Space Monster: Astrogator Kyton

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Kyton, Astrogator

A gaunt figure in a torn spacesuit with a gaping hole in the chest revealing missing sternum and tangle of cables extending from a cube floating where a heart should be.

CR 10; XP 9,600

LE Medium Outsider (evil, extraplanar, kyton, lawful)

Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +19

Defense

HP 150

EAC 23; KAC 24

Fort +9; Ref +11; Will +13

Defensive Abilities regeneration 5 (good or silver); DR 10/good and silver; Immunities cold, radiation, vacuum; SR 21

Offense

Speed 30 ft., fly 30 ft. (Su, good, environments with micro-g, zero-g or artificial gravity only)

Melee ultrathin knife +20 (3d4+12 S) or cable tentacle +20 (1d10+12 B & E)
Multiattack 3 cable tentacles +14 (1d10+12 B & E)
Ranged yellow star plasma rifle +20 (2d10 E & F, critical burn 1d8)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 10th)
1/day—interplanetary teleport (self plus 10 bulk of objects only), life bubble

Offensive Abilities hijack ship, twist ship

Statistics

Str +2; Dex +3, Con +2, Int +8, Wis +2, Cha +5

Skills Bluff +19, Computers +24, Disguise +19, Engineering +24, Medicine +19, Perception +19, Piloting +24

Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Common, Drow, Infernal
Other Abilities change shape, no breath

Ecology

Environment any

Organization solitary

Special Abilities

Hijack Ship (Su) Astrogator kytons can connect to the ship systems from anywhere inside the ship itself, as long as they can simply touch the nearest cable, circuitry, or system that is connected to the rest of the ship. Each day an astrogator kyton stays on the ship, it can make a Computer checks to hack the vessel's systems while ignoring countermeasures not specifically designed to deal with supernatural intruders. Each success grants the astrogator kyton root access to one of the ship's main systems (sensors, security, communications, shields, one weapon arc, one expansion module). After hacking any three systems, an astrogator kyton can hack standard engines, and after hacking seven system (or all of them if there is less than seven systems installed), the drift engine.

Twist Ship (Su) When a vessel hijacked by an astrogator kyton is within the Drift, the kyton can make the ship do things physically impossible—have the cables animate and entangle crew, pipes release coolants and noxious fumes without being pierced, corridors lead to unconnected areas of the ship, and so on. An astrogator kyton can make the vessel do one of the following tasks as a standard action, or up to three of the following tasks with a full action: make a +14 kinetic attack with a piece of its internal equipment dealing 2d10 points of bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage; make a +14 energy attack with a piece of its internal equipment dealing 2d8 points of acid, cold, electricity, or fire damage; make a combat maneuver with a +18 bonus; make a single door lead to a different corridor/room for 1 round. Each time the astrogator kyton uses this ability, there are visible changes to the corridors leading between the affected region and the kyton's location. The kyton must familiarize oneself with the area of the ship before being able to produce any of those effects there, and the affected area must be connected to the kyton's location for this ability to work.


Astrogator kytons are exploiting isolation provided by a traveling spaceship to bring their revelation of pain and torment to unenlightened mortals. They sometimes join the crews pretending to be mechanics, pilots, or science officers, board the ships as travelers, or pose as castaways to infiltrate and hijack spacefaring vessels. Once they control majority of the ship's systems, they unleash their malice on the crew while within the Drift, trapping the ship and torturing the survivors. They usually let the ship leave the Drift with a final survivor or two after they are done, protected with life bubble if the vessel's life support systems were damaged.