Random wild creature

The vast wilderness of the North is home to many strange creatures, some of which haven't even been described in print yet.  Here are some tables to help you roll up an unusual creature of your own.

Jackalopes are real, I tell you.  (cryptidz.wikia.com)

Start with a Base, a real-world creature to base this strange one on.  It should be something from this climate's wildlife list (a topic for a future post), but the table also has a few suggestions.  (If you roll up a plant, be ready to get really creative.)

Base (d20)		examples
1-4	large land animal	wolf, alligator, mountain lion, moose, bear, caribou
5-8	small land mammal	jackrabbit, skunk, otter, raccoon, beaver, porcupine
9-11	flying creature	vulture, heron, bat, crow, chickadee, parrot
12-13	bug / crawly thing	leech, ant, bee, lightning bug, scorpion, tarantula
14-16	reptile/amphibian	bullfrog, snapping turtle, rattlesnake, salamander, lizard, poison dart frog
17-19	water creature	orca, catfish, eel, crawdad, jellyfish, sea turtle
20	plant	poison ivy, venus flytrap, redwood tree, sunflower, spanish moss, coconut palm

Let's roll up a new creature for a rugged mountain range (oaks and chestnuts in the lower parts, aspen higher up): 7, so it's a small land mammal.  A jackrabbit sounds good.

Roll twice for its Physical Features:

Physical Features (d20)
1-3	unusual size	(d8) 1-3: half the usual size, 4-7: larger than usual, 8: far larger
4-5	drawing attention	(d8) 1-2: brightly colored, 3-4: patterned appearance, 5-6: dance, movement, threatening display, 7-8: loud call
6-8	camouflage	(d8) 1-3: color/pattern matches background, 4-5: silent/stealthy movement, 6-7: changing color seasonally, 8: changing color quickly
9-10	poison	(d8) 1-2: venomous bite, 3-4: venomous stinger/claw, 5-6: poisonous to eat, 7: toxic/dangerous to touch, 8: tends to live/nest among poisonous/dangerous plants
11-13	unusual features	(d8) 1-2: porcupine quills, 3: glow like lightning bugs, 4: rattlesnake rattles, 5-6: antlers, 7: horns, 8: skunk spray
14-16	movement	(d8) 1: very fast-moving, 2-3: better swimmer/diver, 4-5: can leap high/far, 6-7: good at climbing, 8: can glide/fly
17-19	senses	(d8) 1-2: heat vision, 3-4: echolocation, 5-6: excellent sense of smell, 7-8: excellent hearing
20	useful	(d8) 1-3: excellent fur/hide, 4-5: made of tasty meat/food, 6-7: good for medicine, 8: can be tamed

The first roll is a 19 followed by a 1: this jackrabbit-like creature has heat vision, allowing it to see predators in the dark.  Next we have a 3 and a 2: it's tiny, half the usual size.  Sounds like they'll be hard to catch.

Roll at least twice for its Behavior:

Behavior (d20)
1	impressive lair	builds structures, dams, nests, mounds, tunnels that are especially large, complex, deep
2	collects things	long-term food storage, valuable local resource, stealing parts, decorations/toys, tools
3	unexpected reach	go unexpected places: get into containers, climb trees, sneak into settlements, squeeze through tight spaces
4	understanding	recognize labels to know where food is stored, knows enough words to get some idea what people are up to
5	learning	has learned how to avoid traps, take cover from gunfire, avoid food that might be poisoned
6	deception	false lairs to confuse attackers, luring into a trap or away from their young, deceptive call
7	tool use	bait to attract prey, tools to reach food, making use of existing machinery
8	coordination	act as a team/pack, communicate information about threats to each other
9	defensive attitude	patiently waits for opportunity, pursues over long distances, holds a grudge
10	charm	cute, good at begging, can herd livestock, act like pets
11	aggressive	eager to attack, more violent than necessary, kills people for fun
12	kidnapper	steals/lures away children, carries off small livestock
13	playful	toys with its victims, steals things to play with, teases creatures for fun
14	kind	tends to the needs of lost/injured people as best it can, especially children
15	unusual food	drinks blood, chews on trees and wooden buildings, hunts/eats some even rarer special creature
16	symbiotic	points out prey for predators to get some of the reward, immune to some plant's poison so it can eat the fruit, obtains food that it can't open for a large creature that can't reach it
17	fearful	afraid of people, attacks and then runs away quickly, afraid of something particular without a clear reason
18	territorial	claims a territory as its own, attacking anyone threatening who enters it
19	mimicry (despite earlier rolls)	looks/sounds almost exactly like some other Base creature, unusual footprints look like they're leading the other way
20	strange	has a strange power, if such things exist in this world (a topic for a future post)

The first roll is an 8: these tiny rabbits coordinate their actions in some way.  Communicating information about threats sounds useful, especially for such tiny creatures.

Next is a 15: they eat some unusual food.  Blood sounds nice and creepy.  They're interesting, but let's make them a little more so and roll again.

It's a 6: they're good at deception.  They've evolved or learned some behavior that helps them deceive creatures around them.  Let's say they've learned to put shiny objects in the entrances of their lairs, or in hollows of trees, or sticking out from under rocks with hiding places.  People reach down to pick up the shiny thing, and a dozen little bloodsucking rabbits spring out to get a taste.

Blood-hares sounds like a perfect name.  Nasty little creatures.

That's no ordinary jackrabbit.  (Morag Gunson)

They're not a major threat (unless acting in large numbers) but they're definitely not friendly.  If you find little jackrabbit footprints or see a shiny coin tucked somewhere suspicious, this is a very bad place to sleep.

random creature
base
physical features
behavior

Rolling up a few more random creatures:

• Jar-rattlers are a type of rattlesnake that shed their skins a few times a year, changing color to match the season.  They're good at biting, slithering, and squeezing their way into containers you wouldn't expect.  And they've even learned how to recognize the label on a popular elven brand of food.  They say that jar-rattlers never bite children, so the local people always have kids check the pantry first.
• Water panthers are a fearsome predator.  With very little fur, you can see their skin, but the skin changes color quickly to match their surroundings.  Water panthers are very good swimmers and divers, sleeping up on high outcroppings or tree branches over water for a quick getaway.  They've been known to drag away small livestock and possibly even children.
• Five-toed turkeys thrive in these woods.  They're bright orange in color, with feathers that are greatly desired by the goblins a few valleys over.  Their call sounds nothing like a regular turkey, making a haunting, plaintive sound.  Turkeys like to eat snails, but some snails are too big and tough for them to get at the tasty meat inside.  Five-toed turkeys have learned to toss tough snails into the workings of elven machinery to crack them open.  (The elves are not amused.)  When flushed out by dogs, these turkeys have learned to scatter for cover and fly through the trees, avoiding the open sky where a hunter can get a clean shot.

(Bob Zeller)

And just for fun, let's roll up a plant, making more creative use of the results.  I'll choose a mountain fern as a starting point.  Rolling it up, these ferns: change color over the long term, are poisonous to eat, have some kind of understanding, and are in a symbiotic relationship.  Let's see...

• Copper ferns grow in shady places in mountain gullies.  They're normally a sort of coppery color, making them easy to identify.  That's good, because they're also quite poisonous.  But if their growing conditions ever become poor (usually too sunny or too dry) they use the last of their energy to turn the same green shade as the edible ferns around them, losing their poison in the process.  Creatures eat the ferns when they're green, helping propagate the species through their droppings, hopefully in shadier or wetter places.

Apparently there's already a plant called a copper fern.  (Stauden Wichmann)

Try out the tables and see what you think.  Let me know if you roll up something interesting.