Critter

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Critters are NPC life forms with simple behavior patterns. They come in a variety of forms, ranging from benign to horrific monsters that will destroy you instantly. Critters do not take damage in the same way humans, cyborgs and monkeys do. They are immune to stun, temperature, and atmospheric conditions. They can move through space as if they had a jetpack and can safely stroll through a blazing plasma fire. The only way to harm a critter is through brute force damage or laser fire. Because many hostile critters can quickly overpower a human at close quarters, the latter is generally the only safe way to engage them.

Some critters appear normally on the station, such as George the dog, the chef's sidekick Remi, RD's Heisenbee, the docile bat Dr. Acula in medbay and the captain's lovable pet cat Jones. Rock worms have a way of showing up around miners. Skeletons can pop up when a wizard descends on the station. Bats tend to follow when there's a vampire around. Telescience can summon critters through teleport accidents, and other beings lurk in the various dark corners of space on other z-levels. And of course, critters can also be spawned by a bored admin.

Critters can appear in varying degrees of quality. It will be part of their name. The best of their breed will sparkle to indicate that they're a pretty big deal in the space animal kingdom. Food made from these critters will retain their full name, e.g. healthy cockroach-meat taco.