333, Chapter Six: Creatures and NPCs

Only humans are a sapient magical race in the 333 setting, there are no elves, goblins or dwarves anywhere. While magical creatures (Manticores, Chimeras, Zombies, Basilisks) exist, but all possess only animal intelligence and are usually native to the outer planes. If a magical creature can be found on Earth, it is only in the most distant and weird regions. Folklore and urban legends proclaim that some mythical magical creature (typically, a dragon) is just as smart as a human, but no such beast has ever been officially found. The Undead that are sapient, like Liches and Vampires, were living humans first. The spirits are just magically manifesting embodiments of human emotion and thought, with unsophisticated personalities that lack nuance, depth and emotional range – although complex/powerful spirits like Fae, Archdaemons, Archangels and Loa do have more rounded mental universes. The outer planes seem empty of any native human population, so humans from Earth are free to colonise and settle on the land – when it is safe to do so.

Unnatural Wildlife

Wild magical creatures are rare on Earth, but commonplace in the outer planar wilderness. Any mythical beast or monster given stats in Fantasy, Dungeon Fantasy, Pyramid, Horror, or Monster Hunters may, at GM’s decision, be encountered while exploring the outer planes – although perhaps with modified stats and background, to fit the 333 setting.

Spirits

Spirits are the product of stray and unconscious human thoughts and feelings mixing in with Binah-aspected mana, congealing to form basic intelligences guiding magical (usually incorporeal) forms. Quite a few subcategories of spirits (Daemons and Enochians, most prominently) have their own Language – summoners usually cast Lesser Sense Spirit rituals to understand them. All spirits are affected by Path of Spirits rituals and have the Spirit or Astral Entity (B263) meta-trait, at least. GMs should check out the following books for helpful base stats of Spirits (perhaps altered to suit the 333 campaign); DF 9: Summoners, Horror, Monster Hunters 3: The Enemy, and Fantasy.

Ghosts

It is hard to predict just which dead person may conduct just the right levels of Malkuth-aspected mana needed to manifest as a ghost. Necromancers can use their rituals to ensure their haunting after death, of course. Anywhere that is not thoroughly scrubbed of loose undeath mana may allow someone the chance to linger after death. All ghosts have the Astral Entity (B263) meta-trait, at least – more powerful ghosts (such as dead necromancers) should be built on stronger meta-traits from Horror or Fantasy.

Other Undead

Zombies, skeletons, and other mindless undead can be animated by mere Path of Undead rituals for a duration. Sapient corporeal undead (typically Vampires and Liches) require an permanent enchantment to give them the appropriate racial template or meta-trait(s), rather than just temporary rituals (Vampires, for instance, can not have Dominance or Infectious Attack to create new Vampires). This uncommon and risky enchantment can “glitch” and alter the template or meta-trait, explaining why vampiric folklore varies so much. In the 333 setting, Undead aren’t going to have religiously significant disadvantages like Dread (holy symbols) and Vulnerability (holy attacks) in their meta-traits, but they can have other common folkloric Weaknesses, Dreads, Vulnerabilities and Divine Curses.

Constructs

Using rituals or enchantments, magicians may animate various kinds of matter to create “golems”. These constructs rarely have any independence or intelligence, designed as they are to simply follow instructions issued by their creators. See Fantasy p.53-54 for the stats of a historical golem of Jewish myth.

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