Lagomorphs in GURPS

The lagomorphs include rabbits, cottontails, hares, jackrabbits, and pikas. They have a lifestyle of small, fast-breeding herbivores found where suitable food is near cover. Lagomorphs can be found on all continents except for Antarctica, and numerous islands. They are quadrupedal, with hunched backs, short tails, large sidways-facing eyes, and typically powerful hindlimbs for leaping and long ears.

Lagomorphs tend to be fast runners and very agile. At high speeds they bound across the ground with powerful leaps, typically with rapid changes in direction to evade predators. They are usually good swimmers but are not really at home in the water. Large claws and strong legs let them dig out shelters, either scrapes in the ground or burrows.

As regular prey animals, lagomorphs are alert and nervous. Wide-set eyes allow them to see danger coming from nearly any direction, and while their eyesight is not particularly good at making out details they are keenly aware of motion. Lagoorph hearing is also quite good, allowing them to detect faint sounds and the direction they come from. Much of a lagomorphs world revolves around scent, which is important for identifying objects, individuals, and what is good to eat, and is vital for social communication. Long vibrisae (whiskers) on their upper lip and nose give them a fine sense of touch centered around their face, and let them move (slowly) even in complete darkness without the risk of bumping into things.

Scared lagomorphs either freeze in place, hoping to avoid detection, or dash for the nearest cover. They are extremely maneuverable, and while many species can put on a good turn of speed on the straightaway they all rely on evasion to throw off predators until they can reach shelter. If captured, injured, or otherwise in distress, they will scream - a sound that is often disturbingly like that of a human.

Lagomorphs may fight predators if captured or cornered. The bucks certainly fight each other. They will cuff with their front paws, bite, and kick with their powerful hind legs. A common technique is to grab on with teeth or front paws and kick out with the hind claws in close combat:

Rip Kick Hard Defaults: Brawling-3 Prerequisite: Claws and Brawling; cannot exceed prerequisite skill. After grappling a foe, you can kick at range C for thrust crushing damage plus damage bonuses for claws. If you are standing, can hold yourself upright by holding on to your opponent - but if your opponent falls you automatically fall, too.

Lagomorphs tend to be generalist herbivores, both grazing on grass and browsing on shoots, leaves, and twigs. Some species are notorious for raiding gardens. Like many dedicated herbivores they digest their food twice to extract as much nutrients from it as possible. The lagomorph way of doing this is a bit different, though - they eat their own poop from the first pass through, and only leave behind waste that has gone through their system twice. While it might seem gross to us, it works for them and has allowed them to successfully colonize most parts of the globe.

Almost all lagomorphs are crepuscular (active at dusk and dawn), nocturnal (active at night), or both. Only a few species will normally be out and about during the day. They stay near cover, ready to retreat under shelter of a burrow or brush at a moment's notice. Some species are social, living in groups of several families, while others are solitary except for mating and mothers with young.

Game Statistics

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