Strange menace from another world? Government experiment gone awry? Nature’s response to the scourge that is humanity?
When it comes to determining the true origin of the gargantuan blob, speculation runs almost as rampant as the blob itself Regardless of how it came to be, the gargantuan blob is a threat to people, cities, and – if left unchecked – the world itself.
The gargantuan blob is a large gelatinous mass, akin to a cross between an impossibly large amoeba and a moving lake of molasses. It has no known internal organs or ocher identifying characteristics, and scientists have concluded that it seems to violate most known laws of biology. Its boundless hunger coupled with its ability to digest seemingly anything makes it a terrifying threat. It seems to possess no intelligence whatsoever, acting entirely on instinct and the need to consume. However, its instincts do allow for survival; it retreats from pain and avoids digesting the ground beneath it.
It begins life much more modestly. Its original state is much smaller, although how small is unknown. In the earliest stages of its existence, it seems to go unnoticed or regarded as little more than a curiosity, and at slightly larger stages, it devours those who might report it. It grows at an alarming rate, gaining substance from the material around it. It seems to transform what it digests directly into more of its gooey mass. What surprises many about the gargantuan blob is its amazing speed once it’s larger. Its mass lets it roll along itself, like a wave of viscous water. le has no intellect or mind to speak of, reacting to its environment in a purely instinctual way. However, it does seem co know where to shamble for the most opportunities to cause mayhem – usually measured in terms of building or population density.
Contact with a gargantuan blob is at best exceptionally dangerous, and at worst deadly. It’s covered with acidic juices it uses to break down its food, causing painful burns. The body of the creature is also sticky, making it very difficult to escape before being digested alive.
Gargantuan blobs seem impervious to almost any kind of damage, although they always have a weakness. What this vulnerability is varies among individual creatures, as does how to discover it. Sometimes investigators need to track down its origin, using that information to devise a means of stopping it. Occasionally brave individuals need to follow and investigate it, observing its wake of destruction to see what it avoids or what it thrives on. Sometimes the secret lies with a survivor of a gargantuan blob attack; finding, rescuing, and interviewing that person holds the key. And at times the secret lies with scientists, working feverishly in labs co devise a means of stopping it; if only they could find someone brave enough to recover a sample of the creature …
Some varieties of gargantuan blobs only devour living or organic matter; such an attack might result in a city completely devoid of life, a curious ghost town leaving investigators to wonder what happened. And there are rumors of another specimen with cunning and intelligence enough to hide. It lurks in the sewers, waiting for the right moment to strike. And all the while growing … ever growing.
Typical Gargantuan Blob
Reflexes 2D: brawling 4D, climbing 3D, contortion 7D
Coordination 1D
Physique 5D
Knowledge 1D
Perception 1D: search: places to eat 4D, tracking: places to eat 4D
Presence 3D: intimidation 5D, willpower 5D
Strength Damage: 3D
Move: Its Move is equal to its scale +5 (treat small sizes as a negative); thus its Move at scale 2 (small) is 7, while its Move at scale 8 (large) is 13. Its minimum Move is 1.
Fate Points: 0
Character Points: 1
Body Points: 25
Wound levels: 3
Natural Abilities: gooey body (after grappling, it takes no action to keep the victim grappled); digestive juices (deals an additional 3D in acidic damage per round, even if the victim breaks free -it takes a full round and possibly a Moderate scholar: chemistry roll to neutralize the acid); rampant growth (after eating an amount of material equal in scale to its current scale, its scale increases by one); vulnerability (a specific attack or condition, in addition to dealing its normal damage, also subtracts its resultant damage total to its scale; for example, an attack that deals 7 result points in damage would reduce its scale by 7; the minimum scale reduction from a successful attack using the vulnerability is 1, even if it was unable to penetrate its defenses)