STAGE IV: STALKER, SCOUT, DRONE
Now young adults, Stage IV Xenos are able to adapt a bipedal stance, even though they might not always make use of it. Their now fully polarized skin is near black in tone; they have a bladed prehensile tail, six-fingered hands with enlarged nails, pronounced ribs, and translucent to opaque smooth-domed heads. In addition to their metallic, toothy mouths, they have an inner set of jaws that can strike like a piston—a favored mode of attack.
Save for the Scout, Stage IV Xenomorphs have four dorsal tubes affixed to their backs. While some have theorized the tubes are used for spinning and cocooning the resin for their hive, that has generally been discounted as a fallacy. The current line of thinking is that the tubes are a type of breathing apparatus, filtering out airborne toxins and allowing the creatures to breath underwater. However, as Aliens have been observed surviving in the vacuum of space, it is possible that they do not need to breathe at all.
STALKER
Averaging about 2.7 meters tall and comfortable moving on two legs as well as all four, Stalkers are the highly aggressive adult form of the Praetomorph. Classified as Plagiarus linesteres, the Praetomorph is a variant breed of Xenomorph XX121. The Stalker is believed to be an evolutionary dead end for the Praetomorph, as no encountered specimen has ever metamorphosed further. Unlike its phylogenetic relative P. praepotens, the P. linesteres does not appear to have a Queen stage. It also differs in that it has no biomechanical endoskeleton, and its teeth are translucent bone instead of metal. They are bigger, more powerful, resilient, and more resistant to fire than standard Xenos—they just happen to be less intelligent and more animalistic in nature.SCOUT
2.1 meters tall when standing upright, the brown-black Scout or Runner is a particularly fast adaptation of P. praepotens. Usually moving about on all fours, the Scout’s job is to seek out a nearby source of hosts and alert the hive when one is found. If no hive yet exists, the scout will begin capturing hosts and cocooning them for ovomorphing until a Queenburster is produced. Once the Queen is birthed and a hive location is secure, a Scout will metamorphose to its next stage. For reasons unknown, Scouts have no dorsal tubes—they do not develop them until Stage V.DRONE
Sometimes called Lurkers, Drones stand 2.4 meters tall, and are stealthy ambush hunters. Their tails end in a deadly hooked blade and rudimentary barb for Ovomorph injection. In many ways, Drones are the most alien of the species. It is theorized that the strange behavior often exhibited by Drones is due to them reaching young adulthood without establishing a connection to the alien hive mind. The stealthy creatures’ fluid yet awkward movements and unorthodox reactions to stimuli belie their methodical intelligence. As much as a Stalker acts like a feral animal, a Drone plots. The ebon Drone is a clever yet single-minded iteration of the Xenomorph. Development of P. praepotens will arrest at Stage IV unless a Queen’s pheromones cause it to molt into a Worker or Soldier—whichever form the hive is most in need of. Until then it will eat, gather hosts for ovomorphing, and sleep. When it evolves to the next stage, it joins the hive mind.SILENT ASSASSIN [DRONE ONLY]
When making a stealth mode roll or sneak attack from within the same zone, the Drone is so silent that its target gets a –2 modification to their OBSERVATION test.FERAL HUNGER [STALKER ONLY]
The Stalker has an insatiable need to kill. If it makes an attack that causes damage it will immediately make a second attack (with eight Base Dice, Damage 1) against the same target as a free action.CONTAINMENT AND TERMINATION PROTOCOL
Stage IV Xenos are notoriously difficult to kill. They operate outside of the alien hive mind and are independent—but each exhibits traits that can be exploited. Stalkers and Scouts can be tricked into running into a hazardous situation. Drones are a bit smarter, but they follow a routine and spend most of their time hibernating in warm places such as somewhere close to a reactor core—and can be hunted down accordingly.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Genetic Descendants
Scientific Name
P. praepotens, P. linesteres
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