One of the most important traits an entity can have in Realm of Runes is its creature type. Large numbers of options, be they feats or spells, reference a creature type to help determine when it functions at all or exclude potential targets. While it has great importance from a mechanical perspective, it's perhaps even more important from a story and world-building standpoint. Whether creating your own custom creatures, or making use of pre-generated ones from an adventure or Menagerie, understanding creature types plays a pivotal role in making encounters feel fleshed-out and alive.
The base rules of Realm of Runes includes two dozen distinct creature types as part of the base rules. Many of these types have quirks that apply to those that bear the type from birth or manage to gain it in play, such as through the temporary use of polymorph transmutation spells. 24 is a lot to go through at once, so as we take a closer look at each of the creature types we'll split it up into groups of 8 at a time.
ABERRATION
Aberrations are typically strange and unnatural beings. Often including shape-shifters, or tentacled monstrosities, this creature type is extremely diverse. Many aberrations make use of deception and subtlety to walk unseen among humanoid societies, while others cannot possibly hope to blend in if they want to.
With aberrations, even creatures that resemble familiar creatures are invariably different in unexpected ways. This can make aberrations difficult to understand and recognize. The check to Recall Knowledge to identify an aberration is always one step more difficult than standard for a creature's rarity. This makes this creature type exceptionally difficult to recognize with Recall General Knowledge, as the combination of increased difficulty and the penalty for information outside of your Knowledge Specialty move you and the target DC away from both directions.
Aberrant physiology also plays havoc with typical means of attacking these creatures. Reflecting this unusual anatomy, all aberrations have an innate resistance to critical hit damage and precision damage (like sneak attacks). This can result in surprising and mind-bending confusion when scoring a critical hit might actually deal less damage than a regular success.
This creature type is commonly associated with Lovecraftian horror, as well as other occult and obscure lore. As such, those that are at least trained with the Occultism skill can always treat that skill as a Knowledge Specialty when attempting to identify aberrations.
ANGEL
Outsiders from the good plane, angels are inherently good beings at the physical level, but this does not prevent them from being dangerous if provoked. The majority of angels remain on the good plane, defending it from intrusion and serving as caretakers for souls that have been judged worthy. If angels appear on other planes, it is often at the direct behest of the deities they serve, or when called by powerful spellcasters. When bargaining for the assistance of a called angel, many prefer the performance of deeds to more tangible rewards in exchange for their service.
Angels are as diverse as the plane they come from. Those that skew lawful are collectively referred to as Archons, while those that skew chaotic defy classification entirely. One of the few aspects of angels common across all types is their True Speech ability, allowing them to understand and speak any language, including sign language.
As beings composed of pure alignment energy, most angels are resistant to physical damage, and many further resist several types of energy damage as well. All angels, regardless of position on the law-chaos axis, have a weakness to evil damage. Those that skew lawful or chaotic might also have a weakness to the opposite of that trait, but such weaknesses are not nearly as common.
One common mistake when dealing with angels is to assume that "good" is always the same as "nice" in their dealings. These outsiders can sometimes be exceptionally ruthless in pursuit of their goals, assured of their inherent righteousness. This can sometimes cause angels to go too far, and to fall into a corruption that is difficult to recover from. Sometimes corrupted angels join with the forces of evil or flee to the material plane to develop a following of misguided cultists.
This creature type is commonly associated with good deities. As such, those that are at least trained with the Religion skill can always treat that skill as a Knowledge Specialty when attempting to identify angels.
ANIMAL
Creatures of instinct and impulse, animals are extremely varied but not intelligent enough to make use of more than rudimentary tactics. The more dangerous animals tend to be predators, though even otherwise docile herbivores can present a challenge when panicked. Animals do not usually have any common special abilities, weaknesses or resistances as a creature type, but often do on a species level.
All animals have animal intelligence, defined in Realm of Runes as a modifier of -4 or lower. If an animal were to somehow increase its intelligence beyond this level, its creature type would change to beast instead to reflect its unusual intelligence. Most animals encountered in play are challenges to avoid or overcome, or else serve as a player's minion, especially as an animal companion. Characters can gain animal companions directly through Druid, Paladin and Ranger class feats, or else develop one through domestication and training using the Nature skill.
Animals typically cannot understand or use language as most humanoids know it, but they nonetheless have vocal and non-vocal means of communicating simple concepts with others of the same species. Some magic can allow characters to bridge this communication gulf, perhaps allowing diplomacy and understanding to avoid conflict with unfamiliar animals. Many gnomes are so innately in tune with the natural world that they learn to communicate using these natural sounds directly.
This creature type is commonly associated with the natural world. As such, those that are at least trained with the Nature skill can always treat that skill as a Knowledge Specialty when attempting to identify animals.
AXIOMITE
Outsiders from the lawful plane, each axiomite is a rigid and inflexible being dedicated to order. Many mortals confuse axiomites with constructs, as they often share the same inability to allow for exception to their guiding principles. Axiomites are not robots, however, and those that are spawned close to the border with the good plane are more likely to put effort into finding and using, or closing, loopholes in their complex structures to help those that are the victims of injustice. Their typical dogmatic approach to rules and instructions make axiomites a popular type of outsider to call when in need of an eternal guardian incapable of being tricked, and are less likely to hide unfair or malevolent terms into their contracts than devils.
As beings composed of pure alignment energy, most axiomites have physical resistance, and many further resist several types of energy damage as well. All axiomites, regardless of position on the good-evil axis, have a weakness to chaotic damage. Some axiomites that skew good or evil might have a weakness to the opposite of that trait, but such weaknesses are not nearly so common.
Many axiomites have a preferred tactic or ability in combat that they often use to the exclusion of all others, and have difficulty deviating from it. Unpredictability is an axiomite’s true greatest foe and not, as many suggest, attempting to trap them into logical paradoxes. As living beings, axiomites understand the nature of paradox and deeply resent those that treat them as machines in that way.
This creature type is commonly associated with lawful deities. As such, those that are at least trained with the Religion skill can always treat that skill as a Knowledge Specialty when attempting to identify axiomites.
BEAST
Beasts resemble animals or insects in form but are infused with, and enhanced by, magic. Many beasts are intelligent and can talk, cast spells, or perform other deeds far beyond the ability of mere animals. Creatures of mythological significance such as phoenixes or unicorns are beasts, as are animals that are awakened or transcend their forms, such as by becoming a spellcaster's familiar.
While all animals that become intelligent become beasts, a beast with animal intelligence is not inherently a contradiction. Simply possessing magical or supernatural power is enough to qualify for this creature type. While beasts cannot typically be chosen as a character's animal companion, some might consent to such an arrangement anyway, and are most likely to do so in order to serve as a Paladin's Steed Ally.
Because beasts typically use and understand language, encountering them is often more complicated than it is for animals or insects. Similarly, the possibility that an animal or insect might actually be an awakened beast could give reason to think about its behavior, as you never know when it might object to its treatment.
The magical enhancement involved with most beasts makes this creature type more closely associated with magic than the natural world. As such, those that are at least trained with the Arcana skill can always treat that skill as a Knowledge Specialty when attempting to identify beasts.
CHIMERA
Sometimes referred to as “monstrous humanoids” when they have anthropomorphic forms, chimeras are hybrid beings that represent the fusion of two or more other creatures. Some of the most common chimeras blend the humanoid or goblinoid with animal, such as centaurs, merfolk or sphinxes. As a collection of otherwise unrelated fusions, chimeras do not have weaknesses, resistances or special abilities common to the entire creature type, but instead will frequently borrow those possessed by the creatures they blend together.
Despite their often monstrous appearances, chimeras have incredibly divergent levels of intelligence. A large number of more bestial chimeras, like manticores, have no more than animal intelligence. Those that are more anthropomorphic in nature tend to have intelligence levels that vary more on an individual basis, and may even make for suitable player character ancestries. Some, like sphinxes, may even have intelligence far surpassing that which mere humanoids could hope to achieve.
While chimeras are most often thought of as hybrid in nature, this creature type is nonetheless distinct and independent from those forms that they incorporate and do not have the creature type traits that might be expected based on outward appearances. This can make chimeras surprisingly tricky to properly identify. The difficulty to Recall General Knowledge is one step worse than standard for its rarity. Unlike aberrations, however, this increase in difficulty does not apply to checks to Recall Knowledge using an appropriate knowledge specialty.
The unusual twisting of forms inherent to chimeras makes this creature type more occult and obscure than any of its outward appearances might indicate. As such, those that are at least trained with the Occultism skill can always treat that skill as a Knowledge Specialty when attempting to identify chimeras.
CONSTRUCT
Typically mindless automatons designed for specific tasks, constructs have more in common with objects than they do with other creatures. Constructs usually belong to one of three categories: clockwork, golems or homunculi. Since most constructs are mindless, they are commonly immune to emotion, mental and fear effects. Since they are not alive, they also have a null Constitution modifier, and are therefore immune to poison and disease. As essentially objects, most constructs have hardness based on the material they are made from, though as creatures they use Hit Points instead of taking dents. While this makes constructs highly resistant to most forms of damage, they are vulnerable to attacks and materials that ignore or reduce hardness like adamantine, austenite, and the siege weapon trait.
Clockwork constructs function based on complex mechanical design, or even electrical design in the case of more advanced robots. Since clockwork is not even slightly magical in nature, these constructs are able to function without difficulty in areas of low magic or anti-magic. Those that utilize more sophisticated construction incorporating electricity can be capable of such complex computation that they can even simulate a consciousness, but such achievements are exceptionally rare.
Golems are animated by harnessed magical energy infused into their forms as part of their creation, and are essentially magical objects with the ability to act independently. Because of they rely on magic to function, golems are vulnerable to effects that hinder or prevent spells. They do not function at all in an area of anti-magic, and even a dispel magic spell can cause them great harm. A golem treats half its level (rounded up) as its counteract level when targeted by dispel magic, and can be rendered permanently defunct if critically counteracted.
A homunculus is a special kind of construct that has been given true life through artificial means. Most often created by mad scientists and alchemists, homunculi are the most likely constructs to have intelligence, and can often make decisions for themselves. Despite having the construct trait, homunculi always have both intelligence and constitution modifiers and behave as living creatures. What a homunculus gains in versatility this way is offset by its comparative vulnerability, as it almost always lacks the inherent hardness like other constructs.
Because constructs are only creatures on a technicality, they tend to function more as tools for the purpose of recognition. As such, those that are at least trained with the Crafting skill can always use that skill as a Knowledge Specialty when attempting to identify constructs. For golems specifically, because of their magical nature, those that are at least trained with the Arcana skill can use that skill as a Knowledge Specialty as well.
DEMON
Malevolent outsiders from the wild regions of the evil plane and the sinister regions of the chaotic plane, demons are a scourge to all living beings. Often representing pure embodiments of mortal sins, demons revel in profligacy and delight to bring out the worst in mortals, or just simply torture them for sport. The Abyss is the natural home of demons, and spontaneously generates them on both sides of the metaphysical divide where it straddles the chaotic and evil planes. Demons from the evil plane tend to be more concerned with the active spread of sin and iniquity, while those spawned from the chaotic plane tend to be more focused on sowing discord and terror without an agenda to guide it.
As beings composed of pure alignment energy, most demons have physical resistance, and many further resist several types of energy damage as well. All demons have a weakness to good damage. Some demons that are more chaotic in nature might also have a weakness to lawful damage, but this is comparatively rare.
Demons can be exceptionally difficult to encounter, as they do not often have a long-term agenda that they are dedicated to pursuing. Some might just attack on sight out of boredom, while others might decide it is more entertaining to strike a nefarious bargain with a mortal, whether or not they were called for such a purpose. Mortals must be exceptionally careful when dealing with a demon, and guard their language closely as otherwise innocuous turns of phrase like "I wish..." might be taken as an agreement, and demons almost never bargain in good faith.
Despite both being evil, demons and devils generally do not get along well. While not always outright hostile to each other, their incompatibilities along the law-chaos axis leads to distrust and rivalry. Scholars suggest that this friction, perhaps even more than the opposition of good, is largely responsible for the fractured and haphazard ways in which evil imposes itself on the material plane.
This creature type is commonly associated with evil deities. As such, those that are at least trained with the Religion skill can always use that skill as a Knowledge Specialty when attempting to identify demons.
Creature types are important for keeping diversity in the universe, while also giving guidelines for how characters can interact with challenges. Knowing what spells, items and feats work where, and which skills can be used for identification, keeps some options relevant without being necessarily overly powerful. Next week we'll continue our exploration of creature types with part 2!
Comments