[Cryptworld] New Thing: Smiley Face

"So spread sunshine all over the place,

And put on a happy face..."

A Grinning Cannibal for Cryptworld

SMILEY FACE

STR: 4 (60) --- WPR: 4 (60)
DEX: 3 (45) --- PER: 5 (75)
AGL: 5 (75) --- PCN: 4 (60)
STA: 4 (60) --- PWR: 75
ATT: 1/68% --- WND: 14
MV: L 75†

Experience: 1,000

Smiley Faces are cannibalistic humanoids who disguise themselves as normal human beings, infiltrating society until they can strike -- and feast -- in secret. In its natural form, a Smiley Face's primary feature is a monstrous grinning mouth that fills most of its pallid, jaundiced face. Above the creature's mouth are two black, narrow, ovaloid eyes, giving the thing an uncanny resemblance to the 1970's "smiley face" icon, which is where it gets its name.

To hide its true nature, the thing's eyes change shape, its skin color softens and deepens, and its facial skin pulls back into place giving it the appearance of any other person, with one notable exception -- they seem to always have a smile on their face. (The creature's skin cannot pull back enough to completely cover the leering maw of the monster.) To hide the reason for their perpetual grin, the creature usually enters a field where this facial expression isn't unusual: stand-up comedian, theme park employee, day care worker, etc. Those who associate with the disguised monster often remark how pleasant "Miss Jones" is to be around and will never believe "she" had anything to do with anything nefarious.

A Smiley Face must feed on a freshly killed human once every month to maintain its disguise. If it hasn't fed during this time, the thing's face will change and warp, revealing its true features. The Smiley Face attacks its victim by first revealing its true face to its prey, using its paralytic grin power to terrorize the victim into immobility. It then uses whatever weapons it has on hand to murder the victim before consuming the body whole. When the Smiley Face is done feeding, there is usually very little remaining as the creature's powerful jaws can chew through and consume everything: bone, teeth, clothing, etc. The creature does have trouble digesting metal, so bits of tooth fillings and jewelry remnants may be found at the scene of the initial crime.

In its human form, a Smiley Face is pleasant, always cheerful and helpful, and may actually help investigators in their search for a missing colleague. In actuality, the thing is trying to determine how much investigators actually know, hide or destroy found clues, and otherwise throw them off the track.

Smiley Face Powers

Paralytic Grin: The appearance of a Smiley Face's true visage is so horrific, those who see one have been know to become paralyzed with fright. When a Smiley Face drops its charade and reveals its toothy rictus, it needs to roll a specific PWR check versus the column corresponding to the victim's WPR score. The power costs the Smiley Face 30 WPR with the following effects if successful:

S = The victim is stunned into inaction for one round.
L = The victim is lightly frightened and will be paralyzed for 1d10/2 rounds (round up).
M = The victim is mind-numbed and will be unable to act for 1d10 rounds.
H = The victim is horrified and will be unable to act for 2d10 rounds.
C = The victim is catatonic and will be unable to act until assisted by another party. The victim will need to be "shaken" out of their trance to act again as their mind has effectively shut down from shock.

The Smiley Face can attempt a paralytic grin only once per victim, as they become immune to future attempts with this power.