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GREED DEVILBIRD  CLASS: DEVILBIRD BIOLOGY: Slowly dragging its cumbersome, chitinous cranium as it aimlessly wanders, this highly unintelligent Devilbird constantly replicates its brain in the form of luminous, slimy "pearls" that can locomote of their own volition and exude an infectious, narcotic vapor that may compel other creatures to ingest them, though in many cases a pearl simply finds its own way into a new host body. Even as the cysts replicate destructively throughout living tissue, the afflicted interpret them as precious, magnificent treasures to be protected at all costs, forming collectives of infectees that attempt to produce and hoard as many of the rolling parasites as possible. Wherever it may drag itself, a Greed feeds primarily on tiny organisms lured by its sweet aroma and trapped in its barbed, adhesive tongues. Its constant, guttural cry is somewhat between the honk of goose and a bovine mooing. BEHAVIOR: A Greed's original brain is virtually devoid of conscious thought, but the neural cysts it produces, combined with those of any infected vassals, are dimly conscious conscious in their own right, and can almost be considered a single superorganism, exhibiting intelligent decisions through trial and error not unlike a massive insect colony. APPLIANCE: A Greed's strategic value is self-evident, as even its pearls alone can make a powerful diversion or insidious lure. Despite the fact that they desire more "pearls" and can acquire more with every new host, vassals will violently attack any creature they believe might "steal" one of their own. GREED INFECTION: the Greed's brain perpetually splits into infectious, self-replicating, pearl-like cysts that drive hosts to possessive, paranoid madness.   DESIGN DESCRIPTION: the body of this monster is small, and somewhat distant from the viewer. It resembles a flabby, slimy, plucked goose with feet like the trotters of a pig. Its neck has a transparent, jointed cartilaginous sheath, then continues to extend from this sheath into a very, very long, wrinkled green tube with a wavy vein along either side. This tubular neck continued into the foreground and connects to a very large, heavy looking head. The head lumpy and armored looking, covered in large scales or panels with a thin covering in skin. Greenish veins are spread over the surface of this head and over the big, round, dark eyes, which also appear to be just underneath its skin. At the front of the head is a gaping dark beak. The upper beak is very short, but the lower beak resting against the ground is much longer and curved. Nested inside the beak are three giant, pale, pointed tongues with a dense fringe of pale, sharp teeth along their edges. Perched atop one tongue is a glowing blue pearl, like a marble. Below this beak we can see a nostril, indicating the head is actually upside-down. The entire appearnace of the head and neck is intended to be a middle ground between a goose barnacle and an actual goose. Contents copyright Jonathan Wojcik
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