Adventure Modifications: Sundown on Starmist
I was never satisfied with the published adventures when I started reading them. Although they were pretty good as they were, I wanted more. So one of the many adventures I wanted to run but changed was Sundown on Starmist. I had some notes left over from my modifications but they were not total complete. I think I included the Tank but I took it a step further. I made the Heliopes a subrace of an ancient race called the Shri’iki.
Blue Plague: I did not pay much attention to the Blue Plague mentioned in the timeline, but that kind of plays into my plot a little better. The revisit to Starmist may be after the the Blue Plague is considered a threat anymore or something along those lines.
Modifications
(1) Heliope village is actually under the control of a “slaver” alien native to the planet. It dwells inside the pyramid (instead of the Tank?). It is a xenomorph with extremely power psionic powers. To gain control of anyone, it must succeed at a tentacle attack to inject mind control enzyme (This later inspired me to simply create the Shri’ikii alpha creature that had the same ability).
(2) The hover tank is at the end of the walkway, room 19 (Priest hut) and is a self-aware tank (like Bolo) under reserve power, submerged in the lake/river.
(3) Change/Expand the Sathar Training Base and Weapons bunker to have underneath it the ruins of a Clikk facility, inside which are labs and containers/caskets holding small creatures that turn out to be the Clikk. Sathars are trying to manipulate the Clikk for their own purposes.
Ruins of the Clikk facility
It is powered by central columns, connected to the central computers, which is an organic living computer. Once provoked, this computers can come alive and attack.
Height: 4.5 meters. ATT: 55. Spec Att: 4 spikes (40 damage). 2 bio-lasers (45 damage). 4 Spiked Tentacles (20 damage). Special Defense: Anti-Missiles bio-blasts (% chance 50). Natural Albedo Screen: 300. Once the organic computers are in defense mode, the power to the facility is switched off. Once the any threat is eliminated, it will open the caskets
In Main Ops, each computer has psionic link connection – two handles where a character can link up to the computer psionically (and maybe control them?). Main Ops is defended by Defensive Robots (x3)
Att: 70. Armor: 25 points of penetration, 500 total structural. Special Attack: 8 power blasters (45 damage). Special Defense: Albedo Screen (1/2 damage).
Additional Creatures to Starmist
Starmistian Nomads
Type: Large Omnivore (3 meters tall)
Move: 35 m per turn
IM/RS: 6/55
STA: 150
Attack: +5
Damage: Bite 18, Claw 16, Punch/kick 14. or Primtive weapons (spears, bows, daggers)
Special Defense: Natural carapace armor
Starmist original inhabitants, the Starmistian nomad are very primitive and xenophobic. They are very protective of their territory, most especially their hunting ground.
Starmistian Shadewing
Medium Carnivore (1.5. meters). Wingspan: 2.5 meters
Number: 2-20
Move: 30 m per turn walking, 90 m per turn flying
IM/RS: 8/75
STA: 100
Damage: Bite 16, Claw 14, Punch/kick 12.
Special Attack: Mental Blast (1d8 level).
Shadewings are vampiric creatures that feed off the iron-rich blood of carbon based lifeforms (like the nomads). It uses its Mental Blast to stun a target (degree of success determines effects of stun). Then it proceeds to feed off the victim until it wakes or is dead.
Starmistian Tunnelers
Large Carnivore