Re: [HoE] HOE baddies

[copernicus@brunnet.net (Pat Gamblin)]

There were a couple good pieces of design advice, so here's the updated
(and hopefully less nigh-omnipotent) demon 'roaches. Idea by me (Pat
Gamblin), game mechanics and inspiration by PEG Inc.. Hope that suffices
for legalities. : }

 Demon 'Roaches

    It isn't known where or when these creatures came to life. They appear
 to be ten foot long cockroaches with thick armoured shells. First
 sighted in the remains of Washington, DC,  reports of giant, man-eating
 bugs recently began to proliferate throughout the midwest and the northwest
 of the continent. They apparently live in small colonies, usually based in
 the remains of a pre-Bomb city in nests made from rubble and wrecked bonded
 together with their saliva, and hunt in groups of 3 to 6, spread over a few
 square miles. When one finds a target, it releases a pheremone signal to
 the others that it has found prey. It then moves in immediately and
 attempts to stun the target(s) using its Mental Stun ability. As soon as
 they arrive, the others join in. Once all of the targets are stunned, the
 demon 'roaches immediately start to feed. Once they are done, they return
 to the colony, bringing a few scraps of food, if any is left. An adult
 demon 'roach can easily eat one full grown human a day and has been known
 to eat just about anything and anyone it finds, including corpses other
 things have killed. The only way to avoid it is to run away or hit it with
 overwhelming firepower (doing several wounds to the head or torso or
 severing a leg), playing dead tends to just make you dead. They track by
 smell, not sight, and will not move further away from the colony than 10
 miles or so.

 Profile
 Corporeal: D: 2D8, N: 3D8, S: 4D12, Q: 2D6, V: 6D12.
    Climbin' 4D8, Dodge 3D8, Fightin': Brawlin' 4D8, Sneak 1D8, Swimmin' 3D8.

 Mental: C: 3D6, K: 1D6, M: 1D4, Sm: 1D6, Sp: 1D8.
    Search 4D6, Trackin' 2D6, Area Knowledge: Huntin' Zone 3D6, Survival:
 City 4D6, Guts 3D8

 Pace: 12.                               Wind: 20
 Size: 10.                                Terror: 9 (11 if in a group of 3
or more)

 Special Abilities:
 Armour: 1
 They have six legs and no arms or hands.
 Bite: Damage: STR + 1D8 After the first round of chewing (uninterrupted) on
             a target) the Demon 'Roach gains one level of armour piercing
versus its
             meal. This goes up each round to a maximum of 2 levels of
armour piercing.
 Kick: STR.
 Mental Stun: Attack roll: 3D8.     Damage: 1D10 Wind only.  Range
Increment: 5.   This is
             a quick purple-blue electrical flash from the demon 'roaches
antennae to the target.
             Each use of this attack causes the demon 'roach to lose 4 wind.
 Immune to the damage from ghost storms, but is not immune to mutation.
 May attempt to climb up any surface, due to small claws on feet.

> It seems to me that you were trying to make the buggest and baddest
>darn varmint around. Try to tone it down a bit. The way you have these
>critters they shpuld have eaten all that's left of humanity in the west
>and should be well on their way to conquering the Earth.

<sheepish> Yeah, first attempt mistakes. Thought about each attribute
individually instead of how the total package worked together.

> Remember roaches are already pretty scary now in the real world. Some
>of the suckers can be 5+ inches long and fly! That's creepy! I would
>make the things smaller, HOE already has too many BIG things in it. The

Yeaqh, lowered the size and armour by a bit. I don't want it too low,
though, since a party would get a few rounds of ganging up on it before its
buddy (or two) came by. I also lowered a few of their stats and abilities
(though, to me, a cockroach of any kind has to have at least a 5D12 or 6D12
Vigor).

>radrats are creepy because you really can only tell them apart from
>regular rat at nite when they glow. Even if you only make them human
>sized they still would be pretty formidable. Heck if you made them small
>they'd be harder to hit with guns,(or bazookas in their current state).

Point taken. : }  I decided on horse-sized just for that bit of
size-intimidation.

> The mental stun thing should be reworked as well. Instead of a mental
>stun how about a paralysing spray or a noxious gas that they eject, or
>like a stink bug you don't be come aware of the chemical until the
>players kill one of the bugs: "Just squash 'em Bob! They splat good."
>"Whut's that funny smell Fred?"
>"I duh no Bob but I ain't feelin' so good"
>"Me neither Fred."
> Whump. whump. Two unconcious yokels or in the mind of the bugs, MEAT.
>Biology can be just as scary as fantastic supernatural powers.

Good point as well, but I just like the idea of 'human-zappers.' Ooh, okay,
changed my mind. It's a bio-electric charge now. : } Purple glow and all.

Pat Gamblin



-Keeper of the Tradeposts of the Mantis,
-L5R Code (CCG1.1b) YA ++  S  G+  R+!r  Y+  C+  E++  M  T--  D++  K++  U+++
-L5R Code (RPG1.1) GP PR +++ CC +  RP+ GT: !  P+  MN + S++ G+++  R+  Y+ C++
T-- K++ U+++
-http://www.geocities.com/area51/lair/1961/
-copernicus@brunnet.net