Mob Eclipsals

Not much is known about the origins or motives of the strange, interstellar creatures called Eclipsals. There are stories of them appearing throughout the known universe wherever and whenever there is an eclipse. Though they are not guaranteed to appear during an eclipse, they can appear on almost any world where eclipses occur. How they travel from planet to planet is unknown, since they have never been observed using any form of technology.

​

- Flying Eclipsal by Blind Sniper​

NOTE: I have practically no artistic ability, so any artistic impressions you can post will be welcome. If the image is not yours, please give credit to the original artist when posting. I will give credit wherever it's due. Thank you.

Physiology​

Eclipsals are not named for the eclipses that seem to bring them near, but for their strange appearance. Their flesh absorbs all light that touches it, making them appear jet black except for their single glowing, orange eye and their glowing, orange outline. When seen from above, an Eclipsal's body appears to be about the size of a large dog and teardrop-shaped, with the single eye located at the wide end. Writhing cilia run along both sides of its body, which it uses to propel itself through the air. It has a natural bouyancy, which it appears to be able to control, allowing it to fly through almost any atmosphere and swim through almost any liquid with ease. When seen from the side, its body appears very flat, with the eye protruding from its head. A series of hooks cover the underside of its body, which it can use to climb on any surface when it is not flying.

Studying the internal anatomy of Eclipsals has proven almost impossible. They do not show up on any known form of scanner, and their flesh is too dark for even the best eyes in the galaxy to see in any detail. Those who have touched their flesh reported no physical sensation, just a strange, glowing, orange goo left on their fingers afterward. It is known that Eclipsals do not breathe, and are immune to even the greatest extremes of heat, cold and radiation. However, Eclipsals have little resistance to direct physical damage, and would be easy targets were it not for their numbers.

Eclipsals cannot speak or make any kind of vocal noise, and it has been confirmed that they are not telepathic, yet they do appear to communicate. How this is done is not yet known.


- Angry Eclipsal by Hop843

Behaviour​

Since Eclipsals cannot be detected by scanners, anyone looking to study or hunt them must locate them by sight. Eclipsals seem fascinated by interstellar travelers, and immediately begin following any that they spot, observing them with keen interest. If the traveler they are following goes underground, they land and follow by climbing on any nearby surfaces, flitting from one surface to another almost at random. Eclipsals travel in large groups, and do not usually attack unprovoked. However, if they witness the traveler they are observing dig or build, they immediately turn hostile and attack.

Eclipsals attack by spitting sticky, flaming orbs, which glue themselves in place and continue to do damage after impact. They appear to be able to control the properties of these orbs, filling them with different types of energy, such as electricity, or turning them acidic, or even freezing them solid. Eclipsals prefer flames, but change their attacks if the target proves flame-resistant. The creatures themselves are immune to heat- or cold-based attacks.

Worryingly, these creatures appear to be able to travel through space, matching the speed of even the fastest space vessel. Once Eclipsals start following someone, they will seek them out on any planet they travel to, following them at night. They disperse during the day, although it is not known where they prefer to lair during daytime. When you are in your spaceship, any Eclipsals that are following you are usually visible floating outside the windows. The only way to stop a group of Eclipsals following you is to kill them all. If even one escapes, a fresh group will appear the next night. They can see perfectly in even complete darkness and even through the most sophisticated cloaking device.

Eclipsal varieties​

Normal Eclipsal
These Eclipsals are not very bright, and are slow to adapt to their target's defenses and behaviour in combat, unless they are accompanied by a Seeker. Normal Eclipsals do not have much health, but they make up for this with numbers.

Seeker Eclipsal
Slightly larger and significantly tougher than a normal Eclipsal, each cluster of Eclipsals has a single Seeker leading them. Every Seeker has a unique, glowing mark on their back, different for each one. They are smarter than their lesser kin and adapt much faster to the player's behaviour, strengths and weaknesses. As long as the Seeker is still present, the entire group adapts just as quickly. Players in combat with Eclipsals should kill the Seeker as quickly as possible.

Great Elder
Eclipsals do not die of old age. After passing the age of 1000, they start to grow at an alarming rate, stopping only when they reach a size comparable to a small starship. These Great Elders do not usually follow travelers as younger Eclipsals do, but the more of their kind a player kills, the more likely they are to attract the attention of an angry Great Elder, who will descend to the planet's surface at night to attack. They are saucer-shaped, with their eye in the centre of their body and tentacles in a regular pattern around their circumference.

Great Elders are boss-level creatures with an array of powerful attacks. They can spin fast and lash the air around them with their tentacles, or reach out and try to grab their victim. If they get a hold, they will either try to crush them or blast them with energy spheres. A player can break free by doing moderate damage to the tentacle holding them. At range, the Great Elder can fire energy spheres in small clusters, or retract their tentacles and spin wildly, spraying energy spheres in all directions. Finally, they can lie flat in the air and project a powerful beam from their eye, which can bore holes through softer materials, such as dirt and stone.

Rewards

Killing a Great Elder yields a number of useful items:
30 Eclipsal Gel - Material. See below
10 Eclipsal Skin - Material. See below
20 Eclipse orb - Material. See below
1 Eclipse Eye - Material. Usable in crafting powerful Beam weapons

If you want your own pet Eclipsal, you will first need to make sure that a group of them is following you. You must then make sure that you do not turn them hostile for five nights (so you may want to try this on a world with a short day/night cycle). You can do this by simply restricting your digging and building activities to daytime, when they aren't watching you. On the sixth night, only one Eclipsal (a Seeker) will appear. It will join you and remain with you, even during the day, and will not turn hostile if it sees you digging or building. In fact, if other Eclipsals attack you, it will help you fight them off.

Training your Eclipsal

Seeker Eclipsals are smart, and learn quickly. It won't take much training before you can pick which attacks it favours in combat, although it will still change its attacks if its target proves resistant. It may also switch to a type of attack that the enemy is weak against, so if you're having trouble with a particular enemy, watch your pet and try to use a similar weapon.

A tamed Eclipsal can carry a small number of items for you, but if you give it blocks or building materials, it will drop them immediately. It is not known why they do this, but it cannot be trained out of it.

You can extract 1 sample of Eclipsal Gel every day, 1 Eclipse Orb every 2 days and 1 sample of Eclipse Skin every 3 days from a tame Eclipsal without causing it any significant harm or discomfort.

Customising your Eclipsal

If you give a dye to an Eclipsal, it will swallow it, changing the colour of its glowing outline to match. You can change the colour of its eye separately by applying dye yourself. This does not harm the creature. In fact, it actually seems to enjoy it. Finally, you can change the glowing mark on their back to whatever design suits you, using dyes to change its colour if you prefer.

​

Items​

The following items are dropped by Eclipsals:
Eclipsal Gel - Material. Can be used to make Eclipse Flares and vanity items.
Eclipsal Skin - Material. Can be used to make hazard suits, stealth gear or vanity items.
Eclipse Orb - Material. Can be used to make various energy weapons. Can also be used to store and carry various energy types.

You may use these materials to craft the following items:

Eclipse Flares - Consumable Item. These Flares produce a bright, orange light, and can burn underwater if needed.
Eclipse Suit - Vanity Item. Makes your character appear as a silhouette with a glowing outline. Only your character's eyes are clearly visible. This suit does not provide any stealth benefits.
Black Ops Hazard Suit - Armour. Provides strong resistance to heat, cold and radiation.
Black Ops Stealth Suit - Armour. Provides moderate protection and makes sneaking much easier. It also silences your footsteps.
Pulse Blaster - Two-handed energy rifle. Fires orbs of energy. A selector allows you to choose whether to fire orbs of flame, lightning, cold, or light.

If you have any thoughts on this idea, positive or negative, please post them. I welcome the input.

​

- Flying Eclipsal by Ozymandias

 

This is an awesome idea and i can imagine walking out at night and seeing these orange glowing eyes following you. You decide to build another house and place a block. You turn around and see a one of those orange balls coming towards you.

I wish I could make some art on what I think it looks likein my head.

And they seem a by owerpowered unless they have low health. Keep up the good work

 

~~Edit~~

Normal Eclipsals entry corrected.

Eclipsals are meant to be weak individually, but fight in large groups. Only the Seeker and Great Elder varieties are particularly tough.

 

Cool =)
I actually tried making some stuff , lol hope you like it

 

~~Edit~~

Added. Not quite how I envisioned them, but close enough. Much appreciated.

 

Well, the idea is preety cool.
And the image too.

 

thanks

Lol yeah I had no idea how to draw the, especially with a mouse and thanks too

 

I had a sort of idea thing so I drew it in Paint.net (in like 15 seconds xP):


Edit: I tried again... I think I made it worse :D

 

~~Edit~~

Hop843's image moved (now above "Behaviour" section). Ozymandias' second image added.

The second image is actually a little closer to what I had in mind. Simple, but effective. Thanks!

 

Mah unworthy attempt of animation

 

Not bad, though. It's a little closer to what I had in mind.

~~Edit~~

Ozymandias' picture moved to "Concept art" spoiler at base of entry.
Blind Sniper's animation added.

P.S. Thanks for the contribution.

 

It looks like your animation is actually moving its tendrals.What do you use to animate?

 

GraphicsGale. Six layers, eight frames, about two hours (I'm slooooooow)

 

I want this pet NOW xD they look so cute and destructive

 

I would really like one of these as my pets!

 

There is a spoiler labelled "Taming and Eclipsal" in the OP if you want to know how you could get an Eclipsal pet.

 

i know it was a typo i ment to say i would like this as MY pet

 

Very very good

 

Could you tame more then one?
I want an army!

 

I don't see why not.