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 The funnel worm is a burrowing creature 5 to 7 meters long, with a segmented body and two large compound eyes which are also pressure-sensing organs. It has a pair of large mandibles and its mouth is filled with a ring of sharp teeth. Funnel worms are solitary creatures. They lurk 5 to 10 meters beneath the surface waiting for preyto pass overhead. When it senses the vibrations of a creature passing, it quickly expands its body, swallowing the sand and forming a 1 0-meter-wide funnel of sand. The prey slides down the funnel into the worm's mouth. Any creature caught in the funnel must make a Reaction Speed check to leap aside. If the check is failed the creature will slide down the funnel and into the funnel worm's mouth in 2 turns. The funnel worm can automatically bite anything that falls into its mouth, causing 3d10 points of damage per turn to each victim until it dies. A funnel worm's mouth is wide enough to hold and bite up to three medium-sized creatures at once. Characters can be rescued if someone throws them a rope and pulls them out. While in its burrow, a funnel worm can not be attacked by most weapons. Grenades and explosives are the most effective means of attack. They hit automatically when rolled down the funnel, but cause only half damage. The funnel worm will burrow to the surface and attack if it is wounded. A funnel worm's Attack score is 45 when out of its burrow. |
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 The burrower snake resembles a 1.5 meter long cross between a snake and a salamander. It has powerful rear legs suited for burrowing into loose sand and rock, but its forelimbs have long since atrophied because of disuse. The burrower snake uses its rear legs to push itself along as it slithers across the desert sands. After digging a lair in the loose desert sand, the burrower snake waits patiently until an unsuspecting creature wanders within striking range (5 meters). As soon as it senses the presence of its prey, the burrower snake springs forth, hoping to kill any creature it hits with its venomous bite (a shot of antitox will counteract the venom). |
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 Lopers are two-legged reptiles the size of horses, inhabiting the deserts of Volturnus. They are usually found in the presence of the Ul-Mor, who use them as cavalry mounts, though it is not uncommon to find them in the wild. They are named for the rapid gait they use to cross the desert sands.Though normally timid and shy, lopers will attack with their small fore claws and powerful jaws if provoked. Normally, mounted beasts may not attack in melee, but when mounted by Ul-Mor, lopers are capable of attacking at the rider's direction. |
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 Rasties are vicious mammals of medium size that prey upon hapless shovelmouths and other gentle prey living in the caverns of Volturnus. They average 1 meter in length, and look like a cross between a rat and a small monkey. They have four legs, but can sit upright and use their forelimbs to grasp meat or small prey. Rasties are usually hungry, and will attack anything that looks edible to them. Rasties are usually found in packs of 20 or more. Once they smell blood, the entire pack will fight until dead. They use their sharp, ripping teeth to bite their prey initially, but once they have locked their teeth into a piece of flesh, they clamp their jaws shut and do an additional 1d10 of damage every turn (automatically) until the creature frees itself or kills the attacking rastie. |
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 The Volturnian cave bear is a large (7 meters), hairless creature inhabiting the caverns of Volturnus. It attempts to eat any organic substance it finds, including the player characters. The Volturnian cave bear normally attacks by slashing the victim with its massive foreclaws, attempting to sweep the unfortunate creature into a hug. If the bear's normal attack succeeds on a roll of 10 or less, it has caught the character in its hug. The cave bear does 2d10 points damage each turn until the victim dies or breaks the hold (at -20, due to the bear's great strength). |
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 The dropper resembles a giant amoeba. It is a flat, irregular blob up to 1 meter in diameter. The dropper inhabits cavern ceilings all over Volturnus, always ready to drop on any unsuspecting prey walking beneath it. When the dropper senses another creature approaching, it crops a tentacle-like pseudo-pod covered with a sticky digestive acid. If this pseudo-pod strikes the prey, the dropper falls onto the creature in the same turn and attempts to envelop it (treat as a grapple). The dropper then begins to digest the creature, releasing digestive acids that cause 2d10 damage every turn the victim fails to break the dropper's hold. The smell of this digestive acid will attract 2d10 more droppers to the area in 1d10 turns. Because of its amoeba-like body, projectile weapons will not affect the dropper. It is also immune to the effects of tangier grenades,. for it simply oozes out of the tangier strings. Since the dropper never sleeps (even if artifically stimulated), doze grenades will not' affect it, either. In addition, any person using a ranged weapon attacks at -10 due to the dropper's ability to blend with its natural) rock surroundings (droppers cannot even be seen from distances greater than 5 meters). Very bright light will cancel the effects oft the dropper's camouflage. |
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 The shovelmouth is a four-legged reptile with a long, flat snout resembling a shovel. It uses this snout to scrape moss and fungi off the walls and floors of the caverns it inhabits. Shovelmouths breed in great numbers, but their population is kept in check by rasties, which prefer them as food. Shovelmouths are normally quite harmless, but if a herd panics, they will stampede. If a character is unfortunate enough to be caught in a stampede, he will take 2d10 damage from every shovelmouth that trampels him. You must use your discretion to determine the number of shovelmouths that may trample a character. In narrow, confined areas, the panicked shovelmouths will have a difficult time avoiding characters, while in a more open area, they will attempt to run around an object as large as a man. A shovelmouth stampede may be diverted or stopped by a 1 meter high barricade, as long as the barricade blocks the entire corridor. A blockade that is too low or has a breach in it will not stop the stampede. The shovelmouths will destroy the barricade as they rush past or over it. Despite their tendency to stampede at awkward times, shovelmouths are generally quite docile, and even affectionate. When a character meets a herd of shovelmouths, one of the reptiles will follow the character for several miles. If confronted, the creature will gaze at the character with its soulful, reptilian eyes and wag its scaly tail. It will not leave until force is used to chase it away. |
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 The jawfish is a large predatory fish similar to a shark. Its jaws, more than a meter wide, are filled with thousands of razor-sharp teeth. The jawfish will attack anything in the water smaller than 10 meters long. If the players are aboard any type of craft, the jawfish is 70% likely to attack it rather than the players. Anytime the jawfish attacks a craft, it will overturn the craft, tossing the players into the water. Note, however, the jawfish will still attack the craft 70% of the time as long as the craft remains afloat. If the jawfish attacks a player, it will attack one of them at random. The jawfish will attack only once every three turns, circling its intended victim for two turns between attacks. After making five attacks, the jawfish will loose interest and swim away. |
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 The quickdeath is the ultimate land carnivore. This creature can propel itself at 100 kilometers per hour with its great legs, which resemble those of a jaguar. Quickdeaths keep the claws on these legs razor sharp, using them to attack prey as well as for climbing. Three sets of smaller, tentacle-like limbs ending in suction cups are attached to the quickdeath's sides. It uses these limbs to catch unwary prey and stuff the unfortunate creatures into its digestive maw. Any creature in the maw takes 10 points of damage until it frees itself (as if breaking free from a hold). The quickdeath has a long, flexible neck that ends in a snout and large mouth. Its four eyes are mounted on retractable stalks atop the head, while its brain is located at the base of its neck. (The quickdeath is nearly blind when it strikes it prey because it retracts these eyes.) The creature has a long, whip-like tail that can fling a poisonous dart once every four hours. The outer hide of the creature is covered by a moist, reflective armor which provides such good camouflage that the creature is nearly invisible until it approaches within 120 meters. Quickdeaths are constantly on the move, seeking to appease their hearty appetites. They are found in all areas of Volturnus except the mountains, frequently travelling in mated pairs. The female lays hundreds of eggs each year, burying them in deep in the sand or soil. These caches sometimes contain as many as 50 eggs. The first of the young to hatch eats the remaining eggs for his or her first meal, and immediately begins its lifelong search for more food. Quickdeaths are not native to Volturnus. The Sathar used an advanced form of DNA manipulation to create these hideous beasts from a common type of housecat found throughout the universe. On the ''Day of Death," they released thousands of quickdeaths on the surface of Volturnus to terrorize its inhabitants. |
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 Tomar's horses look like a cross between a horse and a jackal. They stand 1.6 meters tall at the shoulder and weigh about 400 kilograms. Tomar's horses eat seeds, nuts, grains, berries and meat. They will eat carrion, but prefer fresh meat. Tomar's horses are cunning. They may stalk their prey, taking advantage of cover to hide their approach. They try to herd their prey into traps so it can not escape. Individual Tomar's horses attack by pawing with their hooked hooves and biting. A herd of Tomar's horses can attack by stampeding and trampling its prey. When a hungry herd sights prey it will charge the creatures and attempt to trample them. Their Attack score for a stampede attack is 70. Characters are safe from a stampede if they find hard cover to hide behind. If no cover is available, the character can try to stun or kill one of the lead animals and hide behind its body. There is a 75% chance the herd will charge again if the prey survived the first stampede. If more than one horse was killed in a stampede, there is only a 25% chance they will attack again. A trampled character takes 8d10 points of damage. |
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 A roller is a large herbivore named for its unusual "steam roller" type organ. This organ is acutally a huge, cylindrical, hide-covered mass of bane and cartilage attached to two frontal limbs by ball and socket joints. The organ is used to crush the shard grass on which the creature feeds. The mouth of the roller is located on its underside. The crushed shards from the digestible shoots of grass are sucked up into this mouth. Internal organs of the creature separate the glass-like shards from the digestible shoots of grass. The undigestible shards are then stored in a special organ and used as missle weapons for the creature's rear defense. The roller has four normal limbs used for locomotion. The two eyes of the creature are located on the head near the large ears. The head does not have a mouth. A roller has a thick hide that protects it from being cut by shard grass. Rollers are generally docile creatures, and will not attack unless frightened or attacked themselves. They are usually found grazing on the grassy plains of Volturnus in herds of 5 to 50. If a roller scores a successful hit upon a character, the victim must roll his Reaction Speed or less. If the roll is successful, the roller attack is avoided; if not, the unfortunate character suffers 8-80 points of damage. (Note: if avoiding the roller means flinging oneself into the shard grass, the usual 1-10 points of damage will be taken.) |
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 SPECIAL ATTACK: Spit acid as ranged weapon. Acid causes 2d10 points of damage on contact, and 1d10 points of damage each following turn until the acid is neutralzed or washed awayDESCRIPTION: Spitters are reptilian herbivores found in herds on the shard grass plains of Volturnus. The creatures feed on the grass by shooting a stream of highly corrosive acid from their mouths. This acid breaks down the hard outer shells of the shard grass in a few seconds. The spitter can then eat the shard grass safely. The spitter's thick hide protects it from being cut by shard grass. Spitters will not attack other creatures unless extremely frightened or attacked first. |
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 Air whales are part plant and part animal. The top of the air whale is covered with plant life which converts sunlight directly into food and energy. The giant creature also eats plants and animals. It feeds on floating plankton, drifting spores, and swarms of flying insects, plus anything else it manages to capture. It produces hydrogen as a by-product of feeding. The hydrogen is stored in hundreds of inner membrane sacs. The hydrogen provides the lift which lets the air whale float. Compressed hydrogen, vented through tubes scattered around the air whale's body, lets the creature maneuver. Crystal-based life forms have a symbiotic relationship with the air whale. These crystals focus sunlight into a beam, much like a laser. The crystals can fire up to sex shots per turn, with damage divided as desired among the attacks. The damage alloted to each shot must be decided before the combat result is rolled. The crystals also store solar energy, and can fire two shots when direct sunlight is not available. An albedo screen or albedo suit will reduce damage suffered by half. From the bottom of the creature hang hundreds of razor-sharp tentacles 10 meters long. The air whale can make 10 attacks per turn with tentacles. Tentacle attacks must be rolled separately. Note that the air whale has two different attack forms depending on whether the victim is above or below the creature. |
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 Mordax are large flying insects about 10 cm long. Their sting is poisonous to all player character and NPC races. Mordax may be found anywhere on the planet Volturnus, but are particularly attracted to the flowers of tangler vines. |
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 Tangler vines are a carnicorous mutation of normal vines, created accidently by Eorna experiments. They are normally found in the ruins of the Eorna city, clinging to ruined buildings like ivy. The vines can attack victims within 10 meters. Tangler vines are covered with hollow throns. The sap of the plant acts as an anesthetic for carbon-based life forms. A victim must roll his or her current Stamina or less on d100 or fall asleep. The sleeping are wrapped in the vines and then devoured. The flowers of the vine attract mordax, a type of large flying insect whose sting is poisonous (S5/T5) to most species. At any time there will be 1-10 mordax hovering around the tangler vines. The fruit of the tangler vine has the unique property of slowing down the aging process. This effect has not been duplicated in the chemical laboratories. As a side effect of the age slow-down, the individual will mentally regress, acting like a two year old chiled for 20 hours. For every fruit eaten, the individual will physically age only one month in two month's actual time. |
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 Rogue Crystals are another Eorna experiment gone wrong. The Eorna managed to foster silicon-based life, but failed at all attempts to make such life forms intelligent. At the point where semi-intelligence was reached, the silicon crystal life form invariably turned on its creator, as if it had an instinctive hatred for carbin-based life forms. The Eorna eventually gave up. Some of the creatures escaped, however, and still survive. Rogue crystals are indistinguishable from Eorna crystal sculptures to anyone except an Eorna. The first time the player characters encounter rogue crystals, the rogue crystals will attack with surprise. Rogue crystals store energy which can be released as sound, light, or electricity. Treat the rogue crystals as if firing a sonic disruptor, a laser pistol, or an electrostunner. Only one attack per turn may be made. The first attack of a rogue crystal will be a random choice of energy. The creature will switch to other energy types if the first attack is negated by a defensive screen or suit. Rogue crystals also have a melee attack which will be used instead of an energy attack if an opponent closes to melee combat. Rogue crystals take half damage from the following weapons: all laser weapons, all sonic weapons, electric swords, electrostunners, shock gloves and stunsticks. Rogue crystals are immune to gasses which affect carbon-based life forms, such as the gas in doze grenades, poison grenades, and the tear gas effect of smoke grenades. |
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 A megasaurus is 10 meters long and stands 5 meters high at the shoulders. It looks like a giant reptilian cat with a thick tail. It has huge claws and a massive mouth filled with sharp teeth, and can leap up to 50 meters to attack. |
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 DESCRIPTION: Slavebots were created to guard Sathar installations. Slavebots are cybernetic combinations of living beings and machines. The biological part of the slavebot is the remains of a captured enemy. Most of the brain has been replaced by a cybernetic implant. he slavebot is controlled by a disembodied Sathar brain kept in special liquid solution. The brain is almost immortal since there are no other body parts to age. The Sathar brain is linked to a radio transmitter that sends coded signals. These are then received by the slavebot so that direct control is possible. The slavebots on Volturnus are Eorna captured in the battle that nearly wiped out the Eorna race. A supply of captured victims is kept in cryogenic storage to provide replacements for worn-out slavebots. |
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 DESCRIPTION: Yernoids are man-sized bipedal dinosaurs which have developed a rudimentary intelligence, similar to an ape's. These creatures usually roam in hunting bands, seeking prey. They are territorial; the strongest Yernoid always leads the group. |
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 DESCRIPTION: The Giant Volturnian Eagle is a very large bird of prey with strong talons and hooked beak. It will defend its nesting area with ferocity |
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