CLASS: WORMBRAIN
BIOLOGY: Vastly intelligent, the Vermedulla's brain consistsof several thousand mobile "wormspores" through which she may infect and control any number of simultaneous hosts across vast distances, a single spore even allowing her to invade and control the collective mind of another wormbrain-class monster. Once anchored in a host, the Vermedulla's wormspores multiply rapidly throughout the body and may form specialized new organs from their own biomass or reconfiigure host tissues on a level comparable to advanced nanomachinery. Multiple modified host strains are detailed under tactical mechanisms, below. When two Vermedulla meet, they may engage in a "mating dance," writhing their limbs in tandem and inflating their neck wattles before exchanging "male" wormspores. Each will gestate a single daughter in its cranial pod. BEHAVIOR: A Vermedulla's mind is too obtuse for most sentient bioforms to comprehend, but demonstrates an insatiable curiosity for the world around it. It often attempts to replicate experiences from a host body's past, blend with their former associates or even engage in conversation, usually all with an awkward but amusing degree of error. APPLIANCE: Vermedulla are among the most powerful and versatile cerebroparasitic monsters, but can also be described as the most stubborn. A Vermedulla tends to be egocentric, haughty and very easily bored, a dangerous combination for a creature that can overtake almost as many bodies as it desires. At least one specimen, tired of being told what to do, reduced a critical military operation to an elaborate ballgame it invented on the spot; a game with ever-changing rules that proved ultimately confusing and uninteresting to spectators outside the creature's collective. LEECHING LIMBS: The Vermedulla's arms and legs can rasp through flesh and drain body fluids. WORMSPORES: The Vermedulla can release a cloud of flying "spores" to infest other hosts, absorbing them into her ever-growing mind. HOST AUGMENTATION: A Vermedulla may choose to convert a host body into a specialized bioform. Known configurations include: Spitter: wormspores build tubular orifices for the projection of powerful corrosive enzymes. Bloater: wormspores construct enlarged chemical sacs. Volatile compounds can be mixed and detonated. Bruiser: host size and muscle mass rapidly increased. Heavy, slow and powerful. Scuttler: body mass reduced, limbs elongated, very light and fast. Flailer: wormspores convert entrails into ambulatory tentacles with calcified blades.   Contents copyright Jonathan Wojcik
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