Crana

Crana.jpg
Crana
(???)
Creature information
Type Insect
Homeworld ???
Environment Jungle
Average mass ???
Average length almost 1 meter
Average height ???
Creature stats
System ???
STR ???
BOD ???
DEX ???
RFL ???
WIL ???
EDG ???
Traits ???
Skills ???
Size ???
Armor ???
Attack ???

The Crana is a predatory insectoid found on scattered worlds throughout the Inner Sphere and Clan space. Its original homeworld was not mentioned.

Description[edit]

These aggressive creatures can measure up to almost a meter in length. They possess multiple large claws, are covered in thick, bony scales and have a tube-like mouth. They feed on warm-blooded creatures (including humans) and attack their targets by clawing onto a victim while trying to insert their mouths into a major blood vessel. The Crana's mouth contains a paralyzing toxin that immobilizes its prey while it feeds upon the target's blood. On human-sized prey or larger, the Crana may deposit up to 50 eggs in the victim (crana are asexual and can lay eggs once every 25 days). If a victim of a Crana attack is not killed, but was injected with eggs, they will be terribly ill until the eggs are removed. If the eggs are not removed by a doctor within about two to three weeks, then the eggs will hatch and kill the victim as the larvae burrow out of the body.[1]

When the Crana cannot find food, they enter a dormant state and can remain in this state for a long period of time. Any heat sources that approach nearby (living or mechanical) will awaken the Crana. Sometimes Crana have been found clinging to heat sink exhaust ports on BattleMechs.[1]

The genetically-modified Star Adder was released to the northern steppes of Strana Mechty to control the disease-carrying insect by the Star League in Exile; the Strana Mechty version of the Crana was described as (only) "rodent-sized".[2][3] It is unclear if they were brought to Strana Mechty by humans when the world was settled, or if the Strana Mechty Crana is a different alien species that is native to Strana Mechty but so similar to the Inner Sphere Crana that the name was used for this species too.

By the thirty-first century, the crana have become immune to even the most deadly toxins. While the crana prefer warm jungle environments, they can survive almost anywhere.[1]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Mechwarrior Companion, p. 79: "Creatures"
  2. Wolf Clan Sourcebook, p. 17
  3. Classic BattleTech Companion, p. 145

Bibliography[edit]