NATTA BEAST

Length: 2.44 m
Width: 0.43 m
Height: 0.72 m
Weight: 68.95 kg
Speed: 70.80 km/h
Habitat: Variable. Preference for forest.

Anatomical Features: Quadruped. Long, furless tail, rotating ears and long whiskers that sense minute pressure changes in the air. Feet possess an unusual morphing capability and retractable claws.

Feeding Habits: Nocturnal hunter of small prey and fruits.

The Nata Beast has the outward appearance of a giant rodent with a nasty disposition. Its general temperament is mild (very mild by Anomaly standards) and keyed to foraging for its next meal or mate. What makes the Nata Beast a worthy member of this world’s animal kingdom lies in its ability to evade even the most tenacious predator. Put simply, the Nata Beast is virtually impossible to track.

The enlarged, coned ears channel sound to fine hairs capable of detecting a Ippi Fly at 20 paces. Furthermore, the base structure of the ears allow them to move independently of one another and almost a full 360 degrees. Spatial interpretation is thought to be achieved using the feedback from ambient noise guiding it at blinding speeds through even dense forests in pitch black. The animal’s whiskers appear to be even more sensitive still, capable of detecting disruptions in air pressure at least one body length in circumference of its head. This gives the Nata Beast a final, fraction of a second’s warning to avoid even arrows fired from hundreds of yards away. Such an ability would not be useful without a nervous system capable of triggering an effective autonomic response. The Nata Beast will not indiscriminately lunge forward or in any particular direction. It will do so in a pathway that will remove it from that of the approaching object’s trajectory. At speed, even a predator is unable to compensate for the Nata Beast’s lightning reflex and momentum will carry it well past its quarry. This is where the creature truly exploits its evasion gifts.

The Nata Beast’s feet are all padded in a “texturally reflective” material that seems to mimic the patterns of the area immediately surrounding it. Furthermore, the animal’s weight distribution is such that each foot accepts a near exact fourth of its weight, making unusually shallow footprints, if at all. These two tactics render the Nata Beast’s travels all but invisible. Glands along the spine also give off a cocktail of chemicals that mimic the creature’s surroundings. The best trained Wardoggs have been unable to track based on scent. This particular ability presumes the Nata Beast has had an opportunity to feed on the surrounding fauna.

Of all the races, only the most experienced of Monc warriors and hunters have elevated the technical elements of tracking to the artform it must become to successfully track a Nata Beast.

Nata Beasts look absolutely horrific, but due to their survival characteristics, are surprisingly pleasant to be around otherwise. Their smell is virtually undetectable and seems to change depending on its surroundings, masking its presence from scent hunters. Of course, being in the company of unwashed Ghronks would result in the smell of more unwashed Ghronks, but the point is nevertheless made that these creatures do not themselves repel by smell. Of course, to smell a Nata Beast at all is to get close to one and this is a near impossibility in the wild. Where their heightened senses of sight and sound do not detect you, their acuity for sudden air pressure changes will. As they do not hunt humans by nature, the actual sighting of a Nata Beast is usually indicative of relatively safe surroundings. They are thus viewed favorably, an omen of good luck.