McKindle's Thimble of Ideas

As part of my resolution to contribute to the world of Felarya more I've started a thread to collect my paltry half-baked ideas. Questions, comments and criticism encouraged!


Shi'dew
Size: 5-6 feet
Threat: Very Low/High

Found principally close to the Green Hell, but known to hunt beyond its borders, the shi'dew are a strange inversion to the overarching law of size in Felarya. When they are alone they take on roughly humanoid shapes - dark skinned creatures with bluish-white eyes and ill-defined edges; bereft of clothing, hair and, most disconcertingly, evident mouths. They are theorised to be non-sapient; having basic self-preservation instincts but otherwise working with a hive mind. During the day they are a very rare sight - usually only seen scuttling silently in small clusters to the next patch of darkness on a chance upheaval of their previous shelter. In this form they make for very easy meals, as they seem almost uncertain on their feet and are none too quick. They are said to have a powerful deep taste, and give the sensation that they melt on the tongue like cotton candy.

However, these creatures come into their own at night. In adequate darkness, very large numbers of shi'dew are able to coalesce into a gaseous form resembling a thick, semi-solid black smoke. In this floating form they are highly agile and able to engulf large objects, such as giant predators or other fauna. When a prey is partially trapped it feels a overwhelming resistance to movement in that snared part, like dragging a hand through an incredibly viscous liquid. They feed by engulfing the prey entirely; the exact mechanism is unknown, but it can take only mere minutes, leaving behind no trace of their food or even affecting the jungle flora at all. They are unable to maintain this form if the main cloud is divided into multiple small segments - if a prey has sufficient kinetic energy and inertia (such as a sprinting razia) they can charge and break through the gas, eventually devolving the shi'dew to their weak individual states. They also remain vulnerable to light - although most magic does not harm them luminescent spells, such as fire or lightning, can repel the cloud. However, as defense against them relies either on incredible vitality or magical ability they remain a deadly threat to most large predators.

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My design goals to be fulfilled in this species:

• To make life a little more dangerous for giants by creating a species that specifically hunts them
  
• To make night-time more legitimately dangerous in Felarya
  
• To create an exception species that reverses the trend of size playing a big factor in survival
  
• To work in a massive weakness in an otherwise very powerful threat
  
• To add a species that hunts by swarm rather than by size or power

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Many thanks to both French Snack and Nyaha for their help and advice in designing these critters

It's a great idea ^^
I like the design , both pretty damn scary but with some weakness to it, and also the idea behind it : to make the world a bit more dangerous for predators.
It's something I have been thinking about lately and that I think is important. Nice job !

I wouldn't suggest that you plagiarized the YuYu of Brackenwood, since the idea of many smaller beings forming a larger consuming when together is fairly common, but...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2_BypVV8s4
The similarities are rather apparent, right down to their weakness: being divided and attacked individually.
Still, this isn't a bad idea, and I like hive-minded swarms when they're done well.