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JPlayah
2016-02-17, 12:09 AM
The Zerg

Links to related threads:
Zerg racial class (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?478751-Zerg-racial-class)
Splicer prestige class (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?478753-Splicer-prestige-class-%28for-zerg%29)

Overview: Most races have a fairly distinct appearance. Humans are characterized by their tall, strong builds, elves by their thin, graceful bodies, and dwarves by their sturdy appearance. The defining trait of the zerg is their lack of uniform appearance and their capacity to change, adapt, and evolve. The zerg live for change, reveling in the continually shifting nature of their bodies and their ability to gain new traits from their defeated foes. For the zerg, every hunt has its own reward.

Physical Traits: Zerg can be generally recognized by their dull purple skin, which is covered by a collage of scales, pustules, membranes, and other tissues, each waiting to emerge as a distinctive trait of the creature it is part of.

Zerg can be classified as either drones or non-drones. Drones are mindless creatures that serve a zerg queen. They take on a relatively uniform body shape consisting of a small, flat body with six legs and powerful jaws.

Non-drone zerg begin their lives resembling a fat snake with a mouth full of sharp teeth. Over the next month or so, they grow larger and develop eyes and other sensory organs. Within two months of birth, a zerg larva develops its first unique trait, such as one or more pairs of legs, signaling that it is ready to leave the hatchery and enter zerg society. Juvenile zerg typically remain within their communities until they are six months old, at which point they are ready to begin exploring and performing tasks without adult supervision. Juvenile and adult zerg are medium creatures.

Society: Zerg live in either hives or colonies. At the center of either kind of residence is a structure known as a hatchery, which is the personal residence of the ruling queen or broodmother.

A zerg community has several traits that make it instantly recognizable. The ground near any zerg residence is covered by a purple substance known as creep, which feeds zerg structures and provides added nutrients which zerg can absorb through their skin. Creep gives zerg a literal home field advantage. They move faster, fight better, and heal from wounds more effectively while on creep. Creep is generated by pods known as creep tumors, which are produced by queens and a few other zerg and are buried underground. Only a queen can produce long-lived creep tumors required to sustain a hive or colony.

Zerg structures are living organisms formed when a zerg queen or broodmother orders one of her mindless drones to begin mutating. The drone plants itself on a surface covered in creep and forms a fluid-filled membrane around itself. The queen and other zerg feed fresh meat to the growing mass until the membrane bursts, revealing a complete zerg structure such as a hatchery or house.

A hive is a particularly large residence that may be ruled by a broodmother or a queen under her. Queens that rule under broodmothers have the duty of watching over their assigned hives, acting as governors. A queen is responsible for maintaining the hive structures, adding new ones as needed, keeping a healthy ratio of drones to non-drones, and developing a vibrant and productive economy within the hive. A queen’s reproductive capabilities are not as well developed as those of a broodmother. A queen becomes eligible for broodmother status as soon as she manages to lay 10 eggs in a single day. This achievement is a sign that the queen is able to produce enough offspring in order to rule an area on her own as a broodmother.

A colony is much smaller than a hive and is ruled by an independent queen away from other zerg communities. A colony typically has a higher non-drone to drone ratio than a hive, and frequently serves as a residence for zerg that are traveling or have left their homes to seek a new place to live. Over time, a colony may develop into a hive if one or more of the queen’s female offspring become queens themselves and decide to settle near their place of birth.

Any female zerg can become a queen as a result of hormone changes. These may be triggered by the death of a local queen or may come about if a female zerg settles down in an area away from an existing hive. Upon becoming a queen, a female zerg produces only a few eggs at a time. As she creates a hatchery and expands her brood, the queen begins producing additional eggs. A queen may have any number of consorts, who live with her in the hatchery. When a queen lays an egg that has been fertilized by a male zerg, it hatches into a unique zerg creature. If a set of eggs remains unfertilized at the end of the queen’s egg cycle, she fertilizes them herself before laying them. These eggs hatch into drones, mindless zerg which the queen has telepathic control over. Drones are used to perform labor. They are very poor fighters, however, and a hive relies on its non-drone members or specialized structures for defense.

Female zerg who wish to become queens in the local area try to establish themselves as well-liked members of their communities. Being asked to look after a queen’s newborn larvae is a strong sign of approval from that queen. If a queen dies and multiple female zerg are in a high enough position of status to fill the position, they compete to see which of them will become the queen of that hive. This is typically determined by who can lay the first egg. Once a winner has been declared, the other females typically leave to establish their own colonies elsewhere.

Male zerg who wish to serve their hives or colonies can do so by taking on personal assignments from their queen. Completing these assignments builds trust and can lead to more rewarding or involved tasks, such as adventuring. Male and female zerg also go on adventuring missions of their own volition, seeking to serve their community or simply explore the area outside of their hive or colony.

Relationships: Zerg form close ties with their broodmates, which refers to everyone else in the hive or colony they call home. Romantic relationships tend to be stronger the earlier they form, and very early romances typically result in couples which remain together for life. It is common for a female zerg to have a consort picked out long before she becomes a queen, and many zerg couples can be found within a hive or colony. Only queens are capable of producing offspring.

Relations between different colonies or hives typically reflect relations between their ruling queens or broodmothers. A colony that forms as a result of a female zerg storming out of her hive to establish her own domain is usually on very poor terms with the female zerg’s original home. On the other hand, a female zerg that leaves her home peacefully to establish a colony may be able to form a strong alliance with her original residence. Colonies or hives that are on poor terms tend to ignore each other. Open hostilities between zerg communities are uncommon, especially when the zerg are facing a common enemy in another race. Still, many zerg are ambitious, and assassinations, invasions, and murder do happen from time to time.

Other races: Although they form strong bonds of friendship with their broodmates, zerg are aggressive predators and will make sport of killing other sentient creatures if they think they can get away with it. This most commonly occurs in untamed areas outside of civilization, and has given the zerg a reputation of being heartless, bloodthirsty murderers. The truth is that zerg simply don’t see eye to eye with the ethical standards of more common sentient races such as humans, elves, dwarves, and halflings. No zerg in its right mind would think of entering a city for the purpose of killing citizens, but zerg are quick to use violence when they feel they have been deceived, insulted, or bullied. The way some humans or other sentient creatures treat members of their own species is unsettling enough for most zerg. When push comes to shove and they find themselves being treated poorly by members of those same races, zerg cannot help responding in an equally harsh manner.

For all the tension resulting from interactions between the zerg and other races, these disputes are nothing compared to the hostilities between the zerg and the protoss. The protoss and zerg have been enemies since long before records were kept of the number of protoss warriors killed by zerg or the number of hives destroyed by the protoss. The enmity between elves and goblins or between dwarves and giants is petty in comparison to the eternal war between zerg and protoss, a conflict almost like a miniature Blood War in its scope. The two races would like nothing more than to exterminate the other, and there are worlds that have been consumed by this ongoing war for thousands of years without end. A relatively small percentage of each race dedicate their lives to continuing this struggle. Most zerg and protoss avoid going out of their way to find where the other lives, but once they do, bloody conflict is sure to follow.

Death and Resurrection Magic: Zerg biology keeps the zerg in a constant state of change, always adapting to their surroundings. These changes occur on a cellular level. Provided it receives enough nutrition, a zerg will continuously resuscitate and reabsorb dead cell matter. Zerg never die of old age, but they are just as susceptible to wounds, poison, and disease as any other species.

When a zerg dies, its soul does not go to one of the outer planes, but stays where it is, in the zerg’s body. While in this state, the zerg’s soul becomes dormant and misshapen, like a piece of metal which has been twisted out of shape. While the presence of the zerg’s soul in its body prevents it from being animated as an undead creature, it also prevents the zerg from being raised from the dead by spells which draw souls back from the outer planes, since the zerg’s soul cannot be found there.

Spells such as Raise Dead, Resurrection, and other spells or psionic powers which result in level loss cannot bring a dead zerg back to life, although True Resurrection is still effective. On the other hand, spells and powers such as Psionic Revivify which depend on the target’s soul still being close by function on a zerg which has been dead for up to 10 years, and work as though the zerg had died no more than a few seconds before the spell or power was used. After this time, the zerg’s body decays to the point where its soul can no longer be contained in the remains, causing it to become trapped in the Ethereal Plane. At this point, only True Resurrection can restore the zerg to life. A zerg’s soul can remain attached to a pile of dust left by a Disintegrate spell or within a pile of ashes, but only as long as those remains are kept in the same place. If the ashes are scattered, the zerg’s soul separates from them.


Making a Zerg Character

Zerg character traits:



Zerg are medium aberrations. They are not affected by spells or abilities that only affect humanoids, such as Charm Person. Unlike many aberrations, zerg do have distinct anatomies.
Ability score adjustments: +2 Con, -2 Int. Zerg are tough but not quite as bright as the average human.
Zerg base land speed is 10 feet. Zerg typically evolve legs or gain other mutations to increase their speed early in life.
Zerg have a powerful bite attack which deals slashing damage equal to 1d6 + Str. They have no other limbs until they evolve them.
Automatic languages: None. Zerg communicate using telepathy. This is a supernatural ability with a range of 50 feet. The zerg automatically broadcasts its messages in the area around it unless it makes an effort to keep them private. A zerg that focuses can exclude any number of creatures or all of them except the intended recipient. A creature can literally feel the zerg’s mental presence when receiving telepathic messages from it, and every zerg’s mind feels different, just as every person’s voice sounds different. Other creatures that can communicate using telepathy or share a language with the zerg always understand its messages. A zerg can send telepathic messages to creatures it does not share a language with by succeeding on a DC 15 Concentration check based on its Wisdom modifier instead of its Constitution modifier.
Favored class: Zerg. All zerg advance in the zerg racial class.
Level adjustment: +0.



Zerg Queen Template

Size and type: Size and type remain unchanged.
Skills: The zerg gains Diplomacy and Gather Information as class skills for the zerg racial class. The zerg also gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, and Sense Motive checks.
Special abilities:
Spawn Drones: The zerg begins laying eggs, giving her a number of drones based on her Leadership score, which is equal to her effective character level plus her Charisma modifier. Each day, the zerg can lay up to the number of eggs specified on the table below until she has the number of drones listed. The zerg must consume 10 lbs. of fresh meat for each egg she intends to lay the next day in addition to the food she normally eats. For example, if a zerg queen would normally lay 6 eggs but she only consumed 40 lbs. of fresh meat the previous day, she only lays 4 eggs. If the zerg loses any drones, she can begin laying more eggs to replace them starting on the next day. Drones hatch 1 hour after the zerg lays eggs and can act immediately.
Command Drones: The zerg can give telepathic commands to any of her drones as a swift action. The range of this ability is 1 mile. As a full-round action, the zerg can unleash a pulse of mental energy ordering all of her drones to return to her. This functions regardless of distance as long as the zerg and her drones are on the same plane. These are supernatural abilities.
Attune Receptors: By concentrating for 1 minute while standing next to a spine crawler, spore crawler, or zerg structure not already attuned to a queen, the zerg can gain control of it, attuning the organism’s reception organs to accept the zerg’s mental commands. Drones, spine crawlers, spore crawlers, and zerg structures that the zerg produces are automatically attuned to her. Drones are permanently attuned to the queen that created them and cannot be controlled by another queen.
Permanent Creep Tumor: By standing on creep produced by one of her creep tumors and concentrating for 1 minute, the zerg can make the creep tumor’s effect permanent. This ability is only usable once per day. If the zerg gains additional mutations or abilities which affect her creep tumors, her permanent creep tumors automatically gain those benefits. A permanent creep tumor has hardness 5 greater than a normal creep tumor. If a permanent creep tumor is damaged, it regains 5 hit points per day.
Level adjustment: +1.



Leadership Score
Drones
Maximum Eggs/Day


6 or less
0
0


7
1
1


8
2
1


9
3
1


10
4
1


11
5
1


12
7
2


13
10
2


14
12
3


15
15
3


16
17
4


17
20
4


18
22
5


19
25
5


20
27
6


21
30
6


22
35
7


23
40
8


24
45
9


25
50
10



Drone
CN small aberration (zerg)
Init +1; Senses: Darkvision 60 feet; Listen +4, Spot +4
Languages: None (receives telepathic signals)
AC: 14, touch 12, flat-footed 13
(+1 Dex, +2 natural armor, +1 size)
HP: 11 (1d8+7)
Immunities: None
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +1, Will +2
Speed: 20 feet (4 squares); Burrow 10 feet (2 squares)
Melee: Bite +4 (1d4+2 slashing)
Ranged: None
Space: 5 ft.; Reach: 5 ft.
Base Attack: +1
Grapple: -1
Special Attacks: None
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 feet, mentally attuned
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 12, Con 18, Int –, Wis 10, Cha 4
Feats: Rapid Metabolism, Toughness
Skills: Hide +5, Listen +4, Move Silently +5, Spot +4

Mentally Attuned (Ex): A drone’s brain structure is attuned to only receive telepathic signals from the queen that spawned it. It gains a +10 bonus on any saves or checks made to resist effects that would disrupt this communication, such as antimagic fields and spells which block mental communication.


Zerg Broodmother Template

Size and type: Size increases to large. Changes which occur based on size are included in this template and replace the normal changes which occur based on size. Type remains unchanged.
Armor class: The zerg takes a -1 size penalty to AC.
Attacks: The zerg takes a -1 size penalty on attack rolls.
Damage: Damage the zerg deals with all its natural weapons and mutations increases by one step.
Space and reach: Space increases to 10 feet. Reach increases to 10 feet. All ranges and range increments that apply to the zerg’s mutations are doubled. Effects that occur in a radius do not increase in size.
Abilities: Strength increases by 4 points. Constitution increases by 4 points.
Special abilities:
Spawn Drones: The zerg can gain additional drones if her leadership score is high enough. For leadership scores above 25, the zerg can have a maximum number of drones equal to 50 + 5*(leadership score – 25). This means that the zerg can have 55 drones with a leadership score of 26, 60 drones with a leadership score of 27, and so on. The maximum number of eggs the zerg can lay each day is equal to the maximum number of drones she can have divided by 5.
Improved Drones: The zerg spawns improved drones instead of regular drones, which are detailed below. As a full-round action, the zerg can command any regular drone she has already created to mutate to an improved drone. This process takes 10 minutes.
Drone Awareness: The zerg is aware of the condition that all of her drones are in, as though she was monitoring them via a permanent Status spell. This effect does not cross planar boundaries.
Level adjustment: +1.

Improved Drone
CN small aberration (zerg)
Init +1; Senses: Darkvision 60 feet; Listen +5, Spot +5
Languages: None (receives telepathic signals)
AC: 14, touch 12, flat-footed 13
(+1 Dex, +2 natural armor, +1 size)
HP: 20 (2d8+11)
Immunities: None
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +1, Will +3
Speed: 20 feet (4 squares); Burrow 10 feet (2 squares)
Melee: Bite +5 (1d4+2 slashing)
Ranged: None
Space: 5 ft.; Reach: 5 ft.
Base Attack: +2
Grapple: +0
Special Attacks: None
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 2/-, darkvision 60 feet, mentally attuned
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 12, Con 18, Int –, Wis 10, Cha 6
Feats: Rapid Metabolism, Toughness
Skills: Hide +6, Listen +5, Move Silently +6, Spot +5

Mentally Attuned (Ex): An improved drone’s brain structure is attuned to only receive telepathic signals from the queen that spawned it. It gains a +10 bonus on any saves or checks made to resist effects that would disrupt this communication, such as antimagic fields and spells which block mental communication.


Zerg Feats

Greater Quick Mutation
Prerequisites: Improved Quick Mutation, 15 levels in zerg classes
Benefit: The number of mutation points you can reassign during a quick mutation increases to ½ your zerg level plus double your Constitution modifier.
Normal: The number of mutation points you can reassign during a quick mutation is equal to ½ your zerg level plus ½ your Constitution modifier.

Improved Quick Mutation
Prerequisites: 8 levels in zerg classes
Benefit: The number of mutation points you can reassign during a quick mutation increases to ½ your zerg level plus your Constitution modifier.
Normal: The number of mutation points you can reassign during a quick mutation is equal to ½ your zerg level plus ½ your Constitution modifier.

Mobile Structure [Splicer]
Prerequisites: Int 11, Splicer level 7th
Benefit: By feeding an extra 100 lbs. of fresh meat to a developing zerg structure, you can cause it to gain legs and be able to uproot itself like a spine crawler or spore crawler. Once such a structure is complete, the zerg queen who ordered the structure to be built can give it a mental command as a standard action, causing it to uproot itself over the course of 1 minute. The structure can then walk around with a speed of 20 feet per move action. It cannot run or charge. Like zerg creatures, the structure gains a +10 bonus to its movement speed while on creep. The queen can give an uprooted structure another mental command as a standard action to cause the structure to root itself, which also takes 1 minute. The structure can also survive longer away from creep than normal. It must spend at least 8 hours rooted in creep every 3 days or it will wither and die. Mobile structures can carry creatures and objects inside of them while they move. A zerg house can carry up to 1,000 lbs. and a hatchery can carry up to 5,000 lbs. When a hatchery uproots itself, the creep it generated begins dying in a radius from the center outward at a rate of 5 feet per round. New creep is generated starting 1 minute after the hatchery roots itself again. This feature can be added to an existing structure if a willing queen sacrifices a drone to add it. The structure must be rooted on creep during this process, which takes 1 day. During this time, a membrane forms around the base of the structure. You must feed the membrane 100 lbs. of fresh meat to complete the process.

Mutation Master
Prerequisites: Mutation Prodigy, 11 levels in zerg classes
Benefit: The bonus mutation points you receive from the Mutation Prodigy feat improve to a number equal to your Constitution modifier. This number increases as your Constitution modifier increases (bonuses to Constitution and Constitution damage do not affect bonus mutation points).

Mutation Prodigy
Prerequisites: 5 levels in zerg classes
Benefit: You gain a number of bonus mutation points equal to ½ your Constitution modifier. This number increases as your Constitution modifier increases (bonuses to Constitution and Constitution damage do not affect bonus mutation points).

Rapid Transformation
Prerequisites: 8 levels in zerg classes
Benefit: You can activate your quick mutations and return to your normal form as a standard action instead of as a full-round action.

Zerg Queen [Racial Bonus Feat]
Prerequisites: Cha 13, Female zerg, creep tumor mutation x1, 5 levels in zerg classes
Benefit: You gain the zerg queen template in place of the class level you would normally gain when you take this feat.
Special: This is a racial bonus feat for the zerg. A zerg that meets the prerequisites for this feat can take it at any time upon gaining a level, even if she would not normally gain a feat at that level. The zerg gains the zerg queen template instead of gaining a class level, hit dice, skill points, feats, or any other benefits normally gained by advancing in level. Due to the way in which feat prerequisites work, a zerg that takes this feat must keep her creep tumor mutation permanently. She cannot lose it when gaining a new level in a zerg class, nor can she lose it temporarily when reassigning mutation points for a quick mutation set.


Zerg Structure Feats

Hatchery [Structure]
Prerequisites: Cha 13, Female zerg, Zerg Queen, creep tumor mutation x1, 6 levels in zerg classes
Benefit: You can order one of your drones to mutate into a hatchery, which marks the center of a hive or colony. A hatchery takes up a 40-foot diameter cylinder with a ceiling roughly 15 feet high. It contains a built-in creep tumor which spreads creep in an 80-foot radius from the hatchery’s center. To start producing a hatchery, you must give a mental command to a drone you control as a full-round action. During this time, you impart the desired layout of your hatchery to your drone. The drone then forms a fluid-filled membrane around itself and begins transforming, spreading creep out to a 40-foot radius at a rate of 5 feet per round as it does so. The process takes 10 days to complete. Each day, you must feed 100 lbs. of fresh meat to the membrane, which digests and absorbs the meat as you press it against the membrane’s surface. If the membrane does not receive enough food, it dies. Unlike other zerg structures, a hatchery does not require creep from other sources to develop, instead surviving on the creep generated by its built-in creep tumor. If the process succeeds, the membrane bursts open to reveal a fully formed hatchery suitable for raising infant zerg and providing child care. Your hatchery also serves as your personal residence (and typically the residence of any of your consorts). As soon as the hatchery finishes developing, it spreads additional creep out to an 80-foot radius at a rate of 5 feet per round.

A hatchery has 1,000 hit points and hardness 5. If damaged, it regains 50 hit points per day.

Zerg House [Structure]
Prerequisites: Cha 13, Female zerg, Zerg Queen, creep tumor mutation x1, 6 levels in zerg classes
Benefit: You can order one of your drones to mutate into a simple house. The house takes up a 10-foot diameter cylinder with a ceiling roughly 7 feet high. To start producing a house, you must give a mental command to a drone you control as a full-round action. The drone must be on an area covered in creep. During this time, you impart the desired layout of the house to your drone. The drone then forms a fluid-filled membrane around itself and begins transforming. The process takes 3 days to complete. Each day, you must feed 100 lbs. of fresh meat to the membrane, which digests and absorbs the meat as you press it against the membrane’s surface. If the membrane does not receive enough food or the creep it is on disappears, it dies. If the process succeeds, the membrane bursts open to reveal a fully formed house suitable for one or two zerg to live in. If the creep below the house ever disappears, the house dies unless new creep is added within 8 hours.

A zerg house has 300 hit points and hardness 5. If damaged, it regains 15 hit points per day.

This feat can be used to create nearly any physical structure with the above dimensions, not just a house.

Spine Crawler [Structure]
Prerequisites: Cha 13, Female zerg, Zerg Queen, creep tumor mutation x1, 9 levels in zerg classes
Benefit: You can order one of your drones to mutate into a moveable point defense weapon known as a spine crawler, which attacks with a sharp-tipped tentacle. This order can be given as a full-round action to any drone you control which is on creep. The drone forms a liquid-filled membrane over itself as it plants itself firmly in the ground. In order for the drone to mutate into a healthy spine crawler, it must be fed 200 lbs. of fresh meat over the next 24 hours. The membrane slowly digests and absorbs meat which is pressed against it. If the membrane does not receive enough meat or the creep it is on dies, the membrane dies. If the process succeeds, the membrane bursts open to reveal a fully mature spine crawler, which you can give mental commands to as a swift action.

Spine Crawler
CN medium aberration (zerg)
Init +1; Senses: Darkvision 30 feet; Listen +8, Spot +8
Languages: None (receives telepathic signals)
AC: 15, touch 11, flat-footed 14
(+1 Dex, +4 natural armor)
HP: 50 (5d8+28)
Immunities: None
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +1, Will +1
Speed: 20 feet (4 squares)
Melee: Stab +9 (1d8+4 piercing)
Ranged: None
Space: 5 ft.; Reach: 10 ft.
Base Attack: +5
Grapple: +9
Special Attacks: None
Special Actions: Root, Uproot
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 2/-, mentally attuned
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 12, Con 20, Int 3, Wis 12, Cha 8
Feats: Rapid Metabolism, Toughness
Skills: Listen +8, Spot +8

Root (Ex): As a full-round action, a spine crawler can dig itself into the ground, steadying itself and allowing it to attack enemies that come within its range. The spine crawler loses its Dexterity bonus to AC while rooted. Additionally, the spine crawler must root itself in creep for 8 hours every 3 days to avoid starving.

Uproot (Ex): As a full-round action, a spine crawler can dig itself up, allowing it to walk around. The spine crawler cannot attack while uprooted.

Mentally Attuned (Ex): A spine crawler’s brain structure is attuned to only receive telepathic signals from the queen that owns it. It gains a +5 bonus on any saves or checks made to resist effects that would disrupt this communication, such as antimagic fields and spells which block mental communication.

Spore Crawler [Structure]
Prerequisites: Cha 13, Female zerg, Zerg Queen, creep tumor mutation x1, 9 levels in zerg classes
Benefit: You can order one of your drones to mutate into a moveable point defense weapon known as a spore crawler, which attacks flying enemies with a blast of acid. This order can be given as a full-round action to any drone you control which is on creep. The drone forms a liquid-filled membrane over itself as it plants itself firmly in the ground. In order for the drone to mutate into a healthy spore crawler, it must be fed 200 lbs. of fresh meat over the next 24 hours. The membrane slowly digests and absorbs meat which is pressed against it. If the membrane does not receive enough meat or the creep it is on dies, the membrane dies. If the process succeeds, the membrane bursts open to reveal a fully mature spore crawler, which you can give mental commands to as a swift action.

Spore Crawler
CN medium aberration (zerg)
Init +1; Senses: Blindsight 30 feet; Listen +8, Spot +8
Languages: None (receives telepathic signals)
AC: 17, touch 13, flat-footed 14
(+3 Dex, +4 natural armor)
HP: 50 (5d8+28)
Immunities: None
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +1
Speed: 20 feet (4 squares)
Melee: None
Ranged: Acid Spray +8 (60 foot range increment, 3d6 acid)
Space: 5 ft.; Reach: 0 ft.
Base Attack: +5
Grapple: +7
Special Attacks: None
Special Actions: Root, Uproot
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 2/-, limited aim, mentally attuned
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 16, Con 20, Int 3, Wis 12, Cha 8
Feats: Rapid Metabolism, Toughness
Skills: Listen +8, Spot +8

Root (Ex): As a full-round action, a spore crawler can dig itself into the ground, steadying itself and allowing it to attack enemies that come within its range. The spore crawler loses its Dexterity bonus to AC while rooted. Additionally, the spore crawler must root itself in creep for 8 hours every 3 days to avoid starving.

Uproot (Ex): As a full-round action, a spore crawler can dig itself up, allowing it to walk around. The spore crawler cannot attack while uprooted.

Limited Aim (Ex): A spore crawler can only use its ranged attack against flying creatures or creatures which are close enough to it based on their size category. The maximum distance that a terrestrial creature can be from the spore crawler in order for the spore crawler to aim at it is given in the table below.



Size Category
Maximum Distance From Spore Crawler


Small
Attack not possible


Medium
5 feet


Large
10 feet


Huge
15 feet


Gargantuan
20 feet


Colossal
30 feet



Mentally Attuned (Ex): A spore crawler’s brain structure is attuned to only receive telepathic signals from the queen that owns it. It gains a +5 bonus on any saves or checks made to resist effects that would disrupt this communication, such as antimagic fields and spells which block mental communication.

Thought Beacon [Structure]
Prerequisites: Cha 13, Female zerg, Zerg Queen, creep tumor mutation x1, 9 levels in zerg classes
Benefit: You can order one of your drones to mutate into a small pillar 5 feet in diameter and 7 feet high, which enhances telepathic communication. To start producing a beacon, you must give a mental command to a drone you control as a full-round action. The drone must be on an area covered in creep. The drone then forms a fluid-filled membrane around itself and begins transforming. The process takes 2 days to complete. Each day, you must feed 100 lbs. of fresh meat to the membrane, which digests and absorbs the meat as you press it against the membrane’s surface. If the membrane does not receive enough food or the creep it is on disappears, it dies. If the process succeeds, the membrane bursts open to reveal a fully formed thought beacon. Creatures that can communicate using telepathy can send messages to and receive messages from other creatures as long as all creatures involved in the conversation are within 500 feet of the thought beacon. The beacon amplifies incoming and outgoing telepathic messages to ensure that they reach their intended recipients. If a thought beacon is within range of another one, they can form a network, passing telepathic messages between each other and allowing communication across huge distances. As a full-round action, you can edit the thought beacon to limit which individuals or races may use the beacon, or adjust the maximum radius of the effect to any distance up to 500 feet. If the creep below the beacon ever disappears, it dies unless new creep is added within 8 hours.

A thought beacon has 200 hit points and hardness 5. If damaged, it regains 10 hit points per day.

Regeneration Pool [Structure]
Prerequisites: Cha 13, Female zerg, Zerg Queen, creep tumor mutation x1, 12 levels in zerg classes
Benefit: You can order one of your drones to mutate into a basin which produces a fluid that helps zerg creatures heal faster. A regeneration pool takes up a 10-foot by 10-foot area. To start producing a regeneration pool, you must give a mental command to a drone you control as a full-round action. The drone must be on an area covered in creep. The drone then forms a fluid-filled membrane around itself and begins transforming. The process takes 3 days to complete. Each day, you must feed 100 lbs. of fresh meat to the membrane, which digests and absorbs the meat as you press it against the membrane’s surface. If the membrane does not receive enough food or the creep it is on disappears, it dies. If the process succeeds, the membrane bursts open to reveal a fully formed regeneration pool. As a full-round action, a zerg creature can drink from the pool of liquid inside a regeneration pool, causing it to gain fast healing 1 for 10 rounds. This liquid contains trace amounts of toxic chemicals, which a zerg can only remove from its body when it sleeps. If a zerg drinks from a regeneration pool more than once per day, it receives no additional healing and must succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or become sickened for 1 hour. In addition, a regeneration pool only produces enough liquid for it to be used 10 times per day. If the creep below the pool ever disappears, it dies unless new creep is added within 8 hours.

A regeneration pool has 300 hit points and hardness 5. If damaged, it regains 15 hit points per day.

Nydus Network [Structure]
Prerequisites: Cha 13, Female zerg, Zerg Queen, creep tumor mutation x1, 12 levels in zerg classes
Benefit: You can order one of your drones to mutate into a nydus network, which allows you to provide transportation into and out of your hive through the use of nydus worms. A nydus network takes up a 15-foot by 15-foot area. To start producing a nydus network, you must give a mental command to a drone you control as a full-round action. The drone must be on an area covered in creep. The drone then forms a fluid-filled membrane around itself and begins transforming. The process takes 5 days to complete. Each day, you must feed 100 lbs. of fresh meat to the membrane, which digests and absorbs the meat as you press it against the membrane’s surface. If the membrane does not receive enough food or the creep it is on disappears, it dies. If the process succeeds, the membrane bursts open to reveal a fully formed nydus network. Once the structure is complete, you can order it to produce a nydus worm by giving it a mental command as a full-round action and then feeding 500 lbs. of fresh meat to it over the next 24 hours. The nydus worm is then released underground, where it spends ten days burrowing and hunting for food. Once the nydus worm is fully grown, it returns to the area under the hive and waits. You can give fully grown nydus worms new commands as a full-round action from the location of the nydus network. You can order a nydus worm to travel out to any location it can reach by burrowing, or you can order a nydus worm to withdraw and return to the network. You can also command an individual nydus worm using telepathy if you are close enough to it. A nydus worm travels at 300 mph (5 miles per minute) and can carry up to 20 medium or smaller creatures at once. A large creature counts as 4 medium creatures. Creatures that are of large size or smaller can enter and exit a nydus worm through the nydus network or through the creature’s mouth when it surfaces. A surfaced nydus worm takes up a 15-foot by 15-foot area. If the creep below the nydus network ever disappears, the nydus network dies unless new creep is added within 8 hours. Surviving nydus worms can link to a new network if one is created.

A nydus network has 500 hit points and hardness 5. If damaged, it regains 25 hit points per day.

A fully grown nydus worm is nearly impervious to damage of any kind. Rays, projectiles, and melee weapons bounce off its hide. Spells generally fail to function against it. A nydus worm can crush barriers, including walls of force, simply by charging into them. Disintegration effects have no impact whatsoever. A nydus worm cannot be teleported or plane shifted by a simple spell, although it can move through an open portal such as the one created by a Gate spell if the portal is large enough.

Virophage [Structure]
Prerequisites: Cha 13, Female zerg, Zerg Queen, creep tumor mutation x1, 15 levels in zerg classes
Benefit: You can order one of your drones to mutate into a virophage, a living spire used in biological warfare. A virophage takes up a 10-foot by 10-foot area and is approximately 15 feet high. To start producing a virophage, you must give a mental command to a drone you control as a full-round action. The drone must be on an area covered in creep. The drone then forms a fluid-filled membrane around itself and begins transforming. To complete the process, you must feed the membrane 400 lbs. of food over the next 24 hours. If the membrane does not receive enough food or the creep it is on disappears, it dies. If the process succeeds, the membrane bursts open to reveal a fully formed virophage. A virophage is only effective when planted near enemies. It spews infectious vapors which enter a new 5 foot cube each round. A virophage can spread this vapor in a 15 foot radius around itself. Alternatively, it can spend 1 minute growing a tube which can reach up to 15 feet and spew vapor from that instead. A virophage is sensitive to the telepathic commands of the queen that owns it, and can be commanded as a swift action. A zerg queen can order a virophage to connect any tubes that it has grown to any vents or openings within reach, allowing it to pump the infectious vapor into nearby buildings, tunnels, ventilation systems, or any other enclosed space. A virophage can have up to 5 tubes at once, but it can only spread vapor from one tube at a time, adding to the vapor already in the area. Vapor dissipates after 1 hour. Any creature that breathes in the vapor must succeed on a DC 25 Fortitude save each minute or become infested by spores. Unlike ordinary diseases, virophage spores progress incredibly fast, with no incubation period once they take root in a host. Each minute after it becomes infested, a creature must succeed on another DC 25 Fortitude save or take 1 point of Intelligence damage. If the creature is mindless or if its Intelligence score is reduced to 0, it gains the infested template and falls unconscious while the spores finish their work. 10 minutes later, the creature regains consciousness and becomes a mindless shambling being which responds to the telepathic commands of the zerg queen which spawned the virophage. It continues following the queen’s telepathic commands until it dies. A creature which contracts virophage spores can fight off the disease and become immune to it by making three successful Fortitude saves in a row. Zerg are immune to virophage spores. A zerg queen can control a number of infested creatures at once equal to her zerg level plus her Charisma modifier. The maximum range at which she can command those creatures is 500 feet. If the creep below the virophage ever disappears, it dies unless new creep is added within 8 hours.

A virophage has 400 hit points and hardness 5. If damaged, it regains 20 hit points per day.

Virophages are considered controversial in the same way that humans consider disease warfare controversial. Virophages have long been a part of the zerg arsenal and have seen frequent deployment in prolonged wars. They are generally thought of by zerg as something between a standard weapon and a necessary evil. Some zerg queens deploy them whenever the opportunity presents itself, while others are more cautious about using them. When they are used, virophages are planted in densely populated areas in order to infect as many people as possible, and are frequently deployed with a newly spawned creep tumor while intended victims are asleep in order to maximize the chance of success and minimize setup time. Small numbers of highly trained zerg protect the virophage while it grows, doing their best to eliminate anyone who discovers them. When the virophage is complete, the zerg send in a larger force to reinforce their position, and the combined strength of the zerg warriors and their infested enemies is used to overwhelm enemy towns, cities, and strongholds.

Infested Creature Template

Size and type: Size is unchanged. Type changes to aberration.
Armor class: Unchanged.
Attacks: The creature gains a slam attack which deals bludgeoning damage identical to the creature’s unarmed strike damage, but increased by 1 step (1d3 for small creatures, 1d4 for medium creatures, 1d6 for large creatures, etc.). It can still use its other natural attacks, as well as any manufactured weapons it was proficient with before it became infested.
Damage: Unchanged.
Space and reach: Unchanged.
Abilities: The creature loses its Intelligence score and becomes a mindless creature.
Special abilities:
Mentally Attuned (Ex): An infested creature’s brain structure is attuned to only receive telepathic signals from the queen that owns the virophage responsible for infesting it. It gains a +5 bonus on any saves or checks made to resist effects that would disrupt this communication, such as antimagic fields and spells which block mental communication.
Level adjustment: +0.


Epic Zerg Feats

Extra Mutation [Epic]
Prerequisites: Mutation Prodigy, Mutation Master, 20 levels in zerg classes
Benefit: You gain 2 bonus mutation points.
Special: You can take this feat multiple times. Its effects stack.

Zerg Broodmother [Epic, Racial Bonus Feat]
Prerequisites: Cha 17, Female zerg, Zerg Queen, Hatchery, creep tumor mutation x3, 20 levels in zerg classes
Benefit: You gain the zerg broodmother template in place of the class level you would normally gain when you take this feat.
Special: This is a racial bonus feat for the zerg. A zerg that meets the prerequisites for this feat can take it at any time upon gaining a level, even if she would not normally gain a feat at that level. The zerg gains the zerg broodmother template instead of gaining a class level, hit dice, skill points, feats, or any other benefits normally gained by advancing in level. Due to the way in which feat prerequisites work, a zerg that takes this feat must keep her creep tumor mutations permanently. She cannot lose them when gaining a new level in a zerg class, nor can she lose them temporarily when reassigning mutation points for a quick mutation set.


Magic Items

Several magic items can be made using zerg mutations or other abilities. For the purpose of determining cost and other factors based on spell level, treat zerg mutations as spells with a level equal to ½ the minimum zerg level needed to take them, rounded up. If the item is based on a zerg feat, use ½ the minimum zerg level needed to take the feat, rounded up, in place of spell level. The caster level is equal to the zerg level of the zerg using its mutations to create the item.

Creep Orb
Type: Wondrous Item
Activation: Standard action, requires telepathy
Description: This small purple orb can be thrown as a splash weapon with a range increment of 10 feet. If the orb is given a telepathic command to open and is then thrown onto a surface containing mostly dirt, sand, soil, gravel, or hard earth, it generates a creep tumor under the surface. One round later, the creep tumor begins spreading creep out to a radius of 20 feet at a rate of 5 feet per round. The creep tumor lasts 24 hours before dying.
Market Price: 2,250 gp
Creation Cost: 1,125 gp, 90 XP, 2 days
Requirements: Craft Wondrous Item, 9 levels in zerg classes, creep tumor mutation

Nydus Orb
Type: Wondrous Item
Activation: Standard action, requires telepathy
Description: This small deep purple orb can be thrown as a splash weapon with a range increment of 10 feet. If the orb is given a telepathic command to open and is then thrown onto a surface, it attracts a nydus worm from a predetermined nydus network. The worm travels as quickly as it can, covering 5 miles every minute until it reaches the location where the orb was thrown and bursts through the ground. At any point after this, the orb’s user can give a telepathic command to the worm, ordering it to return to the nydus network which it came from.
Market Price: 3,600 gp
Creation Cost: 1,800 gp, 144 XP, 2 days
Requirements: Craft Wondrous Item, 12 levels in zerg classes, must be working with a zerg queen with the Nydus Network feat who owns a nydus network

Essence of Mutation
Type: Potion
Activation: Standard action
Description: This liquid provides an additional mutation point to a zerg that drinks it. This mutation point can be used to modify the drinker’s current form and quick mutations the next time he or she sleeps.
Market Price: 10,000 gp
Creation Cost: 5,000 gp, 400 XP, 5 days
Requirements: Permanency, Polymorph, Brew Potion, CL 15th, 10 levels in zerg classes

Essence of Magic Weaponry
Type: Potion
Activation: Standard action
Description: This liquid permanently makes one of the drinker’s natural weapon types into a magic weapon, allowing it to overcome the associated type of damage reduction. A zerg that consumes essence of magic weaponry chooses a mutation it has access to which deals bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage. All attacks it makes using that mutation are treated as attacks made using a magic weapon.
Market Price: 10,000 gp
Creation Cost: 5,000 gp, 400 XP, 5 days
Requirements: Magic Fang, Permanency, Brew Potion, CL 15th

ImperatorV
2016-02-17, 01:39 AM
...Right, I have comments on both this and your racial class, posting them all here because I don't want to be jumping the discussion around multiple threads.

First, I think you did a great job with the general rules. You successfully capture the feeling of both the swarm and primal zerg, and stay true to the source while not limiting the player's options at all. The balance of the things seems pretty good too.

Second, the racial class does not list any pre-recs. I'd suggest putting in there that you have to be a zerg to enter. It's implied only they can get in in this thread but not the other one, and people might see one without the other. On further thought though, you definitely should include options for people of different races to get in. I'd suggest a zerg hybrid (Kerrigan) or intelligent infested (Stukov) template, or perhaps both.

Third, there are a lot of options only for female zerg. Makes sense given the queens and all that, but it might be nice to have one or more male-specific things to compensate.

Fourth, I'd personally like to see psionics - perhaps a dual progression prestige class? Zerg psionics doesn't come up much other then telepathy, but when a psionic zerg does appear they tend to be powerful. Perhaps psi-like ability granting feats or mutations would not be amiss as well.

JPlayah
2016-02-17, 02:16 PM
ImperatorV,

Thanks for all of the feedback. Having written this stuff some time ago, it's nice to know that other people are interested and that there is room for further improvement and expansion.

I agree that there aren't options specifically tailored for male zerg, and I think that may be the biggest weakness in the design so far. The only reason I specified gender or implied a gender binary was to try and make the zerg easier to relate to as characters. I could have just as easily suggested that the zerg were gender-neutral or had ambiguous gender traits, and thus allowed any zerg character that meets the other prerequisites to become a queen. Personally, I'm a little hesitant to go and "retcon" all of that in my work, as it would conflict with a zerg campaign that I'm in the middle of writing. I will try and think of options for male zerg, however, provided I can come up with ones that seem biologically sensible and not sexist. In doing that, I want to stick to a similar feel as the one that the zerg queen has, where a character can get some powerful abilities but there are tradeoffs as well (not getting that zerg level, mutation points, etc.)

I definitely like the idea of a psionic prestige class (or alternate racial class, or substitution levels, or feats). I have some experience with using psionics in D&D, so I might draw from some of the psychic warrior powers to give the zerg some nice options that augment their existing abilities.

Also, I fixed the zerg racial class to explicitly state the zerg race as a requirement. Thanks for catching that.

DreamingGod05
2016-02-17, 07:12 PM
This is perfect, honestly, the only thing I would want from this is for it to be converted to DnD 5e.

JPlayah
2016-02-19, 12:12 AM
This is perfect, honestly, the only thing I would want from this is for it to be converted to DnD 5e.

Unfortunately, 3.5 is the only edition that I'm familiar with. Other people are welcome to work on the conversion, however, or I might do it myself once I learn more about 5e.

DreamingGod05
2016-02-19, 01:05 AM
And I've begun to do such a thing, It's barely done, but the race, and racial class, have been started. If anyone cares to look, here you go;

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OHp4X4wOyf0g_tv69Q3yJBFHijeev3lFm3JjLx8_J1Q/edit

JPlayah
2016-02-19, 03:43 AM
I copy-pasted some text and made the table 5e worthy. Also I fixed a couple class features/racial description bits.

It looks pretty nice and I get the sense that you know what you're doing. Since I'm not familiar with weapons in 5e, I would try to update mutation damage accordingly. For example, 1d8 is longsword damage in 3.5, while 2d6 is greatsword damage. Maximum spell damage is usually 1d6 per caster level/character level, and I'm trying to keep the zerg's acid damage a little below that since it's so spammable. If that's how it is in 5e, that's great. Otherwise, damage values might need to be adjusted.

DreamingGod05
2016-02-19, 04:45 PM
Damage die in 5e are mostly similar to 3.P, and adjustments will be made when necessary. So far, what I've actually converted over, none of the damage have changed.

Now, one of my player's has talked about playing a 'converted' race to the zerg, ala Kerrigan or Stukov. The easiest way I see this is allow the Zerg monster class to be taken by anyone, but in the Mutation ability have a paragraph describing the changes (Legs and arms, for one, and no natural bite attack) such as changing types to aberration, and losing some of their racial. I was thinking of stipulating that a 'converted' or multiclass Zerg would change over to the Zerg racial, with the stipulation that they can still take their Racial feats (et al.) and do not gain a Bite attack, but have arms and legs.

Another thought is to have a Prestige Class to explain it. Call it the Zerg Joiner perhaps?

As for the class, I'm debating if they should have Extra Attack, or if to make it a Mutation that some can take.

JPlayah
2016-02-19, 06:06 PM
Now, one of my player's has talked about playing a 'converted' race to the zerg, ala Kerrigan or Stukov. The easiest way I see this is allow the Zerg monster class to be taken by anyone, but in the Mutation ability have a paragraph describing the changes (Legs and arms, for one, and no natural bite attack) such as changing types to aberration, and losing some of their racial. I was thinking of stipulating that a 'converted' or multiclass Zerg would change over to the Zerg racial, with the stipulation that they can still take their Racial feats (et al.) and do not gain a Bite attack, but have arms and legs.

Another thought is to have a Prestige Class to explain it. Call it the Zerg Joiner perhaps?

As for the class, I'm debating if they should have Extra Attack, or if to make it a Mutation that some can take.

I think that the best way to handle this is to essentially give them slightly fewer mutation points than a pure zerg would have, since they already have arms and legs (I would tentatively say identical to the zerg racial class, but a flat reduction of 1 or 2 mutation points). Another option would be to drop quick mutations, since they can't change their body quite as easily. Or perhaps just prevent them from dropping the limbs that they have from their other race when performing a quick mutation or when gaining a class level, but let them modify their limbs as normal by adding hooves, claws, or whatever else they want that they qualify for. Do whatever you think is best.

As for extra attacks (with extra limbs, for example), those are done via the Multiweapon Fighting feat, as explained in the Mutation class feature, because I feel like it's just easier to deal with than that complicated natural attack stuff described in the Monster Manual. The basic idea is that zerg natural weapons are treated like manufactured weapons for the purposes of multiple attacks, feats, etc. and therefore benefit from Multiweapon Fighting (the monster version of Two Weapon Fighting) rather than Multiattack. Remember to tell the player to keep their Dexterity up so they can take that series of feats if they want some bonus attacks. There's nothing wrong with getting more limbs, but I would also drop the max limbs mutation from 2 + 1 per 4 class levels to just 1 per 4 class levels, since the character already has two pairs of limbs (presumably). Other than that, feel free to hand them everything that the zerg racial class offers.

Make sure there's a good in-game explanation for why this character suddenly has zerg powers though. Did they get hit by a weakened version of a zerg virus or something?

DreamingGod05
2016-02-19, 07:37 PM
I think that the best way to handle this is to essentially give them slightly fewer mutation points than a pure zerg would have, since they already have arms and legs (I would tentatively say identical to the zerg racial class, but a flat reduction of 1 or 2 mutation points). Another option would be to drop quick mutations, since they can't change their body quite as easily. Or perhaps just prevent them from dropping the limbs that they have from their other race when performing a quick mutation or when gaining a class level, but let them modify their limbs as normal by adding hooves, claws, or whatever else they want that they qualify for. Do whatever you think is best.
The last, I think, is the best option. They cannot drop their pair of arms/legs, and they do not start with a bite attack (with a Bite Attack mutation appearing for them at the 1 point mutation slot).



As for extra attacks (with extra limbs, for example), those are done via the Multiweapon Fighting feat, as explained in the Mutation class feature, because I feel like it's just easier to deal with than that complicated natural attack stuff described in the Monster Manual. The basic idea is that zerg natural weapons are treated like manufactured weapons for the purposes of multiple attacks, feats, etc. and therefore benefit from Multiweapon Fighting (the monster version of Two Weapon Fighting) rather than Multiattack. Remember to tell the player to keep their Dexterity up so they can take that series of feats if they want some bonus attacks. There's nothing wrong with getting more limbs, but I would also drop the max limbs mutation from 2 + 1 per 4 class levels to just 1 per 4 class levels, since the character already has two pairs of limbs (presumably). Other than that, feel free to hand them everything that the zerg racial class offers.
I'm talking Extra Attacks for DnD 5e. They are a class ability in 5E, since BAB is replaced by proficiency bonuses. Not every class gets Extra Attack class ability, other's get options they chose that gives them an extra Attack action. (The Warlock, for instance)



Make sure there's a good in-game explanation for why this character suddenly has zerg powers though. Did they get hit by a weakened version of a zerg virus or something?
So far, the idea is the same that happened to Kerrigan, they are a Mystic (Psion) multiclass to Zerg.

JPlayah
2016-02-19, 08:02 PM
I'm talking Extra Attacks for DnD 5e. They are a class ability in 5E, since BAB is replaced by proficiency bonuses. Not every class gets Extra Attack class ability, other's get options they chose that gives them an extra Attack action. (The Warlock, for instance)

You definitely have a better handle on this than I do. Trust your judgment.

DreamingGod05
2016-02-22, 12:16 AM
Indeed.

Do you think I should start another thread for this, or do you care if I continue parallel to you here?