The Star Wasps are without a doubt the Genesplicers' greatest success and their greatest failure. Many tens of thousands of years ago, the Genesplicers created a race of self-replicating biological robots, much like termites, or wasps. These creatures would reproduce using whatever genetic material was at hand, In addition, they would retain the complete genetic structure of what they had consumed as an independant item within their own bodies - enabling them to be sent out and return with samples of genetic material for their masters to work on.
Unfortunately, the Star Wasps, which had been made self-aware as part of the design, generated amongst themselves a gestalt mind, which in turn managed, in the few seconds of it's existance before discovery and destruction by the Genesplicers, to trigger a subtle mutation of the reproductive coding. The next generation of Star Wasps were able to assimilate and use not only genetic material, but Cerebral cortexes. The creatures had learned to consume but not destroy the brains of whichever hapless creature they came across. They instead used this brain, adding it to their own, and creating a parallel processing supercomputer in each Star Wasp.
Within ten generations, the Star Wasps escaped from their Genesplicer masters, after consuming all ten million of them, and spread themselves to the far corners of their home galaxy. As the knowledge in the cortexes remained itact for a time, and the Star Wasps had a form of telepathy that was far superior to anything experienced by even the most powerful melter, their knowledge increaed a thousandfold, and as such, their desire to consume and reproduce also grew.
A great war was fought some thirty thousand years ago with an alliance of D-bees' from a trans-dimensional rift. These D-bees had, in their dimension, taken over almost every system and world in their galaxy. Their ships were huge, tens of kilometers long, bristling with armor and having devestating weapons, capaple of rendering a planet down to molten slag in hours. These aliens were collectively known as the Vengeance, and a large task force of them managed to learn how to generate and sustain a rift - and they came through into the Star Wasps' dimension.
In space, the Star Wasps moved by a genetically constructed reactionless engine, capable of propelling them at up to .8c. A small force of Space-born Star Wasps found the Vengeance fleet, and attacked. Their weapons proved easily able to cut through Vengeance ships, as their cutting claws could generate a molecular acid that simply ate through the armored hull as if it was soft butter. The Star Wasps consumed the bodies and minds of the Vengeance fleet, and the gestalt mind began to comprehend how to manipulate rifts and the basics of magic.
Once they knew how to use rifts, the next generation was able to travel through a rift and into the Vengeance's home dimension. The Vengeance was shattered. Their empire, almost a hundred thousand years old, and showing no signs of decay, was destroyed in a matter of decades. Of the perhaps thirty trillion Vengeance in their empire, no more than a million or so, perhaps ten thousand of each race, survived the Star Wasps' attack. This surviving group managed to rift out through an unstable wormhole seconds before the Star Wasps entered. With no way to follow, the Star Wasps stopped fighting, and simply travelled around this new dimension.
The driving force behind the Star Wasps is to reproduce and pass on the knowledge and experience to the next generation. Star Wasps take one hundred days to generate offspring.
IQ - 1d6 ME - 1d6 MA - 2d6 PS - 1d6 PP - 1d6+3 PE 3d6 ISP - 50 MDC - 25All Star Wasps are immune to magical effects and spells.
All Star Wasps get 2 attacks per melee outside of their shells
All Star Wasps regenerate ISP at a rate equal to 1 ISP per Mj of energy exposed to. - In practical terms, 1 ISP will be regenerated per about 5 minutes of direct sunlight, or intense heat (300+ degrees)
All Star Wasps can produce and release acid from any portion of their bodies - although a Star Wasp body and it's biomechanical shell are immune to the acid, any other material in contact with the acid will undergo molecular de-integration in a matter of seconds. This enables the Star Wasps to cut through any substance that has a molecular structure - No solid object can withstand the acid attack, no matter how much MDC it has.
A Star Wasp can cut through 6" / 30 cm depth of material per attack when using the acid.
Psionics - All Star Wasps have the following Psi abilities:
Telemechanics Telepathy Empathy Mind Block Auto-DefenceIn addtion, Star Wasps have the following abilities unique to their species -
Group Mind - This enables all Star Wasps within a (ISP) mile range to merge their collective consciousnes into a single mind with the combined IQ of all Star Wasps in range. Cost 1 ISP per 5 hours.
Gestalt Mind - This more complex version enables ALL Star Wasps to communicate, regardless of range, intervening objects or energy screens. Cost 1 ISP per hour.
Cerebral Assimilation - A Star Wasp that has consumed another body will automatically assimilate the brain of the victim, turning it into part of it's own gestalt mind. Depending on the percent of the brain consumed, the victim may even be able to take control of the Star Wasp, if they survive the integration process without going insane. Any PC that has been consumed by a Str Wasp is DEAD - there is no possible way to reconnect the portions of the brain back together to make a new body, and the Star Wasp will almost never consume an entire brain by itself. A PC must roll to save vs. Insanity with a -6 modifier upon consumption, than again, with the same modifier to survive assimilation. As detailed below, on average, a group of Star Wasps will attack an individual:
Star Wasps Attacking Consumed Portion IQ % maintained 5 Less than 25% 10% 4 26 - 40% 25% 3 40 - 60% 50% 2 60 - 80% 75% 1 80%+ 100%The ratio of consumption depends on how many Star Wasps actually attack; if four Star Wasps attack and successfully consume, then the cerebrum will be roughly divided amongst them; If more than five successfully attack, then not enough of the brain will be maintained to provide individuality and/or maintain a controlling interest in the Star Wasp's gestalt mind.
The other part of the cerebral assimilation is that the Star Wasps can maintain a sufficient portion of it's victim's OCC's and skills. If 10% of the brain survives in each Star Wasp, each Star Wasp will be able to access that victim's experiences, skills, and knowledge.. This does NOT mean that a Mind Melter consumed will have it's psionic aspects maintained, nor would a Ley Line Walker be able to have it's magical knowledge tapped for use. Only physical or mental skills and knowledge, not magical or psionic knowledges.
This knowledge will fade, as will the person's individuality, as the years and decades pass. Assume a loss of One IQ point per year that passes, unless the person is Psionic or has an IQ greater than 15. In that case, lose 1 IQ point per decade.
MDC to ISP Energy Conversion - Enables the Star Wasps to convert it's ISP into MDC armor, or to reduce it's MDC to give it more ISP. Star Wasp bodies absorb energy at an enourmous rate, even more so than their biomechanical shells do, so a Star Wasp can almost always be considered to have some MDC or ISP available to convert to MDC to protect itself.
Shapeshift - All Star Wasps, outside of their shells, can alter their physical shape to mimic that of any species they have consumed. They cannot alter their size or otherwise mimic a large creaure, but they can mimic a body part of equivalent size to their normal size.
The Biomechanical Shell
Gives the Star Wasp the following abilities:
PS 20 +3 attacks per melee SPD 50 Flying speed - up to Mach 2 in an atmosphere - Up to 0.8c In SpaceUnlimited duration and/or energy - effectively 1 ISP will give 1000 hours flying time.
The Shell is 40 MDC, and can be reinforced and repaired by the Star Wasp through it's ISP - MDC conversion.
The shell is virtually undetectable by radar, sonar, or visual senses. The shell is comprised of various alloys and ceramic compounds that effectively give it a 75% chance to be undetected by any mechanical or electrical scan or sensor type. If detected, there is only a 3 in 10 chance that it will be identified as a hostile, otherwise it will simply register as random debris.
Magical senses, such as Danger Sense will still work against a Star Wasp, as they are a threat to the victim, as they are a threat to any person they come into contact with.
Any attack form energy impinging on the shell can be rapidly converted by the Star Wasp into it's own usable energy form at the rate of 20 MDC - 20 ISP per action taken to convert, or 5 MDC - ISP if no action is taken to convert.
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