Devastation Drive-In 3-D — 'Night Of The Creeps' (1986)

Creepslug

No. Enc.:  5d10 (5d100)
Alignment:  Chaotic
Movement:  180' (60')
Armor Class:  3
Hit Dice:  2 hp
Attacks:  1 (special)
Damage:  Special
Save:  L1
Morale:  10
Hoard Class:  VII, VIII
XP:  1

The Ancients scoured the heavens in search of intelligent life, always yearning for proof of beings from other worlds...

...but they rued the day when extraterrestrials finally made contact...

...IN THE FORM OF MALEVOLENT, BRAIN-DEVOURING PARASITES THAT RETURNED THE DEAD TO LIFE!!! 

Creepslugs are slimy, 8-12" long, jet-black gastropods bioengineered by an unidentified alien race.  They zip along vertical and horizontal surfaces at fantastic speeds, and make standing leaps of over 15'.

A creepslug's only motivation seems to be propagating its own kind...and it does this in the most horrible of fashions:  by nesting inside the skull of its host!  Upon a successful To Hit roll (as if from a 5 HD monster), creepslugs launch into the open mouths of any creature larger than they are, and worm their way into the cranial cavity to feed on the brain within.  Those infected with a creepslug must make a Saving Throw Versus Death, with failure indicating the infected dies instantly...

...but 2d8 hours later (usually after the corpse is found), it arises as a lumbering, murderous zombie!  Though moving at half their original living movement rate, creep-zombies attack, use mutations, and perform rudimentary tasks as normal.  And these shambling corpses seek out other victims to infect, and do so by orally expelling more creepslugs into new hosts' mouths. Even if a host was disabled while alive (like, say, in a wheelchair), the infested body can shamble without impediment.

Those that succeed in their Saving Throw just delay the zombification process, as 4d6 hours after infestation, the host dies and its skull ruptures, releasing 2d6 more creepslugs.  There is no known cure, but undiscovered Ancient artifacts and/or chemicals may kill the parasite and stave off the process.

Avoiding initial creepslug infestation is as simple as covering / protecting one's mouth.  But the creatures are persistent, as they slither easily into clothing and armor.  And infections spread exponentially....

Creepslugs can also infest and reanimate corpses, both recently deceased and long dead. The corpse's age and state of decomposition affects its speed and attacks, as determined by the Mutant Lord.  A creepslug infestation in a graveyard is a nightmare scenario....

Destroying a creepslug-infested zombie doesn't hurt the slugs within.  In fact, they often use their hosts' death as a convenient means of egress (particularly if headshots are involved).

Despite their singular goal, creepslugs indicate signs of malevolent, sadistic intelligence. They seemingly enjoy terrorizing the loved ones of their meat-hosts, and often allow hosts to repeat behaviors as they did in life (such as letting murderers continue their ghastly work). And the creepslugs themselves originally escaped confinement by infecting and forcing their alien masters to eject their containment capsule into the depths of space.

Creepslugs abhor fire, which incinerates them on contact—a simple lit match kills a loose creepslug instantly.  Slug-zombies suffer double damage from flame-based attacks.

Adventurers in the Mutant Future may encounter creepslugs in crashed starships, fallen space debris / satellites, Ancient cryogenic facilities, and Ancient brain depositories (where the slugs cluster in the hundreds, if not thousands).

A creepslug's Hoard Class is represented by the items found on its host.  And while the parasites are worth insignificant XP individually, their zombie shells should be valued based upon on "pre-deceased" abilities.

Mutations:  None