Sand Strider

The Sand Strider is a large herbivorous insect utilized by travelers in the southern provinces as mounts. It serves as a quality replacement for more traditional beasts of burden such as donkeys or horses on the shifting sands of Meznayn. Nomad orc tribes in the southern provinces also use them profusely, finding their carapace to be an excellent natural armor in combat.
When threatened, the Sand Strider (instead of fighting or fleeing) will burrow its soft underbelly into the sand and tuck its legs under its shelled torso. With the thick armor being the only accessible point, most predators find the Sand Strider too much trouble to attempt hunting.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Striders have long triple jointed legs that allow them to skid across the sand at a brisk pace. Their carapace is a smooth, armored shell of a yellow/tan/brown color variety.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The Sand Strider is entirely herbivorous, consuming desert shrubs, cacti, and various other flora that grows in Meznayn's many subterranean caverns.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Sand Striders are entirely blind, and rely on their sense of smell and ability to sense movement (tremorsense vibration) to detect the presence of food and their natural predator, the Vulture Wasp.