The Creatures of Conan
The Python
In Stygia, it is a crime to harm snakes. They are the most revered creatures and are in fact made in the image of the god Set. If a man is bitten by a serpent it is the will of Set, and there is nothing for him to do but seek solace in the temple and let the venom run its course. It is considered a great honor to be chosen as a sacrifice to the Great Serpent, and every day men and women willingly submit themselves to the coils of these dreadful beasts. Sailors who sail the sacred river Styx claim to have seen specimens as large as thirty feet in length. It is rumored that within the confines of Set’s temples there are pythons that are hundreds of years old, grown so large that they may feed upon a grown man as easily as a lesser snake eats a common mouse.
The Savage Cannibals
Up in the Eiglophian Mountains, the Cimmerian clans know of creatures left over from past evolutions. While it’s not known exactly their origin, these beasts raid the Cimmerian outposts constantly, dragging both weapons and villagers back to their dark dens where unspeakable acts of cannibalism occur. These cannibals are considered beast-men, lacking much reason or any form of higher intelligence. Their culture is simplistic and they only seem able to communicate via grunts and growls.
The Specter Chieftains
In the Field of the Dead where evil werewolves hunt man, another threat also remains. Men never learn to leave the dead alone and gravediggers will incur the wrath of the dead with their plundering. One such area is that of Chief Toirdealbach’s tomb where the bodies of would be grave robbers now lie.
The Werewolves
Legends speak of werewolves, mortals who have fallen under terrible curses and become bestial creatures. A werewolf remembers nothing of its former life and is driven by primal urges. They are made more dangerous by their quick speeds, ferocious strength and taste for human flesh.
The Wildlife
Conan’s world is home to a variety of animals from the cowardly hyena to the powerful and fearful great apes. It is a land of sabre-tooth tigers, wolves and scorpions. While the demons and nightmarish monsters are enough to be feared, these creatures shouldn’t be taken for granted.
Yakhmar
In the northlands of Cimerria, live iceworms. The biggest and most feared of them is known as Yakhmar. Yakhmar is gigantic in size and ferocious in its hatred for the living. Not much is known about Yakhmar, but those who do tell the tale speak of a monstrous white-furred worm, its body formed of coil upon coil of winding, rippling, muscled flesh. The beast’s eyes are a sickly, undersea green that radiate cold light in the dark surroundings of its lair, and its opened maw is a gaping hole in inward-pointing teeth and a slick, grasping tongue that snares a warrior’s limbs and drags him closer so the creature may feed.