Size Comparison: Giant Terropa, Assault Scout, Telpa

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A threat to shipping in
the New Streel system, the vacuum-living Giant Terropa appears to be related to
the small Telpa of the Triskaar system. The size of an assault scout, the Giant
Terropa has four large limbs that end in a small hydrogen “engine” that propels
them at high speeds; these limbs easily pivot, providing the creatures with
great maneuverability.

At the front of the
creature are 12 large limbs used for grappling – either a ship or an asteroid –
and a maw of smaller, metal ripping teeth. It can also discharge super-heated
plasma that will soften even the heaviest armor plating of current Frontier
vessels. Stealthy, the creatures have been known to approach early Frontier
ships without being detected before they latched onto the hulls with their
powerful claws and mandibles. Often the Giant Terropa easily dismantled a
wayward freighter within an hour. Some of the debris of these destroyed vessels
can be found in the system.

The outer skin of these
creatures can deflect many modern Frontier weapons – they take half-damage from
lasers, torpedos, assault rockets and batteries, mines, seeker missiles and
electron beams. Only distruptor beams appear to harm them more (actually subtract
3 from any disruptor beam damage roll).

Giant Terropa have an
equivalent of 18 hull points, ADF 5 and MR 6. They cannot be detected at long
range by current Frontier technology and are only sensed when they are on an
encounter map. They seem to have the ability to sense the energy output of
ships and detect gravitational changes in the solar wind that lead them to
ships, which they must find as some kind of delectable snack.

Fortunately, the Giant
Terropa cannot attack unless at point-blank range – within the same hex as the target.
Its plasma discharge acts as a ranged attack weapon: RA 0/DTM -20/HDR 1d10+1.
Stassis screens are fully effective against this type of attack as are masking
screens.--More to come--