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Hi all,

I'm back to ask for yet more of your help with my DotJ campaign. We've had our first session and it went really well, but as I've been planning for future sessions, I've run into a problem. My campaign is currently set on Tython, and all four party members are part of the Je'daii order. Tython is well-known, at this time, anyway, for the number of weird, powerful beasts inhabiting the planet, so I've thrown some beasts at my PCs and am hoping to throw some more.

The problem is that I'm having trouble finding interesting "baddie beasts" that stand out, mechanically, from the rest of the herd. Most beast builds I've seen are statted out as follows: really poor defenses, a ton of HP, a few melee attacks that deal a lot of damage, and maybe some special ability like poison. Throwing in a lot of beast fights, then, can get pretty old pretty fast, and it may not require the force-users to vary up their strategy much from one fight to the next (though obviously I can force this by varying up, for instance, hazards, terrain, or some other situational feature).

So, what I'm hoping the Gamer Nation can help me by answering the following questions: first, what beasts have been the most fun to fight in your own campaigns? Secondly, what beasts do you think are particularly fun to throw at force-users? And finally, what are the weirdest and wackiest beast builds you've seen that lead to beasts completely unlike anything else in saga edition while still faithfully representing the kinds of abilities we see beasts exhibiting in the movies and EU?

Thanks so much for all your help!

In answer to your first question: the bigger, the better! It's always a blast taking on something like a Rancor—they're epic, they have reach (presenting more of a challenge to melee characters), and they feel iconic.

To your second question: Give your beast Force powers and a Dark Side Score. Possibly make him resistant to the Force or immune to mind-affecting effects. I remember in KotOR I & II, fighting Terentateks and Storm Beasts was challenging for the Force-using characters, and it felt like a fun challenge trying to survive those beasts that exist primarily to kill Jedi

And to the third question, I'm afraid I don't have much of an answer there. I haven't seen a lot of "weird or wacky" beast builds, at least not by my estimation. Perhaps something similar to a Voxyn might serve you well (I've never seen one statted out, but I'm going to have to pretty soon given that my players are about to engage the Yuuzhan Vong in our campaign). Also, are you aware of the Creature Generator on page 89 of the Unknown Regions? It might serve you in your quest for a wacky beast.

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Saga Edition Resources:
My Google Docs Character Record Sheet
SE Official FAQ Compilation - SE Official Errata & Clarifications - Jedi Counseling 105 to 115

Edge of the Empire Resources: Beta Updates, crib sheets, and other goodies

Here's one that I had in my reserves, created by our very own ZRissa.

Voxyn
Large Beast 12 CL12
Init+7 Senses Low-Light vision, Perception +8
Defenses Ref 20 (Flat-footed 18), Fort 14, Will 13
Hp 100 Threshold 19
Speed 8 squares
Melee 2 claws +13 (1d6+4, & Disease, see below)* or
Melee Bite +13 (1d8+4)*or
Melee Tail +13 (1d6+4, & Poison, see below)* or
Ranged Spit Acid +2 (2d6 and see below)
Fighting Space 3x3; Reach 1 square
Base Atk +9 Grp +13
Atk Options Power Attack*
Special Actions Spit Acid, Sonic Screech
Abilities Str 18 Dex 14 Con 18 Int 2 Wis 16 Cha 12
Feats Power Attack, Skill Focus (Stealth), Skill Training (Initiative, Perception, Stealth)
Skills Initiative +7, Perception +8, Stealth +7, Survival +8
*Power Attack not included
Disease—If the voxyn’s claws do wound damage to a living creature, make a second (free) attack against the target’s Fortitude Defense. If successful, the target moves -1 persistent step down the condition track and takes a -5 penalty to Fortitude Defense. For each day the victim is untreated, make a new attack. If successful, the victim moves an additional –1 persistent step on the condition track, with no additional Fortitude Defense penalty. A victim dies upon reaching the bottom of the condition track. The persistent condition remains until the disease is successfully cured, which requires a Treat Injury check of DC 25, or DC 15 if a bacta tank is used.
Fast Healing 2—A voxyn regains 2 hit points every round at the end of its turn, up to its normal maximum, until it is killed.
Jedi Tracker—Voxyn gain a +10 bonus on Survival checks to track Force users.
Limited Force Absence--At will, a voxyn may choose to to be undetectable via Force powers, Force talents and the Use the Force skill. This includes all talents on the Sense talent tree as well as the Sense Force, Sense Surroundings, and Telepathy applications of the the Use the Force skill.
Low-Light Vision—Voxyn ignore concealment (but not total concealment) from darkness.
Natural Armor—Scales grant +8 to Reflex Defense
Nutrient Dependency—Voxyn cannot survive without a nutrient found only on Myrkr. After going without for 1 month the voxyn moves -2 persistent steps on the condition track, after 2 months, it drops another -2 persistent steps and dies after 3 months. Consuming the nutrient removes the persistent condition.
Poison—If the voxyn’s tail deals damage to a living target, make a follow-up attack roll (1d20+12) against the target’s Fortitude Defense. On a hit, the target moves -1 step down the condition track. The poison attacks each round at the start of the voxyn’s turn until cured with a successful Treat Injury check.
Sonic Screech—A voxyn’s cry is painful and deafening. As a standard action, a voxyn can let go a loud screech in the form of a 6 square cone. (1d20+12 versus Fortitude Defense against all creatures in the cone and does 2d6+4 sonic damage.) This is an are affect attack.
Spit Acid—This attack has a 12 square range. In addition to listed damage, the target is covered in Acid & takes damage in subsequent rounds per the SECR, p. 252.
Toxic Blood—Voxyn blood releases a neurotoxic gas upon exposure to most atmospheres. When a voxyn takes wound damage, make an attack (1d20+7) against Fortitude Defense for each adjacent living creature, not wearing a breath mask. Target(s) take 2d6 points of damage and move -1 step on the condition track if successful, or take half-damage only if unsuccessful.

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What I've done in the past to create 'new' beasts for Star Wars, is steal from other D20 rooted games. It only takes a few tweaks to any 3.5E or even 4E Monstrous Manual Creature to make them fit in Star Wars. Well the less 'magical' creatures I mean. It is best to go for the obscure ones and describe them in ways that doesn't make them noticeable to enthusiasts of those games. And some 4E monsters have some great mechanics that are pretty darn fun, and will keep even champions of the Great Hunt on their toes.

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May your feet move faster than the thing that is chasing you.

The Sunrunner Legacy- a Star Wars Roleplaying Campaign

@Cyril. I'm pretty sure this Voxyn isn't one of my creations.

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Arkansas Regional Captain & proud member of Spice Runners Squadron
Kessel Base, The Rebel Legion

"The bad guys hardly ever quote Star Wars."
Harry Dresden, Cold Days

Thanks for the suggestions! The Voxyn looks pretty cool, and I like the idea of reskinning monsters from other systems. I really like the giant ants in the D&D 4th ed MM2, so I may look into converting those over to SWSE.

I also love throwing rancors at players, but my problem is that the beasts I've already thrown at my players (or will throw at them before the end of the next session) are essentially force-sensitive rancors in all but level, so I'm hoping to find some other way to make my beasts interesting. I think it'd be really cool to have two varieties of beast that synergize well with one another fighting the same encounter, but I don't see a lot of potential for synergy in the beast special powers I've looked at so far.

Don't look for synergy within the beasts special abilities. Look for synergy in the various feats that you are giving them and pair them with other creatures that can key off of those into devastating combos.

For example, here's the stats for the Boma that I put together a while back.

Boma – CL 9
Large Beast 10
Init +10; Senses Perception +4
Defenses Ref 15 (flat-footed 15), Fort 16, Will 9
hp 105; Thresh 21
Speed 8 squares
Melee gore +9* (1d8+15) or
Melee gore +11* (1d8+20) with Powerful Charge or
Melee bite +9* (1d8+15)
Fighting Space 2×2; Reach 2 squares
Atk Options Bantha Rush, Charging Assault, Improved Bantha Rush, Power Attack, Powerful Charge, Savage Charge
Abilities Str 24, Dex 10, Con 23, Int 2, Wis 8, Cha 3
Feats Bantha Rush, Improved Bantha Rush, Power Attack, Powerful Charge
Skills Initiative +10
* includes 5 points of Power Attack
—————————————
Charging Assault –The Boma can move up to twice it’s speed and make an attack at the end of the charge. In addition, they also treat their Strength score as being 4 points higher for the purposes of the Bantha Rush feat. All other rules for charging apply as normal.

Savage Charge –The Boma may use it’s Bantha Rush feat to knock an opponent into a solid object, dealing 1d6+7 points of damage. Additionally, the Boma can elect to not shove an opponent, and make a bite attack as a free action at a +2 to the attack roll against the target.

He keys off of pushing an opponent back. And they can push them back A LOT of squares. Pair them with a creature that has long reach and you can easily push them into the other beast's threatened area to the point where they can't withdraw because the first square of movement would still leave them in another's threatened area.

Look for things like that, and suddenly, you'll have the PCs engaged as they assess threats, and are forced to think tactically about what used to be just a pile of hit points with a crappy reflex defense.



Really? I could have sworn it was you. I know it was someone on the d20 Boards that was working on that sadly defunct NJO project.

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Thanks for sharing, Cyril! Do you all know if Dave and Chris have tackled beast-building in an episode yet? I feel like this might be a good episode topic if they haven't covered it already...

There's a whole expanded section on it in Unknown Regions.

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Arkansas Regional Captain & proud member of Spice Runners Squadron
Kessel Base, The Rebel Legion

"The bad guys hardly ever quote Star Wars."
Harry Dresden, Cold Days

Yeah, page 89. I agree though, that would be an excellent show topic if they haven't built beasts before! I don't remember any in-depth Beast-Making discussion and I'm about 10 episodes away from having *not* listened to all the Order 66 Podcast episodes.

_________________
Saga Edition Resources:
My Google Docs Character Record Sheet
SE Official FAQ Compilation - SE Official Errata & Clarifications - Jedi Counseling 105 to 115

Edge of the Empire Resources: Beta Updates, crib sheets, and other goodies

I don't believe so. Though it has given me an idea... *rubs hands and takes notes*

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Most of the special ability synergies that I notice work when combined in the same beast.

For example, the Aerial species trait lets you reroll Initiative (keep second). It also allows you to take Diving Attack, which gives the creature an extra +1 attack bonus on a charge for each square it moves down, and lets them use a move action after the charge.

Now add the Ambush offensive quality for +2d6 damage against flat-footed creatures, and you already have a really solid creature. It dives from above for a surprise attack that's not going to miss and deals meaningful damage; then it gets to reroll initiative to ensure it'll be moving early in the order to get in another ambush attack before any but the fastest characters can react.

Actually Ambush plus flying works well for a threat any time the players are trying to climb or balance, which make you vulnerable to sneak attack damage. Dustball provides an alternate method of getting the victims flat footed.


The Thickened Hide quality is great for getting beasts with a good defense that aren't just a big bag of hit points. Using Fortitude in place of Reflex will usually get you a much better defensive position, and can be really amazing for large creatures.


I really like Electroshock, not so much for the damage dealing aspect as using it to encourage the players to want to get out of the water. That combined with Bantha Rush could be a lot of fun in the right battlefield. For example, suppose you have waist deep water with protruding one-square platforms (dropped boxes, tree stumps, etc) that require a little climb check to get onto. An eel-like beast lunges out of the water to knock you in, then shocks you until you get out again.

Or a similar battlefield with a Devour or Pin/Crush/Constrict creature. It might be getting a little towards dianoga territory there, but I kind of like the idea of using the crocodile-type monster that grabs and drags you into the water and tries to hold you there until you drown or get torn apart.


On the feat side, Mighty Swing or Rapid Strike are almost always a useful choice for beasts, especially combined with a strong bite attack and Devour. Powerful Charge is a great choice (and look at combining that with the aforementioned aerial ambusher). Running Attack is often useful and goes well with Mobility.

There is so much win here it's disgusting.

Don't forget swarm rules for things like packs of creatures. Allowing them to flank etc.

You folks have seen the University of Sambra's Guide to Xenobiology, have you not?