WOAH! FAN-MADE REPO FAUNA UPON YE!!
Life post-armageddon is….chaotic. Ft a pre-reboot beryl. may need open in a new tab to read the writing on the drawing.
Now, truthfully, i do wanna get into drawing all the different monsters (both in-game and specifically for this AU), but one thing i do know is that all the creatures that exist in the raygun’s modern day exists on a spectrum depending on how different it is from life before armageddon.
On one end, you got regular organisms. Yes, despite there having been a clear mass extinction, a lot more regular animals did survive not just armageddon itself but also the various new threats and competition that followed. Most domestic animals survived, having reverted back into a wild/feral state. Some of the more hardy and widespread animals also survived, and many invasive species would end up filling in niches left behind by former native life that either fully went extinct or (sometimes more commonly) extirpated from their former range.
On the complete other end you have what are sometimes defined as “true monsters”. Monsters that don't seem to have any known ancestors, don't seem to resemble anything pre-armageddon, and are frequently understudies due to having a slew of anomalous abilities and often being elusive and hard to capture, or keep captive for long. Or, sometimes even make contact with, if there’s potential sapience abound.
The monsters seen here are somewhere between that. Because, let’s be honest, I'm much better at drawing animals and spec evo than I am drawing the truly bizarre and paranormal. Much of these guys took inspiration from both the game itself, plus some mythology and folklore. And biology. Because spec evo.
Meese
The meese are generalist herbivores, descendant from species of the genus Alces, also known as mooses and eurasian elks. They otherwise look pretty identical to their ancestors, say for their rather grotesque faces.
Wild meese are considered fairly aggressive, just like their ancestors. However, they are slightly more social than ancestral mooses, and are able to eat more types of food than them. because of this, they would end up getting domesticated as both livestock and beast-of-burden. The burden breeds tend to look fairly identical to their wild relatives, whilst livestock breeds have been bred to have mild-producing udders and large fat reserves on their backs. Regardless, they come in a variety of colors, and most breeds either lack antlers entirely or have them heavily reduced.
There are many stories within the semibot mythos that the meese are part of. Some say that the meese are the souls of semis that chose the safety and wellbeing of their teammates over themselves and the taxman. In other stories, it is said that meese were taxman’s failed attempts at creating deer, and were only allowed to live because he found the result “too funny, and too ugly” to kill off. A common story is that the meese were the first monsters to learn about the taxman's fall from power, and thus became the ones who spread the message; hence forth being viewed as messengers and a symbol of good luck & freedom.
Variable carnicorn
Carncorns are one of many “unicorns” in this world. These carnivorous mammals are a kind of ungulate, albeit within their own order entirely given their chimeric nature since their lower classifications have been greatly debated. Some even argue that they should be classified as being closer to monitor lizards due to sharing many similarities to them.
Carnicorns resemble a medieval unicorn, albeit with the mouth, tongue and venom of a monitor lizard. Both sexes have a singular horn, of which shed and re-grows annually. The venom of each species varies; some are only mildly venomous, others much more potent and deadly. Whilst mostly solitary, they are known for their “mobbing” behavior, in which a small group of them will gather to hunt, take down and eat larger animals.
The variable carnicorn is a larger (dog-sized) species instantly recognizable for it’s opalescent horn and rainbow-colored mane. Their venom is an anti-coagulant, with most prey dying within minutes from blood loss. They are also one of few carnicorns capable of being kept and bred in captivity, as they’re not particularly picky eaters and fairly easy to tame. They are often kept as status symbols, mostly by robots and AI as they don't have the blood that makes this species’s venom so deadly.
Dumgolf’s wyrm
One of many creatures to get labeled as a kind of “dragon”, dumgolf’s wyrm is one of the largest reptiles in the region, with the most common size being that of the (extinct) African elephant (though some individuals and reports show they can get a little bigger). They get their name based off stories of dumgolf owning a pet “wyrm”, and rumors of said wyrm having mutated into a monster during the Red Moon Event.
These dragons are omnivorous to an extreme degree, eating anything they can get their jaws on. This would include large animals, entire shrubs, and even metal and certain minerals on occasion. Their highly corrosive stomach acid is often used as a weapon against other threats; namely other wyrms and larger monsters.
They are said to be one of few monsters that actively see semibots as food, as opposed to threats or competition, and are one of few monsters capable of taking down an Armored Surface Vehicle. Many view the wyrm as one of the mortal enemies of the taxman, especially after his downfall when his soul was trapped inside an ASV.
Red-fronted hoodwink
Red-fronted hoodwinks are an instantly recognizable species of corvid for their skull-like heads and bare chest. While both males and females have a bright-red bare chest, only the male’s are bioluminescent. Pairs will often mate for life, and frequently bring colorful and shiny objects to their partners as part of their courtship.
Apart from that, however, they’re pretty identical to other corvids.
Mcjannek puffin
Named so due to being the first monster formally described from mcjannek station and looking alot like their emblem. This species of puffin has developed the same mutations as the “killer duck” (AKA apex predator), having a secondary mouth with sharp teeth, and in addition having leathery pterosaur-like wings and black, beady eyes. They, however, are the same seabirds as their ancestors.
They are believed to have descended from the Atlantic puffin, and may have been the reason for their ancestor’s extinction. The other pre-armageddon puffin species remain unchanged, having survived armageddon and competition from other new fauna.
Trudges
Trudges are a kind of oddly highly-malleable monsterfolk (sapient monster) whose forms vary greatly depending on both the DNA they extract and the environment they live in. Taxonomically, they’re placed within their own group, Amphicarnia. However, they have qualities akin to that of slime mold, earthworms, and echinoderms.
Trudges reproduce asexually via budding or splitting, and initially start off as small globs with a singular eyestalk. These small guys, over the span of a year, will attempt to take shape, creating not just bones but also metallic armor to add for their protection, until eventually they take the form of a basic, juvenile version of whatever they’re trying to copy. Said copy will end up growing up into their adult form, and whilst they all retain the same general shape they frequently will change and shift certain parts of the body to suit their needs. This can include increasing or decreasing their size (to a certain extent), adding or subtracting limbs, and even creating weapons or tools. Some can even shift the color of their flesh and armor a bit as well.
Whilst humanoid trudges (like seen in the game) are common, they are far from the only types to exist. Some include the bot-types, which tend to resemble semibots, and taur-types, which tend to look like centaurs.
Great troll
A relative of the Headgrab, the great troll is considered one of the biggest land monsters, as well as being the largest monsterfolk. Their official designation as “sophont” is actually fairly recent, though even back then most viewed them as highly-intelligent beings.
Like their relatives, great trolls have two mouths: the top one is dedicated for breathing and speaking, whilst the bottom one is what they use to eat. Great trolls are obligated herbivores, able to eat all but the absolute most toughest and poisonous plants. Their jaws can crush tough bark and hard shells, and their stomachs are able to break down and process most toxins. Great trolls are nomadic, traveling in small families, and mostly gain goods via bartering with other sophonts (commonly other great trolls themselves).
Similar to dumgolf’s wyrm, they’re viewed as mortal enemies to the taxman. However, this time it’s because of their intelligence, able to outsmart the taxman to get him to leave long before even lifting a single finger.
Banded spewer
Spewers are a family of floating squid-like monsters, and are some of the most well-studied monsters out there. Originally thought to have been related to the headsmen, they are instead genetically much closer to amphibians and have a lifecycle similar to them.
Spewers get their name from their ability to vomit out their stomach acid. While this is used for defense, it’s main usage is to help pre-digest their food before eating. They are also known for attaching themselves to other, larger entities; most do so as a means of conserving energy since they can't really stay in the air for too long. Surprisingly, not many species of spewers are obligated parasites, despite them having a reputation among semibots for “parasitizing” them. If anything, most form a symbiotic relationship with the entities they hitch a ride on, acting as protection by either directly attacking threats, or making their ride less appealing to predators (ie scent, appearances, etc). Spewers tend to lean more towards carnivory, as they either scavenge off of carcasses or hunt small animals.
The banded spewer is the smallest spewer species, and the only species of spewer that is an obligated parasite; specifically a hematophage that feast on the blood of larger megafauna. They tend to stick to one individual animal for as long as they can, and only leave when they find another to latch onto. Because of their diet and food preferences, they lack the ability to spew their stomach contents, and while they can carry innumerable amounts of bloodborne diseases, are completely harmless to semibots.
