I know it's sooner than expected, but I figured we've got a nice group of people.
YOU CAN STILL SIGN UP OR JOIN THE CONTEST WHENEVER YOU WANT!
Just comment here and I'll add you ASAP.

This planet is also a tribute to spiralofvertigo who, on a previous account, had started a similar contest. The contest died before it really got started, but I kept the idea in mind.
That said; I welcome you all to round ONE of Worldcraft!

What’s next?
Everyone who commented on the last journal will be considered as a participant for ROUND ONE.
If you don't want to enter this round, just comment here and I'll take your name off the list.
Go ahead and choose up to 2 of the available choices. You don’t have to say which one you chose, but you can do so if you want to. If you have questions, feel free to ask them in the journal.

RULES: (please read)
- You have THREE weeks to complete your entry.
The last day you can submit artwork for Round 1 is APRIL 2.
- Once you’re ready, send me a NOTE with the link to your entry.
The title of the note must be ENTRY 01
- You can make a sketch, line art, fully colored drawing with or without background, write a story featuring a creature, make something out of paper-mâché or sculpt something in clay. Anything goes! What you want make is completely up to you.
- Every submission MUST be accompanied by a bit of text that describes how your creature lives, eats, etc… (Unless your submission is a story or a landscape, of course)
The description of your creature will also be judged and will count toward the points you receive.
- You can name your creature whatever you like. The names and descriptions I give are merely a basic reference and are used to assign a ‘role’ to the creature.

Planet description:
(scroll down for TL;DR)
The first planet we explore is one on the edge of its solar system’s so called ‘habitable zone’.
Thousands of years ago, this planet was in many aspects similar to planet Earth.
It had oceans and massive forests, an impossible variety of plant- and animal life that flourished on the planet’s surface.
Everything was just right until a massive comet, nearly half the size of the planet, rushed through the system and pulled many planets out of their orbit. A few were lost to the emptiness of outer space, while others got shifted into a new, but stable orbit. The planet lost 3 of it's 5 moons in the process.
Ending up closer to its star, the temperatures on the surface rised considerably and the oceans began to dissolve. If it wasn’t for the strong magnetic field, the planet would be a barren lifeless rock by now.
Over time, the once lush world had transformed into a harsh desert planet. All of its oceans had evaporated and the green forests and plants were replaced by tall, jagged wind blasted rocks, spires, and mountains. The grassy planes were replaced by seas of sand.

Almost miraculously, not all life was burned away and managed to adapt to the climate.
Following are some general descriptions of the creatures that roam the planet.

TL;DR: Once lush and verdant planet; now evolved into a barren desert landscape
Keep in mind: Living in a harsh desert environment; there are not many chances around to get food.

The words between brackets are the key point that 'defines' the main characteristic of the species.

LAND
1) Creature (Trapper)
This beast needs a way to get its food in a land where there is not much to be choosy with. The intense heat requires limited or reserved movement or perhaps a way around the heat and being a carnivore it needs a sure fire way to catch the faster and smaller things around it.
It is not fond of locomotion; but with a huge appetite this problem has to be overcome.

2) Creature (Daytime Hunter)
This creature has found a way to adapt to the high temperatures. Its design is so effective; it can even hunt for prey during the hottest days of the year. Being a daytime hunter, it searches for prey that hides itself deep within rocks or underground and as such has the perfect ‘tools’ to dig up or uncover its unfortunate victims.

3) Vermin (Leech)
This annoying little critter has made it its duty to pester and harass every other living organism on this sun-scorched planet. Featuring a hard exoskeleton that evolved so it can vent excess heat allows it to skitter around during the day while searching for food. At night, when the temperature drops, it has to dig deep underground to prevent freezing to death as it relies on warmth to move around.
It does not kill, but has a neurotoxin that paralyzes small prey or locally sedates the larger creatures, so it can go about its business unnoticed. It’s unable to fly, but is amazingly fast on land.

AIR
1) Creature (Nighttime Hunter)
One of the few airborne species that live on this planet is awake and active during the twilight. With the temperatures slowly dropping as the sun sets, it has a limited time to go out and catch its food. Living high up the mountains, it has evolved a means to scout large areas and pinpoint the smallest of movements from miles away.
Because of the short window it can hunt, it has a way to quickly acquire its food before being forced to retreat.

2) Vermin (Hive Drone)
This winged vermin is part of a colony that lives underground and creates tall spires of rock and dirt to regulate the temperature of the hive. They are adept at tunneling and extracting nutrients from the scarce plant life on the surface without killing them. In times of need, the winged drones will fly out at night and gather anything digestible in a very wide area around the nest. (This could be plants, bugs or even small creatures!!) These winged drones are a special breed that doesn't work or defend the nest. Their sole purpose is flying out and gathering as much food as possible, in the shortest time.

PLANTLIFE
1) (Survivor)
This plant is a true survivor. Over the span of merely a few decades, it evolved to suit its current situation. Its thick, juicy roots are reaching very deep into the earth where it stores water and nutrients. During sunrise the cold and moist that accumulated during the cold night will evaporate and for a few minutes, up to half an hour each day, the surface of the ground is covered by a veil of fog.
The plant takes advantage of this by absorbing as much as it can before the sun begins to heat the planet once more. As the sun rises, it employs a special mechanism that will protect it from the heat and prevent it to dry out.

LANDSCAPE
1) Riverbed.
Millions of years ago, the place you see was the bedding of a massive river that was created by many little streams coming from the nearby mountain range. As the planet heated up and the water vanished, all that remained of the beautiful river has become nothing more but a gash in the landscape.
Instead of water all that ‘flows’ through is hot and dry wind, eroding the dead riverbed even more.

2) Sun-scorched plains.
All there is to see is a dead landscape; dried and cracked dirt and in the distance the beginning of a vast desert. There is no sign this place was ever a beautiful forest, not even a petrified tree can be found. Sandstorms and dust devils scourge the surface, forcing even the most stubborn creature or plant to find refuge, or perish in a hail of razor-sharp sand particles. The only things visible are massive, jagged stone spires. The last remains of mountains that were eroded by the blistering wind.


HAVE FUN!

Do you have questions? Did I forget something?
Please comment and let me know.
I'll do my best to fix and update everything ASAP.

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Round one contestants:
-Ballman (artist)
-exequias (artist)
-Shibara (artist)
-Webster (artist)
-Elessara (artist)
-mixnmatch (artist)
-Moonfir (artist)
-phantasmic (artist)
-Cazron (artist)
-Tamara (artist/author)
-darkscream (artist)
-dragocorn (artist/author & donator)
-Novaluna (artist)
-balitiger23 (artist*)
-Moongara (artist)
-LarkspurDragon (artist)
-Demon_werewolfs_den (artist)
-Darkscream (artist/author)
-pandoradragon (artist)
-yaegashi (artist)

Round one Judges:
-ta-ek (judge & donator)
-balitiger23 (judge)
-Forgetfulsinner (judge)
-Arrankhar (judge)