Post by Grimone on Feb 10, 2021 3:11:25 GMT
DIRE BEASTS
Dire Wolf | Dire Bear | Dire Boar | Dire Ape | Dire Rat | Dire Bat | Dire Shark
DIRE WOLF: Dire wolves were far more aggressive than normal wolves, attacking and killing anything they could catch. Roughly the size of an average brown bear. They could be found as lone wolves or in packs numbering five to eight individuals, the alpha typically being the largest. They had keen senses, including a sharp sense of smell, allowing them to track their prey by scent. They swiftness and agility allowing them to move stealthily when on the hunt.
DIRE BEAR: The omnivorous dire bear usually does not bother creatures that try to avoid it, but will aggressively defend a kill or other source of food. It will not hesitate to rip apart anything that might contain something edible. They often travel by themselves or in pairs, children rarely staying with their parents for more then a years. Dire bears growing to be roughly twice the size of a dire wolf.
DIRE BOAR: Whereas the boar is ill-tempered and generally unfriendly, the dire boar is legitimately hateful and violent. Although omnivorous like its smaller kin, they prefer to feed on flesh. Its razor-sharp tusks and keen eyesight make it particularly well suited as a predator. While the dire boar is primarily a scavenger, it isn’t averse to attacking smaller creatures it encounters while searching for easier meals, or those who stumble unwittingly into its territory. Particularly brave or skilled orcs are fond of using them as mounts and orc cavalry mounted on dire boars make for a fearsome force indeed.
DIRE APE: Within the avarician jungle, it is rumored that there exists a species of particularly large solitary apes. These gorilla-like apes are far larger than their normal counterparts and are known to have a bad temper. Known to many scholars as the Dire Ape, it is a much more dangerous and bestial creature than the relatively peaceful gorilla. A dire ape makes no displays of toughness or warnings before it attacks, it simply leaps into action, charging into battle with little or no provocation, tearing at its opponents with claws and teeth.
DIRE RAT: A giant rapid rat, the size of a large cat or medium sized dog. Dire rats carry a very dangerous disease, filth fever, which can kill even a strong man in a matter of days and has immediate consequences. They are smart enough to try to spread disease to as many enemies as they can. By doing this, the rats often scare off predators with the immediately painful disease effects and can sometimes even follow their would be predator and wait for it to slowly die before feeding on its diseased carcass. A common pest in large urban areas where they infest the tunnels, catacombs and sewers below.
DIRE BAT: Dire bats are solitary creatures about the size of a human and have glistening white fangs. They are often found in caves and dark forests, hiding in wait for a helpless victim to wander past. Dire bats are all about the hit and run tactics. They will charge an unsuspecting enemy, make a vampiric sneak attack biting their targets and then fly away to a nearby location to find a new hiding spot. When the opportunity arises, it will swoop in again, draining more blood, and making another sneak attack. It will continue this pattern until its next meal is dead. Being nocturnal, they rely on echolocation to navigate.
DIRE SHARK: The true nightmare of the sea is the megalodon, called Dire Sharks by land dwellers. Representing the pinnacle of this species evolution. Horrifying in its immense size and ruinous appetite, the dire shark is certainly the beast behind many legends of enormous fish who swallow ships whole. Growing to be three times the size of even the largest known great whites. Rivaling hydras in both their size and ferocity. Dire sharks are masters of the ocean and can detect even the slightest hint of blood from miles away. Their senses are so keen that they can use vibrations in the water to "see" around them.