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Post by Stage on Jul 4, 2018 7:00:48 GMT
Names: Xiercos Native home: Arken Mundus range: Mountainous regions of Migma Size range: 5.6 to 6.6 ft tall Weight range: 2.1 to 3.5 tons Description: The xierocs is a large, leathery-skinned mammal that resembles a water buffalo or ox with an elongated head like a boar or rhinoceros. It has a trio of horns on its long snout that appear to be melting or drooping. The exact way in which these horns dip is utterly unique to each individual and can be used to reliably recognize them. The hairless body of a xiercos is slate gray. The horse-like tail trailing from its rump is pitch black and actually quite long and silky. Some xiercos have gray or silvery bristles on their chins. Info: They are a common sight in the mountains of central east Arken. Xiercos are able to endure severe deforestation, drought, fire, and urbanization. On Lemuria, they both wander wild and live in domestication by the Vounorians. Behavior: Xiercos are very passive and hardy. They are difficult to stress and impossible to anger. Despite being rather dull, often falling into holes or pits repeatedly and needing to be saved each time, they are easily conditioned, picking up patterns with almost machine persistence. It has been suggested that this, as well as their repeated accidents, are due to an overdeveloped form of muscle memory that allows them to traverse narrow paths up mountains after discovering them only once, but leaves them helpless when their environments change. Perhaps their physical endurance is owed to a lack of behavioral flexibility. Abilities: - Tough: While possessing no casting ability, the internal magic of a xierocs is so robust it is mostly indestructible by physical means. Only hugely powerful magic can kill a xierocs. - Strong: Although they are too placid to be war mounts, xiercos make excellent beasts of burden, as they can carry or haul several times their own considerable weight with ease. Weaknesses: - Although they can be trained, Xiercos are generally extremely dimwitted.
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Post by Stage on Jul 4, 2018 22:24:35 GMT
Name: Bosat Native home: Sarctuus Mundus range: Farms throughout Lemuria Size range: 4.9 to 5.7 ft tall Weight range: 1,600 to 3,300 lb Description: Bosat resemble cattle with short, coarse, brown fur and narrow snouts with rodent-like teeth that allow them to chew through even very tough vegetation. It has a thin, naked, whippy tail. Info: Both the most widespread cattle species and halfer on Sarctuus, the bosat was created when a bovine species that could live anywhere and eat anything was wished for, so the hardiest mammal in the world was searched for, and the brown rat emerged the victor. By increasing not just their versatility, but also speed of reproduction, the magical crossing of rats with aurochs lead to a cattle that quickly surpassed all others in numbers, ease of care, and popularity. It is often said there are as many bosat as people on Sarctuus. Behavior: Bosat are more intelligent than cows, often escaping and running amuck by chewing on all manner of things, but they willing return for feeding time. Bosats can be trained to perform simple actions and often do not need to be herded, only signaled to gather and move. Some bosat move from being cattle to being pets due to their intelligence and charm.
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Post by Stage on Jul 4, 2018 22:40:16 GMT
Name: Luflon Native home: Sarctuus Mundus range: Farms throughout Lemuria Size range: 2 to 4 ft tall Weight range: 55 to 120 lb Description: The lufon resembles a sleek, low-slung, heavy-bodied goat with a thick, paddled tail and extremely dense, rich brown fur. Its horns are not as large or ornate as most goats even in males, only curving backwards. Info: A cross between two animals with dense fur, the mouflon and the sea otter, the luflon is kept for the wondrously thick, soft wool it grows in the winter season. It is one of the least populous, but most profitable, livestock in Aldolaz. Behavior: A semi-aquatic creature that feeds on freshwater plants, the luflon has more specific needs than other types of livestock, but its wool, milk, and meat are considered luxury items, so it is well worth the cost of upkeep even if kept in only small groups. It is often placed on the same land as other farm animals because it spends much of its time in the water and does not take up the same grazing space, though it is also more standoffish that most livestock. It sometimes drives other animals to fatal dehydration by keeping them away from cattle ponds. It is highly social among other luflon though, so it does best in groups of up to a hundred.
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Post by Stage on Jul 4, 2018 23:15:22 GMT
Name: Gallbok Native home: Sarctuus Mundus range: Farms throughout Lemuria Size range: 2 to 2.7 ft tall Weight range: 60 to 150 lb Description: The gallbok resembles a gangly antelope with a raised, fleshy snout, glossy brown plumage, and raised, fanning tail feathers that range from modest on females to extravagant on males. Additionally, males have patches of bronzy and metallic green feathers on their haunches, sides, and neck. Info: The premier egg-producing chimera, the gallbok is a hybrid of the red junglefowl and saiga antelope. Weighing over twenty times as much as a large junglefowl, it produces equally large eggs as well as provides more feathers and meat. Just one egg is enough to feed the average-sized family. Behavior: The gallbok has a gentle, agreeable nature that makes it popular to keep at home. If it is not acclimatized to humans, it acts quite panicky or even aggressively in the case of large males. Feral gallbok can be surprisingly dangerous.
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Post by Stage on Jul 4, 2018 23:45:03 GMT
Name: Scroa Native home: Sarctuus Mundus range: Farms throughout Lemuria Size range: 1.8 to 4.1 ft tall Weight range: 130 to 220 lb Description: The scroa resembles a scaly, dappled brown pig with a hunchback and gradually sloping build that tapers into a round tail as long as its body. Its eyes are yellow, slitted, and catlike. Its tusks are thin, extremely sharp, and opaque, and can be replaced at a very rapid pace if removed or broken. Info: The most recent agricultural staple among chimeras, the stroa is a hybrid of the wild boar and Javelin sand boa. Behavior: Capable of consuming objects as large as watermelons in their entirety and digesting them within a just a few hours, the scroa is commonly used to dispose of edible waste. Able to eat twice its weight in a day or fast for months on end, it is easy to keep as long as other animals leave any amount of food behind. Its hide and meat can also be sold, with its skin in particular fetching a good price because they keep it healthy and moisturized with daily mud baths. Scroa are not especially intelligent, but they keep to schedules quite rigidly and can count up to six.
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Post by Stage on Jul 19, 2018 6:24:36 GMT
Names: Goblins, Homo saevus, wicht Native home: Fawqunya Mundus range: Open areas throughout all of Lemuria, the far north excluded, with underground routes connecting major settlements Size range: 2'8'' to 3'4'' (goblins) / 4'2'' to 5'6'' (hobgoblins) Weight range: 25 to 50 lb (goblins) / 105 to 240 lb (hobgoblins) Description: Goblins are small humanoids with yellowish to rusty skin, pointed ears, and flat, upturned noses. Their hair ranges from reddish-brown to black in color. Although rare, only found in one out of a hundred on average, genetic mutation can make green skin and even green blood possible. Goblins in the far south may be born with monkey-like tails and increased agility. Goblins largely have broad, stout features, even among their women. In fact, a chiseled jawline and large shoulders are considered highly attractive by males. It is most fashionable for goblins to wear their hair long, often keeping it in flowing tails or braids. A goblin with short hair is usually making a statement. Their eyes that are yellowish or reddish. Goblins regularly live eighty years. Hobgoblins: Hybrids between goblins and humans, hobgoblins resemble large, powerfully built goblins. While the average hobgoblin is significantly shorter than the average human, it is far broader. They are extremely dense with muscle. No hobgoblin is green, but some large males may have bluish or red extremities such as noses and ear tips. The rarer female who displays these colors will usually do so throughout their whole body. These individuals are often mistaken for large damon. Northern hobgoblins, especially those found at high altitudes, may be born with thick, woolly fur slightly darker colored than their skin and strength that far surpasses that of their kin. They have eyes that are yellowish to very dark brown. A hobgoblin is lucky to reach sixty years of age. Info: The goblinoids are said to descend from a bat-headed race of old that was hybridized from existence. This is believed to be behind their bat-like faces and high level of genetic variation. Behavior: Goblins are a highly militarized, warlike race spread across Lemuria. They are not as unified as other races, having no central government and instead operating as a large number of smaller, unrelated ruling bodies. This leaves them very varied in attitude and relation with other races, though there are easily observed trends. Goblins are known for practicing slavery and selective breeding. They are also extremely patriarchal. Even the most progressive goblin communities expect their women to continually have and rear children unless they prove themselves more useful in the military, and even then they are unflatteringly called, "walking bedrolls." They are not treated much better than cattle. Perhaps due to their small stature, goblins are highly temperamental and ofttimes overly defensive. Goblins have an industrious society, but they have never been able to outcompete their rivals the warals. Goblins have no patron god, but some groups ask favor from Lemuria's native gods, particularly Casusa. Underground settlements also honor Ki'dingir and the particularly vile goblinoids, like those from Hugelandstrich, revere Wiez. Wichtel, the goblin language, is very singsong and beautiful. It is said goblin poetry is beautiful enough to draw tears, which is not surprising considering goblins' penchant for the oratory arts. Goblins love music and storytelling and often fuse them with magic to create a brand of warrior known as "war chanters." Hobgoblins: Due to their appearance and temperament, hobgoblins are rarely welcomed into human society. Goblins, however, accept them enthusiastically, valuing their strength and hardiness. Hobgoblins neither dominate or are dominated by full-blooded goblins. They are treated as equal citizens, though their innate physical superiority does mean they usually outpace their smaller comrades in the military. Hobgoblins trend towards being very confident, perhaps because they are appreciated so much by full goblins. In fact, it could easily be asserted they are too confident, coming off as aggressive, grating, or sleazy to other races. Abilities: - Dexterity: Though their small size makes them weak, goblins are fast, able to outrun humans over short distances and quite agile with both foot- and handwork.
- Darkvision: Goblin can see sixty or more in low-light conditions. - Warriors: Because of their military lifestyle, all adult male goblins and most adult females who are not breeders know how to use at least one weapon. - Goblin shock troopers favor large axes and swords.
- Goblin support troops favor halberds.
- Goblin archers favor bows.
- Adepts: Although rare compared to warriors, goblin mages should not be underestimated. They favor spells that either hinder the enemy or strength themselves. - Goblin casters can call upon a number of compulsory effects, attempting to petrify their foes, charm them into compliance, or send them into panicked, fearful retreat.
- When forced into close quarters, goblin mages summon arcane weapons such as daggers or knifes of ice or curved swords of flames.
- Riders: Generation after generation of selective breeding have left the goblins with a variety of unusual beasts of burden. These specially bred beasts respond only to Wichtel. - The most populous goblin mount is a form of giant spider bred in the Underground. These huge arachnids have a weakly poisonous bite and can launch sticky strands of web up to fifty feet in order to entangle prey. Large females can stretch eight feet across and weight almost 200 lb.
- The most famous goblin mounts are wargs, a breed of large, dark-furred wolves with intelligent, yellow eyes. The largest wargs are three feet at the shoulder and weigh 300 pounds. Uniquely among the goblins mounts, they also understand other common languages on Lemuria, not just Wichtel. They remain loyal and only obey commands from goblins however. Wargs can be found wherever goblins are, but they flourish most on temperature plains.
- Another common mount is a sort of monstrous scorpions. These sixteen-foot, 650-pound vermin have powerful pincers and a moderately poisonous sting. Above ground, they perform best in No Man's Land.
- Found only in the tropical south, riding lizards are fifteen-foot long reptiles with cranial crests and tail-bore sails. Males can weigh up to 185 pounds. While they rest and walk on all fours, they rear up and run bipedally. They can spring over thirty miles per hour.
Hobgoblins only: - Constitution: In addition to being far stronger, hobgoblins are much tougher than their pure-blooded kin. They are almost armored by their high muscle mass.
Weaknesses: - Though not as weak as warals, goblins due not have much innate physical might due to their small stature. Hobgoblins, of course, do not suffer this affliction of size. - Whether through goblins' vile temperaments or hobgoblins' overconfidence, there are very few socially adept goblinoids.
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Post by Stage on Jul 19, 2018 6:24:43 GMT
Names: Gekok, gekop, gekoq, Homo lacertus, kobolds, savrandras, warals Native home: Fawqunya Mundus range: Throughout the Underground, but only found living aboveground in Farrago Size range: 2'6'' to 3'2'' Weight range: 20 to 40 lb Description: Warals are small, scaly hominids with gecko-like heads. They are one of Fawqunya's theriocephalic races, so, aside from their obviously inhuman features, they are anatomically identical to humans. Their wrinkly scales come in a variety of drab colors such as black, brown, gray, green, and yellow. Their backs sport white to reddish blotches, spots, or stripes. Their large, nocturnal eyes are silvery, veined, and have vertical pupils. Unlike fellow theriocephalus hyenamen, they have tails, though not long, lizard-like ones. Their short tails are thin and prehensile like those of their tree-dwelling primate ancestors. There is another distinct strain of waral. Approximately one in seventy warals has a blunted, mammalian snout and sparse fur sprouting from between their scales. These dog- or rat-like warals are actually half-huacephalus. Though hyenamen rarely hybridize due to the poor life the resulting children suffer, warals welcome such children openly and are thus the only race with which they readily interbreed. There is little difference between male and female warals, though males do tend to be slightly taller and heavier. The average waran lifespan is fifty years, but some individuals have made it to 120 years. Info: The warals were once an isolated and even hostile people, jealously guarding the caves and jungles they inhabited with cruel traps, but a fateful agreement with the huacephali led them to completely reversing their ways, opening their borders and trade relations to the other races of Fawqunya. This is, in fact, why they are known as warals, a corruption of the Huacephalic word ouran, meaning "dragon." Behavior: Waran society is one of both great open- and single-mindedness. They are a culture focused on the greater good of their community, and they consider all neighbors and trade partners part of this community. Although they are ruled by an autocratic leader, this leader is elected. Warals have no sense of individual glory, so they have never suffered a despot. Similarly, there are no great divides in waran culture. They do not let even trivial things separate them. Unlike many other sapient races, they see no shame in nudity, sleeping and bathing communally. The latter is a proud practice, numerous warals helping one another clean their claws, polish their teeth, and pick off patches of shed skin. They do wear clothing, but only to serve practical functions such as protection during work or ornamentation during ceremony. Their work garb is extremely simple, often nothing more than tunics and breeches. On the other hand, their ceremonial clothes are extravagantly decorated, garish with dyes and jewelry. Due to their communal habits, they have little sense of personal space. This can make other races uncomfortable, as does their sexual forwardness. Warals view sex as unconnected to love, believing it to serve the mechanical functions of reproduction and pleasure only. It is thus unscandalized, even when sought from individuals of other species. They also see no link between sex and identity, so they have no preference for gender as well. When sex is used to produce young, these offspring are raised communally. Warals do not feel a sense of parenthood, only a duty to help all young warals. Unlike the similarly diminutive goblins, warals feel no need to make up for their size with temper. Rather, they are known for their humor instead. The average waral is highly sociable and loves to entertain guests. Warals are highly industrious, especially when it comes to mining. On both Fawqunya and Mundus, they are main exporter of ore and gems. In fact, the Wichten word for them, kobold, comes from a mythological spirit that inhabits mines, as this was often all other races knew of them before their opened relations with other peoples. Because of their immediate access to gems and metals, there are many great waran craftsmen. They celebrate this sort of cleverness more than physical strength. Although not as religious as the huacephali, they also celebrate their patron deity Bertopenupi, the demigod son of the divine dragon Tuhaga. Bertopenupi is depicted as a tall, lanky waral with draconic horns and a crown of fire. Bertopenupi is a trickster who defeated much more powerful enemies with his cunning. Of Lemuria's native gods, they respect fellow trickster Daeamos. Below the gods, the warals revere a number of large, reptilian creatures such as Guan. This categorical respect makes many believe the altered themselves to their current state with magic, perhaps explaining the origin of the theriocephalic races as a whole. Warals have a great respect and keen inclination for sorcery. Unlike other races, which use magic strictly for its military utility, they treat it as a art form. Their language, Waran, is quite something to listen to, made up of barks, growls, and yips. Warals are omnivorous, capable of consuming a broad range of foods, but they have a preference for fruit. Abilities: - Dexterity: Warals are quite nimble and quick on their feet. They cannot outpace a human in an outright sprint, but they can deftly outmaneuver many larger creatures, especially in tight spaces such as tunnel interiors and thick jungle underbrush. - Darkvision: A waral can see up to sixty feet even with no light. This is how they are able to navigate the dark caves and lightless tunnels the majority of their population calls home. - Natural armor: The thick, wrinkled, scaled skin of a waral provides significantly more protection than naked human skin. - Fighters: Although they are frail in constitution and weak of body, warals are numerous, organized, and smart, making them a fearsome force when they act together. They prefer ranged combat, but in close quarters they use either long, piercing arms or keen, slashing weapons to alleviate their small size and meager strength. Warals wear either light armor such as dyed leather or no armor at all to maintain their agility advantage. They may enhance their weapons with magical or oil-fueled fire or poison harvested from subterranean or jungle creatures. - Waran shock troopers favor small axes and swords to slash the legs of the enemy front line.
- Waran support troops favor long spears to pierce the sides of flanked enemies.
- Waran archers favor crossbows that do not rely on the strength of the wielder.
- Sorcerers: Waran magic-users favor elemental and poison attacks. They also employ magic that lessens their weaknesses. - Waran mages can increase the strength and durability of their comrades with arcane energy.
- Waran casters can summon electrical storms even indoors and underground. For up to five minutes, they can call down a single lightning bolt every six seconds upon their foes. They are more powerful if called from naturally stormy weather.
- Over distances of up to thirty feet, waran mages can scorch foes with thin, thermal rays from the tips of their fingertips. Over longer distances, up to 150 feet, they can attack with shards of stone engulfed in arcane flames. This form of fiery attack is less potent than the ray, but it is partially effective even against magic-resilient foes. The impact of the stone alone causes minor damage even if the magical heat is extinguished.
- Waran warriors are protected by thin shells of force conjured by the mages supporting them. The mages can, of course, also armor themselves, though they often prioritize their frontliners until the are proved to be in immediate danger.
- Rather than deliver poison on crossbow bolts or blades, waran mages can weaken foes by summoning a powerful poison directly into the veins of their enemies.
Weaknesses: - An untrained waral is naturally quite weak even for its diminutive size. - Warals may be armored, but they are otherwise not hardy in the least.
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Post by Stage on Aug 2, 2018 4:25:04 GMT
Names: Androtaur, anthrotaur, bullmen, manushaiwan, paradam, tauranthrope, thurinsan, shorish, Virovacca homunculusNative home: Fawqunya Mundus range: Throughout the Underground, but especially in association with huacephali and waralsSize range: 8'4'' to 9'7'' Weight range: 675 to 1,030 lb Description: Androtaurs strike an unmistakable silhouette. While they are humanoids, they are not hominids like the theriocephalic huacephali and warals, so their muscular, human-like torsos are contrasted not just by bull-like heads with enormous horns and hairy, beard-like dewlaps, but also shaggy, bovine legs complete with tough hooves. While the fur on their legs and dewlaps is thick and oftentimes wavy or even curly, the fur on their arms, chest, and heads is very thin, sometimes nearly transparent. The eyes of an androtaur are pale and milky, leading to misconceptions that they have poor eyesight or are blind, but their vision is actually very keen, especially in the dark. The skin of an androtaur may be blotched or mottled, but its fur is never patterned and can range from nearly white to jet black. Info: The androtaurs are an artificial race created through magic by an extinct sect of humans that once inhabited the island of Katoikos alongside the Vounoros dwarves. It is thought they were made to be soldiers, combining favorable traits from a number of creatures, most notably the dexterity of humans and the strength of bulls. While it would be easy to imagine this origin leaves them with severe complexes, they see their magical genesis as no different than the evolution that created the other races of Fawqunya. Because the same cannot be said for many of these other races though, they have been forced to dwell underground, away from the surface world. It is for this reason that the warals are their closest allies. The androtaurs speak a racial language known as Shorish, a dialect of Vounorian, and Waran. Many speak Huacephali as well. Now that they are on Lemuria, English and many other languages are becoming common. They are highly literate and learn ravenously. Behavior: It is classically thought that androtaurs are dimwitted troglodytes, but anyone who has spoken to one for any amount of time would say otherwise. The androtaurs are an intelligent race who value thought more than strength despite their powerful builds, enjoying philosophy and thought experiments over war, which they detest. They find craftsmanship difficult due to their enormous size, so they admire artistic or inventive races like the warals and Vounorians, the greatest consumers of their work. This admiration of the arts has made some androtaurs fast friends with the huacephalus leader Aad, but there is some contention between the races, as well as within the androtaurs themselves. There is a vast religious divide within the androtaurs. Many worship Tayashez, a lord of the night who takes the form a bipedal, long-tailed, hermaphroditic goat and rules the realms of the dead and dreams. Tayashez is said to be the bitter enemy of the huacephalus goddess Kaliilaaha, so its worshipers hold ill feelings towards the huacephali that range from mistrust to hatred. Almost as many androtaurs get along well with hyenaman because they believe Kaliilaaha and their own goddess, a wolfish being called Zevela who grants fertility and controls weather, are one and the same however. This fundamental disagreement has causes several small-scale civil wars, the only major conflicts the androtaurs as a whole have been part of. Although, because they do not believe in and thus lack a central government, there have been many smaller groups of androtaurs who have supported their allies in wartime. Androtaurs have a very low birthrate. Androtaurs are conscious of nudity and wear a variety of long, simple clothes such as blouses, dresses, robes, and tunics to hide it. When ally to races with skilled tailors, they take advantage of the access to more complex clothing: the more layers, the more attractive. Among warriors and even travelers, leather and metal plate armor is highly valued. Many wonder if they understand armor is meant for protection and not decoration, but it seems rude to ask. Abilities: - Strength: Androtaurs are stupendously strong. The average individual can lift more than two tons. - Constitution: Androtaurs are quite sturdy, though their hardiness is matched by smaller creatures like megahuainas and surpassed by even small gargoyles. - Darkvision: Bullmen have exceptional eyesight. Even among other creatures with nocturnal vision, theirs is stupendous. - Natural armor: Although they are flesh and blood creatures, androtaurs are built extremely solidly. They are so dense, they are better armored even naked than gargoyles.
- Powerful charge: Androtaurs make natural shock troopers due to their gigantic horns allowing relatively easy approach by shielding their heads and torsos when lowered and delivering devastating damage to collision targets. Few things terrify more than a line of charging bullmen.
- Natural cunning: Androtaurs have an excellent awareness of their surroundings. Necropsies have revealed they possess an organ similar to that in Neotropical knifefishes that is believes to generate a weak electric field. This electric field makes them instantly aware of intrusions into their close personal space and and allows them to navigate using Mundus's magnetic field. An androtaur is never lost.
- Scent: Despite resembling bovines, androtaurs have a downright canine sense of smell. Depending on the wind, they can sniff out creatures within fifteen to sixty feet of them. - Guardians: Although bullmen prefer intellectual arts, some have chosen to study the art of combat. These androtaur fighters come in two distinct varieties depending on the god they worship. - Androtaur warriors who worship Tayashez will use any variety of his favored weapon: the axe. Small hand axes, larger battleaxes, and especially two-handed axes are bullmen favorites. Androtaurs who feels they are unworthy to wield the symbol of their god opt for two-handed swords instead, oftentimes former criminals or prisoners given the chance to earn their freedom.
- Zevela-worshiping bullmen prefer chain or rope weapons such as flails and whips. Unlike warriors of Tayashez, they often pair their weapons with shields, albeit small ones, since they tend to be one-handed. The the rare double-headed flail exists though.
- Prophets: Magic-use is rare among androtaurs, exclusive to its clergy. These clerics are often the leaders of their communities or at least advisors to community leaders. The divide between worshipers of Tayashez and Zevela is even stronger among magic-using bullmen. - Priests of Tayashez use their magic to give themselves advantages in physical combat, strengthening their bodies and creating pools of shadow that range from twenty to sixty feet wide only their sharp eyes can see fully in. The most powerful of these dream prophets can even double their size. They wield pole weapons like glaives.
- Prophets of Zevela prefer to range from a distance, carrying crossbows they are huge enough to fire one-handed and bombarding enemy lines with pillars of fire from over 200 feet away.
Weakness: - Though androtaurs are intelligent and cultured, they tend to be overly blunt and easily offend others with their frank commentary. They are a people who believe no thought should be restrained.
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Post by Stage on Aug 18, 2018 17:29:33 GMT
Names: Noraagean human, Noraagean Native home: Noraage Mundus range: Found through Lemuria, but especially in Migma Size range: 4'10'' to 6'3'' Weight range: 90 to 190 lb Description: Noraagean humans do not differ physiologically from the Homo sapiens of other worlds. Anatomically, they are identical. Their outward appearance varies less than other groups of humans however. While every shade of brown to red-brown hair is possible for a Noraagean, they never hit the polar extremes of black or blonde hair. They can be both very fair-skinned or swarthy. Their facial features tend to be broad, with angular jaws, thick eyebrows, and wide noses. Noraageans tend to have some heft to them, either in fat or muscle mass, perhaps because the cold environment they originate from encourages higher body weight to retain warmth. Info: One of the old races of Noraage, humans, or menn in their native tongue, are the predominant race of Noraage. They have the most infrastructure, the most social power, and the most wealth. Despite their prejudices against the other races of Noraage, they are also the most prolific producers of the hybrid members of the new races. This is a somewhat misleading statistic though. It is not that they are more amorous or open-mined than the other old races, but only that they are the most numerous. Additionally, they are intermediate in anatomy and size among the Noraagean races, so there is a wider range of races they are mechanically compatible with. Behavior: As with any group, Noraageans are extremely heterogeneous, greatly varied in their personalities and worldviews. As a people who live in the same place and under the same culture however, there are also commonalities. All of the races of Noraage have a religious belief that only those who lived boldly in life get to enjoy an afterlife on the branches of the world tree Drassilym. As such, careers and lifestyles that involve a degree of danger, whether financial or physical, are common among menn. There are many Noraagean business-owners and entrepreneurs. There are equally many Noraagean bounty hunters and outlaws. Noraageans are also overall very xenophobic. There have always been tensions between the races of Noraage and menn have been at the center of many of them. There is, of course, no absence of open-minded Noraggeans, but the majority of them are at least suspicious of other races, particularly bestial ones like the huacephalus and varuls.
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Post by Stage on Aug 19, 2018 0:00:34 GMT
Names: Arken human, Yionese human Native home: Arken Mundus range: Heavily concentrated in New Yion Size range: 4'5'' to 5'10'' Weight range: 90 to 180 lb Description: The humans of Arken vary as much as the people of any world, but the ones who find themselves on Arken are largely from the country of Yion. The Yionese are a small, lithe people. They grow neither very tall or very wide due to their low-fat, low-protein diet. They can grow old though, their average lifespan easily approaching or even surpassing ninety. Yionese humans are dark-haired and fair-skinned. They have black or dark brown eyes and rounded, soft features without many angles. It is trendy among Yionese for men to keep their hair very short and women theirs very long, though a countertrend of the opposite is becoming popular among younger people. Unlike Noraageans, Arken humans are anatomical different from other humans. They have two organs not found in other humans: the archeus, which is near the stomach, and the intellectus, next to the lungs. These organs process white and black magic respectively. Their size varies slightly from person to person due to differing amounts of magic in the body. Necropsies on great magicians have discovered many of them had overdeveloped archeuses or intellectuses. This made them powerful, but also caused them health problems. Overdeveloped intellectuses are especially hampering, as they interfere with proper breathing. Adra required surgery to lessen the size of hers. Info: Yion is a country in the far east of Arken. Its populous was nearly wiped out in an event known as the Angelic Wars more than eleven-hundred years ago, so it became secretive even towards its neighboring countries, making it a mystery to the rest of Arken. As it has slowly reopened relations, it has become suspected that it was the cradle of human society on Arken and may be the first place where magic was utilized by humans. Behavior: An ancient people who discovered, classified, and utilized magic before all other humans, the Yionese see it as a part of both themselves and the world around them. While magic is synonymous with combat in most of Arken, the Yionese do not view it as a weapon. To them, magic is a tool for all things. Occasionally this does mean a weapon, but they are a far cry from their western neighbors, whose magicians are all trained for battle to some extent. The overall Yionese attitude towards violence is one of disapproval. This creates a tension between the Yionese people and their defenders, whose main interaction with magic is one of weapon and wielder. Things have changed for those who have arrived on Lemuria however. Trapped in a land of unknown dangers and foreign magics, the Yionese people on Mundus have had to change their views on both magic and their defenders. They must now question all things, even magic, and rely on their defenders to protect them. This has caused a sharp relapse into their recently soften isolationism as well as a powerful surge of nationalism. The typical Yionese person is placid, inwardly focused, suspicious of others, and loyal to their people. Abilities: - Magic: Like all Arken people, the Yionese naturally have access to two forms of magic: the emotionally driven white magic and the logically driven black magic. While all Arken humans, Yionese included, have magic within their bodies, swirling inside of them as two separate pools of energy centered on the arceus and intellectus, not all of them have the same degree of access to it or can access black and white magic equally. The amount and balance of magic varies greatly from person to person. The expression of magic is highly personalized, almost like a fingerprint, so Yionese magicians may have any combination of the following magicks: - A white magic, light magic is a devastating, directional attacking magic that requires confidence and boldness. Its energy drawn from single-mindedness and certainty in self. It is cast through a broad channel of medium length. It is weak against wind magic because, while potent, it is weightless and can be shredded and scattered. Light magic produces a white to yellowish-white glow
- Earth magic, another of white magicks, is is a a steady, patient art that is most useful for defense and support. Its energy comes from warm feelings, a sense of serenity, and protectiveness. It is cast through long, looping, sluggish, thin channels in the body. Earth magic is weak against ice magic, which can saturate and splinter it. It produces a green glow
- Fire magic, the most aggressive white magic, is a furious, direct attacking magic with a broad range that requires good breath technique. Its potency comes from anger and drive. It is cast from short, curved channels of medium width. Fire magic is vulnerable to being doused by water magic and produces a red to orange-red glow
- The last white magic, water magic is a tranquil, versatile magic. Its strength is drawn from intuition and the ability to juggle opposing emotions. Its channels are long, winding, and broad. Lightning magic, which electrify and make it dangerous to its own user, is its counter. Water magic produces a blue glow.
- The most iconic of the black magicks, shadow magic is a versatile and malleable magic that requires a gentle touch and precise control of one's breathing. Its energy comes from accepting difficult thing and embracing subtlety, doing grand things casually. Its channels are long and of medium width. It can be deteriorated by light magic and produces a purple glow.
- Wind magic is a fast, frantic, omnidirectional magic that is equally useful for attack and defense. It draws strength from the ability to perform well in chaos and embracing conflict. Its channels are short and broad and its gales can be tainted and stolen by shadow magic. It produces a black to grey glow.
- The most dangerous of all magicks, lightning magic is a potent and highly directional offensive magic. It draws strength from intense focus, a pause of the breath, and the ability to create mental stillness even in any situation. It is cast through long, narrow channels. Its might can be smothered by earth magic. Lightning magic produces a whitish-blue glow.
- Ice magic is a fast-acting and cunning magic used for defense, direct attack, and trickery alike. Its power comes from faith in logic and intellect and a tactical way of thinking. It is cast through long, thin channels with few curves. It is vulnerable to being melted by fire magic and produces a white to bluish-white glow.
- Magicians: Those trained in the use of Arken magic are known as magicians. There are no hard rules for magicians beyond this definition, but there are generally five types of magicians, detailed below: - Casters are magicians focused on using magic offensively. These magicians, such as Adra, attacks enemies directly with their magicks. Casters tend to use light, fire, wide, and lightning magic.
- Mages are magicians who focus on casting spells defensively, employing their magicks to protect themselves or others from attack. Mages tend to use earth, water, wind, and ice magic. Some mages may use magic objects to help them, making them blend with other classes somewhat, but the difference is generally agreed to be how they use these objects: defensively or offensively.
- Enchanters are magicians who focused their magicks on objects. This is one of the broadest classes of magicians and may overlap with other classes, but the key difference is that they do not use per-enchanted objects. They enchant the objects themselves. As a broad class, enchanters may use any sort of magic.
- Knights are technically considered a class of magicians, but a knight does not actually need to be able to cast. They are those specialized in combat with magic or magically conductive weapons. While this does not strictly require magic, the best knights cast their own magicks through their weapons. As such, highly conductive magicks such as fire, shadow, wind, and lightning are most common among knights.
- Summoners are magicians who use their magicks to contract and call upon magical beasts for battle, transport, or utility. On Arken, there is an endless variety of such creatures to summon, but options are far narrower on Lemuria. Boggins and cabre are common summons. Ogres and tanchi are rarer summons. The most powerful summoners can call dentityranni and rathages.
Weakness: - Because magic follows literal channels in the body, it can be blocked by taking advantage of pressure points. Also, a magician who has their archeus or intellectus damaged may never cast that type of magic again.
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Post by Stage on Nov 19, 2018 3:06:59 GMT
Names: Bludhoff Native home: Noraage Mundus range: Throughout Migma Size range: 7.5 to 8.8 ft at the withers Weight range: 3,400 to 7,000 lb Description: The bludhoff, or, "blood hoof," is a Noraagean breed of horse named for its mahogany fetlocks and mane, which resemble dried blood in color. This makes it easily identifiable, though its size is just as good of a giveaway. The bludhoff is enormous. Even the runtiest bludhoff is still the size of the largest horses ridden by humans, and a big bludhoff can be twice that weight. The coat of a blodhoff ranges from tawny to grayish. Info: Bludhoff horses are most famously used as mounts by the larger races of Noraage, but they are kept by humans as well. Their enormity makes them impressive show and work horses even if they are impractical to ride. Behavior: Despite it being said that their crimson-stained fetlocks make it appear as if every bludhoff has recently trampled an enemy warrior to death, they are gentle, intelligent animals with a knack for mischief if improperly trained. Bludhoffs are especially famous for their ability to escape pens. They rarely wander far once free, loyal even when unfettered, but they can wreak all manner of chaos between their muscular bodies and dexterous lips. A well-trained bludhoff is invaluable however, taking instructions with almost eerie clarity. The most superstitious demographic of Noraageans believes they are reincarnated warriors who did not quite earn passage to paradise, but cannot be rightly cast down among the roots of the world tree either. Abilities: - Carrying capacity: Due to their huge size and powerful build, bludhoffs are capable of hauling incredible weights. They can safely shoulder between 680 and 1,400 pounds, so even a very small bludhoff can carry the largest varul on its back with no problem. Bludhoff horses are not at all aggressive or flighty by nature, but they will defend both themselves and their masters, and any antagonizing creature should fear receiving a kick from one. Even valjornns have had their jaws or wings broken.
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Post by Stage on Dec 9, 2018 7:09:49 GMT
Names: Weendigo, wendigo, wiindigoo, windigo Native home: Earth LS-3 Mundus range: Northern Migma Size: 10.8 ft tall Weight: 585 lb Description: Windigoag are tall, grayish ghouls with large, white eyes that glow with an intensity that pierces even the harshest snowstorm. They are humanoid, but have the carcass-like heads of deer. Their frames are skeletal and covered in patchy fur without color. Their limbs stretch so long they appear unable to stand upright indefinitely. Instead, they tend to creep about on all fours or hop on their knuckles. When fully reared though, they are enormous. Windigoag often look ravaged by their own powerful hunger, missing chunks of flesh or absent their lips, strips of rotting, self-cannibalized flesh hanging from their unnervingly human teeth at most times. Newly metamorphosed windigoag have huge, branching antlers, but they are nearly always snapped off and eaten before even a day has passed. Many windigoag have chipped or cracked teeth from chewing on the tough horn of their antlers. A windigo with its antlers fully intact is a terrifying things, because this means it has eaten well for the entirety of its existence. Considering how quickly windigoag starve, this means the death of hundreds.
Info: Windigoag are not individual creatures, but the possessed hosts of a single harvest spirit long ago cursed for falling into the most wicked form of hunger. Hosts of this spirit are permanently transformed, even during daylight. Thankfully, a living creature, even an unthinking animal, is exceedingly hard to fully take over. The condition for becoming a windigo is extreme and strict: a sapient creature resorting to cannibalism. Windigoag can be found throughout Migma, but it is rare to find them in any sort of proximity to one another. When two windigoag meet, one inevitably consumes the others.
Behavior: Windigoag are among the most terrible creature to dwell in the frozen north. They are cannibals, devouring both spirits and the flesh of the sapient race they arose from. The meat of animals and other races are unpalatable to them. They have no consciousness or cognition. They feel only hunger. A fully fed windigo is, besides exceedingly rare, purposeless. It stops all movement, even breathing, until it grows hungry once more. Unfortunately, this does not take long. Within fifteen to twenty days, that windigo will be completely starved again. Abilities: - Feasted fiend: The power of a windigo is based on how recently it has fed. A completely starved windigo is no more dangerous than an desperate animal or angry human. Once it has flesh in its belly though, it grows stronger and faster and becomes better able to hunt. A windigo that has very nearly eaten its fill is thoroughly superhuman, as outlined below: - A windigo with plenty of meat in its deep, yearning stomach can run up to fifty miles per hour. An unfed windigo is slower than a fit human, its movement unfocused and its long limbs falling across each other.
- Like The Wolf, a well fed windigo is incredibly strong. When just a few mouthfuls of fresh flesh from being full, they can lift a peak of almost nine tons. Even unfed, a windigo is formidable, able to lift over three-quarters of a ton. While they lack The Wolf's vicious jaws and do not technically have claws, their teeth can still sheer flesh and their fingertips, often gnawed to the bone, functionally act as talons.
- The corrupted harvest spirit that lies behind every windigo can heal the flesh of its host, but the degree to which it can make repairs varies broadly. A starved windigo heals at a downright glacial pace, which, when combined with their propensity to engage in autocannibalism, means that many lay limbless and entombed in ice for all time. A well fed windigo can keep pace with The Wolf, shrugging off even mortal wounds overnight.
- Spirit eyes: Like the vrykolakas, windigoag can freely see both the material and spiritual planes. Weaknesses: - Like Dani and the vrykolakas, windigoag fear sunlight. They are strictly nocturnal, hiding during the day. - Windigoag can be harmed by silver as if they were mortal creatures, unable to regenerate such wounds.
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Post by Stage on Dec 16, 2018 9:25:56 GMT
Names: Arragousset, gouset, sarregouset, sarragouset, sea fairies, sea soldiers Native home: Arken Mundus range: Any coastal waters, but especially off southern Migma Size range: 3.4 to 4.4 ft tall Weight range: 25 to 55 lb Description: Gousets are small, fish-like bipeds that appear to be covered in rows of large plates or scales. In truth, this scaly pattern is a network of grooves and they instead have slick, permeable skin like amphibians. Gousets appear very human in build, but have several distinct features such as enlarged, blunted facial features and shrunken, tapering limbs. They have uniformly bold yellow-white undersides, but their sides and back range from yellow-brown to dark gray-green. Many gousets are plainly colored, but some individuals, especially large ones, have dorsal markings that vary by sex. Females tend to have faint stripes while males most often have eye-like spots. All gousets have large, silvery eyes with both horizontal and vertical bars and two dark stripes trailing onto their pale lips. Female gousets are on average smaller than males and have fatty breasts and buttocks like human women, though they do not hold mammary glands and seem to be purely for lipid storage. Male gousets may have a jagged sails of thin skin on their backs. Gousets are perfectly happy unclothed, but many wear armor made from the shells of large sea snails, small sea turtles, and small to mid-sized giant clams. These armored individuals also tend to bear weapons made from shark teeth, sea turtle shell, seashells, stingray barbs, swordfish bills, or some combination of the former. Gousets smell very strongly like urine due to an increased concentration of urea in their bodies like marine elasmobranchs and Fejervarya cancrivora, the crab-eating frog. Info: Gousets are thought to be aquatic relatives to the fairies of Arken. They do not have their cousins' prodigious casting ability, but their size and internal magicks are much greater. Behavior: Gousets are an odd people. Living in underwater crevices and seaside caverns, they carve entire cities out of submerged stone and live rather militantly, forming ranks and marching across the seabed when they travel and preparing armor and weapons constantly as if always under threat of attack. It is for this reason that they are called the soldiers of the sea by some. They do not appear to have any sort of internal hierarchy however. Instead, they follow some form of instinct for self-aggregation and group decision-making, more like a colony of insects or a school of fish than any actual military structure. They undoubtedly have individual personalities however. They also adhere closely to an external hierarchy by which they judge the rest of creation. To creatures smaller than they are, gousets are terrible bullies, terrorizing anything from short dwarves to tiny fishes. They idolize larger creatures though, especially fellow humanoids. Gousets are prone to forming deep, romantic feeling for elves, humans, and other hominids, particularly those of the opposite sex. While the reproductive anatomy of gousets is compatible with that of other humanoids, their attachment is not necessarily sexual in nature. This does not mean they are asexual. Quite the opposite, gousets are extremely amorous and reproduce rapidly, a blessing considering they are talented at self-termination. They are exceedingly tenacious, but not especially smart, so most gousets are killed by their own folly before any outside force has the chance to extinguish them. Of course, they are not limited to becoming attracted to humanoids. Tasma has an entire kingdom of gousets that worship her like a queen. Gouset cannot speak, but understand speech and communicate with complex gesturing and body langue too subtle for most non-gousets to pick up on. Their sense of comedy, on the other hand, is quite obtuse. Crass creatures, they enjoy childish pranks and bathroom humor. Abilities: - Surprising strength: Despite their small stature, gousets are quite hardy. Two or three can easily overpower a man. A large, experienced individual, a rarity considering their propensity for killing themselves, can fight a human on equal terms. They are all quite resilient, perhaps because they have to be due to their foolhardiness. Weaknesses: - Gousets cannot survive outside of water for long, but they are the only ones that do not seem to know this. It is not uncommon for entire armies of gousets to appear dead and dried up miles away from the ocean overnight.
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Post by Stage on Dec 17, 2018 0:03:29 GMT
Names: Awmikuk, Awmuk Native home: Arken Mundus range: Off northern Migma all year long, in Lakes Serene and Severe during winter Size range: 20 to 32 ft across arms Weight range: 110 to 600 lb Description: Floating lifeless on top of frigid, northern seas, awmuks resemble nothing more than vaguely rectangular hunks of whale blubber, long strands of ruined sinew trailing from each corner. But when an unknowing seabird, marine mammal, or human boater draws near enough, these thick stems of slimy flesh, actually tentacles, each with two grasping digits armed by eight to ten claw-like hooks, crack to life, seizing their prey with an unrelenting grip and drawing them near the globular body, which houses an enormous beak lined by jagged pseudo-teeth... Info: The boogeymen of northwest Arken, awkmuk are thought to be magically saturated relatives of the cephalopods. On Lemuria, they become a major hazard on Lake Serene during the coldest part of the year. Behavior: Awmuks are slow-moving ambush predators that float motionless near or on the ocean surface, especially around dusk and dawn, waiting to seize their prey. While they are feared as man-eaters, humans are only a coincidental part of their diet, which is focused on fatty marine mammals, mainly seals. They are extreme opportunists and eat anything that comes within their reach though, even other awmuks, so they are strictly solitary. Because they do not move much however, they can be found very densely in prey-rich areas, creating a deadly marine minefield of tentacles. In the deep of winter, when hunting is scarce and the coastal ice too thick, they burrow to inland lakes using moderately powerful white magic.
Abilities: - Shapeless strength: Due to being composed largely of muscular tissue, awmuks are extremely strong. Although their aim is ponderous, they can deliver fast, powerful blows by quickly expanding contracted tentacles. They do not use these hammer-like strikes to hunt or defend themselves however. They are strictly to break through sea ice and create hunting holes. They can punch through up to eight or nine inches of ice. - Boneless brute: Because of their amorphic anatomies, awmuks are extremely durable. Their hunting grips in particular are difficult to escape unless the arm is entirely severed. - Earth magic: Awmuks can bore through solid earth to reach landlocked bodies of water when the sea is unkind to them using drills and wedges of of earth magic, and they move at a relatively impressive clip considering their usual lethargy. They are unable to carve dry soil however. They can only mold earth that is softened by natural contact with seawater or exposed to seawater through their tunnels.
Weaknesses: - Already slow in their native element, awmuks are helpless if dragged or flung onto land. They take several weeks to actually die though, so they are usually killed by hand before then.
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Post by Stage on Dec 17, 2018 3:19:38 GMT
Names: Frogmen, louvmin, lovmin, luvmin Native home: Arken Mundus range: The patchy wetlands of southeast Migma Size range: 3.8 to 4.6 ft tall Weight range: 55 to 115 lb Description: Luvmin are frog-like humanoids approximately the size of dwarves. Bluish- to gray-green in color, they have soft, smooth bellies with three distinctive stripes that rise from their pale thighs. Their plainly colored backs are hunched and warty. The face of a luvmin is strangely blunted and human-like while its large, goldish eyes have horizontal, elliptical pupils and face forward. There is a permanently engorged gland involved in amplifying white magic behind each eyes. This glad is present in both sexes, but it is comparatively larger in males, who are in turn smaller than females overall, especially in weight. The long fingers of luvmin end in pads that help with fine manipulation and are webbed to the second knuckle. The toes are not padded, but are webbed to the third knuckle instead. Info: Luvmin dwell in and around temperature wetlands such as marshes, mires, and swamps. Like their non-magical kin, their presence is a good indicator of environmental health. Sadly, their sensitivity to any sort of pollution, as well as an active black market demand for their dried, powdered skin, thought erroneously to amplify white magic, has left them quite endangered on Arken.
Behavior: Despite being physically weak, luvmin are territorial and will attack intruders in sprawling groups if they feel their home is being threatened. Unfortunately, they are extremely touchy. Even very slight intrusion on their land may result in full-scale retribution. Luvmin live in loosely structured societies based around pleasing the largest, most powerful individual among them, common called the king or queen. Luvmin are known for their deep, long-seated grudges. Even years after an offense, a luvmin will stalk and drown targets of their ire with water magic while they are unguarded, quite often when bathing. Luvmin are considered good predictors of the weather. They show themselves more before rain. While normally cryptic and unapproachable, luvmin become perfectly gentle during light showers, spilling out of their hidden homes to dance and play with any other creature in sight. If one is extremely lucky, they may even see a courtship ritual during sprinkles such as these. Male luvmin court larger females by strobing light magic from their eyes and palms, which is answered by a swaying dance if the female is receptive. Like many salamanders, luvmin are direct developers and give birth to miniature versions of themselves. Newborn luvmin have pale, swollen bellies from persistent yolk and do not eat for one to two weeks as they absorbing it. Luvmin eat freshwater crustaceans, fishes, and mollusks. They are slow swimmer, so they construct reed trap to gather food. Hard plates on the roof of the mouth, actually modified teeth, allow them to crush hard-shelled prey. It is extremely rare, but the friendship of luvmin can be won by particularly sensitive humans and humanoids. Abilities: - White magic: Luvmin have access to only very weak magic, so they have to be rather crafty in how they use it.
- With light magic, they can dazzle others with pulses of light from their large eyes or broad palms. The optic flashes are particularly intense, amplified by mineral-rich secretions in the glads behind their eyes, but cannot be maintained long. Lower levels of light can be maintained for several hours or more hours on moonless nights to provide illumination.
- Using water magic, luvmin can create currents of water that inattentive or weak swimmers may not notice until it is too late. This can be effective in ambushes, but any wary target or strong swimmer can easily escape.
Weaknesses: - Despite being semiaquatic, luvmin are actually weak swimmers and can only exist in still or nearly still bodies of waters. Current of any strength is likely to drown them. - Luvmin breath mainly through their skin, so water and sometimes air pollutants can prove fatal in high enough concentrations. Even high noise pollution from cities and vehicles can cause death via stress in some individuals. - Despite being magical beasts, luvmin are highly vulnerable to Arken magic themselves. They are also fatally weak to just about any sort of foreign magic or energy-based attack.
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Post by Stage on Dec 18, 2018 16:09:09 GMT
Names: Bumper, Defluous dolphin, dolphin, foggy, foghorn, Haliomonstrum bradburi, horner, pied pliosaur Native home: Earth CP-2 Mundus range: Warm coastal waters and Lake Sullen Size range: 15 to 25 ft long
Weight range: 1,100 to 4,600 lb
Description: H. bradburi is a large pliosaur most notable for its slender, bristle-toothed jaws and bulbous, ofttimes scarred melon. In contrast to its narrow snout, there is a great deal of fatty tissue around its neck, making it appear extremely barrel-chested. Its coloration consists of a dark grayish-black topside over a stark white belly. Its melon and tail are also pale, isolating its darker flukes and snout. There is a large, forward-facing depression in its melon. The taut skin over this dimple ripples and vibrates when it vocalizes. Its small eyes, deep brown and flaked with metallic chips, shine with stunning intelligence, especially for a reptile. Their long, angular flukes can propel them through water at speeds of over twenty miles per hour. Info: Another representative the Dirk Archipelago's unique fauna, the Defluous dolphin has swollen from a mere several dozen individuals to a population in the hundreds after arriving on the continent. It is known by a variety of names by fisher- and seamen, who encounter it frequently due to its curious, playful nature. Some animals are very well known for their friendliness towards boats. Of particular fame are a pair of youngsters who were delivered, either by the continent's strange wormholes or human hands, to the landlocked Lake Sullen, dubbed Dot and Streak by locals after the unique coloration of their melons. The pied pliosaur can live up to forty years, reaching sexual maturity between ten and twelve years depending on sex, so the two are expected to be long-term residents and attractions.
Behavior: Although undeniably reptiles, pied pliosaurs have downright mammalian attitude and intellect. Alert and inquisitive, they rarely leave well enough alone, honing in on and cruising close to unknown creature and objects despite the potential danger. They will happily play with more familiar entities such as boat, bumping, nudging, and even spinning idle watercraft and cutting through the wakes of moving ones. They should not be mistaken for pets however. They are predators, and quite excellent ones at that. Despite their slender jaws and dentition, H. bradburi can take a robust variety of prey that includes cephalopods, crustaceans, fishes, sea turtles, and seabirds. It is limited to prey items it can swallow whole though, as its snout does not lend itself to chewing or ripping. This does not mean larger animals are off its radar. Despite its playfulness, the Defluous dolphin, just like true dolphins, can be cruel and batter animals too large to eat, sometimes to death. Even an ill-fated Phobosaurus was once fatally brutalized by a pair of pied pliosaurs. Coincidentally, like despots, they hunt and live in pairs. Thankfully, no attack or attempted attack on a human has been recorded. H. bradburi is a highly vocal species, 'speaking' to each other with an incredible range of groans, rumbles, and squeaks amplified by their hollow melons. Their most famous cry is a loud, blaring drone that closely resembles a foghorn.
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Post by Stage on Dec 18, 2018 22:38:56 GMT
Names: Cetusaurus nyx, false mosasaur, gar-lizard Native home: Earth CP-2 Mundus range: Temperate to warm coastal waters, estuaries, and rivers Size range: 28 to 34 ft long Weight range: 1,500 to 3,800 lb Description: Although it is an ichthyosaur, C. nyx resembles a basal member of its clade or even a mosasaur more than the classically known, dolphin-like body plan seen in derived ichthyosaurs. Its body is elongate and cylindrical and its flukes are short and rounded. Its dorsal fin is very small and set far back on its body, nearly even with its hind limbs. Its caudal fluke is extremely asymmetrical, with a much longer upper lobe than lower. Its relatively small head has large, well-developed eyes yellow-tan in color and short, broad jaws like those of the alligator garfish. However, its conical teeth are not slender and sharp, but robust and blunt. False mosasaurs are born solid slate gray, but lose pigment as they age, eventually turning a paler gray mixed with pink. The oldest C. nyx tend to be almost entirely pink and have crooked spines. Some individuals sport spots on their sides that are densest on the back half of the body. Many bear scarring on their backs from boat propellers. Info: The false mosasaur ranges more widely than the pied pliosaur, found as far north as waters off and river near London and the Wyrmsmoke Mountains, but is not as widely known due to being less outgoing. Behavior: Despite its size and carnivory, the false mosasaur is a placid, even shy animal. It acts lethargically during the day, floating on the surface to bask, raking the shore sluggishly, or resting on submerged debris. It has even been known to lay on beaches and riverbanks. Marine individuals often take shelter in the murk of river mouths. When approached by watercraft or on foot, most chose to sink to the bottom or slide back into the water. When it is night however, the gar-lizard ventures into more open water and forages aggressively for food. Almost exclusively piscivorous, they catch their prey fish with short bursts of speed and a quick, sideways lunge. C. nyx hunts close to the surface, so collisions with boats are common. Due to their want for shallow water shelter, false mosasaurs tend to congregate to areas that fit their needs and can become quite dense. Waters dense with gar-lizards make for risky nocturnal swims. They do not seem to see us as food and fatalities are rare, but a few dozen attacks are reported each year and aggressive nighttime encounters that do not end in attack are common. Riverine animals have been known to venture into Lakes Serene and Sullen, but most often move into the ocean or to broader stretches of the river. Though they are rather huge, false mosasaurs are unassertive and shy away from confrontation with other predators, even smaller ones. They are bolder at night, striking aggressive poses that see their backs arch and their jaws gap, but followup to these threats is only occasional. More often than not, they are all bark.
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Post by Stage on Feb 21, 2019 20:06:42 GMT
Names: Freshwater mosasaur, Ophisuchus cyanos, yellow-spotted mosasaur, yellowbelly Native home: Earth CP-2 Mundus range: The Brume and bodies of freshwater throughout Farrago and No Man's Land Size range: 10 to 14 ft long Weight range: 290 to 790 lb Description: O. cyanos is a small mosasaur with a slender snout and teeth, a wide, somewhat flattened trunk, and a highly compressed tail with a tall fluke. While its hips are narrow, giving it the ability to make tight turns even in very narrow waterways, its four, rounded flippers are broad and the pectoral muscles attached to the foremost pair robust, so it is equally able to haul itself short distances over land. It is a boldly colored animal with a dark, black to tannish topside and stark yellow underside. Despite its colloquial name of "yellowbelly," its species epithet, cyanos, or "yellow," actually comes from the spots that line its back in two sets of dorsolateral rows. These porthole-like markings reflect light at certain, low angles and are used in courtship rituals at dusk and dawn, mature animals displaying their wide dorsal surface to potential mates or same-sex rivals. Juvenile animals have thin, transverse bands or stripes instead. Adult males and females are easily told apart due to the greater length and much greater weight of the former. Info: The yellow-spotted mosasaur inhabits inland bodies of water throughout the warm regions of Lemuria. It is common in Farrago, found in its lakes and rivers, the dominant aquatic predator in most places, but it is also a resident of much smaller bodies of water. Despite its size, it can survive in ponds, streams, and even seasonal pools. More surprising still, it lives in the arid reaches of No Man's Land. Though distributed much more sparsely and seen less than in the tropics, there is no shortage of oases and desert rivers hosting this predator. Most remarkably, however, is the population that lives in the wetlands of the Brume, well above the rest of its range. While O. cyanos is associated with freshwater, it is tolerant to saltwater and can occupy coastal and even marine habitats. It appears to avoid doing so though. It seems it cannot compete with similarly sized or larger coastal predators.
Behavior: The yellowbelly is called such not only for its pale venter, but also its temperament. With few exceptions, it is a timid animal that often flees at the sight of humans. Some animals, especially larger ones or those who live in more urbanized areas such as the jungle around Mival, may tolerate the presence of humans, going as far as to allow them to swim with them- a semi-popular tourist activity- but interspecies aggression is rare. When it does occur, it is usually traced to an easily understood causes such as unwanted and persistent attention or unwitting proximity. Of the few human attacks on record in Farrago, most happened in small pools that the victims were not aware contained O. cyanos. Thankfully, these rare attacks are brief and nonfatal. Things are not the same in the Brume. The freshwater mosasaur population there is known for, besides a much higher average size, man-eating. Large Brume animals seem to view humans, elves, and other hominids as food. This is highly unusual, as they are the only group of these animals that target large vertebrates. The majority of yellow-spotted mosasaurs eat large invertebrates such as apple snails or small vertebrates such as fish. They are opportunistic feeders, both ambushing and actively foraging for or stalking prey. O. cyanos relies on terrestrial travel to disperse from birth pools and overcrowded bodies of water, as well as to seek refuge in times of drought. O. cyanos gives live birth to one or two large, well-developed pups, though no parental care is provided. Mothers tolerate the presence of juveniles for several weeks after birth, but males will cannibalize even their own young.
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Post by Stage on Feb 22, 2019 17:54:35 GMT
Names: Wipelgo Native home: Arken Mundus range: Lake Serene, Lake Severe, and the northeast coast of Migma Size range: 19.8 to 32.2 ft long Weight range: 2.8 to 9.8 tons Description: The gigantic, aquatic grazer known as the wipelgo resembles a hairy serpent with a large, horse- or moose-like head. The top of its head is plain and unadorned, lacking even external ears, but its muzzle flares into an unusual, wide mouth with an equally broad comb of teeth for raking through mud or over rocks for algae. Its eyes are somehow both dull and intense in their emptiness. There is a depth to them unseen in other herbivores such as cows and deer. They have been described as holes or pits in its head. Its long, winding body is featureless aside from a pair of long, rounded, crescent-shaped pectoral fins, a tall dorsal hump that makes its back appear crooked, and disproportionately small flukes. It is a slow, ponderous creature that at times resembles an inanimate log covered in long strange of growth.
Info: On Arken, the wipelgo is a common occupant of murky lakes and slow-moving rivers worldwide, but its range on Mundus is restricted to central and eastern Migma. The majority of the Lemurian population is found in Lakes Serene and Severe, as well as their associated rivers, but a small subset of them venture into the sea boarding the Wolf Woods, where they are hunted by varuls. It is rumored, but not confirmed, that there is an albino individual in a landlocked lake on New Yion, where it is treated as a sacred animal.
Behavior: While nearly as large and possessing internal magicks comparable to the tanchi, the wipelgo is a far cry from the water bull in temperament. Unaggressive and shy, it is more likely to flee conflict than enter it. It is a lethargic creature that spends most of its time asleep on lake or riverbeds, floating on the surface, or resting on submerged structure. In its waking hours, it searches for algae or grasses to eat, and it eats a huge amount of them: over a tenth of its body weight daily. Some take this as evidence that it can use earth magic to stimulate algal and vegetative growth, arguing they could not sustain themselves at high densities like this, but they are not known to have any active magicks. While it is too timid to use in battle, its size and stamina make it a good form of transportation when properly conditioned to physical contact and trained to follow directions or preset paths. Although not especially sharp, it is reasonably intelligent and seems to show affection to its handlers at times. Because it was an important food source for remote mountain and woodland villages in Arken, its meat is known to be palatable and there are numerous established ways to prepare it. Those with sensitive palates may complain it tastes grassy however. Abilities: - Tough: Due to its dense internal magicks, the wipelgo has phenomenal defenses. Both magical and physical blows tend to bounce off its hairy hide. Weaknesses: - While enormous and extraordinarily hardy, the wipelgo is a gentle creature and rarely, if ever, fights back against attackers.
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Post by Stage on Jun 8, 2019 5:16:09 GMT
Names: Black-faced fisher, black-headed spinosaur, Orascrutator piger, perry, raker Native home: Earth CP-2 Mundus range: The southern coast of Farrago Size range: 13 to 21 ft long Weight range: 1,380 to 5,820 lb Description: Perries are low-slung, heavy-bodied spinosaurids common to the coast of southern Farrago. They lack the cranial crests of their ancient relatives, sleek from nose to tail, but also have tall, fatty dorsal ridges that vary in width by season and body health. During the warmest, wettest months of the year, the most well-fed individuals appear to have elongate humps, their plump spinal ridges bleeding into the rest of their dorsums. Most of a raker's tiny, octangular scales are near white, very pale tannish to grayish, but its long, crocodile-like head and the latter half of its conical tail are jet black. Info: Black-faced fishers are relaxed and relatively long-lived animals, usually living between forty and fifty years in the wild. Males reach sexual maturity at eight to ten years of age, while females take only six to eight years. Unlike phobosaurs, the male is the larger of the sexes, sometimes approaching twice the size of females. Large males often rule huge coastal territories, excluding or regularly dominating smaller males. Behavior: Unlike the most famous extinct spinosaurids, which are known from riverine and other freshwater systems, Orascrutator piger is a marine species. Rakers, as their name implies, are coastal sweepers. They are powerful swimmers and sometimes take to the sea to hunt nearshore fish such as flatfishes and stingrays, but can most often be found walking beaches, opportunistically taking both washed-up carrion and smaller scavengers. They are territorial and become aggressive towards other large, horizontal bipeds, but are near completely apathetic to smaller, dissimilar creatures, humans included, so they have a reputation for being placid. Named individuals are common, especially near fishing settlements.
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