Species A-01Species Name: Worginu
Pronunciation: War - Gee (Hard 'guh' and then long 'E') - New
Breeds Available: Big Bad, Hellhound
Special Breeds: Red Rider, Black Shuck
Stats: (Here)Notes: Worginu are breedable as juvies. Worginu customs follow the stats of whatever breed base they are the size of. Only Worginu customs with 'light wings' can follow Red Rider stats.
Species StandardsPreferred Habitat: Worginu can live almost anywhere... That is terrifying. There are a couple of breeds that have more specific preferred habitats, but most Worginu can survive anywhere where there are abundant prey.
Diet: Worginu are carnivorous, and pack animals. They hunt in family groups, headed by a pair of 'grandparents' (usually adults), their children and the children's mates (almost always juvies), and the babies of the group- as such they require lots of meat and are almost always hunting.
Call: Worginu can howl impressively over several miles, and they can make ferocious snarls and growls. They have a complex language that sounds like a mixture of half-barks and half-caws, but this language is not congruent with that of any sentient species. They are not quite sentient, but learn to 'understand' some of what their leaders speak from birth even if they cannot speak it ever. They have a soft whine as puppies that isn't quite that of a hound, it's more music. An adult Worginu can produce a wondrous 'sweet song' to put their family at ease, but Worginu cannot make this noise at any other life stage. Worginu also have a complex body language that allows different groups (that may have different dialects of calls) to communicate roughly.
Special Care Needs: Worginu NEED a pack, and have strong desires to form lifemate bonds. The owner can play the role of a grandparent, or fulfill that desired 'mate' role the best they can... But it is best to at least house them in pairs, and with their young if possible. If taken care of by a loving owner, a Worginu can realize their true potential, and grow into adulthood. Worginu pups are willful, don't automatically like you, and are much more aggressive and snappy than dogs. They will 'wrestle' without realizing how strong they are and may hurt people. They aren't suitable for young children.
Basic Biology & Anatomy: Worginu look vaguely canfirom, but they are actually marsupials. Males and Females have pouches, large enough for a single Worginu puppy a piece. A worginu has a curly tail that would be prehensile if it were longer (instead it curls tightly around itself) and POWERFUL front paws.
Worginu have two hunting styles. Half of the members of a pack on average prefer the 'wait and pounce' hunting strategy, where they leap onto a prey item from a hiding spot above. The other half take up the 'run-down' method, in which they will chase and heckle a prey item by repeatedly tackling it and holding onto it with their large, almost thumb-like dewclaws.
Working in pairs of two (sometimes accompanied by babies that are learning), a Worginu will chase and heckle a prey item until it runs under the hiding spot of their partner, who will pounce on it. They will then both hold the prey item down with those front legs and kill the prey. Worginu hind legs are small and lithe, but since Worginu are almost always carrying a puppy in their pouch, the puppy helps hold their back legs down well enough to be balanced.
It is rumored that Worginu begin 'knuckle-walking' as they get older, like a gorilla... How strange!
Worginu have powerful jaws that can shut with the pressure that most crocodilians have (though they are weaker in opening and can be held shut quite easily) and have a scissor bite with many sharp teeth. In addition, most breeds have an elemental 'spit' that drools from their mouth. They have special 'blood grooves' in their jowls that allow for the collection of the drool to make their bite attacks more dangerous. These grooves have the added benefit of funneling blood out of their mouths, to keep them from choking while suffocating prey items.
Worginu have floppy ears that are quite emotive. They have slightly better hearing than the average human, and a very good eyesight. Their sense of smell is not any better than that of a mammalian though, so they don't use it to locate prey as much as most hounds would.
General Behavioral Study: Worginu tend to be socially monogamous, but they are not always strictly 'faithful' otherwise. Either way, a female will produce two eggs at once, and her social lifemate will carry one egg (whether it is his or not) and she will carry the other. There have been cases of multiple births or single births, in which pack members will happily help the others carry eggs or puppies if they don't have one of their own (they are, after all, their nieces and nephews!). Eggs are warmed by the pouch and will hatch quickly. The first meal a Worginu will eat will be the eggshell, supposedly kickstarting their eventual elemental bias. Then they will begin nursing! Both males and females can nurse the puppy that they carry in their pouch, and the pup will stay there until they are too big to fit in the pouch. All pouches are 'backwards facing' (face the rear of the animal) and the puppy will 'turn around' as it gets older.
While first facing to the front of the parent (to nurse), the puppy will begin to face out (towards the rear of the parent) with their big ole front paws hanging out of the pouch when they're getting ready to leave the pouch.
Whenever the puppy is large enough, it will exit the pouch and be fed a mash of meat and plants by their grandparents in addition to their daily allotment of meat from the hunting members of the pack. Puppies will learn to pounce on small animals from a young age, and they will join their pack's hunting soon enough. For the first few months of their lives, they are 'babysat' by the adults in the group, however. The juvies are usually the 'hunting squad' and the 'parents' of the group.
A juvenile Worginu wants two things in life, to learn to hunt better, and to find a partner. It is a strong biological urge that leads about half of the Worginu away from their family group (males or females), to join another family group. As such, inter-pack relationships can be very complicated- some groups have wars with other packs over territory or food, and others have alliances (usually cemented by large amounts of these inter-pack unions).
Surprisingly, adult Worginu have been seen to collect spices and vegetables, as well as fruits. They make a 'mash' that can be eaten by the puppies of the group at their youngest, or other mashes that can help wounds heal. Other ages are not seen to do this or to be able to understand this process. It doesn't seem to be true medicine, but they are capable of great feats of learning from the others in their packs. Since every group only has a single pair of adults in their pack at best (these being the defacto leaders not through intimidation or power but through being the 'grandparents' of the group) it is difficult to study them.
Worginu, while not being sentient, have very complex intra-pack lives that can often seem like a pseudo-culture.
Worginu do not have 'pack instincts' (the ability) naturally as a rule. Not because they don't live in packs, but because they tend to be very competitive in their packs, and don't really gain (stats) much from their packs power-wise.Suggested Uses: We suggest using Worginu as Guards for your land, as they are territorial, faithful to a beloved owner, and powerful. Worginu are also great hunters, and can be taught to both hunt and fish easily. Adult Worginu are supposed to be very rewarding creatures to befriend, but they are so very uncommon. Worginu can be dangerous in packs, and they tend to gain loyalty at half rate, so it is considered impolite to take your Worginu out in public without the creature being adequately muzzled/restrained, and socialized from a young age.
Extra Note: Owners in the Labs are restricted to having, at most,
two adult Worginu (per account) due to how dangerous the species is considered.
Breed InformationBig Bad: The Big Bad breed of Worginu is known for two features; being twice the size of the hellhound breed, and for producing an acidic drool that is quite corrosive. This breed is generally considered incredibly hard to train and tame, being so big. As Juvies, they can carry one rider (they will lose the ability to carry a rider if they become an adult- which is completely optional), though they are considered an exotic mount. This breed is no more aggressive than the standard of the species, but they are so big that it makes them dangerous. They are big cuddle-bugs to their packs though, and tend to make huge cuddle piles. Big Bad Worginu prefer Swamps and other wet areas- their paws are webbed for easy of walking on marshy ground.
Hellhound: The Hellhound breed of Worginu is uncommon, and known for two features, being very small for a Worginu (about 3/4 the base size for the breed) and producing a drool that while not being true lava, is super hot! This breed is hyper aggressive and despite being smaller than the average for a worginu, tend to be very difficult to tame. They are snappish and tend to be more 'talkative' (in the snarly, growly fashion) than others of their species. Hellhounds do not tend to take well to having other types of Worginu in their packs, and they tend to have more inter-pack fighting than other breeds (they carry their scars with pride). The Hellhound vastly prefers a hot environment with lots of rocks... It is said that the Hellhound have taken to the more 'evil' places of the world (such as The Maw) as they not only prefer these difficult habitats but also can tolerate smaller and less game as they tend to have smaller packs.
Special Breed 'Red Rider': The Red Rider is a lonely Worginu, indeed. The Red Rider Worginu tend to forgo packs in preference to a single individual (usually their mate but not always) and their pups. Pups will go off on their own fairly quickly, in search of their partner. Red Riders are said to 'take to' their owner in such a fashion that it brings out the true power of their species. A Red Rider is a creature that hunts meat as a youngster, and always seems to be somewhat... Spiritual looking, when it comes to the dead. It is rumored that as adults, they hunt Spirits, the Evil, and the Dead. Perhaps something that powerful would be very desirable for someone like a priest? Though they've been known to be used by Necromancers as well, as a counter-measure against other practitioners that may hold a grudge... Red Rider Worginu prefer lonely outposts, ghost towns, and even crossroads for their preferred environment... Anywhere considered a liminal space.
Special Breed 'Black Shuck': If the Red Rider is a lonely Worginu, the Black Shuck is the loneliest Worginu of all. A creature that roams graveyards to protect the dead and living from those that seek to harm them, the Black Shuck is considered to be horrible luck to see at night. While they aren't really bad luck, and are actually evenly tempered (and large enough to ride as juvies to boot!) for a Worginu, the Black Shuck is known to be fiercely protective of their territory (of which they tend not to leave), able to keep anyone but their owner(s) from trespassing. They tend to stand against other shadow creatures, despite being a beast of shadow theirself.
