Bush Runner
Bush Runner | |
---|---|
Adult Male | |
Base Information | |
Classification | Omnivore/gatherer |
Terrain | {{{terrain}}} |
Locomotion | Walker |
Size | Large |
Speed | XSlow |
Strength | Typical |
Social Structure | Several |
Weapons | Tail |
Armor | {{{armor}}} |
Body Structure | |
Symmetry | Bilateral |
Head/Torso | Head with brain/senses |
Limbs & Manipulators | Front Arms, rear legs |
Tail | Yes |
Skeleton | Bony interior |
Internal Fluids | Blood |
Skin | Skin |
Natural Weapons | Tail |
Body Shape | |
Size | Large |
Stance | horizontal |
Length/Height | 1.5m |
Body Profile | Obese |
Weight | 50kg |
Details | |
Edibility | Tasty |
Training Difficulty | Hopeless |
Source | |
Homeworld | Unknown |
Multi-world | Yes |
Canon | yes |
Reference | T5 Core Rules 589. |
Bush Runners weigh approximately 50kg and are between 1.4 and 1.5 meters in length. They physically resemble a cross between the Terran kangaroo and the Etan Fruit Lizard.
Physiology and ecology[edit]
The skeleton is calciferous, internal, and differs from the typical Terran vertebrate only in minor details. Bush runners are bipedal, using a muscular pair of hind legs for locomotion and a smaller pair of forearms for food acquisition. A long tail is used as a balancing organ during running, as a third leg when assuming an upright posture, and as a weapon when threatened.
The head is a typical arrangement of brain surrounded by a bony cranium upon which are laterally paired sensory organs (eyes, nose, and ears), as well as a ventrally located mouth. The teeth are arranged in common fashion for omnivores and are faced on their grinding surfaces with a silicate material.
Respiration is the common O2/CO2 exchange accomplished by paired lungs located in the upper body cavity. The circulatory system is closed, the heart is four chambered and the blood gases are transported by a copper based hemoglobin, which makes the blood blue in color.
Life Cycle and reproduction[edit]
Bush runners do not breed well in captivity, so most specimens occur in the wild.
Bush runners congregate in family groups of two parents and from 6 to 12 juveniles in various stages of development. There are two genders, which pair for life, producing 2 to 3 young per season. Depending upon the length of the local year, bush runners will have from 1 to 3 litters per mating season.
Diet and trophics[edit]
Bush runners are omnivorous, eating fruit, nuts, grubs, and such small animals as they can catch. They can usually be found on the edges of forested regions, semi-forested savannahs, and areas such as bogs where fruit-bearing plants grow in profusion.
History and background[edit]
Bush Runner Meat: Their meat is quite succulent and a deep blue in color. Large quantities in a short period of time are poisonous, so the meat is usually used as a colorful garnish for certain gourmet dishes.
Bush Runner Suffitoleum: Adult Bush Runners of both sexes produce a musk from glands located in the tail during mating season; this musk contains a compound called Suffitoleum, used in the manufacture of expensive perfumes. The compound has resisted all attempts to synthesize it, and the musk of animals raised in captivity does not contain it. Therefore, on most planets which have Bush Runners, the animals are allowed to range free and are hunted for the 2 to 5 grams of Suffitoleum than that can be recovered from each adult.
Travellers' Aid Society Advisory[edit]
No information yet available.
References and contributors[edit]
- Loren Wiseman. "The Bestiary." Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society 01 (1979): 4.
- Marc Miller. T5 Core Rules (Far Future Enterprises, 2013), 589.
- Matthew Sprange. Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society volume 1 (Mongoose Publishing, 2019), 10-11.