Planar Bestiary
Humanoids from another world, moonstriders are adapted to airless environments. Their home "world" consists of four airless moons spinning around each other, each entirely covered with towering moonstrider structures, dark to those with regular vision, but glowing in the wider spectrum of light that moonstriders prefer.
A moonstrider's skin is thick and grey, part of their adaptation to airlessness and lack of gravity. Though they tend to look thicker than an average humanoid, they are anything but clumsy. In fact, they have more eyes than a regular humanoid, some of which are located on their fingertips, allowing them a close-up view of whatever they're tinkering with or (when they spread their arms wide) the ability to see great distances, especially in airless space.
Some elements of moonstrider society prefer to explore other worlds. They do so using a psychic technology that skims the Ethereal Plane without entering it. Explorers also prefer airless voids to "oceans of air" and have established outposts on moons above various worlds of the Material Plane.
Motive: Explore the multiverse
Environment: Anywhere, in exploration teams of two to five
Health: 9
Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (4 points)
Armor: 2
Movement: Short; short when climbing
Modifications: Planar lore as level 5; perception and climbing as level 8
Combat: A moonstrider attacks with their hungry spear, either as a melee attack or a long-range attack (using an atlatl). The attack inflicts damage and, on a failed Might defense task, the spear tip remains in the wound and begins to work its way deeper. Each round the tip remains embedded, the target automatically takes an additional minor wound (3 points) (ignores Armor) on their turn. Removing the boring tip requires a successful level 3 Speed task by someone who has tweezers or some similar tool (this task is hindered if the creature attempts it on themself).
Moonstriders can also project their thoughts as a piercing mental attack against a target within short range, inflicting 4 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor) if a target fails an Intellect defense task.
One or two moonstriders on a team carry shimmery pearls akin to detonation (web) cyphers, except trapped victims are enveloped in a transparent bag (level equal to the cypher's) that protects against vacuum exposure and airlessness for one hour. Moonstriders may use this defensively, or to capture characters for further study back at their base.
A moonstrider is immune to cold attacks, damage from vacuum exposure and damage from prolonged zero gravity.
Interaction: Though humanoid, moonstriders are quite alien. They speak telepathically, but even so, understanding doesn't come easy. Their actions reveal they are curious about everything that most characters probably find mundane. Unfortunately, what the insides of creatures look like when dissected is also something moonstriders want to know.
Use: Travelers along a certain stretch of trail sometimes go missing entirely, or show up weeks late with no memory of what happened, or why they are missing a limb, organ, or sibling.
Loot: In addition to their hungry spears and the vacuum bag cypher described under Combat, each team of moonstriders carries a small handheld artifact (level 4; depletion: 1 in 1d10) able to create a portal to a moonstrider base, typically the nearest airless moon. (The portal interface usually doesn't transfer atmospheric gases.) However, it could be a location on any Material Plane world that the moonstrider has previously visited. The portal persists for a few rounds before closing.
GM Intrusion (Group):The moonstrider deploys their portal to an airless moon as an area attack, so instead of the way it normally functions, it begins sucking in air, materials, and creatures within an immediate distance that can't find a grip on something solid.