Good morning, my fellow monsters and world-building fans! The coffee is hot in the cabin today, but I’ll be honest—I don’t feel much like "rise and shine." I am still under the weather, fighting off an influenza bug that has me grounded. But as I sat here staring at the steam rising from my mug, I started thinking... what would a virus like this look like in the Leo Galaxy?
If a simple Earth bug can slow down a Hedge Wizard, imagine a cosmic version designed to invade and rewrite your very biology. Today, we are going to dive into a brand-new terror for the Cosmic Adventures of Captain Hedges: a biological nightmare that turns a common infection into a fight for survival.
Deep in the unexplored reaches of the Leo Galaxy, a new biological nightmare has emerged. It does not hunt you from the shadows of a moon; it hunts you from the shadows of your own ribcage. The Avian-Phlegm Strigoi is a sentient, parasitic mucus that mimics the form of a prehistoric bird of prey once it infiltrates a host's biology.
🧬 The Narrative: The Internal Siege
🎲 System I: Monsters! Monsters! 2.7 (D6 Only)
🧪 System II: Open D6 Medical Hazard
⚖️ Product Identity & Legal
The infection begins with a sickly-sweet scent in the air—microscopic, jagged spores that resemble metallic feathers. Once inhaled, they congregate in the lungs, drawing out the host's own fluids to architect a "nest" of thick, translucent slime.
From this nest, the Mucus-Hawk manifests. It is a wet, pulsating horror with a beak of calcified phlegm and wings made of viscous membranes. It doesn't just feed on the host; it rewrites them. It vibrates at a frequency that causes the host's mind to fog with a "Bird Flu" delirium, while it physically anchors its slime-talons into the heart and lungs. For most, it is a death sentence. But for a Hedge Wizard with immunity to acid and poison, it is a battle of wills played out in the theater of the bloodstream.
This stat block represents the creature as it fights for control inside the host's body.
Monster Rating (MR): 60
Combat Dice: 7D6 + 30
Special Ability - Biological Hijack: Every combat round the host loses, the Strigoi absorbs 1 point of CON from the host, adding it to its own MR.
Special Ability - Avian Fever: The host must make a Saving Throw vs. Luck each turn or take 1D6 INT damage from the gurgling, subsonic screeches echoing through the chest cavity.
Note: The creature's Acidic Bile attack is ineffective against Captain Hedges due to his natural immunities.
This technical breakdown is for use with cinematic Space Opera rules in the Leo Galaxy.
Hazard: Avian-Phlegm Contagion (Class 5 Lethal) Target: Respiratory and Circulatory Systems
Infection Difficulty: Heroic (25) Stamina or Physique roll to resist upon exposure.
Virulence (Attack): 5D6 vs. Host Stamina.
Degradation: The host suffers a -1D6 penalty to all Agility and Mechanical actions as the lungs fill with sentient mucus.
Late Stage Manifestation: If the host reaches the "Wounded" state, the Mucus-Hawk attempts to breach the chest wall.
Strength: 3D6 (Internal Grip)
Agility: 4D6 (Evasive Slime)
Medicine Difficulty: 25 (To surgically extract without killing the host).
The following items are designated Product Identity of Arthur Earl C. Hedges Jr. / The Adventures of Captain Hedges: The world of Zimrala, The Leo Galaxy Campaign, The Tygerian Isles, The Ether Dragons, The Tiger Force Shadow Saga, The specific "Hedge Wizard of the Shreveport Cabin" persona, The "Royal Cartographer" archetype and the character "Emperor Rajah." Unique Items: The Ink of Anticipation, The Compass of Lost Things, Parchment of Echoes, The Scope of the True Meridian, The Rod of Infinite Spanning, and The Plumb of Gravity’s Anchor. Monsters! Monsters! and Humans, Humans (1st Edition) are trademarks of Ken St. Andre and Troll Godfather Press and are used with permission. The statistics and game mechanics provided herein are designated as unofficial playtest material for the Tygerian Isles and Leo Galaxy campaign settings. © 2026 Arthur Earl C. Hedges Jr. All rights reserved.
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