DATALOG 104-B
CREATURES

These are massive tentacled horrors that lurk in the toxic ponds and mud pits of muddy wastelands. Mud kraken are apex predators that hunt with terrifying intelligence. Their suckered limbs can easily ensnare humans and animals to feed upon, while bigger specimens are even able to crush steel and drag entire vehicles into their waiting maws.

The nightmarish leviathans that rule Earth's oceans, have evolved far beyond their smaller mud-dwelling cousins into apex predators that can challenge even the largest vessels. Their massive hides are rippling with hypnotic bioluminescent patterns as their tentacles tear through reinforced hull plating like paper. Smaller, more dexterous feeding tendrils pluck screaming crew members from the decks with terrible precision, feeding them directly into the maw of the Sea Kraken.

In the foetid undersides of surviving cities, a particularly vicious variant of kraken has evolved to thrive in sewage and waste. Smaller than their mud and sea-dwelling cousins but no less lethal, these horror's tentacles can snake up through drainage systems to snatch victims from streets or even their own homes. Their flesh has adapted to process the most toxic industrial waste, making them virtually immune to chemical weapons. They are a constant threat to urban populations, their numbers somehow always rebounding no matter how many extermination attempts are mounted.

Wild Hounds are mutated descendants of domestic dogs, warped by radiation and desperation into merciless hunters. Their intelligence makes them truly dangerous hunters and they are often encountered in the ruins of Dead Cities, tracking their prey with chilling efficiency while their piercing howls signal death to lone scavengers.

Terrors born from common arachnids warped by decades of toxic exposure, Giant Spiders have evolved into giant predators that stand taller than a human and stalk the wastelands and jungles of the Desolation. Their chitinous armour deflects small arms fire, while venom-dripping fangs can punch through armour and paralyse a victim with its venom, ready to be devoured.

Apex predators of Hatari's mutated jungles, these massive felines dwarf any of the more traditional predators of the jungle. Their signature fangs, longer than a human arm, can pierce straight through almost any type of armour. Eerily silent despite their enormous bulk, they stalk prey unheard and unseen, their mottled bioluminescent hide blending perfectly with the jungle's perpetual twilight. Hunting parties that seek their extremely valuable void glands and armoured hides often sacrifice most of their beaters, luring the Void Stalkers into kill zones at the expense of dozens of lives.

These serpentine terrors - the Sahal Shani - evolved to track the unique pheromones of human and clone flesh. These burrowing behemoths can detect a human's scent from miles away, following caravans for days before striking with devastating precision, or bursting into the open cast mines of Medha, gorging themselves on countless mine workers before disappearing again under the sand.

Voracious swarms of burrowing Sand Devils - the Shaytan Shani - strike from beneath the desert sands, impaling and killing their prey with quick powerful strikes from their many appendages. The rhythmic vibrations shortly before a Sand Devil bursts out of the sand strike terror into even the most hardened Nomads.

The coastal marshlands of the Mud breed their own unique horrors - amphibious predators that thrive in the chemical soup of the wetlands. Mutant amphibians grow to enormous size, their skin secreting acids that can melt through protective gear. Schools of flesh-eating fish swarm in the deeper pools, able to strip a human to bones in seconds. Most feared are the marsh stalkers - silent killers that glide just beneath the surface, their translucent flesh nearly invisible under the surface of the water until the moment they strike, dragging their victims down to a watery grave.

The unforgiving process of mutation has not only affected humans but has also given rise to many monstrous predators, their origins barely recognizable after decades of constant mutation. Creatures grown to the size of large cargo rigs prowl the wastelands, their mutated hides deflecting even heavy weapons fire. Titanic beasts, their flesh scarred and bubbling with tumorous growth, can tear through reinforced concrete walls to reach their prey. Most terrifying are those predators whose intelligence has grown alongside their size, enabling them to hunt in packs and execute complex ambushes. In the age of Desolation, humanity no longer sits at the top of the food chain.

In the heights of the Andes, the ancient condors have evolved into creatures of myth. Their wingspans now stretch as wide as those of a small shuttle, casting vast shadows over the mountain valleys. The Condor Kingdom has managed to tame these aerial titans, using them as both mounts and weapons of war. Their razor-sharp beaks can tear through reinforced steel, while their enhanced intelligence makes them capable of complex aerial manoeuvres while carrying brave warriors into battle.

Humanity's domesticated animals have evolved alongside their masters, growing to immense proportions to serve as living vehicles in the wasteland. Mutant oxen, their hides thick as tank armour and muscles dense as steel cable, pull massive land trains across the desolation and carry the goods of trade caravans. In the lands of Eden the descendants of Rhinoceroses have been domesticated and in the endless desert of the land of Sand, camels carry nomads on their backs, their bodies adapted to process even the most toxic water sources. In the lands of Oyate meanwhile, the warrior tribes that inhabit the lands have rediscovered their symbiotic relationship with the herds of Bison that roam the plains.

The mutated flora of the Desolation has developed a taste for meat, particularly human flesh. Massive carnivorous blooms lurk beneath the undergrowth of the jungle, their petals lined with paralytic barbs. Vines thick as tree trunks snake through the jungle canopy, dropping to ensnare passing prey which is slowly digested over days. Most insidious are the beautiful but deadly flowering species whose pollen clouds can paralyse their prey, slowly ensnaring and absorbing their helpless victims with their roots afterwards. Even small specimens pose a threat, as a single scratch from their thorns can inject flesh-dissolving enzymes, leading to a slow, agonising death as the victim is slowly consumed from within.