Wednesday 16 November 2022

DW Monsters: Solonians

Following on from The Sea Devils, the next story we come to is The Mutants. The eponymous monsters here turn out not to be “mutants” at all but are instead a natural form of an alien race native to the planet Solos. While they have since received the odd passing reference here and there, they currently remain a one-off race, never appearing again in any of the novels, audios, or even (so far as I can tell) shorter works such as comics.

Description and Biology

The crucial point about the Solonians, which forms a large part of the basis for the story’s plot, is that they have at least three distinct forms. The planet Solos travels around its star on a very long orbit, which is sufficiently eccentric to cause extreme variations in the planet’s temperature as the year progresses. We know that the temperature of the planet is roughly Earth-normal at two points in the orbit and that the orbital period is about 2,000 Earth years. This implies an extremely large and hot central star, most likely a blue giant – a planet at that distance from even the brightest main-sequence star would be similar to Pluto. In reality, such stars have very short lifespans, and (according to our current best understanding of biogenesis) wouldn’t be around long enough to develop much in the way of life on their planets. But, for obvious reasons, we’ll let that pass.

The upshot of this is that the Solonians have adapted to live on a planet with four 500-year-long seasons, where the temperature swings between (for humans) inhospitably cold and inhospitably hot. They do this by changing form with the seasons. The ‘spring’ form of the species is, at least externally, indistinguishable from humans. Since nobody from the Earth Empire has noticed there is anything odd about them, we must assume that, despite the total lack of on-screen evidence, females and children exist just as they do among humans. Solonians, in other words, reproduce as we do, and over the 500 Earth-years of their spring, they go through multiple generations.

As spring draws to a close, however, individual Solonians transform into a radically different form – the ‘mutants’ of the title. These have a basically humanoid shape but are covered with a chitinous, heat-resistant, armour that looks like an exoskeleton. Presumably, their internal organs are not radically reformed at this point, so that they still retain (for example) a regular endoskeleton and what we see is more like the shell of a turtle or the bony hide of an armadillo.

Nonetheless, there are other changes to the body that do, at least superficially, make them appear insectoid. Their hands are reduced to claws, like those of crabs or scorpions. Their eyes and mouth retain the basic vertebrate pattern, and they have no antennae, but they do have long (sensory?) palps that extend down from the angles of the mouth, resembling those seen in many arthropods. These changes also cause them to lose the ability to speak.

This form doesn’t exist for long, and is presumably incapable of reproduction, since its purpose is purely to serve as a bridge between the ‘spring’ form and the full ‘summer’ form. That latter transformation is triggered by a particular form of radiation, which they instinctively seek out; the intermediate form is required only to allow them to survive long enough to reach it. (Which all seems unnecessarily complicated but, again, we’ll gloss over that).

Finally, we have the full ‘summer’ form, which sheds the physical protection of the transitional insectoids to return to something that looks human except for being wreathed in multi-coloured light. This form gains a range of psychic abilities that render it quite formidable and regains the power of speech. As well, we would assume, of reproduction, unless the special powers include longevity, which for all we know, they might.

This does raise an additional question that’s not addressed in the TV story: what happens in the autumn and winter? Clearly, at some point in the cycle, the angelic-looking summer Solonians must revert to the human-like spring ones. It may be that that’s literally all that happens, but if the summer Solonians were as able to survive in bitter cold as well as they can in bitter heat then they wouldn’t need to bother with the spring form at all. This implies that there is a fourth, winter form, that’s never explicitly mentioned (since it’s not relevant to the story) and, most likely, an autumn form that resembles the spring one. The existence of at least one additional transitional form also seems probable, between autumn and winter, and there might be more.

Such additional forms and the methods of their transformation are, however, speculative. Absent any appearances in the spin-off media, they are likely to always remain so.

Game Attributes

I will, therefore, only address the three forms we know about. The spring, or humanoid, form is seemingly just like a regular human. Their low technology means that all of the ones we see are hunters or warriors, but there must be others farming or looking after animals or whatever. The only distinction from humans is their immunity to one specific poisonous gas that is common in their atmosphere, which implies some difference in their biochemistry but is unlikely to be significant in most systems, since it’s surely not a blanket resistance to all toxins.

With regard to the transitional, or insectoid, form, there are clearly several physical changes that should affect the appropriate stats. They are probably stronger than the human form, although not by much, but their slower movement and lack of thumbs must surely indicate a significantly lower dexterity or equivalent. The whole point of their existence is that they are resilient, so a higher physical endurance is likely as well as an armoured hide that’s probably equivalent to leather (they certainly aren’t invulnerable to the guns used in the story).

Mentally, however, the details are more ambiguous. The fact that they can’t speak makes them appear to be less intelligent, and this is somewhat borne out by the way that they act. However, they are the same person as before, and the full intelligence is certainly present in the form that follows, so it seems more plausible that the mental statistics don’t change, even if they are less able to communicate with others for anatomical reasons. All the skills of the human form would logically also be retained although, in many systems, the reduced dexterity would (rightly) alter or even negate their ability to use many of them.

In purely physical terms, the summer, or angelic, form is probably no different from the spring one of the same individual – certainly, they look much the same. It’s tempting to argue that they would have a higher intelligence but, again, this seems hard to justify. The real difference comes in their new abilities, and it is fair to say that whatever attribute powers psychic powers in a given game system would be increased, possibly by quite a lot.

Special Abilities

Other than their resistance to one specific toxin, the humanoid forms lack any special abilities, while the insectoid forms can at least add a resistance to high temperatures, since that’s the point of their existence. However, it’s really only the angelic forms that have anything really special.

This, of course, refers to their psychic powers, which seem considerable. They can levitate, use telepathy, make themselves at least temporarily intangible, and possibly possess other similar powers as well. Notably, they can project beams of energy at their enemies, although whether these are something like laser beams or some kind of purely psychic energy is not immediately clear.


5E - Insectoid Solonian

Medium monstrosity, neutral

Armour Class: 15 (natural)

Hit Points: 30 (4d8+12)

Speed: 20 ft.

STR 12 (+1)

DEX 8 (-1)

CON 16 (+3)

INT 10 (+0)

WIS 10 (+0)

CHA 10 (+0)

Saving Throws:  Constitution +5

Skills: Survival +2

Combat Skills: Melee Attack +3

Damage Resistances: Fire

Senses: Passive Perception 10

Claws: Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d8+1) slashing damage

Challenge: ¼ (50 XP)

5E - Angelic Solonian

Medium humanoid, neutral

Armour Class: 15 (psychic shield)

Hit Points: 33 (6d8+6)

Speed: 30 ft.

STR 10 (+0)

DEX 10 (+0)

CON 12 (+1)

INT 10 (+0)

WIS 16 (+3)

CHA 10 (+0)

Saving Throws: Wisdom +5, Charisma +2

Skills: Perception +5

Combat Skills: Ranged Attack +2, Melee Attack +2

Damage Immunities: Fire

Senses: Passive Perception 13

Intangibility: As an action, the angelic Solonian can shift from the material plane to the ethereal plane, or vice versa.

Challenge: ½ (100 XP)


BRP - Insectoid Solonian


STR 2D6+6 (13)

CON 3D6+6 (16-17)

SIZ 2D6+6 (13)

INT 2D6+6 (13)

POW 3D6 (10-11)

 

DEX 2D6 (7)

CHA 2D6 (7)

 

Hit Points: 15

Move: 8

 

Base SR: 6

Damage Bonus: +1D4

 

Armour: 3-point chitinous plates (5-point versus fire damage)

Skills: Hide 50%, Sense 40%

Combat Skills: Brawl 50% (pincers do D8 damage)

Heat Resistance: An insectoid Solonian does not begin to suffer from the effects of heat until the temperature reaches 50°C (120°F).

BRP - Angelic Solonian


STR 3D6 (10-11)

CON 3D6 (10-11)

SIZ 2D6+6 (13)

INT 2D6+6 (13)

POW 3D6+6 (16-17)

 

DEX 3D6 (10-11)

CHA 3D6 (10-11)

 

Hit Points: 12

Move: 10

 

Base SR: 5

Damage Bonus: 0

 

Armour: None

Skills: Fly 50%

Combat Skills: Projection 60% (blast does 2D6 damage)

Telepathy: Angelic Solonians can communicate telepathically without the need for speech or a common language.

Intangibility: An angelic Solonian can make itself intangible, allowing it to pass through walls, but losing its ability to interact with the physical universe while it does so.


GURPS - Insectoid Solonian

ST 12

DX 10

IQ 10

HT 16

Thrust: 1d-1

 

Swing: 1d+2

 

Speed: 6.5

 

Move: 5

 

Advantages: Damage Resistance-3, Damage Resistance-5 (fire only), Radiation Tolerance/2, Sharp Claws, Temperature Tolerance-0 (65-120°F)

Disadvantages: Fanaticism (complete their transformation), Mute, No Fine Manipulators

Skills: Brawling-11, Farming-10, Naturalist-10, Search-13, Stealth-11, Survival (plains)-14


GURPS - Angelic Solonian

ST 10

DX 10

IQ 10

HT 10

Thrust: 1d-2

 

Swing: 1d

 

Speed: 5

 

Move: 5

 

Advantages: Damage Resistance-10 (fire only), Innate Attack-3 (burning, malediction), Insubstantiality, Telekinesis-17 (psychokinetic, self only), Telesend, Temperature Tolerance-8 (65-200°F)

Skills: Brawling-11, Farming-10, Innate Attack-14, Naturalist-10, Shortsword-12, Survival (desert)-14



Savage Worlds - Insectoid Solonian

Agility: d6

Smarts: d6

Spirit: d6

Strength: d8

Vigour: d10

 

Skills: Fighting d4, Survival d6

Hindrances: Driven (Major, to transform), Mute

Special Abilities: Armour, Claws, Environmental Resistance (Heat)

Pace: 5                  Parry: 4               Toughness: 7 (2)                   Size: 0


Savage Worlds - Angelic Solonian

Agility: d6

Smarts: d6

Spirit: d12

Strength: d6

Vigour: d6

 

Skills: Psionics d8, Survival d6

Special Abilities: Environmental Resistance (Heat)

Powers: Blast, Intangibility, Mind Link, Telekinesis

Pace: 6                  Parry: 2               Toughness: 5                   Size: 0


STA - Insectoid Solonian

Control: 8

Fitness: 11

Presence: 9

Daring: 8

Insight: 8

Reason: 8

Command: 0

Security: 1

Science: 0

Conn: 0

Engineering: 0

Medicine: 0

Stress: 12

Resistance: 2

 


Attack: Claws 2^ (Piercing-1)


STA - Angelic Solonian

Control: 9

Fitness: 8

Presence: 9

Daring: 10

Insight: 9

Reason: 8

Command: 2

Security: 1

Science: 0

Conn: 0

Engineering: 0

Medicine: 0

Stress: 9

Resistance: 0


Attack: Psychic Blast 3^ (Intense)

Immune to Heat

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