Bestiary

Herein are detailed some of the various creatures found throughout Syseria.

Simteopaede

Tiny ooze, Any Alignment
Armor Class 10
Hit Points 1 (3d4 - 6)
Speed 10 ft., burrow 10 ft., climb 10 ft., fly 15 ft. (hover), swim 20 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
8 (-1)	10 (+0)	6 (-2)	16 (+3)	14 (+2)	6 (-2)

Saving Throws Int +5
Skills Stealth +2
Damage Vulnerabilities acid, fire
Senses tremorsense 30 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages All, telepathy 25 ft.
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

Bond. A simteopaede is a symbiotic organism that attaches itself to a host, usually around the spine or back of the neck, and confers several abilities to the host. One is that it increases the host's armor class by 2, and the host becomes proficient in the simteopaede's proficient saving throw as well as its own. If the host wishes to keep the simteopaede alive, s/he must protect it from acid and fire damage, as any amount of damage will kill it.

If a bonded simteopaede is killed, the host permanently loses 3d4 hit points and one point of constitution. If the host is killed, the bonded simteopaede dies instantly. The simteopaede can debond at will with no ill effect (other than the host losing the bonded benefits).

The simteopaede will then confer unto the host any of the following benefits. Roll once upon bonding, and again for every level gained after initial bonding. The DM may also choose these or similar benefits to appropriately fit her or his campaign.

d8+d12 roll	Benefit
2	Host’s attacks gain 1d6 force damage
3	Host’s attacks gain 1d6 psychic damage
4	Host gains 2 level 1 spells to cast once per long rest
5	Once per long rest host can enlarge
6	Once per long rest host can haste (self only)
7	+1 STR
8	+1 DEX
9	+1 CON
10	+1 INT
11	+1 WIS
12	+1 CHA
13	Host gains 10 feet to base movement
14	Host gains immunity to all poison
15	Host gains immunity to all disease
16	Once per long rest host can cast cure light wounds
17	Steal Magic: once per long rest, you can absorb one spell that has targeted you personally and send it back at the caster, or use it later. The spell is lost at the next long rest. This has no effect on area spells or spells that do not specifically target the host.
18	Dampen magic: Once per long rest, you can dampen the effect of any spell. The host gains advantage for the saving throw of this spell. Duration and damage of the spell are cut in half. Damage is cut to one quarter on a successful save (where appropriate).
19	Host can breathe underwater
20	Host can cast mage armor at will

Description

How these creatures came to be is unknown, but they are believed to be created magically. They can reproduce asexually once per decade. These creatures wander around underground areas, swamps, forests, lakes, rivers, and grasslands seeking a host. They must bond to a host to live and reproduce. Without a host, they go into a dormant state. They will eventually die, but it takes centuries.

P There should be a critter that's really fast, has really good pulling capacity, but you can't ride it because of physiology. But if you hook it up to a chariot, you get the best of both worlds. Land based trilobytes? Horseshoe crabs? Thought to be extinct, but then they found fossils.