Tardigator

Tardigator

Classification: Microbe-Titan Hybrid Beast
Habitat: Submerged RAD zones, riverbanks, marshlands, and crystal caverns
Elemental Type: Earth / Water / RAD
Status: Aggressive – Area Guardian
Group Name: A grit of Tardigators

Description:
Tardigators are lumbering bio-horrors with the segmented, almost alien anatomy of a tardigrade, combined with the scaly toughness and hunting instincts of an alligator. Stretching to the size of a full-grown gator (10–14 feet long), these RAD-influenced beasts are slow-moving but almost impossible to kill, thanks to their ultra-dense body makeup and regenerative skin.

Often found lurking in the swamps of Heave Island, the crystal-lined rivers of Stone Island, or deep beneath the RAD geysers of Jouven, the Tardigator is considered a "zone guardian"—a creature so tough and stubborn that it becomes part of the landscape until provoked.

Anatomy & Texture:

• Body:

  • Chunky, segmented with eight stumpy legs; like a scaled-up tardigrade with more pronounced muscle mass and armor

  • Walks with a lumbering, undulating motion—legs move in slow waves rather than fast strides

• Skin:

  • Thick, rugged alligator hide stretched over a fat, glistening core

  • Skin is matte charcoal, dark olive, or gray-blue with occasional greenish luminescence in RAD zones

  • Heavily textured with bumps, ridges, and scars; some have RAD-sparkling barnacle-like growths or moss trailing from their backs

• Head:

  • Wide, flattened snout with radial jaws that open slightly wider than a gator’s—lined with sharp, crystalline teeth

  • Two large forward-facing eyes and multiple tiny, dormant photoreceptors that light up in High RAD

Behavior:

• Aquatic Ambusher: Often submerged for days, motionless, waiting for the ripple of prey. Emerges with a slow but devastating lunge

• Zone Anchor: Tardigators are drawn to RAD-heavy zones. Their biology actively resists decay, making them ideal as natural wardens of magical or toxic territory

• Micro-Core Respiration: Their breath cycle is extremely slow, like a heat engine. When agitated, they "vent" through micro-pore steam ducts, releasing bursts of hot, humid air

Abilities:

• #Armor Crush: A slow but crushing bite that ignores physical defense over time

• #Steam Vent: Releases a cone of hot, RAD-infused mist from dorsal vents; causes temporary fog, heat damage, and RAD contamination

• #Burrow Creep: Can phase partially into soft earth or wet terrain to travel short distances underground

• #Skin Harden: Passive defense scaling—when left undisturbed, its hide calcifies over time, increasing resistance to all damage

Weaknesses:

• Lightning and Sonic Magic cause internal disruptions and nerve shock

• Fire is only moderately effective—takes a lot to burn through layered hide

• Vulnerable around leg joints and underbelly pores, especially if flipped or destabilized with terrain-altering spells

Environmental Notes:

• Sometimes found at the base of petrified geysers, guarding magic gems or elemental springs

• Tardigator tracks are wide, splotchy foot-pads that leave four-toed star-shaped imprints—rare and considered an omen by some Folk

• When killed, their flesh begins to rapidly degrade unless treated with Newglea—a sign of their unnatural RAD stability breaking down