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Sinomegaceros pachyosterus 1. Artwork : Art by Emily Stepp, who did an awesome job with this creature! You can see at the bottom the colors and affect of the different mushroom antlers (sorry for the quality, i can't upload pictures with better resolution, but i have the file, if anyone is interrested to see, just ask ) 2. Dossier Text : Common Name: Sinomegaceros Species : Sinomegaceros pachyosterus Time : Pleistocene Diet : Herbivorous Temperament: Neutral (become aggressive when you’re near their fawns) Wild : This majestic deer like creature, relative to the Megaloceros, its truly quite a sight! Their huge shield-like antlers are really setting them apart. But even with their unique antler, it's not what makes them truly special. Sinomegaceros, like deers like to use hallucinogenic mushrooms, but on the Aberration Ark, with the presence of mutagenic molten element, something wonderful (or horrifying happened): They adapted and developed a symbiosis with mushrooms, and consuming one, trigger dormant mutation allowing them to change and use spores of different species of mushrooms, which are at their fullest potential within the Sinomegaceros body. Domesticated: Sinomegaceros is a really useful creature to venture around the Aberration Ark, with several temporary forms induced with different mushrooms and spores. Some forms can get you across molten element region without harm, fend off Reapers and Nameless with charge light, across water, or even turn into an ethereal spore form. Additionally they can protect you from various ill effects from creatures, even heal you. With that they also seem to have developed powerful ways to damage their foes. They are as magnificent as they are creepy, if you really think about it. 3. Taming : To tame a Sinomegaceros, you must feed mushroom brew regularly to a Sinomegaceros fawn to help it grow spores inside its body. The adults will attack you, you have to pacify them with Pachyrhinosaurus, or immobilizing them (net projectiles, bolas, resine from rhyniognatha, freezing with the owl,...), stun them, or tranq them. When taming is at 50%, adults will start to eat a mushroom to turn into one of the mushroom induced forms. At that point, you have to trap them with bear traps, and continue feeding the fawn with mushroom brew. 4. Abilities : All forms are really good climbers like goats and can jump pretty high. They’re immune to all negative effects of spores, Reaper queen “spores”, and poison. Forms are triggered by eating a mushroom, they are temporary. Regular form: Left Click: Front/back kick depending on where you’re looking. Right Click: Headbutt with its horns, hold to charge creatures in front of you. Male: Bellow: Herd boost for Sinomegaceros and reduce other Sinomegaceros cooldown. Negate pack boost from enemies. Female: Increase speed, attack speed. X: Shield Antlers. Lower the antlers to reduce damage. Give resistance to nearby allies and “shield” from some effects like fear. Bioluminescent form (Auric mushroom): Left Click: Front/back kick depending on where you’re looking. Right Click: Headbutt. Hold to emit a charged lightning bolt from antlers that does additional damages to Reaper, seekers, Nameless, Desmodus, Megalosaurus. Male: Bellow: Increase its own attack speed, and increase the melee damage, lower stamina consumption and decrease the cooldown of allies nearby Female: Shield Antlers. Lower the Antlers to greatly reduce damage coming from the front. Give resistance to nearby allies and “shield” from some effects like fear. X: Flash of light that blind enemies and reveals invisible creatures, stopping them from turning invisible again. Passive: its horns can emit charged light like glow pets. Can charge batteries in their inventory, but increase hunger. Radioactive form (Element branched mushroom spores): Left Click: Front/back kick depending on where you’re looking. Right Click: Headbutt. Hold to trigger an explosive radioactive blast from its antlers Bellow: Increase its own attack speed, and increase the melee damage, lower stamina consumption and decrease the cooldown of allies nearby. Female: Shield Antlers. Lower the Antlers to greatly reduce damage coming from the front. Give resistance to nearby allies and “shield” from some effects like fear. X: Emit a powerful wave of radiation that inflict a more powerful radiation sickness that does more damage, reduce health regeneration, and increase damage from other sources. Additional damages to TEK creatures and affected creatures can’t use teleportation abilities far a time. Passive: The Sinomegaceros and its rider are completely immune to radiation. Infectious form (Rare Mushroom): Left Click: Front/back kick depending on where you’re looking. Right Click: Headbutt. Hold to trigger an infectious headbutt. The target is plagued with spores that drain its health to heal the Sinomegaceros. Male: Bellow: Increase attack speed, and increase the melee damage, lower stamina consumption and decrease the cooldown of allies nearby Female: Shield Antlers. Lower the Antlers to greatly reduce damage coming from the front. Give resistance to nearby allies and “shield” from some effects like fear. X: Parasitic link. Target a creature to lower its stats and increasing your own, can “steal” positive status effects from the target. Passive: Immune to poisons, and vampiric effects. Use spores to eat nearby corpses to heal itself. Soaked form (Aquatic mushroom): Left Click: Front/back kick depending on where you’re looking. Right Click: Headbutt. Hold to send steam at your target. Inflict damages and Scalded status. And on impact Emit a mist that lowers visibility, like a sandstorm. Extinguish fire, fire based attacks and explosive, while increasing the effects of electric (conduct electricity in all the mist) and ice (freeze targets more easily) based attacks. Trigger hydration bonus for allies that can have it. Male: Bellow: Increase its own attack speed, and increase the melee damage, lower stamina consumption and decrease the cooldown of allies nearby Female: Shield Antlers. Lower the Antlers to greatly reduce damage coming from the front. Give resistance to nearby allies and “shield” from some effects like fear. X: High pressure water blades that cause bleed to creatures around. Additional damages to armors. Passive: fast swimmer, don’t breath underwater. Emit regularly bubbles underwater that can refill your oxygen. Can run on water if you hold space on the surface. Take less damage from fire. Trigger the hydration status while swimming/on water, or when it rains. Water nearby crops. Chilling form (Freezing spores mushroom): Left Click: Front/back kick depending on where you’re looking. Right Click: Headbutt. Hold to send sharp icicles that slow the target. Male: Bellow: Increase its own attack speed, and increase the melee damage, lower stamina consumption and decrease the cooldown of allies nearby Female: Shield Antlers. Lower the Antlers to greatly reduce damage coming from the front. Give resistance to nearby allies and “shield” from some effects like fear. X: Emit a cold wave that can freeze creatures. Trigger the increased defense status in cold weather. Passive: Protect from hypothermia and cool in hot weather (even on Scorched Earth) and protect from the wasteland status. Increase defense in cold weather. Can trigger an ice trail to run and run on water, slow enemies on contact. Inventory acts like a refrigerator. Symbiotic form (Ascorbic mushroom): Left Click: Front/back kick depending on where you’re looking. Right Click: Headbutt. Hold to target an ally and establish a symbiotic link. Allow to share positive status (even status triggered by abilities), boost both the target and the Sinomegaceros, and remove negative status for the duration, distance doesn’t matter for the link to work. Male: Bellow: Increase its own attack speed, and increase the melee damage, lower stamina consumption and decrease the cooldown of allies nearby Female: Shield Antlers. Lower the Antlers to greatly reduce damage coming from the front. Give resistance to nearby allies. X: Healing pulse like Daedon. If corpses are nearby, consume less food to heal. Passive: Resources spoil less quickly in its inventory. Inventory act has a preserving bin. Negative status effects from nearby allies last for a fewer amount of time. Sporulating form (Aggeravic mushroom): Left Click: Front/back kick depending on where you’re looking. Right Click: Headbutt. Hold to send waves of torpor inducing spores from the antlers. Male: Bellow: Increase its own attack speed, and increase the melee damage, lower stamina consumption and decrease the cooldown of allies nearby Female: Shield Antlers. Lower the Antlers to greatly reduce damage coming from the front. Give resistance to nearby allies. X: Turn into a cloud of spores to travel free of constraints, if you target a creature, you can temporarily possess it. Passive: Jump surrounded by spores, hold to float/glide down, doesn’t take any fall damage. You can make fertilizer (with feces and spoiled meat) and refertilizer from its inventory. High-tened form (Hallucinogenic spores): Left Click: Front/back kick depending on where you’re looking. Right Click: Headbutt. Hold to trigger an hallucination that forces creatures to attack a target for a short duration. Male: Bellow: Increase its own attack speed, and increase the melee damage, lower stamina consumption and decrease the cooldown of allies nearby Female: Shield Antlers. Lower the Antlers to greatly reduce damage coming from the front. Give resistance to nearby allies. X: Create a temporary double while concealing itself. The double will roam around if you target the environment or flee if you’re attacked, or attack if you target a creature. Passive: Heighten the senses of the Sinomegaceros to see nearby creatures even through obstacles. 5. Miscellanous : Spawn in the Fertile region. They eat berries in normal form and spoiled meat in mushroom form. Using mushrooms could have effects on the Sinomegaceros, like an addiction/withdrawal, that have different effects depending on if you use the same mushroom or not, for example. Passively gather “spores” while going through mushrooms. You can gather spore clusters from the 5 existing mushroom items or from the three spores hazards in Aberration. You can use several of them to cultivate mushrooms (it's the only way to gather them). Or to craft spore grenades in the Sinomegaceros inventory, that have different effects depending on which kind of spore you’re using. - Like Auric mushroom spore grenade produce a charge light spore cloud that remains for a certain time, lighting the place and doing damage to nocturnal creatures/Reapers and Nameless and blind enemies. -Element branched mushroom spore grenade produce a radioactive cloud of mushroom that remain for a time, doing a few damage, and slowing health regeneration. -Rare mushroom spore grenade produce a toxic cloud of spores that plague enemies, does damage, and lower the damage they make. -Ascorbic mushroom spore grenade heal and remove some negative status effects. -Freezing mushroom spore grenade create a cloud of spores that can freeze. -Aquatic mushroom spore grenade can create a mist of spores that can extinguish fire based attacks, improve lightning and ice attacks and trigger hydration bonus. -The hallucinogenic spore grenade turns wild creatures against each other for a limited time. -The aggevaric spore grenade make you and your tames faster, jump higher, glide when you fall, and remove fall damage. -Each spore type gives a different spore grenade. Each type of spore give a specific mushroom type that you can cultivate. All mushroom give fungal wood, fungal leather (a new resource that can replace hide and fiber), spores of the given mushroom, and different mushroom slime depending on which kind of mushroom you cultivate: -Auric mushroom slime is like angler gel, but can be put on a torch, in campfires and can be dyed to emit a specific color. You can also apply it to tames or players to emit charge light for a time. -Element branched mushroom slime can protect the players and tames from radiation for a time. -Freezing mushroom slime can protect the player and tames from heat and lava for a time. When put into a campfire or on a torch, produce frostfire that can cool down around it. -Aquatic mushroom slime protect from fire and allow to breath water for a time (and give hydration bonus) -Rare mushroom slime can protect players and tames from poison, diseases, “vampiric effects” and spores for a time. -Ascorbic mushroom slime can be used to stop resources from spoiling for a time, and increase health regeneration when applied to the player or a tame and some negative status like bleeding are removed faster. -Aggevaric mushroom slime protects from torpor, can be used as refertilizer, and when applied to a player or tames turn you into spores when “running” allowing you to move free of gravity. -Hallucinogenic mushroom slime protects from fear, mind-control, stun, mammoth roar,... Sinomegaceros, when in a mushroom induced form, can also secrete mushroom slime of the given type by going into the radial menu of the creature, but by doing so, your creature will consume more food. In their regular forms, they looks like deer with unique shield-like antlers, that looks a little like mushrooms. When in a mushroom induced form, their antlers turn into bioluminescent mushrooms each form with its own color and visual effect. Males have mushrooms on their neck and some on their body, while females have glowing patterns on their body. -Bioluminescent form: Golden antlers, with some spores and rays of light effect around the antlers. Golden mushrooms/bioluminecent patterns on the body -Radioactive form: Purple antlers, with some spores and “heat distortion” effect around the antlers. Purple mushrooms/bioluminecent patterns on the body. -Infectious form: Light red antlers, with a lot of spore clouds that seem “heavy” and drip like blood around the antlers. Red mushrooms/bioluminecent patterns on the body. -Soaked form: Blue antlers, with a dripping effect and mist from the antlers. Blue mushrooms/bioluminecent patterns on the body. -Chilling form: White/Really light blue antlers, with some spores and frost effect around the antlers. White/really light blue mushrooms/bioluminecent patterns on the body. -Symbiotic form: Green antlers, with a lot of spore clouds in a halo around the antlers. Green mushrooms/bioluminecent patterns on the body. -Sporulating form: Orange antlers, with spore clouds all around the body. Orange mushrooms/bioluminecent patterns on the body. -Hightened form: Light pink antlers, with some spores and waves of rainbow effect around the antlers. Light pink mushrooms/bioluminecent patterns on the body. While “force feeding” a mushroom can change the Sinomegaceros in a mushroom induced form, giving another mushroom of another type change its form, and force feeding a rare flower turns it back into its regular form. Of course the forms being temporary you can also just wait for it to turn back into its regular form. Every form has its own mushroom antlers forms and bioluminescent patterns on their body. The idea for that creature was that I wanted something able to use mushrooms for different effects. Plus I wanted a charge light creature that resembled a “grown up” version of a Shinehorn. So I looked for animals that used mushrooms, I found deers can eat hallucinogenic mushrooms, it was right in the theme. Plus by looking into prehistoric deers I found out of the Sinomegaceros, a not really known creature, that have antlers...That kind of look like mushrooms! That was perfect! Then I remembered Sawsbuck, a Pokemon that I love, and bloom deers, a creature for a game that still hasn't been released: Everwild. Overall, it seems like a PERFECT match for the Aberration. Though there are many,many things for that creature, I wish that there was spores/mushrooms for two additional forms (scorching and shocking). If this creature doesn't make it this time, i plan on changing the artwork and add another type of variant dufferent from mushrooms. If you have any suggestions feel free to leave it ;-).

There is already a post so check it here: Diprotodon was a genus of australian marsupials that went extinct around 46.000 years ago. They had a lifestyle like the actual wombats. In Ark, they have adapted to the wild and savage Aberration's conditions from the top (the surface) to the bottom (the deepest caves). They are a medium-late tame especially useful in every area, but they are sleepy too. DOSSIER WILD Diprotodon is a genus that contains 4 sub species that you can find on the fertile zone of Aberration's cave system. They look very peaceful and calm until you bother them while they take a nap. Diprotodon´s heavy weight helps them to carry up to two medium creatures such as ravagers, raptors... that can be released in the middle of a combat, or maintained on the saddle so they can use their abilities such as parasaur's roar. While they wander on the plains, they will randomly dig a small hole in the ground where you can find valuable items, with the help of an already tamed one, so it is a good idea to keep some wild specimens. DOMESTICATED To tame one of these gentle beasts you must play with them. They love to hide items underground and you will have to find them so your friendship will improve. Apparently, the Diprotodon sub-species only differ on their fur pattern, but they have plenty of different abilities. By now I have named them as: D.ven. they can unearth the hidden items underground and they can even track dinos or resources smelling their scent; D.gra. they have the ability to trample the ground breaking rocks, trees and bushes, and even stunning dinos; D.hyd. they can throw different items that are a good help for the combat, they have developed a fierce bite to face Aberration's biggest predators; and lastly, D.odo. (or also called as the hairy diprotodons), they have evolved their fur structure and now they can retain scents and other properties on their fur, with this skill they can survive on the wildest environments such as the burning surface, or even the radiated depths. Diprotodons spawn on the fertile green zone on small groups from 3 to 5 adult specimens and 1 or 2 babies, they wander and dig some holes on the ground hiding different objects like resources, weapons, tools... They like to sleep and are always calm, but if you approach too much while they are taking a nap or if you attack them, they will show their fierce side. It is a good idea to keep a small group on a medium enclosure wandering so you get free items similar to Gacha, but it is not that simple, you will need help from already tamed diprotodons (I will that explain later). The taming process is a bit complex (at first time), but it is fun too. you will have to find a baby alone, if the adults near see you they will attack you so you may have to kill them or take away the baby which is simpler. The babies are very curious and will follow you if you have honey or rare flower on the last spot of the tool bar (like Ferox do with element). To start the tame, you must give them one of the two items, then you will have to give them special ones such as crops, gems, pearls, sap... If the item is common the tame will increase only a bit, but if it´s a rare one such as black pearls, the tame will advance faster. Once you give them the item, they will knock you they will start digging a random number of holes from 4-8 (only for the first time); then after you wake up you will have to find the item hidden on one of the holes, if you don't, they will hit you and the taming effectiveness will decrease, you only have two opportunities for item and 3 opportunities to fail in each tame. This process would be easier with the help of a sniffer diprotodon that is able to smell if there is an item in the hole. Once tamed, you will have to care for the babies and feed them until they grow. But fortunately, if you have a female Diprotodon tamed, you will have Diprotodon milk (generated only on the female's inventory but slow because it is a useful item) this item helps them grow faster but they gain a buff so you cannot feed them milk all the time, just after a period of some minutes. As the dossier says, there are four distinct species, each one with their own pattern. All of them have some abilities in common: -High health and oxygen (while being in the water the player doesn´t lose oxygen because their fur retains bubbles of air underwater, so it is helpful for harvesting underwater resources). -They are immune to earthquakes because of their heavy weight (this means that the screen won´t move while there is an earthquake). -They can be mounted with or without saddle. The saddle is unlocked at a medium level and has two baskets to carry two small or medium dinos (from Dodos to Parasaurs). With another key (a different "attack") the dinos of the baskets are released and they attack if they are neutral/aggressive. -The main attack is a hit with one of their front legs, that deals damage on area. -They have fatigue level too (that could be a new stat for them) if this stat runs out, they will start to sleep, no matter where they are. This stat decreases using their species unique abilities. The milk can be used to for increasing this stat, so they do not fall sleep. The 4 fur patterns are: plain (sniffer), spotted (tank), stripped (hairy) and dotted (attacker). Their hair glows in the dark of the bio-luminescent region (with cyan, lilac, violet and blue tones) and the molten region (with pink, purple and red tones). The four sub-species have different abilities and a higher stat compared to the other ones: D.venatodix-plain/sniffer: -Higher stat: speed. -Sniff (new attack): can be used to check if there is an item on a hole; or to track dinos (you must sniff the death body of that dino species) or resources (you have to sniff the resource thrown on the ground). Then some marks like Parasaur's enemies will show you where the nearest dinos or resources of that kind are. D.gravirrus-spotted/tank: -Higher stat: weight. -Stomp (new attack): to stun dinos, break bushes, trees or rocks with their back legs. -While wandering they can pick up items from the ground such as earthquakes' items. D.odoriferum-stripped/hairy: -Higher stat: stamina. -They can cover their fur with different objects this ability consumes one item of the inventory every certain short interval of time and to start this ability there is a small bar of items on the left of the screen similar to Mek's gasoline level for choosing the item): sap (surface's sun protector), gas ball (immunity to radiation), rare flowers (the Diprotodon is followed by other Diprotodons and herbivore dinos), gems (increase defense) or insect repellent. -They can cover their fur with the scent of an object (you have to make them consume the item and they gain a buff for some seconds/minutes): nameless venom (the Diprotodon is ignored by nameless), reaper pheromone (reaper queens follow the Diprotodon so they can be trapped) and angler gel (the Diprotodon glows like small shoulder dinos like Shinehorn). D.hydrimicus-dotted/attacker: -Higher stat: damage. -They have a throwing attack that leaves an area on the ground. They can throw honey (slow down), gas balls (increases torpor) or oil (to burn it). This Diprotodon can stay on turret mode such as Velonasaur and consumes items from its inventory (like the sniffer, it has a bar to select the projectile). -They have a bite attack too. A well-planned Diprotodon formation won´t stop you exploration around the Aberration’s caves and surface. For example, to dive in radiation zones, a hairy Diprotodon will give the nearest creatures immunity to radiation. If your plan is to steal some Rockdrake’s eggs, some attacker Diprotodons as companions will help you to get rid of the beasts. You could even count on a tank to receive all the damage and a sniffer to find the eggs more easily. And this is not considering the dinos carried by them on their saddle. As you can see, each species has its own range of abilities, but combined with a good strategy they can face all the aberrant dangers that await them in this savage world. They are incredibly strong and adapted to every environment, but they have a weakness (already explained before), their sleepiness, that could lead to a failed battle. They may fall sleep on half of a combat, and their fatigue level cannot be increased by level points, so you must be conscious about that. DISCLAIMERS -I am not a professional artist I have tried my best on the dossier and the artworks. I would appreciate any advice for the next drawings. -All the drawings are mine except the dossier icons and templates. -The species names are not real; these names have been created by me combining Latin words related to their own abilities. The original species is Diprotodon optatum. -I know these are too many abilities for one creature but I think the game needs a multitasking ground creature. Any of these abilities can be modified and I would appreciate every advice or idea for the concept. -English is not my first language so please if there are any mistakes let me know on the comments. I am sorry in advance for any mistakes. My objective is to add different and unknown creatures to the game so they can be seen by new people that may discover their amazing potential. Of course, the extinct Diprotodon did not have these abilities, but they were amazing as all the creatures of our planet. I think Ark needs to deepen about australian extinct fauna (and Cenozoic megafauna too), Diprotodon is the third marsupial on the game and a new way to appreciate Australia's unusual fauna. Thank you so much for your attention. Only your view and reading of my post is especially important to me and I appreciate it. I hope you like my Diprotodon concept!! Thanks again.