Post by Ravager Zero on Nov 22, 2014 12:02:57 GMT 12
This is just going to a brief guide/description of the various plants and creatures that inhabit Firma, both magickal and mundane.
Plants
Ta-Mahu Trees
An ancient redwood, perhaps related to Kauri. Sacred to Rai-Tane.
Pinpalms
Tall, narrow cacti with vibrant flowers. Older specimens have small canopies of leaves, but lose their spines.
Phoenix Trees
A cross between a date palm and a lazarus bush. Fruit bearing only after occasional rains, but capable of surviving centuries of dessication.
Long-Arm/Sacuaro Trees
A massive, slow growing cactus, similar to saguaro. Taproots from this succulent and crack through solid rock and travel to depths of hundreds of feet.
Animals
Thumper
Similar in shape and size to a rabbit or hare, but with eyes towards the front of its skull. Carnivorous, ambush predator. Very sharp, needle-like teeth. Tastes like rabbit, and is hunted as game in many places.
Sandray
A curious creature, swimming through sand as if it were an ocean. These beasts generally eat small rodents and desert lagomorphs, but have been seen actively hunting small reptiles and various snakes.
Sabrecat
In this world lions and tigers did not evolve past their smilodon roots. The only big cats are sabre-toothed monsters, and can be found roaming the western and northern plains. It is possible—though very dangerous—to tame them.
Bonewyrm
A large, armoured, and voracious predator and carrion eater of the eastern deserts. Hard to outrun, but attracted to loud noises. Dangerous for the unwary.
Nightwing
A massive desert adapted bat. Herbivorous, and capable of digesting most cacti and other succulents. Can go for weeks without food or water, and spends most of its life aloft on desert thermals.
Ghost Bears
Massive ursidae, growing to over ten feet in length, and weighing as much as a tonne. Capable hunters, scavengers and survivors. With their pale white pelts they are perfectly camouflaged to live year round in the northern plains, hunting both mammoth and smaller game, such as moose or reindeer. Some observers have also seen them eating various fruits and berries.
Mammoth
Often confined to areas north of Hygar during Firetide—or kept in special chilled pens—these docile behemoths serve as beasts of burden, mounts, and general transport during the Great Fall.
Sophonts
Dryads
Forest spirits given physical form. Generally vengeful.
Revenants
Undead, but not necessarily evil. They have sold their souls for a taste of immortality, becoming guardians of dark passages and ritual sites, bound forever to those locations.
Dragon
Very large, very smart, and liable to find wandering adventurers very tasty. Confined mostly to the Blackfang range, the Eastern mountains, and the cliffs of the Liar's Sea. Occasionally dangerous to airships.
Daemons (Compiled by Hiram Dryzic)
The Swarm
Akin to bats, infernal bats. Individually they seem weak and inconsequential—until one realizes just how many of these creatures compose the swarm. Dangerous to face alone, but easily disrupted by loud sounds or bright lights.
Lupine Shadows
Take the darkest wolf you can imagine, turn its eyes red and its claws a hollow white. Fast, lithe, and very dangerous pack hunters. These daemons were always encountered in groups, and tended to show true cunning when fighting larger prey than themselves. They proved not to be very resilient, but remain a significant danger as some packs are still found roaming the wilds to this day.
Fell Wolves
Bigger, badder lupine shadows. Or at least that was what we first thought. These are massive canids, as tall as a man at the shoulder and powerfully built. Easily a match for an armoured warrior, and capable of uttering a high-pitched shriek that can paralyze its prey. Never common in large numbers, they were nevertheless considered as some of the most dangerous daemonic beasts, but were always reticent to approach Silenced areas.
Hellbears
About half as large again as a ghost bear, and ten times more dangerous. Their mouth is only for show. Their entire upper body can split into three flaps, full of raking teeth and a horrible stench. Some reports say they could eat a man whole. If you suspect a hellbear sighting, immediately find your local cannoneer.
Shadowmage
A daemon capable of casting the darkest of magicks. These were studied—as much as something can be studied in combat—by various mystics holding back the hordes. The magicks they used did not appear to belong to any known canticle, not even that of Necormancy. It is unknown if any human could—or should—cast these. Shadowmages are always considered priority targets as they can summon other daemons to their side.
Shadow Warriors
A consensus has yet to be reached whether these daemons started as corrupted men, or were daemons that gained glimmerings of human intelligence. Capable swordsmen, and fiercely intelligent in battle tactics. Do not underestimate their capabilities.
Black Guardians
A bigger, badder form of shadow warrior. Half again as tall as a man, and wielding greatswords and tower shields, these formed the ultimate line of attack against our cities, and took many brave men to defeat. These daemons tended to command all lesser daemons around them, and their death led to temporary confusion and chaos amongst the daemonic ranks nearby.
Infernal Dragon
Most already know the story of the great beast that attacked Darrow, so I shan't repeat it here. I shall simply say take a dragon, and make it hate humans—instead of being merely indifferent to us.
Nemesis
The most dangerous of all daemons, Nemesis serves as Morrde's personal executioner and weapon of terror. Where he goes, death follows. I know of only man that could best him in combat—and that was an accident. That man, a runesmith, continued north, and completed his quest, but beyond that, I know little of that man. The same can be said for Nemesis, as the only other source of information we have is of the legend of the Tower.
Plants
Ta-Mahu Trees
An ancient redwood, perhaps related to Kauri. Sacred to Rai-Tane.
Pinpalms
Tall, narrow cacti with vibrant flowers. Older specimens have small canopies of leaves, but lose their spines.
Phoenix Trees
A cross between a date palm and a lazarus bush. Fruit bearing only after occasional rains, but capable of surviving centuries of dessication.
Long-Arm/Sacuaro Trees
A massive, slow growing cactus, similar to saguaro. Taproots from this succulent and crack through solid rock and travel to depths of hundreds of feet.
Animals
Thumper
Similar in shape and size to a rabbit or hare, but with eyes towards the front of its skull. Carnivorous, ambush predator. Very sharp, needle-like teeth. Tastes like rabbit, and is hunted as game in many places.
Sandray
A curious creature, swimming through sand as if it were an ocean. These beasts generally eat small rodents and desert lagomorphs, but have been seen actively hunting small reptiles and various snakes.
Sabrecat
In this world lions and tigers did not evolve past their smilodon roots. The only big cats are sabre-toothed monsters, and can be found roaming the western and northern plains. It is possible—though very dangerous—to tame them.
Bonewyrm
A large, armoured, and voracious predator and carrion eater of the eastern deserts. Hard to outrun, but attracted to loud noises. Dangerous for the unwary.
Nightwing
A massive desert adapted bat. Herbivorous, and capable of digesting most cacti and other succulents. Can go for weeks without food or water, and spends most of its life aloft on desert thermals.
Ghost Bears
Massive ursidae, growing to over ten feet in length, and weighing as much as a tonne. Capable hunters, scavengers and survivors. With their pale white pelts they are perfectly camouflaged to live year round in the northern plains, hunting both mammoth and smaller game, such as moose or reindeer. Some observers have also seen them eating various fruits and berries.
Mammoth
Often confined to areas north of Hygar during Firetide—or kept in special chilled pens—these docile behemoths serve as beasts of burden, mounts, and general transport during the Great Fall.
Sophonts
Dryads
Forest spirits given physical form. Generally vengeful.
Revenants
Undead, but not necessarily evil. They have sold their souls for a taste of immortality, becoming guardians of dark passages and ritual sites, bound forever to those locations.
Dragon
Very large, very smart, and liable to find wandering adventurers very tasty. Confined mostly to the Blackfang range, the Eastern mountains, and the cliffs of the Liar's Sea. Occasionally dangerous to airships.
Daemons (Compiled by Hiram Dryzic)
The Swarm
Akin to bats, infernal bats. Individually they seem weak and inconsequential—until one realizes just how many of these creatures compose the swarm. Dangerous to face alone, but easily disrupted by loud sounds or bright lights.
Lupine Shadows
Take the darkest wolf you can imagine, turn its eyes red and its claws a hollow white. Fast, lithe, and very dangerous pack hunters. These daemons were always encountered in groups, and tended to show true cunning when fighting larger prey than themselves. They proved not to be very resilient, but remain a significant danger as some packs are still found roaming the wilds to this day.
Fell Wolves
Bigger, badder lupine shadows. Or at least that was what we first thought. These are massive canids, as tall as a man at the shoulder and powerfully built. Easily a match for an armoured warrior, and capable of uttering a high-pitched shriek that can paralyze its prey. Never common in large numbers, they were nevertheless considered as some of the most dangerous daemonic beasts, but were always reticent to approach Silenced areas.
Hellbears
About half as large again as a ghost bear, and ten times more dangerous. Their mouth is only for show. Their entire upper body can split into three flaps, full of raking teeth and a horrible stench. Some reports say they could eat a man whole. If you suspect a hellbear sighting, immediately find your local cannoneer.
Shadowmage
A daemon capable of casting the darkest of magicks. These were studied—as much as something can be studied in combat—by various mystics holding back the hordes. The magicks they used did not appear to belong to any known canticle, not even that of Necormancy. It is unknown if any human could—or should—cast these. Shadowmages are always considered priority targets as they can summon other daemons to their side.
Shadow Warriors
A consensus has yet to be reached whether these daemons started as corrupted men, or were daemons that gained glimmerings of human intelligence. Capable swordsmen, and fiercely intelligent in battle tactics. Do not underestimate their capabilities.
Black Guardians
A bigger, badder form of shadow warrior. Half again as tall as a man, and wielding greatswords and tower shields, these formed the ultimate line of attack against our cities, and took many brave men to defeat. These daemons tended to command all lesser daemons around them, and their death led to temporary confusion and chaos amongst the daemonic ranks nearby.
Infernal Dragon
Most already know the story of the great beast that attacked Darrow, so I shan't repeat it here. I shall simply say take a dragon, and make it hate humans—instead of being merely indifferent to us.
Nemesis
The most dangerous of all daemons, Nemesis serves as Morrde's personal executioner and weapon of terror. Where he goes, death follows. I know of only man that could best him in combat—and that was an accident. That man, a runesmith, continued north, and completed his quest, but beyond that, I know little of that man. The same can be said for Nemesis, as the only other source of information we have is of the legend of the Tower.