Magical beast (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, magical beast is a type of creature, or "creature type". Magical beasts are similar to animals in many ways, but usually have a higher intelligence, and possess supernatural or extraordinary abilities.

In 3rd and 3.5 editions, all magical beasts have darkvision out to 60 feet as well as low-light vision. As a group, they have no other special abilities or immunities.

In 4th edition, magical beasts are non-humanoid creatures with humanlike intelligence.

Contents

Magical beasts in the Monster Manual

Magical beasts from the Monster Manual II

Fiendwurms are the result of an ordinary earthworm having demonic magic cast upon it. In addition to greatly altering and mutating their physical form, this also creates the portal to the Abyss mentioned above in their stomach. This portal causes them enormous pain, and the only way to relieve this is by eating. Because of this the fiendwurm has a violent nature and attempts to swallow any creature it encounters, and unfortunately, as one might expect, anything swallowed by it goes straight through the portal to the Abyss.

Fiendwurms can be found in deserts, plains, and underground.

Fiendwurms have legless, worm's bodies. They are fairly huge, about the size of a frost worm or purple worm. On their underside, they are colored a peach, blood-like pink. On the topside, they are a sickly purple. Though they were supposedly once earthworms, the head of the fiendwurm is completely unlike an earthworm's eyeless, tubular, all-mouth, head, and instead is almost draconic. They have a pair of horns which point back and up, as well as a few spikes around the lower mouth. Their tongues are long and purple.

Wizards of the Coast designer and developer Ed Bonny, who was working on thinking of creatures for the Monster Manual II, humorously claims to have imagined the fiendwurm while eating dinner in Manhattan with friends. Supposedly the idea it just struck him while eating, and he scrawled the concept on paper tablecloth, and it eventually blossomed into the fiendwurm.

Fiendwurms appeared in the 3rd edition Monster Manual II.

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Magical Beasts from the Monster Manual III

Magical beasts from the Fiend Folio

Magical beasts from Monsters of Faerûn

Magical beasts from other sources

References

  1. ^ Cook, David, and Tom Moldvay. The Isle of Dread (TSR, 1981).
  2. ^ Moldvay, Tom. Castle Amber (TSR, 1981).
  3. ^ TSR 9173 - AC9 - Creature Catalogue (1986)
  4. ^ Williams, Skip, Jonathan Tweet, and Monte Cook. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2000).
  5. ^ Williams, Skip, Jonathan Tweet, and Monte Cook. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2000)
  6. ^ Bonny, Ed, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, Skip Williams, Steve Winter. Monster Manual II (Wizards of the Coast, 2002)
  7. ^ Burlew, Rich, et al. Monster Manual III (Wizards of the Coast, 2004)