| APAGear II Archives | Volume 1, Number 4 | March, 1999 |
Although not as publicized as Strathclyde's historical battlefield reenactments, the Eurospanish bullfights of Javari are still some of the most popular blood sports in the Emirates.
The first bulls were brought to Terra Nova on the first colony ships, transported along with goats and other domesticated animals. Cattle farming was a boom industry in the early days on Terra Nova, as so much of the native fauna proved indigestible to humans. When gene therapy programs succeeded in making edible strains of hoppers and springers, however, beef ranching gradually faded away. Everywhere but Javari, that is, where the Latin-flavored culture resurrected an ancient sport.
The rules for bullfighting have essentially remained the same; one splendidly dressed toreador is pitted against one rampaging bull. Technology has upped the stakes, however. Javarite bulls are bred for strength and ferocity, and some have even been injected with gross quantities of bovine steroids that grant these creatures the strength of barnabies.
A multimillion-dinar industry has grown up around the fights, complete with televised bouts and an enormous betting community. Winning bulls are pampered like champion show ponies, frequently outshining their human opponents in popularity. Certain undefeated bulls are even adorned with gold and silver ornaments as a testament to their fame. El Toro, the deadliest bull in Javarite history, sports gold-capped horns, a fist-sized brass nose-ring and even spiral tattoos on his flanks (performed under sedation, of course).
| AGI +0 | BLD +8 | FIT +1 | INS +1 | PER +0 |
| WIL +1 | STR +4 | HEA +1 | STA 70 | UD 14* |
*(+natural weapons).
| Skills | Skills | Skills | Skills |
| Combat Sense 2/+0 | Dodge 1/+0 | Hand-to-Hand 2/+0 |
Stomp (x 9 damage), Gore (x 15 damage)
Terranovan Baboons, or Novoons, are actually the savannah-roaming cousins of the Mekongese go-ki. Novoons are sandy in color and lack the tails and large earflaps of the Mekong go-ki. Like their arboreal relatives, Novoons life in bands numbering about fifteen to twenty members. Unlike go-ki, however, a male-female pair does not rule Novoon tribes. Instead, a single "alpha" male defends his harem of females against the lesser males.
Like their jungle cousins, Novoons are omnivorous show the beginnings of tool use in the foraging behavior. They often use fernwood stalks to draw skags, the Novoon food of choice, out of their colony mounds. This sort of basic tool use echoes a technique used by Earth chimpanzees foraging for termites and is tentative evidence supporting the evolution of abstract reasoning in Novoons.
Novoons are subject to heavy predation by Prairie Jackals, but have adapted to this constant threat by posting a lookout whenever the band is at the nest. If a Jackal approaches, the assigned lookout emits a high, piercing shriek, alerting the rest of the tribe to head for cover. Xenobiologists have even observed Novoons throwing rocks as predators and using bones as makeshift clubs. This is further evidence leading scientists to believe that Novoons are one of the most intelligent species native to Terra Nova.
| AGI +2 | BLD -1 | FIT +1 | INS +2 | PER +1 |
| WIL +1 | STR +2 | HEA +2 | STA 30 | UD 5* |
*(+natural weapons).
| Skills | Skills | Skills | Skills |
| Combat Sense 1/+1 | Hand-to-Hand 2/+2 | Stealth 1/+2 | Throwing 1/+1 |
| Dodge 1/+2 |
Bite (x 2 damage), Scratch (x 3 damage), Minimal Tool Use
The flag snake is Bangweuleu's representative of Terra Nova's famed bivertebrate serpents. Like many of its relatives, it possesses the characteristic "one up, two down" fang structure and is highly poisonous. Unlike related species, however, the flag snake has a rather unique threat display. Just behind the head of the creature grows a slender, rigid spine that stretches all the way back to the meter-long snake's tail. At the end of this spine hangs a brilliantly crimson flap of skin. Whenever the snake is threatened, the spine snaps straight up as a warning to predators that they are provoking a venomous creature. Most animals in the flag snake's jungle environment instinctively know to avoid this display but humans lack this inborn adaptation; every cycle, dozens of unwary travelers' lives are claimed by the flag snake's bite.
Apart from its peculiar spine, flag snakes are also brightly patterned; when you're as deadly as a flag snake there is simply no need for camouflage. A mimic has evolved alongside the flag snake, taking advantage of the flag snake's predator-free lifestyle. It shares the yellow and white patterns of the flag snake, but lacks the trademark spine and poisonous bite.
| AGI +2 | BLD -7 | FIT +0 | INS +0 | PER +0 |
| WIL +0 | STR -3 | HEA +0 | STA 10 | UD 1* |
*(+natural weapons).
| Skills | Skills | Skills | Skills |
| Combat Sense 2/+0 | Dodge 1/+2 | Hand-to-Hand 2/+2 |
Bite (x 7 damage plus poison), Poison (Potency 12, 5 rounds onset)
| APAGear II Archives | Volume 1, Number 4 | March, 1999 |
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