Starship Life Stages

Urchin: The youngest type of ship, often newly spawned. A spore leaves the parent vessel and grows larger. Urchins are rarely encountered alone, and usually are being trained by older ships.

Bufo: The "workhorse" of the Gorris fleet. Much hardier than Urchins with a mighty spore cannon and plasma cannons. Generally have enough experience to act reasonably on their own, even without assistance from other ships. You might call this the "pre-teen" to early teenage stage. Tend to have grown beyond 150 meters in diameter. Are capable of launching smaller spores that can produce Urchins, as well as the spores that bring light and warmth to the utterly hideous frozen worlds.

Devout: Bufos that grow to a much larger size, where a second spore cannon has formed on the ship, are known as Devouts. Mightier than Bufos, these ships often serve as heavier craft. Often one plasma cannon would have grown into a plasma lancer, with greater range.

Megalodon: Roughly two to three times the size of their younger Devout kin, Megalodons also feature multiple weapon hardpoints, including spore cannons, that jut out of the superstructure. The initial spore cannon now fires bursts that can rival the size of smaller hostile starships. Several plasma cannons are now plasma lancers with significantly longer range. With a much thicker and sturdier hull, these wizened vessels are also much more difficult to kill.

Toxopneustes: These ships are few and far between, for they have grown to sizes rivaling small moons. The Spore Cannon blasts they release rival many smaller ships in size, and multiple plasma lancers can also rake against enemy hulls. However, their age means they have become even more docile than their younger kin, and often these ships will not attack a hostile target simply because it appeared. However, Toxopneustes that have witnessed the death of many fellow ships, or otherwise have seen horrors of the void can be notably less tranquil than expected.