The Silver Cobwebs

Art by Jim Garrison of Hereticwerks

The Silver Cobwebs provide more evidence of how little we really know about the Zone. There are no bugs anywhere in the Zone - we have that on good authority - but Silver Cobwebs can be found anywhere there are remains of the built environment in the Zone. There are big patches of them, sometimes a meter or two across in some of the old buildings, structures, and tunnels.

Unlike Hell Slime, nobody tries to bring Silver Cobwebs out of the Zone. They're easy to overlook; sometimes they almost seem to creep up on you. Stalkers often keep Stalk Rock with them to hurl at the webs. These special salts are the only safe thing to use against the webs.

The Silver Cobwebs are considered bad luck. They mess with Fate. If you see them, back away slowly. Keep an eye over your shoulder, in case there's more nearby.

They make an unusually loud crackling sound if you touch them.

Hours later, you die.


The silver cobwebs or crackling cobwebs are based on Boris and Arkady Strugatsy's SF novel Roadside Picnic.

OGL MECHANICS

Silvery Cobwebs
Strands that break Fate

ASPECTS:

• High Concept: Big silver cobwebs
• Trouble:  Vulnerable to certain salts  
• Aspect: They crackle when you touch them
• Aspect: They break your Fate
• Aspect: You don't want to see the spiders these came from

APPROACHES

• Careful: 0
• Clever: 0
• Flashy: 0
• Forceful: +3
• Quick: +2
• Sneaky: +2

STUNTS:

• Fatebreaker - Touching or being touched by a Silver Cobweb (including with touching the webs with poles, tools, or handheld weapons) kills Mooks immediately. With PCs and major NPCs, such a touch triggers an immediate Forceful Attack by the web. When the Attack Succeeds with Style, characters immediately gain the Temporary Aspect Broken Fate. They have 12 hours to obtain some kind of superscience or magical healing or they will begin to sicken and die. Death invariably occurs within 24 hours of the touch. Many of the dead will subsequently come back as one of the Fateless Momentaries.
• Hard to See - Take +2 to Sneaky Approach to Create an Advantage by hiding in plain sight.
• Right Behind You - Silver Cobwebs can move behind people who are in the same Zone as the web. 
• Sudden Draft - A Silver Cobweb takes +2 to its Quick Approach to Create an Advantage and touch someone standing adjacent to the web.

REFRESH: 2

SPECIAL: Stalk Rock, the special salt crystals used by Stalkers as a defense against the Silver Webs; they allow the user to make ranged Attacks on the webs.