Cambridge University Treasure Trap

Creatures from the Prime

The Prime contains the usual range of European animals as well as fantastic stories of wilder creatures from further away, in addition to the races and beasts described below.

Vani

Dragons

Uruk

Goblins

Beasts of the Prime

Creatures from below the Prime - Demons

The normal use of the word "demon" in CUTT literally means "a creature from outside the Prime". However, it is usually used exclusively (and insultingly) for beings from the planes below the Prime, as an umbrella term covering a wide variety of life. The individual races of demon vary hugely and act according to their own concerns and agendas, but these are frequently in competition with the plans of people from the Prime. It is said that the main difference between demons and mortals is that demons are magical and have no soul, though this may be an oversimplification it is true that demons do not follow the gods.

Red Demons

Red demons are an aggressive race, who often wear red and use axes or long weapons. They may be physrepped by masks or red facepaint, and are humanoid. It is the cultural ambition of every red demon to gain power, firstly over other red demons (becoming a demon lord) and then ideally over other planes. Red demons will work together efficiently to achieve a goal benefitting all of them and have a human level of intelligence.

Blue Demons

Blue (or "Blue and Yellow") demons are naturally a relatively thoughtful, peaceful race - the large claws which many of them display helping them to dig for the "minerals" (chalk) which they require in their diet. Blue demons may be physrepped by masks or blue-and-yellow facepaint, are humanoid and have a human level of intelligence. Blue demons were enslaved by red demons after a long war, and have been engaged in another to try and win their freedom. They were also involved in the acension of the god Unity, who took on some blue demon attributes as a result, and in the fight against the Endingbrood in which they worked with people from the Prime against a common enemy (although this is not advertised due to religious intolerance and generalised fear of demons).

Black Demons

Black demons are stealthy and stabby. They are humanoid and are physrepped by black facepaint and clothing, with claws or ambidex short daggers. Whilst in combat they often seem more bestial than some other demons, however it is known that they have been involved with demon cultists on the Prime to some level of sophistication and so their true depths may not have been fully uncovered. They are often seen alongside red or white demons on the lower planes.

White Demons

White demons are also fairly power-hungry, but use magic to further their aims. They have a human level of intelligence - in fact, not all humans are academic enough to become powerful mages as many white demons are - but they are relatively cowardly. Although they will fight they prefer to cast from behind expendable minions of other races, and are notorious for their ability to "Blink" - to vanish when threatened and reappear a few seconds later, several feet away. They are humanoid and physrepped by a white half-face mask over one eye, they often also wear white clothes.

Grey Men

Grey men are shapechangers - in their 'natural' state they are amorphous and non-humanoid, however they prefer not to spend time in this state, for their true joy is in detailed physical mimicry. A grey man can perfectly resemble any physical feature of another being (of similar size, eg: human volume) which it has had the opportunity to observe closely - however they innovate poorly and so tend to only fill in the specific features which they have been exposed to. Grey men have been known to observe the Prime through mirrors and copy the people they see - a grey man masquarading in this way can be easily revealed by scent or spiritual signature, however a grey man who has been loose on the Prime will have had the opprtunity to acquire these characteristics as well. Grey men are intelligent and some are extremely adept at subterfuge, learning behaviour and languages to complete a masquarade, however most use their ability merely as self-expression and defence - it is distasteful to wear the same face as another being in the room, as well as undermining the camoflage advantage. Grey men have little in common with fixed-shape races unless accidentally in pursuit of the same goal.

Hob

In the same way that gods are the sentience of god-planes, so some "demons" are the sentience of awakened demon planes. Hob is a plane which has sentience and is close to the Prime, and has therefore had some contact with mortals and demons visiting it and speaking with it in the form of a humanoid avatar generated for this purpose. The avatar of Hob is usally simple and puppet-like, with a pumpkin-face mask. Hob can also generate 'shardlings' within the Plane of Hob for defence against invaders, although these are not always able to deal with threats. Hob desires to stay high, near the Prime, rather than falling into the region of shard planes or Endingbrood, and in exchange for power (such as souls or magic) or magical tethers to help in this it has been bargained with - for example the 'Mirrorlink' magical transport network involved travellers passing through Hob as a shortcut between places on the Prime, until it was realised that Hob was absorbing some of them.

Oni

Oni are an extremely powerful form of demon with a three stage life cycle. Initially, they are Arcanophage - invisible parasites which readily infect magical items and magical beings (such as demons, elemental elves and uruk) and eat their magic to grow. Creatures which are infected by arcanophage and do not die from it eventually metamorphose into taint-beasts, an animalistic mobile form physrepped by purple and blue spirals on exposed skin (or claws and chitinous foam helmets with spirals for heavily armoured varieties). Taintbeasts constantly shed arcanophage, as do the final life-stage, Oni, which only one taint-beast in hundreds might be successful enough to become after finding a source of power. Oni are intelligent but fiercely territorial beings with a single purpose - to become the single, all-powerful, Oni in existence, ideally beginning by latching onto a god or elemental plane to subsume. They are usually physrepped with horns and exotic costume/facepaint. Oni were thought to be mythical or at least extinct, however the vast magical explosion in Teutonia at the end of Year 6 of Treasure Trap (1291/2008) saw Arcanophage return and be rapidly spread by inter-planar contact.

Endingbrood

Endingbrood are vast creatures which live at the foot of the universe, feeding off matter and power falling from above. Unfortunately, in Year 6 of Treasure Trap (1291/2008), a small number broke free and headed upwards towards the far end of the TT universe, eating from planes as they went. The threat to their worlds and eventually to the gods and elemental lords spurred many groups into action, and eventually the stray Endingbrood were averted through use of a controversial weapon deployed on a lower plane.