You are nameless, formless, suspended in a pool of Sludge.
You float in an infinite abyss of infinite possibilities. With no way of propelling yourself, you drift aimlessly by the will of the currents.
Until something touches you. Something graces you with its presence, granting you a spark of intelligence by merely passing by.
The spark flows through your entire being, changing it, altering it. A body for you slowly begins to clump together from Sludge.
With half-formed eyes you glance down at your emerging being to see what fate has in store for you.
You see…
[ ] Two legs and two arms, both tipped in razor sharp claws, though only your arms have dexterous graspers. Your mouth is filled with sharp, pointy teeth. Your body feels strong.
[ ] Four legs and a prehensile tail, your feet are tipped with hefty digging claws and you are covered in a tough, leather-like armor. Your mouth is filled with rounded teeth, perfect for grinding. Your body feels sturdy.
[ ] Two stubby legs and two glider wings, your wings feature somewhat flimsy claws, more suited to climbing and hanging off things than direct combat. Your mouth is filled with a quartet of hollow fangs allowing for you to drink from prey. Your body feels sneaky.
With your newfound limbs you, driven by some innate instinct, begin to claw your way to the surface of the Spawning Pool.
~~~
We'll give it, eh, two hours and then call the vote there, three if things get funky
[X] Two stubby legs and two glider wings, your wings feature somewhat flimsy claws, more suited to climbing and hanging off things than direct combat. Your mouth is filled with a quartet of hollow fangs allowing for you to drink from prey. Your body feels sneaky.
[X] Two stubby legs and two glider wings, your wings feature somewhat flimsy claws, more suited to climbing and hanging off things than direct combat. Your mouth is filled with a quartet of hollow fangs allowing for you to drink from prey. Your body feels sneaky.
Flexing the muscles in your freshly grown limbs, you push and pull and pry yourself out from the cloying muck of the Spawning Pool. At first, you struggle to move, to climb, to do anything really. But, as you acclimated to the sensation of having a body, you quickly improved by leaps and bounds.
Your claws scrap against the thin film covering the Spawning Pool. It feels spongy, like the plastic wrap on a package. The tips of your claws dig into the firmament, anchoring yourself.
You're so close, you can almost taste the surface's air. Brackish Sludge enters and exits your mouth and lungs as you breathe in and out. It's harmless, for now, though you know that, eventually, you will lose the ability to breathe Sludge. It would be a terribly ironic thing for you to drown in your own birthing pools.
From the corner of your eye, you spot hordes of your fellow… fellow Spawnlings — a section of your mind helpfully supplies — all rushing towards the surface in a blind frenzy. Claws, talons, fangs, and beaks all working in tandem for the sole goal of seeing the light of the outside world. For the sole goal of being first.
Something tickles in the back of your head as you watch your fellow Spawnlings approach. The way they move, it's like they're a pack of mindless beasts! Not like, well, they're not like you at all! So… why are you different?
You shift back to the film, pushing the thought from your mind. You can deal with that later, right now it's time to get to the surface!
~~~
As you poke your head through the hole you clawed open, you find yourself blinded by the sudden intense light. Rubbing at your eyes, you peek through your claws at the surface world.
The Spawning Pool lies at the bottom of, what appears to be, a truly gargantuan city built in the shape of a funnel. Sprawling slums of scrap metal and plywood line the lowest sections of the city, the sections closest to the Spawning Pool and — you connect as more Spawnlings break their way into the outside world — Spawnlings.
A loud crack of some thunderous sound rolls across the Spawning Pool and halts you from examining the city any further. A horn blows and feet stomp against asphalt at a steadily strengthening pitch as a powerful voice bellows out.
"The little morsels have poked their tiny heads out, Monsters, it's time to feast!" The voice shouts, full of bloodthirsty glee as the stomp of feet reaches a fever-pitched crescendo.
You lock eyes with a Spawnling that had poked its head out only moments before. Its tentacles writhe in fear as its eyes widen, realization dawning on the both of you.
A winged Monster twice its size swoops down and swipes the Spawnling up in its talons. The last thing you see of that Spawnling is the Monster — a Skitterer, the next step in the Monster hierarchy after Spawnling — tearing its stomach open with a split-jawed beak.
Skitterers of all kinds, each easily twice your size and armed with a variety of weapons — both natural and not — rush towards the Spawning Pool in a roving ravenous mass. Already some are amongst your newborn kin, slaughtering and devouring them wholesale.
You have a choice before you. You must survive, you simply must, out of sheer animal instinct if nothing else. The only question is, what do you do?
[ ] Slink away while your fellow Spawnlings provide an excellent distraction. While you may not have known them all that well, or at all, you will remember their sacrifice forever… pft.
[ ] Shrug and join in on the feeding frenzy. Why not make the most of a bad situation and fill your empty belly?
[ ] Stamp your feet and grab some of the other Spawnlings and form a posse; if these Skitterers want a fight then you'll give 'em one!
~~~
We'll call it in another two hours, three if things get funky.
Also, I'll have your character sheet up and running here in a few minutes.
Side note: Skitterers are about the size of your average red brick while Spawnlings are about the size of a soda can.
[X] Slink away while your fellow Spawnlings provide an excellent distraction. While you may not have known them all that well, or at all, you will remember their sacrifice forever… pft.
You are currently a Skitterer! Which means you're small but not as weak as before! You require 2 EP a day to function.
Your body currently consists of…
-A head! This is the core of you, better protect it!
--Two eyes! They allow you to see!
---They can now zoom in and magnify things at will!
----This has been upgraded once!
--Two thermal-sensing pits! They live on your face, where your temples used to be. You can use them to sense heat!
---This has been upgraded once!
--A mouth with four hollow fangs! You can drink people! You can also inject people with a weak paralyzing venom!
---You have more teeth now! They're made of metal and allow you to get at the bits of food you couldn't before, netting you an extra EP from every kill!
---Your teeth are now sheddable!
---You have a tongue! It can taste and helps you speak!
--A stubby nose! You can smell stuff!
---This has been improved twice!
--Two large floppy ears! You can hear stuff pretty well! When things get loud, you can close them off to stop sound getting in! You can also pick up echolocation signals with them, allowing you to sense them now!
---Sound resistance has been improved twice!
--A large brain! Huh, it appears that you're a lot smarter than most others… well, I'm sure that won't matter too much! Besides, you can't even evolve this any further, not yet at least!
-A neck! This has all sorts of things in it, like important arteries!
--A venom gland! This one produces paralyzing venom!
---This has been improved 4 times!
---It is also full of electrified metal dust!
---It is now also insulated, which is good for all that electrified dust!
--Vocal chords! These bad boys allow you to talk! It also has the ability to create echolocation pings! Very useful when you can't see very well!
--You can now produce an ear-ringing screech that incapacitates.
---This has been upgraded once!
-An adrenaline gland! This can be triggered to pump your system full of adrenaline, giving you a much-needed edge in a fight.
-A torso! This has all sorts of useful things in it like hearts and lungs and fun things like that!
--A heart! It pumps blood through your body!
---Your blood now coagulates faster when spilled.
--Two lungs! They filter air!
--A belly! It can hold up to 7 EP! It has been upgraded 2 times!
--Another belly! It can hold up to 7 EP! It has been upgraded 2 times!
--A filtering organ! It can filter out minor impurities in your food and blood!
---This has been improved once! It's now better at filtering things out.
---This has been improved once for toxin resistance! Meaning that you can now resist toxins better!
--A toxin humidifier organ! This bad boy can store a bunch of toxins in it and then turns it into a gaseous state! Ain't that nifty!
--A metal generating organ! This nifty little dude produces basic metal!
---It has been improved thrice!
---It is now insulated!
---It now also produces a fine metal dust!
----It is now connected to the electricity organ, which means that the dust is now electrified.
--An electricity-generating organ! It produces electricity!
---It has been improved thrice!
-You are now covered in scales! They've got a solid degree of defense!
--This has received 1 general upgrade!
--It has received 1 upgrade to blunt damage!
--The skin-touching side is now insulated!
--It is now connected to the electricity gland! This means that it is now electrified!
--They're now sloped, meaning that they're better at deflecting solid projectiles.
-Your skeleton has been improved twice. It now resists breakages better
-Your skin is very malleable! This is great for all sorts of things!
--Your skin has been toughened up once! This means that you can resist damage better!
--The malleability has been improved twice! This means that you can support two extra skin modifiers!
--Petrification sleep gland! When you go to sleep, your skin turns to stone!
--A skin color changing organ! It allows you to alter your skin color, though not by a whole lot at the moment. It now works on scales as well!
--A camouflage gland! It allows you to mimic your surroundings!
-You can now store fat! You currently have 3 fat! Fat serves as a bit of protection and can be used to store EP while keeping your stomach empty for eating! You can currently support 6 fat without seeing any problems from it.
--Your fat now acts as a sort of ballistic gel, the harder the impact the more it hardens.
-A tail! It's a bit thin, but it is long and good for lashing!
--The tail now has a venom storage sac!
--The tail now has a length of muscled tubing running up and down its length. It can spew out pressurized venoms and gasses!
---It now has a sphincter mechanism!
---This has been improved once for pressure!
---This has been improved once for range!
---Venom Cutter has received one general improvement!
-Two short legs! While they still aren't amazing for extended periods of walking, they are now longer and better for it. You sure can hang good with them, though!
--These muscles have been improved thrice! Helps you carry more weight!
--Two sets of small barbed claws! Basically useless for anything other than grabbing things, though their grip strength isn't half-bad! With the addition of barbs, their ability to grab onto things has improved significantly! You've added a set of thumb-claws to them, giving you an ability to actually manipulate things.
---Dexterity has been improved once!
---They are now hollow and are filled with your venom!
---They are now made out of basic metal!
-Two weak wings! Look at that, you can fly with ease now, good for you! Your wings are also usable as bashing weapons, but are only really effective against Spawnlings and especially weak Skitterers. They're also more nimble and deft, allowing you to make sharper turns!
--These muscles have been improved 4 times! You can now carry bigger things while flying and fly faster doing so!
--The flexibility has been improved once!
--Two sets of climbing claws! Somewhat flimsy, not meant for combat, but they do a good job of climbing!
---They are now hollow and are filled with your venom!
---They are now made out of basic metal!
Overall, you're a pretty sneaky fellow. You don't have much staying power in direct combat, but that won't matter too much if you can just ambush everything. However, as of recent developments, you are starting to get a bit more beefy. With your tail upgrades, you're starting to actually pose a bit of a threat in proper combat. Good for you!
You currently have 0 EP
You currently have 0 EP worth of mealers.
You currently have 3 EP worth of fat.
Sern - a Skitterer and your first friend. She seems to find you amusing.
Lonus - a Spawnling and a friend? He has a spark in his eye and seems to be intent on blazing his own path forwards.
Lem - a Monsterian and a very capitalistic one at that. He rules Market Street, as far as you're aware at least.
Copier - a Spawnling that happens to resemble you a bit. She's taken towards developing speed evolutions.
Lumber - a Spawnling that is rather large and tends to lumber about the place
Metalworker - When working with metal, you're simply more nimble and deft at putting things together. Ideas and concepts for metalworking come easily to your mind.
[X] Slink away while your fellow Spawnlings provide an excellent distraction. While you may not have known them all that well, or at all, you will remember their sacrifice forever… pft.
[X] Slink away while your fellow Spawnlings provide an excellent distraction. While you may not have known them all that well, or at all, you will remember their sacrifice forever… pft.
[X] Slink away while your fellow Spawnlings provide an excellent distraction. While you may not have known them all that well, or at all, you will remember their sacrifice forever… pft.
Looks like it's time to be a little bit of a sneaky-beaky cheeki-breeki. Update will come in a little bit, will also be the last for today
Scheduled vote count started by Imperial Fister on Aug 13, 2022 at 7:36 PM, finished with 8 posts and 5 votes.
[X] Slink away while your fellow Spawnlings provide an excellent distraction. While you may not have known them all that well, or at all, you will remember their sacrifice forever… pft.
Bidding your butchered kin adieu, you allow yourself to sink back beneath the Sludge, where Skitterers can't follow. Even the youngest Skitterers are far too old to still have a Sludgelung, meaning that, as long as you avoid getting too close to the surface, you'll be fine.
As you dive back beneath the Sludge, you spot what appears to be a near endless tide of Spawnlings surging up from the depths. Thousands upon thousands of newborn Monsters claw their way to the surface, only to be slaughtered by their older kin.
You suppose that, if you were somebody else, you might've felt some sense of wrongness about that. But you just shrug. That's the way of the world, it's just your lot in it right now to be eaten by the strong. One day, though, you'll be the one eating and feasting and calling the shots like that bellowing voice did.
Even if you have to peel it from its seat to do so.
The Sludge of the Spawning Pool runs thick with blood as you reach the stone brick edge of the Pool. The blood of the Spawnlings, and the occasional Skitterer, spills down the side of the funnel and merges with the Sludge, enriching it to eventually give rise to yet another generation of Spawnlings.
Poking your head out, the coast is clear. Hauling yourself out of the Pool, you keep close to the ground as you slink across the street. Most of the violence seems to be happening on the other side of the Pool, so you should, should, be safe.
Creeping underneath cars and crawling through trash-strewn alleyways, you keep away from the scant few fights in this section of the slums. With your big ears, it's very easy to hear the violence.
The sun, so high in the sky, was beginning to go down when you found yourself resting atop an overflowing dumpster in a narrow alley. With your advanced hearing, you were able to detect a lone Spawnling limping down the close-walled corridor.
Creeping over the lid of the garbage container, you note that the Spawnling seems to be nursing a wound on its flank. Likely a mark from another Spawnling, given how the Spawnling in question is still alive.
Your stomach rumbles, a grim reminder of your current situation. No food and no shelter, unless you want to try your hand at burrowing inside the dumpster.
Regardless of the matter, one of your problems is solvable right now. All you need to do is decide whether or not to eat this wounded Spawnling. The Monster should be an easy kill, what with it being injured and all, but it does appear to have some sort of stinger tail, so you'd best be on your guard.
Though… it does look to be a little bit older than the Spawnlings you've seen so far. Perhaps it knows a thing or two, like if there's a stash of food somewhere!
But then again, it might just be best to leave it alone. Who knows what sort of weapons it might have beneath its fur?
[ ] Ambush from the skies! It's already dead, it just hasn't realized it yet!
[ ] Reveal yourself and strike up a conversation. Hey, maybe you'll even get a friend out of it! Granted, a half-dead friend but a friend nonetheless.
[ ] Bah, this isn't worth it. Let the Spawnling pass by in peace while you get situated in your new trash nest.
~~~
Voting will be called tomorrow at around 11:00-11:30 AM CST
[X] Reveal yourself and strike up a conversation. Hey, maybe you'll even get a friend out of it! Granted, a half-dead friend but a friend nonetheless.
Hello Senpai!
