CLASS: BIOCONSTRUCT
BIOLOGY: Unusually for the Demishades, the Shudderbug is housed not in a fibrous cloth-like skin but an extremely flexible, elastic, oily exoskeleton similar in consistency to rubber. Able to stretch, compress or contort its body to an extreme, there is virtually no terrain it cannot easily navigate. The shudderbug's primary directive appears to be to catalog, monitor and moderate the wild biota of Mortasheen city, with a particular fixation on small invertebrates. With a flash of its eyes, it can instantly scan and memorize the composition of a living organism down to the genetic level. The rubbery shell of the Shudderbug forms in thin layers, which the creature can quickly shed if it finds itself under attack. Not only does this permit the creature to slip free from an adversary's grasp, but the empty skin remains quite mobile and continues to follow the creature's directives. Though these skins are comparable to large, latex gloves in density, the monster can simultaneously control up to a dozen in tandem. BEHAVIOR: The Shudderbug has a meticulous, scientific mind dedicated to all matters of environmental and evolutionary biology, albeit with a notable bias towards arthropoda. It is always eager to share the information it has collected on cockroach migratory patterns, eyelouse reproductive rates or the seasonal dietary preferences of the lesser day-screaming hectapede, and is prone to bombarding animal-derived monsters with seemingly trivial, sometimes intrusive questions about their bodily functions and personal habits. APPLIANCE: The Shudderbug's enormous storehouse of biological data and analytical abilities make it an ideal field assistant to any biologist, and an excellent tactical advisor in battles against organic monsters. Its ability to remotely control its shed skins has myriad uses, as does its long, flexible limbs. QUASIBIOLOGICAL: the Shudderbug's mix of organic and inorganic components renders it highly resistant to extreme environments and many microbial or chemical weapons. BIODATA: the Shudderbug can scan any living thing with a sudden burst of light from its eyes, and store a limitless amount of biological data. RUBBER BODY: the Shudderbug can stretch, squash and contort as needed. EXUVIA: this monster can shed a thin layer of its outer skin in a single piece, and continue to control its movements.   Contents copyright Jonathan Wojcik
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