Early Access
Chimeras are unsettling hybrids that combine the features of many different animals, often arranged in odd formations. The fusion of animal forms is the only thing that unifies these creatures—otherwise, different chimeras often look very different from each other. They include combinations of goat and lion, lizard and bat, dragon and spider, dinosaur and giant insect. A few even display human features, such as an improbably located face or hands instead of claws. Some chimeras can fly. Others slither across the ground.
A chimera typically has a dominant form to which other animal parts are grafted. The base form must be large enough to support the weight of the extra heads, so lions, bears, and horses are popular as the base form.
Chimeras kill even when not hungry, and they tend to have fits of rage where they throw their victims’ remains around a wide area. When not feeding or tormenting prey, a chimera that can fly takes to the air, beating its enormous leather wings to scour the landscape for new creatures to hunt.
The original Greek creature named Chimera had a lion’s head and body, a goat head growing from her back, and a tail ending in a venomous snake’s head—and in some tales she could also breathe fire.
Motive: Hunger for flesh
Environment: Anywhere, usually alone
Health: 21
Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound
Movement: Short while on the ground; long while flying (if it can fly)
Modifications: Dodge as level 5 due to size
Combat: All chimeras have a number of ways to kill. The exact methods vary, but most can make three attacks per turn (such as a bite, sting, and gore), each inflicting a moderate wound. A chimera’s sting carries a powerful toxin, and a stung target must also succeed on a Might defense roll or take an additional moderate wound (ignores armor) from the poison. A chimera with tail spikes can flick them up to long range in place of one, two, or three of its normal attacks.
Interaction: Chimeras are a lot like wild animals with rabies. They’re confused and violent, and they behave erratically. Savage, ferocious beasts, they hate all other creatures and seize any opportunity to kill.
Use: While exploring an island, the PCs find carcasses that have been torn apart, the pieces scattered in all directions. A chimera lairs nearby, and if the characters draw attention to themselves, it hunts them down too.
GM intrusion: The chimera grabs a character just bit and flies off with them.
Group GM intrusion: The chimera breathes fire in place of one of its attacks, inflicting a moderate wound to all creatures in an adjacent immediate area.