BONUS MONSTER --:

Avian Artillery Platform
MISSILETHROPE

CLASS: BIOCONSTRUCT

Free, additional supplementary monsters for the Mortasheen Tabletop RPG Core Rulebook, created by Jonathan Wojcik, additional writing and all gameplay stats by Bonnie Saucier. For use with the gameplay system by Morgan Mullins!

Description:
This monster has a wide base with two tiny arms in the front, two larger chunkier arms it stands on as legs, and a third pair of longer, thinner legs that end in hooves. The body tapers up into a very long neck with a bird-like head, the eyes covered over by an organic helmet. The upper beak is long and hooked, while the lower beak splits into two large comb-like structures. Down its chest are six large sphincter-like orifices in two vertical rows, and two metal "speakers" embedded between them, one above the other.

BIOLOGY:
Closely related to the Bombadire, this tremendous Warbird has poor maneuverability but seldom needs to move, having been designed to detect and neutralize incoming threats from a considerable distance. Multiple bony tongues in its throat emit a constant barrage of sonar clicks that bounce back to its sensitive mandibles, and the information it collects can be relayed via the subsonic transmissions of its upper speaker or the more standard audible range of its lower speaker.

  The monster's primary attack mechanisms are the organic projectiles constantly incubated in a series of manufacturing wombs, little more than hollow cones of dense bone packed with biochemical explosives utilized in both their propulsion and their detonation. An individual missile is fully armed and ready to be launched from the upper abdominal sphincters by its third stage of development, but lacks the capacity to alter its flight path. A missile retained longer in the body is eventually passed down to one of the four lower wombs until its sixth and final developmental stage, distinguished by the presence of functional ganglia and rings of muscular tail flaps, capable of fine control over its propulsion and course in response to the monster's subsonic commands.

  With its esophagus specialized for sonar emission, the Missilethrope feeds through a mouth on its underside, equipped with grinding tooth plates to graze on any organic or semi-organic matter in its path.

  The monster's missile production is an automatic ongoing process, and when its stores are at capacity, the eldest missiles are pushed to a gestation pouch where their explosive heads are redeveloped into eggs. Retaining only their propulsion system, eggs are aimlessly and reflexively launched into the air as soon as their clonal embryos are viable, and the few that survive this process attempt to "take root" wherever they land. The Missilethrope "chick" grows in place for several years surrounded by a nearly impenetrable globe of thick bioplastic, steadily filling with the monster's explosive compounds until the shell is cracked by intense internal pressure and the influx of oxygen triggers an immense explosion. The juvenile is shielded from the blast by a layer of non-newtonian gel, which will constitute its first meal along with any other edible substance it finds scattered in the blast radius.

BEHAVIOR:
The Missilethrope's mentality differs little from the Bombadire, carrying out combat directives with a morose tinge of regret beneath its stalwart dedication, preferring friendly wargames over life-or-permadeath combat. Only when a battle ends does the Missilethrope feel a rush of rapturous joy, eager to celebrate with all survivors regardless of the victorious party.

  Sensitive to long distance data transmission of every variety, the Missilethrope can occasionally become disoriented by high traffic psigital waves and radio transmissions, but this is generally considered an acceptable risk inherent to its refined targeting system, and its ability to play music or psidramas from any remote location does not go unappreciated either.

Concept Notes:

The "warbids" are older monsters and popular fan favorites, so the original species, Bombadire, made it into book one with expanded lore, and I sketched this new "missile tower" cousin a while back as a potential addition for future books. You can have it early, and you can also have a preview of Bombadire's book page: