Xenomorph Template

[Guinea Anubis]

would like to get you input on this.


Xenomorph Template can not be used on undead, Outsider, Fine, Diminutive, Tiny, Huge, Gargantuan, or Colossal creatures

ABILITIE SCORES
Add these to base creature
+2 Str, +6 Dex, +2 con, -4 Int (min 3), -8 Cha (min 2)

SIZE and Type
base creature with this template becomes a Magical Beast and will stay the same size.

HIT DICE
Hit Dice become that of a magical beast D10

SPEED
Add 10 feet to base speed of base creature and has a climb speed equal to that of its land speed.

ARMOR CLASS
Xenomorphs has a +2 Natural armor bonus or the base crearure's natural armor bonus, whichever is better.

ATTACKS
Keep all Special Attacks of the base creature
Xenomorphs gain two claw attacks and one bite attack (damage based on size of the Xenomorph) if base creature did not have one before.
Xenomorph also can use there scondary jaw attack in place of there bite attack, this attack adds +2 damage to the bite attack.
Xenomorphs also gain a tail attack that can trip (reflex DC of 15) or do damge equal to Xenomorph's claw attack

SPECIAL QUALITIES
Keep all Special Qualities of the base creature
Blood that can do 1D6 acid damage (DC 13 Fort Save for magic weapons)
Xenomorphs have blindsight(replaceing Darkvision and Low-light Vision) and can ascertain all foes within 100 feet as a scited creature would.
Xenomorphs get +6 to hide

Immunities
Xenomorphs have immunity to gaze attacks, visual effects, illusions, and other attack forms that rely on sight.
Xenomorphs have immunity from acid

CHALLENGE RATING
Same as the base creature +4

[Squatting_Monk]

Now, I don't know much about template design, so can't comment much beyond this, but... you should probably also disallow constructs from taking this template, since they're non-living.

[Jibar]

I'll point out here, that
1. You're honestly making a template for Aliens?
2. I think the intelligence penalty is a little harsh. Xenomorphs are exceptionally intelligent.

[Guinea Anubis]

I'll point out here, that
1. You're honestly making a template for Aliens?
2. I think the intelligence penalty is a little harsh. Xenomorphs are exceptionally intelligent.

1 Yes, in my homebrewed world Elfs are Aliens that crashed on Earth so this fits in as long as it is not over used.

2. IMHO I thought they had more animal cunning then exceptional intelligent.

[Wizzardman]

1 Yes, in my homebrewed world Elfs are Aliens that crashed on Earth so this fits in as long as it is not over used.

2. IMHO I thought they had more animal cunning then exceptional intelligent.

It depends on who's writing about them. I always thought that they were pretty intelligent, but had a hive mind whenever there was a Queen alien around [i.e. whenever there are two or more Xenomorphs in one area; according to the books and games, whenever two or more Xenomorphs are present in one area, one of them will transform into a Queen form, which allows it to produce massive quantities of Facehugger eggs. The second Xenomorph, and all future Xenos, will operate under the Queen's instructions, and attempt to gain both food for the Queen and new targets for the Facehuggers].

[DracoDei]

Xenomorph Template can not be used on undead, Outsider, Fine, Diminutive, Tiny, Huge, Gargantuan, or Colossal creatures

I don't think Oozes could get this template either... or at least I have a bit of trouble wrapping my brain around what that would look like...
If you are going by the movies I think the first one had the desicated corpse of something I would AT LEAST call huge that a Xenomorph had gestated inside.

ABILITIE SCORES
Add these to base creature
+2 Str, +6 Dex, +2 con, -4 Int (min 3), -8 Cha (min 2)

Watch out for curses, poisons, etc being used to drop these things by targetting Int and Cha, especially a queen.

HIT DICE
Hit Dice become that of a magical beast D10

<<Snip>>

ARMOR CLASS
Xenomorphs has a +2 Natural armor bonus or the base crearure's natural armor bonus, whichever is better.

As I seem to recall it took a noticable number of shots to put down the ones that were based off humans (then again I don't think anyone ever hit one with anything other than a fully automatic weapon or explosives so it is hard to tell). An increase in HD or more AC might reflect this.

ATTACKS
Keep all Special Attacks of the base creature

What about gaze attacks, and to a lesser degree spellcasting? Actually spellcasting would technically be defeated in most cases by the fact that CHA gets reduced and besides which it may count as a quality not an ability (but you are keeping those too).

Xenomorph also can use there scondary jaw attack in place of there bite attack, this attack adds +2 damage to the bite attack.

So basically increase bite damage by 2 since there is no reason for them to every NOT use the secondary jaw...

SPECIAL QUALITIES
Keep all Special Qualities of the base creature
Blood that can do 1D6 acid damage (DC 13 Fort Save for magic weapons)

Range on blood spray? Reflex save to avoid?
Also since the wounds are instantly flushed out at high pressure, I would think this would at give a large bonus, if not immunity to injury poisons.

Xenomorphs have blindsight(replaceing Darkvision and Low-light Vision) and can ascertain all foes within 100 feet as a scited creature would.

It is spelled 'sighted'.

[Draken]

There is a better template (i think) in a Brazilian magazine i got here (Dragão Brasil):

The Xenomorph template can be given to any humanoid, monstrous humanoid, animal, magical beast, aberration, outsider or vermin tipe creature, that shall be named "Base creature".

The base creature must be small, medium or large sized. Sinse the larva must grapple the victims face, it's not possible to infect mouthless creatures, or with unnapropriate-shaped heads.

Base creature retains all of it's statistics and abilities, except for the following modifications:

Type: changes to Aberration

Size: Small creatures become medium. Medium or large creatures remain unnaltered.

Hit Die: changes to d8.

Movement: inscreases by 10 feet. Creature can also climb at same land speed, if the base creature can climb faster, that speed is kept.

Armor Class: Natural armor increases by +6

Attacks & Damage: A xenomorph may make 3 attacks per round, two with its claws (1d6+ Str. modifier for medium) and one with the bite (1d8+ Str. modifier for medium).
The creature can also make one attack each round using it's tail (2d8+ Str. modifier, for medium), but can't use it's claws and bite when doing so.

If the creature has other attacks, they are kept, if the creature already has claw and bite attacks, the damage increases by one step.

Special Attacks: The Xenomorph keeps any special attacks that isn't fire related or requires eyes, inteligence, or comunication with other creatures. Class features are lost.

Special Qualities: The Xenomorph keeps any special qualities that isn't fire related or requires eyes, inteligence, or comunication with other creatures. Class features are lost.
The xenomorph also aquires: Blindsight (100 feet), DR 10/-, Scent, Imunity to visual effects, poison and acid, Vulnerability to Fire and Acid Blood.

Acid Blood (Ext): whenever a xenomorph suffers damage fron a physical attack, it's acidic blood spills, damaging any adjacent creatures and objects. The blood deals 1d6 damage/3 HD of the creature (max 5d6). The attacker ca avoid damage with a Reflex save (DC 10 + damage done to the Xenomorph)

Saves: same of the base creature, +2 racial bonus on Fort saves.

Abilities: Str +6, Dex +6, Con +6, Wis +1. Int changes to 4, Cha changes to 2.

Skills: base creature loses all Int and Cha based skills, and also looses any skill that deal with animal handling, crafting, tools, ect. The Xenomorph has a +4 Racial bonus on Intimidate, Balance, Escape Artist, Listen, Search and Survival checks. It has a + 6 racial bonus on Hide, Climb, Jump and Move Silently checks.

Feats: The Xenomorph looses all base creatures feats and receive the folowing: Power attack (Bite only), Multiple Attacks, Run, Dodge, Improved Iniciative, Mobility, Track and Combat Reflexes.

Challenge Rating: +4

Now, that is a Drone, queens have theyr own, fix stats.

[SurlySeraph]

There's something that both of those templates omit: namely, xenomorphs have tentacles. Around 4 of them, if I remember correctly. I'd just add the tentacles to its attacks, and give it a bonus on grapple checks because of the tentacles. Also, since the secondary jaw is almost always used to bite something out of range of its main jaw, I'd rule that it can reroll a missed attack roll when using its bite attack, but if the second bite hits it only does half damage (because the secondary jaw is so small).

[Draken]

The secondary jaw was seen to pierce metal, and you think it's damage is low?

And: the guys who made this template i placed there, used the Power Attack feat to simulate the second jaw.

And i'm pretty sure those things on the backs are just tubes, tubes that release a mucus used for climbing. I never saw 'em being used for attack or grapple.

[DracoDei]

Abberation is more accurate of a description, but the traits for Magical Beast actually make more sense. Higher BAB and bigger hit-dice make it a tougher monster and Fortitude and Reflex make sense as better saves (although I could certainly see throwing in Iron Will and/or a high Wisdom to simulate the implacable and 'group minded' mindset of a Xenomorph). An abberation's proficiency with simple weapons doesn't make sense either since you never saw one of them grab a pulse rifle to shoot at the humans over the heads of its comrades, despite having opposable thumbs I think. Granted a pulse rifle doesn't qualify as a simple weapon, but...

Depending on how much of a 'by Fiat' GM one is, one should be prepared to rebutt an arguement that bludgeoning weapons shouldn't cause acid spray with the fact that they are exoskeletal.

...And I still seem to remember a Huge creature having been used as an incubator in the implied backstory to the first movie...

[Draken]

Ok, explanations...

Models usually don't change BBA, so it doens't really matter.

Indeed, all aberrations have simple weapon proficiency, unless said the opositte...

base creature loses all Int and Cha based skills, and also looses any skill that deal with animal handling, crafting, tools, ect

Yes, it applies to skills, but i am pretty sure any weapon qualifies as a tool.

Well, the size thing was placed up in the model solely because the facehugger larva needs to grapple to the targets face, and -most- Huge creatures have huge heads too, i think it goes to a DM's logic.

About saves, they don't change. The aliens get +2 to fort, however, and they get a +6 to dex and con.

The group minded part, it's (kinda) explained in the Queen's sheet, she got Telepathy, directed only to drones, and some other mental powers (Sugestion on humanoids with Wis 8 or lower, and another thing), also she has Int 16, Wis 15 and Car 7.

[SurlySeraph]

They do use their tentacles. In Aliens, you see the various marines who are pulled offscreen in the nest grabbed by tentacles; when Hudson is dragged down after his last stand, he's grabbed by tentacles (though a claw grabs at his mouth); in Alien 3, that guy who gets pulled into the ceiling while he's denying the existence of the alien gets grabbed by tentacles. Rewatch the movies and pause at those parts if you doubt it.

[Draken]

I will but...

You are sure these weren't the tails right?

[Jibar]

Their tails are prehensile, and seem to be able to carry absurd amounts of weight, so yeah, I thought those were tails.