© Daniel S. Wall, April 7, 2026

“A two legged manticore without wings? That’s what you think of me? Fair enough. Just so you realize, I can engage your shield man and still throw tail spikes at you. So, try not to get too creative with the creature comparisons.”

-Kessen Mir, Vek Scout.

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Vek by Earl Geier

It is a widely held view that these creatures are actually demons who know the way from hell to the hottest parts of the surface world. To some degree this is due to their appearance. Vek are essentially humanoids possessing a very rough textured skin, usually ranging from black to reddish brown in hue. All Vek sport at least one pair of horns atop their skulls, and some bear quite a few more than that. In place of fingernails these creatures have claws. Most importantly, Vek possess a tail, and from that tail, Vek typically grow a range of hard spikes made of dense bone. With the flick of its tail a Vek may launch a spike at short range. One could well excuse those on the receiving end of such an attack for thinking they have encountered a beast straight out of the depths of hell itself.

In fact, the Vek are merely a variety of wilding whose love of the desert rivals the elven love of trees and meadows. Vek often serve as scouts and long distance traders, and more often still, they provide mercenaries to those who can afford the service. Vek generally prefer to trade with civilized peoples, but in a pinch they may well resort to raiding.

Vek may use manufactured weapons or stick with their natural weapon abilities as they see fit. For purposes of game rules, their tail spikes are considered hand thrown missiles.

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Rules for playing Vek in Tunnels and Trolls (Delux Edition) can be found here. Rules for playing Vek in first edition, D&D can be found here.