v0.34:Giant sponge

xTATTEREDx  · +FINE+  · *SUPERIOR*  · ≡EXCEPTIONAL≡  · ☼MASTERWORK☼

Giant sponge

S
Urist likes giant sponges for their squishy texture.
Biome
Any Ocean Any Lake Any River
Variations
Sponge - Sponge man - Giant sponge
Attributes
Alignment:	Savage
· Aquatic · Genderless · Exotic mount
Tamed Attributes
Pet value	500
· Exotic pet · Non-Breeding
Not trainable
Size
Max:	560,000 cm3
Age
Adult at:	Birth
Max age:	20-30
Cannot be butchered

v50.14 · v0.47 · v0.34.11 · v0.31 · v0.28 · v0.23 This article is about an older version of DF. More Info · V

A huge immobile sponge.

Giant sponges are larger versions of sponges. They can be found in savage rivers, lakes and oceans, and are one of the most improbably fun new creatures of DF2012.

Physically, giant sponges are blobs made of "sponge" tissue. Despite this harmless appearance, they have earned a reputation similar to that previously held by carp, for they are much more dangerous than they look. If some hapless dwarf appears near their water, giant sponges may feel suddenly threatened and charge (!) the hapless dwarf and engage in combat. They may also become enraged or unconscious, as utterly improbable as that sounds.

"Without a nervous system, the only thing it can feel is ANGER."

Giant sponges cannot be killed in normal combat. They are also the uncontested aquatic contestant for the DF2012 king of beasts. Any kind of edge attack will only tear the body at best, and blunt attacks make no damage at all. This is due to having just one body part, with no blood, no brain, and no way to cut the body into two. Even several bronze colossi wielding adamantine slashing weapons, or throwing punches, will not kill them. Besides being completely invulnerable to combat damage, their large size means they can (and usually will) shatter bones, articulations, bruise organs or even kill a dwarf via headshot using their default push attack. How a giant sponge's soft structural tissue can break a dwarven skull is a mystery for the ages.

Giant Sponge Fun Facts

• Giant sponges are utterly immune to blunt damage and seemingly cannot be killed by edge damage, only "torn"
• Giant sponges do not seem to take damage from being set on fire, although they will die from air-drowning.
• Giant sponges do not explode when striking the ground with enough force, so they are immune to falling damage.
• Giant sponges can only move when attacking or charging other creatures.
• Giant sponges do feel pain, and if hurt enough, will fall unconscious (whatever that means).
• The only way to kill a giant sponge is by airdrowning or by using an insta-kill method such as a dwarven atom smasher, encasing it in obsidian or ice, or dropping a cave-in on it.

Beware embarking on evil water, though; a zombie giant sponge (or even worse, a thralled giant sponge) is not strictly aquatic.

Both sponges and giant sponges are, according to their raws, susceptible to infection. It is not known if sponges can die of infection.

Due to their invulnerability, giant sponges are wonderful training dummies, as long as they will not air-drown. However, your dwarves need to be protected if you want to engage giant sponges in melee, and the giant sponges quickly become unconscious, negating most dwarf experience gains. This can be fixed by making them undead (although a thralled giant sponge will likely be far too fun to be trained on) They are also useful as crossbow training dummies.

According to its raws, the giant sponge can not only be tamed but even ridden as a war beast by invaders. No reports of goblins or elves riding giant sponges has been documented, but maybe its strictly aquatic lifestyle prevents it from being chosen.

Undead giant sponges are less threatening than they would appear, given their habit of collapsing after taking a few hits. A thralled giant sponge is another matter entirely.

Bugs

• Rangers and Hunters may try to hunt the Giant Sponge, wasting bolts that become lost in the water or lodged into the Sponge itself. This may also lead to near endless "Urist McHunterpants Ranger cancels Hunt: Could Not Find Path" messages.

Raws

[CREATURE:GIANT_SPONGE] [COPY_TAGS_FROM:SPONGE] [APPLY_CREATURE_VARIATION:GIANT] [CV_REMOVE_TAG:CHANGE_BODY_SIZE_PERC] [APPLY_CURRENT_CREATURE_VARIATION] [GO_TO_END] [SELECT_CASTE:ALL] [CHANGE_BODY_SIZE_PERC:1120] [GO_TO_START] [NAME:giant sponge:giant sponges:giant sponge] [CASTE_NAME:giant sponge:giant sponges:giant sponge] [DESCRIPTION:A huge immobile sponge.] [POPULATION_NUMBER:250:500] [CREATURE_TILE:'S'] [COLOR:4:0:1] [PET_EXOTIC] [PETVALUE:500] [MOUNT_EXOTIC] [GO_TO_END] [PREFSTRING:squishy texture]

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Birds	Albatross (man, giant) • Barn owl (man, giant) • Bushtit (man, giant) • Cassowary (man, giant) • Cockatiel (man, giant) • Crow (man, giant) • Eagle (man, giant) • Emu (man, giant) • Great horned owl (man, giant) • Grey parrot (man, giant) • Hornbill (man, giant) • Kakapo (man, giant) • Kea (man, giant) • Kestrel (man, giant) • Kiwi (man, giant) • Loon (man, giant) • Lorikeet (man, giant) • Magpie (man, giant) • Masked lovebird (man, giant) • Osprey (man, giant) • Ostrich (man, giant) • Parakeet (man, giant) • Peach-faced lovebird (man, giant) • Penguin (little, emperor, man, giant) • Peregrine falcon (man, giant) • Puffin (man, giant) • Raven (man, giant) • Snowy owl (man, giant) • Sparrow (man, giant) • Swan (man, giant) • White stork (man, giant) • Wren (man, giant)
Bugs	Bark scorpion (man, giant) • Brown recluse spider (man, giant) • Damselfly (man, giant) • Grasshopper (man, giant) • Jumping spider (man, giant) • Louse (man, giant) • Mantis (man, giant) • Moon snail (man, giant) • Mosquito (man, giant) • Moth (man, giant) • Slug (man, giant) • Snail (man, giant) • Thrips (man, giant) • Tick (man, giant)
Desert	Desert tortoise (man, giant) • Gila monster (man, giant) • Leopard gecko (man, giant)
Domestic	Alpaca • Blue peafowl • Cat • Cavy • Chicken • Cow • Dog • Donkey • Duck • Goat • Goose • Guineafowl • Horse • Llama • Mule • Pig • Rabbit • Reindeer • Sheep • Turkey • Water buffalo • Yak
Mountain	Chinchilla (man, giant) • Dark gnome • Hoary marmot • Mountain gnome • Mountain goat • Wolverine (man, giant)
Ocean	Angelshark • Basking shark • Blacktip reef shark • Blue shark • Bluefin tuna • Bluefish • Bull shark • Cod • Coelacanth • Common skate • Conger eel • Crab (man, giant) • Cuttlefish (man, giant) • Elephant seal (man, giant) • Frill shark • Giant grouper • Great barracuda • Great white shark • Halibut • Hammerhead shark • Harp seal (man, giant) • Horseshoe crab (man, giant) • Leopard seal (man, giant) • Longfin mako shark • Manta ray • Marlin • Milkfish • Narwhal (man, giant) • Nautilus (man, giant) • Nurse shark • Ocean sunfish • Octopus (man, giant) • Opah • Orca (man, giant) • Sea lamprey • Shortfin mako shark • Sperm whale (man, giant) • Spiny dogfish • Sponge (man, giant) • Spotted wobbegong • Squid (man, giant) • Stingray • Sturgeon • Swordfish • Tiger shark • Walrus • Whale shark • Whitetip reef shark
River/Lake	Axolotl (man, giant) • Beaver (man, giant) • Carp • Hippo • Leech (man, giant) • Longnose gar • Mink (man, giant) • Otter (river, sea, man, giant) • Pike • Platypus (man, giant) • Pond turtle (man, giant) • Snapping turtle (common, alligator, man, giant) • Tigerfish
Temperate	Adder (man, giant) • Alligator • Badger (man, giant) • Black bear • Bobcat (man, giant) • Buzzard • Capybara (man, giant) • Coati (man, giant) • Copperhead snake (man, giant) • Cougar • Coyote (man, giant) • Deer • Dingo (man, giant) • Echidna (man, giant) • Fox • Gray langur (man, giant) • Green tree frog (man, giant) • Grizzly bear • Groundhog • Hare (man, giant) • Ibex (man, giant) • Kangaroo (man, giant) • Kingsnake (man, giant) • Koala (man, giant) • Moose (man, giant) • Opossum (man, giant) • Panda (man, giant) • Porcupine (man, giant) • Raccoon • Rattlesnake (man, giant) • Red panda (man, giant) • Rhesus macaque • Skunk (man, giant) • Weasel (man, giant) • Wild boar (man, giant) • Wolf • Wombat (man, giant)
Tropical	Aardvark (man, giant) • Anaconda (man, giant) • Armadillo (man, giant) • Aye-aye (man, giant) • Bilou • Black mamba (man, giant) • Black-crested gibbon • Black-handed gibbon • Bonobo • Bushmaster (man, giant) • Capuchin (man, giant) • Cheetah (giant) • Chimpanzee • Elephant • Gazelle • Giant desert scorpion • Giant tortoise (man, giant) • Giraffe • Gorilla • Gray gibbon • Honey badger • Hyena (man, giant) • Impala (man, giant) • Jackal (man, giant) • Jaguar (giant) • King cobra (man, giant) • Leopard (giant) • Lion (giant) • Lion tamarin (man, giant) • Mandrill • Mongoose (man, giant) • Monitor lizard (man, giant) • Ocelot (man, giant) • One-humped camel • Orangutan • Pangolin (man, giant) • Pileated gibbon • Python (man, giant) • Rhinoceros • Saltwater crocodile • Siamang • Silvery gibbon • Sloth (man, giant) • Sloth bear (man, giant) • Spider monkey (man, giant) • Tapir (man, giant) • Tiger (giant, man) • Two-humped camel • Vulture • Warthog • White-browed gibbon • White-handed gibbon
Tundra	Elk • Lynx (man, giant) • Muskox • Polar bear • Stoat (man, giant)
Subterranean	Amethyst man • Blind cave bear • Blind cave ogre • Blood man • Bugbat • Cave blob • Cave crocodile • Cave dragon • Cave floater • Creeping eye • Crundle • Draltha • Drunian • Elk bird • Fire imp • Fire man • Flesh ball • Floating guts • Gabbro man • Giant bat • Giant cave spider • Giant cave swallow • Giant earthworm • Giant mole • Giant olm • Giant rat • Giant toad • Gorlak • Green devourer • Helmet snake • Hungry head • Iron man • Jabberer • Large rat • Magma crab • Magma man • Manera • Molemarian • Mud man • Naked mole dog • Plump helmet man • Pond grabber • Reacher • Rutherer • Troglodyte • Voracious cave crawler
Mammals	Flying squirrel (man, giant) • Hamster (man, giant) • Hedgehog (man, giant)
Miscellaneous	Beak dog • Blizzard man • Foul blendec • Gremlin • Grimeling • Harpy • Ice wolf • Merperson • Nightwing • Ogre • Sasquatch • Satyr • Sea monster • Sea serpent • Strangler • Troll • Unicorn • Yeti
Semi-Megabeasts	Cyclops • Ettin • Giant • Minotaur
Megabeasts	Bronze colossus • Dragon • Forgotten beast • Hydra • Roc • Titan
Nonexistent	Centaur • Chimera • Griffon