"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

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

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

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 exact relation between this beast and the Kaorti is unclear, but there is certainly something there. A hulking extraplanar predator, rippling muscle, and plates of resinous armour - ribbed and fluted to a disquieting degree. It has no eyes or ears and yet somehow senses its prey, and uses its supernatural powers bestowed upon it from some terrible place to hunt despite its enormity. And hunt it does. Not only do the living have to fear it, but it will devour the undead, even automata and oozes, and other entirely inorganic things - its hunger is insatiable. But it does not belong here, sometimes terrible rifts might bring one to our world, sometimes foolish summoners might attract one in hopes of using its great strength to crush their foes. However it arrives it seeks to stay, despite our world being so different to where it arrived from - for there is much easier prey here. There is definitely a connection between it and the Kaorti however, and the Kaorti themselves have been witnessed making use of these creatures - possessing an obedience unseen if summoned by someone of our world. Instinct: To Feed

• Pounce upon hapless foes
• Utilise supernatural invisibility and silence
• Become mystical smoke and reform elsewhere
• Cling to and climb any surface through impossible geometries

Deacon Redmond was human once, before he met the Chirurgeon. Now he is something more than human, but also something less. Instinct: To Judge Others, and Find Them Wanting

• Call upon the forces of Nature

The sages speak of ancient creatures who over the long aeons became tar, that much is known. But a Tar-Thing only bears a superficial resemblance to such a substance, and unlike tar-based automatons this cannot be made only... oozed into our world. Sometimes meteors fall to earth carrying one of these, and when they slither across the earth none can know peace until it is destroyed. They aren't even flammable, because they're not made of tar per se, or at least not terrestrial tar. They can corrupt earthly tar into more of itself however, but more frighteningly they can infect and corrupt mortals and turn them into poor vessels for its essence, unaware that they are already dead until it activates them and reveals their terrible fate. Instinct: To Consume and Corrupt

• Eat Away at Unwanted Things
• Conceal itself within an unaware infected
• Infect and corrupt creatures to turn them into their unawares puppets
• Convert tar and oil into more of itself.

The 'apex' of the tar magic for what it's worth. By simultaneously focusing and dispersing power into a tarry framework and weave lattices of lesser elemental spirits in order to create a primitive 'brain', you can create such a mighty weapon as a Tar Titan, able to sunder walls and choke whole armies and make everyone hate you for using it. But what does it matter if you won? Supposedly these (or something similar) can occur in the wild, but such conditions that would allow it to form would be dire indeed and likely a symptom of a dying world. But then again those that would encounter such a thing would not likely see the world end, so that's one small mercy. Instinct: To Devour/Serve

• Drag things unerringly into its tarry form
• Become a massive tar pit or turn back
• Animate its tarry trail as loyal Tar Golems

More advanced than mere Tar Men, Tar Golems require an animating elemental force fostered into them, which makes them more long-lived and also allows them to maintain a much larger form without any loss of stability. The tarry magical sciences are something people rarely talk about but are fascinating to the right kind of person. Their nature does mean that in theory they can transfer their 'consciousness' between sufficient volumes of free tar rapidly, something that can be taken advantage of by an appropriate tactical genius who is willing to... make use of these things. On a darker note the notion of their construction is actually a replication of an unfortunate supernatural phenomenon, spirits (elemental or otherwise) can when appropriately empowered possess tar and form it into something akin to a Tar Golem, however they are much more bound to base desires... something that gives Tar Golems a bad name. Instinct: To Devour/Serve

• Absorb things into its tarry form
• Unform and reform between patches of tar
• Vomit forth tar men allies