Sometimes you get an idea stuck in your head, and the only way to get it dislodged is to talk about it. This week, for me, it is Third Earth from Thundercats (1985-1989). The 80s spawned a lot of Sci-Fantasy IPs (He-Man, Ulysses 3000, Voltron, Krull, etc…), but for a lot of kids of the era Thundercats really captured the imagination. Much of it is ridiculous of course, as were a lot of the cartoon/toy pairings that marked the time period, but there was just enough meat on the bones of the setting for it to be an interesting place for an adventure.
Ignoring the Protagonists (you could honestly view them as the PCs), an all Cat People (Pahtra) party, and the Antagonist (a unique undead spellcaster that combines elements of Lich and Mummy with an obsession with what was effectively Tenser’s Transformation), you have Third Earth itself. The world is largely empty, with small communities of either native peoples (such as the Tuska) and transplants (the robotic Berbils, not to mention the Thundercats themselves). For all of that, there are clearly remnants of one or several precursor civilizations and either their high tech war machines or mystically charged temples. For one, Mum’ra (and Mumm-Rana) must have come from some humanoid civilization (discounting the 2011 reboot that gave Mum’ra an alien origin). There are also fairly clear indications that some kind of cataclysmic event, or several such events, laid waste to the world far enough back that the ecology has largely recovered but no significant civilization has risen from the ashes. You really can’t ask for a better place to stage a campaign, as you can have native monsters, ancient relics, and the occasional space farer show up to draw the party out with regularity. Any number of hooks might form an ongoing campaign, you have easy access to reoccurring villains that can complicate matters (Mutants, Mum’ra), and the only being that for sure knows just what happened to the place is the ancient undead monstrosity that keeps messing with the party. Maybe the reason Mum’ra is so opposed to outsiders is that whatever happened to Third Earth is only dormant, and he is trying to prevent these newcomers from awakening something even worse than himself?
Just a musing, and you could do worse than have a Starfinder campaign (or Pathfinder) set on Third Earth with occasional forays out into space. Most of the various peoples have pretty clear analogs to the host of species available in Starfinder, and you could use the Necrovite as a starting point for Mum’ra. But just to get you started, here’s one of the odder reoccurring native threats, the robotic mercenary Driller.
DRILLER
CR 7
XP 3,200
N Medium construct (technological)
Init +3; Senses blindsight (tremorsense) 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +14
DEFENSE
HP 105
EAC 19; KAC 21
Fort +7; Ref +7; Will +5
Defensive Abilities fast healing 2; DR 5/adamantine; Immunities construct immunities; Weaknesses vulnerable to electricity
OFFENSE
Speed 10 ft., burrow 60 ft.
Melee slam +18 (2d6+11 B)
Ranged diamond tipped crossbow bolts +16 (3d6+7 P; wound)
Offensive Abilities burrowing charge
STATISTICS
Str +5; Dex +4; Con –; Int +1; Wis +2; Cha +0
Skills Athletics +19; Engineering +14; Physical Science +14, Stealth +14
Languages Common
Other Abilities break objects, versatile burrower, unliving
Gear hyper-crossbow (treat as an Advanced Battlebow), 20 diamond-edge arrows/bolts
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Break Objects (Ex) When attacking an object, driller treats that object’s hardness as if it were 10 lower.
Burrowing Charge (Ex) Driller can leap into action at breathtaking speed. If driller takes the charge action using its burrow speed it doesn’t take the normal charge penalties to its attack roll or its AC, and its target must succeed at a DC 15 Perception check or the target is flat-footed against the attack.
Versatile Burrower (Ex): due to driller’s incredibly sharp drills and constant replenishment of it’s diamond parts, it can burrow through stone and even some steel at half its normal burrow speed.
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Jeremy Corff
Artist and Writer