Bladedancer Open Species- New Thread

[BirbPolly]

Old topic:  (outdated info!)

 

Please read this post properly before making a Bladedancer! You don't have to fully read sections like biology and history, but I ask that you fully read the rules, trait guide, and at least the basic information of the variants before making one!

 

General rules

• Please credit BirbMonster when posting things online about the species!
• Ask for my permission if you want to insert the Bladedancers into a larger lore or worldbuilding project.
• While the species had other inspirations, none of them were other original species, closed or open! Please don’t compare them to anything or accuse me of copying.
• Please no NSFW or fetish content of this species of any kind! Remember that I (the creator!) am a minor!
• Gore, horror, ect of your own oc/people who are ok with it if their own Bladedancer is ok though!

 

Biology

Bladedancers are mostly carnivorous creatures. Their signature features are their gigantic extra claws and tail spikes, which are filled with a paralysing toxin used to take down prey and battle each-other. Occasionally, they eat fruit when food is scarce, though a few do enjoy the taste! There are no herbivorous/vegetarian Bladedancers.

Standard Bladedancers are typically around 1m-1.5m tall as adults. Tundra variants can reach up to 2m in height (though normally shorter) , while Jungle variants are almost always 1m or shorter.

They have human-like intelligence and can live for up to 60 years on average, becoming adults at about 12 years. Their young hatch from eggs that are laid in small clutches of up to 3 which hatch after 6-7 months. So everything from being born to growing up to dying takes ¾ of the time it takes humans to do it. Because of their instincts they are a naturally ferocious society, with most traditions formed around duelling and hunting.

Subspecies

There are no restrictions on what subspecies your Bladedancer can be! You can pick whichever one appeals to you.

 

Standard

Standard Bladedancers are the simple, temperate-climate variety with no unique traits. They prefer forest and plains environments but sometimes can be spotted wandering into the outskirts of the mountain or tropical regions.

Thanks to the less extreme conditions in their homes allowing them to focus on more than just survival, standard Bladedancers have a more slightly advanced society than the others.

While they are aware of the variations of their own species living in extreme climates, standard Bladedancers typically try to ignore them, due to various reasons such as not speaking the same language, the history behind the reasons for the species, and some with more extreme views seeing them as primitive and discriminating against them.

Tundra

Tundra Bladedancers have adapted for extremely cold climates. They are noticeably larger than standard Bladedancers, with a bulkier body type and more fur. Their blades are more broad and short, resembling a dagger. Occasionally, when the conditions become too extreme, Tundra Bladedancers may hibernate in caves for up to a few months. Their wide feet allow them to plow through thick snow.

They’re actually the most peaceful of all the Bladedancer variants, since they are omnivorous and have a slower metabolism to survive in conditions with less food.

Members of subspecies tend to live in small, nomadic groups. They create camps in leather tents and tell legends passed down generations,

tales of the beasts that lurk in the howling blizzard. They typically don’t mind outsiders and try their best to help them when necessary.

Jungle

This species has adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. They tend to stick to the trees to traverse their densely forested environments. Due to this, they have much smaller frames, prehensile tails, and grasping talons on their feet. Their blades have become curved, not only for combat, but also to help them anchor into tree bark.

They mostly hunt terrestrial animals through stealth, using a technique of dropping down on them from above.

As one would expect from a sapient arboreal species, they live primarily in treehouses, creating bridges to connect trees further apart so they can avoid touching the ground as much as possible. Each village is very tight-knit and untrustworthy of those from other villiages, but even more so of the standard Bladedancers that dare to step into the jungle.

History

While many original species have some sort of mythical creation story surrounding them, Bladedancers evolved naturally in their environment.

Evolution-wise, their intelligence likely started with pack-hunting strategies.

The Great Bladedancer War

When Bladedancer society was beginning, a conflict began to slowly brew within the several towns that had developed. While some wanted to exclusively keep to traditional ways, others wanted reforms in society that they thought would help them develop, such as farming instead of hunting and expanding their towns into different biomes.

Because the groups couldn’t agree on which stance to take, an intense war broke out. Sometimes a whole village would band together under one opinion, and sometimes civil war would make towns crumble from within. Thousands died, and it got to the point that no one even knew who was winning or losing.

In a desperate attempt to escape the war, a few fled as far as they could. While many died simply from the climate, others survived, and these small groups quickly evolved into their own societies.

When the war eventually fizzled out with no clear winner, buildings destroyed and technology set back several years, the three variants remained to redevelop from scratch.

 

Traits and designing your Bladedancer

Design rules

• Common traits are fully open for anyone to add to their Bladedancer
• Rare traits need permission to be added. If I decline your request it’s to keep the amount of them regulated and not out of spite! When asking, list the traits and amount you’re asking for.
• Epic traits cannot be made by anyone! They are only available through adopts created by me, which will usually be a raffle, OTA, ect (nothing that requires real money! This is still an open species after all)
• Do not add any traits that aren’t part of the species! This includes wings, external ears, ect.
• Previous point can also refer to half-Bladedancer hybrids with other animals/original species
• I don’t have a rarity or trait system for accessories and clothing, go wild! The only rule is to stick to their current technology level, so no modern-style clothing or technological stuff like watches and headphones!

 

Horn traits

All Bladedancers have different types of horn potruding from their foreheads, primarily for display reasons.

Extra notes:

• While the long and mega horns look almost identical, this is only due to space limitations! While the depicted image is the standard length for long horns, mega horns can be up to half the height of a Bladedancer’s body.
• You cannot make a Bladedancer with two different horn types, unless it’s a mutation causing slight asymmetry. For example, you can have normal horns with one being a big longer than the other, but you can’t have one normal and one spiral.

Fur traits

While all Bladedancers have a mane (regardless of gender!) they can also have tufts of fur in other places! There are no restrictions to this, expect for:

• Tundra Bladedancers will always also have leg and back fur
• Renember that Jungle Bladedancers have shorter fur, and Tundras have longer!

Here are all the places they can have extra fur:

Spike traits

Unlike fur, extra spikes have a few restrictions on rarity!

EXTRA NOTE: 'Back' spikes and fur can extend across the whole back, not just the tail

That's all the infodumping that I stayed up until 2 am to make for now! I will add more traits + talk more about their lore later (I wanna make some hand anatomy diagrams) but you can already start making one!

If you have any questions, go ahead and ask! I'll be happy to answer them!

[BirbPolly]

:]

[lizardpolly]

ooo this is cool!! i'll definitely make one when i get home 

idk yet if i'll actually add it but if i do could they have a rare trait? just asking in advance 

and also, what colors do they come in?

[BirbPolly]

4 minutes ago, lizardcake said:

ooo this is cool!! i'll definitely make one when i get home 

idk yet if i'll actually add it but if i do could they have a rare trait? just asking in advance 

and also, what colors do they come in?

Since you're my friend and the first person to comment, yeah :3

They can be any colour! Lore-wise muted, natural tones are more common for camoflauge but you can do whatever you want

[lizardpolly]

On 7/12/2024 at 2:27 PM, lizardcake said:

ooo this is cool!! i'll definitely make one when i get home 

idk yet if i'll actually add it but if i do could they have a rare trait? just asking in advance 

and also, what colors do they come in?

here they are!!! hey birb uh. what sort of naming system do bladedancers have because i probably should name them something else than "strawb"

[BirbPolly]

19 minutes ago, lizardcake said:

here they are!!! hey birb uh. what sort of naming system do bladedancers have because i probably should name them something else than "strawb"

Very amazing design!

You can name them strawb if you want lmao, in the old thread I did mention that they were named after things in nature, but I want to give people more creative freedom so you can do whatever name appeals to you

[lizardpolly]

9 minutes ago, BirbMonster said:

Very amazing design!

You can name them strawb if you want lmao, in the old thread I did mention that they were named after things in nature, but I want to give people more creative freedom so you can do whatever name appeals to you

cool! i'm still probably gonna name them something else though lmao

[BirbMonstwo]

Ok so I came up with an idea for an optional naming system:

-verb in present tense—nature-related noun-

so you get names like (I came up with these on the spot)

”Soaring Bird”

”Rushing River”

”Falling Leaf”

informally, you would refer to someone by the second part of the name (Bird, River, Leaf)

 

it’s optional because it’s like. Use it if you care more about lore, but if you prefer having as much freedom as possible you don’t have to