[Ecosystem Lore] The Plains

[Songwitch 1441]

 

The Plains

 

Lush, cool, and ever-green, the plains are a sparse, yet welcoming region. Embodied by vast swathes of verdant, flat earth, the soil here is rich and fertile, teeming with life. Abundant in flora and fauna of all varieties, it is a welcoming sight to the weary traveler, and many often come here in hopes of starting a life within its heartening embrace. It is the safest of biomes, owned by timid and often gentle creatures, as well as a hospitable and mild climate.

 

Flora

 

The rich and luscious soil of the planes makes it ideal for housing a variety of flora, from the common daffodil to potent medical herbs such as Tippen’s Root. Even a novice botanist is sure to find an abundance of flora amidst the soft earth of these grasslands.

 

Tippen’s Root

King’s Ivy

Chime Lily

Diddyfunkle

 

Fauna

 

Teeming with life and creatures of all shapes and sizes, the plains are often a welcoming and safe place to call home. Although populated by sheep, wild cattle, and other such mundane creatures, there are still some unique beasts which inhabit these fields.

 

 

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Shardspine Raptor

 

 

Physiology

 

The Shardspine Raptor, otherwise known as the Dancer of the Plains for its acrobatic-like movements and hunting style, is a newly documented species. This omnivore beast is found mainly in the Plains Ecosystem, tending to congregate in large herds of nearly twenty for protection against larger predators.

 

The Shardspine Raptor was given its name based on the unique bone-like structures along its spine and tail, these structures often looking like shards of amber, orange, or yellow crystal. This beast can reach incredible speeds on open plains thanks to its lithe and slender body, making its movements quick and agile.

If a Shardspine is forced into a fight, its acrobatic movements and hunting style makes it very difficult to pin down in a fight. Oftentimes able to jump over predators and use spinning motions to leverage the shards upon its back and tail to attack and ward off predators. They also tend to have excellent hearing and are capable of discerning another Shardspine from herd-member to outsider with their sense of smell.

 

Behavior

 

A Shardspine Raptor is an omnivore, its diet mainly consisting of small mammals like field mice and any and all plants and grasses found upon open plains. These creatures are very anxious and nervous, oftentimes keeping their heads twitching about their surroundings on high alert.

Within Shardspine herds these creatures tend to be rather social with each other and stick close together for protection, rarely generating any inner battle or carnage unless territory is brought into question. A Shardspine will only ‘socialize’ with another of its established herd, often fleeing from and in extreme cases killing outsiders.

 

Taming

 

A Shardspine cannot be tamed by any known means, even if it is stolen from the herd as a newborn mammal and then ‘raised’ in descendant likelihood. They are, by nature, hostile to anything that they can potentially eat and that they do not perceive as the same to them, meaning that these creatures will only bang together with the same herd Shardspines that it has been born into.

 

Abilities

 

Highly acrobatic and nimble, a Shardspine is able to maneuver around the battlefield and dodge attacks with relative ease. The spines on its back and tail have the same density as iron and will easily cut through leather or flesh, but fracture upon metal like armor. At last, these species have excellent hearing, even allowing them to discern whether what lurks near them is another fellow of their species or a different threat. In some cases, it is capable of telling whether another of their herd is nearby just by hearing the familiar walk-patterns. 

 

– Shardspines can be used and played for only DIY, player-hosted events.

– Shardspines cannot be tamed in any possible or known way; none. 

– Its bones and crystal-like appendages can be harvested if and when a Shardspine dies/fractures their appendages against steel-strong surfaces like armor or hard terrain. Both elements are player-signed and the bones themselves are like any other animal’s own, while the crystals themselves, if retrieved mostly untouched (which is unlikely as this would require one to kill a Shardspine before they fracture their appendages attacking/escaping), they can be repurposed into reskinned weapons of iron durability no larger than a longsword. These crystals are not malleable by any means and the weapon itself must be produced directly from the Shardspine’s back or tail, then coming across as a spike but having the functionality of an iron blade.

 

Caravachorn

 

 

Physiology

 

A ghastly, fearsome predator that knows only hunger and the hunt. These brutal predators stand at roughly 3 ft in height at the shoulders and 5-6 ft in length from the tip of their tails to their snouts. The Carachavorn, while often related to the wolf in its stature, is pound for pound stronger and weighs much heavier at around 300-330 pounds.

The Carachavorn is a predator of pure muscle. Gnashing teeth and rage, they travel in packs of up to four or five at a time. A Crachavorn has terrible eyesight, it however makes up for this with decent hearing and an exceptional sense of smell, able to pick up the smell of blood on the wind from a great distance away.

The jaws of a Carachavorn are incredibly powerful, very easily able to puncture and crush plate armor and drag a fully grown man in plate armor to the ground like a ragdoll. Their tails while not having any lethal advantages to them are still strong enough to knock aside heavy targets.

A Carachavorn is able to build up to a great burst of speed, but will only be able to maintain this over a very, very short distance. Most of its prey, like the Shardspine Raptor will be able to outrun it with enough warning.

 

Behavior

 

Carachavorn packs focus their hunts at night, minimizing their weakness of  poor eyesight and relying mainly on their sense of hearing and smell. These packs, consisting of numbers between 5-10 members, will also not be afraid to attack descendant settlements if they haven’t been able to catch prey in a few days and as a result are a very real and dangerous threat to descendants.

Carachavorn Packs are also always and constantly moving, thus they do not have an established habitat or “den” where food and the likes may be stored. These ravenous predators roam the Plains endlessly with one simple goal: to feast.

Carachavorn Packs often find shaded or secluded areas, beneath small gatherings of trees or caverns in which they will burrow a small tunnel network just beneath the surface of the ground in order to sleep during the day, to then keep on the prowl the next day. Those who accidentally stumble upon and disturb an actively-occupied Carachavorn den will find themselves ambushed on all sides as these creatures burst from beneath the earth.

These creatures are nocturnal.

 

Abilities

 

The Caravachorn has incredible jaw strength, being able to crush mundane metal of the same density as iron. It is also strong enough to bite down its target and drag them with pure might, while its tail can and will knock anyone unarmoured out of their feet. This beast however has poor eyesight, relying on its exceptional sense of smell to defend itself and hunt. 

 

– Caravachorns can be used and played only for DIY, player-hosted events.

– Caravachorns cannot be tamed at all. They are, by nature, prone to eat anything within their proximity.

– Caravachorns have a special trait whereat any meat that they have previously consumed is essentially transported to their own skin, meaning that when one kills a Caravachorn and consumes its flesh, they will taste different flavors from things such as rabbit or morsel meat, etc. 

– Meat, bones, and teeth are all player-signed if and when harvested from either a living or dead Caravachorn. The teeth however, while measuring no more than a fist’s worth and being akin to iron, are durable enough to serve as a small pocket knife.

 

Sparklights

 

 

Physiology

 

Sparklights are distant cousins of the Avirrin, a species that was rarely seen flying over the northern coasts of Almaris. Unlike their distant cousins, Sparklights seem to be more abundant within the lands of Aevos. For all the dangers that lurk in the wilderness of Aevos, the Sparklights offer a rare calming sight to still the hearts of man with their beauty.

Sparklights have large umbrella-like bodies that are largely made from a gelatinous substance filled with pockets of air. These soaring creatures gently float in large shoals of up to four or five Sparklights at a time, using ducts and sacs within their gelatinous bodies to help suck in and push out air to navigate the skies and keep them afloat. 

 

Following their bodies are their slender tentacles, flowing where the wind does. When they are born, these tentacles are hardly visible and average about one foot in length, but can grow up to twelve feet long from their hood to the tip of their tentacles. Their flesh is transparent enough that one can see their vital organs and pale blue veins.

Sparklights have earned the moniker of ‘Floating Stars’ as during the night their entire body lights up with vibrant bioluminescence, fantastic colors and patterns coursing all over their bodies. Seeing a shoal of Sparklights illuminating the fields of the plains at night is a sight to see.

 

Behavior

 

Sparklights roam the plains in great shoals of four to five at a time. They hunt by drifting down onto unsuspecting herds of animals and seek to scoop them up and paralyze them with their long hanging tentacles. These tentacles administer an electric shock to paralyze their prey before bringing up into their hooded domes to be dissolved by acids and absorbed for nutrients.

 

Abilities

 

These creatures are extremely slow and have no sense of hearing or smell. Electricity is stored in their tentacles and is sometimes released on impulse when threatened.

 

– Sparklights can be used and played only for DIY, player-hosted events.

– Sparklights cannot be tamed given their inability to smell or hear, which would be crucial for training or taming of any sort. 

– Shocks from a Sparklight’s tentacles will cause minor burns if exposure is over (2) emotes. Repeated shocks over a span of (4) will cause temporary paralysis of the touched area, and further shocks over the span of (6) emotes will result in the target’s incapacitation or death.

–A Sparklight's tentacles will be player-signed by whoever harvests them from a living or dead specimen. After detaching them from the main body, they become inert and lose their shocking properties. This renders them as decaying meat that tastes alike to sweet squid/octopus.

 

Gullinkambi

 

 

Physiology

 

Gullinkambi or Gullin for short are large bird-like creatures. Standing at 2.7 meters and weighing about the same as half of a horse, these omnivores are very much reminiscent of a giant rooster in their appearance, the otherwise singular look surmounted by its head being adorned by a set of mighty antlers. Its feet are likewise unique and different when compared to the common rooster, consisting of hooves.

 

Behavior

 

Gullin are passive creatures, typically forming flocks or set families, but they are also known to on occasion wander by themselves in isolation. These creatures seem predominantly herbivorous, though it is not unusual for some to enjoy feasting off of field mice and other such small rodents.

 

Taming

 

Gullinkambi are very much stalwart and proud creatures. Taming is virtually impossible.

 

Abilities

 

Gullinkambi may charge and gore adversaries with their antlers, but force comparable to a horse can easily overpower them.

 

– Gullinkambi do not possess any special materials that exceed the mundane. Their antlers however look quite nice and they do make for a rather tasty meal. Their feathers look quite beautiful.

– Gullinkambi cannot be tamed for the given reasons. 

– Anything obtained from a living or dead Gullinkambi is player-signed. Its meat is however very rich in nutrients and flavor and will likely satiate the hunger of an average descendant, too making great bait for the hunting of other carnivorous beasts. 

– A Gullinkambi’s horns are also player-signed and may not be repurposed for anything other than daily life tools like combs or the like, or simple trophies.

 

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Almarisian Remnants

Trolls

Physiology

Trolls are often seen as colossal and gruesome, having bulbous noses, ears that stick out, crooked teeth, and bushy eyebrows. They can tower up to sixteen feet tall, and the smallest recorded yet have been somewhere around twelve feet. Though they are more fat than bulky, their strength rivals that of an olog and can even exceed it, capable of crushing children or halflings beneath its feet. However, in exchange for this size they are slow. Additionally, trolls have tough hide that assumes shades of green, brown, and pale colors of grey, often covered in moss and dirt. The greatest weakness of the troll is daylight, which will petrify them should they stay outside, encouraging them to seek shade during the daytime.

Habitat

Trolls roam a variety of biomes. They can be found in open plains, dense forests, and even deep in caves. They often make their homes in mud or under shade, leaving heavy footprints in the soft ground around the region as a sign of their patrol.

Behavior

Despite their strength, trolls are incredibly stupid. They gather in groups of one to three, though any more than this would often result in a brawl. Trolls get into argument over the smallest things, from the color of the sky to their share of prey. They are quick to anger and will be thrown into a rage should their territory be intruded upon. However, though unintelligent, trolls do attempt to “tidy” up their dens, evidently to little success. Female trolls are even rumored to splash mud across their faces as a crude form of “makeup”. During the day, they often retreat to their dens in the shade and sleep to avoid the light of the sun.

Abilities

Paired with their strength, trolls have thick and leathery skin, making it difficult for arrows and small projectiles to penetrate. Regular swords of iron durability and stronger can typically pierce the hide. Trolls can create crude weapons such as clubs from fallen logs, use rocks as basic tools, etc., and may even attempt to fashion crude “clothing”, seldom more than basic undergarments from poorly tied deer and animal hides.

Redlines

- Trolls are stupid and cannot learn to operate any complex machinery (i.e. a crossbow). They are limited to basic weapons such as clubs and rocks.

- Trolls can communicate but do so very poorly, mixing basic common, if any, with grunts and jumbled speech. Most trolls do not know how to do more than grumble.

- A troll’s hide will at most protect them from basic arrows. Magic, fire, and iron weaponry or stronger would easily be capable of piercing it.

- Trolls are slow in both movement and attack. Though their hits are heavy, an agile and aware individual could easily evade a troll's attack.

- Trolls are not at all gentle and attempting to perform any delicate task will frustrate them.

- Trolls are not peaceful creatures and the slightest thing perceived as a threat to their ego or territory will cause them to defend it viciously. They cannot be reasoned with.

- Trolls will turn to stone should they come into contact with broad daylight.

Prairie Dulk

Physiology

The Prairie Dulk is a massive beast, similar to that of a rhinoceros, having a single massive horn with two smaller ones above it. Their hide is thick and rough, heavy with fur that provides both warmth and camouflage, able to withstand harsh dramatic weather shifts and requiring a strong steel edge pierce. The underbelly of the dulk is relatively unprotected however, making it the optimal region to target. Though heavy, the Prairie Dulk is shockingly fast and engaging the beast directly will often result in one being gored by its massive horn.

Habitat

Most of the year the Prairie Dulk will sulk about in the grasslands and prairies. During winter however they usually search for a cave to take up shelter in with its herd. Most adventurers are lucky enough to both find a dulk cave and not to have awoken, or enraged, the beasts.

Behavior

Prairie Dulk often travel in herds of three to fifteen, often accompanied by a small handful of infant dulk. Generally they are docile when with one another, though are incredibly territorial and protective of their young. Though the young are far easier to lure away and kill, a Prairie Dulk who catches wind of this will quickly alert the others and potentially cause a stampede. They are not particularly intelligent and are more alike to buffalo, making it wise to lure away one of the Dulk from the herd and kill it away from the others.

Abilities

The Dulk is limited mostly to its brute strength paired with its sharp and massive horn. The horn is strong enough to smash iron and dent steel, able to throw even a fully armored victim up to twenty feet away, assuming they were not simply impaled.

Redlines

- The Dulk runs at a speed of about six meters per emote, able to trample or impale those standing directly in its way. Should it miss, it would need to take time to slow itself down and reorient towards the target, assuming it didn't run into something else.

- If harvested, a Dulk’s horn is no stronger than that of a regular steel blade.

- Dulk are very territorial and can easily be jumped by the smallest thing. They will be passive so long as they are not aware of the hunter(s) presence.

- Dulk cannot be controlled through druidic communion save for in events with ST approval.

 

Giant Plains Bagworm Beetle

 

 

Physiology

 

The Giant Plains Bagworm Beetle is a bizarre creature, despite the name, and appearances the Giant Plains Bagworm Beetle is neither a bagworm, nor a beetle. In truth being a massive hermaphroditic isopod with bizarre tendencies. Bearing blue-green striped overlapping chitin plates, and 6 large legs for locomotion,wide yellow compound eyes, 2 stubby antennae, and a small chitinous mouth, they would appear to be a large rounded beetle creature.

 However, the Bagworm Beetle is able to unfold and elongate itself, each of its plates folding off of eachother, and stretching to bearing a appearance reminiscent of an spikey inchworm, with two legs at its front near its head, and the other 4 near its backside, with a long stretch of dark greenish blue flesh between such. Along this bridge of flesh is revealed 8 additional segmented legs along its body, which it uses to pick up various brush, sticks, and logs, and place it onto its back of chitin plates, standardly using its sticky saliva as a form of glue.

When folded, the Bagworm Beetle measures roughly 1-2 meters tall as an adult, 1-2 meters wide, and 2-4 meters long, though in truth, able to elongate themselves to a terrifying 12 meters long at maximum. They’re born in eggs kept in the heap of material kept on the isopod’s back, and hatch into small white larva, which feed on the stuffs kept on the creature’s back for a month, before metamorphosing into a small bagworm beetle after 2 months of gestation in their pupae.

The Bagworm Beetle is a herbivorous grazer, eating most grass, plants, flowers, and even moss. However, any sticks, logs, or sufficiently thin and light rocks, it will pick up, and place onto its back. Created with surprising skill, bagworm beetles will erect small, vaguely pyramidical towers of collected stuff, many times double the size of the beetle itself, which it carries along with little issue. In the winter, they will drop their self made structures, and create new ones in the spring.

 

The plates of the bagworm beetle are comprised of hundreds of overlapping keratin like strands, and though are notably brittle to most descendant weapons, they’re suitable to fight off attacks from nearly any large predator.

 

Habitat

 

Giant Plains Bagworm Beetles may be found grazing in large grassy plains in the summer, fall, and winter, though in spring times, they can most commonly be found patrolling the edge of forests, looking for fallen trees and various rubble to add to the heaps on their backs. Though by no means a herd animal, it is not uncommon to see a small pack of 5-7 individuals grouped up near a recently fallen tree, chewing it apart and placing the pieces on their backs.

 

Behavior

 

Despite their prodigious size, and propensity to build small heaps on their back, bagworm beetles are exceedingly stupid. Their immense size and strong chitinous shells make them completely ignorant to predators. Pushing one about will simply cause the creature to follow the momentum, meaning one could redirect the creatures with extreme ease. Dumb and with no prey instinct, it is not uncommon for someone to rangle one with a lasso, and attempt to tame it. While the creature shall by no means fight off such attempts, their idiot mind grants them no ability to acclimate or familiarize themself with somebody, hence they will never be truly ‘tamed’. Though suitable as a slow beast of burden, they must always be tied down or led by rope, lest they wander off to eat or gather brush for its heap.

Though they may be harnessed onto a cart, or have things laid upon their back, and removed with little issue, should they be left alone for too long, they will tend to seek out various rubble and wood, and begin attaching it to their back- many times ATOP any harness, packs, or hitching on it at the time.

Recently pupated beetles will remain with the parent which held them, and wander off after a year or so.

Uniquely, a bagworm beetle will never unfold itself whilst viewed by anyone, meaning one may look at a bagworm beetle, turn away for a minute, and than view it again, to find it has placed a half dozen logs upon its back with no clear means for it to have done such.

 

Abilities

 

Bagworm beetles are prodigious in size and strength, and are capable of carrying multiple tons on their back, and their structures are made with surprising skill. Their glue-like saliva hardens in half a minute, and their chitin, while not hardy to descendant attacks, is more than suitable for the isopod’s purposes.

 

Redlines

-Bagworm beetles are not hostile, though not particularly amicable either. One can be ‘caught’ with little issue, and RP’d by players as a slow beast of burden with no ST oversight, though little more.
-Bagworm beetles will pick up nearly any object, and though they wont react much to the towers upon their back being toppled, rarely will anything of value will be found.
-The chitin of the bagworm beetle is not notably hardy, being roughly equivalent to a thick baked clay, though may be extracted from a dead bagworm beetle for use in crafts.

-The Bagworm Beetle must be pulled or pushed (whether gentle or firmly) to be directed, whether from a rope or a hitch, and cannot be guided with a ‘carrot on a stick’ or similar apparati.

The Bagworm Beetle, though it can be communicated with Druidic Communion, is admittedly too stupid to process most requests.