On the Origin of Species [February Rules and Entries]

[limetom]

Yet another contest!

On the Origin of Species

In a recent poll, people talked about how their bestiary was one of the most lacking things in their setting.  With that in mind, I bring you the February Contest.

While technically one of the staples of fantasy gaming, this is going to be a bit of a non-traditional take.  Often, the focus of creature design is put on the players; that is, a monster for them to fight.  This contest, however, will focus on creating a prey animal.  A little something to add to the verisimilitude of a world.

1 - Questions to Consider and Answer
You need not answer all of these questions; they are simply here to give you a place to start.

Is this a creature that evolved naturally (if such a thing exists in your world)?  Was it created by the gods?  Some other force?

If it evolved, was it changed later by some external means? Here I mean things like domestication, magical-infusion, etc.  If it was created by some force, what was this force?  Did it have any specific reason behind creating this creature?  In either case, are there any other related creatures?  Do these creatures reproduce?  How?  Or do they need to keep being created in some fashion?

What is the creature's distribution?  Is it confined to just one valley?  Or can it be found over almost all of the world?  Is this species migratory or sedentary?

What does the creature look like?  Are the genders outwardly identifiable?  Do its young look different from its adults?  On that subject, what is the lifespan and life-stages of the creature?  Though it's a prey animal, does it have any kind of defenses, mundane, magical, or otherwise?  If the creature can make noises, what do they sound like?

What's the general behavior of this creature?  Are they intelligent (even if not sentient)?  Is it possible to domesticate?  What do people generally regard the domesticated variety as (i.e. mules are infamously stubborn)?  What is the creature's diet (i.e. herbivore, omnivore, carnivore) and eating habits (scavenger, grazer, etc.)?  Do they organize themselves in some way?  Or are they solitary creatures?  Do they have any special breeding habits?

How do sentient races view these creatures?  Are they pests?  Respected and revered?  Just food?  Do they fit into any mythological story?  If they are eaten, how do they taste?

2 '" Some Things to Include
This is where I explain the catch(es).

At most, the entry should be 1,200 words long.
*While not required, it is encouraged that the creature be a part of your setting.
*A stat block may be included; it will not be counted against the word limit.
*A description of the creature must be included.
*The creature must not be a "monster" (i.e. it is very unlikely that the PCs will ever fight it).

3 - Necessary Disclaimer Stuff (Below in Spoiler Box)

[spoiler]Please read all these rules before entering. If you enter the contest, it is assumed that you have read and agree with all the rules presented below. Any entries/contesters found in contrast with these rules will be disqualified from the contest and will be ineligible for any prizes.
0. VERY IMPORTANT All entries must be original content, or if outside material is used, it must be used with the express written permission of the original creator. Anything that is the Product Identity (PI) of Wizards of the Coast can be used for submission, but will not be allowed to be published in the Guide, should it win.
1. No one under the age of seventeen (17) can enter a contest without the consent of a parent or a Legal Guardian.
2. Rules and guidelines will vary. Some restrictions may apply.
3. All winners will be contacted by e-mail within seven (7) days of the contest ending.
4. To claim your winning prize, simply follow the easy instructions in your e-mail notification.
5. If we do not hear from you within seven (7) days of notification, we'll select an alternate winner.
6. Read all the rules, entry requirements and deadlines of each contest before entering.
7. The Campaign Builders' Guild (the CBG) reserves sole and final judgment as to all matters concerning its contests. All decisions are final.
8. Winners are responsible for all Federal, State and Local taxes, if applicable.
9. Void where prohibited and where all Federal, State and local laws and regulations apply.
10. Prizes cannot be exchanged, substituted or transferred, without the prior written consent of the contest sponsor if applicable or the Campaign Builders' Guild (the CBG).
11. Odds of winning a prize depends on the number of eligible entries received and are determined by each contest's specific
criteria of awarding prizes.
12. If you are a contest winner you also authorize the Campaign Builders' Guild (the CBG) and its affiliates to use your name and/or screen name for promotion purposes and publicity purposes without compensation, as well as for use in the Campaign Builder's Guide.
13. These rules are subject to change without notice.
14. Unless otherwise specified, only members 17 years of age and under as stated in rule number 1 above in the general guidelines, and 18 years of age and older can enter or become eligible to win any of the prizes with respect to any contests or make any submissions of any kind to the Campaign Builders' Guild (the CBG).
15. The Campaign Builders' Guild (the CBG) is not responsible for error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of your entry.
16. You agree that the Campaign Builders' Guild (the CBG) and its respective representatives shall have no Liability, in connection with the acceptance and use of prizes awarded, including liability for personal injury and property damage.[/spoiler]
The winner will be awarded a nifty badge so they can flaunt their unwarranted self-importance.

The contest will run through 6:00 PM EST, Sunday, February 28, 2010. Only one entry per member, though an entry can be edited if need be. After which, a winner will be chosen by vote, and a new contest may or may not be presented for March.

[Stargate525]

Leko (LEE-koe)

Lekos are small, robin-sized lizards native to the coastal cliffs along the Inland Sea. They come in a large number of colors based primarily on their location; the farther north a leko lives, the warmer his primary pigmentation tends to be. Lekos living along the Dragon Lands tend to be a bright red, Aquilan specimens are blue or green, and lekos among the middle areas are purple or chartreuse. No matter their location, however, each leko bears a distinct pattern of pure white markings along its face, wings, and back, with the female's coloring being reversed (white with colored markings). Their distinct color is a combination of mating plumage and warning indicator; their blood is incredibly poisonous to most animals.

They nest in groups along crags in the cliff face; a typical group contains between ten and twelve females for every male, and numbers between one and two hundred members. Mating occurs twice yearly, and lacks much of the pomp and display that other creatures have. Females spar over the strongest, most boldly-colored male, and a male will mate with as many as twenty females in any given season.

Their diet consists of small marine animals along the coastline, mainly the small fish which make their homes among the rocks at the edge of the cliffs. Although their poisonous nature protects them from many predators, they are a favorite of water snakes who hunt much the same area as them, and whitehawks, a species of eagle which is immune to the leko's poisonous innards.

Although poisonous to ingest, lekos serve several purposes to the civilized species along the Inland Sea. When properly prepared to neutralize the poison, they are a (dangerous) delicacy among the Naradonese. Their colorful bodies make them a common pet across the Aquilae and the Core Nations, and many are bred in captivity for this purpose. A distant relation to dragons, their bodily fluids, scales, bones, and organs are a less potent, though safer and cheaper substitute for dragon components in rituals and alchemy. Their blood is also a potent and virulent poison base, used mostly by the orcs and sold black market across the world.

[Seraph]

Bollag (BALL-ag)

The name Bollag is derived from the Ithash 'bolg' (pronounced ball-ug) meaning 'stomach,' and to the farmers who have to deal with this pest, that's all it is: a walking, bottomless stomach.  Bollags are round of body and covered with a thick, soft fur that grows to about two inches in length.  With a sufficient food supply they can grow to be over a foot in diameter, although on one occasion, a bollag of over 22 inches was recorded.   Their fur is often composed of multiple shades of brown, though gray, white, and black bollags have been seen as well.  Their six legs are stumpy, and they move on them in a sort of shuffle.  When provoked, they can get themselves up to a galumphing gallop, or even curl up and roll if they are on a slope.  This is a common strategy to evade predators.  They do not seem to have readily identifiable ears, but they do have wide mouths filled with sharp teeth, prominent noses, and small, beady, black eyes.

Bollags travel in herds, sticking close to each other, and gravitating towards each other.  While a lone bollag is encountered on occasion, such specimens are usually injured, and it is presumed that they could not keep up with the migratory herd.  Of course, Bollags are known to scatter when the herd is attacked; sending out a pheromone that alerts the others to the danger.  This behavior tricked early observers into thinking that the bollag operated through a hive mind, before the danger pheromone was discovered.  In actuality, they are merely very good at warning each other of dangers.  When the danger passes, the herd will often regroup, though occasionally injured or more sluggish members get lost or left behind.  As often or more as a bollag gets left behind, herds will join and coalesce.  They do not seem to claim territory, nor do they differentiate between any one bollag and the next'"except, perhaps, for mating purposes.  Bollags secrete another pheromone during mating season, which seems to form the bulk of their mating ritual.  Since no researcher has yet been able to locate any outward signs of the sex of a bollag, the pheromones have been concluded to be crucially important in differentiating males and females.

Bollags are most prominent in the area west of the Weeping Sea, and migrate north into western Caervenfor and even Fjal Othila in the warm summer months, retreating to the plains of Breeanen in the winter.  Bollags are omnivorous, eating anything they can get their mouths around, but while they eat small animals and insects, the bulk of the Bollag diet comes from vegetable matter.  Bollags are famously hated by farmers for their tendency to decimate entire harvests.  Their sharp teeth seem to act primarily as a deterrent to predators, and only secondly for the consumption of meat, for, despite the sharpness of their teeth, their absolute lack of a neck and the size of their legs makes them very inefficient predators.  They often seem to follow a pattern of moving to an area, consuming anything edible, and moving on to the next area.  This seems to be necessary to their survival.  Their stomach acids are so powerful and their metabolism works so quickly that a Bollag needs to eat almost constantly just to stay alive.   This virtually eliminates any possibility of keeping them as pets, as anyone short of nobility would quickly be eaten out of house and home.  Interestingly, the amount a bollag needs to consume and the consistency with which the bollag has to consume in order to remain alive are so great that in the mating process the male often dies from a combination of exertion and starvation.  

Because they pose such a threat to the livelihood of the Anthros, many nations have sponsored Bollag hunts, where nobles, gentlemen, and professional and amateur hunters compete to see who can bag the most.  To prevent cheating, the use of firearms in these contests is discouraged, in favor of more traditional bows or crossbows, whose ammunition can be readily identified by fletching and traced to the hunter who loosed it.  Clothiers tend to profit from the hunts, purchasing the hides in bulk to create winter furs relatively inexpensively, as do alchemists who value the stomach acid for its potency.  They do not make a good meal since they have relatively little meat on them relative to their size.

[SA]

from dystopia

GRESOL
The tower princedoms of Samnast decayed. Abandoned by their lords in the middle years of second humanity. The winged people who remained soon diminished. Sickness. The native deprivation of all the human peoples took their minds. They went down into the shadows of the Eyrie to feed on their own children. A slow march of ages: their palaces at last tumbled the long mile to the cold earth beneath.

Gresol are not thinking beings. They share the thoughts of birds. They mewl despairingly in the loudness of the battering winds. They have lost their language. They have lost their past. They have cast off their human shape for long black bodies. Small heads. Overlarge eyes. Comical jagged mouths. Their wings recall forsaken elegance in their pale and patterned splendour. As do the songs they sing. The same songs that gurgle a dissonant hymn from seraphic icons among the ruin of their forefather's citadels. Truths warnings promises all unheeded. The children have not the will to listen.

In the summer they are witless and free. They spiral through mountain arches in unruly clouds by the hundreds. Catch fire-crickets on the wing. Fight the new young fliers for alcoves where they might nest through the cruellest heat. In the winter they hide and gnaw at themselves. Snatch blind biting bugs from their fur. Spring comes with the rolling fog of locust roses. Humming scarlet plentiful. They spiral again. Play among the floating flowers. Flaunt their ornate patterns and breed in their shelters.

Humans climb to them along age worn stairs. Catch them with nets and spears. Bleed them for bile or nectar. Take their pelts but leave their carcass for the gathel worms. Mantells prowl among them with tarry snouts. Hydras also. Fan their ruddy arms like waiting hands. Dissolve them like flies. Others watch. Howl. But there is no strength. Or resistance. Their lords traded it for their own Liberty and live now in the cold high places beyond their children's sight. Slowly they too forget.

[Superfluous Crow]

Possible additions to the Broken Verge universe:

Mologs (Khierian  Lumberbacks)
Slow and ponderous creatures native to the hostile swamps of Khiere, the humble Molog survives solely  through camouflage. You could wander right past one without ever knowing it even though they are the size of a large boar. In fact they'd appear as nothing so much as a stunted swamp tree to the casual observer.

Their body is short with a broad back, and their skin is brown and wrinkled like the bark of a tree. But their most singular feature is the large skin-covered bony appendage that rises from their back in the definite shape of a short tree.  

The exposed body beneath the tree is usually kept beneath the waterline, but when on dry ground they can usually blend in with the muddy ground to some degree, appearing as a small mound. If you look closely enough, though, you'll see something like the cross between a beetle, a bullfrog, and a boar; a stocky creature, with black staring eyes, stubby legs and a soft pale belly.

They are herbivores, and are creatures of prey for carnivores clever enough to find them. They usually feed on small waterplants in the murky water, staying below for hours on end by breathing through small ducts in the "tree".
They often walk in herds, or groves as scholars have taken to calling them, but seeing as they can rarely act aggressively without drawing attention to themselves there is no alpha male; males and females live side by side as equals as far as those who've watched them can tell.

In summer, when they are in heat, the males, quite contrary to their common behavior, attempt to draw attention to themselves from the females of the grove by "blossoming". The branches of their tree turns vibrant with color as it grows trailing chains of feathery petals from its branches, adorning it with all the colors known to man. Many scholars have claimed that a Molog grove in full bloom is one of the most beautiful things they've ever seen. (Of course, most of these scholars do spend most of their time in a swamp).  

They are quite rare now, as they are the targets of poachers who know where to find them. Not only is their meat decent food, but the flowers of the males are greatly priced both as decoration and for medicinal purposes.

[O Senhor Leetz]

The Kyphos, Eater-of-Isles

Beneath the waves of the seas of Arga, deep in the black depths of the world lurks the Kyphos, the Dread-Beast of the Abyss. A leviathan larger than any beast that walks the land or swims the seas, no one is sure what it looks like, as it is too massive to ever gain a glimpse of the whole creature. Yet it has been seen, at least parts of it. Legends and whispers speak of a colossal maw, miles across, with thousands of giant, barnacle-covered teeth, rising from the sea in a slow, unstoppable motion, covering islands in its shadow before swallowing them whole. It's black, chitinous form is said to scrape the clouds when it crests the waves, and that it emits a bellowing roar so loud and so deep that it can shatter stone. On occasion, a sloughed-off shard of it's carapace will wash upon a random shore, and if these town-sized scales are any evidence to it's true bulk, it is truly beyond the scope of most mortals.

Some sages claim that the Kyphos is a beast of simple, savage intelligence, driven by only the most primal desires. Yet others claim that it holds an intellect beyond comprehension within it's alien mind. Amongst sailors and travelers of the waves, the Kyphos is merely a tool of fate and the sea, both judge and executioner. The sea-folk Maeren worship it as their deity, while a handful of mad and foul cults wish to somehow harness it's power.

There exist writings speaking of the Eater-of-Isles that date far back to the Second Age of Arga, written with a mix of fear and awe. This leads some to theorize that perhaps the Kyphos is one of the Half-Gods, an abomination of darkness and divine. Others agree with the Maeren, and claim that the beast is indeed a godly remnant of the First Age of Arga, the last primordial god. There is said to exist a hidden set of scrolls that explain the Kyphos's purpose and origin, that is descended from amidst the stars and moons of the Void, a thing beyond what the mortal mind can comprehend. But these so-called scrolls are as elusive as the beast itself, and exist only in the realm of rumor.

[Steerpike]

From The Cadaverous Earth

Shaik-toruch (Sand-rays)

Thought to be distant relatives of the xsur, shaik-toruch '" also called sand-rays '" are a species of huge, cartilaginous creatures who roam the southern and eastern regions of the Cadaverous Earth such as the Firesong Marches, Dour Erg, and Flense Veldt, though rogue specimens have been spotted as far west as the Tallow Plains, drifting unperturbed over that eructating entropy with their characteristic placidity.  Like many beasts of Earth's gloaming aeons they are the warped result of unguided evolution, bioengineering, and eldritch experimentation.

Vaguely resembling a gigantic scaly ray swimming through air or loose earth instead of water, the batoid shaik-toruch can reach enormous sizes: some have wingspans well over fifty feet.  How exactly they achieve their remarkable buoyancy is not known; they appear to glide through the air, but also possess inflatable sacs on their underbellies, underneath their saw-shaped mouths, and may possess eldritch levitation abilities as well.  Perhaps the most distinctive features of the shaik-toruch, however, are the small, round orifices that line their backs alongside their spined vertebrae.  These sphincter-like openings (which can be clenched shut) lead to a series of organic chambers inside their bodies that form the dwellings and incubators for goreflies, a symbiotic species that breed and live inside shaik-toruch.

Goreflies '" not to be confused with the considerably more terrible creatures known as gorgeflies '" are a vicious, nocturnal species of blood-drinking insect somewhat similar to prodigiously oversized assassin bugs or kissing bugs.  During daylight hours they roost inside their shaik-toruch hosts, during which time the sand-ray contracts its orifices shut, sealing them inside.  As the sun sets these orifices dilate and the goreflies awaken and swarm out in search of prey.  Haematophagic, goreflies feed on land-animals (including humans), sometimes draining smaller prey dry; swarms of goreflies have been known to decimate human and zerda communities or herds of grazing animals, leaving a trail of desiccated husks in their wake.  On returning to their hosts at dawn the bloated goreflies regurgitate a portion of their meal into a central trough inside their shaik-toruch, supplementing the sand-ray's usual diet of carrion and smaller insects.  In return for this sustenance '" and the protection goreflies provide shaik-toruch '" sand-rays offer goreflies shelter and a place to lay their eggs.  A unique chemical in shaik-toruch blood deters goreflies from feeding on their own host; as a result, sand-ray blood, when slathered on skin, can protect against gorefly attacks.

Like their gorefly symbionts shaik-toruch are predominantly nocturnal.  During the day they spend most of their time buried under the sand, emerging at night to search for food and release their goreflies.  Shaik-toruch are oviparous, laying their eggs in membranous sacs they bury in the waste, sometimes called 'jinni's purses.'  Their young are born fairly large and grow quickly, reaching maturity in about a year, though they continue to grow throughout their lives; shaik-toruch can live for well over a century.  They are solitary creatures, sometimes forming temporary mated pairs that disperse after a brief period of courtship and copulation.

Themselves tranquil, dull-minded creatures, shaik-toruch have on occasion been domesticated by humans and other sapient beings (especially jinni and mantids) and used as mounts; mantids have been known to assemble elaborate palanquins atop their backs.  Typically the goreflies inside them have to be killed first '" usually by sealing shut the sand-ray's orifices until the insects within starve to death.  Domesticated shaik-toruch have to have blood poured into their gorefly orifices to keep them properly hydrated and nourished.  The zerda both respect and fear the shaik-toruch with a near religious awe.  When a sandray is sighted approaching a zerda caravan freshly killed game and a cauldron of blood are left on a divergent path from the caravan's intended route so as to avoid confrontation.  Shaik-toruch teeth are used as ceremonial daggers by the foxfolk, preserved with oils and then carved with glyphs.

Because of their size and symbiotic protectors sand-rays are rarely bothered by predators, but humanoids have been known to hunt them, slathering themselves with shaik-toruch blood to ward off the goreflies; a single shaik-toruch can feed a settlement for weeks.  Like dire maggots shaik-toruch sometimes wander into Etiolation, glutting themselves on the bodies they find there until claimed by blanchphage.

[LD]

From Gloria (see signature)

The Glick

"Oh, to be as quick as a Glick."

The positive-energy Glick are fey and wild; they float in the lightning and in the thunder, arcing from one blast to another; they live in the sparks of hammer on stone, they emerge new-born from shimmer extracted and scraping against the walls of the bore-hole.

These picayune creatures are hermaphroditic in nature and gain pleasure from certain interactions; but like a mule, they are unable to reproduce. Instead, they are created by the chance and luck of spontaneous generation. Sparks, electricity, and explosions are all likely to create new Glicks. When "Interacting", Glicks glow like a lightning bug and warm to super-heated temperatures that have been known to start fires.

In ancient Gloria, Glicks were captured in jars and used to provide light at night. Some Glorians have even used Glicks as incendiary devices. After capturing a Glick in a tube and wrapping the Glick tight with twine, the Glorians would rotate the tube around their head like a bolo and then toss at the animal or enemy they wished to harm. On impact, the Glick would explode and send out a wave of heat, radiation, and flame.

Glicks are often captured by guile. Glicks can be attracted by sparks, and draw near when they believe that others of their race are about to be birthed.

In some parts of Gloria, entrepreneurs have taken to creating Glick-Factories, where the creatures are produced en masse, then marketed in jars to the citizens who need lighting, and to the armies who need ammunition for their newest weapons.

But why are Glicks lucky, one asks? Well, allegedly Glicks never age. They can only die by explosion- which happens from time to time. Or they can perish by losing their charge. A Glick without access to lightning or spark is a Glick which soon withers and fades. Still, Glicks do not fear lack of lightning or sparks; in rainstorms, lightning tends to seek out exposed Glicks and strike them due to ionic attraction, which is quite lucky for the Glicks.

There are some Glicks older than centuries who live on the highest mountains and who dance around the stratosphere, up and through the stratus, to the black and heavy cumulonimbus hammerheads.

The Glicks are a simple race, without writing or a spoken language. Still, they seem to have a rudimentary method of communication. When a Glick wishes to express an emotion, they change color. A yellow Glick is quite happy and excited; a red Glick is nervous or angry or worried, a blue Glick is tired, and a green Glick is sick.