Darkbound RPG

Creatures & Aberrants

The world of Darkbound is teeming with life twisted by the influence of the Dark. From grotesque Aberrants to scavenging wasteland creatures, every living thing has been forced to adapt or perish. This compendium categorizes and describes the beings you may encounter.

Aberrants

Aberrants are horrific entities born from the Dark’s influence. They are often highly aggressive, unnaturally resilient, and terrifyingly unique in their forms. Aberrants pose the greatest threat to humanity, as they seek to destroy anything that survives in the wasteland.

Below you will find a list of the most common Aberrants (but this is not by any means all of them).

Name: Blightmaw

  • Description:
    The Blightmaw is a titanic Aberrant that embodies the creeping corruption of the Dark. This grotesque, slug-like behemoth is covered in pulsating, toxic pustules that emit a sickly bright green mist wherever it moves. Its massive, gaping maw is lined with whip-like tendrils and arm-like grabbers that lash out to pull prey into its cavernous mouth, where few escape alive. The Blightmaw is not only a physical threat but also an environmental hazard, tainting the ground and air in its wake with its corruptive presence.

  • Behavior:
    Blightmaws are rare but catastrophic encounters. They tend to emerge in highly corrupted zones, often near abandoned cities or collapsed ruins where the Dark is strongest. They move slowly but deliberately, spreading corruption as they traverse the wasteland. While generally not aggressive unless provoked or hungry, they are drawn to large gatherings of life or intense sources of light and sound, making settlements particularly vulnerable.

  • Abilities:
    • Toxic Miasma: The Blightmaw continuously emits a cloud of poisonous gas that weakens anyone nearby, causing damage over time to unprotected survivors.
    • Tendril Grasp: Its tendrils can lash out to entangle multiple targets, dragging them into its maw.
    • Corruption Trail: The ground beneath the Blightmaw becomes toxic and unstable, spreading the Dark’s influence wherever it moves.
    • Pustule Eruption: If injured, the Blightmaw’s pustules can burst, releasing a highly toxic spray that damages and blinds nearby foes.

  • Weakness:
    The Blightmaw is heavily reliant on its pustules to maintain its toxic presence. Targeting and destroying these pustules can significantly weaken its defenses and reduce its ability to spread corruption. However, attacking them comes with the risk of triggering toxic eruptions, requiring careful planning and ranged combat.

Name: Cragstalker

  • Description:
    The Cragstalker is a hulking predator that roams rocky and mountainous terrain, preying on anything unfortunate enough to cross its path. Its armored hide resembles jagged, volcanic rock, making it almost impervious to conventional weapons. With razor-sharp claws and a maw dripping with acidic saliva, the Cragstalker is designed for raw brutality. Its spiked crown serves both as a natural weapon and a signal of its dominance within the food chain.

  • Behavior:
    Cragstalkers are territorial and solitary creatures, claiming large swathes of rocky land as their hunting grounds. They are fiercely protective of their territory, and even other Aberrants tend to avoid them. While primarily carnivorous, they are known to consume corrupted flora, likely to sustain their unnatural biology.

  • Abilities:
    • Acidic Saliva: The Cragstalker’s bite delivers a potent acid capable of dissolving metal and bone alike.
    • Spiked Slam: Using its jagged crown, the Cragstalker can charge at foes, impaling them on its natural spines.
    • Rock Camouflage: Its stony hide allows it to remain hidden in rocky or misty terrain until it’s ready to strike.

  • Weakness:
    While its hide is nearly indestructible, its underbelly is softer and more vulnerable. Quick reflexes and careful planning are required to exploit this weakness.

Name: Slitherfang

  • Description:
  • The Slitherfang is a serpent-like Aberrant that lurks in corrupted swamps and dense forests. Its defining feature is its monstrous, flower-like head, which splits open into multiple petal-like jaws lined with rows of jagged teeth. When dormant, it can coil into the underbrush, resembling a grotesque plant. This camouflage allows it to ambush prey with deadly precision. The Slitherfang’s glistening scales emit a faint bioluminescent glow, adding to its eerie presence.

  • Behavior:
  • Slitherfangs are patient hunters, preferring to wait for prey to wander too close before attacking. They are most active at night, their glowing scales blending seamlessly with the luminous flora found in corrupted zones. Survivors often mistake them for harmless bioluminescent plants until it’s too late. The Slitherfang’s diet consists primarily of smaller creatures, but it has been known to attack humans and larger prey when hungry.

  • Abilities:
    • Ambush Predator: The Slitherfang’s camouflage allows it to blend seamlessly with its surroundings, granting it near-invisibility in low light or dense vegetation.
    • Constrictor: Once it ensnares a target, the Slitherfang coils around them with immense strength, crushing bones and suffocating its victim.
    • Venomous Spray: When threatened, the Slitherfang can expel a toxic spray from its petal-like jaws, disorienting and poisoning multiple foes at once.
    • Lure Glow: The faint bioluminescent glow from its scales attracts small creatures and unwary survivors, drawing them closer to its reach.

  • Weakness:
  • The Slitherfang is heavily reliant on stealth and surprise. If detected early, it is vulnerable to ranged weapons, particularly fire or high-impact explosives, as its scales, while tough, are not flame-resistant.

Name: Umbral Bloom

  • Description:
  • The Umbral Bloom is a floating, otherworldly Aberrant that appears as a pulsating, spherical mass of dark purple bioluminescence. Dozens of tendrils dangle below its bulbous body, twitching and writhing with unnatural grace. These appendages serve as both sensory probes and deadly weapons. The translucent surface of its body reveals flickering veins of glowing light, as if powered by some unseen force. The Umbral Bloom emits an eerie otherworldy gargle that grows louder as it approaches, unsettling even the bravest of survivors.

  • Behavior:
  • The Umbral Bloom is both a predator and a corrupter. It drifts silently through wasteland ruins and corrupted zones, seeking out sources of life to entangle and drain. Once it latches onto prey, the Bloom absorbs their vitality, leaving behind desiccated husks. Its presence causes nearby plants to mutate and thrive unnaturally, creating dense, corrupted biomes in its wake. Survivors have reported seeing the Umbral Bloom hovering over settlements it has destroyed, its tendrils rooted in the corpses of its victims.

  • Abilities:
    • Tendril Drain: The Bloom’s tendrils latch onto targets, draining their health and vitality over time.
    • Corrupting Aura: Its presence spreads the Dark’s influence, mutating plants and destabilizing the environment within a short radius.
    • Luminescent Flash: When threatened, the Umbral Bloom releases a blinding pulse of light, stunning enemies and giving it time to escape or retaliate.
    • Silent Drift: The Bloom moves silently and unpredictably, making it difficult to detect until it’s too late.

  • Weakness:
  • While its outer shell is highly resilient, the glowing veins within its body are its greatest vulnerability. Survivors who target these exposed areas with precision strikes can cause the Bloom to destabilize and collapse. However, this is a high-risk endeavor, as the creature’s tendrils become more aggressive when it is under threat.

Name: Darklings

  • Description:
  • Darklings are small, predatory Aberrants that embody the essence of fear in the night. Their fur is an unnatural void of blackness, absorbing all light and rendering them nearly invisible in the darkness. The only giveaway to their presence is their glowing, neon teal fangs, which shine brilliantly when their mouths are open. This eerie glow is often the last thing their victims see before an attack. When their mouths are closed, they blend seamlessly into the shadows, making them one of the most terrifying nocturnal threats. What makes them absolutely horrifying is their proclivity for human flesh.

  • Behavior:
  • Darklings are pack hunters, rarely seen alone. They operate in groups of three, using their numbers and stealth to corner and overwhelm prey. Their movements are fast and erratic, designed to confuse and disorient their targets. While they prefer the cover of night, Darklings are emboldened during heavy storms or other low-visibility conditions to come out of their dens. They appear to have a psychic form of communication with their pack.

  • Darklings are primarily human hunters, loving the taste of human flesh and blood. However, when hunger sets in, they will not hesitate to target even over Aberrants for sustenance. Some Darklings tend to burrow into dens right outside safezones, awaiting survivors who venture out at night.

  • Abilities:
    • Invisibility in Darkness: Their fur absorbs nearly all light, making them invisible without a light source to reveal them.
    • Blinding Fangs: The neon glow of their fangs is disorienting in pitch darkness, creating a strobe-like effect that confuses prey.
    • Coordinated Pack Tactics: Darklings move and attack as a unit, flanking and ambushing with terrifying precision.
    • Night Ambushers: They gain an advantage on attacks made at night or in complete darkness.


  • Weakness:
  • While nearly undetectable in the dark, Darklings are highly vulnerable to bright light. A sudden flash or steady beam can disrupt their movements and scatter the pack. Additionally, their small size makes them relatively fragile compared to larger Aberrants, though their speed and numbers compensate for this vulnerability. Their main weakness seems to be fire as their blood is incredibly flammable.

Name: Wrathworms

  • Description:
    Wrathworms are parasitic larvae-like creatures with slimy, blood-colored bodies that exude a faint, sickly sheen. These grotesque beings are typically found latched onto decayed organic matter, trees, or mounds of corrupted terrain, feeding on the nutrients of the infected environment. Their translucent skin pulsates as they writhe, revealing glimpses of their inner fluids coursing through their bodies.

  • Wrathworms are often clustered in dense, wriggling masses, creating a disturbing sight that churns the stomach of any survivor who stumbles upon them. They are not mobile on their own but rely on a host or their environment to spread their corruption.

  • Behavior:
  • Wrathworms are not active hunters but instead serve as a parasitic plague. They attach themselves to their surroundings, slowly corrupting and breaking down the terrain to create fertile ground for more dangerous Aberrants to thrive. Their presence is often a precursor to larger, more terrifying threats in the area, as their corrupted lairs attract Aberrants seeking sustenance from the rot they produce.
  • When disturbed, Wrathworms secrete a noxious, acidic fluid as a defense mechanism, burning flesh and poisoning the air around them. Survivors have reported clusters of Wrathworms falling from trees or rupturing from pus-filled hills when triggered, releasing their corrosive payload.

  • Abilities:
    • Acidic Secretion: When threatened, Wrathworms release a corrosive substance that burns and weakens nearby materials, whether organic or metallic.
    • Spore Clouds: The decayed ground they inhabit emits toxic spores that can infect and disorient nearby survivors.
    • Corruption Propagation: Wrathworms accelerate the corruption of the land, creating hazardous zones that spread the influence of the Dark.
    • Aberrant Beacon: Their presence draws nearby Aberrants, making Wrathworm infestations a magnet for danger.

  • Weakness:
  • Wrathworms are fragile and easily destroyed by fire or chemicals, but their clustered nature means that attacking them often triggers their acidic defense mechanism. Distance is key when dealing with an infestation, as prolonged exposure to their environment can cause serious harm.

Name: Lamentors

  • Description:
    The Lamentor is an eerily graceful and humanoid Aberrant that exudes an unsettling aura. Its emaciated, pale body is stretched and scarred, resembling something once human but twisted into a macabre parody of life. Its eyeless face is dominated by an impossibly wide grin filled with jagged, uneven teeth. The Lamentor moves with unnatural fluidity, almost as if it is dancing, making it both mesmerizing and terrifying to behold. Often, it is nicknamed “The Hand Man” by survivors.

  • These creatures are known for their haunting wails, a mournful sound that echoes through the wasteland and chills survivors to their core. The sound is not merely eerie—it has a physical and psychological effect, paralyzing prey with despair and fear.

  • Behavior:
  • Lamentors are solitary hunters, often appearing without warning in the dead of night or thick fog. They move silently, their graceful motions allowing them to close distances rapidly and without detection. Despite their fragile appearance, they are remarkably strong and capable of devastating physical attacks. They seem to feed on fear and suffering, prolonging the death of their prey to savor the torment.

  • The Lamentor’s wail can be heard from great distances, often luring survivors into traps or causing them to flee into even more dangerous terrain. They are highly intelligent for Aberrants and have been observed toying with their prey, further amplifying their sadistic nature.

  • Abilities:
    • Haunting Wail: The Lamentor emits a piercing, mournful scream that paralyzes and disorients those who hear it, leaving them vulnerable.
    • Graceful Evasion: Its fluid movements make it difficult to target in combat, granting it an unnatural agility.
    • Mind Fracture: Survivors who lock eyes with the Lamentor’s terrifying grin experience hallucinations and waves of despair, reducing their ability to act rationally.
    • Razor Claws: Despite its delicate frame, its fingers end in razor-sharp claws capable of ripping through flesh and light armor.

  • Weakness:
  • Lamentors are highly susceptible to loud, jarring noises such as explosions or gunfire, which disrupt their wailing and break their focus. Additionally, they are physically frail, making them vulnerable to physical melee attacks (if they hit) and concentrated firepower once their evasive grace is overcome.

Name: Tarskitter

  • Description:
  • The Tarskitter is a small, spider-like Aberrant composed entirely of a viscous, black sludge that drips endlessly from its amorphous body. Its tar-like substance is imbued with the Dark’s corruptive power, causing mutations and grotesque transformations in anything it touches. The Tarskitter moves with jittery, unnatural speed, making it both elusive and highly dangerous.

  • What makes the Tarskitter particularly horrifying is its parasitic behavior. It latches onto the limb of any living creature, including humans, with its needle-like legs and begins spreading its tar-like substance. The host’s body gradually becomes encased in this corruption, which seeps into their very being, altering their physiology in horrifying ways. Once the host is fully covered, the Tarskitter detaches itself and seeks a new victim. The corrupted host remains behind, their body eventually collapsing into a mass of sludge from which hundreds of new Tarskitters emerge.

  • Behavior:
  • Tarskitters are solitary hunters, relying on stealth and speed to ambush their prey. They are drawn to living beings, particularly those who linger too long in corrupted zones. Survivors often mistake their dripping tar as harmless residue until it’s too late.
  • Tarskitters are not intelligent in the traditional sense but operate with an uncanny instinct to spread their corruption. They have been observed attacking in waves, overwhelming even fortified positions by sheer numbers and persistence.

  • Abilities:
    • Parasitic Attachment: The Tarskitter latches onto a host and begins spreading its tar-like substance, corrupting the victim’s body.
    • Corruption Spread: The sludge it produces causes mutations or severe pain to those exposed to it, weakening their ability to fight back.
    • Rapid Proliferation: Once the host collapses, dozens or even hundreds of Tarskitters emerge, quickly overwhelming the area.
    • Sludge Form: Conventional weapons have limited effectiveness, as the Tarskitter’s body absorbs physical attacks, making fire or chemicals the preferred means of dispatching them.

  • Weakness:
  • Tarskitters are highly flammable, and fire can completely destroy them, including the tar they leave behind. Additionally, bright light disorients them, forcing them to retreat temporarily. Early removal of an attached Tarskitter can save the host, though the corrupted tar must be carefully cleaned to avoid further spread.

Name: The Confluence

  • Description:
  • The Confluence is a towering, grotesque Aberrant composed of fused flesh, sinew, and bone. It appears as a mass of twisted bodies, with limbs and faces emerging from its writhing, pulsating form. Its crimson, raw surface glistens as if freshly created, giving it the appearance of a living wound. Its arms stretch unnaturally long, ending in razor-sharp claws capable of tearing through steel and flesh alike. Multiple faces scream silently from its body, their mouths moving in sync to create a low, guttural drone that unsettles all who hear it.

  • The Confluence is not a single entity but rather a collective of corrupted humans forcibly absorbed into one amalgamated form by the Dark. It is driven by a hive-like will, seeking to absorb more victims to grow its grotesque mass. Wherever it walks, the land becomes tainted, pulsating with veins of flesh and spreading the Dark’s corruption like an infection.

  • Behavior:
  • The Confluence is slow-moving but relentless, making it nearly impossible to escape once it has set its sights on prey. It instinctively seeks out groups of survivors, drawn to their vitality, and attempts to envelop them in its grotesque mass. Its attacks are brutal, with its long arms grabbing and dragging victims into its writhing core, where they are absorbed and become part of the collective.
  • The Aberrant is drawn to areas of high activity or suffering, such as battlefields, ruins, or settlements. Survivors often report hearing its guttural drone long before they see it, giving them precious moments to flee or prepare for a hopeless fight.

  • Abilities:
    • Assimilation Grasp: The Confluence can drag living beings into its body, fusing them into its mass and growing larger with each absorbed victim.
    • Corruptive Presence: Its proximity spreads corruption to the land, causing the ground to bubble with fleshy growths that hinder movement and release noxious fumes.
    • Hive Consciousness: The Confluence’s hive-mind allows it to detect living creatures nearby, even through walls or barriers.
    • Flesh Surge: When threatened, the Confluence can extend its limbs in a horrific surge, sweeping the area and knocking survivors off their feet.

  • Weakness:
  • Fire is the Confluence’s greatest weakness. Its fleshy form is highly flammable, and sustained fire can halt its regeneration and slow its relentless advance. Additionally, the hive-mind is unstable; disrupting its connection with heavy concussive force or shockwaves can momentarily stun the creature, creating an opportunity to flee or attack.

Name: Embermaws

  • Description:
  • The Embermaws are floating, spherical Aberrants wreathed in flames and radiating intense heat. Their rocky, coal-like exteriors are cracked, revealing a fiery core that glows with molten intensity. These creatures are driven by an insatiable hunger, using their gaping, jagged mouths to devour anything in their path. Their bodies emit a constant trail of embers, setting fire to the landscape and leaving destruction in their wake.

  • Embermaws are a terrifying combination of fire and hunger, moving in swarms that can reduce entire settlements to ash. Survivors report that their eerie, cackling growls echo across the scorched ground. Many settlements have fallen to these Aberrants as they are ill-equipped to handle such an attack.

  • Behavior:
  • Embermaws travel in groups of three to six, though larger swarms have been reported near areas with high concentrations of people. They are drawn to settlements, forests, and other regions rich in organic material that they can consume and burn. When attacking, they circle their prey, spitting embers and flames to corral victims into confined areas before closing in for the kill.

    Embermaws don’t just drift ominously; they roll and charge with violent aggression and alarming speed, crashing into anything in their path. The impact alone is enough to kill most living creatures, inflicting devastating blunt force trauma. On contact, their victims’ bodies ignite into flames, ensuring that victims are not only killed on impact but also reduced to ash as their remains are consumed by fire.

  • Though highly aggressive, Embermaws are not entirely mindless. They exhibit rudimentary pack tactics, coordinating their attacks to maximize the destruction they cause. This makes them particularly dangerous when encountered in numbers.

  • Abilities:
    • Flame Burst: Embermaws can expel a jet of fire from their mouths, igniting flammable materials and causing severe burns.
    • Incendiary Aura: Their presence raises the ambient temperature, weakening metal, drying vegetation, and sapping the stamina of those nearby. On proximity alone, survivors have seen metal bend and melt.
    • Molten Core Explosion: When destroyed, an Embermaw’s fiery core detonates, sending molten shrapnel in all directions.
    • Blazing Collision: Embermaws roll with terrifying speed, killing on impact and igniting anything they touch. Victims of these collisions are both crushed and burned to death, leaving behind only scorched remains.
    • Swarm Tactics: In groups, Embermaws can create firestorms by combining their Flame Bursts, overwhelming defenses with sheer firepower.

  • Weakness:
  • Embermaws are vulnerable to water, ice, and cold, which can extinguish their flames and harden their molten cores, rendering them immobile. However, their molten cores are highly unstable, and care must be taken when fighting them to avoid triggering chain explosions.

Name: Wraithbinder

  • Description:
  • The Wraithbinder is a spectral Aberrant composed of shifting, shadow-like tendrils that flicker and weave through the air as if it were a living storm of darkness. Its glowing, icy-blue eyes pierce through the gloom, striking terror into the hearts of any who meet its gaze. While its form appears incorporeal, survivors unfortunate enough to encounter it quickly learn that its tendrils can solidify at will, lashing out with razor-like precision.

  • The Wraithbinder exudes an oppressive aura that chills the air and saps the strength of those nearby. It thrives in dense fog, corrupted zones, or abandoned ruins, where its shadowy form is nearly indistinguishable from its surroundings. Survivors often recount the horror of hearing its hollow, resonant whispers before realizing they are already ensnared in its reach.

  • Behavior:
  • The Wraithbinder is a manipulative predator, preying on fear and confusion. It prefers to stalk its prey, disorienting them with its haunting whispers and flickering form before striking with overwhelming force. Unlike other Aberrants, it rarely kills outright. Instead, it seeks to bind its victims with its tendrils, corrupting their minds and bodies until they are left as shambling husks, mere extensions of the Wraithbinder’s will.

  • These husks, known as “Bound Shades,” follow the Wraithbinder as thralls, acting as distractions and shields in combat. Survivors who escape the Wraithbinder often speak of seeing the faces of their friends among its Shades, twisted and distorted beyond recognition.

  • Abilities:
    • Tendril Bind: The Wraithbinder can lash out with shadowy tendrils, immobilizing prey and draining their energy while corrupting their bodies.
    • Bound Shades: Corrupted victims become spectral thralls under the Wraithbinder’s control, acting as distractions or attackers in combat.
    • Phantom Presence: It flickers in and out of visibility, making it difficult to target and giving it an eerie, teleport-like movement.
    • Aura of Dread: Its presence induces overwhelming fear, reducing survivors’ ability to act rationally or defend themselves effectively.
    • Shadow Infusion: It can temporarily merge with shadows to avoid damage and ambush survivors, reemerging unpredictably to strike.

  • Weakness:
  • The Wraithbinder’s form, while seemingly invulnerable, is highly susceptible to psychic powers such as as those from Mind Controllers. It is also weak against Dark-based weapons, like Shardspire Blades, which are able to cut through its shadowy tendrils, forcing it to retreat. While normal physical attacks from mundane weapons pass through its incorporeal form, weapons imbued with certain wards can also harm it, disrupting its connection to the Dark. Its Bound Shades are fragile and can be destroyed via normal means, weakening its influence and forcing it to expend energy to create new thralls.

More creatures and Aberrants will be added to this compendium as they are discovered. Survivors are encouraged to report their encounters and share knowledge to expand this vital resource.