Field Guide
The Alien and the Familiar
Long before mankind took to the stars they debated about life in the universe. What form would it take? Would it be intelligent? Would we even recognize alien lifeforms as life? These questions were alive and well in the minds of the colonists on the Icarus as they made their way to New Horizon. They knew that the world was able to support life, but they had little information I the way of what that life was.
The first time greater humanity set eyes upon New Horizon, they were pleased to see a vibrant world of blue and green, reminiscent of stories about earth before the wars and calamities that beset it in the centuries before. As the colonists spread across their new world, they came into contact with the new life that shared their home.
Perhaps more surprising than the alienness of the life which they discovered was the odd familiarity of it. Though the majority of the life on New Horizon was strange and new, a large portion shared traits with animals and plants that the colonists remembered from earth. In fact, some species on New Horizon are almost indistinguishable from those back on earth, aside from the odd dual base makeup of their genetics that is common to life on New Horizon.
Many theories have been set forth. The more conservative theories point toward parallel evolution filling similar niches as those back on earth. Those who subscribe to this theory point to traits on earth that seemed to evolve more than once in wildly different creatures. The more fringe theories suggest a connection between Earth and New Horizon in the past, one that led to a trading of different species. Though this theory is popular in fiction, it is rarely considered plausible by mainstream scholars.
One world, many sources
Regardless of the source of Earth like species on New Horizon, scientists have discovered that New Horizon organisms have varied sources. The majority of the life on New Horizon appears to have evolved on this world. This includes the silicon based lifeforms in the furthest reaches such as the Azuremar peaks, the carbon based life similar to earth, and the dual based life which seems to be dominant over the world.
The next form of life is alien to New Horizon, and has its origins in a celestial impact sometime in the past. This impact created the Tulgey Woods, and seeded the surrounding area with new life that has since began to spread out into the surrounding world.
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Dual Based Life
The majority of the life on New Horizon exhibits a dual carbon silicon base. This makes the creatures very hardy (see ballistic damage below), and allows them to gain sustenance from a variety of sources, including consuming wafans and the technology that the colonists rely on for safety.
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There are two dominant theories about the origin of this dual based life. The first suggest a primordial incorporation much like the mitochondrial theory for earth life, where a carbon based single celled organism consumed a silicon based single celled organism and incorporated it into it’s own makeup. The second theory involves a silicon based virus sometime in the past that imparted a portion of its genetics into most of the organisms on New Horizon. Both theories have enough proof to make them plausible.
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Life on New Horizon
Life on New Horizon is separated into two large categories, silicon based lifeforms, and carbon/silicon life. Silicon based lifeforms are classified as kisillif, so a silicon based creature such as a proto-cryth is a kisillin. Dual based carbon silicon life is classified as skipturlif, so a creature such as a grim stalker is a skipturlin.
Dual-based lifeforms are the dominant creatures on the moon. This is due in part to the combined qualities of their different genetics. The carbon based DNA gives these creatures more adaptability and a more efficient metabolism while the silicon based DNA gives them more resilience and strength. The exact time that silicon based structures were introduced to the carbon based life on New Horizon is unknown. Scientists place the event early in the history of life on the moon, as no purely carbon based life has yet to be discovered.
Studies into the genetics of NH lifeforms have show that these dual based organisms have binucleated cells. This type of phenomenon is rarely seen in thriving cells as the processes that lead to this development usually stunt cell growth and eventually stop the cell from multiplying. Until reaching New Horizon, the most commonly seen binucleated cells were cancerous. The reason that these dual-based cells seem to function while binucleated has to do with the separate types of DNA in their system. One nucleus contains the carbon based DNA, which is the most similar to that found in organisms from earth. The second nucleus contains the silicon based DNA. These two distinct nuclei both translate their effects to the rest of the cell, and ultimately to the organism itself.
Medea and the 'Third Helix'
Medeans gain their unique abilities by transplanting foreign DNA into their own cells. This process is achieved by the use of a protein known as medea. Though the imagery is wrong, many refer to the outcome as the third helix. This has led to the transplanted DNA being known as helices.
Medea is a prion that changes the way proteins in the genetic code are folded. Foreign DNA is introduced into the cell as a sereix, a structure similar to a plasmid. Multiple sereices can be introduced, but the more there are the higher the chance of mutation. For this reason, medeans try to do all of their augmentations at one time. Medea causes these sereices to form with a sort of built in kill switch. The structure of the sereices becomes dependent on the medea. Without medea, this structure wears away and the foreign DNA is left with no method of replication, and begins to breakdown into it's component pieces. These pieces are then absorbed back into the cell.
The breakthrough in medean technology came when the genes responsible for the production of medea were successfully mounted as part of a sereix. Medea production doesn't begin until after puberty, in the few creatures found to produce it. Since humans do not produce the chemicals required to activate medea production, the sereix breaks down during procreation, thereby preventing the foreign DNA from being passed onto the offspring.
The Descent of Grimes
This terrible disease seems to be a possible contender for the method of silicon introduction into the life of New Horizon. Encountered in fossil deposits within the Grimes Quarry, this disease attacks the nervous system of the host first, before working its way into the rest of the cells of the body. The disease caused massive uncontrolled bone growth, with calcium deposits forming throughout the muscles of the body and eventually forming bone spurs that pierced the flesh. Muscle tissue increased in density and strength while the skin thickened taking on an almost woody texture. There were few survivors of the initial outbreak, but all showed early signs of cell binucleation.
The discovery of such a disease has split opinion over when silicon was introduced as a basis for life on New Horizon. Some still argue for the early evolution induction of a silicon based microbe through failed consumption, pointing to the other lifeforms which are entirely silicon based. However, the Descent of Grimes presents the real possibility of a plague sweeping the world in the past and rewriting all carbon based life. Some wonder if this plague may be the reason for the what appears to be a massive extinction of mammalian like animals nearly a millennium ago. Proponents of this theory point to the notable survivors of that extinction, specifically the grim stalkers and bone mongers.
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Ballistic Damage: many of the creatures on New Horizon have resistance or immunity to ballistic damage as presented in "My New d20 Modern Campaign." If you are using these creatures in games which do not include widespread use of guns, consider replacing this trait with resistance or immunity to piercing damage, or removing it and giving the creatures a slight HP bump.
These fish like creatures resemble earthly raptors with sleek wings, grasping talons, and sharp beaks. Unlike birds, aquafalks have gills, are covered in scales and their wings are in fact semi-rigid fins. These fins allows them to move gracefully through the air or the water. Their coloration ranges from silver to tan, with brighter colors more common in the jungles.
Armordillos are small rodent-like creatures with bony exoskeletal plates over their heads and shoulders and down their spines to the end of their short tails. Their eyes are tiny black dots on eye stalks that can pull back inside of the armored plate that covers their face.
Arthronox, commonly called scorpins, resemble earthly scorpions and other arachnids in a number of ways. The most common breeds sport a large flat tail rather than a stinger. These flat tailed arthronox sport a pair of tentacles tipped in poison stingers. Other breeds have tails with blades or stingers. They range in colors, with most matching their environment.
Bone Mongers look like a demon out of a nightmare. Their body is vaguely humanoid in shape. Their goat jointed legs end in sharp hooves. Arms, which pull wings of ragged flesh from the creature’s side, end in clawed hands. Bone Mongers look like they are hunched over making them half as tall as they would be if they stood up straight. The entire monstrosity is topped by an eyeless bony head, complete with horns.
Craol are long serpentine crustaceans with powerful pincers and delicate, slender swimmeret legs. Their long muscular abdomen and fish like tail provide locomotion. Their mouths have small mandibles, similar to tentacles. Their shells are typically orange black, with an almost opalescent quality to it. Each has a unique pattern of interlaced circles on their backs. Their eyes are golden in color, with other colors being rare.
Crolop’s resemble mizumaru in almost every way with one exception, they possess a set of wings on their backs which allows them to glide if they leap into the air or drop from a height. Their mouths are filled with sharp teeth that are constantly replaced over the life of the crolop.
A proto-cryth has a flat ovoid head that looks like a crab body, a skinny joint to a the abdomen, similar to an ant or spider. They have six legs. They have a four mandibled mouth. All four mandibles meet in the center and are very strong. They have four eyes, two on the front of the head and one on each side. These eyes look like perfectly smooth gemstones.
These large beetle like creatures resemble scarabs, with thick shells, wings, and sharp claws. Their most disturbing trait is their face, which resembles that of a human when their mouth is closed. The origin of their human like appearance is heavily debated. They come in glossy metallic colors: red, blue, purple, green and orange with golden trim.
Fueno are fat, squat, and covered in folds of skin. They sport varying amounts of body hair, ranging from practically naked in the warmer climates to a full pelt near the arctic areas. Their faces are stumped with a large flat nose, large ears, and tiny eyes. Their stubby legs end in knobby toes that appear as if they have been broken before. The whole package leads to a fat, flat, tail that is nearly as long as a fueno’s body.
With most of the moon being harsh, these creatures seem to have gone out of their way to be cute. They resemble a large, fat, and fluffy grasshopper drawn by a five year old.They have soft fur, soulful eyes, and huge furry antenna positioned like rabbit ears. They are well known for their cuddly nature, as well as their despicable cuteness. Their eyes are brilliant golden brown and expressive.
Mizumaru (also known as waterhops) resemble earthly frogs and toads. Mizumaru occasionally are found with three pairs of legs, they also have a dual-based carbon and silicon system. There are hundreds of varieties spread across the moon. They range in color from dull brown to rainbow
Ravagers have faces that are blunt and rounded. Their skin is pebbly, almost reptilian in many places. They sport a salamander-like finned tail that is nearly as long as the rest of their body. The only hair on their bodies is their mane. A ravager’s mane is thick across its neck and shoulders, tapering to a fine line down its spine and thickening again to a bushy tail tip.
The scrap gobbler is an ugly creature standing roughly 50 centimeters tall. It is a bloated ovoid beast covered with a tough, metal-like skin. A scrap gobbler’s skin is extremely sticky and often has dung, trash, metal parts and scraps of decaying organic matter stuck on it.