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Below the Basement lie the caves, a sprawling structure of interconnected tunnels. Some are artificially made, others entirely natural--but the water from the Glacier and Downpour above drain down into here, allowing hydration to be achieved--this allows for much greater variance of ecosystems, and this, much more interesting specimens for me to study!
Note: It's best to have someone accompany you if you haven't earned Buck's respect, as his Snaggers are quite the skilled pickpockets...
GAPERS |
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DwellerSome Gapers had migrated below the Basement long ago--this lead to them evolving over time due to the more varied environment, becoming more resilient and intelligent as a result. Their new fighting style is based off that of the Dreamers, as the Dreamers always seemed to survive the longest. Is this imitation, or are they our predecessors? Dwellers are smart enough to use tools and artifacts, and can do things like carry on conversation, build structures, and even communicate with us to a limited degree! Fascinating! 
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ResidentAnother "role" within the Dweller population, which is the closest thing to any sort of sexual dimorphism (seeing as they still reproduce asexually). Would that count as a different species, or something more like a specific breed? For now, I'll consider it the latter. The artifacts they specialize in using are ones that acively have to be tapped into. Because of their, they serve to have more expertise in one specific area rather than the generalized knowledge of the Dweller, or esoteric know-how of the Denizens. Overall, they're still around as intelligent as Dwellers, just in a different way, essentially. The Dwellers are generally a personable and courteous sort, even willing to engage in things like barter to fulfill a desire to learn!
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DenizenThe third of four "roles" of Dweller society, the Denizens have wider knowledge of more narrow subjects, such as cards, runes, and, more rarely, soul-stones. They tend to specialize in one category of the three at a time, but have their knowledge of that category a little more specific than that of the Dweller, but not as deep as that of the Resident. Denizens are a more recent discovery, as they often take on more behind-the-scenes roles in the Dweller world. Concept and sprite by watchmeojo 
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TenantThe final known--and least often-seen--role in the Dweller family. Their knowledge is more fluid--they learn and forget quickly, often picking up new fields each few runcycles or so. Because of this, they stick to the smaller artifacts that you can simply physically carry around. (Some call these "trinkets", so I'll be using that for simplicity's sake.) Their power can vary wildly depending on what trinket they decide to carry around, which makes their danger level even more of a crapshoot than the other three roles. Due to their propensity to forget, learn, and move on, they are more open to trade than other roles on average. Concept and sprite by MillieAmp
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SlickMorsels afflicted by an odd condition dubbed by the scholars of the Mausoleum as "Pallid deformity", assumed to either be a type of adaptation to harsher environments or perhaps just a sign of age. It can affect organisms (mainly Gapers and related species) in a vastly different amount of ways assumed to be dependent on their morphology and biological traits. For example, Slicks bleed harmlessly in a small trail behind them, though this is not the only trait they gain. More interestingly, however, is that like normal Gapers they have the ability to regenerate and live without a head. As opposed to a Pacer, these headless Slicks are called Stumps for ease of dichotomy.
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StumpHeadless Morsels--a phenomenon once thought to not be possible. They wander about mindlessly, as do Pacers, but still retain their relative harmlessness. Like Slicks, they still bleed, although the trail is almost negligibly small.
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BalorWith more complex biology, Pallid deformity has more unique effects, as seen with Balors here. Their one eye has grown larger in order to compensate for its single-ness. Like Slicks, they bleed, but more interestingly the shots they fire are much larger and higher in blood content than that or a normal Cyclopia--enough to leave a sizable trail behind. It may not look the part, but they aren't in pain, and fit in with other Gapers just fine.
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Pale BleederAn example of a positive effect of Pallid deformity can be observed in the Pale Bleeder, as despite their lack of eyes and skin on the top hemisphere of their head, their condition is surprisingly quite stable for the normally diseased Bleeder. In fact, the blood they normally produce in addition to the increased bloodflow granted by Pallid deformity bolsters their ability to attack, too! They shoot a series of three projectiles, two normal ones with the last one bolstered by the extra blood in question. Interesting as this is, I really do have to wonder if such traits are limited only to Gaperkind. The possibilities are so great in number!
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Pale SlimAs expected, it is a Slim with pallid deformity. It seems to have affected its muscles, as well as its cardiovascular system, allowing it additional stamina. Its pain tolerance doesn't seem to be much larger than its unaffected equivalent, though, but it seems to shrug it off after the initial shock a bit more easily. Surprisingly, their limbs aren't the only things left behind anymore--similarly to a plain Gaper, they've regained the ability to function while headless. Thus, see the following entry.
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JimA Pale Slim that has lost its head. It wanders around, occasionally thrashing about if it feels the touch of...pretty much anything. If it hits an object with its arms when doing this, it reacts identially, suggesting that their reaction to pain is instinctual rather than learned. When I say "pretty much anything", I really do mean it--I saw one slap other Gapers, insects, Clotties, and even me. For this reason, you should probably be careful around them!
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Pale LimbDon't go near it. I don't know how but the damn thing can launch itself with such efficiency...best to just leave it. It's the cast-off arm of a Pale Slim. It doesn't seem to have any actual brainpower, but I'd swear up and down these things are out for blood. I'm just going to leave the specimens I find alone and try to avoid them--you'd probably best do the same. It's not like they can actually injure you, but damn if it isn't annoying. (And it stings, too! Their muscles are stronger, remember!?)
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FishaacLooking at this thing makes me really, really uncomfortable. Just--the way it moves, the way it croaks and vocalizes and fires out globs of moisture... Something to do with the Dreamer...??? I guess??? I don't like to think about it, even though I can't help but feel sorry for the poor thing...
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Fauna |
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One ToothHow strange to see an actual animal roaming this place. Then again, bats are kind of to be expected in a cave system, no? This seems to be their most basic form, with no specialized biological role. Their diet seems to stick mostly to insects, of which they use their titular one large tooth to break open the carapaces of. In my honest opinion? They're cute little things, even if the nibbles hurt. Often, they shy away unless they feel threatened, but just like my old friend always said, you can win over the heart of almost anything with enough food. 
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Milk ToothOh my goodness! A little tiny baby boy! And girl! And more boys and girls! There are a lot of them! A shrieking cloud of babies! Not much of a threat, but they tend to be protective of their food. Small enough to fit in your hand, too! Their flight isn't completely perfect yet, though, and they often end up overshooting whatever they fly towards as a result.
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Fat BatAs its name suggests, this is a very chonky bat. They lack the mobility to dash in and attack with bites like their lighter breathren, so they instead stick to ranged attacks using spare bits of the bugs they eat so often. If you feed them enough, they become friendly, and are very, very cuddly! The key word in this, however, is enough--as expected, they eat quite a bit, so be prepared to invest if you yourself would like to domesticate a flying pillow of your own.
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FoamyA poor member of a subspecies of bat that has succumbed to rabies. Maybe this vulnerability to illness is why I never see brown bats that often--they're hiding out of sight, away from possible vectors of infection, perhaps? The risk inherent in facing them should be self-evident: That is to say, they have rabies, you fucking idiot, get away! Thankfully, their intelligence is dampened, and despite heightened aggression, their twitchy tics allow for opportunities to make a move to escape.
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