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Post by Insano-Man on Sept 22, 2018 20:26:01 GMT -5
This topic is a child of the Paleworlders article directory.TASTE THE FEARAt their core, the paleworlders are ambush predators. While omnivorous, they strongly favor fresh meat. While capable of mutual cooperation, they demonstrate limited sociability. While able to think rationally, grasp complex subjects, and fully comprehend the use of tools, few paleworlder societies have developed on their own. Most live in small packs, working as hunting parties or foragers. The relative handful of socialized paleworlders have been described as cold, selfish, or even sociopathic. As ambush predators, paleworlders are quiet and often prefer dark spaces. While they require significantly more oxygen than humans or redworlders, they breathe directly through their skin. In addition, they do not have a conventional heart, as each supercell assists in blood flow independently. These traits enable paleworlders to stand completely still, often for hours at a time. Limited excreta and negligible pheromones leave them effectively odorless. Strong senses allow them to find the most effective hiding location and detect prey long before they might be spotted. Combined with their strength, agility, and pack behavior, paleworlders fit their ecological role with frightening efficacy. While they demonstrate poor sociability, paleworlders remain an intelligent species. They are capable of innovation and imitation in dynamic, unpredictable environments. Their intellect is often used to strong effect in setting traps. In example, many paleworlders are capable of learning and mimicking the behavior of other creatures, including other sentient species. They have been observed attempting to lure others in through various means, such as speech and body language.
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Post by Insano-Man on Sept 22, 2018 20:28:06 GMT -5
NUTRITION & IMMUNOLOGY
One of the most critical advantages paleworlders hold over other species is their ability to digest virtually anything. They are able to eat the same food as both humans and redworlders, share meals with Zaschia, or even subsist purely off of trace levels of algae. Many chemical compounds that are dangerous or outright deadly to other species can be digested without incident. This simple trait has allowed paleworlders to survive and reproduce in virtually any biosphere.
It does not, however, render them immune to poisoning or disease. While paleworlders are resistant to most toxins, they are still vulnerable to a handful of hazardous elements. Toxins and diseases suited towards redworlder biochemistry are among the most significant risks. Though paleworlders are hardy against meat infestations, they are among the most immunologically-disposed towards transformation into a meat monster. Radiation hazards are a particular risk, especially when the entire body is exposed.
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Post by Insano-Man on Sept 22, 2018 20:28:23 GMT -5
PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE
Paleworlder muscles are strikingly powerful for their size. While their frail bones mostly limit their sustained muscular output, they are capable of incredible force over short periods of time. Feral paleworlders have been observed coordinating to literally rip pseudocrustaceans limb from limb. This further extends to their agility and reflexes. They are fast, dexterous, and coordinated, more so any other species on Set. Most paleworlders can cover impressive distances in a single sprint.
As a result of their body's compartmentalized nature, paleworlders are strongly resilient against physical injury. Wounds that fail to damage their digestive tract or brain will damage only the supercells involved in the injury. Others will continue to function with little ill effect. In absence of brain or gastrointestinal injury, there are few reliable ways to kill a paleworlder. Infections on severe wounds often pass without incident. Only catastrophic circulatory failure is life-threatening.
Paleworlders are not only resistant to severe bodily injury, but quick to recover. Should a disease fail to kill them, most will shrug off its symptoms in days or even hours. Should a crippling injury fail to kill them, most will have returned to full health in as little as a week. In addition, paleworlders in favorable environments have been known to regenerate entire body parts. Regrowth times are usually in exponential proportion to the amount of muscle mass and nerve endings lost. Severed fingers take approximately a month to regrow. Lost hands may take up to a year. Entire limbs may take up to 20 years. In the extreme case of non-lethal decapitation, a severed head may require 30 or more years.
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Post by Insano-Man on Sept 22, 2018 20:28:39 GMT -5
TEMPERATURE & TORPOR
Resting body heat for most paleworlders is roughly 90F. During strenuous activity, paleworlders can tolerate up to 120F of internal body heat. Minimum internal body temperature is roughly 60F under most conditions. Most paleworlders are able to maintain their body temperature in surrounding environments as low as -40F or as high as 200F. Despite this, extreme temperatures are likely to incapacitate and eventually kill the individual due to sensory overload.
Paleworlders do not sleep, but regularly enter into states of torpor in order to conserve energy. For most individuals, this is entirely voluntary, and can be entered or dispelled at will. During torpor, a paleworlder's resting body heat, metabolic rate, and sensory awareness are all significantly reduced. Some will also experience increased skin translucency. Many will use torpor as a tactical element in laying traps, in order to conserve energy for an attack or conceal their body heat. Some paleworlders may use torpor as a means to hibernate through difficult seasons or dangerous weather.
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Post by Insano-Man on Sept 22, 2018 20:29:06 GMT -5
PERCEPTION & DISORIENTATION
Paleworlders are commonly held as the most perceptive species on Set thanks to their body-wide sensory organs. They are able to perceive more spectra simultaneously than most other species are able to perceive at any single time. This enables them to track prey based on minute details that are often imperceptible to others. As a consequence of their skin's sensitivity, paleworlders are more vulnerable to disorienting sensations than other species. Bright lights, loud noises, or high temperatures can often overwhelm an individual. In conjunction with their fragile bones and limited body mass, paleworlders are puzzlingly easy to incapacitate.
In addition to other spectra, paleworlders are able to sense electrical impulses from most conventional nervous system. Under ordinary atmospheric conditions, an exposed paleworlder in close proximity can even sense some forms of brain activity. This is particularly pronounced with respects to redworlder nervous systems. Nearby paleworlders may even be able to determine specific mental states, such as stress, fear, and other emotional conditions. The specific cause behind this has yet to be discovered. Most attribute it to the early relationship between paleworlders and redworlders.
As a result of perceiving and breathing directly through their skin, paleworlders reject most forms of clothing. This is further reinforced by their body's effective heat management, which mostly precludes the need for warmth. Both feral and socialized paleworlders may wear small trinkets, trophies, or other articles to identify themselves to other pack members. Socialized individuals may require specially-modified pressure suits for work in hazardous environments. Similarly, firearms and other loud tools are often intensely disorienting. This is especially prominent for tools with significant recoil, exhaust, or heat generation.
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