Lifeforms · Fauna · Forest/ Jungle
Charyn Slug
Found mainly in dense forests, the Charyn slug is a most irritating creature to the average adventurer. Not because it is dangerous in any way, but that it tends to disturb their sleep.
Full Description
Found mainly in dense forests, the Charyn slug is a most irritating creature to the average adventurer. Not because it is dangerous in any way, but that it tends to disturb their sleep.
The slug is nocturnal and burrows into the moist soil during the daytime, because it is extremely fragile, and in contact with sunlight or much heat, the slug would instantly dry up. However, it does arise at night to feed. As it is awake, it creates a fairly loud sound - similar to a cicada's chirring - to make its presence known to other slugs out there for mating (which is all year round). The slug feeds on any type of fauna it can reach - often moist leaves of the forest floor, or small shrubs or patches of grass - and its rapid, acidic digestive process causes this food to be processed within minutes. The slug releases the biproduct of its feeding, mainly methane gas.
Another curious aspect of the slug is that it is drawn to light, simply because it cannot see daylight and it is a curious thing to it. Hundreds of these slugs often surround the rim of a campfire of a party, just outside the range of the light and heat which would kill them. There, they chirr, eat and mate whilst looking on to the curious light before them. Adventurers who are furiously attempting to sleep for another weary day travel, find themselves assaulted with pungent odours and loud chirring noises just around their campsite. All it would take is for one person to get out of their sleeping rolls, walk over to the campfire and throw a burning stick at the rim of the camp (the flames and heat will cause the methane to combust, and will cause a chain reaction, exploding the slugs around with a ring of fire about the campsite), but truly, when you are almost asleep, who can bother getting up and fully waking yourself to do that anyway?
If someone DOES manage to do this, it would be about 10 minutes of silence before more of these pests are drawn to the fire.
Truly distruptive. A tired adventurer is a dead adventurer
Additional Information
The slugs are worthless in any way. They cannot be eaten due to their acidic nature. They cant even be kept as pets, because they die and explode at the hint of heat and light.
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This creature has admusement value, good points, bad points, and is not just another monster to eat the adventurers (or in someway traumatize the PCs).
These things should not explode at the hint of heat and sun, otherwise they will be too admusing at bars. Of course the whole methane thing, if the camp was in a hollow or low dish, then it all goes boom.
I think this creature was the origin of the Slugapult, which hurled large flaming bags of slugs at their enemies. The flaming bags seem hardless at first.. then BOOM!
As a sidenote - I think you mean they eat flora, not fauna. But whatever :-)
Quite Amusing! I'd tone down their explosive nature, but otherwise a fun post.