Rooba Moansta

“(muffled) Oi, hang on. Can someone get my zipper? It’s stuck again.”

— The warcry of Rooba Moansta

Subject: The Creature of Lake Ontario

Threat Codex Rating: Upsilon-17

File Notes

About a year ago, people reported strange sightings in Lake Ontario. There were reports of a man-sized monster lurking underneath the waves, the water glistening off its rubbery skin. The creature only spoke once, on its first encounter, but its alien language sounded strangely like muffled English. According to that first report, the creature called itself “Rooba Moansta.” It’s not clear if that’s the creature’s name, species, or title, but the name stuck.

Since then, Rooba Moansta has done… not a lot, really. It will occasionally appear in the distance, waving its moist, rubbery protuberances at passers-by. Sometimes it will bear a placard covered in strange characters or containing one large arrow pointing away from the water — perhaps as some kind of warning. As soon as investigators appear, however, Rooba Moansta disappears. The current theory is that the creature can disguise itself as a normal human. Once, a couple of months ago, the creature’s skin was discovered inside a garbage can, indicating that it has some sort of molting ability. The skin was left behind while a decontamination unit was called. By the time the unit arrived, however, the skin was done, dissolved into the air.

The last encounter was Rooba Moansta was a couple of weeks ago. It was deep in the ocean, waving and moaning more vigorously than before. A team acquired a small boat to investigate, but the creature slid beneath the waves before they arrived, giving nothing but a very human-like scream and gurgle. Rooba Moansta has not been seen since, but the hunt continues.

Goals

Rooba Moansta wishes to communicate with the humans of the surface world. It’s language is difficult to discern, and its pictographic images seem unusually preoccupied with restaurant locations.

Story Hook

Rooba Moansta is seen again — this time in a different city entirely. Its skin appears to be new, and it was last reported attempting to communicate with humans near a recently-opened seafood restaurant in the area. Are the diners in danger?

System

It is unclear if Rooba Moansta is a single creature, or a species. Either way, they are only sighted one at a time. A Rooba Moansta has the following abilities:

Skills: Athletics 1, Close Combat 1, Persuasion 2, Technology 2

Attributes: Cunning 1, Intellect 1, Resolve 1, Might 1, Dexterity 1, Stamina 1, Presence 1, Manipulation 1, Composure 1

Special Rules

Blend In: Rooba Moanstas can shed their skin, appearing to be a normal human (although one that seems particularly down on their luck, and predisposed to frequent cheap restaurants). Players must accumulate 2 successes on a Cunning + Empathy roll at standard difficulty to notice the unusual level of despair, anger, and desperation unique to these simulacra.