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Woah, has it really been nine months since I last updated!?
Time sure flies. I’ve mostly been spending my free time writing, but today I really, really felt like Machining for a bit. The creatures below are some of the monsters I’ve been detailing for my rpg project.
Freshwater Siren
These large predators anchor themselves to the bottoms of murky lakes or rivers from which they use their up to 13 meters long tentacles to attract, grab and pull in prey. The shape of the lure depends on the individual specimen’s most common type of prey, and can change over time along with new eating habits.
Freshwater Sirens are most commonly found in tropical and subtropical zones, but have also been spotted in the deeper rivers of continental Europe and in the North American Great Lakes.Hermit Squid
The Hermit Squid is a slow moving amorphous omnivore. They have no natural predators, but since their soft and brightly coloured bodies are highly vulnerable to damage they tend to hide in empty containers which they then bring along with them. When the mobile hiding place is outgrown it is abondoned in favor of one of appropriate size. The largest specimen was discovered when a 250 gallon wine cask seemingly walked through the streets of Nanjing by its own power, causing great commotion.
While not aggressive towards humans a Hermit Squid may, if threatened, secrete a fast-acting neurotoxin that, when in contact with skin, causes extreme pain, nausea, paralysis and in extreme cases temporary unconsciousness or respiratory failure.
Hermit Squid can be found in damp areas worldwide, but are especially common in Eastern Asia, where they have recently become quite popular as exotic pets since they are playful and surprisingly intelligent creatures.Strigoi Crab
This highly dangerous predator is luckily only found in remote parts central Africa. The adult female typically has a legspan of two and a half feet, but much larger specimens have been documented. The male is much smaller, only reaching a legspan of four to six inches. After mating the male dies and is consumed by the female who, after laying her eggs, ambushes a large prey and injects a coma inducing venom into it. Once the victim has lost consciousness it is dragged to the Strigoi’s lair where it is tapped for blood over the course of several days until death occures. Once the eggs hatch the mother Strigoi feeds its young the saved up blood until they are large enough to hunt on their own.
Strigoi Crabs normally live solitary lives, but they have been known hunt in groups in order to bring down prey as large as bush elephants.And on that lovely note I’ll leave you, for now. Thanks for reading!
Thanks a lot guys! It’s good to be back 🙂
More creatures!
Tuzmadar
These highly rare birds are only ever encountered along the northern Black Sea coastline. They are solitary hunters with a wingspan of three to four foot and an innate magical ability to manipulate pyrotropic fields, or in other words, they can set themselves on fire. They are also highly immune to heat (if not the first talent would be rather pointless). Not much else is known about these creatures since they have never been closely studied. There are rumors saying that the Safavid shah has obtained a specimen and placed it in his menagerie, though these remain unsubstantiated.
Emperor Cat
The Emperor Cat is easily recognized by its fur which ranges from deep purple to clear blue, and by its four horns. It is roughly the same shape as a regular housecat, though commonly with a slightly heavier build. Emperor Cats are highly intelligent and possess a natural talent for psychotropic coercion and telepathy, especially towards other felines. Due to this they have become a pest in cities worldwide where they have taken control over the resident feral cats. A single Emperor Cat can easily govern several thousand feline vassals. This causes two major problems: Firstly, the cats under its control are now using much more sophisticated methods of scavenging, even going so far as to work in groups to break into cellars, or using distraction tactics in order to plunder unsuperviced market stalls. Secondly, if a city is home to two or more Emperors its residents will be constantly plagued with border disputes or even total warfare between the various cat nations.
Emperor Cats are also the only known Emerged creatures that are able to successfully mate with a mundane species; the domestic cat. While the offspring is invariably sterile and sickly it does present the idea of potential for new Emerged hybrid species, which is one that is keeping many parazoologists awake at night.Pixie
Despite its humanoid appearance the behaviour of the Pixie is more akin to that of the wasp or the ant. They are omnivorous creatures who inhabit massive arboreal colonies overseen by a single dominant female. A single Pixie is no threat to a human, but if the hive is threatened the offender will be swarmed by hundreds of tiny fearless defenders. While they don’t use weapons they have venom glands connected to their teeth and will prioritze attacking the terget’s eyes, neck and the mucous membranes of the nose and the mouth cavity. The venom causes rapid swelling, fatigue and delerium and is intended to cause the victim to suffocate.
Pixie colonies are found in temperate forests worldwide and should be avoided at all cost.Not entirely satisfied with the shading on these last two. I guess I’m a bit rusty.
Well, I kinda forgot how friendly this community is 🙂
Thanks a lot, people, it’s great to see you all and your artwork again.
I decided to return to one of my favourites of my original characters:
Maria I Antonia Braganza, queen of the New Portuguese Empire, and her Dwarven secretary Murnr ag Tak rukh Skandza. Pictured in the Royal Offices at the Palace of Salvador, 1889.
Professor Hubrecht Aarden of the Rotterdam University of Natural Philosophy and his assistant Ima Kikkert. Pictured during their expedition of the mountains of Espírito Santo, 1900. Neither of them know anything about the disappearance of the recently deposed queen, and if you don’t mind they’d like to be on their way now.
Thanks, man! I must admit I’m ridiculously proud of that bottle 😀
I don’t know exactly why, but I suddenly felt like making minimalist posters for Shakespeare plays.
While the various regional police forces of the Protestant union vary greatly depending on the state in which they serve they are generally divided into three distinct departments; the City Watch, the Dragoon Peacekeepers and the Imperial Guard. As opposed to most nations’ police forces they are not a branch of the military but operate separately from the Union Army.
The City Watch
City Watch officers perform a number of duties including but not limited to law enforcement, firefighting, and riot control. They are armed with Rukh Salzburg Mk XII Revolvers and lead weighted hardwood truncheons. The average street watchman is not exceptionally well trained, but will have a lot of experience in close quarter combat from the Watch’s regular run-ins with the many street gangs that plague the Union cities; never -ever- assume that a watchman won’t fight dirty.
The Dragoon Peacekeepers
Peacekeepers are mounted police units who patrol the Union’s roads and borders as well as its smaller towns and villages. Their weapon loadouts are typically more varied than the urban police officers’ but they usually include a Rukh Salzburg Mk IX Revolver and a sabre. Peacekeepers ordinarily ride horses but in some regions they prefer the use of more exotic mounts like camels or reindeer, with rare units even using Emerged creatures such as Unicorns, Mares of Diomedes or Alpine Drakes. While the Peacekeepers are well trained and effective law enforcers they are also infamous for being easily corrupted; it’s easier to get away with taking a bribe when you’re out in the wilderness than in a crowded city.
The Imperial Guard
The last Emperor of the Union was deposed in the Coup of 1762 but the Imperial Guard that he instated remains to this day, mainly because it was one of the few good ideas he ever had. Imperial Guardsmen are recruited from the veterans of the Union Army and so are highly skilled and well trained units. Their main task is to watch over official buildings and high-ranking civil servants, but they are also occasionally called in to handle situations that the City Watch is unable to deal with such as city wide riots or the odd paramilitary group. The common advice given to those who run the risk of being confronted by the Guard is to leg it at the first sight of a blue coat.
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