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Old September 1st, 2011, 11:38 PM
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Unit Biology: A Theory of Why Who looks like What.

For some background note, I took and enjoyed biology courses in college. I also enjoy thinking about things in great detail that some people just accept as they are. Apparently, HeroScape is no exception. This is a fun project, and if too many people dislike it, no big loss there. So, tonight, for your entertainment, you can read my research as it would have been in the HeroScape Universe.

As many people know, a fair amount of units don't seem to make sense. What I am hoping to do, is to provide a biologically sound theory on why Grut Orcs are Blue, while the Marro lack skin, all the way to why Braxas has such a slender body and tiny arms. Please note that humans will not be discussed, we know all about those filthy creatures This also goes for dwarves, kyrie, and elves, they're similar to humans.

***As science is always evolving, these pages will never be truly completed. I will always be adding more as more discoveries are made.***

Table of Contents:
Theory 1: Nilfheim- Under this table of contents.
Theory 2: Braxas
Theory 3: The Marro
Theory 4: The Orcs
Theory 5: The Fen Hydra
Theory 6: Brunak and the Trolticors

The one that will be discussed in the first post here, Nilfheim, comes to mind, especially.

Nilfheim
A dragon is commonly cold blooded. Nilfheim lives in Icaria, the frozen northern continent of his planet. So, how is this possible?

Let's take a look at other coldblooded creatures that manage to live in the harshest cold climates. Sharks and tuna fish both fit the bill nicely. Their source of heat is through an adaptation known as Counter Current Heat Exchange. Now that's a nice and fancy phrase, but it wont pick up chicks in a bar.

To be simple, Counter Current Heat Exchange is the exchanging of heat from arteries to veins by having them run close to each other. The blood is heated by the heart beating, as the energy of the heart creates heat. The blood flowing from the heart loses heat as it gets closer and closer to the extremities, thus the blood going to the heart would be cold. However, because the arteries heat up the veins, the entire bodies blood supply is stable and able to be maintained.

The biggest flaw of Nilfheim is the biggest part of his sculpt. The wings. They're massive and in the way of a good positioning for us. They're possibly his greatest adaptation for him. The larger the wings, the worse they are for frequent flapping, but the better for gliding. The fact that Nilfheim's wings are so large shows that he probably spends a lot of time gliding above the clouds, where the Sun's heat would be strongest on him. The large wings are also thick, and it can be assumed that there are plenty of capillaries all around them. Capillaries are perfect for picking up and distributing heat.

Next up is his partially segmented body. Look at Nilfheim's sculpt. See how his neck is segmented, as is his tail, but not his abdominal region, nor his arms or legs. His wings are also segmented, but vertically rather than horizontally. This looks nice to us, yes, but it provides him with fully functional and flexible armor where he needs it. The segmentation is found of a few other figures and for good reason. A bulletproof vest has the same pattern inside the Kevlar.

A bulletproof vest has many metal or ceramic plates inside the weaving. These are meant to absorb and deform a bullet, to protect the wearer from the most of the harm that they would take. The ceramic plates also spread the force of the impact over a large area, effectively eliminating the shock damage. Notice how the segmentation stops around where his heart would most likely end.

Now that's good and fun, but why is his abdominal region so exposed? I'll give you a hint, it isn't. Check the six pack on that guy, seriously. The inane muscle mass located in his abdominal region wont be as effective at stopping projectiles as his layered neck armor, but it will slow it down enough to cause minimal damage. Another thing to note is the layered armor is flexible for motion, not for expansion. Breathing would be difficult for anybody if they couldn't expand their chest. The layering also provides mobility, but not omni-directional mobility. That is, he can move his neck around, but he probably has to use a lot of energy to turn his head. His arms and legs aren't armored for mobility.

His wings are vertically segmented for durability. If they were segmented horizontally, and one of those bony appendages in the wing broke, the wing would crumple and lose function. In the way his wings are, a segment can break and he can still maintain flight.

White skin is caused by a few different factors. The first, and most probable, is so Nilfheim can camouflage into his icy, snowy domain. Lighter skin allows for Vitamin D to be created easier. Vitamin D supports bone growth, and as Nilfheim has a lot of bones in important places, such as his wings, arms, legs, especially his wings, he needs the best bones he can get. Every flap of his massive wings would put a huge strain on the bones supporting them. Lighter skin is also better at absorbing heat. This would aid Nilfheim in keeping his core temperature high enough to sustain him.

Unlike fire breathing dragons, who breathe hot fiery doom, Nilfheim breathes ice shards. This baffled me for some time, however it appears as though I have a decent answer. Nilfheim has a ballast, not for hydrogen, but for Dimethyl Sulfide. This is created by bacteria who can convert Methanethiol , the bad breath and fart smelling chemical, into Dimethyl Sulfide. As methanethiol is found in most living things on earth, it can be assumed that it is also on other life sustaining planets. The Dimethyl Sulfide is then able to react with oxygen or nitrogen dioxide in the air to create Dimethyl Sulfoxide, a gas that freezes at around 78 degrees Fahrenheit, or 18.5 degrees Celcius.

The reaction, on paper would look like this:
CH3SH + CH3 > (CH3)2S This is converting Methanethiol to Dimethyl Sulfide
(CH3)2S + O2 > (CH3)2SO + H2O This is Dimethyl Sulfide reacting with oxygen to form Dimethyl Sulfoxide and water.

As Dimethyl Sulfoxide is a clear liquid, it would appear as though Nilfheim is actually breathing ice! However, this is not the case. He is breathing a quick freeze reaction right in the open air, creating ice like shards, which are propelled by the power of his breath.

Finally, the tail. The scythe-tail that is common on dragons in HeroScape. If that didn't give it away, the tail is used for defense. It can be assumed that the end of his tail is hard and bony, perfect as a blunt force weapon. When he would be surrounded by enemies in a hypothetically real world, he would have to swing all that he can to hit as much as possible.

I hope you all enjoyed this rambling of a biological nature. It's really a lot of fun to me to kind of envision what each unit was like in their natural environment and how they evolved and adapted.

The next unit that I am going to bio-theory on is none other than Braxas! However, for those of you that enjoy this writing, that'll have to wait. This page will also be frequently edited as I delve deeper into the research that I have been doing.

Be polite: Don't put politics or religion in your signature!

Last edited by The_X_Marker; August 6th, 2012 at 02:00 PM. Reason: Nilfheim's Ice Breath I'm having too much fun here!
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Old September 1st, 2011, 11:41 PM
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Schulzy Schulzy is offline
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Re: Unit Biology: A Theory of Why Who looks like What.

This is so nerdy, and really silly and pointless.

+rep :P
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Old September 1st, 2011, 11:47 PM
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Re: Unit Biology: A Theory of Why Who looks like What.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Schulzy View Post
This is so nerdy, and really silly and pointless.

+rep :P
This.

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Old September 2nd, 2011, 12:01 AM
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Re: Unit Biology: A Theory of Why Who looks like What.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Schulzy View Post
This is so nerdy, and really silly and pointless.
That's exactly why I did it

Thank you both, and everyone else that read this!

Be polite: Don't put politics or religion in your signature!

Last edited by The_X_Marker; September 2nd, 2011 at 12:10 AM.
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Old September 2nd, 2011, 02:20 AM
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Re: Unit Biology: A Theory of Why Who looks like What.

Interesting…I did get out my Nilfheim and this makes me wonder how much thought the designers actually put in to the atomically correctness of each sculpt. This is pretty deep. Instead of thinking Ice Dragon=White and Blue, maybe they were thinking Nilfy need his Vitamin D .

Comparing him to Zelrig, Nilfheim has larger wings and less muscle on the front ridge of his wings. So maybe Zelrig would have to flap more than Nilfheim. Not that it really matters…it’s just something to think about when…you are running out of things to think about.

Just for more fun, pointless facts, Nilfheim's name comes from Norse Mythology. With just one letter switched, Niflheim is literally “Mist Home” or “Mist World” and the foil to Hel, the fire realm. Jotun may have been related to Jotunheim from the same page on wikipedia.

I’m looking forward to Braxas’s analysis. Could she walk on four legs? That would look awesome!

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Old September 2nd, 2011, 04:20 AM
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Re: Unit Biology: A Theory of Why Who looks like What.

As a biology professor, all I can say is, .

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Old September 2nd, 2011, 09:14 AM
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Re: Unit Biology: A Theory of Why Who looks like What.

But why did he evolve his breath weapon?
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Old September 2nd, 2011, 09:58 AM
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Re: Unit Biology: A Theory of Why Who looks like What.

Quote:
Originally Posted by The_X_Marker View Post
A dragon is commonly cold blooded.
I disagree. What taxonomic group are you considering for a dragon? Reptilia or Archosauria?

Now waiting for 2014!
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Old September 2nd, 2011, 11:29 AM
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Re: Unit Biology: A Theory of Why Who looks like What.

This is a neat thing to do.
The biology for Nif is cool
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Old September 2nd, 2011, 11:52 AM
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Re: Unit Biology: A Theory of Why Who looks like What.

Neat article, I am interested in reading your theory on Braxas as well as the Marro.

Why do the Marro have no skin?
Could Braxas' little wings really support her in flight?
Would the weight of Sujoah's exoskeleton keep her from being able to breath or fly?

These questions and many more keep me up at night.

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Old September 2nd, 2011, 12:26 PM
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Re: Unit Biology: A Theory of Why Who looks like What.

Very fun read. Looking forward to Braxas. I am curious if you will use the T-Rex theory on the arms. Well done.

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Old September 2nd, 2011, 12:46 PM
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Re: Unit Biology: A Theory of Why Who looks like What.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ace_of_Spades View Post
I’m looking forward to Braxas’s analysis. Could she walk on four legs? That would look awesome!
You're going to love this analysis then

Braxas

Icaria has its fair share of dragons, a personal assumption is that the planet Icaria is just a giant dragon brood mother, like the one in the movie How to Train Your Dragon. Of course, I'm just joking around, but you get my point, Icaria is just crawling with dragons.

Braxas is another dragon, a queen of her specie, and most feared by those who managed to escape her. In order to understand where Braxas lives, and her internal anatomy, Her skin is a very important adaptation. COntrary to white skin, black skin is better at repelling heat and radiation as darker skin has higher melatonin. Braxas is a dragon who would live around the equator of Icaria.

Another assumption that can be made is that Braxas isn't much of a flying dragon, she more likely lives in a burrow underground. Her small front arms and small legs, as well as her snakelike body attribute to these findings. Braxas primarily would be seen underground, on all four legs.

Those small legs aren't good at digging, however, but, two of her features are. Look at her horns. They're wider than her body, perfect for making a tunnel for her to be able to walk through. An earth animal that shared this characteristic is the early Rodentia group. The ridge on her neck would protect her neck from falling debris, as its shape would push any out of the way that hit her there.

As a dragon who is most at home underground, her eyes sure are capable looking. Why would a creature need eyes in the dark? Moles feel around, as an example. Lighter eyes are better at seeing in the dark. If she had weak eyes, than her above ground fighting would suffer, or she would depend on another sense, which isn't physically present. With her poisonous acid breath, I assumed that her sense of smell would be temporarily disabled every time she took a poisonous breath. As darker eyes see better in the daylight and lighter eyes see best at night, yellow eyes, which are close to in between light and dark colors, seem to provide the best balance to both dark and light vision.

To prove that she isn't the best flyer, look at her wings. Small, small wings. They're is very little muscle in her wings, as well. Sure, she has a slender body, but look at the way her wings are formed. That is not vertical segmentation, that's mostly horizontal segmentation. When Braxas wants to go about her burrow, her wings would need to fold up, and they do. Imagine, if you will, every segment of her wings folding onto another segment of her wings, until they're folded up. For those of you who want to experiment with the idea, take a piece of paper. Cut it out in the same shape as her wings. Draw in the bony structuring of the wings and fold the paper where each structure meets. Of course, this would mean that Braxas would have weak, flexible wings, however, that's not true. Rats have very flexible skeletons, and are able to withstand a human stepping on their spine with no ill will.

As with many other dragons, her tail is scythe like and she has layering plates. The tail, as stated before, is a blunt force weapon. Her tail, is also a shovel. Her tail is thin, ending on a large, flat bony structure. Perfect for digging, just like a real shovel that you find in your shed. Unlike the tip on another dragon, such as Nilfheim or Mimring, hers is also larger and thinner.

Finally, a question that has almost baffled myself is "how does she breathe poisonous acid?" Even with her adapted to breathing acid, it would still wear down her system. The answer is that, like Nilfheim, she doesn't breathe acid at all! She breathes the components for acid and they form the acid in the open air. Fire breathing dragons have a hydrogen ballast that keeps them afloat and allows them to create a fire when it touches open air. Braxas has a nitric oxide ballast, which isn't as flight conducting, but reacts with open air to create nitrogen dioxide, a poisonous acid.

For those who don't follow chemistry, Nitric Oxide is written as NO. When it makes contact with the open air, it reacts with oxygen, written as O2 to make NO2, which is a toxic acid.

To simplify, the formula looks like this:

2NO + O2 > 2NO2

SO, she does not even breathe the acid at all, she creates it in the air right outside her mouth and just directs it through controlled breathing!

And I hope that's another mystery solved. I edited Nilfheim's study to fit in and answer Hogg's question. Right now I'm debating how to write up the Marro. It's most likely going to be one general overview about their entire race, rather than each individual one.

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Last edited by The_X_Marker; September 2nd, 2011 at 11:02 PM. Reason: The eyes, man, the EYES!
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