Herding Boneback Scavenger

The **herding boneback dcavenger** is a medium sized creature that can be found on Sumati. Generally, they are not hostile towards the player and will not attack them, however they are fairly territorial and will attack if the player gets too close. Occasionally, they will also target and attack the player even if they aren't too close, but this is rare. They appear very similar to a Horned Dung Beetle, however their horn points forwards instead of backwards. When killed, they will drop Hypercatalyst in the form of Vital Fluids.

## Anatomy & Physiology

Herding boneback scavengers are an interesting mixture of features shared between Insects, Arachnids, and Decapods. Their entire body is covered in a large, non-segmented carapace which only opens around their face. The most notable and obvious feature of the carapace is the large. clubbed horn sitting atop their thorax. It isn't exact if this holds any function, however it could be used as a blunt weapon to ram an opponent. They walk on a set of eight legs with four on either side of the body,

By far their most interesting features are the face, presented by an opening of the carapace. This opening is covered in a fur or hairlike substance, which could be a fur for warmth (Sumati is generally cold) or sensory structures like cilia. They have two Ommatophores (eyestalks) with small, oval-shaped black eyes. A comedically large mouth-like structure juts out from the face and almost down to the ground, most likely functioning as a "trunk" or proboscis. An additional two antennae extend from the face, most likely assisting in hearing through sensing vibrations (the possible fur could also do this).

The only biome the bonebacks can't be found in is the frozen plains biome. Outside of the frozen plains, they are extremely abundant and can be found in great numbers. Although they usually live in smaller herds of two or three, these are often so densely located to each other that they form a single large herd, sometimes upwards of twelve bonebacks. Their extreme numbers could imply they have a relatively short reproductive cycle, or simply have large numbers of offspring.

## Behavior

The herding boneback scavengers are not a friendly species, and their appearance should be noted as a potential danger. Although they spend much of their time wandering around, their temperament quickly changes once a player or predator is near. In this regard they are mostly territorial, if the player approaches too close, the boneback will attack with assistance from all others nearby. The range that they deem too close around ten meters. Sometimes they will not wait for the aggressor to enter this range, and will decide to chase and attack them. If they decide to attack a target who wasn't too close, they will still receive assistance from the other members of their herd.

In terms of behavior with other species, they don't exhibit particularly intelligent decisions. As mentioned, they don't always wait or their space to be invaded before attacking and will charge after a target as they please, which can result in their own death if against something far stronger. This is best seen as they are easily preyed upon by the local hunting crabs, which can easily destroy an entire herd of bonebacks. This also applies to players, since their random attacks on the player will usually result in the player being able to defend themself through the use of firearms.

## Combat

If possible combat with the herding boneback scavengers should be avoided, as it can result in a lengthy fight due to the dozens of bonebacks that can be inhabiting a single area. They aren't particularly damage resistant, and they deal moderate but not overwhelming damage, however their strength does come from their population density and group defense. An unaware player can be attacked from all sides and quickly overwhelmed by bonebacks, so caution is advised.

The main resource dropped by herding scavenger bonebacks is hypercatalyst. Since they are usually found very commonly and in herds, they can be a great method of farming this material.