February 19, 2024: My Pet Monster

Fantasy Trip fans noticed a new monster in the Legacy Edition: the Scolopendra. It's a big centipede. I added it because centipedes are cool. And fate rewarded me in a funny way.

You see, Scolopendra are real creatures. They don't (fortunately!) get as big as the biggest ones in TFT, but they get big enough. Over a foot long, for some species. Like the one I have in my office at home.

This is a fine, fat specimen of Scolopendra heros, the Texas Red-Headed Centipede. I found him (technically IT . . . determining sex on these beauties is not a job for the faint-hearted) in my house, in the middle of the night. When I woke up, I had a 4-inch highly-venomous centipede in a jar. He's now over 5 1/2" and apparently still growing. He likes crickets!

In this picture, Monster is curled up on top of his piece of bark. He was supposed to make a cave under the bark, but he dug under the flowerpot instead. The bark is his favorite resting place, and he makes a fine "Is that real?" display there. But what will he do when he outgrows it?

-- Steve Jackson