LION WORMS
Type Invertebrate Carnivore
Habitat Wilds of Zagreus
Size 1.8–3 meters
Traits Relentless hunter, attacks first, retreats underground when confused.
An aggressive carnivore covered in golden, fast moving cilia, the Lion Worm is the apex predator on the xenobiologist jungle dreamworld of Zagreus. Eyeless, the Lion Worm instead has a series of ears running along its body with a group of nostrils in the center of its huge, razor-sharp beak. Like the Harvesters of Tartarus, the worm is a burrower, but unlike those giant land animals, the Lion Worm can only travel through soft earth. It is an ambush predator that actively seeks live prey. It’s rumored that poachers have been removing Lion Worms from their natural habitat, slipping them past ICC quarantine and selling them to the corporate elite as pets. If this is so, it is a potential disaster waiting to happen—an escaped Lion Worm could reproduce quickly and upset the ecological balance of any colony world, as well as be responsible for a great many deaths.
Habitat Wilds of Zagreus
Size 1.8–3 meters
Traits Relentless hunter, attacks first, retreats underground when confused.
An aggressive carnivore covered in golden, fast moving cilia, the Lion Worm is the apex predator on the xenobiologist jungle dreamworld of Zagreus. Eyeless, the Lion Worm instead has a series of ears running along its body with a group of nostrils in the center of its huge, razor-sharp beak. Like the Harvesters of Tartarus, the worm is a burrower, but unlike those giant land animals, the Lion Worm can only travel through soft earth. It is an ambush predator that actively seeks live prey. It’s rumored that poachers have been removing Lion Worms from their natural habitat, slipping them past ICC quarantine and selling them to the corporate elite as pets. If this is so, it is a potential disaster waiting to happen—an escaped Lion Worm could reproduce quickly and upset the ecological balance of any colony world, as well as be responsible for a great many deaths.
CONTAINMENT AND TERMINATION PROTOCOL
Lion Worms can be disoriented by the release of pollen or pollutants in the air. They are easily distracted by the pheromones of another Lion Worm, something the colonists on Zagreus have been wise enough to collect. A Lion Worm perceives the smell of another of its kind as an invasion of its hunting grounds, and will seek out and attack the offender accordingly.AMBUSH PREDATOR
The Lion Worm is a top predator. In its own territory it will set up traps, pits, walls of vines, and tree-lines that all help it capture its prey. In stealth mode a Lion Worm’s prey get a –2 modification to OBSERVATION due to the Worm’s cunning instincts, if they are in the Lion Worm’s territory.
Scientific Name
Aurivermis predatorus
Geographic Distribution
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