Vro



Vro are bizarre creatures that hunt for blood across the [Lands of the Dawn].

Background
Silent, houndlike, and swift as the wind itself, vro are strange predators that haunt the Lands of the Dawn. These long-legged quadropeds have a hard carapace that covers their torso, particularly the anterior half, where it forms an almost spearlike projection below their head. Vro possess no mouth, absorbing blood from their prey through porous openings all over their flesh. However, each does have a bony, crescent-shaped growth on its head that might be mistaken for a mouth from a distance. This growth somehow generates a energy that gathers particulate matter around the creature over time and then compresses it into a small, ultradense mass held in a weightless stasis until the vro launches it as a projectile weapon. Even though the mass is the size of a pebble, it weigh as mouth as half a ton.

Vro are about 4 ft. long, but they often take on prey much larger than themselves and then gorge on blood. By doing so, they need to hunt and feed only once a month - plenty of time to build up a new projectile to use for their next attack.

Motive:
Hungers blood

Environment:
Live and hunt in mated pairs in any climate or terrain

Health:
15

Damage Inflicted:
6 points

Armor:
3

Movement:
Long

Modifications:
Running and Speed defense as level 6.

Combat:
A charging vro will ram into its opponent with its front spike in the hopes that it will pierce flesh and draw blood for it to absorb. The real threat, however, is the compacted mass that the beast creates. When armed with a pea-sized mas, the vro can project it outward at a target within short range, inflicting 12 points of damage. Vro pellets have been known to penetrate the armor plating of war machines from prior worlds. Once the vro looses its pellet, it will take 1-2 weeks to create a new one.

Being fairly intelligent, vro will sometimes set ambushes along paths where potential prey is known to be frequent.

Interaction:
Vro are usually smarter than the typical beast but still have no ability to communicate, use tools, or perform tasks that one might normally equate with intelligent lifeforms.

Use:
A sudden shriek cuts through the air as the characters explore the wilderness. They might think that they're being shot at by someone with a numenera weapon, but instead it is the salvo of a vro's weird - and deadly - attack. Vro make an interesting encounter in that depending on the success of their initial pellet attack, the rest of the battle can be very dangerous or just moderately so.

Loot:
The head of a vro contains chemicals and even structures that can be used to concoct various biological cyphers.

Miscellaneous
Vro are known to make dens inside caves or in otherwise hidden and secluded spots. If need be, they will dig a pit in the ground to construct their den.