Monsters

While many people use the term monster as a derogative catch-all term, it actually has a specific meaning. Most Materian creatures have a distinct species, and are born from parents with like characteristics; they have a finite lifespan, and can bear children with others of their species. However, not all Materian-born creatures can claim to have a species. Those who are born with extraplanar influence are called feykin, but there still remains a large number of unique individuals that, through mistake or design, belong to no species but are still nonetheless purely of Materia. These creatures are monsters: beings, both sentient and not, which were born under unique circumstances, cannot breed, and might display abilities, lifespans and physical characteristics very unlike to other Materian creatures.
Superstition abounds where monsters are concerned. Some are created through the will of mages, as the application of arcana can create all manner of twisted things. However, sometimes strange beings like cocatrices, minotaur and gorgons are born without any obvious reason; curses, latent arcana, angered gods and all manner of causes are attributed to the creation of monsters.
Some of the most common monsters are dire animals. For reasons not fully understood by wizards or scholars, an otherwise-normal animal might be born with prodigious size, feral or diseased characteristics, and an extremely vicious temperament. Dire animals, and monsters in general, are often associated with the goddess Fierna.
It is thought that one of the most likely reasons for the existence of monsters is extraplanar summoners. A being with an extremely long lifespan and inexplicable physical characteristics may well be an eidolon, whether or not its summoner ever calls for it.
Category:Race