Difference between revisions of "Fauna3"

Revision as of 05:08, 3 March 2008

The Felayan fauna is composed of many species from many worlds which makes it very varied and unpredictable. See also carnivorous plants and plant life. Because the page is reaching the maximum size, here is the first part of the fauna : Fauna and second : Fauna2

Note about the threat ranking:

It's based on the threat that the creature represents for a normal human. It's not necessarily linked to the strength of the creature. For example the dryad Cypress would rank very low because she is very friendly to humans, yet she is a powerful being.

Rank:

• Minimal: A totally harmless being such as a mouse or a rabbit.
• Very Low: Mostly herbivores but who can still strike back if attacked.
• Low: Various animals such as felines.
• Moderate: A moderately dangerous Felaryan creature can still be very dangerous in another world. For example a great white shark would rank between Low and Moderate here...
• Medium: A predatory, dangerous and often man-eating creature.
• High: A great predator. Crisis is in this category.
• Very High: A top predator. This creature could take on a small army.
• Critical: In Felaryan scales, very few creatures reach this rank.
• Extreme: A guardian or a mythical creature. Only a god can hope to survive a confrontation with one of these.

In evernight forest

Abyssal Slug

Size: 30 to 40 feet
Threat: Medium

These creatures usually live in very dark places such as caverns. They glow lightly and have a beautiful pattern of vividly colored lights on their skin. However when you see these lights it's probably already too late for you. Abyssal slugs can locate their prey far away with a sort of natural sonar, and when the slug knows the exact location of its prey and is in range, it powerfully vacuums it in to it's large mouth. The range of their vacuum can reach 300 feet for the largest specimens.

Shadow Fish

Size: 1 to 40 feet
Threat: Very Low to Medium

The size of shadow fishes varies a lot and this name comprises many sub species. Shadow fish have the unique ability to breath shadow, which means that they can live in or out of the water, so long as it is dark. Exposing them to light will suffocate them, much like what happens to a regular fish out of water. They float in the air and can move quickly if needed. Because they have no teeth, shadow fish swallow whole anything that is the right size, and the larger specimens are big enough to swallow humans whole, and so can pose a serious threat to adventurers.

Glophorbia

Size:
Threat: Under Construction

Flash Medusa

Size: 20 to 30 feet
Threat: Moderate

In such a dark place as evernight forest, light can become a weapon. These jellyfish-like creature use a powerful flash of light to dazzle and blind their prey... or suffocate it in the case of shadow fishes. Then they move rapidly in range to swallow their meal.

Lightseeker

Size: 15 inches
Threat: Minimal

A small and extremely fast bird. Little is known about them because once you see a trace of a lightseeker, it's already gone. They possess a strange glowing globe on their belly that emits a blinding light when the bird flies, and they leave a long tail of light behind them, a bit like a comet.

In the eternal darkness of Evernight forest, this is one of the rare sources of light. For some reason, lightseekers seem to always fly very straight trajectories, and turn with very angles, creating long jagged lines of light that remain for several seconds before being swallowed up by the dark.

Night Anemone

Size: 50 feet
Threat: Medium

A dangerous creature lurking in dark places such as caverns or evernight forest. They feed on anything that they catch with their long and agile tentacles and they can swallow very large prey. While their most common prey are shadow fishes, a human would also fit in such a large stomach. What makes night anemones really dangerous is their tentacles which are strong, agile, and can stretch to frighteningly long distance. But most dangerously their tentacles are are semi-immaterial and can't be harmed in any normal way.

In Mycoria forest

Fungoïd

Size: 7 to 20 feet
Threat: Low

The Fungoïd are a race of sentient humanoid fungus. Their size varies depending on how much water they have absorbed, but generally they range from 7 to 20 feet tall. There appears to be no standard as to how many limbs they have, with some having the familiar 4 limbs, but others having any odd combination, such as 8 arms or 4 legs! Their head resembles a toadstool, on top of which there can be up to 30 "eyes". Their "mouth" is more or less just a opening to their stomach. They prefer dead or rotting food in most cases, but they will be more then willing to ingest a living being if it suits them. Once inside, the victim is digested by an accelerated process of decomposition. As one can imagine, since they primarily eat rotting food, they usually emit a horrible stench, which is a sure fire way to know if one is nearby.

At first glance, the Fungoïd society seems to be very primitive. They use basic tools to carve out homes in the stalks of the giant mushrooms which inhabit Mycoria forest. Their social structure seems poorly defined as well, and they communicate with each other by using spores or bioluminescent lights that are created on their skin. They have no verbal language or any known form of communicative gestures. Thus, they are seen as little more than monsters and are possibly the most underestimated race of Felarya, which suits them perfectly.

Fungoïds are actually very wise and philosophical beings with an incredible understanding of their surrounding. They live in perfect harmony with mycodryads who love to inform them on what is going in the jungle and receive their thoughts in return. Some of them are powerful, but discrete, spellcasters as well. Many mages would be shocked to know how how much they could learn from some Fungoïds shamans.

Ooze

Size: vary
Threat: Moderate

Oozes are basically protoplasmic sacs of slime that, not surprisingly, ooze around the swamp in search of food. When food is found, they will engulf the prey completely into their slimy mass. At this point it's very difficult for the victim to escape being devoured, as the gelatinous mass is extremely sticky. Once the prey has been comptely absorbed, the ooze will settle to digest it. Soft, organic material go usually first, with bones and finally rocks and metals in that order. Travelers have reported sitings of massive oozes with the skeletons of entire traveling groups still suspended within them.

Since the ooze is amorphous, trying to cut it or shoot it will usually have no effect. Freezing the ooze is usually your safest bet. It will not kill the creature, but it will restrict it's movement enough to allow you to escape. It should also be warned that since the ooze is a shapeless mass, they can hide almost anywhere. Special attention should be paid to shallow water...what looks to be harmless swamp water could actually be an ooze waiting in ambush!

Oozes are one the favorite prey of mud slugs and Gorudan behemoths.

Forgon

Size: Varies
Threat: Moderate

Forgon is the common name for the Jenkenite Petrifying Fungus ( so named in honor of Professor Jenkin, the first person to document its existence, and ironically its first documented victim ). This rare fungus can be found growing on various rocks, which it feeds upon. It vaguely resembles a oceanic anemone, although its tentacles are usually hidden within the pod most of the time. When a prey approaches it, it lashes out with the tentacles, each tipped with a sharp poison. If the prey is injected with the poison, they will immediately be petrified into a stone statue. The Forgon will then begin to grow upon them, feeding off it's new rock perch. Fortunately the victim don't die immediately and the process can be reversed, but only through a powerful enough transmutation spell.

Moss Basilik

Size: 25'
Threat: Moderate

A large, bulky lizard entirely covered by thick moss and small plants. Their special skin is nutrient-rich and allow vegetation to grow on it, an efficient way to hide themselves completely and to attract small herbivores who make the main part of the basilik's diet. The lizard however, is very agressive and won't hesitate to attack humans that come to close. Despite their heavy appearance, they are surprisingly fast and agile. Thus a harmless heap of moss and brush can suddenly turn into a ferocious beast that leap at you, maw wide open. While their prey is stunned by the collision, the moss basilik will attempt to devour it in a succession of rapid swallows, holding it with its tremedously strong jaws

Despite their name "basilik" and their similar look, those creatures can't actually petrify their victim with their stare. The mistake was made because of the numerous humanoid statues of the zone which were made by the much more discrete forgons.

Others

Umbra

Size: Varies
Threat: Medium

Long thought extinct in the Felarya jungle, they are still only relatively few in number ( About several dozen are suspected to exist currently), but even one umbra is enough to decimate an entire village if the thought ever crossed its simple mind.

Because of their unique physiology, their form is never completely fixed. Continually phasing in and out of the dimensions of Felarya has had the effect of essentially making these beasts shape shifters of sort. In their true form, you could describe them as a sort of shadowy fog. Although unable to change their colors, umbras are able to briefly imitate any prey they have recently absorbed. However, due to their extremely rapid digestive system, the imitation often appears rotten and degenerated. Thus the most common hunting tactic of an umbra is to conceal itself in the roots of a tree, or on the ceiling of a cave, and wait for a living creature to approach before surrounding and enveloping it.

Umbras can stretch to remarkably long lengths, and because of their weightlessness they are able to travel with blinding speed through the air like a cloud. Strangely, their semi-corporeal form is as equally a drawback as it is an advantage, as a strong wind will prove dangerous for them. Moreover, they have only a very small tolerance for injury. Though able to withstand blows from anything human sized and below, larger creatures will often give the umbra cause to flee. That said, if an umbra does find suitable prey, they will pursue them relentlessly, feeling an unnatural instinct to remove all evidence of their existence by destroying any who have seen them. Those who have claimed to have seen an umbra are usually cast out from society due to the bad luck that the more superstitious people will see as surrounding them.

Because the page is reaching the maximum size, here is the first part of the fauna : Fauna, and second: Fauna2

• Credits to Veeshan, and Rythmear for various ideas for the fauna.