Fogmire Toad

German: Sumpfnebelkröte

"What's this?", asked Thelea pointing a glass terrarium in which a rust red frog sat on muddy grounds. She curiously moved closer to it and stretched out one arm to knock on the glass.
"Don't touch it!", her master quickly shouted from the other side of the room, but it was too late. With an audible puff, the toad released a red vapour which tainted the glass it sat in. Shocked, Thelea stumbled a few feet back. "Without that cloth there covering the terrarium you'd be feeling very sick in an hour!" her master scolded her. The young elven girl looked puzzled: "But why do you keep it if it makes people sick?" Her old master smiled: "That, you will learn soon..."

Basic Information

Anatomy

The Fogmire Toad can grow to a size of up to 12cm. The female specimens are usually a bit smaller than the males ones and their mucous skin is rust red with dark grey stripes of varying degrees of visibility. The male specimens, in turn, are less mucous and dotted instead of striped. In the centre of these dots, they carry hardly visible glands.

When threatened, the toad uses these glands to explosively release a reddish vapour of small particles which stink abysmally and is highly hallucinogenic after an onset time of 1-2 hours averagely sized for humanoids. Smaller species such as cats and dogs will be affected significantly faster. Therefore, extreme caution is advised when approaching a male toad! While the vapour is no deadly by itself, the hallucinations notoriously cause persons to hopelessly lose their way in the swamp or drown in smaller pools of water.

If you encounter a Fogmire Toad...

• ... do stay absolutely still until it jumps away voluntarily
• ... do not try to chase it away
• ... do not approach it closer
• ... afterwards, do aide others who inhaled the vapour.
• ... do not leave them to themselves.

Ecology and Habitats

Fogmire Toads prefer wet habitats such as swamps, bogs or moors. In contrary to other toads, it is relatively ignorant to the temperature of its surroundings. Their natural environment spans from the warm swamps on Dragon's Island to the cold waters of the Frostmoor.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Like other frogs, the Fogmire Toad eats flies by catching them with its long and fast tongue. Its keen senses help it to see a fly while waiting in the shallow water.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

While hallucinogenic in high concentrations, the particles from the toad's vapour glands can be applied medicinally in smaller doses. Typically, a tenth of a gram of particles is solved in half a litre of water. The resulting reddish but transparent fluid can be administered as a painkiller. The typical dose is around 10 millilitres. The liquid can also be manufactured into a paste and then be applied carefully as a local anaesthesia.
Catching a Fogmire Toad is not an easy endeavour. The most important tool for this is a tightly weaved wet linen bag: the water seals off the openings in the bag's structure and thereby capture any hallucinogenic particles. The catcher must approach the toad quietly and slowly from behind and quickly put the bag over the toad before it can react and release its vapour. It is advised that a second person accompanies the first in some distance, should he or she fail to apply the bag in time. Also, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after touching the bag as its outside may be contaminated. This is also the reason why masks of wet linen do not work!
Once caught, healers keep toads in glass terrariums tightly covered by wet linen. To harvest the particles, the linen is exchanged and the particles are washed out of the used one.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Fogmire Toads have very keen senses, allowing them to see quite a distance even in muddy waters or darkness. The eyes places on the side of its head, it can see in a wide angle. In fact, there is only a small 20° angle at their back as a blind spot. However, their eyes only permit them to perceive movement, not colour or brightness.

Rana aurora (CC-BY-SA) by Walter Siegmund

Lifespan

10-12 years

Average Height

6-8cm

Average Length

10-12cm

Name Origin

The name is derived from its natural habitat and the reddish vapour it releases as a defensive measure