Invisible Invaders
May is here, which means in a couple of weeks, I’ll have been married twenty-five years to wife Katrina. That’s half my life. How humbling to think that despite my many flaws that one person would stand by me for two-and-a-half decades. To help celebrate this event, all Spes Magna Games products are on-sale this month for 25% off their regular prices.
Elsewhere on the domestic front, the tutoring goes well. Nearer the beginning of April, I had zero clients. Starting a new month, I have three, which I see for eight hours a week. I’ve one school that seems interested in hiring me for the coming school year, and for certain the home-school program administered through Our Lady of Walsingham, my parish, has work for me, albeit in this latter case not enough to pay the bills all by itself.
Speaking of home-schooling, I’ve pitched an idea to the Powers That Be in said program to run a six-week summer course for homeschoolers called “Introduction to Story Games”. I think it’s a wonderful idea that’d give me a chance to not only teach more kids how to RPG, but would also help those kids by reinforcing targeted academic and social skills. If my “Introduction to Story Games” class gets approved, I’m considering using Skill Centric Role Play by David Holmes and Hero Kids by Hero Forge Games. Who knows? Maybe this class could become something like a regular source of income.
On the movie front, I’ve recently watched 1959’s ridiculous Invisible Invaders, starring John Agar, Jean Byron, and at least the voice of John Carradine. Brace yourself as Earth is brought to its knees by highly advanced aliens from the Moon who use their vast technological superiority to possess the bodies of the dead, creating highly radioactive zombies that, while they are slow, can at least walk without dragging their feet through the dirt.
Presenting the Invisible Invader, first for Mutant Future and then for the Marvel Super Heroes Roleplaying Game.
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 90′ (30′)
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 8
Attacks: 1 (weapon)
Damage: weapon
Save: L8
Morale: 7
Hoard Class: XV
XP: 1,060
Mutations: Animate Dead, Light-Refracting Force Screen, Sonic Vulnerability
The invisible invader is a highly intelligent (2d4+10 INT and WIL) alien creature that seeks to conquer inferior life forms. It can surround itself with a light-refracting force screen that renders it invisible to sight across the entire electromagnetic spectrum and absorbs 30 points of damage each attack made against it, unless the attack is sound-based. Not only do sound-based attacks ignore the invisible invader’s light-refracting force screen, such attacks also inflict +2 points of damage per die.
As its action for the round, the invisible invader may alter the subliminatory frequency of its physical form and merge with a recently killed creature that is approximately the size of a human. The invisible invader then animates the corpse, which becomes highly radioactive (Class 4 radiation in a 15-foot radius). Due to its imperfect control, the animated dead has its movement reduced by 25%. The invisible invader can use the corpse’s physical abilities, including mutations, but it loses its light-refracting force screen. Damage suffered by the corpse does not affect the invisible invader, unless the damage is sound-based.
In its visible form, the invisible invader resembles a squamous humanoid creature with large hands and feet with three phalanges each.
Primary Abilities: F Ty, A Ty, S Ty, E Gd, R Rm, I Ex, P Rm
Secondary Abilities: Health 28, Karma 80, Resources Rm, Popularity 0
Powers: Animate Dead (Am), Light-Refracting Force Screen (Rm)
Nota Bene: When the invisible invader uses its Animate Dead power on a recently dead creature approximately human in size, the corpse animates under the control of the invisible invader. Use the corpse’s original FASE, but apply -1CS to Fighting and Agility and +1CS to Strength and Endurance. The corpse emits Excellent intensity radiation. The invisible invader retains its own RIP and Karma. In its natural form, the invisible invader’s Light-Refracting Force Screen grants Remarkable levels of Invisibility and Resistance to all forms of damage except those based on sound. Whether possessing a corpse or in its natural form, the invisible invader is vulnerability to sound-based attacks (+1CS damage).
