Carrion Birds have no lands of their own, but flock in disused and run-down parts of cities. They can often be found at scenes of death and destruction, and may have to be shooed away to keep them from eating the corpses.

This stat block encompasses Vultures, Magpies and Ravens, as well as similar carrion-eating avians.

Carrion Bird Stats

• -2 Charisma, +2 Intelligence. Carrion birds have sharp intellects, but their appearance and mannerisms are unsettling.
• Medium-size humanoid; base speed 30 ft.; fly speed 40 ft. (poor maneuverability).
• Low-Light Vision (Ex). Carrion Birds can see twice as far as humans in conditions of poor illumination.
• +2 on Intimidate and Knowledge (religion) checks.
• +4 on saving throws against poison and disease.
• Hollow Bones: Carrion Birds must save versus massive damage if they take 40 points of damage in a single attack, instead of 50. They take 1d6 extra points of falling damage.
• Winged: Carrion Birds’ hands are on the ends of their wings, limiting their manual dexterity. They take a -2 penalty on Disable Device, Open Lock and Sleight of Hand checks, as well as Concentration checks to keep their spellcasting from being interrupted (for spells with somatic components). They must pay twice the cost of a normal set of armor to have armor fitted to them; if they do not, the armor provides -2 protection (minimum bonus of 1).
• Automatic languages: Carrion Bird, Rousette.
• Favored Class: Cleric.

Meerkats live in burrows near the humans’ cities. Long ago they were seen as angelic protectors, sent by the god of the sun, to save humans from the moon’s children. Today they continue to watch over humans, under the aegis of their most revered institution: The Inquisition.

Meerkat Stats

• -2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom. Meerkats are quick-witted, but lightweight.
• Medium-size humanoid; base speed 30 ft.
• Low-Light Vision (Ex): Meerkats can see twice as far as humans can in low lighting conditions.
• Bonus Feat: Alertness.
• +2 on Sense Motive checks. Sense Motive is always a class skill for Meerkats.
• Social: Meerkats with no allies within 10 feet of them are treated as Shaken during combat, as soon as the surprise round ends.
• Tunneler’s Instinct: Meerkats gain +2 on Search checks to notice traps, secret doors, and unstable construction underground. They are entitled to a free Search check when they come within 10 feet of such things. They can also naturally intuit their depth and the direction to the surface.
• +1 on attack rolls against Lycanthropes.
• Automatic languages: Common and Meerkat.
• Favored Class: Cleric.

The Lions’ historical foes, the Rousettes live on the mainland a long way away from the human lands. Their society has nearly fallen to the Lions several times in the past, but the Goddess Jehan chose one of them to free all the other Rousettes. Since then they have worshipped this goddess of renewal and insanity, finding clarity in her madness.

Physically, Rousettes are short, winged mammals, with foxlike snouts and large, pointed ears. They’re usually most active at night, and a flock of Rousettes can be very unsettling to members of landborne species.

Rousette Stats

• -2 Strength. Rousettes are small and weak.
• Small humanoid; base land speed 20 ft.; fly speed 40 ft. (poor maneuverability).
• Blindsense 20 ft. (Ex). Rousettes do not need to make Spot or Listen checks to pinpoint the location of creatures within 20 feet of them. Such creatures still have total concealment (50% miss chance) against them, however. (Unlike other creatures with Blindsense, Rousettes’ movement speed is not affected by being blinded.)
• Low-Light Vision (Ex). Rousettes can see twice as far as humans in conditions of poor illumination.
• +2 bonus on Listen and Perform checks.
• Hollow Bones: Rousettes must save versus massive damage if they take 40 points of damage in a single attack, instead of 50. They take 1d6 extra points of falling damage.
• Winged: Rousettes’ hands are on the ends of their wings, limiting their manual dexterity. They take a -2 penalty on Disable Device, Open Lock and Sleight of Hand checks, as well as Concentration checks to keep their spellcasting from being interrupted (for spells with somatic components). They must pay twice the cost of a normal set of armor to have armor fitted to them; if they do not, the armor provides -2 protection (minimum bonus of 1).
• Automatic language: Rousette.
• Favored Class: Bard.

The Lions’ Empire is so widespread, it is said that the sun never sets on it. Yet for all of their advances in clockwork and machinery, it’s still made up mostly of dirt-poor factory workers and laborers, even on their home island. Will the humans be the next to fall to their mighty armies and navies?

Species Stats

• +2 Strength, -2 Dexterity; Lions are physically powerful, but ungainly.
• Medium-size humanoid; base speed 30 ft.
• +2 on Listen and Move Silently checks.
• +2 on Will saves against fear effects.
• Natural Weapon: A Lion can make a single claw attack, which does 1d4 damage. Against foes it is grappling, it may instead bite for 1d6 damage.
• Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a lion must hit with its claw attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can make a free bite attack.
• Low-Light Vision (Ex): Lions can see twice as far as humans can in conditions of poor illumination.
• Provincial: Lion characters start out knowing only their language, no matter how high their starting Intelligence score is. They must spend skill points to learn any others.
• Automatic languages: Lion.
• Favored Class: Fighter.

The Horses in the RPG are widespread and populous, introduced to multiple continents by the Lions’ colonization efforts. Many of them live under Lion rule, while others form their own communities. And most are areligious or participate in the Lions’ church, but some keep their old traditions alive … the most notable perhaps being the cult of Necrous, the Death Horse.

Horse Stats

• +2 Strength, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma; Horses are strong, but flighty.
• Medium-size humanoid; base speed 30 ft.
• +2 on Listen and Swim checks.
• Bonus feats: Endurance and Run.
• Low-Light Vision (Ex): Horses can see twice as far as humans can in conditions of poor illumination.
• Skittish: A Horse that would normally become Shaken due to a fear effect becomes Frightened instead.
• Automatic Languages: Common or Lion, Horse.
• Favored Class: Barbarian

Weasels have a nomadic lifestyle and tribal social structure, with a number of unique customs influenced by the worship of Yara, their Chaotic Good deity. Domino’s tribe was recently overrun by the Lions.

Weasel Names

Weasels are deeply superstitious regarding names. They believe that names hold immense power, and by knowing a person’s name you can invoke fell magic to curse them. More specifically, agents of a dark god they formerly worshipped and will now refer to only as That One will hunt down the person whose true name is known and do unspeakably awful things to them. As such, they are usually given a public name, something mundane and often based on their appearance or personality traits, and later choose a “spiritual name” for themselves, which for all intents and purposes is their true name. This spiritual name is only given to those the Weasel has absolute trust in.

Given their beliefs, Weasels also do not consider it important to introduce themselves by giving their public name, especially if they’re travelers. Instead, they introduce themselves by giving a goal. Only after they feel they can trust someone will they tell their public name, and it will be many years before they feel safe giving their soul’s name.

Public names include Rindle, Pine Needles, Harlequin, Dust, and Scree. Secret names are difficult to discover, since most of them are in the archaic and hard-to-learn Weasel language and few Weasels will willingly give theirs away to someone who’d readily speak it.

Weasel Stats

• -2 Strength, +2 Dexterity
• Medium-size humanoid; base speed 30 ft.
• +2 on Balance and Climb checks. Weasels use their Dexterity modifier instead of their Strength modifier for Climb checks.
• Bonus feat: Weapon Finesse.
• Low-Light Vision (Ex): Weasels can see twice as far as humans can in conditions of poor illumination.
• Untrustworthy: Weasels’ body language tends to give people the sense that they’re hiding something, or not being entirely forthright. NPCs’ reactions to weasels are typically one step lower on the scale used for the Diplomacy skill.
• Weapon Familiarity: Weasels treat Sheng Biao as martial rather than exotic weapons.
• Automatic Languages: Common or Lion, Weasel.
• Favored Class: Rogue.