Source Alien Archive pg. 84Novaspawn Tier 8N Huge starship aberration
Speed 6; Maneuverability poor (turn 3); Drift —
AC 22; TL 20
HP 200; DT 5; CT 40
Shields medium 100 (forward 25, port 25, starboard 25, aft 25)
Attack (Forward) tentacles +12 (4d4 plus immobilize), particle beam +12 (8d6)
Attack (Port) heavy laser cannon +12 (4d8)
Attack (Starboard) heavy laser cannon +12 (4d8)
Attack (Aft) heavy laser cannon +12 (4d8)
Skills Engineering +16, Piloting +20
Power Core novaspawn heart (250 PCU); Drift Engine none; Systems mk 6 armor, mk 5 defenses; Expansion Bays none
Other Abilities living starship, no breathEcologyEnvironment any vacuum
Organization solitarySpecial AbilitiesLiving Starship (Ex) While a novaspawn is a living creature, it is so immense that it functions as a starship (and thus engages in only starship combat). Though it has no crew, it can still take engineer, gunner, and pilot actions (one of each, in the appropriate phases) using the skill bonuses listed above. Modifiers for its size, speed, and maneuverability have already been factored into its statistics. Assume it has 8 ranks in the Engineering and Piloting skills and a base attack bonus of +8. Use the following table to determine the effects when a novaspawn takes critical damage. The novaspawn’s brain doesn’t take critical damage conditions.
| D% | System | Effect | | 1–30 | Weapons array | Randomly determine one arc containing weapons; condition applies to all gunner actions using weapons in that arc | | 31–60 | Propulsion | Condition applies to all pilot actions | | 61–90 | Heart | Condition applies to all engineer actions, except when patching or repairing the heart | | 91–100 | Brain | During the next round, each of the novaspawn’s attempted actions have a 25% chance of failure |
Tentacles (Ex) The gigantic tentacles dangling from a novaspawn’s forward arc are powerful enough to grab a starship and hold it in place, making it easier for the novaspawn to blast the vessel with its particle beam. A novaspawn can make a tentacles attack only against a Large or smaller starship that is in its forward firing arc and in a hex adjacent to the novaspawn. If the attack deals Hull Point damage to the target, that vessel can’t move unless its pilot succeeds at a DC 27 Piloting check as an action during the helm phase. A starship that is immobilized in this way takes a -2 penalty to its AC and Target Lock.DescriptionNovaspawn are rare, enormous creatures of silicon and steellike flesh that live in the vacuum of space. They feed on cosmic radiation and travel with a purpose that no scientist has been able to fully fathom. No one is certain where they come from or exactly how long they live. However, scholars have discovered records that hint that at the end of a novaspawn’s life cycle, it undergoes a devastating transformation to become a new star. This phenomenon has been named “solar parturition,” though no currently living mortal has seen it occur. Most speculate that the process would burn nearby planets to cinders and irrevocably alter the climate of others farther away.
Novaspawn are generally peaceful, and they often react to outside stimuli in ways that most people don’t understand. However, if antagonized, one of these spacefaring creatures can devastate smaller starships with ease, as its crystalline protrusions can convert internal electrical currents into blasts of energy much like those of standard laser cannons. A novaspawn also generates its own protective shields using its aberrant biology, which some believe is as much magical as it is scientific.Older NovaspawnThe stat block above represents a novaspawn in an early stage of its maturation—such a novaspawn is still older than some civilizations. Older novaspawn can grow to Colossal starship size, dwarfing even the mightiest of warships. Novaspawn of such size are foes of a much higher tier, and their armaments function as capital weapons.Solar Parturition (CR 14)In rare occasions, a novaspawn that is ill or under malign influences undergoes the process of parturition dangerously close to an inhabited planet or immobile space station. While the process isn’t instantaneous, it still doesn’t leave enough to time to evacuate an entire world or crowded facility and get the residents to a safe distance (at least several hundred thousand miles away). However, all is not lost for these unfortunate souls. A group of adventurers brave enough to face a series of demanding challenges can stop a novaspawn’s parturition before its completion.
During a novaspawn’s transformation, it remains still and its outer defenses are powered down. An intrepid starship crew can then approach and “board” the novaspawn by climbing into one of the heat dispersal vents located on its dorsal side. Since the novaspawn requires as much as heat as possible during the parturition process, these vents are completely sealed, but they can be cut open (a vent has 240 Hit Points and hardness 25) or forced open (DC 40 Strength check). Involuntary muscle contractions reseal the vent 3d4 rounds later.
Once inside, the heroes must navigate the novaspawn’s twisting internal passageways while dealing with the growing heat and radiation. With a successful DC 30 Life Science check, they can find their way to the novaspawn’s heart in 2d6+7 minutes (each successive attempt requires an additional 1d6 minutes). However, every minute spent inside, each hero must succeed at a DC 20 Fortitude check or take 10 fire damage. The novaspawn’s heart must then be “deactivated” to halt the transformation, which requires six successful DC 36 skill checks (any combination of Engineering, Life Science, and Mysticism checks). Any character in the novaspawn’s heart chamber is subjected to a high level of radiation; those outside are not.
If this complex process of magic and science is stopped, the novaspawn dies, but it won’t explode unless someone brings it back to life, which would require a powerful occult process or an intricate technological procedure.
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