Poryatown Press/Monster Compendium/F
| Monster Compendium of Dwilight | ||
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Fithkin
- Spotted By: Macal Kandurell
- Located: Lurian Sea Coast (and coastal streams)
- Active Time: Dawn and Dusk
- Pack Size: Around 15
- Picture: Here
Bent over, a fithkin comes up to about 4 or 5 feet. With slimy scales, a bony crest and bulbous eyes the creature is quite repulsive to look at. It appears to have powerful hindquarters and weedy arms, but do not let that fool you; despite the creature's lack of obvious strength, it can be extremely dangerous. Fithkin are amphibious, and prefer to hunt in packs, wielding sharpened sticks and bone clubs or anything else that might come to hand. They are extremely efficient at fighting as a group, and appear to have a primitive hierarchy; when two packs go after a particularly worthy prize, they are quite capable of working in tandem. While fithkin seem to be able to live largely on fish, their diet includes large land dwelling creatures as well. Their favourite trick is to swim up coastal streams and ambush passing prey.
The most dangerous attribute of these monsters, however, is not their aptitude for teamwork, nor their ability to hide in any sort of water. Fithkin saliva contains a deadly poison that quickly putrefies their bites, turning them from mere annoyances into life threatening injuries. This means that any sort of combat with them is likely to result in a high proportion of casualties. The creatures' scales appear to be relatively efficient at repelling arrows, making close up fighting difficult to avoid, and in any case an engagement with the fithkin is likely to involve an ambush. The best counter to these monsters, therefore, should be in the form of pikemen, although the fithkin's speed often allows them to slip past polearms. Since they are amphibious, it is possible that they are scared of fire, in which case this could be used to ward them off. Fortunately, when a few of the creatures are killed they tend to retreat rather quickly, unless their coastal nests are threatened. Unfortunately, by this point several bites have probably already been inflicted.
Added 08 June 15 - It would appear that many groups of Fithkin are quite capable of banding together to fight a large force when necessary. At least 3 distinct groups, totaling something like 50 creatures, have been sighted in Grodno working together to fight the Guardians of Giask. -Macal Kandurell
