Woyler

## *Excerpt from Bixby's Guide to Spaurian Wildlife*

The woyler is a prized Spaurian beast, and a cherished hunt for rangers and trappers across the face of Spauria. It is a famously thick-skinned boar that can be identified by the blunt, vaguely yellow-green horn upon its snout, ready to explode in a shower of acid if and when the creature dies.

Because of the many uses for their meat, skin and internals, woylers have been hunted nearly to extinction by rangers and adventurers. This is quite a shame, as all things considered, they are quite docile creatures, and only resort to violence as a means of protecting themselves. Thankfully, people such as myself, caring Spaurians, and even some druid circles have begun petitioning for the Spaurian government to limit woyler hunting, so that their great species may survive.

### **Habitat:**

Typical woylers prefer to dwell in dense forests, but can be found anywhere that has plenty of rich plant life for them to feed on. However, mountainous variants of woylers can be found in the Slagrims, Trollspines, and even the White Hills.

During the day, the woyler will spend its time lazily feeding on the nearby plant life and rotting bark; a favorite snack amongst woyler kind. At night, they reside in cozy, dug-out burrows, always with a front entrance and an emergency back exit.

### **Abilities:**

Over the span of its life, a woyler may encounter several bands of eager huntsmen, and it will have evaded them more than once. They are evasive creatures, known to avoid traps, break kneecaps with a charging blow, and outrun said kneecapless huntsmen. But even in death, the woyler has one last spiteful trick which has earned it it's reputation.

The blunt horn on the woyler's snout contains a buildup of acids, which gets denser the longer the boar lives. Upon death, whatever gasses are trapped within the woyler’s stomach from its last few meals are pushed through the sinus passages and into a separate compartment just inside the horn. When this process begins, it is only a matter of thirty seconds until the horn explodes in a shower of acid. This acidic burst is likely to splash anyone nearby, and perfectly ruins the carcass of the woyler, spoiling the meat and hide. The excitement of racing against time to either remove the strongly-attached horn from the boar or gather it's most valuable portions in under thirty seconds is what has made the woyler a favorite Spaurian hunt.

### **Weakness:**

I do not advocate the needless killing of a woyler, but I will give you my advice on what to do should you *accidentally* encounter one in the wilderness.

The first thing to remember is that the woyler is more afraid of you than you are of it; they are perfectly terrified of humanoids and will either flee or attack on sight by charging. In such a situation, I would recommend climbing a tree and allowing the woyler to escape, or, if you are confident in your own fleetness, run as fast as your legs can carry you until the woyler realizes you are not a threat and departs.

Additionally, “Woyler Ward," though uncommon, can be quite useful. It is made using the concentrated stomach acids of a boar, combined with the heated and cooled dung of a woyler. This combination creates a scent that is known to frighten off the creatures, tricking them into believing that a nearby horn has exploded, and that one of their own has been slain nearby.

### **Uses:**

Woyler meat is the thickest and juiciest known to Spaurian cooking; it’s tough hide, prized among leatherworkers, can be used to create armor, gauntlets, boots, bags and other items sturdy enough for enchanting. Lastly, it’s organs are prized by alchemists and transmuters seeking to create strength-inducing concoctions.