NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Davies" data-source="post: 8229885" data-attributes="member: 30538">Giant Space Tardigrade<img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/i-9FPNsdq/0/09fec541/S/main-qimg-5908b2c1f1a1cf03ff9cb5f674f19d06-c-S.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Art by <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/ramul/art/Attack-of-the-tardigrades-143385439" target="_blank">Ramul</a>The Technate Standard word for them is 'zuzgwang', itself a loanword from a long-dead Chirab language where it meant, apparently, 'space bear'. If legend is to be believed, they were once fairly common in the space around Chirab, and a large group of them are reputed to have bombarded the planet at one point. Centuries later, though, they've become all but unknown in those regions, while an occasional menace in the sectors claimed by the Technate. They also appear to be quite common in the Vaask Hegemony, but it's believed that the numbers there are dwindling, as the Vaask hunt them for both their meat -- a frequent appetizer in their food culture -- and for the natural hyperfuels that number among their bodily fluids.The intelligence of these colossal creatures is a hotly debated topic. They do not appear to communicate with each other, much less with any other species, but demonstrate enough problem-solving abilities to recognize and avoid situations that are dangerous even to creatures of their size, such as meteor showers, whether naturally occurring or artificially induced. Their reproduction appears to be parthenogenic, with females of the species being slightly larger -- on the order of tens of meters of greater length. While able to consume biological matter, they also possess an ability similar to photosynthesis that converts most forms of electromagnetic energy into chemical energy, and can go for extended periods without feeding.On detecting an energy source -- such as the output of a starship's thrusters and scanning mechanisms -- though their own extremely sophisticated sensory system, a zuzgwang will begin moving towards it, intending to feed. The creature will gorge itself until it can no longer detect any energy signature, and then drift off. For a vessel to avoid destruction in this process will normally require that it shut down all systems, including those required for life support. Only a handful of incidents have had such a positive outcome, and it is believed that many other vessels believed to have fallen victim to their attacks attempted to shut down but were too badly damaged to reactivate crucial systems in the aftermath.Despite this, public opinion in the Technate is against trying to kill the creatures, in large part because of wide-spread repugnance for the Vaask's hunting of them. More humane methods of eliminating the threat that they propose are generally preferred. For example, when one particularly large zuzgwang attacked a colony on the Vaask Fringe, Captain Mystic managed to trick the creature into following a remotely operated starship out of the system, while the colony shut down anything that could attract the creature's senses. Once the zuzgwang caught up to and destroyed the bait ship, they returned to a somnolent state and drifted further away from the colony. It's unclear if such methods will suffice if a large number of the creatures ever attack a Technate settlement ...Giant Space Tardigrade -- PL 15Abilities:STR 16 | STA 18 | AGL 3 | DEX 0 | FGT 6 | INT -2 | AWE 3 | PRE -2Powers:Colossal Size: Permanent Growth 16 (Strength +16, Stamina +16, Intimidation +8, Dodge -8, Parry -8, Stealth -16); Impervious Toughness 12 - 60 pointsEnergy Beam: Ranged Damage 18, Extended Range 4 - 40 pointsEnergy Detection: Senses 12 (hyper-extended 4 accurate tracking energy awareness) - 12 pointsSpace Worthy: Flight 12 (8000 MPH), Aquatic; Immunity 30 (life support, mental effects); Immunity 20 (energy effects), Limited to half effect; Movement 2 (space travel 2) - 69 pointsAdvantages:None.Skills:Perception 10 (+13), Ranged Combat: Energy Beam 12 (+12).Offense:Initiative +3Unarmed +6 (Close Damage 16, Reach 3)Energy Beam +12 (Ranged Damage 18)Defense:Dodge 8, Parry 6, Fortitude 18, Toughness 18, Will 6.Total:Abilities 24 + Powers 181 + Advantages 0 + Skills 11 + Defenses 24 = 240 pointsComplications:Hunger--Motivation. No Ground Movement. Not Really Conscious of Other Life Forms.</blockquote>

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