Compsognathus

Tier: 1
Type: Terrestrial carnivore
Passive growth time: 1 hr 5 min

Pack size: 15 sub adults/adults, 1-20 juveniles/adolescents
Hierarchy: Decentralized

Mating bond: Polygamous
Nest size: 1-10 offspring per pair

Diet tags: Scavenger, semi-cannibalistic, insectivore, omnivore, opportunistic & ovivore
Preferred food: Prefers a carnivorous diet by scavenging, but will also consume berries, fruits, nuts & shellfish
Species specific rules: Only a group of 6 or more sub adults/adults Compsognathus can contest for food, defend a claimed corpse & hunt adult Tier 1-2 dinosaurs and any Tier offspring. Compsognathus do not need to claim player corpses when scavenging.

Behavior

Alone Compsognathus are very skittish creatures and will use terrain to their advantage to hide from big animals. The bigger the group of Compsognathus, the more confident the group is together. These small little critters group up together solely for food and together they work as a cleanup crew disposing of a body quickly and effectively. Finding an unclaimed body triggers a feeding frenzy where the feeders nip at each other while trying to get to the best and most nutritious parts of the corpse. A group of Compsognathus is not scared of even a bigger predator but instead they will run up to the dinosaur, watching it very intrigued and following it around for a possible future meal.

Recommended behaviors

╸Compsognathus are communal feeders and form groups solely for feeding purposes.
╸Compsognathus often follow big carnivores, stealing scraps of meat from their hunts.

Mating

When a Compsognathus female is ready for mating she will start singing a very distinctive pattern of mating calls, continuous high-pitched chirps in a repetitive pattern. These high-pitched chirps attract a male that will answer with a similar pattern of chirps. These 2 will continue mimicking each other for several minutes, the female makes a call and the male mimics her. If the male fails to make the right pitch chirps, the female will go silent and walk away, leaving the male behind. Other males watching the interaction will immediately run up to her and continue the pattern of the calls. After successful mating, the female will continue this behavior and mate with as many males as possible.

Nesting & offspring

Compsognathus females nest together and all lay their eggs in the same cave where the group has built their own nest. After hatching, Compsognathus juveniles will stay in the immediate closeness of the nest cave, only leaving to drink. Everyone in the group will take part in raising the babies, some will bring food to the cave, others will work as lookouts while some forage near the nest. The bigger the offspring get, the further away they start to move from the nest. When the offspring reach sub adult, the nest will be left abandoned and the swarm will start to move around looking for bodies to scavenge from.

Compsognathus swarm rules:

Compsognathus swarm:
╸6 or more sub adults/adults Compsognathus has the Carnivore and opportunistic tags applied to it.
Swarm body down rule:
╸The engagement does not have to end until the swarm number hits 3.
╸For a Compsognathus group of 3 sub adults/adults or below, 1 body down stops the engagement.