Gave terrifying screams

Mialta: Female bogeyman that force-feeds naughty children with pancakes she cooks herself, and which taste absolutely horrid.

El Pecado: Literally “The Sin”, a massive lizard so named because of its hideousness. Terrorized the village of Ovijuela until Saint Peter arrived and tamed it.

Cabanyas Lizard: Another huge, man-eating reptile, so strong it tore apart a mountain with a single strike of its tail.

Trucafort: A giant bogeyman with a beard so dense and long he keeps stepping on it, thus his tremendous howling. Always seen carrying two enormous boulders; one balanced atop his head, another at hand to smash children with.

Ome Marin: A humanoid covered in scales, with green teeth and sometimes a “mane” of algae. Prowls the coast devouring anything it can catch, including humans, and especially loves messing with and/or destroying fishing boats, ensuring sailors get stranded. Known sometimes to swim upstream and assault women near rivers.

Frailecillo: “Little Friar” Ugly, hunchbacked goblins with bony arms and massive feet, dressed in long black robes and emitting a greenish or purplish glow. Sleeping during the day, they are sometimes said to be clever and helpful but often they are extremely violent, entering houses to pinch the eyes of children as they sleep, chop off their limbs or sew their buttholes shut.

Marés: Child-eating octopuses whose embrace is impossible to break free from.

Xas: Goblin that takes refuge in abandoned windmills. While they won’t enter inhabited houses they delight in throwing rocks at them, as well as harassing livestock and stealing fruit from orchards

Gizotso: The basque werewolf. Rather than a curse, it is born from forbidden relations between man and animal. Usually wrapped in chains, and very bloodthirsty; the most common tale about them involves one randomly attacking a woman and ripping off her breasts. Always depicted with one of its legs ending in a round stump instead of a paw.

Guaraguara: Bogeyman of undefined appearance, but sometimes referred to as a “bug”

Pauet: The ghost of a child that died at the bottom of a well, crying for help that never arrived, and who now pulls others inside in an attempt to cure its loneliness. Other areas have a feminine counterpart in Maria Gancha (something like “Grabby Mary”) who simply snatches children down her well with hooked claws

Beast of the Clamor: A water monster whose terrible roaring could be heard all across the Ebro river. Legend goes a maiden was sacrificed to the beast to appease its wrath, and even though it worked and it was never heard from again, the unlucky maiden’s ghost is said to still haunt the river to this day.

Joan The Bear: Heroic giant born from a woman raped by an evil bear. Possessing enormous strength and armed with a just-as-massive iron bar, went on to have many adventures alongside a group of similarly-gifted friends – Arrencapins (who could tear the biggest trees off the ground), Escoltin-Escoltaina (who could hear even the smallest noise) Regiramuntaynes (pushes mountains around) and Bufim-Bufaina (could split the clouds by blowing)

Pardal Verd: A green, sometimes golden bird whose eggs have healing properties. Usually guarded by a giant serpent, and even then you can only ever take one egg.

Mother Of Fish: Bigger than man and brightly-coloured, like a sea snake with three heads, two tails and big expressive eyes. Intelligent, can speak and appear in the dreams of others in the form of a fairy. Eating her heads makes even the most barren woman bear children, and her tails can be made into swords.

Papasopas: A bogeyman that shows up to eat the food that naughty children refuse, but for every bite it takes, it will also bite on the children themselves. Also loves eating flies

Garos: An evil giant that was eventually bested by an entire village and killed by having a nail driven through his nape. His preserved skull was said to heal and invigorate children

Jan del Gel: A massive, literal snow man. The third of a series of snow children made by an old couple, unable to bear their own. While the first two were exemplary children up until they melted come spring, Jan ate the couple’s entire food storage then left to the mountains. Comes out during blizzards and freezes any children it spots with a glance, to drag them to his frigid cave and devour.

Orcavella: A fiendish mountain hag that terrorized an entire village, dabbling in the dark arts and eating children for centuries until finally she got tired of living and buried herself alongside a hapless shepherd she had under her control. None could approach despite his screams due to the swarms of snakes protecting the tomb, and they are said to protect it even now.

White Fox: Self-explanatory, but also has green ears/spots above the eyes and its tail, legs and teeth are entirely black. Feeds on flowers and occasionally stealing lunches from people. Its blood is highly sought after for its magical properties, but whoever meets its gaze feels immense panic.

Bird of Joy: Crimson-coloured, with green-and-white spots and black wings/beak. Start life as maggots on the White Fox’s body once it dies, eating one another until only one remains and matures. Eagles and other birds of prey give it wide berth. Loses its wings shortly before death, and if anyone pulls out the eyes once its dead, they will see them become magic diamonds.

Gollut: Hideous, narrow-eyed goblins that supposedly employed dark magic brought bad luck. Actually has a real life basis: Up until the beginning of the 20th century Catalunya housed a small, possibly inbred community plagued by deformities and dwarfism, living in squalor

Enemiguillo: “Little enemy” Microscopic, invisible goblins under the control of witches and usually held within a bottle. Their attacks express as countless burning bites on the legs and groin

Sopeira Serpent: A princess transformed into a massive snake by a curse. A knight failed to break it and ultimately killed the princess-serpent, after which her castle sank into the ground, taking with it everyone inside

Since these compilations seem to have gotten kinda popular here’s a bunch more i’ve done before , which started as me trying to help @tyrantisterror pad out his fantasy setting

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