Animals are mortal creatures carrying some sort of a role in nature. Some of these creatures have remained unchanged since they were created by the Gods. Many more of them evolved from those first creations. Only a few have been created by Man. Animals can be categorized by diet (carnivore, herbivore, omnivore), frequency (diurnal or nocturnal), or as we're doing below, by family.
Amorph
Goos, mucks, slimes and jellies.
Slimes
Some years ago slimes of different colors appeared everywhere in the mana world. Noone knows where they came from or why they appeared. Thousands of them just appeared over night and now they are roaming the world wandering around aimlessly. Some of the people who observed them claim that they are showing signs of intelligence, but it is very hard to determine how intelligent they really are because they don't seem to communicate with other species or even each other.
Physiology
Blobs of slime of different colors which can change their size rapidly. When they are attacked by weapons or magic they don't seem to be affected at all but after receiving enough damage they suddenly become liquid like water and ooze away into the ground.
Occurence
They can be found in all outdoor areas and in caves, but they seem to avoid enclosed settlements and buildings. Their population seems to stay constant. Even when they are actively hunted attempting to decimate them it doesn't seem to affect their numbers at all.
Behavior
They are constantly moving around in outdoor areas following no apparent pattern (although there are some theories that they are in fact following specific patterns). They don't seem to require any kind of food or drink. When they are attacked they attack back by changing their form into spiky shapes.
Variants
Slimes exist in different colors. Slimes of some colors are more powerful than others. Some of the more powerful slimes are toxic or corrosive.
Bird
Rainbow Bird
I'd like a less generic name than "Rainbow Bird" .. The only thing I had imagined for this bird really, was that perhaps it's always looking for a spot to take a good nap, but that's just because I made it so sleepy-looking. Please submit your ideas for this animal.
Dog
Dogs were created by ancient man. Based on the usual relationship, is that any surprise?
Insect
You think the bugs in your area are huge? Try living in this world. Many insects here are nearly man-sized and there are a few that would simply dwarf a person. Other than their enormity, these creatures are comparable to the insects of the real world. They usually have plenty of legs, lay eggs, are commonly poisonous, often have wings and occasionally wear exoskeletons, etc.
Mana Bug
Appearance
Mana Bugs are large insects sized between 10cm and 30cm. They are strict "manavores" meaning that they feed solely on mana energy and require no food or water. This ability makes them the base of ecosystems in areas where life would be impossible otherwise. They look similar to scarabs. Their most distinctive feature is a crystaline structure on their back that stores mana energy. When the bug is well-fed this crystaline structure usually glows colorful. Its color can vary depending on the type of the mana energy the bug was feeding on.
Occurence
They can usually be found in areas with a high concentration of mana energy. A large population of them can be found in the regions surrounding the mana crystals (but usually not in their direct proximity because of the aggressive Elementals that form there). Spotting a single swarm of them in the wild usually means that some kind of magic phenomenon is nearby.
Behavior
Mana Bugs are usually harmless as long as they don't feel in danger. But they suddenly become very aggressive when someone depletes their only food source by using magic near them. Their pincers are very painful and when they are well-fed they sometimes release their stored mana energy in form of lesser magic attacks. A single Mana Bug is not really a threat for even an inexperienced adventurer. But unfortunately they tend to attack in swarms. A large swarm of erratic Mana Bugs can mean death to even the strongest warriors.
Variants
Due to the usually supernatural conditions in which they live they are quite freqently subjects to strange mutations. There have been reports about Mana Bugs that are highly poisonous, are huge in body size, are capable of frequently casting even sophisticated spells or show signs of high intelligence. But such stories should be taken with a grain of salt as they are usually told by adventurers who don't want to admit that they fled from a bunch of insects.
