The central idea and synthesis of this topic is the suggestion of an underworld ecosystem full of rather primitive artrhopods and fungal "flora" and some rather primitive "sentient" species in lower levels (like trolls and dwarves), and a possible "boss" (the "Lindworm", the closest thing to a dragon in norse mythology).
I think I should not rely so much on lists, but here we go again. I am not too much of a “cave person” and I haven’t started to explore the mysterious underworld of the Hearthlands. Nonetheless I am aware that one of the long term projects of the game is to “militarize the underwolrd”. Well, I am not particularly fond of this idea of increase the dangers and threats of the underworld, but I do like the idea of adding a new bunch mobs, critters and fungi into the caves, so as to create an interesting new environment (or environmnets). Yet, it is common, when imagining mysterious subterranean worlds, to fall into old and overly used tropes, like the survival of Mesozoic fauna and flora in isolated pockets. Even though dinosaurs, pterosaurs, aquatic reptiles are interesting, I would prefer to explore different worlds from different times. As the development of the Herthlands underworld is still in it’s early stages, It remains a window to a whole bunch of differents possibilities.
I would rather like to see a series of “levels” implemented into the cave network of the underworld in the game, beginning, of course, with the upper levels (1-2), closer to the surface and the cave entrances. In this level different critters, based primarily on real modern world troglofauna could appear in differents quantities. In lower levels (3-4), the possibility of finding bigger arthropods, based partially on those of the Middle-Upper Paleozoic (Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous), could appear not only as minor critters but as aggressive mobs too. In the following levels (5-6), lower still, stranger arthropods and mollusks could be the rule, along with fungi taking the place of the surface flora, given the lack of sun light. Tris idea could be tuned a bit, of course, and I’m presenting it so it can be discussed and developed with the suggestion of those interested. The following list is divided accordingly in upper, middel and lower levels, as I thought that going beyond these will be a innecessary hardship (even 6 levels seem as a bit too much). It should be considered too that even though I’ve presented this “underground level system” considering a base number of six divided into three levels (upper, middle and lower), the number of floors in each level can be changed, each level consisting from 1 to as many as you see fit.
Upper Level (Floors 1-2)
Upper Level (Fauna) • Bats (already present in game) • Olm (Proteus anguinus, in the past said to be the "dragon's brood") • Spotted Tail Cave Salamander (Eurycea lucifuga) • Cave Crickets (or Cave Weta, Rhaphidophoridae) • Cave Spider (different species could be the real life model) • Pseudoscorpion • Millipedes • Centipede (already in the game, these may have a dangerous venomous bite when catching them) • Rosy Woodlouse (Androniscus dentiger) • Cave Earwig (Anisolabis howarthi) • Glowworm (Arachnocampa luminosa) • Silverfish (Lepisma saccharina, not a cave dweller per se, although there are cave thysanures, these could be bigger in the game) • Cave Beetle (Duvalis doriae or Pseudanophthalmus)
Upper Level (“Flora”) o Plant Roots (hanging from the roof or in walls) o Cave Algae (spots growing in colors in walls and floor, mostly decorative and varied in colour, like blue, red or brown) o Cave Fungi (spots growing in colors in walls and floor, mostly decorative, these do not need sunlight and are a food source for many insects in caves, diverse colours, like red, blue, purple, white, et cetera) o Cave Molds o Finger Fungi (come in various color, like yellow or red, also called "coral fungus", https://i.pinimg.com/originals/25/af/88 ... d0c8b4.jpg )
Upper Level (Water) Cave Shrimp (Palaeomonias alabamae, although cave crayfish are a abundant bunch) Cavesnail (Antrobia culveri, White and bioluminiscent, a little light source) Cave Crayfish (Cambarus aculabrum, similar to lobsters) Eyeless White Cavefish Stone Loach (Barbatula barbatula)
Although commonly most animal species, fungi and bacteria in caves are less than abundant and grow slowly in and adverse médium of low energy, this doesn’t have to be the case in the game. These critters, fungi and different resources could help those interested in living in caves fulltime be able to do so, even though they will have a hard time producing resources in large scale, like crops or livestock on the surface communities. A interesting possbility would be to add “light pockets”, big caves were light enterst through an “skylight”, an opening in the cave roouf (a hole in the surface), where the entrance of light allows plants to grow, these could be “islands of green” in the cave networks, a source of Wood and Green matter, but patches unable to be exploited for crops. Wood found here along with branches will be complimented with hides (those from boreworms or othe cave guests like bears) to build Little huts, yet these will be more akin to “rooms” as housing is not necessary in an already protected environment like a cave where there is no “weather” (like rain, snow or sunlight). These Wood could also be used to cultivate edible fungi, along with square boxes full of mulch or eath, or gardener’s pots too, as these are already present in the game. Nonetheless, decomposing matter, like mulch, should be necessary to cultivate fungi. Big fungi farms will feed underground colonies (like ants and termites!) but contact with the surface will be needed to obtain resources like wood, bones, organic matter (like entrails, leaves, fish or feathers) to decompose, as well as some food.
On the other hand, apart from the “troglobites” listed above, that is to say, obligate cave fauna, some trogloxenes could be found around these Green patches and around cave entrances (like bears, cave liones, cave hyenas, rats, bats where common cave guests in Europe, while cave birds are not so common there). As one goes further into the depth, “chitinous” creatures will become more abundant, and those providing hides (and plants providing wood) will become more scarce and more dangerous (Boreworms, trolls, lindworms, dwarves) and maybe other forms of architecture, like clay based or niche houses (carved on walls like a “cellar”, extracting boulders, with wooden or hide door and a visible clay front wall) or even "clochán" style houses (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... oramio.jpg, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... 254515.jpg and https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... ve_hut.JPG), given the obvious abundance of stone material in caves. A possible way to allow a constant production of meat, although not particularly high quality, would be to breed rats (something that has been done before) in special baskets, feeding them with fungi and arthropod meat. Hunting critters and big arthropod will prove a primary source of food along with fungi gathering. Specific examples of mentioned creatures are mentioned in brackets wit scientific names, to allow for those interested to seach through google images.
Middle Level (Floors 3-4)
Middle Level (Fauna) • Giant Cockroach (a good source of fat and insect meat, https://louisvillezoo.org/wp-content/up ... issing.jpg ) • Cave Wolf Spider (not the real one but a giant one) • Giant Millipede (based on Arthropleura, the biggestland invertebrate of all time, an herbivore, maybe it could be “tamed” as a cave livestock) • Griffinflies (giant dragonfly-like group of flying predators, like Meganeura, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... oralla.jpg ) • Giant Scorpion (base don Pulmonoscorpius, possibly an aggresive predator, http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/wal ... 0802210920 ) • Giant Woodlouse (possibly a terrestrial counterpart to the deep sea Giant Isopod, genus Bathynomus, these could be amphibious) • Giant Butterfly (enormous flying insect, base don Kalligramma haeckeli, the game versión could be bigger, http://lenta-vremeni.ru/img/170/558a6929d.jpg_tn.jpg )
Middle Level (“Flora”) o Giant White Ferula (towering fungi whit big trunk, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... _30057.jpg ) o Giant Puffball (bigger than those on the outside, maybe spotted, could be harvested like bushes) o Giant Honey Fungus (bigger than real life, could be harvested like bushes) o Lion’s Mane Fungus (White fungus growing on cave walls: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/7a/07/f8/7a07 ... 711236.jpg or https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... _64176.jpg, could be harvested like bushes ) o Some other Fungi (http://blogs.evergreen.edu/fungalkingdom/files/2012/10/cropped-Pilze1.jpg are some interesting possibilities for big fungi, although the idea is that even bigger fungi are to be found in lower levels)
As one gets deeper and deeper into the cave systems, critters and fungi of the upper levels will not dissapear but become relatively more abundant, bioluminiscent invertebrates (and maybe fungi, crystals ore ven lava) will iluminate the depths. This list is formulated mostly as examples of which species could grow underground, more or less colorful and anatomically strange, with the trope of “underground pocket survival” of ancient prehistoric species. Of course this list is just a guideline, and can be changed as the developers may seen fit (and they may only pick some ítems indeed), as this proposition is just a raw idea to bring color and life to the underground. As these arthropods will be bigger than those on the surface, these will not be used as “curiosities” but as food source for the underground cave –dwellers.
Lower Level (Floors 5-6)
Lower Level (Fauna) • Dvergar (base don the nordic “dwarves” but maybe more coarse and beastly, another of the underground dwellers, something like https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/myt ... 0108200224 with https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media ... gubben.jpg maybe carrying stone tools like hammers or axes) • Nisse (or Tomtu, similar to Trolls but smaller, usually using a mushroom cap as hat, appear in groups, eats insects, prey to the troll) • Trolls (in these levels trolls would be more common, “eating” fungi and other strange critters of the underworld) • Ormr (also Lindworm or Dreki, “Norse Dragons”, more like a giant long snake, similar to the Olm, salamander consdiered the dragon’s brood in the past, these would prey on Trolls, maybe something like this: http://www.seananmcguire.com/galleries/ ... ndworm.png ) • Six-Winged Flies (name used for Paleodictyoperes, although the first pair of “wings” were not such, but that only a minor detail: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/6d/e8/34 ... 4c51a5.jpg )
Lower Level (“Flora”) o “Skunnemunk Tree” (Prototaxites logani, an ancient real life devonian giant fungus or lichen, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... ii.tif.jpg ) o “Stringy Trunk” (Prototaxites southworthii, without “cones”, but a towering fungus or lichen too, https://s00.yaplakal.com/pics/pics_orig ... 909520.jpg ) o Cage Fungus (somewhat like Clathrus ruber) o Giant Underground Orchid (some fantasy giant versión of the real life Underground Orchid, Rhizanthella gardneri, that does not require sunlight to grow) o Rafflesia (these flowering plants are actually found in Southeast Asia, but these can be included in an already fantastic underground setting as they also do not require direct sunlight to grow) o Purple Flower (based on Sciaphila yakushimensis, a non-photosintetic plants that parasites underground fungi, could grow as a collectible) o Ghost Pipe (maybe bigger than the real one, based on Monotropa uniflora) o Coralroot (some other orchids that rely on fungi partnership to grow are included in Corallorhiza: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... nsiana.jpg )
Lower Level (Resources) Petroleum
It would be ideal if large romos could be generated in the underground where these creatures could appear forming large scale ecosystems, ideally with fungi forests and sources of water, maybe even stone pillars. In the last levels finding “sentient” species live dwarves, trolls and nisse, along with a wide variety of arthropods, both terrestrial and aquatic, will be a source of adventure. Of course, these “sentient” species should be rare, and appear rather scantly, some of them, like “dwarves”, could appear near metal veins, maybe the bigger ones in deeper levels, protecting these resources, only attacking those who threat thir richess. Resources on the upper levels, closer to the surface, will become more abundant in lower levels, but also they will be better protected. Also, in lower levels, the possibility of finding the “Lindworm”, an underground “boss” like creature, will be another threat to watch out. This list and “underground level system”, of course, can be adapted, I have formulated it because I love the diversity and spectrum of extinct prehistoric arthropods and not everyone will receive them the same way as I do, so, the suggestion itself and it’s open to suggestions, and if you’d change anything you can comment below.
Last edited by defe999 on Tue Jan 23, 2018 7:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"The psychological trials of dwellers in the last times will be equal to the physical trials of the martyrs. In order to face these trials we must be living in a different world."
Well, those are specific named Lidworms actually. Lindworm is more of a category, while Nidhogg and Fafnir are individual lindworm or ormrs, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindworm.
And I didn't described trolls because they are already in the game, i'm just listing them in lower levels tho mention their relative higher concentration in "lower ecosystems".
Neat shit, I really want the cavern layers too be much more dynamic.
Semi related @loftorb: Are there any specific reasons the caverns are completely flat? I think it'd been much more fun if the gently rolled. Bonus points if you could only build mineshafts at a certain cavern depth.
I probably agree that some height differences down there wouldn't hurt. If anything I guess that implies a need for terraforming down there as well, which might be a bit of a hassle.
"The psychological trials of dwellers in the last times will be equal to the physical trials of the martyrs. In order to face these trials we must be living in a different world."
I will comment on the "mythological creatures" included (and those that could be) in the game soon, I hope that thread will come out a little shorter.
I am a somewhat more or less commited "world-builder" (why would I have imagination for otherwise). And if a can help developing games (a long time dream of mine) why wouldn't I present my not so short ideas to those interested? Although not everyone is willing to read that much...
by defe999 » Tue Jan 23, 2018 7:08 pm 
