Dire beast

Dire beasts are multiple types of beasts that are large, aggressive, and have bony spines growing from their bodies, seemingly caused by living in magically corrupted environments. The most common types of dire beasts are dire wolves and dire bears, though other types exist as well.

Description
Dire beasts are typically larger, stronger, and more aggressive than their non-dire counterparts. Additionally they often have bony spines that protrude from their bodies.

Many dire beasts appear to live in areas of Exandria that have been magically corrupted, such as the Savalirwood, the Barbed Fields, the Lotusden Greenwood, and the Mirescar, the latter of which is specifically noted to cause beasts that live there to transform into dire beasts. Orcish tribes often tame dire beasts to use as hunting animals.

Known beasts

 * Dire wolf: Live in the Vesper Timberland of Issylra, as well as the Cyrengreen Forest of Wildemount.
 * Dire bear: Live in the Frostweald of Tal'Dorei and the Savalirwood of Wildemount.
 * Dire armadillo: Live in the Barbed Fields of Wildemount.
 * Dire rat: The wearer of a Cloak of the Scuttling Rat can transform into a dire rat.
 * Dire honey badger: Not confirmed to actually exist, but the form of one was once taken by Jester Lavorre using the spell Polymorph.

Trivia
Druids of the Circle of the Blighted can gain bony spines similar to dire beasts, as do their Wild Shape forms.