Homebrew Cryptid Species Details

Entry log #24

 

"As big as a Goliath! With pitch-black fur and eyes brighter than the sun itself!"

 

That's what the townsfolk said.

 

When I was first hired by this town, the townsfolk wouldn't stop going on and on about some "monster" deep in the woods. A monster they wanted me to take care of. They claimed it "kidnapped their children and slaughtered their cattle in the dark of night", they wanted me to kill it, and mount its head in the town hall for everyone to see. Of course, I took their claims as nothing more than exaggerated tales of drunkards.

 

Until I saw it.

 

The sightings weren't tall tales spun by village idiots- they were true- the monster was real, as real as the air we breathe and the food we eat. Its fur is pitch black, with bright glowing eyes and spots all over its body, it has two sets of horns on its head, one larger than the other. It stands tall on two legs, about eight or nine feet tall. When it speaks what comes from its mouth isn't a terrible roar- far from it in fact- instead what comes from it is the whistles of birds singing and the clicking of dolphins below the surface of the water. 

The townsfolk claim it's a cruel creature that slaughters and kills without a second thought, but that couldn't be further from the truth. From everything I've seen, it's had nothing but compassion toward the creatures it comes across, from allowing animals of all sizes to wait out storms in its home to guiding lost children out of the woods. There is no way it could be what's slaughtering their cattle either, all I've seen it eat is fungi and plants. This is no monster, it's simply a creature trying to survive, a human in the body of a monster, and the people want it dead. 

 

I won't do it. I won't kill something that's done no wrong. I'll tell the townsfolk I couldn't find it, that it ran off- escaped- anything, it doesn't matter if my reputation is damaged because of it, this creature shows more humanity than all of the people here, and It deserves to live just as much as them.

 

End log.

Cryptid Traits

As a cryptid, you have the following traits

Size

Your size is Large.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 40 feet.

Darkvision

Thanks to your nature, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 120 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You see things in shades of grey

Uncomfortable Presence

You gain bonus to intimidation, but a deficit to charisma

Relentless Endurance

When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

Savage Attacks

When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.

Languages

You can read and understand Common and one other language. You can only speak by mimicking other's words.

Keen Smell

You can smell others with ease, and can even tell what type of creature they are by scent.

Claws

1d8 Slashing plus Dex or Strength