Source Alien Archive 4 pg. 134Voraija Tier 1/2N Small starship magical beast
Speed 10; Maneuverability perfect (turn 0); Drift —
AC 12; TL 12
HP 35; DT —; CT 7
Shields none
Attack (Forward) basic ramming prow (2d4; 0 hexes)
Attack (Aft) tail slap (1d4, ripper; 5 hexes)
Attack (Turret) vocalization (1d8 plus EMP; 20 hexes)
Power Core voraija heart (90 PCU); Drift Engine none; Systems basic computer, basic medium-range sensors, mk 1 armor, mk 1 defenses, extra weapon mount (aft arc); Expansion Bays none
Other Abilities living starship, pod synergy, void adaptationCrewGunner (1 action) gunnery +3 (1st level)
Pilot (1 action) Piloting +10 (1 rank)
Science Officer (1 action) Computers +4 (1 rank)EcologyEnvironment any gas giant or vacuum
Organization solitary, pair, or pod (3–30)Special AbilitiesLiving Starship (Ex) A voraija is a living creature so immense that it functions as a starship (and thus engages only in starship combat). It has no crew, but it can still take crew actions using the skill bonuses, ranks, and level listed above. Modifiers for its size, speed, and maneuverability have already been factored into its statistics. Use the following table to determine the effects when the voraija takes critical damage.
| D% | DAMAGE | MINIMUM SIZE | | 1–20 | Sensory Melon | Condition applies to all science officer actions. | | 21–51 | Weapons Array | Randomly determine one arc containing weapons; condition applies to gunner actions using weapons in that arc. | | 51–85 | Propulsion | Condition applies to all pilot actions. | | 86–100 | Brain | During the next round, each of the creature’s attempted actions has a 25% chance of failure. |
Pod Synergy (Ex) Members of a voraija pod communicate through microwave calls and can coordinate their attacks as a group. Treat all damage from vocalization attacks as if it came from a single attack for the purpose of overcoming a target’s damage threshold. In addition, a pod of three or more voraijas can choose to roll a single Piloting check during the helm phase to determine their movement order, gaining a +1 circumstance bonus to the check for every three participating voraijas (maximum +5); each participating voraija uses the check’s result.
Spines (Ex) A voraija’s fins and body bristle with defensive spines. When rammed by an enemy or struck by an attack whose maximum range is 1 hex, the voraija deals 1d4 damage to the attacker.DescriptionThe gregarious, cetacean-like creatures known as voraijas grow to lengths of 100 feet or more. Though rarely glimpsed in their void migrations, pods of these graceful beasts cavort effortlessly through the vacuum, singing to each other in microwave concerts that reverberate through starship hulls and light up planetary sensors. Their migrations, erratic and ponderous, trace paths across the stars such that a pod might only return to a system once every few centuries. On entering a system, voraijas swim up the solar wind currents in search of gas giant planets where they can rest and give birth. They often remain in these planets for months or even years, where they protect their young. Once the young voraijas can travel, the pod then spends several more months touring the system, sounding out each planet and moon with powerful microwave bursts to sense what has changed since their last visit.
Voraijas reach maturity at about 35 years of age, growing to lengths of 80 feet and weighing about 40 tons. Their lifespans encompass centuries, with some matriarchs surpassing the millennium mark. Voraija skin looks like a mix of warm colors, such as yellow, orange, and pink. This coloration provides little for concealment in open space, yet the creatures benefit from the camouflage mottling when hunting in the upper reaches of gas giants. Voraijas have specific patterns unique to each one, and every individual has a different pattern of metal-rich osteoderms that disrupt microwave radiation to generate a unique echo, which helps the pod identify members even across vast distances.
This variant of echolocation and their whale-like forms caused biologists to mistakenly classify voraijas as a subspecies of oma, yet voraijas belong to a completely different species. Their version of starsong has only rudimentary telepathic undertones, conveying most of its power and meaning through electromagnetic waves. In contrast to omas’ ethereal, mournful sonatas, playful riffs and forceful shouts characterize voraija vocalizations, carrying a vibrational component that most creatures feel as buzzing or heat—or that most starship sensors read as overpowering static.
This communication is key to voraijas’ survival, as they coordinate closely to hunt in pods, favoring organic creatures native to gas giants. Using bursts of high-frequency waves, voraijas corral and stun comparatively small prey like cloud rays (page 20) before swallowing their targets whole. Voraija have fairly small teeth, ill-suited to inflicting lethal wounds. However, eyewitnesses attest that voraijas occasionally team up to hunt large prey, such as space tardigrades or omas; during these efforts, voraijas kill their targets with microwave bursts before biting into the carcass and rolling away for added leverage. When driving off threats, voraijas turn to their powerful rostrums and tails, both of which can inflict terrible bludgeoning blows.
A visiting voraija pod’s songs can instigate serious communications disruption across a nearby planet’s surface, much like being hit by a solar flare. Technologically advanced societies often send starship escorts to shepherd voraijas before the creatures cause too much damage. However, these encounters often result in misunderstanding and violence due to the voraijas’ stubborn curiosity. Each death only enrages the creatures, for the emotional bonds within a family are powerful. The loss of an elder—especially a pod’s matriarch—can leave the group disoriented and angry, spurring the voraijas to vindictively hunt and destroy any starships they can find in a system.
In the past, unscrupulous starship manufacturers hunted voraija (or paid bounties to independent outfits) and harvested their organs, including their brains and hearts, to install into existing systems as budget biotech upgrades. A dwindling number of elder voraijas bear the scars of this cruel practice, which often involved injecting transmitters into survivors to track the pod for future hunts. Today, Pact Worlds legislation explicitly forbids hunting voraijas, almost completely collapsing the industry. While most voraijas are docile and don’t attack starships without provocation, a few ancient matriarchs remember how they were once hunted, and actively assault any starships that get too close.
Entrepreneurs have explored a more humane way to profit off the creatures: voraija tours. In exchange for a substantial sum of credits, guides pilot voraija-spotting vessels—anything from luxurious liners to spartan shuttles—that carry tourists as close as possible to voraija pods to watch the creatures fly and sing. All too often, these starships draw too near, provoking the voraijas to lash out. Xenowardens and other activists have steadfastly opposed this growing industry, yet the practice shows no sign of slowing despite the dangers.
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