Wednesday, December 18, 2013

TRAILER: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes!



The trailer for the second part of the rebooted Planet of the Apes series is here! Here's the official description:
A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth's dominant species.

Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, and Judy Greer join the cast this time around. Look for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes sometime in July of 2014.


Chimp leader Caesar adorns the official poster for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Thoughts on the trailer?

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Monster: Cyclosaur

Image: Jud Turner's Mortalcycle

Background

These wheeled, undead terrors can be found roaming city streets and open highways around major cities, preying on the living. They are nocturnal by nature and are more often seen during full moons, which has given the impression that they are the result of some form of lycanthropy. Living flesh seems to act as their fuel source.

Appearance/Physicality

Cyclosaurs are undead cyborgs made up of skeletal remains of carnivorous animals and wheeled vehicular components. They bark, snarl, and snap as wolves, roar as Harely Davidson motorcycles when agitated, and yet emit no visible combusion. Their eyes flicker red, shining out onto the their prey.

Methods of Attack

Cyclosaurs are wild and hunt in packs of 30 to 40, in search of the living to feast upon.  They employ typical biker gang behavior when pursuing prey--namely chasing or running down targets that they vastly outnumber, surrounding them, and then closing in for the kill, sometimes with a pouncing manuver.

Rumors

It's thought that cyclosaurs are some form of supercharged fossilgeist or the result of some dark necromancer's experiments with extinct animals gone awry. They've been around for centuries now, so it's unknown if their creator is still alive.

Since they seem to prefer open roads, they can't go off-road over uneven terrain...right?

The alpha leader is said to have horns like a ram, whose rings smoulder with a dim maroon glow.


STATS

FREQUENCY: Uncommon
NO. APPEARING: Packs of  30-40
ARMOR CLASS: 9
MOVE: 25
HIT DICE: 4d8
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: Afterburner - increases speed by 5 per round and blasts a fireball of 3d6 damage, Road Rash - attack with front wheel to flay victim at 2d8 damage, Roadbeast Roar - causes targets in a 10 meter radius to save vs. fear/paralysis, Bite - 2d4+2 damage
SPECIAL ABILITIES/SKILLS: Pop a wheelie using Afterburner as a leaping or pouncing manuver, instead of 5 move spaces add +5 to any attack damage should they land on target
SPECIAL DEFENSES: If cornered, Afterburner can be used as a special escape in the same manner that a pounce would manuver would be used to close in for kill.
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Cyclosaurs are resistant to any kind of binding magic and will break most energy barriers. They may, however, be turned as undead if eye contact can be made and they don't run you over first.
INTELLIGENCE: Average
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil
SIZE: M
PSIONIC ABILITY: None known.