Setting:CATastrophe/Bestiary

This is a list of animals suggested for the CATastrophe setting for the use of GMs who run games using the setting. Stats for various creatures per system will be given in the future if possible.

Animals

Phish

Small, photosynthetic fish. They like to hang out near the surface to bask in the sunlight and are exceptionally tasty. With the lack of algae and widespread kelp, they make up the foundation of several food chains in the Endless Blue.

Tankrabs

Tankrabs are massive armored crabs roughly the size of a large dog. With a shell one would need a crowbar to crack open and claws strong enough to tear through steel, they are not to be trifled with. While mostly docile, they become hostile when agitated. Their shells do make for good armor and dinnerware, though, making Tankrab hunting a profitable, if dangerous, venture.

Scuttlers

Occupying the other end of the crab spectrum are Scuttlers, small pest crabs that tend to get into everything, much like some crustacean variety of a rat. However, they are rather tasty and fun to chase, so many young kemomimi children spend their days hunting the little guys for sport and extra dinner. Some kemomimi might even keep one as a pet, due to their manageable size and omnivorous demeanor.

Discoslugs

Discoslugs are descendents of the modern day sea cucumber. Named after their bioluminescence and vibrant colors, discoslugs are often kept and cared for by kemomimi, who use them as organic lights. They also react strongly to sound - particularly music, changing the color and intensity of their glow to match the rhythm. This makes them a big hit and must-have accessory to parties.

Kleptomanders

Perhaps one of the biggest banes on the kemomimi is the kleptomander. Its midnight black body is nearly impossible to see either in the darkened depths where they make their home or in the dead of night when they surface. They use their six spindly - and surprisingly dextrous - legs to pilfer any electrical item they can and hoard it in their deep sea nests. It is believed they somehow feed off the energy these items, due to their tendency to show up in any ruins with a high concentration of Shinies. While it is a well documented fact that they pilfer Shinies, kleptomanders have achieved superstitious status in many kemomimi settlements, where everything from misplaced items to mechanical issues being blamed on them. Some are even used as a boogeyman of sorts to scare kemomimi children into behaving themselves. As much as any kemomimi behaves themselves, anyways.

Electrolotls

While the Electrolotl resembles its Axolotl ancestor in appearance, it has undergone a variety of changes. It’s ’’gills’’ have become a sensor array, able to detect electrical signals and it they now come as big as a small horse or as small as toy dog breed. They are often used by Kemomimis for their sensitivity to electronics to ’’sniff out’’ old tech when going on dives, but for reasons unknown kleptomanders seem to be virtually invisible to them.

Glowchomps

Bioluminescent sharks who hunt in packs. I don't know if we really ever expanded on them or if we should include them due to them being shamelessly ripped whole cloth from The Future is Wild and given a different name.

Raydudes

Loyal and eager to serve, raydudes would likely be known as "waterdogs" if kemomimis knew what dogs were. Or rather, dogs would be known as "land rays". A descendent of the manta ray, raydudes are a species of ray that has been domesticated by the kemomimi and come in a variety of vibrant colors. While occasionally used as pack animals, they are first and foremost used for travel. Their agile, muscular bodies can support the weight of a kemomimi as they skim across the surface of the Endless Blue like a self propelled surfboard. Raydude surfing is a common and beloved pastime for kemomimi around the world, with Raydude Racing being one of the few recognized sports with actual rules in kemomimi culture.

Rockskimmer penguins

Not all animals died in the wake of the catastrophe, some even adapted beautifully to this new world, like the Rockhopper Penguin. Living in a region of long, flat rooftops and the tops of what were once cliff faces, the Rockskimmer Penguins use the long stretches of land to build up speeds great enough to propel their gargantuan bodies bouncing across the water like a skipping stone. After a few bounces, they level out and skim across the surface of the ocean, scooping up the Phish that lurk just beneath the ocean surface in their beaks. How they manage to maintain their velocity during all this is unknown because kemomimi don't particularly care.

===Grumpy Tortoises=== (working name?) While raydudes are occasionally used to transport goods, grumpy tortoises are famous for it. Large and obstinate, these turtles are able to heft a great deal, but they are stubborn and not easily motivated to travel. The few kemomimi with enough patience to actually corral grumpy tortoises into action are few and far between and as a result of this typically become famed merchants that even pirates will think twice about attacking.

Sunfish

Sunfish, oddly enough, have remained mostly unchanged over the years. Some places keep them as pets while others revere them as symbols of good luck. A similar holdover from the past is the ever resilient coelacanth.

Corrosive Discoslugs

A subspecies of the discoslug, corrosive discoslugs feed on metals that they spit up digestive enzymes on and slurp up the resulting goo. Most infamous of these is Neonhoggr, the City-Eater (this section can probably be appended to the discoslug section, I just forgot to include them)

Dunkleosteus

Even odder than the sunfish are the reemergence of several prehistoric fish, such as the dunkleosteus. Nobody knows what has effected this inexplicable return, mostly because nobody alive knows its out of the ordinary.

Seacows

Seacows are mutated or intentionally modified manatees. They have udders and limited amphibious capabilities. They produce milk and typically feed on kelp. Many kemonomimi settlements keep Seacows around for their precious milk.

Waddlers

Waddlers are penguins, penguins have flourished in the conditions of the Endless Blue and have become a common sight in most kemo settlements. Whether they are kept for their eggs or harvested for their meat waddlers are a constant companion to Kemonomimi civilization

Inkers

Inkers are domesticated versions of octopi, cuttlefish, and squid. They are typically kept by kemonomimi for their meat and ink and even their eggs.

Seagulls & other oceanic birds

All the old species of common oceanic birds are still in existence gulls, pelicans, and albatross are a common sight on the Endless Blue. But they now sport colorful tropical feathers much like modern macaws. Birds like Doves and Sparrows are no different and are also a common sight, though they are usually seen in cities.

Riptrout

Form schools of quick moving fish that when startled create a short-term riptide as they move. Occasionally cause ruins to collapse as they pass in these underwater stampedes.

Wild Inkers

Cuttlefish, Octopi, and Squid are fairly common in the ednless blue and have, if anything, become even more intelligent. Some going so far as to form mating pairs and to care for their young until they reach adolescence. The main issue with wild inkers though is that they are curious, and have a fondness for shiny or brightly colored items. As such they will gather these items in their nests and steal them from divers.

Foul Fowl

There are many kinds of birds that stick around Kemonomimi settlements, Doves, Sparrows, Gulls, Pelicans, Albatross, and all manner of other birds. These days though they tend to sport bright colorful plumage. You know what else stick around Kemonomimi settlements? Magpies and similar species. They have a nasty tendency to steal shiny and even normally laid back Kemonomimi will hanker for roast bird when these creatures show their face.

Hugtopi &Cuddlesquids

Hugtopi/Cuddlesquids are unusually affectionate species of molusc that will seize wandering divers and cuddle them until they break free or are rendered unconcious by lack of breathable air upon which point they'll be returned to the surface.

Plants

Wandering Palms

Wandering palms are coconut palm trees that have gained the ability to walk using a modified version of their root systems. They are fairly common sights on islands and in coastal areas and are known to bind themselves together into enormous rafts that some Kemonomimi use as a base for mobile villages.

Floaties

Floaties are plants which naturally produce hydrogen in a large pod on the back of the plant's main body. The pod is full of cells of both nitrogen and hydrogen so in the event of a puncture by some incendiery substance the hydrogen is mixed with an inert has so it can't do much in the way of damage. Floaties are sometimes harnessed by Kemos as a source of flight or fuel, they're a common sight to the rare Kemonomimis who have airships or balloons at their disposal and completely harmless.

Mechanicals

Oldguards

While not strictly animals, they are a dangerous inhabitant of the Endless Blue all the same. Oldguards are leftover machines for the Earless Era that still guard their ruins to this day and, much to the dismay of Shiny Divers, recognize kemomimi as intruders. While there are still some harmless and even beneficial Oldguards in existence - such as those who run the Akadmee - most are destructive security bots who will defend their homes until they cease to function.

SWATBots

Some ruins have, through being large or watertght have dry sections full of Pre-Flood tech. Easy pickings Right? Wrong. SWATBots are security 'droids which patrol earless ruins, they will stun, apprehend, and imprison Kemos for a brief period if they are caught. Only use of commands in the Earless language combined wth technical knowhow can fend them off. It is however quite feasible to defeat them in combat or sneak past them however, but you'd need a group of heavily armed Kemonomimi in the former case or skill in stealth in the latter.

Floatguards

They are surveillance oldguard that float on the surface like bouys with inflating rings around their cylindrical form. They have cameras on their top and bottom to observe passing dive ships and divers. They are usually a sign of Old Guard activity.

PDA

Personal 'Droid Assitants are robotic assistants which are a combination of Pet, Android/Gynoid, and personal computer. They come in many shapes and sizes varying from fairies with antigrav hover devices to fully functional and somewhat eery copies of Kemonomimi. They are capable of tutoring Kemos in basic subjects, helping them tidy up, and keep schedules.

Silver Snakes

These creatures aren't snakes, they're robotic drones that bear a mild resemblance to snakes. They come equipped with cameras, microphones and a small suite of tools designed aid in sabotage. They're waterproof and capable of making copies of themselves. Some Kemonomim use them for spare parts, others just destroy them. Either way they're nuisance.

Stalkers

These are large (300+ Tons) amphibious spider robots that stick to a designated area and guard it with extreme prejudice. They will also chase anyone who takes anything that they have been tasked to guard, often they will continue this chase until the item is recovered or they are destroyed.

AIs

Artifical Intelligences are usually tasked with tending to shops, guarding visitors, educating children or one of many other tasks. They tend to speak the major earless langauge of the region they are localized in and rarely understand Kemospeak. That said it is not unusual for Kemonomimi to come to agreements with AI who are not malfunctioning (or who are malfunctioning in exactly the right kind of manner)

>Subtype - Massive Whether by nature, mutation, or even artificial means, some animals in the Endless Blue appear to have no upper limit to their growth. The most infamous of these is Neonhoggr, the massive corrosive discoslug big enough to devour entire settlements. >Get creative and have fun! This list is by no means a definitive list of all the creatures in the Endless Blue. If you think the perfect thing to throw at your players would be an overly affectionate cuttlefish that bewilders and entrances kemomimi with rainbow colored ink, a moray eel with multiple heads like a hydra, or a mantis shrimp that has developed its claws into sonic pistols, then by all means include them. The most important rule of CATastrophe is to have fun.