Insects (and Spiders and other creepy crawlies)

#1

Just posted the candlebug idea (ID=174) and it made me think about insects. Insects are the most numerous creatures on Earth, and they would probably be equally numerous in a fantasy setting. Why then do we not know of more fantasy insects (which are not simply giant versions of terrestrial ones)? I challenge people to think of more fantasy insects: just mundane ones, nothing giant or monstrous, which would add character and atmosphere to a setting.

ephe!

Insects (and Spiders and other creepy crawlies)

#2

No problem, I once designed an entire dungeon with variations of scorpions and spiders. Gimme a sec to look some stuff up.

*does the search engine thingy*

True fact:
Never squash a Yellowjacket wasp near the nest. A dying Yellowjacket releases an alarm pheromone that alerts its comrades. In less than 15 seconds, Yellowjackets within a 15-foot radius will rally to the victim's aid.

Fantasy bug:

Phalanx Ants

Never stop for lunch near a Phalanx Ant hill. If one of their scout ants finds more food than it can carry, it sends out a scent blast to alter other scouts to get the haul, and sends out another blast all the way back to the ant hill every time it can no longer smell the last one. The resulting scent trail leads the majority of the ant hill to your food.

This invasion can be solved if you can find their soldier ants, by looking for the slightly larger ants with two horns. If you can kill the soldier ant, it releases a retreat scent blast and the Phalanx ants will return to the ant hill untill the scents disapate. There is typically one soldier ant in five hundred.

Insects (and Spiders and other creepy crawlies)

#3

True fact:
Air temperature in degrees Fahrenheit can be calculated by adding 40 to the number of calls a tree cricket makes in 13 seconds.

Fantasy Bug:

Sun Cricket

These small, bright yellow crickets sing to each other. Their mate song consists of short high and low chirps and long, high chirps. If you count the number of long chirps one cricket sings to the other and subtract 5, you will be able to tell what hour it is. These crickets mate for life, however, and if one dies, the other cricket will only sing it's lonely song, a collection of short and long low chirps.

Insects (and Spiders and other creepy crawlies)

#4

Fact from observation: June bugs are apparently stupid. They continuously fly into walls and things.

Fantasy bug:
Thief bugs are not very bright, but they will make their way into other creature's burrows in search of food. They go in a straight line until they run into something, and when they do they run into it hard enough to change their direction by the rebound. Underground, if one listens carefully, they can hear the repetitive clicks of thief bugs running into obstructions.

Insects (and Spiders and other creepy crawlies)

#5

I had two based on the same idea.

The original was a large butterfly (wing about the size of a fully spread hand) that left a glowing glitter (like smacking a lightning bug with a tennis racket and the glow just sort of spreads for a second) as they fly. Only come out at night.

I had the large version specifically attracted to a useful magic item that the characters were using.

I made a smaller version that was attracted to any active magical device at any time of day. Not to big of a deal during the day, but at night they leave a nice light trail around whoever is carrying magic items.

Insects (and Spiders and other creepy crawlies)

#6

Orbworms-These are a sidebranch of the Annelida animals (Earthworms) that gather together in the earth and form huge balls. When it rains, the orbs slowly move toward the surface and begin to roll, sometimes travelling over twenty miles in a night.

Insects (and Spiders and other creepy crawlies)

#7

True Fact:
In Southeast Asia there are moths that feed on blood and eye fluids from livestock and occasionally humans.

Assassin bugs, sometimes known as conenoses or kissing bugs are killer insects that feed on blood or other insects. The kissing bug label comes from the insect's ability to steal a blood meal by piercing the lips, eyelids or ears of a sleeping human victim.

Fantasy Bug:

Blood Angel Butterfly

The blood angle butterfly is a shimmering white butterfly with light red patterns on it's wings that look much like feathers. They are parasites that feed off the blood of mammals including humaniods. They land on a sleeping or resting host and peirce the skin with thier strong, sharp tounge and drink thier blood. As they drink, their wings become redder as they feed. Their saliva contains a light narcotic agent to help the host sleep longer and often leaves the host feeling relaxed for a short time after feeding. Because of the narcotic, many cultures feel it is good luck to feel a blood angle butterfly and frown on those who kill them.

Insects (and Spiders and other creepy crawlies)

#8

The Long Fingered Thief
(as a tribute to 'Alien')

While not much bigger as a fist, has legs much longer and is very bendy and agile. With legs disturbingly reminding of long deformed fingers, it has the annoying tendency to jump upon a character (high shock value), grab whatever (s)he is eating and run away with it. Remember the 'facehugger' from Aliens? Imagine something similarly disgusting but not out to kill (or implant an egg). Only a nuisance, but sometimes fey-folk trains one to steal valuables, so better watch out.

Insects (and Spiders and other creepy crawlies)

#9

It could be interesting if the long fingered theif had a poor digesteive process, and stole the food because it was more noutricious than the food it can normally digest. That means that when it attacks, it more often goes for the food that has already been chewed up some. Ewwwwww.

Mother always told you to eat with your mouth closed. Now you know why.

Insects (and Spiders and other creepy crawlies)

#10

Now that's really a sick and disgusting idea.

Thank you. :P

An interesting article on this topic

#11

The article is on GameGrene
http://www.gamegrene.com/game_material/weird_world_bugs.shtml

Weird World: Bugs
by Jabberwocky
April 24, 2003 10:17 PM

I once had a good friend who used to tease me about my role-playing habit. It was in the late eighties, and many people were still convinced the devil himself created D&D. My friend and I had many things in common; we were both into football, AC/DC, and blondes, but he simply refused to enter my world of magic. Finally he had enough of me and told me, quite frankly, that there was no need for fantasy when the world was weird enough. He had a good point.

Combine the fascinating world we live in with role-playing bliss, and you have an adventure worthy of legend. From the ancient dungeons of Turkey, to the mysterious voodoo in New Orleans, this world is saturated with gaming ideas. After all, even fantasy games are based on ancient beliefs: essentially, the reality of our forefathers. Let's start by picking up the Earth and see what crawls out.

Spiders, beetles, and worms. They are found in cave drawings, literature and media all over the planet. Is it the tough exoskeleton and amazing strength, or maybe the advanced sensory abilities and clever instincts? Whatever the reason, mankind will always express a child-like curiosity for these little creatures. In a fantasy world, these chitin-clad monsters can have many brilliant roles.

Spell Components and Alchemy

Spells and alchemy have always been a great part of gaming. I used to love going through the magic book, envisioning incredible flashes of magical energy woven in to potent charms and enchantments. While most games have great ideas for magic, they often lack interesting ingredients. This is where bugs can play a significant role.

Insects can do almost anything. They can glow, jump, poison, pinch, stink, sing, meta-morph, spin silk, fly, swim and make paper. With so many natural abilities, I am confident to say there is a perfect bug for every magic idea. The fun part comes when wizards are forced to keep live bugs in their packs or alchemists hire characters to harvest army ants. Getting to know these remarkable insects and their abilities stoke the embers of creativity. Here are a few bugs that made me think "outside the book":

The dandy jumper spider taps on spider webs pretending to be a courting male. It continuously tries different greetings to lure the female down. Once it finds a successful pattern, it is intelligent enough to memorize the pattern for use in the future whenever it finds a similar type of web.

When threatened, the bloody-nosed beetle breaks thin membranes in its mouth and spits up its own blood. Chemicals in the blood can make predators very sick.

The bird dung spider looks like a piece of bird crap in the day. But at night it releases a chemical that attract moths for dinner.

Parasitic wasps lay eggs on live insects. When the eggs hatch they borrow into the insect, eating it alive.

Each of these bugs could easily be a component for a spell, or ingredient for a potion. Try to find similarities between the purpose of the spell and the characteristics of the insect. A viceroy butterfly mimics the appearance of the monarch butterfly, but only the monarch butterfly is poisonous. This bug demonstrated a mimic ability, which could be used in an illusion spell. While bugs and magic complement one another, each of these bugs could also be the heart of an epic adventure.

Bug Adventures

There are many ways to make a bug adventure. The first step is to find a really cool bug. The Vampire Moth from Asia, for example, has a dagger-like proboscis (snout) that it uses to suck blood (even human). With that, three adventure ideas come to mind: A moth transmitted disease where the group has to find the antidote, before livestock and people start to die. A political adventure where the group has to find out what the enemy's secret weapon is. As it turns out, it is a foreign moth with no natural enemies in the area, capable of driving out inhabitants with their great numbers. And finally, another adventure could involve a faction or cult that wants the rare moth enough to kill for it, leading to a Sherlock Holmes style mystery.

Often, the easiest way to include a bug in an adventure is to start small. Changing the bag of gold reward into a jade scarab is a start. You can carry this further by making the people the group is trying to help, bug worshippers. Instead of saving a princess, the group can save a prized dung beetle. This may seem silly to risk character lives for a beetle, but the bug worshippers don't think so. Perhaps the group has to save a few fools that zealously went into the haunted ruins to save the bug themselves. This is just one way to modify an existing adventure to have an insect theme.

Bugs have diets, defences, and enemies. But picking an appropriate bug for an adventure can be quite daunting at times. To help chose the perfect insect; I personally keep a couple bug books handy. Science books, children fact books, even nature magazines can be a source of great inspiration. I have even found newspaper articles that have become adventures when they show elements of conflict, drama, and intrigue. There is bound to be a perfect bug for the perfect adventure.

The possibilities are endless as bug collectors, wizards, scientists, fanatics, and eco-terrorists all seek exotic insects. The hot chemical spray of a bombardier beetle could be the world's next great discovery or most devastating weapon. The world is full of great bug ideas. Who can forget the 1990 movie Arachnophobia, with Jeff Daniels and John Goodman? Guaranteed inspiration. The fact that bugs exist, and that we know so little about them, makes the adventure even more unpredictable. The plot takes a nasty twist when the assassin the players have been looking for turns out to be an innocent spider. What was the effect of the assassin rumors on the relationships of the people involved? Perhaps the real adventure explores how fear drives people to desperate action. Insects can be used to reveal the curious, fearful, and mysterious sides of our nature. . .making them a powerful tool.

Motivation and Instinct

Most bugs reproduce very quickly, and adapt even quicker. This can make them a very worthy adversary to the most seasoned player. Understanding the basic motivation and instincts behind the insect can add to the realism of the game. All bugs do not act the same way. Bugs can be aggressive or shy, and they can chase, ambush, run or fight. Just because the group's tent was just knocked over by a giant spider, doesn't mean the spider is going to attack the group. The spider could be more interested in catching prey in its web (like its instincts tell it to), then to fight it out with a group of people. Adding motivation and instinct to the equation is the finishing touch of a great bug story.

So the world is weird enough after all. Bugs can increase realism, add interest, or make the entire adventure. Whether it's mosquitoes nipping at camping elves, or the King's prize singing cricket, insects will always have a place in games. In fact, I think the next time my good friend comes over, I'll feed his 12th level paladin to a giant trapdoor spider.

Insects (and Spiders and other creepy crawlies)

#12

Waahoo. I like this topic.

Green Squirts Beetle
This is a small green beetle with a metalic exoskeleton. This beetle is also a parasite. It feeds off of sleeping animals puntruing their skin and suckingblood from them. It has a special venom that makes the area they bite completely numb so that you cant even feel the bite. Unfortunately this venom also causes waht is known as teh green squirts. Lets just say that the person soils their underwear with green stuff without meaning too.
Constant exposure to the venom causes sever stomach and intestine cramps along with acting as a laxative.

Boil Swarm Ants
These are small brown ants that look harmless at first. They have regualr nests like normal small ants. The only difference is that they are more aggressive. If you so much as get withing a 3 inch radius of thier home they will attack you. A boil developed whereever they happen to byte (just dont get one down your pants :shock: ) This is because the venom in there bite causes the boil.

The Love Bees
Peace full bees that are black with red strips. They are exactly like normal bees with one exception. There sting causes the person to love everyone for a week. Seriously the person they sting spend a week loving everythign around them, in a nostaligic state of bliss where everything seems perfect and lovely.

PeaceSpreader Bees
Exactly like Love bees only bigger and they are almost completely red with jsut two black strips. They are very aggressive and will sting anything that comes near there next. Unfortunately they love to nest in towns and an invastation has been none to turn a hostile town into a peaceful one.

sorry I haven't been posting lately. Been really busy and I sort of forgot I was a member of the forum.

Is this ok

tarock asher

Ogone flies

#13

These tiny mites are "normal" insects for a fantasy world. They absorb ambient magical energies, creating a small glow- like a lightning bug. They only do this for the last seven days of their 21 day lives. Ambient energy is created by any enchanted object, any magically charged place, or for a short time, anywhere a magical non clerical spell is cast. The more energy they absorb, the brighter they glow. The brighter they glow, the more mates they attract. Soon after mating, they lay tiny eggs, smaller than grains of sand. 7 days later the hatch.

These little buggers are the bane and blessing of adventurers. If you find a location with lots of ogone's, you know there is magic and magical treasure about. However, since the average adventurer has more magic items than the normal area, the flies will hang around the adventurer and their items.

Note: magic items that can be turned on and off, and can not be noted by detect magic spells, do not attract Ogone flies, except when they are on.

Also remember that magic swords glow when pulled.

Insects (and Spiders and other creepy crawlies)

#14

Manfred reminded me I'd posted these in the ideas section and maybe they're more relevant here...

Asclepius' Flies:
Asclepius' flies are similar in size to the ordinary housefly, but they are white, with crimson eyes (ugly little creatures). Unlike most flies, however, they are not diseased, in fact their remarkable immune system contains agents which tackle even human illnesses. This is the source of their white colouring also. The standard technique for capturing them, to use their juices, is to tempt one onto the palm of one's hand and then to quickly wring your palms, then rub the mush onto the afflicted area. This is not for the squeamish, but has definite healing possibilities.

Swordbiters:
Swordbiters are parasites. They are long, thin and silver, and digest metal, somewhat like rust monsters, but smaller and more insidious. They resemble stick insects, but when they cling to metal they are very well camouflaged, and one can be biting your sword for a week before you notice it. They cannot be removed by hand, as they are very strong, but if the blade is inserted into fire they will leap off to escape the flames. Sometimes, old treasure hoards are infested with them, and the first glimpse you get of the "glittering" weapons is a pile of rusted swords encrusted with these thin silvery insects.

Candlebugs:
An insignficant little species, the candlebug (or waxmoth) is a persistent bane for mages and merchants alike. Each the size of a small digit, these little scarabs thrive on wax and burrow up inside candles, ruining them. Sometimes a late-night worker will hear a crack and a sizzle as his candle expires, only to find the half-burned remains of a waxmoth squirming around on his desk. This is very annoying in worlds where candles are expensive...

ephe!

Cor-Spiders

#15

Cor-Spiders are wolf spider like creatures, about the size of large man's hand. Unlike most wolf spiders, cor-spiders are prodigious web producers, creating webs that are several meters wide and capable of capturing good sized mammals (small deer, large goats, pigs). Cor-spiders have scared many a person who found a Cor-spider's territory filled with webs, and were afraid they were in the area of merkwood (HUGE GIANT Spiders).

Gathering Cor-spider silk can be a bit dangerous, as Cor-spider venom can drop a large man within a candlemark. Yet, there is a constant demand for it. Once gathered, combed, spun and woven, it creates a fine strong silk. If the fabric is woven tightly enough, it will prevent the passage of blades (though the blunt force trauma is there).

Let's play cricket

#16

The cricket idea sparked one of my own - let's say that the crickets do not sing according to temperature, but to the magical field of the area, the intensity reflecting the strength of the field, while the tune telling of the kind of magic, and the flow patterns.
A wizard who understands the cricket melody might gain a slight bonus, or cast his spells 5% cheaper.

Giant crickets (about ten inches long) sing different songs - when they are in the presence of a spell they find cool (don't ask me what a bug might find totally sweet) they learn its melody, and chirp away, the tune reflecting exactly the way reality shapes to accomodate the spell's effect.
A wizard studying the songs could learn more about his spells, or, if he learned to chirp, he might sing in concert with a giant cricket, replacing the vocal component/incantation, to enhance his spell effect.
A rescue adventure could be bringing the wizard's prized teleport-cricket back.

Penguin's Bugs

#17

Biteme- An insect so small that it is nearly invisible, the Biteme is known for its irritating sting, which itches but does not hurt. These midges often gather in swarms to protect their egg-sacs, which, when split, release four-to-five-hundred young Bitemes.

Manylegs- A catch-all term for insects used in many of my settings.

Neekerbreeker- Taken from Tolkien. A relative of crickets which makes an annoying "neekbreek-neekbreek" noise.

Mountain Beetle- This large beetle carries a stone as its back carapace, which doubles as camouflage and protection.

Insects (and Spiders and other creepy crawlies)

#18

Silverspider

This spider is the size of a man's hand and has a beautiful (as far as that word can be applied to a spider) body covered in soft silver hairs. They live in groups of up to ten on large orb webs that can be up to forty feet long and five feet high. Their normal diet is insects. If they bite a human the effect is to give the human a sense of total happiness that lasts for an hour.Many humans will end up getting bitten on purpose after getting addicted to the venom.A small amount of venom just makes a person a bit slow-witted.Too much will lead to brain damage or even death.

spider addiction

#19

Spider sense tingling! I need a new dose!

a black market might evolve about the spiders - those with a better/purer/less dangerous venom earning a prime price...

or the people could collect them like pokemons and exchange tips aout what soft of bug to feed them so that the venom has a better/different effect

great!

umm! tasty!

#20

LunchWorm

the lunch worm is a most tasty thing, not difficult to find, not dangerous, large as your forearm and extremely tasty! What more, if you eat one, your strength improves for a day or so, your reflexes seem quicker and your wounds heal faster, the former lasting a day too, the latter for a week! And it makes you more attractive to ladies/gentlemen to boot.

What's the catch?
The worm is filled with heat-resistant eggs that use the gourmet as a hatching ground - they do not harm him, he's just infested and they are almost impossible to get rid off. If a wizard catches the LunchWorms, all his spells will divert say 1-5% of the energy to a separate "Create Lunchworm Young" spell that sprays small worms over a large area.
Otherwise, having the lunchWorms is asymptomatic except for excreting the small buggers every time you go potty.

Insects (and Spiders and other creepy crawlies)

#21

Yummy, tasty. Wizards I think would really want to avoid them, others might not mind them too much.

Insects (and Spiders and other creepy crawlies)

#22

Singing Tapeworms

These lay their eggs in meat that is not kept as clean as it should be. When the PC eats the meat, the tapeworm settles in his stomach to feed. Like any good parasite, it never intentionaly kills it's host. When it gets to a certain size, it begins to make a noisy mating call that sounds like humming, that means that when the PC is asleep, a tiny insect will fly down the PC's throat and mate. Mated singing tapeworms produce winged versions. The humming can be heard from several feet away.

If the PC covers his/her mouth, the song will come out from the PC's bottom unless that is corked.

The singing tapeworm can be removed by any decent healing potion, or by certain herbs.

melodic farting

#23

"You certainly have SOME weird farts there, Grishnakh!"

Fire ants

#24

The mystery of fyre is one which has much occupyed my studies and the studies of men before me. Whence cometh this hot orange humour that speweth from logs? Many have proposed the existence of phlogiston, though I think this absurd that we postulate the existence of a substance we cannot yet isolate!

What then? In my own researches, where I have subjected logs to the most thorough and microscopic investigations, I have concluded that fyre is the product of Fyre Antes. These cureous creatures lyve in wood, dormant larvae, until such time as heat awakes them. Then they begin to devour the wood, turning it black and emitting the noxious and searing miasmas we see as flames.

These antes are too minute to be properly seen, and are best noticed as small orange speckes glowing in the fyre. Their owne digestive heat destroyes them, and in the end there are none left. But during the orgyastyck devouring of wood they also mate, releasing theyr young as spawn in a black cloud we see as smoke. When this landes on other logs it fertilises them and the dormant larvae grow inside, ready to performe their owne fyredance someday.

Professor J Klewlise, "On the nature and origin of fyre" (1542)

Insects (and Spiders and other creepy crawlies)

#25

I added a bug to the Bizarre Life Forms Challenge thread. It's a parasitic insect resembling a blowing leaf. More details here: http://www.rpgcitadel.com/guild/index.php?topic=459.0

Insects (and Spiders and other creepy crawlies)

#26

Other interesting insects would be ones with some useful features.

A variation of the shelac beetle could have its carapices become sticky when heated; several hundred of these can be combined into armour pieces.

Special spellbook or scroll paper can be made from a type of paper wasp nest. This paper is tough, and readily accepts magic, far more than normal paper or vellum.

A NightGuardian mantis can be trained to become accustomed to one person, or a group. It not only eats mosquitos at night, but emits a shrill warning noise when a strange person or beast approaches.

Jewel Wraiths are shiny & ornamental insects with a wide variety of colouration & patterns. They are considered quite beautiful. The insect is highly poisonous, but is a very docile & slow plant eater, quite content to stay attached to a warm body as jewelry, provided it is kept sated on leafy vegetables each day--usually eaten nocturnally & sleeping attached to clothing during the day.

The Manna Bug is a desert-dwelling insect that secretes a nutritious substance overnight. This can be harvested early in the morning, enough to keep a large group fed & healthy for weeks at a time. (This one is based on a real insect.)

Lantern Bug

#27

A Lantern Bug is the size of a man's hand,has wings and glows with a greenish light at night to attract moths and other insects to it. If it is fed now and then with small pieces of meat, it, or sometimes more then one bug, will hover above a person's head and provide light. Two or more bugs together will provide enougth light to see by.The bug's bites are painful and itchy but not normally dangerous and they only bite anything bigger then themselves in self defense. If trapped in something and used as a captive light source, they die within twelve hours if they are not fed and watered.

Manna Fleas

#28

These are extraplanar flea like bugs, with the ability to move between planes. These creatures have the uncanny ability to feel the ripples of magic, so they travel through planes, rather than distance to find food.

Their food? They feed upon manna threads... the left over pieces of disturbed manna flow after a spell is cast. While feeding, they glow with an intensity of based upon the power of the spell. They come from nowhere, so unless the energies in the area are dismissed appropriately ( a good spell check or some careful casting) they often appear. You can tell the quality of a wizard or wizardly school by checking their work rooms for Manna Fleas.

The creatures seem to fly or hover, but actually they are walking on a surface in another realm. Once they are fully in our sphere, they stay on surfaces, interacting with the "real world".

They don't just feed on manna threads. They will bite and feast of the blood of those who have used magical power, but will ignore mundane animals and people. The bites are just like flea bites.

Cleaner Flies

#29

Most insects, if they land on a wound, will infect it or worse. Cleaner Flies are the oppisite. They eat infected flesh, fungus/fungal spores, and parasites, but leave undamaged flesh and uninfected wounds alone. They are three inches long and covered wih red and white stripes, and are seen next to often highly dangerous creatures,even going into their jaws to clean their teeth without fear. One was once seen hovering beside a large spider, eating grubs that had burrowed into the spider's back. It is said that spiders will set a Cleaner Fly loose from their webs instead of eating it.

Vapour spider

#30

(I know, it's not an insect...)

Vapour spiders create webs that are even more ephemeral than the standard variety, yet somehow even more resilient. It is said that they spin their webs not out of silk, but instead of smoke, mist, and moonbeams. Even the pattern of the web resembles swirls of vapour or smoke rather than a typical spiderweb pattern. Yet, when you pass your hands through it, the web is not disturbed, and remains undamaged.

The vapour spider has a translucent and glassy appearance, and a rather soft & fragile body. They only appear at night, and seem more prevalent with stronger moonlight, but this is perhaps only because they are more easily seen. They seem to have no natural predators.

They have never been seen eating an insect, nor has anything ever been seen caught in their webs. Vapour spiders do not even bite in self-defence. Some loremasters believe that they do not exist entirely in this plane of existance, and instead form their webs of visible ether, catching tiny spirit-creatures invisible to the eye.

Skeleton Worm/ Glisten Worms

#31

Glisten Worms range in size from four to twelve thumbs length (an inch and some more, 3 cms). They are considered carrion worms because they are always associated with dead things. While they do eat decaying flesh, it is not their primary food source. Glisten worms constantly sucrete a sticky liquid as they move that allows them to stick to walls and almost any surface. This is where they get one of their common names. The worm is the only thing that does not stick tight to the goo. The glisten goo has another purpose, it provides additional food for the worm. It collects insects that would feed on the carrion. The glisten also serves as a medium of growth for certain fungi that the worms eat. A body infested with Glisten Worms will decompose at a rate eight times slower than a body without.

Note: the sticky substance will only hold insect sized things, it is not that strong.

They will sometimes colonize skeletonal remains, as their glisten will draw some insects to the bones. Some animated skeletons will have Glisten worms colonies in them. This will create a wriggling boil of worms forming muscle appearing mass.

Mind Dragons

#32

Mind Dragons do not look very dangerous. They are about an inch long and black in colour and they look like tiny dragons.In this state they are not very intelligent.But they have an instinct to head for the mouths of humans and to try and get inside.They live in water and normally prey on small water fleas and other tiny creatures.

If one swims into a human mouth, it bites into the throat and burrows into the brain, where it becomes clever, and within thirty seconds, has taken over control of the person's speech and body functions.It is now a highly inteligent being in it's own right,whilst the possessed person knows what has happened but is helpless do to anything about it.After six months it starts to grow, feasting on brain tissue,killing the host and taking the place of the brain, coiling up inside the skull where the brain used to be.

If the infection is found out about in the early stage, then there are spells and potions that can kill it or force it to leave it's host.In in the later stage, killing or removing the Mind Dragon will kill the person's body as well, as the brain has been fully or mostly eaten by it.

Fully grown Mind Dragons can realese baby ones into the host's mouth, which can infect another person if the host kisses them.

Insects (and Spiders and other creepy crawlies)

#33

I don't know about you, but if a nine-inch long flying reptile flew at my face, I'd probably smack it. When you think about it, nine inches is actually nearly a foot long.

Insects (and Spiders and other creepy crawlies)

#34

I edited it Capt. :oops:

Insects (and Spiders and other creepy crawlies)

#35

I was just commenting, man. :)

Hovers

#36

These Kerrenese Insects are a little larger than an average Kerrenese insect, about 28 cms (11in) long with 32 cm (13in) wingspans. They look similar to a terrestrial Dragon Fly, except they have eight legs (standard for insects there). They have big broad feet (making their little legs look like they have boots on. These feet are tucked into divets in their carpaces. They are supreme flyers on the insect kingdom, as only small Draconians and the luckiest of Saurians can catch them. They eat other insects.

As they age, their carpace changes.. shifting up the spectrum from red to violet with each of the seven moltings over their one year lifespan. No matter the color, they have a pretty iridescent sheen. Their wings are clear with silverish veins.

(Note the carpaces are highly valued as sources of dye colors)

Their name was given to them in early Colonial Times when Shuttles and Hovers were a regular occurance. With their retractable "booted" feet, vtol capabilities, and extreme flight characteristics, they were like the Hover Oldthings.

Onkorr ants

#37

The most terrifying ants of all are the Onkorr ants, which march through the forest with the sole intent of turning every creature into skeletons in a few minutes. They produce a faint hissing sound and distinct ant-army odor, the odor is actually a gas which causes animals as well as humans to pass out. This means less struggling for the ants as they consume larger mammals. They're like a wolf pack, but with tens of thousands of miniature beasts of prey which merge and unite to form one great living creature.
The ants live in tropical or sub tropical forests.
They only move by night, which makes it easier to spot them at a long distance. This is because they are bright like fire flies.
The name Oncorr given by locals means burning, which again has two meanings;burning bites and burning bodies.

The Onkorr ants' jaws are so powerful that locals uses them to suture wounds: the tenacious insect is held over a wound and its body squeezed so that its jaws instinctively shut, clamping the flesh together. The body was then pinched off. The locals are also familiar with a plant that can be rubbed on your body to prevent the animals from attacking you.

Larvae carried by workers produce pheromones which stimulate the army to keep on the move. When the larvae begin to pupate and no longer exude their chemical messages, the ants bivouac in a vast ball in a hollow.
They actually cling to one another and make a nest of their bodies, complete with passageways and chambers where the eggs are deposited. Once the queen lays her eggs and these hatch as larvae, a new generation of workers and soldiers synchronistically emerges from the stored pupae. The larvae begin to secrete their characteristic pheromone, and the army is again stimulated to march off and terrorize the bush.

Dragon Flies

#38

These foot long insects live around the caves of dragons and other large beasts of prey, and are red and white in colour with large jaws and iridescent wings. Far from being dangerous, they prey only on pests.They eat parasites,be they lice and that kind of thing, or athlete's foot fungus,although in the latter case they may eat a small amount of flesh as well, to destroy the roots of the fungus.They never harm a host on purpose except in self defence, and very few things will prey on them.Giant spiders have been known to free such flies from their webs,as the flies are so good at freeing the spiders of parasites.

Greenflies-Aquatic parasitic wasps

#39

The wasps are about the size of a hand, they are bright green with long
hairy backlegs. They feed on other insect larvae and crustaceans. They are poor fliers and are usually found around the ponds, lakes and streams that are the larval habitats. When a larger animal drinks from their pond or swims in it they attach themselves to their skin to lay their eggs.
Usually in the belly region. Humans are easiest attacked due to their soft skin. The sting is painless and the wasp quickly inserts a poison which makes the victim sleep. Then the wasp lays her eggs.
When hatched the larvae feed exclusively on the internal organs of their host. The only cure is to put your feet in water, then the larvaes find their way down from the belly region. It seems the water attracts them in a way.
Then one can pop out the larvaes using a knife. If this is not done in the early stages of infection the larvaes will tunnel their way into the hosts organs and the host will die. The larvaes will continue feeding on the rotting flesh until they will transform to pupae. After a day or so the pupae will hatch and they will fly away to find a pond or lake.

Orc Tick

#40

A disgusting bug twice the size of a regular tick,and ten times as voracious,these odious parasites are very common among the unwashed orcs. Not that the orcs mind them greatly,having gotten used to their presence. Some even go so far as to say that the ticks help to keep them healthy by purging their bodies of toxins. Ill orcs have sometimes sworn that it was the presence of these little blood suckers that have rescued them from otherwise fatal diseases. Wether this orcish belief is actually a reliable cure for the orcs,or just mere superstion,none know for certain.

What people do know,is that the ticks carry a virulent blood transmitted illness,that only orcs are immune to. Any human who has the misfortune to be bitten by one of these ticks,will suffer a painful death within the space of a week,as was hediously demonstrated during the siege of the border town of Hulart. The wily orc war chief who besieged the town,succeeding in causing the deaths of hundereds of townsfolk when he had his warriors launch numerous clay vessels filled to the brim with the deadly ticks,over the city walls.