"Good morning," the Thing in the Well calls, "And how are we doing this morning Mrs. Westmen?" -- "Just wonderfully. How have you been keeping, Thing?" -- "Fine, fine. A little peckish, a bit in the mood for, you know, a nibble, a bite to eat. But don't worry yourself, perfectly fine." -- "It's quite alright Thing, I was just thinking I should bring by some lunch. How does a ham sound?" -- "You are too kind Mrs. Westmen, just too kind..." -- The Thing in the Well has lived in the village for longer than anyone can remember. It is traditional to fix regular meals for the Thing, and to present it with a sheep or pig on special occasions. Years ago a boy went down the well on a dare. He never returned. The subject has not been broached in the presence of the Thing. Instinct: To devour

• Politely collect tribute
• Leverage townspeople through secrets
• Purify water
• Hide in darkened waters

"The Old Ones, they knew much. Not the alchemy of man nor the sorcery of warlocks and the like. No, this is the magic of gears and pulleys, the sorcery of science. Watch your every step in the tower: be wary or you may call to life the ancient defense systems. You'll know the Defenders have awoken long before you face them, that's for sure; they're louder than a stomping giant and their hulls scrape the stone walls. You'll hear them coming, I'm sure you can avoid them, go on in the tower. Me? I... I'll stay out here. Got to have a lookout post, right?"

Instinct: Destroy all Intruders! *click* Defend the domain!

• Display immense and uncaring strength
• Soldier on, ignoring all damage until the last
• Reveal a hidden function from the depths of its gearworks

Scarabaeus pyractomena! What a delightful creature—see how its carapace glitters in the light of our torches? Not too close now, they’re temperamental, you see. The fire in their belly isn’t just metaphorical, no. Watch as I goad the beast. Aha! A spout of flame! Unexpected, isn’t it? One of these creatures alone, if it comes up from below, can be a hellish nuisance to a farmstead or village. A whole swarm? There’s a reason they call it a conflagration of fire beetles. Instinct: To enflame

• Undermine the ground
• Burst from the earth
• Spray forth flames

Each individual shadow is actually a swarm of tiny, dust-sized demons. No one is quite sure where they come from, or how to kill them, but it is known that children of every species on every plane of existence know to fear the darkness . . . Instinct: To spread

• Devour flesh
• Impersonate voices
• Absorb knowledge from those it kills

Some are wont to lump these little, rat-like dragon-men in with goblins and orcs, bugbears and hobgoblins. They are smarter and wiser than their kin, however. The kobolds are beholden slaves to dragons and were, in ancient times, their lorekeepers and sorcerer-servants. Their clans, with names like Ironscale and Whitewing, form around a dragon master and live to serve and do its bidding. Spotting a kobold means more are near—and if more are near then a mighty dragon cannot be far, either. Instinct: To serve dragons

• Lay a trap
• Call on dragons or draconic allies
• Retreat and regroup

The succubus, Al-Zerris, who feeds on the high and low emotions of mortal-kind, hoping to ascend both the demonic AND devilish hierarchies. She cares nothing for the suffering she inflicts--indeed, she revels in it, and binds souls to her after their deaths to further exploit them and eventually consume them. Heartless and sadistic...but sensual as well. The kiss of death has never been so cold, nor so beautiful. Instinct: To feed on mortals

• Drain life and empower the dead
• Projecting illusory versions of itself
• Dabbles in necromancy
• It sups on the suffering it inflicts
• It can only be truly killed if cut off from the planes.

A fusion of angelheads, one white like marble, the other dark and speckled like the night sky. Their teeth are contrasting colors and you can tell only one thing: it means business. Instinct: to inflict its suffering on others

• erupt from the head of a fungal ent
• blast of divine light- blinding, with 1d4 damage

A magical guardian set to defend a specific place. Instinct: To destroy intruders

• Soldier on, ignoring all damage until the last

A template for a simple boss mage. Instinct: To gain more power by exploiting the arcane

• Cast a powerful spell from their domain
• Cast spells from their domain
• Crowd control spells matching their domain
• Reveal an unwelcome magic trinket

A cultist scout, having a mission to fulfill from its cult. Instinct: To spread the cult's following or sacrifice the opposing force to its god.

• Perform rituals
• Hidden blade
• Quick spell-like ritual for sending a message to other cultists