The Varagoth are terrifying, reptilian Shroudspawn bred solely for one purpose: to hunt and kill. Resembling a nightmarish blend of skeletal draconic creature and serpent, these beings are characterized by their long, sinewy bodies, covered in jagged, bone-like ridges running from their elongated skulls to their coiled tails. Standing on two powerful hind legs, with elongated claws and sinewy muscles, the Varagoth are built for speed, agility, and brutal combat.
Their heads are narrow and skeletal, eyeless, with wide, gaping maws filled with jagged, razor-sharp teeth that drip with venomous black ichor. Their exposed ribcages, twisted and pulsating with dark energy, seem to contain some sinister internal force. Their long tails, lined with barbs and spikes, serve as deadly weapons, capable of tearing through flesh and bone with lethal precision.
What makes the Varagoth so fearsome is their raw, predatory nature. They hunt relentlessly, relying on an acute sense of smell and the vibrations in the earth to track their prey. Known for their deadly ambush tactics, they strike from the shadows or launch themselves from high ground with terrifying accuracy.
Driven by an insatiable hunger, the Varagoth are pure predators. They are solitary hunters, preferring to stalk prey in isolation, though it’s not unheard of for multiple Varagothi to converge on particularly rich hunting grounds. Unlike other Shroudspawn, they do not linger in one place for long—they are nomadic, constantly patrolling the edges of the Shroud in search of new victims.
A Varagoth’s hunting strategy revolves around ambush and overwhelming speed. They remain hidden, coiling their bodies in shadowed ruins or dense forests, waiting for prey to pass close enough. When they strike, it is with blinding speed, lashing out with claws, teeth, and tail in a violent frenzy. Once their target is subdued, they drag it into the shadows to finish it off before moving on to the next kill.
Despite their size, Varagothi are incredibly agile. Their skeletal bodies can twist and contort in ways that make them unpredictable in combat. They easily climb sheer surfaces, using their claws to dig into stone or wood, making them especially dangerous in confined or uneven terrain, such as forests, ruins, or underground caverns.
As apex predators, Varagothi hunt other Shroudspawn as well as mortals who venture too far into their territory. Their presence ensures that the Shroud remains a place of constant danger, where only the strongest or most cunning survive.
Varagothi are formidable foes, even for the most veteran hunters. A contract on a Varagoth is valuable enough to retire a hunter for life, yet no lone hunter has ever claimed such a bounty. Usually, it requires a seasoned hunting party to take down a single Varagoth, and even then, the casualties are often high.
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