Salamander
Writer
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Boneworms are native to Necropolis, where they are one of the most abundant remaining indigenous species. They evolved to feed on the dead buried in the planet's massive cemeteries, breaking into wooden coffins to consume the recently deceased's bone marrow. At one time, an Imperial scientist attempted to use their secretions, combined with a special serum injected into the body, to create what amounted to an army of zombies. Alas, this project fell through and much of the data was lost following the collapse of the Galactic Empire.
The boneworms continued to be a pest on their homeworld, where attempts by the locals to exterminate them ultimately proved useless. Stories of the creatures spread far and wide in the form of grisly ghost stories. One such tale eventually reached the ears of a young Arrius Messala, who was soon thereafter tormented by nightmares of being buried alive and slowly devoured by the boneworms.
Decades later, Messala has decided to put his childhood fears to good use. Using Sith alchemy, he has managed to make the boneworms infinitely more terrifying and dangerous. These things are perfect for an anonymous assassination job, exterminating a settlement, or possibly eradicating the population of an entire world over the course of a few years, provided they have a chance to reproduce before they die.
- Intent: To make a creature that terrorized my childhood even more nightmarish.
- Image Credit: N/A
- Canon: Boneworms
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: Necropolis
- Name: Urs Zatka; "Bone Worms"
- Designation: Non-sentient
- Origins: One of the many hidden labs of Arrius Messala.
- Average Lifespan: Roughly a month.
- Estimated Population: Rare (for now)
- Description: Derived from the boneworms of Necropolis, these nightmarish nematodes are larger, faster, and more cunning than their natural ancestors. Fully grown, they are closer in size and appearance to snakes, except that they possess large lamprey-like mouths which can devour flesh and shatter bone, and their bodies secrete a paralyzing mucus. They will attack and consume both the living and the dead in search of their favorite delicacy - bone marrow.
- Breathes: Type I; obtains oxygen through diffusion.
- Average Height of Adults: N/A
- Average Length of Adults: 1 meter (3.3 feet)
- Skin color: Boneworms comes in a variety of colors and patterns designed to mimic common species of snakes.
- Hair color: Boneworms do not have hair, unless you were to put a wig on one.
- Distinctions: Boneworms are not sexually dimorphic. All boneworms lay eggs. Syngamy, or cross-fertilization, is common but not required for reproduction. Hermaphroditism may also occur.
- Races: Boneworms do not have races.
- Force Sensitivity: Non-Sensitive
- Show Me Your Teeth: Boneworms possess lamprey-like jaws filled with jagged teeth and a powerful bite. Hard spurs in their mouths aid in breaking through harder materials, such as wood and bone, though they cannot chomp their way through durasteel or anything of equal or greater hardness.
- Numbing Mucus: Originally evolving to help them with tunneling underground, the mucus which boneworms secrete has been successfully given paralyzing qualities, allowing them to numb and subdue their unsuspecting victims.
- That's No Snake: The size and appearance of Sithspawn boneworms heavily resembles a common snake, making them easy to mistake for a lost pet or natural part of the environment.
- Did You Guys Start Breeding While I Was Gone?: The average brood of Sithspawn boneworms numbers close to a hundred spawn, and newborn boneworms are at the species' most dangerous due to their incredibly small size and voracious appetite...
- The Living and the Dead: Neither are safe. Unlike their ancestors, Sithspawn boneworms will not flee upon discovering a would-be victim is still alive. They prefer to attack when a living victim is unconscious, but this is no longer a requirement. It is especially true of newborns, which are far bolder and more brash than adults.
- Blind: Boneworms are completely blind and must rely on vibrations to "see".
- Anosmatic: They have no sense of smell.
- Skin Deep: Curiously, boneworms have a strong aversion to eating the skin and hair of their victims. They will consume virtually everything else, but will leave behind the empty skin. Because of this, they tend to prefer entering through a bodily orifice. This is notably different from Necropolis boneworms, which just bite their way into bodies. Most significantly, the presence of skin and hair at the scene makes it obvious how the victim died.
- Blast 'Em!: Boneworms have no special immunities to typical weaponry, including blasters, vibroblades, and lightsabers. You can burn them, freeze them, pour acid on them, and so on. They die fairly easily, and have a short lifespan of approximately one month.
- Worm Brain: Boneworms are not easy to direct and virtually impossible to truly control. Their only goal in life is to eat and reproduce, making them a danger to any creature they are capable of consuming. Using them as a weapon against your enemies may produce unintended or mixed results.
- Diet: Carnivore; anything with meat is fair game, although as previously stated they avoid eating skin and hair. A Wookiee or other creature that is covered in fur might be avoided, although as long as they can find a way inside...
- Communication: Boneworms do not appear to communicate with each other or others. They exist to feed and reproduce.
- Technology level: Being non-sentient, they do not have technology.
- Religion/Beliefs: If you can eat it, it's good.
- General behavior: Boneworms are born with only one goal in life: feed. The young use their tiny size to their advantage, finding prey and entering through bodily orifices such as the ears, nose, mouth - and if they are truly newly born and therefore small enough, the tear ducts of humanoid species - then consuming them from the inside, growing larger as they eat. Boneworms are considered mature roughly a week after birth, and to outward appearances they strongly resemble snakes, though they have no eyes and their mouths tend to jut out more due to their abundance of jagged teeth. The glistening sheen of mucus coating their "scales" may also serve as a giveaway. Their size is dependent on how much they ate when they were young, with the largest being around 1 meter in length. They continue to eat both living and dead bodies, but they are less bold than they were as newborns, preferring unconscious prey. They may decide to quickly retreat if their would-be victim awakens. Preferring the shadows, they typically dwell underground and love to burrow in the dirt. Perhaps the one consolation the galaxy has is their aversion to sewer systems; they won't be crawling out of your toilets and drains anytime soon.
Boneworms are native to Necropolis, where they are one of the most abundant remaining indigenous species. They evolved to feed on the dead buried in the planet's massive cemeteries, breaking into wooden coffins to consume the recently deceased's bone marrow. At one time, an Imperial scientist attempted to use their secretions, combined with a special serum injected into the body, to create what amounted to an army of zombies. Alas, this project fell through and much of the data was lost following the collapse of the Galactic Empire.
The boneworms continued to be a pest on their homeworld, where attempts by the locals to exterminate them ultimately proved useless. Stories of the creatures spread far and wide in the form of grisly ghost stories. One such tale eventually reached the ears of a young Arrius Messala, who was soon thereafter tormented by nightmares of being buried alive and slowly devoured by the boneworms.
Decades later, Messala has decided to put his childhood fears to good use. Using Sith alchemy, he has managed to make the boneworms infinitely more terrifying and dangerous. These things are perfect for an anonymous assassination job, exterminating a settlement, or possibly eradicating the population of an entire world over the course of a few years, provided they have a chance to reproduce before they die.
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