Annulus

This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong.
===== Metro Reef =====

The Metro Reef biome is a colossal, vibrant coral reef overgrowing a semi-sunken urban metropolis. Ancient skyscrapers jut out of the ocean shallows, crumbling and overtaken by climbing plants. The first few floors of these “reef towers” are filled with sand and sea creatures, while the upper ones serve as habitat for an array of flying and climbing wildlife. Ancient shipwrecks can sometimes be seen littering the sunken streets. The gillmen are undisputed masters of the land here, and construct lodges both above and below the waterline.

^Weather |Default |Sunny with moderate wind. |
^::: |1-4 |Fog. Clear visibility reduced to 10 meters, spaces from 11-20 have partial concealment. |
^::: |5-8 |Doldrums. All boats without engines have an impairment to movement. |
^::: |9-12 |Stormy. High winds and rain. Being in a high/exposed place has a small risk of lightning strike (projectile attack that deals damage equal to Escalation+the trigger die, inflicts Electrified 100% of the time). |
^Flora |1-4 |Razor ivy. Acts as a natural hazard (as Hazard ability) with an attack strength of 2. |
^::: |5-8 |Kelp bed. Staple gillman crop. Requires cooking to be palatable. |
^::: |9-12 |Finger coral. Actively collects junk to disguise itself. Small chance (9+) to have a random keystone for the taking. |
^Ruin |1-6 |Semi-intact reef tower. Makes for good shelter or a vantage point. |
^::: |7-10 |Ancient shipwreck. Mostly submerged, half-covered in coral. |
^::: |11-12 |Modern shipwreck. Likely to be full of valuable salvage. |
^Ambient |1-4 |[[#Elicthyan]]. |
^::: |5-8 |[[#Skullcrab]]. |
^::: |9-12 |[[#Paddleworm]]. |
^Pest |1-4 |[[#Headpopper]]. |
^::: |5-8 |[[#Skullcrab]]. |
^::: |9-12 |[[#Paddleworm]]. |
^Sapient |1-9 |[[#Gillfolk]]. |
^::: |10-12 |[[#Corsairs]]. |

==== Elicthyan ====

**AKA Zap Fish, Reef Bolter**

Elicthyans are reef fish that have evolved a powerful bio-electric pulse for both offensive and defensive use. After shocking their prey (generally smaller fish, but sometimes much larger beasts) into submission, flesh is nibbled away at leisure. The elicthyans have few predators except for the gillmen, who prize them as a delicacy and carefully hunt them with javelins and long wooden-handled harpoons.

^Reactions ||
^1-2  |Hungry. Some intruder flesh would be delicious right now. |
^3-8  |Indifferent. Watch and wait. |
^9-12 |Shy. Actively avoid conflict if possible. |

^  Level  ^  Combat  ^  Supply  ^  Size  ^
|  7  |  M-3 / P-2 / A-2  |  2  |  4  |

^Weakness: Aquatic (Swim) |
^Weakness: Animal (Survival) |

^Close Combat (Melee) |||A powerful electric jolt strikes every creature within 2 meters of the elicthyan at once when used underwater. Inflicts the Electrified condition on a 10+. |
^Tesla |||The elicthyans's unusual physiology makes them completely immune to all electricity-based effects, including their own pulse. Any creature that grabs the elicthyan or damages it from an adjacent position immediately gains the Electrified condition. |
|-> ^Jolt ||::: |
|-> ^Shockproof ||::: |
|::: |-> ^Electricity Immunity |::: |
^Mobility |||Move speed 10, no hands. |
|-> ^Beast Speed ||::: |
^Swim |||Elicthyans are natural swimmers that suffer no troubles while submerged. |
|-> ^Water Adapted ||::: |
^Survival |||Elicthyans can forage for themselves and use their insulating fat and energy discharges to regulate their body temperature in a way few other fish can. |
|-> ^Endure Temperature ||::: |

[[#Metro Reef|Back to Metro Reef]]

==== Headpopper ====

**AKA Hungry Shield, Crunch-Hill**

Huge barnacles the size of a man with very slow metabolisms, a headpopper can lay semi-dormant for several years without feeding and then strike like lightning. They tend to grow in clumps near doorways and chokepoints in reef towers and other damp environments, snapping at anything that goes through. More than one unwary traveler has been instantly killed in this manner (via the assassination mechanic) leading to the creature's unfortunately literal name.

Headpoppers can also be difficult to kill, due to their tendency to hide inside their thick outer shells. Area effects are a very effective strategy, but failing that more creative solutions such as decoys or poisoned meat might be required to get past a large number of them. If there's enough room and time to spare, projectiles are useful (but most headpoppers grow in cramped, close areas where it's difficult to stay out of their reach). Engaging in melee is almost always a very poor idea.

^Reactions ||
^1-10  |Hungry. Snap at anything that walks by. |
^11-12 |Sated. Already ate recently, so just stay shut. From a distance, this looks identical to a hungry headpopper. |

^  Level  ^  Combat  ^  Supply  ^  Size  ^
|  10  |  M-10 / P-0 / A-0  |  2  |  5  |

^Weakness: Mindless (Steadfast) |
^Weakness: Animal (Survival) |

^Close Combat (Melee) |||Headpoppers snap with an enlarged beak and pull with feathery crustacean legs. They tend to use this ability to attack targets that walk by with their Overwatch ability from the Stealth tree, but if a creature is foolish enough to end their turn adjacent to a headpopper they will elect to attack as many times as possible and thus forgo using actions to set up further Overwatch interrupts or defend themselves with Shield. |
^Shield |||All melee and projectile attacks have a failure chance of 8 when used against a headpopper from the front (and getting behind a headpopper is a difficult proposition since they are generally rooted to solid walls). This protection also extends to all other adjacent headpoppers, which tend to grow in clusters to provide mutual defense. The headpopper must spend an action each turn to maintain this protection and loses it temporarily if they attack twice (though an adjacent headpopper can pick up the slack). |
|-> ^Shield Other ||::: |
|-> ^Tower Shield ||::: |
^Strength |||Headpoppers are immoveable and cannot be pushed, pulled, picked up, or otherwise moved from their position. |
|-> ^Rooted ||::: |
^Stealth |||When growing in areas of partial concealment (such as murky caves or underwater) headpoppers can avoid being noticed by rolling a 7+ on a trigger die. By spending an action, they can also set up an attack to immediately hit anything that wanders by them as an interrupt to that movement. |
|-> ^Overwatch ||::: |
^Steadfast |||Headpoppers are immune to the Fear and Charmed conditions, mostly because they're not intelligent enough to experience them. |
|-> ^Implacable ||::: |
^Survival |||A headpopper's metabolism is so slow that they can satisfy their needs in almost any environment. |
|-> ^Extreme Foraging ||::: |
^Grit |||Headpoppers require very little oxygen in order to operate and are immune to Choking. |
|-> ^Breathless ||::: |

[[#Metro Reef|Back to Metro Reef]]

==== Paddleworm ====

**AKA Reef Steak**

Enormous purplish-brown pelagic invertebrates that subsist mainly on sifting the seafloor muck for microorganisms, paddleworms are highly fecund creatures that lay thousands of eggs and continue growing throughout their lives. While a paddleworm doesn't have a complex enough brain to be readily herded, gillmen often carefully curate favorable habitat for them and hold huge grilling festivals every time the beds are in need of culling.

^Reactions ||
^1-6  |Rooting around. Stay down in the murky depths or cover yourself in mud. |
^7-12  |Swimming. Curve lazily through the water, going no place in particular. |

^  Level  ^  Combat  ^  Supply  ^  Size  ^
|  8  |  M-4 / P-2 / A-2  |  2  |  6  |

^Weakness: Aquatic (Swim) |
^Weakness: Animal (Survival) |
^Weakness: Blind (Burrow) |
^Weakness: Mindless (Steadfast) |

^Lasher (Melee) |||The paddleworm's paddles are long, muscular tentacular appendages whose tips are covered in fine, sticky cilia. Paddleworms don't really mind if they lose a paddle or two in a fight, since they can always grow more. Range 2-5, work fine underwater, grabs targets on a 7+ (but that doesn't stop further attacks from happening- there's always a second paddle to rip and tear at a target grabbed by a first one.) |
|-> ^Constrict ||::: |
|-> ^Tentacle ||::: |
^Precision |||Act as size 5-6 for purposes of attack failure chance and ignore partial concealment and total concealment within 10 meters. Handy, since the paddleworm's blindness makes all spaces act as total concealment to them. |
|-> ^Blind-Fight ||::: |
|::: |-> ^Improved Blind-Fight |::: |
|-> ^Runt Stomper ||::: |
^Slippery |||Paddleworms can freely pass through spaces occupied by allies or neutral parties (usually this means other paddleworms). |
^Swim |||A paddleworm's sinuous body shape and rudimentary gills allow it to swim gracefully. |
|-> ^Water Adapted ||::: |
^Survival |||A paddleworm can find sustenance almost anywhere. |
|-> ^Extreme Foraging ||::: |
^Burrow |||Dig dark, water-filled holes through the muck. Takes an impairment while burrowing. |
|-> ^Fast Digger ||::: |
^Steadfast |||A highly primitive brain renders the paddleworm immune to the Fear and Charmed conditions. |
|-> ^Implacable ||::: |

[[#Metro Reef|Back to Metro Reef]]

==== Picodile ====

**AKA Piranha Lizard, Scaly Shithead**

Picodiles are diminutive crocodiles about the length of a man's forearm that exhibit complex social behavior. All picodiles live in groups (called "basks") of three or more individuals led by an alpha. Those unfamiliar with the creatures who see them laying around in the sun in piles, grooming each other, and looking sleepy might be tempted to believe that they are harmless. This is a terrible mistake, and more than one traveler has lost their lives knee-deep in water surrounded by approaching V-shaped ripples.

^Reactions ||
^1-2  |Hungry. Swarm the nearest intruder, ignore the others. |
^3-4  |Warning. Hiss at the intruders. Let them know you're fierce. |
^5-6  |Curiosity. Approach slowly, sniff around. |
^7-12 |Sleepy. Ignore the intruders unless they try something funny. |

^  Level  ^  Combat  ^  Supply  ^  Size  ^
|  6  |  M-3 / P-1 / A-1  |  1  |  2  |

^Weakness: Slowpoke (Mobility) |
^Weakness: Animal (Survival) |

^Close Combat (Melee) |||Small (but surprisingly powerful) jaws clamp shut, then rip chunks away. Failure chance 8 vs human-sized targets, always hits on 10+. |
^Swim |||Well-suited to life in the water, a picodile takes no impairments to movement while swimming. While they technically cannot breathe underwater, they can hold their breath long enough that it's functionally identical. |
|-> ^Water-Adapted ||::: |
^Precision |||A picodile has a failure chance of 8 when attacking human-sized targets and always hits on a 10+ no matter what the overall failure chance is. |
|-> ^Giant Slayer ||::: |
^Survival |||Picodiles know how to forage for themselves and have keen senses of smell. |
|-> ^Scent ||::: |
^Mobility |||The picodile's increased movement from the Beast Speed ability is counteracted by its Slowpoke weakness, giving it an actual movement speed of 5 and no hands. |
|-> ^Beast Speed ||::: |

[[#Metro Reef|Back to Metro Reef]]

==== Skullcrab ====

**AKA Dead Man, Bonecrawler**

A species of crab whose shell is the size and appearance of a human skull. Seeing a colony of skullcrabs might cause an onlooker to conclude that the tides had deposited the remnants of a horrific accident... until they notice the pale legs poking out of the occipital area as the crab wanders about munching on seaweed and smaller organisms. Despite their grim appearance, skullcrabs are largely harmless and highly nutritious.

^Reactions ||
^1-2  |Pissed. Maybe it's mating season or something. Give everything that gets in your way a good pinching. |
^3-6  |Evasive. Scuttle away and find a hole to hide in. |
^7-12 |Meandering. Crawl around the reef eating things and minding your own business. |

^  Level  ^  Combat  ^  Supply  ^  Size  ^
|  4  |  M-2 / P-1 / A-1  |  2  |  2  |

^Weakness: Animal (Survival) |
^Weakness: Slowpoke (Mobility) |

^Close Combat (Melee) |||Tiny claws. Can only meaningfully harm a human-sized target on a roll of 12. |
^Mobility |||Move speed 5, no hands. Cancels the Slowpoke weakness. |
|-> ^Beast Speed ||::: |
^Swim |||Skullcrabs are natural swimmers that suffer no troubles while submerged. |
|-> ^Water Adapted ||::: |
^Survival |||Eat just about anything organic so long as it's rotten enough. |

[[#Metro Reef|Back to Metro Reef]]
Annulus

User Tools

Site Tools

Page Tools
