Revision as of 21:42, 11 April 2026

“The jungle does not hate you.

It simply does not care whether you live.”

Bestiary of Jhelum

The lands beyond the walls are not empty.

They are occupied.

What follows are not scholarly classifications, but what a survivor needs to know: how it moves, how it kills, and how to live long enough to tell the story.

How to Read These Entries

Each creature includes its Threat, Habitat, Behavior, and what people most fear about it.

The statistics use a simplified BoL format:

Stat	Meaning
Strength	Power, toughness, and force
Agility	Speed, stealth, and quickness
Mind	Instinct, cunning, awareness, or unnatural will
Lifeblood	How much punishment it can take
Protection	Natural hide, scales, bark, or other inherent defense
Damage	The harm caused by its natural attacks
Traits	Short reminders of what makes the creature dangerous

Beasts of the Jungle

File:NC Tiger.png

Striped Tiger

A death that arrives without warning

Threat: Deadly • Habitat: Deep jungle, river edges • Behavior: Ambush predator • What People Fear: You never hear it coming

The striped tiger is the unquestioned lord of the green dark. It does not roar before the kill. It appears, strikes, and vanishes into leaves and shadow with flesh in its jaws. When it attacks from concealment or leaps from cover, give it a Bonus Die. A tiger that gets hold of a man does not let go politely.

Strength	3
Agility	3
Mind	1
Lifeblood	18
Protection	1
Damage	1d6H
Traits	Ambush; Pounce

Deadly Cobra

Temple shade and a raised hood

Threat: Lethal if ignored • Habitat: Ruins, temples, jungle shade • Behavior: Defensive, fast strike • What People Fear: Death comes hours later

The cobra is feared in old stone places, in shrine courtyards, and in the cool shadows beneath roots and fallen masonry. It does not need great size. Its danger is speed and venom. If it strikes first from a coiled stance, give it a Bonus Die. Anyone bitten must test or begin weakening quickly.

Strength	0
Agility	3
Mind	0
Lifeblood	5
Protection	0
Damage	1d6L
Traits	Venom; Fast Strike

Great Python

A slow death in living rope

Threat: Severe • Habitat: Trees, ruins, riverbanks • Behavior: Constrictor ambush • What People Fear: Slow death in silence

Many an explorer has mistaken one for a fallen branch or hanging root. That error is usually the last one he makes. A python that hits may choose to grapple rather than merely wound. Once it has a victim wrapped, it continues to crush them each round until they escape or someone cuts them free.

Strength	3
Agility	1
Mind	0
Lifeblood	16
Protection	1
Damage	1d6
Traits	Grapple; Constrict

Sloth Bear

Ill-tempered muscle and claws

Threat: Dangerous • Habitat: Jungle clearings • Behavior: Territorial, unpredictable • What People Fear: It mauls the face first

The sloth bear is not a hunter in the tiger’s fashion, but that does not make it safe. Startle one in the brush and it becomes a storm of claws, dirt, and pain. A wounded bear grows more violent, and the GM may give it a Bonus Die once it has taken a serious hurt.

Strength	3
Agility	1
Mind	0
Lifeblood	13
Protection	1
Damage	1d6
Traits	Frenzy

Monkey

Small hands, quick eyes, quicker theft

Threat: Minor • Habitat: Jungle canopy, ruins, city edges • Behavior: Curious, noisy, opportunistic • What People Fear: It steals first and screams second

This entry stands in for monkeys generally, and can also cover langurs, gibbons, and similar tree-dwellers with minor adjustment. Monkeys are more nuisance than killer, but they are clever, fast, and often arrive in numbers. Give them a Bonus Die on tests involving climbing, snatching, or fleeing through branches.

Strength	0
Agility	3
Mind	1
Lifeblood	6
Protection	0
Damage	1d6L
Traits	Climber; Mischief

River and Marsh Creatures

File:NC Crocodile.png

River Crocodile

The river opening its jaws

Threat: Deadly • Habitat: Rivers, crossings • Behavior: Patient ambush • What People Fear: The water takes you

A river crocodile may watch a ford for days without stirring. It waits for carelessness, for routine, for the moment when a traveler believes the crossing is safe because nothing has happened yet. If it attacks unseen from the water, give it a Bonus Die. A crocodile that grapples a victim in water may keep damaging them each round, and a larger one may roll and tear horribly.

Strength	4
Agility	1
Mind	0
Lifeblood	18
Protection	2
Damage	1d6H
Traits	Ambush; Grapple; Death Roll

Blood Leeches (Swarm)

A hunger you barely feel

Threat: Minor to deadly in numbers • Habitat: Still water • Behavior: Swarm feeding • What People Fear: You do not feel it happening

Leeches thrive where the water lies warm and quiet. Their danger is not in one bite, but in number, numbness, and the weakness that comes too late. As a swarm, they are awkward targets for normal blows; brute force against them may suffer a Penalty Die unless fire, salt, or some clever method is used.

Strength	0
Agility	1
Mind	0
Lifeblood	8
Protection	0
Damage	1d6L
Traits	Swarm; Drain

Black River Catfish

A shadow beneath muddy water

Threat: Dangerous • Habitat: Deep rivers • Behavior: Opportunistic predator • What People Fear: Something pulls you under

Some grow as long as a man. Most feed on refuse, carrion, and whatever the river gives them. The largest decide for themselves what the river ought to give. A big catfish that gets a good hold may drag prey off balance or into deeper water.

Strength	2
Agility	1
Mind	0
Lifeblood	12
Protection	1
Damage	1d6
Traits	Drag

Creatures of Burden and Use

File:NC Elephant Caravan.png

Jungle Elephant

War, labor, memory, and wrath

Threat: Massive • Habitat: Jungle, domesticated or wild • Behavior: Calm unless provoked • What People Fear: When it turns, nothing stops it

An elephant may carry wealth, kings, timber, or war towers, but it is never merely a tool. It remembers mistreatment. It remembers fear. When one breaks into fury, men vanish beneath its feet. A charging elephant may strike more than one nearby target, bowl people down, or simply crush what is in front of it.

Strength	5
Agility	0
Mind	0
Lifeblood	25
Protection	3
Damage	1d6H
Traits	Trample

Water Buffalo

Slow strength until the charge

Threat: Low to dangerous • Habitat: Wetlands, farms • Behavior: Passive, but charges when angered • What People Fear: Sudden charge

The water buffalo is a beast of mud, carts, plows, and patient labor. Yet patience is not gentleness. Press one too far and it answers with horn, weight, and speed. If it has room to lower its head and rush, give it a Bonus Die.

Strength	2
Agility	1
Mind	0
Lifeblood	12
Protection	1
Damage	1d6
Traits	Charge

Predators of Shadow and Story

File:NC Black Leopard.png

Black Leopard

A ghost in the trees

Threat: Deadly • Habitat: Jungle canopy • Behavior: Stalker • What People Fear: It chooses when you die

More rumor than beast in many tales, the black leopard is seen only when it allows itself to be seen. Hunters speak of finding its tracks circling camp for nights before the strike finally comes. Spotting it before it attacks may suffer a Penalty Die in darkness, dense leaves, or broken ground.

Strength	2
Agility	4
Mind	1
Lifeblood	12
Protection	1
Damage	1d6
Traits	Stealth; Ambush

Wolf

Lean hunger with yellow eyes

Threat: Moderate • Habitat: Scrub, dry forest, hill country, fringes of the jungle • Behavior: Pack hunter • What People Fear: One wolf is a scout, not the danger

Wolves are less common in the deep green than in rougher country, but where the land opens they travel in hungry bands. A lone wolf is seldom the real threat. When several attack the same target, give them a Bonus Die.

Strength	2
Agility	2
Mind	0
Lifeblood	9
Protection	0
Damage	1d6
Traits	Pack

Jackal

A scavenger with more nerve than dignity

Threat: Minor alone, dangerous in numbers • Habitat: Dry country, ruins, cremation grounds, village edges • Behavior: Scavenger, opportunist, occasional pack hunter • What People Fear: They gather where death is near

Jackals are sly, restless, and seldom far from refuse, corpses, or weakness. One is a nuisance. Several become bold. In a group they circle, test nerve, and dart at the vulnerable.

Strength	1
Agility	2
Mind	0
Lifeblood	7
Protection	0
Damage	1d6L
Traits	Pack; Scavenger

Grave Hyenas

Laughing scavengers of the dead

Threat: Moderate in a pack • Habitat: Battlefields, cremation grounds • Behavior: Pack hunters • What People Fear: They laugh while feeding

Grave hyenas are rarely alone, and never reassuring. Their cries carry badly through the night, like broken laughter or men speaking through torn throats. When they mob one target, give them a Bonus Die.

Strength	2
Agility	1
Mind	0
Lifeblood	8 each
Protection	0
Damage	1d6
Traits	Pack

The Green That Hungers

File:NC Devils Pitcher.png

Strangler Vines

The jungle closing its hand

Threat: Deadly • Habitat: Deep jungle • Behavior: Slow entrapment • What People Fear: The jungle closes behind you

These vines do not lash like whips. They tighten slowly and patiently, while the victim wastes breath, strength, and hope. By morning the path may be gone, and something may hang within the leaves. A caught victim cannot move until freed, and continues taking damage each round.

Strength	3
Agility	0
Mind	0
Lifeblood	15
Protection	1
Damage	1d6
Traits	Immobilize; Constrict

Devil’s Pitcher

A flower that eats the unwary

Threat: Lethal if trapped • Habitat: Wet jungle • Behavior: Passive lure • What People Fear: You fall in and never climb out

Sweet scent, slick walls, and a bright inviting bloom make the devil’s pitcher more dangerous than any roaring beast. It does nothing at all until something slips. Once trapped, a victim keeps taking damage until they escape or are pulled free.

Strength	2
Agility	0
Mind	0
Lifeblood	10
Protection	1
Damage	1d6
Traits	Trap; Dissolving Sap

Red Lotus

Beauty drifting above still death

Threat: Dangerous • Habitat: Still pools, temple tanks, marsh edges • Behavior: Passive toxin • What People Fear: Sweet dreams, then silence

The red lotus is beautiful enough to invite reverence. Its fragrance drifts across still water, soft and almost holy. Those who breathe too deeply grow light-headed, dreamy, and slow to notice that their limbs no longer answer with proper speed. The GM may impose a Penalty Die on affected actions, and prolonged exposure may become outright poison.

Strength	0
Agility	0
Mind	0
Lifeblood	6
Protection	0
Damage	1d6L
Traits	Dream Pollen; Poison

Needle-Thorn Creepers

Brush once, suffer all night

Threat: Dangerous • Habitat: Thick undergrowth, ruined walls, jungle margins • Behavior: Contact hazard • What People Fear: Fever follows the smallest scratch

At first glance these creepers seem no worse than any other bramble. Their danger lies in brittle thorns that snap beneath the skin and remain there. Hours later the wound burns, the flesh swells, and fever begins to speak in whispers. Anyone forced through them takes light damage and risks worsening sickness unless treated.

Strength	1
Agility	0
Mind	0
Lifeblood	8
Protection	0
Damage	1d6L
Traits	Needle Thorns; Fever

Creatures Touched by Sorcery

File:NC Ash Tiger.png

Ash Tiger

Fire that hunts on four feet

Threat: Deadly • Habitat: Ruins, burned places • Behavior: Supernatural predator • What People Fear: Fire that hunts

Ash tigers are said to walk out of burned temples and smoke-black sanctuaries. Their stripes seem to shift like ember-light, and wounds they leave behind do not close cleanly. Their attacks may continue to trouble a victim even after the first blow, and they do not fear fire, noise, or threats.

Strength	3
Agility	3
Mind	1
Lifeblood	16
Protection	1
Damage	1d6H
Traits	Burning Wounds; Fearless

Idol-Bound Beast

A body inhabited by something else

Threat: Severe • Habitat: Temples, cursed sites • Behavior: Relentless • What People Fear: It does not stop

Animals bound to carved spirits do not behave as beasts should. They do not flee pain. They do not hesitate. Their eyes burn with purpose that is not their own. An idol-bound beast keeps coming unless destroyed, physically restrained, or overcome by sorcery.

Strength	4
Agility	2
Mind	1
Lifeblood	18
Protection	2
Damage	1d6H
Traits	Unfailing; Fearless