Karameikos - Vaults of Pandius

The Demography of Karameikosscattered in Karameikos, most often in serviceto some villainous power as bodyguards ormercenaries.Dangerous beasts, like griffons, hippogriffs,and manticores, are quite rare and onlydwell in the Black Peaks and the eastern partof the Cruth range. A very large and fiercespecies of giant wolf, the ice wolf, lives in theAltan Tepes mountains, in the areas wheresnow and ice last longer. Some of thesecreatures are trained as pets or mounts bysome humanoid tribes or by the frost giantclans. Owlbears are found in all woodedareas, from the central forests to the woodedheights of the mountain ranges. Hellhoundsare found in the Black Peaks, but sometimesforay into southern areas.A solitary sphinx is known to dwell on arocky reef in the Gulf of Halag; she roarswarnings to sailors venturing too close to thehazardous coastlines. Among otherintelligent monsters are the friends of thewoodland races. Individual actaeons andchevalls, sent to Karameikos by the ImmortalZirchev himself, watch over the GrandDuchy’s fauna and nature; they oftencooperate with other woodland lovers, likethe elves, the centaurs, and the druids. Thesame is true for treants, which are mostlysubject of legends, even if a rumor holds thatone of them is asleep in Threshold’s city park.The Black Peaks are the home of a giant lizardspecies not found elsewhere: the unusualfoot-pad lizard, able to easily climb theregion’s rocky slopes and which is trained asmount and beast of burden by the degenerateTraldar of the Lost Valley of Hutaaka.Another very rare lizard, the lava lizard,dwells near underground magma flows. As oftoday it has been seen only in the eastern areaof the Grand Duchy. A hydra has recentlybeen spotted in the Blight Swamp.Two species of dangerous blood-suckingfliers live in Karameikos: the numerousstirges, spread everywhere, and the rarerpiranha-birds, which favor northern forests.Amorphous monsters like the blackpudding and the gelatinous cube may befound in old abandoned dungeons (thelatter in particular in those of hutaakanorigin).Far more worrisome are persistent rumorsof a hivebrood that has established its lair inthe southern Dymrak Forest, not too farfrom the village of Rugalov.While almost unknown, individualbeholders hide in certain undergroundtunnels which run in the north-eastern partof the Grand Duchy, linking with caveswhich extend under Rockhome.Lastly, two strange varieties of incorporealand seemingly (but not actually) undeadmonsters are found in Karameikos. The firstare shadows, which lurk in deep forests,ruins, and dungeons. The other is theghostly horde, which very rarely manifestsin places where great battlefield tragedieshave happened.Planar MonstersBeings of the Elemental Plane of Water, suchas water weirds, are sometimesencountered within ruins and dungeonswhich were the home of a wizard in the past.Native Medusae can be very rarelyencountered in the wilderness as well.Rumors also hold that a djinni and a waterelemental live somewhere in the town ofThreshold.30THRESHOLD: The Mystara Magazine Issue #1