10 more creatures added to the CC

[JiCi]

That's something I never understood: how come a monster family that big, such as the Sheens, never made it into 3.0/3.5 in the first place ?

It's big, menacing and probably a classic. That's like forgetting to convert the Tarrasque for an edition. WotC needs to revisit its old works, instead of creating new stuff all the time. The sheens would have been perfect for MM5, with the recent introducton of living constructs.

 

[Shade]

Indeed.

I suspect the sheens were ignored partially because they appeared so close to the launch of 3e, and partially due to an anti-sci-fi bias by many fantasy gamers.

 

[JiCi]

Indeed.

I suspect the sheens were ignored partially because they appeared so close to the launch of 3e, and partially due to an anti-sci-fi bias by many fantasy gamers.

... or because they appeared in a Dragon issue. There hasn't much monsters that were published in the magazine and then converted to be published into an official book, right ?

 

[Shade]

You'd be surprised.

Just a few that started in Dragon...

Ankheg
Bulette
Planetar
Solar
Avolakia
Ulgurstasta
Abishai
Goristro
Gem dragons

There's quite a list here.

 

[Shade]

The worms go in, the worms go out…
An army of annelids burrow into the Creature Catalogue.

First up are giant versions of the polychaetes, or bristle worms. These aquatic horros include the relatively weak nereis, the multi-jawed diopatra, the venomous vanadis, the agonize, eurythoe (or "fire worm"), the repulsive glycera (or "blood worm"), the vicious eunice (aptly nicknamed the "Bobbitt worm"), and the massive sabella.

Rounding out the batch are three magical beasts, all related to the purple worm. The acidic glitterworm resembles a vein of precious metal and likes to snack on xorns. The slime worm looks like a pile of treasure while at rest, and the coins adhered to it provide it makeshift armor. Finally, the massive lukhorn resembles a natural cavern, is invisible to darkvision, and can unleash a screech that results in writhing agony.

 

[Shade]

Hark the Herald Angels Sing!
No, it's not Christmas time (although retail stores may disagree). Instead, a heavenly host of angels take flight to the Creature Catalogue.

The entire angelic hierarchy is represented here, from the common angels of the Ninth Order to the mighty seraphim. In between are the cherubim, thrones, ophanim, dominions, virtues, powers, principalities, and archangels.

Even more angels are coming soon.

 

[Shade]

Angels and Demons (and Yugoloths!)
This batch finishes off the angels, including the retributive angel of wrath, the benevolent angel of mercy, the hospitaler angels of healing, and the mighty seraphic deva, who takes the fight to fiends on their home planes. Although not a true angel, the air maiden is a winged humanoid from the heavens who serves the benevolent weather deity Ukko.

Two demons join the fight against the heavenly hosts, including the octopoid tribute gatherer and the bizarre chemosit.

Rounding out the batch are three tiers of guardian yugoloths, fierce greedy fiends tasked with protecting things of great value.

 

[Shade]

Forces of Nature
Nature strikes back with this latest batch of critters.

First up is the insanity-inducing fey known as the birch tree spirit.

The plant kingdom gives us the fungal plantfolk and their chief, the dazzling, adhesive giant rainbow plant, the beguiling singing tree, and the mighty corrupted treant known as Blackroot.

The Elemental Plane of Earth gives us the friendly grivelings, the hallucinatory dragger, and the drumlike tymphanix.

Finally, the Wilderness of the Beastlands gives us the plantlike elemental known as the thorn ogre.

 

[Shade]

Spirits and the Spirit World
The Creature Catologue gets spritual with this latest batch.

Up first is the dreaded "Dead Spirit King", the Opawang, and his soul-sucking samurai servants the Air, Earth, Fire, and Water ochimo. Also included are the only spirits known to resist the Opawang's dread charms, the island serpents.

A pair of creature's with ties to the Spirit World and the Celestial Bureaucracy, the riotous Bauh-Yin and disruptive Yau-Mor, make an appearance.

Rounding out the batch are the soothing, somnastic
Ethereal Dreamweaver and the champions of purity known as Dawnspirits.

 

[Shade]

Animalia agglomeration
This batch includes apes of various sizes, from the common chimpanzee and gorilla, to the prehistoric gigantopithecus, to the massive giant ape.

Also making their debut are two prehistoric ancestors of modern mammals: the metridiochoerus (giant warthog) and the pelorovis (long-horned buffalo).

Rounding out this batch are four aquatic animals: the electric agnath, the dire lamprey, and a couple of swarms: the pirahna-like cheirolepis and the oozing hagfish.