Fauna and Flora [☠ Mutation ☠][CLOSED]

[Vanquaria]

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IC - Discord - Theme - OOC

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My theory is that most animal and plant life was entirely wiped out. The hardy species that did manage to cling to life mutated rapidly. The zone is now dominated by tough, low lying plants that have developed varying levels of toxins and tough leaves to prevent themselves from being eaten. Most now have carrion flowers to attract flesh flies and beetles because the typical pollinators like butterflies were too sensitive to survive the change. Those that did now have carnivorous caterpillars or toxic ones adapted to eating the nasty plants. Many of the larger plants are now carnivorous in nature.

Fungi took advantage and rapidly evolved. Some are benign and even attractive, but some parasitic varieties adapted to hosting on higher animals, including people, affecting the mind and eventually bursting from the host. Others have highly toxic spoors.

Rats are still with us in a variety of shapes and sizes. Their naturally adaptive and aggressive nature served them well. Don’t sleep alone.

Insects are still themselves for the most part. Others are large and unpleasant. You may need a bigger shoe. - Urran

Credits to Urran for most of these

Bestiary

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[Vanquaria]

Credits to Urran for these

Botany

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[Vanquaria]

Species

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Created by Anowa

Metacordyceps Epsilon is a species of fungus rather terrifyingly adapted to that of the human form. Brief exposure to spores and the mycotoxins they emit can lead to the following: Auditory hallucinations, visual hallucinations, fatigue, headache, muscle spasms, shortness of breath. Mild exposure is generally capable of being fought off by the immune system within a few weeks, or days with those of a hardier constitution. While the spores cannot permeate the skin of humans, the mycotoxin can.

The more terrifying event comes from that of extended exposure. After sufficient biomass is inhaled, the spores take root in some, but not all of the pulmonary system. After roughly 2 hours the afflicted will start to lose self-control as the mycotoxins and spores reach the brain. Aggression and sensory hypersensitivity begin to increase exponentially. Within 5 hours the afflicted become irrecoverably infected, and no amount of anti-fungal treatment will save them.

As their upper respiratory and digestive tracts are rooted with fungus, any bite will result in infection, requiring immediate anti-fungal, and antibiotic treatment to avoid a similar fate. The timeframe for irrecoverable infection via bit is roughly 3 hours due to blood contamination.

After roughly 15 days, an afflicted individual will collapse due to a lack of oxygen as the fungus takes over a majority of their respiratory system. The fungal infection will then root the afflicted to the ground over a period of 17 hours, and use the hosts' lungs and biomass to further spread the spores for further infection. Damning the host to become a living, breathing, garden, retaining consciousness, though barely.


Dictyostelia Necrophilia is a amoebic plasmodium with a rather unique mutation. Due to their nature of being able to bond and form a unicellular organism, they've adapted to digest and process living tissue due to the lack of viable food sources after almost 70 years. As such, contact with the protista is incredibly dangerous.

Less than 5 seconds of contact with unprotected tissue will result in the beginnings of infection. At which point amputation or sterilization of the site beyond rational measures. If the proper measures are not taken, the cells of the organism will slowly be replaced by the mold cells, retaining only protein structures. Skeletal muscle cells, nerve cells and skeletal cells are the only cells which remain unaffected. Essentially leaving a shambling transmission vector with a skin thick layer of transparent slime mold as a dermis.

While unsure exactly how, it appears as if the plasmodium hijacks motor controls and leaves a blind zombie to wander

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Created by Gudmund

Canetis Cervus is a subspecies of humanoid deer adapted to hunting noise sensitive animals (i.e. bats, owls, mice, dogs). Due to its mutated biology the creature can produce prolonged screeches over 190dB, or bursts of sounds ranging between 200-250dB. Despite this their unique way of using sonic attacks limits the sound to around 50km. Commonly referred to as the Wendigo, Canetis are primarily nocturnal and rest during the day, having developed great camouflage in dark forest environments. They are rare to come across, usually hiding from large groups.

On average they have an upright height of 185cm and a weight of 96kg, however, they normally move on all fours at capable of reaching speeds between 20-35kmh. The ribcage and skull of the Canetis visibly protrude from the body, which provides ample room for their large lungs and vocal cords, while forcing noise to be projected into a cone that greatly reduces the amount of sound heading in all directions. The ears of a Canetis can be temporarily deactivated to prevent self-inflicted damage from their own sonic attack. The back legs remain that of a deer, whereas the front limbs looks similar to humanoid arms. Not only do they have pack mentality, they appeared to equal to or above the intelligence of a capuchin monkey.

Field reports dictate that Canetis are difficult to track, the calls seemingly coming from all directions, and their footprints being very erratic. While the official diet is unknown, they are believed to have evolved into omnivores due to the lack of readily available fauna; a fact reinforced by the carcusses and missing animals within their territory. Canetis hunting involves deafening the prey by bursting its eardrums, hit and run tactics, or overpowering the target and mauling them to death. A direct sonic blast from 20 metres has been compared to being kicked in the stomach. Should you find yourself being hunted by a pack of Canetis, it is advised to hide, stay away from water, and to use ear plugs of a high NRR rating.

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Created by Lessoni

Panthera Artificium is a species of panther assumed to have descended from panthers kept in the Moscow zoo. It has evolved the ability to perfectly mimic any sound it hears, which it uses to draw prey into ambushes. Most specimens were found to hunt alone, though small packs of between 2-5 specimens have been seen to band together when food is plentiful.

Pantera Artificium has been observed to be larger than their none mutated cousins. They stand at an average of 3 feet at the shoulder, compared to the unmutated average of 2 feet, and average a length of 7 feet, compared to the average of 5'5. The evolutionary reasons for this growth are unknown, though it is hypothesized to be able to overpower larger prey. Their coloration is usually a solid black, though one albino specimen has been recorded.

If a specimen is encountered, it is recommended operators stay close to each other with constant radio check-ins. No voice not coming over radio is to be trusted. The panthers have all the speed and stealth expected of a big cat, though they don't appear to have evolved any especially durable skin or bones. As such, conventional weaponry is most likely sufficient to use against them.

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Created by Urran

Macroderma sp. mutus: a large species of bat believed to be a mutation of Macroderma gigas. The mouth has been enlarged, the legs transformed into strengthened wing extensions, and the eyes reduced in size. This species ranges in color from light purple, to dark brown, to pale white. Wingspan ranges from 3 feet for males to almost 6 for females. M. mutus has adapted to feed on not only insects, but also rodents, amphibians, and even other bats. The species can also feed on the blood and flesh of larger animals. The saliva of this particular species has an anticoagulant compound previously only seen in vampire bats, such as Desmodus rotundus. Further study is needed to determine what, if any, threat they pose to humans entering the zone.

Metacordyceps rodentia: a parasitic species of fungus mainly affecting rodents, this particular species is among the most benign in its genus. M. rodentia has a similar life cycle to other species. A host comes into contact with the spores, which then enter the bloodstream and begin to take over the nervous system, altering the behavior of the host until the fungal body bursts forth to release more spores. However, M. rodentia works more like M, parasectus in that the fungus does not kill the host, but rather takes over the body and mind, transforming the victim into a living fungal garden and slaves to the fungus. This particular species is only known to affect rodents and is rather attractive in appearance, being a pale purple or pale white. This delicate fungus feeds on grasses and other plants, forcing its host on a never ending quest for the green stuff. The fungus does possess the mind of its host and will fight back if captured. It also releases toxic compounds if disturbed, causing temporary blindness, numbness, and paralysis if inhaled.

Necrophilia sp. mutus: mutated from carrion beetles, M. mutus is a large, armored scavenger. The species retains its origins as an eater of corpses, laying eggs and raising its young in rotting carcasses, deriving all of its nutrition from the dead, the dying, and the fungus that decomposes carcasses. The species has a golden carapace with two black dots on the top. The underside is black with red eyespots and golden legs. Specimens have been found up two three feet in length. They spend most of their time buried in the ground or under rubble, coming out when they smell blood or the stench of rot. The species prefers its food cold, but will not be above feasting on a freshly killed or still dying victim if hungry. They are not considered to be any threat to healthy individuals, but may scratch and bite if disturbed or grabbed.

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Created by Solisian Union

Nightmare Cestoda - Tantibus Cestoda - Mutated from ordinary tapeworms, a member of this species can be described as large, flat and segmented worms that require a host to reproduce and infect other hosts. These worms are generally larger than their ordinary cousins and now possess the ability to directly infect hosts without the need to rely on having their eggs transfer to other hosts by their feces. They also do not seem as weak as their ordinary cousins as they have been observed to be able to live freely without hosts. They seem to seek out dark, warm areas, generally near some water, and swarm there to rest.

When inside the host, these creatures tape themselves to the digestive tract of the host and begin absorbing nutrients from the host's body and from the food that the host has taken.

Water too is absorbed by the parasites inside the host's body.

While inside, the parasites, once they have grown long enough, then cause the host to release more feces than usual, allowing some to exit their hosts and to repeat the cycle by moving to food and water sources to release their eggs. Sometimes, eggs remain in the faces of the host and lie in wait for other hosts.

These parasites, in their stage as larvae, may leave the intestines and move to other parts of the body such as muscles, brain or eyes. These creatures are also known for sometimes causing nightmares in the host should the larvae move close to the brain.
Their manner of infecting a host is by placing eggs into the food and water sources of the hosts. They do this with their segments called proglottids which grow and produce eggs.

[Vanquaria]

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Special Mutated Specimens

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◆☠ The Burrower ☠

DANGER LEVEL: 10

STATUS: ALIVE

◆☠ Wendigo Alpha (AKA Aldigo) ☠

DANGER LEVEL: 9

STATUS: ALIVE