Part 3 – Miscellaneous Mundane Mammals & Birds

CHIMPANZEE

(Pan troglodytes)

Punch & Bite 17+1, Agile 5W, Brachiate 7W, Climb 5W, Cunning 10W, Forage 5W, Hunt Prey 17, Make Simple Tool 17, Throw Rock 17

Distribution: Errinoru

Habitat: Jungle

Chimps are slender, dark furred apes native to the wooded regions of tropical Pamaltela. They were the third, and final, attempt of Bolongo to imitate the intelligent races made by the other gods. To make the chimps, Bolongo stole the secret of wisdom used in the creation of the other races, but he could not understand how to use it properly, which is why these apes are not as intelligent as humans. They primarily eat soft leaves and fruit, but will also eat insects, and will even sometimes hunt and kill condies or monkeys. Chimps travel in parties of three to six adults, which form part of much larger communities, sometimes exceeding a hundred members spread over a range of twenty square miles.

Combat Tactics: Chimpanzees are generally shy and inoffensive unless attacked, although violent conflicts between gangs of chimps are occasionally observed. Although intelligent enough to use, and even to make, very basic tools, chimps will not use them in combat, although they may throw rocks or other heavy objects at an opponent in an attempt to scare them away.

CONDY, MOTTLED

(Phenacodus variegatus)

Dodge Attack 17, Forage 2W, Run Fast 17, Scent Danger 2W

Distribution: Jolar, Fonrit, Umathela, Jrustela

Habitat: Savannah, hills

Condies are the commonest herbivores of Pamaltela. In general, they are slim, furry, creatures short legs with small hooves on each of their toes. The mottled condy is particularly widespread. It is about the size of a sheep, with a somewhat horse-like head and a long furred tail. They are a dull brown in colour, with irregular darker patches on their back and flanks. Condy meat is very tasty, so that they are amongst the favourite prey of Doraddi hunters, and form a large part of the diet of the local carnivores. Aleshmara created them as food for other creatures.

Many other types of condy also exist, and at least a few species are known in every region of Pamaltela north of the Nargan desert. The mottled condy is one of the larger species; for a member of a typical smaller condy, add Small at 10 to 15, reduce Run Fast to 13 and increase Dodge Attack to 2W.

Image: Condy

GLYPTODON

(Glyptodon kotharum)

Tail Smash 10W+4, Bony Shield +6, Dig 5W, Large 10W, Scent Food 2W, Strong 18W

Distribution: Jolar, Kothar

Habitat: Savannah, hills

Glyptodons are large, peaceful, herbivores standing five feet at the shoulder. The upper torso is covered by a massive bony shield impervious to almost any attack. Smaller bony plates cover the forehead and tail, and a coarse shaggy brown hair covers the thick skin of the legs and underbelly – the latter too low slung to the ground to be accessible to attackers unable to flip its two-ton body over.

Glyptodons can eat almost any vegetation, having jaws powerful enough to shred even the toughest plant stems and claws capable of digging up deep roots and tubers. They can be found anywhere in southern Pamaltela, even visiting the swamps from time to time, but are most common in Kothar and Zamokil. They are nocturnal and solitary except when a mother is nursing its single calf.

Combat Tactics: When threatened, a glyptodon simply withdraws its head and legs like a turtle, and lashes about with its tail, which is tipped with sharp bony spikes capable of deterring even a Vangono’s Horror.

Image: Glyptodon

GORILLA

(Gorilla gorilla)

Punch & Bite 2W+1, Thick Skin +1, Brachiate 17, Climb 5W, Cunning 8W, Intimidate 5W, Large 15, Strong 15W

Distribution: Errinoru

Habitat: Highland jungle

Huge, muscular, black furred apes, gorillas never leave the shelter of the Errinoru jungles, and are rarely seen by outsiders. Adults spend most of their time on the ground, being too heavy to travel easily in the trees, although lightweight or young individuals may often do so. Despite their fearsome appearance, gorillas are inoffensive vegetarians, eating little but jungle leaves. They are active mostly during the morning and evening, rest through the day and sleep in nests made of branches and leaves during the night.

They were the second attempt by Bolongo to create a race of intelligent beings in imitation of those made by Pamalt. He made them strong, so that they could defeat their foes and rule an empire, but forgot to give them ambition, so that they did not wish to do so.

Gorillas usually travel in groups of five to ten animals, of which about half are adults, staying in a particular area for a few days before moving on. The single adult male in a group has a silver coloured back, and is significantly larger than his companions (Large 18, Strong 2W2). Solitary silverback males are also encountered.

Combat Tactics: The great silverbacks will beat their chests to try and intimidate an opponent, and bare their teeth in a threatening display. If this fails, they will rush forwards, pummel with their fists, and occasionally bite, until the enemy is killed or driven off.

GROUND SLOTH, GREAT

(Nothrotheriops rufus)

Claws 5W+2, Fur & Thick Skin +3, Large 2W, Placid 18, Scent Food 2W, Strong 12W

Distribution: Fonrit, Jolar, Kothar

Habitat: Savannah, hills

Ground sloths are found in many parts of Pamaltela, most of them being about the size of a wolf or small antelope and closely resembling their tree-dwelling relatives. The Great Ground Sloth is much larger, a bulky, shaggy, animal standing about three feet high at the shoulder. It has rusty red fur with a greenish tinge, and the skin is studded with hard bony scutes. It has long backwardly curved claws on the forefeet, forcing it to walk on its knuckles like a gorilla, and straighter claws on the hind-feet. It is generally harmless, and browses on bushes and shrubs. It sleeps through the dry season in hillside caves, rather as bears do through the winter. Their meat is somewhat rancid in flavour, so that humans only hunt them when times are hard. Because they were first made by Lodril, they cannot abide the cold, and suffer a -5 handicap when defending against any ability which uses this power.

Combat Tactics: If a ground sloth is somehow annoyed, or if cornered by a predator, it will stand on its hind legs to slash with its fore-claws.

Image: Great Ground Sloth

MANDRILL

(Mandrillus sphinx)

Bite 17+1, Cunning 2W, Dig Up Roots 5W, Forage 8W, Hunt Prey 5W

Distribution: Errinoru, Jolar, Kothar

Habitat: Jungle, Savannah

Mandrills are large, ground-dwelling, short-tailed monkeys with dark fur, which were first made by Bolongo in imitation of humans. The males have bright blue hairless rumps, and blue and red noses with a yellow beard. The females and young are duller, although the colours can still be discerned. They eat almost anything, but prefer fruit, clover, roots and small animals. Mandrills live in troops of anything up to 150 individuals, about two thirds of them female, or as single young males. They are intelligent enough not to attack men, but to know that most women are unarmed and can be chased away from their fields to obtain a quick meal of bloodbeans or lagniappe before the menfolk appear.

Image: Mandrill

Raboon

(Papio ferox)

Bite 5W+1, Cunning 2W, Hunt Prey 10W

Distribution: Jolar, Kothar

Habitat: Savannah

Similar in size and shape to mandrills, raboons may easily be distinguished by their silvery fur and blood-red muzzles and rumps. Raboons are much fiercer than their relatives, and subsist almost entirely on meat, hunting condies and other small herbivores. They will even attack men if they have a numeric advantage. Their troops are much smaller than those of mandrills, rarely exceeding a dozen adults in size. Raboons were made when Vangono took pity on the mandrills, and taught some of them to kill.

YTERG

(Megaladapis varicolor)

Bite 17+1, Agile 2W, Climb 5W, Forage 5W, Hate Foreigners 2W

Distribution: Teleos

Habitat: Jungle

Ytergs are a type of giant lemur native to Teleos. They resemble apes much more than other lemurs do, having a muscular body and a short, stubby tail, but they also have a long snout on their fur-rimmed faces. They are nocturnal, and spend most of their time on the forest floor, but are adept at climbing, especially to find the soft fruits and young leaves which they crave.

Ytergs come in the same variety of colours as the Teleons themselves do, although they show no discrimination between individuals of different colour. They are very friendly with the natives, often wandering into their villages and peeking about inquisitively. However, for some reason, they seem to be highly aggressive to all non-Teleon humans and will scream and rush at them to try and scare them off, sometimes being driven into such a rage that they will mob the interloper and inflict him with vicious bites. The Teleons regard them as taboo, and will allow no harm to come to them, regardless of their colour, although they do not worship them as they do most other animals.

Image: Yterg

RHEA

(Rhea pamaltensis)

Kick & Peck 17+1, Feathers +1, Forage 5W, Large 12, Run Fast 12W, Strong 17

Distribution: Jolar, Kothar

Habitat: Savannah

Rheas are large, flightless birds inhabiting the plains of southern Pamaltela. They are somewhat smaller than ostriches, and have a grey-brown plumage. Mama Rhea was a carefree spirit, who spurned her fellow birds to run across the ground, instead of flying through the air; she had numerous husbands, but used them only for fun, and never stayed with them for long. Now, female rheas live in small flocks of a half dozen or so birds; when they encounter a male they all mate with him, lay their eggs in a single nest and then run away, leaving him to incubate all their eggs and raise the resulting chicks on his own.

Image: Rhea

VULTURE

(Gyps fulvus & others)

Claws 17, Fly Fast 5W, Large 10, Scent Carrion 15W, Spot Food 2W2

Distribution: Fonrit, Jolar, Kothar

Habitat: Savannah

Similar in appearance and diet to the condor, many species of vulture are found in the open terrain of Fonrit and southern Pamaltela. Flocks of vulture are spread evenly across a large area of sky, and as soon as one spots a carcass and descends, the others follow it. Unlike condors, vultures squabble noisily over their food and are clumsy flyers. Vulture was once a brother to the great eagles and hawks, but he betrayed Pamalt, who seared the feathers from his head, and cursed him to eat only foul things.