=== Major Planetary Zones | (Twin) Sections of the Habitual Belt | Regions | Wildlife ===

====== QUORRA ======

{{ :quorra_crab_gg_scenic_2d.png?200|}}


===== Overview =====

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]].  

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.

===== Physique and Appearance =====
  * **Size:** 15–18 cm body span  
  * **Weight:** 1.2–1.6 kg  
  * **Carapace:** Rounded, asymmetrical dome; rough, stone-like texture streaked with algae, silt staining, and small encrustations (no geometric plating)  
  * **Limbs:** Four stout legs ending in broad, blunt paddles for shoveling and short bursts of swimming  
  * **Head/Beak:** Forward-set, downward-curved keratin beak (no pincers) for scraping and cracking food  
  * **Eyes:** Small, lateral, low-glare eyes adapted to turbid shallows  
  * **Ventral Plume Organ:** Mucus–bubble siphon that vents fine silt and bubbles during digging, briefly clouding the water

==== Special Features ====
  * **Paddle Digging:** Efficient mud-churning gait improves oxygenation and exposes edible biofilm  
  * **Root Scraper Beak:** Chips rhizomes, crushes snails and bivalves, and rasps periphyton from rock  
  * **Silt Veil:** Plume organ releases a short-lived cloud that conceals the animal from predators while foraging

===== Game Mechanics =====
  * **Armor Class (AC):** 14 (rugged dome carapace)  
  * **Hit Points (HP):** 10  
  * **Speed:** 20 ft. (land), 30 ft. (swimming)

**Actions:**  
  * **Beak Nip:** +3 to hit, 1d6 piercing (vs. restraints/line/tool or for self-defense)  
  * **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:**  
  * **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)  
  * **Low Profile:** Advantage on Stealth when stationary against reeds/rock in shallow water

===== 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

==== Survival Strategies ====
  * **Freeze & Silt:** If startled, freezes under its silt cloud or wedges beneath roots  
  * **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

===== Reproduction and Lifecycle =====
  * **Mating Trigger:** Rising water level after heavy rain  
  * **Egg Deposition:** Small clutches packed into shallow, silt-lined scrapes under roots or stones  
  * **Hatching Time:** 10–12 days  
  * **Juveniles:** Miniature forms with softer beaks; graze mainly on biofilm for first month  
  * **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.

===== 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.

===== Tactical Advice for Dungeon Masters =====
  * **Ambient Signal:** Clusters of fresh silt veils and spiral dig marks hint at clean water and good foraging spots  
  * **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  
  * **Gentle Objective:** Tasks to relocate Quorra from a dredge site, or to survey dig density for a tribal rite

===== 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 Eel]]  
  * [[bluestrike_heron|Bluestrike Heron]]