The Rattlepack Bestiary

The Rattlepack Bestiarium Vocabulum

Edition One

As compiled by Oliwat Kokiwat, the Very Last of the Rattlepacks.

Introduction

As all adventurers are no doubt aware (or at the very least should be), the world is a dangerous place. But it is not that way all on its own, not at all! No, it is the resident flora and fauna that make it this way. Our world is full of many an oddity, ranging from the strange squiggly mass known as the Coblyn (octopus? Land-squid? Both?) to the Toadstool (walking mushroom? Distant relative of the Mimic? Good on-the-go snack?), and although one is not required to memorize all their types and attacks, it does indeed help to know what is what, considering that knowing the difference between, say, an Apkallu and a Cocatrice, might just save your sorry soul.

As have others writing on the technical topic of our world’s monsters, I shall stand on the shoulders of giants, and borrow the taxonomy of the great naturalist Frandelont Raimdelle, who has done the world a great service with his Codex. For those that are unfamiliar with the Raimdelle Codex and its system of classification, an overview of the system will be provided in the following section. Ultimately, it is my hope that this material serves as a mere update to Raimdelle’s work, which, despite being a work of only the highest quality, is, if I may say so, perhaps in need of a bit of updating.

I would sincerely hope he does not haunt me for that.

A Short History of the Raimdelle Codex, and an Outline of Standard Taxonomy

The Raimdelle Codex is a document which, as of the current era, is several centuries old. Despite its age, it is still the most widely-used book of its kind throughout Eorzea, mostly by hunters, trappers, and those that work in the wilderness. Its text is notably dated, and modern reprints of the text often include secondary sections that function as a more modern version of what was originally written. However, time has taken its toll on the work. Pages relating to many of Eorzea’s monsters have been lost to time, as reprints can only function off of what was originally known to be printed. As a result, although common beasts for the most part are still present, pages on other monsters of the time have all but disappeared from even the oldest available versions.

Of more importance, however, is the classification system that was pioneered by the Codex. It is a tiered system which functions to divide all the life in Eorzea into a few distinct categories, which themselves branch out into smaller sections in order to more specifically show the differences between various forms of life. The most famous of these tiers is perhaps what we know as a creature’s Kin, or Kindred, which is a broader term that designates the “type” of a monster. Above the Kindred is the Regnum, divided into the Bloodborn, the Bloodless, and the Transcendants. Below the Kindred is the Genus, which is divided into monsters that are similar in shape and form, below that is the Species, which is divided into similar monsters with slight physical or locational differences, and below that are individual monsters themselves.

As an example, the classification for Clatterpouch, my trusty mechanical companion, would be as follows:

Bloodless (Regnum) → Forgekin (Kindred) → Mammet (Genus) → Model-type #001 (Species) → Clatterpouch.

Now that we have a handle on the basics of the Codex’s Classification, we may begin our bestial review!

A Proper Explanation of the Taxonomy Tiers

Within this section, one may find in-depth coverage of the tiers, the meanings of their divisions, and what one would expect to be covered in each. Although the relative necessity of this knowledge is arguable, it does not help to read and enlighten oneself as to the technical classifications of Eorzea's Monsters.

Regnum

The taxonomic level known as the Regnum is divided into three distinct parts, namely, the Bloodborn, Bloodless, and Transcendents, each with their own type of creature.

Within the Bloodborn Regnum are, perhaps obviously, creatures which possess blood and other internal fluids. To put it differently, the Bloodborn Regnum contains everything that one would consider to be "alive" in the traditional sense (save for Seedkin, which are filed under the Bloodless.) These are, for the most part, Eorzea's standard fare when it comes to wildlife. More often than not, if one was to encounter a beast, they would be within the Bloodborn Regnum. The Bloodborn Regnum contains the Beastkin, Cloudkin, Scalekin, Spoken, Vilekin, and Wavekin.

The Bloodless Regnum most notably contains all things that one would consider to be plant-based in origin, along with Kin that are considered to be traditionally inanimate or artificial, such as enchanted objects or mechanical constructs. Save for the Seedkin (and perhaps Mammets), encounters with members of the Bloodless Regnum is much less likely than encounters with members of the Bloodborn Regnum, unless one enjoys plumbing the depths of abandoned ruins, or doing battle with Garleans on a daily basis. The Kindred contained within the Bloodless Regnum are the Ashkin, Elementals, Forgekin, Seedkin, and Soulkin.

The last of the Regnum is the Transcendents Regnum, minor members of which can be encountered with surprising frequency. Members of the Transcendents Regnum may be classified quite simply as things that are not of Eorzea itself. Small oddities such as Bombs and Imps fall into this category, as do more dangerous and demonic things such as Succubi and Primals. The Transcendents Regnum contains the Voidsent and Primal Kindred.