BONUS MONSTER 24:

CLASS I Osteophagous Sprite
MAXILLAGEIST

CLASS: ECTOPHASM

Free, additional supplementary monsters for the Mortasheen Tabletop RPG Core Rulebook, created by Jonathan Wojcik, additional writing and all gameplay stats by Bonnie Saucier. For use with the gameplay system by Morgan Mullins!

Description:
This spectral monster has a shape like a floating, transparent tadpole with circular, staring eyes and a small, toothless triangular smile. Jagged, beaklike jaws are visible deeper inside its translucent head, nearly filling it completely.

BIOLOGY:
This small, plentiful Ectophasm feeds infrequently, but better guarantees the success of its intermittent hunts by reinforcing its platelike jaws with a supplementary intake of calcium and rock, gnawing constantly on any limestone, marble or bones it can find. The jaws are light and hollow enough for the monster to carry through air at least sluggishly through a combination of its innate telemagnetic field and biochemical gases, but strong and sharp enough to neatly chomp through the average metahuman tarsus. The full power of its bite is achieved by completely solidifying and flexing its muscleplasm matrix, "locking" the jaws open with extreme pressure before releasing the tension and snapping them shut with enough force to momentarily disconnect them from its inner membranes, requiring at least a second or two to reintegrate them or risk leaving them behind.

The mineralized tissues of the Maxillageist's axelike dentition cannot be loosened like the rest of its molecular structure, and the monster must deliberately discard them if it wishes to phase through solid matter like other Ectophasms. If unable to retrieve either its own jaws or those of another Maxillageist, it must slowly rebuild by surrounding and digesting the necessary materials over the span of weeks or months, by which time it may be absolutely ravenous with hunger for fresh protein.

BEHAVIOR:
A satiated Maxillageist is shy and cowardly, while a hunting Maxillageist takes on a sneaky and conniving attitude. It always prefers to acquire both meat and bone in a single bite and is especially attracted to hands, preferring to bite one off and flee with it as quickly as possible. Retrohumans, who have notable difficulty regrowing or reattaching lost appendages without assistance, refer to these Ectophasms as "thumbsnipes."

More communal than most Ectophasms, a colony of Maxillageist may steadily carve a massive cavern system from limestone or lava rock. Many other feral monsters may take up residence in these networks, sharing just enough food with the Ectophasms to avoid being chewed on more than they can reasonably recover from, and have learned to wield discarded Maxillageist jaws as weapons, tools or traps of their own. They are considered more troublesome pests in the Gravegardens, gnawing holes through the marble obelisks and gluttonously devouring buried bones, but are moe tolerated in Mortasheen's grotesqueries, where their behavior only encourages the gargoyles to grow back more resilient and they may live in symbiosis with Undler, who find them almost as endearing as their own offspring.

Concept Notes:

If you wanted more options for a "little guy" Ectophasm, I guess this is the "Boo" of Mortasheen. The concept started as a tiny, ghostly Dunkleosteus, but the design slowly shifted to incorporate those trendy reconstructions of sacabambaspis.