CLASS: BIOCONSTRUCT
BIOLOGY: The Gruemaw's ten sets of internal jaws and 300 teeth are reinforced with metals extracted from a highly varied diet, easily chewing stone, concrete and iron into rubble and compacting it into roughly boulder-like droppings weighing up to half a ton, which it excretes back through its mouth with a considerable amount of force. Limbless and boneless, the monster's flabby body is supported by its respiratory system, a tough and rubbery network of bladders and hoses constantly emitting a thunderous, rumbling wheeze when the creature is active. By expanding an especially massive central sac, it can generate enough suction to drag smaller prey and unsecured objects into its jaws from a distance of approximately twice its body length. 
A Gruemaw reproduces asexually, budding off a beachball-sized, more spherical larval stage or "squirt" every few years. Capable of much more rapid movement and possessed of constant energy, most squirts wander away on their own for a short and violent life, maturing in exponential growth spurts every decade before reaching adult size within a century. BEHAVIOR: Left to its own devices, a Gruemaw wants little more than to bury itself and wait sleepily for food to stumble within reach. Outside of feeding behavior, its temperament is relaxed and friendly, enjoying company as long as it does not have to exert itself too much. As a squirt, a Gruemaw almost never ceases its rolling, bouncing, slithering, burbling, and gnawing upon every new surface and substance it encounters. APPLIANCE: The Gruemaw was engineered to remain stationary in deep, conical pits for most of its existence, enjoying a steady stream of scrap material and whatever organisms wander close enough to its suction range. In the field, it may locomote by slowly rolling in its semimorphous outer skin, trapping whatever it barrels over until it can be ferried to its mouth, but prefers to wait in ambush or enjoy assisted transportation. Gruemaw make incredibly destructive battle monsters, not only chewing their way through enemy weaponry and architecture but projecting the resulting waste matter like tremendous cannonballs. Immature Gruemaw squirts, known for their energetic personalities and capable of much more rapid movement, fill a niche all their own as personal pets and bodyguards. Many trainers may raise an adult and one or more squirts together, the latter often hiding within their parent's mouth until needed. SEMIMORPHOUS: the monster's blobby body can trap objects and withstand significant injury. ALL-DEVOURING: the Gruemaw can eat almost any material. SUCTION BREATH: the monster can draw prey into its mouth from a distance. WASTE CANNON: the creature's huge, heavy excreta can be launched from its throat.  Contents copyright Jonathan Wojcik
|