No. Enc.: 1 (1)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: See Below
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 13
Attacks: See Below
Damage: See Below
Save: L13
Morale: 12
Hoard Class: XVIII
XP: 10,500
The Ancients once had a saying that "man was the most dangerous game"...
...BUT MAN PROVED UTTERLY HELPLESS AGAINST THE DASTARDLY DEPREDATIONS OF PALLID PURSUERS FROM BEYOND THE STARS!!!
Almost nothing is known about the 7' tall, blue-skinned extraterrestrials dubbed cosmo-poachers. They are neither of the Ancient Earth nor the Mutant Future, yet no one has ever seen their spacecraft, nor any evidence of their culture and/or technology. Though clearly intelligent, communication with these beings has proved utterly fruitless, with stone silence (or an occasional unearthly shriek) their only reply.
Cosmo-poachers target isolated communities, and lurk on the fringes of the wilderness to stealthily pick off (by Surprising on a 1-4 on 1d6) lone travelers, campers, and explorers. They drag these victims back to their lairs-slash-larders, which are always housed in abandoned buildings long forgotten by the locals.
Cosmo-poachers have uncanny tracking abilities unimpeded by terrain, weather, and environmental conditions. They are never Surprised, and can detect secret doors and traps on a roll of 1-4 on 1d6. And they hunt by day and by night, seemingly never sleeping.
While cosmo-poachers clearly possess great physical strength (given that they can carry multiple humanoid corpses with ease) and sport savage claws, they have never been witnessed making brute physical attacks. Instead, they wield bioweapons—literal living creatures, used offensively—known as toxstars [see below] to bring down their victims. Cosmo-poachers can throw one toxstar per round, and prefer to attack at long range (perhaps to heighten the sense of sport...but most certainly to avoid retaliatory attacks).
The beings are also surprisingly fast, but only when not being observed. When watched, a cosmo-poacher methodically stalks towards its prey at a rate of 30' (10')...but when its victim turns to blindly flee, the hunter's movement rate shifts to 180' (60'). Again, this rate only applies when the cosmo-poacher is not seen. Cosmo-poachers seemingly enjoy allowing their victims to think they've escaped harm, only to appear suddenly behind them with toxstars at the ready....
When attacked, cosmo-poachers' wounds erupt in geysers of fluid...but such displays overstate the degree of actual injury. They suffer just half-damage from conventional weapons and firearms, and can seal up their wounds with but a touch. This Body Adjustment takes 2 full rounds of inactivity to complete, and instead of being available 1d4 times per week, it's usable 1d6 times per day.
Cosmo-poachers disrupt compasses and radio reception within a 500' radius. Whether this is a result of natural body chemistry, or technology hidden in their attire, is unknown.
Cosmo-poachers disrupt compasses and radio reception within a 500' radius. Whether this is a result of natural body chemistry, or technology hidden in their attire, is unknown.
Mutations: Body Adjustment (Modified), Increased Sense (Hearing, Smell, Taste, Touch, Vision), Know Direction
No. Enc.: See Below
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 0' (0')
—Fly: 180' (60')
Armor Class: 3
Hit Dice: 3 hp
Attacks: See Below
Damage: See Below
Save: L1
Morale: N/A
Hoard Class: None
XP: 9
Toxstars are a species of 5" wide echinoderms utilized by cosmo-poachers as offensive weapons. How cosmo-poachers procure them is unknown, as are their origins and natural behaviors...for like their wielders, toxstars are not found in the wilds of the Mutant Future.
A cosmo-poacher keeps 4d4 toxstars on its person at any given time. While toxstars can't attain lift-off on their own, they levitate through the air when thrown, and can travel up to a half-mile at a rate of 180' (60'). They can even zip around corners and dodge/bypass objects to zero in on the desired target...and they instinctively land on the victim's most unreachable place(s) (usually the mid-back).
A toxstar latches onto a target with a combination of suction pads and gnashing teeth, doing an automatic 2d4 damage per round. 1d3 rounds after adhesion, the creature extends piercing barbs into the victim's flesh—doing another 1d6 damage—and secretes a viscous, pus-like, acidic Class 17 poison. Those killed by a toxstar's fluids begin to dissolve within 1d6 turns...and those that make their Saving Throws still suffer the poison damage, plus an extra 1d12 Hit Points from blood loss, and endure wicked scarring (losing 1d4 CHA).
A toxstar can be forcibly removed from a victim by anyone with a STR of 15+, or by anyone with a STR of 12+ using an implement (knife, prybar, etc.). Removal causes 1d10 damage.
Toxstars are clearly unintelligent, as those that miss their targets inevitably attach to other objects—trees, vehicles, buildings, etc.—and ineffectually extend their hooks and secrete venom. They even adhere to glass, but are dislodged with the slightest pressure. Any "loose" toxstars can be gathered up and placed in containers, where they seemingly live indefinitely (even in water, formaldehyde, or other liquids).
Mutations: Psionic Flight (Modified), Toxic Weapon (Venom)
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Toxstar (Top View, Secreting) |
