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Symbiont, Flight Pack

Flight Pack CR 5

Four diaphanous wings of leaf-like material extend from the butterfly-like body of this strange creature.

XP 1,600
N Medium plant
Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Perception +11

DEFENSE

HP 70; EAC 17; KAC 19
Fort +9; Ref +7; Will +4; DR 5/slashing; Immunities cold, plant immunities

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft., fly 20 ft. (Ex, average)
Melee slam +14 (1d6+8 B) or bite +14 (1d6+8 P)
Offensive Abilities sonic buffet (30-ft. cone, 3d8 B and deafened for 1d4 rounds, DC 15, usable every 1d4 rounds)

STATISTICS

Str +3; Dex +2; Con +5; Int –; Wis +1; Cha -3
Skills Acrobatics +11
Other Abilities bond, host abilities, mind link, symbiont healing

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Sonic Buffet (Ex)

As a standard action while flying, the flight symbiont can flap its wings to release a concussive blast in a 30-ft. cone. All creatures caught in the cone must attempt a DC 13 Fortitude save. On a failure, the creatures take 3d8 points of bludgeoning damage and are deafened for 1d4 rounds. A successful save halves the damage and negates the deafened condition.

HOST ABILITIES

Cold Resistance (Ex)

The flight symbiont absorbs the first 10 points of cold damage per attack that the host would normally take as per resist energy.

Flight (Ex)

As a standard action the flight symbiont unfurls into a network of vines, framing thin, membranous leaves allowing the host to fly with a speed of 60 ft. (average maneuverability), and granting a +3 competence bonus to Fly checks made with this ability. The host can fly for up to a maximum of 5 consecutive minutes each time this ability is used, though these minutes do not need to be used at once and may be split up into 1-minute increments. If the symbiont and host are still airborne at the end of this time they both fall. Once a symbiont has flown for its maximum number of minutes or its host has dismissed the wings as a free action the symbiont may not grant flight again for a number of minutes equal to the total time it was most recently in flight.

ECOLOGY

Environment any (Kir-Sharaat)
Organization solitary

Symbionts are custom-grown plant creatures tailored to serve specific purposes, like living tools. There are myriad forms of symbionts on Kir-Sharaat that serve mundane purposes, like mobility enhancing exoskeletons to assist erahthi who possess difficulty walking or lifting heavy objects, communication symbionts that can relay messages, even clothing that sizes itself to fit its wearer and protects against parasites and pests. This section focuses on combat-oriented symbionts designed during the Century War.

Though the erahthi created symbionts first, their widespread use is now found beyond the boundaries of Kir- Sharaat and organizations across the Aethera System traffic in the secrets of their creation. Creatures of all species can create plant symbionts, and some have even begun to experiment with creating symbionts of other creature types, like aberrations and elementals. Symbionts are created in special laboratories and each have a monetary cost associated with them like magic items.

Erahthi have created a wide variety of living plant symbionts to take the place of typical equipment, and these symbionts are often sought after as curiosities or specialized weapons. A plant symbiont can be affected by spells that target plant creatures, though it is mindless, incapable of independent action, and has no ability scores other than Constitution (which is always equal to its item level). It is subject to poisons and diseases, though it does not need to breath and is always protected as well as a creature with active environmental protection from armor. If it is forced to make a saving throw, its save bonus is always equal to its item level. If it suffers a condition that would normally cause it to take a penalty to attacks, damage, save DCs, saving throws, or AC those penalties apply to any attack or effect created with it. Plant symbionts “eat” by absorbing part of the charges or fuel (or energy from some other form of ammunition) when fired. They do not sleep or breathe, cannot communicate in any way, retain all plant immunities (including saving throw bonuses), are immune to pain effects, and are mindless.

If damaged, a plant symbiont can regain Hit Points from effects that restore Hit Points to living creatures, such as a mystic cure spell, and it regains a number of Hit Points equal to its item level each day. You can use the Life Science or Medicine skill instead of Engineering to repair a living weapon.

In addition to the relatively helpless normal plant symbiont, there exist advanced plant symbionts which can transform into an independent form and back as a full-round action. While in independent form, an advanced plant symbiont acts a drone with an effective mechanic level of its item level -3, save that it is considered a plant rather than a construct for the purpose of determining effects and possesses no feats or mods save for initial mods gained from its drone chassis. An advanced plant symbionts’ chassis is determined when it is created and items of lower than 4th level cannot be made into advanced plant symbionts. The owner of the advanced plant symbiont may control the advanced plant symbionts as if they were the drone’s master.

A normal plant symbiont version of an item costs 10% more than normal. An advanced plant symbiont version of an item costs 50% more than normal.

CONSTRUCTION

Slot shoulders; Price 45,000 gp; Cost 22,500 gp

A flight pack symbiont’s thick roots pierce the host’s upper back and shoulders, connected to a horizontal central stem. An extensive network of vines extend from the stem, forming a frame much like a bat’s wing. The flight symbiont’s thin, almost translucent, leaves stretch between the vines. Its vascular system is designed to use the host’s blood to pump through the wings to create a hydraulic system of movement.

When detached from a host a flight pack symbiont resembles an enormous butterfly or moth made from bark, roots, and large leaves. It moves with considerably less grace when not attached to a host and able to benefit from the symbiotic connection.

The flight pack symbiont predates the Century War, designed for use among the upper boughs of Kir-Sharaat by erahthi builders. During the Century War, manufacture of the flight pack symbiont switched to exclusively military use and to outfit a specialized unit of shock troops. These troops trained as a mobile unit to fly around battlefields to fight both sky and land-based units. Additionally, they sometimes acted as paratroopers, dropping down from erahthi ships to quickly land among enemy forces. Some erahthi aethership pilots also wear flight pack symbionts in the event of a crash or emergency ejection.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Alien Codex (Starfinder) © 2019, Legendary Games; Lead Designer: Jason Nelson. Authors: Anthony Adam, Kate Baker, John Bennet, Eytan Bernstein, Robert Brookes, Russ Brown, Duan Byrd, Paris Crenshaw, Jeff Dahl, Robyn Fields, Joel Flank, Matt Goodall, Robert J. Grady, Jim Groves, Steven T. Helt, Thurston Hillman, Tim Hitchcock, Nick Hite, Daniel Hunt, Mike Kimmel Marshall, Isabelle Lee, Jeff Lee, Lyz Liddell, Jason Nelson, Richard Pett, Tom Phillips, Jeff Provine, Alistair J. Rigg, Alex Riggs, Wendall Roy, Mike Shel, Neil Spicer, Todd Stewart, Russ Taylor, Rachel Ventura, Mike Welham, George Loki Williams, Scott Young.