[Ecosystem Lore] - The Temperate Forests

[squakhawk 7872]

 

Temperate Forest

 

The eponymoust ‘forest’ is what comes to mind when one thinks of wilderness. Bearing temperate climates, neither too cold as to become arboreal forests, nor too warm, as to become tropical jungles, temperate forests are among the most hospitable of climates to descendants. The creatures that inhabit temperate forests rarely predate on descendants, being both mild and docile in many instances. Temperate forests make up large swaths of land, and are many times the heartlands of elves and halflings.

 

 

Flora List

 

Beard Weed

Grobsnopper

King’s Ivy

Night Sap

Amberiddle

Faerie Truffles

Night Glow

Alabaster LEaf

Tippen’s Root

Blissfoil

Frost Vine (?)

Oracle Wood

 

 

 

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Morko Bear

 

 

 

Physiology

This ursine predator differs significantly from its common kin in both proportion and sheer size. With a shoulder height of 8 feet when on all fours, or of 15 feet when on its hind legs, it is distinguishable both by scale, and by its notably longer limbs and neck when compared to other bear species, making for a rather peculiar, certainly frightful sight if encountered in the wild.

 

With paws nearly 2 feet across and claws, as well as fangs grown in excess of 6 inches, the Morko Bear is challenged by few within its domain. Thanks to its unusual proportions, this immense creature moves at alarming speed, long strides and powerful muscles making it capable of chasing down most prey, and even swimming with greater efficiency than the average bear.

 

Thick fur and hide make it resistant to slashing attacks, and blunt force is unlikely to give much pause to a creature of its scale unless leveraged against one of its more fragile limbs, but piercing weapons will serve well for combat against it; widely spaced ribs making it especially vulnerable to potentially lethal puncture wounds to its broad chest.

 

 

Habitat

Inhabiting forested areas, the Morko Bear tends to favor caves as its home, and will often patrol a wide area around this chosen dwelling. Though ill-suited to dense forests where its size is a hindrance, it finds itself most in its element in forests with sparse undergrowth and large trees; aiding in maneuverability.

 

Behavior

Despite its intimidating visage, the Morko Bear is not any more hostile or aggressive than the average bear; even somewhat amicable in personality, by the accounts of druii who have encountered it. Of course, a lack of excessive aggression doesn’t mean that entering its territory is safe or at all wise.

 

If not hungry, the Morko Bear is unlikely to go out of its way to engage in a fight, save to protect its cave or dwelling, over which it is fiercely territorial- especially if there are cubs within. When hungry, however, there is little likely to enter its territory that couldn’t be viewed as a viable meal; its size making it extremely difficult to intimidate, and willing to take on most other animals and even descendants.

 

 

Abilities

The Morko Bear’s most notable advantages over its more common cousins are size and speed. Long limbs and immense paws make its strikes crippling and far-reaching, with teeth and claws easily capable of breaching plate with the amount of force it can put behind them.

 

Its speed is just below that of a capable steed when not hindered by its environment, but the momentum carried by the beast prevents it from quickly changing direction or stopping once in a charge.

 

The roar of the Morko Bear is thunderous, easily capable of breaking a caster’s concentration and instilling a primal fear, audible for several miles even in dense forest.

 

Whilst its eyesight isn’t exceptional, nor is its hearing, the Morko Bear’s sense of smell is formidable, making it able to control a wide space around its dwelling simply by catching wind of any that enter it.

 

 

Redlines

- Morko Bears may be communed with, but cannot be controlled or tamed.

- The pelt of a Morko Bear yields leather well-suited for making durable armor, or just an enormous area rug. Its bones are dense and suitable for weaponcrafting, as are its fangs.

- Morko Bears lack particularly good senses of sight or hearing, but are excellent at tracking by scent.

-Morko Bears cannot stand upright for long, their weight and limb structure preventing it.

 

 

 

Giant Beaver

 

 

 

Physiology

The Giant Beaver, also known as a dire beaver is a herbivorous creature that resembles Its smaller sized cousins though with some noteworthy differences such as Its rather unusual size which ranges between 6’4 - 7’0 in length (Not including their tail), most of them clock in at about 600-700 pounds though larger specimens have been observed in the past.

A hard leathery tail shaped like the wide end of an oar is typically about three feet in length from base to tip and consists of a tapering tailbone and a mix of cartilage, sinew, and fatty deposits. The scales and tailbone of the Giant Beaver are surprisingly durable and resistant to both cuts and scrapes though not completely immune to such.

The creature has thick fur and webbed feet, these features coupled with Its tremendous size making it most comfortable in deep rivers where Its body weight can be carried by the water though on land they’re still capable of sprinting short distances.

The diet of the Giant Beaver consists mostly of bark, berries, grass, water vegetation, and even various grains.

 

 

Habitat

Like their mundane cousins the giant beaver typically favors heavily forested areas with ready access to water in order to build their complex dams which range in size from small circular dens amidst a river to complex ramshackle complexes of mud and log tunnels for particularly large clans of beavers.

Generally deeper rivers toward the mouths of bays in temperate climates are a favorite of the large animal.

 

 

Behavior

Typically these large beasts are docile observers and herbivores content to meander and focus on their day to day living and avoid descendants whenever possible; however that is not to say they are not defenseless- Dire Beavers are territorial and will defend their dam from intruders where required.

Like all animals the Dire Beaver is content to scare off a potential threat, it does so by standing upon Its hind legs to make itself larger, bristling out Its fur and making ear-splitting shrieks while beating Its heavy tail upon the ground until the perceived threat backs down or intimidates the beaver into running or attacking.

These private animals are not typically aggressive unless a particular set of circumstances forces them into expanding their territory or wounds them emotionally, famine, disease, and the loss of their mate can drive a dire beaver to increasingly erratic and aggressive behavior and can even see them invade descendant settlements to break into grain stores or take timber when desperation strikes them.

 

 

Abilities

Ferrum-jaw: The Giant Beaver’s bite is a mighty one, those long teeth are capable of easily puncturing thin plates of ferrum and wood when coupled with the animal’s considerable size and strength.

Bear Strength: A giant beaver shares roughly the same size and physical strength as a grizzly bear and is capable of the same feats of strength, sans claws however.

Tail-slap: The Giant beaver is capable of devastating attacks of blunt force trauma with its wide tail, given two emotes (one to plant It’s feet and ready the strike, one to spin around and hit with the tail) it is possible to strike with force enough to send an orc flying 3-5 meters backwards and break bones.

 

 

Redlines

-The Materials acquired from the beaver have no special properties but Its teeth can be shaped into trinkets and decorative daggers of ferrum strength.

-The beaver can be communed with via druidic means and killed for their use in shapeshifting

-The beavers cannot be tamed, they are fiercely independent and shy away from descendants.

 

- The beavers are not outwardly hostile to descendants nor their settlements unless their mate has been killed or they are desperate for food. However they can accidentally flood descendant settlements.

 

 

 

 

The Ground Sloth

 

Physiology

The Ground Sloth is a unique variant of your average sloth, albeit this species is much larger than its counterpart. They vary in size, with their smallest growing to be 6’7” when standing upon two feet, and their tallest growing to be 9’10”. They’re noted to also carry the same features as a sloth, the same fur, and the same claws, although their claws are harder than their smaller variant. Their  tongue that can extend far out of its mouth to reach far-off fruits.

 

Habitat

The Ground Sloth prefers to live away from civilization, preferably around lush environments that hold trees that are able to match or exceed their own height - although some have been known to take refuge into caves if any can be found, especially if they are not alone; under normal circumstances it’s impossible to find one within any cold environments, more or less preferring to stay within in the humidity of jungles.

 

Behavior

Ground Sloths are vegetarian creatures that enjoy to feast on honey, leaves, and shrubs. Their favorite thing to eat seems to be fruits however, holding them in high regard in comparison to other meals. They’re mainly seen feeding, to their inability to carry food to another location - as they mostly prefer to eat wherever their next meal is found. A Ground Sloth with a bad diet is known to have rugged, tattered and paler fur in comparison to one that has healthy eating habits. When eating fruits, these beasts carry some artificial tunnel vision, paying little to no attention to its surroundings, even if a predator were to be in the area. When threatened by creatures smaller than them, the Ground Sloth will roughly slam its tail into the ground, causing loud thuds that tend to scare off most creatures attempting to steal their food; when facing a creature bigger than them however, they’ll use their claws to frighten the monster due to their lack of sharp teeth, or will use their agility to escape. The Ground Sloth is known to be very brutal when fighting something, sparing no time to end their prey.

 

Abilities

The Ground Sloth is armed with two pairs of viscous claws which they use to defend themselves with or to eat things they cannot grab with their bare hands, such as cactus fruit. The larger variants of their creatures will use their large body to ram themselves into their prey and crush them under their weight.

 

 

Redlines

 

• These creatures can be used in player events.
• Ground Sloths cannot be used to attack other nations.
• These cannot be tamed under any circumstances.
• Ground Sloth items cannot be signed by ST.
• Ground Sloth claws are as hard as a wolf’s claws, albeit bigger in size.

[TeawithFrisket 2627]

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