Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus
| Respawn: ?? | |||||
| Level: 9 | Attack: 200 | ||||
| HP: 3686 | MP: 553 | SP: 553 | |||
Max Drop: 216 gold, 300 silver, 1300 copper
- These lumbering creatures are among the many so-called terrible lizards native to Venturil. This particular one is notable especially for the bony plates along its back and the four impaling spikes on its tail, known as Thagomizers. They are so named after perhaps the greatest zoologist of our time, who met his unfortunate end atop one of these and was found days later on the culprit, who by all accounts had no idea and was just eating grass happily when it was discovered. They aren't known for being very bright, and are mostly docile.
The plates on its back are beautiful and intimidating while the creature lives. Throughout each plate is a network of channels and tubes, blood vessels, and when the stego's blood flows through them, they light up in brilliant and sometimes intimidating and mesmerizing displays of scarlet. The many different patterns and degrees of color that they can channel leads some scholars to believe that these creatures are much more complex than initially thought. Could they be used as a form of silent communication?
Most are doubtful, and this is convenient for them. Stegosaurs are especially useful draft animals in warm places like Venturil, where there placid nature and ability to carry enormous loads is a great boon to farmers and traders in the region. Here, their plates may be used to great effect, as a foundation by which a flattened structure can even be built, in lieu of a simple saddle. Some have even been known to have what is essentially a small cottage built on their backs, and despite all this extra weight, they happily graze until directed elsewhere.
At least one tribe of nomads in the wild has adopted the animal as their guardian and totem, and consider the creature to be sacred above all others. They travel with a herd of stegosaurs, protecting not only their children, but the dinosaurs' too. In return, they are protected by the herd against many of the greater threats that other dinosaurs (and people) pose. This tribe, like the dinosaur itself, is considered to be simple and peaceful. As with the dinosaur, the ignorance may not be of the people being observed, but of the observers. Though they care little for things such as money, they are known to be cooperative with the stationary peoples of Venturil when it comes to mutual protection of the land.
Many parts of a stegosaurus are quite valuable to collectors, who would see the plates on their back detached, sanded, and gilded. They may or may not fill the channels within with some colorful substance or another, presenting the beauty and patterns in myriad colors beyond the sanguine display of the living creature. Their bones, especially their femurs, are known to be nearly indestructible. Though they're brittle and not suited to shaping, certain organic adhesives can expand their function to be used in a variety of ways. They also are incredibly heat resistant, and can withstand being coated in metals for further increased density and strength. Their eggs are prized as a delicacy by the very rich, and are often served in discrete, anonymous restaurants in places like Chartsend and Vhys. As expected though, the Thagomizers are the true prize. They aren't useful for much beyond simple weaponry, but they're so cool that everyone wants one. Or four. Of course, the harvesting of these things from wild stegosaurs is considered poaching, and the punishment for crossing this line results in jail and fines from Venturil's government, or blood feud and eventual death from the tribes who revere the creatures.
Written by Lanlan