The Juicer Plague, or Vampire Plague turns normal woodland creatures into plant juice suckers of ravenous intensity, and shocking amounts. The animals grow in size, and swell....until near the end they get overwhelmed with a desire to bite other animals (thus spreading the disease), and then they explode throwing disease tainted gore in a wide circle. They leave behind them fields of crippled plants.
If a wolf were to eat a plague suffering rabbit, the wolf would be infected as well. If such a creature were to bite a human, the human would not be infected (except if certain conditions of a dual-genomic nature became active.)
The virus is strictly for attacking plants, but it has a dual-genomic structure (which probably means that some clueless folks in this world are going to yell 'its mutated'). In a dessert environment without enough plant matter, it shifts its targets to animals and people. Its gene structure has two expressions that are equally valid, and which one is active is determined by the presence of sufficient amounts of foilage which is its preferred diet.
To avoid infection, a bit animal must make a Simple Resistance check. For every additional bite the Juicer or Vampinimal, gains a +4 penalty to their dice roll. An animal contacting the gore after an explosion must make a Simple check -3.
Infected creatures get a plus @2 to their strength. They dislike bright lights, and tend to stay in the shade during the afternoon hours.
One infected creature can on average destroy a hundred square yards of crops or lawn in a ten minute period. This is a ten yard by ten yard space, about the size of a suburban front lawn. Woodland is one-half to one-fourth the speed depending on tree size and density of trunks.
On average, they find a new 'recruit' every thirty minutes. After each ten minute period, roll a Resistance Simple Check. Failure means the creature loses a stamina mark. When Stamina reaches 0@5, the creature explodes.
Lower Key Variant:
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A lower-key, more insidious form of the plague could be exactly the same minus the parts about explosive death and herbivores biting other animals. The herbivores would still die (exhaustion, probably), and the plague would still spread up the food chain. It would be somewhat slower acting because of the absence of two out of three vectors (bite from infected animal, infected gore, biting infected animal), but the root cause of the plague would be less obvious, and thus a recurrence of the plague after the crisis had supposedly passed would be more likely.
One of these can destroy a 100 square yard area in 10 minutes? Do you know how big that area is? You might want to consider making it smaller, but aside from that, it looks really good.
A hundred square yards, not a one-hundred yard square. A square ten yards on a side would be that size; isn't that roughly twice the size of a suburban front lawn? That's really quick, to be sure, but it seems feasible for cropland. In a woodland area, I might cut that down some, depending on the density of the vegetation and the size of the animal.
A lower-key, more insidious form of the plague could be exactly the same minus the parts about explosive death and herbivores biting other animals. The herbivores would still die (exhaustion, probably), and the plague would still spread up the food chain. It would be somewhat slower acting because of the absence of two out of three vectors (bite from infected animal, infected gore, biting infected animal), but the root cause of the plague would be less obvious, and thus a recurrence of the plague after the crisis had supposedly passed would be more likely.
You're right Scott. I was thinking that a 100 square yard area would be 100 yards by 100 yards. But yeah, I could see a vampire bunny destroying a front lawn in 10 minutes.
Actually, John made his Intuition check. That was what I was aiming it. But it was a mistake to aim at it.
Which just showcases the kewlness of Open Source Game Design.
We'll go with Wodium's suggestion, and I'll put in a lower-key plague as a variant (Because: Variants Are Good!)
I think we can call this one All Done! Which brings up a suggestion, what about a 'completed' tag?
Eric
It would be useful to include base stats for various animals, but we'd have to create those; maybe more trouble than it's worth. And it might be worth noting that if the verser manages to isolate the Jucier Plague pathogen and take it with him (not intended, I know, but they're resourceful buggers), it's a T12@8 Mutagenic Virus.
T12@8 Mutagenic Virus...right.
The other speaks to another need. Flip open a Monster Manual, and you'll see Storm Giants and Dragons, but you'll also see Bears, Lions, and Monkeys.
And since MV has more realisitic foes more often than D20, we need them more than D20 needs theirs.
I would say its more trouble than its worth for this particular project. One problem is when a project spirals larger and larger. Its good to find a place to close it off.
We can work on something else after this, IMO.
"Project Creep," I've heard it called. Agreed on statting the animals, both counts.