Jabberslythes are amongst the most ancient and foul of all the creatures that dwell in the deep forest of the Old World.
Overview
Jabberslythes are truly repugnant to look upon, having such grotesque and twisted features that even the clearest pools of water will not offer up their reflection. A sickening fusion of toad, sludge-drake, and many-limbed insect, the Jabberslythe encompasses all that is unwholesome and vile about nature and magnifies it a hundredfold.[1a]
Ungainly and clumsy creatures, Jabberslythes have mutated the better to catch agile prey such as the flittering spites that buzz around their lairs or the occasional Ungor who strays too close. They have a thick, sticky proboscis-like tongue that they can shoot out in the blink of an eye, capable of ensnaring and pulling a creature as large as a horse into the Jabberslythe's gaping mouth when it retracts.[1a]
But the most horrendous of all the Jabberslythe's weapons is its vile appearance. The Jabberslythe is a creature so unsightly, a monster so disturbing to look upon, that an aura of madness surrounds it. There is something so unearthly and unsettling about these beasts that even to set eyes upon one is to go immediately and permanently insane. To gaze at such a beast is to tempt fate – for many who do have their sanity ripped asunder. It is said that a Jabberslythe is so horrible to view, that even clear pools of water will not offer up a reflection. Those that look upon a Jabberslythe for too long find themselves clawing at their own eyes, crawling in tight circles, babbling nonsense rhymes in a gibberish tongue, shrieking with manic laughter, or even gutting themselves with their own weapons in their desperation to escape the nightmarish vision that has seared itself into their brains, forever haunting them. These unfortunates are easy prey for the Jabberslythe, which will lumber towards its hapless victims with acidic drool spilling from the upturned corners of its fang-ridged maw.[1a]
The beating of the Beastmen's war drums often serves to draw Jabberslythes from their lairs, for they know that there will be rich pickings indeed at such times. The sounds of braying, shouting or even of celebration can be enough to bring a Jabberslythe lolloping and flapping from its lair, and they are always hungry. For their part, the Beastmen do their best to ignore the Jabberslythes, for even they are not immune to the madness of its curse. Yet even the least experienced Wargor will not drive a Jabberslythe away, for a gifted Bray-Shaman can ensure their erratic and ungainly flight takes them in the direction of the foe and not the warherd. The sight of a disciplined enemy battleline crumbling with terror and insanity as the Jabberslythe goes about its gory business is pleasing to the Beastmen indeed.[1a]
It's disputed by Imperial scholars how Jabberslythes reproduce. Reinholt Schent, who claims to be a Scholar of the Fantastic from the Imperial Zoo believes not only that Jabberslythes breed, but that there is a pregnant specimen near the town of Hallt in the western Vorbergland.[2a]
Infamous Jabberslythes
- The Jabberslythe of Ostwald - A much-feared monstrosity that terrorised the Empire town of Ostwald. It was ultimately slain by the famed Bretonnian knight Calard, one of the many challenges he faced during his Quest for the Grail.
Gallery
Miniature
Sources
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Beastmen (7th Edition)
- 1a: pg. 50
- 2: Warhammer Fantasy RPG 4th Ed -- Adventures Afoot in the Reikland
- 2a: pg. 3
