                                Star Wars 

                           Wizard's RPG Stories

          source : http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=starwars/newsarchive
          upload : 10.IV.2006


     Something to Mull Over

     By Morrie Mullins

     Former Living Force Plot Director and Campaign Designer

     Former Living Force Plot Director Morrie Mullins presents the  latest  in
our series of supplements to the campaign's newest scenarios. In "Something to
Mull Over," we meet the cochlera, a mysterious and beautiful creature  of  the
gas giant Genarius. This supplement ties into the April Living Force scenario,
Open Aarms, the second part of the "Metatheran Caution" trilogy.

     I saw them first as we  entered  the  upper  atmosphere  of  Genarius.  I
thought that they were a distant radiation  storm  of  some  kind  and  almost
steered away, but something caught my eye. The colors - - they were all  wrong
for a radiation storm. The clouds themselves, a swirling  mix  of  orange  and
blue, seemed to spark with pink and violet, though the "sparks,"  as  I  first
named them, were much too smooth. It was like watching electricity move  in  a
perfect arc between two poles, a curve so  gentle  and  subtle  that,  from  a
distance, it was easy to see it as a spark. But the flashes of color, splashes
of intensity amidst the clouds, came toward me. That was the first time I  saw
a mull of cochlera.

     Generally, there are between thirty and fifty of these things in a  mull.
They glide through the clouds, taking  in  the  gases,  processing  them,  and
blinking pink and violet and white. If you've never  seen  them,  it's  almost
impossible to describe, but I suppose I'll do what I can.

     Up close, they're actually fairly  disgusting.  In  a  beautiful  way,  I
guess. Their upper bodies are clear globular sacs, filled with a roiling fluid
where the brilliant energy arcs back and forth. Their flesh - - such as it  is
- - seems pliable, and their bodies change shape as the currents in the clouds
shift, twisting the creatures in impossible directions. Each of  the  cochlera
has a half-dozen long appendages, each between  three  and  twenty  meters  in
length, though oddly enough, the size of the  bodies  doesn't  vary  markedly,
only the length of the appendages. I'm not sure I'd call them tentacles, since
that always implied (to me, at least) that they might be used  for  something.
I've never seen a cochlera use those droopy limbs, so I've come  to  think  of
them as pseudopods, and if some xenobiologist wants to come  out  and  take  a
look and tell the universe what they really are, well, that's fine.

     It's a lot like watching a floating sack of  goo  with  six  long,  gooey
trails behind it. But the way the skin shifts makes it look like the gases are
sliding over it and reacting with something on the inside - - which I  suppose
they probably are - - and the movement of the pseudopods is  almost  hypnotic.
Those moments when something inside them shifts and you get the arcs of  color
are worth watching, and when you're watching them for what's going on  inside,
instead of paying attention to what they look like on the surface,  it's  hard
to look away.

     If you're ever in Cularin, these creatures are a sight. I've  never  come
across anything like them in the galaxy. JB says, check them out.

     - - from the travel log of Jaan Bluum The gas giant Genarius.

     The cochlera are a species of  creature  found  only  in  the  clouds  of
Genarius. They float on the currents present in the gases, traveling in  loose
associations referred to as "mulls." There  is  some  speculation  as  to  the
relationship among the creatures that make up a mull of  cochlera,  but  their
physiology makes discussions of families - - as we  know  them  -  -  somewhat
difficult.

     Cochlera reproduce by splitting themselves  into  two  identical  pieces.
While speculation remains rampant as to what triggers  the  splitting  of  one
creature into two, a number of conditions must exist  for  the  fissioning  to
occur. First, the cochlera must be near a pocket of heavy beskium. Given  that
this is not one of the gases the creatures use for their  nourishment,  it  is
unclear why this gas is necessary, but there has never been a reported case of
cochlera reproduction in the absence of the beskium.

     Further, there must be other cochlera nearby.  The  fissioning  is  never
done in isolation from a mull, and in fact, a cochlera that comes  in  contact
with heavy beskium without at least a half-dozen others of its species  nearby
will simply swell up, becoming larger and larger until it  eventually  bursts.
This has led some xenobiologists to speculate that the cochlera  may  actually
release chemicals into the atmosphere of Genarius that enable others to  split
and create more of their kind. If so, this means that the creatures are not as
amoebic as may first be perceived, at  least  as  regards  their  reproductive
activity. Unfortunately, researchers have never been able to get close  enough
to fissioning cochlera to obtain atmospheric  samples  that  might  help  them
determine what (if anything) may have been released by the  remainder  of  the
mull as a creature divided itself to create new life. The "Metatheran Caution"
Trilogy Summary The Metatheran Cartel has never been particularly popular with
many of the people of Cularin, and things only get worse when  a  strange  new
illness arises that has strong links  back  to  the  Cartel.  Are  the  heroes
willing to trace the problem back to its core - wherever that may take them?

     A final condition that must be met in order for the cochlera to reproduce
is that Genarius itself must be experiencing  fierce  storms  near  its  core.
While this is not altogether uncommon, there are lulls, times when the  storms
become much less intense. During those times, the  mortality  rate  among  the
cochlera  increases  dramatically.  If  the  creatures  cannot   split,   they
eventually swell to the point where the  gas  inside  their  bodies  literally
tears them apart.

     Because of the location of Cularin, and because of the lack of  attention
to the  cochlera,  more  specifics  of  the  reproductive  capacities  of  the
creatures are not available. They are  indeed  a  beautiful  addition  to  the
cloudscape of Genarius, and they remain a mystery.

     Notes for the Gamemaster

     The reason the cochlera have not been further  studied  is  that  certain
powerful groups are suppressing efforts to  do  so.  Disinformation  has  been
spread - - including rumors about toxins the creatures secrete when approached
by living creatures, their tendency to use  their  pseudopods  to  ionize  the
engines of nearby starships, and so on - -  in  order  to  keep  interest  and
research at a minimum.

     In reality, the cochlera are peaceful and docile, more  than  content  to
stay away from everything that might do them harm. They  are  quite  adept  at
noticing changes in the flow of gas currents around  them,  and  if  something
overly large is displacing the gases,  cochlera  generally  head  for  another
region of the planet.  They  lack  the  natural  defenses  to  do  much  about
predators, but fortunately, no natural predators exist on Genarius.

     Recently, though, cochlera have become the object of a number  of  hunts.
If a cochlera is captured alive, the fluids in its body sac can be drained off
and filtered to extract a pale white ichor. This ichor, when ingested,  grants
limited immunity to some  Force-related  abilities.  Those  who  possess  this
knowledge have worked hard to keep it from  public  awareness.  A  few  rumors
still exist, but only a handful of individuals have access  to  the  knowledge
and equipment necessary to treat the  creatures  in  the  undoubtedly  painful
extraction of their fluids.

     Most often, the ichor is placed in a gel capsule to be taken orally.  The
flavor is beyond  repulsive,  and  anyone  attempting  to  swallow  a  capsule
containing the ichor must make a Fortitude save (DC 15) or vomit painfully for
1d6+1 rounds, or until a successful Treat Injury, Heal Self, or  Heal  Another
check (DC 15) is made. (Note that because of the discomfort experienced,  Heal
Self checks are made with a - 5 penalty.) Those who fail  the  Fortitude  save
gain no benefits from the capsule. Those who succeed, however, are  immune  to
both versions of the Force skill Affect Mind for 1d4+1  minutes.  During  this
time, the affected person also is unable to use  the  skill.  No  other  Force
abilities or  skills  (including  the  closely  related  Illusion  skill)  are
affected by taking the capsule.

     Cochlera: Large airborne herd animal 2; Init +4  (+2  Dex,  +2  species);
Defense 15 (+2 Dex, +4 natural, - 1 size), touch 11, flat-footed 13;  Spd  fly
24 m (good); VP/WP 9/19; Atk +4 melee (1d4+4 physical  or  3d8  ionization,  6
slam attacks) or +2 ranged; SQ Species traits; SV Fort +7, Ref  +2,  Will  +2;
Face/Reach 4 m by 4 m/12 m; FP 0; DSP 0; Rep +0; Str 19, Dex 14, Con  19,  Int
1, Wis 15, Cha 4. Challenge Code B.

     Skills: Hide +10, Spot +9, Survival +3.

     Cochlera Species Traits

     Ionization - Cochlera will attempt to defend themselves against intruders
by lashing out with their six pseudopods. When they come  in  contact  with  a
powered object, their pseudopods discharge with an effect equivalent to an ion
rifle. Multiple pseudopods hitting the same object in the same round should be
treated as though they were fire-linked weapons for the purposes of  bypassing
shields and dealing damage to the object's electrical systems.

     Camouflage - As creatures native to the gas clouds,  cochlera  can  blend
into the swirling colors if danger is sensed. This grants them  a  +3  species
bonus on Hide checks.

     Current sense - Cochlera can sense changes in  the  gas  currents  around
them, granting them the blindsight  ability  (as  described  in  Creatures  in
Chapter 14 of the Star Wars Roleplaying Game revised core rulebook). For every
cochlera in  a  mull,  increase  the  bonus  on  Spot  checks  to  notice  any
approaching object (creature or craft) by +1. Thus, while  a  single  cochlera
might have only +9 to its Spot check to notice an approaching threat,  a  mull
of 30 would have +38 (+9 base, plus 29 for  each  cochlera  beyond  the  first
present) to notice a change in currents that might signal a  threat  to  their
lives.

     Energy vulnerability (stun) - A cochlera's body requires that it be  able
to move and act in order to continue functioning. As such, stun effects can be
devastating to these creatures. Add 8 to any DC for a  cochlera  to  resist  a
stun effect, and a cochlera that fails its save against  a  stun  effect  must
immediately make a second save at the same DC or explode violently.