Shape & Material Bonuses of Magical Creatures
Another reason a magus might want to breed magical beasts is the Shape & Material Bonuses their parts lend to laboratory activities. Because these beasts are rare, the bonus provided is quite high. While stocking and breeding a rare beast makes it more common (for the right buyer), it does not diminish the high bonus. Most of the listed creatures are legendary beasts. Shape & Material Bonuses for Animals of Virtue can be derived by using the suggestions found in Realms of Power: Magic (pages 66–68).
| Shape/Form B | onus |
|---|---|
| Basilisk eye | +8 kill at a distance |
| Catoblepas esophagus |
+7 kill or harm humans |
| Chimera tongue | +8 create fire |
| Dragon eye | +8 protection against ghosts |
| Dragon heart | +7 Intellego magic |
| Dragon teeth | +6 invisibility |
| Griffin feather | +6 flying, +5 strength |
| Hydra teeth | +8 regeneration, +6 Creo spells |
|---|---|
| Leucrota tongue | +6 mimic human voices |
| Manticore teeth | +5 swiftness, +4 ferocity |
| Myrmecoleon exoskeleton |
+6 deprivation and starvation |
| Panther of Virtue's hide |
+6 song and melodious sounds |
| Pelican of Virtue's beak |
+8 healing and nurturing |
| Phoenix ashes | +11 rejuvenation and regeneration |
| Remora of Virtue's fins |
+7 slow or halt a moving object |
| Salamander of Virtue's skin |
+8 extinguish fire |
| antelope hoof | Siberian six-legged +6 speed, quickness |
Unicorn horn +11 fertility,
+10 detect poison, +8 healing
Hippogriff liver +6 flying,
the owner does not stop breeding and selling the beasts. While there is no legal precedent for their claim, they persist. As they prepare for tribunal, they attack caravans transporting sold animals to their new owners.
- • The prima of House Mercere demands that the menagerie owner breed and sell magical horses that can walk on water, saying that the horses would be ideal for many of her House's redcaps. Unfortunately, the menagerie is comprised of magical birds, and retooling it for horses would be a vast undertaking, even if the owner knew where such horses could be found. Yet the weight of the prima's requests is staggering, and refusing it could lead to political consequences.
- • The Bjornaer magi of Clan Ilfetu worry that one or more of the captured beasts in the menagerie is a descendent of an ancestor spirit. Rather than investigate, and deal with the ambiguity that could lead to, they make midnight sorties into the menagerie in heartbeast form to free
the captive beasts. Acting on principle, they continue the conflict well after the initial livestock is freed, doing their best to prevent the owner from rebuilding his menagerie. An added complication would be if the beast actually is a Great Beast. Are the Bjornaer magi in the right in freeing the beast?