Alysander's concept art --- creatures and plants

I think i should create quest line based on it.

UPDT: Design doc ready.

Very small update for the Kwama Nest Scrib, big step for Kwamakind.
I haven't other ideas to improve vanilla idea of Scrib without effective turning of it in another creature.

General shape prototype for Dres house's wasps. Particially based on concepts by DaedricLord and head of Elytra (SI).
Rig : Chaurus flyer (DG).

This is possible, i made place for dunmerbutt, but it still looks very apocryphally and flat to me.
Will be good to make this creature more atmospheric/ambient, rather than flying horse.
Anyway i made all possible to it as shaper of concept.

(Early concept)

Webbedscum
"this is small (~fox or cat size) creature, relative to Cliffracer, but it lost flying ability. Webbedscum is nocturnal, and it eats soil insects, roots, carrion and it can be pest on farms"

What do you think about this creature? Will it looks natural in Vvanderfell?

Or so. But IMHO devolved from Cliffracer is better.
It's like carrion-eating kiwi.
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Nest scrib sent. Wandering scrib need more details yet. It's not so sodding, yet.
 

GAMEBOOK PROJECT. Written by me, revised by Ociee.
PM me for errors, bad language and so.

---ON KWAMAS---
---ON COMMON KWAMAS---

      Common Kwamas was examined in various places of Morrowind and Vvanderfell. “Society” of kwamas consist of six age groups, also named as “casts“.  Development of the individual begins from eggs, of which scrib hatchs. Young scrib lives in nest, and the creature can leave it only at night, because when they are young, scribs has very thin carapace and blind white eyes. It has the only protection – irritating and shocking poison in their saliva. After applying it, the creature can only run from attacker.

       When nest scrib grows it became mature, wandering scrib, which has 4 long and fast legs and 4 manipulation legs between them, useful for collecting food (corpses, small creatures, roots). Coloration of the creature changes and it becomes more dark (ocherous, brown and buffy).

      Kwama workers execute all of the work in their nests, they have strong health and muscles, yet they are all but helpless should some chance  predator enter the nest and eat the helpless scribs and eggs. Some of you may have  heard  about kwama warriors who can protect the nest.This creature can easily startle or even kill intruders with its corrosive acid spit and the relative power of its paws and torso.

      On dead creatures it's easy to see that "kwama warriors" consist of creatures different and alien to one another: one is merely a large worker, possessing powerful protruding teeth and durable carapax, the other creature is a forager, which can be seen around kwamas nests,  dumps with dead kwamas, killed intruders, and food remains.Foragers attack intruders with acid blows as usual, but they prefer to take distance from opponents because their skin is no more dense than the skin of a large mushroom worm.

      When a forager is inside of a worker's head socket it is often protected by a thick carapace and uses all of his capabilities to concentrate attacks on his opponent. Moreover, acid odour seems to enrage workers and even specimens without a forager have been observed to concentrate their attacks  on an  intruder covered in this viscous, burning substance.

      Observations in mines, where all creatures are accustomed to the visitors, show that this effect is also used by the colony to navigate their burrowind work in the nest; when foragers use their acid to dissolve limestone in which caves and eggmines are most typically found, workers tend to respond to said stimuli and burrow in tandem with their brethren.

      Some philosophers think that workers control foragers in their sockets, but if so, how do said workers focus their collective efforts upon  rock dissolution? It seems as though such workers cannot see anything in front of them, hence the abandonment of this theory among contemporary intellectuals.

--- ON ANATOMY OF THE KWAMA ---

      Typically anatomised smaller kwama/scribs consist of 7 large segments (one of them being the head, and 4 of them has legs) and 4-5 segments of abdomen. When the creature grows and becomes a mature or "wandering" scrib, part of large segments reduce and adjoin to one another. When  the scrib is ready to grow into a worker he has only 5 or 6 segments – two of which become one big head, and  seemingly as a rule,  two rear segments turn into one segment with a rear socket. The latter now containing all smaller inside segments of the previous abdomen.

      When I was in an expedition in an eggmine near Caldera I was able to examine a dying, blighted kwama queen exterminated bya  local guard’s colony. The queen was relatively fresh to vivisect so i can imagine now how her organs located and functioned. I can say that queens have'nt any difference from kwama workers except size of they abdomen: it's filled with germinative organs and eggs and it may reach in size rest of the body. There is gossip about kwama queens with foragers inside their heads, but I don't see any this “soldier-queens” in 4 egg mines, which I have visited.

      The liquid lympha of Kwamas are known colloquially as "Scrib jelly" and it can be purchased by alchemists already coagulated and covered in thin membrane.

+++ Internal structure of kwama and most of its relatives here arent so interesting and distinguishable as anatomy of deer or other habitual creatures of Cyrodiil. We can say that all main organs of kwama coupled in big sack with minimal differentiation: it's just some long knotted intestine with small plaques, that we think producing lymph from digested food. In head of creature located big spongeous organ with unknown function.

+++ There is no any inner bones in bodies of Kwamas, instead they has exosceleton, that consist of some porous substance that looks more like light-weighted horn, than chitin. Aborigens of island crafts many interesting items from it, they not seeing any difference between this osseous substance and chitin, stripped from bodies of some giant insects, which is native in the ashen lands of province.

+++ Big head with porous thick carapace permit kwama workers not only to been good protected from attacks of invaders, but also enable some of them survive inrush, which can be often in their mines, when they burrowing brittle limestone. I even heared from one appretince of Aryon about kwamas with enormous heads used as "cork" to close entrance in nest.

--- ON HIVE SCRIBS ---

      Sometimes in common colonies of kwamas, there appears special scribs that can lay eggs. The small abdomens of these "scrib queens" are obviously not as large as the abdomen of a normal kwama's queen and can contain only one small egg at one time. Workers and mature scribs display aggressive behaviour to these "scrib queens" and often try to destroy them. Scrib queens answer to this by hiding in small pockets between durable stones, where it lives protected from them, and where only relative/familial scribs can steal and bring food for their mother. This version of kwama lives free on the continent where common kwama are rare and live only in artificially mined catacombs, so it's possible that this form is not fully parasitic.

--- ON CONTINENTAL KWAMA ---

      In the neighborhood of Almalexia lives a completely different form of kwama, which cannot be used as an egg source, but it's extremely interesting in terms of natural philosophy nonetheless. It looks like a relic from ancient times, more ages ago than any age of dwemer or aldmeri. Our estimations shows that this time spaced fromour at least ten times more than ages of the early Merethic Era.

      In general this form differs by its poisonous eggs, lymph, saliva and tissues. Poisonous spikes on the body of the scrib can be dangerous for any attacker, and sharp, venomous vertical "mandibles" of workers can be used by its owner as an effective paralysing and poisoning weapon.
Some of my colleagues think that this is to protect creatures without allegiance to foragers. Also this means that the nest of this creature appears much simpler and organised,  located only in soil layers without the possibility of burning out durable limestone.

      In general, workers of this form are much smaller than workers of common kwama, and typically have the size of a  wolf or large skeever. There is no such thing as a wandering scrib here and smaller nest scribs turn straight into a worker when it grows enough. It seems very unusual that in one nest of this form there can befound as many as four to seven queens in the same time.

--- DISTANT RELATIVES ---

      As speculated by Urist the Wanderer and other "field philosophers," based on some superficial resemblance of inner organs - all kwamas have relatives so distant  as to seem almost unlike to it, including resemblances to Nix Hounds, Siltstriders, Chauruses of SkyrimChauruses of Skyrim and Western Morrowind and Venomnbiters from Deshaan plains and deserts.It seems to me that the real situation is still unknown and the Empire should stimulate further expedition and insight among its deepest and darkest corners.

Spoi_fine_arts : i just get thought how it will be good to use Webbedscum not only as pest, but as a pet too.
If there will be pet, people in Morrowind not would be called upon use rats and skeevers as pets :)
Now concept of this domesticated form of Webbedscum need a name. It should be inverse of "Webbedscum".
You can write your suggestions.

If you see some syntax problems and you want to help - please do.
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> too haughty and contemptuous for pets
= they pet rats!
= we can show more diff between traditional dunmers, and dunmers from cities (pro-Imperial, Hlaalu mostly)

too obvious Barlowe's art, i presume. IMHO if team will include items on his influence - it should be more modified/specific.
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http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110830211424/aliens/images/d/da/Am_wayne_barlowe_04-1-.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHzPEpHYtXQ

> supposedly native to morrowind.
I think i've seen it already made (but not included in Skywind), and even more serious-looking.
http://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/1483453-scuttler-in-solstheim/

@Daggerfall - man, you need to learn to draw first. It s very low.

@Yixist, @HappyChappy: That's good creature concept ("Scumrunner"). Not sure what Yuxist mean about its' flying abilities: if it cannot flying yet/now - it don't need so big bones in wings and spine. Also i dont think that this creature should be so brutal-looking. Maybe it's better to add some feathers/wool and change its jaws to more universal beak.

What about my creature ('Webbedscum') - i want to make it not as brutal too. It should be more associated not with some hazard carnivores, It should be more like crow or hedgehog. Or it may be pangolin-griffin.



 

Its accurate suited for Fox rig (and looks as nice strange aardwark when combined :) )
However, lowpoly need 2x more vertices than fox. But its not very much in absolute degree.

@Yuxist: > Think a split off the evolutionary chain that found ... than attack airborne creatures such as the netch.
              = I think in this case we need more omnivores and vegans bcose island is filled with big quant. of predators species. And i dont see what's they all eating if not adventurers and scribs. Even all fish is carnivore.

> with wings that had started devolving
= so big bones in wings would inpede its' running. That's why i only left web rudiment.
= also my creature have some skin protection (it will be spikes/scales on wild species, and feathers/needles on domesticated/decorative one), maybe your need it too. I think it will be more good looking with some fur/feathers (maybe with cryptic/masking function).

There are state of progress with kwamas. Another progress will be when i got helped with details, normals and animation rigging.
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Maybe while i'll make some simple: like kwama's egg or complete mushroom.

There will be only 3 models but they possible will have many variants
+ vanilla-variants: Kwama_Nest_Scrib: Hive_Scrib; Kwama_Worker:Kwama_Warrior (+forager symbiont), Kwama_Queen (+big abdomen);
+ possible-variants of Kwama_Nest_Scrib: Hatchling (small and glowing as big_kwama_egg scrib), Seasoned_Scrib (big Nest_Scrib with more brown coloration, possible to meet outside mines), Hive_Scrib_Queen (big scrib with "queen" abdomen).
+ possible-variants of Kwama_Wandering_Scrib: maybe texture variants for different places.
+ possible-variants of Kwama_Worker: will be good to have reddish and yellowish-light variants.

 

yep, they are all reptile/bird like.

there are 5 categories of creatures in island:
1) reptile-like (bipeds, cliff-racers)
2) giant insect-like (kwamas, nixhounds, siltstriders and maybe netches)
3) typical arthropodas (crabs, shalks)
4) vertebrata (NPC and rats/skeevers)
5) other

i have question -  what lore-difference between small_kwama_eggs and big_kwama_eggs - there are just different stages of growing (? you know eggs are not growing...) or that's eggs of other forms of kwamas?
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Will be good idea to make them different but mimicrying eggs of kwama_species and foragers_species (as cookoo-bird and host-bird)?

Is there some explanation of what is this things as the basements of eggs? If there is no adequate explanation maybe better to replace it with some more plausible - like clay nests or tubes for eggs?

http://uesp.net/wiki/File:MW-flora-Kwama_Egg_Sacs.jpg

@Ravanna:
> undeveloped unfertilised eggs, ones that are small and can be picked up by player
= external fertilization for social terrestrial (even living in ash desert) animals is pretty strange idea, but this is in MW style.
> ones that are small and can be picked up by player.
= so the big cannot be picked.
> Large eggs could be based on chaurus flyer pods in dawnguard and spawn actual creatures, (scrib) in proximity to player.
= That'd the ideal state. But maybe trap function of pods better to be used with wandering_scrib (should be more aggressive).

@Smitehammer
> From egg to forager is as from embryo to larva.  From forager to scrib is like pupa.  
> Forager to other forms doesn't have a natural parallel really.
= I think symbiotic foragers is a better idea. Larvaes (especially without legs) rarely leave the hive. (and now they cannot hop)
= I know example with hypermetamorphosis (here), but even with it such larvaes not behave like this (and then mobile larva turns onto immobile).

Simple sketch for eggs in clay tubes with some liquid:
 

Here

I think tubes can be used as some sort of traps - when team ll start working on distance attack of kwama forager/soldier - some of this tubes could be filled with foragers, guarding other tubes with eggs. Also i want diagonal version of tube for placing it on the walls.

Scuplt:

Some concepts for next stage animals.

Concept of small volcanic plant.

Yes. It's only option. And adult form better be use rig of sabercat.
I hope we ever progress to Tribunal stuff. It better be in continental part of Morrowind.

Thats 'breathing roots'. We have such model on original MW (Bitter Coast trees).
U could/can repost it there as reference.

https://tesrenewal.com/forums/environmental-models-that-have-been-claimed/bitter-coast-trees-claimed-by-zopherious

some models related tp Dragomir Clathrus-like plant concept.

https://tesrenewal.com/files/alysander/images/Clautrus_like_model.JPG
https://tesrenewal.com/files/alysander/images/Clautrus_like_model_adult.JPG
https://tesrenewal.com/files/alysander/images/Clautrus_like_model_whole.JPG

Kwama queen started.

Kwama queen WIP.

@lukkar: I am sure that they (worker, scrib, queen) should be pale-colored - they are subterranean beings.
But i am making another cast that eventually roaming the surface more stripped-colored.
It need some changes now to suit new metamorphosis system.

Dagger/knife prototypes for ashlanders (can be made from stone, glass and ebony) and proposition of possible crafting station (with animation of work with chisel from Dragonborn)