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Fantasy Monsters in Star Wars
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CRMcNeill
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 11, 2019 11:45 pm    Post subject: Fantasy Monsters in Star Wars Reply with quote

Has anyone ever crossed over any of the famous "fantasy monsters," specifically those of D&D fame? D6 Space has some interesting examples, most prominent being the Basilisk (a lizard which fires a paralyzing blast of focused radiation rather than literally turning its target into stone). The EU suggests that several others may also exist in the SWU (Chimaera, Hydra, Gorgon and Manticore), although it's possible they are exceedingly rare / extinct and remembered only in history books.

D6 Fantasy is also a treasure trove of fantasy creatures, and while their stats don't mesh with WEG Star Wars, there's a convenient conversion guide in the backs of all the D6 "Monster Manuals."

A few I've considered...
    Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Orcs, etc, using Warhammer 40K to flesh them out...

    Star Dragons (already in the game, but buffed to make them much more formidable, but also reclusive during the Imperial era).

    Grell (combining aspects of the D&D Mind Flayers and the Enslavers from WH40K).
Any other thoughts or suggestions?
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Pel
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 12:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Giant spiders are always interesting. Make them intelligent and aggressive, considering humanoids a delicacy. Mayhem will ensue. We did this years ago and that's how I found out our Retired Imperial Captain's player is an arachnophobe. He REALLY hated that session, so we never revisted the topic. I had a few phase spiders as shock troops (instead of phasing, they just had really effective camoflage) and the leader was a modified drider (Rodian mad scientist who fused his body with a giant spider to achieve "perfection").

Other than the Anzati (SW Vampires), I'm hard pressed to recall another Star Wars species that likes to eat other intelligent species, so that's a good angle to exploit.
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CRMcNeill
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 12:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Giant insects would actually be more plausible in a light- or zero-grav environment.

But yeah, not a lot of sentient-eating sentients in the SWU. There was an article in Polyhedron (#104 Dangers From The Dark Side) about a Force Vampire that feeds by draining Force Points.

I've long pictured Vampires as part of a Necron crossover (as part of a larger Space Fantasy crossover to the SWU), serving as infiltration and espionage units for the rest of the Necron race. I haven't decided if I want to go with a liquid-metal mimic (ala the T1000) that drains life energy to sustain itself, or a distributed architecture "infection" that takes over living hosts, but has to drain the blood of others of that species to maintain the host body's organs and the like.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 12:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

As someone who has played Star Wars D6 and is presently playing Pathfinder (aka D&D 3.75), I heartily approve of any effort to combine the space opera of Star Wars with the fantasy genre of D&D. One must be careful, however, as the result of such endeavors can be...somewhat less than ideal. The opportunity to create something totally awesome or something extraordinarily cheesy and/or horrifying are both right there.

With great power comes great responsibility. Never forget that. Razz
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Pel
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 12:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

CRMcNeill wrote:
I've long pictured Vampires as part of a Necron crossover...


That's just E-vil. I like it.

Completely forgot about:

  • Beholders: replace some of the eyes with tentacles and you've basically got a horror Ugor.
  • Mind Flayers: keep the telepathy and let them plant illusions in the minds of their prey to feast upon the terror. The Force could easily stand in for psionics if you want to make them really nasty.

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CRMcNeill
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 1:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've got it in my head to fold the concept of Mind Flayers into the Enslavers from WH40K; personally, I think the floating tentacled orb looks way more creepy and alien than the bipedal octopus-head of the traditional illithid. And after all, an illithid would end up looking a lot like a Quarren...

Heck, there's even room for angels and daemons from WH40K as hyperspace-dwelling energy beings that attempt to influence the real world for their own inscrutable reasons.
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Whill
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 1:39 am    Post subject: Re: Fantasy Monsters in Star Wars Reply with quote

CRMcNeill wrote:
Has anyone ever crossed over any of the famous "fantasy monsters," specifically those of D&D fame?

Back in the 80s, I adapted some fantasy stuff. There's most certainly more I'm not thinking of right now.

I created a species that are basically green-skinned elves. The were from an archaic planet and entire species was Force-sensitive, but Vader destroyed almost the entire species. The main villain of my 1983 homebrew Star Wars RPG was this species, and a PC of my first WEG Star Wars campaign was half-human and half this species. In another campaign a PC was a related species who were based on sea elves.

I've had Dark-Side-created zombies of deceased friends and enemies of PCs come back to haunt them. I left the zombies behind in the 1e years, but the elven and dragon species still exist in my current campaign universe. I'm going to adapt the more modern D&D PC race Dragonborn (humanoid dragon people) as a species in SWU.
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CRMcNeill
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 2:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In the D6 Fantasy rulebook, there are stats for a generic lizard people. Might have some useful pointers...
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garhkal
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 2:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

CRMcNeill wrote:
Giant insects would actually be more plausible in a light- or zero-grav environment.

But yeah, not a lot of sentient-eating sentients in the SWU. There was an article in Polyhedron (#104 Dangers From The Dark Side) about a Force Vampire that feeds by draining Force Points.

I've long pictured Vampires as part of a Necron crossover (as part of a larger Space Fantasy crossover to the SWU), serving as infiltration and espionage units for the rest of the Necron race. I haven't decided if I want to go with a liquid-metal mimic (ala the T1000) that drains life energy to sustain itself, or a distributed architecture "infection" that takes over living hosts, but has to drain the blood of others of that species to maintain the host body's organs and the like.


IIRC there's several arachnid like aliens, in the aliens anthology. And those 'stew eating (drinking) antazi could mimic vampires..

Pel wrote:
CRMcNeill wrote:
I've long pictured Vampires as part of a Necron crossover...


That's just E-vil. I like it.

Completely forgot about:

  • Beholders: replace some of the eyes with tentacles and you've basically got a horror Ugor.
  • Mind Flayers: keep the telepathy and let them plant illusions in the minds of their prey to feast upon the terror. The Force could easily stand in for psionics if you want to make them really nasty.


Already got a version of Mind flayers..
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Zarn
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 3:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There's Jenet for wererats - Chadra Fan look more like werebats to me.

Then there's the mass changers - the Dazouri and the Lahsbees - that outright violate mass conservation. So if you need someone to hulk out, go for one of those.


Last edited by Zarn on Thu May 02, 2019 7:16 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Pel
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 5:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ring Wraiths have potential, and are probably what Sith Spirits were based on so you can play around with that.

Treants or Ents could also give your players pause and could run around with Ho'Din or Revwiens.

Sphinxes like riddles and tend to eat people who can't solve them, so that's always fun.

Star Wars doesn't have lycanthropes, so you can toss a were-wok at your party.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 6:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

When Windriders of the Jagged Cliffs came out, I wanted to include both the Athasian halflings (who used living technology) and the Kreen (mantis people) who apparently did a lot of modification of bodies..
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nuclearwookiee
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 14, 2019 1:11 am    Post subject: Re: Fantasy Monsters in Star Wars Reply with quote

CRMcNeill wrote:
The EU suggests that several others may also exist in the SWU (Chimaera, Hydra, Gorgon and Manticore), although it's possible they are exceedingly rare / extinct and remembered only in history books.

I have to say, it never even occurred to me that these were real creatures a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. I always assumed they were references to a common mythology. But in a galaxy of rancors and acklay, why not?

Pel wrote:
Star Wars doesn't have lycanthropes, so you can toss a were-wok at your party.

I don't know, Shistavanen are basically werewolves; Togorians, weretigers; and Chadrafan aren't too far off from wererats. Wink
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Zarn
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 14, 2019 4:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Try Neh-Thalggu (brain collectors) on for size. Add some organic tech, harvesting the nervous system of others for computers for instance, and you've got some pretty horrific stuff there.

Perhaps add a dash of Event Horizon as well, and introduce a singularity drive that is much faster than conventional drives - but every now and then (a double one on a Wild Die?) Lovecraftian stuff happens.


Last edited by Zarn on Thu May 02, 2019 7:17 pm; edited 1 time in total
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CRMcNeill
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 14, 2019 12:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So how would you explain something like metamorphosis - particularly insofar as conservation of mass - in an SWU setting? Yes, the SWU has shape-shifters like the Clawdites and such, but even they have limitations.
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