Creature Feature:

Cularin Space Slug

By Steve Kenson and Owen Stephens

The very rare space slugs of the Cularin system are gigantic, wormlike creatures that can grow up to 900 meters long, fully capable of swallowing an entire starship. These silicon-based life forms can survive in the vacuum of space. They nest in hollows and caves in large asteroids, feeding on the minerals in them, which gives them their grayish, stonelike hide. The interior of a space slug has its own atmosphere and pressure, and it is possible to move around within such a creature with just a breathing mask. Space slugs often exist in symbiosis with flocks of mynocks that live inside them, scavenging off the minerals the slug consumes. Such creatures live in the forward section of the slug, avoiding the digestive organs farther back. A space slug is fairly vulnerable to attacks from within it, gaining only 5 points of damage reduction against such attacks.

Space slugs tend to be lethargic creatures, resting in their planetoid dens and emerging only occasionally to consume more minerals to sustain themselves. They rest with their mouths open, allowing wandering fragments of rock to enter their gullets (along with the occasional mynock, or even a passing starship). Space slugs lying with their mouths agape can be mistaken for natural caves, although pilots usually make such a mistake only once -- slugs find the metals and minerals in a space transport an excellent meal!

Unlike the space slugs found in the Hoth asteroid belt and elsewhere, the Cularin space slugs are unique in that they are easily trained and may be descended from some form of domesticated creature (reduce all Handle Animal check DCs by 5). In fact, space slugs may be the only surviving species native to the huge jungle planet that once orbited where Cularin's asteroid field now lies. When internal stresses caused that planet to break up into millions of chunks of rock, the creatures known as space slugs are believed to have survived and adapted to their new, airless environment. The creatures breed through fission, splitting into two smaller slugs when they have attained sufficient mass. Over time, a group of slugs can deplete an asteroid of minerals. Since they are long-lived and eat slowly, however, space slugs rarely deplete their food supply entirely.

The digestion of a Cularin space slug is very slow, but does eventually break down biological and inorganic matter. A starship sitting in the back half of a space slug will lose 1 point of damage reduction each day it remains there. Once its damage reduction falls to 0, the ship receives 1d6 points of damage each day. Living creatures stuck in the digestive region are also dealt 1d6 points of damage a day, but rarely remain long enough to be injured. The metabolism of a slug is very slow, and it is thought they may live for tens of thousands of years.

Some of the smugglers operating in the Cularin asteroid belt have trained space slugs to act as guards -- in some cases even claiming to regularly land safely within the mouth of a tame beast to avoid detection by military ships. It's possible some pirates use this tactic as well, hiding inside a slug until target freighters draw too close to escape. Although most government sources within the Cularin system dismiss such claims, many space transport captains avoid getting too close to space slugs.

Space Slug: Vacuum vermin 20; Init -3; Defense 24 (+25 natural, -8 size, -3 Dex); Spd 100 m burrow; VP/WP 450/376; Atk +15 melee (6d12+10, bite) or +2 ranged; SQ Can survive in vacuum, damage reduction 25, darkvision; SV Fort +18, Ref -3, Will -2; SZ C; Rep 3; Str 31, Dex 4, Con 47, Int 2, Wis 11, Cha 6; Challenge Code: G.
Skills: Hide +6, Listen +8, Spot +8, Survival +9.

The Living Force Campaign Guide offers more about the Cularin system
and its asteroid belt.