Devastation Drive-In 3-D — 'The Corpse Grinders' (1971)

Artifact:  Lotus Cat Food Can

As the world marched towards The Apocalypse, The Ancients spent hundreds of billions of dollars annually on pet food and pet-related accessories...

...with demand so far exceeding supply that unsavory corporations came up with an elegant solution....

...WHICH ENTAILED GRINDING THE DOWNTRODDEN, OVERPOPULATED UNDERCLASSES INTO SAVORY FELINE COMESTIBLES!!!

Lotus Cat Food is found in ruined groceries, veterinary clinics, department stores, and pet shops.  Each locale contains 2d12 tarnished, dented cans, and there is a 60% chance that the omni-polymer labels are unreadable.

Each tin contains brownish meat-slop soaking in clotted gravy.  Despite its noxious appearance, the sludge is quite savory, and utterly unspoiled by the ravages of centuries. What the unsuspecting don't know is that the meat isn't the typical beef, poultry, or fish...

Store Advertisement

...BUT HUMAN FLESH!!!

Any standard domestic feline that eats a full serving of Lotus Cat Food (each can contains 2 servings) goes berserk with cravings for Pure and Mutant Human meat, which translates to attacking as a 5 HD monster, gaining the Quickness Physical Mutation, a +1d4 damage bonus to any and all attacks, and a Morale score of 12.

Mutant felines (quadrupedal or humanoid, sentient or otherwise) are affected slightly differently.  They are allowed a Saving Throw Versus Stun per serving consumed, with failure indicating that the diner gains two Mutational Drawbacks:  the Physical Increased Caloric Needs [D] and a modified Mental Atrophied Cerebellum [D]. The subject loses -2 to INT as normal, but also -4 to WIL; furthermore, it gains an insatiable hunger for Pure and Mutant Humans, and attacks them on sight with a failed Ability Check Vs WIL.

Affected mutant felines and felinoids attack as if +2 HD higher, gain a singular +1d6 damage bonus in melee combat, and a +2 to Morale scores.

All non-felids have superior resistance to consuming Lotus Cat Food, and only acquire the modified Atrophied Cerebellum [D] mentioned above upon a failed Saving Throw Versus Poison with a +1 bonus.  They suffer no other effects, good or ill; the carnivorous urges are bad enough.

It is entirely possible that all known outbreaks of cannibalism in the Mutant Future are based entirely on Lotus Cat Food....!!!

Super-Secret Retailer Documents!

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Artifact:  Corpse Grinder

Ronco® Corpse Grinders are large machines that, appropriately enough, grind up human- / humanoid-sized corpses into tasty, pet-friendly glop.  To use the device, one loads an intact body (or dismembered parts) onto the attached conveyor belt, and pulls the activation lever...and over the course of the next 3d10 rounds, the machine discharges bloody slurry into well-placed buckets for canning.  (Ronco® Man-Canners sold separately.)

All parts of the corpse—skin, organs, hair, bones, clothing, jewelry, equipment—are ground up in the process, and 1 "standard" adult corpse provides enough meat-stuff to fill 2 cases (24 cans) of Lotus Cat Food.

A living creature fed into a Corpse Grinder endures an agonizing 6d12 damage per round.

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AFGTD Bonus Content!!!

From Lotus, To My Scanner, To You!!!

You can order your very own copy of director Ted V. Mikels' newest opus, The Corpse Grinders 3, right here!  Each DVD comes with a sanguinary sample of Lotus-brand flesh-kibble, as seen above!!!  WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!!!

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

Devastation Drive-In 3-D — 'The Giant Claw' (1957)

Karkonya

No. Enc.:  1 (1)
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement:  30' (10')
        —Fly:  450' (150')
Armor Class:  8
Hit Dice:  30
Attacks:  2 or 1 (2 claws, or 1 bite)
Damage:  5d10 / 5d10, or 10d12
Save:  L15
Morale:  12
Hoard Class:  None
XP:  18,000

The Ancients swarmed the land, sea, and air in all manner of technologically wondrous vehicles, jetting from one locale to another at fantastic speeds...

...BUT ALL TRAVEL, COMMERCIAL AND RECREATIONAL ALIKE, CAME TO AN END THE DAY A COLOSSAL BIRD-BEAST FROM THE STARS MADE EARTH ITS PERSONAL LARDER!!!

Karkonyas, freakish extraterrestrial avians "as big as battleships", are the undisputed masters of the Mutant Future skies.  The scruffy, goggle-eyed beasts crisscross the globe in a matter of hours, and they ravenously target any and all moving vehicles—locomotives, boats, aircraft, and even spacecraft—to gobble the occupants within.

A karkonya Swallows a target of dinosaur-size or less on a natural To Hit roll of 15-20 (and escape is impossible, unless the Mutant Lord is feeling lenient).

While a karkonya is incredibly easy to target, the gargantuan bird is nigh-impossible to injure due to a field of protective antimatter.  This screen deflects all damage from conventional weapons, explosives, and atomic armaments; only mu-meson / muon energy projectors (modified Advanced Rifles from p. 113-114 in the Mutant Future Core Rules) can breach the shield.  If such a weapon hits a karkonya, the antimatter collapses for 1d6 rounds, making the creature vulnerable to any and all attacks for the duration.

Karkonyas build stadium-sized nests in ruined cities, isolated jungles, and craggy peaks, and each contains 1 egg on the verge of hatching....

A karkonya has only one natural enemy:  the atomic voltonodon.  Battles between the titanic terrors last for days, and ravage thousands of square miles of terrain.

Mutations:  Enhanced Vision (Night), Unique Mutation ("Antimatter Screen")