From the journal of Scrivnar Thelt:

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The Hellfurnaces. The very name brings images of fire and brimstone, hellish rivers of lava, and a gray gritty smoking haze. While that image may be accurate if a character wanders into the vicinity of an active volcanic eruption, the truth is that most of the area of the Hellfurnaces is more or less like that of any other mountain range. It is true that there is a surprisingly high concentration of volcanism in the Hellfurneces, but when the entire range is looked at it becomes clear that only a relatively small percentage of the mountains in the range are actively volcanoes. This is not to say that the Hellfurnaces are not dangerous however, they are quite possibly the most dangerous mountain range in eastern Oerik, perhaps on all of Oerth.

Laying as they do in a somewhat inaccessible region of the Flanaess the Hellfurnaces are a mystery to many people, a place where the current of legends runs strong but the facts are little more then a trickle. For some people, however, legends are not nearly enough, they desire to see the reality that the tales reflect. Scrivnar Thelt, a scholarly cleric of the deity Delleb, is one such person. The dangers encountered in his journal entries below, chronicling a trip through the Hellfurnaces to the semi-fabled city of Cauldron reveal only a small number of the potential terrors that await explorers in the rugged vastness between the Sea of Dust and the Amedio jungle.

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The dark soil of the lower slopes must have some sort of nutritional imbalance, for in most places only a few more hardy plants can be found growing, and these tend toward being stunted and sickly in appearance. Thus when our trail took us through a small valley along the flanks of a higher peak I was somewhat amazed to find pasture of thick grass of a type I had never before seen, along the banks of a small swift flowing creek. One of the guides, a younger man on his first trip, took his mule toward the creek to water the animal. A more experience guide called out a warning, but by then it was too late. I watched in fascination, as the very grass of the pasture seemed to come alive, moving steadily forward to engulf the guide and his beast. My fascination quickly turned to horror however, as the thick saw-toothed blades of grass began whipping furiously to and fro, opening countless small, and bleeding cuts on man and beast alike. The guide managed to struggle free from the deadly grass but the mule was not so lucky. My healing spells tended to the guides wounds, and we decided to camp well away from the valley this night.

Death Grass appears as a patch of course grass, each glossy green blade being between five and ten inches in length. Death grass is able to pull up its roots and move about slowly, and swarms often do exactly that when searching for prey. The volcanic soil of the Hellfurnaces is rich in many nutrients, but lacking in certain others, and the death grass adds to its nutritional value with the blood and rotting flash of animals. Bones of various sizes will often be seen mixed in with a patch of death grass, all that remains of previous victims.

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Like their material plane counterparts Magma Beast Gorgons will generally start an encounter with a devastating charge.

Burn (Ex): All of a magma beast gorgon’s physical attacks deal an additional 1d6 points of fire damage. Those hit by a magma beast’s physical attacks must make a Reflex save (DC 21) or catch on fire. The flame burns for 1d4 rounds. A burning creature can take a move action to put out the flame. Creatures hitting a magma beast with natural weapons or unarmed strikes take 1d6 points of fire damage as if hit by the magma beasts natural attack, and also catch on fire unless they succeed on a Reflex save. The save DC is constitution based.

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Many creatures are not native to the material plane alone, there are elemental versions of most creatures in the planes, and the Magma Beast is one of the forms that these natural creatures take when they are from the elemental plane of fire (and its associated para-elemental of magma) they appear much like their material plane counter parts, but are made from living, molten rock. They are rarely encountered by inhabitants of the material plane, but are some times brought by spellcasters or released through natural portals located in places of intense heat into the normal world.

“Magma beast” is an inherited template that can be added to any living creature of the animal or magical beast type that lacks a swim speed and does not possess the cold subtype (referred to hereafter as the “base creature”). It uses all of the base creatures statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Size and Type: the creatures type changes to Elemental and it gains the extraplanar and augmented (animal or magical beast) and fire subtypes. Size is unchanged.

Hit Dice: increase HD by 1 (or to 1 HD if the base creature normally has less then 1 HD). HD type does not change.

Speed: -5ft to all movement types, unless the base creatures movement is already 15 ft or less, in which case it is unchanged.

AC: natural armor improves by +2

Attacks: Same as base creature adjusted for the additional HD

Damage: Same as base creature

Special Attacks: A magma beast retains all of the special attacks of the base creature, except those dealing with cold or dealing cold damage, which it loses. In addition it gains the following special attacks.

Burn (Ex): All of a magma beast's physical attacks deal an additional 1d6 points of fire damage. Those hit by a magma beast’s physical attacks must make a Reflex save (DC 10 + 1/2 HD + constitution modifier) or catch on fire. The flame burns for 1d4 rounds. A burning creature can take a move action to put out the flame. Creatures hitting a magma beast with natural weapons or unarmed strikes take 1d6 points of fire damage as if hit by the magma beasts natural attack, and also catch on fire unless they succeed on a Reflex save.

Special Qualities: A magma beast retains all of the base creatures special qualities, except those dealing with cold, which it loses. In addition it gains those listed below.

Damage Reduction (Ex): A magma beast is tougher then a material plane creature of its type, and gains damage reduction based upon its HD: HD 1-6 DR 5/adamantine, HD 7-12 DR 10 adamantine, and HD 13+ DR 15 adamantine

Dark Vision (60ft.): A magma beast can see in the dark.

Heat Dependent (Ex): Magma beasts are dependent on the heat generated by their environment, in places where the temperature is below 100 degrees the magma beast will be able to act normally for a number of rounds equal to its constitution score, there after it will become fatigued, and take 1d4 points of damage per minute until it returns to an area with a temperature over 100 degrees.

Elemental Traits: A magma beast is immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, and stunning. Magma beasts are not subject to critical hits or flanking.

Vulnerable to Cold (Ex): Magma beasts are especially susceptible to cold; they take half again as much (+50%) damage from cold regardless of whether a saving throw is allowed, or if the save is a success of failure.

Saves: recalculate based upon the magma beasts new HD and ability scores, magma beasts have good Fort saves.

Abilities: Magma beasts tougher then their material plane counter parts, other wise nearly identical, they get a +4 to constitution.

Skills: as base creature, adjusted for the additional HD.

Feats: as base creature, adjusted for additional HD.

Climate/Terrain: Para-elemental plane of Magma, Plane of fire

Organization: as base creature

Challenge Rating: as base creature +2

Treasure: none

Alignment: As base creature.

Advancement: As base creature.

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Storm Raptors are magical eagles that live and hunt amidst the clouds and thunder of a storm. They often build their nests on high lightning scarred pinnacles of rock. A storm raptors black-feathered wings spread close to ten feet and its body is nearly as long as a man is tall. Despite it's magical nature, a storm raptor is no more intelligent then a standard eagle or falcon.

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The lava lizard is a bizarre magical reptile that dwells in subterranean caverns amid geysers and bubbling magma pools. The creature’s shell-like mottled gray and orange outer scales are rock-like and hard, helping it to maintain the high body temperature that it needs to survive. A lava lizard is about six feet long, not including the short but heavy four-foot long tail. A somewhat oversized head contains large jaws filed with black teeth.

Although these creature dwell in hot caverns, they have been known to wander up to several miles away from the fires and lava pools that nourish them with heat when searching for food. When they feel their body temperature beginning to cool they will attempt to make their way back to the fires of their home. Unconfirmed reports tell of adventurers finding lava lizards frozen in statue like immobility, presumably having been caught too far from their source of heat.

Note:
The preceeding monsters are all of my own creation, save for the Lava Lizard which has been adapted to the D&D 3.5 rules set from module B5, Horror on the Hill)