Yep - we have bugs of all kinds for the science fantasy game Humanspace Empires. So I've thrown down a gauntlet with a Doctor Who clip, from the late-'80s seventh Doctor story Survival.
Ray Rousell described the cat in the clip as evil and The Angry Lurker is no fan; it's not so often they agree on anything... Cats it is then.
Here, puss, puss, puss...
Cats were common to a majority of homes on the world of Hogintu before the Bluing, across the strata of class, caste and clade. There were breeds of all kinds, many purely ornamental or engineered with a calming, charming psychic aura. When the civilisation dragged itself down into the dust a number survived, reduced to eight lives perhaps, their residual instincts seeing them good in the harsh new circumstances. The large feline creatures now stalking the dark nights of the Cerulean Sphere keep their own pets...
Fline
No. Enc.: 1D6
Alignment: Neutral
Move: 180' (60')
Armour Class: 4
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1D8
Morale: 10
When encountered the creatures will attempt to charm potential threats, forcing each character to pass a Save vs. PSY Effects once per fline or be charmed and unwilling to do any harm. If at least one person passes every save and combat begins, the charm will wear off after 1D6 rounds, rolled individually; a fline will attack no one under the spell.
If the entire party is charmed, the members will wish to support the flines, providing them with companionship and hunting their meals; each may attempt a further save every 1D12 turns, rolled individually, with a pass removing the charm in his or her case.
If hungry or endangered, a fline will kill.
_
4 comments:
cool blog - following
Kitty!
One unusual domesticated animal from Tekumel that absolutely was around in the star faring past was the kyni (falcon), semi-intelligent birds that can learn to speak. Very popular with astronauts...
I really should use the Kitlings from 'Survival' in something. All that uncanny-valley dimension-jumping black cat stuff's quite powerful (mind you, the whole story is - shame about the costumes and the supporting cast).
@ G - Thanks, I'm glad you think so, but it does depend on the day. It can be a very mixed bag!
@ The Drune - I look forward to seeing a kyni or two then. Birds of prey, eh? Be careful what you mention around here. Needles could be listening and even I might get a crazy idea or two...
@ Von - I agree, on the potential and the imperfections. So many Doctor Who stories feel held back somehow. I always enjoyed the novelisations, and the novels had a magic, but of course they can strip away the problems of producing for the screen and play up the deeper themes. Survival has a wonderful ennui too. It's very dreamlike. All those streets seem just too empty for the late '80s, even on a Sunday. Looking back, there's a temptation to read too much into it, but the story apparently had at least one major theme obscured, in the relationship between Ace and Karra, so who knows?
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