The mad experiments of the sorcerers who live on their edge of society have horrible consequences. Most of them are explosive magics, destroying a tower, burning a forest, or killing a small village. Some of the worst are the releases of mystical storms or diseases that ravage over many cities. These are the unintended consequences, the times the mages themselves are ripped apart by their own magics. But things like the Guard Beasts, the Owl Beast, The Ring of Power, or powerful spells sometimes are created as a result of these experiments, and so the sorcerers still try, hoping to achieve immortality, either metaphorically or literally.
One of the more common things that these sorcerers attempt to build is a beast to protect their homes, or to sell to others to protect castles, tombs, and lairs. The Guard Beast is their large beasts stitched together and warped as it grows. The Spell Stitched Statue is a triumph of of the guardian. However, both suffer from being large and obvious, direct displays of power. These are the weapons of fear, and not everyone wants a weapon of fear. So, instead, some sorcerers have managed to build creatures which Camouflage themselves and attack from ambush.
Most of these creatures began as lizards, something that is able to sit and wait for many hours, and eat rarely (typically no more than once a month, often less). Things that need to be fed only rarely. When they are inside their very eggs they are ensorcelled to look like something else, typically a piece of furniture or a rug, though treasure chests are shockingly common. From there, the creature is hatched, its body already mutated and strange. These it must be fed a diet of human or elven blood (orc blood will make it grow strange and large, ruining its Camouflage and increasing its power by +1D, dwarf blood will make it slowly turn to stone and petrify), which will give it the proper taste for the blood of those it hunts. Once it is weaned off blood and begins to be able to eat solid food, it must be kept inside the room it will live in to get it used to the room. After two years, the trap beast will be fully grown, living full time as a rug, an armoire, or a stalactite. It has affection for the person who raised it and fed it as a baby, but it might attack anyone else who touches it.
These beasts look like furniture or something, but it can move under its own power. It can warp and shift its body, opening mouths or crushing openings, it will not always have proper limbs or hands, but it will always be able to contort itself to crush and pull people into its mouth. Many of these beasts are rugs or large pieces of clothing like cloaks, and will wrap themselves around their victims, crushing and consuming them. Treasure chests will typically open and close, using a tongue or strong openings on the side of its body to hold their prey and pull the victim into themselves. The only problem of the trap beast is their very slow movement, and how slow they are when pulling themselves, to make chase or simply move to a new place.A
Mundane Form: These creatures have a mundane form. They look like they are not animals but a simple and mundane object. This trait acts as a call-on for Camoflague or Stealthy if they are in a place where their form wont stand out.
Fluid Form: The Trap Beast does not have a proper external anatomy. Their bodies have been warped by magic since they were born in the eggs. This means they only have a single hit location. However, this strange anatomy makes it hard to hard them, and their skin is quick thick, giving the beast 3D armour which cannot be damaged.
Ambush Predator: The Trap Beast is best when it grabs someone without warning. This is a call-on for Savage Attack when the person being attacked is surprised.
Horrifying Mouthes: All Trap Beasts have at least one mouth. A chest lid, a set of drawers, or pockets on a cloak, something like this will be a mouth on this creature. It's common for there to be many mouths, though together they all become a single weapon. Power+1 VA 2 Add 2 WS - Length Hands.
Trap Beasts are shockingly strong, strangely malleable, and quite powerful. Their combat style consists almost entirely of locks, hoping to start every fight with a lock. They cannot Great Strike or Charge very easily, and their ability to simply bite down on their targets is limited. If someone touches, sits on, opens, or puts on the Trap Beast then it may immediately begin a lock, allowing the beast to automatically win the engagement roll, if the creature has even a single point of locking at the beginning of the Fight.
Once the lock has begun, the Trap Beast will attempt to simply perform damaging locks until it has managed to consume the person. Since it's rare for someone to have multiple trap beasts, especially in the same place, the friends of the victim will often be able to save it, either by pulling the victim out of their creature's jaws, or stabbing it repeatedly. Most creators of trap beasts have therefore given them a loud scream they will scream while they are feeding, raising the alarm and bringing assistance to the beast. Another wrinkle is that if someone is wearing (or fully locked) by a cloak or rug, then attacks that deal damage to the Trap Beast also do damage to the person wrapped in it (though at -2VA).
A Burning Wheel Monster Every Week