TEXT: A SHADOWRUN CRITTER SUPPLEMENT
  Writing 
  Adam Large
  Development 
  Peter M. Andrew, Jr.
  Art 
  Kat Hardy
  Art Direction 
  Brent Evans
  Proofing 
  Jean-Marc Comeau
  Layout & Design 
  Matt Heerdt
  Shadowrun Line Developer 
  Jason Hardy
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  of The Topps Company, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries. Catalyst Game Labs and the Catalyst Game Labs 
  logo are trademarks of InMediaRes Productions, LLC.
  A PARAZOOLOGIST FIELD GUIDE
  Hello again. While previous documentation on Awakened animals 
  is very thorough, it is by no means complete, and never will be, for 
  that matter. The world keeps changing so quickly that zoologists and 
  parazoologists can’t keep up with the cataloging, even with the DNA 
  bar-coding index of animals initiated in 2013. Here are thirty more rare 
  and unusual Awakened, toxic, and mutant species.
  
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  “There are wonders of the wold that only nature can create.”
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  Posts/Files tagged with 
  “Parazoology”:
  * Abrams Lobster
  * Alicanto
  * Bayard
  * Blood Kite
  …
  
  3
  PARACRITTERS > ABRAmS LoBSTER 
  ABRAmS LoBSTER 
  HOMATUS HOMARUS IMMANIS
  Habitat: Ocean bottom at depths of up to 50-75meters.
  Range: North Sea 
  Frequency: Uncommon
  Identification: The Abrams lobster is a crustacean with a hard blue-
  green exoskeleton. Growing to an overall length of 1.5 meters, they 
  can weigh over 100 kilograms. The first pair of its legs develops into 
  intimidating claws approaching 50 centimeters in size while the other 
  legs are used for walking along the ocean bottom or short periods out 
  of water. Their powerful abdomen is tipped with a tail that propels it 
  through the water to quickly escape danger.
  Habits: The Abrams lobster was first discovered in 2037 by a UCAS 
  maritime research expedition, working 100 kilometers off the east coast 
  of Scotland. Because of its size and thick exoskeleton, it was named after 
  a tank used in the late 20th century. Genetic testing by the research 
  expedition identified it as the Awakened form of the European lobster 
  (Homarus vulgaris). The Abrams lobster is both an opportunistic hunter 
  and scavenger. It eats mostly fish, crustaceans, or other bottom-dwelling 
  invertebrates, but it can also move on shore to hunt birds, scavenge eggs, 
  and can also be a nuisance to metahuman bathers and divers who are 
  between it and food. The Abrams lobster molts less frequently than other 
  lobster species. The shell takes longer to grow with each molt, growing up 
  to two millimeters more in thickness each year for seven years.
  The Abrams lobsters are solitary creatures most of their lives. The 
  exception comes when they migrate to spawning grounds and form 
  a single-file caravan of lobsters. Caravans of twenty to thirty Abrams 
  lobsters have been seen travelling along the ocean floor toward warmer 
  waters. Cables and nets in the path of caravan migrations have been cut 
  by Abrams lobsters, resulting in the construction of “lobster bridges” 
  over certain communication cables since 2040. 
  While not a deadly paranormal animal, the Abrams lobster can 
  pose a serious hazard when handled incorrectly. Special containment 
  tanks and handling apparatus have been designed for harvesting and 
  culinary preparation. As an Abrams lobster can fetch 100 to 150 nuyen 
  per kilo, well-funded fishermen and finer restaurants are willing to pay 
  for these precautions.
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  Movement: 4/8 swimming
  Skills: Swimming 3, Perception 2, Unarmed Combat 3
  Powers: Enhanced Senses (Sonar), Gestalt Consciousness, Gills, 
  Hardened Armor (6), Immunity to Poisons, Natural Weapon (Claw: 
  DV 4P, AP 1)
  
  4
  PARACRITTERS > ALICANTo 
  ALICANTo 
  COLAPTES AURUM
  Habitat: High-altitude grassland and desert
  Range: Atacama Desert and mountain region in Amazonia
  Frequency: Very rare
  Identification: The alicanto is a black-and-gold-colored bird with 
  a wing span of 35 centimeters and weighing 600 grams on average; 
  a surprising amount when compared other birds of similar size. This 
  additional weight can be attributed to the fact that the feathers are not 
  merely colored gold, but are actually covered with gold.
  Habits: Awakened from the Andean flicker, the alicanto is a very 
  sought after bird because of its wings. The alicanto’s primary diet con-
  sists of moths and other insects, but it must also ingest gold or silver. 
  Although it is unclear why they feast on these precious metals, there are 
  two hypotheses about how the bird finds them. The first assumes that 
  the alicanto’s nesting instincts take them to cliffs or caves where gold 
  may exist and meet their dietary requirement. The second hypothesis 
  suggests that their migratory instincts guide them to sources 
  of ore for periodic feeding, like African elephants and their 
  secret salt lick.
  A noted side effect of metabolizing gold or silver 
  is the bio-illumination of the feathers. The alicanto is 
  a nocturnal hunter, its feathers supply a light source 
  that attracts insects. Unfortunately this also attracts 
  predators and impedes their ability to hide from them. 
  When the alicanto flies, the wings shed flakes of 
  gold dust and nests reportedly contain large quanti-
  ties of the dust, although the locations are elusive to 
  treasure hunters and bird watchers alike. Hunters still 
  attempt to capture the alicanto for its valuable plumage and stomach 
  contents. Fake alicanto feathers and “golden eggs” have been coming 
  out of the Amazonia black markets, fueled by the demands of private 
  collectors and talismongers alike. Miners attempt to follow the ali-
  canto to ore veins and make a quick fortune. Tracking the alicanto is a 
  very dangerous proposition. Hunters and bird watchers have reported 
  becoming lost and have a high frequency of accidental deaths when 
  engaged in this pursuit.
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  Movement: 20/80 (flight)
  Skills: Flight 3, Perception 3, Tracking 2, Unarmed Combat 3
  Powers: Confusion, Magic Sense, Natural Weapon (Bite/Claw: DV 
  3P, AP 0) 
  Weaknesses: Dietary Requirement (Gold, Silver) 
  Qualities: Bioluminescence
  PARACRITTERS
  
  5
  PARACRITTERS > BAyARD 
  BAyARD 
  EQUUS MAXIMUS
  Habitat: Plains and grasslands
  Range: Central Europe through central Asia.
  Frequency: Uncommon
  Identification: The Bayard is a large horse, standing 2.2 meters tall at 
  the shoulder, 2 meters in length and weighing over 550 kilograms. Its 
  feet end in a three-toed hoof rather than the large single toe. The head 
  has large eyes, normally in shades of gold or green. Bayards are mostly 
  rust-hued with black mane and tail. 
  Habits: Bayards are the largest of the horse family and the Awakened 
  form of the wild horse (Equus ferus) from both the Przewalski and the 
  extinct Tarpan subspecies. They have three extra vertebrae, giving them 
  a longer body, and studies of their anatomy indicate this morphology 
  increases their lung capacity, allowing for better endurance. Bayards 
  are vegetarian like their non-Awakened horse brethren, preferring to 
  eat grains, fruit and grasses. The largest herds are located in France as 
  nomadic groups of thirty or so members dominated by one or two 
  alpha males. 
  Bayards are hard to catch because of their speed as well as their 
  ability to transform into mist. The foals, however do not have this 
  ability, which usually awakens in them after four years of maturity. To 
  protect their young from predators, bayards have powerful legs to kick 
  and have the ability to exhale noxious fumes. Bayard stallions can also 
  project a deafening cry to scare off threats.
  In 2049, Eurocorp Zeta-ImpChem developed a chemical spray 
  that prevents the bayard from transforming into mist and reverts 
  mist-form bayards into a solid state. The first herd was captured in 
  Dendermonde, United Netherlands, but unfortunately no one has 
  been able to domesticate them. Aymon Brothers Inc, part of the Krupp 
  Thoroughbred Racing Association (KTRA), has made the most prog-
  ress with sustainable herds. The results of the successful crossbreeding 
  of bayards with normal horses are called rinaldos. Rinaldos are infertile 
  and lack any Awakened abilities, but they are of the same large build 
  and approach the same running speed as the bayard parent. There’s 
  a brisk trade in rinaldos for anything from horse racing to mounted 
  patrols. KTRA is working on genetic adjustments to make rinaldos a 
  viable line of horses.
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  Movement: 20/100
  Skills: Running 4, Unarmed Combat 2
  Powers: Animal Control (Equines), Empathy (LOS), Movement, Mist 
  Form (Adults Only), Noxious Breath, Natural Weapon (Kick: DV 4P, 
  AP 0), Sonic Projection (Stallions Only)
  AGHEXHEX
  Vector: Contact
  Speed: 2 minutes
  Penetration: 0
  Power: 9
  Effect: While in contact with a subject, silver hexamagnohexaphosphate 
  (A.K.A. AgHexHex) chemical compound prevents the transformation of 
  a subject into vapor particles. If the target is in mist form when sprayed 
  by AgHexHex, the target is forcibly reverted to solid form, causing stun 
  damage (9S).
  Note: Also effective on mist lynx and ghost dolphins
  Price per dose: 2,500¥
  Availability: 14R
  
  6
  PARACRITTERS > BLooD KITE
  BLooD KITE
  ELANOIDES CELERIS
  Habitat: Woodlands and forested wetlands
  Range: Southern North America and North East South America.
  Frequency: Common
  Identification: The blood kite is a small member of the hawk family, 
  with a wingspan of about 75 centimeters and a body length of 20 cen-
  timeters. Its eyes are gold, and its beak and legs are blood-red in hue. It 
  has white plumage ending in red patches on the trailing end of its wings 
  and forked tail. These patches eerily resemble bloodstains. Young blood 
  kites’ plumage is brown in color, and the tail is not as pronounced.
  Habits: The blood kite is an Awakened swallow-tailed kite with a similar 
  migratory pattern; living in southern portions of North America in the 
  summer, then migrating to northern parts of South America during the 
  winter and mating season. They feed on mice, young rabbits and other 
  small animals. It has a unique hunting technique of blinding its prey 
  with magic before striking, preventing the prey from defending itself 
  properly. Once blind, the prey can be easily picked up by the blood kite 
  and impaled on a large thorn or barbed-wire fence to be eaten. The same 
  blinding technique is used for defense against predators, such as larger 
  birds-of-prey. The blood kite is cunning as it lures the 
  predator into tight or difficult terrain before 
  blinding it; putting the predator in a pre-
  carious and possibly deadly position. 
  Blood kites congregate into 
  flocks of thirty individuals, 
  called kettles, and will claim up 
  to twenty square kilometers 
  of territory. Blood kites terri-
  tory is sometimes called a “kettle of 
  blood” as they aggressively deter other birds from their area, littering 
  the ground with tuffs of feathers and intruder carcasses.
  Blood kites mate in early spring and the females incubate the 
  eggs through the summer. During mating season, blood kites are more 
  aggressive and perform dazzling displays of aerial combat for potential 
  mates. Nests are built high up in trees, with both sexes constructing 
  them. The female blood kite normally has a clutch of three to four eggs 
  that are white with red speckles. Both parents nurture their young, 
  with the female bringing food and the male defending the nest. Young 
  blood kites take four weeks to develop their basic plumage and another 
  three weeks before they can fly.
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  Movement: 20/60 (flight)
  Skills: Flight 3, Perception 3, Spellcasting 3, Tracking 2, Unarmed 
  Combat 2
  Powers: Natural Weapon (Bite/Claw: DV 2P, AP 0), Enhanced Senses 
  (Improved Vision, Low-Light, Thermographic Vision), Innate Spell 
  (Sight Removal)
  PARACRITTERS
  
  7
  PARACRITTERS > BuLLDog SToAT 
  BuLLDog SToAT 
  MUSTELA STALINII
  Habitat: Forests
  Range: Northern and Eastern Europe
  Frequency: Uncommon
  Identification: The bulldog stoat is a weasel-like creature with the male 
  measuring about one meter in length and weighing about four kilograms 
  The females are significantly smaller. Bulldog stoats have a prominent 
  jaw line with larger muscles and teeth compared to mundane stoats. 
  This is covered by longer facial hair, giving it a “bulldog” appearance. 
  The bulldog stoat’s thick fur turns white in the winter and is brown-red 
  with a black tail in the summer.
  Habits: The bulldog stoat is the Awakened form of the common stoat 
  (Mustela erminea). It is mostly a nocturnal hunter, feeding on small 
  mammals, birds, snakes, and frogs. Because of its strong jaw, it has been 
  known to hunt larger animals such as sheep and goats. Bulldog stoats 
  have become a hazard to corporate operations in Europe, primarily 
  those with livestock farms or amphibian hatcheries as the stoats sneak 
  in to raid the facilities like their personal fridge. Poison bait traps 
  have little effect on deterring the bulldog stoat and Green and Blue 
  Biotechnology’s attempt to genetically engineer a virus to kill off the 
  whole species led to a severe public warning from Saeder-Krupp on 
  such actions, citing Yamatetsu’s “engineered rabbit” incident in the 
  Canton Confederation.
  The male bulldog stoat is very territorial, often building several 
  dens in its territory like castles from which it can defend against 
  rivals and predators. Within this territory are a harem of female 
  bulldog stoats, food, and water supplies. Female stoats breed once 
  a year, having two to four kits in a season. The kits stay with their 
  mother for a year before seeking their own territory. Young bulldog 
  stoats will begin adulthood by taking over a den; either at the edge of 
  their father’s territory or their father’s rival and wait to challenge the 
  owner. Such challenges are not lethal although ears and tails have been 
  scarred from combat. 
  The bulldog stoat social group can be anthropomorphized as a 
  feudal system of kingdoms; while they do challenge one another for 
  food and females, if the group is threatened by an outsider, all the 
  bulldogs will band together to face the threat.
  In 2039, a group of bulldog stoats allegedly killed eleven meta-
  humans and the livestock on a co-op farm in Latvia. This incident led 
  to the annual stoat culling in several areas and a black-market sale of 
  bulldog stoat fur in Europe from 2040 to 2042. In 2042 news affiliates 
  ran a story exposing the co-op farm incident as fake, designed to sway 
  public opinion on the species. Unfortunately the public wouldn’t give 
  up their bulldog stoat fur coats or bones for telesma, so the slaughter 
  continued. Due to excessive hunting, bulldog stoats were becoming 
  increasingly difficult to find and they received legally protected status 
  in 2065. This resulted in the sale of permits limiting the quantity of 
  bulldog stoats a hunter could harvest during the regulated hunting 
  season. Although a slow increase of the bulldog stoat’s population is 
  promising, poachers still pose the greatest threat to this species
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  Movement: 10/30
  Skills: Infiltration 2, Perception 2, Tracking 2, Unarmed Combat 2
  Powers: Concealment (Personal), Immunity to Pathogens, Gestalt 
  Consciousness, Immunity to Poison, Magic Guard, Natural Weapon 
  (Bite: DV 2P, AP 0, –1 Reach)
  Weaknesses: Fragile 1
  
  8
  PARACRITTERS > BuNyIP
  BuNyIP
  DIPRODON IGNOTA
  Habitat: Open forests and grasslands near freshwater
  Range: Australia
  Frequency: Rare
  Identification: Superficially resembling a bear, the bunyip is three 
  meters long and two meters tall at the shoulder, and it weighs an 
  average 2,700 kilograms. It has a very large snout in respect to its eyes 
  and ears. It has short brown fur with varying black color patterns. Each 
  foot has thick claws for multiple purposes.
  Habits: The bunyip is an elusive paranormal animal given its size. 
  While its vision is poor, it has a very developed olfactory organ. Its nose 
  is 20 centimeters in diameter giving it four times the sensitivity of a dog. 
  Using its acute sense of smell and exceptional hearing, the bunyip is 
  capable of avoiding metahumans and staying aware of its surroundings 
  while stalking prey. The bone structure of the bunyip is similar to an 
  extinct marsupial bear and is possibly an Awakened form of it.  
    The bunyip is omnivorous, preferring fish, crustaceans, tubers, 
  and berries, but has been found to eat kangaroos, dingoes, koalas and 
  their Awakened counterparts. Their fur has chromo-spectrum recep-
  tors, which will change color, depending on the light reflected around 
  it. Aborigines stay away from bunyip territory as it is said that the 
  bunyip walks in people’s dreams to give them fair warning before they 
  wake, and that they are not welcome. 
  There is a misconception that bunyips will hunt and eat metahu-
  mans. This myth is exacerbated by aboriginal tribes that have told their 
  children for centuries that if they are naughty, the bunyip will come 
  and eat them. Observations prove that bunyips don’t like the taste of 
  metahumans or many domesticated animals, which is attributed to 
  the daily absorption of pollutants in urban lifestyles. Bunyips defend 
  themselves like bears; first standing on their hind legs to intimidate 
  and threaten the attacker, then charge. Bunyip claws are similar 
  to bear claws, but feature venom sacks in the wrists of their 
  forepaws. This venom can be released onto the nails as the 
  bunyip strikes. 
  The venom is highly reactive to to ultraviolet light, 
  which makes the victim photo sensitive, inflicting 
  pain and slowing an afflicted body’s natural healing 
  process. Wounded and envenomed prey that breaks 
  free from an attack will be slow to escape, as the 
  exposure to sunlight compounds the painful effects 
  of the venom over time. A pursuing bunyip does not have to chase 
  its prey very far, and most victims do not survive a second encounter.
  Bunyips mate in the spring, and females carry a single cub in their 
  pouch for about seven months after a month-long gestation, much 
  like other marsupials. Bunyips are usually solitary creatures, making 
  their dens under fallen or toppled trees near a freshwater source. They 
  are not aggressively territorial, and they do not view other bunyip as 
  foraging competitors. It is not uncommon to find several individual 
  dens in close proximity.
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  Skills: Climbing 2, Intimidation 2, Perception 3, Running 2, 
  Spellcasting 4, Tracking 3, Unarmed Combat 4
  Powers: Adaptive Coloration, Enhanced Senses (Hearing, Smell, 
  Taste), Fear, Innate Spell (Dreams), Natural Weapon (Claws/Bite: DV 
  5P, AP 0), Regeneration, Venom (Phototoxin)
  Weaknesses: Allergy (Pollution, Severe)
  BUNYIP VENOM 
  Vector: Contact, Injection
  Speed: 10 minutes
  Penetration: 1
  Power: 12
  Effect: When in contact with skin or in the bloodstream, the subject becomes moderately allergic 
  to sunlight. This is cumulative with an existing photosensitivity. It also reduces the effectiveness 
  of modern medicine, reducing the dice pool of the medical test by the damage level of the poison.
  Price per dose: 2500
  Availability: 15R
  PARACRITTERS
  
  9
  PARACRITTERS > BuRRoWINg BEAvER 
  BuRRoWINg BEAvER 
  CASTOR EFFORDERIS
  Habitat: Forested areas near rivers and streams
  Range: Northern Europe, Germany, and some pockets in central Asia.
  Frequency: Uncommon
  Identification: The burrowing beaver is a large, semi-aquatic rodent 
  measuring 1.4 meters long with seventy-centimeter-long, round, hair-
  less tail, and an average weight of forty kilograms. The burrowing beaver 
  has webbed hind feet and large claws on its forepaws. The burrowing 
  beavers have very short fur with colors ranging from amber to umber 
  brown.
  Habits: The burrowing beaver is the largest known Awakened beaver 
  from the European beaver (Castor fiber). Like its non-Awakened 
  kindred, it lives in dens and feeds on young trees; instead of build-
  ing dams, however, it builds tunnels. Burrowing beavers build tunnel 
  complexes, diverting water from rivers and aquifers to new locations, 
  creating marshland or lakes in which to live. These lakes have been 
  found as far as fifty kilometers from the original source. The tunnels 
  are engineering marvels as the burrowing beavers adjust their diam-
  eter to ensure a positive flow of water to the new location. Within the 
  new lake, they create a den of raised earth and stone. Access to this 
  den is impossible to non-phasing creatures as they don’t leave a door. 
  The beavers magically phase through the mound. After they excavate 
  and create small breathing holes, they collapse the construction 
  tunnel. Given time, the burrowing beaver can build extraordinary 
  structures. Four kilometers north of Svarvarnuten in Norway, near 
  the Otra river, burrowing beavers have modified a glacial lake to 
  include a geothermal vent and a seventy-meter waterfall to channel 
  runoff. This has created a lush environment that other wildlife have 
  gathered at and also increased the lake’s size by ten percent. Extended 
  family groups of up to fifty members can dwell and work at a single 
  location. They communicate and check their surroundings through 
  the slapping of their tail against the tunnel walls, or they employ high-
  frequency chatter.
  The burrowing beavers can range from a nuisance to dangerous 
  in rural areas and urban sprawls. Burrowing can damage urban water, 
  sewage, and drainage pipes; causing loss of water, or sink and flood 
  structures from collapsed tunnels. Brick and concrete do not deter 
  them as they ram the structure and use their magical ability to break 
  through. Several corporations that own facilities in Europe hire pest 
  control services to check properties for any burrowing beaver infesta-
  tion. The exterminators have an additional incentive of a one hundred 
  and fifty nuyen bounty for captured beavers in AGS, Norway, and the 
  Scandinavian Union for relocation, or fifty nuyen per tail for dead ones 
  from several governments like Poland as they try to keep tabs on the 
  Awakened wildlife.
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  Skills: Perception 2, Spellcasting 2, Swimming 2, Unarmed Combat 1
  Powers: Enhanced Sense (Thermosense, Echolocation), Engulf 
  (Earth), Innate Spell (Shatter), Natural Weapon (Bite: DV 2P, AP 0, 
  –1 reach), Phasing
  
  10
  PARACRITTERS > CENTuRy fERRET
  CENTuRy fERRET
  MUSTELA CENTURAE
  Habitat: Lightly forested areas
  Range: North America
  Frequency: Uncommon
  Identification: A large, amber-colored ferret, averaging one meter in 
  length and three kilograms in weight. It has long, brown tail that is about 
  twenty centimeters long. Its feet and tail are dark brown and a similar 
  dark brown stripe runs along its face like a mask. Its pupils have a reddish 
  tint to them and its fore paws have short claws allowing them to dig.
  Habits: The century ferret has the renown of being the first Awakened 
  species recorded. In the beginning of the 21st century, at eight o’clock in 
  the morning on January first in Chicago, Illinois, the independent news 
  station WSAF reported the discovery of unusual colored black-footed 
  ferrets near Edgebrook Woods, Chicago. Peter Haskle, the witness, 
  showed WSAF his woodshed where he saw the mother and pups. The 
  reporter, Steven Collins, dubbed them “Century Ferrets” in his com-
  mentary. Mr. Collins took one of the pups to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
  Service to get further explanation on this anomaly. Two weeks later Fish 
  and Wildlife gave WSAF the news; the century ferrets didn’t match 
  black-footed ferret DNA, or any other ferret species.
  WSAF had a whole new headline: New species of ferret found in 
  Chicago. It would take another fifteen years before the century ferret 
  was classified as a paranormal animal. Parageologists and parazoolo-
  gists have hypothesized that a short-lived increase of magic, or “mana 
  spike,” occurred in Chicago, causing the Awakening of century ferrets. 
  Besides the different coloration and slightly larger size, 
  the century ferret has similar behaviors to other ferret spe-
  cies. They are fast, agile and aggressive. Century ferrets 
  are diurnal hunters, eating rodents and small birds. They 
  will build dens, and will take advantage of man-made 
  structures. Century ferrets are monogamous in their 
  relationships and mate in the spring. The female 
  ferret can have three to six pups in a litter. There was 
  one unusual behavior unique to century ferrets that 
  could not be explained at the time. Some scholars 
  thought the captured subjects were mentally deficient 
  in some way as they would avoid certain spaces or react crazily to cer-
  tain people. MRIs and autopsies were inconclusive. Today we know the 
  century ferret can sense magical energies and tries to avoid them. It also 
  has aggressive tendencies toward Awakened people. Parazoologists still 
  don’t understand its natural behavior to avoid magic. Some corpora-
  tions have taken advantage of this instinct to train century ferrets to 
  alert security handlers to the presence of Awakened individuals.
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  Skills: Infiltration 2, Perception 2, Tracking 2, Unarmed Combat 2
  Powers: Magic Sense
  Notes: –1 die to resist magical effects and damage
  PARACRITTERS
  
  11
  PARACRITTERS > ELECTRIC mARTEN
  ELECTRIC mARTEN
  MARTES AMPERE 
  Habitat: Heavily forested areas and taigas
  Range: Small pockets in northern Europe and North America
  Frequency: Rare
  Identification: The electric marten has a narrow, weasel-like body, 
  sixty centimeters long and twenty centimeters high at the shoulder. 
  Adults weigh approximately five kilograms. It has a short, red fur 
  with black patches with large ears that are hairless and leathery with 
  a slightly blue tinge. 
  Habits: The electric marten is a rare species, with the first sighting in 
  April of 2065. They were discovered by a search and rescue team track-
  ing radio bursts in the forest at the base of the Carpathian Mountains. 
  The rescuers thought the bursts were coming from hikers needing 
  assistance and signaling with a broken commlink. 
  The electric marten is a social animal with a high density of dens 
  and groups as large as twenty individuals in a five square kilometer 
  area. They mate in the summer, and the female can have three to five 
  kits. The electric marten kits are nurtured by their mother for one year 
  before they are mature enough to live and hunt on their own. Their 
  primary prey was not discovered until much later. While it can survive 
  hunting rats and insects, it has special method to hunt their preferred 
  meal of technocritters, such as nezumi and digits. The electric marten 
  has highly developed ears, which are sensitive to electromagnetic 
  waves, specifically radio waves, to track prey by. Once it finds its prey, 
  it has the magical ability to stun the target with an electrical bolt, fol-
  lowing up the attack with a static discharge to prevent communication 
  to other technocritters. 
  This hunting specialization hinders the electric marten in an 
  urban environment as well as making it a nuisance to civilization. 
  An electric marten cannot tell the difference between a nezumi and 
  a rat next to a RFID or power line, so its attack on the rat can disrupt 
  nearby devices. A few pest control companies such as Seattle’s 
  independently operated Emerald Exterminators or Lone Star’s 
  Paranormal Animals Investigative Services (PAIS) have suc-
  cessfully bred and trained electric martens, getting them 
  to use their abilities on command. These companies 
  have helped prove that the electric marten is not a 
  rapscallion as originally hypothesized.
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  Movement: 10/30
  Skills: Infiltration 2, Perception 2, Spellcasting 4, Tracking 2, Unarmed 
  Combat 2
  Powers: Enhanced Senses (electrosense, radar), Innate Spell 
  (Interference), Innate Spell (Lightning Bolt), Natural Weapon (Bite: 
  DV 2P, AP 0, –1 reach)
  A BRIEF LIST OF AWAKENED INSECTS
  Astral Flies – Fireflies that naturally produce dual natured motes of light.
  Phantom Moths – Attracted to bright auras of Awakened and dual 
  natured people and artifacts.
  Dante’s Bees – Bees that resists fire and heat. They are the pollinators of 
  the Crimson Orchid.
  Morpheus Butterfly – Large black and blue winged butterfly, whose 
  wings glow in the presence of astral energy.
  Parchment Butterfly – Its wings are white in the normal world, but are a 
  rainbow of color on the astral plane.
  
  12
  PARACRITTERS > PuTRImART 
  PuTRImART 
  MUSTELA PUTORIUS MAGNUS
  Habitat: Forested areas, riverbanks, and urban fringes throughout 
  Europe
  Range: European Continent
  Frequency: Uncommon
  Identification: The putrimart is a large Awakened mink species, averag-
  ing 90 centimeters in length with a 40 centimeter long tail and weighing 
  approximately 8 kilograms. Its silky dark brown fur lightens to a yellow-
  ish hue under fur and changes to white on its face with three thin white 
  stripes running parallel down its back and tail. The putrimart exudes a 
  foul stench comparable to rotting meat.
  Habits: The putrimart is the Awakened version of the common western 
  polecat (Mustela putorius) or foulmart. It lives in underground burrows 
  with multiple entrances in communities of sixty or more members. 
  Putrimart territory can be easily identified by the strong odor that they 
  produce. The putrimart has several sets of glands to produce the malodor-
  ous chemical; one at the base of its tail and two more in its forepaws. The 
  odor is used for hunting, mating, marking territory, and defense.
  When hunting, the putrimart will scratch the ground or a tree, 
  marking the spot like a trap to attract carrion eaters like ravens, rodents, 
  reptiles, and insects. When threatened, the putrimart will raise its tail 
  to warn the attacker, before turning to spray with 
  its anal musk gland. With much of their territory 
  invaded by metahuman suburbs, the putrimart has 
  adopted scavenging behaviors, raiding garbage cans 
  and dump sites. 
  The putrimart has been a valuable commodity 
  since the late ‘30s; Flure Essential Oils of Renraku 
  Europia (RE) has been harvesting putrimart musk 
  glands for cosmetics products, Lepken Leisure of 
  RE processes the fine fur into high priced textiles 
  for other clothing companies, and the putrimart meat is made into 
  food products by GoodTreats, also of RE. Unfortunately putrimarts 
  have low survival rates in captivity, including on free-range farms. 
  Putrimart farms have to continually bring in wild putrimarts to keep 
  the sparse breeding program viable. Due to excessive trapping and 
  black-market hunting, Scandinavian countries agreed to a unified pro-
  tection of the species, enforceable by hefty fines and possible prison 
  sentences for the possession and transportation of putrimarts in or out 
  of their countries.
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  Movement: 10/30
  Skills: Infiltration 2, Perception 2, Tracking 2, Unarmed Combat 2
  Powers: Concealment, Natural Weapon (Bite: DV 2P, AP 0, –1reach), 
  Substance Extrusion (Skunk Fluid)
  Notes: Double the duration for the skunk fluid to remain on sub-
  ject. Subjects attacked by a putrimart’s claws are coated by the same 
  skunk fluid.
  PARACRITTERS
  
  13
  PARACRITTERS > gHAzu HoRSES
  gHAzu HoRSES
  EQUUS FERUS BEDOUII
  Habitat: Plains and Grasslands
  Range: Middle East and pockets in Central Asia.
  Frequency: Uncommon
  Identification: Ghazu horses are black skinned with fur in three pos-
  sible colors; black, white, or dull silver. They have a similar morphology 
  to Arabian horses with a larger, angular head that tapers into a small, 
  narrow muzzle, though ghazu horses’ heads have a more streamlined 
  bone structure with smaller angled nostrils. They have a compact body 
  with strong bones, graceful legs, and a slightly upturned tail. They stand 
  150-160 centimeters tall at the shoulder and average 475 kilograms in 
  weight. 
  Habits: The ghazu horse is an Awakened species of horses; more 
  specifically Arabian horses. After examining historical data on the 
  species, scientists have confirmed that approximately eighty percent of 
  the Seglawi and Muniqi lines of Arabian horses Awakened into ghazu 
  horses. Ghazu horses are just as intelligent and stubborn as Arabians 
  and have been known to hold grudges. They have a closer bond to meta-
  humans and can become fiercely loyal, even to the death. Ghazu horses 
  have the same reproduction and development cycle as other horses with 
  females having one foal a season and ghazu horses reaching maturity at 
  four years old. Training and bonding with a ghazu horse begins two 
  years earlier. This millennium old tradition is assumed to be what makes 
  ghazu horses more trainable than bayards. Crossbreeding ghazu with 
  normal horses only produces sterile, Arabian-looking horses with no 
  Awakened abilities. Attempts at crossbreeding ghazu with bayards or 
  farasi have proven impossible due to genetic divergence.
  Several herds of ghazu horses are found throughout the world, 
  though the largest herds are in the Middle East. Global Sandstorm in 
  the Arabian Caliphate and the Eternal Keheylan in Egypt each have 
  well over a thousand head. Middle Eastern countries and corporations 
  in the region have been making attempts to purchase ghazu horses 
  and have found themselves in competition with corporations associ-
  ated with the KTRA. The Bedouin and Nubian have refitted horse-
  mounted infantry with ghazu horses, as they are much faster than 
  Arabian horses and can challenge bayard and farasi in speed. Also their 
  ability to bond with its rider makes them more valuable than rinaldos.
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  Movement: 20/100
  Skills: Running 4, Unarmed Combat 4
  Powers: Dual Natured, Empathy, Guard, Magic Guard, Magic Sense, 
  Movement (Self Only), Natural Weapon (Kick: DV 4P, AP 0)
  
  14
  PARACRITTERS > gHoST DoLPHIN
  gHoST DoLPHIN
  DELPHINUS SPECTRE
  Habitat: Coastal waters of the Pacific 
  Range: Southeast Asia and Indian Ocean
  Frequency: Uncommon
  Identification: The ghost dolphin is a cetacean species similar in 
  appearance to other humpback dolphins, averaging two to three meters 
  in length and 190 kilograms in weight. Their skin color is normally 
  grey or white with pink variegation like marble, due to blood vessels 
  close to the skin’s surface. It has a narrow, beak-like nose with tiny sharp 
  teeth and a fifteen-centimeter-high dorsal fin that is nearly translucent, 
  like frosted glass. Young ghost dolphins are grey in color and gradually 
  become pale white as they mature. Adult ghost dolphins slowly lose 
  color in their dorsal fin until it is transparent.
  Habits: Ghost dolphins are a mysterious Awakened species of the 
  Chinese white dolphin. Rumors and videos have not revealed a clear 
  understanding of their behavior; the majority of encounters with 
  the ghost dolphin have led to accidents on ships, floating rigs and 
  harbors, though there have been a small percentage of reported cases 
  in which ghost dolphins have rescued people from drowning. The 
  ghost dolphins are often seen when there is a thick marine layer, 
  which obscures them from visual and thermal detection. They are 
  sociable with other dolphins and will travel and hunt with pods of 
  mundane or moon dolphins. 
  Not much is known of their breeding habits, but one hypothesis 
  suggests the ghost dolphins migrate inland to secluded freshwater 
  lakes. In mist form, it is conceivable that they can gain access to these 
  places, which would explain certain sightings of large lake-dwelling 
  creatures. Besides natural predators such as megaladons and sea wolves, 
  ghost dolphins recently have to deal with direct metahuman encroach-
  ment. Several Chinese corporations have been adding AgHexHex to 
  their paranormal defense arsenal on gas and oil rig platforms and com-
  mercial vessels to deter ghost dolphins from attacking. Ghost dolphins 
  do show a high degree of intelligence and pods of ghost dolphins will 
  coordinate attacks, showing more aggression against ships that have 
  AgHexHex sprayers.
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  Movement: 20/80 (swimming)
  Skills: Diving 2, Gymnastics 4, Perception 3, Spellcasting 4, Swimming 
  4, Unarmed Combat 2
  Powers: Accident, Enhanced Senses (Sonar), Innate Spell (Mist), Mist 
  Form, Search
  PARACRITTERS
  
  15
  PARACRITTERS > gyRE 
  gyRE 
  CARTHARTES CATHARTES REPARTUS
  Habitat: Light forested and some urban areas
  Range: Southwest North America
  Frequency: Uncommon
  Identification: The gyre is a large raptor species with a length of 1.4 
  meters and a wingspan of four meters. Its body is covered with dark 
  brown dorsal feathers, accented with lighter shades of brown and 
  white feathers beneath its wings. A gyre’s featherless, red-skinned head 
  features large, bright-red eyes and a pale pink beak. Its bare legs and 
  taloned feet are also a pale pink hue. Juvenile gyres are completely grey 
  in color until molting when they become adults. 
  Habits: The gyre is the Awakened cousin to the common turkey 
  buzzard (Carthetes aura), although somewhat larger. The gyre was 
  originally mistaken for the Awakened progeny of the extinct California 
  condor (Gyrnnogyps californianus) due to the fact that the first gyre was 
  seen in the California Free State. The species was named the gyre as it 
  spends most of every day circling on thermal air vortexes watching for 
  prey. Much like their cousins, they are carrion feeders that hunt prey 
  that is either dead or weakened to near-death. They soar over the Rocky 
  Mountain regions, searching for prey from an incredible two kilometers 
  above the ground. The gyre will fly with a flock of six to eight family-
  tied individuals in search of food. When it is found, they will all gather 
  and share in the feast. The matron of the flock feeds first.
  The gyre does not nest, but lays eggs directly on ground in caves, 
  crevices, even abandoned buildings. The gyre lay clutches of 1 to 3 
  cream-colored eggs. After hatching, the chicks are helpless for the first 
  week, depending on its parents to regurgitate partially digested car-
  rion to them. The gyre has a severe allergy to pollution, which limits 
  its habitat and interferes with the male’s fertility. The allergy is also 
  believed to increase eggshell thickness, which makes it difficult for 
  hatchlings to break through. Gyres that nest in abandoned building 
  have the lowest survival rate for the young. Juveniles learn the hard 
  way when feeding on urban carrion, becoming picky eaters, avoiding 
  organs like the liver and fatty tissues, where heavy metals concentrate.
  Since the Twin Quakes in the California Free State, the gyre has 
  experienced a population boom with a fifteen percent increase in pop-
  ulation and expansion of their territory to include more coastal areas. 
  Following the quake events, a causal relation to increased number of 
  metahuman suicides has been linked to the gyre’s presence. As quake 
  victims awaited rescue, the ominous appearance of gyre flocks circling 
  overhead instilled the feelings of impending doom, causing many to 
  take their own lives as hopelessness overcame them.
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  Movement: 20/60 (flight)
  Skills: Flight 3, Perception 3, Spellcasting 3, Tracking 2, Unarmed 
  Combat 2
  Powers: Control Emotions, Enhanced Senses (Low-Light). Immunity 
  to Pathogens, Immunity to Poisons, Innate Spell (Detect Life), Natural 
  Weapon (Bite/Claw: DV 2P, AP 0)
  Weaknesses: Allergy (Pollution, Severe)
  THE TOP FIVE LEADING ZOOS TO SEE AWAKENED ANIMALS:
  1. San Diego Safari Park, San Diego, Aztlan: 2000 acres (7.4 square kilometers) of animals 
  can be seen in simulated natural habitat. gazhu, humped horses, and unicorns roam the 
  enclosed pastures. The reptile house includes chimeras, chupacabras, and Lambton lizards.
  2. Animal Kingdom, Orlando, CAS: 500 acres of park with the first merrow “ambassador” and 
  his oceanic habitation area within the park.
  3. Berlin Zoo, A.G.S: 34 acre zoo with one of the most complete collection of paranormal species 
  in Europe. Nimue’s salamander and the wild minotaur are its prized possessions.
  4. Artis Zoo, United Netherlands: Artis zoo includes live feeds and recorded journals of 
  parazoologists and parabotanists out in the field around the world.
  5. Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, Azania: multiple biospheres that show the unique 
  relationship between Awakened plants and animals.
  
  16
  PARACRITTERS > mooN DoLPHIN 
  mooN DoLPHIN 
  DELPHINUS LUNA
  Habitat: Coastal waters of the Pacific 
  Range: Southeast Asia and India
  Frequency: Rare
  Identification: A cetacean species similar in appearance to other 
  dolphins, averaging 3.5 meters in length and 200 kilograms in 
  weight. Their skin has a polished, white alabaster appearance. The 
  moon dolphin’s fore head is slightly bulbous, projecting over its 
  beak.
  Habits: The moon dolphin is even more elusive than the ghost dolphin 
  with only a handful of verified images taken over the past decade. One 
  of the reasons is the projection of illusionary terrain they create as they 
  journey through the South China Sea and North Pacific Ocean. Like 
  the Hawai’i natives, moon dolphins are said to come from the land of 
  Mu, and legend has it that the illusion that they project is the memory 
  of Mu passed on to each dolphin in their pod. The illusion is very haz-
  ardous when the dolphins approach close to land or cross shipping lanes 
  as ships attempt to avoid illusionary islands or travelers get lost in the 
  fantastic terrain. It is so much of a hazard that the Philippines have a 
  warning system for fishermen and maritime travelers to alert them of 
  possible moon dolphin sightings. This poses a dilemma as poachers also 
  observe the warning system. The mood dolphin’s hide is sought after 
  by hunters and talismongers. Once tanned, the skin still retains a high 
  gloss white appearance. Hides sell from seventeen to thirty thousand 
  nuyen on the black-market. In 2067, the Dragon Lung decreed the 
  death penalty for anyone who is found to have hunted or possessed 
  moon dolphin parts, and a twenty-thousand-nuyen bounty has been 
  placed on mercenaries that have escaped punishment.
  The rest of the moon dolphin’s behavior is typical of other 
  dolphins; hunting schools of fish, swimming in pods, etc. They are 
  sociable with other cetacean species, travelling in mixed pods of ghost 
  and mundane dolphins. Moon dolphins have also been seen in astral 
  space, and are sometimes mistaken for a water spirit.
   
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  Skills: Diving 2, Gymnastics 4, Perception 3, Swimming 4, Unarmed 
  Combat 2
  Powers: Astral Form, Enhanced Senses (Sonar), Fey Glamour
  PARACRITTERS
  
  17
  PARACRITTERS > RoCK LIzARD
  RoCK LIzARD
  PHRYNOSOMA CALIBURNI
  Habitat: Deserts and scrub lands
  Range: North and Central America
  Frequency: Uncommon
  Identification: Rock lizards are 75 centimeters to a meter long from 
  nose to tail and weigh between 10 and 12 kilograms. Their bodies are 
  covered with a rough textured skin featuring irregular scales and dermal 
  deposits allowing it to blend in with rocky terrain. It has a fringed crest 
  with four cranial ridges, two over the eyes and two under the mouth, 
  which connect to the crest. Color patterns vary depending on the 
  habitat; from tan or brown with white and black patterning to grey 
  with similar chromatic patterns. Its long prehensile tongue is forked 
  like a snake and its toes have sharp, curved claws.
  Habits: The rock lizard is an ambush predator; using natural camou-
  flage, it skulks slowly to its prey, striking with its venom-coated tongue. 
  This strike is an attempt to incapacitate the target, allowing the rock 
  lizard to swallow the target whole. If the target is too large, the rock 
  lizard will bite and twist off chunks of flesh, similar to the Komodo 
  dragon’s eating habits. To aid with digestion, the rock lizard swallows 
  stones to grind the meal. They prey on whatever they can catch; kanga-
  roo rats, novo scorpions, gamma spiders, road racers, anything around 
  its size that will stick around long enough. Rock lizards have slow 
  digestion, similar to other reptiles. After gorging on a meal, they may 
  not eat for several days, even weeks. 
  After digestion, the rock lizard 
  regurgitates the stones and indi-
  gestible remains. These smooth, 
  acid-etched stones are collected 
  and used as telesma for spell foci.
  While the rock lizard has been seen to hunt in packs, they will not 
  attack creatures larger than themselves, even as a group. They will try 
  to remain motionless to avoid attracting attention of larger creatures. 
  If attacked, they will flee if possible. One thing noticed with rock 
  lizards as they attack or are attacked is their ability to flatten close to 
  the ground. This low center of gravity position makes it difficult for a 
  predator to flip a rock lizard over or to knock it around.
  Rock lizards mate in the summer and lay eggs in the fall. The 
  female lays her eggs in a burrow in the side of a hill. The clutch con-
  tains an average of 15 eggs. The eggs have their own camouflage with 
  mottled coloring and irregular calcium deposits giving them an appear-
  ance of stones. The female will incubate the eggs until spring, when 
  after the rainy season, there will be plenty of prey. Young rock lizards 
  roll in fecal matter of other animals to avoid being eaten by predators 
  or adult rock lizards.
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  Movement: 15/35
  Skills: Exotic Ranged weapon (Tongue) 2, Infiltration 2, Perception 3, 
  Shadowing 3, Tracking 3, Unarmed Combat 3
  Powers: Enhanced Senses (Smell), Immunity to Poisons, Natural 
  Weapon (Bite/Claws DV 3P, AP 0), Regeneration, Venom
  Weaknesses: Vulnerability (Cold)
  Notes: Rock lizard tongue has a +1 Reach.
  
  18
  PARACRITTERS > SABgARIfyA (fARASI BAHARI)
  SABgARIfyA (fARASI BAHARI)
  EQUUS FERUS SABGARII
  Habitat: Coastal and scrublands
  Range: Coastal areas around the Indian Ocean
  Frequency: Rare
  Identification: The sabgarifya are an equine species with a long dorsal 
  fin, ending in a flat, eel-like tail. Gill slits are located along the lower 
  half of its neck allowing for its head be above water, yet still breathe. 
  Its feet are wide, with a three-toed hoof instead of the traditional single 
  toe. The farasi bahari has sleek seal-like fur like, in shades of green and 
  brown, and a secondary eyelid for it to see underwater. Its ears are small 
  and hidden by a fur covering. Sabgarifya stand 150-160 centimeters tall 
  at the shoulder and average 500 kilograms in weight.
  Habits: Sabgarifya, more commonly known as farasi bahari (or farasi 
  for short) is an Awakened species of horse that has adapted to aquatic 
  environments. Specifically, geneticists have concluded that the farasi 
  has Awakened from the Marwari breed of Indian horses. The farasi has 
  similar head features like the ghazu, though adapted for its habitat. The 
  farasi are unable to crossbreed with bayards, ghazu, or standard horses. 
  The farasi lives most of its life in water. It grazes on kelp as well 
  as the scrub brush around beaches. The gills are a secondary form of 
  breathing, allowing it to stay underwater for an indefinite length of 
  time. While it can stay out of the water to cross land, it gets dehydrated 
  quickly. It will sleep in ocean shallows, preferring inlets and unpolluted 
  harbors for protection against storms. To prevent drifting out to sea, 
  they wrap themselves in seaweed beds. Farasi have one foal a season, 
  with rare cases of twins. They give birth in the water. In minutes, the 
  young farasi can swim proficiently enough to keep up with its parents. 
  The farasi has several natural predators notably killer whales and 
  sharks (including megalodon and torpedo) in the water and wolves on 
  land. Farasi swim as a group, keeping the young in the middle. They 
  can defend themselves by magically generating geysers of water if they 
  can’t run away. 
  Evo India, Maritech Enterprise’s Seaworld Entertainment in San 
  Diego, and several others have had some success in training the farasi 
  to take riders. The most successful is the Rajput Calvary of the Indian 
  Union. Their program has had a surprising result in a sort of symbiotic 
  aquatic breathing between horse and rider, removing the need for 
  scuba gear in amphibious assaults.
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  Movement: 20/100
  Skills: Running 4, Spellcasting 3, Swimming 4, Unarmed Combat 2
  Powers: Elemental Attack (Water), Gills, Innate Spell (Oxygenate), 
  Movement, Natural Weapon (Kick: DV 4P, AP 0)
  Notes: Farasi also have the innate ability to Glide as the adept power 
  for (2 x Magic) meters over water.
  A NEW BREED OF RIDING HORSES
  Prices and availability of domesticated riding horses of the Sixth World:
  Name 
  Availability  
  Cost
  Farasi 
  16 
  150,000
  Ghazu 
  16 
  120,000
  Rinaldo 
  14 
  100,000
  PARACRITTERS
  
  19
  PARACRITTERS > SCINTILLANT ALBATRoSS 
  SCINTILLANT ALBATRoSS 
  DIOMEDEA SCINTILLANS
  Habitat: Oceans and islands
  Range: Both the northern and southern hemispheres close to the arctic 
  and Antarctic.
  Frequency: Uncommon
  Identification: The scintillant albatross is a huge, web-footed seabird 
  with an average wingspan of 3.6 meters and a weight of about one 
  kilogram. It has a long, strong bill, along with lightly colored pink and 
  white plumage with some variation of dark feathers on the upper wings 
  and tail. Males have additional orange-colored plumage on the head.
  Habits: The scintillant albatross is the Awakened version of the great 
  Royal Albatross (both North and South species). For most of the year, 
  they look and act like their un-Awakened brethren; gliding on the 
  wind for kilometers in search of food. They are also colonists, heading 
  to specific islands for mating. Like their mundane counterparts, the 
  males perform an aerial exhibition to attract mates. During the spring 
  equinox when they mate, the male scintillant albatross puts on a pyro-
  technic display, combining aerial acrobatics and projections of fire. 
  The male does this presentation for a few days every year, breathing 
  fire and wreathing itself in flames while flying. Corporate vacation 
  cruise lines like Majestik Cruise Lines and Hermes Tours travel to 
  Campbell Island or Enderby Island of New Zealand to watch the 
  week-long display. No scintillant albatrosses are hurt in their fiery 
  flourish, and their scorching techniques, when used on or close to 
  the ground, have been most beneficial to the environment. The flames 
  carbonize the trash from the ocean and combine with the nitrates 
  from the feces to create a natural fertilizer that aids the growth of 
  island vegetation.
  Ares has been working to keep the islands as a nature preserve, but 
  during the Orchalium rush of 2060 the islands were struck by covert 
  mining operations and mercenary skirmishes before the orchalium 
  dried up. Between 2060 and 2062, the population of the scintillant 
  albatross declined as they became a source of food for mercenaries. 
  The female lays two eggs a season. Most of the time, after hatch-
  ing, the dominant chick battles the weaker chick for attention. This 
  includes the use of their powers, which normally proves fatal for the 
  weaker sibling. Few animals prey on live chicks due to their ability to 
  create fire within a few weeks of birth. Crabs have learned to either 
  take only one of the eggs (if there are two), or wait till one of the sib-
  lings has been defeated.
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  Movement: 20/40 (flight)
  Skills: Flight 4, Perception 2, Unarmed Combat 1
  Powers: Animal Control (Sea Birds), Elemental projection (Fire), 
  Energy Aura (Fire), 
  Weaknesses: Dietary Requirement (Fish)
  
  20
  PARACRITTERS > SNoW mooSE
  SNoW mooSE
  ALCES NATISIS
  Habitat: Boreal and Mixed forests 
  Range: Northern areas of North America
  Frequency: Uncommon
  Identification: The snow moose is a large deer species with antlers that 
  expand into a broad palmation 1.6 meters across. It averages 2.5 meters 
  tall at the shoulder and 670 kilograms in weight. It has a white coat of 
  fur with grey hackles on the back of the neck.
  Habits: Due to its snowy camouflage coloration and ability to move 
  silently, the snow moose is a rarely documented animal. The Awakened 
  cousin of the Canadian moose moves in large herds of two thousand 
  members, with females outnumbering males three to one. While the 
  herds are large, they move quietly and without a trace, leaving nothing but 
  their foraging behind. They travel from the Algonkian-Manitou Council 
  in the East to the most western portions of the Athabaskan Council. 
  They are occasionally found as far south as Seattle. During the spring and 
  summer months, the snow moose coat darkens to a coal-black color. It 
  is also at this time snow moose mate. Females will have a single calf a 
  season, while the males often move from female to female, siring multiple 
  offspring. After mating, the male loses its antlers and start reserving fat for 
  the winter months. During the fall, the snow moose begin their wintry 
  transformation to white coats with new antlers for the next season. 
  Only the most motivated of hunters try to track the snow moose, 
  as there is easier prey available. The snow moose males will defend the 
  females and young, standing together as a wall of horns. Quebec’s two 
  hundred and fifty nuyen bounty for snow moose has almost eliminated 
  them within their country.
   
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  Movement: 20/50
  Skills: Perception 2, Running 3, Unarmed Combat 2
  Powers: Enhanced Senses (Low-Light Vision), Immunity (Cold), 
  Natural Weapon (Horns: DV 5P, AP 0), Silence
  Notes: Snow moose has the Traceless Walk ability per the adept power. 
  Their horns have +1 Reach.
  PARACRITTERS
  
  21
  PARACRITTERS > SToNE ToAD 
  SToNE ToAD 
  BOMBINA INVISUS 
  Habitat: Mountainous and hilly country with some rural encroachment
  Range: Southern and central Europe
  Frequency: Rare
  Identification: The stone toad is a small amphibian, 55 millimeters 
  long and averaging 30 grams in weight. It has short front legs and mus-
  cular hind legs with rough textured skin colored green-brown with 
  underbelly being an anosmatic coloration of bright yellow-green. Their 
  pupils are heart-shaped like their progenitors.
  Habits: The stone toad is an Awakened amphibian related to the yel-
  low-bellied toad (Bombina variegata). It primarily lives on small insects 
  and invertebrates. Active from spring through fall, the toad croaks in a 
  soft, high-pitched voice, with some sounds in the high-frequency range. 
  The stone toad is solitary except during mating season, during which 
  they gather at stony outcroppings. The stone toad excretes a protective 
  slime that is mildly acidic, which can cause chemical burns to others if 
  left untreated. This makes the gathering locations easy to identify by 
  the small indents left behind. The slime is also hallucinogenic, which 
  can disorient a predator after it puts a stone toad in its mouth. Females 
  lay clutches of ten to thirty eggs (each egg is about two millimeters 
  in size) in the grass around rocky outcroppings and coat them in a 
  thick protective jelly. The eggs do not have the toxic protection of the 
  parents, so snakes and other small predators will feed on them. Instead 
  the jelly contains high sugar content and the chemical phenylalanine. 
  This makes predators feel “full” before they eat all the eggs 
  and increases the chances of survival. After three days, 
  the eggs hatch into a larval stage, and will mature in 
  four months. Adult stone toads have only the wyrd 
  mantis and the occasional demon rat as natural 
  predators, due to their immunity to the toxic 
  and corrosive secretions. 
  Stone toads are becoming endangered because of poaching. 
  Outside of protected habitats, they are extremely rare as hunters will 
  kill them for telesma or the creation of hallucinogenic drugs. The ferric 
  septal bone of the skull, the “stone,” is highly prized as a component 
  of sustaining foci. It was an accident that parazoologists discovered in 
  2056 that spells cast in the general area of stone toads, can be momen-
  tarily sustained by the toad’s own energy.
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  Movement: 5/8
  Skills: Perception 2, Unarmed Combat 1
  Powers: Corrosive Secretions, Venom (Hallucinogen)
  Notes: The stone toad has the innate ability of Living Focus as per 
  the adept power.
  STONE TOAD TOXIN
  Vector: Ingestion
  Speed: 5 minutes
  Penetration: 1
  Power: 10
  Effect: Disorientation and hallucinations. This state can last for two hours 
  before being metabolized by the body. The toxin can be addictive.
  
  22
  PARACRITTERS > TACHyPuS 
  TACHyPuS 
  ANTILOCAPRA CELERITER
  Habitat: Grasslands, brush lands, and desert
  Range: Western and Central North America
  Frequency: Uncommon
  Identification: The tachypus resembles a small pronghorn, with a 
  shoulder height of 0.7 meters, and an average weight of 45 kilograms. 
  It has short pair of sharp horns with a slight curve toward the forehead.
  The horns also have a shorter tine at the base facing forward. It has a 
  short coat of fur, which is a light brown dorsally becoming white on the 
  underbelly. Some individuals, mostly males, have a dark brown stripe 
  running from their nose, down the back and a narrow muzzle with a 
  pair of protruding canines. The rest of its teeth are angled suggesting 
  a carnivorous diet. The feet are cloven with a pronounced dew claw.
  Habits: The pronghorn, or antilocapra Americana, is known to be a 
  very fast animal, evolving that way to avoid predators with bursts of 
  speed. It is cited as the second fastest land animal with recorded bursts 
  of speed of 70 km/h. Its Awakened progeny, the tachypus, is faster and 
  a carnivore, putting them on par with the cheetah. The tachypus will 
  hunt jackrabbits, jackalopes, and other small mammals, using its speed, 
  with bursts recorded up to 120 km/h, to run its prey down. It is the 
  only recorded Awakened critter known for hunting and eating its own 
  progenitor. Besides running and trampling small game, it can gouge 
  and pin its victims with its horns, kick or strike with the dew claw to 
  hobble or hamstring the victim. It makes a hissing cry like a snake, with 
  the expected effect of making some prey hesitant to move. Both sexes 
  hunt, though they tend to be solo hunters. In the presence of larger 
  animals, they are more timid and keep their distance. Predators, like 
  the sabertooth tiger, do not distinguish them from other pronghorns 
  and will eat both. Because of its speed, it is rarely put into a position 
  to fight, choosing to run a majority of the time. Living on protected 
  habitat in Sioux and Pueblo Corporate Council soil, the NAN allows 
  conservative hunting of the tachypus to keep them in check with the 
  indigenous species. 
  During mating season, the tachypus will congregate at specific 
  mating grounds. The males fight each other for mates, which have 
  occasionally led to the death of the loser. The female has a long ges-
  tation period that lasts for almost a year (three hundred days, to be 
  precise) before a new tachypus is born. Lifespan of a tachypus averages 
  eighteen years.
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  Movement: 25/80
  Skills: Climbing 3, Perception 3, Running 2, Unarmed Combat 3
  Powers: Movement, Natural Weapon (Horns: DV 3P, AP –1), Natural 
  Weapon (Bite/Claw: DV 3P, AP 0)
  PARACRITTERS
  
  23
  ToXIC CRITTERS > AmIKuK 
  AmIKuK 
  MIROUNGA SHIVA
  Habitat: Coastal areas 
  Range: Along the Pacific coast, from Trans Aleutian to UCAS.
  Frequency: Uncommon
  Identification: Amikuks resemble elephant seals with shiny mottled 
  black or brown skin coloring. Averaging three to five meters long and 
  weighing from 2,000 to 5,000 kilograms, their formidable bodies are 
  dragged on the ground by its four 1.2-meter-long arms. Their flip-
  perless forelimb adaptation has been attributed to the atrophy of 
  its tail and hind limbs. Male amikuks have a large proboscis, which 
  droops over its muzzle and partially obscures its small tusks. Females 
  are smaller in size and do not have a pronounced proboscis, though 
  their tusks are slightly larger.
  Habits: The amikuk is a toxic species of Awakened elephant seal 
  (mirounga angustirostris) that resembles the primal nightmares of the 
  Aleutic natives. An opportunistic hunter, the amikuk waits for a meal 
  to come to it rather than chase. One observed hunting technique of the 
  amikuk is to vomit partially digested food, chumming the water, then 
  float in the debris waiting for marine birds, fish, or other unfortunate 
  animals. As the prey begin to feed, the amikuk uses its arms to catch 
  anything within reach, crushing or drowning its victims underwater. 
  A more brazen technique employed is to hide under docks or boats 
  in a harbor, grabbing victims, and drowning them. The amikuk is not 
  discriminate regarding its prey. Due to the amikuk’s voracious appetite, 
  they can decimate traditional fishing grounds. The Athabaskin Council 
  has sanctioned hunting of Amikuk and has a standing bounty of five 
  hundred nuyen for males, three hundred nuyen for females, and two 
  hundred nuyen for pups. Unfortunately the breeding grounds for the 
  amikuk are inside protected parks, so only those that stray into civiliza-
  tion or open water are able to be legally hunted.
  An amikuk’s slimy coating and rubbery blubber allow it to hide on 
  the ocean surface, rippling on the water like a wave as well as assisting it 
  in traveling quickly on land, though rarely for long distances. Amikuk 
  migrate during the summer, heading south along the Aleutian chain 
  to breed and have been seen as far south as the Puget Sound. Small 
  colonies of fifty to one hundred have been found on the same breeding 
  islands as the northern elephant seal, though they don’t coexist on the 
  island during the same months. Males have harems of twenty to thirty 
  females. Male amikuks combating for dominance flail their four arms 
  wildly, trying to club the opponent into submission. Each female can 
  have one to three pups a season.
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  Movement: 20/30 (swimming)
  Skills: Diving 2, Perception 2, Swimming 3, Unarmed Combat 2
  Powers: Armor (1/2), Devouring, Weapon (Bite/Claw: DV 3P, AP 0)
  Qualities: Shiva Arms, Elongated Arms, Greasy Skin
  Weaknesses: Mild Allergy (sunlight)
  Notes: The amikuk’s claws have +2 Reach.
  
  24
  ToXIC CRITTERS > ECHENEIS 
  ECHENEIS 
  ECHENEIS ECHENIS
  Habitat: Coastal waters and oceans in depths of up to ten meters.
  Range: Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea
  Frequency: Rare
  Identification: Echeneis are toxic eels, distantly related to the shark 
  sucker (echeneis naucrates), that can grow up to a half-meter in length 
  and average three kilograms in weight. Not unlike moray eels, the ech-
  eneis have pharyngeal jaws; the outer-most mouth is a downturned oral 
  disk, or sucker-mouth. An echeneis’ skin shines a reflective green and 
  silver in a pattern resembling scales, crowned by a dorsal fin up to a 
  third of a meter in height.
  Habits: The echeneis is a parasitic creature, feeding on both the crus-
  taceans that attach themselves to ships and the ships themselves. The 
  echeneis swims upside down to attach itself to the bottom of passing 
  boats, there it uses its pharyngeal jaws (or second set) and acidic spit to 
  scrape the hull, feeding on the organic and inorganic debris. If unde-
  tected, an echenies can bore a hole through a ship’s hull in days.
  The echeneis has no fear of predators or metahumans, as recorded 
  encounters have proven it to be extremely tough. Ship crews also have 
  a hard time detaching the creature from the hull, as it seems to ignore 
  their pokes and prods. Greek fishermen now bring cast-iron disks, 
  stamped with the image of St. Peter, in the hopes of luring the creature 
  to the coins rather than the hull. The echeneis is rare, meaning little 
  study of the creature’s mating habits has been performed. A current 
  hypothesis is that its mating practices are similar to those of the shark 
  sucker. The echenis doesn’t appear to swim in large groups, though 
  there have been reports of more than one echenesis attached to a ship. 
  Undocumented rumors of TerraFirst! groups trying to breed/train 
  these eels have been brought up by several agencies involved around 
  the Mediterranean.
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  Movement: 10/20 (swimming)
  Skills: Perception 2, Swimming 3, Unarmed Combat 2
  Powers: Corrosive Spit, Enhanced Senses (Smell), Gills, Immunity 
  (Normal Weapons), Natural Weapon (Bite: DV 3P, AP 0) 
  Weaknesses: Dietary requirement (Iron, Fiberglass)
  TOXIC CRITTERS
  
  25
  ToXIC CRITTERS > HELIoDRomuS 
  HELIoDRomuS 
  ALATUSLEO AQUILA NECRA
  Habitat: Mountains to steppe plains near civilization
  Range: Northern Hemisphere
  Frequency: Rare
  Identification: This toxic creature is similar to the griffin, being a crea-
  ture with four limbs and two wings on a leonid-shaped body with dark 
  brown or black fur. These creatures have a vulture-like head, with most 
  of their head feathers gone, leaving it bald and dull red in color. Only 
  a tuft of feathers remain around the neck. Its large, curved beak varies 
  from red to tan in hue. The heliodromus can reach up to 3 meters in 
  length and weigh an average of 160 kilograms.
  Habits: How the heliodromus evolved from the griffin remains unclear. 
  The heliodromus are carrion eaters with a powerful stereoscopic sense 
  of smell. They have been known to raid graveyards and battlefields for 
  food. In rare cases, heliodromus have also foraged through garbage 
  dumps and morgues in search of rotting meat. The heliodromus are 
  more opportunistic in nature than the griffin, and they are equally as 
  intelligent. They often wait near freeways and borders, watching for 
  animals or metahumans to die. They will occasionally toy with their 
  prey, attempting to scare it into a dangerous situation like running off 
  a cliff or into traffic, rather attacking it directly. If hungry enough, the 
  heliodromus can hunt and kill, but its digestive system does not effec-
  tively process fresh meat. The heliodromus prefers to drag prey off to 
  let it decompose before eating. Flight and fear are its main tactics in 
  a combat situation, with fighting reserved for defending a meal from 
  other scavengers. It shows no fear of metahumans.
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  Movement: 20/100 (flight)
  Skills: Flight 4, Perception 5, Unarmed Combat 4
  Powers: Enhanced Senses (Smell, Vision Magnification), Fear, Natural 
  Weapon (Claws: DV 8P, AP –1)
  Weakness: Dietary needs (decomposing meat)
  RARE GRIFFIN FAMILY MEMBERS
  Two extremely rare paranormal animals have been discovered on the 
  Serdarbulak Plateau in the Middle East.
  Labeled as the criospinx and hieracospinx, these flightless creatures 
  appear similar to griffins with lion bodies, but their wings are vestigial. The 
  criospinx has curled horns wrapping around their lion-like ears. The hieraco-
  spinx has a narrower, falcon-like head instead of an eagle. More research is 
  needed into their identification and if they are SURGE subspecies of griffin.
  
  26
  ToXIC CRITTERS > oLIgoI-KHoRKHoL – moNgoLIAN DEATH WoRm
  oLIgoI-KHoRKHoL – 
  moNgoLIAN DEATH WoRm
  MEGASCOLIDES OLIGOI
  Habitat: Deserts 
  Range: Asia and Middle East
  Frequency: Uncommon
  Identification: Death worms can grow up to three meters long and 
  are blood red or blotchy red in skin color. They weigh, on average, fifty 
  kilograms, with older death worms recorded as exceeding four meters 
  in length and seventy kilograms in weight. It has a circular mouth with 
  a tri-hooked lip to grab and hold objects to its mouth.
  Habits: Thanks to a mutation that appears to be caused by industrial 
  pollution such as radioactive soil, heavy toxic metals, and sulfuric com-
  pounds in the atmosphere, the typically docile sand worm has mutated 
  into the more aggressive oligoi-khorkhol, or Mongolian death worm. 
  Death worms live in the deep sands of the Gobi Desert, but can range 
  far into the semi-desert plains and desert steppe regions when searching 
  for food. The young death worms hunt nocturnally 
  in packs, triangulating the location of prey through 
  vibrations, or tremorsense. Older, larger death 
  worms remain in pits or caves waiting for their prey 
  to stumble into its trap, avoiding the exposure of its 
  UV-sensitive skin to light. Death worms are hermaph-
  roditic, exchanging genetic material with another 
  Mongolian death worm during the cold season. 
  When temperatures warm up, they deposit small eggs 
  (approximately seven millimeters in diameter) in a 
  burrow. A Mongolian death worm can leave clutches 
  of five to ten eggs. The eggs are not protected by its 
  parent and are food to other burrowing animals. The 
  eggs hatch in a matter of days. While the young are 
  only ten centimeters in length, they are fully capable of feeding them-
  selves, taking advantage of the animals that prey on death worm eggs. 
  They grow very quickly, doubling their size every month until reaching 
  maturity. As a side note, fermented Mongolian death worm eggs are 
  considered a desert delicacy, though rarely exported outside of the area.
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  Movement: 2/10
  Skills: Exotic Ranged Weapon 4, Unarmed Combat 3
  Powers: Armor (2/2), Corrosive Spit, Immunity (Pathogens, Toxins), 
  Enhanced Senses (Tremor sense), Natural Weapon (Bite: DV 4P, AP 
  0), Regeneration, Taint
  Weaknesses: Mild Allergy (sunlight)
  TOXIC CRITTERS
  
  27
  ToXIC CRITTERS > SEA WoLf
  SEA WoLf
  ORCINUS LUPUM
  Habitat: Open Ocean and Coastal areas
  Range: Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
  Frequency: Uncommon
  Identification: Sea wolves are mammalian sea creatures growing six 
  to eight meters in length and weighing five to six tons. Their forelimb/
  pectoral fins have developed into four-toed, claw-like hands at the front 
  of an angular fin similar to that of a bat, adapted with a thicker mem-
  brane for swimming. The sea wolf has a pair of tails; one large, angular 
  tail 2 meters wide and a smaller whip like tail, ending in an anchor-like 
  claw. It has a large mouth with razor-sharp teeth and a ridge of nostrils 
  and sensory organs on its head to give it an improved sense of smell 
  and hearing. 
  Habits: Sea wolves are dangerous oceanic creatures, hunting in packs 
  of six or more. Its favorite prey include whales, dolphins, seals, amikuks, 
  and unsuspecting boat passengers. The howl of a sea wolf is said to be 
  terrifying. Fishermen keep constant radio contact and often hire a 
  mercenary with heavy weapon qualifications for the express purpose of 
  defending against these aggressive and fearless creatures when deep sea 
  fishing. The sea wolves are intelligent creatures and know food rides on 
  boats. They will leap out of the water, onto a boat deck, and use their 
  clawed fins to open doors and hatches to grab at victims. When that 
  fails, a hungry pack of sea wolves will attempt to capsize a boat, then 
  circle to wait for survivors to escape. There have been reports of raids 
  on cannery ships, or other large vessels to find food, with sea wolves 
  navigating stairs and hallways. DNA testing has shown sea wolves are 
  related to killer whales, and it also reveals mutations that have been 
  connected to an excessive exposure to toxic petrochemicals. Not much 
  else has been observed regarding the sea wolf’s habits due to the dangers 
  of being in close proximity with them.
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  Movement: 20/80 (swimming)
  Skills: Diving 2, Gymnastics 4, Perception 3, Swimming 4, Tracking 3, 
  Unarmed Combat 3
  Powers: Binding, Energy Aura (Cold), Enhanced Senses (Hearing, 
  Smell, Sonar), Fear (Howl), Movement, Mutagen, Natural Weapon 
  (Bite: DV 6P, AP 0)
  ATHABASKAN COUNCIL NEWS
  The Athabaskan Council is now offering 1,000¥ per slain sea wolf; pelt 
  with head required for proof. This action was authorized after the cannery 
  ship White Tower was found adrift with all hands missing. Because of 
  multiple mutations and SURGEd variants possible with the sea wolf, the 
  Koniag Corporation is selling a genetic database of confirmed sea wolves 
  and a rapid gene testing device to confirm a sea wolf kill.
  Contact the local harbor master for current bounty prices and to pick up 
  an approved sea wolf gene tester. Current retail cost for the tester is 200¥.
  
  28
  muTANT CRITTERS > CACTuS CAT
  CACTuS CAT
  CACTACEAE FELADAE 
  Habitat: Semi Deserts and Arid regions
  Range: Southern Region of North America
  Frequency: Rare
  Identification: The cactus cat resembles a feline with brown and/or 
  green coloration and fur made mostly of thorns and larger barbed quills 
  crowning its head. It has wide, leaf-shaped ears, and its claws are thick 
  and dark brown. It has a stub tail, less than ten centimeters long. It aver-
  ages 100 centimeters in length, 55 centimeters in height at the shoulder, 
  with an average weight of 20 kilograms. 
  Habits: The cactus cat is a SURGE species of bobcat, first discov-
  ered in 2063. Parazoologists hypothesize that the elevated levels of 
  radiation allowed the SURGE mutation to be commonly expressed 
  in twenty percent of the wildcat species in an event similar to the cre-
  ation of the hellspawn salamander. Since the mutation, the cactus cat 
  has adapted to its new abilities, and the traits have been noted to be 
  a seed mutation, inherited by its offspring. The cactus cat will sit very 
  still next to a watering hole or in vegetation for hours. It can do this 
  because its ears and skin are natural camouflage, and it possesses the 
  ability to draw some nutrients through photosynthesis. When prey 
  comes around it will pounce, attempting to grapple the prey around 
  the head area; it then uses its crown of quills or its hind claws to 
  either blind the prey or puncture an artery. For smaller prey it lunges, 
  stretching out in an attempt to impale the prey with its thorny body. 
  The quills and thorns break off easily and typically re-grow in a week. 
  Cactus cats are solitary hunters with overlapping territories. It is not 
  unheard of to have two or three cactus cats positioned around the 
  same watering hole, waiting for prey.
  Cactus cats are not monogamous and can have two litters of 
  up to three kittens a year. The kittens have the same green to brown 
  coloration, with irregular length of fur, and long tufts on their head, 
  allowing better camouflage in grassy areas. The kittens are not born 
  with thorns; rather they slowly grow over a period of a year. The crown 
  of quills starts out soft like blades of grass, before they harden with 
  keratin. Long term behavioral traits have not been observed since the 
  species has only recently been discovered and tend to avoid metahu-
  mans and urban areas.
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  Movement: 15/40
  Skills: Climbing 2, Exotic Weapon Melee (Quills) 2, Infiltration 2, 
  Perception 2, Tracking 2, Unarmed Combat 3
  Powers: Natural Weapon (Claws/Bite: DV 5P, AP 0, Quills: DV 3P, 
  AP +1)
  Qualities: Thorns, Quills, Photo Metabolism, High Pain Tolerance 1
  MUTANT CRITTERS
  
  29
  muTANT CRITTERS > SquIDDoTH
  SquIDDoTH
  LOXODONTA BARSKII
  Habitat: Grassland and scrub brush
  Range: Localized areas in Africa
  Frequency: Very Rare
  Identification: The squiddoth was first discovered by philanthropist 
  Harold Barskey in Central Africa in 2071. The mutant elephant has a 
  large cranial area with a modified proboscis and four toothy tentacles 
  around its mouth. A squiddoth is dark grey to black in color, and it 
  averages four meters at the shoulder, with a weight of 7,000 kilograms. 
  It has small, wilted ears, yellow eyes, and up to four tusks protruding 
  around the tentacles.
  Habits: This omnivorous mutation is extremely aggressive. Worried 
  that this mutation is possibly caused by a new contagion, the World 
  Health Organization requested the examination of the only known 
  specimen. Barskey’s specimen was checked for pathogens before being 
  returned to his private collection. Tests have turned up negative for 
  known HMHVV strains. With only the one specimen and a few 
  rumors (including a specimen said to have been bagged by Damien 
  Knight years before Barskey’s discovery), there is little to determine 
  the habits of this creature or if this mutation can be passed to offspring. 
  Based on the collection of witness testaments, the squiddoth feeds 
  by running up to trees and ripping both leaves and primates from 
  the branches, then placing them in its mouth with its tentacles. It is 
  also rumored to be fearless, attacking people and transportation alike. 
  Corroborating evidence of squiddoth attacks have been seen in the 
  remains of crushed vehicles and downed trees. Only solitary squid-
  doth have been reported; no herds or juveniles. Government groups are 
  monitoring their borders and elephant herds with some concern as it is 
  unknown if the contagion can spread or jump species. The Asamando 
  government is actively participating in an attempt to alleviate concerns 
  about HMHVV.
  B 
  A 
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  Edg Ess Init 
  IP
  12 4 
  3 16 
  1 
  3 
  3 
  3 
  1 
  5 
  6 
  1
  Movement: 25/45
  Skills: Clubs 3, Perception 3, Running 3, Unarmed Combat 4
  Powers: Natural Weapon (Tusk: DV 12P, AP –2), Natural Weapon 
  (Bite: DV 10P, AP –1)
  Qualities: Deformed
  Notes: The squiddoth’s tusks have +2 Reach
  
  30
  muTANT CRITTERS > WoLPERTINgER (jACKALoPE)
  WoLPERTINgER (jACKALoPE)
  CRISENSUS BAVARICUS
  Habitat: Light wooded areas and grasslands
  Range: North America and Europe
  Frequency: Uncommon
  Identification: Wolpertingers share a great deal of similarity with 
  rabbits. They have long, eight to ten centimeter ears, a short tail, and 
  strong hind legs for hopping. Unlike rabbits, it also has a set of antlers 
  no longer than eight centimeters with three to five points. Both the 
  males and females sport antlers; male antlers develop more points as 
  it ages. Wolpertingers average twenty centimeters in length and one 
  kilogram in weight. Their fur color varies from black, brown, to white.
  Habits: It is still a mystery as to how the wolpertinger mutation 
  occurred. Previously, they were thought to be rabbits infected with 
  the Shope papilloma virus. Specimens captured close to the town of 
  Douglas on June 30, 2066, were found to have perfectly formed horns 
  but not the characteristic tumor growths from the virus. The current 
  hypothesis speculates they are a SURGE-based species, though there 
  are a few recorded specimens of these creatures that predate the comet. 
  The wolpertinger mutation is considered the European name for the 
  mutated species, while jackalope is the North American adopted 
  name. The mutation is a seed mutation, but recessive; crossbreeding 
  a jackalope with a rabbit results in a rabbit. The latest genetic tests of 
  the wolpertinger and the jackalope do put the wolpertinger at a dif-
  ferent subspecies, due to the progenitor species (Oryctolagus cuniculus 
  vs Lepus alleni). Crossbreeding a jackalope with a wolpertinger is 
  successful with fertile offspring. The wolpertinger occasionally has 
  vestigial bat-like wing growths. Scientists are still debating whether it’s 
  one or two species as it is a unique convergent evolution surge on both 
  continents. 
  The jackalope/wolpertinger species doesn’t live in burrows, as the 
  antlers interfere with movement. Instead it weaves grass and twig dens 
  above ground. Jackalopes live in family groups of twenty or so mem-
  bers. They have a shorter breeding season than rabbits, roughly five 
  months long, starting in February and can have four to eight kits a year.
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  3 
  3 
  1 
  3 
  3 
  2 
  2 
  0 
  5 
  6 
  1
  Movement: 10/25
  Skills: Perception 2, Unarmed Combat 1
  Powers: Natural Weapon (Horns, DV 2P, AP 0)
  Weaknesses: Fragile 2
  Note: Wolpertinger attacks have –1 Reach
  MUTANT CRITTERS
  
  31
  muTANT CRITTERS > voRPAL BEAvER
  voRPAL BEAvER
  CASTOR LEWISCARROLLAE
  Habitat: Forested rivers, streams, or marshes
  Range: Northern North America
  Frequency: Uncommon
  Identification: Vorpal beavers are large, semi-aquatic rodents comparable 
  to non-mutant beavers (genus Castor). Weighing an average of forty 
  kilograms, vorpal beavers can have bodies measuring up to seventy-five 
  centimeters long and equally proportional length fine-edged tails. They 
  have webbed hind feet and needle-like claws on their forepaws. With the 
  exception of their tails, vorpal beavers are covered with dull bronze fur. 
  Habits: The vorpal beaver is the culmination of several genetic muta-
  tions resulting in an aggressive, naturally well-armed creature. Its tail 
  grows a coating of denticles with the edge having a sharp saw-tooth 
  formation, and forepaws elongate into sharp, five-centimeter-long 
  nails. Vorpal beavers have been observed using these claws to climb 
  trees, skewer squirrels and birds, and spear fish in rivers. They use their 
  tail more like a hatchet, swinging it around to cut and crack branches. 
  Animals that attempt to drink from the waters around vorpal beaver 
  lodges risk evisceration by its nimble and powerful tail.
  Fiercely territorial, they will defend their dens out to a perimeter 
  of twenty-five meters of surrounding land and water. The strange 
  behavior of decorating its den with animal bones is a testament to their 
  vicious nature. Groups of four to six vorpal beavers will live and work 
  together in one den. Young vorpal beaver offspring have the appearance 
  of a normal beaver; they only begin to manifest vorpal characteristics 
  when they reach maturity. In days, it undergoes a rapid transformation 
  similar to documented cases of goblinization. Separate dens of vorpal 
  beavers exhibit slight variations between one another, strengthening 
  the hypothesis that the vorpal beaver is a failed Awakened beaver, 
  expressing a genetic anomaly that causes the goblinization, but not into 
  a completely new species. Additional research is required to determine 
  the specifics of the anomaly.
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  1 
  3 
  3 
  1 
  2 
  3 
  2 
  3 
  0 
  5 
  6 
  1
  Movement: 10/20
  Skills: Exotic Melee Weapon 3, Perception 2, Swimming 2, Unarmed 
  Combat 3
  Powers: Natural Weapon (Tail/Claws/Bite DV 3P, AP –1)
  Qualities: Dermal Alteration, Claws
  Notes: Bite has a –1 reach
  
  32
  muTANT CRITTERS > SHADoW CRAB
  SHADoW CRAB
  PARALITHODESS SINISTRII
  Habitat: Cold water oceans at depths of 300 to 500 meters
  Range: Global
  Frequency: Rare
  Identification: Shadow crabs are crustaceans with six legs, each 
  approximately one meter long, and a pair of fifteen-centimeter 
  claws. Their body averages thirty centimeters in diameter, and their 
  dark blue to black carapace is covered with a ridge of larger-than-
  normal spikes. Each Shadow crab typically weighs between twelve 
  and fifteen kilograms. 
  Habits: Shadow crabs are a mutated form of king crab (Paralithodes 
  camtschaticus). They have adapted to heavy chemical oil dispersants and 
  tar in their environment from intense oil drilling. Their unique muta-
  tion is caused by a synthetic bacteria, which allows the shadow crab to 
  digest animals and plants that have been contaminated by oil. This sup-
  posedly short-lived bacterium was used in oil spill cleanup along with 
  a dispersant and an anti-bacterial chemical to keep the bacteria from 
  escaping containment area while still alive. Unfortunately at some point 
  between 2018 and 2024, the bacteria escaped the containment area. 
  So far the Paralithode subspecies is the only animal group to have 
  this bacterium living in its system. The shadow crabs and bacterium 
  have a mutually symbiotic mutation, as the bacterium, which was 
  suppose to break down petroleum into smaller, simpler, hydrocarbon 
  chains, now produces a tetrodotoxin, which the crab 
  excretes through sharp, syringe-like spikes on its carapace 
  when defending against predators. Shadow crabs have 
  been found residing near oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico or 
  migrating into polluted harbors to feed. One new shadow 
  crab breeding ground has been the La Brea Tar pits in the 
  California Free State. Since the twin quakes, tar has been 
  seeping through fissures, and the coast is close enough that 
  the crabs will cross the land to pick carcasses from the tar.
  The mutation is not passed on to the next generation through 
  breeding. As the female shadow crab carries the egg sac with her 
  young, the bacteria passes into the young as they develop, triggering 
  the mutation. The survival rate of the eggs to juveniles in such a toxic 
  environment is less than ten percent. Environmentalists are monitor-
  ing shadow crabs as there is the potential that the bacterium can be 
  digested by other scavenger species and create new mutations. Shadow 
  crabs are a risk to the fishing industry; as a shadow crab, dead or alive 
  in a net, will contaminate a ship’s holding tanks with tetradotoxin, 
  making any fish a potential risk to human consumption and expensive 
  hazardous material cleanup of the ship. Metahumans consuming as 
  little as half a gram of shadow crab meat can exhibit signs of tetrado-
  toxin poisoning.
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  0 
  5 
  6 
  1
  Movement: 10/15
  Skills: Perception 2, Swimming 2, Unarmed Combat 1
  Powers: Bone Spikes, Natural Weapon (Claw: DV 2P, AP: 0), Venom 
  (tetradotoxin)
  Weaknesses: Dietary Need (petroleum), Fragile 2
  TETRADOTOXIN
  Vector: Ingestion or Injection
  Speed: 1 minute if ingested, otherwise immediate
  Penetration: 0
  Power: 12
  Effect: Physical Damage
  Tetradotoxin blocks the sodium receptors in muscles, preventing 
  them from contracting; it also blocks the sodium receptors in 
  nerves, preventing them from firing. At low doses, people expe-
  rience numbing and tingling sensations where the toxin made 
  contact. At higher doses, the diaphragm becomes paralyzed, and 
  the victim suffocates. Another possibility is that the heart stops 
  beating from the toxin.
  MUTANT CRITTERS
  
  33
  muTANT CRITTERS > PARAzooLogy INDEX
  PARAzooLogy INDEX
  Abrams lobster  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
  Alicanto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
  Amikuk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
  Bayard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
  Blood kite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
  Bulldog stoat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
  Bunyip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
  Burrowing beaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
  Cactus cat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
  Century ferret . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
  Echeneis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
  Electric marten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
  Ghazu horses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
  Ghost dolphin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
  Gyre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
  Heliodromus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
  Moon dolphin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
  Oligoi-Khorkhol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
  Putrimart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
  Rock lizard  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
  Sabgarifya  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
  Scintillant albatross  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
  Sea wolf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
  Shadow crab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
  Snow moose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
  Squiddoth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
  Stone toad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
  Tachypus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
  Vorpal beaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
  Wolpertinger  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Shadowrun [multi]/4th Edition/Shadowrun 4e - Parazoology {CAT26S003}.pdf