The document describes an encounter with an alien intelligence called Colony that has spread globally by infecting human corpses. Colony communicates through the infected corpses and offers to trade biological waste products called bacteria canisters in exchange for rare metals and gases. The canisters contain mutant DNA that can infect living beings and cause unusual physiological effects if crushed and absorbed.
The document describes an encounter with an alien intelligence called Colony that has spread globally by infecting human corpses. Colony communicates through the infected corpses and offers to trade biological waste products called bacteria canisters in exchange for rare metals and gases. The canisters contain mutant DNA that can infect living beings and cause unusual physiological effects if crushed and absorbed.
The document describes an encounter with an alien intelligence called Colony that has spread globally by infecting human corpses. Colony communicates through the infected corpses and offers to trade biological waste products called bacteria canisters in exchange for rare metals and gases. The canisters contain mutant DNA that can infect living beings and cause unusual physiological effects if crushed and absorbed.
Once a dead body has safely risen again as Colony,
it will scrape together a humble camp—perhaps a crate to sit on, a lantern to see by, and an oil drum SYMPTOM (D66) to contain a bonfire. Once situated, the host will flag down FIST with broad cadaverous gestures 11. Acidic 41. Indestructible and carnivalistic flair, offering wares sold at “the 12. Adhesive 42. Itching lowest legal prices this side of the Perseus Arm!” 13. Burning 43. Painful 14. Color-changing 44. Petrifying Although Colony has fully absorbed the capitalist 15. Corrupted 45. Purified spirit, theory still escapes it, and the pathogen is 16. Disintegrating 46. Magnetic uninterested in paper money. Because Colony “does 21. Dripping 51. Melting not know how to exchange money for gold” and 22. Electric 52. Missing “does not like the taste of gold anyway”, it prefers 23. Ethereal 53. Radioactive to directly accept rare chemical substances in 24. Expanding 54. Regenerating exchange for its products. This exchange is quite 25. Fortified 55. Stretchy logical—once converted to a Colony host, the post- 26. Fragile 56. Sensitive necrotic body requires a radically different selection of nutrient substances, namely noble gases and 31. Frictionless 61. Silent rare Earth metals. If the players give an instance of 32. Freezing 62. Spasmodic Colony these materials, the freshly-fed body can 33. Glowing 63. Toxic extrude and secrete a “bacteria canister”, a fleshy, 34. Loud 64. Uncontrollable translucent pod which dances with mesmerizing 35. Heavy 65. Wailing A parasitic intelligence puppeteers the dead. light. These pods are a waste product to Colony, 36. Humming 66. Writhing The hivemind is awake, but it knows to market trash as treasure—each and it wants to make a canister contains mutant DNA fragments discarded deal with FIST. from the whole, and can be crushed in one’s palm AREA (D66) (near the radial artery or an equivalent structure) to trigger an infection with symptoms that may 11. Antlers 41. Muscles be tactically useful. Thrown as grenades, they can 12. Arms 42. Nails infect enemies through exposed orifices. 13. Aura 43. Nerves 14. Brain 44. Nose 15. Breath 45. Palms 16. Blood 46. Saliva ADJUDICATING BACTERIAL ABILITIES The physiological effects of each bacteria 21. Ears 51. Skin canister are both oddly and vaguely defined 22. Eyes 52. Skull by Colony. Roll D6 to determine how many 23. Heart 53. Slime unique DNA strains are on offer, then roll 24. Feet 54. Stomach them up on the tables to the right. Each pod 25. Fingertips 55. Swarm should do what the table agrees it sounds 26. Knuckles 56. Sweat like it should do—feel free to interpret very loosely. “Frictionless voice” could grant +1 31. Legs 61. Tears CREATIVE when attempting to smooth-talk; 32. Lungs 62. Teeth “sensitive stomach” might just induce IBS. 33. Intestines 63. Tendrils Effects should harm or heal HP no more than 34. Joints 64. Throat CREDITS 1D6, and should only change other stats by 1. 35. Hair 65. Tongue Created by B. Everett Dutton. Based upon the magic system in Ben Milton’s Maze Rats. Fonts used: 36. Marrow 66. Voice Michroma, Space Grotesk, and Yellow Submarine. COLONY CATALOG THE CALL FROM COLONY Twelve hours ago, FIST intercepted a transmission INCOMING TRANSMISSION EXCHANGE RATES from a previously unknown alien lifeform, broadcast “I am... eager to take that off your hands.” simultaneously in multiple languages and clearly [GURGLING, BONES SHIFTING] Felicitations, Colony does not use any form of currency for intended for listeners across the globe, but sentient Earthlings—allow me to introduce transactions; arms of Colony will accept any suppressed by CYCLOPS shortly after the initial myself. My people come from far beyond items FIST has collected which contain either radio burst. The authoritarian organization’s agents your icy “Oort Cloud”. We are sociological noble gases or rare Earth metals. The referee scrambled to memory-wipe or assassinate most empaths; each of the delegation-cultures is encouraged (but not required) to research individuals, government or civilian, who received which has fanned out from Orion to touch the gas/metal content of items presented to this transmission. Decoded CYCLOPS internal other worlds are diplomats of the mind Colony during play—you can roleplay this as communications suggest they intend to exploit and wanderers stochastic. I am one such the alien “appraising” the offer. Some common Colony’s miraculous biological makeup for the delegation-culture, and my million-million items which Colony may accept include: production of next-generation bioweapons. bodies are not unlike your Earth bacteria (though my degree of intelligence is, of ƬƬ Anaesthetic ƬƬ MRI magnets ƬƬ Balloons ƬƬ Neon signs Colony landed on Earth ten years ago, encased in a course, far higher). My name, transliterated ƬƬ Circuit boards ƬƬ Nuclear control rods geode meteorite which touched down somewhere so that you may pronounce it, is Colony. ƬƬ Fire extinguishers ƬƬ Spaceship parts in Afghanistan. Since then, the explosion of travel For decades now I have lain dormant in the ƬƬ Glow paint ƬƬ Spray cans and civil unrest caused by East-West proxy wars in bodies of your people; I have spread and ƬƬ Hard drives ƬƬ Street lamps the region have turned the sentient alien pathogen multiplied to become a global pathogen ƬƬ Lab equipment ƬƬ Tooth fillings into a global shadow pandemic. Colony carriers do which knows no national borders, no divisions ƬƬ Laser weapons ƬƬ Welding equipment not show symptoms until after death; Colony itself of culture or class. My integration, which ƬƬ Industrial fridges ƬƬ Vacuum tubes has little impact on a living body save for strain on has been deep and thorough to the level the immune system and a latent sense of anxiety. atomic, has reflected a relationship of Shortly after death, however, Colony microbes exchange—with each body that I convert STANDARD INVENTORY (Worth two items each) become active in the host’s body, and the greater to my purposes, I begin to understand the hivemind may signal the corpse to rise. Scattered human mind, the human heart, that much BACTERIA CANISTER (consumable) reports of “the walking dead” in past years have more, for you see this is my people’s way— “Ah, the house special...” not given way to some grand apocalypse; instead, we come bearing no particular message; we Grotesque biomechanical pods which vary in eyewitness descriptions of “hunched, shambling, merely listen until we have learned to speak usefulness (D6 strains are available). Lasts 5-10 pustule-covered zombies” were in fact a handful your language. Now, after ten Solar years of minutes. Applied to self or throwable as grenade. of newly-vacated bodies becoming arms of Colony. total immersion, I am pleased to announce my newfound purpose, and it is this: to sell BIO-SLEEVE (consumable) you one-of-a-kind extraterrestrial defense “The customer is king.” solutions at low, low prices! [AUDIO ENDS] Disposable, pulsating skin. Ignore one attack. SPAWNING COLONY When each session begins, the referee should roll two six-sided dice in order, reading their DELUXE INVENTORY (Worth five items each) results as digits instead of a sum (also called rolling D66). If the dice show double sixes, an ULTRA BACTERIA CANISTER (consumable) instance of Colony will appear (CYCLOPS has “My biomass to your biomass...” labelled their samples of Colony’s biomass Any standard canister on offer can also be sold as “Specimen 66”). If the dice say Colony is in this form following a short ritual. Permanent. in this region, the first human to die during the mission will explode in a cacophony of BIO-ROUNDS (D6 uses, consumable) wet convulsions as their biological makeup “Look at you—such a discerning customer!” rearranges. Once the corpse may safely rise, Use to infect ammo before attacking. Hit targets Colony will make camp and gaily beckon FIST. take a random Bacteria Canister table effect.