Chimera

A chimera is a large magical beast that created during the Age of Arcanum by an unknown wizard that was experimenting with combining creatures together in order to make a new one. Ultimately he created the chimera and other such monsterous creatures but in the end was killed by his own creations.

## Sociocultural Information

### Distinction(s)

Lion, goat, and snake portions of body, immense size, fire breathing goat head

### Place of Origin

* Xaekla (hypothesised)
* Kweg (hypothesised)
* Madayus (hypothesised)

## Physical Traits

A chimera had the head and front legs of a lion, the torso of a goat which had a goats head protruding from the spine, and a tail ending in a fork of two to four snakes. It was larger than the average lion between 8-10 feet long and around 740 lbs, female chimera were often smaller than their male counterparts at about 6 feet long and around 380 lbs depsite their size females were often the ones in charge in regards of a prides functionality and had full say in any mating. The head and forefront of lion had pale fur with males having a mane of black or brown hair, the goat portion of the lion was typically grey or white in color with male chimera's goat head having a pair of curled horns, the tail of the chimera resembles that of the anaconda being only 5 feet long and weighing 50ish lbs. Due to its weight the chimera would often coil its snake portion around the rest of the body when not fighting in order to balance itself.

## Behavior

Chimera's were extremely intelligent and communicative creatures, they rely deeply on their pride for emotional and social enrichment which without they would grow bored and depressed. They were clever enough to access the odds of winning a battle and had a naturally inqusitive mind, seeking out things they have never seen before even just from afar. They preferred to live within caves in savannah or desert-type areas, hunting gazella, antelope, and sometimes elephants if they were percieved to be weak enough and seperated from the rest of their herd. Chimera's didn't view humanoids as much of a threat and so they would avoid or ignore them but if food was particularly scarce and they thought a humanoid may make an easy meal they would take it.

## Ecology

Chimera live in prides of 3 to 15 though the number could reach up to 30 if territory was low but food was plentiful. The male chimera of a pride are tasked with its defense while female chimera are often the hunters and caretakers of children, young chimera are taught by both their parents on how to survive, hunt, and protect their fellows no matter the sex. Since the are typically found in desert or savannah regions chimera will have run ins with other predators of the areas like foxes, hyenas, and sverters though most animals have enough self preservation to avoid chimera especially if food is scarce because a chimera will eat smaller predators in those cases.

## Diet

Chimera are carnivores that survive on a diet of hooved herbivores such as gazelle, antelope, elephants, wild hogs, cheetah, wild foxes, lizards, buffalo, and other creatures found in the savannah or desert where they make their homes. Their prefered hunting method is to stalk the prey while hidden behind tall grass or uphill, ensuring their scent won't be carried on the wind to alert the prey and pouncing when the time is deemed right. For larger animals like elephants and giraffes multiple chimera will participate leaping at the same time to different parts of the body like the legs and back. Every two to three days a chimera must eat roughly 22lbs of meat but they can survive for a week without eating and can eat up to 268lbs at once.

## Abilities

Each portion of a chimera had differing combat and survival abilities. The lions head and front legs allowed the creature a gripping bite and strong claw attacks, the goats backlegs could be used to buck attacking creatures backwards a number of feet sometimes crushing bones in the process. The goats head, despite its horns, could not be used to ram creatures due to its position along the spine but the neck could turn from side to side while the head shot fire down on its enemies. The snake portion of the body could be used to constrict creatures, crushing them, but could also provide a fearsome bite. The goat and snake heads also allowed the chimera two more pairs of eyes which could pinpoint threats from all directions easily.

## Combat

Chimera use a variety of offensive and defensive maneuvers depending on the number of combatants and the situation. If there were only one or two combatants of a lesser size they would be extremely aggressive, attack with the lion portion of their body and using their hind legs to buck away attackers from their backside if needed. When there were greater than two combatants was when the chimera would begin using their goats head to keep their attackers at a safe distance while they accessed the situation. If they deemed the fight unworthy or that they could not win they had no problems with running away but would hold no grudge nor seek out vengence.