Reticulated Pythons in GURPS

Python reticulatus

The reticulated python is the world's longest snake, and is rivaled only by the green anaconda in terms of bulk. It occupies a range from Burma to the Asian Pacific coast, out to the Philipine Islands and south to the Indonesian Islands. Many island populations are genetic dwarfs, reaching smaller adult sizes than their relatives on the mainland or the larger islands. Reticulated pythons prefer hot, steamy jungles, generally near water. They get their name from the net-like pattern along the sides and back (from the latin reticulum, meaning net).

Reticulated pythons are mammal and bird eaters. Their sensative heat "vision" allows them to home in on warm blooded prey. Young "retic" pythons mainly eat rats and small birds, as they mature they begin to take larger prey including monkeys, deer, and swine. After killing goats, antelope, and deer, these snakes can break off the antlers, allowing their prey to be swallowed less painfully.

Reticulated pythons are comfortable around human habitation, where they can become a nuisance when they raid poultry or devour domestic dogs. Occasionally, some of the truely enormous specimens will kill and eat a human, generally a child, adolescent, or an adult of small stature. However, these snakes are valued for their attractive hide which makes a fine leather. They also provide a valuable source of protein to the impoverished people of Southeast Asia. Even without dying, the snakes provide a useful service, destroying pestiferous rodents that would decimate rice fields if left unchecked.

Retics are a high strung species, careful and edgy. Captives rarely become trusting of their keepers when aquired as wild caught adults. Retics are also extremely food oriented, with a stronger feeding response than most pythons. These are also active snakes, spending more time cruising around than most large constrictors.

As with most reptiles, reticulated pythons do not have a well defined adult size. Individuals up to Giant size are common, but the very largest, the true monsters of the rain forest, reach the small end of Immense (160 kg and 9 m is the record). The males tend to stay smaller than the females, true giants are almost always females. Retics are a bit longer than most pythons for their body size, but this has no effect in game terms.

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