PmWiki | Madlands / Fauna

Ullathoids, single-purpose constructs that are usually built into machinery. The Seamstress gets her electricity from a small dam in the river that feeds the lake at the middle of her small domain, but in the summer month she uses a backup generator consisting of disembodied human or mammalian legs running on giant hamster wheels. Arms and hands built into the walls adjust Venetian blinds, replace candles, clean dishes, braid ropes. Each of these fractional beings runs off a simple brain commanded by electrical or acoustic signals. Bird wings flap slowly in lieu of fans.

Lobotomites, taken from those who dared attack the Seamstress' reign, or bought from the prisoner population of nearby realms. Used for menial labor such as farm work, feeding the ullathoids, repairs, and sometimes as disposable footsoldiers. Generally human in appearance, sometimes patchwork. Some lobotomites are built as centaurs or merfolk depending on need. They require little serum to operate and can unlive without it for months on end.

Cyberzombies, generally only built when the Sorceress hires her services out for a military campaign. They are intended to look fearsome and only last a short time; some have actual weapons built in, some simply carry sharp pieces of metal built into their bodies. Presentation can be just as important as effectiveness. They last the least without serum, a few weeks at most.

Subjects are those who choose to be here; maybe they were escaping a very unhappy life, maybe they wanted a stronger or different body and were willing to swear eternal loyalty to the Seamstress to get it. They effectively constitute a middle class, since menial work is handled by ullathoids and lobotomites. The Seamstress tends to do her best work on willing subjects, and sometimes allows them to serve as maids, palace guards, or the like. Other subjects handle trade with neighboring realms, operate small business the Seamstress can't be bothered with, and the like. Sometimes, a subject with military experience is tapped as a condottiere. They can unlive without serum for quite a long time, one to ten years. Some wear their stitches with pride, other look almost natural.

Apprentices -- the Seamstress usually has between two and six at any given time -- actively assist the Seamstress in conducting research, learn the mechromantic arts, and are usually eventually sent off to be this or that ruler's personal physician. In general, they can unlive for a year or so without serum. They can be as varied in appearance as the subjects, but often modify themselves, making their modifications look more crude. Outside of times of crisis, ullathoids, lobotomites and cyberzombies (ulcs, pronounced hulks) are usually made and maintained by apprentices, with the Seamstress preferring to focus on unique creations.

Various monsters more or less coexist with pre-fall fauna. We already covered dinosaurs; there are also chickerns (a type of small wyvern that is raised as poultry in regions where it's too dry for chickens), various chimeras, confederats (eusocial rats that can achieve human-level intellect when working together; a colony will have naked mole rats, norwegian rats, and various other types of rats) and so on.

In areas with high ambient magic it's not too unusual for ant or termite mounds (represented by the queen or by a dedicated speaker caste) to have a working relationship with local farmers, the whole hive being considered an individual.

A bit of silly, now:

Kite: also now imagining a genetically spliced pork/chicken thing to provide all the carbonara animal products in one critter spiritplumber: GENIOUS Kite: i mean, fi we go full magitek it can be a megafauna that grows olive trees on its back as well Kite: i fifugrre the wizard who created it called it "The porcine peacemaker" because it's a giant pig who delivers olive branches, and is incesnsed that most everyone else calls it "The cowbanara" because it's a docile herbivore that produces carbonara. Kite: there, now it's Madlands ready ;p

Ullathoid types:

 Human legs, or the back legs of a quadruped, built into a cart to make it self-moving.

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