Episode 9: The Spider Man

Gee whiz, yet another violent sentient race on Amzot!

Like the Mole Men, the Spider Men dwell underground. I'm theorizing they are nomadic, with the Endless Caves that are identified as their home large enough to allow for that. They raid the surface for slaves and resources. They have technology, but aren't organized enough to produce anything other than their web guns. Not that the web guns aren't dangerous--if that webbing is strong enough to hold Torgo prisoner for even a short time, then it's pretty effective stuff.

With every episode, we get a better sense of how epic the battles and dangers to carve out a safe place on Amzot must have been when Zandor, his family and his genetically-engineered creatures first arrived. The Monkey People, Dorgytes and other peaceful peoples must have suffered for centuries before our heroes brought relative peace. This is a story that MUST someday be told.

AMZOT—DAY SIDE

A--Desert (mesas, cliffs, occasional tar pits, occasional flora including Iron Trees) The home of the fortunately rare Giant Vultures. The north end of the desert area contains the White Cliffs.

B-Jungle (various flora, including Rubber Vines & Kona-nuts. Also, Lizard-Birds, ants, grubs & snails)

C-Canopy Trees

E—Endless Caves: On the surface, the terrain is very much like the desert area near the Herculoids' home. Underneath this is the domain of the Spider Men. These are four-foot tall insect-like humanoids. They are sentient, have a language, and have the technology to produce “web guns,” which fire blobs of sticky and very strong webs. They train large ants the size of small ponies to use as mounts. The Spider Men are a nomadic society, though their domain is largely underground in the huge and labyrinthian Endless Caves. They conduct raids on the Mole Men (traveling to the Mole Men domain via secret tunnels) and occasional raid the surface for slaves and/or resources. Because they are tribal, they have never banded together strongly enough to be the threat that the Mole Men and Parrot People are, but they are still dangerous.

U-Underground domain of the Mole Men. The Mole Men are small but resilient humanoid creatures with a monarchical government. They have a technological society, with the skill to produce energy weapons and advanced vehicles such as hovercraft. They were once very aggressive, conquering vast portions of the surface world. Only internal dissension among them (some factions of the Mole Men society were more pacifistic) prevented them from gaining supremacy over the technologically backwards Parrot People. They are now largely contained in their underground domain by the Herculoids.

1. Dark River--flows south from jungle, with a 300-foot high waterfall known as The Bottomless Waterfall located not far out of the jungle.

2. Monkey-People--strong but shy & unaggressive flying monkeys. They are semi-sentient, with a very primitive language and loose tribal structure. They eat plants, insects and small mollusks.

3. Hill area that is home to the Parrot People. They are avian humanoids with a warlike, aggressive culture that once enslaved the Monkey People. They are omnivorous & have a sophisticated language and some technology, allowing them to make clothes and fashion wooden clubs. They are largely contained to the hill area due to their fear of the Herculoids.

Iron Trees--Large (50 foot or higher) trees that sparsely populate the desert area. These trees have very deep roots to access underground water sources. Their name derives from their extremely tough outer bark, which can withstand violent impacts without showing any damage. Zandor's shield is made from Iron Tree bark.

Rubber Vines--Thick, pliable vines that grow down from the limbs of certain tall trees. They anchor themselves in the ground to search for additional water. Zandor has learned to use the vines as personal catapults to vacillitate rapid travel through the jungle.

Canopy Trees—Large trees whose thick, tough foliage form a sort-of ledge half-way up the trunk, with more foliage forming a roof. Zandor and his family make a home in one of these trees.

Kona Nuts--a tasty fruit found in the jungles of Amzot. In size, shape and taste, it is nearly identical to Earth's coconut.

Lizard-Birds—A bird/reptile hybrid about the size of Earth’s condor.

Giant Vultures—These very large predatory bird/reptile hybrids are more reminiscent of pterodactyls than Earth’s vultures. They like to carry captured prey back to their nests while the prey is still living, then consume it there. Giant vultures are solitary, living alone when not in heat.

Giant Ants—Subterranean ants the size of small ponies that live in the Endless Caves. They  have the intelligence and capacity to be trained similar to ponies as well, being used as mounts by the Spider Men. They can run at very fast speeds for short distances.

AMZOT—Night side.

One of Amzot’s hemispheres is in perpetual darkness.

1: The Stone Forest—an area in which many stone towers give the impression of having grown there like trees. Some of the small rocks are “flare rocks,” which generate bursts of light upon impact. This area also contains many cliffs and chasms. The following fauna lives here:

The Dorgytes—A sentient species of pygmy-sized humanoids with large eyes designed to allow them to see in the dark. In fact, Dorgytes can’t survive for lengthy periods of time in direct sunlight. They build huts in the “branches” of the towers in the Stone Forest and have limited technology.

Night Scarabs—Semi-sentient species of insect-people. The Scarabs are carnivores and lurk in the shadows in packs, leaping out at helpless and unsuspecting prey but running when danger seems to threaten.

Hooded Caterpillar—This creature is about 20 feet long. Able to fire the spikes that grow out of its body, it is carnivorous and very aggressive.

Armored Killer—About the size of an Earth pony, this four-legged carnivore is also aggressive. It is protected by a thick, spiked carapace.

Electro-Beetles—5-foot long insects able to fire energy blasts from their antenna. They are carnivorous and travel in packs, working together via instinct.