Calcium Disease (Jjor’shlo Raak)

Because their digestive system is designed to break down and remove calcium from the worm’s blood stream, the worms tend to be calcium sensitive with some having severe allergic reactions to calcium build-up in their bodies. Many traditional S’sessu poisons and weapons were made of animal bone and teeth in the hopes of inflicting a slow death on an enemy. Modern weapons, such as fragmentation grenades or scattergun pellets or needlers might be coated with calcium to inflict calcium disease.

Called Jjor’shlo Raak by the S’sessu, calcium disease is similar to hypercalcaemia in humans. If an attacker using calcium tipped weapon scores an automatic hit (01-05) against a S’sessu (and theoretically Sathar), the target must make a current Stamina check, otherwise they contract calcium disease and the referee should consult the chart below. The elevated levels of calcium in the Satharoid can cause digestive pain, vomiting and fatigue.

At its worst, the disease can cause death. In fact, if any ability score check drops below zero as a result of the penalty modifiers, death will occur within 1-10 hours.

The effects of the disease are cumulative, so if a character is exposed to harmful levels of calcium again, requiring a roll on the chart, add +10 percent to the result for each exposure.

For example, Ash’Yorl the S’sessu previously had a mild case of calcium disease, but was exposed to harmful levels a second time. When the referee rolled on the chart, the result was 84, meaning that Ash’Yorl would have had a severe reoccurring illness, but since he had a previous condition, the roll is modified to 94 percent and he now has a debilitating, long-term illness.

At the point at which the UPF contacted the S’sessu, they had not developed a cure for calcium disease, but rather have treatments to mitigate its effects. For example, S’sessu who burrow into a bed of high-quality Usalas’sk loam soil each day for eight hours will trim any negative skill and ability modifiers by 15 percent while medium-quality soils will cut the negative modifiers by 5 percent. Low-quality Usalask’sk soils have no effect. Using the soil will not help if a character has a fatal case of calcium disease.

The worms also have a variety of other treatments that can reduce the longevity and effects of calcium disease. The common-most is translated into Pan-Gal as Cal-Reduce that will cut the duration of the disease by half for a mild case or by 10 percent for severe cases. It reduces the negative ability and skill check modifier by 10 percent. Additionally, if a Satharoid has a reoccurring condition, it cuts the chance of a relapse to 2 percent per month. This treatment has no impact on a debilitating or fatal disease. Cost: 400 Credits per treatment.

Much like worms found on other planets, the Satharoid has limited regeneration capabilities if it loses a portion of its locomotion tail or tentacles. Generally, if it loses no more than six of its lower segments, a S’sessu can regrow its tail, on average about one month for each segment. There is a chance, however, that it will suffer a deformity. Such deformities may be cosmetic or it may impede movement.

If it loses seven to twelve of its tail segments, the chances of deformity rises, but so does the possibility that it will not be able to heal at all and a prosthetic tail may be needed. A Satharoid can only survive a loss of more than twelve of its tail segments with a prosthetic and other medical care. (See the Tail Regeneration Chart.)

The lower tentacles can regenerate if one is completely lost; the upper tentacles can regenerate if no more than two-thirds are lost. Again, there is a 5 percent chance for deformity. Tentacles will regenerate within 12 days.

 They can also heal from normal injuries at double the normal rate for most races – two Stamina points per day with normal bed rest – or 1-4 additional points when a medic successfully applies Medical Treatment: Wounds (I, II or III). This additional regenerative ability does not apply to healing from radiation, infection, disease or infestation.