Infectious Bite

[nexus]

I'm running a Post Apocolypse horror game and I was trying to develop a power for a certain creature. Here's the run down.

If the creatures inflict significant damage (Body) on their targets with teeth or claws those wounds will tend to get badly infected. If untreated, the infected wounds will kill the victim and he will rise about an hour later as one of the beasts.

The infection can be treated with antibiotics and medical care, giving the victim a better chance to survive. If they do, there is no further ill effect (accept for possible scarring, etc).

I can't seem to come up with a good construct for this effect.

[pinecone]

off the top of my head this sounds like Transform...it only works vs your body,but if it's linked to a kill attack it gets way easier to double someone, make quick effective medical treatment the reversal mech and your home...if you wait and let someone die thats Not quick or effective treatment so they stay a monster......

[Dust Raven]

I don't think doing damage to someone makes it easier to Transform them. Doesn't Transform always work from the starting value for BODY?

Anyways, using Transform, linked to the Bite Attack, would work. The Transform should be bought Continuous, 0 END, Uncontrolled. The SFX is that the wounds get infected, and when the transform is complete, the target appears to die, but is actually just a dormant whatever-he-is-now. The fulfill the Uncontrolled requirement of having something to stop the effect from continuing, just have the target receive medical treatment.

P.S.: Dawn of the Dead was cool.

[MikeyMitchell]

I'm running a Post Apocolypse horror game and I was trying to develop a power for a certain creature. Here's the run down.

If the creatures inflict significant damage (Body) on their targets with teeth or claws those wounds will tend to get badly infected. If untreated, the infected wounds will kill the victim and he will rise about an hour later as one of the beasts.

The infection can be treated with antibiotics and medical care, giving the victim a better chance to survive. If they do, there is no further ill effect (accept for possible scarring, etc).

I can't seem to come up with a good construct for this effect.

Gradual effect killing attack. A similar Power was constructed for Champions in 3D for Horror World.<BR><BR>

[pinecone]

I don't think doing damage to someone makes it easier to Transform them. Doesn't Transform always work from the starting value for BODY?

Anyways, using Transform, linked to the Bite Attack, would work. The Transform should be bought Continuous, 0 END, Uncontrolled. The SFX is that the wounds get infected, and when the transform is complete, the target appears to die, but is actually just a dormant whatever-he-is-now. The fulfill the Uncontrolled requirement of having something to stop the effect from continuing, just have the target receive medical treatment.

P.S.: Dawn of the Dead was cool.
You could well be right...I've always done it that way though, using the logic of transform being an alternate form of killing attack...after all I don't aply each killing attack to the base Body, so why would Transform be any differant? Anybody got a rulebook handy?

[Armitage]

You could well be right...I've always done it that way though, using the logic of transform being an alternate form of killing attack...after all I don't aply each killing attack to the base Body, so why would Transform be any differant? Anybody got a rulebook handy?

"If the total is equal to or greater than twice the target's starting BODY, the target is Transformed."
H5, p. 152

[Dust Raven]

Just thought of something concerning Transform. It needs a way to transform back. Would that apply in this case, as the target would actually have to die before the transformation took place? (I'm talking in SFX here, not game mechanics, as the "death" actually is the Transform mechanically.)

Would there be a way to reverse the process and have the original living target back? If not, you probably do need a Killing Attack, with a Transform or Summon used to simulate the resurrection as a flesheating zombie (or whatever creature traits yours actually has).

[KA.]

Just thought of something concerning Transform. It needs a way to transform back. Would that apply in this case, as the target would actually have to die before the transformation took place? (I'm talking in SFX here, not game mechanics, as the "death" actually is the Transform mechanically.)

Would there be a way to reverse the process and have the original living target back? -snip-

While it may not exactly be "book legal" that could be an interesting part of an undead campaign. A quest for some means, medical, magical, mystical, that would allow you to transform the undead back to normal living beings.
It would also pose interesting problems.
You could not just "kill" the undead wholesale if you knew that it was possible to change them back.
To be somewhat fair, I would let the players discover some means of telling the "salvagable" from the "unsalvagable".
Also remember the Body, Mind, Spirit, aspect of transform.
To make a character into a zombie, or some other undead creature, you would have to transform their Mind, and/or their Spirit, not just their Body.

(This brings up some interesting possibilities. :eg:
For example, to create a Vampire, you would mainly Transform Body and Spirit.
They would still be just as smart, just evil, and with the physical characteristics of a Vampire.
This is much harder to deal with than a mindless zombie. It will still have all of its skills, memories, etc. It will just be evil.:D )

Back to the original question. You could have a Transform with a Delayed or Triggered Killing Attack.
Basically the get turned into a Zombie, meaning that they look and act like a Zombie, but they can still be saved.
However, after a certain amount of time, the Killing Attack kicks in, eventually causing them to be "dead".
That means that they are still zombies, but it is no longer possible to save
them.

Of course your players will have to find all of this out during lengthy, and dangerous, research.

KA.

[Katherine]

How about a slow NND Killing attack (the infection) with limitations that proper medical care can reduce it and a triggered (Death of the victim would be the trigger) Transform (Corpse to Monster)? The healing condition would be killing the monster (transforms it back into an ordinary corpse)?

[Silbeg]

I'm running a Post Apocolypse horror game and I was trying to develop a power for a certain creature. Here's the run down.

If the creatures inflict significant damage (Body) on their targets with teeth or claws those wounds will tend to get badly infected. If untreated, the infected wounds will kill the victim and he will rise about an hour later as one of the beasts.

The infection can be treated with antibiotics and medical care, giving the victim a better chance to survive. If they do, there is no further ill effect (accept for possible scarring, etc).

I can't seem to come up with a good construct for this effect.

If you have the VIPER adventure, "Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth (javascript: viewItem(184120);)", there is a decent writeup of a power such as you are looking for. Note that it is a Transform that requires BODY to be taken by the attack it is linked to. Otherwise, perhaps look at the lycanthropes in the Bestiary? Not sure they have this ability, but they should. ;)

Hope this helps....

[ghost-angel]

How about a slow NND Killing attack (the infection) with limitations that proper medical care can reduce it and a triggered (Death of the victim would be the trigger) Transform (Corpse to Monster)? The healing condition would be killing the monster (transforms it back into an ordinary corpse)?

This is probably the best solution, IMHO. It prevents the need for a "cure" to the condition and satisfies the Transforms' need for a way to "undo" the effects so ther GM doesn't have to handwave the rule.

A 1pip Continuous NND KA would do the trick nicely. It takes time for the death to kick in, possibly with some kind of delay so the body comes off once a turn or slower (depending on how fast you want it to act).

[Sean Waters]

How about a slow NND Killing attack (the infection) with limitations that proper medical care can reduce it and a triggered (Death of the victim would be the trigger) Transform (Corpse to Monster)? The healing condition would be killing the monster (transforms it back into an ordinary corpse)?

Quite, quite brilliant.