Monstrarium

Monsters as a subject divide the academic world of the empires, but is taken very serious by the church. While some say that these creatures are mere superstitions from a lost age, others dedicate their whole career in the pursuit of them. There are some records that are beyond doubt that they exist, while some are more loose in their verification. The most prominent academic in the field is professor emeritus A.C. Doiel, whose work can be found in the library of the royal academy in Anlog.

There are different types of monsters, divided into different categories depending on their nature.  

• Extraordinary beasts, which are animals that have extraordinary or supernatural attributes such as size or physical capabilities, beyond what the beast would have in its natural state.
• Unnatural creatures, which are beasts or animal-like creatures that are not found naturally in the world. A prominent example of this are lycanthropes and other were-creatures.
• Fey, which are smaller otherworldly beings with humanoid features showing clear intelligence and intent. Often they will be helpful so long as they are treated well but some are prone to being tricksters. Never outright malignant but may cause havoc if mistreated. Gnomes, pixies, and fairies are examples of fey. 
• Fiends, which are malignant humanoid imposters that actively seek to hurt ordinary people. Fiends will always have attributes which will reveal their true nature, something that is often but not always hidden. The doppelganger and the mistress of the forest are examples of these.
• Undead, defined as daemonic by the church, which are the dead come back to life or beings that sustain their existence through the life force of the living. Walking corpses are an example of the former while vampires are an example of latter.