Medium beast
Mundane; boon
Speed 10 ft., swim 40 ft.

Region: Restless Sea, (coasts, bays)

These black and bronze-colored porpoises are sometimes seen along coastlines and in bays, coves, and other sheltered saltwater waterways. Solitary but naturally curious creatures, emperor porpoises will often approach seagoing vessels or individuals swimming in deeper waters. To the unassuming they are simply here to frolic, but observant individuals will realize the porpoise’s keen eye. Adventurers who succeed on a DC 15 Animal Handling or Nature check recognize the cetacean’s intentions, gifting it a meal of quality meat or fish or a particularly shiny necklace in exchange for its guidance. The emperor porpoise will lead its follower to treasure, often in the form of a sunken ship or other wreckage.

Tiny beast
Mundane; boon
Speed 5 ft., fly 30 ft

Regions: Lofty Mountains, Underland Realm (caves)

These small, fluffy white bats almost resemble tiny cotton balls with wings and are often seen in small groups of a dozen. They emit a faint bioluminescent glow that illuminates a space of 5 feet around them as the light spell. Because they do not venture very far below ground, the presence of glowbats usually indicates that there is either an entrance to a cave system or, when seen underground, an exit to the surface nearby.

Tamed glowbats are sometimes sold to spelunkers, miners, and adventurers alike for 50 gold. However, if not regularly fed bioluminescent fungi or insects, a glowbat stops glowing within 1 week. Upon resuming this diet, it takes 1 week for its glow to return.

Tiny celestial
Magical; boon
Speed fly 10 ft.

Region: Any (the Upper Planes, holy sites blessed by the forces of good

Characterized by their feathery wings in shades of ivory, gold, and green, these large moths are believed to originate from the Upper Planes. They are often encountered in or near holy sites when found on the Material Plane and are considered to be symbols of peace to the point that among many cultures it is considered an egregious sin to harm them. Those who spend at least 10 minutes near a celestial moth experience the effects of the calm emotions spell as the moth’s natural peacefulness extends to them. A creature can only benefit from this effect once per long rest. These moths disappear within 24 hours of being removed from their habitat.

Tiny beast
Mundane; material
Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft.

Regions: Lofty Mountains, Underland Realm (caves)

The skin of these small lizards resembles the calcite stone for which they are named. Typically found in mountainous regions and in and around caves, calcite geckos are drawn to deposits of precious and semiprecious gemstones and minerals. Shy by nature, they usually flee when seen. Adventurers who succeed on a Survival check against the region’s DC to track a fleeing calcite gecko will be led to a mineable deposit of raw gems. Mining these gems usually takes 10 minutes. Roll 1d4 to determine the value of the deposit, as per the table below. At the Narrator’s discretion, higher tier regions may yield deposits of higher value.

Table: Gems Found

Small beast
Mundane; boon
Speed 35 ft.

Regions: Country Shire, Urban Township (fields, forests, kennels)

These terrier-like dogs have long, stiff fur that grows on their muzzles, along the length of their bellies, and on the tip of their tails. This fur is exceptionally tough, allowing brush dogs to “sweep” the ground as they walk or sniff. Tamed brush dogs can help keep their owner’s house clean of dust and debris.

Enterprising adventurers may keep a faithful brush dog to follow behind them as they walk—brushing away the signs of their footprints as they go. A brush dog can thoroughly sweep an area of 10 feet by 10 feet in 1 minute. A rare few breeders specialize in brush dogs, and while rare, they can occasionally be purchased for 25 gold.

Tiny beast
Mundane; material, hazard
Speed fly 30 ft.

Regions: Fiery Hellscape, Lofty Mountains (volcanic regions, the Elemental Plane of Fire)

Whereas many bees collect nectar to produce honey, bombees instead congregate near sources of sulfur, which they collect and take back to their hive. This means that their hives are often extremely reactive, giving rise to their name. Those with a light touch and a delicate hand may extract the explosive elements from a bombee’s hive with a successful alchemist’s tools check (DC 18). On a success, enough explosive material is extracted to create 4 explosive arrows or 10 firearm bullets On a failure, the hive explodes, dealing 5d6 bludgeoning damage to every creature within a 30-foot radius and destroying the hive. A DC 14 alchemist’s tools check yields the following materials.

Bombee Honeycomb (3 uses, 10 gold). The wax from this honeycomb can be used to make insect and animal repellent. It works like lavender paste , except mundane beasts will avoid the creature if possible.

Bombee Sulfur Honey (25 gold). This bright yellow honey tastes strongly of sulfur, making it inedible to most creatures (with tieflings, fiends, and stone giants being notable exceptions). It is used in a variety of alchemic concoctions.

Tiny monstrosity
Mundane; boon
Speed 5 ft., fly 30 ft.

Regions: Country Shire, Feywood, Rolling Grasslands, Tangled Forest (flower fields, woodland clearings)

Resembling tiny pastel-colored stingrays that fly through the air rather than water, blossom rays are typically found in groves of flowering trees, where they feed off of nectar. Many people claim that watching blossom rays is inherently soothing. Adventurers who spend 30 minutes observing a squadron of these rays in their natural habitat receive the benefits of a short rest . Creatures can only benefits from this effect once per long rest .

Tiny construct
Magical; boon
Speed 10 ft.

Resembling a ceramic teapot with four legs, awakened teapots are actually small constructs that can be found in teahouses and the private homes of wealthy nobility. While many are purposefully constructed, they have been known to gain life spontaneously in areas where magic has been used often, such as a wizard’s atelier, or at the casting site of a particularly potent spell. This sudden creation means that one may see the somewhat absurd sight of a pristine teapot scampering about an otherwise abandoned ruin.

An awakened teapot can boil water in 1 minute and brew a given tea or infusion to perfection in another minute. While it is brewing, an awakened teapot cannot move, as all of its energy is diverted to warming the water. Any liquid stored within an awakened teapot is kept warm for up to 6 hours, at which point the construct pours it out. An awakened teapot can sometimes be found in major cities and purchased for 250 gold

Adventurers encounter many terrifying beasts in their travels. From mighty owlbears to multi-headed hydras, the wilderness offers no shortage in hazardous fauna. Some, like the elegant pegasus or a curious pseudodragon may react to the party’s presence without hostility, but even these typically benign beasts are often ready to defend themselves at a moment’s notice.

But not all creatures found in one’s travels pose such a threat, real or potential. Some are simply a part of the world, too small to offer much of a challenge against an adventurer’s might. The following creatures are what is known as endemic life: creatures, usually Tiny- or Small-size, that an adventuring party may encounter in their travels. Though some of these creatures are magical in nature and some can cause harm, none of them are combatants; rather, they are an intriguing part of the environment, meant to be admired and potentially interacted with—or avoided!—by inquisitive adventurers. Some provide boons, some may lead a curious follower to treasure— and at least one of them might steal it if you aren’t paying attention!

Each of these curious creatures is designed to be dropped into any campaign to provide Narrators with added environmental flavor, whimsical additions to exploration challenges, or merely a way to reward player curiosity and interaction with the world. While some of them can appear almost anywhere, others are tied to specific areas. A creature’s entry lists regions it is commonly found in, followed by a specific area or biome it favors. These regions are not absolute, however; as long as a region includes the correct biome, that form of endemic life can potentially be found there. For instance, a Country Shire region may have a cave system that has attracted glowbats and calcite geckos. A creature’s entry also lists its Speed and states whether it is a mundane creature or intrinsically magical, but there are also several other descriptors that may apply.

Boon. The creature provides some magical or mundane benefit.

Hazard. The creature poses some sort of environmental hazard and can be used in place of or in conjunction with an exploration challenge.

Material. The creature can provide some sort of harvestable material that can be sold or used in crafting.

Finally, most of the creatures here do not have a price assigned to them, as many have utility only in their natural habitats and several are either too delicate, too hazardous, or too magically connected to the land to be safely removed. If a creature is commonly sold, the price is listed in its description.

Table: Harvestable Materials

Awakened Teapot || Blossom Ray || Bombees || Brush Dog || Calcite Gecko || Celestial Moth || Glowbat || Emperor Porpoise || Frenzyfish || Fungal Drake || Lucite Slug || Prismatic Tortoise || Rivercat || Rosy Spinehog || Sepulchral Fox || Shadowfly || Siren Gull || Snowflake Boa || Trinket Crab || Verdant Owl || Wyverkeet