Anathemas
Anathemas are low-level enemies that the player's Hero Avatar and their Companion encounter in the early levels of Anathema Annihilation. The Themes of the Hero Variant and Companion Variant determine the design, function, and quantity of Anathemas that each will face. Upon killing an Anathema, the Hero will gain experience and a chance to retrieve loot. Once the Companion has joined the Hero's party, the Hero and Companion split the experience gained equally between them.
Variant: Lamprey
The Lamprey is the Anathema particular to the Theme of the Vagabond Hero/Companion Variant. They are are obligate scavengers, meaning that they only need to eat carrion to survive, like vultures. Unlike vultures, they hunt and kill in packs, but they then wait until the body of their prey has deteriorated slightly before they consume it.
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Lampreys are parasites that have taken over the decaying corpses of Soviet officers, still wearing their deteriorating uniforms. The mouth of the Lamprey resembles the parasitic fish of the same name, and disguises itself as the tube of the ShM-41 gas mask that it wears over its head. The tube itself resembles a trachea that has been ripped straight from some creature's throat, but it has the prehensility of an elephant's trunk.
Outside of "live gaming hours", when there are no player avatar corpses to feed upon, Showfall provides them with the husks of dysfunctional clones or other biological game assets that no longer have a use.
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Possible loot from the Lampreys includes firearms, combat knives, and coin taken directly from the uniforms after being defeated.
Variant: Nuckelavee
Associated with the Vagabond Hero/Companion Variant Theme, the Nuckelavee Anathema is a stronger, solitary opponent that features the torso of a skinless version of a lesser Anathema - the Lamprey - that has been fused with the body of a flayed horse. Like the Lamprey, the horse's head on the Nuckelavee also resembles an old Russian gas mask. Unlike the Lamprey's maw, which resembles the jawless fish of the same name, the Nuckelavee's mouth most closely resembles a massive bloodworm. This Anathema also sports a pair of incredibly long arms which, despite their scant musculature, are incredibly powerful weapons.
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Unlike the Lamprey, the Nuckelavee is an opportunistic carnivore, meaning that it will consume both carrion and fresh meat. It is extremely defensive of its food, and it will attack anything that it a) deems as a threat to either itself or its food or b) views as prey. It does not claim territory like the Lamprey does, neither does it hunt it packs - the Nuckelavee is a solitary creature which is constantly on the move in search of food.
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The Nuckelavee does not drop any material loot, but it does provide a large chunk of experience when killed.
Variant: Anthrobionicus
Anthrobionicae are Athathemas particular to the Theme of the Renegade Hero/Companion Variant. They resemble humans that had altered their physical form through the addition and/or replacement of biological tissue by electromechanical parts to such a degree that their humanity had been lost entirely. In short, they're cyborgs who went a bit too far.
This augmentation got to the point where the sentient robots of the Renegade's world viewed the Anthrobionicae to be more akin to themselves than the humans who had created them in the first place, who had long since been eradicated. Thus, an alliance was formed, and the Renegade must now face off against both the robots and Anthrobionicae to survive.
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Possible loot from defeating an Anthrobionicus includes firearms, metal scrap, and electromagnetic components harvested directly from the body.