Post by Anna on Sept 6, 2008 23:16:58 GMT -5
As new critters are created, they'll be added to this list!
Firelizards
StarRise territory has miles and miles of sandy beaches. Many of these are located quite close to the equator. Is it any surprise that getting a firelizard at StarRise is an incredibly easy task? There are two ways to go about getting a firelizard for your persona:
The first is simple, just say you have one. It could have come from a clutch you found on the beach, from "so and so's" clutch, a gift from a friend, or whatever. It's part of the history you make for your persona, so it's yours to create. The second method is just as simple. From time to time, a persona with a gold or green firelizard will have clutches that he or she is just dying to unloa- er, gift you with. Drop them a line with your request for an egg. And that's it! See how easy firelizards are?
As with the dragons, firelizards come in only five colors: gold, bronze, brown, blue, and green. Bronzes, browns, and blues are male, golds and greens are female.
Unlike their large cousins, green firelizards can lay eggs. Unfortunately, they only lay eggs that hatch more green firelizard¬s. Green firelizards don't have as much instinctive ability as golds when it comes to laying eggs in a safe place and watching over them, so many of their clutches get eaten by tunnelsnakes. Also, instead of having a gold hue, a gold flitter egg will be much larger than the rest. Other than those distinctions, the clutches will be about the same proportions as a dragon's.
Please do not give your flitters names that end in 'th,' we reserve that for the dragons. Please don't give them names that might suggest a person (i.e., a dragonrider's honorific). Also, you cannot name your firelizards after Anne's characters, as she had requested those names not be used. Other than that, pretty much anything goes.
A Bit About Firelizards
Lay 10 30 eggs in a clutch
Cannot fly right after eating
Eat daily
Shed their skin in the spring
Go off by themselves often, sometimes for days
Seem to know all or most of what other firelizards know
Are not as dependent on their Impression as dragons
Are apt to go between when bored or if asked to do something they don't feel like doing
Speak in impressions, feelings, emotions, and visualizations, but not in words; do seem to understand what is said, though
Have translucent wings
Grow at a slower rate than do dragons
Eat Thread as well as flame it
Can burrow after Thread
Firelizards will make a thrumming, humming sound just before a clutch of eggs is about to hatch; the humming stops abruptly just before the eggs actually crack
Firelizards also hum to a human or animal birth, as well as firelizard and dragon hatchings. They also have been known to be enthusiastic about anything emotional
Like dragons, they cannot go someplace they haven't seen. It's also hard, or impossible, for them to take something to a person they don't know.
Will disappear before an earthquake
Have boundless stores of often misplaced energy
May disappear at mention of the Red Star
Firelizard Sounds
cheep curiosity, pleasure, apology, sympathy
chirp relief, thanks, contentment, greeting
chitter disapproval, confusion
croon greeting, disappointment
humming hatching
keen greeting, disappointment
shrill greeting, disappointment
squawk astonishment
squeal greeting, disappointment
Burden Beasts
This is a large six legged grazer. It is non aggressive and easily domesticated. It is hunted by packs of wherries but it's flesh in inedible to humans. Temperate, Grasslands, Herbivores
Runners
Runnerbeasts are essentially the same as Terran horses, with some slight genetic alterations and improvements. There are many varieties present in StarRise territory: draft runners for labor, riding runners, racing runners, and such. Racing runners are based at several holds throughout the territory, like StarRise Hold, Horizon Hold, SplitRock Hold, and other minor holds. Racing is a popular pastime at many gathers, and Horizon Hold hosts a major summer racemeet as part of a racing league with locations across Pern.
Whers
Whers are closely related to dragons, and look much like smaller, uglier versions of them. They have stumpy wings and clawed feet. They are nocturnal creatures, having excellent night vision, but are blinded by bright light. They also have keen senses of smell and hearing. Whers move very swiftly, although they are ungainly and clumsy looking. They are not very intelligent, highly territorial, anti social, and will kill anyone invading their territory - meaning anyone they do not know. Whers are commonly kept as watch creatures.
Whers do come in the traditional gold, bronze, brown, blue, and green colors. They do not Impress, but do bond to a human when they are just hatched, though the bond is not nearly as clear as the Impression bond. The young can return to the wild if they grow up away from human settlements. Whers do breed true. See the Watchwher Guide at starrise10.proboards104.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=writepern&thread=402&page=1 for detailed information.
Wherries
The common Pern wherry is a hairy feathered, four-legged, winged predator/scavenger not too dissimilar in appearance from the griffin of Terran mythology. The wherry's wings do not permit full flight, but function more as jump assistance. It comes in a variety of sizes and colors, and is found in most habitats of the planet. It commonly hunts in packs like wolves (or piranha). It looks and tastes somewhat like a large turkey with proto-feathers.
Tunnelsnakes
The common Pern tunnelsnake, as its name implies, is found mostly in caves and tunnels, although it often encroaches on settled areas. They average two to four feet in length, and actually are six legged with most having short, stubby legs. Their hide can be either smooth or scaled depending on the variety.
The tunnelsnake is a stealth predator. In human settlements, it stalks small domesticated animals and scavenges on human castoffs.
Wildlife Unique to the Eastern Ring Islands
Hopper
A furry little beast about the size of a Terran chicken. It moves around in a hopping fashion on powerful hind legs. It has four front limbs with which it gathers leaves, grasses, and fruit to eat. It is nocturnal and has large yellow eyes that seem to glow as they reflect even the slightest light. They are most often gray in color, but shades vary from almost black to just shy of white. Though hoppers are often kept as pets, they are delicious in the stew pot as well. [Tropical, Woodlands, Herbivores]
Ruby Glider
Living in the trees and feeding on insects and decaying fruit, this small lizard like creature has six legs with wide splayed toes tipped with suction cups for gripping. Flaps of skin, stretched between its legs, act like parachutes as it leaps and glides from tree to tree. It is bright red in color, warning of its poisonous venom. This creature is not edible. [Tropical, Woodland, Omnivorous]
Deep Ocean Snake
This gargantuan relative of the common Pern tunnelsnake has adapted well to ocean life and often grows to be more than 500 feet in length. It is a solitary hunter of large ocean fish but has also proved to be scourge to shipping in some locations. While this snake is believed to be edible, they are almost impossible to catch to find out for sure. [Tropical, Oceans, Carnivores]
Tower Fan
These animals are long, slender snake-like creatures who build stone towers up to three feet tall, made of sand and rocks gathered from around its burrow. The tower fan lives within this hollow tower safe from Thread. At night it sticks its head out of the top of the tower and extends its long, frilly, fan like tongue. The tongue is slightly sticky and, as the wind blows, pollen, small insects, leaves, and other miscellaneous edibles stick to the tongue and are pulled into the tower fan's mouth. These creatures are not great travelers and so many generations of tower fans build their homes close together. Groups of nearly a hundred towers have been found, though not all were homes to living tower fans. The tower fan can be eaten, but it has a bitter taste. [Tropical, Grasslands, Omnivorous]
Pink Feather Fish
More snake than fish, this animal is descended from the common Pern tunnelsnake and reaches lengths of up to four feet. Its body is thick, its skin is somewhat leathery, and its flesh is tasty. Its six limbs have evolved into thin spines that are covered with hundreds of frilly feather like filaments which it uses to propel itself in warm shallow waters. It feeds on floating plankton and is colored anywhere from a bright pink to a dull gray depending on the type of plankton currently in season. As a defense, the spines inject a paralyzing poison into careless predators. [Tropical, Oceans, Herbivores]
Stretcher
This medium sized tree dwelling animal feeds on fruit and small insects. It has four well muscled legs positioned at the rear of the body with which it anchors itself to a tree branch. It then extends its long almost snake like body to reach its food sources with its two manipulative forelimbs. The stretcher is edible and can be tasty if prepared correctly. [Temperate, Woodlands, Omnivorous]
Arctic Wherry
A derivative of the common Pern wherry, this beast is about the size of a Terran polar bear. It is white in color and nests in glacial or stone cliffs. It feeds mostly on arctic fish. An arctic wherry tastes much the same as a standard wherry, though with a much less gamey flavor. And, of course, there is much more meat. [Polar, Mountains, Carnivores]
Filter Snake
A large serpentine beast descended from the common Pern tunnel snake and similar in size to the whales of Earth. It is non aggres¬sive and filter feeds on the vast quantities of plankton found in its native polar oceans. The flesh of the filter snake is edible and most other parts of the snake are useful as well. [Polar, Oceans, Herbivores]
Ice Grazer
These small creatures, shaped something like footballs cut in half lengthwise, travels in groups of up to 100 across glaciers and sometimes tundra. Their skins are hard, black, and leathery, protecting their soft undersides. They move about slowly on six tiny weak legs, eating whatever they find in their paths, be it plant or animal. Ice grazers are quite popular in soups and stews in the northern regions of StarRise territory. [Polar, Tundra, Omnivorous]
Firelizards
StarRise territory has miles and miles of sandy beaches. Many of these are located quite close to the equator. Is it any surprise that getting a firelizard at StarRise is an incredibly easy task? There are two ways to go about getting a firelizard for your persona:
The first is simple, just say you have one. It could have come from a clutch you found on the beach, from "so and so's" clutch, a gift from a friend, or whatever. It's part of the history you make for your persona, so it's yours to create. The second method is just as simple. From time to time, a persona with a gold or green firelizard will have clutches that he or she is just dying to unloa- er, gift you with. Drop them a line with your request for an egg. And that's it! See how easy firelizards are?
As with the dragons, firelizards come in only five colors: gold, bronze, brown, blue, and green. Bronzes, browns, and blues are male, golds and greens are female.
Unlike their large cousins, green firelizards can lay eggs. Unfortunately, they only lay eggs that hatch more green firelizard¬s. Green firelizards don't have as much instinctive ability as golds when it comes to laying eggs in a safe place and watching over them, so many of their clutches get eaten by tunnelsnakes. Also, instead of having a gold hue, a gold flitter egg will be much larger than the rest. Other than those distinctions, the clutches will be about the same proportions as a dragon's.
Please do not give your flitters names that end in 'th,' we reserve that for the dragons. Please don't give them names that might suggest a person (i.e., a dragonrider's honorific). Also, you cannot name your firelizards after Anne's characters, as she had requested those names not be used. Other than that, pretty much anything goes.
A Bit About Firelizards
Lay 10 30 eggs in a clutch
Cannot fly right after eating
Eat daily
Shed their skin in the spring
Go off by themselves often, sometimes for days
Seem to know all or most of what other firelizards know
Are not as dependent on their Impression as dragons
Are apt to go between when bored or if asked to do something they don't feel like doing
Speak in impressions, feelings, emotions, and visualizations, but not in words; do seem to understand what is said, though
Have translucent wings
Grow at a slower rate than do dragons
Eat Thread as well as flame it
Can burrow after Thread
Firelizards will make a thrumming, humming sound just before a clutch of eggs is about to hatch; the humming stops abruptly just before the eggs actually crack
Firelizards also hum to a human or animal birth, as well as firelizard and dragon hatchings. They also have been known to be enthusiastic about anything emotional
Like dragons, they cannot go someplace they haven't seen. It's also hard, or impossible, for them to take something to a person they don't know.
Will disappear before an earthquake
Have boundless stores of often misplaced energy
May disappear at mention of the Red Star
Firelizard Sounds
cheep curiosity, pleasure, apology, sympathy
chirp relief, thanks, contentment, greeting
chitter disapproval, confusion
croon greeting, disappointment
humming hatching
keen greeting, disappointment
shrill greeting, disappointment
squawk astonishment
squeal greeting, disappointment
Burden Beasts
This is a large six legged grazer. It is non aggressive and easily domesticated. It is hunted by packs of wherries but it's flesh in inedible to humans. Temperate, Grasslands, Herbivores
Runners
Runnerbeasts are essentially the same as Terran horses, with some slight genetic alterations and improvements. There are many varieties present in StarRise territory: draft runners for labor, riding runners, racing runners, and such. Racing runners are based at several holds throughout the territory, like StarRise Hold, Horizon Hold, SplitRock Hold, and other minor holds. Racing is a popular pastime at many gathers, and Horizon Hold hosts a major summer racemeet as part of a racing league with locations across Pern.
Whers
Whers are closely related to dragons, and look much like smaller, uglier versions of them. They have stumpy wings and clawed feet. They are nocturnal creatures, having excellent night vision, but are blinded by bright light. They also have keen senses of smell and hearing. Whers move very swiftly, although they are ungainly and clumsy looking. They are not very intelligent, highly territorial, anti social, and will kill anyone invading their territory - meaning anyone they do not know. Whers are commonly kept as watch creatures.
Whers do come in the traditional gold, bronze, brown, blue, and green colors. They do not Impress, but do bond to a human when they are just hatched, though the bond is not nearly as clear as the Impression bond. The young can return to the wild if they grow up away from human settlements. Whers do breed true. See the Watchwher Guide at starrise10.proboards104.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=writepern&thread=402&page=1 for detailed information.
Wherries
The common Pern wherry is a hairy feathered, four-legged, winged predator/scavenger not too dissimilar in appearance from the griffin of Terran mythology. The wherry's wings do not permit full flight, but function more as jump assistance. It comes in a variety of sizes and colors, and is found in most habitats of the planet. It commonly hunts in packs like wolves (or piranha). It looks and tastes somewhat like a large turkey with proto-feathers.
Tunnelsnakes
The common Pern tunnelsnake, as its name implies, is found mostly in caves and tunnels, although it often encroaches on settled areas. They average two to four feet in length, and actually are six legged with most having short, stubby legs. Their hide can be either smooth or scaled depending on the variety.
The tunnelsnake is a stealth predator. In human settlements, it stalks small domesticated animals and scavenges on human castoffs.
Wildlife Unique to the Eastern Ring Islands
Hopper
A furry little beast about the size of a Terran chicken. It moves around in a hopping fashion on powerful hind legs. It has four front limbs with which it gathers leaves, grasses, and fruit to eat. It is nocturnal and has large yellow eyes that seem to glow as they reflect even the slightest light. They are most often gray in color, but shades vary from almost black to just shy of white. Though hoppers are often kept as pets, they are delicious in the stew pot as well. [Tropical, Woodlands, Herbivores]
Ruby Glider
Living in the trees and feeding on insects and decaying fruit, this small lizard like creature has six legs with wide splayed toes tipped with suction cups for gripping. Flaps of skin, stretched between its legs, act like parachutes as it leaps and glides from tree to tree. It is bright red in color, warning of its poisonous venom. This creature is not edible. [Tropical, Woodland, Omnivorous]
Deep Ocean Snake
This gargantuan relative of the common Pern tunnelsnake has adapted well to ocean life and often grows to be more than 500 feet in length. It is a solitary hunter of large ocean fish but has also proved to be scourge to shipping in some locations. While this snake is believed to be edible, they are almost impossible to catch to find out for sure. [Tropical, Oceans, Carnivores]
Tower Fan
These animals are long, slender snake-like creatures who build stone towers up to three feet tall, made of sand and rocks gathered from around its burrow. The tower fan lives within this hollow tower safe from Thread. At night it sticks its head out of the top of the tower and extends its long, frilly, fan like tongue. The tongue is slightly sticky and, as the wind blows, pollen, small insects, leaves, and other miscellaneous edibles stick to the tongue and are pulled into the tower fan's mouth. These creatures are not great travelers and so many generations of tower fans build their homes close together. Groups of nearly a hundred towers have been found, though not all were homes to living tower fans. The tower fan can be eaten, but it has a bitter taste. [Tropical, Grasslands, Omnivorous]
Pink Feather Fish
More snake than fish, this animal is descended from the common Pern tunnelsnake and reaches lengths of up to four feet. Its body is thick, its skin is somewhat leathery, and its flesh is tasty. Its six limbs have evolved into thin spines that are covered with hundreds of frilly feather like filaments which it uses to propel itself in warm shallow waters. It feeds on floating plankton and is colored anywhere from a bright pink to a dull gray depending on the type of plankton currently in season. As a defense, the spines inject a paralyzing poison into careless predators. [Tropical, Oceans, Herbivores]
Stretcher
This medium sized tree dwelling animal feeds on fruit and small insects. It has four well muscled legs positioned at the rear of the body with which it anchors itself to a tree branch. It then extends its long almost snake like body to reach its food sources with its two manipulative forelimbs. The stretcher is edible and can be tasty if prepared correctly. [Temperate, Woodlands, Omnivorous]
Arctic Wherry
A derivative of the common Pern wherry, this beast is about the size of a Terran polar bear. It is white in color and nests in glacial or stone cliffs. It feeds mostly on arctic fish. An arctic wherry tastes much the same as a standard wherry, though with a much less gamey flavor. And, of course, there is much more meat. [Polar, Mountains, Carnivores]
Filter Snake
A large serpentine beast descended from the common Pern tunnel snake and similar in size to the whales of Earth. It is non aggres¬sive and filter feeds on the vast quantities of plankton found in its native polar oceans. The flesh of the filter snake is edible and most other parts of the snake are useful as well. [Polar, Oceans, Herbivores]
Ice Grazer
These small creatures, shaped something like footballs cut in half lengthwise, travels in groups of up to 100 across glaciers and sometimes tundra. Their skins are hard, black, and leathery, protecting their soft undersides. They move about slowly on six tiny weak legs, eating whatever they find in their paths, be it plant or animal. Ice grazers are quite popular in soups and stews in the northern regions of StarRise territory. [Polar, Tundra, Omnivorous]
