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Excerpt of
“Vade Mecum Monstrorum”
By Rutherford Sayt, Famed Monstrologist and Hunter of Beasts in service to the Benevolent Countess Vanessa Heideveld
Introduction
On the Nature of Malefic
First, one must understand what one is talking about when they choose to label something as Malefic. Though the true cause of Night Malefic and Malefic-Affected creatures has been debated by philosophers and scholars old and new, the unifying principle of all theories rests in “wrongness”. Malefic creatures are those that, for one reason or another, should not be and, in a world without strife and corruption would not otherwise exist. Explicitly, they are somehow caused by the result of actions and decisions made by rational entities or otherwise by circumstance. For a good number of them this is a permanent state, and little can be done about their existence but to purge with sword and spell or otherwise avoid. Equal in number are those that can be managed not unlike a puzzle box, and with the right levers pulled or twisted may come apart and be resolved peacefully. There are plenty in my profession that would declare that the only way to “resolve” a Malefic is through its violent destruction, but as you will read in later chapters of this tome, I can attest by my own experience that this is not the case.
Classification
Having for the moment defined the most foundational, and controversial, term in the field of monstrology we may move on to more practical topics the hunter might apply in his night-to-night, so to speak. Monsters on the whole can be broken down into three primary classes, those being Night Malefic, Night-Touched, and Strange Beasts.

Night Malefic
Night Malefic are commonly entities that were once living, but have crossed the veil and returned from it in a corrupted manner unlike the common ‘ashing’ that characterizes our own return from death’s touch. This does not limit the manifestations of their form however, and they may appear as some reanimated corpse, a soul sustained without a body, a strange looking human or anything in between. They vary wildly in ability to communicate or reason, and there are a great number of monsters in this category that are entirely unique, unlike any other in existence. With very few exceptions, all Night Malefic were once human, as there is something innate to our nature that breaks somehow when put under dire personal stress moments before death. The religiously inclined might deign to call such “the soul”, though some natural philosophers have other fascinating theories. Disturbingly, Night Malefic can not only be caused by deeply lamentable circumstances leading up to their death, but also by well and true wrongs committed by these individuals, as though the very earth itself seeks to spit them back out as punishment for their monstrous behavior. The manipulations of necromancers may also create Night Malefic even after one has successfully passed from this world, and in such cases such unfortunates are often bound to serve their vile whims.
Night-Touched
Night-Touched, or Malefic Affected entities are those that were once natural creatures or inanimate objects that have been changed by the corrupting forces of the Malefic. These are known to mostly have limited reasoning and communication abilities, but the exceptions to this rule stand out and are extremely dangerous. Night-Touched come in forms even more varied than Night Malefic, as while Night Malefic were almost always human at some point the same cannot be said for the Night-Touched. Those that were tend to retain some humanoid features such as arms and legs, but again with the varied nature of these beasts that can hardly be considered a universal statement. As with Night Malefic, these are caused creatures, and some can be returned to their natural state without violence. I would caution novices from attempting such, however, for the breaking of curses and casting out of spirits is an endeavor best left to those with experience in the field. Those that manage, however, may find that the Night-Touched creature drops some of their essence upon resolution.
Strange Beasts
Strange Beasts are entirely separate from the corrupting influence of Malefic energies, and are in no way caused by human action. They are the result of nature’s own whims, or the ministrations of a divine power if you are inclined to believe in such fairy tales. Most of these, with the exception of Mythic beasts which I will later address, are humanoid in shape but with different proportions and characteristics. They are almost all a match for human intelligence, with outliers exceeding and falling below our standard in equal amounts. Such creatures are capable of expressing themselves in complex languages, though they may not be languages shared with humans. The liberally inclined hunters have expressed a willingness to coexist peacefully with such creatures from time to time, and while such notions are pleasant and high-minded I must admit I have not seen many of these hunters last more than a season in the esteemed profession, and none without changing their position on the issue.
On Instincts
Having now separated our monsters into their three primary categories we must take a short interlude to discuss Instincts and the ranking of monsters. Though I am no historian and my understanding of this is entirely anecdotal, I’ve heard there was a time in the Old Empire where a guild of monster hunters spent a great amount of resources attempting to measure and quantify the abilities of various monsters. They settled on a measure of what they termed Instincts, being unique advantages and disadvantages that certain types of creatures have. A Positive Instinct might be the ability to leap great distances or have sharp claws, whereas a Negative Instinct might be an inability to leave bodies of water for long periods of time, or having a soft underbelly void of armor.
Though there is some variance in the relative potency of these Instincts, it was generally determined that each was roughly equivalent, and as such allowed some ranking system simply by finding the difference between the number of Positive and Negative Instincts to find the Instinct Scale. These were then input into a ranking system I have diligently recreated below, with some variance in the Instinct Scale allowing beasts to be roughly categorized into six Instinct Ranks.
Instinct Rating | Degree of Danger |
1 | Novice monster hunters with at least some fighting capability should be able to take one of these down in a 1 on 1 fight. |
2 | Blooded hunters should be able to take these down in a 1 on 1, but they will likely put untrained fighters in peril for their lives. |
3 | A small group of professional hunters should be able to take one of these creatures down, though it will be a perilous battle. |
4 | A small group of veteran hunters may be able to take one of these creatures down if properly prepared, though they should expect many wounds and a casualty or two. |
5 | Only a significant group on a mission to destroy one of these beasts may be successful, and only then with a great many losses. |
6 | Armies will fall before creatures of this immense power. |
I notate this explicitly for its future utility in further breaking down the classes of monsters into specific subclasses which we will soon explore. However I encourage you, dear reader, to become familiar with this scale, for it is often used to establish the reputation of a given hunter, and in this profession reputation is all. It also has a more amusing utility in assisting one with weeding out the liars and braggarts from the true veteran monster hunters. If one says they slew a werewolf alone with nothing but an iron dagger and a silver bell, you ought to be more ready to laugh them out of the room than if they told the same story about a small group of shambleman.
It is worth noting that most creatures have two variations of instinct levels- with monsters having a standard and a strong version that you may encounter. So beware- that ghoul that is off alone away from any friends may be the strong version of its type, and not the same level as those that run as a pack.
While most instincts are best determined with the help of a Sanctum, there is one I would like to draw particular attention to: Second Wind. Creatures with this instinct require a special order of operations in order to fully down them- otherwise they will only remain down for the space of a rest and then return to their feet as strong as they were before. For some creatures this is a killing blow, for others it may be targeting a specific area or something else, but it is an instinct that can wreak much havoc among monster hunters.
Classification Continued: Subclasses
Night Malefic | Night-Touched | Strange Beasts |
Necrophage | Cursed | Othyr |
Specter | Aberrant | Mythic |
Hemophage | Elementa | Fey |

Necrophages
Perhaps the most common subclass of monster is the necrophage, whose name bears a great deal of meaning when deciphered from the Salgothic tongue in which it is commonly written. Necro means death, I am told, while the suffix ‘phage’ has to do with eating. As such, in common parlance a necrophage may be described as one that consumes the dead.
Specters
Another relatively common beast is that of a specter, or ‘ghost’ if you must, being an undead entirely lacking a physical form to call their own or constructing a body of ectoplasm.
Hemophages
As necrophages feed upon the flesh of the dead, hemophages feast upon the blood of the living. I regret that I cannot speak a great deal on their abilities, as I’ve never dueled one myself, but from what I hear they can be incredibly difficult to deal with.
Cursed
Anyone can be cursed, really. The effects aren’t always obvious. What unifies these creatures is that they are humans or other living creatures that have supernatural punishments placed upon them that are outside their control to manage. It is important to remember that almost always, what lies at the heart of a Cursed creature is a person, and so while slaying them is possible it is considered morally reprehensible in high company. That said, consuming Cursed essences or parts of Cursed creatures does not trigger deadly Greed, although killing Cursed creatures may trigger sins of Violence depending on how much the Cursed creature appears as human.
Aberrant
One may consider this to be a natural extension of the Cursed subclass, for what differentiates the Cursed from the Aberrant is merely hope. While a Cursed may one day see themselves free of their affliction an Aberrant is so fundamentally twisted and totally changed that there is simply no manner for them to be returned to their natural state.
Elementa
Unique in the Night-Touched class, Elementa are inanimate objects possessed of a mind. Most often this is a body formed of one of the four elements; air, earth, fire, or water. However this is not always the case, and combinations of elements or even sentient objects have been noted in this category.
Othyr
One would be forgiven for bearing hesitation in declaring the Othyr truly monsters, for in many ways they are the closest beasts to human in our handbook. I must caution you, however, that despite these creatures looking very close to human their notions of morality are entirely unlike ours, if they even exist at all. Many Othyr have disappeared throughout the ages, such as the lost civilizations of elves and dwarves, though many others remain to this day and inhabit the wilds of our lands, such as orcs and trolls.
Mythic
Mythic creatures are natural entities distinctly non-humanoid in nature with abilities beyond those of common animals. A rare few bear intelligence great enough to allow communication, though the vast majority have minds more capable than a deer, wolf, or bear, with powerful personalities to match.
Fey
Perhaps the rarest of all monsters, Fey are reclusive creatures that inhabit the wilds of the world and are almost exclusively encountered by humans trespassing in their chosen demesnes.
Superstition
Essences & Malefica
When one refers to a creatures ‘Essence’, they are speaking of one of the four forms of humor-rich organs that can be used in other arts. Each of these has different characteristics, symbolic associations, and are useful in different arcane magics (or so I am told, admittedly unschooled in the arcane arts as I am). Below I have included a helpful diagram that might help one attain some limited understanding of the complicated nature of monstrous Essences.
Essence | Relevant Organs | Temp. | State | Potence | Presence | Nature |
Sanguine | Heart, Liver, Marrow | Hot | Liquid | Vital | Physical | Aerial |
Phlegmatic | Tongue, Brain, Lungs | Cold | Liquid | Necrotic | Physical | Tidal |
Choleric | Stomach, Viscera, Eyes | Hot | Solid | Vital | Spectral | Infernal |
Melancholic | Bone, Cartilage, Claws | Cold | Solid | Necrotic | Spectral | Telluric |
This is not where the differences end, however, for the Melancholic Essence of an Othyr will be unlike that of a Necrophage or Cursed in its various properties as well as its appearance. As such, any competent butcher of beasts will be sure to indicate not only what sort of Essence they bear with them but the subclass of beast from which it originates, such as saying one has Hemophage Sanguine Essence. It is here I must apologize that I cannot speak to these properties in any great detail, for I am not an Alchemist by trade. It is known to me, however, that certain Essences when combined with each other by an Alchemist of extreme competency, may combine several Essences of different sorts to make potions of extreme potency and unique effect. These are termed Malefica, and should fetch an extremely high price on any traders cart, assuming they are legitimate. Once again I must emphasize, in this trade reputation is everything, not only for you but for all you associate yourself with.
Though likely this final note on essences belongs in the later discussion of the unique characteristics of Specters, I feel one should not go into the field unarmed, and I know this tome is weighty and may be used more as a reference beyond this introduction. It is a unique quality of Specters that Essences are not harvested from the ectoplasm of the floating soul or manifestation of pain itself, but from the corpse that spawned the ghost. For this, among other reasons including feasibility of resolving Spectral Night Malefic, it is imperative the hunter be schooled in grave digging, and the most successful ghostbreakers I know often have a bloodhound as a companion trained in finding human rot. The corpse of one who has died and become a Specter often has physical changes, both to its outward appearance and Essence-bearing organs, and these changed organs seem to bear the unique potency of the Specter unlike the ectoplasmic goo sometimes left behind when a Specter is banished by spell or sword. Notably, one should not attempt to harvest Essences from the corpse of an unresolved Specter, lest they wish to be the singular focus of the Specter’s wrath.