Folihydra

Rakvél Tennur

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Folihydra

« on: 18 February 2015, 16:00:34 »

Overview:
This is what happens when Nature feels the urge of being cruel, when the Gods decide that a touch of insanity is what this world needs. This hellish spawn is hard to classify, for it looks like a gigantic vine with all of its humongous tendrils converging into a single body, but it moves, breathes, and feeds like the most terrible beasts that walk the lands of Sarvonia.

Appearance:
This humongous creation seems to be the size of a small mountain and extends with roots and vines like tentacles for large, dense forest areas. This creature is as much an animal as it is a plant, it is completely green, from it's stalk and head, to the very last nailsbreath of its tendrils, covered in what feels like the intermediate point between moss and fur.

The head is similar to that of a whale, however the Folihydra has teeth, at the very least a row of sharp, white, stone-like teeth which we presume are used to devour and crush large prey such as deer and perhaps even bear. It has no discernible eyes, however the fact that it can accurately tell where to strike to catch its prey suggests that it has some way to tell where it is moving to.

Special Abilities:
Being so big, this creature is astonishingly hard to find, this is because it has the unusual ability of looking like a huge rock, indistinguishable of others until it moves, which is also another unusual ability, since the size seems to do nothing to slow down this abomination, its tentacles move with the speed of a whip and hurt even worse, curling around the victim before dragging it to its awaiting maw.

Territory:
While encountered somewhat frequently by travelers that delve in the depths of the warm, humid forests of Sarvonia, they don't seem to develop well in the colder weathers of the Northern lands, nor in the arid deserts by the South, thus making it a creature of the central portions of the continent, often reaching to the shores. Its need to remain hidden to hunt makes it prefer dense forests and marshes, where it can make its tendrils pass as vines and its body as a huge mossy rock.

Behavior:
Territorial and aggressive with anything that comes close to it, with the natural exception of dragons and other fire-breathing or fire-wielding creatures, to whom it attempts to remain concealed. This creature destroys others of its kind that happen to sprout within its territory, however since it cannot abandon its sprouting spot due to its sheer size and weight, the clash of two mature Folihydras remains unobserved.

Diet:
Whatever it can swallow whole, which is most any other creature in the forests they inhabit, however it seems they only need to eat once every month. It has a predilection for large deer-like and horse-like creatures, presumably due to how easy it is to snare them without fear of claws or fangs that could harm its tendrils.

Mating:
Unobserved, presumably it doesn't mate, but rather reproduces like a plant, adding more mystery and challenge to the classification of this creature.

Usages:
The moss-fur of this creature is used by human hunters to camouflage in the dense forests with great results, and wizards find use of its sap-blood and teeth in alchemical preparations to provide strength, although legends claim that drinking the unadulterated sap-blood can drive the drinker into a mad murderous frenzy that culminates with its death by exhaustion.


« Last Edit: 17 April 2015, 16:45:48 by Rakvél Tennur »	Logged

Ta`lia of the Seven Jewels

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Re: Folihydra

« Reply #1 on: 19 February 2015, 04:34:10 »

Looks very interesting! Cool start.

Please mention where it lives in the overview!


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Ankhi Doomhand

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Re: Folihydra

« Reply #2 on: 19 February 2015, 14:06:02 »

Overview:
This is what happens when Nature feels the urge of being cruel, when the Gods decide that a touch of insanity is what this world needs. This hellish spawn is hard to classify, for it looks like a gigantic vine with all of its humongous tendrils converging into a single body, but it moves, breathes, and feeds like the most terrible beasts that walk the lands of Sarvonia.

Appearance:
Standing as tall as a small mountain, close to the 15 peds in height, and extending with roots and vines like tentacles for at least 30 peds in length, this creature is as much an animal as it is a plant. It is completely green, from it's stalk and head, to the very last nailsbreath of its tendrils, covered in what feels like the intermediate point between moss and fur.

15 peds is a small mountain? I would suggest changing it to "It appears to be as large as a small mountain." Or something to that effect.

The head is similar to that of a whale, however the Folihydra has teeth, at the very least a row of sharp, white, stone-like teeth, which we presume are used to devour and crush large prey such as deer and perhaps even bear. It has no discernible eyes, however the fact that it can accurately tell where to strike to catch its prey with pinpoint accuracy suggests that it has some way to tell where it is moving to.

You have "accurately tell" and "with pinpoint accuracy" in the same sentence

Special Abilities:

Territory:
The few encounters with this humongous creature suggest that it lives in the warm forests of Sarvonia, close to rivers and lakes where its roots can absorb the water necessary to sustain this monster.

Based on this sentence, I would assume that very few if any detailed studies have been done on this beast, but based on the diet section, someone has been able to track one (or a group) for a few months at least to get that "once a month" statistic. IMO you should say it is studied and encountered at least somewhat often, as it gives you more freedom to elaborate on things like its abilities and usages. Also keep in mind that when very little is known about something, stories are usually made to fill in the gaps, so if you do choose to keep it rare, there would probably be a story to tell about it in a Myths section. Just a suggestion

Behavior:
Territorial and aggressive with anything that comes close to it.

Diet:
Whatever it can swallow whole, which is most any other creature in the forests they inhabit, however it seems they only need to eat once every month.

Mating:
Unobserved, presumably it doesn't mate, but rather reproduces like a plant, adding more mystery and challenge to the classification of this creature.

Pretty nice looking so far. I would suggest that you elaborate a little bit more on a few things though, like the behavior. How about how it acts towards others of its own species? Or things it can tell is stronger than it? Interesting concept, looking forward to how it plays out.


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Rakvél Tennur

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Re: Folihydra

« Reply #3 on: 19 February 2015, 15:09:19 »

Thanks for the observations Ankhi, and I'm glad you like this idea Ta'lia, I'll fix these observations today and try to finish it =D


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Rakvél Tennur

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Re: Folihydra

« Reply #4 on: 17 April 2015, 16:47:19 »

Did the edits and added some more information, sorry for disappearing for so long, university exams and homework piles are more challenging to bring down than one of these creatures


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Val O´Neil

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Re: Folihydra

« Reply #5 on: 22 November 2015, 17:08:12 »

Okay, I know that this post is pretty old... But I love this creature, with all of my little butterflutter heart... And I fully intend on making an adorable moth that lives on it, like pilot fish to a whale. So, please, for the love of Qu'prur... I hope this awesome devver comes back to help breathe life back into the boards.

Quote from: Rakvél Tennur on 18 February 2015, 16:00:34

Comments, suggestions and corrections shall be made lovely in Lime!

Overview:
This is what happens when Nature feels the urge of being<"to be" cruel, when the Gods decide that a touch of insanity is what this world needs. This hellish spawn is hard to classify, for it looks like a gigantic vine with all of its humongous tendrils converging into a single body, but it moves, breathes, and feeds like the most terrible beasts that walk the lands of Sarvonia.<this is a little bit of a run-on. Try to break it up into two sentences if you can, or maybe just a cleverly placed semicolon is all you need.

Appearance:
This humongous creation seems to be the size of a small mountain and extends with roots and vines like tentacles for large, dense forest areas. This creature is as much an animal as it is a plant, it is completely green, from it's stalk and head, to the very last nailsbreath of its tendrils, covered in what feels like the intermediate point between moss and fur.<another run-on sentence.

The head is similar to that of a whale, however the Folihydra has teeth, at the very least<at the very least? But you just stated that it does, in fact, have teeth. Instead, I would suggest ending the sentence at the comma after "teeth", and continuing on with the next sentence to describe the teeth. a row of sharp, white, stone-like teeth which we presume are used to devour and crush large prey such as deer and perhaps even bear. It has no discernible eyes, however the fact that it can accurately tell where to strike to catch its prey suggests that it has some way to tell where it is moving to.<"suggests that is has some method of sensing its surrounds which simply has not been discovered yet."? Just a suggestion, as it would not only need to see where its moving but also where its prey is as well.

Note:: In the next section, you say that the Folihydra is oft mistaken for a huge rock, but in the Appearance section it sounds more as if it is more readily mistaken for a large bush or mass of vines. With both sections combined, I am thinking that the creatures large head is what looks like a rock, and it's body (the tentacles with which is manuvuers about and Qu'prur-knows-what-else its body consists of) is what looks like large vines snaking out into the forest. However, this is not clearly stated in the appearance section. Perhaps you could define the color of its head and add a few other details in that would define it just a smidgen more..

Special Abilities:
Being so big, this creature is astonishingly hard to find,<period. | .capitalize>this is because it has the unusual ability of looking like a huge rock, indistinguishable of others until it moves,<period. | ."Movement could also be considered another special ability"? Perhaps?>which is also another unusual ability, since the size seems to do nothing to slow down this abomination, its tentacles move with the speed of a whip and hurt even worse, curling around the victim before dragging it to its awaiting maw.

Territory:
While encountered somewhat frequently by travelers that delve in the depths of the warm, humid forests of Sarvonia, they<the creature don't<doesn't seem to develop well in the colder weathers of the Northern lands,<period. | .capitalize>nor do/can they thrive in the arid deserts by the South, thus making it a creature of the central portions of the continent, often reaching to the shores. Its need to remain hidden to hunt makes it prefer dense forests and marshes, where it can make its tendrils pass as vines and its body as a huge mossy rock.

Behavior:
The Folihydra is territorial and aggressive with<towards anything that comes close to it, with the natural exception of dragons and other fire-breathing or fire-wielding creatures, to whom it attempts to remain concealed.<How does it detect that the creature approaching it has a fire ability? Regardless of whether the specifics of this ability are known, it should also be listed in the Special Abilities section. This creature destroys others of its kind that happen to sprout within its territory, however since it cannot abandon its sprouting spot due to its sheer size and weight, the clash of two mature Folihydras remains unobserved. This makes it seem as though this creature not only is hulking in size, but also spans a very wide area. As such, I am curious as to whether you could perhaps include in the Appearance Section how long it's limbs extend. Perhaps not an exact measurement, but a roundabout guess as to the length of its reach. Assuming that its reach is circular, as it extends out in all directions away from its body, perhaps you could determine an average diameter for its territory.

Another random thought: perhaps the further the limb is stretched away from the body, the weaker it is. So, perhaps prey snared at the outskirts of its reach would have somewhat of a chance to escape? This, however, is a mere suggestion and it is completely up to you as to what you would like to add or what-have-you.

Diet:
Its diet consists of whatever it can swallow whole, which is most any other creature in the forests they inhabit,<period. | .capitalize>however<comma it seems they only need to eat once every month. It has a predilection for large deer-like and horse-like creatures, presumably due to how easy it is to snare them without fear of claws or fangs that could harm its tendrils.

Mating:
Unobserved, presumably it doesn't mate, but rather reproduces like a plant, adding more mystery and challenge to the classification of this creature.<This is a curious mix of an incomplete and run-on sentence, as it seems more like bullet-points rather than a fully formed section.

The procreation method of this creature can remain a mystery, but I personally would love to see this section expanded upon with some random and perhapsibly even wild speculations. Perhaps they never truly die! Perhaps where they sprout is merely one bud from the same seed! When you cut down one and seemingly "uproot" it, perhaps it simply sprouts a new body elsewhere! Perhaps in spring it shoots seeds far up into the sky to be taken by the wind and take root somewhere far away! But... speculation is ultimately up to you, and I thoroughly look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Usages:
The moss-fur of this creature is used by human hunters to camouflage in the dense forests with great results, and wizards find use of its sap-blood and teeth in alchemical preparations to provide strength, although legends claim that drinking the unadulterated sap-blood can drive the drinker into a mad murderous frenzy that culminates with its death by exhaustion.<This is a run-on sentence. Perhaps you could break it up into two or three separate sentences.

I. Love. This. Creature.
I want one.
It is so magnificent and beautiful to me, please finish it! I am so excited to see its finished product. Perhaps you could give it magical properties, even! I don't even know, but I love it and I am thoroughly pleased by its existence.

I look forward to its completion.


« Last Edit: 23 November 2015, 10:52:12 by Val O´Neil »	Logged

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Coren FrozenZephyr

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Re: Folihydra

« Reply #6 on: 22 November 2015, 17:52:04 »

I agree, it's a very cool beast. Perhaps you could reach out to him Val?


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Val O´Neil

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Re: Folihydra

« Reply #7 on: 22 November 2015, 18:09:16 »

That is a splendid idea, Coren! And I very well shall- teehee, right after I finish this comment. I can only do little snippets of it at a time as I am at work buck

and should not be on here. *Giggles and rolls her eyes.*


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Folihydra