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Chapter 4: Running Starship Campaigns / Building Starship-scale Creatures

Step 4: Creature Type Graft

Source Starship Operations Manual pg. 126
Every creature belongs to one of 13 types. Choose and apply one of the listed grafts—a set of adjustments—to represent the creature’s type. Several grafts include special abilities described in Step 5: Special Abilities.

Aberration

Source Starship Operations Manual pg. 126
An aberration is a creature with biology that defies reason, inconceivable motivations, strange abilities, or a combination of these aspects.
Adjustments: Gains the death throes special ability (page 128).

Animal

Source Starship Operations Manual pg. 126
An animal is a creature with straightforward biology (relatively speaking) that’s somehow managed to adapt to life in the vacuum of space.
Adjustments: Increase speed by 2, +2 to Piloting.

Construct

Source Starship Operations Manual pg. 127
A construct is a magically animated object or an artificially created creature.
Adjustments: Gains the improved hull special ability (page 128).

Dragon

Source Starship Operations Manual pg. 127
Though dragons usually are used in epic terrestrial encounters, thanks to their strange magic and powerful breath weapons, they can also serve as threats in the vacuum of space.
Adjustments: –1 turn distance (to a minimum of 0), +2 to Piloting, +2 to AC, –1 to TL.

Fey

Source Starship Operations Manual pg. 127
Fey are temperamental creatures that embody the ever-changing aspects of the natural world. Spacefaring fey often represent cosmic aspects such as stars and planetary bodies.
Adjustments: –1 turn distance (to a minimum of 0), +1 to Piloting, –1 to AC and TL.

Humanoid

Source Starship Operations Manual pg. 127
Humanoids large enough to fight on starship scale are likely to be extremely rare giants, possibly scaled up to massive proportions via magic or technology.
Adjustments: –1 turn distance (to a minimum of 0), +1 to Piloting.

Magical Beast

Source Starship Operations Manual pg. 127
A magical beast is a creature with magical powers or strange abilities, a biology informed by magic, or some other innate connection to magic.
Adjustments: Increase speed by 2, gains the improved shields special ability (page 128).

Monstrous Humanoid

Source Starship Operations Manual pg. 127
While similar to humanoids, monstrous humanoids often have bizarre or powerful abilities, as well as monstrous or animalistic features.
Adjustments: –1 turn distance (to a minimum of 0), +1 to Piloting.

Ooze

Source Starship Operations Manual pg. 128
An ooze is an amorphous creature, often with simple but mutable biology.
Adjustments: Reduce speed by 4 (to a minimum of 4), change maneuverability to perfect (turn 0), –2 to Piloting.

Outsider

Source Starship Operations Manual pg. 128
Outsiders large enough to engage in starship combat directly are rare but not unheard of. Massive archons, demons, and devils have come into conflict before, often to the detriment of nearby mortals.
Adjustments: Gains the improved shields special ability (page 128).

Plant

Source Starship Operations Manual pg. 128
A starship-scale plant is often a mindless creature that relies on solar energy and specific gases to survive. It might call a gas giant its home and survive on solar radiation from a nearby star.
Adjustments: Increase AC by 1, reduce speed by 2 (to a minimum of 4), gains the regeneration special ability (page 129).

Undead

Source Starship Operations Manual pg. 128
Necromancers of significant power might construct a starship-scale undead creature or animate the remains of a massive, once-living creature, such as a vermelith (Alien Archive 2 130).
Adjustments: Gains the fearsome special ability (see below).

Vermin

Source Starship Operations Manual pg. 128
Vermin are similar to animals, but they usually lack any form of advanced intelligence and react purely on instinct.
Adjustments: Gains the improved hull and speed burst special abilities (see below, page 129).

Archives of Nethys

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