I'm sufficiently enamored with Stars Without Number Revised that I have decided to adapt my Savage Space setting to the SNW ruleset. I'm going to start this off with the various alien races that have appeared in the Savage Space blogs and then work to equipment, foes and other details from there. In cases where prior formats may have touched on different parts of an overall topic I will combine them in to one master feature.
For those of you not familiar with the
Savage Space series, it started as a daily feature a few years back in which I built a Savage Worlds-powered setting by finding inspiring SF imagery and then developing the setting, one piece at a time, through the inspiration derived from the art. I'll try to use the original art that inspired these pieces as I upgrade the setting to SWN.
If you remain familiar with the original, then this might still interest you as I plan to upgrade and expand on each entry as I adapt it to SWN.
First up: The Syndirei Culture Vampires!
Syndirei
Culture Vampires in SWN
Syndirei have a homeworld: it's yours. They have
a language, too: yours. They love what you love, eat what you eat (and work out
metabolic treatments for digesting local cuisine if necessary) and want what
you want. All of it.
The original homeworld of the syndirei is lost
to time. Their rapid adaptiveness to other cultures, languages and even ways of
thought are regarded as eerily effective by xenogentic researchers, who have
worked hard to amass data for the Federation records on this race, which has
been working its way in along the edges of the galactic expanse for six
centuries now. One belief is that the syndirei are actually a form of
artificially engineered species designed specifically for such an effective
level of cultural adaptability. Another theory, however, is that they are a
weapon.
The syndirei don't just assimilate and take over
your culture: they take ownership of it, and then they start to corrupt it from
within. Some xenoanthropologists believe that the syndirei are actually the
last survivors of a much older civilization toward the galactic core, and that
they may have been singularly responsible for the destruction of said
civilizations, based on an careful analysis of exctint cultures on the many
worlds found toward the core.
The rationalization is this: syndirei are
extremely friendly and adaptive, joining a new community in the most placating
and friendly way possible, then worming their way in at the lowest levels of
society, all while taking on tasks and duties that the native civilization
could use cheap labor for. Then, in time, they grow, and expand into every
niche above, slowly subsuming the greater percentage of population into their
own by sheer numbers, but done in such a manner that only the most carefully
engineered cultures will notice the shift over time. It takes generations, but
one day the syndirei are in direct control and a majority holder in the local
culture. That's when things get....interesting.
Syndirei when left to the own devising (such as
the trapped population that was found after two centuries of isolation on
Tarterus IV) seem to degenerate into a culture of violent might-makes-right
fiends, preying on one another with rapacious intensity. The original
researchers on Tarterus IV came to the conclusion that syndirei society on its
own was naturally violent and destructive; they need a foreign population as a
stabilizer, to help them maintain some sort of social contract; without that
foreign society to attach to they degenerate rapidly into the most violent form
of barbarism.
The problem arises in those cultures in which
the syndirei have been enmeshed, and in which they have grown to become them
majority population. There appears to be some sort of breaking point, at which
the syndirei scales are tipped and the indigenous alien population is eclipsed
so thoroughly that the syndirei now rule supremely. When this happens, social
disorder begins to manifest, first in the form of random violence and criminal
action, but over a matter of one or maybe two generations it spirals into
madness, and the entire syndirei-controlled region collapes into chaos and
violence. The xenoachaeologists studying the Coreward Expanse dead worlds think
this has happened to multiple planets in the past, and they also suspect that
the syndirei know about this problem, because certain prominent researchers
have recently been found mysteriously dead after trying to go public with their
research.
The current and most widespread advance on
syndirei is in the region known as the Hexen Expanse. The cluster of worlds in
this area are reaching what is believed to be a tipping point....and some may
have gone past it, in terms of syndirei cultural absorption and population.
Federation officials observe the region with great concern, wondering if the
freeworlds in that area are about to suffer a terminal social collapse thanks
to the cultural vampires...behind the scenes, agents of the Aegis
Division have already conducted illegal tests on syndirei populations
and know exactly what they are capable of.
Physically syndirei are humanoid with dusky gray
and greenish skin, curiously weathered features and completely hairless.
Syndirei have surprising genetic compatibility with humans and can eat
human cuisine without any treatments.
Syndirei Focus:
Charismatic - Synderei are known for being friendly and affable (when they are
not experience cultural/population pressures; see Culture Dependency, below).
They gain +1 to their Charisma Modifier.
Origin Skll: Verbally Adaptable - Syndirei are incredibly fluid, persuasive and adaptable
speakers, and gain the Talk skill at rank 0.
Innate Ability: Linguist - Syndirei are able to pick up new languages with alarming
accuracy, even languages not spoken in a conventional manner. For each week a
syndirei studies a new language (through recordings or actual use) it may make
an INT check (Diff 8) to indicate that they have become proficient. A syndirei
can learn any number of languages, and their neurophysiology is considered
marvelous for its ability to assimilate almost any form of language that can be
spoken.
Culture Dependency - syndirei psychology depends on other cultures. When a syndirei
is by itself for a protracted period it (two weeks or more) it must make a
Mental Save once per day, with a -1 cumulative penalty per week of
isolation. So long as it succeeds everything is fine; when it fails the first
time the syndirei begins to develop psychotic and self-serving personality
traits. When it fails a second time it begins to lose cognitive reasoning
skills (-2 on all Mental Saves, WIS and INT-based checks and skills). When it fails
a third time the syndirei stabilizes and regains its reasoning skills (loses
the penalty) but now develops an inimical murderous psychotic personality akin
to a manipulative serial killer. In this stage the syndirei gains a +1 to
attack and unarmed 1D4 damage against other species and a +1 skill rank to
Talk when coercing its own kind. It loses it's Talk skill against other species
until it experiences a new culture and "acclimates." It then loses
all psychotic bonuses.
Syndirei who have reached the third stage of
their metamorphosis will behave accordingly until introduced to a new culture
(not the previous culture; they have psychologically discarded that culture
from their minds) at which time they can begin making a new Mental Save with a
+2 modifier. One success means they immediately acclimate, regain mental
control and begin earnest efforts to learn the new culture.
The dependency also triggers when syndirei
become the dominat population and cultural influence in a region; the exact
trigger is not known, but it appears to be when a syndirei population exceeds
60% of the local indigenous aliens. GMs can inform syndirei PCs that they may
be making the dependency checks when this threshold is passed locally as well.
Large regional populations always trump local events, so a syndirei on an
island with ten humans will still feel the degeneration begin to set in if the
worldwide population has passed the threshold.
Syndirei in the Federated Commonwealth have
willingly agreed to colonize regions under careful monitoring to insure that
they do not exceed specific population thresholds, accepting that they may be
periodically forced to migrate to reduce the risk of a population pressure
"dependency explosion" leading to cognitive decline, then sociopathic
and psychotic behavior. Although drugs and gene treatment exist which can
supress these tendencies, most syndirei are repulsed by the idea of submitting
to such treatments. Gene therapy has the added complication of causing other
more dangerous and debilitating side effects, including cancer and even
stranger behaviors. The Medical Treaty Act of the Federated Commonwealth
prohibits such gene treatments without consent, anyway.
Most syndirei are not willingly living under
controlled conditions in the Core Worlds, however. The vast majority of
syndirei groups dwell in regions such as the Hexen Expanse, where they have
assimilated into local colonies and more densely populated worlds without much
familiarity on the part of the locals as to their nature. Some regions have
dangerously large populations of syndirei, and Watchdog groups from the
Commonwealth try to identify these colonies and warn them when it appears the
syndirei are reaching dangerous population levels. Other, smaller communities
are often obliterated before finding out the risk. The syndirei themselves,
meanwhile, have developed a sophisticated special organization known as the
Cleaners. The syndirei high clans pay in to support this secretive order which
supplies the agents used to keep their cultural secret exactly that: a secret.
This includes exterminating nosy Commonwealth agents in the outer rim expanses
as well as exterminating their own kind in situations that could lead to
widespread risk of exposure.
Syndirei
Commoner
HD 1; AC 10; ATK +1; DMG by
weapon or unarmed 1D2; MOVE 10m; ML 6; Skills +1; Saves 15+
This represents an average, normal, culturally assimilated syndirei. Usually a syndirei is armed with a personal sidearm or
melee weapon for protection.
Syndirei
Psychotic
HD 2; AC 10; ATK +2; DMG by
weapon (cleaver 1D6+1) or unarmed 1D4; MOVE 10m; ML 8; Skills +1; Saves 14+
A psychotic syndirei loses Talk as
a skill against other species but is at Talk-1 with its own kind. They prefer
melee weapons but are still (usually) stable enough to sophisticated weaponry.
A cluster of psychotic syndirei are a serious threat!
Syndirei
Cleaner Agent
HD 4; AC 16
(combat field uniform); ATK +5; DMG Disintegrator
weaponry (see below) or molecular arm blades (1D8+1)
MOVE 12m; ML 10; Skills +2; Saves 11+
Augments: Panspectral Optic Enhancement, Molecular Arm Blades
(1D8+1; Shock 2/AC18)
Special Augment: Viral Breakdown Protocol - bodymass destroyed in
1D6 combat rounds on death or by command
Syndirei are armed with combat
field uniforms that have specially reinforced gauntlets designed to absorb up
to 10 points of damage dealt directly to the wearer's hands (see below for
why). They use special disintegration weaponry which they favor due to the fact
that so little forensic evidence is left behind. A typical syndirei
disintegrator works as follows:
Syndirei Disintegrator Pistol (Damage 2D8; Range 25/50; Cost 1,500; Magazine 8; Attr. Dex;
ENC 1; TL 4)
These aren't much larger than laser
pistols but are powered by a destabilizing quantum burst which doesn't so much
actually disintegrate the target (which would be an immense amount of energy)
as cause a massive quantum destabilization effect which scatters the target's
atoms across a light year of space. Forensic efforts (Know skill) to identify a
victim of this weapon with the right tech are at a minimum difficulty 12. Any
target reduced to 0 HP by this weapon is effectively annihilated. If the
attacker with this weapon ever rolls a 1, roll a D20 a second time, and on an
11+ the weapon implodes, dealing it's damage to the shooter.
Syndirei Disintegrator Rifle (Damage 2D10; Range 35/70; Cost 2,500; Magazine 8; Attr.
Dex; ENC 3; TL 4)
The rifle is similar to the pistol
in effect, but is a bit bulkier and packs a real wallop. It's range is just as
short, however, due to the fact that the weapon's quantum "spray"
deteriorates rapidly with short distances. It has the same chance to implode on
a critical failure as the pistol.
Syndirei special forces agents are part of
a special group which engages in long-term therapy to improve their resistance
to the species-wide capacity for murder in isolation. These agents are part of
a group which works to keep their cultural time bomb a secret. Each agent wears
a tight body suit under their armor that will initiate a destructive
biofeedback explosion on death to disintegrate their remains. Failing that they
also hold subdermal viral implants which will reduce their flesh to a pulpy,
unidentifiable mass within seconds should they be caught and killed; it can be
triggered with a mental command, as well. Despite their similarity to human
physiology these implants only affect syndirei.
Cleaner agents don't just go after nosy
xenoanthropologists and Federation Agents looking to make their careers on
scrutinizing syndirei; they also take out rogue syndirei, or find and
exterminate colonies of their own kind where social order has degenerated into
chaos and for which there is risk of discovery.
Aegis Division agents have tangled with the
cleaner agents on several occasions, and succeeded in keeping one alive long
enough to extract a tissue sample for proper identification. Agent Lu Varn still
recalls the horror he saw under the dermaskin armor....the syndirei was
physically unidentifiable as any specific humanoid species due to the severe
nature of the dermagraft with his armor. It was estimated that it would take
2-4 months of careful therapy to remove such a suit and repair the graft
damage. Problem is...when you capture a cleaner agent, you only have seconds
before their self-destruct protocols kick in.
Cleaner agents regularly hire clueless mercs and
criminals from other species to get jobs done for them. Most agents work behind
the scenes, though they always take direct action when it comes to corralling
"defective" syndirei.
A note
About The “Tipping Point:”
Syndirei aren’t prone to going crazy when they
have large clustered populations in a region….not until the total population of
a given region reaches critical mass, that is. This trends to function at a
city-wide level (the largest identifiable “unit” of syndirei society which
appears to respond to their psychological imperative for social stimulation/destruction).
In cases of high tech worlds where the population is wide and dense, or spread
out over a world-wide arcology, it is possible for the syndirei to sustain to
the point where their population reaches critical mass at a world-level scale.
This can prove disastrous to an entire planet. Researchers from the Academy in
conjunction with the Aeon Group believe that the tipping point is extended due
to the globalization of communication and travel; that syndirei are
biologically wired to become violently hyper-competitive when they reach a
dominant population percentage apparently gets “defeated” to a certain degree
by mass communication and globalization. Still, it is suspected that there is a
certain degree of either pheremonal, radiopathic or telepathic communication between
syndirei as the numbers are very precise in determining that the population,
when it hits 60%, even globally, causes the entire species to plunge in to
psychotic madness at their neighbors.
Syndirei Plots:
1. A local colony took in a refugee ship of syndirei a few years ago
but the population is already reaching critical mass due to the relatively
small population of non-syndirei in the area. The PCs are part of an Aegis Group
mission which identifies and warns of threats like this, and need to convince the
syndirei to depart before disaster strikes (by coercion or force).
2. Deep in the Hexen Expanse is a remote colony of nonhuman Fadelik
who are unaware of the syndirei threat. This is a large, densely habited world
and the syndirei have been a local population for close to two centuries now;
as the world population reaches critical mass, the threat of a syndirei
psychotic episode on a global scale becomes a major threat. Can the PC agents
convince the risk-averse fadelik to help deport syndirei populations before the
seemingly benign immigrants turn in to rapacious, terrifying predators?
3. Investigators at a colony which went silent discover a massacre,
and stumble across cleaner agents in the middle of a calculated “fix.” A
colonial port overrun by psychotic syndirei, cleaner agents, and desperate
human survivors must be resolved.
