Devastation Drive-In 3-D — 'Return Of The Living Dead III' (1993) (Part 1)

Artifact:  Trioxin 2-4-5

As part of their bewilderingly inconsistent (and quite hypocritical) crusade against consciousness-altering substances, The Ancients devised an experimental herbicide to eradicate "recreational plantlife" without toxic side effects or environmental harm...

...but the chemical didn't work as planned, and instead of killing greenery and winning the "war on drugs"...

...IT RESURRECTED THE DEAD, AND INFUSED THEM WITH AN INSATIABLE CRAVING FOR THE BRAINS OF THE LIVING!!!

Trioxin 2-4-5 (also known as 2-4-5 Trioxin, or simply Trioxin) is a yellowish gas found in pressurized, rusting drums...and it's a byproduct of the gooey, liquefying corpses also sealed within!

Yes, every tank labeled Trioxin contains the remains of an Ancient tragically exposed to the chemical itself during the original field tests.  Over the centuries, the body exuded enough gas to fill the barrel entirely.

Why seal the bodies in drums?  Because Trioxin brings the dead back to life, with world-shattering consequences.  Any humanoid or animal (including insects) corpse exposed to the substance awakens within 1d4 minutes, and though devoid of biological signs of life (heartbeat, respiration, temperature, etc), all memories, knowledge, and awareness generally remain intact.  Locomotion and tool use are  also usually unimpaired.

But the resultant neurological changes and pains of decomposition drive the revived specimens berserk, and only the electro-synaptic impulses of living brains temper the agony. A fresh brain quells a revenant's hunger for 1d10+10 minutes.

Trioxin-zombies are effectively immortal.  And though they can be dismembered, disposing of their perpetually wriggling parts is a nightmare, as incineration just generates more Trioxin gas.  The Ancients devised elaborate air filtration and purification systems to "safely" dispose of those exposed.

Braindead

No. Enc.:  1d6 (2d10)

Alignment:  Chaotic

Movement:  90' (30')

Armor Class:  6

Hit Dice:  11

Attacks:  3 (2 claws, 1 bite)

Damage:  1d6 / 1d6 / 2d6+2

Save:  L6

Morale:  12

Hoard Class:  None

XP:  2,000

Braindeads are humanoid corpses given life—and an insatiable hunger for living brains!—thanks to Trioxin 2-4-5 gas.  Anyone struck by both claws is considered grabbed, and vulnerable to an automatic bite attack that inflicts 2d6+2 damage.  Braindead bites are infectious (treat as a Class 20 poison), but victims suffer agonizing deaths that take 1d4 hours.

Braindeads come in 3 varieties:  canned, infected, and scourge.

Canned (statted above) are goopy, disintegrating, sickening escapees from Trioxin drums. The flesh of their extremities often fuses to their bodies, then ruptures as the creatures animate.  Enraged and insane after being trapped for centuries without sustenance, canned braindeads fight with unrelenting aggression, and gain a +2 To Hit per claw attack.  They have limited use of tools and technology.

Infected braindeads are the recently-revived victims of other braindeads (any variety) who succumb to toxic bites, or those who animate after direct Trioxin exposure.  They retain the same Movement rate as when alive, and those with WIL scores of 13+ retain the powers of speech and reason for 1d6 hours before turning feral.  Infecteds also Save based on their living forms.  They can use tools and technology.

Scourge braindeads are exceptional infected specimens who manage their decomposition-induced madness through intense pain.  After suffering 1d4 HP (usually through self-inflicted piercings and mutilation), a scourge braindead can make a Saving Throw Vs Stun; success means the creature functions with full cognition and conscience for 1 hour, and has no need to feed. Each hour afterwards, the scourge must make another Saving Throw at a cumulative -2 penalty, with failure indicating the immediate need to feed on brains, or undertaking the pain ritual again.  Eating brains returns the scourge to "normal" for 1d4 hours.

Scourges often use their body modifications in combat, and the assorted hooks, nails, glass, and jagged debris they jam into their flesh raises the damage of their claw attacks to 1d12 / 1d12.  Like infecteds, they Save as if still alive.

Fascinatingly, scourges with intense emotional attachments and/or romantic bonds get a +3 bonus to all Saving Throws related to their mental states.

Mutations:  Toxic Weapon ("Zom-bite")

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Bonus pics from other flicks in the franchise!!!

Devastation Drive-In 3-D — 'Master Of The Flying Guillotine' (1977)

Artifact:  Flying Guillotine

In times considered ancient by The Ancients themselves, wizened assassins wandered the lands and slew their Emperor's enemies with all manner of exotic implements...

...AND NONE WAS MORE FEARED, MORE DEADLY, MORE GRUESOME THAN A HAND-HURLED, SKULL-SEVERING HEAD-HARNESS!!!

Flying guillotines are amongst the deadliest of Ancient "low-tech" weapons in the Mutant Future.  They are collapsible (to the size and shape of a parchment scroll) fabric and mesh domes equipped with interior and exterior blades, all attached to a 30' long chain.

To use a flying guillotine, one slings the dome frisbee-style while holding onto the chain, and the contraption slices through the air at blinding speed.  Contact inflicts 2d8 damage.  A tug of the links returns the device, allowing it to be thrown each and every combat round.

Upon a natural To Hit roll of 16-20, a flying guillotine ensnares the target's head, and the victim must make a Saving Throw Vs Death...with failure indicating instant decapitation as the chain is yanked for the return flight!

An unfurled flying guillotine can be used as a melee weapon, but it only inflicts 1d4 damage when wielded in this manner.

Attackers utilizing a flying guillotine suffer a -4 To Hit penalty when fighting in environs rife with close-knit obstructions (dense flora, cluttered storerooms, and the like).

The device damages such obstructions, however, and winnows them down with each and every attack....

Bogglingly, those suffering from the Vision Impairment [D] physical mutation or outright blindness can handle a flying guillotine without any penalties whatsoever!

Devastation Drive-In 3-D — 'Alien Contamination' (1980)

Martian Cyclops

No. Enc.:  0 (1)
Alignment:  Chaotic
Movement:  0' (0')
Armor Class:  8
Hit Dice:  15
Attacks:  2 (2 tentacles)
Damage:  2d10 / 2d10
Save:  L15
Morale:  9
Hoard Class:  XXII
XP:  6,000

Explorations to the Martian surface were always frought with peril, but still The Ancients delved ever deeper into the planet's cavernous intertior...

...WHICH PROVED DISASTROUS, AS THEY UNLEASHED A SLIMY, CYCLOPEAN CONQUEROR INTENT ON DEVOURING EVERY LIVING THING ON EARTH!!!

Martian cyclopses are 15'-20' tall, sedentary, corpulent masses of quivering green flesh that dwell in isolated, warm, humid dens:  volcanic caverns, jungle ruins, swampy sewers, wrecked ships, and the like.  They exude ichor from every orifice (of which there are many, including dual wheezing nasal slits across their torsos), and floor-to-ceiling "webs" of slime crisscross their lairs.

Martian cyclopses are so bloated that they can't move under their own power, so they mentally enslave others to do their bidding (which explains how they hitched starship rides to Earth in the first place).  Once settled planetside, a Martian cyclops enslaves a prime "disciple" that orchestrates and implements its master's horrible scheme:  the wide-scale dissemination of eggs that cause all nearby to explode!

Said eggs are gooey, pulsating, 2' long ovoids that glow from within.  If an egg is touched, handled, jostled, and/or disturbed in any way, it bursts 2 rounds later in a geyser of blistering Class 18 fluid that covers all in a 15' radius.  Anyone not wearing a hazmat suit (or similar self-contained enviro-gear that covers the entire body) must immediately make a Saving Throw Vs Poison; failure indicates the victim swells for 2 rounds before erupting in gory chunks, and success means a mere 8d6 acid damage.

Flamethrowers are the most effective means of safely destroying Martian cyclops eggs, and freezing renders them inert for safe handling and transportation.

A Martian cyclops feeds on humanoids, making its meals come to it via mind-controlling Empathy.  The creature commands hypnotized thralls to approach, and then it crushes them with tentacles as thick as tree trunks.  A successful hit by either tentacle means that the victim is ensnared, and suffers automatic crushing damage each round...and once the victim is pulped, the tentacles reveal sucking maws to better inhale the broken remains!

A called shot to the eye [at whatever penalties deemed appropriate by the Mutant Lord] kills a Martian cyclops instantly...and its main minion explosively (as if exposed to an egg above) expires as well 1d6 rounds later.

Mutations:  Empathy, Mental Barrier, Mind Thrust, Neural Telepathy