Aterat Mod Account (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ateratmods) wrote2021-09-09 03:16 pm
ateratmods) wrote2021-09-09 03:16 pmBestiary
Bestiary
ateratmods) wrote2021-09-09 03:16 pm
Dire Rats
Primary Location: Southeast Sewers, Market District
Other Locations: Market streets (night), Harbor streets (night)
Size: 1-3 feet long
Group size: Can number in the dozens
Intelligence: Instinctual
While Dire Rats are animals, they are very large ones. They will eat nearly anything (including non-food items). They have a toxic bite that carries various diseases and, while generally carrion feeders, they are also opportunistic feeders that will use their greater numbers to take down living prey. They have an affinity for shiny things and tend to decorate their nests with them and the spines that grow from their bodies combined with their speed made them difficult to hit.
Kobold
Primary Location: Sewers, (except Northeast)
Other Locations: Harbor streets (night)
Size: roughly 2.5 feet to 3 feet in height
Group size: 3-10
Intelligence: Dull
Consisting of close-knit family units and capable of broken speech ("No take shiny!") its easy to take these ambush hunters for granted. Individually they are very stupid, but very cowardly, but if enough of them get together they become more brave and have been known to take advantage of the solitary traveler making their way home at night from the Harbor district. They wield weapons taken from victims and built ramshackle settlements in abandoned buildings and out of the way nooks in the sewers. They tend to horde findings but know nothing of their value. In areas of the Harbor district, however, some of their strikes tend to be more coordinating, suggesting something or someone more intelligent may be pulling strings.
Giant Roach
Primary Location: Sewers (all areas)
Other Locations: Streets (all, night)
Size: roughly roughly a foot long
Group size: where there is 1, there are more
Intelligence: Insectoid
While not harboring anything related to intelligence, cockroaches carry disease and aren't afraid of attacking things that are larger than they are. What's more, they have a mildly acidic saliva that makes it easier for their mandibles to pierce the flesh of those with a toughness greater than humans. They can also fly and are all around gross. What they lack in strength they make up for in numbers. They are large and they can be found nearly everywhere.
Giant Crocodile
Primary Location: Northeast
Other Locations: ??
Size: Around 20 feet
Group size: Solitary
Intelligence: Instinctual
These are the natural predators of the dire rats found in most of the sewers and they keep their numbers in check. That doesn't mean that the floating log in the canal should be ignored. These are opportunistic ambush hunters who will not hesitate to drag the unsuspecting under for a quick bite. Unless you're gifted with superhuman strength, once one has a hold of you, your odds of survival are exceptionally low. Explore the northeast with caution.
Interestingly, they seem to be much more aggressive when the curious are found near the stairs leading down...
Wererat
Primary Location: Sewers (Harbor District)
Other Locations: Back Alleys (Harbor District - Night)
Size: 4-6.5 feet
Group size: Small bands
Intelligence: Beastial-Sentient
A pack of wererats call a secluded area of the sewers beneath the Harbor District home. They are not hostile to one another but are fiercely protective of their territory. They are several times stronger than a human and have hides several times more durable. Their bite carries their disease and anyone who doesn't die of the resulting sickness is doomed to join their ranks. While most seem to communicate with one another with bestial sounds, it's possible, though rare, one might come across a member of the doomed species who has either retained or reclaimed their ability to speak, but it's limited.
Sha
Primary Location: Anywhere
Other Locations: Not Applicable
Size: Varies, non-corporeal
Group size: Solitary
Intelligence: Human/Spiritual
Originally summoned forth by the Demon Bear, these parasitic spirits have remained. When not attached to a sentient being, they appear as swirling wisps of smoke of varying sizes that seem to shift from shape to shape, ranging anywhere from a nebulous, creeping mass to vaguely humanoid or animal shapes with reaching claws and gaseous maws of fanged teeth. They have no physical form, but are drawn to negative human emotions, the more intense the better. They possess their victims, amplifying the emotions that drew them close, allowing them to feed more. If the possessed aren't cured, their psyches, on which the Sha feed through the amplification of the emotions, will eventually be depleted and the victim will die.
Depending on the emotion to which the Sha is attached, the symptoms of possession will vary. The possessed may become deeply depressed, despairing, extremely volatile, or prone to extreme anxiety and paranoia.
Note: Sha can be exorcised and banished by anyone capable of low-mid level healing magics in its early stages, but as the possession lasts, more powerful spells will be needed. There is a healer in town capable of helping with such things (for a price) if no other treatment can be found.
Chocobo
Primary Location: Domesticated
Other Locations: Great Western Plains, ??
Size: 7-10 ft tall
Group size: Small flocks
Intelligence: Herd mentality/domesticated
This large, flightless bird is an everyday occurrence in Aterat and its surrounding environs. They are used as mounts, beasts of burden both in pulling carts and in farming situations, there are races held regularly, and many care deeply for their feathered friends. Chocobos are skittish by nature unless they are well-trained or being handled by their owners who have forged an unbreakable bond with them. Their favorite food is the gysahl green, which is readily available at greengrocers throughout the city.
They have a notably pungent musk that can cause nausea and headaches in some individuals.