The Strange Bestiary
The mysterious and elusive dynods abandoned their physical bodies long ago. Uploading their minds into the Strange to become beings of pure consciousness, they travel through uncharted Chaosphere vistas, exploring endless recursions and other worlds in the far-flung reaches of time and space. When one appears, it manifests first as a speck of bright light, little more than a pinprick. In moments, the light softens and expands until it becomes a vague, transparent humanoid form that lacks any physical features beyond two black eyes speckled with stars. Dynods observe. They seek knowledge and feel a powerful compulsion to accumulate it from the cosmos. On the rare occasions when two dynods meet, they mingle their thoughts to exchange what hey have learned and then set off to continue their travels. Dynods pity other creatures for being limited by the flawed vessels that contain their minds. Still, dynods regard any encounter with a thinking being as an opportunity to increase their own knowledge, and they talk at great length about whatever the subject desires.
Motive: Knowledge
Environment (the Strange | Psionics): Single dynods travel freely through the Strange, unbound by the physical laws that constrain other creatures. Small groups can be found in any recursion that permits psionics.
Health: 15
Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (5 points)
Movement: Short
Modifications: All tasks related to intuition and perception as level 8.
Combat: A dynod can send a pulse of psychic energy to scramble the thoughts of any creature within short range. The target must make an Intellect defense roll or take 5 points of Intellect damage that ignores Armor. Dynods view this direct method of offense as crude and inelegant. Rather than shred their opponent's mind, they might help the creature free its mind from the constraints of its body. A dynod can draw out the mind of a creature within immediate distance. If the target fails an Intellect defense roll, its body falls to the ground insensate for one minute. During this time, its mind is free from the body and perceives its surroundings out to a long distance. An affected creature cannot use actions to perform physical tasks, but it can perform mental tasks as normal. The creature's mind assumes a form similar to that of the dynod. A dynod can end this effect at any time using an action.
Interaction: Dynods can communicate telepathically with any sentient creature within long distance. They freely exchange information with others, seeking to grow their knowledge and that of the people they meet.
Use: A dynod created an inapposite gate to a dangerous recursion, and now it must be tracked down and convinced to close the gate before too many horrors scape. Dynods are not from the Shoals of Earth, but those encountered around Earth take the vague outline of the primary quickened species of that prime world: humans. When first encountered, their outline was rumored to be more like starfish.
GM Intrusion: A dynod merges with the mind of a character damaged by its psychic attack. For one round, the dynod disappears and takes control of the PC completely. When it reappears, it knows everything the character knows.