Scourge Host Families

At a glance: Scourge bestiary taxonomy · one parasite grammar (green breach cores, black chitin, overwritten host) worn over six conquered-host families: flesh, chitin, mycelial, machine-graft, bone titan, voidship · every batch records threat role + host family · spans Deadlane / Starblight / Scourge-Survivors / Pactfall.

The Scourge is one parasite wearing many conquered worlds.

Every Scourge unit should share a default parasite grammar, but the host underneath can come from different species, machines, colonies, or craft. This gives the army variety without breaking faction cohesion.

Default Scourge Grammar

These traits should appear across the army:

• Toxic-green breach cores or parasite nodes.
• Black chitin, wet raw tissue, exposed sinew, tendrils, and rupture seams.
• Host material being overwritten: flesh, bone, armor, metal, fungus, hull plating, stone, or unknown alien anatomy.
• Asymmetry and invasive growth, not clean creature design.
• Weapons grown out of host anatomy: claws, bone blades, throat sacs, arm lances, spore vents, projectile organs, shield organs.

If a design lacks this grammar, it is not Scourge yet; it is only a monster.

Host Families

Rot-Infested Flesh Hosts

The default first-read Scourge form. Humanoid or animal bodies split open by parasite growth, with ruined armor or bone still visible.

Use for: base swarm, early Scourge Survivors enemies, common Deadlane waves.

Chitin Warhosts

Conquered shell-world or insectoid species. Hard carapace, hooked limbs, mandibles, claw clusters, and blade growths under parasite control.

Use for: fast melee variants, elite chargers, armored swarm replacements.

Mycelial Spore Hosts

Conquered fungal colonies and spore organisms. Bulging sacs, breathing vents, fibrous growth, root-like tendrils, and clouds implied by silhouette.

Use for: spitters, area denial units, Starblight mines, breach growth.

Machine-Graft Hosts

Industrial drones, vehicles, weapons, and battlefield machines hijacked from conquered worlds. Metal is not clean tech anymore; it is a shell the parasite grows through.

Use for: ranged units, tower-breakers, Deadlane siege enemies, infected weapons.

Bone Titan Hosts

Large alien megafauna or warrior species stripped down to bone plates, horns, rib cages, and massive limb frames, then rebuilt by parasite tissue.

Use for: bosses, minibosses, Pactfall neutral objectives, heavy Deadlane waves.

Voidship Hosts

Ships, drones, orbital wreckage, and vacuum-adapted bodies conquered before reaching the surface war. Hull plates become armor; engines become organs; cables become tendrils.

Use for: Starblight, Scourge-Fighter, Orbital-Breach-Carrier, orbital bosses.

Batch Rule

For any Scourge generation batch, record both:

• Threat role: Ripper, Spitter, elite, boss, craft, carrier, etc.
• Host family: flesh, chitin, mycelial, machine-graft, bone titan, voidship, or a new conquered-world family.

The same threat role can have multiple host-family variants. A Ripper can be a flesh host in Scourge Survivors, a chitin warhost in Deadlane, and a voidship parasite in Starblight.