 December 27, 2015 - 9:20am | Thread place for Insect Race's Klickks, Vrusk & Zuraqqor and more. Goal look at RL bugs and develop new ideas for existing races in the game. Add threads already in existence for reference... http://www.starfrontiers.us/node/4264 Zuraqqor thread "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
May 7, 2016 - 4:56pm | Abberation Rastipedes are best known across the crystal spheres as traders. They commonly employ crews and hire ships to transport goods back and forth across wildspace, usually turning a profit with every voyage. Personality: Rastipede are inherently peaceful and avoid combat whenever possible; their great movement rate allowing them to avoid many unpleasant encounters. However, they are not cowardly, and can (and do) use the full range of weapons usable by humans. They are also hardworking and seek to make a profit in all their dealings. Most others view them as misers with little sense of humor. “Idle time is wasted time” is a phrase heard in the nest that spawns the rastipede. As such they are always thinking, even when working, on how best to expend their time (another saying is: “one's days are numbered before you are even born so make the best use of each hour of each day”). Some rastipedes find ways to justify their “idle” time; such laggards are often thrown out of the nest. Physical Description: Rastipedes are six feet long insectoid “centaurs” with eight walking limbs and a vaguely humanoid torso with two upper “arms”, all covered in a chitinous exoskeleton (which accounts for its high armor class). A rastipede's head has two large compound eyes, a chitinous mandible, and a pair of long, whip-like antennae. Other than the queen of each nest, there are no obvious differences between rastipedes of different gender. Relations: Rastipedes are the penultimate traders of the known spheres. Only the Mercane are more willing to exchange goods. However the rastipedes seem unconcerned with such niceties as uniform pricing and fair dealing. A spacefarer who makes a deal with a rastipede is advised to count his money, his crew and his limbs. Rastipedes are not truly dishonest, however. They rarely renege on a bargain once struck, and as a rule they deliver their side of the bargain at the time and space specified. The problem is that the rastipedes delight in meeting the letter of the bargain, rather than the spirit. They are particularly fond of making a deal knowing that the other party is assuming something that is not true. They will sell you a lottery ticket with this week's winning numbers on it — but it will be last week's ticket. Rastipedes will buy and sell anything they think will be profitable, although most scrupulously obey smuggling and slave-trafficking laws. This propensity for hard bargaining has brought the rastipedes in contact with the Mercane. In fact, rastipedes are favored henchmen of these mysterious traders. Very often, characters that seek an Mercane find themselves dealing with a rastipede go-between. Alignment: Rastipedes as a whole are very lawful but have no tendencies toward good or evil. Those outside the nest are most likely to be an alignment other then lawful neutral. Rastipede Lands: Rastipede lands are filled with underground caverns, many of which have been dug out by the rastipedes themselves. The lands surrounding caverns must be able to support some life which the rastipedes gather much of their substance. Within their caverns they harvest giant aphids and mushrooms. Religion: Rastipedes worship gods of insects, merchants, travel, and industry. The Suel goddess Bralm is one such goddess that rastipedes commonly worship. Language: Rastipedes have their own language, a combination of chirps and clicks. The written version of their tongue has many special characters that when a “tilde” is added to it becomes a number. Such extra strokes or even a single stroke, either above or below a letter can change a meaning of sentence. Society: Rastipedes are born from eggs, which are laid by a queen who lives deep within the ground in the secluded caverns where the rastipedes have their nests. Rastipedes grow up with a strong sense of duty and responsibility to the nest and the community. All rastipedes are well taught in the literature of their own race (which is quite extensive) and mathematics. A nest of rastipedes might contain anywhere from 100–600 individuals, half of which are immature and are incapable of combat. The adults, however, are fanatically committed to the defense of the nest above all else. Names: Rastipedes earn names that are indicative of their productivity to the nest. Such names are more a matter of status. Rastipedes can also earn names due to important jobs they do such as forager (gathers food) or bloodspiller (defends the nest from dangerous threats). To these names of status or positions all rastipedes carry the nest name, which seem to be used only when rastipedes meet other rastipedes from another nest. Names of Nests: Aphidgarden, Goldhill, Water Raiders, are but a few names that rastipedes carry as their nest name. Adventurers: Many slothful rastipedes wishing to escape from the rigid structure of the nest seek adventure where they can use their natural abilities to great effect. Racial Traits
Class Skills The rastipede's class skills (and key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Bluff (Chr), Diplomacy (Chr), Knowledge (Int), Listen (Wis), Profession (Int), Speak Language (n/a), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis). Class Features All of the following are class features of the rastipede monster class. Weapons and Armor Proficiency:Rastipede's are proficient with all simple weapons and receive Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for longbows (including composite longbow) and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats. Rastipedes value keeping a distance between themselves and their enemies and all rastipedes are familiar with these weapons. Feats: A rastipede recieves one feat at 1st level and another at 5th level. After 6th level it gains feats normally according to its character level, as shown on table 2–5: Experience and Level-Dependent Benefits. The Rastipede
Random Starting Ages Table for Rastipedes
Aging Effects Table for Rastipedes
Random Height and Weight Table for Rastipedes
Rastipede, STAR FRONTIERS, SPELLJAMMER, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, AD&D, the D&D logo, the AD&D logo, the d20 System logo and d20 are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and are used with permission. All titles, and all proper nouns, including character names, locations, and named items are considered Product Identity per Section 1 of the Open Game License v1.0a and are exclusively owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. ©2002 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Compliance of Conversion Policy, Open Game License and the d20 System Trademark License: Use of WIZARDS OF THE COAST® Product Identity including proper names and product titles is hereby permitted exclusively via this ESD Conversion Agreement. A current version of this policy can be obtained at:http://www.wizards.com/d20/conversionpolicy.asp The distributor of this document accepts full responsibility for ensuring the materials contained within comply with the most recently published version of that policy, and with the Open Game License, and with the d20 System Trademark License. If you wish to redistribute any portion of this document containing Wizards Product Identity, you must also agree to the terms of the current ESD Conversion Agreement. To obtain a digital copy of the original source material this conversion is derived from, please link to: http://www.wizards.com/whatevertherightlinkshouldbe.asp." Rastipede, © 1990 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. d20™ System, Conversion of Rastipede ©2003,Mark Doolan Original Source:Monstrous Compendium #9 Special Note:I believe (as do many others) that the rastipede is just a new name for a creature that first appeared in TSR's space roleplaying game: Star Frontiers. That creature is known as the Vrusk and as such this savage species write up works just as well for them as it does for the Rastipedes. If one wants to remain true to the original version of the Rastipede just substitute +1 more natural armor for each +2 Dex bonus as given and start the Rastipede with a -2 Dex penalty instead of the Charisma Penalty, change them from abberation to monstrous humanoid (change BAB and Saves as appropriate) and finally change tremor sense to scent 30 feet. Vrusk, © 1982 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Original Source:Star Frontiers: Alpha Dawn Notes on this Conversion:I took the approach to totally rewriting the rastipede as I just wanted something that fit into the Savage Species format, to that end I took a pony/human tauric template and then modified it with the insectoid creature template to come up with the stats for the rastipede/vrusk. "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
May 7, 2016 - 4:58pm | Rastipede
Rastipedes are highly civilized insectoids that have spread throughout Golarion’s solar system. Despire their monstrous appearance, rastipedes are highly sought after for their intelligence and business acumen, traits that have taken them far from their barren, rocky home. A rastipede resembles a cross between an ant and a centipede, with eight walking legs and a humanoid torso with two arms. Its head is largely ant-like, with large faceted eyes and twitching antennae. Rastipedes’ hard, chitinous shells are light blue at hatching, darkening to dull green or violet as they age. As a species, rastipedes arose on Nchak, the “Hive Moon” of the gas giant Liavara, far from Golarion. Numerous races of sentient arthropods call Nchak home, and the rastipedes themselves rule the small but wealthy nation-state of Vrusk, under the protection of the moon’s immortal Forever Queen but largely independent in its day-to-day affairs. Vrusk is ruled by a consortium of trade houses, combinations of guilds and noble houses, and each rastipede is born into its hive’s trade house. All rastipedes regardless of station are afforded thorough education, a fact that makes them indispensable to the rest of their moon’s inhabitants as scholars, mages, lawyers, accountants, tradespeople, and other skilled professionals. The rastipedes first made contact with the humanoid inhabitants of the neighboring moon Arkanen over a millennium ago, and through them encountered the spacefaring people of the planet Verces. Aboard Vercite aetherships, rastipedes proceeded to spread throughout the solar system, and today more than half of all rastipedes are born off-world on independent hive-ships, though all are honorary citizens of Vrusk. Rastipedes are very commonly encountered in the Formian Colonies of Castrovel as advisors to the psionic ant-folk, and they have formed a lucrative trade partnership with the tohr-kreen of the Kreen Empire on the same planet. Rastipedes are not commonly encountered on Golarion except in the company of the mercane, a race of equally trade-obsessed beings who favor rastipedes as go-betweens. Although most rastipedes fit into their regimented society with little difficulty, a handful find the world of trade and business utterly stifling. These rare individualists often find their place as adventurers among other races, but are driven by the same ideals as their conformist kin: ambition, power, success, and above all, wealth.
RASTIPEDE "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
 May 7, 2016 - 5:01pm | Rastipede2109 
The rastipede is an insect-like creature that can be encountered virtually anywhere, usually accompanying a wide variety of other creatures. A rastipede has a hard shell covering its body, which accounts for its low Armor Class. This is fortunate, since their odd body shape makes it impossible for them to wear any standard type of armor protection. Last Modified: June 10, 2010, 12:03:07 GMT A relative of the Vrusk maybe? They look an awful lot alike. Joe Cabadas |
May 7, 2016 - 5:02pm | Per SFman 16 Clikks are 6 limbed. "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
May 7, 2016 - 7:39pm |
NAME: The Shortel NUMBER: ldi00 Hit DICE: 3d10 ARMOR: 4 LAND SPEED: 3/900/18 BURROWING:4/3OO/12 MS:5d4 DX: 5d4 CNr 5d6 IN:5d4 CH:5d1 PS:5d4 ATTACKS: See Description MUTATIONS: 1 good mental and 1 goocl physical. Plus Telekinetic Mandible DESCRIPTIONT: A typical Shortel stands two meters tall and looks like an Earth wasp with a slimmer body and longer legs. Although they prefer to use weapons in combat, each Shortel is also able to inflict 1dl0 points of damage with its mouth pincer and inject intensity 11 poison with its stinger. In addition, each Shortcl has the power to cause a shimmering mandible to materialize anywhere within a range of 18 meters for up to a 10-minute duration. 'The user can cause it to move within range at up to 6 meters per Action Turn, and to do anything that such an appendage could normally do, including a crushing attack (PS equal to the user's MS). The mandible cannot be damaged, but it disappears if the user is killed or knocked unconscious, or if it is moved out of the user's field of vision.. The telekinetic mandible may be used twice per day. All Shortel are supreme biologists, livinging and working with other creatures in relationships that outsiders would find disgusting. Over the centuries, they have painstakingly bred beneficial abilities into numerous smaller insects. which are then allowed to infest the bodies of the Shortel. The numerous mites, flies, moths, worms, beetles, and larvae which swarm over each Shortel serve a wide variety of functions, from protection against mental attacks to the detection of radiation and its intensity. For obvious reasons, the Humans and Luntarians refer to the Shortel as "carricrs." The Shortel are the original inhabitants of Mars - and they want their planet back. Years ago, they observed the Human and Luntarian races settle on Mars, but they chose not to act immediately. Instead, they studied the invaders and began to breed creatures that could be used to defeat the new technology their enemies had brought. When all was ready, the Shortel struck, completely destroying one city state of each race as an example of their powers. Then they pulled back, waiting for the odious creatures who infested the surface of Mars to leave. But the invaders stayed, so the Shortel had no choice but to begin the war in earnest. Their long study of the surface races has enabled the Shortel to operate most enemy machinery and weapons without penalty. In addition to Human and Luntarian weaponry stolen in raids, the Shortel use their insects before and during combat to cripple the enemy and to protect themselves. Some of these creatures are listed, but these are only the tip of the insect berg.
"Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
May 7, 2016 - 7:41pm | Rastipede2109
The rastipede is an insect-like creature that can be encountered virtually anywhere, usually accompanying a wide variety of other creatures. A rastipede has a hard shell covering its body, which accounts for its low Armor Class. This is fortunate, since their odd body shape makes it impossible for them to wear any standard type of armor protection. Last Modified: June 10, 2010, 12:03:07 GMT A relative of the Vrusk maybe? They look an awful lot alike. Yes I am going to make them a race of Vrusk. "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
