H Beam Piper's Little Fuzzy series of novels take place on the planet Zarathustra. On Zarathustra, we find several interesting critters, some described in detail some merely mentioned. Here I present my interpretation of these creatures, based on the descriptions given in the first book, Little Fuzzy.
- Harpies
- Land Prawns
- Damnthings
- Bush-goblins
- Hobthrushes
- and, the Fuzzies themselves
Harpies are said to resemble Earth pterodactyls; they can fly, and probably attack with claws. One attempts to make prey of Little Fuzzy, so we can infer that they are carnivorous.
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| Duck and cover, people! |
Flying Carnivore Pouncer 250 kg Hits 25/15 no armor claws & teeth (3D & 3D) A-if surprise F-if surprised S-2 (flight)
Land Prawns are described as multi-legged, wearing a hard shell, and having pinching claws, but are small and so not a credible threat to humans.
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| Just don't sit on one! |
Omnivore Eater 3kg Hits 3/3 Mesh armor claws (2D-2D) A-1 F-4 S-1
Damnthings are the most dangerous creature on Zarathustra. Weighing in near half a ton, they are aggressive horned beasts with moderate intelligence.
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| Even the Gauss Rifle won't bring this down in one shot. You have been warned. |
Carnivore Killer 500 kg Hits 32/18 Mesh armor Horns (4D) A-1 F-8 S-2
Bush-goblins are not described or encountered in the novel; they are simply mentioned as other creatures of Zarathustra which might present a danger to Fuzzies. I will make them small but aggressive arboreal omnivores. The bush-goblin can climb trees and travel through them.
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| Aww, isn't that cute? Yes, until it eats your face. |
Omnivore Hunter 6 kg Hits 4/8 No armor Claws (1D) A-4 F-8 S-2
Hubthrushes are not described either, but are included in the list of dangerous creatures. Despite the name similarity to an Earth bird, I will not make them flying creatures. Instead they are scavenging quadrupeds that will sometimes do the killing themselves.
Hubthrush
Scavenger Intimidator 50 kg Hits 16/8 Jack Armor Teeth(2D) A-3 F-5 S-2
And last but not least, the Little Fuzzies. They are described in the text as being only a foot or so tall, massing 10-12 kg, and being omnivorous. They are covered in soft, silky fur and walk as upright bipeds.
Little Fuzzies
Omnivore Hunters 12 kg Hits 12/10 No Armor as Blade (2D) A-6 F-4 S-1
OR!
Little Fuzzy Barbarian career Age ? Cr 0
373711
Hunting-1, Spear-1, Survival-1
It all really depends upon whether you consider the Fuzzies to be sapient beings, or merely animals. Read the books if you want to find out.
Photo credit: Little Fuzzy cover linked from http://www.sffaudio.com/?p=5559 Animal photos supplied by Pixabay, and are in the public domain.
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