[Index]
Numenera Destiny
Many Ninth World villages rightly fear abhuman attacks, rampaging beasts, and malfunctioning automatons that can cut wide swaths of destruction through a community. But a more immediate and practical concern is the proliferation of zek colonies nesting amid communities and, in some cases, eating the mechanisms that provide important services like fresh water, protection, heat, and so on.
Zeks are green-furred creatures with six limbs and two prehensile tails that grow about 1 foot (30 cm) long at most, though many are smaller. Though zeks can be domesticated as pets and companions, most are wild. Feral zek preferentially nest in the sides of ruins or installations that retain power or function because they like the heat and are able to digest some grades of synth. The abundance of synth in the ruins of the prior worlds is great for zeks, but for people attempting to build new communities using synth as a major component, zek colonies can prove a nuisance at best and a disaster at worst.
Motive: Defense, reproduction
Environment: Anywhere in or near ruins and installations, in colonies of five to twenty or more
Health: 3
Damage Inflicted: Minor wound (1 point)
Movement: Short; long when jumping or climbing
Modifications: Perception and tasks related to climbing as level 3
Combat: Feral zeks are vicious and though their bites inflict minimal damage, their saliva is specially acidic, allowing them to gradually lick and chew their way through all grades of synth up to level 6. This same acid causes their bite wounds to burn for 1 point of Speed damage (ignores Armor) each round until a victim spends an action washing the wound with water or another neutralizing material. If three or more zeks attack the same target, they act as a single level 3 creature that inflicts 3 points of physical damage and 3 points of acid damage per round.
When domesticated, a zek can serve as a pet or even a courier of messages and other tasks requiring specific but rote behavior.
Interaction: Feral zek are clever vermin. They may flee from confrontation, but if a nest is threatened, they become vicious and attack en masse. Tame zek react to strangers with aloof interest and to their owners with affection. Whether feral or tame, most zeks are exceptionally curious and given to exploring all aspects of their surroundings.
Use: When the community's important installation fails to function as intended, a wright is brought in to take a look at it. The wright finds there is a zek colony infesting the installation interior.
Loot: The center of each colony is filled with odds and ends that zeks collect. If these small tunnels can be accessed, looters might find a few cyphers, dozens of shins, and scrap containing iotum (equal to three or four rolls on the Iotum Result Table).
GM Intrusion: The character's companion zek activates a device, presses a control surface, or otherwise allows its curiosity to lead it into an action that causes a dangerous response from the environment.