Urgunth

## **Introduction**

Lurking deep within the riverways and marshland of Ludwag lives a massive macro carnivore. An ancient terror who’s dominion over the freshwater routes of Ludwag stems back further than anyone can recall. This living fossil has gone on to be ultimately indifferent to the passage of time, their bodies proving to be tried and true for as long as they have existed. To many the Urgunth is a readily apparent threat, notorious for its deadly hunting tactics and exploits across the continent. Fishermen and farmers alike dread such a predator as it is one of the few with the willingness to tempt humanity's might for an easy meal. More unnerving is how often they get away with it.

## Urgunth

### Life Expectancy

60 - 150 years

Urgunths are large crocodilians, rivaling them in size both in stature and in weight. Where they differ is their limbs. Standing on a raised set of legs like that of a mammal, trumping their cousins by opening their torso for proper respiration while running. This combined with its long muscular limbs allows it to gallop much like a dog or horse would, allowing it to reach speeds par with them to run down its prey. These adaptations have been fine tuned for a more active predator, designed to behave much more like a mammalian carnivore than its lowly cousins. Helping it grip onto the soil and pull against uneven terrain are its blunt yet curved claws which may dig into nigh any surface to grapple and pull the reptile aloft. Despite this the Urgunth is best suited for short distance chases as despite its mobile stature it falls short in stamina.

One should steer clear of such a creature's jaws as they are some of the strongest yet found across Ludwag, with enough crushing force to sever limbs clean off a man and severely maim those adorning armor. This is further supported by rows of sharp crocodilian teeth which provide much needed grip to pin prey and prevent escape once gripped. If one isn’t immediately wounded by such a powerful blow the Urgunths powerful neck muscles flaying you around will surely put you to rest. The urgunth is a proud carnivore. However Urgunths typically eat much more carrion and small aquatic game than that of terrestrial prey.

Urgunths are a very sexually dimorphic spieces, the males are typically adorned with bright reds and purples running across the duration of their head whereas females have duller browns and maroons to contrast the opposing sex. This is believed to act as a means of display between different urgunths with the more vibrant males taking up larger swabs of territory and thus potential mates. These colors only come to fruition after the animal has matured as to shroud hatchlings in pure green scales to better hide them from predators.

Among all Urgunths lies a noticeable dewlap beneath the jaw which is a vibrant red or yellow depending on the age of the animal, with youth taking on the latter of the two. This dewlap allows the Urgunth to produce low frequency gurgles which only other urgunths and quick witted sonomancers can detect. These rumblings are thought to be how Urgunth communicate with each other as these rumbles have been detected from specimens several miles from each other's location.

## **Psychology**

Urgunths are not very social animals on the surface, males being quite territorial toward other males of similar size. Typically a large male will lord over a small group of smaller urgunths, usually a combination of females and subordinate males. These collectives are best described as loose as the subordinate males act only as a mutual buffer toward other predators. Females will directly compete with one another for the claim to particularly moist and warm nesting sites of which to raise healthy young, often leading to a matriarch arising above her fellow females.

Urgunth hierarchy is decided by a number of factors with  size being an obvious one. The larger an Urgunth is the more imposing they become and the less likely they are to be challenged by another urgunth. That said other Urgunths gain their position via display with smaller vibrant males often taking up spots by sheer display. Urgunths do not usually fight one another as the expensure of energy could be the difference between eating or not, instead, Urgunths will size one another up with a number of gurgles and proceed to display their strength in whatever means possible, with only an inconclusive dispute calling for a brawl.

Similarly Urgunths are not very keen on most humanoids save for those of scales and will be very aggressive toward them if they instigate a response via intrusion on their nests or territory. Urgunths are not opposed to man eating either and will regularly take such risks with the opportunity presents itself. This has led to a widespread distrust toward Urgunths as their nature often leads them to strike out seemingly at random.

Despite their reputation, urgunths prove to be the more tolerable of the macro carnivores and usually indifferent to most other lifeforms so long as they kept their distance. Coupled with their strangely strong parental instinct to protect their young, many are warming up to these cold blooded killers.