Revenants

I'm working on a new creature that is to be incorporated into a scenario that I plan to submit to SFMan. It is detailed below and I was wanting to get some critiques
from the community so that it can be improved - assuming it's even
plausible to begin with of course. :)<br /><br />This is a fairly general outline of the creature in question, so some of the stuff hasn't yet been completely filled in (movement rates and that sort of thing) and I don't need that basic stuff bandied about here. Mainly what I need is to find out from the community whether this creature idea is feasible and if it has a place in this game setting and whether there are some things that should be tossed out, fine tuned or added in, etc.<br /><br />Thanx in advance!<br />
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Revenants (derived from the Latin word 'revenans' [returning] and means 'animated corpse'):<br />Carrier - Size: Medium. Damage: 1d10. Converts dead flesh into a revenant. <br />Lurker - Size: Tiny. Damage: 1d5. Sta: 10.<br />Slasher - Size: Small. Damage: 2d10. Sta: 20.<br />Grunt - Size: Small. Damage: 1d10. Sta: 20. Shapes hives from excrement.<br />Shredder - Size: Medium. Damage: 3d10. Sta: 120.<br />Brute - Size: Large. Damage: 4d10. Sta: 200.<br />Guardian - Size: Giant. Type I guardian: Damage: 5d10. Weight: 1,500kg. Sta: 400. Reach (the distance from which this creature can stretch a tentacle and attack a target): 10m. Tentacle number: Equal to the Type number.<br /><br />Bonus' for each 'step' in a guardian's
type classification: +1d10 damage, +1500kg weight, +100 Sta, +10m
reach, +1 tentacle for each additional 'step' in type classification.
<br /><br />Size comparisons: <br />Tiny = 5kg or less<br />Small = 5kg - 20kg<br />Medium = 20kg - 200kg<br />Large = 200kg - 1500kg<br />Giant = 1500kg or more <br /><br />Bullet points:<br />* Food source; Bodily fluids of victims.<br /><br />* Procreation; Dead flesh transformed into a revenant (dead flesh from any source; animal or sentient, doesn't matter). Amount of flesh directly translates into the form of the revenant that has been created (example: a dismembered arm can be transformed into a Lurker, a whole human body can be transformed into a shredder). Creation of a new revenant by a carrier takes only a minute (1) to accomplish and the carrier determines the type(s) of revenant being created at the time of creation (just because it can turn a 175kg lump of dead flesh into another carrier, doesn't mean that it can't choose to change it into 35 lurkers instead - or any other combination). Only carriers can create revenants. Other revenant types can not transmit any of the mutagen to their victims. The carrier must seek out the dead flesh, feed upon it and transmit the mutagenic agent. Carriers are also the only revenants that consumes dead flesh. The other types of revenants feed on the bodily fluids of their victims. The mutagen is harmless to living tissues. <br /><br />Though not very combat capable, the carriers can still kill prey and often do, especially if they are alone and seeking to create a community. Dead flesh from one source, mingled with (touching) the dead flesh of another source (or sources) will all be affected by the mutagen in concert. This is how a carrier is able to fashion large and giant revenants when any available victims are medium-sized or smaller. The time it takes to transform dead flesh takes 1 minute for 200kg of flesh or less. Add 1 minute for every increase in flesh of 200kg (whole or part) Example: 201kg = 2 minutes; 399 kg = 2 minutes; 401kg = 3 minutes, 1500kg = 10 minutes, etc. Multiple carries transmuting a lump of flesh will decrease the time it takes to transmute the flesh by a factor equal to the number of carriers present. Example: 2 carriers = half the time, 3 carriers = 1/3 the time, etc.  <br /><br />So in essence, all revenants (excepting the carriers) are in reality, a conglomeration of cells working in concert to inhabit, reshape and animate a lump of dead flesh. Carriers started as a standard revenant but over the course of 50 years of existence as such, slowly morphed into a single creature capable of 'infecting' dead flesh with their mutagenic virus.<br /><br />* Revenants can go for decades (up to 100 years) between feeding if necessary by entering a hibernation-like suspension of their biological functions. They will become active again if a life form passes close enough (within 20 meters - a limitation of their hibernation; otherwise normal perception is about equivalent to that of a human) to be perceived. <br /><br />* Extreme cold and radiation do not affect a revenant as their physiology includes a form of anti-freeze which floods the lump of dead flesh that they inhabit and they are not adversely affected by levels of radiation fatal to a human. They can exist in the vacuum of space for up to a couple hours at a time (so long as they are not exposed to extreme heat in the process; see below).<br /><br />* They do not breathe normally. Rather they absorb oxygen through the epidermis and/or surface of their inhabited 'body' which sustains the individual mutagenic cells inhabiting the dead flesh. This allows them to exist for long periods of time in oxygen-free environments (up to 2 hours at a time).<br /><br />* When damaged they bleed a clear, viscous liquid (the above-described anti-freeze). When exposed to oxygen, this liquid quickly crusts over (similar to blood clotting in humans - but takes only half the time) and seals the wound. They can 'heal' themselves simply by incorporating a comparable amount of dead flesh as was damaged (removed, destroyed, etc). This is a limited form of the carrier's ability. A standard revenant can not 'rebuild' more than 15% of its body in this fashion. Rather, the wound would heal over with the addition of the newly acquired dead flesh but the creature would diminish if it lost enough of its mass to reduce it to a different revenant type. <br /><br />* Extreme heat does double damage to them (lasers, flame throwers, etc).<br /><br />* Dead flesh that has been transformed, ceases rotting at that point. It does not stink of putrefaction from then on. The excretions of revenants however, do stink of an overpowering mixture of ammonia and putrefying flesh (fresh pool of excrement; -10% to all actions, hardened structure; -5% to any actions while in the immediate vicinity). This excrement hardens after a short period of time (about a week) into a resin-like substance. It has a color like amber (petrified tree sap; yellow-gold). This process is somewhat slow and during the course of the hardening, it becomes taffy-like in nature. The revenants (specifically grunts) collect this excrement and can shape it into hive-like structures. Usually located in dark, sheltered places (underground, etc).  <br /><br />* They do not give off body heat.<br /><br />* They can naturally see in the infrared spectrum (sudden bright lights can temporarily blind them). They can not see in any other spectrum.<br /><br />* They are semi-intelligent. Can work together for a single goal. Can comprehend simple puzzles (like pressing a button to open a door, or climbing through an air duct to reach an otherwise inaccessible room). They are cunning, but may sometimes act stupidly (like standing on the opposite side of a chain-link fence, unable to assault the PC with a flame thrower burning them to a crisp, all the while shrieking and howling...and dying).<br /><br />* If beaten down to between 10 and -10 stamina, they may 'detach' a less damaged portion of their body and scamper off, leaving the rest of their body there to twitch and struggle and distract their foe long enough to escape. It will then exist as a diminished form (consult the mass/ revenant type chart).<br /><br />* They have no verbal language, rather they communicate to each other by pheromone transmission. This is not to say that they can not vocalize. They often growl, snarl, roar and shriek as they have learned that such noises confuse and often panic their prey.<br /><br />* No two revenants look alike. They are classified by their mass. But that mass can consist of any fleshy combination. Often they reform their bodies into skull-like 'heads' and tentacles for movement and combat. They can mold dead flesh into whatever form they wish but always the form is specifically geared toward locomotion and combat. 'mouths' might not contain teeth for biting, rather; jagged bone splinters may be housed in the misshapen jaws, etc. Arms usually end in jagged lengths of bone for stabbing. Sometimes a dead victim's head will remain intact sitting atop the neck of a bloated, patchwork body. The head is often recognizable by the victim's friends. The revenants have learned that this terrifies their intended victims, often making them easier to subdue and so, this is a favorite tactic.<br /><br />* There is always one guardian at a hive (never more or less). The size of the guardian is always proportional to the size of the hive (could potentially be limitless if the GM so desires and the revenants have enough dead flesh to account for it). If the hive is capable of supporting 100-1,000 revenants then the guardian will be a type I (basic guardian listed above - a hive will never be constructed unless there are at least 100 revenants). For each +1,000 revenants in the hive, the guardian will increase in type by +1. Guardians are immobile and never leave the hive. They are the protectors of the hive. The hive is constructed in a spherical fashion in such a way that the outer border of the hive is never more than twice the reach of the guardian's tentacle(s). All carriers reside within the reach of the guardian. The guardian can stretch its tentacles through the hive as needed, attacking trespassers as required. If a standard revenant is killed, it gives off a pheromone 'cloud' that the guardian can detect and follow to the source, thereby aiding the guardian in tracking down trespassers. It uses its tentacle(s) as sensory organs to sniff out pheromone trails left by other revenants and to perceive enemies. For combat, these tentacles can be used to bash and to grapple with and drag off targets. <br /><br />Example: Hive has 10,000 revenants in it. The guardian will be a type X (10) guardian with stats as follows: Damage: 14d10. Weight: 15,000kg. Sta: 1,300. Reach: 100m.     <br /><br />* They do not use technology, ever. They fight by pummeling and tearing their victims apart through physical force.