Image by Dope Pope, accessed at their ArtStation here

[I usually do my run of “monsters from movies” conversions in October, to coincide with Halloween. But I did Furtober last year instead. So I’m going to slot them into February, as a Valentines present to monster-loving folks. First up, a Korean kaiju! Yongary: Monster of the Deep is a weird movie in a number of ways. First, the original language version is lost, so you can only see it in its English dub–which is very strange in this day and age where every minor property gets super respectful treatment and 4K restorations (although there is a lovely Blu-Ray). As a ripoff primarily of Gamera, itself a ripoff of Godzilla and The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, it steals ideas and even shots in a somewhat haphazard way. It feels like cargo cult filmmaking. But it was a colossal hit in South Korea, and even got an official remake/reboot to cash in on the Matthew Broderick Godzilla, so clearly it struck a nerve in its home country.]

Yongary
CR 20 N Magical Beast
This creature looks roughly like an oversized dinosaur, bipedal with a reptilian snout, a few rows of short ridges along the back, and spikes on the tail. A single glowing horn grows from its nose.

A yongary is an immense burrowing creature, a relic from the ancient past. Some scholars believe they are related to behemoths, or perhaps kaiju, but they are decidedly more fragile than either. Although a yongary is difficult, if not impossible, to kill with conventional weapons, they are especially sensitive to poisonous substances, particularly organic toxins and venoms. As such, they eschew consuming organic matter for minerals and pure energy. They can eat fire, lightning and even magical force, and may come to the surface to bask in forest fires or lightning strikes.  They are also fond of music.

Yongaries are of animalistic intelligence, but occasionally will make bonds with small children, vulnerable-looking animals, and other creatures that rouse a parental instinct in the beast. These are likely to be oases of calm around its rampages, and yongaries are especially good at destroying standing structures. They seek to provoke firepower from other creatures in order to absorb its energy, and use their breath weapons to set large fires they can gain healing from. A yongary has a powerful ray that can cut between atoms, and they typically save this for targets able to actually injure them.

Keep reading