Threat Taxonomy
AX.GAT.13.01 - Threat Taxonomy
About Threat Design
The core rules (AX.C.13) define the universal threat framework, power tiers, stat block format, and encounter design principles. This file defines the classification structure specific to Astraeus Terminal and establishes the rules that govern how threats interact with the catalog's environmental conditions and power traditions.
Threats in the Astraeus Terminal catalog divide along two primary axes: origin (where the threat comes from) and nature (what kind of entity or hazard it is). These axes interact, a void entity that has entered the station is a void-origin threat operating in a station context; a rogue maintenance system is a station-origin threat that behaves like an engineered hazard.
Power Tiers
All threats use the standard AxiomRPG power tier framework.
| Tier | Dice Budget | Health | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minion | 3–4D | 20 + Body + 5 | Group threats; cannon fodder with faction backing |
| Standard | 5–7D | 20 + Body + 10 | Individual threats; the encounter's primary challenge |
| Elite | 8–10D | 20 + Body + 15 | Named adversaries; scene-defining threats |
| Champion | 11–13D | 20 + Body + 25 | Faction leaders, apex creatures; multi-scene adversaries |
| Legendary | 14D+ | 20 + Body + 50 | Station-scale threats; campaign-arc antagonists |
Defense = 1 + (Speed Value + Armor Value) ÷ 3, round down (minimum 1).
Origin Categories
Void-Origin Threats
Entities and phenomena that originate in the Ki Nebula or the void beyond it. Void-origin threats are defined by the environment that produced them: they are shaped by stellar radiation, the nebula's EM density, and conditions that have no equivalent inside the station. Many are Chaos-adjacent, relics or products of the biological magi-tech presence the ancient Chaos power left in the nebula, though not all void entities are directly Chaos-derived.
Void entities are covered in AX.GAT.13.02. They range from Minion-tier drifters to Legendary-tier apex phenomena that pose station-scale threats.
Tradition interaction: Void Attunement practitioners gain navigation and detection advantages against void-origin threats. When specifically noted in a void entity's entry, Void Attunement applications against that entity gain +1D. This does not automatically apply to all void entities, the bonus reflects entities whose nature is particularly aligned with what Void Attunement reads. Entries specify when this applies.
Station-Origin Threats
Threats that originate within the Terminal's own systems, communities, and history. Station-origin threats are the product of the station's age, its factional conflicts, its operational stress, and the accumulated decisions of generations of inhabitants and administrators.
Station hazards (environmental and engineered) are covered in AX.GAT.13.03. Hostile faction threats (corsairs, security forces, criminal crews) are covered in AX.GAT.13.04.
Tradition interaction: Cybernetic Integration practitioners have specific advantages against electronic and augmented station-origin threats, Override applications may target systems directly. Arc Theory practitioners can interact electrically with conductive station infrastructure and with targets that have exposed electronic architecture.
External-Origin Threats
Creatures and entities that originated off-Terminal and off-nebula, arriving as cargo, passengers, stowaways, or through deliberate introduction. External-origin threats bring biology and behavior from environments the Terminal's population has no direct experience with.
Alien fauna is covered in AX.GAT.13.05. These entries include bane or containment methods derived from their home environments, which may be non-obvious to Terminal personnel.
Nature Categories
Origin describes where a threat comes from. Nature describes what kind of threat it is.
| Nature | Description | Primary File |
|---|---|---|
| Biological | Living organisms; subject to standard biological conditions | 13.02, 13.05 |
| Engineered | Systems, constructs, or modified organisms; electronic vulnerabilities | 13.03 |
| Environmental | Hazardous conditions that act as threats; no stat block | 13.03 |
| Factional | Organized groups with social structures, chain of command, morale | 13.04 |
| Hybrid | Entities that combine biological and engineered characteristics | 13.02 |
Environmental Conditions as Threats
Some threats in this catalog are not entities; they are conditions that function as ongoing hazards in an encounter. These use the condition rules from AX.GAT.08.02 rather than standard stat blocks.
Vacuum Exposure, treating a hull breach or depressurization event as a threat means tracking the three-stage progression (Exposed → Distressed → Critical) alongside the encounter. The environmental threat has no stat block; it interacts with player characters through the condition track.
Radiation Zones, a high-radiation field is an encounter-altering factor. Treat a radiation zone as a persistent environmental effect: at the start of each character's Turn while in the zone, apply the appropriate tier damage and save requirement (AX.GAT.08.02).
EM Surge, an EM Surge during combat alters all electronic equipment and CI applications simultaneously. It is an event, not a persistent threat; it arrives and passes within defined parameters.
GMs designing encounters in high-hazard environments should layer these conditions onto the encounter rather than building separate threat stat blocks for them.
Tradition Interactions Reference
The following table summarizes how each tradition interacts with threat categories. Specific bonuses and interactions are detailed in individual threat entries.
| Tradition | Void Entities | Station Hazards | Hostile Factions | Alien Fauna |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Psionics | Limited (non-sapient void entities resist psionic contact; sapient ones may be vulnerable) | No direct interaction | Emotional Read / Intent Scan fully applicable | Varies by species intelligence |
| Void Attunement | +1D where specified; Hazard Read detects void presence before instruments | Read applications detect system anomalies | No bonus | Hazard Read may detect biological anomalies |
| Cybernetic Integration | Override vs. hybrid entities with electronic components | Override directly applicable to engineered hazards | Override vs. augmented faction NPCs | No direct interaction |
| Arc Theory | Electrical damage; Splash vs. clustered void entities with conductive biology | Discharge/Interface vs. electronic systems | Full applicability; electrical deterrence effective | Varies by biology |
Weakness and Containment Standards
Every threat entry in this catalog specifies at least one Weakness or Containment Method. This is a catalog requirement, not optional flavor.
Weakness: A specific vulnerability that, when exploited, changes the encounter's mechanics, increased damage, altered behavior, condition application. Weaknesses should be discoverable in fiction before they are exploited (Void Attunement reading, scanner analysis, faction knowledge, prior experience).
Containment Method: For threats that cannot or should not be destroyed, the method by which they can be neutralized, contained, or driven off. Particularly relevant for void entities and alien fauna that the station's scientific community might want to study rather than kill.
Stat Block Format
All threat entries follow this format:
### [Threat Name]
[Tier], [Nature], [Origin]
*[One-sentence description of what this threat is and why it is dangerous.]*
**Body:** XD **Speed:** XD **Wit:** XD
**Health:** XX **Defense:** X
**Attacks:**
- [Attack Name]: [Range], [Damage], [Special effect if any]
**Special Abilities:**
- [Ability Name]: [Description]
**Weakness:** [What exploiting it does]
**Containment / Elimination:** [How to neutralize without destroying, if applicable]
*[1–2 sentences of GM guidance, behavior, tactics, when to deploy.]*
Talents are not listed separately in threat entries unless a specific talent is mechanically significant. Dice budgets are distributed across the three attributes with priorities appropriate to the threat's nature and role. Flavor text in each category file provides behavioral and ecological context.