Altoculus
Michael MacWolff
Cryptologic Name: Oculothorax altoculus
Planar Origin: Materia
Habitat: Temperate forests with nearby caves
Diet: Carnivorous
Appearance & Morphology
The altoculus is an unusual creature with a compact central body, large bat-like wings, and a single prominent eye. It is one of a variety of species with a similar body structure featuring a compact body and prominent central eye known as oculothoraces. This particular species has a shaggy black body and bright yellow eye with a vertical-slitted pupil.
Behavior & Magical Abilities
Altoculi are dark-loving creatures who prefer to roost in caves or in coniferous areas where the foliage is dense enough during daylight hours to allow them to sleep undisturbed. They are nocturnal hunters whose large eye can sense both heat and movement, making it easy to track and catch their prey in the dark. While they do not appear to have an explicit social structure, altoculi do roost together in moderate colonies consisting of anywhere from 20-50 individuals.
Much like bats, altoculi sleep upside-down, but in a very unique way. These creatures do not have feet to grip branches or cave walls, but their magic allows them to manipulate the gravity of objects around them. In essence, they can increase the gravitational pull of small points. Because their bodies are very lightweight, they can create one of these pinprick singularities on a branch or cave ceiling and this allows them to settle on it as though they were upright. This also means they will occasionally sleep “sideways” if there is not enough room on an overhanging surface. Vertical seems to be an explicit preference however, as they have never been observed to choose a sideways roost if an overhead space is available.
Field Notes
The singularities these creatures use to sleep are fascinating and require further study. It is highly uncommon to observe these points impacting anything else in their viscinity so it is possible that the magic used to create the gravity well only interacts with the creatures themselves.
I have encountered three species in the oculothorax family, the altoculus, the ahriman, and tallbird. Other notable members include the beholder, evil eye, peeping eye, and suezo.
OOC Corner
This is my own take on a creature trope that shows up across a variety of popular media. Several of which I mention in the field notes above, and a couple of which will be getting their own entries in time.