Infobox
Astral Vermin, parasitic feeders
General Information
Some astral beings have a parasitical nature, attaching themselves unnoticed to the psyche of their victims and then siphoning their essence each night as they sleep. Like leeches, they are stealth feeders, relying on their Material Plane victims being unaware of their approach, and so have poor combat capabilities. On the Astral Plane, astral vermin appear as big, wrinkled, floating balloons of skin with a cluster of razor-spined claws dangling below, which they use to dig into their victim’s mind. Astral vermin are immune to attacks from the Material Plane; only exorcisms and wards have any effect. If combating astral vermin on the Astral Plane, they tend to have few MPs and burst easily when reduced to zero, but the psychic backlash of their death provokes a Sanity roll (1/1D6 loss) to any victim to whom they were currently attached.
Other Names: - Origin: [[02 - Occult Secrets & The Golden Dawn#the-astral-plane Locations: Astral Plane Lifespan: - Type: Mythos | Stats | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | STR - | CON - | SIZ 50 | DEX - | INT 20 | | APP - | POW 40 | EDU - | SAN - | MP 8* | | DB: - | Build: 1 | Move: 4** | | | *May be higher if currently feeding (add +1 D6 to +2 D6). **Swimming through the astral plane
Combat Information
Attacks per round: 1 (jaws) An astral creature, it attacks with POW through an opposed roll (see Astral Combat, page 56). It uses its attack to fasten onto its target and begins to feed, eating 1D6 MP immediately, and then 1D6 MP each time the victim goes to sleep. One successful attack is all that it needs to latch on. When the victim’s MP are exhausted, the astral vermin then consumes 1D6 POW per sleep, and when POW is exhausted, it consumes 1D6 CON per sleep. At zero CON, the victim dies.
Fighting (POW) - 40% (20/8), damage 1D6 MPs, then 1d6 MP per sleep of the victim (see above) Dodge - N/A (astral combat consists of opposed POW rolls only)
Armor: none. Spells: none. Sanity loss: 1/1D4 to encounter (visualize) an astral vermin.
