Starfarer Adversaries: Cannibal Clowns from Outer Space by Owen K.C. Stevens is a role playing game supplement published by Rogue Genius Games for use with Starfinder. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License and some parts are considered to be Open Game Content as a result.
The supplement is available from DriveThruRPG as a 15-page PDF for $3.95 but was purchased at a reduced price as part of a special bundle. One page is the cover, one an ad, one the Credits and one the Open Game License.
The opening paragraphs explain that no-one knows where the Grimaldi Strain (which might be named after Joseph Grimaldi) came from. It’s a technomagical microscopic material that turns humanoids into clown-faced pseudo-undead flesh-eating horrors that disguise themselves as common clowns. It’s believed to have been an experiment in weaponizing civilian populations, with the clown aspect used to make it obvious transformation had happened.
These cannibal clowns establish themselves in areas, pretending to be normal, with the aim of eating people and creating more clowns. The go from Buffoons to Tramps to Wiseguys to Ringleaders, and there is rumoured to be a Grand Grimaldi that rules all the Ringleaders.
Making Cannibal Clowns explains that use the standard rules from Starfinder Alien Archive. There are three new Su abilities that help them blend in and recover health and they are a weird type. How to make the four different types of cannibal clowns is then covered.
Special Cannibal Clown Abilities Schticks has new abilities for the clowns. They can block weapons with a carrot, combat juggle, use a finger gun and others.
New Weapon Special Properties has a vicious critical.
New Critical Hit Effects has new criticals. Including the ability to rip out a target’s guts and turn them into balloon animals.
Sample Cannibal Clowns from Outer Space has an example of each clown type.
Appendix 1: Cannibal Clown Weapons has examples of standard clown props that could be used as weapons.
Starfarer Adversaries: Cannibal Clowns from Outer Space in Review
The PDF is well bookmarked with major and minor sections linked. Navigation is good. The text maintains a two-column colour format and appeared to be mostly free of errors. There is a single illustration, a full page of the cover illustration. Presentation is decent.
At first glance, this might look like an April Fool’s supplement. It isn’t. These aren’t exactly a one-shot menace either. The cannibal clowns’ abilities and features are thematically appropriate for clowns, only much more unpleasant and lethal. These are the clowns of horror films, and any character who encounters a troupe of them may get a, pretty justified, fear of clowns afterwards. The clowns are well-detailed and well thought out creatures to encounter, and the first sign of their existence could be somewhere they’ve just destroyed. Starfarer Adversaries: Cannibal Clowns from Outer Space is a nasty little monster supplement and it can be found by clicking here.
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