Strange Stars OSR Arrives--and a Special Deal!

Now you can explore the Strange Stars universe in Sine Nomine's Stars Without Number or similar OSR-derived science fiction games! The Strange Stars OSR supplement is now available in pdf.

The contents include:

• Tips for creatings characters and 19 clades--from Atozan librarians to armored thrax warriors--as player character options.
• A catalog of adversaries and threats from the monstrous ssraad to the more subtle agents of the Instrumentality.
• A gazeteer of known worlds and rules for creating random orbital habitats
• A sampling of factions big and small from across the known galaxy
• Advice on running adventures and campaigns in the Strange Stars with a random adventure seed generator

And here's a special deal for early adopters: Everyone buying the pdf will get a coupon for $3.55 off the cost of the soft cover when it's released.

On Rune, in the Strange Stars

Final (hopefully) edits continue on Strange Stars OSR and the commission of a few additional pieces of art to fill some layout gaps. Above is a chapter header by ever-amazing Jason Sholtis showing an encounter with a Runic dragon. Here's the Stars Without Number style description of Rune from the upcoming book:

RUNE

SSGSB p. 15

Tags  Out of Contact, Rigid Society

Enemies  Necromancer Mauldazard, Rampaging dragon

Friends  Young dragon Thussumbraan, Benevolent sorceress Jaronel

Compl.  Feudal warfare, Dragon attack

Things  Dragon’s treasure horde, Downed spacecraft from a “civilized world”

Places  Wizard’s tower, Dragon’s cave

Also, remember the 12 Days of Hydra sale is still ongoing. This would be a good time to pick up the Strange Stars Setting Book on the cheap before the release of the OSR Rulebook.

I Didn't see the new Stars Wars but I did see new Strange Stars

Yesterday, Lester B. Portly sent me the rough layout for Strange Stars OSR. There is still proofing and some other edits to be done, but I wanted to show off some sample pages:

This is a page from the beginning of the chapter on Worlds, containing 22 planets/habitats described in the Stars Without Number style and random generators for orbital habitats.

This is a page from the chapter on clades. There are 20 clades in all and general guidelines for adding additional clades in the various sophont categories.

Strange Stars OSR Excerpt and Update

After a delay for important non-rpg stuff, I've really been putting the nose to the grindstone on Strange Stars OSR. The guys at Hydra made some good suggestions on additional content and clarification on the manuscript and I have responded to those and will have it back in their hands this week for another round of proofing. Then it will be on to layout.

Anyway, here's and excerpt (except for the photo) from the NPCs and Adversaries chapter:

ERATOAN ASSASSIN/BODYGUARD

No. Appearing: 1-3
AC: 3
HD: 2
Saving Throw: 14+
Attack Bonus: +3
Damage: 1d6+2 retractable cyberclaws or concealed monoblade 1d8+1
Skill Bonus: +1
Movement: 40’
Morale: 10
The bioroids of the pleasure world of Erato have a myriad of modifications to primary and secondary sexual characteristics, sexual performance, and biochemistry. Always seeking to expand their market share, the Eratoans have began to generate members of their clade with new purposes. Bioroids with idiopathic poison biochemistry or weaponized genitalia command a high price on the black market as assassins. The above stats represent a somewhat less exotic assassin or covert bodyguard type.

Three Worlds: A Strange Stars OSR Excerpt

From the pages of the upcoming Strange Stars OSR, here are three worlds detailed in Stars Without Number style:

BOREAS
Tags  Seagoing Cities, Zombies
Enemies  Animated bioroid beast, Vrzemko Koprdazak xenophobic local kommissar, Zyta Hrenj paranoid ranger
Friends  Scientist Jarka Lissik seeking communication with the Cold Minds, Local trader Balok Zek
Complications Transport breakdown out on the ice, Dead from a sunken warship animated by the Cold Minds
Things Container of weaponized microorganisms; Exclusive trade contract with the uldra
Places Ranger station beneath the ice, The subsurface levels of a trading settlement

GOGMAGOG

Tags  Desert World, Local Specialty

Enemies Crazy bot-breaker Haxo Ysgar; Robber gang

Friends Merc Faizura Deyr working for the bot-breakers, Free trader supplying bot-breakers

Complications.Von Neumann machine swarm, A malfunctioning giant robot 

Things Hidden entrance to the mysterious planetary substructure, A forgotten, ancient giant bot

Places A shanty town; A junkyard

PHOBETOR
Tags  Local Tech, Flying City, Badlands World
Enemies Industrial spy disguised as a technician, Dark dream-dealer Arden-Decima
Friends Customer interface specialist Soren-Tertia, Short-duration reverie designer Alex-Quintus
Complications A loosed frumious bandersnatch, Wealthy BASE-jumpers wingsuit-flying to the planet’s surface
Things An experimental dream drug product, A captured art-monster, weaponized dream-tech
Places The sky city of Eidolon, An ancient underground vault

SWN World Tags in Strange Stars

Stars Without Number has an interesting way of presenting world information by use of  "tags." Many of these takes are familiar science fiction tropes/elements and work fine in Strange Stars, but some are more specific to the Stars Without Number setting and are based on different assumptions. Here's a list of those that don't really work with Strange Stars and in some cases how they can be tweaked to fit:

Alien Ruins: These could be alien, but are just likely to be ancient ruins from the time of the Archaic Oikumene or before.

Altered Humanity: Much less notable in Strange Stars than in the standard standard SWN, but it is still usable for more extreme cases.

Eugenic Cults: The rough equivalent of these can be found in the Strange Stars, but given the commonness of genetic modification, the “eugenics” element is less important than the “cult” part.

Exchange Consult: This organization doesn’t really have an equivalent.

Forbidden Tech: Much of the technology considered forbidden in the standard setting of SWN is common in the Strange Stars, so the use of this tag would be limited.

Perimeter Agency: In Strange Stars, the equivalent of this group might be Luddite or anti-technology fanatics/cultists.

Preceptor Archive: These would be replaced with troves of data or technology from earlier time periods, mostly the Archaic Oikumene, but possibly the Radiant Polity. The Library of Atoz-Theln would have the suitably modified version of this tag.

Pretech Cultists: Like the eugenic cultists above, the focus should be on the odd use of a technology rather than its mere existence.

Primitive Aliens: Probably just “primitives” of a nonbaseline or exotic biotype, rather than actual xenosophonts.

Unbraked AI: This would instead be a “Tyranny” that just happened to have an infosophont tyrant.

Xenophiles/Xenophobes: Again, read “alien” simply as an “exotic clade.”

Your Pain is Their Pleasure

Here's another excerpt from Strange Stars OSR: an Algosian as written up by Robert Parker.

ALGOSIAN
No. Appearing: 1-3
Hit Dice: 2
AC: 6
Saving Throw: 14+
Attack Bonus: +2
Damage: 1d8+1 monoblade or 1d8 stun baton, 1d6 + special (Via Dolorosa Agonizer)
Skill Bonus: +2
Move: 30'
Morale: 9
Algosians are humanoid torture cultists in the Zuran Expanse. They are thought to be the bioroid creations and former servitors of the Faceless Ones, an ancient sadist cabal. The Algosians learned a lot from their masters and now apply that knowledge to those that fall into their hands.

Algosians rely on kidnappings to get most of their victims. To this end, they operate clubs or brothels in some spaceports, though their involvement is usually secret.

In combat, Algosians relish the use of their Via Dolorosa, devices inherited from the Faceless Ones and passed through the generations. Each is unique in design particulars, but all are wand-like devices that deliver a concentrated burst of microwaves to exposed or lightly covered (normal clothing) skin, causing excruciating pain. A hit with the Via Dolorosa does 1d6 points of nonlethal damage and calls for a Physical Effects save to avoid being utterly incapacitated by pain for 1d4 rounds.

Algosians are resistant to pain (Savings Throw 9 vs pain-related effects) and their natural recovery of hit points is at twice the normal rate, though medical care or Biopsionics effect them the same as baseline humanoids..

It's Not Easy Being Green: 2 Strange Stars Clades for SWN

Here's another excerpt from the Strange Stars OSR rulebook, currently in the works: two clades without much in common other than their green skins:

SMARAGDINE
Physical Characteristics: Biologic humanoids with skins in various shades of green.
Psychological Characteristics: Smaragdines see themselves as heirs to the technology and sophistication of the Archaic Oikumene and view psi abilities as the way of the future. They are the visionaries of the Alliance, but often viewed as a bit arrogant by its other members.
Names: Smaragdines have a personal and gens name. The personal names are frequently chosen from Old Earth mythology or literature. Smaragdines often retain the gender association of the source name out of respect, but not always. The gens name is a copyrighted reference to a specific registered genetic lineage; it is typically that of one or more of an individual’s parents, but not necessarily. Gens are from similar sources as personal names, but tend to be derived from ancient mythological or literary wizards or monsters. Samples:
Personal Names: Accolon, Belphoebe, Dindraine, Finn, Gloriana, Phaon, Rinaldo, Sedna, Tsais, Thalna.
Gens Names: Euryale, Glatisant, Hydra, Mazirian, Prospero, Simurgh, Typhon.
Backgrounds: Any, though Adventurer, Hacker, Noble, Politician, Researcher, and Soldier are most fitting.
Classes: Any.
Attributes: Standard.
Special:
Psi-Society: Smaragdine society is based on psi-use. All citizens of Smaragdoz have the equivalent of the discipline Mental Link.
High Tech: Smaragdine is tech level 5 society, though much of their technology is not exportable.

VIRID

Physical Characteristics: Biologic sophonts blending plant and animal characteristics. Skins of various shades green (due to presence of symbiotic cyanobacteria) and foliage-like hair. Local groups vary a great deal in height and build. All virid are linked by nanotechnology to the world consciousness of their homeworld, but this obviously does not extend over interplanetary (or greater) distances.

Psychological Characteristics: Virid are gregarious and pleasure-loving. Coming from an idyllic garden world, they are closely attuned to nature, but naive regarding the hazardous of other, less pleasant worlds--and of civilization.

Names: Virids use “translated” plant or nature-themed names with other sophonts. 

Backgrounds: Tribesman, Adventurer.

Classes: Any but Psychic.

Attributes: Most virids have ability scores in the same range as humans, though larger or smaller tribes will vary. 

Special: 

Photosynthetic Symbiotes: Living nanotech supplements virid metabolism and causes faster healing when they are under visible light sources with spectra similar to their native yellow sun. Every day spent in direct sunlight allows them to heal 1 additional hit point, and every day resting in direct sunlight allows a virid to recovery 2 additional hit points. They also lose System Strain at a rate of 2 points a day in the sun. 

Phytoxin Resistance: Virids get a +1 to Physical Effect saving throws against plant-derived toxins.

For more Strange Stars stuff, check out John Till's ongoing A to Z here.

Hyehoon: Another Strange Stars SWN Excerpt

This is pretty much the format the clades for player character use will be in in the Strange Stars Old School book, currently in the works:

HYEHOON
Physical Characteristics: Biologic humanoids with some avian characteristics. They have lighter frames than baseline humans, but are strong for their weight. Head and brow hair is replaced by light, downy feathers.
Psychological Characteristics: Hyehoon are dynamic and inquisitive. They get along well with other clades.
Names: While there is variation based on subculture, most hyehoon have a personal name, a clutch name (immediate family), and a clan name (larger kinship group). Their typical ordering convention is clan name, personal name, clutch name. Samples:
Female Personal Names: Ahwi, Hyana, Oona, Wheta, Yaren, Yrari
Male Personal Names: Apata, Hamoon, Helo, Olo, Tuvo, Ydris
Clutch Names: use personal names from either gender
Clan Names: Ahmat, Aroi, Milonga, Ro, Sokha, Yooloo, Waroi
Backgrounds: Any; Adventurer, Astrogator’s Mate, Biotech Crew, Comm Crew, Politician, Researcher, and Technician are typical.
Classes: Any.
Attributes: standard.

New SWN Backgrounds for Strange Stars

Work continues on the Stars Without Number/Old School Sci-Fi Game of your choice compatible version of Strange Stars (release date update, when I have good data to give you!) and heres an outtake: new character backgrounds.

Bureaucrat
Despite the ubiquity of nonsophont minds, there are still plenty of sophont middle managers, datapushers, administrators, and salarymen, in the ranks of government and corporations. Some of them get tired of jockeying a desk for substandard pay and give it up for something more exciting.
Skills: Bureaucracy, Culture/World, either Culture/Corporate or Profession/Legal, Steward

Businessperson
Small time entrepreneurs and up and coming junior executives exist on every civilized world. Sometimes they chafe against bureaucracy or make some bad decisions and decide to look for better markets.
Skills: Business, Culture/Any, Persuade, Steward

Data Prospector
There's a lot of valuable information buried in the depths of a planetary or system noospheres. Data prospectors mine the infospace for value. Sometimes they find things that make them decide to have a look at what's beyond their world for themselves.
Skills: Computer, Culture/Any, Perception, either Bureaucracy or Tech/Any

Entertainer
On every world, in every time, sophonts have wanted to be entertained. Many musicians, thespians, or courtesans, decide to become itinerants, seeing the galaxy as they make their living.
Skills: Art/Any Performing Art, Culture/Artist Subculture, Persuade, one other skill

Hacker
Everyone uses computers without even thinking about it, but hackers know the very soul of the networks. Some of them are criminals, some of them work to stop criminals. Either way, it can be easy to get on the wrong side of the wrong people and find it expedient to get out of the local jurisdiction.
Skills: Computer, either Bureaucracy, Culture/Corporate or Culture/Criminal, Persuade, Tech/Any but Astronautic, Maltech, or Medical

Journalist
News is everywhere and journalists are there to sift through the data and bring connection and context to their audience. Some get the idea to go gonzo and get in the stories themselves, while some others make enemies in places of power. Both sorts can be encountered among the Strange Stars.
Skills: Culture/Any, Perception, Persuade, and one other skill.

Law Enforcement
Beat cop, port authority security contractor, or corporate investigator, the law enforcer does a tough job, often for little reward. Is it any wonder some of them look for a way to put their skills to more lucrative use?
Skills: Combat/Any, Culture/World, Perception, Security

Medtech
Most actual medicine is before by expert systems and bots, but sophont beings usually like a friendly, sophont face on their healthcare. The medtech provides that. Occasionally, though they have an itch to really put their skills to use in situations where they can't rely on bots to do the real work.
Skills: Profession/Medical, Culture/World, Science, Tech/Medical

Psychtech
In an age of nanopsychotherapy to deal with serious mental illness, the "sophont touch" is still prized--particularly by the wealthy. An understanding of sophont psychology is a skill that has a lot of uses, though.
Skills: Culture/World,  Persuade, Profession/Mental Health, either Perception or Tech/Medical

Strange Stars Without Number: Ibglibdishpan

Here's the ibglibdishpan presented in the general format that I'm using in the Strange Stars OSR gamebook:

Physical Characteristics: Biologic humanoid with little sexual dimorphism. Tall with gracile build. Skulls are somewhat ovoid vertically, though this appearance is accentuated by a shield-shaped "mask" of osteoderm.
Psychological Characteristics: Restrained in emotional responses and lacking in empathy in comparison to other humanoids. Viewed by others as pedantic and over-precise. Most are adverse to violence. They consider discussion of gender or sex as rude.
Names: Names of the ibglibdishpan are composed on two, monosyllabic elements that end in a vowel, n, ng, m, l, r, sh or more rarely b. Among themselves they employ numerical family designation that is placed before the personal name, but they rarely use these when dealing day to day with other cultures, except in formal situations. Examples: Chun Ri, Gan Yul, Ro Nar, Ang Tu, Tan Em, Ib Kan, Li Pan.
Backgrounds: Adventurer, Astrogator's Mate, Researcher, Scholar
Classes: Expert is the most likely class for an ibglibdishpan. Warriors would be rare and Psychics nonexistent.
Attributes: Intelligence of at least 14. Charisma and Strength no higher than 10.
Special Abilities:
Humanoid Computer: Ibglibdishpan gain an additional +1 to Skill checks based on Intelligence. They also have the power of Hypercognition; Once per session, the PC can ask the GM for a useful conclusion regarding a topic, and the GM will tell them what he or she considers the most useful fact the character could have concluded from analysis of the available data.

Mental Breakdown: Ibglibdishpan mental structure always has a chance of a cognitive glitch or breakdown. Any time an ibgliddishpan has to make an Intelligence related skill check of difficult of 11 or 13, fails an Intelligence related check of any difficulty, or uses the Hypercognition ability, a save vs. Mental Effects must be made. On a failed roll, a  negative effect occurs. The following table offers some examples:
1 Catatonic state, repeating the last statement made for d100 minutes. Hypercognition ability (if unused) is not available the rest of the session.
2 Screams for d100 seconds, then returns to previous activity as if nothing happened. Intelligence-related skill checks are at -1 for 24 hours.
3 Develops a severe phobia which lasts for 2d12 weeks. Every week, the character may make another Mental Effects save. 3 successful saves in a row means the phobia abates early.
4 Develops a reaction akin to Stendhal Syndrome (dizziness, confusion, possible fainting) for d4/2 hours. -2 to Dexterity, Intelligence, and Wisdom for the duration.
5 Suffers a seizure lasting 1d4 min. -1 to all rolls until a period of rest of at least 8 hours.
6 Lose 1-2 points of intelligence for 2d10 days. Every 2 days, another Mental Effects save can be attempted. 3 successes means the return of the lost points early. Each failure adds an extra day.

Strange Stars Character Types in SWN

The three broad sophont types in Strange Stars (see the setting book, on sale now) adapt fairly easily to Stars Without Number:

Biologics: These are either humans or aliens (and in the far future of Strange Stars the distinct isn't always clear). They're created using the standard character creation rules in SWN plus the any particular attribute requirements/modifiers that might apply to their particular clade.

The sort of body-swapping described in Mandate Archive: TransTech is much more common in Strange Stars than in the default SWN setting. Many people may start with some sort of genemod upgrade and backups are common for those who can afford them. Unlike Threshold Sector, the Strange Stars are not post scarcity; things still cost credits. Cyberware (like in the core book and Mandate Archive: Polychrome) is also common, though most cultures in known space find overt cyberware tacky and primitive: it's been replace by gengineering. The Zao Pirates do not share this disdain.

Bioroids are biologic androids. Their bodies are essentially built like a hull. Unlike other biologic entities, they can not reproduce naturally; they are built or grown in vats.

Moravecs: Sophont robots. Many moravec types will essentially just be mechanical "species." Other s will be built easier via the AI rules.

Infosophonts: Digital minds. These are AI, essentially. They could be downloaded into a bioroid body (hull) or a mechanical one (armature). The differences between infosophonts are moravecs fuzzy at times, but many moravecs are as attached to their single, physical forms as much as many baseline humans. Infosophonts just say those forms as outfits.

Hwuru Revue

Art by Waclaw Wysocki

Appearance & Biology: Hwuru are bipedal sophonts hailing from the Coreward Reach that bear some physical resemblance to Terran apes and sloths. They are shorter than humans but powerfully built with arms longer than their legs, and digits with claw-like structures (actually bony projections covered with horn) on their dorsal surface. They're covered with shaggy fur except on the anterior surface of their torsos, which are covered with leathery plates.

The hwuru evolved from arboreal insectivores. They have small, beak-like snouts (like the Terran echidna) and extendable tongues to aid in snatching up arthopods or their larvae in hard to reach places. Hwuru can’t swallow anything very large and must have bulkier foodstuffs made into a mash before they can consume it. Most hwuru have a mild dependence on chaoofsh a chemical attractant released by the trees native to their world. When off-world, they tend to wear a breathing apparatus to deliver this chemical.

Culture: On their native world, no hwuru have advanced beyond the Iron Age, and most live in tribal societies that use stone tools. Interaction with starfaring civilizations has afforded hwuru the chance to leave their planet, and they are sometimes found among the stars where their physical traits make them useful as hired muscle.

Stats: hwuru have a minimum strength of 12. There are no known psychics among them. Their bone claws do 1d4 damage. They all natively possess a background skill at climbing, for which they get a +1 due to their claws.

They Always Get Their Man

The ngghrya are humanoids native to a world on the border of the Coreward Reach and the Vokun Empire. Their population has slowly dwindled under Vokun occupation. Today, ngghrya are confined to the montane forests of their world, but exiles and refugees are not infrequently encountered in the Expanse.

Appearance and Biology: Ngghrya are thin, almost skeletal in appearance with rough, nodule-covered skin that almost resembles carapace. Their thinness belies their strength and durability. Their skin is scaled in places with dermal denticles, but also has ridges and horns of calcium carbonate deposition that begin to form at puberty and elaborate as they age.

Ngghrya exhibit slightly less sexual dimorphism in terms of size than baseline humans, but some male ngghrya grow "tusks" of keratin from both ends of their upper lip.

Psychology and Psi: Ngghrya are a somewhat superstitious people, but do not revere gods or supernatural beings as such. Rather, they seek to avoid notice of spirit entities by the proper ritual behaviors and taboos (some of them idiosyncratic) except at certain times. 

They tend to be a taciturn people by the baseline standards but fairly accepting of other cultures so long as they are respected. The stresses of their current existence on their homeworld have led to increased substance use, violence, and a mistrust of non-ngghrya.

Some ngghrya (a disproportionate number found off-world) are trackers, bounty hunters, or skiptracers, thanks to a psi-like ability. They are able to track any quarry across any distance, even light-years of space. This ability (called yaa'hii by the ngghrya) is thought to be instilled by a ritual involving an hallucinogenic substance native to the caves of the mountains of their homeworld.

Psi-researchers believe this ability creates in their brains circuits the equivalent of time loop logic computer, using telepathic data sent back through time by their future self and the Novikov self-consistency principle for error correction. This theory is lent support by the assertion by ngghrya trackers that they cannot catch any quarry they haven't already caught. 

Stats: Stars Without Number:  Ngghrya have +1 to Constitution. Tracking: On a failed Mental Effects saving throw, the target will be found by the ngghrya. Note that being found doesn't necessarily mean capture or defeat. Escape may mean another saving throw, if the ngghrya is alive and still on the job.

The Soft Conquest

The traffic in Minga slaves is illegal in many jurisdictions in the Strange Stars, but the owning a being of such a famous genotype--fragile, delicate and ephemeral as biosophonts generally are--is too much a status symbol for the wealthy in the Vokun Empire and other polities to ignore. What the Slavers who trade in them and the collectors who acquire them don't realize is that their slow dissemination across the galaxy and their meek servitude in places of wealth and power is all part of their plan. 

Appearance and Biology: Minga resemble the baseline human type, and are considered physically attractive by most of that clade. They are gracile of build and have pale skins, ranging from a pink-tinged porcelain to chalk white. Their hair and eyes are in a wide variety of pastel shades. They tend to have large, expressive eyes.

Psychology: For autonomous sophonts, Minga are very submissive and complaint beings. They do disagree from time to time, but always do so in an indirect way best calculated not to give offense. They are nonviolent, even against personal attack, but will defend themselves if absolutely necessary. They are incredibly intuitive beings who seem to anticipate (and then serve) the desires of those they spend any significant amount of time with. Most who try to read a Minga's expression will find exactly what they wish for; only the particularly empathetically adept will note that the Minga are in fact exceedingly hard to read and generally just reflect the wants and desires of others.

The Minga are exceptionally skilled at reading the microexpressions and kinesics of other humanoids. It may be this ability is enhanced by some level of psi empathy. In contrast, they have a fine degree of control of their own nonverbals. They are skilled at manipulation, both through voice, body language, and physical intimacy. This ability is likely pheromonally and psychically enhanced. 

Slavery & A Secret: Minga emerged from a world in the Coreward Reach. It's exact location is known only to the Slavers and their thralls. The Minga were immune to Slaver psionic control, but their allure to other humanoids was apparent, and so they were spared from destruction. Slaver's take away shipments of Minga youth (never too many, so as not to saturate the market). Though the Minga are relatively long-lived, the Slavers have certainly not bothered to introduce any of the anagathic therapies common to civilized worlds. The Minga elders seem to rule their society but meekly acquiesce to demands of the Slavers for more of their people.

The Minga don't enjoy subjugation or their world's occupation by the Slavers, but their ruling cultural belief is in nonviolence and the spiritual exploration of sensuality. The Slavers and their thralls opened the Minga's eyes to the deplorable and iniquitous state of the wider galaxy. It was decided they would use the Slavers as a conduit in their mission to convert all sophonts to their way. The Minga are patient; slowly each slave is bending their supposed master to their view of enlightenment.

Stats: Minga require a Charisma of at least 14. They natively have an ability that works like the psionic ability Empathy (though there's is not purely psionic). This only works on humanoids. Minga also have the ability exert effect similar to Charm Person on a humanoid who fails a Mental Effect save with whom they have had intimate or extended (over 48 hour) close contact.

Cold Eggs

Ksaa are an aggressive and expansionist species native to a system on the Rim in the Strange Stars.

Appearance and Biology: Ksaa are oviparous humanoids with some reptile-like characteristics. They have three sexes with a great deal of phenotypic difference between them. Females are large, aggressive (particularly after egglaying) and territorial; males are smaller, more brightly colored, and less intelligent. The neuter sex has pale white coloration and is more intelligent than the others. It is born from eggs incubated at a cooler temperature, hence the name khii gan, meaning "cold egg" literally, but also "eunuch." It is used figuratively to connote something like "cunning bastard."

Psychology: Ksaa society is formed around family groups of related females. They control territory that is administered by cold eggs born of their clutch or another clutch from the same mother. Cold eggs play games of political intrigue for greater wealth and position. They view themselves as superior to the rest of their species and believe their species to be superior to all others. Ksaa are not an organized threat, except in the occasional period where a cold egg manages to unite a significant number of the great families. These periods are generally short-lived, as treachery takes its toll.

Ksaa still retain the predatory instincts of their evolutionary ancestors. They greatly enjoy hunts and take pleasure in toying with prey (and enemies) before killing them.

Stats: Male ksaa are cannon-fodder soldiers little smarter than animals (AC 7, HD 1, AB +2, bite 1d4 or melee weapon), female ksaa are less likely to be encountered but are more formidable (AC 6, HD 2, AB +2, bite 1d4, tail slap 1d6 or weapon), cold egg ksaa can be built like PCs have have attributes in the same range.

Space Fiends: Star Stalker!

I did a post about using AD&D Fiend Folio monsters in a science fiction context. This post is another follow-up.

No. Appearing:1-2
AC: 3
Hit Dice: 6
Saving Throw: 12+
Attack Bonus: +5
Damage: 1d8/1d8
Movement: 30'/40' fly
Morale: 12

Stellar phantoms are strange lifeforms of pure plasma. Some technological artifacts of long-dead civilizations allow the summoning and command of these creatures that otherwise live in the solar winds and have little interaction with biological life.

Their form is mutable, but phantoms often take the form of reddish humanoids shrouded super-heated gas. They tend to travel through space as balls of pure plasma and are able to mimic the forms of other humanoids (though obviously, they would never be mistaken for them). 

Phantoms attack with their "claws", but they can also grapple a target and pull them close for 10 points of heat damage. As creatures of plasma, they are immune to heat, fire, or plasma weaponry. Cold attacks add 2 points of damage per die. If a stellar phantom is reduced to 10% of it's hit points, it will explode for 4d6 points of damage.

Space Fiends: Monks from Beyond

I did a post about using AD&D Fiend Folio monsters in a science fiction context. This post is another follow-up.

No. Appearing:1-4
AC: 4
Hit Dice: 1 (or better)
Saving Throw: as per class and level
Attack Bonus: +2
Damage: stun baton 1d8, 1d8+1 monoblade
Movement: 30'
Skill Bonus: +1
Morale: 9

Gathziri are a humanoid species of monastic warriors who line within an ancient megastructure known as the Octachoron, hidden in an artificially created "pocket" of spacetime. They are related to the Gathyengi, though they have more human faces and eyes.

The gathziri and gathyengi have been at war as long as they have existed as separate species, with neither being able to gain a decisive victory. Unlike the gathyengi who aggressively pursue the old Masters that enslaved their ancestral species, the gathziri prefer to hide and have on occasion even had dealings with the Masters. The mystical (yet oddly utilitarian) philosophy of the gathziri emphasizes the impermanence of all the things and the importance of seeking present advantage over holding on to ancient grudges.

Gathziri seldom fly their own ships, but may be encountered on the ships of other races, or on populous but out of the way worlds. The goals they pursue outside their great monastery are inscrutable, but they are willing to utilize violence to achieve them. A group will be led by a brother or sister of 4-7th level. This leader is likely to be a psychic or one might port over the Swords & Wizardry monk class. If so, they will be armed with kinesis wraps (SWN p. 35)

All gathziri appear to be "tethered" to their home in some way, and can escape back through a subspatial portal to it at will. Whether this is an innate ability or technological is unclear. Dead gathziri are siphoned out of normal space by the retraction or collapse of these portals, but where they end up only the gathziri know.

Space Fiends: Marauders from Hyperspace!

Some time ago, I did a post about using AD&D Fiend Folio monsters in a science fiction context. This post is a follow-up. it's not set in any particular sci-fi universe I've presented, any more than the write-up of the monster that inspired it was.

No. Appearing:1-4
AC: 4
Hit Dice: 1 (or better)
Saving Throw: as per class and level
Attack Bonus: +2
Damage: 2d8+2 mag rifle, 1d8+1 monoblade
Movement: 30'
Skill Bonus: +1
Morale: 9

Gathyengi are a xenophobic humanoid species who act as pirates, striking from hidden bases within hyperspace. They are theorized to be descended from humans abducted by the psionic Masters from Earth millennia ago to serve as both labor and food source.

Gathyengi (sing. gathyen) are ectomorphic, almost skeletal in appearance. Their skin is dusty yellow to the color of parchment, and leathery. Their skull-like faces, solid black eyes, and pointed teeth (likely ritually sharpened) give them a fearsome appearance in keeping with their reputation for violence.

A gathyengi raider will have a crew compliment of various classes, similar to any human vessel. A raid will be led by a captain of 4-7th level, depending on the size of the ship. It is likely there will be at least one combat psychic among them.

All gathyengi can shift back into hyperspace at will. Whether this is an innate ability or technological is unclear. Dead gathyengi shift back into hyperspace as well, thwarting attempts at close examination.

Caliban Ferox

The Caliban are a humanoid culture found in a torrid, jungle-choked orbital habitat on the border between the Coreward Reach and the Vokun Empire. They're infamous in the popular imagination for their warlike nature and enthusiastic cannibalism.

Appearance and Biology: Interestingly, there is no fauna in the Caliban's habitat larger than a rat of Paleo-Earth that isn't in the same genetic family as the primary Caliban sophonts: there is a group of presophont pack hunters that look like a semi-quadrupedal version of the Caliban, for example. The primary Caliban are basically human in bioform, though they exhibit less sexual dimorphism than baseline type. Their faces are heavily wrinkled and shriveled appearance. All the Caliban family lifeforms share this facial appearance. Their skin tones range from a grayish brown to an ashen gray-white. Their teeth are sharpened to points, though this is a modification they make, not their natural form. Their skulls are somewhat small for their body size.

Psychology: It's believed that the extinction of most fauna in the habitat led to the prominence of cannibalism in their culture. In any case, they like to indulge even when other food sources are available. They do not view sapience as a reason not to eat an organism--a trait that lends them a negative reputation among other sophonts. Caliban don't care. They have little empathy for those outside of their kinship group. Those who employ them as mercenaries often insist they take special drugs to induce a pheremonal response mimicking their natural response to genetic relatives. Though this produces more cooperative behavior toward employers and comrades than would be shown otherwise, it will not stop Caliban from consuming their bodies when they die.

No. Appearing:1-6

AC: 7

Hit Dice: 1

Saving Throw: Warrior 1

Attack Bonus: +2

Damage: by weapon

Movement: 30’

Skill Bonus: +1

Morale: 9