The Strange Bestiary
A relative handful of neuroraptors were commissioned and grown by ancient factions to fight against creatures of the Qinod Singularity that threatened the sanctity of Ruk. Few of these massive creatures survive to this day. Those that do are cached in stasis slime and hidden away in secret pockets around the recursion. They were thought extinct or perhaps pure myth until a recent neuroraptor incursion over Harmonious left hundreds dead and thousands wounded, and engendered a newfound respect for True Code relics that have survived the millennia.
One of the most sought-after treasures of Ruk is a fabled control fob for a neuroraptor. However, no one is entirely certain that such a thing exists or, if it does, whether it would retain any efficacy if the linked neuroraptor was found and decanted from its stasis slime.
Motive: Unpredictable
Environment (Ruk | Weird Science): Anywhere
Health: 60
Damage Inflicted: Major wound (9 points)
Armor: 5
Movement: Long when flying
Modifications: Speed defense as level 6 due to size.
Combat: A neuroraptor can make physical melee attacks, but its preferred means of attack is its neuron killing pulse, which targets up to five different creatures within long range. Those who fail an Intellect defense roll take 4 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor). Alternatively, instead of making any other attacks, a neuroraptor can emit a collated pulse at a single target within 2 miles (3 km), inflicting 6 points of Intellect damage.
Interaction: For all its power, a neuroraptor operates with damaged cognition and doesn't understand that it has been displaced in time. This inability to grasp the changes Ruk has undergone results in confused aggression at best and violent repudiation at worst. Attempts to communicate have little chance of success unless couched telepathically.
Use: A cocoonlike mass is excavated from a disturbed region of the Hub. Within it, something stirs, and it's only a matter of time before a neuroraptor emerges. The PCs must deal with it when it does.
Loot: A neuroraptor is part machine, and amid its wreckage, valuable parts worth several thousand bits could be salvaged by someone with the know-how.
GM Intrusion: When the character fails an Intellect defense roll against the neuron killing pulse, instead of taking damage, he becomes convinced that his allies are foes who must be stopped immediately and permanently. The character is allowed to make a new Intellect defense roll each round to throw off the effect, and even if he fails these rolls, his neural pathways reroute to normal after a minute.