SEE EXISTING CREATURES
These horrors are not of this world. They come not from the depths of the sea nor the ancient legends of the Warborn. All Apitztili are eyeless, pale figures that stand at least six feet tall. Three mouths mark them, one where it should be, the others in their palms. However, elder Apitztili have been seen with dozens of mouths covering their body. From between the razor teeth of these mouths spill tongues several yards long which articulate like tentacles, grasping and strangling its prey. Any poor soul to bring a blade to bear against the Apitztili will see the gash bubble and bloom into yet another gaping mouth and tangling tongue.
Apitztili hunt, kill, and consume. No trace of their prey is left behind. However, exterminating these horrors can be tenable for those who prepare. It seems that Apitztili hate, beyond all else, those who use firearms. What reason for this hatred is unknown, though many theories exist, the foremost being that its susceptibility to gunshot wounds and fire drive the Apitztili to such hatred. Apitztili would rather attack one with a firearm a dozen paces away than another with a bludgeon standing before it. Apitztili do not seem to be born or reproduce, rather they just appear. So long as there is life present, the Apitztili lurks in the shadows to quell it.
Of all the reports gathered about Briarmen, none have been concrete. They are described as tall and thin, with fur coats and an excess of fur upon their faces. No differentiation between male and female has been identified in these sightings. While an enigma to many, and legend of those colonizing the fringe Districts, Briarmen are a real threat as they seem to possess some form of nascent Neuromantic ability which can drive groups to violent conflict. Whole towns have been wiped out, seemingly by their own hand, in several Districts. These events always play out in a similar way and when survivors are found they speak of the trees telling them lies and shadows moving in the underbrush. These reports correlate with sightings, as well as strange footprints, around the sites of destruction.
It seems that the Briarmen only cause conflict to protect their forest and jungle homes. No attempts at reestablishing colonies where Briarmen are suspected to be has worked, supporting the hypothesis of zealous protection of their land. However, the Warborn who dare speak of the Briarmen, a legend to them, note that they are one with their trees, indicating some sort of symbiotic relationship. Allegedly, burning the briar forest they call home has been enough to either kill all nearby Briarmen outright or end their assault. It is unknown how they evolved, how they reproduce, and why they choose to kill in such a roundabout fashion. What is known is that if one finds themselves in the territory of the Briarmen, it is best to fear oneself.
At a young age the Corvus-Carnem appears as an adolescent crow. However, a purple hue at the base of their feathers and rows of canine like teeth set them apart upon close inspection. As they feed and age the Corvus-Carnem becomes easily recognized as it integrates features of what it consumes into itself. Slowly it transforms into either an unrecognizable monstrosity, or a highly efficient hunting machine, until full maturity where the creature gains a semblance of sentience and intelligence, whereupon it learns to morph and hide most of its diverse features until they are needed.
The intelligence of the Corvus-Carnem should not be underestimated and is its greatest strength, even beyond its ability to easily adapt to most situations. Often, the environment of the Corvus-Carnem defines its features and typical prey. However, they will generally choose a new type of prey over typical fare. This is likely to absorb the preys' features for a greater wealth of transformative options in the future. Luckily the strength of the Corvus-Carnem is also its weakness. Being so intelligent seems to keep it from integrating fully with any pack, flock, or herd. It also never hides all its various transformative features, allowing a keen-eyed hunter to pick them out from a group.
The Hivemind is an experiment gone either very wrong or very right. These spider-like automatons are controlled by brains in vats of saline, linked by some sort of seismograph-like “vibrometer” on the front of the creature. Ultimately a fusion of physical minds, Soulmender memory bank, and a Neuromancer controller, it seems as if these constructs were originally designed to be observers of the supernatural as they had no direct consciousness, with only the Neuromancer controller brain retaining some sort of conscious thought. However, it is unknown if this is a single person’s mind resolving above the noise of the others, or a hive-mind consciousness brought about due to the fusion of Soulmender memories, many brains, and a Neuromancy-capable mind linking them all. Most believe the second hypothesis, leading to the Hivemind’s name. There are two forms of these creatures, the multi-node which is directly linked to a Neuromancy-capable brain and the uni-node which is a mind wired into a vibrometer directly but still slaved to a Neuromancy-capable brain.
It seems that the Hivemind seeks out sensory input, goading and tormenting humans into fits, killing them in the most painful ways possible, or attempting to integrate them into the Hivemind. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the vibrometer is so sensitive to all input only great tumult can stimulate the minds. Luckily, these creatures seem to be few and are easily killed. The vibrometer can also be overstimulated, most simply with sound, to disrupt the Hivemind for a time. They also seem to avoid electricity, though the reason for this is unknown at this time. While they are easily dealt with singularly, they are not to be underestimated in a group as the multi-node can splice into ones mind and drive them mad.
Morphices are often the result of botched rituals in which the Mystic was attempting to summon a greater being from the Spirit realm. The Morphisces has a body of amorphous, watery, levitating fluid five cubic feet in volume, with five small, fishlike bodies suspended inside of it. A mindless manifestation without malice it will seek out and engulf random, small objects which possess emotional significance to humans, gradually transmogrifying the object into another one of its internal fish-bodies and growing more fluid mass allowing consumption of larger objects. Depending on the emotional state of its observers, the spirit’s fluid body may gain additional properties, and the size and species of the fish-like bodies inside may change.
The Morphisces is an emotional mirror to those around it, responding to outside influence in kind. People who both understand the Morphisces and can control their emotions have the ability to manipulate them quite easily. However, the Morphisces incredible sense of emotional undercurrents makes this quite difficult for all but the most stoic individuals. The only way to kill this Spirit is to destroy each of the individual fishlike bodies inside of it. Upon doing so the fluid evaporates, and each fish-body inside will transmogrify back into the object it originally was.
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Dark World Studios started as a dream over six years ago when a few avid ttRPG gamers weren't satisfied with the lack realism, player choice, role-play focus and gritty combat in many games. This world, and game, grew slowly over many years, and iterations. Now the Devs are working hard to bring their vision of a brutalist 1930's world, filled with those horrors which go bump in the night, to life.
