Where & When
The story is set on the planet Vortis, which is specifically stated to be in a galaxy beyond our own. In the final episode, the Animus talks about humans as if it knows what they are, and where they come from, which implies a far future setting when humanity has at least reached beyond our own galaxy. However, there is no way to be more precise than this, and it’s also possible from the context that it has only recently gained this information from its prisoners (it’s trying to read their minds at the time) so we can’t even be confident of that much. Not that it’s likely to matter in most games.
Setting
Vortis lies in the ‘Isop Galaxy’. This is mentioned in the modern era as also being the location of Raxicoricofallipatorius and, at some point, the home of the Face of Boe. This implies that it’s one of the closer galaxies to our own, and, while it doesn’t really matter, we might wonder which. Andromeda and the Magellanic Clouds are mentioned under their Earthly names at other points in the show’s history, although this doesn’t strictly rule them out. The best remaining candidate is probably the Triangulum galaxy, the third largest galaxy in the Local Group and the second closest non-dwarf galaxy to our own. It’s a spiral galaxy, thought to contain around 40 billion stars, and so hardly insignificant.
Vortis itself is stated to be a small planet with a thin atmosphere. Although there would be no way of simulating it on screen with ‘60s technology, the small size is probably intended to imply a low gravity, thus making it easier for the bulky Menoptera to fly. The atmosphere is thin enough that the Doctor initially believes that it requires oxygenators for humans to breathe it, although it turns out that these merely reduce discomfort, rather than being essential. This probably implies an atmospheric density of no more than about 75% that of Earth’s, sufficient to give somebody the equivalent of altitude sickness if they are exposed to it suddenly, but not enough to kill through lack of oxygen. That the protagonists do eventually acclimate to it may indicate that it isn’t much thinner than this.
The length of Vortis’ day is also an interesting question. The story takes place entirely at night, with a black starlit sky, but it’s less clear how long it all takes. The oxygenators last an hour, and the characters are seen to take three two-hour journeys after that, but Barbara also spends an unknown (but probably not short) time in the crater, plus however long it takes to do the planning and other scenes at various locations along the way.
The total likely exceeds twelve hours, suggesting a longer day than Earth’s, especially since there isn’t even a hint of pre-dawn light but, on the other hand, the Carsinome is stated to be located at one of the planet’s magnetic poles, so we could be at very high latitude, in the winter. In which case, the planet must be hotter than Earth, on average, since one thing nobody complains about is the cold, but we’d have no clue as to what the true length of the day is.
Despite the black sky, it’s clearly light on the surface. This is likely due to the fact that three full or nearly-full moons are visible in the sky, at least two of them visibly larger than our own (as seen from the surface). That’s a lot of bright moonlight, something that must change when they dip below the horizon, become crescent, and so on. For all we know, however, there are other moons that we can’t see because they are around the far side of the planet and, if there are enough of them, spread out sufficiently in their orbits, at least one of them is going to be close to be full for most (but not all) of the time.
We can’t make any comments about the planet’s sun, because we never see it. Ian does, however, remark on the presence of pulsing aurora-like lights in the sky; these are never explained, but since the characters are close to the magnetic pole at the time, they may genuinely be aurorae.
Two of the moons are named in the story. Taron is described merely as a “satellite” and is probably an airless rock. Pictos is more significant, since this is the world that the Menoptra retreated to after the Animus captured Vortis; it’s implied to be further away than Taron. Two of the visible moons have banded atmospheres, so it’s probably one of those; Taron may be the seemingly smaller, cratered one. The Menoptra describe it as a “dim half-world”, so the cloud cover may be a perpetual haze that blocks most sunlight. The atmosphere is too thin for them to fly, so, assuming that the gravity is no higher than on Vortis, this could also be too thin for humans to breathe unaided (approximately 50% of Earth’s atmospheric pressure at sea level).
The surface of the planet is shown as a barren desert, devoid of drinkable water. It initially appears to have no plant or animal life beyond the Zarbi, although we do later see some moss-like vegetation in the Crater of Needles. However, it’s worth noting that this is not the natural state of affairs, and that we only see a few square miles of land immediately around the Carsinome, which may well be exceptional. Since the area in question was originally covered in lush “flower-forests” and has plenty of water underground – fed, one must assume, by rainfall – it’s almost certain, for instance, that there are seas somewhere else on the planet.
If we assume that Vortis has a diameter halfway between that of Earth and Mars, giving a surface gravity of 0.75g, and that 50% of its surface is covered by sea, it would still have a land area three-quarters of that of Earth, which is considerable. How much of this is as barren as the landing site is debatable; the Animus’s influence may extend over the whole world, but it doesn’t follow that it’s sucking up all the water from the far side of the planet.
Although the story takes place within a relatively small part of this potentially vast land area, it does visit several different locations. The first of these is that around the TARDIS landing site. There are cliffs off in the distance, and an irregular sandy plain dotted with rocky outcrops. These prove to be made of mica, a soft igneous or metamorphic rock that readily comes apart into flakes but that, beyond the fact that it isn’t usually found in such large chunks, isn’t especially interesting.
There are also pools of formic acid, the origin of which is unclear. There is probably intended to be a connection with the Zarbi, since real-world ants produce formic acid as a defensive mechanism, but it isn’t as if they leave pools of the stuff lying around. It’s also highly concentrated, making it dangerously corrosive, which, together with the general aridity, must be part of what has killed off all the plant life. For what it’s worth, if the concentration is over 85% (which it could be, given how corrosive it is) it would also be flammable.
In any event, like the desert itself, we know that it isn’t a natural part of the landscape; even if the stuff was commonly around when the area was a forest, it would at least be diluted by the groundwater, presumably to the point that the local vegetation could tolerate it. But it could equally well be a byproduct of the Animus’ metabolism, since it is an organic compound.
Nearby stands the Needle of the Kings, which is the protagonists’ first sign that the planet has been host to intelligent life. The perspective makes it difficult to tell how high it is, although it’s clearly considerable, and Ian states they would need a ladder just to get to the top of the plinth that the Needle proper stands on. He also compares it to Nelson’s Column, which is 169 feet (51 metres) tall, although the comparison is probably very loose.
We can’t clearly see what is on the top, due to the atmospheric distortion, although we can assume it’s a statue of a Menoptera, or perhaps one of their gods. The original purpose of the structure is never stated – although it’s a convenient landmark if the PCs get lost – but the name may suggest it as a marker of secular, rather than religious power. Again, perhaps like Nelson’s Column, or the Washington Monument.
The Crater of Needles is located two hours' walk away from the Carsinome – so probably around five miles or so. It’s a steep-sided crater, the basin of which is marked with towering needle-like rocks that, needless to say, are not what you’d expect in an impact feature. A possibility here is that the crater was filled with water before the coming of the Animus and the “needles” are actually fossilised stromatolites or even coral, originally created by living creatures within the water.
Certainly, the crater basin is the only vegetated place we see, having enough water remnants at the bottom to support a thick mat of moss-like plants. Underground streams carry this to the Carsinome, using the formic acid in the soil as a digestive enzyme. This is possible because the Crater is just outside the “great web”, which likely means the Carsinome’s root system, and gives us a radius for its immediate physical influence.
Sayo Plateau lies just to the north, with a series of cliffs around it that have sufficient ledges and other irregularities that they are relatively easy to climb. More importantly, the Temple of Light lies beneath the Plateau, accessible through a hidden doorway in the cliff face that the Zarbi are apparently unable to open. We’re told that it has been ‘long abandoned and forgotten’, perhaps even before the Animus arrived, which indicates that other abandoned ruins must also exist on the planet, without even the Menoptra knowing where they are – or what they may contain.
This one, so far as we can tell, mainly contains statues and carvings, although there might be other valuable things that, not being thieves, the characters in the story are not interested in and so did not look for. A narrow shaft runs from the ceiling up to the top of the plateau to let in light; this is probably lined up so that sunlight pours straight down it at the solstice, or other significant day. The Menoptra worship ‘gods of light’, which is the sort of thing they’re more likely to do outdoors than in a cave, but the temple also contains tombs, so that’s probably its primary purpose, as a resting place for high-status individuals.
The cave system that the Optera inhabit is much deeper, although there are fissures in the rocks that lead down to it. In game, these should be more dangerous to traverse than Ian and Vrestin find it to be – it does, after all, involve falling a long way through an irregular rocky shaft, not a smooth pipe. While it must provide ventilation to the Optera’s realm (and therefore won’t be unique) they don’t want the Zarbi to travel down it, so doing so will be intentionally difficult.
The caves seem extensive, with numerous passages that may be lava tunnels or may have been carved out by water in ages past. The Optera say that ‘creatures from above’ prey on them, although we don’t see anything this might be referring to. It’s also clear that there are significant features down here that Ian and Vrestin don’t visit. For instance, there’s the ‘fire chasm’ that the Optera plan to use to dispose of them, which is presumably some sort of volcanic vent. Perhaps more interesting is the Chasm of Lights, which they apparently consult as an oracle… whether this is crystalline, bioluminescent, a technological artefact, or something else entirely is an open question.
Another place mentioned in the story, but not visited, is the Delta of Lights, the landing site that the recovery force plans to use once the Animus has been defeated. We know nothing of this other than the name, but it’s perhaps more likely to be something triangular than a river delta, since there’s no evidence we’re close to a sea or large lake.
Perhaps the most significant location in the story, however, is the Carsinome. This is a large organic growth (the name is suggestive of ‘carcinoma’ which is a type of cancer) riddled with passages and deep chambers. Roots plunge deep into the ground and, while we never see it from the outside, it’s implied to be the equivalent of several stories high. Hilio plans to attack it by landing on the top and cutting his way through and, while the others dissuade him, it’s not because they think the cutting part won’t work. Thus, the whole thing at least appears to be made of the same tough fibrous material that Ian successfully cuts through from underneath later on.
Having said which, the structure is likely to be more complex than the TV set was able to simulate, with its flat panels and smooth flooring. In fact, we can go down a ‘body horror’ route if we want to. There may be bony or wood-like struts holding the thing up, for instance, and pumps and vessels to transport circulatory fluid, as well as the occasional tentacles we see sprouting inside one of the chambers. Just how disgusting we want to make it is a matter for the individual GM and group – is it just an oddly shaped piece of vegetation, or something altogether more moist, fleshy, and membranous?
Of course, the characters in the story don’t explore more than a few square miles of the planet’s surface. It’s possible that, further away from the Carsinome, the land is not so harsh. If thick mats of moss can grow in the Crater of Needles, there may be much more vegetation hundreds of miles away. Perhaps not forests, as there once were, since we want to give the impression of somewhere barren, but prairies or steppe could work. Out here, it’s likely that wildlife exists, perhaps including the creatures that the Optera are frightened of.
Given the nature of the dominant life forms, we can expect these animals to also resemble giant insects, arachnids, and so on. It’s worth noting, for instance, that the Zarbi are frightened of a dead spider, which indicates that they must instinctively recognise it, at least in general terms. Giant predatory spiders, then, are almost a given and it’s hard to believe that the Animus has killed them all yet.
Similarly, even if the Menoptera have evacuated the planet, the Optera were able to survive in close proximity to the Carsinome, so there are likely other communities out there somewhere, some of which may have degenerated in different ways. Not all these remote tribes may be as obliging as Hetra and Nemini turn out to be, especially if they believe the Menoptera abandoned or betrayed them, rather than still seeing them as ancestral gods.
When we try to describe the native races of Vortis, a natural question to ask is how much of what we see is the product of the show’s financial and technical limitations, and how much is what they are really ‘supposed’ to look like. If the show had had the technology and budget of, say, a modern Pixar movie, would they still look the same? Probably not, and it’s a matter of taste whether we want to stick with the original (rather daft) appearances, or to modify them – and if so, how.
Sticking with what we know we have, however, the Doctor describes the Menoptera as being vertebrates, despite their superficial appearance. And this is plausible enough for an alien – there’s nothing to say that a creature with compound eyes and antennae can’t also have a backbone. Like the ‘good guy’ insects in A Bug’s Life, they have four limbs, not six, although the wings are also insect-like. We’re told that they have a chrysalis phase in their life cycle and, by implication, they are born as larvae, which are probably caterpillar-like.
The little we see of their culture suggests that it’s egalitarian and, left to itself, peaceful. Hilio has a command position over the other members of the strike force, but nobody else is especially deferential to him, so it’s probably a temporary thing rather than what we’d think of as a military rank. Since their native habitat is “flower forests” they are likely intended to feed primarily on nectar, as butterflies do. Technologically, the Menoptera have advanced beam weapons and interplanetary travel, so they are advanced, even if most of them don’t seem to be carrying much in the way of equipment. The audio story Return to the Web Planet describes their homes as nests, built into large trees.
Supposedly, the Optera are descended from the Menoptera, but they look surprisingly different, beyond merely lacking wings. Their antennae are replaced by multiple feelers, their legs are very short, they have a segmented carapace and, perhaps most significantly, they have three pairs of arms. Since they have apparently evolved to this state over just a few generations – and Vrestin seems to think that their children might regain the power of flight – this is indicative of an extremely rapid adaptation to their new environment, and a very alien, mutable, genotype.
The significance of this is that, if other Menoptera survived elsewhere on the planet, in slightly different conditions, they may have ended up looking quite different from the Optera, giving a game a plausible reason to throw in other ‘races’ with whatever attributes make sense for the story.
The Zarbi have six limbs and a close resemblance to giant ants – again, they are possibly intended to be even more ant-like than they are in the TV serial, and they have been shown as such in some comics. We’re told that they are only as intelligent as cattle, although this may be Menoptera bias, since they seem capable of basic tool use and to have moderately sophisticated communication. Since it’s unlikely that this is entirely due to the Animus, it may instead be that their intelligence is close to that of a chimp; animalistic, but at the upper end of that scale. (It’s also worth noting that the word ‘cattle’ must be a product of the TARDIS translation circuits; perhaps the Menoptera previously kept giant beetles or the like as herd animals).
The Zarbi are clearly social creatures. One licensed short story indicates that, in their natural state, they have a caste structure similar to that of real ants, with a queen at the centre of their nest – as often in such stories, she’s described as looking more like a termite queen than a real ant queen. At any rate, we don’t see a Zarbi nest in the TV serial, although they must be quite impressive.
Scenario
In the TV serial, the TARDIS is drawn off course by the influence of the Animus, and trapped on the planet’s surface, unable to leave. The same idea could be used in other science fiction settings; if the Animus can divert a time vessel, it can cause a mis-jump or divert a vessel in hyperspace. For that matter, none of the moons around Vortis are native to the world, all having been pulled into orbit by the Animus. Most likely that’s from elsewhere in the solar system, rather than from interstellar space, but it’s still something that could apply to a visiting spaceship. And, if not, it’s the sort of thing that Starfleet or the equivalent might at least want to investigate.
If that makes the Animus a bit too powerful for a given campaign, the PCs could simply be explorers. Or the Menoptera have sent out an interstellar signal that’s worth investigating. In this case, the Animus merely needs to hold the ship in orbit, power down the lander, prevent the wormhole from opening, or whatever else may be required to keep the PCs there… and, honestly, even if this may not be necessary if the PCs recognise it as a threat and are willing to stay long enough to try and defeat it.
The initial parts of the serial consist of the protagonists exploring the strange new world and some of them succumbing firstly to the Zarbi’s sonic attack, and then to attempts to manipulate them using gold. It’s unlikely that many PCs will be carrying around significant quantities of gold, although it’s not impossible that they are wearing bracelets or other jewellery as Barbara is. (Unless we’re in a D&D fantasy game in which case… you’re being controlled by your money!) In this case, we might give them a clue by having them find a broken piece of one of the harnesses and observe its effects when they try to examine it.
The protagonists are later captured by the Zarbi, with Barbara being taken to the Crater of Needles, and the others to the Carsinome, from which Ian escapes. If the party hasn’t split up, the Zarbi could do this, taking the apparently more scientifically minded characters to the Carsinome, and using the others as labour. But it’s also possible that they just won’t be captured, or that the GM doesn’t want to intentionally split the party. Here, if they can meet up with the Menoptera, they can hopefully be persuaded to launch a raid on the Crater, or at least help the incoming invasion force. Or both; a Menoptera with key knowledge about the landing could have been captured and need rescuing before the others can carry out the rest of their plan.
It's worth noting that the Zarbi have been capturing Menoptera, ripping their wings off, and forcing them to slave away in a crater shovelling moss into streams of acid. This is the sort of thing one would hope most PCs would take objection to, even if they don’t immediately realise that the Menoptera are the natives of the planet, rather than invaders from elsewhere. Add in all the pointless ecological destruction, and the Animus isn’t exactly being morally ambiguous.
One problem is how to ensure that the PCs meet the Optera. In the story, Ian and Vrestin try to hide in a rock crevice when the floor gives way beneath them and they fall into the deep cave system. That’s certainly an option, if it can be arranged, but another possibility is for somebody to realise that there are underground passages here that the Carsinome’s roots extend into. This might come out in a planning session with the Menoptera – whose advance scouts would plausibly have some geological knowledge of the area – who suggest attacking it from underneath, little realising that there is somebody else already down there. This way, the players have agency rather than being dragged along by a plot that says ‘you will fall down a hole at this point’.
The tunnels in question aren’t quite a classic dungeon crawl, in that the Optera believe they are safer than the surface, so there’s nothing directly menacing down there. But there are risks from fumes, both from the acid and from geothermal activity, and possibly actual lava (the ‘fire chasm’ the Optera talk about). And finally the challenge of scaling the roots which, in a game, might even be protected by subterranean bugs not seen in the TV serial.
The final episode of the original story sees Ian climbing the roots after the others have done a very RPG-like thing and sat around planning how they are going to attack the Carsinome and get the Isoptope to the nest of the Animus. At this point, it’s very much over to the PCs to come up with whatever plan they want and (hopefully) emerge triumphant.
Other than defeating the Animus and making the world safe for the Menoptera, there is relatively little that can be done with the setting as depicted in the original. Side-quests are certainly possible, with something having to be recovered from an ancient ruin, perhaps on the other side of the planet, where giant spiders or variant Menoptera/Optera might live. Or the PCs might want to help out a struggling Optera colony hundreds of miles from the Carsinome deal with a sudden incursion of Zarbi. Or they could try to enter a Zarbi nest to subvert the queen and take it over to further their own objectives, or merely save it from the Animus.
But, at the end of the day, the Animus is such a large threat that everything else has to be secondary – or a means towards the larger goal. This changes, however, if we set the story a hundred or more years after (or before) the events of the TV serial. This was the approach of the audio Return to the Web Planet, which is set at a time when lush flower forests have once again covered the planet and the Menoptera have rebuilt their cities. In that case, the threat to be countered was ecological, but other possibilities present themselves, perhaps including alien visitors to the remote planet, or a powerful psychic controlling the Zarbi for his own ends, albeit on a scale smaller than the Animus did.
In this case, we’d want to play up the alien nature of the planet’s inhabitants, even if the setting has lost its original barren look. A world full of giant flowers and humanoid butterflies is still, after all, a strange one.
Rules
If the plot of the original is straightforward – at least for something that lasts nearly three hours – the setting certainly isn’t, and may require more rules decisions than many others might. Indeed, the sheer alien nature of the place may not fit well with some SF settings. TV shows rarely have episodes that are so heavy on non-humanoid aliens (and, indeed, one can see why); it’s possible to see such a thing working in something like Star Trek, but it would certainly be unusual. Settings that aren’t about exploration or that don’t have radically alien races would also be a poor fit, even before we discuss the Animus.
Perhaps the first thing we have to consider if setting a story on Vortis is the basic nature of the environment. The air is thin, but not so much so that the characters can’t acclimatise after a few hours of discomfort, so, while one might apply an initial penalty to actions, it shouldn’t last too long. In 5E, for instance, all PCs could suffer a level of fatigue, with a CON save every few hours to clear it. In Traveller terms, the atmosphere is “Thin”, but neither tainted nor so thin that it absolutely requires a compressor mask; Vortis still qualifies as a “shirtsleeve” world.
Using the figure of 0.75g for the gravity guesstimated above, we can also make some assumptions about how this would affect characters in systems that don’t specifically provide for this. Essentially, objects weigh only 75% as much, and so require less strength to lift, while characters can jump one-third further and higher than their strength stat would normally suggest they can. Most other game effects of strength, such as damage bonus, would be unaffected, so we’d leave the stat itself unaltered.
On the other hand, objects fall at a different rate, the PC’s body is unexpectedly lighter than it should be, and so on, so agility-based tasks might be penalised for anyone native to an Earthlike planet. This wouldn’t affect dexterity tasks that rely on precision – such as a missile attack bonus – but could modify dexterity-based melee attack bonuses, rolls for acrobatics, and so on. Having said which, a 25% reduction isn’t huge, so in systems with low stat values (say, a range of 1-5) the difference may be too small to worry about. In Savage Worlds, for instance, this probably isn’t sufficient to bring in the usual “low gravity” rules or apply any penalty at all. Even in 5E, it’s probably no more than a one or two point reduction (as it is in GURPS), and PCs can probably acclimate given enough time.
There are also general hazards on the planet, such as the acid pools, fumes in the underground caves and so on, all of which can usually be handled by existing rules sets. An exception is the stinging web that Ian becomes trapped in. This is evidently tough enough that it’s difficult to simply tear your way free from and has the additional effect of inflicting non-lethal injury on the victim. The latter may result in a penalty against rolls to take action in most systems until healed, but no (or very few) points of actual damage; in 5E it’s just the Poisoned condition.
In Traveller, the UWP of Vortis is something like E-655522-1.
This assumes that there is some surviving remnant of whatever spaceport the Menoptera used to leave the planet and considers the Optera as the current inhabitants. We know less about Pictos, but it clearly does have a functional spaceport, able to build interplanetary craft, since the Menoptera launch an attack from it. Return to the Web Planet also suggests a hierarchical society for the butterfly aliens. If that’s so, the UWP for it may be
Because all of the NPCs in the story are non-humanoid, we also need some idea of how their statistics would vary from the human norm. The low gravity of the planet means that the Menoptera probably have a lower strength than humans, compensated for by a higher agility since their movements are at least supposed to be graceful. Their only unique ability is the power of flight. The Optera live in a harsher environment, so we could give them a bonus to constitution (or equivalent) and raise their strength to normal human levels. They may also have a hide thick enough to provide the equivalent of leather armour. These bonuses are compensated for by reduced agility and movement speed.
5E
• Menoptera: -2 STR, +2 DEX, size Medium, 30 foot movement, flight
• Optera: -2 DEX, +2 CON, size Medium, 20 foot movement, armour 11 + Dex modifier
BRP
• Menoptera: STR 2D6+1, DEX 4D6, Move 10 (10 flying)
• Optera: DEX 2D6 , CON 2D6+6, Move 6, 1-point natural armour
Savage Worlds
• Menoptera: Use the rules for Avions, but replace Keen Senses with a starting Agility of d6
• Optera: Use the rules for dwarves
GURPS
• Menoptera [40]: ST-1, DX+1, Flight (small wings)
• Optera [30]: HT+1, Move -2, Damage Resistance 1, Extra Arms x4 (short), Night Vision 5
The Zarbi are a little different, since they are animals in their natural state, rather than NPCs. Their chitinous exoskeleton must provide some protection – again, the equivalent of leather armour seems plausible – and their intelligence is maybe equivalent to an ape, given their ability to at least grasp the concept of tool use even if they don’t make their own.
They are also capable of creating an area effect sonic attack when operating en masse. This disorients and causes pain to humans, but does no lasting damage. In many game systems, this would require a saving throw against the equivalent of willpower, with a failure resulting in a temporary stunning effect. In more detailed systems, one could apply a penalty to the saving throw if the victim has especially sensitive hearing. Obviously, anyone deaf is immune.
Both the Menoptera and Optera are armed with sharp crystal clubs; the former using them as backups, and the latter as their primary weapon. In game terms, these are effectively shortswords. The Menoptera also carry ‘electron guns’. These can be described as laser pistols with, if the game system distinguishes such things, an electrical attack rather than a burning one. They are ‘useless’ against the Zarbi, so the latter must be resistant to electrical (or “lightning”) attacks – although probably not entirely immune.
There are two other weapons also used in the story. The isop-tope is effectively a bomb with a very focussed blast radius, delivering “living cell destruction” rather than a literal blast. This would be necrotic damage in 5E, but the value is high enough that it may not be worth enumerating unless you change things so that it requires multiple blasts while the PCs fend off the Zarbi – otherwise, it’s a one-use plot device that kills off the baddy and it either works or it doesn’t.
The other weapons we see are, of course, the larvae guns. What these are the larvae of is not specifically stated; the logical assumption is that they are Zarbi, but they could also be some other animal that we don’t see. Supposedly, they attack by spraying venom, but what we see looks more like a small explosion doing blast and heat damage. Either way, it’s powerful enough to kill in a single shot and to damage walls; the damage may be equivalent to a laser rifle, or possibly a hand grenade (3d6 in Savage Worlds, 2D8 in BRP, 4d(2) in GURPS). Fortunately, the larvae guns are short-range, don’t appear terribly accurate, and are inflexible enough to be easily defeated if you can get behind them.
Then there’s the other oddity of the setting: gold. Small pieces of the substance are telekinetically whisked away if they are at all loose – although why is never really explained. However, the Animus can use gold in contact with skin, or even separated from it by light clothing, to partially control people, pulling them towards itself and, if they fail a willpower saving throw, putting them in a light trance so that they can’t resist the pull or remove the item.
Of more concern to the average non-bling-wearing PC are the harnesses used to sedate people. This state is described as being “morphotised” and renders them incapacitated and unable to act. There is no indication of this being resistible, although one could certainly try to fight off the person trying to place it on you – again, in many games, a saving throw may be appropriate, albeit at a high difficulty. It’s notable that the Doctor is able to deactivate the harnesses and subvert one to allow him to control a Zarbi with it, so there’s more to them than simply being made of gold.
This brings us to the Animus itself. We know nothing of its origin, beyond the fact that it came from off-world and was not recognised as a threat until too late. It is intelligent and very psychically powerful, although its physical body is rooted to the ground at the centre of the Carsinome. At around six metres (20 feet) across, it’s Gargantuan in 5E, Size 6 in Savage Worlds, and Size 3 in GURPS. It can attack using beam weapons built within the Carsinome, although its own tentacles merely entangle and restrain people.
It produces a blinding light that would restrict the actions of beings able to see in much the same way that darkness normally would. In addition to its ability to telekinetically control gold and command its Zarbi servants at a distance of at least several miles, it is also able to psychically stun those close to its physical body, although it may be limited in how many people it can attack at once in this manner. Of course, there’s also the fact that it can draw spacecraft and even small planets towards Vortis, something that might be difficult to justify in settings that normally lack supernaturally potent beings.
The spin-off media have equated the Animus with H.P. Lovecraft’s Great Old Ones, and specifically with Lloigor the Star-Treader (actually a creation of August Derleth). We can be reasonably confident that this wasn’t Bill Strutton’s intent when he wrote the story, but it is consistent with it and provides an opportunity to fit the setting in with a Cosmic Horror milieu instead of a more typical sci-fi one.
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