Alternity Star Drive the Externals

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THE EXTERNALS By William W. Connors and Steven Schend Additional Credits Editing: Duane Maxwell Web Development: Mark A. Jindra Cover Illustration: Jon Foster Interior Illustrations: Glen Angus Online Interface Design: Nick Pollock Cartography: Sean Glenn and Todd Gamble Creative Direction: Richard Baker Art Direction: Paul Hanchette and Corey Macourek Web Production: Sue Weinlein Cook Based on the ALTERNITY ® rules created by Bill Slavicsek and Richard Baker U.S., CANADA EUROPEAN HEADQUARTERS ASIA, PACIFIC, & LATIN AMERICA Wizards of the Coast, Belgium Wizards of the Coast, Inc. P.B. 2031 P.O. Box 707 2600 Berchem Renton WA 98057-0707 Belgium +32-70-23-32-77 Questions? 1-800-324-6596 ALTERNITY and STAR*DRIVE are registered trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. All Wizards characters, character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of this product is prohibited without the express written con- sent of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or events is purely coincidental. ©2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit our website at www.wizards.com/stardrive TSR11624 ® ®

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the external pdf from wizards of the coast excellent resource for stardrive campaign setting. detailing new and familiar external aliens.

Transcript of Alternity Star Drive the Externals

  • THE EXTERNALS

    By William W. Connors

    and Steven Schend

    Additional CreditsEditing: Duane Maxwell

    Web Development: Mark A. JindraCover Illustration: Jon Foster

    Interior Illustrations: Glen AngusOnline Interface Design: Nick Pollock

    Cartography: Sean Glenn and Todd GambleCreative Direction: Richard Baker

    Art Direction: Paul Hanchette and Corey MacourekWeb Production: Sue Weinlein Cook

    Based on the ALTERNITY rules created by Bill Slavicsek and Richard Baker

    U.S., CANADA EUROPEAN HEADQUARTERS

    ASIA, PACIFIC, & LATIN AMERICA Wizards of the Coast, Belgium

    Wizards of the Coast, Inc. P.B. 2031

    P.O. Box 707 2600 Berchem

    Renton WA 98057-0707 Belgium

    +32-70-23-32-77

    Questions? 1-800-324-6596

    ALTERNITY and STAR*DRIVE are registered trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. All Wizards characters, character names, and the

    distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. This material is protected under the copyright laws

    of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of this product is prohibited without the express written con-

    sent of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or events is

    purely coincidental. 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. All rights reserved.

    Visit our website at www.wizards.com/stardrive

    TSR11624

  • Prologue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

    What We Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4What We Must Learn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

    Section One: The Exeat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

    Rank and File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8The Shock Troops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14The Infiltrators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18The Weaponeers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20The Slavers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21The Conquerors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27The Holy Ones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30The Krlosar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32The Ikrl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Important Exeat Leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

    Section Two: External Space . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

    The Verges Edge and Beyond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42The Ikrl Theocracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Beyond Orions Arm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

    Section Three: External Technology . . . . . . . 56

    Standard Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56New Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Other Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

    Section Four: External Military Forces . . . . . 63

    Spacecraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Planetary Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Strategies and Tactics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

    Section Five: Invasion:The First Year . . . . . . 76

    Section Six: States of War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

    Old Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94Mantebron. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94Tendril. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Hammers Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Aegis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96Lucullus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96Ptolemy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97Alien Worlds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

    Section Seven: Wartime Adventuring . . . . . 100

    2TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • In a recent high-level security session among the Re-gency and Concord commands on Aegis, ChristopherHale summed up the available intelligence concerningthe Externals: What we positively know about the Exter-nals we can delineate in under a minute. This is an un-acceptable position, ladies and gentlemen, and we mustdo better, or we may lose a war before most of us in theVerge realize weve been invaded.

    Indeed, revelations about the Externals during the pastyears of the STAR*DRIVE campaign have been slim. Allwe know for certain is they are a mystery and a dangerjust beyond the Hammers Star system. With this product,the veil of secrecy around the Externals is lifted. Game-masters can move their campaigns in many directions aswe put the Externals at center stage and show the faceof the enemy. Complete details on the species that makeup the External threat can be found in Alien Compendi-um: Creatures of the Verge and this book. Additional no-table materials on External activities are available in theSTAR*DRIVE Campaign Setting; Star Compendium: Sys-tems of the Verge; and Klick Klack. This supplementseeks not to repeat what we already know but to expandthe knowledge of the entire External threat and drive its

    secrets out into the light, for good or ill.Starting with this supplement, war engulfs the Verge

    with a seemingly unstoppable and innumerable enemy.Leaving all the major details on troop movements andfleet actions aside, uncovering the External secrets caneasily be a campaign in itself. There are many chancesfor heroes and others to encounter and learn of the Ex-ternals, whether theyre on the front lines or behindthem. Unless your heroes own a combat-ready ship orare part of the military, much of the fleet action and ma-jor encounters of the early war occurs as news for theheroes to learn about from the sidelines.

    With this section, well define what we know andwhen we learn more about the aliens from beyond. InPart One, we examine the whole of the External threat,exposing their structure and their member species. Welearn its more proper namethe Ikrl Exeat, an elementof the greater Ikrl Theocracyand some of their plansfor the Verge (and their own regions of space beyond theLightning Nebula). Part Two puts all that into action asthe war begins. Opening with a section on External tech-nology and followed by a review of External militaryforces and tactics, these sections describe the External

    3PROLOGUE

  • menace in concrete terms. A timeline detailing some ofthe major strategic elements of the war serves as aframework that Gamemasters can use to create adven-tures for their players. Part Two wraps up with a sectiondescribing how the war affects various locations in theVerge, as well as some ideas delineating how Gamemas-ters can incorporate the war into their campaigns.

    WHAT WE KNOWMuch of the timeline and what we know about the Exter-nals comes either from hard experiencethe assault onHammers Star by the klicks, the massacre at Nova Sta-tion by the magus, the fall of Jaen to the kroath, andhints of External involvement at Eldalaor from a rogueGalactic News Agency reporter known only as Avatar.These events are more thoroughly covered in numerousother products, and references to them appear both inthe timeline below and within each individual species en-try in The Externals section. This section covers infor-mation already gathered before the start of the war in2503 as well as information still awaiting discovery(such as the status of the teln infestations in Algemron).

    Preliminary IntelligenceHeroes and others can begin their investigations of theExternals by searching pre-existing records, files, andhistorical data and uncover far more than one might ex-pect. Its all a matter in knowing what to look for andasking the right questions of the right people or ma-chines. Aside from the first encounter reports, there aremany layers of intelligence to sort through.

    Of all the Externals active in the Verge and Old Space,the gardhyi have been the most prevalent and amongthe more enigmatic in terms of their motives. Given theirslight similarities to humans, gardhyi have hidden amongmen for centuries in many guises. They often appearedin myths and legends as trickster figures, gods in somemore primitive cultures, or as the Men in Black thathaunted mans early attempts at extraterrestrial investi-gations. Human history hints of links to the gardhyi, butnone of those links reveal much about their role now inthe Verge due to one simple fact: Very few gardhyi acttoward the same goals.

    Information on the nsss, aside from the technologicalschematics and data gained from wreckage at the ZinPoint outposts, comes primarily from the tsa. Upon firsthearing of the outpost attacks and later encounteringnsss themselves at the Dusk colony in Oberon, the tsaloudly proclaimed the nsss to be demons come alive!Some folks, such as Avatar (the reporter whose storiesmake up Threats from Beyond) and a growing numberof others, note that wherever folk report nsss activity, the

    involvement of VoidCorp rarely lags behind. Rumormon-gers insist that the corporation has ties to the nsss.

    The teln, klicks, and kroath maddeningly defy militaryor other intelligence in one crucial manner: They do notappear to leave physical evidence or written recordsamong those they encounter. The kroath say nothing andthe only records one finds on them relate to their immu-nity to pain, juggernautlike tactics in combat, and theirdissolution upon death. The teln remain carefully hiddenamong the upper echelons at Algemron, or at least thatis where most in the know guess them to be. Few re-ports give that much information on them, unless heroescan gain access to the secret labs and files at Section21-C at Corrivale or Colonel Daviss camp on Algemron.Heroes can meet, examine, and expose these Externals,but their status among the Externals may be impossible

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    The Medurr

  • to determine until seen in context with any of the otherExternal species.

    First Contacts and First Answers

    The entries in The Exeat section make numerous allu-sions to the events and data revelations noted below.Rather than repeat all the preexisting references for allExternal species to date, below is a table that providesthe first encounters and previous reference for more de-tails. Once GMs know when the External species first en-countered humanity (and how the encounters went), itseasier to manage additional gathering of information.

    A Need-to-Know BasisWhile Gamemasters may adjust this for their own cam-paigns, we recommend introducing heroes to the upper-echelon species of the Externals methodically. Gamemas-ters can reveal information about the Externals in anumber of different ways. Gossip in free trader bars orother gathering places could provide rumors of bizarreevents or encounters out in the depths of the Verge.News reports, such as those put together by Avatar inThreats from Beyond, can add substantiation to some ofthose rumors (or doubt, as the need arises) or introducenew information. The heroes could discover somethingon their own, something that may threaten their lives. Fi-nally, officials of the Verge Alliance could provide data

    concerning elements of the Exeat in a region they wantthe heroes to scout. Remember also that the Alliancewants to collect information more than they want to giveit away, so the heroes may end up providing informationto the Alliance in exchange for getting answers fromthem. These and other methods are fine for expandingheroes knowledge of the External threat. Players be-ware: The Externals and their spies are quite methodicaland careful in their invasion, including controlling infor-mation about their activities. Theyre not just going toshow up on Alaundril for interrogation.

    The Concord is not the only agency putting together apicture of the Externals. Nearly every stellar nation thathas any presence in the Verge seeks to protect itselffrom this potential danger. Some of these nations un-doubtedly see the Externals as a weapon to be usedagainst their enemies. In addition, Verge governments re-member well the tragedy of Silver Bell and seek to pre-vent a repeat of that disaster.

    Against the ClockThe timeline on pages 6 and 7 provides Gamemasters ablueprint of what heroes may or may not know at anygiven time during their campaigns. Much of the informa-tion relates to secret meetings and events, so Gamemas-ters can make adventures out of seeking such secretsfrom those involved. This timeline refers to events de-tailed later in this manuscript, from the initial origins of

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    First Encounters with the ExternalsDate SPECIESFirst Encounter Events and Intelligence GatheringUnknown GARDHYIRandom gardhyi incidents pepper human history. (Alien Compendium, p. 119-121)2436 NSSSAttacks on the outposts near Zin Point reveal the existence of the creatures soon called the

    nsss, after the demons of tsa mythology they appear to resemble. (AC, p. 125)2485 KROATHColonies at the Armstrong Cluster decimated by green-armored humanoid forces. Five

    years later, the attackers are positively identified as the kroath. (AC, p. 122)2486 BLIXBlix abandon a destroyed ship and are marooned initially on Bluefall. They are later revealed

    as benevolent fixers. (AC, p. 116)May 3, 2489 KLICKSAssault upon and destruction of Silver Bell colony on Spes in the Hammers Star system. A

    mystery for years, it became clear as time went by that it was the klicks that launched this attack.(STAR*DRIVE Campaign Setting, p. 204206, 219220)

    2496 TELNMajor Garth Norrik of the Federal State of Algemrons Intelligence Directorate unknowingly in-fected by a teln. Others in his government have long been under the subtle influences of the teln.(S*D p. 177, 186, 187)

    2498 EVREMPeaceful encounters with a massive crystalline ship in the Lucullus system reveal theevrem, a psionic species seemingly interested only in peaceful diplomacy and trade. (AC, p. 117)

    December 2500 MAGUSNova Station at the Alaundril shipyards is the site of a massacre at the hands of a creaturelater identified as a magus. The Center for Xenological Studies on Bluefall gains theories and infor-mation about the magus from the evrem Raphael. (Threats from Beyond , p. 1013; AC p. 124)

    June 2502 MEDURRShip believed a derelict discovered and fought over by numerous factions. Ship reacti-vates and gates in new species of dragons, later revealed as the medurr. (Zero Point; Alien Com-pendium II)

  • the threat to the stunning secrets unveiled at the battlefor Aegis; this brief timeline simply shows which specieshumanity knows of and can investigate at what times.

    WHAT WE MUST LEARNEven with the major events noted above, there are manyquestions that are left after the dust settles on 2503. Thisproduct can provide you (and the supporting cast andheroes of the Verge) many answers about the invaders.

    Where Do They Come From?We can learn that they come from beyond the LightningNebula and that they control hundreds if not thousands ofsystems in the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way galaxy.Not so easily uncovered are External bases hiddenthroughout the Verge. Many Vergers fear that the Exter-nals lurk within a single jump from their homes, and ifthey dont drive them out, the war against them will nev-er end. Others believe that the Externals are from muchfurther away; they agree with other Vergers that the fightagainst the Externals is a fight for the Verge itself.

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    Information TimelineDate SPECIESAdditional External Data Gained or Hidden External Activities to Uncover2364 GARDHYIStage One of the Exeat begins with the arrival of Vurhyr Barok Lhor and his gardhyi

    agents. Initial incursions by Ikrl-aligned gardhyi, teln, and nsss agents occur all across the Vergeand in Old Space, as they begin their research and analysis of human space. None of their actionsdraw any attention until the 2430s at Zin Point and 2480s at Armstrong, nor do any of these agentsand events seem linked to anything greater.

    2370 GARDHYI/NSSS/TELNEstablishment of hidden bases on planets and moons within the Hathornsystem. From these bases, Externals explore human settlements elsewhere in the Verge.

    2381 KADARAN/KLICKA destroyer-class ship arrives from the Lightning Nebula at Hathorn carrying theParak Martis and his scientists and an escort of klick ships and crew. The kadarans begin their worktransforming Hathorns moons and planetoids into communications arrays, massive computers, andadded habitats for the Exeat forces.

    2448 IKRLFleet movements and fleet building begin within the Lightning Nebula and the Perseus Arm asthe preliminary plans of attack begin to form within the Ikrl Exeat command.

    2451 TELNThe teln are brought to Algemron.2452 IKRLOsar of all species are struck by religious fervor as the Ikrl gods speak to them, performing

    miracles throughout Theocracy Space around their holy sites. The upper echelons of the church be-come far more powerful (due to Ikrl partial possession).

    2457 THAALThaal arrive in the Verge for the first time. They soon scuttle an antiquated generation ship,removing its propulsion systems and launching the battered hulk into space using their newly grant-ed powers. Humans find the hulk in the Oberon system (Threats, p. 63) forty-five years later.

    2459 SIFARVAfter numerous close calls with human scout ships investigating the outer systems, the Ex-eat receives three dreadnoughts and full crews from the sifarv. Their purpose is to help maintain thesecrets of Hathorn. Although the sifarv have supported in principle the goals of the Exeat, the sifarvmilitary does not commit resources to it until now.

    2462 GARDHYIVoidCorp executives secretly open talks with gardhyi within their territory, and bring theIkrl to the notice of VC upper executives, including its AI CEO. With the promise of more control anda wider base of power (not to mention a sharing of technology that could assure the corporate na-tions dominance in a number of fields), VoidCorp and the Ikrl form a close, highly secret alliance.

    2470 IKRLVoidCorp secretly builds a small colony and communications grid in the Hathorn system.August 2498 NSSSVoidCorp executive Wayne Bailey (Hm/VoidCorp/DFA-7) secretly concludes an agreement

    with the nsss via gardhyi agents whereby VoidCorp undertakes to hide a small nsss base within thegas giant Redcrown in the Aegis system. The intelligence information both VoidCorp and the Ikrl re-ceive from this base proves invaluable in their future operations in the Verge.

    Late 2499 IKRLWith the mustering of the Exeat fleet of five capital/fortress ships and their support craft to theVerge and Hathorn, Stage Two of the war truly begins for the Exeat. From this point on, all of the de-fined Ikrl-allied species can be encountered in the Verge, although they remain extremely rare, limit-ed as they are to a few secret staging bases.

    Early 2501 EXEATThe world computer/communications array in the Hathorn system becomes operational.

  • Why Are They Here?This is the greatest secret held by the invaders, and onlyone being has the answer: Ython Kadar. He directs hisforces passively, making analysis of his plans difficult.Secondary goals among the Exeat forces include provid-ing planets for the klicks, teln, and nsss to occupy. Othergoals are open to wild speculations. If the Vergers cantbegin to guess the Externals motivations, they cannotfind a common ground to sue for peace. For now, mostVergers believe theyre after the resources the Verge hasto offer, and thats as good a reason as any.

    Is There Any Chance forPeace?

    The Verge Alliance has not made any headway in at-tempts at diplomacy with the Externals, as the bulk of theearly actions begin and end with noncommunicativespecies such as the kroath and klicks. Still, having seenthe ruthlessness of their fleets at Lucullus and elsewhere,the Alliance doubts that even the upper echelons of theExternal forces would negotiate unless forced to do so.

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    Information Timeline (cont.)June 26, 2501 IKRLThe tsa ship Twelve Clutch disappears from normal space but reemerges briefly to transmit

    one word: Ikrl. This is the first clue about the true name of the External Threat. (Threats, p. 13)May 2502 TELNPublic Knowledge: Avatar reveals the existence of the teln parasites on Algemron via the

    Galactic News Agency, though many dismiss the report as an urban legend and conspiracy theory.(Threats, p. 86)

    Late 2502 GARDHYIEncounters with Ikrl-aligned gardhyi occur on Penates and elsewhere, as Helixtech andsome of the Barons worry about the medurr/Concord presence outside the system.

    September 2502 MEDURRInformal negotiations with Concord occur near Lucullus. (Alien Compendium II)March 2503 MEDURRStykor of Clan Vys arrives at Aegis for initial secret negotiations between the Medurr Im-

    perium and the Verge powers. (Alien Compendium II)April 2503 SIFARVFirst encounter. (Encounters could occur earlier, if so desired by the Gamemaster, lone scout

    ships and sifarv joyriders encountering heroes in various places.) The birdlike sifarv revealed amongwreckage and captured as prisoners during and after the battle at Tendril.

    June 2503 IKRLAt Lucullus, the Barons betrayal of the Concord is revealed as the ULDF sides with the Exter-nals against the Verge Alliance battle groups.

    July 2503 BAREEMFirst encounter. Occupation of Penates begins. Betrayed in turn by the Externals, the turn-coat Barons seek to extricate themselves from a brutal conquest. The hulking bareem quickly over-whelm Lucullus, establishing Port Royal as their primary base within hours and quickly betraying theJamaican baron and his people.

    July 2503 KADARANFirst encounter. Occupation of Penates continues. Other ships arrive after the orbital bat-tle ends, bringing the kadarans. These aliens begin experiments upon the human population shortlyafter planetfall.

    August 2503 BAREEMLand forces on Penates decimate Santiago in a show of force, wiping out the Picts (anduniting the Supervisors with the Technospiders in a rebel opposition).

    September 2503 IKRLThe cathedral ship of Ython Kadar arrives in the Verge at Hathorn.September 2503 EVREMThe last evrem crystalship arrives at Bluefall. The evrem reveal all they know about the

    Ikrl and their tactics, their history, and so on. This information constitutes an early windfall for theVerge Alliance, but by itself is insufficient to do more than fight a delaying action against the Exter-nals.

    October 2503 MEDURRStykor and Administrator Sela Taris seal the Aegis Imperium Accords and forge a tenta-tive alliance against the Externals. The medurr add tactical intelligence to the information provided bythe evrem.

    November 2503 KROATHVarious agents from Lucullus escape and reveal the bareem and kadaran plans for Lucul-lus as a staging area and recruitment area for kroath troops. All captured or slain humans,mechalus, and fraal have been turned into kroath!

    December 2503 THAALFirst encounter. Like the sifarv, their existence can be uncovered earlier, though the first ma-jor encounter with them comes during the Battle of Aegis, as Ython Kadar and three aides first com-municate with the Verge Alliance high command. They leave behind the sifarv Tareel, to teach theheretics of their coming masters and their proper worship.

  • The Prologue recapped what we already know about theExternal threat and the species we knew were involved.Now well take an in-depth look at the Ikrl Exeat and itscomposition.

    The Rank and File text below takes the broad viewand lays out the rough power structure and chain ofcommand among the Exeat. It provides a history of thethreat in the Verge (while the rest of the Externals histo-ry lies in Section Three). In addition, Rank and Filescrutinizes each species motivations for participating inthe invasion of the Verge. While we mention numerousmajor supporting cast members among the Exeat com-manders as we go, we set their write-ups as a sidebarentitled Important Exeat Leaders.

    Six of the next seven sections cover each of the Exter-nal species in turn with a look at the species in thebroadest view possible, giving as much informationabout the species as the known alien species in the coreALTERNITY campaign and the additional material in theAlien Compendium. This supplement does not reproduceevery scrap of material we have on some previously en-countered External speciesthe klicks alone have gener-ated more than thirty pages of hard data!but this sec-tion adds information about their status within the IkrlTheocracy as well as references to all previously printedmaterial.

    After the racial sections, we provide the secrets of thekrlosar, the mindwalking priesthood of the Ikrl Church.Well peel back the veil from the church hierarchy andranks of the priesthood (and thus gain hints of the wholeTheocracy rulership). The Churchs orthodox regimen oftraining for all Mindwalkers and psionic talents has cre-ated some new mindwalking powers unique to the kr-losar.

    The few sidebars among this sections topics flesh outhints from this and other sections of the supplement (orpreviously noted mysteries from other products). Wellget more details on the human traitors of the Verge (andOld Space) siding with the Externals against the knownspecies as well as the true power players among theIkrl Exeat.. As well, there are more hints and rumorsabout the mysterious powers behind the Exeat and thedark abilities that they grant their truest servants!

    RANK AND FILEThis is where well examine the past and present of theExternal threat to the Verge. From there, the chain ofcommand and how the power structures work amongthe Externals become the focus. Next, read through thebrief examinations of why each of these species, in the

    words of Administrator Hank Ward, has decided tocome play king of the hill, and no one told them theycouldnt bring nukes. Finally, given the vast differencesin species and communications, well look at how the Ex-ternals communicate well enough to work together to-ward the domination or extinction of the Verge species.

    HistoryThe events and history that led the Exeat to the Verge andto conflict with humanity cover more than a dozen millen-nia. However, weve isolated the most immediate eventsthat concern the forces and faces of the Ikrl Exeat.

    More than three thousand years ago, a fearsomespecies, long imprisoned among unknown dimensions,awoke as a result of some unknown psionic or interstel-lar event. At first only aware of the universe aroundthem and the lesser species that worshiped them aslong-vanished gods, these Ikrl began communicatingcryptically through kadaran world-computers and send-ing dream visions to followers trained in datalinking. Formore than five thousand years, the Ikrl Church had heldfast to the secret that their gods touched them throughtheir living computers. During this time, the Ikrl urgedtheir priests to take power out of the hands of secularrulers, moving the Church from its secondary role as thepower behind many sifarv thrones to the role of ruler,making the sifarv arnak a puppet emperor. They alsourged many agents into the Void to seek out the technol-ogy that kept them imprisoned and out of their originaldimension.

    These agents came to the Verge and Earth over thecenturies for many purposes. One such mission sentVurhyr Barok Lhor toward the Verge in 2364 in order toestablish an information-gathering base long before theExeat was planned. The base grew over the nextdecades as the Ikrl cast their senses out into the Vergeand the Stellar Ring, looking for some way to free them-selves and urging their followers to aid their search.Among the earliest projects was the kadaran growth of aworld-computer on one of Hathorns moons. Thaal andgardhyi explorers canvased the Verge searching for Pre-cursor ruins, finding only those on Eldala (explaining theedanwes aversion to fraal today).

    In 2452, the Ikrl and some of their priests suddenlyregistered a massive wave of psionic energy comingfrom the Verge, and they found that it opened rifts insubdimensions adjacent to their own. The Ikrl, while un-prepared for the wave (caused by the Vanishing of Blue-fall), used it to partially escape their dimensional prisonsby extending parts of their collective consciousness into

    8 SECTION ONE: THE EXEAT

  • the minds of certain senior priests. Such krlosar becamethe powerful krlyth, their eyes now tinged purple withthe magic gained in Ikrl service. Still quite rare and se-cret except through rumor, these powers boosted thepriests natural psionics but also allowed them to per-form miracles to signal the rise of the Exeat after near-ly a century of preparations and minor incursions intohuman-claimed space.

    Within a year of what the faithful called the Sanaremn(The Miracle Wave), the Ikrl sent visions of the Vergeand its riches to the thaal Ython Kadar, the gardhyiVurhyr Barok Lhor, and the sifarv Paratak Trewys. Theseleaders began planning a full military invasion of theVerge. Ython Kadar and Paratak Trewys secretly beganassembling a fleet as Vurhyr Barok Lhor and his cadreof agents out beyond the Theocracy began the final intel-ligence preparations for the Exeat. The early attacks atArmstrong, Zin Point, and Hammers Star tested humani-tys mettle and prevented their stumbling upon Exeat in-stallations and ships. Within ten years of those initial in-cidents, the gardhyi (or their teln allies) had contacted orinfiltrated numerous powerful human groups, includingthe upper executive ranks of VoidCorp and Helixtech inthe Lucullus system.

    Hearing of increased activity in the Verge by theTheocracy, the evrem sent three ships into the Verge tokeep a watchful eye on the Exeat; they were to interveneonly if absolutely necessary. When kroath serving theIkrl destroyed one of the ships in transit, the evrem re-sponded by teleporting blix onto three kroath battleships,which caused one of them to crash and incidentallybrought the blix to Bluefall (the fate of the other twokroath ships is unknown). They also nudged an automat-ed riftship of the medurr off course during its flight to en-sure its arrival in the Lucullus system in time to possiblyhelp disrupt the Ikrl invasion.

    The Exeat had mustered the majority of its fleet andits forces at Hathorn by the end of the 25th century; itsworld-computer there became operational in 2501. InDecember 2500, the nsss unleashed a magus at NovaStation in the Tendril system, assigning it the mission ofassassinating four stellar nation ambassadors and theirparty. The magus was able to kill three of them, alongwith several other people, before security forces broughtit down. The nsss targeted the four ambassadors be-cause they had come out to seek exploration and miningrights to the gas giant Sperous. Such exploration threat-ened a small nsss base hidden within its upper atmos-phere. Similar tactics had been planned years beforeduring their settlement of Redcrown in the Aegis system,but VoidCorps protection of their base has made such amove unnecessary.

    The disappearance of the tsa ship Twelve Clutch six

    months later during a stardrive experiment did far morethan the Verge (or the Exeat) realized. The experimentalstardrive dropped the ship through drivespace and closeenough to the dimensions in which the Ikrl lay impris-oned that they grabbed hold of the ships computers andsystems. The reappearances of the ship represented thebrief moments where the tsa regained control and exitedthe subdimensional space before the Ikrl or the malfunc-tioning stardrive pulled them back out of normal space.Whether this experiment has given the Ikrl the chance tobreak free or not is unknown, though finding the tsa andtheir ship might be the first step for humanity to under-stand and defeat these ancient evils now invading theVerge. (Later military proposals suggest detonating theship while in drivespace, possibly injuring or even de-stroying the Ikrl, but no one has yet found a reliablemeans of contacting the Twelve Clutch.)

    The following year (2502) saw the Exeat in a state ofreadiness and preparation, their klick and kroath shocktroops sowing chaos around the Verge. The Exeatmounted continual attacks against Concord assets in theHammers Star system to keep everyones eyes out ofHathorn, and they placed troops for the coming conflictin Dewi (hidden ghost ships of the nsss) and Vieron(kroath invaders paving the way for kadaran scienceteams). The Exeat allied with the Ptolemy pirates out ofexpediency: It allowed them to establish a kadaran ship-yard well away from the main battle zones as a contin-gency by promising the pirates some of their tech. Thelong-hidden and highly effective teln spies finally becameactive partners of the Exeat. They urged some of theirhostsspecifically senior Vice President Faith Terragis ofHelixTech and Farr Histwin of Union Penatesto create apanic about the recent incursion of medurr near theirspace and to ally with gardhyi agents of the Exeat. Theplans of more than a century were coming together, andsoon the Verge would tremble at the coming of the Exeatand the Ikrl gods who drove them forward.

    Power among the ExeatThere are three power structures among the Ikrl Theoc-racy, and they are fully represented among the Exeat ofYthon Kadar. In short, the psionic priesthood holds powerover the nobility, which in turn holds power over the mil-itary, all three sharing dominance over their generalpublic.

    The religious power structure comes from the IkrlChurch (represented by the krlosar, the holy servants ofmystery.) A krlosar is a combination of Mindwalker,Concord Administrator (in a trouble-shooting and leader-ship capacity), and religious priest.

    The noble power structure comes originally from theSifarv Demesne (which has been wholly absorbed and

    9

  • subsumed by the Ikrl Theocracy) and its extant leader-ship. Now rendered largely ceremonial, nobles still holdtheir titles and much social power, though they rule onlyas dictated by their religious equal or superior. Manyamong the nobility are also part of the church or mili-tary, their roles and social influence improved even

    though their earned ranks are often far beneath their no-ble titles. While still answering to the chains of com-mand, nobles can sidestep certain rules and obligationsunless in direct conflict with orders.

    The military power structure is very similar to that ofthe human military, though the latter lacks the sentient

    10

    Table 1: External Ranks and TitlesThis table shows the power ranks among the religious (the krlosar) and the military (the damarithan) power structures(as per joint commands and ships crews). There is always at least a kihl krlosar and four lesser priests (if not krlosarof greater ranks) on any ship above a fighter as loyalty officers to relay news back to the Theocracy or Exeat Com-mand at Hathorn. Such offices remain rare among the ground troops.

    Ranks and SpeciesReligious Noble Naval Military Thaal Sifarv Gardhyi Kadaran Bareem Teln Nsss Klick KroathKrlxenhon X*

    Arnak XKrlvurhon X*

    Arak XKrlython X*

    Patnak XKrlvurhyr X* X*

    Paratak X X XXenarksol X X X

    Trkomro X X XKrloharel X* X* X* X*

    Parak X X X X X X#Ytharksol X X X X X#

    Xenkomro X X X X X X#Krlvuryth X* X* X* X*

    Mirnak X X X X X X#Arksol X X X X X# X#

    Ythkomro X X X X X X# X#Mitarak X X X X X X# X#

    Ythapsol X X X X X# X# X#Komro X X X X X X# X# X#

    Krlxenoth X* X* X* X*Mitak X X X X X X# X#

    Apsol X X X X X# X# X#Komyth X X X X X X# X# X#

    Krlnoth X* X* X* X*Ytharsol X X X X X# X# X#

    Komith X X X X X X# X# X#Krlkihl X* X* X* X*

    Tarlsol X X X X X X# X# X#Komosar X X X X X X# X# X#

    Arlsol X X X X X X# X# X#Orlsol X X X X X X# X# X#Urlsol X X X X X X# X# X#

    Ythkometh X X X X X X# X# X#Soleth X X X X X X# X# X# X#

    Kometh X X X X X X# X# X# X#Krlojekh X* X* X* X*

    Soloth X X X X X X X X XKomoth X X X X X X X X X

    * Only if possessed of psionic talent or mindwalking ability.# Ceremonial titles for client/slave species (socially beneath other species with similar titles).

    Shaded titles do not have representatives of this rank among the Ikrl Exeat (only back in Ikrl space).Note that magus never possess rank of any sort; they are treated as little more than biological machines.

  • 11Species Hierarchy among the Exeat

    Rounded boxes are technologies or weapons, not allies.Double-bordered boxes are human traitors allied with the Exeat.

    The IkrlImprisoned Dark Gods and scions of the

    Stoneburners and other Precursors

    The Thaal / The Ikrl TheocracyThe Dark Fraal / Religious Theocracy under the Ikrl,

    which grant them powers

    The SifarvMilitary/secular

    forces alliedwith/ruled by Thaal

    The GardhyiOutcasts of Gardh

    Technocracy; primaryspies for Theocracy

    Jamaican Syndicate

    Union Penates

    Ptolemy Pirates

    Ships &Weapons

    The KadaransBiotech weaponeers &

    scientists

    The BareemSlavers & power troops

    The TelnParasitic spies

    The NsssTerrorists & spies

    Helixtech

    VOIDCORP

    MagusWeapon of terror

    customized to panic any enemy

    Incarcerationand torture

    devices

    The KroathReanimated corpses ofExternal foes; primary

    shock troopsBiotechnology

    Weapons Ships

    The KlicksInsectoid species enslaved by Sifarv and Thaal to act

    as primary invasion troops and stalking horses

    Other SpeciesHinted at and possibly named, but undetailed, species

    enslaved back in Theocracy & Sifarv Demesne

  • weapons the kroath and magus have at their disposal. Ahierarchical chain-of-command governs the Exeat mili-tary much as it does the human one. The officers of theExeat stellar navy and the officers of the army troops re-main distinct and separate, however. Neither can issueorders to the other, though each can make official re-quests for cooperation.

    Military officers, nobles, or krlosar make and deliverthe orders and decisions to the troops. These orders canbe countermanded by other leaders of the appropriateranks and titles, though this often causes strife amongthe power structures. Look at TABLE 1: EXTERNAL RANKSAND TITLES to see how the ranks of krlosar, nobles, andnaval/military officers stack in terms of influence. Themost powerful titles sit at the top of the table, and anyrank stacked above another can overrule or change or-ders given by a lesser. Thus, Ython Kadar rules the Ex-eat, and an apsol (ship captain) must obey the orders ofa xenoth krlosar or a mitarak.

    While the religious role is far less heavy-handed backamong the Theocracy worlds due to familiarity and con-trol, the Exeat is a religious crusade directly mandated toits commanders from the Ikrl themselves. Thus, whilethe power of the nobility is still recognized, it is less sig-nificant to the Exeat than are the religious and militarycontributions and efforts. While krlosar can put orders tothe other two powers, nobles can normally control themilitary and their own. The military is more important toKadar, and thus there is slightly more power placed inmilitary hands (at least enough to ignore noble orders ofup to two ranks above military). Thus, among the Exeat,a ship captain can have his orders changed only by anoble that holds a rank of mirnak or above.

    Racial Prejudices among the Externals

    While the social structure dictates most of the powerstrata among the Exeat species, there are other generallyheld prejudices and attitudes along racial lines. While therank and file follow the dictates of their superiors, theircultural and personal biases follow different lines. Asseen on the Racial/ Political Groups of the Exeat graphic,certain species answer to certain others in the hidden so-cial pecking orders. While a barem could attain a higherrank than a sifarv or a gardhyi, both of the latter consid-er their superior officer beneath them and resent takingorders from a lesser being.

    The graphic shows that all the human traitors exceptthose from Helixtech hold ties to the gardhyi. Most of thecontacts have been made via gardhyi agents simply dueto humanitys discomfort with the unknown alien naturesof most other Exeat species. Helixtech lies under the con-trol of some teln tangles, and they have independent

    plans of an unknown nature for this company and theirhosts, which do not yet interfere with the Exeat plans.Given the normal social strata, the humans should be ac-corded social importance at least equivalent to thekadarans or bareem. However, they are as removedfrom social significance in the eyes of the Exeat as aremere kroath. Of course, until the humans outlive theirusefulness, the crafty gardhyi play up their roles amongthe goings-on in the Verge.

    Motivations among the Exeat

    Why did all of these species come together and launch amassive offensive against near-helpless humanity? Whilethe history and the details on the species should moreclearly describe their reasons and links to one another,here are brief notes as to the level of investment eachhas toward the Exeat.

    The Church: The thaal and all krlosar and zealousIkrl worshipers follow the dictates of Ython Kadar, theProphet of the Ikrl Rising. He promises that their actionsshall lead to a new wave of unparalleled power for allkrlosar and faithful. That is enough to motivate thou-sands of zealous Mindwalkers and thaal to the cause,though even Kadar does not know what happens afterthey free the Ikrl from their dimensional prisonand hedoes not particularly care. The happenstance discoveryof the thaals ancient enemiesthe fraalin the Verge hasonly increased the zealotry into a holy war against theheretics who long ago sinned against their gods.

    The Gardhyi: The gardhyi, if not exactly tied to thekrlosar cause, have long been interested in the Verge asa possible way home. Some believe the key to endingthe exile imposed by their starwebs lies among the Pre-cursor ruins in and around the Verge. Many of themhave spent centuries either trying to find those keys or atleast keep others from doing so. Other gardhyi havejoined the Exeat simply to foment chaos among the hu-man nations and their allies. Whether such a strategyserves their own goals or those of others is not certain.Finally, a few of the gardhyi simply want to go home,and the best way for them to achieve this is to assurethe ascendancy of the Gardh Technarchy by bringing totheir knees through warfare its potential opponentsnamely the Ikrl Theocracy and their sifarv allies.

    The Sifarv: The sifarv see this Exeat from numer-ous sides. Many simply follow the lead of the religiousand bring their resources and military might to bear forthe Exeat. Other individual ship commanders and noblessee the Verge as an opportunity to colonize new worlds(hopefully far from the reach and control of the IkrlChurch) and may go AWOL to do so. Still others havecarefully watched humanity and its allies resist the forces

    12

  • that have pulled so many species under the sifarv andIkrl wings. They see potential new allies to help themthrow off Ikrl domination, though these rebels are fewamong the military.

    The Teln and Nsss: The teln and the nsss haveno real allegiance to the Theocracy or the Exeat. Theymerely see this as an opportunity to expand into newcolonies and exploit the riches of the Verge. The teln re-main in constant need of new hosts, and humans seemgenuinely suited to their needs, while the nsss enjoy thefreedoms of colonizing gas giants where few other star-faring species bother them. Much of their initial involve-ment has since ended, their intelligence having servedthe Exeat well

    The Kadarans: The kadarans always enjoy newopportunities to test their latest experiments, and theirfast-growing biotech weapons generators (first used withthe klick advance troops) are an unparalleled success.The kadaran scientists really see the Exeat merely as achance to push forward the boundaries of their biotech-nology, as well as a way to gather and examine new hu-man technologies to adapt to their own uses (like star-drives, mass reactors, and cybernetics).

    The Bareem: The bareem have simple motiva-tions: The more species they help the sifarv and theChurch conquer and subjugate, the more important theyare to the whole of the Theocracy. Their loyalty to bothcommand structures is blind and nearly unthinking,though brief encounters with weren and humans haveshaken their resolve. Of all the species they have en-slaved, they have never encountered anything remotelyresembling themselves. While most bareem continue intheir roles as slavers, some individual barem have be-gun to wonder whether or not they should work to en-slave those similar to themselves

    The Klicks: The klicks have long been enslaved bythe bareem and the kadarans, who view them as theirgreatest success at genetic manipulation since them-selves. Their original planet (called Hivehome by klicks)remains under martial law and occupied by bareem, andthe klicks will not rebel as long as the bareem canthreaten the klick hivemothers. Klicks on Hivehome re-main unaltered, though 90% of all klick eggs get shippedoffworld and altered to what we see as klick norms.Many klick leaders seek the chance to break free ofkadaran domination, but innate conservatism and fearkeep them from rebellion.

    The Magus: The magi have no other drives be-yond those given to them. For all intents and purposes,they are living weapons that destroy any foes at whichtheir masters point them. The Exeat has numerous magiunder development at Redcrown (within the VoidCorpgas mine), their forms custom-designed to terrorize the

    varied Verge species. Until they are needed as distrac-tions or demoralizing agents, the magi remain inert.

    The Kroath: Kroath, as the primary occupationforces and shock troops, exhibit few motivations otherthan following the orders of their kadaran creators,which they follow without exception.

    Language among the Externals

    Ikrl Common is a complex spoken language, though it isfar simpler than having to learn fourteen or more sepa-rate racial tongues, and thus its existence proves neces-sary for the continued existence of the multiracial Theoc-racy. The common written language is pictographic andincorporates graphic or alphabetic elements of all thesubject species native tongues. This make it easier forpsionic communication among the krlosar (flashing im-ages and words) as well as training many differentspecies their ship and weapons controls, all rigged withpictographic button panels.

    Ikrl grammar and language (see below) reveals howstratified and structured life among the Theocracy sys-tems can be. Each social group has a social, political,and military title and there are multiple meanings andsubtle distinctions among them. In a society whose com-mon tongue must address old noble titles, multiracial mil-itary and religious titles, and additional secular titles, so-cial stratification still holds as present in this glossary oftitles, listed in order of sociopolitical influence and powerin the Theocracy.

    Many words, especially those directly related to thechurch and its priests and officers, begin with the prefixKrl. In practice (and in much of the text of this book),that prefix is dropped due to the overriding assumptionand knowledge that it is omnipresent in the languageand context. Only when said prefixes are altered bysome grammar does it become necessary to write orspeak the whole words.

    Here are some universal rules for this languagewhich are used as examples throughout this book:

    Plurals are formed by adding N after any vowels, ANafter any two consonant construction, or an A afterthe letters L, N, R, or W. Collective group words (Ikrl,krlhan, etc.) use no plural forms.All adjectives are prefixes added to words with anapostrophe (or a verbal rest).Ikrl Common does not recognize gender, so refer-ences only go to I/we, you (singular)/you (plural),and it/they.

    13

  • THE SHOCK TROOPSAs with all wars, they start with the guys in the trenches,and theyre often the first and last things many see of awar. This section recaps information on the grunts ofthe Externals, the klicks, the kroath, and the magus, andreveals their roles in the grand scheme of the Ikrl.

    The KlicksOf all the Externals, humanity remains most familiar withthe klicks as they have been a recognized enemy formore than a decade (and theyre the principal alien ene-mies in most STAR*DRIVE products). Like in so many ear-ly Earth science fiction tales, the klicks are alien bugs,insectoid creatures that rarely take any time to communi-

    14

    Social TermsIkrl Common Pronunciation Definition/NotesUth OOTH Nonjudgmental term for a person, corporeal being, mortal. In plural form, this

    means any or all of these potential translations: all, whole, empire, state, wholeof people, masses.

    Ath ATH Term connotes a being lower than a slave, an expendable; it often refers to anunbeliever, a heretic, or a blasphemer vs. the Ikrl. This term does not even sug-gest the applicable creature is a person, as animals are of higher social or reli-gious significance. All Vergers = Athan (heretic subcreatures).

    Oth OTH Term connotes least beings (slaves, expendables) in social or other powerstructures or contexts, though it still means person, being, mortal (plural =generic masses, the people). They are seen more as assets, property, or goodsthan as beings of consequence.

    Eth ETH Person, being, mortal (plural = generic masses, the people) Term connotes less-er beings in social or other power structures or contexts. This connotes the bulkof society.

    Ith ITH Generic term for a mortal being as part of a greater collective (the singular) or agroup or collective of whom the speaker is a part (modified as species name oras a member of a power group). These are rising members of society but notyet leaders of standing (junior officers and ranks).

    Yth EETH Greater corporeal being, superior being (in all ways), person of high standing orpower. Ythan are the leaders in generic terms.

    Krl KURL An unknown, a mystery, an enigma (as noun); something of mysteries, some-thing hidden, inscrutable, enigmatic, mysterious without negative connotations(as an adjective or prefix).

    Ekrl eh-KURL A conundrum (as a descriptor of a series of events), a mystery or confusing se-ries of events with no apparent connections or meanings with one another.

    Okrl oh-KURL A personal, singular unknown; an anomaly; (popular meaning) The Mystery.Ukrl (ukrla) uh-KURL An unknown person, a stranger, a wild card.Upomkrl uh-POM-kurl Mercenary (literally, an unknown stranger subordinate to money).

    Religious TermsIkrl Common Pronunciation Definition/NotesIkrl ih-KURL An embodiment of all collective mysteries; (popular meaning) The Gods of the

    Ikrl Theocracy, the Mysteries, the Holy Unknown, the Dark Veil, the Dark Cloud(by outsiders).

    Krluth KURL-ooth A citizen of the Theocracy; a follower or person subordinate to the Mystery(plural = generic for all those ruled by the Ikrl Theocracy and/or all followersof the Ikrl).

    Krlath KURL-ath Branded as unworthy yet still part of the collective by alliances and deals: theenslaved klick troops, client nsss and teln (the upomkrl mercenaries), anyprisoners, and human Verge traitors. The Unworthy/Nonbelievers/Expendables.If they do not recognize the Ikrl as gods yet work with them, they are krlath.

  • 15Krloth KURL-oth A slave of the Ikrl Theocracy, an expendable, a piece of meat. The kroath fallhere (as intelligent tools), as do numerous species left undefined and unnotedunder the rule/enslavement of the bareem.

    Krleth KURL-eth This most often means one (pl: those) ruled by the Ikrl Theocracy but itspecifically leaves out the leaders and the slaves, referring to the general public,not those above or below. The bulk of this rank are individual bareem orkadarans, as well as traitor sifarv (if not krlath).

    Krlith KURL-ith This refers to any one being (or beings) in power within the Theocracy, any-where from city councilors to the xenhon and the arnak. Generically, it can referto individual sifarv, thaal, and gardhyi, though it accommodates other species ofmirnak rank or better (individual bareem, etc.) or any one of the faith (anyacolyte or above in the Church).

    Krlyth KURL-eeth A person of the highest power in the Theocracy. These refer usually to those in-dividuals who have received the touch of the Ikrl and carry their essence withthem. There are rarely more than two dozen krlyth at any time, and they tendto be of these ranks (and limited to gardhyi, sifarv, and thaal species): the xen-hon, the vurhona, the ythona, the vurhyra, the arnak, and the arakan.

    Krlosar KURL-oss-arr The Bodies of the Mysteries: The Holy Servants (as a whole organization).This is one of the few words that doesnt follow the plural forms and is used asa collective and singular: Any Mindwalker is a krlosar, and all priests are kr-losar. Krlosar also gets used where humans use ecclesiastic, cleric, or reli-gious as appositives or adjectives.

    Krlhan Kurl-HONN Mouths of the Mysteries: Prelata (senior ecclesiastic offices); Mindwalkers oflevels 19 and beyond.

    Krlsan Kurl-SONN Eyes of the Mysteries: Tribuna (junior ecclesiastic offices); Mindwalkers of lev-els 10-18.

    Krlrin Kurl-REEN Ears of the Mysteries: Prosela (lesser ecclesiastics); Mindwalkers of levels 1-9.Krlxenhon Kurl-ZEEN-hone (No plural.) Head of church hierarchy; Highest Father of the Mystery; rules

    Theocracy; Mindwalker level 28 (minimum).Krlvurhona Kurl-VURR-hon-ah Holy Fathers of the Mystery; rule the Greater Holy Sees; Mindwalker level

    26+.Krlythona Kurl-EETH-own-uh Great Fathers; rule the Lesser Holy Sees; Mindwalker level 22-25.Krlvurhyra Kurl-VURR-heer-ah Holy Voices; rule a Seat (single system) or patrol Theocracy; Mindwalker level

    19-21.Krlohareln Kurl-oh-HARR-eln High Speakers of Mystery; rule the Curia (singular planets) or patrol as an

    itinerant; Mindwalker level 16-18.Krlvurythan Kurl-VURR-eeth-an Holy Masters of Mystery; rule a Congregate (continent or orbital holding) or

    patrol a Greater Holy See or a fleet; Mindwalker level 13-15.Krlxenothan Kurl-zeen-OTH-ann Great Servants of Mystery (Deacons); rule a city or patrol a Lesser Holy See

    or a wing of capital ships; Mindwalker level 10-12.Krlnothan Kurl-NOTH-ann Those who Serve Mystery (Priests); patrol a system or a capital ship; Mind-

    walker level 7-9.Krlkihlan Kurl-KEEL-ann Those who Hear the Mystery; patrol a planet or wing of support ships; Mind-

    walker level 4-6.Krlojekhan Kurl-ODJ-ekh-ann Those who Listen to the Mystery; an acolyte or apprentice level krlosar limit-

    ed to training at one cathedral or church; Mindwalker level 1-3.Fhar FAR Sacred, holy (used for things and placesobjects and nonliving things).Vur VURR Sacred, holy (used for people, ideas and conceptsliving things).

  • cate rather than attack any human they encounter. Whiledevastatingly effective, klicks are often the troops de-ployed earliest as they have the least value to their mas-ters among the species of the Exeat.

    Secrets among the Exeat

    The klicks encountered by humanity hardly resembletheir original bioforms any more after millennia of subju-gated genetic manipulation. Klicks can no longer survivewithout scientific alteration and life support to sustaintheir eggs (and their previously manipulated cell struc-tures) to hatching and maturity. The original klick speciessurvives a meager existence among the Theocracy, theireggs providing stabilizing DNA for kadaran manipulationinto the engineered klick gene pool. If possible to freeHivehome from the bareem, the klicks might turn ontheir long-time torturers and masters.

    The KroathThe rogue TVN reporter Avatar opened peoples eyes tothe true horror behind the opaque green armor of thekroath: They are transformed or dead human beings re-animated to serve the Externals! While many still dismissthis as too fantastic a theory, many more sensible headsfocus on how best to fight these far too numerous foes.Like the magus and the klicks, kroath are expendables in

    the eyes of the Exeat Command, and none of them haveany qualms about such a fate.

    Secrets among the Exeat

    Despite peoples doubts, kroath truly seem to be trans-formed and animate corpses, though of more speciesthan humanity has ever met (thus different forms ofkroath are possible with mildly different statistics). Thehard armor of the kroath is calcified and radicallystrengthened skin, while the gel within the suit is abyproduct of liquefying internal organs during transfor-mation as well as a suspension medium for the truekroath speciestiny techno-organic AI nanite-computerscreated by accident long ago by the kadarans. Kroath ac-tually think of each individual body as a large ship tothem, while a kroath ship to them is a whole communityof kroath merged together for the purpose of space trav-el. The bioforms are penned close together and thenanites alter their growing carapaces over skeletonizedsuperstructures and engines so they can carry cargo,weapons, slaves, and more as ships.

    Kroath commanders are about 20% larger than theaverage kroath and have a greater presence of the col-lective kroath consciousness within it. Leaders comefrom either merging two regular kroath at generation ortransforming larger beings such as weren or medurr intoa kroath. Commanders average one per twenty-four

    16 Ikrl Common Pronunciation Human AnaloguesArnak ARR-nak EmperorArak ARR-ak KingPatnak PAT-nak PrinceParatak pa-RAT-tak DukeParak PAYR-ak CountMirnak MEER-nak BaronMitarak mitt-ARR-ak SeneschalMitak MEET-ak Mayor

    Xenarksol zhen-ARK-sole Fleet Admiral/Commander of all naval forces

    Ytharksol ee-THARK-sole AdmiralArksol ARK-sole Rear AdmiralYthapsol ee-THAP-sole CommodoreApsol APP-sole CaptainYtharlsol ee-THARL-sole CommanderTarlsol TARL-sole Lieutenant

    CommanderArlsol ARL-sole LieutenantOrlsol ORL-sole Lieutenant,

    Junior Grade

    Ikrl Common Pronunciation Human AnaloguesUrlsol URL-sole EnsignSolith SOLE-ith Chief Petty OfficerSoleth SOLE-eth Petty OfficerSolothan SOLE-oth-ahn stellar fleet

    Trkomro turr-KOME-ro Five-star general/Commander of all infantry forces

    Xenkomro zhen-KOME-ro GeneralYthkomro eeth-KOME-ro Major General Komro KOME-ro Brigadier General Komyth KOME-eeth Colonel Komith KOME-ith Lieutenant Colonel Komosar KOME-oh-sahr MajorYthkometh eeth-KOME-eth LieutenantKometh KOME-eth SergeantKomoth KOME-oth stellar army (i. e.

    troops and/or national army carried by fleet)

    Military/Noble Terms

  • kroath. Kroath are all totally mute, as their solidly sealed ar-

    mor prevents much communication. They all understandIkrl Common perfectly well, and some even understandthe Galactic Standard used by Vergers. Their only way ofcommunicating to others is to press a palm to anotherkroath and exchange a few kroath nanites into each oth-er, their messages relayed almost instantly to the entiresystem via electrical impulses and programs carriedthrough the suspension gel.

    While not revealed until late in 2503 or early in2504, the kadarans almost immediately set up camps onPenates in the Lucullus system and began the wholesaletransformation of the human population into kroath. ThePicts were among the first victims, as the Jamaicans,Union Penates, and others who allied with the Externalscaptured their enemies and delivered them to the Exter-nals for conversion (which happens eventually to themas well, once there are enough kroath on Penates to pre-vent any resistance).

    The MagusEncountered only once in the Verge at Nova Station onAlaundril, the magus presented humanity with an un-stoppable killing machine in the most literal sense. Its ut-ter ruthlessness and cunning far exceed that of any livingcreature. There are many theories about the magus, aswell as a few answers, but few suspect the truth.

    Secrets among the Exeat

    Originally created in response to the kadaran kroath sol-diers and unleashed only on worlds declared heretic orexcommunicate, these custom-built juggernauts are thepride and joy of the nsss (and their new facilities and al-lies at Redcrown). The magus forms from a combinedsuspension of an invasive bio-organic virus with prepro-grammed nanites (courtesy of VoidCorp) which invades aliving bioform of any kind. The virus breaks down cer-tain neural pathways, DNA strands, and protein groups,which are then invaded by technological nanites to re-place those areas with self-replicating cybernetic circuit-ry. This viral nanite converts a kilogram of biologicalmatter to technological matter in 24 hours, beginningwith the brain and central nervous system and workingoutward through the muscle tissues and internal organslater. Unlike the kroath conversion process, a magusmust be grown in a laboratory environment in vats ofthe viral nanite suspension, but they can be programmedand modified during the process, creating any variety offorms or weapons or features on them and not necessar-ily of the same form as the host.

    Given all this information, the information provided by

    17

  • the evrem Raphael seems false (Threats) but remainsabsolutely true. The nsss unleashed the earliest forms ofthe magus on the evrem and the League of Nine worldsover two centuries ago. An early magus simply grewfrom the introduction of the virus via technologically al-tered teln larvae. The teln infested a host, grew to a tan-gle, and thus introduced the magus conversion virusmore slowly and painfully for both teln and host alike.

    In the end, both methods produce a techno-organickilling machine without any sense of pain or morality.However, the benefits the nsss find in working withVoidCorp and its methods are a more easily pro-grammed magus with more adaptability in weaponry,defenses, and added technology. There is still a numberof the older style of magus, and these conform to thestandards set in the Alien Compendium. However, nearlyany personal weapons or defenses available to upperechelons of VoidCorp could be incorporated into a magusbioform, replacing the dark energy weapon with anotheror increasing its armor or other skills.

    THE INFILTRATORSWhile not the most obvious or open of invaders, thethree species of this section have actually been amonghumans the longest. The gardhyi, teln, and nsss havebeen spies for the Ikrl and the Theocracy for more thana century before humans ever heard of the ExternalThreat. Whether acting for the Ikrl or for themselves,these infiltrators have learned far more of humanity thanwe have of them

    The GardhyiGardhyithe tricksters and Men in Black of Old Earthmystified many starfarers over the centuries, and no onehas ever pierced the veil of enigmas in which they wrapthemselves. They simply appear unbidden, bringingchaos where they go. In truth, they are proud outcasts ofthe gardh people, severed from their community, deter-mined to return to it triumphant.

    Secrets among the Exeat

    The original stats given the gardhyi in the Alien Com-pendium originally planned on whole parties of heroesbattling a lone gardhyi, and its powers reflect that. How-ever, with the secrets revealed during the Exeat, we canfind four distinct types of gardhyi (suitable for low, medi-um, and high levels of play against individuals andgroups, as well as the original gardhyi, now revealed asa powerhouse in the service of the Ikrl).

    Fully revealed in Section Three, gardhyi are outcastgardh exiled from their home worlds and the Technar-chy in the Perseus Arm for egregious and blasphemous

    crimes, from genocide to merely having psionic potential.All have the starweb technology implanted in them toensure their exile, but their powers are broad and var-ied, as are their interests. Outcasts cannot activate orcontrol their starwebs until they learn the ESPnavcogni-tion skill, and then the outcast becomes a rogue. Roguespsionically control their starwebs and can either useTelepathydatalink to reprogram its jumps or use sur-gery and nanites or other invasive methods to repro-gram the web to certain sites and distances. Shades (seebelow) and krlyth can use undetailed F/X in minor waysto readjust the starwebs, though the latter can also psion-ically manipulate them. Regardless of how any gardhyimay tinker with them, removal of starwebs results indeath, and attempts to return to the Technarchy alsocause the self-destruct sequence on the starweb to acti-vate.

    One thing often overlooked is the gardhyis longevity:While there are some gardhyi smaller and younger thanothers, most appear as healthy adults of indeterminateage, and they remain in that state for centuries. Sometheorize that the starwebs keep them rejuvenated andalive (all the better way to prolong their punishment andexile outside of their home space), though no one knowsfor certain. The gardhyi seem immortal, although theycan die of wounds and disease.

    The Outcasts: Whether just a recent outcast or re-duced to this level of power due to injuries, a gardhyioutcast has no conscious control over its starweb, andthus has no ability to teleport at will (though anothergardhyi with an active starweb can key an outcasts star-web to the same destination as his own). With just thephysical abilities and some of the technology attributed tothe Externals, the outcast is still a formidable individualfoe suitable for lower level hero encounters. Outcasts of-ten pair up with more powerful gardhyi and eventuallylearn the skills to advance to one of the other types ofgardhyi after a few decades of dedication and training.Their most common roles within the Exeat are as agentsand information gatherers of other gardhyi, paired upwith a rogue to ensure they do not get captured. Whilethe other types often avoid physical entanglements, theoutcast seems to revel in combat and seem almostsharklike in their cold, remote fascination with a battle.Those few outcasts among the Exeat either serve asspies and go-betweens with VoidCorp and other humanquislings or they hold military posts.

    The Rogues: Gardhyi rogues make up the bulk ofthe gardhyi humanity has met: the psionically activegray man with the ability to blink away in a heartbeat.While fraal and human psionic talents and Mindwalkersare more numerous, gardhyi rogues become far moredangerous as they seem to have few qualms about using

    18

  • every psionic ability they know to its most ruthless or in-sidious extents. Like most of the other gardhyi, roguesoften act as exemplary spies and assassins, their mindpowers taking precedence over physical weapons orthose F/X powers with a price too high for their tastes.While many rogues in Old Space and the Verge operateon their own mysterious agendas, many more arrive asIkrl priests and krlosar. While rogue in a broad sense,most if not all gardhyi rogues enjoy the power and pres-tige being part of the krlosar grants them. While limitedto the vurhyra in rank, gardhyi krlosar are among themost powerful members of the Church in political, psion-ic, and religious terms, and many treat them with a fairamount of caution. After all, no one can best the gardhyiat dredging up secrets.

    The Shades: Regardless of the origins or sources ofthese powers, gardhyi shades tap into F/X abilities andconjure shadows and darkness and other effects normal-ly outside the psionic abilities innate in some other gard-hyi. Over the past millennia, gardhyi have been to Earthand to thousands of other systems. If some rumors areto be believed, numerous dark cults on Earth came outof gardhyi shades revealing their powers to select believ-ers. Whether tapping the power as Arcanists (wizardstapping some internal energy source) or Faithful(priests of this or that dark god), the abilities still con-gregate around shadow and darkness and spatial manip-ulation. Shades are relatively unknown among the Exeat,as any heretics who tap such powers yet wield no psion-ics are immediately killed or excommunicated for theiraffronts against the Ikrl. Thus, any gardhyi shades in theVerge or elsewhere operate independently from the Ikrland the krlyth despite similarities between some of theirpowers.

    The Krlyth: More detailed later in this section, kr-lyth gardhyi (of whom there are approximately twenty-six in existence) exhibit the full range of powers first at-tributed to all gardhyi. Full Mindwalkers or powerfulpsionic talents as well as F/X manipulators, the only be-ings not terrified of these gardhyi are their fellow krlythand the Ikrl themselves. The normally blank white eyesof the gardhyi constantly swim with undulating purpleand black energy, making the normally intimidating crea-tures even more unnerving to view. Gardhyi krlyth areas powerful as any member of this species gets outsideof the Technarchy. Vurhyr Barok Lhor and many of hisassociates hope to glean new powers from the Exeat andthe Ikrl so they may return to lay waste to the Technar-chy in the Ikrls name.

    The NsssLong a client and lesser species among the Theocracyworlds, the aliens humanity calls the nsss have spent the

    last two millennia in a technological race with thekadarans in efforts to garner favor with the SifarvDemesne nobility or the Ikrl Church. Both groups preferto keep this weapons and technology race going, as theybenefit from the greater biotechnology. Socially, thesealiens from Ravas V in the Chavol Expanse lose favorsimply because their home planets and atmospheresmake them difficult for other species to visit.

    The nsss who entered the Verge as spies with thegardhyi and the Exeat have found this new territorymuch to their liking. Here, they serve the Theocracy onequal footing with the kadarans, and with their loose al-liance with VoidCorp providing them with previously un-known technology to work with, they find it tempting toremain in the Verge.

    Secrets among the Exeat

    The nsss actually call themselves the Ravans, as the hu-mans adopted the tsa name given them. Back amid theTheocracy and in a limited number in the Redcrown fa-cilities, Ravans use more crablike and mantalike podswith some form of hover or flight technologies. The podsin use throughout the Verge were developed specificallyto correspond to tsa mythology: Gardhyi allies studiedthe Verge and Old Space species and suggested theseworkable pod-forms as a particular form of psychologi-cal warfare.

    Nsss biotechnology is both based on the achievementsof the species they conquered and those same speciesthemselves. The biotech used by the nsss (more carti-laginous, similar to arachnid carapaces) is grown in cul-tures and beds, like pearls or hatcheries. Some smallformerly sentient arachnid species grow the stuff natural-ly,and the nsss use it for their tech. These starfaringarachnids only traveled to the nsss homeworld and nev-er made it farther, falling to the ghosts in the gas giantplanet next to them in their own star system after yearsof sharing tech and helping the nsss overcome theirphysical limitations in the interests of seeing the stars.Originally developing their biotechnology by scavengingthe ships they arrived on and enslaving the invaders, thensss eventually escaped their world, conquered the in-vaders nearby world, and bred the arachnid species intothe subsentient species it remains to this day.

    The TelnThe parasitic worm collectives known as the teln seemto serve a very limited purpose among the Exeat species,though they are in fact their most capable spies. Theirability to hide in plain sight and effectively control humanpopulations helped them uncover extensive intelligenceand deliver human quislings into External hands. Their

    19

  • most blatant moves before and during the war involvedthe control and manipulation of Helixtech senior VicePresident Faith Terragis and Farr Histwin of Union Pe-nates, though their reactions hardly strayed from the hu-man norm, so none suspect anything untoward yet.

    Secrets among the Exeat

    While they currently share equal client racial statusamong the Exeat, teln and nsss cannot abide each otherfor one simple reason: The teln once lived as a slave spe-cies beneath the rule of the nsss, who attempted to genet-ically manipulate their species into subsentience and thusbecome another piece of exploitable biotech for the ns s sto control. In fact, the nsss continue to use a deviant bio-form bred while the teln were their slaves, and this crea-ture used to be integral to the magus creation process.

    The gardhyi, nsss, and the thaal realize that the telndesire to remain in the Verge regardless of the Exeatssuccess or failure, as humanity has proven to be greathosts for them. In fact, religious teln regard the Vergeand humanity as their version of paradise delivered tothem by the Ikrl for their services there. While still obe-dient, the teln pursue their own agendas here in theVerge, and Algemron may become a new teln home ifthe humans or the Externals dont stop them. If the telnbegin to stray off whatever path Kadar wishes them on,humanity may find there are many weapons that can ex-pose and destroy teln without damaging their hosts. Ofcourse, the costs of using those weapons may be higherthan enduring teln infestation of a planet or system. . . .The teln realize this, as they have eyes and ears amongthe Exeat command apparently unknown to Kadar, andprepare contingency plans: Bluefall and its huge popula-tion of easily dominated dolphins and whales could servea fallback position as a new teln home.

    One of the best-kept secrets among any teln clusters isthe plan for Lucullus. While the war rages around themand many Lucullans go to the conversion camps and un-willingly become kroath under the watchful eyes of thekadarans, the clusters inhabiting Helixtech executiveshave slowly and carefully funneled corporate assets andmonies into transportable goods and ships. This plan iscommon knowledge among the Externals, as a few teln-infested executives leave Helixtech and its holdings wideopen for kadaran and bareem forces and escape toBluefall with all sorts of assets to give the Externals ahidden mercantile and financial hold within the Verge.What the rest of the Externals dont know are the plansby the teln to provide the Technospiders with ways intoHelixtech and supporting computer systems to acciden-tally reveal the full schematics and plans of the nsssbases in Redcrown and some technological weaknessesto exploit in nsss pods and ships. Of course, as with all

    teln contingency plans, a few teln await anyone led tothese information caches. Propagation and infestation re-main primary teln motives.

    THE WEAPONEERSThe major distinction, other than the racial and speciesdifferences, between the Externals and the Verge speciesis simple: technology. Many of the External species seemto be armed with oddly shaped and constructed weaponsgrown or built out of organic materials rather than whatwe normally recognize as weapons technology. The folkresponsible for more than 65% of all weapons and shipsamong the External fleet and forces are a smallish, de-cidedly alien species called the kadarans.

    The KadaransOriginally hailing from Kadar III in the Great Pyaar Terri-tories, the kadarans were once a far more natural look-ing species. Ancient experiments in genetic manipulationmutated the original kadaran species into a durable andfunctional yet deviant subspecies of themselves. Thus,xenobiologists cannot find any analogue or archetype toexplain the kadaran bioform. Kadarans themselves, ifthey even remember their original forms or purposes,choose not to share such information with anyone. Thisspecies evolved on a dune-filled desert planet with thelife centered underground or on oasis plateaus, thoughonce they gained technology, the isolated city-state oaseswarred on one another for meager resources. The warsescalated over time until very few oasis cities remainedon Kadar I II. Indeed, very few places remained un-scarred from nuclear radiation and other wartime abus-es, rendering the planet even more inhospitable.

    About this time, nearly four millennia ago, Kadar IIIfell under the roving eyes of the sifarv military. Thekadarans, whose biology altered more during their ra-dioactive wars, had begun working with biotechnology asopposed to the technology that ruined their world andmutated them all. They now embraced the chance to ex-pand beyond their world and solve problems other thanthe nearly shattered biosphere of their homeworld. Overtime, the kadarans became the primary scientists amongthe Demesne species, a standing they have retained dur-ing the past seven centuries of Theocracy rule. Somewonder if the kadarans noted any shifts at all in the po-litical structures, for their methods and efficiency neverchange. Regardless of their political ignorance, kadaranshave spent much of the past six centuries trying to main-tain their favored status as biotech engineers, which hasbeen challenged by the absorption of the nsss into theDemesne and the Theocracy.

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  • 21

  • Kadarans as SupportingCast/Aliens

    The six-limbed sadists (as described by a Pict escapeefrom Penates) live in a constant state of scientific activitywithout any sense of emotional attachment or morality.Tales from Lucullan escapees paint these aliens in lightsusually attributed to Thuldan bioengineers and Nazi sci-entists of centuries past, describing scenes where twokadarans laughed at a joke one told the other as bothhunched over an immobilized weren and slowly peeledits hide and fur away in sheets. Obviously, it is hard togain an objective view point about beings who have littleproblem vivisecting sentient species, but even such asthe kadarans deserve an impartial view of their natureand biology (if only to learn how to defeat or kill them).

    Obviously, kadarans primarily focus on Tech Op ca-reers, though a few dabble as Diplomats or Free Agents.Hardly any deign to sully themselves by becoming Com-bat Specs. The closest most kadarans come to combat iseither in an out-of-control lab experiment with a protest-ing subject or now, among the Exeat: Many kadarans re-sent the primitive conditions under which they must op-erate on Penates and actually have to carry pistols fordefense during the occupations and the wars.

    Description: Kadarans may have once been a moreaesthetic species before they adapted themselves to be-come more efficient and capable of working on numer-ous problems at once. Whatever the reasons or true ori-gins, kadarans utilize their mutated trilateral forms well.A smallish species whose tallest specimens reach 1.2meters, kadarans shuffle quickly along on their tripodlikelegs spaced equidistantly around their teardrop-shapedtrunks, and their three moderately powerful arms arespaced likewise. Limbs always appear directly between apair of opposing limbs: One arm centers directly betweentwo legs, while one leg always protrudes beneath a pairof opposed arms. Their skin appears an odd mixture ofvestigial chitinous plates and reptiloid scales, which pro-vide no protection. Skin color ranges in tones from anash gray to almost a bluish-steel tinge. Common dressamong kadarans consists of a tabardlike laboratory coatwith numerous pockets, all bulging with disgusting look-ing shreds of biotech.

    Three black multifaceted eyes sit broadly along theflattened head, spaced widely to allow for 300 degreesof vision and relatively good distance judgement. Theshovellike head rests atop a thick neck with only theslightest muscle groupings suggesting shoulders, its widemouth and jaw revealing masticating plates suitable for avegetarian diet rather than carnivore teeth.

    Their prehensile hands and feet are identical with

    three digits, an opposable thumb, and a wide flat palmeach. kadaran laboratories take advantage of their am-bidexterity and provide many hammocklike seats andhandholds on all surfaces to allow them to clamberaround all sides of large apparati and experiments inprogress.

    Encounter: Reminding some of the tsa, their bodiesconstantly in motion, kadarans rarely inspire the senseof amusement or childlike innocence of the aforemen-tioned known species. This species appears almost con-

    22

    Kadaran Game DataThese statistics represent a typical kadaran scientistamong the occupying forces on Penates in the Lucullussystem (7th level Tech Op).STR 9 (d8+4) INT 12 (Animal d6+8)DEX 12 (d6+8) WIL 10 (2d8+2)CON 10 (2d6+3) PER 6 (d8+1)Durability: 10/10/5/2 Action check: 13+/12/6/3Move: sprint 20, run 12, walk 4, roll 30 #Actions: 2Reaction score: Ordinary/2 Last Resorts: 0

    AttacksUnarmed 11/5/2 d4s/d6s/d4w En/ORanged weapon 14/7/3 Varies Varies

    Defenses+1 resistance modifier vs. ranged attacks+1 (INT) resistance modifier vs. encounter skills+2 step resistance modifier vs. psionics

    SkillsUnarmed Attack [9]brawl [11]; Modern [12]pistol [14];Acrobatics [12]dodge [14]; Vehicle Operation [12];Movement [10]; Stamina [10]endurance [11]; ComputerScience [12]*; Knowledge [12]biotechnology [15], firstaid [13], kroath creation [13], weapons tech [13]*; LifeScience [12]genetics [13], xenology [13]; Medical Sci -ence [12]surgery [14]; System Operation [12]*weapons [13]; Techno-organic Science [12]*repair [13],technical knowledge [14]; Awareness [10]; Resolve[10]physical [11]; Interaction [6]intimidate [10].

    * These skills apply toward the knowledge, use, and ma-nipulation of kadaran and External biotechnology. Theymust be purchased separately if a character knows ofhuman or other technologies.

    Kadaran Ecological DataBiochemistry: Series IcEnvironment: Class 1GRAPH: G2/R3/A3/P3/H2Biome: AnyEncounter Chance: UnlikelyGroup Size: 1-4 (d4)Organization: Advanced urbanized societyNiche: Highly advanced biotechnological civilizationIntelligence: Advanced starfaring sentient

  • stantly distracted, its mind elsewhere at all times. Combatencounters with kadarans almost never occur, as morethan 75% of all kadarans met in the Verge are scientistswho prefer anyone they encounter to be strapped to atable or held in place by strong bareem servants. How-ever, some lesser intellectuals do train as Combat Specs,Diplomats, or Free Agents. Kadarans are psionically in-capable; thus they do not aspire to the priesthood.

    Kadarans, as the primary scientific caste among theExeat species, receive a 1 step bonus when using Tech-no-organic Science (same as Technical Science but appli -cable to biotech of kadaran or nsss manufacture) or anyof its associated specialty skills (the same as those asso-ciated with Technical Science). This bonus works onlywhen a kadaran applies more than three limbs and atleast two eyes to the task at hand.

    When necessary in fleeing or racing to another exper-iment, kadarans flip themselves over and half-run andhalf-vault in a rolling motion, covering twice as muchdistance in shorter times than a bipedal person of theirstrength and greater sizes. While it appears semicomical,a kadaran has enough limbs to maintain this all-outmovement speed and still use ranged weapons with onlya +2 step penalty.

    The kadaran dual-track mind (see below) wreaks hav-oc with normal psionic perceptions, the secondarythought patterns creating white noise and hamperingpsionic perceptions. The use of any psionic abilities onkadaran minds (not bodies) suffer a +2 step penalty

    Their greatest weakness appears to be the result oftheir own weapons and folly. Due to the kadaran speciesmutability under prolonged radiation, the entire species is

    23

    Most, if not all, Exeat and Theocracy support technologycomes from the kadarans, whose biotechnology far out-strips the amount of more recognizable technology usedby many traditional sifarv. While some nsss biotech fillssome small and crucial niches within the war effort, thekadarans grew or developed more than 65% of all tech-nology, weapons, ships, and support equipment.

    Klick Klack provided our first full look at kadaranbiotech, though most any heroes who boarded the klickbase would not have identified the tech as anything otherthan for klick use. The kadaran central processing unitshave been described as living tech-trees that grow anddraw energy via solar and geothermal taps and otherambient energies where they are planted. These treesknow what to produce (and emit in tough, nutlike shellsor vegetablelike pods) as specifications are entered intoits brain through the manipulation of fluids, chemical lev-els, and pheromones. A tree can be programmed to growsmall chitinous weapons (and weapons components forlarger weapons) of various shapes and sizes, thus allow-ing one method to create weapons for klick hands as wellas those more suited for kroath or gardhyi hands. Therecan be some programmed to grow grenades, ship partsfor damage repair, specific trees with massive energycollectors to produce energy batteries and cells for ship-board use, and so on. Thus, kadaran technological en-claves always have orchards or forests of these biotechtrees somewhere around them. Items grow at least asquickly as they might be manufactured technologically.As of the end of 2503, an entire dome (and another beingprimed for expansion) at Port Royal has been turned overto kadaran tech-trees. Some of these produce blacklaserpistols for the Externals human allies; these work aswell as standard weapons and do not dissolve upon sep-aration from their wielders (see next paragraph).

    All External tech dissolves and decays soon after sep-aration from its wielders. This happens for two reasons:Their organic composition melts if deprived of energy,and while although they contain some internal energysource, many weapons draw power from bioelectricfields. The guns tap into the energy generated by anyorganic sentients brain, since very few creatures utilize

    all of their brains potential. Kadaran tech can and doescreate separate materials, weapons, and such for thaal,Mindwalkers, and krlosar, since they tap more brain-power and cannot afford to lose the energy to theirweapons. Another theory points out that their weaponsdecay rapidly depending on how much heat theyre ex-posed to. Kadarans refrigerate all storage units, sokadaran biotech can remain intact if captured in the vac-uum of space or on an ice planet. At human-comfortabletemperatures, biotech weapons dissolve if not constantlyenergized by their wielders touch or by special poweredholsters and armories built for them.

    Kadaran scientists developed cybertech, though theirbiotech focus makes it appear more like parasitic life-forms than invasive technology. Cy-biotech often growsunder careful supervision in a tech-tree or in vats, andthese semiliving things actually are programmed andconstructed bioweapons. The simplest forms of cy-biotech are armor or melee weapons like blades sud-d e n ly jutting out the forearm. The Verge Alliancesustained numerous defeats when they didnt recognize(and thus confiscate or destroy) many things as cyber-netic implants: If you see a slimy octopoidal parasite withtentacles along someones face and throat, rip it off be-fore your enemy uses that communication device to acti-vate defensive weapons. Others are more obvious, ifequally disgusting, such as shoulder-mounted biocan-nons with scaly tendrils snaking up the wearers arm andacross the chest with a hunchback growth that powersthe weapon.

    Finally, the greatest kadaran weapons are the kroaththemselves. Every initial occupation and beachhead ofthe Exeat sees a transport of kadarans dispatched tobegin growing habitat and laboratory domes. Once thesegrow to their