We’ve reached the finalé of the series bringing the Zerg over to Starfinder! This week, we finish with the remaining Zerg flying units plus one extra that calls back to a previous post in this series. Let’s have a look!
Zerg
Zerg are a collection of creatures integrated into one collected hive mind by a being known as the Overmind. They are capable of metamorphosis into a variety of creatures via a shared repository of genetic information.
Traits: Fast healing 2; Zerg with a fly speed do not suffer the normal environmental effects of being in a vacuum.
Mutalisk CR 3
XP 800
N Medium aberration (zerg)
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +13
DEFENSE
HP 40
EAC 14; KAC 16
Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +4
Defensive Abilities fast healing 2
OFFENSE
Speed fly 40 ft. (Su. perfect)
Ranged glaive wurm +11 (1d6+3)
STATISTICS
Str +1, Dex +4, Con +2, Int –3, Wis +0, Cha –1
Skills Perception +13
Languages Zerg
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, or stack (3–12)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Glaive Wurm (Ex) A mutalisk hosts a unique strain of parasite it can fire at enemies at a range increment of 60 feet. If the attack is successful, it deals damage and bounces to a different enemy within 10 feet of the original target. If two or more creatures are within range, it randomly bounces to an eligible target. A glaive wurm can bounce twice, hitting up to a total of 3 different targets with one attack. The first target hit takes the full damage from the attack, the second takes 3 points of damage, and the final target takes 1 point of damage.
Mutalisks are the bread and butter of the flying Zerg forces. They owe their genetic makeup to the mantis screamer of the Dinares Sector. Their physiology is mostly unchanged from the original creature, including the symbiotic relationship it maintains with a creature known as the glaive wurm. The voracious symbiote feeds in the innards of the mutalisk and the mutalisk can expel a wurm as defense mechanism. The wurm then attempts to leap towards a living creature to find its original host, slicing and cutting any creature it strike in the process. The Zerg alterations to the mutalisk strain allows it feed and host a seemingly limitless number of glaive wurms. Additionally, the changes create a volatile genetic structure capable of further mutation at a moment’s notice.
Guardian CR 5
XP 1,600
N Large aberration (zerg)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +16
DEFENSE
HP 75
EAC 18; KAC 20
Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +6
Defensive Abilities fast healing 2
OFFENSE
Speed fly 20 ft. (Su. average)
Ranged acid spores +14 (1d8+5)
STATISTICS
Str +2, Dex +3, Con +5, Int –3, Wis +0, Cha –1
Skills Perception +16
Languages Zerg
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, or bombardment (3–12)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Acid Spores (Ex) A guardian produces large globules of acid it can fire at enemies at a range increment of 120 feet. A guardian can only attack creatures below itself and can never attack another flying target.
Guardians are a heavy siege flyer mutated from the genetic strain of a mutalisk. They are capable of lobbing enormous globules of acid at creatures from orbit with great devastation. The unique nature of their flight prevents them from firing upwards, however, so they act more as bombers than anything else. This lack of aerial defense makes them especially vulnerable to flying opponents. Additionally, their slow flight speed usually means that guardians are surrounded by a number of mutalisks as guards.
Devourer CR 5
XP 1,600
N Large aberration (zerg)
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +16
DEFENSE
HP 70
EAC 17; KAC 19
Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +6
Defensive Abilities fast healing 2
OFFENSE
Speed fly 30 ft. (Su. average)
Ranged corrosive acid +14 (1d4+3)
STATISTICS
Str +2, Dex +3, Con +5, Int –3, Wis +0, Cha –1
Skills Perception +16
Languages Zerg
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, or bombardment (3–12)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Corrosive Acid (Ex) A devourer spew vile acid at enemies at a range increment of 60 feet. A creature struck by this corrosive acid gains a corrosive spore which stack up to a maximum of 5 corrosive spores on a single creature. A creature with a corrosive spore receives 1 additional point of damage per spore when taking damage from a flying zerg. Additionally, when a devourer successfully hits a creature, adjacent targets also gain a corrosive spore unless they succeed on a DC 13 Reflex save. A corrosive spore dissolves after 1 minute. A devourer can only attack flying creatures and can never attack a creature standing on the ground.
Devourers are a heavy assault flyer mutated from the mutalisk genetic strain. These behemoths create a unique acid that has a compounding corrosive property. When sprayed en masse, this acid is capable of dissolving away a creature’s flesh or eating through a starship’s hull. The violent nature of this acid spray makes it nearly impossible to avoid when in the line of fire. The unique nature of these toxins breaks up when close to naturally occurring chemicals and minerals on the surface of planets. Thus, the acid only remain intact when fired into the air or in a vacuum.
Queen CR 6
XP 2,400
N Large aberration (zerg)
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +18
DEFENSE
HP 75
EAC 17; KAC 18
Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +11
Defensive Abilities fast healing 2
OFFENSE
Speed fly 40 ft. (Su. perfect)
Offensive Abilities ensnare, infestation, parasite, spawn broodlings
STATISTICS
Str –1, Dex +1, Con +5, Int +1, Wis +2, Cha +3
Skills Perception +18
Languages Zerg
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, or cluster (3–12)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Ensnare (Ex) As a standard action, a queen sprays a thick mucus at an area within 60 feet. The mucus covers a 20-foot radius area. All creatures moving through the mucus move at half their normal speed (round down to the next 5-foot increment). The mucus dissolves after 1 minute.
Infestation (Ex) A queen can infest a structure and fill it with zerg spores which convert living creatures within into zerg-infested creatures (see below). A queen requires 1 minute for every 500 square feet of a structure. An structure remains infested for up to 1 week. A living creature within a zerg-infested structure must succeed a DC 16 Fortitude save every round or gain the zerg-infested template graft.
Parasite (Ex) As a standard action, a queen can fire a fine parasite at a living creature within 60 feet. A queen can see perceive all that the struck creature can perceive as if they shared senses. The host creature is aware of the parasite but cannot remove it. The parasite dies after 1 hour. A queen can only maintain a parasite on 1 host. Placing a parasite on another creatures immediately kills any previous parasite.
Spawn Broodlings (Ex) Once per day as a standard action, a queen can fire a small egg at a living creature within 60 feet. If the creature is below 1/10 of its maximum hit points (rounded down), the creature must succeed on a DC 16 Fortitude save or be instantly slain. A creature with more than 1/10 of its maximum hit points is unaffected by this ability. A pair of small zerg creatures known as broodlings immediately spawn from the slain creature upon its death. The broodlings use the same statistics as a tiny earth elemental. The queen can telepathically command the broodlings from a distance of up to a 500 feet away. Otherwise, the broodlings attack all nearby non-zerg creatures to the best of their abilities. The broodlings collapse and perish after 1 minute.
Queens are the wardens of the various Zerg hives, watching over Zerg eggs and maturing Zerg as they grow into living nightmares. Queens draw their genetic makeup from the brood-keepers of Archanis. They lack any direct armament, but maintain the ability to spawn a number of parasitic creatures. These creatures allow a queen to handle one or two enemies with ease while also using the parasites to serve as scouts of sorts. Even with their unique abilities, queens usually stay near the central hives unless their parasites are need on the battlefield.
Zerg-Infested Template Graft
A Zerg-infested creature is a unique breed of creature insisted with a hyper-evolutionary virus. These creatures lose all self-awareness and sense of self and instead live to serve the Zerg. A Zerg-infested creature fills with deadly toxins and gasses and will literally sacrifice itself for the Zerg.
Required Creature Type: Any living (non-construct or undead).
Required Array: Any.
Traits: Alignment becomes Neutral; gain hit points equal to twice its CR; EAC and KAC increases by 1; movement speeds increase by +10 ft.; Constitution increase by +1; gain the Zerg Creature Subtype Graft (see above).
Abilities: Self-destruct.
Self-destruct (Ex): As a standard action, the creature can detonate the gases within its body. The creature deals an amount of acid damage equal to a number of d10 equal to its CR to all adjacent creatures. A creature can attempt a Reflex saving throw to reduce this damage by half (DC = appropriate DC for its array and CR + Con). This ability destroys the Zerg-infected creature.
Drawbacks: The creature loses all forms of attack and spell-casting other than self-destruct.
Suggested Ability Score Modifiers: Constitution.
Zerg-Infested Soldier CR 1
XP 400
Zerg-infested human soldier
N Medium humanoid (human, zerg)
Init +8; Perception +5
DEFENSE
HP 22
EAC 12; KAC 14
Fort +3; Ref +3; Will +3
Defensive Abilities fast healing 2
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft.
Offensive Abilities self-destruct (1d10, DC 12)
STATISTICS
Str +2; Dex +4; Con +2; Int –1; Wis +0; Cha +0
Zerg-infested creatures are the result of a Zerg queen’s infestation. Queens seem to target important structures like command headquarters, barracks, or other highly populated buildings to make the most of their infestation. A creature that succumbs to the infestation appears as it was recreated with an excess number of parts from a variety of Zerg strains. These creatures become mindless drones of the Zerg, attacking in a suicidal fashion and erupting in an explosive fashion.
That’s it for this week! I think I might take a break from monsters for next week, but next up on the list is the Protoss! If you end up introducing the Zerg into your game or you have any request for a future Monstrous Physique, please drop me a line at KnowDirection@hotmail.com.
