ParaforanSource Alien Archive 3 pg. 76
Although many think of the Drift as a plane used strictly for starship travel, a dangerous repository of planar flotsam and jetsam, and a distant home to the god Triune and their most ardent devotees, it has its own strange ecosystem. Handfuls of explorers who frequent the Transitive Plane to expedite travel across the galaxy have told wild tales of mysterious crystalline formations floating surreptitiously nearby as they prepare to return to the Material Plane. Some have even reported seeing flashes of color rush by their portholes as the starship moves between the planes. While some might think these stories simple flights of fancy, their near-mythological subjects are actual creatures: the strangely beautiful, crystalline outsiders known as paraforans.
Paraforans feed by consuming the energy given off in the wake of starships and creatures jumping between the Drift and the Material Plane. Astrophysicists have yet to discover how they reproduce or are born, with many believing they simply coalesce out of the unusual clouds of planar energy that populate the Drift. Paraforans begin life as smaller crystalline fragments that flit through the void, seeking Drift engine energy to consume. These creatures, known as paraforan fragments, can cause painful psychic interference when threatened but are quickly mollified by supernaturally flashing lights and other fascinating effects. When a half a dozen or more fragments gather in a single location in the Drift (usually close to a Drift beacon), they begin to resonate at the same frequency and meld together to form an adult paraforan, which has a larger wingspan and a feathery tail of multihued light. The consciousness of each fragment is contained within the paraforan, increasing the creature’s overall intelligence and psychic power. In addition, the adult paraforan can briefly tap into its fragments’ regenerative power to heal itself. When it does so, it glows with a light bright enough to temporarily blind many sighted creatures.
Both paraforans and paraforan fragments can instinctively sense Drift beacons and Drift engines, flocking to them in the hopes of finding a starship making a jump. Due to the creatures’ appearance and attraction to such technology, they are colloquially known as “Drift moths.” Sadly, when paraforans move to feed off a starship’s wake, they can be dragged along for the ride. The passage between the planes is turbulent and violent, often causing paraforans to split into a collection of fragments. Sometimes, a paraforan or its fragments appear within a starship after a jump, which is disorienting for these creatures. Such a paraforan or fragment will usually try to flee the vessel, attacking anyone in the way. For some reason, while on the Material Plane, paraforans have difficulty feeding off Drift beacon energy and are less likely to be pulled back into the Drift when a starship engages its Drift engine. Eventually, these paraforans slowly starve to death, their bodies stiffening and losing much of their color.
To date, paraforans have never been seen near Absalom Station. Some speculate that the energy generated by the Starstone is too much for the creatures to bear and that those doomed paraforans that attempt to feed off it are completely vaporized.Aliens in the "Paraforan" FamilySource Alien Archive 3 pg. 76Paraforan Fragment CR 6 XP 2,400
N Medium outsider (extraplanar)
Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +18
DefenseHP 80
EAC 18; KAC 19
Fort +5; Ref +7; Will +9
Defensive Abilities fast healing 5, void adaptation
Weaknesses susceptible to fascinationOffenseSpeed fly 60 ft. (Su, average)
Melee slam +13 (1d6+8 B)
Offensive Abilities psychic shriekStatisticsSTR +2; DEX +5; CON +3; INT -3; WIS +2; CHA +0
Skills Acrobatics +18, Athletics +13, Piloting +18 (to navigate only), Stealth +13
Other Abilities spaceflightEcologyEnvironment vacuum (the Drift)
Organization solitary, pair, or collection (3–7)Special AbilitiesPsychic Shriek (Su) Three times per day as a standard action, a paraforan fragment can vibrate at a frequency that manifests as a painful shriek within the minds of creatures around it. Each non-paraforan creature within a 30-foot radius takes 2d6+6 damage and gains the off-target condition for 1 round. A creature that succeeds at a DC 16 Will save takes half damage, negates the off-target condition, and is immune to the same paraforan fragment’s psychic shriek for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting effect.
Susceptible to Fascination (Su) A paraforan fragment automatically fails the saving throw against any effect that imparts the fascinated condition. When a potential threat approaches the paraforan fragment, it can attempt a saving throw against the fascinating effect, though it takes a –4 penalty to the save. A paraforan fragment loses its fast healing ability while it is fascinated and for 1d4 rounds after the fascinated condition ends.
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