The Mutation: The "Vanguard" Strider Encounter For The Orbital 2100 & Hostile rpg

 In the bio-organic horror style of Bio Booster Armor Guyver, a "Zoanoid" is a human (or in this case, a colonist) genetically re-engineered into a monstrous living weapon. This blog entry picks up right from here on the blog. 

On a remote exoplanet in the Orbital 2100 or Hostile setting, these mutations are often the result of "Black Box" precursor biotechnology or a corporate experiment gone horribly wrong.

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The Mutation: The "Vanguard" Strider

The Strider is a high-mobility, bio-artillery mutation. Unlike bulkier combat types, the Strider is lean, insectoid, and covered in a chitinous, matte-black exoskeleton. Its most terrifying feature is the "Thermal Projector" organ located in its chest—a biological laser capable of melting through pressurized hull plating.

• Visuals: Elongated limbs ending in curved talons, a faceless head with sensory pits, and a ribcage that pulses with orange light before an attack.

• Tactics: It uses superior agility to cling to ceilings or air ducts, picking off targets with long-range thermal blasts before closing in for a kinetic kill.

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Orbital 2100 Stats

Orbital 2100 uses the Cepheus Engine / 2D6 system.

Attribute	Value
STR	12 (+2)
DEX	14 (+3)
END	10 (+1)
INT	4 (-1)
Armor	6 (Chitinous Plate)
Movement	15m

• Melee Attack: Talons (2D6+2 damage).

• Ranged Attack: Thermal Projector (Range 50m, 4D6 damage, Ignores 2 points of Armor).

• Special Abilities:

  • Wall-Crawler: Can move on vertical surfaces or ceilings at full speed.

  • Bio-Regen: Recovers 1 point of END every round.

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Hostile RPG Stats

Hostile is based on the 2D6 Zozer system, emphasizing gritty survival.

Strider-Class Mutant

• Dexterity: 11 (+2)

• Stamina: 14

• Armor: 5 (Bio-Chitin)

• Skills: Athletics-3, Melee (Claws)-2, Recon-2.

Attacks:

• Serrated Talons: 3D6 Damage.

• Focus Beam: 4D6 Damage. (Note: Requires one "recharge" round after firing).

Special Rules:

• Thermal Vision: Negates all penalties for darkness or smoke.

• Instability: When reduced to 0 Stamina, the creature doesn't just die; it undergoes Cellular Breakdown, melting into a pool of highly acidic sludge (2D6 damage to anyone within 2 meters).

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Adventure Hook: "Project Cronos-2"

The players are sent to a supposedly abandoned mining colony on a tidally locked moon. They find that the corporate staff didn't evacuate; they were "optimized."

The facility’s AI is still functioning and views the players as "raw genetic material" needed to complete the next phase of the Strider evolution. The players must navigate the dark, organic-encrusted corridors while being hunted by a pack of Striders that can communicate through subsonic clicks.

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How to use this in your session:

• Sound Design: Describe the "wet" clicking sound of their talons on metal grates.

• Horror Element: When a Strider is killed, its human DNA is still recognizable in the viscera—perhaps a player recognizes a face or a wedding ring fused into the chitin.