There may be only one Kiprus. Because it does not obey the normal laws of space—or perhaps even time—it is impossible to know whether there are many of these creatures or just one.
It seems to be an ultraterrestrial being that comes from somewhere far less dense than this world. Ropes of dark plasm move through the air like ink flowing through water, but at a fraction of the speed. Although the Kiprus seems to have excellent senses, no sensory organs or other features can be identified in its roiling dark mass.
The touch of the Kiprus burns living and nonliving matter alike, so it often leaves a trail of grass, soil, and rocks scorched and scoured as if by acid. Its extreme alien nature allows it to bend the space and time of this universe to serve its needs.
The only things that seem to interest the Kiprus are intriguing and rare chemical compounds, strange alloys, and other often exotic materials. It studies and ultimately absorbs what it finds of interest. Motive: Exploration and discovery
Environment: Anywhere Health: 24
Damage Inflicted: 8 points Movement: Immediate
Modifications: Speed defense as level 6 due to size and speed
Combat: The creature attacks by simply touching its foes, but in a fight, it is not affected by material attacks at all. In fact, material objects touching it that are of lower level than the Kiprus are damaged or destroyed. However, raw energy, such as from a ray emitter or an explosion, affects it normally.
By manipulating time and space, the Kiprus can effectively teleport anywhere in the world in one round, which normally more than compensates for its very slow speed. It can also create a duplicate of itself (with all the same stats) that can help fend off foes. This duplicate never remains longer than one minute. The Kiprus can even use these powers on others, although doing so is exhausting, draining 1 point of health with each use. Thus, it can bend space to teleport a character into a treetop, high into the air, or into a raging river (whatever is nearby).
Interaction: The Kiprus cannot speak or read, though it understands most spoken languages. It communicates only by gestures but sometimes is eager to try to establish a meaningful exchange. The creature does not relish combat and avoids it if possible by simply warping away. Use: The Kiprus offers an opportunity for a truly weird encounter.
The PCs run afoul of a jiraskar by an old ruin, and suddenly there are two! What’s actually happening is that the Kiprus is trying to drive them away from the ruin because it contains some compounds of interest to it.
GM Intrusion: The
character is enveloped in the ropy strands of the Kiprus. She cannot move without taking automatic damage from its matter- disrupting touch. Worse, she is suddenly shot elsewhere and elsewhen for a time and mysteriously returns later (probably long after the encounter is over).
SIZE COMPARISON
LATOS
10 (30)
Gigantic and mysterious, latoses are very rare, found only in the remotest areas of the Beyond (or beyond the Beyond). Their creation is a mystery, but for some reason the people of a prior age decided to preserve locations within small, artificially closed universes and hide them away inside massive guardians. The ways of the prior worlds were strange indeed.
The 50-foot (15 m) body of a latos is made of a unique alloy, and its head is a transparent sphere that contains an area far larger than its size would indicate. In this area, reflected in the “face” of the latos, is a place of ancient importance, permanently preserved and deserted.
Motive: Protection
Environment: Deep wilderness Health: 100
Damage Inflicted: 12 points Armor: 6
Movement: Long
Modifications: Speed defense as level 8 due to size
Combat: A latos can attack in a straightforward physical manner, smashing foes with hands or feet. It can make two such attacks on two different foes (or on the same foe, if the target is quite large) as a single action. At the same time, the latos can lash out with horrific mental attacks. It can choose from one of three options:
• All creatures within 1 mile (1.6 km) of the latos must make successful Intellect defense rolls or suffer 8 points of Intellect damage that ignores Armor. Those affected must make a second Intellect defense roll or also lose their next action.
• All creatures within long range of the latos must make successful Intellect defense rolls or suffer 12 points of Intellect damage that ignores Armor and move one step down the damage track. Those affected must make a second Intellect defense roll or also lose their next action.
• One creature within 1 mile (1.6 km) of the latos must make a successful Intellect defense roll or have his consciousness transferred to an ethereal dimension where he wanders in a dreamlike world. A single round in the real world seems like a full day to the victim. He can be rescued only by an external source, such as a telepathic ally who journeys into his mind to find and retrieve him (perhaps combatting the dreamlike phantoms that confront them).
A character who spends more than an apparent year in this dream state suffers the permanent loss of 1 point from his Intellect Pool for each year. In addition, each apparent year, he must make a difficulty 10 Intellect defense roll or go quite mad.
A latos can transport a willing target into the location stored in its sphere by touch. However, convincing the latos to do so is difficult, as it was apparently instructed to keep the place safe.
Interaction: No one has ever successfully spoken with a latos, but a character with telepathic abilities (or a device) might be able to establish a dialogue with one of these enigmatic creatures. If so, the PC would likely have little trouble (difficulty 3) negotiating a peaceful agreement, as latoses are not inherently aggressive, but she would have to work extremely hard (difficulty 10) to convince the latos to provide access to the location it protects.
Use: The PCs must find a specific artifact, and a bit of research in the datasphere reveals that it lies in a city of platinum towers. However, that city is stored inside the head of a latos, which must be overcome first. And who knows what ancient guardians and failsafes await in the city itself?
SIZE COMPARISON
If the latos is destroyed, its body shatters and scatters across a mile radius. At the center of that area, the location stored in the sphere is transplanted as if it had always been there. It is perfectly preserved but empty of life (except perhaps for machine entities or creatures that were in stasis).
GM Intrusion: The latos
accesses the location stored within its sphere and brings forth an ally, such as a dread destroyer or a dark fathom.
CREATURES: LATOS - LAURIK-CA
LAURIK-CA
4 (12)
Laurik-ca are always found in groups of three—never more, never less. In fact, it is smart to think of three laurik-ca as a single opponent, for their great skill is working together as one due to their unusual connection with each other and the datasphere.
At an early age, a laurik-ca pup is matched up with two others from the litter by their dam, based on the symbol on the pup’s forehead. The goal? To create the proper combination of symbols across all three pups to allow them to access the datasphere and become a single-minded weapon of destruction. Sometime in their first year, the pups grow long, symbol-filled horns, which act like antennas to both their mates and the datasphere. As the pups grow, they use their combined symbols as a code with which to access a particular part of the datasphere, granting them a single powerful weapon.
These cunning fighters stand nearly 7 feet (2.1 m) tall. They relish the opportunity to display their powers and sometimes seek out combat for their own pleasure and a chance to play with their foes. Motive: Destruction
Environment: Anywhere except populated areas Health: 15
Damage Inflicted: 4 points from their claws and teeth; additional damage depends on their symbols. Armor: 3
Movement: Short
Combat: Because the three laurik-ca are connected to one another so completely, they fight as one creature, increasing their level to 7, their health to 40, and their Armor to 6.
Although they attack with tooth and claw, their true weapons are the destructive mental forces that they access via the datasphere. These forces are unlocked by the three-symbol code on their foreheads, but only while they are in long range of each other.
The following are examples of codes and possible powers, but the number of options is extensive and possibly infinite.
tvl Touch Confusion. Any character whose body or weapon touches (or is touched by) one of the laurik-ca experiences a sense of righteous anger that flows through her veins and directly into her brain. The PC takes 5 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor).
R^t Memory Wash. A stream of horrible memories (perhaps his own, perhaps someone else’s, but at the moment, it certainly feels like his own) and images floods through the PC, wracking him with pain and dropping him to his knees. The character takes 5 points of Intellect damage and is dazed for one round, during which time the difficulty of all tasks he performs is modified by one step to his detriment.
lZu Mind Control. The creatures attempt to control the mind of one PC, forcing her to attack the nearest member of her party with her strongest attack for the next two rounds. The PC must make an Intellect defense roll (level 7) to resist.
vit Boiling Blood. A character within short range feels like the space beneath his skin is suddenly on fire, burning and bubbling. This attack deals 8 points of damage and stuns the PC. Stunned characters lose their turn (but can still defend against attacks normally).
It is unlikely that explorers will find laurik-ca in locations with large quantities of the numenera. Some people speculate that numenera objects impair the creatures’ connections to one another and to the datasphere.
GM Intrusion: While the
PCs are fighting a leash of laurik-ca, another trio sees the scuffle as an opportunity to take over the area. The characters are suddenly caught in the middle of a fierce territorial battle.