Tegaea Alcori
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Name: Cylix
Designation: Semi-Sentient
Homeworld: Dahomey
Language: Growls, hisses, purrs
Average height of adults: 0.8 metre at shoulder, but is almost 2 metres long including tail. The male is usually larger than the female.
Skin color: Pinkish under the fur.
Hair color: Beige and sandy are the most common, though occasionally reddish pelts have been spotted. These were seen as ill omens by the natives though
Breathes: Type I
Strengths:
The tail of the Cylix is relatively short and unadorned. It has a small furry patch on the end.
Both males and females have a mane-like fringe, though males have larger and more distinctive ones.
Average Lifespan: 20-25 years in the wild, up to 45 in captivity. Animals are sexually mature at 3 years old.
Races: The rarer and smaller mountain variety lives in the mountains of the northern continent and prefers to ambush prey from rocks rather than from tress. These are the ancestors of the Cylix who did not go south.
Estimated Population: The population is endangered by hunting, poaching and illegal exporting. Probably no more than 5,000 adults remain on all Dahomey.
Diet: Cylixes eat any sort of meat they can find, and are not above eating carrion. They do not eat plants.
Communication: Scent, verbal, body language.
Culture: N/A
Technology level: N/A
General behavior: Cylixes will often fight each other for mating females. Said females sometimes band together from protection as the males will often kill young cubs they come across to clear the way for their own. Battles between males can sometimes turn fatal, and cases have been observed where both combatants have received mortal wounds.
Females remain with their cubs once they’re born whilst the males quickly leave to hunt and build up their strength.
When caring for young, a female Cylix will try to hide them from danger and will attack any threat.
History: The Cylix was first recorded by the very first prospectors and visitors to the planet of Dahomey. In that time the Cylix lived in the far northern latitudes, often among the snow and alpine climates as the equatorial regions were too hot for them.
Once Republic terraforming operations however had a significant effect on the Cylix. For a start, it lowered temperatures and allowed them to move south and access new and vast food sources they did not have before. Without as many predators, the Cylix expanded at a geometric rate, and when humans landed, the Empire especially encouraged the Cylix as a means to control escaped prisoners.
As time passed and the Gulag Virus decimated and isolated the human population though, the Cylix fell on hard times. Some were killed by the virus, others were hunted down and killed by the natives of Dahomey to protect their meagre possessions.
By the time Omega Pyre, led by Tegaea Alcori and Siobhan Kerrigan liberated the planet, the Cylix had suffered severe damage to their numbers. Now, with increased demand for exotic animals and expanding farmsteads the Cylix is seen either as something to exploit or a menace to be killed. For all their ferocity they are no match for a blaster.
Notable Player-Characters: N/A
Intent: To add a predator for Dahomey which is both familiar and yet distinctive. This beast will be a fun encounter on the planet and a possible pet as well.
Designation: Semi-Sentient
Homeworld: Dahomey
Language: Growls, hisses, purrs
Average height of adults: 0.8 metre at shoulder, but is almost 2 metres long including tail. The male is usually larger than the female.
Skin color: Pinkish under the fur.
Hair color: Beige and sandy are the most common, though occasionally reddish pelts have been spotted. These were seen as ill omens by the natives though
Breathes: Type I
Strengths:
- Savage Predator: The Cylix is a ferocious and dangerous animal. Its mouth is filled with vicious teeth and each of its six legs ends with razor sharp claws. An unprepared human stands no chance.
- It came from above!: The Cylix is a master of ambush, especially in the scattered woodlands and grassland of its home. Using its six legs it can pounce or leap from above onto an enemy and maul them before they can escape.
- Natural Climbers: The Cylix is highly skilled at climbing, using its six legs to scale trees and rocks.
- No Match For A Blaster: As it operates alone, a Cylix is no match for a well-armed hunter able to see it coming, or able to use modern weapons. The fur and hide of the Cylix offers no protection against even the primitive weapons of the Dahomey.
- Slow breeding: Cylixes only breed once every year and birth either one or two cubs. Those cubs are usually left to fend for themselves after a year and many fail to reach adulthood.
- Relentless: Cylix aggression often goes too far. They attack each other or creatures bigger than themselves and rarely give in until it’s too late.
The tail of the Cylix is relatively short and unadorned. It has a small furry patch on the end.
Both males and females have a mane-like fringe, though males have larger and more distinctive ones.
Average Lifespan: 20-25 years in the wild, up to 45 in captivity. Animals are sexually mature at 3 years old.
Races: The rarer and smaller mountain variety lives in the mountains of the northern continent and prefers to ambush prey from rocks rather than from tress. These are the ancestors of the Cylix who did not go south.
Estimated Population: The population is endangered by hunting, poaching and illegal exporting. Probably no more than 5,000 adults remain on all Dahomey.
Diet: Cylixes eat any sort of meat they can find, and are not above eating carrion. They do not eat plants.
Communication: Scent, verbal, body language.
Culture: N/A
Technology level: N/A
General behavior: Cylixes will often fight each other for mating females. Said females sometimes band together from protection as the males will often kill young cubs they come across to clear the way for their own. Battles between males can sometimes turn fatal, and cases have been observed where both combatants have received mortal wounds.
Females remain with their cubs once they’re born whilst the males quickly leave to hunt and build up their strength.
When caring for young, a female Cylix will try to hide them from danger and will attack any threat.
History: The Cylix was first recorded by the very first prospectors and visitors to the planet of Dahomey. In that time the Cylix lived in the far northern latitudes, often among the snow and alpine climates as the equatorial regions were too hot for them.
Once Republic terraforming operations however had a significant effect on the Cylix. For a start, it lowered temperatures and allowed them to move south and access new and vast food sources they did not have before. Without as many predators, the Cylix expanded at a geometric rate, and when humans landed, the Empire especially encouraged the Cylix as a means to control escaped prisoners.
As time passed and the Gulag Virus decimated and isolated the human population though, the Cylix fell on hard times. Some were killed by the virus, others were hunted down and killed by the natives of Dahomey to protect their meagre possessions.
By the time Omega Pyre, led by Tegaea Alcori and Siobhan Kerrigan liberated the planet, the Cylix had suffered severe damage to their numbers. Now, with increased demand for exotic animals and expanding farmsteads the Cylix is seen either as something to exploit or a menace to be killed. For all their ferocity they are no match for a blaster.
Notable Player-Characters: N/A
Intent: To add a predator for Dahomey which is both familiar and yet distinctive. This beast will be a fun encounter on the planet and a possible pet as well.
