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GM > Starship > Starship-Scale Creature List > Giant Space Tardigrade
Starfinder Alien Archive 3 p.40
N Medium starship magical beast
Speed 6; Maneuverability good (turn 1)
AC 18; TL 18
HP 65; DT —; CT 13
Shields light 60 (forward 15, port 15, starboard 15, aft 15)
Attack (Forward) plasma cannon (5d12)
Attack (Port) light plasma cannon (2d12)
Attack (Starboard) light plasma cannon (2d12)
Power Core tardigrade brain (150 PCU); Drift Engine none; Systems basic computer, basic medium-range sensors, mk 4 armor, mk 4 defenses, upgraded heavy weapon mount (forward arc); Expansion Bays none
Modifiers +2 Computers (sensors only)
Other Abilities living starship, redundant lobes, rugged, self-repair, void adaptation
Engineer (1 action) Engineering +10 (4 ranks)
Gunner (1 action) gunnery +9 (4th level)
Pilot (1 action) Piloting +15 (4 ranks)
Science Officer (1 action) Computers +10 (4 ranks)
Environment any vacuum
Organization solitary, pair, or endurance (3–8)
Living Starship (Ex) A giant space tardigrade 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 a giant space tardigrade takes critical damage.
D% | SYSTEM | EFFECT |
---|---|---|
1–20 | Sensory bristles | Condition applies to all science officer actions |
21–50 | Weapons array | Randomly determine one arc containing weapons; condition applies to gunner actions using weapons in that arc. |
51–80 | Propulsion | Condition applies to all pilot actions. |
81–100 | Brain | Condition applies to all engineer actions except hold it together and patch. |
Redundant Lobes (Ex) The first time the giant space
tardigrade’s brain is wrecked, the creature automatically
switches to its redundant lobes, removing all critical
damage conditions from the brain.
Rugged (Ex) A giant tardigrade is particularly resistant to
radiation and EMP pulses. It is unaffected by starship
weapons with the EMP special property and suffers no
effects of radiation from irradiating starship weapons.
Self-Repair (Ex) A giant tardigrade
automatically regains 1 Hull Point
every hour.
Among the most durable
creatures in existence, giant space
tardigrades are truly enormous
relatives of the microscopic water-dwelling tardigrades
found on many worlds. Like their smaller cousins, giant space
tardigrades resemble lumbering bear-like creatures with
a segmented body and eight legs. Although all tardigrades
can withstand the vacuum and radiation of space for a time,
giant space tardigrades are at home in airless environments,
drifting through space to find food. Due to the rarity of
sustenance in the vast gulfs of space, giant tardigrades
can eat nearly anything and are often aggressive in their
attempts to destroy and consume starships they encounter.
Some trade corporations and stationmasters put bounties on
giant space tardigrades that have proven to be a nuisance,
and a popular joke among spacers is that the best thing to
devour or chase away a giant space tardigrade is a bigger one.
Giant space tardigrades are notorious for their durability
and ability to survive even the most extreme conditions. A
giant space tardigrade can withstand immense heat, pressure,
and radiation; explorers have spotted them drifting through
radioactive nebulae, the crushing atmospheres of gas giants,
and intense solar flares without sustaining any harm. Even a
badly wounded giant space tardigrade can completely recover
in only a few days. They are not biologically complex, but their
pudgy bodies contain several supplementary systems—such
as duplicate nerve clusters and redundant brain lobes—to help
ensure their survival. Giant space tardigrades are particularly
resistant to dehydration and starvation, as they can
temporarily replace the water in their bodies with a durable
protein, which causes them to shrivel slightly but allows them
to survive in a state of quasi-hibernation for decades.
Although not much more intelligent than animals, giant
space tardigrades can develop distinctive personalities that
some starship crews have learned to recognize. Although
most giant space tardigrades tend to be aggressive from
hunger, some are playful and curious. Giant space tardigrades
are good at recognizing starships they’ve seen before, and
they can harbor grudges against vessels that attacked them
years or even decades earlier. Giant space tardigrades also
remember starships that treated them well or led them to
food, and they sometimes play simple tricks on these old
“friendsâ€--like soaring out from behind a large asteroid to
surprise them, or batting a satellite or comet playfully toward
the vessel. Some giant space tardigrades express obvious
preferences, such as a tendency to nuzzle smooth kasathan
starships or flee from bony Eoxian vessels.
When angry, a giant space tardigrade can pose a serious
threat, particularly to smaller starships or those with novice
crews. A giant tardigrade is equipped with several natural
weapons, and is able to draw upon its inner energy reserves
to emit powerful beams of plasma.
Veteran starship crews know that giant space
tardigrades are resistant to several types of
common starship weapons. A giant space
tardigrade will sometimes feign defeat
to lure attackers closer, and canny crews
know to watch for tricks. After a giant
space tardigrade is finally vanquished, such
crews sail in to harvest the most precious
parts of the creature, much like ancient
whalers converging on a defeated whale.
Giant space tardigrades have components
valuable in certain industries; their hides
are remarkably durable, and researchers
study their nerve clusters in search of
medical breakthroughs.
Although most giant space
tardigrades are around 120 to 160
feet long and weigh 200 tons, there
have been sightings of creatures
at least twice this size. A giant space
tardigrade can live for centuries, or even
longer if forced into many long periods
of hibernation.
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