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Wasteland Bestiary: Gulper

Tags: #Event: Beasts 
  • Member
    November 4, 2017

    Call Sign: Scribe Willems
    Location: Far Harbor
    Assignment: Operation Beasts of America
    Date: 11-4-2287

    Beast Study: “Gulper” 

    The following is an account of observations made on the creatures locally known as “Gulpers”. When we first arrived at the settlement of Far Harbor, the settlers appeared to be recovering from a recent attack. From what little information I could get out of those few who would speak to me, the “Island” as they called it had sent its creatures to attack them. The very thought of an island having a consciousness may seem absurd, but the settlers here seem to have given a personality to the harsh environment that they call home. Regardless of their strange beliefs, the carnage that lay just beyond the settlement’s main gate spoke for itself. The area was littered with the bodies of a variety of beasts, some of which are the focus of this report.

    Physical Description

    Gulpers appear to be the mutated form of what some might mistake for a pre-war lizard, however their apparent amphibious nature leads me to believe that they are in fact mutated salamanders. The average gulper stands at about the height of a human, with individual size varying by age; the largest of which the locals claim, are comparable to the deathclaws of the Commonwealth.

    Unlike many of the wasteland’s creatures, Gulpers do not seem to have evolved a protective covering instead having slime covered skin that is incredibly soft to the touch. The beast’s large mouth is their most striking feature and it is from this and their reported willingness to swallow almost anything that they have earned their names. Unlike the creatures that Gulper’s have evolved from they are bipedal, their front limbs end in what could almost be called webbed hands while their legs are covered in muscle which allows them to move at incredible speeds.

    Attack Patterns:

    When some of the locals learned that we were interested in the beasts we were told many a wild tale about their encounters with them, on such tale claimed that Gulpers hang by their tails from trees to surprise their prey. Initially myself and my knight escorts believed this to be absurd as judging by the size of the bodies we’d seen, we could not imagine the tree that could support a fully-grown Gulper’s weight. It was only after we witnessed several odd shapes hanging from trees in the distance that we realised the tale had been true. As we approached the trees the Gulpers dropped down and charged towards us at incredible speeds, as we attempted to shoot them before they reached us I noticed that they seemed to be weaving from side to side in an attempt to dodge or bullets and lasers. Whether this behaviour is something they have learned or just their natural movements I’m unsure, whatever the case it makes them all the more difficult to deal with. As is to be expected, a Gulper’s primary form of attack is to bite at their prey, however they are also not afraid of using their considerable size to knock their target around.

    Weaknesses:

    The slimy covering that I noted earlier appears to provide Gulpers of all sizes a natural resistance to the discharges of energy weapons, with the shots seeming to dissipate almost entirely on impact. While this is the case it is possible to kill a Gulper with a sufficiently powerful energy weapon, however the cost in energy cells or plasma cartridges may not make it worth it. On the other hand, Ballistic weaponry is much more effective against their unarmoured bodies. In fact, the soft nature of their skin and underlying flesh makes it incredibly easy for a bullet or other solid projectile to tear straight through a Gulper’s body.

    Of additional note is that the skin on a Gulper’s underbelly is many times thinner than that on the rest of their body and as such hits of any kind to this area show visibly more damage to the creatures then to anywhere else.

    Variants:

    From what information on these creatures that I could get out of Far Harbor’s settlers, I have concluded that there are at most five varieties of Gulper roaming the island. Most varieties of Gulper are simply the different stages of the creature’s lifespan, with the youngest being known as Young Gulper Newts; Gulpers which fall under this classification are the smallest and weakest of the species that can be found on the island. As gulpers age they become known as simply Young Gulpers, these Gulpers have a light coloration making them easy to spot and are smaller than their older counterparts. Eventually Gulpers reach an age of maturity and at which point they are called simply Gulpers, by this point in their lives they have developed a much darker coloration which allows them to blend in with their surroundings to a much greater degree than when they were younger. The oldest and largest of these creatures are known by settlers as Gulper Devourers and it is at this stage in their lives when Gulpers are their most dangerous. The fifth and final variety of Gulper are those which have become so highly irradiated by their surroundings that they have started to glow, as such they are called Glowing Gulpers. While not as large as Devourers they can be just as dangerous due to their attacks afflicting their prey with high levels of radiation, which if not handled appropriately can result in death just as much as the bites of the creature.

    Additional Notes:

    While I was originally dubious of their claims, the settlers of Far Harbor showed me a substance they call Gulper Slurry that when consumed has a similar effect on a person to that of a stealhboy. How this actually works I am unsure, as such I would suggest that we investigate this mixture further. So that further research is possible the contents of the mixture are as follows: Acid, Crystal, Gulper Innards and Purified Water.

  • Member
    November 4, 2017

    I just thought I'd point out that the very act of writing the date in this post hurt me physically. You could also argue that I wrote it as the 11th of April, but no it's the stupid American way, so it is the 4th of November.

    Edit: Additionaly I'd forgotten what today's date was when I picked the one for this post, and so they were just random numbers :P

  • Member
    November 4, 2017
    Excellent addition goldie! Even if the date looks goofy :D
  • Member
    November 4, 2017

    This is great Goldie. Another article added to the Bestiary, and a new one for the Travelers Guide.

  • Member
    November 4, 2017

    Very nice and detailed article, even if the date does indeed harm the eyes of all non american readers :P

  • November 4, 2017

    Hahaha, America is stupid and does stuff different from Europe and everyone else jokes. Oh God, they never get annoying and played out. *rolls eyes*

    Besides, all of that this is a pretty good and detailed article.

  • Member
    November 4, 2017

    The Postman said:

    Hahaha, America is stupid and does stuff different from Europe and everyone else jokes. Oh God, they never get annoying and played out. *rolls eyes*

    Crikey! If I'd known that was the case I never would have made the joke, but since I have as an apology I'd like to offer you some Fosters, vegemite and the chance to come down to throw some shrimp on the barbie. See it's not just jokes about America that never get annoying and played out. :P

    Mottyskills said: Excellent addition goldie!

    DeltaFox said:

    This is great Goldie. Another article added to the Bestiary, and a new one for the Travelers Guide.

    Teineeva said:

    Very nice and detailed article

    The Postman said:

    Besides, all of that this is a pretty good and detailed article.

    Thanks guys. This was pretty enjoyable to do, even if I did have a hard time finding Gulpers to take screenshots of and even when I did find them none of them were in trees.

     

  • November 4, 2017

    Golden Fool said:

    The Postman said:

    Hahaha, America is stupid and does stuff different from Europe and everyone else jokes. Oh God, they never get annoying and played out. *rolls eyes*

    Crikey! If I'd known that was the case I never would have made the joke, but since I have as an apology I'd like to offer you some Fosters, vegemite and the chance to come down to throw some shrimp on the barbie. See it's not just jokes about America that never get annoying and played out. :P 

    As of lately, America has been the butt of every joke from Reddit to 9GAG to 4chan. After, awhile it gets very old very quick especially when people act like their country has no problems and are superior. There is no need to apologize I was just making a sarcastic comment because once again I see a dry outdated "joke" or "statement" about how America writes the date as M/D/Y and not D/M/Y.

  • November 4, 2017

    Who said Vegemite? Goldie, you offering Vegemite? 

  • November 4, 2017

    I killed Gulpers with my trusty railway rifle. Now that was fun.