Exotics (MonMarro)

Overview

MonMarro is home to many creatures, plants, and materials and substances not found elsewhere in the multiverse. Among them are the following:

Plants and Materials

Bitterroot

Bitterroot is the staple plant of almost everybody's diet outside of the relatively arable land of the eastern coastlands. It is a remarkably resilient plant able to withstand bitter cold and extreme dryness; two traits that MonMarro is notorious for. The trade-off for the plant's hardiness however comes at the expense of the plant's taste. True to it's name, the bitterroot plant is highly bitter and makes "normal" food look like fine cuisine in comparison.

The bitterroot plant is comprised of large bloated roots that give the plant its name, dark puce leaves, and bulbous purple berries. All three are edible and are used by the plane's population to serve a wide range of functions. The leaves are typically brewed into tea. The berries are often mashed into a nutritious paste that supplements other foods but can also be eaten. The berries of the bitterroot plant can also be distilled into bitterberry wine. Lastly, the fat, starchy roots of the bitterroot plant are often fried or pan-seared and take the place of potatoes or rice for communities that are unable to grow their own. The roots too can be distilled with the outcome being bitterroot beer. It is truly a foul-tasting brew, but for the cash-strapped commoner in need of a drink it is often the only affordable way to get intoxicated.

Entropium

When the mythal Calling from the Void was used for the final time a humongous asteroid composed of green metal fell from the sky into what is now known as the Earthrent Sea. The resulting tidal wave created the Desiccant Flats and decimated the ancient civilizations that lifelessly linger there. That green metal has come to be known as Entropium. While most of the metal is located in the island solely comprised of it known as Leviathan's Grave, thousands of fragments litter the floor of the Earthrent Sea and entropium dust contaminates the entire ocean. These fragments and this dust has heated the ocean and as a result it is the only known liquid ocean on the plane. Luckily the dust is diluted enough that swimming in the sea does not harm anybody who dares to do so, but the broodlings that reside there quickly devour whatever does.

Entropium is a highly unstable and heavy material. While it is no stronger than steel it weighs twice as much. It is also dangerous. Unless it is stored in a lead container, handled with lead gauntlets, or unless a weapon made of the metal has a handle made from lead it can quickly drain health and kill those that come in contact with it. Whenever an opponent is struck by an entropium weapon or otherwise comes in unprotected contact with it they suffer 4 points of permanent health drain with no saving throw. This health drain can only be restored with a greater restoration spell. If a creature is struck with a projectile with an entropium head such as a bolt or an arrow they suffer 4 points of continuous health drain until the projectile is removed.

The unstable nature of entropium serves as a secondary weapon. Whenever a wielder of an entropium weapon strikes any surface the weapon has a 5% chance to deal bonus fire damage based upon the size of the weapon (0 for Fine, 1 for Diminutive, 1d2 for Tiny, 1d3 for Small, 1d4 for Medium, 1d6 for Large, 1d8 for Huge, 1d10 for Gargantuan, and 1d12 for Colossal). This bonus stacks with other fire damage the weapon deals. In the case of arrows, bolts, and bullets, they instead have a 5% chance to explode violently on contact and replicating the effects of a fireball spell of varying degrees of power based upon the projectile's size (Reflex DC 13 for half damage, Caster Level 5th for Small, 6th for Medium, 7th for Large, 8th for Huge, 9th for Gargantuan, and 10th for Colossal). A projectile that explodes in this manner does not deal additional health-draining damage and is destroyed.

Due to the fact that entropium is dangerous to mine, difficult to transport, hard to work and enchant, and due to the fact that the Greater MonMarran Trade Consortium holds a monopoly on the good, entropium is obscenely expensive. Ammunition costs 300 additional GP per shot to make with the metal and weapons cost an additional 15,000 GP to make with the metal. Weapons and ammunition made of it are considered masterwork quality and this is factored into the cost. Entropium is also highly difficult to enchant, and enchantments cost 4,000 GP more than normal. However, should one be able to afford it, an entropium weapon is a powerful force to be reckoned with.

Creatures

Broodling

Along with entropium the final uttering of the mythal Calling from the Void brought a massive sea creature known as the Hadyl Daemon to the plane. It has been roaming the Earthrent Sea ever since and has created spawns of ravenous fish known as broodlings. The broodlings have since devoured all other life that might have resided in the ocean and have resorted to cannibalism to survive. The Earthrent Sea is very slightly tinted red and is littered with the corpses of countless broodlings. Swimming in the sea risks having dozens of the creatures swarming in for a meal within mere minutes. For their ferocity, however, broodlings do have one redeeming quality: they taste far better than anything else in MonMarro's seas. Actually catching one is a great challenge, however.

Mastocid

The mastocid is the pack animal of choice for large caravans that make the long journeys across MonMarro's frozen seas. They closely resemble woolly mammoths but have insect-like features including compound eyes, chitinous plates, and a long segmented tail that ends in a poisonous stinger. The stinger is normally removed while the animal is still young to make training and handling the creatures much less dangerous.

Mastocids have the uncanny ability to go without food and water for long stretches of time. This makes them ideal for hauling wagons across hundreds of miles of ice to far-flung places like Sentinel or Etherwatch. Mastocid are often chosen for long treks across land as well due to the fact that they can carry significantly greater loads than horses or oxen.

Tetrid

Tetrids are lithivoric quadrupeds that burrow through the earth and devour veins of precious ore and clusters of gems. Thankfully for the common adventurer, their preference seems to be for unprocessed material and they lack the tenacity of the infamous rust monster. However, while this may be of some relief for adventurers (especially those with metal equipment), it is of little relief for anybody who runs or operates a mine. Tetrids often stand to devour an entire mine's supply of ore or gems and a once-profitable mine can be depleted rather rapidly. Additionally, while tetrids do not go out of their way to attack people for their ore supply, once they have found some they are loathe to leave and guard their source of food dearly.

Tetrids also have the unusual characteristic of acquiring the traits of the metal or gems they devour. Their hides of stone are made all the stronger depending upon what they eat, and it is all the harder if they form hides of iron. Tetrids that have found a vein of scarce adamantine are notoriously difficult to kill. Those that have foraged pieces of umbral shards become exceptionally resilient against magic. Worst of all are the tetrids who consume entropium. Not only do tetrids seem immune to the metal's harmful effects, but a Colossal tetrid with a body composed almost entirely of the unstable metal is a ticking time-bomb waiting to explode if encountered and engaged in battle. The Greater MonMarran Trade Consortium takes tetrids threatening their mines in Mythalwrought very seriously and attempt to kill any tetrids while they are still of manageable size.

Thesallok

The thesallok is the result of the twisted experiments of a necromancer named Bentham the Pale. His ruined citadel deep in the heart of Ullusk stands as a silent testament to the atrocities he committed against life itself. Thesalloks resemble wyverns but exhibit bird-like behavior. Most notably, the gullet of a thesallok is filled with thousands of flesh-eating worms. The thesallok has the uncanny ability to vomit forth a great mass of them onto any unfortunate target it deigns to attack. They proceed to burrow into the target's flesh in short order.

Umbral Dragon

Umbral dragons, with the rare exception of tamed individuals, are only found within the Umbral Vale of MonMarro. These malicious creatures combine all the worst qualities of dragons, oozes, and creatures of shadow. They lack a typical dragon's intelligence and logical capability, but they are much stronger physically. Their brains have more in common with a common animal than with a dragon but they remain fiercely resistant against any attempts to train them. A few examples do exist of this phenomenon, however. Most notably, the minotian stronghold of Shuel-Ruul had a rookery that housed several such creatures which were utilized both for delivering messages and for military purposes. An umbral dragon's form is highly unstable and they do not often live past the dragon's age category of old.

Umbral dragons have three heads, each of which is capable of breathing a line of highly corrosive acid. In addition to this tangible benefit, it also forces adventurers to deal with three gaping maws of sharp fangs. Should one of its heads be severed, a new one will regrow in mere moments. Umbral dragons also have remarkable healing qualities and can only truly be killed with fire or unusually strong acid-based attacks. As if these traits didn't make the umbral dragon a deadly enough foe, the beast's form constantly shifts and oozes, making the dragon remarkably resilient and resistant against attacks that would fell lesser creatures.