Creature behaviour

Overview

EOSTRA’s creatures and NPCs are inhabitants of the world, not stationary targets. Every one of them runs on the same principles:

• They act only on what they perceive. See Perception.
• Fear comes from events, not levels. See Fear.
• They use the same physical systems as players — the same attacks, projectiles, structures and statuses.
• Each species has its own behaviour type (below), shaped by its mind, training and temperament.

Behaviour types

• Prey — never attacks; flees and panics.
• Skittish — flees; defends when cornered.
• Opportunist — confidence-driven; presses the weak.
• Territorial charger — warns, then charges.
• Pack hunter — coordinated roles.
• Colony swarm — one squeal brings the rest.
• Roost — sleeps until a fight wakes it.
• Web ambusher — senses through webs.
• Shell defender — passive until struck.
• Hostile melee and Hostile ranged — ordinary hostiles.
• Armed guard — trained, equipped defenders.

How they think

• Creature minds — simple, animal or sapient; training; temperament.
• Groups and alarms — local calls, never area-wide aggro.
• Targets and objectives — who they fight, and why.
• Hazards and cover — dangerous ground, telegraphs, cover.
• Dodging projectiles — only when they saw it coming.
• Encounter memory — learning within a fight.
• Witnesses — NPCs who see and tell.
• Mythic signs — reading the world’s greatest powers.
• Elite creatures — stronger variants.

Leashing

If you pull a creature too far from its territory, the encounter ends:

• The creature returns home, and can’t be damaged or re-engaged on the way.
• Once back, it is fully restored and becomes active again.

This keeps encounters honest: creatures can’t be dragged across the map and whittled down.

Creatures

Browse every creature in the Bestiary.