e-cat26s033_parazoology 2.pdf

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Today’s Heads Up
* I finally had time to compile the
rest of Dr. David Wright’s work on
paranormal animals. It’s a good con-
tinuation on what he has compiled about
our Awakened world.—Glitch
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P
arazoology
2
Posts/Files tagged with
“Parazoology 2”:
* Ammit
* Aerial Lionhead
* Bahari
* Bombardier
* Brucha
[More]
2
THE WORLD, A BIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
The world has been going through a unique extinction phase, one that man engineered. For the first time, one species on earth has been
able to manipulate the environment on a global scale, while other species are unable to evolve fast enough to survive. Since the 1600s there
have been over a thousand species of plants and animals documented that have gone extinct due to the actions of humans, with probably
five to ten times that number of undocumented species also vanishing.
On top of this, the world is also going through what has been designated as the Sixth World. During this event, species have rapidly
diversified through the infusion of magic into the environment, manifesting unique and sometimes mythical creatures. It is estimated that
within a span of seventy years, two to four thousand Awakened plant and animal species were born. To date, less than a quarter of them have
been documented.
Between these two global events there may be an unfortunately small time window to find these fantastic creatures before they become
extinct. My work, and the work of others, will do as much as possible to document and present these Awakened species, which I hope will
inspire others to preserve what ecological environments we have in order to save the Awakened and mundane species that remain.
PARANORMAL CRITTERS
AMMIT
CROCODYLUS FURTIM
Habitat:
Swamps, creeks, lagoons, and rainforests
Range:
West Africa (particularly in the Kingdoms of Nigeria)
Frequency:
Uncommon
Identification:
The ammit is a reptile that averages four meters long in
length from nose to tail with a bronze-colored scales on its back and a
dark purplish color on its belly scales. It weighs in at 250 kilograms. It has
a v-shaped snout, and four of its lower teeth protrude over its upper lip.
Habits:
The ammit Awakened from the common crocodile (Crocodylus
niloticus).
Unlike its brethren, the afanc and behemoth, the ammit relies
more on speed and intelligence than brute strength, though they are
considerably strong. They have chromatophores in their thick, armored
hide, allowing them to get quite close to their prey before striking. They
have been known to knock over small boats in order to eat the metahu-
mans inside. Ammits survive in brackish waters of river deltas and use
the muddy waters as part of their camouflage while hunting for prey.
They are carnivorous; they generally prefer to kill their own prey, but
they will not pass up a chance to consume carrion.
The ammit reaches maturity at ten years. Females mate during the
dry season and lay clutches of up to sixty eggs. Both parents take care of
the young, with the female directly watching them while the male stays
close in case of intruders. The ammit is very aggressive and dangerous.
It has been recorded that a mated pair of ammits will surprise and flank
an enemy, using an empty nest as bait.
Young ammits leave their parents’ care after two years. By then
they are almost a meter long, weigh thirty kilograms, and have grown
into their abilities.
B
7
A
5
R
4
S
7
C
1
I
4
L
2
W
2
Edg
0
Ess
6
Init
9
IP
2
Movement:
15/35
Skills:
Perception 3, Infiltration 2, Shadowing 3, Tracking 3, Unarmed
Combat 3
Powers:
Adaptive Camouflage, Enhanced Senses (Smell), Hardened
Armor (4), Natural Weapon (Bite DV 6P, AP –2)
>
Lagos has gangs named after this beast—be wary of them as they are about as
>
tricky as the real thing.
Am-Mut
PARANORMAL CRITTERS
3
PARANORMAL CRITTERS
AERIAL LIONhEAD
CYANEA TASSIN
Habitat:
60+ kilometers in the atmosphere
Range:
Global
Frequency:
Very rare
Identification:
2.3 meter diameter bell-shaped body with over a dozen
eight-meter-long tentacles. Its skin is a transparent blue with some opaque
spotting. Its body is divided into six gas-filled chambers. A collection
of sensory cells (optical and electric sensing) ring the edge of the body.
Habits:
The aerial lionhead is one of the weirdest extremophiles in
existence, and it’s the most complex organism of this type known. It is
classified as a large jellyfish but doesn’t live in the ocean. It floats in the
atmosphere with chambered sacs of hydrogen giving it lighter-than-air
capabilities like a weather balloon. The aerial lionhead can be found as
high as ninety kilometers in the air. It is here where it was first sighted
by a satellite tasked with recording any lifeforms it could find in the
stratosphere. The aerial lionhead feeds on electrical charges built up
in the atmosphere. Its trailing tentacles have fine hairs that can gener-
ate power through static electricity. The electrical current combined
with the gases and liquids it collects provides the nutrition it needs to
survive. While hydrogen is an explosive compound, especially around
lighting, the aerial lionhead’s body chambers contains the hydrogen
in bubbles of thick soapy material to prevent a catastrophic explosion.
While their mating rituals have never been seen, there have been
discoveries of immature aerial lionheads descending from storm
clouds. Observation has shown that these creatures migrate along the
tradewinds, and we assume that large storms will attract them so they
can descend to feed or mate.
While not a direct danger to metahumans, they can be a hazard to
flying vehicles carrying a large amount of electrical equipment, power
stations, and even some radio towers, since they are attracted to high
EMFs. There have been occasional encounters with these creatures, and
they are physically strong unlike their mundane jellyfish brethren. The
tentacles have powerful muscles that allow them to grab or pull on
things much like an octopus can. The aerial lionhead can generate and
discharge electricity as a defense mechanism, though we have yet to see
what kind of predator feeds on them.
B
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A
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W Edg Ess
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2
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M
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Init
8
IP
1
Movement:
5/10 (Flying)
Skills:
Flight 2, Unarmed Combat 4
Powers:
Energy Aura (Electricity), Energy Drain (Electric), Enhanced
Senses (Electrosense), Immunity (Electricity, Cold), Natural Weapon
(Tentacle, Reach 5, DV 3, AP —)
>
To be clear, the satellites that found this thing were not looking for lifeforms.
>
They were spy satellites recording the Tír?
Stone
>
No, they were looking for elfs and sprites, where “elf” is “emissions of light and
>
VLF perturbations from EMP events,” and “sprite” is “stratospheric/mesospheric
perturbations resulting from intense thunderstorm electrification.”
Orbital DK
>
That’s how Matrix creatures migrate around in the real world …
>
Plan 9
>
Don’t start. I don’t want to see a 10 megapulse argument on the life of e-critters.
>
Netcat
>
Wait, Plan 9’s back?
>
Pistons
>
Provisional basis. Long story. I’ll explain later.
>
Glitch
4
AERIAL LIONhEAD
AETHERPEDIA: PARAZOOLOGY TERMINOLOGY
Awakened Animal/Species
“Awakened animals” is the all-encompassing category covering metaspecies as well as paranormal animals. “Awakened” is used as the determinant of the species
from which the new species has originated (e.g., the ammit is an Awakened crocodile). The term Awakened could be used to describe species that can use magic (e.g., an
emperor hawk is an Awakened hawk because it can cast magic), though it is used less frequently in this situation.
Metaspecies
Metaspecies are various animal species whose genetic diversity sprung from the Awakened world. These genetic changes can be as minor as a digestive protein,
which changes the species’ diet, to color, size, or other physical changes. There is a grey area between mutation and meta, but with extensive genetic and environmental
study, mutations can be weeded out quickly, especially non-seed mutations. While metaspecies and paraspecies can be interchangeable terms, metaspecies is used most
often to categorize animal species that do not manifest extraordinary powers or abilities (e.g., a Russian grand silkie is a metaspecies of chicken, while a cockatrice is
a paraspecies). Metachicken is acceptable substitution for the term “metaspecies of chicken,” but parachicken is not acceptable terminology for describing a cockatrice.
Paranormal Animal/Paraspecies (also Paracritter)
Paranormal animals are various animal species that have been able to manifest some fantastic changes and/or extraordinary abilities. Over time, the definition of
what an “extraordinary ability” is has become more lax, with dual-natured abilities now falling into the metaspecies category instead of paraspecies. “Paracritter” has
become acceptable slang term for any animal exhibiting unusual traits or abilities, including metaspecies. It is also used erroneously for mutants and warforms.
Scientific Naming Conventions
To help name new species and subspecies, especially after the SURGE effects, the Combined International Committee of Zoological and Botanical Nomenclature
designed a streamlined classification of subspecies of paranormal animals. All such subspecies add the additional scientific name “novo” along with a greek letter in order
of their official classification. (e.g., the demon rat
Rattus diabolis novo
is a subparaspecies of the devil rat). This was also an accepted practice for various metaspecies
(e.g., the Morpheus, the parchment, and Ekman’s butterfly were classified
Papilo antimachus novo alpha, beta,
and
gamma
respectively). however this has led some
parazoologists to lazy practice of classifications, such as when two paraspecies of click beetle (capacitor bug and caustic beetle) were labeled
Elateridae novo alpha
and
Elateridae novo beta.
AERIAL LIONhEAD
5

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