By NatoGreavesy
Jun 24, 2023
The Wasteland world is home to all manner of macabre, menacing, and mysterious monsters, many of which remain an enigma to researchers. This series will delve into the ecology of some of these cryptic creatures.
Bloat Toad – one of the Wasteland’s more comical creatures, the Bloat Toad is downright laughable to look at, with a vibrant blue hide, a gangly gait, and bulging eyes. But it’s appearance and placid demeanour downplay its status as one of the Wasteland’s most dangerous denizens.
Bloat Toads earn their name due to the swollen, pustule-like protrusions all over their body, which they use to store water for their long journeys across inhospitable terrain. The creature’s size means a single individual can absorb considerable amounts of water, and as they usually travel in groups, roving Bloat Toads have been known to drain entire wells and lakes overnight, leaving settlements completely without water.
The toads are quite passive creatures, and with careful and clever work they can be guided away from important waterways, or even domesticated, but what defences they do have make them quite dangerous to work with. Bloat Toads naturally produce a lethal, radioactive poison when threatened, which can be expelled through the skin or spat from its mouth as a ranged attack. This toxin has been known to permanently pollute soil or water sources, making attempts to capture or kill the creature even more disastrous than simply letting it siphon the water it was seeking.
Bloat Toad – one of the Wasteland’s more comical creatures, the Bloat Toad is downright laughable to look at, with a vibrant blue hide, a gangly gait, and bulging eyes. But it’s appearance and placid demeanour downplay its status as one of the Wasteland’s most dangerous denizens.
Bloat Toads earn their name due to the swollen, pustule-like protrusions all over their body, which they use to store water for their long journeys across inhospitable terrain. The creature’s size means a single individual can absorb considerable amounts of water, and as they usually travel in groups, roving Bloat Toads have been known to drain entire wells and lakes overnight, leaving settlements completely without water.
The toads are quite passive creatures, and with careful and clever work they can be guided away from important waterways, or even domesticated, but what defences they do have make them quite dangerous to work with. Bloat Toads naturally produce a lethal, radioactive poison when threatened, which can be expelled through the skin or spat from its mouth as a ranged attack. This toxin has been known to permanently pollute soil or water sources, making attempts to capture or kill the creature even more disastrous than simply letting it siphon the water it was seeking.