Starfinder: Bio-Booster Armor Guyver Conversion

WHAT?!  Another posting this month?  What madness has taken hold of my mind?

Well that would be due to the release of Starfinder.

Now I do have another Starfinder build in the works for later, but this was something I figured I could put together with relative ease.  Folks I bring you the Bio-Booster Armor Guyver.

The armor is fairly powerful, even if at level 1.  However this power is compensated by having to spend your hard earned xp to improve it, and its own unique weaknesses.  Yep, that right, in order to make this armor more powerful, you have to inhibit your character's level progression.

So please check it out, and if there's someplace that needs improvement, let me know.

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The Bio-Booster Armor Guyver

So, let’s start with what a Guyver is going to be in the Starfinder game setting.  In the anime/manga the armor is a symbiotic biological enhancer, increasing physical capabilities, granting protection and weaponry.  In Starfinder the Guyver would function much the same as it did in the anime.  However, there is a need to restrict what the armor can do to a degree.  There’s ups to the armor, and downs as well.

Symbiotic Bonding

The armor bonds with the user, altering them so that they can call the armor from its extra dimensional storage space.  This holds only the armor and nothing else.  Only the host of the guyver can summon it forth from this space where it instantly envelops the user.  Individuals who are bonded with a guyver can communicate telepathically with each other (and they can choose to ignore or block such communications if desired).

Once bonded with the armor, it requires nourishment from the user, bio energy.  In game terms this comes down to what counts as this nourishment.  What this will be is a reduction of xp that is earned.

·         Over all earned xp is reduced by 5% when earned.

·         Suit powers can be upgraded by spending xp.  The cost varies based upon the weapon system of the suit.

·         Activating the armor requires a move action, or a reaction.

Armor Class

The suit offers the following basic AC stats.

Level:  1, Increasing the level of the AC costs the current level x100 in xp.

KAC:  +4, +1per level

EAC: +3, +1 per 2 levels

Max DEX:  +5

Armor Check Penalty:  -2

Armor Systems

The guyver confers a number of unique system capabilities to the user from the outset, but only while the suit is in use of course.

·         Enhanced Strength:  The armor serves to augment the user’s strength.  Power of this is dependent upon the level of the armor.  Its base, level 1, augment gives a +1 to STR, and allows you to do 1d8 B damage.  You can carry 10 bulk more than the character’s normal STR score without being encumbered or overburdened.

·         Sensors:  The guyver doubles the range at which the user may make perception checks.  Perception checks can also be made to detect with a full-action to actively scan a 180ft area around themselves to detect the presence of anything around them, this works through walls unless such walls can block sensors.

·         Dark Vision:  The guyver grants the user the Dark Vision capability allowing them to see up to 80ft away.

·         Contained System:  The guyver protects the user from certain hazardous environments.  The suit can filter oxygen out of water.  The suit also protects against underwater pressures and gravity increases of at least 3x normal gravity.  The suit also protects the user in the vacuum of space, but an oxygen source is still needed.

·       Regeneration: While the armor is active it can heal injuries and regrow lost portions of its anatomy.  However, this takes time and the armor cannot regenerate damage quickly while the user is focused on fighting.  This ability immediately seals off piecing’s in the armor to avoid decompression, however actual healing of damage and regenerating limbs takes time. Out of combat when you spend Resolve to recover Stamina you also recover lost HP.  This amount is equal to the Guyver’s armor level.  Regrowing lost anatomy is only capable in the armor, and occurs over the same rest period when a Resolve point is spent, but is one part at a time, so any more regenerated body parts requires another Resolve point to be spent.  It is also possible for a guyver to survive death, but only under certain conditions.

·         Gravity Globe:  This is an orb at the waist of the Guyver, like a belt buckle.  This allows the character to control gravitational forces around themselves, and grants the user the benefits of the Flight spell.  The user must concentrate to fly and cannot use their Sonic Cannon, Gravity Cannon, or Mega Smasher while flying.  The armor’s level affects the equivalent caster level, though Flight only applies to the user.

Weapon Systems

The guyver possesses a number of in built weapons that make it unnecessary to use others.  One of these deals with the very ability to transform and the damage it deals to the environment around the character.  Some weapons cannot have their damage increased by spending XP, and instead their damage is based upon the level of the armor.

·         Blast Field:  This weapon occurs only when the guyver transforms.  This affects only adjacent opponents, allies, and any bulky equipment that is being worn and carried.  Thus when transforming the character cannot be holding any backpacks, using any bulky armor, or having any weapons on your person, or in your hands can be damaged or even destroyed.  This field even damages the area where one stands.  Anyone adjacent to the character must make a Reflex save, DC being equal to your attack roll.  If they succeed they take no damage.  If they fail the target takes 2d10 (energy) damage per level of the armor.  Objects that are bulky, or being held have the potential to take this same damage (and are thrown free from the body).  Normal clothing or body armor that is like normal clothing won’t be harmed, but their benefits do not stack with the guyvers as the guyver’s armor takes precedence (worn items of this nature are shunted to the guyver’s pocket dimension).

·         High Frequency Blades:  First weapon of the armor.  These are arm blades (often between one to three blades, though this number does not alter the damage done).  Level 1  – 1d6 S damage – Critical: Severe wound – Special: Analog, Penetrating – Upgrade Cost: Level x 350pts to increase damage by 1d6 (max of 6d6)

·         Infrared Laser:  This is a focused beam fired from the forehead.  The beam is highly accurate due to its firing location in above the armor’s control medal in the forehead.  Level 1 – 1d8 F damage – Critical: Burn 1d6 – Special: +1 to hit – Upgrade Cost: Level x 500pts to increase damage by 1d8, or critical by 1d6 (max of 5d8 damage, or 3d6)

·         Sonic Cannon:  A short range sonic attack that is emitted from the orbs at the users mouth covering.  This affects a 15ft cone area.  Level 1 – 1d10 So damage – Critical: Deafen – Special: Cone (Reflex save vs. attack roll -2), Limited Use (after the power is used it cannot be used again until the character makes a FORT save, DC = to 10 + 1 per armor level + 1 per level of the weapon + ½ character’s level) – Upgrade Cost: Level x 650 to increase damage by 1d10

·         Gravity Cannon:  A powerful gravitational blast that creates a black hole like bomb that is fired at an opponent and smashes whatever it hits.  Level 1 – Range: 60ft – 2d10 K damage – Critical: 1d6 K Damage – Special: Knockdown, Limited Use (after the power is used it cannot be used again until the character makes a FORT save, DC = to 10 + 1 per armor level + 1 per level of the weapon + ½ character’s level) – Upgrade Cost: Level x 800 to increase damage by 1d10

·         Mega Smasher:  A massively powerful particle laser weapon akin to any starship weapon.  It requires a full-action to use at full power, or even at half power!  Its use depends on whether or not the character will fire one shot at full power or conserve the energy to use at half power for two shots.  The chest places of the armor open to reveal the beam emitters, of which only one panel can be opened or both if needed (no hands are needed to open the panels either).  Level 1 – Range: 500ft (Short range in starship combat) – 6d8x10 F damage (or 6d8 if used on against a starship), if only used at half power then 3d8x10 is rolled for damage (or 3d8 damage if used against a starship) – Critical: Burn 3d8x10 (not against a starship though) – Special: Double Line (or 1 line for one shot), Penetrating, Limited Use (after the power is used at full power it cannot be used again until the character makes a FORT save, DC = to 10 + 1 per armor level + 1 per level of the weapon + ½ character’s level; if only used at half power then the difficulty is also halved) – Upgrade Cost: The mega smasher is already the most powerful personal weapon in the guyver’s inventory as it is as powerful as a ship based laser cannon, and as such its power does not increase.

Weaknesses:  For its power, the guyver does have weaknesses that can be exploited.

·         While the armor can remain on constantly, while up the user cannot eat.

·         The control medal in the head of the guyver maintains the guyver’s bio booster power is a major weakness of the guyver.  When the character is hit with a critical, the opponent may choose to either deal damage per a critical hit, or they may deal normal damage and target the character’s control metal.  When struck the character is left in a debilitated state.  First, the character is left “Dazed” until they succeed at a Fort save (DC = to the normal damage rolled, -2 per additional attempt you may have to make).  Second, once the save is made you remain “Off-Target” until you are able to spend a Full-Action regaining your senses.

·         Instead of a normal coup de grace against the character, an opponent may instead choose to rip the control metal from the head of the user.  This results in the bio-booster material of the armor to go rogue turning the PC into a brutish monster that attacks anyone, or anything (essentially recover all of the PC’s HP/stamina, and treat them as a monster that only makes melee attacks but increase the dice in damage rolled by 2x).

o   Once a control metal is removed – unless all bio material is cleaned from it – the user will completely regenerate their body (1hp per hour, body if fully restored after all HP is recovered).  If all bio-material is removed from the control metal, however, it will then form a new guyver unit to merge with a new host.

·         Once merged with a host, a guyver cannot be safely removed except via the use of an extremely rare item known as a Unit-Remover.  Its range is limited too only 30ft, however, a successful attack roll with the item will instantly force a guyver unit to retract from the user and form its initial unbonded unit form.  If the previous user bonds with the unit, or a new one, the benefits they have built up are carried over as the new unit will pull from the user’s memories and cellular memory.

One other thing to keep in mind about guyvers.  When a unit bonds with a person, the armor generated is never exactly the same as that of another person's.  There are many shared physical similarities, but there are also a number of equally differing traits such as armor color, spikes, male/female gender, placement of the breathing vents, sensor orbs and so forth.

It's possible that the armor's appearance is influenced by the user's personality.  A person who is straight forward, and a good person may have armor that is less detailed and brighter in color.  On the other hand if someone were not overtly nice, and kept people at arms length then their armor may be darker and have spikes placed about it (though these are decorative and would not serve any combative function).

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UPDATE (8/31/17)

Alright, so some folks have asked that I try to come up with an alternative to the xp cost to upgrade.  So here's a few alternative options available for you folks to use.

::Option 1: Wearable NPC::
The first option available is a bit of an odd method, but it would work.  This option entails regarding the armor as an NPC that is apart of the group.  It affects the entire groups xp however, which is unfortunate, but the armor is quite powerful for a beginning character.  The other way to handle this is to simply look at the total xp that the player gets and grant the Guyver half of this xp for a pool to save up and spend.

The player still gets the same allotment of xp, its just that the guyver earns its own in this way.  This option may be a good method for games where more than one party member is making use of a guyver.

::Option 2: Character Level Improvement::
Our second option will work differently as it does away with xp expenditure.  Whenever the character levels up they earn 2 upgrade points for the Guyver.  These points can be spent to upgrade one of the various parts of the guyver by 1 level.  This option keeps advancement relatively simple for the player.

::Option 3: Class Feature Swap::
This is the third option for players.  If the GM feels that the guyver is too much of an advantage, they can instead force the player to choose between gaining a class feature, or improving 2 of the guyver's leveled options.

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Well that's it for this one.  I hope you folks find it useful and enjoy the new Starfinder game.