The Berylan

Many intelligent species hold up the Berylan as the prime example as to why sentient, life-loving beings should stay out of the Orion Expanse. Older than even the Nix, the Berylan have been raiding civilized space for a thousand years.

The Xintrin fought a vicious war with the Berylan shortly after the first war between the Protectorate and the Imperial Freehold. Most of what the known species of the galaxy know about the Berylan come from them.

The Berylan are a vicious, xenophobic, predatory species that appear to hate all other intelligent life. They believe, in their own way, that they are the only “true” sentience, and that everything else is an abomination. As such, they believe that everything that belongs to other sentient species is rightfully theirs for the taking. Planets, ships, and even people are raided and taken at whim.

The difference between the Berylan and a species of pirates and raiders, however, is that they do not act in a covert manner. They do not feel the need to sneak, ambush or pretend to play nice. They organize into fleets, fly directly into a target’s star system, destroy any opposition, and take what they want. The Xintrin get the brunt of it. But the Free Colonies and even the borders of the Protectorate have had incidents. The only species the Berylan seem to respect and fear are the Vorhasi. But then, so does everyone else.

The Berylan themselves are a silicon-based species that looks humanoid, but has nothing in common internally with any of the more common humanoid species. Their bodies are covered in a silicate natural armor, and they have a decentralized internal structure. There’s no heart, stomach or lungs, or even a brain as we know it. It’s all spread out among their cellular structure, with cells and groups of cells changing in a matter of moments to perform whatever function is needed at the time. This means that they only have a digestive system while they are eating and digesting. They only have an immune system when something foreign enters the body. How this works has baffled biologists of half a dozen species. The Berylan are, in every sense of the word, alien.

Perhaps their most remarkable ability, however, is their ability to wrap themselves in an electromagnetic energy field. This field protects them from harm, dangerous environments, and damages other beings that attempt to do them harm. It also allows them to discorporate a limited part of their physical structure and meld it with any device that works off of electromagnetic forces…which means almost anything that requires power.

The Berylan ships are not especially powerful, but they are one of the few species who have ships that deploy protective energy fields, which gives them a distinct advantage in combat. Berylan captains know that probably for the first several exchanges of fire, they will not take any damage, unless they are fighting a ship that significantly outclasses them. Therefore, they can charge in, blazing and driving their enemies before them, at virtually no risk to themselves. In a drawn out fight, however, their shields eventually collapse, and their ship hulls are weaker than most. The only problem is getting them to that point.

The Xintrin did take some Berylan prisoner during the war, and interrogated them, usually with powerful psychic probes, since Berylan simply don’t have the mindset to break under torture (and they appear to be able to “decide” not to have a nervous system, allowing them to disconnect from pain). The Xintrin believe, from the information they gleaned, that the Berylan are a species suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. Long ago, the Berylan delved into the Expanse looking to loot the dead worlds of long-lost species. They awoke something that shattered their empire and drove them from their home planet. It also wiped out or enslaved a massive number of their race. The shock of their brutalization by this race was so horrific that the Berylan collectively must feel and prove that they are superior to all other species, or come face-to-face with their own limitations, and the fact that they live only because a more powerful race allowed them.

Some Xintrin even believe that this ancient race still “farms” the Berylan every few decades for more slaves. This, in turn, drives the Berylan into a psychological frenzy, fueling their raids on other species in an effort to prove themselves. Of course, this is all speculation, but no one has studied the Berylan as thoroughly as the Xintrin, so that’s the best guess available at this point.

Berylan Warrior R.C.C. Stats

Note: The Berylan are an alien, monstrous threat and are not intended for player character use. It is impossible for a Berylan to work with a group of non-Berylan.

Alignment: Diabolic or Miscreant

I.Q. : 3D6+6, M.E.: 3D6, M.A.: 2D6, P.S. 3D6+12, P.P.: 3D6, P.E. 5D6, P.B. 1D6, Spd: 4D6, P.S. and P.E. are supernatural.

M.D.C.: 1D4x10+ P.E., plus 2D6 M.D. per level

Horror Factor: 14

P.P.E.: 2D4x10

Height: 8 to 10 feet tall

Weight: 300+1D4x100 lbs.

Natural Abilities: Nightvision 300 feet, see infrared and ultraviolet spectrums, see the invisible, and resistance to drugs, poisons and toxins (reduce all damage, duration and penalties by half if the warrior fails his saving throw), survive in vacuum for 3D6 minutes with no ill effect.

Protective bio-field: The Berylan are able to generate an electromagnetic field that protects them from harm and allows them to merge with machines. The field gives them an additional 10 M.D.C. per level. Merging with a machine is a process where the Berylan phases part of their body into the machine (usually an arm). After 1D4 melee rounds, the alien has the equivalent of the psychic power telemechanics with any object they are currently melded with; from pistols to even starships! Artificial Intelligences can resist an intrusion; use the same rules as possession, but the A.I. has a +3 to save. Cost: 10 P.P.E. to activate field. Duration: 10 minutes.

Typical level: 1D4+2

Bonuses: +2 to initiative, +3 to strike, parry and dodge, +4 to save vs psionic attacks (due to their alien minds), +10 to save vs Horror Factor, impervious to stun, possession and pain.

Combat: 6 attacks per melee.

Skills of Note: Pilot Starship: (+10%), Navigation: Space (+20%), Weapon Systems (+10%), Detect Ambush (+10%), Tracking (humanoids) (+5%), Prowl (+10%), W.P. Energy Pistol, W.P. Energy Rifle, W.P. Heavy Energy, W.P. knife (claws), and Zero-G combat. Most other skills are not applicable to the warrior class, and they can gain (temporarily) the knowledge to operate any machine they meld with.

Psionics: Mind block auto-defense, telepathy (limited to other Berylan), Presence Sense, Sense Dimensional Anomaly, Read Dimensional Portal

I.S.P.: 1D6x10 + M.E., plus gain 1D6 per level. Considered a major psionic (need a 12 or better to save)

Magic: None

Allies: None

Enemies: All sentient beings, with the exception of the Vorhasi.