String Theory: Variations

Not every vampire is the same and so I created a number of variations for my Night's Black Agents game, String Theory: plague bugs, plague rats and the enhanced vampire. You can find the base template here. The monsters listed here focus on the deviations.

The Brain Bug

A creature born of the plague and an African insect, it might have become the bearer of the Conspiracy's world ending plague. For now, it works to discretely kill and control their enemies.

Description (host): Ebony skinned, starved, bright colored clothing

Defining Quirks: Always smiles, asks after the health of family, laughs at every joke

Fly Form

General Abilities: Aberrance 11, Hand-to-Hand 6, Health 7

Hit Threshold: 8 (grape sized fly) or 5 against a area weapon
Alertness Modifier: +1 (heightened smell)
Stealth Modifier: +2
Damage Modifier: -2 (bite); +0 if victim is helpless
Armor: killed by any blow

Other powers: Mesmerism (contest of Aberrance and Stability), Possession (contest of Aberrance and Stability), Wings

Banes: normal banes plus Gerhard’s serum (explode as a class 1 explosive)
Blocks: fire, aerosol antibiotics
Compulsions: consume diseased blood

The Rat Thing

Sensuous and vile, this creature combines sex and disease in a new horrible fashion.

Description: long dirty brown hair, revealling ruined clothing, voluptuous form
Defining Quirks: hisses, leans forward into personal space, licks lips when speaking

General Abilities: Aberrance 20, Hand-to-Hand 16, Health 17, Shooting 7, Weapons 7

Hit Threshold: 4 (unnaturally aware)
Alertness Modifier: +2 (heightened smell)
Stealth Modifier: +2
Damage Modifier: +1 (fangs), +1 (claws), +0 (swarm)
Armor: -2 (mummified hide); all weapons do half damage (rounded down) after armor; guns do 1 damage while shotguns do 2 points of damage at point blank; in swarm form non-area attacks merely deal 1 damage, 5 damage will disperse her temporarily.

Other powers: Hive Mind (lower Hit threshold of opponent by the number of other infected attacking, count each rat swarm as one for the purposes of this power), Shape Shift (into a swarm of rats), Summoning (rat swarms)

Rolland Kipling Cook, enhanced vampire

The former CEO of Panecea Pharmaceuticals, he was transformed into vampire using a new improved type of vampire plague. One that was immune to all known antibiotics.

Description: athletic 50s, wild gray hair, tailored suits and worn leather boots
Defining Quirks: Southern accent, love of whisky, likes to talk while not facing his audience

In person, Cook seems more a cattle rancher than a biochemist. He possessed a wild eyed determination to conquer death.

But then his "employees" dragged him down into a secret lab and dumped him into the vat containing the advanced strain of antibiotic resistant vampire.

General Abilities: Aberrance 30, Hand-to-Hand 15, Health 17, Shooting 7, Weapons 7

Hit Threshold: 5 (unnaturally aware)
Alertness Modifier: +1 (heightened smell)
Stealth Modifier: +1
Damage Modifier: +1 (fangs), +1 (claws)
Armor: -2 (mummified hide); all weapons do half damage (rounded down) after armor; guns do 1 damage while shotguns do 2 points of damage at point blank

Free Powers: Drain, Field Effect (symptoms of sickness when within Close range), Infection (plague, Health test difficulty 6), Regeneration (restored to full Health after one day), Tracking by Smell (further +2 to Difficulty to evade), Unfeeling, Vampiric Strength

Other Powers: Spider Climb

Banes: fire, salt (does damage like acid if delivered internally), Gerhard’s serum (explode as class 1 explosive)
Blocks: fire
Compulsions: consume diseased food, flesh, or blood
Dreads: ultraviolet light, bright light
Requirements: consume human organs daily