Latest revision as of 04:37, 9 June 2010

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Ooze Spitter

Exotic Components: the bones and flesh of at least 20 humans. Animal corpses can be substituted for the human ones, if necessary, with larger bones requiring proportionately fewer corpses. If building for a capacity of 20, at least 25 humans or equivalent animals must be used.
Successes Needed to Assemble: 7 (Difficulty: 3 if ammunition capacity is 10, 4 if it is 20)
Mote Cost to Animate: 35 motes

Ooze spitters look vaguely similar to Bonespike catapults, in that they have a fleshy sack supported by four spidery legs. However, instead of the javelin-launching cylinder, Ooze Spitters have a yard long, insectile looking snout protruding from two slightly fuzzy muscle-lined sacs. This assemblege is mounted on a swivel-mounting formed from various vertebrae and bones, and that connects in turn to the legs and processing sac. However, due to the difference in ammunition, ooze spitters have a smaller, extendable double mouth at the base of the processing sac (think Aliens) instead of a larger one, which punches into the chests or necks of fresh corpses and sucks out all of the bodily fluids for processing. They are slightly smaller, and usually stand about 9 feet high and 12 feet wide at the broadest point, but there is enough room around the weapon for a single human sized creature to stand, and if the Spitter is so ordered by the controlling necromancer, they will accept a separate gunner. For this reason, Abyssals and war ghosts often use them as transport into the thick of the battle. When used in this way the Ooze Spitter's bony defensive plates will provide cover equivalent to a target shield for its rider.

The way these monstrosities attack is quite disgusting, as they combine the absorbed fluids with strong digestive acids and bile, and then use the strong muscles around the upper pair of sacs to squirt it out at high speed, knocking over and dissolving opponents.

As an extra benefit, corpses sucked dry by the ooze spitter are still perfectly good ammo for the bonespike catapult, as the ooze spitter leaves the dessicated corpses where they lie. For this reason, the smaller and slightly faster spitters often walk ahead of the bonespikes, destroying any threats to the artillery and letting them maintain a constant barrage of javelins.

Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 5, Stamina 4. No social attributes. Perception 3, Intelligence 1, Wits 2.
Virtues: Not applicable. Never fails Valor rolls, never succeeds on any other rolls.
Abilities: Archery 4 (Ooze Cannon +1), Athletics 1, Awareness 2, Brawl 1, Endurance 3, Presence 1, Resistance 2, Survival 2
Base Initiative: 7
Attack:
Leg Talon: Speed 10, Accuracy 6, Damage 5L, Defense 6
Ooze Stream: Accuracy 10(+1), Damage 6B, Range 40 yards, Rate 2
Ooze Spread: Accuracy 13(+1), Damage 4B, Range 25 yards, Rate 1
Dodge Pool: 5, Soak: 8L/8B (6L/4B bone armor)
Willpower: 10, Health Levels: -0/-0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Destroyed
Essence: 1
Other Notes and Powers:

• Consume: An Ooze Spitter may suck a corpse dry as an action. There is no roll required for this. If the Spitter attempts to seize a living victim, resolve it as a clinch attempt with normal damage. After this clinch is successful, the Spitter may suck 1 health level worth of automatic lethal damage out of the hapless target per turn until the clinch is broken, much like an Abyssal feeding.
• Ammunition: Ooze Spitters may be created with the capacity for either 10 or 20 spurts of ooze. It requires one corpse (or three health levels of damage) to produce enough fluids for a single shot.

• Ooze Stream: This attack always causes a check for knockdown, although if no damage is inflicted it will only be at difficulty 1. However, in most cases, the difficulty on the knockdown roll should increased by 2 to represent the ooze already lying on the battlefield, or already covering the victim. (See below for ooze effects)
• Ooze Spread: The squirting action of the Ooze nozzle means that the Spitter (or anyone directing the nozzle) may make an attack with +3 accuracy at up to three people at once within 25 yards, much like the fire-fan ability of the flamespear. Use the same attack roll for all three targets. This takes two 'shots' of ammo instead of 1, and cannot be combined with any other nozzle attacks in the same turn.
• Ooze Effects: The ooze fired from the nozzle of the ooze sprayer is not immediately damaging, although it is fired with considerable force (thus the bashing damage). However, every round that it remains on the target, that target must make a Stamina+Resistance roll against difficulty 3. If this roll succeeds, the target takes 2 lethal levels of damage. If the roll fails, the target takes 4 levels of lethal damage. This is acid-based environmental damage, and so may be soaked down to nothing with Stamina only, which also means mortals automatically fail this roll. Anything which provides immunity to acid will protect completely against this effect, although the ooze is still slippery, foul smelling and highly infectious. Anyone surviving an ooze attack must make rolls against nausea (Stamina + Resistance, difficulty 2, or -2 penalty for the turn), and it adds 2 to the difficulty of the resistance roll to resist infection. The ooze can be wiped off with a non-reflexive Dex+Athletics action, although it need not be actually rolled. If, however, the user has 0 dice in the Dex+Athletics pool (probably through wound penalties and mobility penalties) then they cannot manage to scrape off all of the acid, and will probably be dissolved alive inside their armour. The acid is not strong enough to actually effect weapons or armour. Finally, any ground slicked with the acid counts as difficult ground, difficulty 2 on dex + athletics to remain standing. Anyone falling into a puddle of the stuff suffers the same effects as if they had been coated. If the surface was already trecherous, adding ooze will add 2 to the difficulty of the dex + athletics roll. Some necromancers keep an Ooze Spitter around just to provide ooze for traps and similar purposes.

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Comments, Suggestions, or Flames

The Spitter is smaller, weaker, but quite a bit more dangerous to human sized foes (especially to mortals) than the bonespike catapult on which it was based (although I had the idea separately, then realised Dorchadas had already done a nifty 4-legged walking turret thingy, on a slightly larger scale). It is also more difficult/time consuming to make because of the complicated ooze spraying nozzle, and costs more motes of essence because of the magic needed to ferment the Ooze itself. I had to make up the close-combat stats, because they weren't listed for the catapult.
-- Darloth

Wow. I'm touched--and I like it a lot, especially the synergy between the two horrific zombie tanks of DEATH! I do have a couple questions, though. First, did you get the idea from the tank in Ghost in the Shell (that's where I got my idea)? Second, why is it so difficult to make (or do you think my difficulties are low)? -Dorchadas

I didn't get it from ghost in the shell... Although I see where you get it from now you mention it. I just thought about it on the bus... The nozzled furry ooze cannon is based on a weapon out of Xcom:Apocalypse of all things, the alien plasma rifle, although it has an effect more like the entropy gun from the same game. I just thought it would be good to have a spider-walker turret nasty thingy, and came and was about to make one when I saw you'd already done a larger, seige-tank version ^_^
Anyway, it's harder to make because setting up the stomach to produce the acid (which obviously takes magic) is complicated, and then you have to get all of the intestinal tubing lined up to feed the squeeze-sacs, and THEN you have to get the nozzle built properly, and make sure the muscle lining around the weapon is set up right, make sure you've got the swivel-joint swivelling... it's just a more complex weapon than a massive javelin launching missile pod. I see it looking like a cross between a WWII machine-gun turret, a giant fly's head, and something vaguely phallic (actually, -highly- phallic... oops, didn't notice that). And that's just the weapon. Hope that answers your questions!
-- Darloth