Planet Kobalid, REPLY TO THIS OR DIE

Some people may remember this topic about the Kobalids, an entire race of impossible creatures that I've been developing for some years. Well, after posting that, and looking through an old book of mythological creatures a friend gave me, I started toying with the idea of creating more beasties that shared their universe with the Kobalids......and after doing literally dozens of them, I decided to make a step further into this universe:

Giving them their own planet.


The backstory is that, some time after the discovery of the kobalids themselves, more and more strange creatures started to be found. Mankind was shocked and yet amazed. Beings that had always been in fantasy tales and books turned out to be real, alive and breathing.

But as time passed, conflicts soon rose. It became clear that humans and all these monsters could no co-exist. And after 10 years of continuous battles and disasters, scientists came with a solution. With advanced technology, they managed to take one of our galaxy's ignored planets and make it able to support life. Then, after translading some of our planet's plants and animals, they took all the new creatures (kobalids included) and moved them to that place. Peace apparently returned. But biologists still travel to that planet weekly to study those cryptids, to that place mankind now knows as...

DROSS

For the next days, I'll be posting all info that has been obtained from these unnatural species. There are literally millions of taxa to be found on Dross, but I'll focus on those creatures that will be most interesting to you Earthlings: the ones that are different.

So in a few words: IS THIS LIKE WHAT I DID WITH THE "WORLD OF MFGG" STUFF????? Yes, but now it has entirely original creatures. Enjoy!

FATARIDAE (Elves, faeries, leprechauns, nymphs, dryads, nereids and banshees)

Besides the kobalids, fatarids are one of the principal predatory guilds in Dross and the planet’s most diverse carnivores. Even the smallest species possesses great stamina, super-human speed and is immune to most toxins and diseases. They can also regenerate damaged or destroyed areas of their body, but this ability is not as efficient as those of kobalids

With the exception of the tree-climbing abrofatids, Dross’s fatarids all follow the same body plan. They’re bipedal, with vaguely ape-like skulls doted with serrated teeth and supported by a long neck, almost naked bodies and overall an ostrich-like silhouette. Their arms are vestigial and quite useless, but they make up for it by having tremendously developed legs that allow them to run very long distances and knock-out prey with leaping attacks.

After mating, most female fatarids tend to look for fertile grounds, where they’ll dig a hole, expel their fertilized ovum inside, and then burrow it. For the next 10 months, the fetus grows like if it were a plant, absorbing nutrients from the soil, until its mother comes back and gently pulls the fully developed baby from the ground

DIMINOTERIDAE (Dwarves, halflings and gnomes)

At first sight, one can easily mistake a diminoterid for a fuzzy, oversized mole, but in reality, these creatures are something entirely different. Short and squat, diminoterids are literally born to burrow, as they not only use their foreheads -covered by thick horny pads- and claws to dig in soft soils, but also their quill-like pseudohair, much like the bristles of earthworms. They tend to reach incredible depths while underground, reaching records of up to 0.9 miles while heading for the planet's core.

Halflings and gnomes are not too much subterranean and are more like rabbits in their behavior, but dwarves are very seldom seen, despite the fact that their tunnels are everywhere and their molehills are impossible to overlook. They only leave their lair when they absolutely have to, and such situations are extremely rare. And trust me, you do NOT want to dig one up

Dwarf nests are always deeper than 3 m in the ground (protection against dehmoorod stampedes) and contain 4-6 relatively large, sticky, rock-like eggs. Apparently these are laid some time before the rainy season starts, so that the young hatch when there are most insect larvae in the ground, but nobody knows for sure.

BURARUMIA (Treants, woodwoses, and shagohods)

The largest herbivores on Dross are confined in the continent of Golgotha, plucking leaves and ripe fruit in the rain/dry forests and tree savannas, grazing in the grasslands or even picking up aquatic foliage. They’re very vegetal in shape, with many branch-like appendages protruding from their backs, and their pseudoscales they’re covered on resembling bark or (in the case of shagohods) pine cone scales. Even their feet lack any sort of claw or hoof, terminating in a fleshy root-like web. Despite lacking eyes of any sort, they seem to move around perfectly. They are very strong too, capable of tearing apart rock and metal like bread-crust

Found either as solitary individuals, in pairs or in small herds, burarums communicate with each other through deep and extremely slow bellows that can be heard from miles and miles away. The frequency and sonority of these can vary depending on the situation, such as the presence of a predator. Still, treants and shagohods have little natural predators, with all but gnoll packs and the largest of efreets giving them a wide berth. The smaller woodwoses often share the waterways with a variety of big, nasty predators, and so they have the most extensive armour protection of any burarum

Burarums reproduce by budding from their “branches”. The infants, often called “skyfish”, are small and light enough to actually fly, and tend to flock around their parent’s appendages, eventually descending to land as they grow older.

SURTURIDAE (Flametails, salamanders, efreets, balrogs and willowisps)

Surturids apparently are derived from an ancient lineage that split from the ancestors of the kobalids some time during the Early Jurassic. They move with a primate-like gait, can regenerate and heal wounds hundreds of times faster than humans (even whole organs and severed limbs) and have degree of enhanced strength, stamina, agility and reflexes, just like kobalids, but their inability to stand cold has kept them out of most the regions kobalids inhabit. In Gurge, Middle Nosgoroth and Golgotha, however, surturids are dominant, hunting large herbivores like minotaurs and catoblepids, which also favor warm climates.

Surturids are widely known as the “dragons” of Dross, and there’s a good reason for that. All surturids have in their lower jaws a pair of chemical glands. These glands produce an extremely volatile substance that, when mixed with each other and the surturid’s hot breath, causes a stream of fire whose shape and releasing method differs in each species. Surturids use this fire-breathing ability mainly to hunt prey, but also as a method of intimidation, to impress females, or just when agitated. Their innards are searing hot to the touch, and even when they die, it takes a few hours for them to start cooling off. Also, a surturid’s skin resembles leather and is highly resistant to fire, something that can be seen as an adaptation to avoid getting killed by the extreme temperature from the organs

Unlike kobalids, with their immensely powerful jaws and teeth, surturids are inefficient eaters, incapable of cleaning a carcass, let alone of cracking bones to get at the marrow. This habit probably explains the constant association of surturids with amemaits. Surturid young are born live, spending their fetal stage inside their mother’s womb, which, despite acting like a living oven, feelss oddly icy on the exterior

http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/3318/drosske8.jpg

Common Elf (Raptorfataris lacerator ), Durin Dwarf (Ymirtalpa glioncula), Shagohod (Noburarum fellitti) and Horned Flametail (Afroflametal diabolus)

There's 5 more pages left, so stay tuned!

This post has been edited by Demonic Jello on Sep 8 2006, 05:02 PM

I love it, and the name is close to my real name, that gives it a bonus.^^

Hehehe! Gotta love the horned flametail!;)
Awesome work, and awesomely improving :o

Your real name is Dross? O___o

Bump, btw

No, something close to Kobalid, the planet name.^^

Guoooo aloot of text x.X

But it all sounds GREAT

Nice picture to


AMAZING Idea & work mon!

This proves me that if I want people to see my stuff I must put MFGGers in every single one

Most probably I still think this whole idea is cool, i would work on my own creatures if i had a damn scanner.

At least you don't have a scanner that works when it wants to


Ah well...The second group will be up tomorrow