Monday, April 18, 2011

Monster Monday~Ah-Muzen-Vespa - Giant Space Hornets


Up from the well floated a weird demon-piping that was a symphony of madness. Far down in the darkness I glimpsed the faint fearful glimmering of a vast white bulk. 

--Robert E. Howard, THE VALLEY OF THE WORM 

No. Enc.: 1-18
Alignment:Inimical
Move: 120'(40’)
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 7
Attacks: 2
Damage: 1d8
Morale: 8
By the time you here the piping like buzz its too late, they've got you. The strange piping like buzzing that sounds like words in your mind. Is there actually any words at all or the space born madness of these creatures as their jaws close around your flesh? 
Created by the Clonemasters Celvon 5 these creatures were developed to fill a niche in many colony worlds. Instead they have become one of the most dangerous spreading swarms in the universe. These creatures are part of a telepathic hive mind whose aims to enslave all they encounter. Their stings are both a bane & are addictive to those who encounter them. A victim that fails a saving throw vs. poison will become stimulated and essentially incapacitated for 1d4 hours.
These creatures were originally engineered from the Vespa mandarinia into a much larger & more sedate hornet called the Ah-Muzen-Vespa. However after several generations several mutations began to manifest themselves. Immunity to vacuum, increased intelligence, telepathic hive mind, & many other advantages. Many feel that these "mutations" were by design rather then chance. Built in by the clone masters who sold them to the humans in the first place. 
These creatures often implant others with their larva which then wrap around the internal brain stem of the the victim through the ear canal. The victim is often unaware that they are acting as an agent for the hive mind. 
Many authorities are only now starting to search for these agents. These agents may lay in wait for years until the adult bursts forth from the host.
A single hornet can kill as many as 40 human colonist per minute thanks to its large mandibles which can quickly strike and decapitate a colonist. It takes only a few of these hornets a few hours to exterminate the population of a 30,000 colonists, leaving a trail of severed humans heads and limbs in its wake. 
Recently, several companies in Asatic and Surburan planetary have begun to manufacture dietary supplements and energy drinks which contain synthetic versions of secretions of the larvae of Ah-Muzen-Vespa , which the adult hornets usually consume. The manufacturers of these products make claims that consuming the larval hornet secretions (marketed as "hornet juice") will enhance human endurance because of the effect it has on adult hornets' performance. Because these products are marketed as dietary supplement rather than pharmaceuticals, they do not have to support their claims. Some studies however, have suggested that the  Ah-Muzen-Vespa amino acid mixture itself may influence animal performance in major ways. Several companies have begun selling these drinks at exotic alien markets on the edges of human space. Urban legend points to the fact that these products are being marketed to various royal houses. 
Recently several artificial life forms that have been found when the monsters have been destroyed. These robots are very dangerous & carry a wide assortment of weaponry.They seem to be made in the image of their makers.
  

6 comments:

  1. Yowzer. You went super big with these! Even Suwár Tar might balk at a swarm of critters like this. The video and pic drive the point home...

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  2. Yeah I was looking at something that would actually give a party a run for their money.Something really that would be pulp magazine cover worthy.

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  3. Awesome. By the way Needles, are the fiends Open Content/Public Domain, etc... how do you feel about these monsters being included in the Humanspace Monsters book?

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  4. They are all open content my friend! Absolutely awesome! Also check above as well!

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  5. Did I mention public domain! Hell ya their public domain since most of my influences are public domain!

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