I don’t cover a lot of Star Trek here. Part of that is, despite a host of time travel shenanigans, near omnipotent psychics of all strips, energy beings with powers that defy all physics, and a stream of techno-babble, Trek is the hard science sci-fi show when compared to Wars. As such, it often isn’t a great fit for Starfinder, which goes for more of a Space Opera feel with a genre blender of tech, magic, and adventure. Some episodes of some of the shows are closer to this ouvre though, and such was Episode 9 in the first season of Strange New Worlds.
BEWARE: SPOILERS FOLLOW
An ongoing theme in this first season has been the world building of an Original Series throw away alien species, the Gorn. First appearing to do some silly pro-wrestling style throw down with Kirk in the episode Arena, the Gorn get a lot of build up without a lot of real punch, and could very easily just be a Vesk in a pair of novelty sunglasses. Strange New Worlds does a lot to change that, building on, expanding, and even straight up contradicting the Original Series lore on the Gorn to make them a mysterious and terrifying boogie man.
With Episode 9, we see the Gorn not as big clumsy, warlike lizardmen, but rather as a species obsessed with proving evolutionary dominance in hunt scenarios so much that they have engineered themselves to be terrifying creatures that gestate in the bodies of others, passing their young through acidic sputum, then competing with each other and their prey until one individual is proved to be the apex predator. All of this before they reach a mature state. Nightmare stuff, no doubt inspired by the Alien and Predator movie franchises as well some all to real biology in the insect world. So why not give your players a taste?
IMMATURE GORN
CR 4
XP 1,200
NE Small monstrous humanoid
Init +3; Senses blindsense (heat) 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +10
DEFENSE
HP 50
EAC 16; KAC 18
Fort +8; Ref +8; Will +3
Defensive Abilities fast healing 5; Resistances fire 5;
Weaknesses vulnerable to cold
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft., climb 30 ft.
Melee bite +13 (1d6+9 P, plus gorn infestation) or claw +13 (1d6+9 S)
Ranged acidic sputum +7 (1d4+2 A, plus gorn infestation)
Offensive Abilities gorn infestation
STATISTICS
Str +5; Dex +3; Con +1; Int -2; Wis +1; Cha -1
Skills Stealth +15, Survival +10
Other Abilities psychic dampening, tech cloaking
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary, clutches of two to five.
Psychic Dampening (Ex) an immature gorn is considered invisible to psychic senses, and cannot be detected or targeted through blindsense (thought), detect thoughts, or similar effects. They can still be subjected to spells and effects of a psychic nature, so long as line of sight is established.
Tech Cloaking (Ex) immature gorn are likewise engineered to not register on passive scans for life signs or similar sensor sweeps. Natural sight and video cameras or similar tech can register their presence, but ship scans will not.
Gorn Infestation
Type disease (contact); Save Fortitude DC 15
Track physical; Frequency 1/hour
Effect No latent/carrier state; an infected creature that dies gives birth to 2-5 gorn pups that quickly grow into immature gorn
Cure 2 consecutive saves
Special all gorn are immune to gorn infestation.
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Jeremy Corff
Artist and Writer