The Bestiary of the Four Kingdoms

THE BESTIARY OF THE FOUR KINGDOMS

A Catalog of Monsters for The Fury of the Northmen roleplaying game

elcome to the Bestiary of the Four Kingdoms—the guide to the monsters for The Fury of the Northmen game setting! On this website you will find all the extraordinary creatures that PCs will encounter in the setting, whether sailing from the Viking lands to the British Isles or in the Four Kingdoms themselves.

The Bestiary consists of three types of creatures: those taken directly from Angelcynn (Anglo-Saxon) folklore, those taken directly from Viking folklore and mythology, and those which are extrapolations from Angelcynn folklore or Viking mythology. For all three, the descriptions and blocks of statistics and abilities and powers are either straight from the folktales and legends, or directly inspired by them. This means that some of your old favorites, like the dragons, will be changed a little bit from what you’re used to, and other monsters, like the demons, will be changed a great deal. But trust me: it’s all historically accurate to the folktales and legends and myths. You'd be surprised at how little I was required to make up for these monsters.

As with the rest of The Fury of the Northmen, the contents of the Bestiary are heavily influenced by Dungeons & Dragons^tm. The debt that the Bestiary owes to the Monster Manual^tm is obvious, and the monsters in the Bestiary are written to work in conjunction with Wizard of the Coast’s System Reference Document 5.1 (hereafter “SRD5”), the core of Fury of the Northmen, although all of the monsters in the Bestiary are my creation.

If you’re an experienced GM or are well-read in the Viking myths, a few of the write-ups may surprise you, for I’ve added a few twists, made some monsters three-dimensional (or at least two-and-a-half dimensional), and in general adapted them to work with SRD5. These are the official monsters for The Fury of the Northmen. But “official” doesn’t mean “only do it my way.” If you can think of a better way to write up a monster from the folktales and myths than the way I did it, or if there are obvious monsters that I didn’t include that are more suitable for your campaign than the monsters in the Bestiary, do it your way! It’s your game world and your game, after all.

HOW TO USE THIS WEBSITE

The Bestiary is one of three parts of The Fury of the Northmen, the other two being the books Player’s Guide and the World Book. The Bestiary, unlike the Player's Guide but like the World Book, is intended for use by GMs rather than players. Use it to populate your game world, and provide your players with monstrous opponents for their characters to fight.

The Bestiary includes, in Appendix B, a list of 50 sample encounters involving the monsters of the Bestiary. I don’t go into detail about those encounters, nor does the World Book contain guidelines for creating encounters with the monsters of the Bestiary. I’m assuming that you, the GM reading this, has experience in running scenarios and campaigns and won’t need us telling you how to do it.

But I would encourage you to read this book while consulting the World Book’s sections on the landscapes of the Four Kingdoms. The Fury of the Northmen has a very specific setting: England in the years 865-871. The monsters included in the Bestiary were chosen for those landscapes (and for the seas around England). Place is an important part of this game, and while you are, naturally, free to play the game the way you want, our suggestion is that you place the monsters where they best fit in the Four Kingdoms or outside them.

THE MONSTERS OF THE FOUR KINGDOMS

Some of the creatures included in this book may be encountered by PCs while at sea, on their way to the Four Kingdoms from the Viking lands. Some of the creatures in this book are purely of the Viking lands, or from the Nine Worlds. But most of the monsters in this book exist in the Four Kingdoms or were carried to the Four Kingdoms on Viking ships or were sent to the Four Kingdoms by the Æsir.

A Northmen GM should feel free to throw any of these creatures (level-appropriately, of course) at their PCs. And certainly, a Northmen GM can use these monsters in whatever way they want to. But there are two things worth noting about monsters in the England of this game setting:

1. The first is that the primary threat to England (besides the Vikings) is the fae, in all their many manifestations. The British Isles (as everyone knows) are haunted by the fae; the only portals to and from Faerie are on the British Isles; the only small communities of the fae are on the British Isles. For whatever reason—GMs should feel free to provide their own or simply keep it mysterious and unknowable—the fae have a particular hatred for the residents of the British Isles. From a structural, meta-gaming point of view, in The Fury of the Northmen the only intelligent native species of the British Isles besides humanity are the fae, and it’s understandable that the two should clash. Such a clash is also a part of traditional British folklore. Humans have what fae want—land, souls, and bodies (for fae slaves)—and the humans of the Four Kingdoms are warriors who don’t want to yield to the fae, and express that sentiment with fire, magic, and iron.

Each of the Four Kingdoms are home to numerous fae, but the great majority of the fae are most commonly found in Northumbria and in Cornwall. Those fae found to the south and east are usually among the more intelligent kind of fae and can be considered infiltrators and spies in addition to deadly nuisances. Although the fae regularly bedevil the inhabitants of the Four Kingdoms, humans rarely make a concerted effort to kill them, seeing it as pointless—everyone knows that the fae of Faerie are as numerous as the drops of water in the ocean—and, now that the Vikings are invading, a diversion from the real threat to the Four Kingdoms.

2. The second thing worth noting is that the overall population of monsters of any kind on the British Isles and especially in the Four Kingdoms is relatively low, especially compared to the standard fantasy roleplaying games. One of the basic assumptions of this game is that England is as populous and civilized as it was in real life in 865; this being the case, there isn’t as much room for monsters of any kind as there is in the standard fantasy roleplaying game. So, GMs should throw human opponents at the PCs much more often than is the norm—as much as 50% of the time the PCs should be fighting human foes, not monsters. There is a war on, after all, and there are plenty of human opponents (and their monstrous allies) to fight no matter which side you’re on. And since humans can be any of the character classes listed in the Player’s Guide, and can theoretically possess any of the armor, weapons, and treasures listed in the World Book, humans can be any level or CR opponent, from l to 20 and even beyond. Throw in animal, beast, and other monstrous allies or minions, and you’ll have just as much of a challenge for a party of PCs as if you’d put together a monster-only encounter or scenario.

TYPES OF MONSTERS

The Bestiary contains the following monster types, each of which has features unique to that type. Unless otherwise noted, all creatures of a certain type possess the features, abilities, and powers mentioned below:

Animals are ordinary non-human creatures native to both the game world of this game and to the real world of the players. Animals are unintelligent and lack any society or language. There are some minor differences between the animals of the Bestiary and the animals of our world, but in most respects both are the same. Animals of the Bestiary include boars, sharks, and wolves.
Animated objects are ordinary objects—tools, weapons, furniture, etc.—which have been enchanted to act independently, as if they were sentient, or at the orders of the object’s master. Animated objects of this game include animated spears and dancing spears. Animated objects do not need to breathe, eat, or sleep. Although animated objects take damage as other monsters do, they are especially susceptible to object or siege damage, as of the kick of a witch’s hut; animated objects take double damage from such blows.
Beasts are nonhumanoid creatures that are a natural part of the fantasy ecology. They differ from animals in their magical abilities and/or size, which is greater than their animal counterparts’. Beasts in this game include giant serpents and King’s wolves.
Constructs are inorganic creatures that are made, not born. Some are programmed by their creators to follow a simple set of instructions, while others are imbued with sentience and are capable of independent thought. Constructs in this game include dangerous stones, flájǫtnar (golems), and stone thegns. Constructs do not need to breathe, eat, or sleep. They are immune to disease, poison, and spells that specifically target living beings.
Divine beings are creatures that hail from one of the Nine Worlds other than Earth, or from Heaven if a Christian divine being. Divine beings are immortal creatures unless slain by violence on their home plane or dimension. Divine beings in this game include cherubim, divine horses, and Hel-spiders. Divine beings do not need to breathe, eat, or sleep. Divine beings either speak or communicate via telepathy; all divine beings can instinctively cast tongues. Divine beings are immune to disease and poison.
Dragons are large, reptile-like creatures. Dragons in this game include Angelcynn dragons, Viking dragons, drakes, and wyverns.
Fae are magical creatures closely tied to the forces of nature. All fae creatures originally hail from Faerie, although many fae creatures have lived on Earth for centuries or millennia. Fae creatures have resistance against charm spells but are vulnerable to iron (including disadvantage on saving throws involving iron) and are at a disadvantage to all actions when they hear the sound of church bells ringing or when touching silver. Fae beings in this game include ælfes, colt-pixies, and spriggans.
Humanoids are bipedal beings shaped roughly like humans, including two arms, two legs, and one head. Humanoids in this game include humans and Thorblóðs.
Infernal beings are creatures than hail from the Angelcynn Christian version of Hell. Infernal beings are immortal creatures unless slain by violence in Hell. Infernal beings in this game include the Hell child and the Hellhound.
Jǫtnar tower over humans. They are humanlike in shape, although some have multiple heads. Although jǫtnar hail from other worlds than Miðgarðr, they are not divine beings. Jǫtnar in this game include lesser jǫtnar, greater jǫtnar, and elder jǫtnar.
Monstrosities are monsters in the truest sense: frightening creatures that are neither ordinary nor natural and are rarely benign. Monstrosities defy pat characterization, and the term serves as a catch-all for creatures that don’t fit into any other category. Monstrosities in this game include attercops and basilisks.
Plants in this context refers to vegetable creatures rather than ordinary plants and vegetables. They breathe and eat but do not sleep; however, they are not immune to sleep spells. Plants in this game include a’telic aacs and mistletoe creepers.
Trǫlls are creatures who take on the shapes of other living beings, thanks to their innate shapechange abilities. Trǫlls in this game include lesser trǫlls, greater trǫlls, and elder trǫlls.
Undead are once-living creatures brought to a horrifying state of undeath through a curse or through the practice of necromancy. Undead in this game include angry corpses, draugar, and hlaupar.

SYMBOLS USED ON THIS WEBSITE

For ease of use I’ve added a few symbols next to creatures’ names in their entries, to indicate whether the creature is the product of:

Christianity ()
Britain (B)
Faerie (F)
Norse mythology (Þ)
the Sea (S)
the Undead (U)
the Viking lands (V).

NEW RULES

In The Fury of the Northman there are a few new rules that don’t exist in the standard roleplaying game and which are new to Northmen:

In the Northmen setting there are no monsters on the British Isles or the Viking lands that have never been encountered before and spoken and sung of. There are no surprise hostiles for humans to encounter; humans have been living on the British Isles and in the Viking lands for centuries, and every non-human being, benign or malign, has been encountered by people in the past, people who told stories about the non-human beings, stories that were turned into myths, legends, fables, poems, and songs by the bards.

Consequently, unless specifically mentioned otherwise, any adult Angelcynn NPC or PC will recognize any England-based monster they encounter, and any adult Viking NPC or PC will recognize any Scandinavia-based monster they encounter. The NPC or PC still must make the appropriate ability/skill check to remember specific details about the monsters they encounter, but general impressions—“terrifying,” “man-eating,” “actually good despite its looks”—will be automatically remembered by the NPCs and PCs.

These general impressions appear in the Reaction To line in each monster’s entry. Included in some monsters’ Reaction To lines are modifiers to dice rolls, like “Disadvantage on first round action;” these modifers apply to NPCs only.

Tiny creatures receive a +2 bonus to Armor Class due to their size; Small creatures receive a +1 bonus to Armor Class due to their size. The smaller a creature, the more difficult it is to hit.

Reusers of the material from these pages can redistribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, as long as attribution is given to me, Jess Nevins. However, only noncommercial uses of the material are permitted, and attribution must be given to me.