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Hero
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Centripax Province
Posts: 1,007
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Striped Badger (Second Draft)
Creature Name: Striped Badger.
Abstract Description:
The Striped Badger, or the All Seeing Eye in the dwarfen tongue, is the equivalent to the horse, worg and/or great panther to the smaller races of Aelyria.
Physical Description:
Measuring easily six to eight feet in length nose to tail, standing about three feet in height from shoulders to claws and weighing from 400 to over 500 pounds, the Striped Badger is easily the largest known member of the badger family. However, it should be noted that the male Striped Badger are somewhat smaller than their female counterpart.
The face of the Striped Badger is dominated by a large snout like nose, which able it to detect the faintest of smells from many miles away. The Striped Badger also process two small dark round eyes situated on ever side of its snout like nose, and two rounded ears upon the side of its head. The most eye-catching feature of the Striped Badger are the many fine black and white stripes, which is common with all badgers, that covers its face running from its nose to the back of its neck; and also gives this particular badger its name.
The massive barrel-like-body of a Striped Badger, which is considerably larger in size, proportional, to its head is usually grey/black in colour, while its underbelly and legs are completely black. Upon its four firm and wide feet are four un-retractable claws that are used by a Striped Badger to dig, kill its prey and to defend itself from attack. As well as these claws the Striped Badger process a set of jaws filled with jagged teeth. The bite of a Striped Badger is quite strong; although it is no where as powerful as the legendry Great Panther, steed of the Pantheri Knights.
It is not unusual for a Striped Badger to reach speeds of up to 40 mph. However, given it’s larger than normal size this speed can only be maintained for short periods of time; even less when carrying a rider.
Reproduction:
Living anything up to 17 patterns, female Striped Badgers can start breeding as young as 6 eras and as late as 15 patterns of age. Although they are capable of breeding all pattern-round, female Striped Badger can delayed implantation, which means that after mating the female can choose at what time of the pattern she wishes to give birth, and cubs are usually born in late spring/early summer after a gestation period of about 50 brightenings. The usual brew of a Striped Badger is between 1 to 6 cubs.
When born Striped Badger’s cubs are born completely black, and will only start to develop their white strips, which they are named after, when they become fully developed and reach maturity. The cubs will live of their mother’s milk for the first three months of their lives until they are able to eat solid foods.
Climate/Terrain:
The Striped Badgers are known to range throughout most of what is nowadays called the Arium and Centripax Provinces of the Aelyrian Empire. Usually sighted within mountainous habitats, Striped Badgers are believed to prefer the security of mountains over grassy plains, and as such are believed to be found within other mountainous provinces of the Empire; although this has never been confirmed.
Organization:
There are two types of family structures in which the Striped Badger is found within Aelyrian. The most common family structure is a Clan, perhaps named after the Dwarfen Clan Systems. A Clan consists of between two to fourteen badgers, related and/or unrelated, all living within a single underground warren system within a defined territory; usually several square miles. A Clan is led by a dominant unrelated male and female Striped Badger whom usually, but not always, have exclusive breeding rights within a Clan.
The other type of family structure is a solitary, rogue badgers; nearly always a male. This rogue has chosen to leave its warren in search of an unrelated female to breed with, or been driven off by another male from its old Clan. A rogue Striped Badger will travel widely looking, and hoping, to find any unattended/unguarded females willing to mate with it. It has been known for rogue males to take over existing Clans by challenging and defeating the current dominant male, or by starting a completely new clan with a younger ‘daughter’ of a mating pair from an already established Clan.
Combat:
Unlike the more cunning Great Panther or more aggression worg, Striped Badgers relies more upon its physical size and strength to overpower its opponents than quick attacks and kills. Having neither the superior speed or aggressive of other mounts, rider and mount alike relies upon superior dwarfen armour to withstand attack in order to get within striking distances of its opponent.
Once within striking distances of its opponent, Striped Badgers use their short, but impressively quick bursts of speed to surprise opponents. Using this previously unforeseen quickness, Striped Badgers will try and use their massive bulk to its advantage and shoulder charge, and hopefully knock over an opponent before attacking its defenceless underbelly. When attacking Striped Badgers relies heavily upon its eight un-retractable claws on its front two feet and its jaw of jagged teeth to wound and kill its opponent.
A consequence of being bitten by a Striped Badger is that due to the rotten meat decomposing between their teeth, wounds have been known to become infected within a matter of hours, and if not treated death is not uncommon.
Diet:
In the wild Striped Badgers must consume a moderate amount of meat for many sources every brightening in order to survive. Having a preference for smaller sized mammals such as rabbits and mouse, insects and grubs. In hunting it uses its superior smelling ability to track prey from many miles away above or below ground. Using its un-retractable claws and jagged teeth, a Striped Badger will usually try and injury its prey and let it die through blood lose than to try and physical kill it itself. It is for this reason that Striped Badgers prefer to hunt smaller mammals.
However Striped Badgers have also been observed on several occasions to have driven off other predators like wolves and bears from its territory, and to have tackled larger prey in times of need. It is for these reasons that the dwarfen race chose this animal to be their steed of war.
Special Abilities:
Over the eras in which the dwarfen race has used Striped Badgers as their mounts, a process of selective breeding has occurred. This selective breeding, with the help of the Guild of Alchemy, has been trying to produce a more superior mount for use by the dwarfen clans. This process has resulted in the domesticated clans of Striped Badgers owned by the dwarfen race to have the ability to alight their white stripes upon their head. This process, which gives the meaning to the name All Seeing Eye, has enabled the dwarfen race to explore deeper underground without risking setting off invisible flammable gases found underground with touches.
As well as this lighting ability, the superior smelling ability of the Striped Badger has also been effected by this selective breeding process. Due to the realisation that the common enemies of the dwarfen race were members of the elfin and orcish races of Aelyrian Striped Badgers have been specifically trained to react to the smell of elves and orcs in an aggressive manner. This now natural reaction to these races has resulted in several serious incidents since joining the Empire, and it is for this reason that their use by the Imperial Legions is limited, and indeed Striped Badgers can only truly be used safely in all dwarfen armies. However, it should be noted that Striped Badgers have been known to accept members of the Gnome, Halfling and Ratta races as riders.
Inherent Resistances and/or Immunities:
Striped Badgers, like most undomesticated animals, are very resilient to pain and can survive in anything but the most testing of climate conditions, for an extended period of time. Other than this, Striped Badgers have no other special inherent resistances or immunities.
Training:
Training a Striped Badger uses many of the techniques and methods that have been developed over the ages for training other more common mounts of war like the warhorse. However unlike a horse, where no matter its age it can be trained, a Striped Badger due to the unique relationship it develops with its rider can only be partnered with its rider once it it’s able to ear solid food and after it has left the protection of its mother.
Training between rider and mount can last anything from several months to well over an era; depending upon the experience of the trainer/rider. It is during this intensive period of time that rider, and more importantly mount, will develop their partnership and become use to the smell, sight and shape its rider; both parties will form this partnership that will last a lifetime. As for the initial training of the Striped Badger, it mainly consists of training the Striped Badger to become use to wearing a saddle and all the other necessary equipment that enables a rider to ride a Striped Badger safely, to more advanced training like obeying verbal and nonverbal commands and travelling at different speeds.
The saddle that is used on the Striped Badger is placed behind the forward quarter of the beast behind its two foot legs. Secured by a large cinch strap that is fastened beneath the beast, the saddle of the Striped Badger resembles and is based upon the saddle used by the taller races of Aelyria for a horse. However again unlike a horse, a Striped Badger does not use a bit between its teeth, but is controlled through a bridle with a nose piece, like a hackamore, which is secured with a halter type chin strap. The rings on each side of the nosepiece have reins attached to it. This way the head can be controlled as needed, pressure can be put on the badger's nose for stopping, and reins can be loosed to allow the use of one of the Striped Badger primary and most destructive weapons its teeth.
It is only after a rider and mount become fully trained and form their partnership that true wars mount training will begin. The weapons of choice of the dwarfen race are heavy, brutal weapons such as axes and warhammers, or short stabbing weapons like the short-sword; this is true when dealing with the weaponry used by the riders of Striped Badgers. However due to their use as heavy cavalry within the dwarfen armies, riders of Striped Badger receive training in the use of lances.
The lance used by the riders of a Striped Badger is of a simple design. Usually one and half times the size of the rider, made out of a simple wooden pole with a metal spike upon its end, the usual tactic of its use is to distract/engage an opponent’s weapons/shield, enabling the mount to close within striking distance of the now hopefully undefended opponent. Due to their inferior speed and agility over more conventional mounts of war like the horse, the dwarfen people use Striped Badger like armoured tanks and most Striped Badgers are usually heavily armoured. However this superior defence has quite rightly resulted in the Striped Badgers never being used as mounts for mobile archers, and are more commonly used as battering rams to destroy an enemy’s centre.
Dark Dwarfs:
The Dark Dwarfs of Aelyrian are rumoured to process a large number of these animals, and to use them more extensively than their distant kinsmen on the surface. The usual tactic employed by this race, whom can see perfectly well in both the light and in total darkness, is to blind their opponent using the stripes of their mount to alight the darkness of the underground before attacking their blinded opponent.
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Last edited by Coulter Minith; November 2, 2008 at 11:32 AM.
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How about completing it with a maintenance guide too. 
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