Bauble beast

Bauble beast

(Creature)

Uncommon

N

Large

Beast

Earth

Level

6

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Source: Bestiary 3, pg(s). 28

Bauble beasts are large creatures who collect and hoard jewelry and other valuables.

Appearance

Bauble beasts are four-legged, two-armed beasts beset by twin skin conditions. The conditions create gemstone-like protrusions and patches of metallic skin across the bauble beast's body. Different bauble beasts have different varieties of these skin conditions. For example, one bauble beast might grow emerald-like protrusions while another propagates onyx-like growths.

Abilities

Bauble beasts' most famous skill is its ability to create false jewelry from its growths. The bauble beast does this not through a jeweler's bench, but rather by chewing off the metallic and faux gemstone portions of itself and allowing its digestive system to magically forge the trinkets. This process also places an enchantment on the false jewelry that compels the wearer to bring the bauble beast the genuine articles. Bauble beasts will stealthily mix these in with real jewelry in settlements to cause unlucky purchasers to bring it more treasures for its collection. This compulsion can also be contracted from the bauble beast's bite if one happens to find themselves locking arms with a bauble beast.

Ecology

Bauble beasts are largely solitary, though can occasionally be found in the company of other creatures who have a similar predilection for material wealth such as merchants, actual jewelers, and other bauble beasts. Xorns will occasionally keep bauble beasts in their company, as the false gemstones of the bauble beasts act as a sort of low nutrition junk food.

Bauble beasts will sometimes congregate among their kind to trade skin conditions, allowing for a wider array of false jewelry to be crafted by an individual creature.