Alien Encounters

Following from last post and detailing Aliens to contact while exploring space and searching for early colonies. Real aliens are rare. Most cantina freaks are modified colonists who adapted to survive without terraforming or just to be distinctive. There seem to be remains of prehistoric galactic civilisations that destroyed each other and most civilisations. They built hyperspace and manipulated lesser species as pawns. These ancients seem survived by their creations and servitors and many deadly weapons of genocide left as traps. My real aliens are not very human.

After my Space book, I'm writing to synthesise it and redo and make into a weird space horror, colonialism and archaeology setting with a single continuity hopefully to cover a 30k timeline of space shenanigans. And I guess the plan is to rewrite for my homebrew rules and SF elements of my other post apoc and planet psychon. Also, I'm now nabbing original star frontiers modules as POD. Lots of little projects for this I will play with on my blog. Mostly will involve revising and fitting in to my current homebrew rulebook system and using my psionics rules more. Its not a big leap from making a players book for my post apoc game. Possibly at moment to make you psionic you can enter hyperspace unshielded or receive an implant and go into hyperspace unshielded which has different results. The latter will be "navigators/sorcerers". The non implanted will be more like psionic mutants. Ship psi exorcists or inquisitors will be handy on any voyage of exploration or uncharted hyperspace routes

Still unsure what weird dnd universe things should and should not be in it. Do people turn undead or have oaths or would that be more like becoming more fanatic in your spacefleet code or in the name of science? Alignment. No would be easy but also I'm prepared to consider rationalising stuff in weird ways.

Fighter
WIzard - in my current post apoc game they have software modules for spells that burn out and reinstall from their computer - not so sure in this setting but maybe something more like having brains altered by over space beings and requires codes and phrases to unlock but causes brain damage and memory loss - also could just don't do it or more for npcs not credible space corp agents. Make wizards more a threat and somehow evoke alien ancient hyperspace apparatus - teleporting hastened space marines onto enemy ship sounds cool 
Cleric  - Exorcist, Inquisitor, Cultist
Rogue - Pilot/Technician/Medic (X dam multiplier on healing?)

Sorcerer - Navigator, Psion, Channeler
Bard - Diplomat
Druid - ? possibly carrier of alien life form but dunno - maybe linked to particular planets ecosystem by some common organelle actually part of some ancient technology allows druid stuff to work but a problem for planet hopping - possibly more for npcs
Monk - Agent
eldren, morlocks, , mutants, robots, as in my previous volumes
abhumans - including androids and various designed humanoids
a few races will probably go or get reskins

 
d12 Quick Contact Aliens
1 Aggressive territorial species with 

2 Uplifted species made by a more ancient species

3 Cyborg species (possibly hijacked humans) 

4 Species altered by bioweapons into a hivemind by ancient technology

5 Utterly xenophobic possible fighting ancient galactic war 

6 Younger species using ancient technology

7 Biological constructs made by a more ancient species

8 Cybernetic constructs made by a more ancient species as servants

9 Alien android humanoids made to kill humanoids by some ancient species

10 Survivors of civilisation were destroyed after finding an ancient alien artefact

11 Species being altered by some remnant of ancients or entities from overspace

12 Ultraterrestrials in hyperspace and ancients in hiding may use servitors in normal material space while they hide in Dysons spheres in hyperspace

d12 Common Abhumans in Colonies
1 Apes - often orangs, chimps and gorillas arranged in castes for tech support and combat

2 Otters - for aquatic construction projects and terraforming work. They are thought of as cute and adorable by people who never met them. Other weasels, polecats, ferrets have been tried but their uses are usually not legal

3 Tigers - lone hunters, commandoes and snipers for lone wetwork. Some once went rogue and tried to produce combat robot versions of themselves for boarding ships to plunder. at least one faction seems to have been replaced by such robots. Other feline and cat types have been used but tigers were used by the military and were pioneering

4 Canine - various dog breed humanoids someone thought was a great idea for willing servants and security. Many are bred to be compliant good doggos who don't think much and follow orders. Some breeds used for security, others for customer service with adorable eyes

5 Chiropterans - bat people developed for a dark low gravity world, used as specialist stealth scouts and aerial assault troops 

6 Goats - scouts ideal for rough terrain and living off the land, turns out a cult was responsible for having them included in central catalogues of biofabricators on colony ships

7 Tegus - reptilian troops, technology helps overcome their flaws like dislike of cold. Various biomods they enjoy include thagomisers, bony frills, forns, spikes and other reptilian things, Iguana and monitor types exist also. At least once colony they replaced humans

8 Elephants - large humanoids with prehensile trunks, very sociable and hardworking

9 Grunts - smooth faced combat humanoid for war, eye and nasal slits and grey skin. For security or warfare, non-reproductive so they rely on clones and bioprinters

10 Reverts - modified with stoneage hominid DNA by a dangerous now dead cult. Intelligent and strong with pre homo sapiens hominid DNA. Often hostile to mainstream humans and determined to remain different

11 Aquarians - water-breathing humans with webbed digits for aquatic planets. Some dolphin, manatee and some sealion DNA. Some gave up looking human over generations

12 Swine - pigs abhumans adapt fine to human facilities and lifestyle and due to their design process have many organs and blood types usable by humans. More like domestic than wild pigs some have gone rogue and had no problems stealing human goods. There are colonies that used them as a slave caste in underground factories. At least one there was a violent revolution leaving a swine colony of gangster clans 

d12 Some "Fake" Aliens
1 Proximen - abhumanoid created to scare humans that an alien threat was real. Black hairy tusked fierce-eyed killers. Also intended to be slave troops. Some escape with clone printers and colony equipment. Part wolf and wild boar, sounds, odour and gait humans find disturbing 

2 Spacers - humans modified for space travel, capable in low gravity but also more tolerant of high G acceleration and cope for minutes longer and better in a vacuum than humans. Some left earth in early FTL drives and have been isolated for long periods. Many have cybernetic implants and vary from small to tall and spindly. Some attempted to accelerate constantly to escape humanity but improved FTL ruined these dreams 

3 Jotun - abhumanoids modified for high G labour and heavy combat, someone printed a modified generation without failsafe in a colony faction struggle and by the end a cloned army overtook the colony. They regard themselves as superior to humans so humans cannot afford to let them live. They are willing to use suicide and terrorism and storm special targets to win

4 Morlocks - related to Jotun but more for mining and industrial life in toxic conditions. Grown as a slave labour cast they revolted and replaced the colonists as elites. There was some messy farming colonists for food and other violence. They have a strange sense of honour and will live in cramped high G conditions and get left alone. The cannibalism thing is considered a slur nowadays and some live with basic humans

5 Tau-Cetans or "Goblins"- humans spacers modified for deep space survival in some of the first FTL ships made some early colony attempts most don't really know about. This gave them smooth low-pressure proof skin and large black eyes and when they modded themselves for planetary life they became goblins. From the first colony they modified themselves more to large-eared goblinoids with various casts (maker, soldier and labourer). These colonised several other worlds in isolation and even were raided by insectoids

6 Eldren - eugenics cultists took research materials and used them to create a specialist flight and navigation crew human variant for the decades-long FTL flights in the colonial era. They were deployed briefly then shut down then later employed for various FTL scout programs. Lean, beautiful, androgynous, pointy-eared, good at maths and long-lived. There have been cases where the superior flight crew took control of the colony from orbit and placed themselves as orbital overlords. Some have been very successful working with AI and their modified brains make it easier for them to navigate in hyperspace. Some adopted this as a mod to become superior. Many are suspicious of them and their elitism

7 Cyborged - one generation of FTL deployed cyborgs and most never returned. One found an alien probe and together it tracked down other lost probes and modified them all. They intend to use humans for protoplasm and terraform the homeworld to suit them. They are vindictive and hostile and sadistic and see humans as raw materials and spare parts

8 Worms - alien parasites only became sentient once bonded to humans. Now they have taken biolabs and clone printers to grow a new human-size form to not need hosts. Early versions will seem human, later they get weirder rejecting human culture and form - could be factions even some who prefer commerce to parasitism

9 Ravager Virus - hostile humans using hijacked and modified craft have attacked ships and colonies. Once host is infected they practice self-mutilation removing the nose and ears and ritual scarification. Some make improvised weapons and cyborg mods. They carry off victims to wherever they are based and turn them into their own kind. Its an alien bioweapons virus that creates a hivemind but it is also psychotic and hungry for intelligent hosts

10 Cephalopods - octopoid based biological construct made for labouring in space or underwater construction which survived a failed colony. Managed to build a civilisation based on colonial technology and their own progress with their vast underwater self growing computer networks. Working on a global biological supercomputer. Occasionally someone finds the data files to clone or print one for labour. Left alone together they initiate bizarre social behaviour which had most users discontinue them. Also called Tako by people which they don't mind but refers to those bade for more land use and kix with humans. Some of them become wrestlers or biologists or programmers. Many have cyborg tool limbs or biomodified limbs

11 Necroids - alien bioweapons hijacks human bodies and reanimate them as shambling necroids that cooperate to infect colonies. The necrovirus uses human hosts and technology to spread. Various strains have different behaviours and life cycles some more intelligent and dangerous others more physical

12 Rogue Fleet - an automated squadron of raider gunships with robot marines created to support flesh and blood units instead they all disappeared. Some colonies were raided and forced to hand over supplies.There seem to be various factions of AI with different policies on humans exist. Some think humans can be slaves others want them dead as crude final stage of life before machine evolution too perfection. They are dangerous for electronic warfare also

d12 Some Sample Aliens
1 Kijen - Scavenger insect warriors from a world at war whos population united to expand into space after discovering a single alien vessel. Some speculate they were hothoused in secret by someone to become opposition for humans. Border wars with humans slowed both civilisations. Brutal invaders who think humans are psychotic and with delicious corpses. They may change sides later once humans and they learn about each other

2 Makra - Insect Hive Species with multiple hive colonies in competition. Have a caste system and various monarchs with blood ties to their planetary queens. Initially, one clan was hostile to humans but then other clans offered allegiances to humans causing a stir in their civilisation. They even have their own rogue cyborg and robot clan enemies. Humans end up raising a clan from captured eggs and some humans are occupied by bugs. Humans embracing them will be brought into alien clan warfare system

3 Hastari - Startfish like species with multiple hands and eyes on their five limbs. Managed to control their environment and other species around them and increasingly developed technology. Communicating with them is very difficult but they are curious and make gestures to communicate. Scouts for their civilisation are encountered that has a completely different hyperspace array they utilise for FTL. Communicating will take years but they seem reluctant fight and be peaceful. They have the potential to coexist and overlap with humans

4 Kulan - Squid like species specializing in biological technology. They are quite friendly and seek trade with their strange living technology for exotic to them biological materials. Many are suspicious of them and the extent of their abilities. They have made biological androids which tightened people quite a bit but most agree it is a communication problem. They are keen to develop hybridized technology with humans and improved machine interfaces. Each member of the species worships a great ancestor who they swim to when they die deep beneath the homeworld sea to be reborn in the pool of knowledge 

5 Newts - these small gentle creatures are found all over known space and it is believed they are some kind of servants or caste of one of the ancient galactic civilisations. Mostly they are primitives who guard their ancient ruins. Humans often exploit and hunt them and raid their native ruins for treasure. Some warn that there may be more advanced remnants out there and some think their mythological beings may in fact be describing ancient galactic civilisations. With more advanced populations their size and weaknesses are negligible problems. Human authorities are sometimes appalled by how colonials mistreat these beings

6 Argoloids - protoplasmic tentacled creatures with properties of animal and jellyfish with poison stings and electrical discharges. They are happy to use personal walkers or vehicles to interact with aliens or go outside. They have some complex family trees and specialisations

7 Batrachians - hunchbacked toadlike humanoids interested in colonisation and trade by simply spawning on new planets. They grow large in water and then morph into obedient hungry youth who can fight so they are capable of causing trouble. They are wary of humans from first encounters and from how humans treated newts who toads reguard as all their clients. They have an inkling newts are remnants of one of the ancients from their extensive studies. They may claim archaeological sites of newts under their protection. They have shot at humans but clearly prefer commerce so often won't fire again if you don't respond and offer a deal. Its all part of their cult of commerce and dealing with aliens

8 Ameboids - protoplasmic sacks that manipulate their environment with pseudopods that can create to move or manipulate. They are hard to communicate with but are surprisingly friendly and seem to giggle (really their hyper-speed speech). They use biological and machine tech hybrid technology. They remember lore about their creator's deaths millions of years ago

9 Mutazoids - a biological colonial organism that can travel space in spore pods over aeons to invade new planets with a hostile new alien ecology. It is a bioweapon and some dangerous planets might be ones that survived over millions of years. Once infected, a new host the organism mutates sprouts tentacles and eyes and loses all form seeking others to devour or merge with. This has overrun some colonies but it can be prevented or even reversed by drugs. It seems to be an ancient bioweapon but has already created monstrous 

10 Trions - ambulant carnivorous plants cultivated from prehistoric seeds. Used for agriculture on several worlds. Some in a labship were being tested and captured a classified stealth ag ship for biowarfare and escaped known space. Possibly looking to colonise a planet with a botanical seed replicator. Unintelligent versions of them have been found wild on other planets. Computer projections claim the plant could terraform a planet and adapt to various climates by hybridizing with native plants. There is a fungus infected zombie variant bioweapon version in a black lab. Ships operated by them have raided cargo ships of agricultural colony supplies. The lab experiment that set the formerly peaceful plants amok is lost with that labship

11 Arachnons - colonial spiders capable of hibernating for aeons actually a bioweapons in the war of the ancients. They can overun a settlement and rapidly study it and keeps prisoners to question and for food. It takes them a while to communicate. Young colonies will seem like animals. When they have the time they will begin to use tech and eventually develop their own with specialist hives. They enjoy eating mammals and insectoids. A cyborg faction has been growing in power in some regions. These could be found in many places in deep hibernation chambers of the ancients that last for geological time scales or even just a clutch of eggs set to awaken if spacecraft or technology is used on planet

12 Chimera - a biotechnological organism from the ancients that absorbed a number of humans into itself and destroyed a Europan station and creating the warp anomaly first encountered by humans. It has since been see as a ship and has deployed humanoid agents with unknown motives. It has interfeared in human activity over several hundred years and led to warp drive technology discovery from alien ships recovered from the anomaly. The ship and its "crew" are the same thing and regarded as very dangerous but it seems to avoid using too much power and it has used same human masks for centuries now. People in power have always wanted to know about them but almost never hear about this. Most encounters would be with a disposable human mask possibly interfaced with a ship. The real entities can convert some of their mass to open wormholes into hyperspace to draw more power and mass through to win. For some reason, they use as little energy as possible and achieve their ends in secret over centuries. They have meddled in human affairs like releasing human-made sentient species with adequate resources to create a colony or turning up to destroy some ancient relic.