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FAUNA
After the collapse of humanity, the animals of the Cradle have become plentiful, but the chances of their exposure to radiation is extremely high, unless bred in a safe environment. The ramifications of this exposure, like humans, yields horrifying mutations. A mutated animal is called a Beast Bogey.
Beast Bogeys are irradiated, sometimes hairless creatures with translucent, bulbous flesh that have survived and adapted to the extreme radiation. It is not uncommon for a beast bogey to mutate into indiscernible grotesqueness, defying science. Some exhibit extra appendages, eyes, bizarre colorations and coat patterns, or horns—twisted mockeries of their former selves. While some are driven to madness and aggression, others conduct themselves as nature intended.
Animals lucky enough to be bred away from the taint are widely used for work. Polluted creatures are usually too dangerous to use. Horses and donkeys can be harnessed to carts, carry heavy loads, etc. Dogs are bred to guard and protect, or are used for their sensitivity to radiation. Cats are great at keeping pests at bay. Sometimes, people might enjoy animals as pets.
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ʙᴇꜱᴛɪᴀʀʏ
Please note that the images used are adopts and/or commissions and may not be used without permission.
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Fizard
Vulpnid
Bogorse
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Bogorse
A simple, short word for 'bogey horse'. These poor creatures lost most of their hair, gained fangs, and have front paws instead of hooves. Their skin looks diseased, and is typically dry and rough to feel. They make great mountain climbers and fantastic companions. Unlike their herbivore counterparts, the Bogorse is omnivorous and possess some hunter instincts. They are sociable and enjoy living in herds.
Fizard
A ferocious lizard with fishlike mutations. They thrive in nuclear-filled lakes, and are known to spew tar-like irradiated acid that gradually leads their prey into a slow and painful death. Their markings glow in the dark. These are believed to have once been coal skinks, lizards native to New York.
Giant Isopods
They got bigger, and even a little bit cuter. These beige crustaceans were already alarmingly large, but have now expanded to the size of modern pigs. While they require an aquatic environment to survive long-term, they can now live on land to consume their beloved decomposing matter. Gentle and potentially intelligent, they are also a fairly palatable source of protein in the post-rad world.
Otaku
Your classic “cave people.” Skinny, near translucent skin, blind outside of being able to detect light and dark, cannibalistic and creepy and best to be avoided unless the loot is VERY good. No one has found where they nest, or if they possess any sort of culture beyond their vicious basic instincts. Never seen using tools, or communicating beyond shrill shrieking—but then again, they are almost never seen. Some claim they are just specialized bogeys, but contact has been reported in deep caves without any major radiation detected inside…
Ratowls
Not all creatures got bigger and uglier. Finding their natural food sources to be unpalatable, some owls evolved to be smaller—about the size of a kitten—and primarily subsist on roaches and other insects, or scavenging meat off corpses. They are also adorable, and make a popular pet among the more soft-hearted denizens of the wasteland.
Speedsels
These elongated and crafty members of the mustelid family have adapted to exist in the barren landscapes and dusty earth. Approximately 12 inches long when fully grown, most have patchy and scabby skin, looking closer to skinny naked mole rats than weasels. They move like greased lightning. Intelligent and crafty, their blinding speed gives them an advantage over other species trying to scrape out a living. Creatures smaller than them need to beware, as their attacks are often “blink-and-you-miss-it” experiences.
Squigs
They look sort of like squirrels for the most part, with the exception of a possum-like prehensile tail. Oh, and when threatened or defending a nest, the skin slides back from their head up to their eyelids, and they spit acid up to five feet. Besides that, rather squirrely.
Tonnukeys
While bears are predictably giant, gross and horrifying, nobody expected the adorable, scrappy, and human adjacent raccoon would be the real terror. Man-sized pack animals, they are smart enough to avoid people unless they are hungry (or our food smells very, very good). Some small settlements have been picked clean of anything reflective, and licked clean of anything edible. Heavy hunting have made groups of these a rare sight, once humans realized the threat they were quickly posing. Unconfirmed reports of them using tools and communicating by wild-eyed, scratched and bitten individuals has been dismissed as ‘raccoon madness’. Oh yes…their radiation-affected evolution was not enough to beat the rabies virus. A pack of these are terrifying, a single one appearing “drunk” is horrifying.
Turtmines
Actually derived from pre-radiated tortoises. These poor creatures have had the strength of their shell degraded due to rads, and have had to adapt to this defensive weakness by evolving a new method of defence: When stepped on, or hit with enough force, the breaking of their shell causes two caustic chemicals to suddenly mix—resulting in maiming or death to any creature unlucky enough to have caused the explosion. This of course kills the poor creature, but other species learn quickly to just avoid them after such an experience. Though previously living in small groups, these frisbee sized creatures have become crop-destroying swarms in the new era. Enterprising humans have learned how to harvest these chemicals to produce their own IEDs—or to simply throw a turtle at something they want badly hurt
Vulpnids
Vulpnids are nocturnal creatures native to the wastelands of the Cradle. They resemble a fennec fox, with obvious mutations. Its most distinctive feature, aside from its eight legs and many eyes, is its unusually large ears. Vulpnids weigh 1.5-3.5lbs, and are around 8in tall. Both male and female Vulpnids have a cream-colored, fluffy coat that deflects heat during the day. While a bite from a Vulpnid is painful, it is not venomous. Vulpnids typically have eight eyes—front-eyes are used for hunting prey, while side-eyes are believed to be used for detecting motion. Vulpnids are capable of producing webs using silk from spinneret glands located under the tail. They are easily domesticated and are sometimes enjoyed as pets by the wealthy, living up to 14 years in captivity. They are omnivores with insects, birds, and rodents being their main food source.
