What will the "Swarm" be like

[Raef13]

So while I'm a big fan of the Alien franchise and think the Hive are a really good monster race, I think the "Swarm" will be a species more like the Bugs from the Starship Troopers or maybe like the Zerg. That way it could be like an army with regular troops, heavy troops, spies/infiltrators, aerial units, environmental specialist units and generals. Maybe even throw in a "god"-bug that is the force behind their invasions and attacks.

Honestly I hope that they are a non-tech enemy that instead focuses on nature being that frikin scary. Since most the time everyone will have tech, Tech vs Nature is really appealing to me.

[Steven "Troll" O'Neal]

That would be cool. Another thought, hive mind insect-like machines.

[Odraude]

I'd really love something similar to the Cravers of Endless Space, or the Necrophage of Endless Legend. Though with the former, there would be some technological parts.

[PaladinDemo]

Live for the swarm!

[Umbral Reaver]

Odraude wrote:

I'd really love something similar to the Cravers of Endless Space, or the Necrophage of Endless Legend. Though with the former, there would be some technological parts.

Have you seen the Endless Space 2 Cravers into video?

[Matthew Downie]

Based on what I've seen from Paizo so far, the Swarm will take +50% damage from area effect attacks. It will be immune to precision damage, and to spells and effects that target a single creature. It will hit automatically, and cause nausea if you fail a fortitude save.

[The Swarm]

Matthew Downie wrote:

Based on what I've seen from Paizo so far, the Swarm will take +50% damage from area effect attacks. It will be immune to precision damage, and to spells and effects that target a single creature. It will hit automatically, and cause nausea if you fail a fortitude save.

first of all, how dare you

[Isabelle Lee]

Also, I am shocked to my core that that alias-name wasn't taken. ^_^

[Cthulhudrew]

It could be a former Nazi scientist turned Worm That Walks.

[Milo v3]

I'm surprised they aren't using the Hive from Horror Adventures.

[Odraude]

Umbral Reaver wrote:

Odraude wrote:

I'd really love something similar to the Cravers of Endless Space, or the Necrophage of Endless Legend. Though with the former, there would be some technological parts.

Have you seen the Endless Space 2 Cravers into video?

Yeah I recently saw their video. They look cool, though as much as I love ES1, Early Access is anathema to me.

[Matthew Shelton]

Colonial/eusocial insectoid monsters have been rehashed so many different ways, the Starfinder Swarm monster needs some kind of novelty to set it apart from all the other famouse hivemind creatures of sci-fi (the Flood, Borg, Arachnids, Replicators, the Xenomorphs, Skynet, the Matrix, etc).

[Odraude]

Matthew Shelton wrote:

Colonial/eusocial insectoid monsters have been rehashed so many different ways, the Starfinder Swarm monster needs some kind of novelty to set it apart from all the other famouse hivemind creatures of sci-fi (the Flood, Borg, Arachnids, Replicators, the Xenomorphs, Skynet, the Matrix, etc).

I think making them intelligent is a good start. Partially why I mentioned the Cravers is because unlike many of the other Swarm monsters, these are sapient and use technology.

Since there is magic in this setting unlike the above, we should play to that. Perhaps they literally devour magic. Suck it dry from the worlds they visit and leave it dead of magic.

[Browman]

It could have a strong warhammer 40k Tyranid influence as well.

[Zyphus]

Isabelle Lee wrote:

Also, I am shocked to my core that that alias-name wasn't taken. ^_^

girrrrrrrrrrl i know riiiiiight

[Umbral Reaver]

In a shocking twist, the Swarm are not a ravenous hive mind of insectoid bioweapons devoted to consuming all life...

They are a ravenous hive mind of sexy space ladies devoted to consuming all life.

It's the insectoid bioweapons that are the pleasant, diplomatic and somewhat condescending race instead.

[Malefactor]

Umbral Reaver wrote:

In a shocking twist, the Swarm are not a ravenous hive mind of insectoid bioweapons devoted to consuming all life...

They are a ravenous hive mind of sexy space ladies devoted to consuming all life.

It's the insectoid bioweapons that are the pleasant, diplomatic and somewhat condescending race instead.

But what will happen when one of the members of the Swarm grapples a succubus? I wish for- nay, DEMAND further research into this possibility! ...all for scientific purposes, of course.

[Steven "Troll" O'Neal]

Malefactor wrote:

Umbral Reaver wrote:

In a shocking twist, the Swarm are not a ravenous hive mind of insectoid bioweapons devoted to consuming all life...

They are a ravenous hive mind of sexy space ladies devoted to consuming all life.

It's the insectoid bioweapons that are the pleasant, diplomatic and somewhat condescending race instead.

But what will happen when one of the members of the Swarm grapples a succubus? I wish for- nay, DEMAND further research into this possibility! ...all for scientific purposes, of course.

FOR SCIENCE!

[Matthew Shelton]

Now hiring! teams of exterminators to clean up the results of our last experiment. Talk to someone at the front desk to sign your NDA and workplace incident waiver to get your $60 today!

Also be sure not to let yourself be seduced by the swarms of miniature she-devils. They really are dangerous. Just go out and earn your $60 like we always knew you could!

[Brew Bird]

I hope they're somewhat similar to "The Hive" introduced in Horror Adventures. Some out-of-control bio-weapon, maybe made by the Dominion of the Black?

A planet-sized blob of assimilating nano-machines would be cool too, though.

[The Raven Black]

Ultimate Galactus ?

Or Deskari's final vengeance :-)

[Bluenose]

When the two massive alien vessels landed on Tuntaya III and disgorged billions of small bugs that spread out and started to consume the local flora and even some small fauna, the inhabitants panicked that the Swarm would consume the whole planet. What was clearly the adult form emerged later from the ships and began constructing two massive buildings, assumed to be arcology-cities from their size. What was most worrying was that they never responded to any attempts to talk to them. They clearly recognised that there were people living there, since many of the adults would halt in their work to gesture and wave and the people trying to contact them, and yet no response was received to shouts or radio signals. As the news spread, other worlds in the region began to look to their own defences, leaving Tuntaya to cope on it's own. Fear of The Swarm even motivated abandonment of some colonies, while a few factions made plans for war. A few of the bugs were captured covertly for experimental purposes with that in mind.

K'tilmin sat happily on his float-disk. The predicted ratio of larva death was being maintained, the environment being suitably hostile and local predators having found the larva a suitable nutrition source as predicted by the earlier scouting parties. With a predicted 99.82% death rate among the larvae, the new cities would not suffer from overpopulation. Even the large bipeds that some scientists argued were close to sentience were participating, if only in small numbers and when they thought they weren't observed. In fact, there were two now, collecting a couple of the older grubs and carrying them off.
He decided that it was time to follow them. If he found their lair, sensors could be set up to monitor them. Perhaps there'd even be evidence of tool use. That would cause some problems, as Federation policy was to avoid interference with primitive sentients in favour of covert observation, and planting two cities on a plane they inhabited was unacceptable.
The bipeds were moving quickly, he noted, through undergrowth that would be difficult for an adult to travel in at all. They almost seemed to be aware of the possibility they were being observed. Experimentally, he gestured a welcome at them, but as on all previous occasions received no response. While they had occasionally been observed making language-like gestures, none of the scientists were able to identify them as parts of a language rather than the type of gesture employed by pre-sentients on Lilexicopnaren.
Moving his float-disk lower into the fringes of the treetop, K'tilmin waited for the bipeds to reach the edge of the forest. Previous attempts to track them to their lairs had failed, as whenever a floater was visible they remained in cover. Perhaps if they couldn't see an observer, they'd lead him to their lair.
And indeed, although they appeared to observe the area as closely as they could, they didn't spot him. Instead they scurried across the open ground, keeping up a great pace for several k'loms, far more than any of the People could attain without vehicles. It appeared their destination was a large area of mounds near the local river. Perhaps they nest in large packs, he thought, and sheltering underground would certainly protect them from the electrical storms and other dangers. Their upper limbs also seemed suitable for burrowing.
The bipeds passed the first two mounds, he noticed, and descended into a third. For a moment K'tilmin considered his job complete, but then a thought occurred to him. He was wearing p'thok, he had a flasher with him; why shouldn't he see what their burrows were like. The worst that could happen would be that he'd have to scare a few of them, and hopefully once he left they'd return to their mound. He descended, parking his float-disk outside the tunnel, and followed the bipeds.
The earth was close packed, showing that the creatures regularly used this entrance., with a gentle slope that would not be hard to ascend. This was convenient. Although there seemed to be light ahead, round the corner where the slope turned. Presumably they had cleverly hidden openings in the roof of the mound where sunlight could get in. That was yet another indication of how close to being sentient they were, K'tilmin decided. He carried on descending and turned the corner.
It wasn't sunlight, he realised, seeing the lighting strips illuminating the room. And the bipeds were not just sentient but technological, with several of them standing near the entrance pointing some form of machined tools at him. Weapons, I expect. This would be a good time to keep my manipulators away from any tools. Their mouths were moving as if they were already thinking of eating, and his atmospheric vibrations sensor was indicating high levels or activity.
K'tilmin paused. As a scout for the People, he was familiar with modern scientific literature. Several researchers had discovered worlds where creatures, non-sentient ones admittedly, communicated through producing atmospheric vibrations that somehow were interpreted by others of their kind. It had occurred to no-one that this could be the case for sentient beings, yet the evidence was compelling. I must report this to the administrators, so that the colony is aware of the situation.
How to survive intelligent and technologically advanced aliens who probably viewed the People's presence on their planet as an invasion and his adventure into their dwelling as a deliberate intrusion was another question.

[Giorgo]

@Bluenose; don't leave me in suspense! What happens next? :)

[Captain collateral damage]

Actually there is that one bug moon called Nchak that orbits Liavara.

[IonutRO]

What's "the swarm"? I've been out of the loop for over a month.

[Garrett Guillotte]

Ambiguous villains for the Starfinder setting. Not much revealed so far beyond the name.

[Threeshades]

I would appreciate a tyranid/arachnoid/xenomorph style race in the setting. Not so much zerg, those are too humanized for my taste. They're supposed to be an inscrutable alien collective, not a group of misunderstood heroes with hopes and dreams.

[Phylotus]

Threeshades wrote:

I would appreciate a tyranid/arachnoid/xenomorph style race in the setting. Not so much zerg, those are too humanized for my taste. They're supposed to be an inscrutable alien collective, not a group of misunderstood heroes with hopes and dreams.

Only the leaders are, but I see your point :-P

I personally hope Xenomorph-style creatures would be more unique in the setting, a powerful creature or group of creatures that can be run across rarely, rather than something like the Tyranids. Seems to fit better with that flavor. Though I would definitely like to see a Tyranid-style race of some sort.

[Matthew Shelton]

A race that spreads by infected hosts and steals magical ability and knowledge. Whatever abilities or knowledge any single host of a colony possesses, [u]all[/u] the hosts of a colony have it too.

[Ryan Freire]

The swarm as a psychic hive mind, like unity from rick and morty.

[Archmage Variel]

Phylotus wrote:

Threeshades wrote:

I would appreciate a tyranid/arachnoid/xenomorph style race in the setting. Not so much zerg, those are too humanized for my taste. They're supposed to be an inscrutable alien collective, not a group of misunderstood heroes with hopes and dreams.

Only the leaders are, but I see your point :-P

I personally hope Xenomorph-style creatures would be more unique in the setting, a powerful creature or group of creatures that can be run across rarely, rather than something like the Tyranids. Seems to fit better with that flavor. Though I would definitely like to see a Tyranid-style race of some sort.

See the "Hive" in Horror Adventures. They're basically the xenomorphs with a different (but just as nasty) method of reproduction.

[Umbral Reaver]

The swarm's larval form will be incredibly popular as pets.

[Steven "Troll" O'Neal]

I'm thinking a weird conceptual hybrid of Formians and tribbles.

[Torbyne]

there is still room to play with the huge bug hive mind. I would get a kick out of there being a decent number of competing hiveminds controlling their own little empires and all at war with each other. their territorial instincts dont trigger with other sophant species though and they willingly trade or ally so long as they dont think you have associated with one of the other minds.

[Threeshades]

Archmage Variel wrote:

Phylotus wrote:

Threeshades wrote:

I would appreciate a tyranid/arachnoid/xenomorph style race in the setting. Not so much zerg, those are too humanized for my taste. They're supposed to be an inscrutable alien collective, not a group of misunderstood heroes with hopes and dreams.

Only the leaders are, but I see your point :-P

I personally hope Xenomorph-style creatures would be more unique in the setting, a powerful creature or group of creatures that can be run across rarely, rather than something like the Tyranids. Seems to fit better with that flavor. Though I would definitely like to see a Tyranid-style race of some sort.

See the "Hive" in Horror Adventures. They're basically the xenomorphs with a different (but just as nasty) method of reproduction.

Yeah the hive are as close to xenomorphs as you can possibly get without either a license or a lawsuit.

[Umbral Reaver]

The Swarm reproduces via merchandise deals.

[Tom Kalbfus]

Starship Troopers, they were a bunch of bug hunters.

[Matthew Shelton]

Torbyne wrote:

there is still room to play with the huge bug hive mind. I would get a kick out of there being a decent number of competing hiveminds controlling their own little empires and all at war with each other. their territorial instincts dont trigger with other sophant species though and they willingly trade or ally so long as they dont think you have associated with one of the other minds.

Sounds like the Wraith. Each hive was its own space-nation pretty much, and the queens either got along or told all the drones to wipe each other out. More so the latter when food & resources got scarce.