Maxpary

Don't take it personally, bub, but the mushrooms will absolutely love you.

Sentient, if barely so, and peaceful if left alone; the Maxpary are happy to cultivate their mushrooms and worship the Three.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Like a cross between a beetle and a turtle, the Maxpary have two arms and two legs with a hard segmented shell and claws meant for digging.  They have opposable thumbs so they can hold and manipulate objects.

Biological Traits

One of the most unusual characteristics of the Maxpary is that when a drone is killed, it will automatically come back to life as a zombie.  These zombies are known as shamblers.  It takes less than a minute for the process to occur and as soon as a shambler awakens, its desire is only to defend the colony.  Shamblers are capable of taking simple directions from other non-shambled members of the colony, but not other Maxpary from other colonies.
This zombification and submission is a direct result of their fungus diet, which is unique to each colony.

Genetics and Reproduction

Somewhat like an insect colony, there is a single female in charge, several males and the rest are sexless drones.

Ecology and Habitats

Prefer to live in well-watered areas with loose dirt and little solid rock. They make their homes underground, but will travel above ground as necessary to obtain fertilizer for their fungus crops.  Animal corpses are a necessary component of this fertilizer.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Their entire diet is made of fungus and mushrooms. They have the ability to cultivate special magic mushrooms they brought with them from their alien homeward.

Additional Information

Social Structure

The female leader is an earth warlock. The males are shamans All the drones are capable fighters Zombie shamblers provide defense only

Facial characteristics

Two forward facing eyes with heavily ridged brow.  Males and Females have beaked mouths while drones have serrated teeth meant for ripping and shredding fertilizer.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Mostly found in Europe, there is also a colony under The Bighorn Inversion, in what was once the state of Wyoming, in North America.

Average Intelligence

Relatively Low intelligence.  Smart enough to use modern weapons and set traps, but not smart enough to learn anything but the simplest words in any language other than their own.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Complete dark vision, but poor day vision.

Civilization and Culture

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Maxpary speak their own language, which includes sounds made by parts of their bodies rubbing together.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

When the Maxpary are not tending their crops or hunting for fertilizer, they are devoted to imploring The Crushers to work for them to make the elements conducive to the success of the colony.

Common Myths and Legends

The Maxpary revere the Three.  To them the world is made of four elements:  Fire, Water, Earth and Fertilizer.  (fertilizer is what they call living things)
The Crushers are three mythological heros who break up the elements into useful material.  Water is beneficial as moisture, rain and dew; but it is deadly and harmful to their crops when it has collected into pools or it freezes solid.  Earth in its solid form of stone can not be dug through and is not conducive for growing their crops.  It can only be used as a weapon.  But broken into smaller particles, earth is easy to dig through and is a beneficial substrate for their crops.  Fertilizer fights back when it is whole, and must be chopped into bits for it to be of use to their crops.  Each element is associated with one crusher.  The Earth Crusher is used to break up water, the water crusher is used to break up fertilizer (does blood not create every wound?).  And the fertilizer crusher is used to break up earth. 
Fire is the destroyer.  They omit fire from their lives completely.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Armillaria is seen as a threat to their crops of specialized fungus.  They will not permit any part of it to enter into their underground complexes or establish a presence among their crops.

Origin/Ancestry

alien

Lifespan

40 years

Average Height

1.2 - 1.5 meters (4 - 5 ft.)

Average Weight

110 - 140 kg (250- 300 lbs)

Average Physique

Stocky, low center of gravity.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Pale creamy colored.  Their eyes are pink.