Name: Skud
Species: Grifter
Habitat:
Anywhere there's fools to be fleeced out of their hard-earned moolah.
Lifestyle:
Grifters, as their name suggests, are a race of flim-flammers, scam artists, and con men. They were once a race of spiritual, amphibious forest-dwellers, turned against their old ways by the sins of monetary obsession. They live now in the cities, often setting up near Feeco Depots and other transportation hubs hoping to scam newcomers out of their cash. They are sweaty, easily annoyed, and dislike those smart enough to carry plastic. Most Grifters are loners that set up Three Card Monte, Under-Which-Cup, Farkle, and other loaded games of chance. All Grifters start out as simple skells luring in passersby with an inquiry such as "are you lucky?", intent on proving to them that they aren't. More successful Grifters run casinos, using the false promotional pitch that the money earned will go towards rebuilding their shattered native culture.
Grifters are short, plump, and saggy. They are sluggish, their only form of locomotion being to shuffle along the ground using the numerous, muscular, finger-like appendages on their abdomen to pull themselves along. Their bodies excrete a lubricating slime to help this process, not unlike slugs. Because moving around is such a chore for Grifters, they prefer to use electrical transport.
Grifters' craftiness is unparalleled, but they suffer when it comes to all matters cerebral. Basically, Grifters are clever but not much else. A Grifter can come up with a thousand and one ways to relieve you of your cash, but couldn't spell "cash" to save their life. They speak well, and talk fast in a high-pitched gurgle.
The large sacks on their head store water. Like camels, Grifters drink large amounts of fluid in one sitting, and distribute it evenly throughout the body over a period of months. A dehydrated Grifter is a humorous site to behold, as the deflation of their anterior sack looks like a wrinkled banana.
They have highly developed motor skills, though the simplicity and cumbersomeness of their bodies gives this trait little significance. Their arms, however, are thin, long, and triple-jointed and are able to move insanely fast. Because a Grifter's body type makes them generally useless, they have evolved to have such arms for increased functionality. Their reach is over twice the length of their body and, despite the lankiness of their arms, they are able to lift heavy objects.
Grifters have small a mouth hidden under their anterior water lobe. They do not have teeth, but have fine serrated deposits of calcium along their gumline like certain frogs. They are herbivorous.
Grifters eyesight is decent. They do not have noses but, like snakes, they can "smell" using a sensitive, olfactory-responsive tongue.