Friday, 8 September 2023

Forest Lobster


Weight: 2kg. Length: body 40cm + tail 30cm. Has a semi-rigid shell which acts as a strong and somewhat flexible exoskeleton. Dioecious reproduction. Partners up to get offspring, and stay together during 3 months gestation, after which the litter of 400 - 600 small "prawn" are ejected into lake water. These prawn will attach themselves to marine animals, inject their own core, the "larvae" into the animal, and then spend up to a year as a parasite. About 2% of the prawn reach the state where they can grow sufficiently in a big enough host animal. This is followed by a marine phase on the lake bottom, where the animal grows to full size in about nine months, and its shell hardens while it feeds from vegetation and carrion. During this time, it gets oxygen through large, feather-like gills, which are discarded when it moves out of the water for its adult, land based life which normally lasts 10 to 20 years.

The male forest lobsters dance, clattering with its claws raised in the air, provoking other forest lobster males, or other larger animals, to impress females or die trying. Male forest lobsters will maim other males, usually by cutting off a claw, but it will never attack other animals it is provoking, unless it gets attacked. If attacked by other animals, it will never back off, and will fight to its death. Such evens aren't unusual since it's terribly annoying. This behaviour leads to a ratio of 3:1 females to males in the adult population, and this is countered by the fact that females need a six month recovery period after each gestation.


Hits: 5

Speed: 3m 

Skills: 

Attacks: Claws (D3)

Traits: Alarm, Armour (2), Small (-3)

Behaviour: Gatherer




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