This week we return to the Koprulu Sector to pay a visit to another of the wonder alien species which reside there, the Protoss! These psychic warriors wield some of the most advanced technology ever seen and are tied to millennia of warfare and tradition. In the Starcraft game, they offer a unique experience compared to that of the Zerg as Protoss units are big, powerful, and costly. Rather than sending waves and waves of cheap, expendable units, Protoss units require a bit more care and strategy. Additionally, they have an interesting mechanic in the form of their shields. These shields allow Protoss units to take significant damage, retreat, and recover from all the damage to fight another day. Hopefully, I successfully translated some of these ideas for use in Starfinder. Let’s have a look!

Before we start, I have to present the Protoss subtype and a new universal monster rule for energy shields.

Protoss
Protoss are a race of highly sentient creatures and their technological works. All Protoss are linked via a psionic matrix, allowing telepathic communication between individual creatures. Additionally, all Protoss are surrounded by an energy shield.
Traits: Energy shields (see below); recharge 2; telepathy; Protoss with a fly speed do not suffer the normal environmental effects of being in a vacuum.

Energy Shields
An invisible energy shield surrounds the creature, absorbing damage for the creature. These shield functions similar to hit points, but a creature with any energy shield available always takes damage to its energy shield first. An energy shield constantly renews and a creature with an energy shield also has a recharge rate. This recharge rate functions as fast healing except it only restores lost energy shield. Typically, a new creature has a total mix of hit points and energy shields equal to its recommend hit points based on the monster and NPC creation rules.

Format: ES 10; Defensive Abilities recharge 5

Zealot                                               CR 2
XP 600
N Medium humanoid (protoss)
Init +1; Senses Perception +7
DEFENSE
HP 16
ES 9
EAC 13; KAC 15
Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +3
Defensive Abilities recharge 2
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft.
Melee psionic blade +10 (1d6+6)
STATISTICS
Str +4, Dex +1, Con +2, Int +0, Wis +1, Cha +0
Skills Athletics +12, Culture +7, Mysticism +7, Perception +7
Languages telepathy 100 ft.
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, or squad (3–12)

The Protoss species are separated into three castes: the Judicator, the Khalai, and the Templar. The Judicator act as the governing body of the Protoss, while the Khalai comprise the greater bulk of society including industrialists, scientists, and workers. The Templar are the holy warriors and defenders of the Protoss home world of Auir. The Templar are followers of the Khala, or Path of Ascension, which is a doctrine through which Protoss refine and hone their psychic abilities. Templar warriors yet to reach the upper levels of Khala are known as zealots. They are enhanced with cybernetic grafts and outfitted with power suits. This suit allows zealots to channel this psionic energy into deadly blades. They act as assault warriors, fighting with a near-berserker rage while in combat.

Probe                                           CR 1/2
XP 200
N Small construct (protoss, technological)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +9
DEFENSE
HP 7
ES 6
EAC 10; KAC 12
Fort +0, Ref +0, Will –2
Defensive Abilities recharge 2; Immunities construct immunities
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee particle beam +7 (1d6)
STATISTICS
Str +0, Dex +2, Con —, Int –2, Wis +0, Cha +0
Skills Perception +9
Languages telepathy 60 ft.
Other Abilities harvesting, unliving
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, or collective (3–12)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Harvesting (Ex) A probes’s particle beam allows it to cut through rock and minerals. A probe’s particle beam ignores up to 10 points of hardness when attacking rocks, minerals, and similar materials.

Probes are robotic drones, designed to gather the resources required to power Protoss technologies. Not entirely mindless, probes are programmed with respectable intelligence for self-preservation as well as to properly understand and carry out complex orders. The crystals which power probes enables the drones to connect and interact with the Protoss psionic matrix, allowing them to communicate with their taskmasters with ease. Beyond speaking to their orders and related matters, probes tend to keep quiet. Probes also manufacture and establish micro-beacons which allow the creation of teleportation matrices. These matrices allows Protoss to teleport in enormous structures from Auir and other established systems. This system enables the rapid establishment of bases and colonization on new worlds.

Dragoon                                           CR 4
XP 1,200
N Large construct (protoss, technological)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +9
DEFENSE
HP 28
ES 22
EAC 16; KAC 18
Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +1
Defensive Abilities recharge 2; Immunities construct immunities
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Ranged phase disruptor +17 (1d10+6)
STATISTICS
Str +1, Dex +3, Con —, Int +0, Wis +0, Cha +0
Skills Culture +10, Mysticism +10, Perception +15
Languages telepathy 100 ft.
Other Abilities unliving
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, or batallion (3–12)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Phase Disruptor (Ex) A dragoon fires bolts of anti-particles at a range increment of 60 feet.

The mighty Protoss, even with their powerful abilities, are not exempt from the realities of combat. Crippled of mortally wounded warriors can volunteer to continue their service to the Judicator Conclave via transplant into a dragoon exoskeleton. These large, mechanical walkers house the shattered remains of a veteran’s body, sometimes even just the mind of an extremely wounded warrior. The fallen warriors make use of the Khala to control the movement of the dragoon as naturally as their former bodies. These exoskeletons are capable of launching bolts of anti-particles sheathed in a psychically charged field created by the warrior’s ability. With these bolts, dragoons are able to provide support to their comrades by attacking targets on land and in air.

Observer                                       CR 1/3
XP 135
N Small construct (protoss, technological)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., detection, low-light vision; Perception +9
DEFENSE
HP 3
ES 3
EAC 10; KAC 11
Fort –2, Ref –2, Will +0
Defensive Abilities cloaking, recharge 2; Immunities construct immunities
OFFENSE
Speed fly 30 ft. (perfect)
STATISTICS
Str +0, Dex +3, Con —, Int –2, Wis +0, Cha +0
Skills Perception +9
Languages telepathy 60 ft.
Other Abilities unliving
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary or pair
Special Abilities
Cloaking (Ex) An observer is constantly invisible. Effects that remove or suppress invisibility do not affect an observer. An observer can still be seen normally with see invisibility and similar effects.
Detection (Ex) A detector’s sensor matrix grants it blindisght (vibration) 60 feet. This unique observational matrix allows a detector to connect to the Protoss psionic matrix and connect with other Protoss within the sense’s area, allowing other Protoss to see what a detector can see, so long as they are within the sensory area.

Observers are small drones that act as scouts for the Protoss. They are usually employed to survey other planets, vast wasteland areas, or to observe and record battles for study within the Templar Archives. Their advanced sensor array leaves little room or energy for defenses. However, observers designated for use in combat zones are fitted with micro-cloaking field to avoid enemy detection. Their sensory array was originally designed with the ability to see across multiple spectrums of light and energy for better archival recordings. This sensory augmentation proves invaluable on the battlefield, as an observer’s connection to the psionic matrix allows it share these augmentations to nearby Protoss warriors to reveal invisible opponents.

That’s it for this week! Look forward to next week where I continue our tour of Auir. If you end up introducing the Protoss into your game or you have any request for a future Monstrous Physique, please drop me a line at KnowDirection@hotmail.com.