Orcish Monster Rending
After they have hunted and killed a monster, orcs are known to eat the flesh of all manner of creatures. But the other parts of a monster can be as—if not more—valuable than the meat. The process of breaking down a monster is called rending among the orcs, similar to dressing among other people. Orcs rend monsters to use as much or all of its parts. They use its hide, bones, claws & talons, teeth (fangs) and antlers/horns. They can also harvest fluids such as poisons and acids.
While the hide can be used for general leatherworking including making leather and hide armor, monster hides are often so strong as to be able to create a facsimile of metal armors. A reptilian monster with scales may be able to act as scale mail armor, bones like ribs and skulls can be used as armor pieces similar to splint mail or plate, and chitinous monster exoskeletons may work as plate armor as well. Claws and talons, and fangs or tusks may be used to craft weapons including daggers and arrow, bolt and spear heads.
The innate magical or special properties of a monster may be passed on to items made from their parts as long as care is taken. They can also reduce the time, effort, and cost to create magic items that are enchanted with the innate properties of the beast: for example it is known that crafting a Cloak of Displacement is easier if the hide of a certain monster with the same qualities is used in its creation.
Monster Part Item Properties
Monster Hide Armor
In addition to counting as Hide or other armor, armor or other items such as cloaks made from monster hides can confer properties of the monster it was crafted from. The most common property is inheriting the resistance(s) or resistance or immunity to the damage types of the creature, but it could be other qualities such as camouflage or displacement. The wing membranes of one dragon alone can make many cloaks of elemental resistance, and armor crafted by one of these monsters counts as Armor of Resistance for the appropriate damage type. Examples include:
Behir: Resistance to lightning
Cockatrice: Immunity to petrification
Dragons: Dragon Scale Mail
Gorgon: Immunity to petrification
Grick: Camouflage (Advantage on Stealth checks)
Hell hound: Resistance to fire
Kraken: Resistance to lightning
Yeti: Resistance to cold
Armor or cloaks made from a white dragon provide resistance to cold damage.
Monstrous Weapons
Weapons made from monster bony parts may also inherit the attack qualities of the creature they were derived from. Example include:
Dagger of Venom from monsters with poison bite or claw attacks
Mace of Terror made from the skull or bones of a monster that causes fear
DMs and players are encouraged to come up with new magic weapons derived from monsters claws, fangs, and spines—usually small ones like daggers and short swords as larger ones can break more easily.
Monstrous Wondrous Items
Other items that can be crafted from monster parts, either magical or utilitarian, include:
Basilisk petrification revivification oil
Boots of Speed or Striding and Springing from beasts with high movement
Cloak of Displacement, well… obvious
Cloak of Invisibility from monsters that can turn invisible
Flash bomb from gibbering mouther spittle
Petrifying oil from cockatrice glands
Potion of Fire Breath from fire breathing monsters including dragons
Potion of Poison from monsters with poison attacks
Robe of Eyes from gibbering mouther
Rope of Climbing from roper tentacles
Rope of Entanglement from vine blight vines
Sovereign Glue from mimics
Tentacle rod from monsters with tentacles
Universal Solvent from puddings and oozes with corrosion
Again, these are suggestions. Feel free to be creative and explore monster features and magic items that could be made from their anatomy.
