Alien, greater

Description

Aliens are an incredibly adaptable and ferocious race of creatures that are believed to originate in the plane Acheron. They are at least known to exist there in large numbers, the different tribes constantly waging war. Those located in Acheron do not seem to have any kind of society, but divinations seem to suggest that there exist prime planes where they have developed a higher form of cooperation than humanly possible. They also suggested that at least one ancient Champion has attained Demigod status. (Suggested reading: Ender's Game by O.S.Card, and of course the Alien movies/books.)

Each tribe is telepathically controlled by a queen. The queen will be found in the center of a sprawling underground hive, often with a domeshaped construction made of all sorts of materials above ground. This hive consists of interconnected tunnels in a complicated labyrinth network in three dimensions that are almost impossible for a human to travel through, often dropping long distances straight down to take advantage of the drones phenomenal climbing ability. The tunnels in the outer part of the hive are small, often less than 3' in diameter, but this doesn't hamper the drones' speed at all. In the center of the hive there are larger chambers where the queen and the champions reside, and where the eggs are kept. The inner surfaces are covered by a chitinous material the aliens produce. Should a tribe of aliens be discovered on your prime plane, they must be eradicated at once or they will spread like a virulent disease over the surface until they control all land.

Their kind reproduce in a manner singularly repulsive to most other sentient beings (see below), though to them the idea of using and killing a host creature is as natural as giving a baby a bottle. They are capable of surviving in all normal climates, and can even survive for short periods of time in a perfect vacuum. They are very resistant to heat and cold, saving for half or quarter damage if exposed to such spells. They have acid for blood, which makes them extremely dangerous to fight. Only creatures immune to acid can do so, and even then at high risk. Should a tribe of aliens capture trolls, you must take action at once or expect a population explosion. Should you discover a 2' tall leathery egg in a strange old dungeon, destroy it at once from a distance. It might contain a facehugger. If it does, it will open at the top and a facehugger spring forth if you make noticeable vibrations or radiate heat within a 5' radius of it.

Queen

The Queen controls everything in the hive exept the champions with a psionic ability. She can extend her control to a range in miles equal to her hit dice. She looks like a larger version of the drones exept for a large "tail" containing her breeding-apparatus, the size of which mostly keeps her in one place, and renders her incapable of using her spiked tail. To move, she has to make the drones carry her. She has a large, rather flat head that flares out in two fans.

The Queen is capable of laying a number of eggs equal to her hit dice every day if the food-suppy is sufficient. Whenever the population of the hive grows too large and there is sufficient land for the new queen to emigrate, the old queen lays a batch of queen eggs. When the chestbursters from these are "born" they fight among themselves until only the (presumably) fittest one remains. The queen chestbursters need longer time to develop than drone chestbursters. A queen embryo becomes self-sustaining as quickly as a drone embryo, but typically needs 6d12 hours to finish their growth. As soon as the fledgling queen has grown to the size of a drone about half of the drones leave with her to start a new hive. The new queen start growing the breeding tail as soon as the new hive offers a minimum of security and starts laying eggs after approximately 1 year. If the aliens are in the process of consolidating their hold in an area about half of the eggs the queen lays will contain new queens. These will be expelled from the hive with only a few drones to fend for themselves as soon as they are large enough. When the areas surrounding the hive have been secured by other hives, the old queen cuts down on the production of new queens, only producing new queens when the population in her own hive exceeds 200 drones. In an area where the aliens have been for long enough to stabilize the population and kill all foes the old queens stop producing new queens exept when they grow too old (see below). And instead keep their drones, building up an army and fighting among themselves for domination of the area in order to secure their own tribe's survival. If travelling in an area where aliens are in the process of spreading out, the queens will control 20d10 drones, and a wilderness encounter will be with 1d6 of these. In an area with stable populations of aliens the queens will control thousands of drones and intruders can be attacked by any number of these. Remember that the queen can see all that the drones can see, so she is immediately aware of the intruders and can direct more drones to the area without delay if the intruders cannot be handled by those present.

Combat

The queen remains non-combatant as long as possible, but she is capable of tearing loose from the breeding tail in an emergency situation, and thus becoming a champion prematurely. A queen who enters championhood prematurely do NOT gain the increased combat modifier or the psionic powers at once. These takes decades to develop. She is able to employ her tail, but without the bonus to THAC0, as she hasn't used it before, and her movement rate is increased to 24, climb 6, and swim 9. She employs the special attack tail rending if her attack roll hits with 10 or more to spare. If that occurs, she has spiked the unfortunate creature on her tail. She will then lift it, grab it and tear the tail out, preferably sideways. This attack inflicts 10d10 points of damage, and should tear most creatures in two. Most queens are also able to use their telepathy to attempt to charm attackers into protecting their mother (the queen). A queen turned champion prematurely remains a champion thereafter, developing her psionic powers normally. Her body will rapidly adjust to her new status, gaining the physical characteristics of the champion in a few months if the food supply is sufficient. Queens develop according to the table below:

Note: Combat Modifier is the bonus gained by the alien to hit its opponent as well as the damage modifier gained by the creature.

Champion

A tribe of aliens are guaranteed to have a queen, but to have a champion the tribe must be more than 500 years old. Of course, with the notorious adaptability of the alien species, the probability that a tribe is that old is quite high in an area where the aliens have access. The access to an area must be abjudicated by the Dungeon Master. If the aliens have been present in that area long enough then the following cumulative table should be used:

Table A

Table B

Unless a queen is killed prior to reaching an age of 500 years, she will at that time evolve into a champion. At an age of 500 years she is no longer fertile and loses her breeding-tail. She lays a last batch of queen eggs prior to this, so that there is a new queen ready to take over the control of the tribe. The new queen has a rudimentary control of the drones after day one, but there is a lot of tricks of the trade that the old queen teaches her. Over the next few decades the old queen turns her ability to control the drones in a new direction, and develops psionic powers. The process takes 1d4 decades, unless there is an older champion there to teach her, in which case it takes 1d4 years. The new champion is thereafter a devoted a protector of the hive, a royal quardian of sorts.

Combat

Champions does not grow taller with increasing age, but gains weight and becomes a spiked killing mashine with a low tolerance for troublemakers. Though the physical fighting capabilities of an alien champion are awesome, it is their psionic abilities that are really deadly. Champions have all the fighting skills of the queen and gains the special attack hug as well. If a champion hits the same character with both claw attacks it has grabbed him and proceeds to give him a good hug. The champion grows a series of barbed spikes on the chest, which a victim of the hug is impaled upon. The victim is hit by 2d4 of the spikes, takes 1d6 points of damage per spike and is stuck there unless an open doors roll is successful. If the character remains there other characters may hit him instead of the champion with further attacks.

Champions develop psionic powers equal to a psionicist of a level equal to half of their hit dice, with the following modifications:

• The champion gains psp's equal to 3 times their own maximum hit points. (The number of hit points they have when unhurt).
• Telepathy is always their main science.
• Their power score progresses according to the table below.
• They gain and use the contact and ESP powers without cost.

Champions evolve according to the following table:

Note: Combat Modifier is the bonus gained by the alien to hit its opponent as well as the damage modifier gained by the creature.

Experiance points should equal the experiance point value plus the psionics level bonus.

Alien champions are believed to have lifespans in excess of 4,000 years, but they don't change after they've reached an age of 2,500. For those of you who are versed in the books of Larry Niven an analogy with his Pak Protectors springs easily to mind. If a champion should be the sole survivor of some calamity that befell the tribe (which would probably have to be a war with another tribe) it would probably go crazy.

The treasure of an alien tribe depends upon the age of the tribe, and the availability of treasure in the surrounding region. The amount of treasure tends to grow larger over the years, but much depends upon the chance capture of people or places carrying or storing treasure. This must be abjudicated by the Dungeon Master, as even an ancient alien tribe will be without treasure if there are no tresures around. If the tribe is located within an area where treasure is available every one thousand years of age of the tribe increases the amount of treasure it has amassed by +20% to the roll on table C. A 1,200 years old tribe would have amassed treasures as indicated by making a roll of 1d100 + 20%. If the age of the tribe is less than 500 years a modifier of -30% must be applied. The age of the tribe is determined by consulting table A or B.

Table C

Another valuable commodity to be found in an alien hive is the queen's royal jelly. This substance can be used as a component in most potions concerned with healing and aging. It enhances the effect of the potion to as much as three times the original. The royal jelly loses it's potency rapidly, however, and must be applied as a component within three weeks of first having been exposed to air and then vacuum packed if it is to have any effect. A potion made with royal jelly loses it's extra potency according to the table below unless used.

The royal jelly coats a freshly laid egg in a thin layer sufficient to make one potion. The breeding tail of the queen contains enough jelly to make 4d4 potions, if used sparingly. Extracting the jelly is a dangerous job however, remember that the breeding tail contains a lot of nasty acid and is connected to a queen as well. The jelly oxidises quickly when exposed to air, and loses it's potency in 1d6 turns unless it is kept within an air-tight container.