Vita carnis (RPG)

Vita Carnis (which in Latin means "Living Flesh") is an analog horror series. The story is set in an alternate timeline where, starting in 1931, Earth is invaded and adapted by a new taxonomic family of creatures composed entirely of organic tissue, flesh, muscles, and organs.
These entities are not space aliens or demons from hell, but a new form of biological life that has integrated into the planet's ecosystems and human civilization (sometimes usefully, sometimes terrifyingly).

What is it and what does it look like?: It is a massive symbiotic network of organic tissue, veins and tendons of dark red color that expands covering solid surfaces such as soil, rocks, trees and human buildings.
Biology and behavior: It essentially functions as a global circulatory and nervous system for Vita Carnis. It is extremely resistant to climatic conditions. It feeds directly from the soil and performs a process similar to photosynthesis.
Impact on humans: Although its appearance is unhygienic and repulsive, humanity discovered that when properly processed, it serves as a powerful agricultural fertilizer for crops. However, it represents the primary method of expansion for the entire species.

What is it and what does it look like?: Small creatures approximately 20 cm long (about the size of a basketball or a small watermelon). Their physical appearance is a hybrid of a hairless raccoon, a mole, and a crustacean. They hatch directly from the knots or bumps of the Crawl.
Biology and behavior: They are completely herbivorous, feeding on insects, carrion, or organic waste. They are very timid, peaceful, and have a great curiosity about technological devices (such as televisions).
Impact on humans: Due to their docile and harmless nature, they became popular, either clandestinely or legally, as domestic pets. Lore research reveals that they possess a kind of hive mind, meaning that different Trimmings colonies can share information and learn behaviors from each other even when separated.

What is it and what does it look like?: Elongated creatures resembling giant snakes or worms made of pure flesh and muscle, which can measure several meters in length.
Biology and behavior: They generally inhabit temperate climates and wooded areas or abandoned railway lines. They are carnivorous but prefer to hunt dead animals or easy prey.
Unique characteristic: They have a strange and macabre obsession with skeletal remains: they collect the skulls and bones of animals or humans they find to wear on their heads as armor or protective helmets. They are not usually aggressive toward humans unless their territory is invaded or they feel cornered.

What are they and what do they look like?: The most dangerous and famous predators in the series. In their early stages, they have a flexible, fleshy build without a defined face, but they are capable of altering their physical structure.
Biology and behavior: They are highly intelligent hunters specializing in impersonation and ambush. They use voice recordings, babies crying, or cries for help to lure their victims outdoors or into dark rooms.
Evolution (Elder Mimics): As they consume more human flesh, they evolve to an advanced stage (Elder Mimic), acquiring a much tougher skin that can ignore bullet impacts, almost perfectly mimicking the complexion of a real person to infiltrate society.

What is it and what does it look like?: Massive, static, organic structures with a shape similar to a giant bulb or egg, approximately 3 meters tall, commonly half-buried in forests or remote areas.
Biology and behavior: Although they appear to be inert plants, they possess a lethal cunning. They use invisible underground tendrils that extend several meters in all directions to ensnare unsuspecting passersby.
Method of attack: They inject a powerful paralyzing toxin into the victim to completely immobilize them. Afterward, they slowly drag the body underground to digest it with special bodily acids, leaving only useless skeletal remains.

What is it and what does it look like?: A partially buried static entity whose upper part exhibits a rudimentary vaguely human structure (a torso, blind head and undefined arms) surrounded by tendrils and fleshy shoots.
Biology and behavior: Its danger lies not in physical strength, but in its ability to control minds (mentokinesis). It constantly releases clouds of spores with a characteristic orange hue in the open air.
Effects on humans: Upon inhaling the spores, the person enters a state of complete hypnotic trance, losing control of their actions. The individual walks autonomously toward the Host of Influence, voluntarily kneels before it, and exposes their vital points for the creature to devour.

What is it and what does it look like?: Gigantic and imposing towers made of braided flesh fabric and a mineral core, reaching 120 meters in height.
Biology and behavior: They emerged en masse starting in 1972 in remote northern areas (such as Hudson Bay in Canada). They remain completely static, are virtually invulnerable to any human attack, and possess massive regenerative capabilities.
Technological threat: They do not attack directly, but emit constant and powerful electromagnetic pulses (EMP) that disable any vehicle, compass, or modern technology in their vicinity. They are considered passive monuments or communication pillars of the Vita Carnis.

What is it and what does it look like?: It is the evolutionary pinnacle and the "brain" of the entire Vita Carnis hierarchy. These are floating spheres approximately 1 meter in diameter made of a shiny black, mineral material, with an intensely luminous central core.
Biology and behavior: They function as the central nodes or the "antenna" of a global network that coordinates, directs, and transmits directives to all other creatures of the species (from Trimmings to Mimics).
Importance in the lore: They are fanatically guarded by secret cults that worship the Vita Carnis as if they were deities and are closely linked to the imposing presence of the Monoliths.

To survive in the Vita Carnis universe, the fictional organization CARCAS (along with the series' survival manuals) establishes a series of strict protocols. The key survival rules are divided according to the threat:

1. General Rules Against Mimics
   Mimics are the closest and most insidious danger to humans, as they can be inside houses or lurking nearby.
   The Voice Check: Never open the door immediately if you hear a family member, friend, or a baby crying for help outside, especially at night. Mimics memorize and replicate audio recordings. Ask questions whose answers only that real person would know.
   Don't trust the shadows: Mimics can flatten their body mass to hide behind furniture, in dark hallways, or around corners. Keep rooms well-lit.
   Physical resistance: Conventional firearms (small-caliber pistols) are largely ineffective against Elder Mimics, as their muscle density absorbs impacts. High-powered weapons or direct fire are required to burn their tissues.
2. How to deal with Harvesters
   Avoid dense, unprotected wooded areas: Harvesters operate in rural areas, forests, and remote areas.
   Beware of invisible tendrils: They emit subterranean filaments that paralyze their prey. If you experience sudden numbness in your legs or a strange sensation while walking in the countryside, move away from the area immediately before the toxin takes full effect and drags you underground.

3. Protocol for the Host of Influence
   Respiratory protection: Since its primary weapon is the trance-inducing orange spores, never venture into affected areas without a gas mask or a CARCAS-certified air filtration system.
   Ignore the mental urge: If you begin to feel an inexplicable attraction, extreme drowsiness, or an overwhelming need to walk to a specific point outdoors, resist and seek airtight shelter immediately.
4. Precautions with smaller creatures (Trimmings and Meatsnakes)
   Do not feed or domesticate them: Although Trimmings appear harmless and are sold on the black market as pets, they carry strange organic pathogens and serve as checkpoints for the Singularity network.
   Keep your distance from Meatsnakes: If you encounter a Meatsnake with a skull on its head near train tracks or in woods, do not provoke it or try to remove the bones. Back away slowly; they only attack if they feel cornered.

4. Precautions with smaller creatures (Trimmings and Meatsnakes)
   Do not feed or domesticate them: Although Trimmings appear harmless and are sold on the black market as pets, they carry strange organic pathogens and serve as checkpoints for the Singularity network.
   Keep your distance from Meatsnakes: If you encounter a Meatsnake with a skull on its head near train tracks or in woods, do not provoke it or try to remove the bones. Back away slowly; they only attack if they feel cornered.
5. Exclusion Zones and Monoliths
   Mandatory distancing: Stay at least several kilometers away from the Monoliths (120 meters high). In addition to their electromagnetic radiation, which disables vehicles and electronic devices (leaving you without communication), they are high-concentration areas for the hive.
   Beware of the Crawl: Do not allow the invasive fleshy tissue to cover the foundation of your home. It must be removed and burned regularly with approved chemical agents to prevent it from becoming a breeding ground for more creatures on your property.

1. Incineration Kit (The most effective method)
   Since they are creatures of "living flesh", fire is their most constant weakness.
   Homemade flamethrowers: Combustion of gasoline mixed with soap or polystyrene (to create homemade napalm) and launched using a pressure atomizer.
   Magnesium flares: They reach extremely high temperatures. They are ideal for cauterizing Crawl wounds and preventing them from healing.
   Molotov cocktails: The basic element. The mixture of gasoline and oil ensures that the fire adheres to the Mimics' muscle tissue and does not go out when they try to move.
2. Corrosive and Dehydrating Kit
   If you can't use fire (due to fire risk or stealth), chemicals are the option:
   Sulfuric or Hydrochloric Acid: Vita Carnis is composed of proteins. Strong acids denature proteins instantly, turning solid meat into a useless liquid mass.
   Rock salt (Rock salt) in large quantities: As with slugs, high salinity draws water from the tissues of Crawl and Trimmings, dehydrating them until they become brittle and die.
   Quicklime (Calcium Oxide): It is an extremely powerful desiccant. Throwing it on the Crawl absorbs the moisture from its veins and chemically calcines them.

3. Physical and Medical Defense Kit
   Gas masks (P100 or NBC filters): Mandatory when approaching any Host of Influence. Without respiratory protection, exposure is inevitable.
   Fireman's axes or carbon steel machetes: The metal must always be sharp. Mimic flesh is dense and rubbery; a dull weapon will only bounce off. The axe allows you to sever limbs and cut the tendrils of Harvesters.
   Rubber or Tyvek suits (waterproof): Vita Carnis often release bodily fluids, spores, and pathogens. Avoiding direct skin contact is vital to prevent fungal infections or "meatborne contamination."
4. Technological Survival Objects
   Demolition hammers or hardened steel chisels: Useful for breaking the structures of the Monoliths (although you can't destroy them, you can extract samples or look for cracks where you can hide).
   Broadband radios: Vital for monitoring the frequencies used by Singularities. If the static suddenly changes pitch, it means a pack of creatures is coordinating an attack in your area; it's a sign to flee immediately.
   Ultraviolet (UV) flashlights: Some Crawl fabrics glow under UV light, allowing you to detect hidden meat "paths" in walls or ceilings before entering a room.

The Crawl
Phase 1 (Spore/Germination): Apply sprays with concentrated chlorine or industrial fungicides to damp surfaces before they take root.
Phase 2 (Symbiotic Network): Burn with flamethrowers or blowtorches and scrape the foundations with metal spatulas to detach the veins from the root.
Phase 3 (Nodular Maturation): Locate the thick nodes, inject sulfuric acid directly into them to dissolve them and prevent them from expelling more organisms.

Trimmings
Phase 1 (Nodular Bud): Destroy the Crawl bulge before the cutting hatches, or crush it with a boot or stone while it is still dormant.
Phase 2 (Emergency and Mobility): Give a sharp blow to the head with a hammer or iron bar; their skull is fragile and gives way immediately.
Phase 3 (Adult Attached): Use animal traps or baited poisons; since they have hive consciousness, eliminating a few disorients the local colony.

The Singularity
Phase 1 (Floating Nodes): Fire focused energy pulses or magnetic overloads to destabilize its gravitational field and make it explode.
Phase 2 (Global Link Network): Destroy multiple floating spheres simultaneously to cut off communication and leave the Mimics and Trimmings without tactical directives.
Phase 3 (Peak of Singularity): As it is the ultimate core of the hive, its total destruction requires unleashing a chain reaction of pure energy on its central luminous core; otherwise, it resists any ordinary physical attack.

Monoliths
Phase 1 (Seismic Outbreak): Impossible to destroy. The only tactical option is to evacuate the area immediately upon feeling the initial tremor.
Phase 2 (Permanent Stasis): Impossible to destroy. Conventional weapons, missiles, and military explosives bounce off or are absorbed by its organic-petrified tissue.
Phase 3 (EMP Emitter): Cannot be turned off or destroyed. The only defense is to move at least several kilometers away to avoid total vehicle and technology inoperability.

Host of Influence
Phase 1 (Sessile Outbreak): Cover with a mandatory NBC gas mask and pour concentrated acid onto the emerging mound.
Phase 2 (Spore Emitter): Seal the perimeter with airtight plastic and destroy the source of emission using dehydrating chemical agents.
Phase 3 (Hypnotic Attraction): If an ally falls into a trance, shoot their limbs to knock them down and forcibly remove them from the spore radius; then, destroy the host's rudimentary head with an axe or explosive.

Harvesters
Phase 1 (Underground Bulb): Pour quicklime or acid into the soil where underground tendrils are detected to burn the seed before it emerges.
Phase 2 (Surface Structure): Place C4 explosive charges at a distance to blow up the 3-meter bulb without risking stepping on its radius of paralyzing tendrils.
Phase 3 (Trance Predator): Attack exclusively at range with incendiary artillery; approaching in melee guarantees immobilization by toxins.

Mimics
Phase 1 (Amorphous Mass / Stalking): Illuminate with high-powered flashlights and apply direct fire with Molotov cocktails to force it out of its hiding place and burn its elastic tissue.
Phase 2 (Acoustic Invader): Do not open doors or approach dark areas. If it enters a room, fire bursts with an assault rifle to destroy its soft structure.
Phase 3 (Elder Mimic): Ordinary bullets are ineffective. Napalm, flamethrowers, or nearby explosive charges are required to incinerate its hardened skin and destroy the thoracic core.

Meatsnakes
Phase 1 (Tubular Segment): Cut the cylinder of meat into small pieces with a sharp machete before it manages to stretch or move.
Phase 2 (Growth and Hunting): Attack the muscle attachment points with a hunting shotgun or heavy axes to sever their mobility.
Phase 3 (Skeleton Phase): Ignore the skulls they carry on top (hitting them wears down the weapon) and focus the deep cuts directly on the neck or middle third of the body.