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Entry tags:
March | Pre-Event: Build-a-Beastiary
Creature Creator
As part of the upcoming March event, all players will have the opportunity to contribute to the game's setting directly, by creating your own plants, animals, and ayakashi to be included in the game! These will become permanent additions to the setting, and can show up in threads outside of events, as well as during events or through Bonus AC rewards.
All entries will be added to the Flora and Fauna Page once submissions close!
Please read everything below carefully before asking questions!
• Each player will be allowed to create two entries of their choosing. You may choose an animal, a plant, or an ayakashi (but not two of the same category!). Don't worry if you can't decide which to pick, as there will be more opportunities to add to the setting in the future!
• You entry must include a name, a brief description, and a picture. Don't worry about the Japanese-text part of the code, unless you're comfortable enough with Japanese to fill it in yourself!
• Please try to find pictures that are longer than they are tall, if possible! While pictures will be auto-resized by the code, try not to use ones that are too big. For easy image hosting, try Imgur!
• You may choose to specify that your entry can only be found in a particular region, or whether it can be found throughout Nippon (eg. nekomata can be found throughout nippon, yumenu blossoms only grow in Chubu, etc).
• Your entry must fall in line with the guidelines below. If I feel the entry is better suited for another category, it will be moved (eg. an animal that is deemed too supernatural may be changed to an ayakashi instead).
• You may be asked to change entries that clash with the lore of the game (eg. Bakeneko and Tengu are races of people, and cannot be used as ayakashi or animals).
Animals
• Names must be in English, unless derived from an existing fantasy creature (eg. Dodongos are called Dodongos in the English version of the Legend of Zelda series games, while the Great Nippon Salamander is hanzaki in Japanese).
• Can be based on existing fantasy creatures or completely original.
• While they can have seemingly supernatural powers, they must be explained biologically (eg. Dodongos can breathe fire by producing a certain gas in their stomaches that becomes flammable when exposed to oxygen).
• Can be common livestock, popular small pets, city wildlife, mountain monsters, etc.
Rattle Pigeons ガラガラ鳩
Commonly seen in major cities across Nippon, Rattle Pigeons are carnivorous birds with small horns by their beaks. They possess the ability to unhinge their jaw like a snake to consume large prey. While generally harmless, the distinct rattle they produce when they eat is sometimes considered a bad omen.
Plants
• Names can be in Japanese or English, but must include what kind of plant they are in English (ie. Yumenu Blossoms instead of Yumenu no hana).
• Not sentient or capable of thought, but may be capable of movement or responding to touch (yes, this is where sexy vines can go).
• Can be used to create magic potions or induce magical effects when touched or eaten, but cannot cast spells and curses on their own.
• Can be common everyday fruits and vegetables, or wacky shit you'd only see deep in a forest.
Uki Weed 浮草
A fragrant plant whose leaves can be dried and smoked to produce a mild psychoactive effect. The scent it produces is strong, but not unpleasant. It's also sold in an oil form that can then be baked into food and candy, frequently given out at adult parties. Although heavily regulated in the Eastern kingdom, it's commonly used in religious ceremonies in the West, where Uki Bars dedicated to its use are just as common as traditional bars.
Ayakashi
• Names must be in Japanese and typically describe the ayakashi (eg. kaoseki means "face stone" and is a human face on a rock). If you're not comfortable making one yourself using online translators, list an English name and I will create a translation!
• Can be animal-like or plant-like, but they cannot be human-like and cannot speak. They can also appear as inanimate objects (eg. kaoseki look like rocks).
• Explicitly supernatural and capable of casting spells and curses. While not inherently evil, some are malicious and eat humans and yokai.
• They are not derived from spirits or ghosts, and cannot be traditionally exorcised. Only their curses can be cured or reversed (eg. nekomata are ordinary cats "possessed" by a nekomata parasite as kittens and cannot be turned back into normal cats).
• You must include an example curse, and how it can be cured. Consider what would be fun to play out in game when creating curses! They can be serious and deadly, or goofy and harmless.
• For game lore purposes, certain yokai such as kappa, yurei/ghosts, and famous movie kaiju cannot be used.
Kagebi 陰火
Known as the false fire ayakashi, the kagebi hides in unattended campfires and stoves, stealing the warmth from anyone who gets too close. Food cooked over a kagebi will never heat up, and those who are cursed by it will find themselves feeling colder and colder, until even the food they eat freezes solid in their mouth. While there are potions capable of undoing the curse, the body must be warmed up slowly, often requiring multiple days of hospitalization.
Resources
You do not have to use existing creatures/plants/yokai for your submissions, but these resources may be good for coming up with ideas!
• Mushi from the series Mushishi are a good approximation of how ayakashi are viewed in Nippon.
• Yokai.com is a good database of existing Yokai from Japanese mythology.
• Natsume Yuujinchou, while a better source for Yokai given how many are human-like, also contains beast-like creatures that could be inspirations for ayakashi.
• Legendary Creatures in Japan from good ol' wikipedia.
Please fill out the following form and reply to this comment to submit your entry! One entry per comment, please! The deadline for submissions is March 15th, while entries submitted before March 10th may show up in the March event itself!
(Note: The code being listed twice is intentional so there's an easy copy-paste form for me, and a visible list for people to see what's already been submitted! Please do not alter any of the HTML!)
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Questions?
ENTRY SUBMISSIONS
no subject
A plant that feels immense pain hearing loud noises. First it'll emit soundwaves that echo anyone near it making loud noises on hopes that they will be thrown off and stop yelling, kind of like a speech jammer. As a last defense, it'll throw out vines that wrap around and bind around whichever creatures are making the loud noise and force them together in hopes of getting them to kill each other faster and die. However, it's known to bind nearby bickering humans together as well because of this, giving it the nickname "Get-Along Vine" by the locals. It loosens after an hour or so of silence.
no subject
False silver dragon grass is found rarely throughout temperate regions of Gaia, growing close to the base of other plants. It can be distinguished from the less interesting silver dragon grass by its translucent, pink-red coloring. Any plant used as a host by false silver dragon grass will be rendered chemically and supernaturally ineffective, and the false silver dragon grass will instead concentrate and intensify those powers in itself. False silver dragon grass can be consumed (fresh, powered, or dried into tea) to experience intensified effects of the host plant (though there is always the risk that the false silver dragon grass you're consuming might not have the properties you expect, as once it is removed from its habitat, there's no way to distinguish what plant was used as a host plant). All attempts to cultivate this plant have failed, and thus it can command high prices when a wild-harvested specimen comes up for sale.
no subject
Commonly found in muddy water after rainstorms, the Ano is a small frog-like ayakashi. In its tadpole form, at no bigger than the head of a pin, it searches for warm, moist places to live while it develops. Those who fail to close their windows the night after a storm may awaken to find themselves deaf, blind, or mute due to the Ano taking refuge in their ears, eyes, and throat respectively. After a week, it emerges painlessly as an equally small frog, often while the person sleeps, returning their hearing, sight, and speech.
no subject
Found in forests and cities, urakage are ayakashi of utterly unknown shape due to their ability to hide behind absolutely anything. While legends claim they are vicious predators that stalk their prey through the forest and drag them away to their lairs to eat, all known modern urakage encounters result in an intense feeling of paranoia, as the targeted person feels like they're being followed and watched but is unable to find their pursuer. This feeling will continue indefinitely, or until the person targeted consumes enough alcohol to repel the urakage.
no subject
A clade of limbless squamate reptiles that resemble common snakes and are distributed all over Gaia. They can be differentiated from Serpentes by the presence of eyelids and their stockier, thicker bodies. Almost all tsuchinoko are extremely venomous, and those that aren’t mimic their dangerous cousins. Their demeanor varies from species to species. They can range from short and stubby to thick and long, and some possess venomous stingers on their tails. Despite their odd proportions, tsuchinoko can move quite quickly by rolling — either horizontally like a log, or by putting their tails in their mouths and rolling vertically like a wheel. This behavior accounts for their other common name, “Hoop Snake”. For some reason, almost all tsuchinoko can be baited and trapped using alcohol, and drunk fat snakes are just as hilarious as you can imagine.
no subject
A strange creature found deep in Gaia's forests, and sometimes in the tallest mountains, the Kirin is a hooved-beast with antlers and a combination of scales and short fur on its body. Though it is said to be enchanted, it is a rather peaceful herbivorous animal that does not target humans unless they are wicked. Meeting a Kirin may be seen as a good omen, though they prefer to live in packs of their own kind to stay safe.
no subject
These aggressive and predatory ayakashi are never something you want to run into alone. Making their habitats mostly in plains and forests, they've been known to skulk about small villages and residential areas at night, looking food and treasures to line their dens. They are cunning, and greedy creatures with a penchant for trickery and mischief. Extremely dangerous when hungry, these nasty fox spirits consume energy - whether it be magical energy or your very life force. Best to be avoided, Tube Foxes can be warded off by throwing several yen coins far enough away to distract them with a bribe of riches. Even a modest sum will catch the attention of their greed, but the best way to spook them is to deliver enough of a static shock to their bodies when they come close. The electrical energy startles and upset them, and they are quick to flee from thunderstorms and lightning.
no subject
A bizarre cross between a bear and earless dinosaur, Tickle MeHeHe prefers to live and breed in the walls of homes. Laughter attracts it and while they're generally harmless, their piercing stare and laugh can unnerve people. The size of the creature varies and they're known to nest in the beds of homes they take over.
no subject
A strange Ayakashi that can sometimes be found on roads. They don't do much besides hang from tree branches and occasionally drop down in front of travelers, letting out unholy screams and whinnies. Sometimes an unlucky traveler will end up stumbling away from such unfortunate encounters with a terrible fever, which will wear off on it's own.
no subject
Mario mushrooms can only be found deep in the forests of Chubu, and can grow up to twenty feet tall. When bumped, they release spores causing vivid hallucinations, such as one's deepest fears, deceased loved ones, and sexual fantasies, depending on whether the mushroom is purple, green, or red respectively. Moving into fresh air will stop the hallucinations. Their name is short for marionette, as it's believed they're capable of controlling the growth of the plants around them to suit their reproductive needs, like puppets on a string.
no subject
It stares at you. It stares at you. It stares at you. This plant is harvested in the warmer months and usually crushed and sprinkled into drinks to give you an energetic boost. You can run 5k, 10k, 25k! You feel like you can do anything!
Re: ENTRY SUBMISSIONS
An ayakashi resembling a toddler-sized 8-headed talking tsuchinoko with a blood red belly. Claims to be a direct descendant of Yamata no Orochi and demands respect accordingly. If proper deference is not given, or if Orocchoko feels insulted, it will lay a curse on the offending party. This curse transforms the unfortunate soul into an exceptionally fat little tsuchinoko that can speak, albeit with a hiss. Aside from apologizing profusely, there is only one way to remove the curse — by getting absolutely sloshed, to the point of passing out, on sake or beer. The cursed individual will awaken in their normal form with the worst hangover ever. Orocchoko’s venom, when added to drinks, causes the curse effect and is a popular prank amongst those who can afford the pricey item. It is unknown if Orocchoko is a single individual or many, but it appears all over Nippon. /p>
no subject
A peculiar ayakashi, Kurote appears as a large disembodied hand terminating at about the elbow and always covered in thick black hair. They make their homes in human toilets out of which they are known to stick themselves after their unwitting victim has assumed the position and proceed to pat, then stroke their unsuspecting victim's butt. Two strokes or less and the pattee is cursed and will not be able to use an actual bathroom for two days no matter how badly they feel they must go. The only way to dispel this curse is to hunt down and receive three or more strokes from a willing... hand. Three to five strokes is a blessing. Any bathroom related issues will disappear for a week and they will have consistently sparkling experiences when in any bathroom. At six, this ayakashi starts trying to pull its victim through the toilet. To what end, no one knows.
no subject
Reddish brown in color with a long stripe down its back and easily identified by the black spots running from its head to its neck, the aptly and delightfully punnily named "slug whale" is a slug large enough to leave behind enormous slime trails nearly one hundred hiro -- that is, one hundred and eighty-two meters in length. Much like normal slugs, they make their homes in homes and gardens, enjoy a diet of leaves and plants, and crawl all over things, leaving slime trails in their wake. Be sure not to confuse it with kujira no hyakuhiro -- a dish made from whale intestines translated "whale's 100 hiro" -- or rather, a good meal; however, the slime these slugs secrete is widely known to possess potent cooling properties. Today, it's most popularly marketed as Slube, a natural coolant powering refrigerators and air conditioners, and Slubenol, the powdered fever reducer. Slube may also be found in certain -- ahem -- other lubricants, so be cool about your neighborhood whale slugs! They're always cool to you.
I can't believe you made me do this
A vined plant that thrives off warmth. Because of that, it seeks it out by grabbing onto whatever warm living bodies pass by, implanting it's seeds with long, slimy tentacles that can change shape to prevent being pulled out before the process is done. It releases a pollen that has aphrodisiacal properties, making those it captures more relaxed and pliant. There are male and female plants, so only some of them have seeds, and different varieties have differently shaped vines.
no subject
These bees tend to manifest in floral gardens, and their buzz sounds something like a cat purr. However, they are territorial and will sting intruders to their nest, so thick clothing is needed to gather their honey. The honey is sold as a mild aphrodisiac that can be eaten by itself for a faster reaction, or in drinks. Heat removes the affect in the honey. Some brave souls are stung by the bees for long-lasting sexual stamina; there's a catch, though... they must be stung on the genitals.
no subject
A somewhat rare ayakashi that dwells in quiet ponds. It resembles a ranchu goldfish and its markings and coloration can vary; however, each one has an uncanny gleam in its eyes. Disturbing the waters in which it dwells can result in a curse in which one or more body parts grows to outrageous proportions. There are potions and other remedies that can undo this curse early. If left untreated, the curse fades after 5-7 days, and the victim's appendages shrink back to their original size within 24 hours.