Klaven

This imposing humanoid advances with unblinking, milk-white eyes, its claws and wicked bone spurs ready to rend as green, calcified skin covers its body like a hardened exoskeleton.

Klaven are an artificially created species, incrementally modified to serve the jagladine—and by extension, the Ultari Hegemony—as foot soldiers and shocktroops. Their jagladine masters perfected this process to transform natives of conquered worlds into an occupying force. The conversion protocol begins with a creature’s infection, typically by a virus referred to as an assimilation strain, which introduces nanites to remap a victim’s brain patterns and overall psychology, predisposing them towards evil. The second stage requires a fitted mindslave harness, which conditions victims towards complete obedience, reception of telepathic commands, and eventual networking with others of its kind. Those who survive these experiences become candidates for full conversion into klaven, a process which involves submersion into vats of organic mutagens to amplify the victim’s strength, alter the visual spectrum of its eyes, and grow natural claws. Klaven typically have greenish skin and milky-white eyes, with smooth hairless skin calcified into a hard, armored exoskeleton overlaying their former physiology.

The final result draws horror-worthy comparisons to an undead monstrosity, but all klaven are still living soldiers.

Those familiar with klaven biology realize their appearance often signals an assimilation plague has already run its course, but klaven lack all memory of their former lives, devoid of compassion and slaying others without hesitation.

Only officers possess the ability to speak, with all others communicating purely through an exchange of nanites. Their jagladine masters also have the technological means to tap into their neural network, monitoring the condition of their soldiers while remotely issuing commands. It is believed the Hegemony’s weaponeers also occasionally download their soldiers’ memories, analyzing their experiences for further insights into those they encounter.

Klaven Weapons

Weapon	Level	Price	Damage	Critical	Range	Capacity	Usage	Bulk	Special	Source
Spur Rifle	1	100	1d6 P	—	80 ft.	6 spurs	1	1	Analog, see text	SOURCE
Lieutenant Spur Rifle	3	2,250	1d10 P	Injection DC +2	80 ft.	6 spurs	1	1	Analog, see text	SOURCE

Spur Rifle: Designed by the jagladine for use by their klaven foot soldiers, this ranged weapon fires thorny projectiles of a hard, resin-like substance, and can hold up to six spurs at a time in a self-contained case attached to the stock. As long as the rifle holds ammunition, its wielder can ready a new projectile with a free action, but loading a new case requires a full-round action which provokes attacks of opportunity. The jagladine grow the various components for spur rifles from organic biomass cultivated in the swamps of their homeworld, making them immune to spells such as heat metal and warp wood, but they still count as objects for the purposes of other spells and effects. The spurs themselves are porous and easily poisoned, often bearing jagladine toxins used to incapacitate other species for capture, interrogation, and experimentation. This is a longarm in the projectile category with a range of 80 feet.

Lieutenant Spur Rifle: Issued only to jagladine lieutenants or those higher in rank, the lieutenant spur rifle functions identically to the typical spur rifle, but it deals more damage and gains the critical hit effect injection DC +2.