Murshie

The Murshie are hideous, green-grey skinned creatures who dwell in the sucking black mud of the swamplands. They are often mistaken for undead creatures or trolls, and some say they are the twisted spirits of those who perish in the swamps. The reality, however, is much worse, as they are creatures that seem to be part demonic. It is rumored that the first Murshie were created when the apprentices of one of the Narsi, who lived near the Yftelan Mire, attempted to improve a creature with a demonic infusion. Due to flaws in their ritual, they themselves were infused with the demonic energies, transforming into the first of the Murshie. They escaped into the Mire after killing their master and most of the servants within the compound.

Murshie are poisonous creatures, tainting the land with their presence. They are squat, inhuman creatures who sleep in the darkest depths of quagmires. Their claws are long, bone yellow, and sharp. They reek of death and rot. Where the Murshie live, trees grow gnarled and stunted, water pools into fetid ponds, plants die and lichen and fungi thrive. Those who are foolish enough to enter the Murshie’s swamp make warm, raw, tasty food.

The Murshie tend to hunt alone, but lair in packs of three or more. A Murshie will attack with its long sharp claws and jagged teeth, but it will fight defensively, as it is not a particularly strong creature, bound as it is in the physical world. It will use its knowledge of the terrain and natural camouflage (that sickly, green-grey hide blends in rather well with the swamp) to ambush PCs and pick them off, one by one.

#4300 Cyradon, page 159