Alien Creature Update: Optiraptor

• TYPE: Small Carnivore
  
• NUMBER: 1
  
• MOVE: Fast (100 m/turn) in air; Very Slow (10 m/turn) on ground
  
• IM/RS: 7/70
  
• STAMINA: 30
  
• ATTACK: 45 (65 on glide attacks)
  
• DAMAGE: 2d10
  
• SPECIAL ATTACK: Diving (see below)
  
• SPECIAL DEFENSE: Can’t be surprised (see below)
  
• NATIVE WORLD: Hakosoar — all non-arctic terrains
  

Optiraptors are diurnal avian predators native to Hakosoar. Small but vicious, the seem unremarkable at first glance, except for their visual organs — optiraptors have twelve eyes. The complex arrangement of its eyes provides an optiraptor with enough information to make it the dominant predator of the Hakosoar skies.

The optiraptor’s "eye array" is actually two overlapping sets of specialized eyes. The first set consists of six equidistant eyes circling the optiraptor’s head, giving it a near-total field of vision. (The only blind spots are directly above and directly below the bird.) Under normal circumstances, optiraptors cannot be surprised by opponents. (Even a camouflage holo screen only fools them 50% of the time.)

The second eye array begins with the optiraptor’s two front defensive eyes, and continues down the optiraptor’s face (towards its beak) in two lines of four eyes each. The attack eyes are specialized to focus at different ranges, allowing the optiraptor to sight prey from incredibly long distances without losing focus on their immediate surroundings. Optiraptors can locate (and attack) prey up to a kilometer away. The typical attack is a completely silent diving glide ending in a claw attack against its prey. Optiraptors can maneuver expertly during this dive, often diving through small openings in forest canopies to attack prey that would be sheltered from other aerial predators.

Optiraptors’ usual prey are very small animals and birds, but they’re also attracted to shiny objects. During the colonization of Hakosoar, many Yazirians had earrings violently removed by the creatures. Fortunately (for both the Yazirian and the birds), optiraptors seldom circle back for a second attack.

Despite the optiraptors’ tendency to tear up ear lobes, Yazirians (not generally known as animal-lovers) actually seem to like optiraptors, and seldom hunt them. (The seldom wear jewelry during the day, either.) Optiraptor-hunting is usually an upper class activity, because it requires a 2,000 credit holo screen (with a camouflage feedback loop). Hunting optiraptors at night (when they nest) is illegal.

Some After-the-Fact Notes

Optiraptors were designed around a simple science-fiction principle: take a normal animal, make one (admittedly freakish) change to it, and let the other changes flow from that. You can’t build a major encounter around optiraptors, but they’re a good random encounter, and they add some character to Hakosoar.

I think the last paragraph of this Alien Creature Update is actually the most important to a campaign, because it introduces a planetary custom (not wearing jewelry during daylight) that’s simple and makes sense to players. Logical details are important if a referee expects players to think through mysteries (instead of rolling dice). Solving mysteries often depends on spotting one detail that doesn’t match the rest; if the players don’t think the campaign background makes sense to begin with, they won’t look for important contradictions, let alone find them.