FAQ with spoilers

Hedgehogs are small, cute mammals that have a spike covered back. They are harmless and feed with tapeworms and such. However, the IVAN reality is something different. You will become familiar with them soon after you start your first quest, and after that, nothing will be the same.

Long time ago, Dulcis created the hedgehogs, at first just for fun. At these times they were what they seem: cute and harmless. Soon people began to worship these critters in the tempels of Dulcis, and it became the legendary and sacred animal for the creator.

Then the big war broke up, and many things changed. On the later stages of the war, the followers of Scabies, goddess of mutations, disease, and famine altered a single hedgehog population just a little by magic. This change was dramatic though; The helpless, innocent creature was turned into a fierce reptile, which attacked everything it saw. The change took a while, but only a few months after the war almost all original hedgehogs had perished as prey for the new mammal. Followers of Dulcis noticed this a bit too late, and were unable to prevent their sacred animal from turning into a horrible beast. Many worshippers perished before they could notice their mistake. This all led to hunts, where brave men attacked the nesting grounds of the hedgehogs, often with great casualties among those poorly protected. At the present, hedgehogs have gotten rare and have taken residence on small caves and caverns and are almost never met outsides any more.

Our new players will get familiar with these cave dwellers pretty soon. Alas, many of these will perish before knowing what hit them. Hedgehogs are known to open doors, drink from bottles, and killing even decently protected adventurers, which leads to the conclusion that they either have always been or became pretty smart and agile. Also their sharp teeth match and outshine even many rabbits (see Monty Pythons Holy grail for example of a rabbit). Their protection is also pretty damn good, their spikes make them inflict severe damage or even dismember the attacker when the hedgehog is hit bare handed or kicked without decent boots.

In conclusion, hedgehogs are one of the most troublesome creatures you will come by at the early stages of your adventure. They bite deep and accurately, dodge at ease, follow through doors and drink potions lying on the floor. If you manage to hit them bare handed, you have a great risk of injuring your arm badly. Also, they take multiple hits, in which case you might end armless. At the early stages of the game, it's often smarter to run than confront them, though they easily outrun even the swiftest travelers.