Calvynne's Sci-Fi Battlers

[Calvynne]

Calvynne’s Sci-Fi Battlers

Almost all of my games have a heavy Science Fantasy / Science Fiction bent to them, and I am often stuck with a limited pool of sci-fi related resources to use. There aren’t a lot of battlers out there, so I started working on my own set. I took a lot of inspiration from Phantasy Star.

Everything I post here is free for Commercial and Non-Commercial Use. Please credit me as "Calvynne KT". A copy of your game would be great.

Feel free to request something, but I make no guarantees. It would have to fit my overall theme and aesthetics, and my time is very limited.

Spoiler

(And my art is terrible.)

I have about thirty pieces sketched out at time of writing, and I’m just starting the process of painting them up. And that’s where the rub is, I’m just learning how to paint on a computer with a tablet. And thus, the art is ROUGH, I admit and I accept that. But I’m learning, and plan to go back and redo pieces as I get better. I’ll be adding a bit of lore to each battler, as some designs might be particularly esoteric.

Arthropod
First up is a hungry Arthropod. Large, barrel sized insects roam the less traveled areas of this broken world. While non-venomous, their poor eye-sight easily confuses humanoids with their preferred prey, and their tremendous endurance makes them particularly dangerous and resilient. Their reflective shell makes beam weapons all but useless.



Spider
The locals around the old delves that house these things call them Spiders, but spiders they most definitely are not. Benign and uncaring, these machines are often found on the lower levels of the ruins, carrying about indiscernible tasks. Experienced delvers will tell their wards to never approach them, and to find another way around. The Spiders will defend their territory without warning, stabbing encroaching adventurers with sharp, spindly legs that seem to effortlessly pierce armor. They are lightning fast, and do not stop until completely destroyed.


DrumHead
Whatever purpose the DrumHead had to the ancients is lost to their age. They lurk in ruins, easily disguised as forgotten machines, ducting, or comically, as barrels. The spike tipped cables unfurl from within their armored shell and the end to many adventurer’s begins.


Golem
Typically, the ancients had no true guardians. They populated their structures with autonomous machines, that carry on despite the long absence of their masters. Golems are the only clear exception, in that they are very much constructed to defend specific areas of the forgotten ruins. Golems come in many makes, but the most horrifying configuration are those adorned with humanoid faces. Perhaps the ancients thought that putting a face on their sentry would make it more pleasant to deal with? But why did they give them vocal mimicry? Why do they call out to passing adventurers? How do they know the sound of a mother’s voice? Most commonly outfitted with particle cannons, some Golems in more fragile areas are equipped with mono-filament whips or armor piercing cables.


—New Additions—
Stalker
The distinctive “Clicking” noise of their bladed feet upon the hard surfaces within the ancient ruins is the first warning that you’ve stumbled upon an active Stalker. Frequently found in a dormant state, hanging upon racks by the hundreds, Stalkers are typically ignored unless a more prominent ancient sentry is present to activate them. Once active, they deploy quickly and will dispatch intruders by hook, blade or impalement. Oddly, veteran adventurers have no tales of encounters with stalkers beyond their most recent delves. It’s as if they’ve only appeared in the last few years.



Leech Beast
Boggy marshes are rarely safe places to traverse, but the aggressive Leech Beast adds even more danger. They disguise themselves as dead trees, hiding along the shore, waiting for warm blooded creatures to approach. Once in range, they “uproot” and begin their savage attack. Their barbed appendages pierce their foes, allowing them to feed. Often, a particularly deadly parasitic fungus will infect their feeding appendages, causing them to swell and calcify. While this will eventually kill the Leech Beast, it gives them a brutal club, that spews toxic spores upon impact.





That’s all for tonight! I’ve included all the arms for the Leech Beast, so should you decide to use it, you can configure it however you want.

 

[starlight dream]

Interesting battlers! Your style is nice too ^.^b

 

[Calvynne]

Thanks for the comments. I appreciate it! (And thanks to those who have liked the post!)

I meant to have another 5 or 6 battlers this past week, but I caught my daughter's cold. And then she had four days off school, so anything that required a lot of time just got shut right down. Then I got a new tablet, and had to fight with the drivers for a few hours.

Melodrama aside, I've got two new ones.

The Dancing Moth

Named for its shifting, swirling gait as it raises it's scintillating wings. The colors shift hypnotically, to some adventurers, appearing as though giant eyes were staring at them. However those who look too long at the Dancing Moth as it flashes its wings, find themselves drawn towards it, lured by the dazzling display, and a sound that they can't quite identify. Once close, the Dancing Moth prefers to stab its prey with it's long proboscis, injecting a fast acting neurological agent that makes the victim significantly more compliant. Contact with its numerous antenna has a similar effect.

Observers

Observers, or Overdrones, are found patrolling ruin sites, dutifully corralling lost drones and devices. Unlike most ancient constructs which will typically ignore adventurers unless provoked, or some strange protocol is breached, Observers will engage immediately and aggressively. While their defenses are minimal, typically only armed with repair nodes, welding implements, or hooks to collect and draw broken constructs away, they will summon dangerous allies, activate long forgotten defense systems, and rapidly repair broken guardians. The best defense is to quickly bring the Observer to ground, the standard tactic involves two people and a net, while a third sets to work on disabling its antenna.

 

[starlight dream]

Love at first sight for the dancing moth! And I can see the wings as eyes. Beautiful colouring on those wings btw.

The descriptions are really fun and inspiring. It's like a bestiary of battlers. The Observers are freaky after that description.
I hope you're feeling better and thanks for sharing your art!

 

[Calvynne]

Writing up the entries for the various monsters was always a primary objective for my own world building. Understanding what its inhabitants are up against, how the people have adapted, and their foes evolved, hopefully helps others get creative with their interpretations.

Technician

"The first sign that the Eozemites had returned was the appearance of the Technicians. Don't be fooled, they slapped a Golem's face upon that pile of wires and cables and dressed it up in a robe. Nothing lurks beneath that surface. Nothing. But I've seen them take everything from the likes of you. They can hack apart your soul." -An Eldar's Warning.
The Technicians are servants of the Eozemite Destroyer Cult, ancient constructs that they've managed to manipulate and convert into terrifying avatars of their mastery over the ancient devices. One Technician can create another. Left unchecked, they can repopulate, and swiftly rebuild an ancient stronghold, for the Eozemite's dark purposes. Possessing a technology that cannot be readily explained, and a power that slips beyond magic, these monsters strip adventurers of their protections, and slip inside their minds, instilling a form of terror that paralyzes even the strongest warrior.

 

[ArielSystem]

Whoa! I Really need this for "Warrion Heroes 3" Onwards!

This is the coolest one!

 

[Calvynne]

It's been quite the week, but I managed to get down to some more art. I wanted to have all three ready, but since my youngest refuses to nap, I've only got one done thus far.

Urlukren Soldier


The Urlukren mostly stick to their own affairs, only entering the realms of humankind when a king or queen expands too far or delves too deep into an ancient ruin. Humans have had no luck in communicating with them, and even skilled negotiators find themselves as little more than target practice. Their utterly alien biology is thought to have been brought to the world when Eozemus arrived tens of thousands of years ago. It is hypothesized that despite their advanced technology that they lack a means of returning to the void once more, or perhaps that something even more sinister is blocking their own escape. Urlukren soldiers wear a blast proof armor, which projects a force barrier to protect their otherwise delicate and fragile bodies. Though their skin is tough and durable, once cut, even small tears can result in the loss of an entire tentacle. Their "bodies" are really just their tentacles bundled into thick cords, protecting their internals, suggesting an almost jellyfish or octopus-like origin.