Tuesday, February 28, 2012

"G" is for "Gnawberry"

Gnawberry

No. Enc.:  0 (6d6)
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement:  3' (1')
Armor Class:  9
Hit Dice:  1 hit point
Attacks:  See Below
Damage:  See Below
Save:  L1
Morale:  12
Hoard Class:  None
XP:  7

Master mimics, gnawberries are slugs that nest amidst ordinary (a fluid definition in the Mutant Future, to be certain) edible berries found on shrubs, brambles, and vines.  They can shift to any color, texture, and flavor, and assume any shapes up to 3" long.

Easy to chew and swallow, a gnawberry spends 1 full turn inside inside the stomach merging and healing its separated parts...and then begins devouring from within.  Each gnawberry consumed does 1d3 damage per round.  [If a PC eats a "handful" of the creatures, the Mutant Lord should randomly determine the quantity on 1d6+3.]  Upon the host's death, the creatures burrow forth from the body and slither back to the plant on which they were plucked.

Gnawberries cannot be distinguished from ordinary fruit by the naked eye; specialized mutant senses or advanced technologies are required.  However, grinding up a gnawberry reveals its true nature, as it leaks a rancid yellowish slime.  (This goo isn't present when the creatures are eaten, though, as saliva negates its production.)

Consuming salt pills [p. 124 of the Mutant Future Core Rules] will kill off a gnawberry infestation, as will receiving 2 back-to-back filter-dose injections [p. 125].

Mutations:  Chameleon Epidermis (Modified)