Tentacle

Tentacles were among the largest Necromorph forms, classed either as their own creatures or as the limbs of far greater organisms such as the Hive Mind, the Leviathan and the Tau Volantis Moon. When attached to a larger host, they functioned as its arms.

Form#

Tentacles appeared to be formed from muscle tissue, internal organs and possibly bone. The body of a Tentacle was heavily armored and resistant to nearly any weapon, except for a single vulnerable point: a large sac of glowing yellow fluid set between the tip and the stem, joining the two sections. The purpose of this fluid was never determined, but the sac was far less armored than the rest of the creature and could be destroyed by concentrated fire.

Tentacles emitted loud, elephant-like roars when they appeared, often bursting from concealment as a sudden threat, along with high pitched screeching cries. How they produced these sounds was unknown, as they possessed no visible mouth or any other organ that might make such noises. Many appeared in areas filled with the Corruption, the spreading organic growth of the Necromorphs, and some Tentacles could be seen growing directly out of it.

The Drag Tentacle#

The first known variant was the Drag Tentacle. It attacked by launching from a hole it had punched through a surface, seizing its victim, throwing them to the ground and dragging them back toward its lair while slamming them down repeatedly. During the Aegis VII incident, Isaac Clarke was attacked by several Drag Tentacles, and the scattered body parts littering one walkway marked the remains of earlier victims. Destroying the yellow sac broke the Tentacle in two, the upper half falling lifeless while the bleeding remainder retracted into its hole.

The Guardian Tentacle#

The Guardian Tentacle was typically found in large spaces, lying dormant beneath piles of debris that hid it from view as it protected something. When a victim drew near, it would roar and begin smashing down with a tip modified into a heavy boulder-like mass to maximize the force of its blows. Guardian Tentacles defended the Red Marker stored in the Cargo Storage area of the USG Ishimura and stood along the catwalks of the Aegis VII Colony near the Marker's original resting place.

Years later, Guardian Tentacles were encountered again during the conflict on Tau Volantis, fought off aboard the derelict CMS Roanoke and through the ruined alien city as Isaac Clarke and John Carver tried to stop Jacob Danik from deactivating the alien Machine. These later Tentacles appeared mummified like the rest of the Necromorphs of Tau Volantis, their stems gone grey with black patches and their fluid sacs glowing a brighter red.

Tentacles as host limbs#

Many Tentacles were not independent creatures but the limbs of vast Necromorphs. The Leviathan possessed rhizome-like openings from which Tentacles sprouted to smash at intruders, and it used the Corruption to grow an apparently limitless supply, regrowing any that were severed within minutes and using them to wall off passages. The lesser forms known as the Slug and the Urchin bore similar Tentacles; the Slug wielded its own as arms, hurling objects in self-defense when Isaac turned the Ishimura's defense cannon against it.

The greatest Tentacles served the Brethren Moons and their kin. The Tau Volantis Moon, one of the Brethren, extended enormous Tentacles once it was awakened, blocking the paths of Isaac and Carver as they fled the collapsing alien city.