Species Guide:
Within a crossroads of small pocket dimensions known as the Catacombs, numerous worlds are connected to each other. On each of these worlds, various species reside, and variously treat each other as playthings, slaves, food, or more rarely, allies.
Sketching Basilisks: Sketching Basilisks are a race of basilisks inhabiting the area around The Great Rift, a time-space eddy that grants them access to a wide range of timelines and dimensions to find subjects. They jealously guard the Rift against more aggressive species. Like most petrifying creatures they use their gazes mostly for their own amusement, in this case, to petrify targets and use them as inspiration for drawings. Their gazes usually are not permanent, lasting from between a few days to a few months, though stronger Sketching Basilisks have a near permanent gaze that can last for years.
Gallery Gorgons: Gallery Gorgons are a race of humanoid lizards, their females having powerful petrifying gazes. They seek to collect statues of mighty warriors, great rulers, handsome and beautiful beings, skilled athletes, and any type of exceptional being. Groups of females establish galleries together, sharing their collections, and allowing the males to tend to the cleaning and cataloguing of the collection.
Nagas: The Nagas are a snake-like species with hypnotic and enslaving powers, as well as the ability to alter the genders of other nagas. They use their abilities to collect large groups of slaves, either for manual labour, or simply as harems to be living decorations within their palaces. Nagas are solitary creatures, and are also notable for their unusual mating behaviours. The initiator of any attempted mating must be capable of overpowering their intended lover's gaze. Should they be successful their chosen one will become their spouse, the two pooling their harems and riches, as well taking it in turns to bear offspring for the other using their ability to change each other's genders to their advantage. Should the aspiring seducer fail however, they will awaken from a trance some time later in a palace stripped bare, taken as spoils by the victorious would-be partner.
Cockatrices: The Cockatrice species is widely varied, spread across most of the worlds within the catacombs. Most have weak petrifying gazes for their own protection, but some rely on dust on their wings, on a paralyzing screech, or a petrifying peck. A mostly peaceful species, though some more aggressive subspecies cockatrices do attack other species from time to time
Collecting Catoblepases: Collecting Catoblepases are creatures that will try to collect anything, usually something they have petrified. Like Wyverns, they have a hoarding instinct, but work together in family groups and try to collect to themes and sets. Sketching Basilisks often trade their artwork with the Catoblepases.
Wyverns: Wyverns are solitary, dragon-like creatures that like to hoard anything that seems valuable. As long as it seems to be important to something, a Wyvern will try and steal it. Fortunately, they are rather small, and have a weak flame breath, meaning that victims of these kleptomaniac drakes can usually recover their stolen goods easily enough. They mate annually, migrating to other worlds, often trying to take the best examples of their collection to attract mates.
Humans: Humans are a widespread and varied species, including many different tribes and nations, as well as many different attitudes and ideologies. Many humans will purchase a sketching basilisk's artwork: but many other species prey on them as subjects and victims. They can manipulate magic, normally using it for mixed purposes.
Elves: Elves are a humanoid species that have a great affinity for nature, and are almost as widespread as humans. They love beautiful things, and are somewhat vain about their own beauty, leading them to be both good customers for the basilisks, as well as good subjects: and targets of other races. Humans and Elves have often uneasy relationships, but often align against Centaurs. Elves have the ability to use magic, often nature-related or for healing purposes.
Centaurs: The Centaurs are an aggressive race of beings that seem to be half horse and half human, split into many smaller factions. They seek to conquer the Catacombs, and beyond. Fortunately, they cannot form long-term alliances, their warlike natures resulting in internal strife and clashes with any large groups that form. Like Elves and Humans, they are capable of manipulating magic, though their tastes lean towards violent and destructive spells.
Characters:
Name: Elzy
Gender: Male
Species: Sketching Basilisk
Elzy is a rare Sketching Basilisk: Though he can petrify and has a gaze strong enough to last for years, he lacks any drawing ability. As a result he uses his statues as inspiration for written works instead.
Name: Snapper
Gender: Male
Species: Sketching Basilisk
Snapper is an associate of Elzy. He has an extremely weak gaze allowing him to only temporarily paralyse a target, meaning if he wishes to draw a statued victim he needs some help - this is usually Elzy. Otherwise, he simply uses their frozen forms to take posed pictures. He tries to avoid using Jester as inevitably she plays a joke on him too, but on occasion the two will join forces for a nefarious pranking scheme.
Name: Jester
Gender: Female
Species: Jokeatrice
Jester is a Jokeatrice, a species of Cockatrice that uses their petrification powers not to hoard statues or as subjects for art, but to play pranks and jokes on targets. With weaker gazes, they cannot petrify targets for long. As a result Jester sometimes enlists Elzy to help her set up more long-term jokes, exploiting the semi-permanent nature of the Sketching Basilisk gaze.
Name: Petra
Gender: Female
Species: Sketching Basilisk
Petra is a Sketching Basilisk, and she is a typical example of a "normal" Basilisk, with fairly average powers, and often a rival of Elzy, as the two have similar tastes in subjects. The two do not get along very well, though Petra does sometimes work with Jester. Often, arguments between her and Elzy are fought over a possible subject, usually descending into criticisms of the other's work. In the rare occasions their target does not escape, the two snipe at each other the entire time they are writing and drawing. They are both however united in hatred of Callion and Bliss.
Name: Callion and Bliss
Gender: Male and Female
Species: Sketching Basilisks
Callion and Bliss are almost perfect Sketching Basilisks. Skilled artists, excellent petrifiers, and working together as a husband-and-wife team, it's perhaps unsurprising that comparative losers like Elzy, Petra, and Snapper really hate their guts. For their part, Callion and Bliss remain unaware of how much their fellow Basilisks despise them, and even if they did learn, it probably wouldn't bother them much.
Name: The Hunter
Gender: Male (usually)
Species: Human (usually)
The Hunter was born a human male an uncertain time ago, before he was both cursed and blessed by powerful magic that made him effectively immortal and immune to most magic. Unfortunately, it also gave him long-term memory loss, and disrupted his morphic field so that while he is immune to magical attacks, his species and even gender are prone to sudden shifts. He has exploited this, however, using his uncertain appearance to allow him to act as a bounty hunter, spy, and occasional party entertainer.