The Mind Worm

[phoenix240]

The Mind worm is a 2 inch long thin gray slug creature. It has no obvious sensory organs and its only orifice is lamprey like mouth sucker one end and two rows of stubby tendrils run its length, helping it move and cling to nearly any surface except substances like glass or ice.

 

Mind Worms can enter the body of another creature through any orifice wide enough for it to squeeze though (most of them except in small creatures). It secretes a potent anesthetic/narcotic mucus that dulls the sensation of the initial penetration and can quickly render the victim sedate and groggy allowing the creature to fully enter, a process that can take anywhere from a few seconds ot almost a minute. It prefers to attack sleeping or unconscious targets for additional safety however and targets bodily opening near the head for faster access to the brain and central nervous system.

 

Once inside a host, the Mind Worm makes it way to the brain, moving carefully and using its innate ability to coagulate bleeding and seal tissue to inflict minimal damage to the host's body. It needs it intact. When it reaches the brain it exude microscopic neural filaments into it, merging with the host nervous system and overriding its control. This process can take quite a while and the target suffers from mild dizziness, fevers, tremors and other other symptoms during. This is another reason why Mind Worms like to target sleeping or incapacitated victims to cover their attack.

 

Once fully integrated the Mind Worm has control of the body, access it all its memories and any any primarily physical superhuman powers such as super strength. The Mind Worm is essentially mindless in its base state with a robotic, insect like intelligence programmed with a specific mission goal on creation such as gathering information or assassinating a target or targets. Once it accquires a host however it gains their intelligence and self awareness, forming a composite personality like the targets but psychotic in human terms with no compassion, remorse and little empathy. It can pass for the subject but will act in increasingly unsual ways as it acts on the host's drives and goals but in a sociopathic manner that becomes more and more difficult to conceal. The original mission remains paramount however and it will stop at nothing to achieve it.

 

A mind worm in a host is difficult to hurt or stop. The body feels little or no pain but is subject to shock and injury as normal. It may be stronger due to adrenaline and the mind worm's puppeteering control can keep it moving long past the point where a regular human would be dead from shock and injury. The worm usually nests in the skull so destroying the head completely is effective (and also generally kills the host) and theoretically it could be targeted by an attacker with an attack usually injuring the host in the process (barring unusual sfx). Mind Worms are very susceptible to electricity. Shocking the host body hurts the worm more than host and will eventually kill it or force it out of the host but could kill the host too. Certain poisons and chemicals will have the same effect.

 

Mind Worm control isn't psionic in nature so won't ping most forms of Mental Detection. A telepathic scan that gets deep into a host's mind might feel that there are two mind present and any ability to directly detect minds will find the worm (assuming it works in non sapient alien minds). Because of the difficulty in detecting them Mind Worms are often employed by their creators against telepathic species as spies.

 

While dominated by the worm, the host's mind is essentially unconscious and remembers nothing of what happens or what his controlled body does or experiences. Some enter a prolonged dream like state that resembles a surreal version of their lives, a twisted dreamscape haunted by nightmarish versions of the alien thing that's taken over their body though they won't automatically know what is going on though their fantasy often has clues of what is going on in the real world.

 

This creature is meant for a superheroic setting (thought it has Horror overtones).

[Greywind]

Mr. Mind?

[Hyper-Man]

I think some form of the Possession Power introduced in one of the APG books would be a good place to start.

[Tom Cowan]

Or a Transform attack.

It looks like the 'The Mind Worm' adds a templete to the host and healing the transform is killing 'The Mind Worm'

 

[IndianaJoe3]

You might want to look at the neuroparasite from the Bestiary (HSB 403-404).

[Michael Hopcroft]

Mr. Mind?

That's what I thought, although he (?) operates completely differently. The only parasitic quality of Mr. Mind is his uncanny knack for getting otherwise intelligent people to go along with his plans despite appearing small and insignificant. the Golden Age Mr. Mind was about to build a massive organization of supervillains, including villains from the Axis Powers, using radio broadcasts. Nobody found out he was a worm until he had direct contact with Captain Marvel.

[Greywind]

Mr. Mind?

Then we go with the only remaining indigenous species of Ceti Alpha V.

[Lucius]

MindControl with Extra Time and a Physical Manifestation

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Insert palindromedary tagline here

[phoenix240]

I'll check out the Neural Parasite. HSB is Hero System Bestiary, right? Of the approaches suggested here the Transform seems closest at first glance. How would the Mind Worm's ability to nest and hide inside its victim's body best be represented? Does it even need mechanical representation or should be be considered a benefit of its tiny size?

[Ninja-Bear]

If this is the same mind worm from Doctor Who, then don't forget a damage shield - mind control "completely forgot last hour of memory" lim. "Must have skin to skin contact"

[phoenix240]

If this is the same mind worm from Doctor Who' date=' then don't forget a damage shield - mind control "completely forgot last hour of memory" lim. "Must have skin to skin contact"[/quote']

 

I'm not familiar with that creature. The Mind worm is a concept creature, a biotech weapon utilized by an alien race in my Wyldstrike Universe setting