Mothership Monsters
Some more Mothership monsters. Some of these will be appearing in upcoming supplements I’m writing.
Bilge Rats
C:20 bite 1 DMG I:15 W:1(1) 10% chance carries bloater parasite. Bites confer infection on a failed Body save.
Appear in swarms of 2d10
A mammal-like alien vermin that is quickly overtaking Terran rats as the most invasive species carried ship to ship. Bilge rats have long, lithe bodies like a weasel, but 12 limbs, 3 ventral sets and 3 dorsal sets, allowing them to grip, climb and move just about anywhere. They can squeeze their bodies through surprisingly tiny spaces.
Though an annoyance on their own, prone to getting into food stocks and chewing wires, the primary threat from bilge rats is the prevalence of parasites they carry, most notably that which form bloaters.
Bloaters
C:- I:- W:1(1)
Stinging tentacles: Body save or become paralyzed by toxin. 1d5 DMG / turn while entangled as the tentacles slowly digest the victim.
Explosive death: If the bloater body is destroyed it explosively expels a cloud of parasites. Anyone Adjacent and unprotected with safety gear is infected. Body save against infection if in Close range.
Bloaters are formed from a parasitic infection most commonly conferred from bilge rat bites (bilge rats being asymptomatic carriers of the parasite). However there are other vectors of infection, including the explosive decompression of a bloater body.
Bloaters are a colony organism similar to jellyfish. An infected individual begins experiencing fever, nausea, and internal bleeding among other symptoms. If untreated, infection is fatal in around 12 hours. The infected body then begins to hollow and bloat up with gasses that cause it to float like a balloon to the ceiling. Long, nearly invisible tendrils emerge from this floating skin sac, stinging tentacles that paralyze and digest prey snagged in them.
There is a 20% chance a bloater body will spontaneously explode from normal decay if disturbed.
Marionette Virus
This digital malware infects cybernetic implants, enslaving them to an unknown entity. Most commonly it seeks out highly augmented individuals so it can control them entirely. Due to the deep level of infiltration the virus requires, it can only be spread via direct contact, which overrides various security measures using physical hacks and workarounds. This is typically done by a puppeted individual attacking a new victim.
Though confirmed instances of infection are rare, fear of this virus carries outsized prevalence in communities of those with augmentation. It is suspected that the minds of infected individuals are not influenced, meaning infected are imprisoned in their own unresponsive body as it carries out the will of its new master. The paranoia around this virus has lead to several unfortunate incidents of violence against cybernetically augmented individuals when their implants were simply undergoing a normal malfunction.
All infected gain the following combat action:
Hijack Cyberware: 1d5 DMG, Int save or all cybernetic and slickware components are under control of foreign entity (controlled by Warden). If the target has computing or hacking skills, they gain [+] on the save.
The Enduring
C: 30 as weapon I:60 W:4(5) 1d10+2 Master skills. A large stash of wealth.
The Enduring have always walked among us. They look like us, they act like us (in public view anyway), they laugh at water-cooler jokes, have families, mow their synth-lawns on Sundays. But they are not like us, for they never die, not naturally in any case. Enduring do not succumb to aging or disease (though are still subject to violent trauma). They have had an eternity to hone their skills, their patience, and their escape plans (for at the very least an Enduring must conspire to leave their life behind when it becomes undeniable they remain young even as their families and friends age around them).
Enduring are likely the origin of vampires and similar myths, though they don’t have any of the needs or vulnerabilities of such creatures. If an Enduring finds themselves in trouble they simply disappear to outwait their opponents. Enduring have their own take on the tortoise and the hare parable: if you set the finish line far enough away, you will simply outlive your opponents. Most seem to be benign, hopping from life to life, though the obvious implications of the wealth and power capable of being accrued by such an entity must be taken into consideration.
Enduring also have inordinate durability. What would be a fatal injury to a typical human an Enduring can shake off and recover from. This only aids their typical MO of escape when discovered, and many have been thought killed that actually slip away to obscurity. If one discovers an Enduring and feels the need to kill them, they had best be sure it takes.
Rogue Emotion
C: 35 I:10 W:- (Can be dispersed with a particular resonating frequency). On a hit, Sanity save or the emotion enters its target.
Separated from its originating human by metaphysical hyperspace storms, the emotion now wanders the universe seeking a new mind to roost in. Its long and lonely wandering has intensified the strength of the emotion 100 fold. Roll to determine emotion:
1 Bliss 2 Terror 3 Rapture 4 Anguish 5 Rage
If someone contracts a rogue emotion the feeling overwhelms them and they can think of little else. They act accordingly. Can be treated with specialized mental and pharmaceutical therapies.
Hollow
C:70 claw 2d10 DMG (bleeding/gore[+]) I:25 W:2(30)
A body stripped of the mind yearning for what is missing. They take what is inside of you out with deadly precision and lay it out in orderly rows to watch it glisten in the light. They study their bounty to try and find what is missing but never fathom that it isn’t something held in blood or gristle.
Mummers
C:40 strangle 1d10 DMG or attack as weapon I:50 W:3(20) When observed can only make one attack. If not, can make five.
Superposition hyperspace organism. They are forced into static form by human observation and they loathe it. They appear as twisted amalgamations of body parts, faces, or objects. Maintaining observation slows them, losing it is usually a fatal mistake. They often wield twisted versions of weapons that do not seem to obey the normal rules of physics.
The Friend with a Winning Smile
Sanity save to resist the Friend’s charms
The Friend with a Winning Smile is helpful, jovial. The Friend grins from ear to ear–well, you can’t quite make out the Friend’s features but you’re pretty sure they have ears. The Friend with a Winning Smile is comforting and familiar. They couldn’t be something strange, something abhorrent, something wet-slick and smelling of salt and iron that sets all your hairs on end. The Friend with a Winning Smile will help you find your way in this place with grace and charm, and you will all laugh and laugh and laugh. The Friend with a Winning Smile is of great comfort to you when you are missing your comrades—you came with so many and now you are alone. But what other companions do you need besides the Friend, really? It’s right there in the name.
Extremoplasmosis
When you come in contact Body save or contract infection. Automatically contract if taken in capsule form.
Extremoplasmosis infections result in lowered inhibitions toward risky behavior, and a feeling of increased confidence in one’s capabilities. While this change is strictly psychosomatic, the performance increase from the behavioral change shouldn’t be dismissed.
It is unclear whether extremoplasmosis started as naturally occurring or was lab formed, but it’s clear now that many pharmaceutical companies seek to leverage its effects as a marketable drug. The more reputable pharma corps produce pills using compounds from extremoplasmid byproducts, which have temporary effects and do not result in infection. The less reputable simply produce capsules of live organisms practically guaranteeing infection.
While infected by extremoplasmosis a person has the following effects:
- Will always take the riskiest course of action in a dangerous situation. Sanity save with [-] to resist this effect.
- When called to make a Fear save, automatically succeed.
Extremoplasmosis is typically spread by consuming contaminated food. While surface spread is rarely a risk, coming in contact with significant quantities of infected blood can also result in infection.