Tag Dwellers are medium-sized, semi-intelligent, burrowing creatures that inhabit the Xiobos star system. They currently are only known to inhabit the planet of Mobutune, a very large, terrestrial planet. Observation of Tag Dwellers are limited since they can only be observed via summoning.

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Physical Appearance

Tag Dwellers are medium-sized creatures, roughly 3 feet in length and weigh approximately 25 pounds. When sitting on their hind legs they can around 3 to 3.5 feet tall but on all fours are normally around 2 feet tall. They are insect-like in appearance with a hard exoskeleton that is matte black in colour except underneath the folds in their shell which are bioluminescent blue. Many would compare their appearance to that of the traditional isopod with 4 stocky, spiny legs.

On the front and top of its head, there are 2 sets of eyes. The first pair is positioned towards the front of the face and is significantly larger than its other pair, roughly the size of a human fist, and has two separate pairs of eyelids, one that fully closes the eye and the other that covered the eye in a semi-UV reflecting sheath. The second pair is positioned more on top of the head and only has a single pair of eyelids that fully closes the eyes. These eyes are half of the size of their larger counterparts. The forward-facing eyes have large, rectangular pupils with folded irises while the topmost eyes have rounded pupils that also have folded irises.

On the front of their head, they have large, stone crushing mandibles protruding from both sides of their mouth. These mandibles are spring lock mandibles that are capable of closing at up to speeds of 60 miles an hour via two specialized muscles in the back of their heads. These mandibles can bite with 1000 pounds of force per square inch (roughly the same force as a snapping turtle). The mandibles can carry items up to 5 times the Tag Dweller’s own weight and are capable of crushing basketball-sized soft stones easily, such as limestone. Their mouths are similarly fashioned as that of a traditional caterpillar, enabling them to eat plants, seeds, and similar foods.

Between their large pair of eyes and above their mandibles and mouth is a piece of magnetite that protrudes from their exoskeleton. Usually, the size of the piece is roughly the same size as their smaller set of eyes.

Their legs are strong and spiny, enabling them to move at up to speeds of 20 miles an hour on flat terrain or 15 miles an hour in rocky terrain or in tunnels. The ends of their legs have 3 claw-like protrusions that act as toes. These toes allow for great manoeuvrability on difficult or unstable terrain and are ideal for digging. Their digging capabilities are faster than that of even badgers, able to create a den for itself in hard soil in less than a minute.

While they don’t often make noises, when they are threatened they are able to hiss and make snapping/clicking noises with their mandibles.

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Skill Levels

Master: Wilderness Survival (Subterranean), Charisma

Expert: Weapon-Claw, Weapon-bite, Decryption, Investigation, Physique

Journeyman: Espionage, Husbandry, Cultivation, Intuition, Athletics

Apprentice: Poison crafting, Botany

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Abilities

Bioluminescent Undercoat

One of the primary features of a Tag Dweller is the bioluminescent folds within their exoskeletons. Tags have the ability to bristle the plates on their back and reveal more of their bioluminescent coating. It’s theorized that this is to temporarily blind light-sensitive creatures like that of cave dwellers and night prowlers, though this is unconfirmed.

Hive Mind

Tag Dwellers appear to function on a sort of hive mind. Tag Dwellers, regardless of previous interactions with other Dwellers or direct interaction with certain threats all appear to have the same knowledge and understanding of the threats as each other. They also know when the colony is being attacked as Tag Dwellers will return to the colony in unison in these cases. Whether this hive mind is a naturally developed method of communication similar to that of bees and ants or whether this is Telepathic communication is unknown.

Adaptability

 One of the most notable aspects of a Tag Dweller is its ability to problem-solve and adapt to environmental changes around them. An individual Tag is able to observe threats in their environment return to their nest and come back with a solution to their problem. Some examples of these capabilities are bringing logs and branches from outside to build support in tunnels that have previously caved in and creating rudimentary herbalistic concoctions that deter the predators away from their colony. They are extremely crafty and observant and have come up with solutions to a plethora of problems that plague them.

This isn’t to mention the adaptability between generations. As Tags reproduce (how they reproduce is currently unknown) the new generation of Tags
biologically are adapted to the problems that plague the original Tags. If predators are an issue they develop biological weapons or methods to deter and defeat their predators, or if their colony is plagued by famine then they become metabolically more efficient and thus require less food. The changes between generations can be so drastic that one may consider the new generation to be a different species of Tag entirely. Despite this ability, however, the Tag Dwellers seem to have settled on a particular shape and form, only undergoing minor changes between generations over the past couple of years, thus giving Siliren the ability to begin to identify common features of Tag Dwellers.

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Combat Considerations

Because of their high adaptability, there could potentially be a wide variety of abilities that have yet to be discovered about the Tag Dwellers or have yet to be developed. Interactions with Tag Dwellers should be handled on a case by case basis under careful observation to determine new or changed abilities. If one were to fight a Tag Dweller, it’s best to fight them individually rather than in clusters as their Hive Mind appears to allow them to plan and coordinate attacks and ambushes.

Tag Dwellers have hard exoskeletons that make them almost completely resistant to slashing attacks anywhere except for their bellies and mouths. Bludgeoning weapons such as hammers appear more effective and breaking down their exterior. When attacking with slashing, piercing, or flexible weapons on any part that is not the underbelly, mouth, or eyes, add a -50 to any damage rolls against this creature. When attacking with bludgeoning weapons or attacking the creatures’ weak points, attack as normal.

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Behaviors

Tag Dwellers are extremely social creatures among their own kind. Their burrows, known as a colony, have been observed to have up to 50 individuals living inside, though colonies usually have around 15-25 Tag Dwellers present. Tag Dwellers also appear to be naturally curious, sending out scouts every few days to explore the outside world. Their primary interests appear to be focused on new plants, animals, or environmental changes, supposedly observing these things for many hours if possible. If the Tag does not die in the process of their scouting, they will return to the colony. It’s hypothesized that this is where the sharing of information takes place for future scouts, or any tag Dweller for that matter, will then behave accordingly to these findings and observations.

When interacting with creatures not of their own species, Tag Dwellers are very cautious. They observe and analyse the species well before being willing to interact with them. If the creature appears hostile, in the case of most predators, the Tag Dwellers will avoid these creatures and observe from a considerable distance. But if the creature is not immediately hostile, Tag Dwellers have been known to more willingly interact, getting near and even providing food sources to the animals. In one known instance, these types of interactions have resulted in Tag Dwellers bringing several of the animals to their colony to supposedly create a symbiotic relationship with them.

Because of these behaviours, Tag Dwellers have been labelled as docile creatures. While omnivorous with an exemptional ability to hunt and potentially kill creatures much larger than themselves with their advanced tactics, Tag Dwellers aren’t known to pose much of a threat so long as you do not pose a threat to them.

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Lifespan and Reproduction

Tag Dwellers have a very peculiar reproductive cycle. There doesn’t appear to be any particular time in which Tags reproduce, whether it seasons, time of day, weather, or even location. Tags appear to reproduce exclusively after major discoveries in the environment around them or when the number of individuals in the colony falls below 10. After every instance of new discovery, whether it be a new predator, a new land formation, or a drastic change in the food supply, new Tags are reproduced within around 50 days. While the reproduction of new Tags has yet to be discovered due to no current ability to observe Tag reproduction (Tags have never reproduced under observation or in captivity), it’s hypothesized that Tags produce eggs that hatch into brood. Within the 50 days of discovery, new Tags begin emerging from the colony with the appropriate knowledge and biological adaptations to the discovery.

The exact lifespan of Tag Dwellers has yet to be discovered. Tags, especially scouts, don’t typically live longer than a year due to environmental hazards, and any attempt to keep a Tag in captivity results in the Tag starving itself, thus preventing any long term observations. However, despite their hostile environment cutting the average lifespan of a Tag, it’s known that Tags can live up to approximately 15 years of age as that is the oldest recorded Tag yet to be discovered.

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Market Values

Because Tags are extraterrestrial and are only capable of coming to Siliren via Summoning, any parts related to a Tag Dweller is immensely rare. Even the knowledge of the Tag Dweller’s existence is a niche within the world of Siliren, with only small groups of Summoners or Xenoarchaeologists knowing of its existence.

Knowledge about Tag Dwellers existence would be highly valued among scientists and summoners alike, these people willing to pay a pretty penny to have the knowledge and/or access to these creatures. They would pay even more for information about Tags that has yet to be discovered, particularly their reproduction and inner colony workings.

Tag Dwellers parts also go for pretty remarkable prices, even among the general population who isn’t aware of what it is they are selling. Tag Dweller skeletons are extremely durable and are heat and water-resistant, making them unique items for creating environmentally suitable clothing or even small bits of armour if one has enough large pieces. The most common use of Tag skeletons however is for exotic jewellery or accessories as it is extremely rare to obtain whole pieces of Tag Dweller exoskeletons (most are destroyed or crushed via the means the Tag had died by, leaving only shards of their skeleton behind). Tag Dweller parts other than their exoskeleton usually sell around the same amount as other exotic or extinct creatures since the average person would be unable to identify the creature the parts come from. As such, selling parts like Tag mandibles, eyes, or claws would sell best to collectors who prize rare or exotic beasts.

In terms of living Tag Dwellers, the average person would not likely buy such a creature due to their insect-like appearance and ability to escape any average cage. As such, one would have the same amount of luck selling a Tag Dweller as one would have with selling a giant cockroach. To those who are aware of Tag Dwellers and their rarity, a living Tag is worth nothing more than the sum of their parts for these buyers would know that Tag Dwellers do not sport long lives outside of their home planet and thus the fact the creature is living is mostly irrelevant, if not a hindrance.

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Article Credit goes to Geronimo.