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Old 09-21-2019, 08:21 PM   #3
David Johnston2
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Default Re: Alien Threats [Space]

It helps if you eschew realism. For example the Void Angels from Rules change in the reaches are living entities whose habitat is space. Their mental emanations scramble electronics, while their tentacles can turn partially desolid, reach through armour and hulls and pull the occupants out in space unprotected. But then that's a Space/Horror game.

Similarly the Dream Eaters are telepathic tuber-like life-forms that remove the ability of humans to dream within their radius of effect. The result that after a few weeks of exposure, the humans develop anteretrograde amnesia, forgetting the day's memories while they sleep. And if humans approach the trees the Eaters parasitize, they can use mental illusions to turn them on each other or just flood their minds with frightening hallucinations.

For a more superficially realistic approach, try a low gravity dense atmosphere world with giant flying creatures that just swoop down, pick up humans, and then drop them from the air. Give them blue and white markings to make them hard to spot until they're swooping distance.

On Summanus, there are no trees but there are large sessile animals that are kind of like trees with membranes stretching between their lims made out of symbiotic photosynthetic organisms. Most of them are harmless. But there's a related species that looks almost the same except it isn't sessile. If an animal sleeps close enough it will slowly move over and try to skewer it. Even if you're sleeping in armour, if the armour's flexible you'll still be pinned to the ground and will suffocate from the weight on your chest.

Similarly on Summanus the Fisher Kings are sessile (when mature) aquatic animals that bury themselves in the ocean floor. They will gather food by sensing vibration and stretching out their tentacles to grab things and pull them into their maw. And if they're on their shore that includes reaching on the land and grabbing animals walking there. They pull them into the ocean where unless you have your own air supply you'll drown.

Small and venomous has a lot of potential when dealing with anyone who doesn't have a sealed environment suit. Likewise nerve gas as a defense mechanism on anyone who doesn't have breathing apparatus. Fungal spores that infect humans, turning them into zombies that still sort of remember how to use weapons.

Then there's the slow stuff. While it's not likely that any life form would have super corrosive fluids ala Aliens, I could buy corrosives that do slow cumulative damage to gear.
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