Protesters are always trying to find ways to end the slaughter of cattle and other ‘food’ animals, in order to end their suffering. Many were under the delusion that meat only came from supermarkets and other such vendors, not realizing that meat has to come from a specific source.

Using this as a basis, scientists, working alongside geneticists came up with a way to simply grow vast amounts of meat in vats and through genetic manipulation, could easily alter the consistency, taste and texture of any type of meat. You want Ribeye? You got it. You want AAA steak, no problem! Salami, pepperoni, pork-chops? Easy!

Initially such vat or lab-grown meat was incredibly expensive to create and labs and equipment required to produce this type of meat were almost prohibitive in the cost.  As is always the case breakthroughs in research and genetic engineering made it cost effective, and eventually it became cheaper to create vat-grown meat than raising live animals. It became so common-place that many ranchers and the big slaughter-houses were forced out of business.

Some believe mystics or technomages were involved, others believe nanites caused it to mutate and change, and there were even rumors that somehow the meat was infused with necromantic energies.

No matter what one believes, a monster was created and it escaped.  It did not achieve sentience, but it did acquire the ability to shape-shift to a limited degree, allowing the creature to grow pseudo-pod limbs for mobility and for striking and grappling.

The creature is always on the move, looking for other creatures to consume anything organic it encounters. It engages in combat as soon as living ‘meat’ is encountered, using three pseudopods each round. The creature can target up to three different opponents through this method, or it can attack a single target with all three. It can also choose to forgo using one pseudopod in order to rip a chunk of its own body and throw it at targets.

Finally the stench of rotting flesh is so overpowering that anything which needs to breathe or has a sense of smell has a very good chance of becoming sickened by being within 30 feet of this monster.

Starfinder Creature Index

Chris Van Deelen is the creator and contributor to over half of the Wisdom from the Wastelands series, contributor to the Swords of Kos: Hekaton anthology. He also wrote Creatures of the Tropical Wastelands, and 100 Oddities found in a Car. As prolific as he is, Chris Van Deelen continues to write and produce material which will be in publication soon. Not only is he a prolific content creator, he also has a wide selection of fiction and stories! If you like his work, please follow his personal author page on Facebook and on Twitter to keep up with his latest news and game content.