Alpha Dawn - Star Frontiersman

''I was once a powerful Ul-Mor, who stole many
things from our enemies and divided these things
many ways. My fellows envied me, and, indeed, I
believed they had reason to do so. I had been
chosen as the tribe's next leader, and this made me
feel as though no risk were too great for me to take.
But, alas, the One will not tolerate such foolishness.
"I was riding herd on a large flock of kwidges when
a burrower snake startled them, and they
stampeded. Many of the kwidges ran under my
loper; alas, I was not quick enough to control the
noble beast. Left solely to his own direction, my
loper panicked and ran into the tribe's egg cache,
destroying several of our young. The elders
immediately banished me, forever denying me the
rights of an Ul-Mor.
''Since that time I have wandered these caverns,
where I have learned the secret of joining the One
without the cold sleep' Perhaps the One has sent
you to me, so that I may redeem myself by showing
you his secret."
Throm is slightly deranged, and believes the
mutating fungus on the island is the key to eternal
life. He will make every effort to convince the
characters to go to the island, and will not speak of
anything else. He does not desire to leave, and
could not remember the way out of the caverns if he
did. He does remember that his loper wandered off
and joined the One some time ago.
Throm will attempt to convince the party to journey
to the island, but he will not use force to do so. If
questioned about how to get to the island, he will
say that he swims, but this is very dangerous
because there is something evil in the lake. If the
characters attack Throm for some reason, he will
defend himself with his spear.
14) ACROSS THE UNDERGROUND SEA
The characters may cross the underground sea by
constructing a raft of fungi trunks or swimming. The
characters will need oars or similar devices to steer
the raft, or the current will draw them toward the
island at the rate of 1 square per minute.
Halfway across the lake, the party will be attacked
by a jawfish (MV Fast; IM 5; RS 50; STA 100; ATT
80; DM 3d10; SD Soft cover in water). They will see
a fin 90 meters away. One turn later, the jawfish will
attack. It will continue to attack once every third
turn, circling the raft for two turns between attacks.
The jawfish will circle 60 meters away for purposes
of ranged weapons. Consider the jawfish to have
soft cover, unless it is attacking a character.
The jawfish will normally attack the raft. Roll
percentile dice each time the jawfish attacks; on a
roll of 30% or less, the jawfish lifts itself out of the
water and attacks a randomly determined character.
The first time the jawfish attacks, it will destroy the
raft. Once the raft is destroyed, it will be useless,
but there is still a 70% chance the jawfish will attack
it rather than the characters.
The jawfish will make four attacks after destroying
the raft. It will then lose interest and swim away.
14 A) THE ISLE OF MUTATING FUNGUS
When you reach the island, you see several stands
of mushroom- like fungi on its shores. A pasty,
white growth covers the ground on the entire
surface of the island.
As the characters explore the island, they will notice
the fungi resemble some animals they have seen.
Many clumps resemble rasties, shovelmouths, and
other bizarre creatures. If the characters observe
any of these strange formations carefully, they will
notice the shapes are moving very slowly. This
movement is nearly unnoticeable.
These odd-shaped clumps were once animals. The
bizarre fungus which covers the island attaches itself
to other living creatures and gradually replaces their
cells with its own.
The only living thing the mutating fungus has not
devoured is an isolated stand of giant mushroom
fungi. (This stand of fungi has not been mutated
because it is less than eight hours old. The lifespan
of giant fungi is only 36 hours; it grows to its full
size in one 12 hour period, fertilizes in the second
12 hour period, and dies by the end of the third 12
hour period.)
Any character who stays on the island for eight
hours or more or who sleeps on the island for any
period of time, will find a white, pasty growth
covering parts of his body. This growth is identical
to the white growth on Throm's face and tentacles.
Any character remaining on the island for more than
three days turns completely into fungus.
If the characters notice the fungus on their body
within three hours, a medic must correctly diagnose
the disease and treat it with antibody plus. This will
destroy the fungus already diseasing the body, but
the characters will not be immune to further attacks.
Any body part not treated within three hours of a
fungus attack must be amputated, or the entire
body will turn into fungus.
Throm is convinced being turned into fungus is a
form of eternal life. No amount of pleading will
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