With our ecologies we want to give you a glimpse into the rich and exciting worlds that make up Splintered Serenity by showing you some of the wild and weird creatures that inhabit its various realms. What's more, since Splintered Serenity is an Open Campaign Setting, we want to involve you! We'd love to feature fan-submitted articles based on our original concepts or even concepts created wholly by you! Check out our forums for more information!
Snaighim
"Gather 'round, lil'un's...and perk yer ears! Ol' Benlee, da Storyspinner's is gonna tell'us da tale o'da Swamp Demons! Da' Snaighim!"
- Samsus, Churl Shaman
The Flux has twisted several creatures from across Apoc Earth and the Great Machine into perversions of what they once were. Ai, mysteriously, has seemed mostly immune to its ravaging energies; and while several L’na have been transported elsewhere, only a few cases are known of L’na being twisted by the Flux. However, the appearance of the Snaighim could well alter that belief.
Wrecker
"The worst part? They're the frackin' foot soldiers of the Flux..."
- Sgt. Skinner, grim-faced.
Many believe the tainting influence of the Flux to be solely subtle and slow working, akin to a poison. However, the Flux also contains the capabilities of tremendous strength and terrible destruction. The avatars of this devilish might and power are known as Wreckers: each of them a massive, walking hill of a beast capable of leveling entire towns and fortresses completely on their own.
Flux-tainted Churl
I have harnessed the shadows that stride from world to world to sow death and madness... -H.P. Lovecraft, "From Beyond"
The Flux. Insanity incarnate. To many, the Flux is merely an abstract energy source that causes bad things to happen and that occasionally opens rifts into realms beyond our own. A conduit used by the Externals to worm their way into the triune universes of Earth, Ai, and the Great Machine. However, the Flux is much, much more than just that. The Flux is also a diabolical power that possess the potential to taint the souls of men and twist their bodies into utter abominations. Usually these things are flukes; abberant events which are the predictable outcome of injecting such an unstable and warping energy source into a world populate with fragile, fleshly beings.
Tasmanian Devil
"I...I don't understand this place..."
The young Apoc could not have seen more than twenty seasons. I could smell the distrust on her. The fear thickened and slowed her words, but quickened her eyes. She had good reason to be frightened. Not of me, of course - unless there was ill will in her heart for my brood - I did not think this was true. It was the orange doorway that had frightened her - the passage through the bad dream-time that she had taken. Luckily, she stepped out of the fiery hole onto dry land and not over the unending waters.
Bone Snapper
Rumors have recently arose of large and obscenely muscled undead with root-like tissue protruding from their stumped arms, entwined around slabs of stone or other large inorganic objects. These large, undead wrecking balls have so far proved a harder nightmare to overcome for the NAU, as these fusions of flesh and stone appear stronger than their purely carnal cousins. With the arrival of such brutal and stalwart aggressors, the NAU finds the former solace of the dormant graveyards quickly fading into nothingness.
Why the graveyards have become breeding grounds for the undead after generations of seemingly inactivity, and their surprisingly enhanced strength, has sparked heated debates among the NAU scientists, with little consensus. The resolute strength and rigor of these undead shatters armor, splits flesh and snaps bone like dry sticks, hence the collective name given to these novel terrors: Bone Snapper.
Apoc Elk
Many creatures of Apoc Earth began as predators and evolved to become super predators, unleashing a reign of terror across the globe. But these creatures must prey on something, besides unfortunate humans or L'na, and these leaps in evolution must in most cases be a reaction to help them further prey on other creatures. When one observes the Apoc Elk, one can clearly see why predators have changed in such drastic ways.
Varm
Thought to be a direct result of the Event, varms are strange small creatures that are known for their sheer numbers and ubiquitous natures, their unbridled ferocity and devilishness and their odd, yet predictable behavior. To look at them, however, varms initially appear anything but these things: they are small creatures, usually at their largest being no more than a foot-and-a-half in height and weighing between fifteen and eighteen pounds. Visually, they resemble nothing so much as small primates, with long arms and exceedingly dexterous hands that seem perfect for grasping and clutching. Many varms display striking coloration and patterns on their downy pelts and several species even possess wings and short prehensile tails.
Slime Lord
The nature of the Flux is constant change. Inconsistency is consistent within the Flux. New horrors are being unleashed in the various realms of existence all the time, forcing those within them to fight a constant war against an unintelligible enemy. The most recent horrors to appear out of the Flux are the Slime Lords.
Named for the disgusting slime that constantly excretes from their bodies, Slime Lords are massive hydra-like beings with an unfathomable sentience, an insatiable hunger, and burning desire to destroy everything. These foul beasts rule over the lesser Flux creatures as demi-gods, collecting followers and demanding sacrifices.
Deepshiner
Many creatures of Apoc Earth have an alien appearance and cruel characteristics, most of which were developed in response to the harsher environs of post-Event Earth. The deepshiner is a creature whose evolution and characteristics are truly bizarre but for all intents and purposes, seems to be the result of natural processes.
Deepshiners are odd creatures. Named for the light they give off from a special orb like organs on their body and tentacles, they resemble cephalopods in look and physiology, but also possess characteristics common in fungi. Deepshiners are found in deep water swamps and wetlands, and occasionally estuaries. Deepshiners are nocturnal, remaining in deep murky water during the day time hours. Genderless, adult Deepshiners can reach mammoth proportions, their growth restricted only by diet and environment. If given proper room and prey, a Deepshiner can reach several tons, and their outer tentacles growing to be several miles in length.