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Oh, we all lived, but we’re scarred, badly scarred. Not just on the outside. I can’t explain it to you, you don’t know the horror…to feel them wiggling under the skin, to feel them start to push their way out! But more than that, to know that in a sense…you’re birthing them
Eruptors are a rare form of life that are most likely to be discovered in long-undisturbed caves or the dense heart of remote forests. They begin their life cycles as tiny spore-like fertilized eggs that appear like a fine, yellow dust that is easily overlooked. The dust clings to cave walls or forest vegetation and waits for an opportunity to implant. They can implant themselves in the uncovered skin of any creature that brushes up against the “dust,” burrowing through the pores unbeknownst to the host, causing a slight rash.
They gestate rapidly over the course of the next 12 hours, appearing as increasingly large lumps or cysts under the skin that contacted the dust, growing into tadpole forms slightly larger than a pea. They will then exit the same way they went in, stretching skin pores to allow egress, leaving behind hideous scars similar to enormous pock-marks, as the skin cannot fully return to its former state. The process is uncomfortable, but not life-threatening, though deaths have occurred when panicked hosts have harmed themselves trying to excise the lumps from under the skin. Some who have been through the process describe having difficulty killing the things after their emersion, despite feelings of horror and revulsion, because of some inexplicable emotional tie.
Eruptors grow into creatures that represent large, eyeless toads, one to two feet in length. They can jump impressive heights, over six feet off the ground, and have impeccable senses of hearing and vibration though they are blind. They secrete a mucus that is toxic to humans, causing paralysis and sometimes stopping heart or lung function. They are not aggressive by nature, but when cornered or interrupted while mating, they will attempt to poison their enemies or drive them off with aggressive jumping, including leaping directly into their enemy’s face.
ERUPTOR, Toad-form
STR 1
CON 3
DEX 15
SIZ 2
INT 5
POW 1
APP 3
HP 3
Note: 5xD4 tadpole-forms emerge over the span of a few minutes. These have effectively no characteristics, but a SAN check must succeed to kill each one before it drops off and wriggles out of sight within a few minutes.
Damage Bonus: 0
Armor: all attacks are made at half skill due to small size and tendency to leap;
Weapons: toxic mucus causing localized paralysis on contact with bare skin; if eyes affected, Luck or temporary blindness; if mouth affected, lose D4 CON per hour (cardiac/pulmonary damage) until hourly 3xCON roll succeeds
Spells: none
Skills: Jump 80%; Dodge 45%
Languages: none
Sanity Loss: 0/1 if toad leaps into face; D4/D4 to have ‘tadpoles’ emerge from flesh
