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--