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--- quorra_crabs [2025/09/01 07:59] – [Overview] admin
+++ quorra_crabs [2025/09/29 06:06] (current) – [QUORRA] admin
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 ====== QUORRA ======
+{{ :quorra_crab_gg_scenic_2d.png?200|}}
 ===== Overview =====
-{{ :quorra_3d.png?200|}}
+The Quorra, called Nar’kuma (“Soil Dancer”) by the [[the_senti|Senti]] and [[the_trando|Trando]] Tribes, is a compact, semi-aquatic benthic forager native to the shallows and reed margins of [[lake_tijonara|Lake Tijonara]] and [[lake_arla|Lake Arla]] in the [[asari|Asari Region]] of the [[habitual_belt|Habitual Belt]] on [[the_planet_voi_700_d|VOI 700 D]].
-The Quorra, called *Nar’kuma* (“Soil Dancer”) by the [[the_senti|Senti Tribe]] and [[the_trando|Trando Tribe]], is a semi-aquatic quadruped organism native to [[lake_tijonara|Lake Tijonara]] and [[lake_arla|Lake Arla]] in the [[asari|Asari Region]] of the [[habitual_belt|Habitual Belt]] on [[the_planet_voi_700_d|VOI 700 D]]. Revered for its rhythmic digging and iridescent mineral shell, the Quorra is both an ecological engineer and a cultural symbol of harmony through patient labor.
+Unlike clawed crabs, Quorra use four paddle-ended legs to churn mud and sift for food. A tough, keratinous, bird-like beak lets them chip roots, crack snails, and scrape algae from stone. Their steady “dig–pause–dig” rhythm aerates lakebed soils and shapes micro-habitats used by plants, invertebrates, and fry—earning them a reputation as quiet engineers of the littoral zone.
-By churning sediment with its powerful legs, Quorra oxygenate lakebeds, regulate microbial growth, and create micro-habitats for vegetation and smaller species. Its compact, symmetrical body and crystalline armor appear *“somehow designed”* — a fact often remarked upon by [[the_humans|Exohuman]] biologists, though no origin or explanation has ever been found.
 ===== Physique and Appearance =====
   * **Size:** 15–18 cm body span
   * **Weight:** 1.2–1.6 kg
-  * **Body:** Compact corpus with head and torso fused, appearing as a single dome-like shape
+  * **Carapace:** Rounded, asymmetrical dome; rough, stone-like texture streaked with algae, silt staining, and small encrustations (no geometric plating)
-  * **Carapace:** Layered crystalline plates refracting green, gold, and deep blue light like a living geode
+  * **Limbs:** Four stout legs ending in broad, blunt paddles for shoveling and short bursts of swimming
-  * **Limbs:** Four thick legs ending in broad, blunt ridges used for both locomotion and digging; no separate claws
+  * **Head/Beak:** Forward-set, downward-curved keratin beak (no pincers) for scraping and cracking food
-  * **Eyes:** Two forward-facing glowing eyes embedded into the corpus, mask-like in appearance
+  * **Eyes:** Small, lateral, low-glare eyes adapted to turbid shallows
-  * **Plume Organ:** Ventral organ beneath the body that releases bubbles and fine mist during digging
+  * **Ventral Plume Organ:** Mucus–bubble siphon that vents fine silt and bubbles during digging, briefly clouding the water
-==== Special Features: ====
+==== Special Features ====
+  * **Paddle Digging:** Efficient mud-churning gait improves oxygenation and exposes edible biofilm
-  * **Sediment Churner:** Four-legged digging stirs silt in spiral patterns, aerating the environment
+  * **Root Scraper Beak:** Chips rhizomes, crushes snails and bivalves, and rasps periphyton from rock
-  * **Iridescent Armor:** Mineral plates provide camouflage and deflect light in shimmering hues
+  * **Silt Veil:** Plume organ releases a short-lived cloud that conceals the animal from predators while foraging
-  * **Mist Emission:** Ventral plume organ emits mist clouds, adding to concealment and tribal mystique
 ===== Game Mechanics =====
+  * **Armor Class (AC):** 14 (rugged dome carapace)
-  * **Armor Class (AC):** 14 (hardened crystalline shell)
   * **Hit Points (HP):** 10
   * **Speed:** 20 ft. (land), 30 ft. (swimming)
 **Actions:**
-  * **Leg Strike:** 1d6 bludgeoning damage from a powerful kick
+  * **Beak Nip:** +3 to hit, 1d6 piercing (vs. restraints/line/tool or for self-defense)
-  * **Sediment Spiral:** Kicks up a 5 ft. obscuring cloud of bubbles and mud
+  * **Sediment Veil (Recharge 5–6):** Creates a 5-ft radius lightly obscuring cloud for 1 round; creatures inside have disadvantage on Perception checks relying on sight
 **Special Abilities:**
-  * **Soil Aerator:** Improves water quality and vegetation growth in a 10 ft. radius
+  * **Benthic Engineer:** After 10 minutes of undisturbed foraging, improves water clarity and plant rooting in a 10-ft area (advantage on relevant Survival/Nature checks there for 24h)
-  * **Burrow Instinct:** Gains +2 Stealth when in sediment-rich terrain
+  * **Low Profile:** Advantage on Stealth when stationary against reeds/rock in shallow water
-  * **Reflective Dazzle:** Once per encounter, flashes its crystalline plates; DC 12 Wisdom save or attacker is stunned for 1 round
 ===== Behavior =====
+  * **Diet:** Detritus, algae, soft roots, snails, small bivalves, carrion flakes
+  * **Social Structure:** Mostly solitary; loose aggregations form where sediment is soft and rich
+  * **Activity Pattern:** Most active during rain pulses, fog, and low-angle light
-  * **Diet:** Detritivore (decaying plant matter, algae, microorganisms)
+==== Survival Strategies ====
-  * **Social Structure:** Solitary, but congregates loosely during mating season
+  * **Freeze & Silt:** If startled, freezes under its silt cloud or wedges beneath roots
-  * **Activity Pattern:** Most active during rainfall cycles and in mist-heavy conditions
+  * **Armor Hunker:** Tucks limbs, presenting the dome toward threats
+  * **Edge Foraging:** Works the boundary between vegetation and open shallows to balance safety and food density
-==== Survival Strategies: ====
-  * **Spiral Burrows:** Digs rhythmic, spiraling tunnels that confuse predators and aerate soil
-  * **Mist Emission:** Mist release conceals it from predators while foraging
-  * **Reflective Clustering:** Groups align near reflective vegetation to blend into surroundings
 ===== Reproduction and Lifecycle =====
+  * **Mating Trigger:** Rising water level after heavy rain
-  * **Mating Season:** Triggered by rising lake levels after heavy rain
+  * **Egg Deposition:** Small clutches packed into shallow, silt-lined scrapes under roots or stones
-  * **Egg Deposition:** Females bury clutches in spiraled sand nests
   * **Hatching Time:** 10–12 days
-  * **Juvenile Phase:** Hatchlings molt rapidly in their first month
+  * **Juveniles:** Miniature forms with softer beaks; graze mainly on biofilm for first month
-  * **Lifespan:** 10–12 years
+  * **Lifespan:** 8–12 years
 ===== Look and Feel =====
+Seen from above, a Quorra could be mistaken for a silt-streaked stone until it shifts, paddles bite the mud, and a faint cloud puffs from beneath. The beak rasps at a root; a snail shell clicks and splits. In a few minutes the patch is looser, brighter, and ringed by tiny bubbles—evidence of oxygen creeping back into the muck.
-To Exohumans and Natives alike, a Quorra seen at work is strangely mesmerizing: a compact, crystalline creature pressing its four thick legs into sediment with steady rhythm, leaving spiraled patterns in the mud. Bubbles drift upward from its plume organ, merging with mist that filters through shafts of light. Its glowing mask-like eyes give it a haunting presence — a silent worker, shimmering like a living geode at the bottom of the lake.
+===== Exohuman Usage =====
+In the [[beta_age|Beta Age]] around [[arla_town|Arla Town]], fishers occasionally harvested Quorra inadvertently. Only the muscular leg pads were eaten (boiled or fried); the dome and plume organ were difficult to prepare and often discarded. Cultural objections from the [[the_senti|Senti]] and [[the_trando|Trando]]—who consider Quorra vital to marsh health—kept take low. Under the [[peace_treaty|Peace Treaty]] in the [[the_gamma_age|Gamma Age]], targeted harvest was banned and the species gained protected status.
-Many Exohumans have remarked that its body looks *artificially symmetrical, almost designed* — yet no evidence of engineering, uplift, or external origin has ever been proven. This unexplained mystery only deepens its reputation as a “Soil Dancer,” a creature both natural and uncanny.
 ===== Tactical Advice for Dungeon Masters =====
+  * **Ambient Signal:** Clusters of fresh silt veils and spiral dig marks hint at clean water and good foraging spots
-Quorra can enrich gameplay as atmospheric fauna, environmental hazards, or cultural trial creatures:
+  * **Soft-Ground Hazard:** Recently churned patches can count as difficult terrain for a round
+  * **Ecology Clue:** Absent Quorra may foreshadow pollution, algal blooms, or predator pressure
-  * **Terrain Shifter:** Spiraled burrows may destabilize shoreline ground or uncover hidden items
+  * **Gentle Objective:** Tasks to relocate Quorra from a dredge site, or to survey dig density for a tribal rite
-  * **Mystical Symbol:** A golden Quorra may serve as the focus of a Senti rite of passage
-  * **Alchemical Resource:** Mineral plates are prized for potions of camouflage and psychic resistance
-  * **Environmental Complication:** Mist plumes can reduce visibility during encounters in swamps or lakes
 ===== Related Pages and Further Information =====
   * [[lake_tijonara|Lake Tijonara]]
   * [[lake_arla|Lake Arla]]
   * [[the_senti|Senti Tribe]]
   * [[the_trando|Trando Tribe]]
   * [[wildlife_of_asari|Wildlife of Asari]]
 **Known Predators:**
-  * [[skyweaver_eels|Skyweaver Eels]]
+  * [[skyweaver_eels|Skyweaver Eel]]
   * [[bluestrike_heron|Bluestrike Heron]]