This is the first round of monster brainstorming for the first zone described, and hopefully gives an idea of the colorful, storybook aesthetic I'm going for here. I feel like this would be a good approach for the violence inherent in an MMO where the heroes build careers on killing monsters but are relatable rather than gruesome people.<br/><br/><table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td>(http://40.media.tumblr.com/68956af24d57f988aba00891ba3aee9d/tumblr_o48nngyYor1sm45xjo1_1280.jpg)</td><td><strong>Griffon</strong><br/>The Highland Steppe is the ancestral nesting grounds of Skyreach's griffons. New generations of griffons return each year to compete for mates and reclaim old nests, some of which have petrified with age to form stairways up the steppe cliffs. Would-be adventurers are advised not to take these routes, however, as griffons organize into prides and will fight to the death to protect their mates and chicks.</td></tr><tr><td>(http://41.media.tumblr.com/d9d303e4ebd735e339ebedc7cae0ff53/tumblr_o48nngyYor1sm45xjo2_1280.jpg)(http://40.media.tumblr.com/465953d1cae03c78beb0632eb3047e85/tumblr_o48nngyYor1sm45xjo7_1280.jpg)</td><td><strong>Torg</strong><br/>Somewhere between the brutish orc and slimy toad lies the torg, an aggressive race whose warbands roam the Highland Steppe in search of tasty eggs and caravans to plunder. The throaty, warbling ribbit of torgs can be heard across the Steppe for miles, and is generally thought to be a dominance display. Torgs fight with pilfered weapons and usually ill-fitting armor.</td></tr><tr><td>(http://36.media.tumblr.com/0a45769f3ca69ae75c70bd7480c7a60a/tumblr_o48nngyYor1sm45xjo4_1280.jpg)</td><td><strong>Cliff Kite</strong><br/>Second among the cliff-nesting species of the Highland Steppe are the cliff kites, lighter fliers often at the mercy of the wind who slice through the high grasses in search of small game to consume. A cliff kite will often toy with prey and seems to possess a playful side, though they are territorial animals and fight with one another wherever they meet. The shrill cry of cliff kites fighting for dominance has drawn comparisons to a reed whistle.</td></tr><tr><td>(http://41.media.tumblr.com/835772067ef42085390edb8c547286ce/tumblr_o48nngyYor1sm45xjo3_1280.jpg)</td><td><strong>Cloud Kite</strong><br/>Not truly native to the Highland Steppe are a subspecies of cliff kite who descend from cloud coccoons bearing an electric charge. A fully charged cloud kite will skim the tall grasses of the Highland Steppe to safely relieve this stored energy, sometimes resulting in wildfires or freak lightning storms. Once done, cloud kites return to their mysterious realms in the clouds. They are seldom hostile, but a hazard nonetheless.</td></tr><tr><td>(http://36.media.tumblr.com/2422b82cccddc41bb9f3d7b1ecc74e01/tumblr_o48nngyYor1sm45xjo6_500.jpg)</td><td><strong>Hypnomoth</strong><br/>A cunning predator prowls in the prairie steppe hunting smaller insects and meals of opportunity. The hypnomoth is a very poor flyer, comparable to a chicken, but for brief periods the creature can hover its bulk to bring its hypnotic wings to bear against larger foes such as man. More aggressive predators of the Highland Steppe have learned to shadow a hypnomoth and benefit from its ability to stun larger prey. Torg have even been known to wrangle especially fat hypnomoths and drive them toward human caravans as an ambush tactic.</td></tr><tr><td>(http://40.media.tumblr.com/b28e50259710f5090156a6409ec00e16/tumblr_o48nngyYor1sm45xjo5_500.jpg)</td><td><strong>Leatherwing</strong><br/>Under the dark of night leatherwings emerge in great numbers, a malefic beast whose origin is credited to witchcraft. Leatherwings are quiet, organized killers who swoop on unsuspecting prey and seem to kill mostly for sport or to satisfy an inborn craving for bloodshed. Packs of the beasts communicate in raspy, hissing voice barely audible to the human ear. Thankfully, leatherwings are not quite large enough to lift and carry away a full grown man, but rumors tell of leatherwing alphas who hunt under the new moon to drag entire tents in their claws to subterranean lairs.</td></tr></tbody></table>