Animals
Many animals live on the island. Most are visible and can be attacked, while some are concealed in the terrain and cannot be harmed or even noticed until they attack.
Visible animals
Visible animals can be seen on the game map. They move or attack on their own twice an hour, once at 5 minutes past and once at 35 minutes past, and will also attack reactively (and immediately) each time they are attacked.
Most animals are passive and will only attack a player actively (not reactively) if the player has attacked them, at which point the animal will attack once every 30 minutes until they are dead, the player is dead, the player runs away, or a different player harms them. Other animals, including elephants, tigers, and wild boars, will attack without provocation. A player who sleeps near such an animal may wake to find that they have been mauled and possibly killed because the animal wandered across their location.
Below is a table of all visible animals found to date.
| Animal | Max HP | Frequency | Accuracy | Damage | XP Bonus | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alligator | 25 | 2x | 45% | 3 | 18 | Swamp | Aggressive; attacks unprovoked. |
| "Hungry Alligator" | 33 | 2x | 45%(?) | 4 | 15? | Swamp | Very aggressive; attacks unprovoked. |
| Bear | 30 | ? | ? | 3 | 18 | Mountain | Aggressive tendencies unknown |
| Deer, large | 15 | 1x | ? | 1 | 10 | Grassland, Jungle | Has been seen in fresh water. |
| Deer, small | 15 | 1x | ? | 1 | 10 | Jungle | |
| Easter Bunny | 30 | ? | ? | 4 | 28 | Grassland, Jungle | Hunted to extinction shortly after Easter, 16 April 2006, when they first appeared. They started with 30 HP but could be healed to a maximum of 50. |
| Elephant | 60 | 1x | 60% | 4 | 33 | Grassland, Jungle | Aggressive; attacks unprovoked. Has been seen in fresh water. |
| Elephant, rogue | 90 | 1x | 80% | 5 | 48 | Grassland, Jungle | The new name of an elephant that has killed a player. |
| Giant squid | 300 | 1x | ? | 5-6 | 153 | Water, Water (deep) | Rare, very tough. Will crawl onto land to pursue attackers. |
| Giant squid, fully-grown | 300-600 | 1x | ? | 6-8 | 200-230 | Water (deep) | Very rare, exceptionally tough. Will crawl onto land to pursue attackers. HP, damage and XP bonus increases above base level depending upon the number of players the squid has killed. First sighted by Doppelganger, 13:24, 10 October 2006, NNE of Shartak Island. |
| Guard dog | 15 | ? | ? | 2 | ? | Camp trading posts | |
| Monkey | 10 | 1x | ? | 1 | 8 | Jungle | |
| Parrot | 5 | 1x | ? | 1 | 5 | Jungle | Has been seen on fresh water squares. |
| Rat | 3 | 1x | ? | 1 | 4 | Tunnel, Cave | Aggressive; attack in packs. |
| Shargle | 30 | ? | ? | 2 | 18 | Mountain | The only other kind of bird on Shartak besides parrots. A special kind of eagle perhaps? |
| Stag, large | 20 | 1x | 60% | 2 | 13 | Jungle | |
| Tiger | 20 | 2x | 55% | 3 | 13 | Jungle | Aggressive; attacks unprovoked. |
| Tiger, ferocious | 25 | ? | ? | 6 | 15 | Jungle | |
| Wild boar | 15 | 1x | 50% | 2 | 10 | Jungle | Aggressive; attacks unprovoked. |
| Zombified Large Stag | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Jungle | A large stag that has been killed, but has come back to life to continue attacking. Likely a temporary change for Halloween. |
| Zombified Small Deer | 15 | ? | ? | 1 | 15 | Jungle | A small deer that has been killed, but has come back to life to continue attacking. Likely a temporary change for Halloween. Killing it only creates another Zombified Small Deer. |
| Zombified Monkey | 10 | ? | ? | 1 | 10 | Jungle | A monkey that has been killed, but has come back to life to continue attacking. Likely a temporary change for Halloween. Killing it only creates another Zombified Monkey. |
Notes:
- "Frequency" is the number of times an animal attacks in a half-hour period.
- "Accuracy" is the animal's apparent attack accuracy rounded to the nearest 5%. This is lower when the target has animal affinity. (See the talk page for tabled statistics.)
- "Damage" is the damage dealt by one of the animal's attacks.
When you attack an animal you receive XP equal to the damage listed for the weapon you used. Killing an animal yields an additional bonus of (5 + max HP) / 2, rounded up, as listed in the "XP Bonus" column. (For example, if a monkey has 1 HP remaining when you kill it with a machete that deals 3 HP of damage, your action gives you 3 XP for the damage and 8 for the kill, totalling 11.)
Players attacking animals
Attacking animals is a great source of experience points for new arrivals to the island, though when lacking any combat skills it is hard even to kill a parrot! It is also done for sport by some, such as the Shartak Tiger Hunters, and the various adventurers who sought or seek the legendary giant squids. Many players use their first several hundred action points doing little except seeking out and attacking animals, so that they may gain enough experience--and thus skills--to do other things effectively. Beware on the hunt, though, as all animals have been known to defend themselves, and some can tear you apart or stomp you to death very quickly.
When hunting, be sure to take plenty of medical supplies or bottles of special Shartak-bottled water, which has amazing healing power. Also be sure to pick up several machetes or cutlasses, or a heavy sword if you can find one, as these are the best weapons against animals. Do not attack with your hands, or you will be sorry, especially against large animals! When punching an elephant, a large stag, or a tiger, special messages may display:
- You attack the elephant and miss. Suddenly attacking the elephant with your bare hands doesn't seem so clever!
- You attack the elephant and miss. Pausing a moment to reflect on this, tackling the elephant with your bare hands might be considered crazy!
Special animals
The world of Shartak has many surprises. Strange and mysterious animals occasionally show up and scare or delight the inhabitants of the island. Easter bunnies have been known to make appearances in the Easter season, as have fearsome and powerful rampaging giant-squids who have been known to crawl on land to attack "prey" (i.e., us). During the Halloween season, animals did not die but rather were "zombified" upon death. When killing a zombified animal, the text read: You attack the zombified (insert animal here) for X damage. It dies. To your horror, the corpse of the zombified (insert animal here) gets back up and carries on with what it was doing... attacking you!.
Concealed animals
Sharks reside in the deep water off the coasts of Shartak. They cannot be seen or attacked, as they lurk below the surface out of sight. They are particularly aggressive and often attack people swimming in the deep water. A shark attack deals 2 HP damage, and the resulting wounds deal 1 HP damage per action (not per AP) until the player dies or is healed with a first aid kit or healing herb. Once a player is bitten, they will see "You are bleeding" below their map next to their name until they are healed or die. The effects of shark wounds are not cumulative.
Poisonous snakes cannot be seen or attacked. A character who is searching grasslands can capture a poisonous snake, which then appears in inventory. Rumour has it that poison darts may be able to be manufactured from snakes, but this knowledge has apparently been lost to the natives. Perhaps one day native shamans will re-discover this magic. Searching the grasslands can also cause you to get bitten by a snake for 3 HP damage (the snake then slithers away), which poisons you.
Crabs cannot be seen or attacked. A character who is searching beaches can capture a crab--which then appears in character's inventory--or the character can be pinched by one for 1 HP in damage. ("Searching the area, you find a crab. It nips your finger with its claws and scuttles away".) Thus far, no one on Shartak has discovered how to use a crab, though the traders may know something we do not, as they pay a fair amount of gold for live crabs.
