CELLQUEST: RIP in Piece [DEAD due to inactive host]

[Sam B]

Act:

Putting your Suction ability to work, you eat away at the sand around the buried object, filling your belly a bit more and gaining a couple extra DNA Pts in the process. With the help of your fellow Eletus, you manage to uncover a bit more of the rock-like anomaly, when suddenly it moves on its own and disappears beneath the sand! You suck up a bit more and reveal the top of the thing once again, and the other Eletus moves in to timidly poke at the object with their head. After a bit of prodding, the object repeats its disappearing act and burrows into the sand. Clearly, this thing is a creature of some sort, and it apparently does not want to be found.

Your curious nature is in full control now, and you diligently work with your partner to dig up more of the mysterious lifeform. With some serious effort, you finally manage to remove enough sand to get a good look at it, and what you see is very strange... and also very appetizing. It is a baby Rocktopus: A type of cephalapod whose unusual skin has evolved into a hard, stone-like material that makes them exceptionally durable. Even though this attribute makes them quite hard to kill, a Rocktopus will always choose stealth when it can. Their primary method of defense is to disguise themselves as a common rock on the seafloor, and when that fails they usually expel a cloud of ink and burrow to completely hide from view.

Almost as soon as you uncover it, the young and frightened creature promptly buries itself again. That little thing sure is good at digging! You notice that one of the Orb Jelly colonies has started to move towards your current location, and you are pretty sure you don't want to tangle with the round mass of stringy tentacles. Your partner swims away from the small crater you've created and starts to idly swim in place directly above you. It seems they have had their fun and are ready to move on, now that the two of you have drawn some attention to yourselves. But, that Rocktopus looked so... delicious. Should you really just let it be?

You have 58 DNA Pt(s)

What do you do?

A) Abscond and continue your journey into the depths.
B) Leave and go back to the shallow ocean waters.
C) Try harder to dig up the baby Rocktopus (and eat it?)
D) Other: ___________________

Stats:

Homeworld: Aros.
Name: Eletus.
Traits: Chordate, Starbud Infection.
Appearance: Faded blue; Slender body with a pair of fin-shaped keratin blades on back; long tail with barbs and caudal fin at the tip; head possesses a red ocellus on either side and a circular mouth with tiny teeth at the front end. [Glowing flower on underside]
Environment: Shallow ocean waters.
Behavior: Defensive, curious, cunning; will actively seek out Starbuds if not infected.
Symbiosis: Starbud Flower [M]
Diet: Geovore, capable of eating meat in small quantities.
Belly: 90%
Size: 8; Over 10 centimeters long.
SNS: 8; Capable of blurry, short-ranged vision; Cannot hear; Able to sense light and chemicals from a distance; basic sense of smell.
MOB: 8.5; You slither at a slow pace on land, and can swim well.
INT: 10; Sentient; Capable of basic social interaction with your own kind.
ATK: 7.5; You have a strong mouth with teeth, sharp barbs on your tail and dangerous Dorsal-Blades on your back.
DEF: 3.5 (5.5); You have a thick C-Plate and a pair of Dorsal-Blades, deterring weaker predators. [+2]
HP: 45/51

Abilities:

--Active--
-Bud Off: Split your body into multiple organisms. Divides Belly by number of organisms. Temporarily reduces stats to a fraction of what they really are.
-Disgorge: Vomit some of the contents of your belly with mild force. Effectiveness increases with a larger Belly %. Divides current Belly by half.
-Charge: A short burst of speed in any direction, can be used offensively. (-30% Belly)
-Suction: Pull small objects into your mouth from a short distance or affix yourself to larger surfaces. (-10% Belly when used on non-food objects)

--Passive--
-Cephalize: Evolve sensory organs at reduced cost on your "head".
-Geophagy: Gain extra DNA from soil and similar materials.
-Regen: Recover HP at a constant rate. Belly drops faster than normal when more than a third of your HP is gone.

[Aabcehmu]

I vote for B. Commit the presence of creatures such as the Roctopus to memory. We are in immediate danger, and there are just as many, if not more new things to do on land than in the deep.

[Kíeros]

> Abscond to the depths.

[redaeth]

Abscond to the depths.

[Knight_of_Hide]

Chomp.

Eat the thing! Eat the thing!

Aabc owes me one. >>

B

[seastormjt]

Abscond.

[Sifright]

B to the shallows

[Shrump]

Voting B.

[Aabcehmu]

KoH, if I may, I implore you to change your vote to B, unless another vote for C comes around and makes yours somewhat less impotent.

[Woodledude]

Okay, yeah, B. Let's abscond away from the depths, eh?

[Aabcehmu]

I certainly do, KoH. If you call on me at a later date, I'll edit my vote to what you want it to be.

[volnrok]

B, because.

[Wessolf27]

>Bounce back to the shore.

[Sam B]

Act:

Deciding that you are ready to move on as well, you join your comrade and swim back to the warm coastal waters that your body is better suited to. The mysteries of the Seakelp Forest will just have to wait for later generations, it seems. With the other Eletus leading the way, the two of you make a swift return to the same reef where you encountered a Whiptail Shark not long ago, but by now any sign of your carnage has been removed by scavengers. Though you are no longer under the shade of an icy crust, the water is still darker than usual, indicating that it is now night-time on this side of Aros.

The local nocturnal predators, Reef Wraiths and Arrowsharks, are now patrolling the area while the various prey species hide out in the coral. You know that Eletus are too small to attract the attention of any sharks that my be swimming around at this hour, but you are unfortunately the perfect size for a Reef Wraith ambush. Even though your multiple chemoreceptors give you an edge in detecting the nigh-invisible ctenophora, they are still clever hunters and your senses are far from impeccable. It's probably a good idea to find a hiding spot for yourself, or just avoid the reef altogether while these creatures are on the prowl.

You have 58 DNA Pt(s)

What do you do?

A) Hide in the coral and rest until daylight.
B) Burrow in the sand and sleep the night away.
C) Leave the night-time reef and continue exploring elsewhere.
D) Other: ___________________

Stats:

Homeworld: Aros.
Name: Eletus.
Traits: Chordate, Starbud Infection.
Appearance: Faded blue; Slender body with a pair of fin-shaped keratin blades on back; long tail with barbs and caudal fin at the tip; head possesses a red ocellus on either side and a circular mouth with tiny teeth at the front end. [Glowing flower on underside]
Environment: Shallow ocean waters.
Behavior: Defensive, curious, cunning; will actively seek out Starbuds if not infected.
Symbiosis: Starbud Flower [M]
Diet: Geovore, capable of eating meat in small quantities.
Belly: 70%
Size: 8; Over 10 centimeters long.
SNS: 8; Capable of blurry, short-ranged vision; Cannot hear; Able to sense light and chemicals from a distance; basic sense of smell.
MOB: 8.5; You slither at a slow pace on land, and can swim well.
INT: 10; Sentient; Capable of basic social interaction with your own kind.
ATK: 7.5; You have a strong mouth with teeth, sharp barbs on your tail and dangerous Dorsal-Blades on your back.
DEF: 3.5 (5.5); You have a thick C-Plate and a pair of Dorsal-Blades, deterring weaker predators. [+2]
HP: 46/51

Abilities:

--Active--
-Bud Off: Split your body into multiple organisms. Divides Belly by number of organisms. Temporarily reduces stats to a fraction of what they really are.
-Disgorge: Vomit some of the contents of your belly with mild force. Effectiveness increases with a larger Belly %. Divides current Belly by half.
-Charge: A short burst of speed in any direction, can be used offensively. (-30% Belly)
-Suction: Pull small objects into your mouth from a short distance or affix yourself to larger surfaces. (-10% Belly when used on non-food objects)

--Passive--
-Cephalize: Evolve sensory organs at reduced cost on your "head".
-Geophagy: Gain extra DNA from soil and similar materials.
-Regen: Recover HP at a constant rate. Belly drops faster than normal when more than a third of your HP is gone.

[Aabcehmu]

I vote for B.

[meteorMirror]

Burrow

D Burrow into the coral reef and eat it from the inside out.

Yeah I guess this is better...

[Sifright]

D Burrow into the coral reef and eat it from the inside out.

[volnrok]

D Burrow into the coral reef and eat it from the inside out.

Sure, let's try this.

[Kíeros]

> Burrow until morning.

[redaeth]

D Burrow into the coral reef and eat it from the inside out.

Good idea. Why hide when you can hide and eat.

[Sifright]

Good idea. Why hide when you can hide and eat.

i'm kind of surprised my idea is so popular I mean, I was semi joking when i posted it mainly because i'm not sure we have the strength to actually burrow through the coral. The last time we had to charge it to damage it. I guess it's possible we are stronger now though we certainly have more attack power than we did before so if we are lucky we might actually be able to burrow.

[Sypl]

Dig into the reef!

[Sam B]

Act:

Rather than trying to dig into the soft sand or simply using a pre-existing cranny in the corals, you try to dig out your own hiding spot by burrowing into the stony marine animals. Sadly no matter how hard you slam, bite or cut at the corals, you just can't break through their thick exoskeletons! Maybe if this reef was made of fragile and edible Crystal Coral colonies instead, you'd have better luck. But even with your myriad of evolutionary weaponry you still lack the raw physical strength needed to significantly damage any of the biological structures in this area.

With all the attention your efforts have surely drawn, simply hiding out in the coral probably isn't a very smart option any more. You could still take refuge under the sand, or simply leave the area and sleep or explore someplace else. Or you could forgo stealth entirely and fight off any Reef Wraiths who attack you during the night. Those jellies can't be so tough, right? Though, there's no telling what other terrible creatures might be lurking these waters at later hours... Eletus like you are usually asleep by now, so your knowledge of nocturnal beasts is limited to those that show themselves around sunset. You can't imagine that others would be especially pleasant to encounter.

You have 58 DNA Pt(s)

What do you do?

A) Burrow in the sand and sleep the night away.
B) Rest in the open and try to fight off any would-be predators.
C) Leave and find a place to sleep outside the densely populated reef.
D) Leave the night-time reef and continue exploring elsewhere.
E) Other: ___________________

Stats:

Homeworld: Aros.
Name: Eletus.
Traits: Chordate, Starbud Infection.
Appearance: Faded blue; Slender body with a pair of fin-shaped keratin blades on back; long tail with barbs and caudal fin at the tip; head possesses a red ocellus on either side and a circular mouth with tiny teeth at the front end. [Glowing flower on underside]
Environment: Shallow ocean waters.
Behavior: Defensive, curious, cunning; will actively seek out Starbuds if not infected.
Symbiosis: Starbud Flower [M]
Diet: Geovore, capable of eating meat in small quantities.
Belly: 50%
Size: 8; Over 10 centimeters long.
SNS: 8; Capable of blurry, short-ranged vision; Cannot hear; Able to sense light and chemicals from a distance; basic sense of smell.
MOB: 8.5; You slither at a slow pace on land, and can swim well.
INT: 10; Sentient; Capable of basic social interaction with your own kind.
ATK: 7.5; You have a strong mouth with teeth, sharp barbs on your tail and dangerous Dorsal-Blades on your back.
DEF: 3.5 (5.5); You have a thick C-Plate and a pair of Dorsal-Blades, deterring weaker predators. [+2]
HP: 47/51

Abilities:

--Active--
-Bud Off: Split your body into multiple organisms. Divides Belly by number of organisms. Temporarily reduces stats to a fraction of what they really are.
-Disgorge: Vomit some of the contents of your belly with mild force. Effectiveness increases with a larger Belly %. Divides current Belly by half.
-Charge: A short burst of speed in any direction, can be used offensively. (-30% Belly)
-Suction: Pull small objects into your mouth from a short distance or affix yourself to larger surfaces. (-10% Belly when used on non-food objects)

--Passive--
-Cephalize: Evolve sensory organs at reduced cost on your "head".
-Geophagy: Gain extra DNA from soil and similar materials.
-Regen: Recover HP at a constant rate. Belly drops faster than normal when more than a third of your HP is gone.

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Really, I don't know how you expect to dig through what might as well be solid rock with your current body. I mean, if you had tried to melt through it with powerful acids or someth- OH WAIT YOU DIDN'T BUY THAT UPGRADE.

[Aabcehmu]

I vote for A.

[Knight_of_Hide]

C
We can leave the Reef to sleep, and then come back later.