Leaper

Leaper Level 6 Family Leaper family creatures Body Type Quadruped Classification(s) Living Area(s) Found Coastal Cliffs Icemule Environs BCS Yes HP 69 Speed

Attack Attributes Physical Attacks Bite 94 AS Claw 94 AS Stomp 94 AS

Defense Attributes Armor Light Leather (natural) ASG 5N Defensive Strength (DS) Melee 9-29 Ranged Bolt 9 Unarmed Defense Factor UDF 54-77 Target Defense (TD) Bard Base 18 Cleric Base Empath Base 16 Paladin Base Ranger Base 18 Sorcerer Base Wizard Base Minor Elemental 18 Major Elemental 18 Minor Spiritual Major Spiritual 18 Minor Mental

Treasure Attributes Coins None Gems None Magic Items None Boxes None Skin a leaper hide Other None

The leaper appears a bizarre cross between a wolf and a frog.  Perhaps six feet from snout to rump, covered with slick, hairless skin in a dark green, it lacks all trace of fur but has a set of fangs worthy of any wolf that ever strode the land.  Extra long front legs tipped with raking claws give it the bounding gait that has earned its name.

The leaper is medium in size and about three feet high.

Hunting strategies

If you are young and using a ranged weapon, it will be safer for you to hunt leapers in the more defensive stances. Leapers are capable of taking out 39+ health points with one bite or claw, and for beginning players, that can stun or even be fatal. If your dexterity is high and you have a ranged weapon, try hunting in full defensive. Your AS will be cut in half, but you will still be able to hit them. Just be prepared to use lots of arrows and/or bolts.

Other information

The leapers past the snowbank near the South Gate of Icemule can transmit disease with a bite or a claw. Once infected, you will lose ten points of health the first round; the illness will decline in intensity one point for the next ten rounds.

Behind the Scenes

In the I.C.E. Age leapers were called "bounders", which clarifies the meaning of their creature description. These were hunting hounds used by dark elves and evil lords, which relates them symbolically to Lorgalis. They were introduced into an area of the Coastal Cliffs associated with Kestrel and Bandur Etrevion. These may have been nobles who Bandur subjected to a transformation curse, analogous to werebears, owing to the literary allusions in the purgatory section of The Graveyard. Interestingly, similar things may be said for the myklian, and the toad in the Dark Shrine.

They infest a ruined coastal village near the underground stronghold, which housed a cult of Klysus (Luukos) which was likely crushed in the rise of The Dark Path. Of special note is the extensive presence of fungus in the region due to sea spray from the Bay, which were Lovecraft references below The Graveyard and within the Dark Grotto of The Broken Lands, related to the hidden dreamland theme of those locations. Like the forest approaching The Graveyard it features predatory vines, especially a carnivorous species that traps its victims in a dream state while it devours them.

The village is likely a reference to the abandoned village of lava sculptors on the way to Ngranek in "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath." Of special note is the brass shrine, with ambient scripting implying ancient secrets, and under certain conditions releasing green mists with prophecy of doom. The kappas resemble the Old One worshippers of Ib whom the "cylinders of Kadatheron" had written descended from the moon, as well as the fish-frog men "Deep Ones" who required human sacrifices and transformation of humans from perverse hybrid mating for immortality.

Near-level creatures

Level 4 black urgh cobra fanged viper mongrel kobold revenant ridge orc spotted leaper urgh water moccasin whiptail Level 5 bobcat coyote dark apparition mist wraith mongrel hobgoblin nasty little gremlin night golem water witch Level 6 cockatrice firephantom leaper lesser mummy lesser orc monkey snowy cockatrice spectral fisherman spotted lynx Level 7 blood eagle greater kappa hobgoblin acolyte hobgoblin shaman lesser burrow orc lesser red orc shelfae guard shelfae soldier Level 8 albino tomb spider bone golem crystal crab greater burrow orc greater orc greater spider mottled thrak thrak