From the other side of the chains
A little while ago the Geonosians landed in SWURPG as a playable species — the winged insectoids who filled the arena in Attack of the Clones. This is the other half of that: the Geonosians are now a full enemy faction in the bestiary, so you can put the whole hive on the other side of the table.
Seven stat blocks, from the fodder that dies by the dozen to the matriarch at the bottom of the spire.
The roster
The hive is built to be run in layers, and the Threat Ratings ladder cleanly so you can scale an encounter to any party:
- Geonosian Drone (TR 0.5) — the labor and service caste. Weak, wingless, and dangerous only in numbers — but the hive never sends just one.
- Geonosian Warrior (TR 2) — the winged soldier drone. Sonic blaster, static pike, and a diving strike from above.
- Geonosian Picador (TR 2) — the arena beast-handler. On its own, a flyer with a shock-whip; paired with a beast, a genuine crisis.
- Geonosian Elite Warrior (TR 4) — genetically superior, carrying a beam-tuned blaster that cuts through personal shields and heavy plating.
- Geonosian Aristocrat (TR 4) — the commander. Doesn't duel; directs, sharpening every drone and warrior around it and calling extra attacks out of the swarm.
- Undead Geonosian (TR 1) — a brain-worm husk. Slow, mindless, fearless, and hard to keep down.
- Geonosian Hive Queen (TR 6) — the set-piece boss. See below.
Why the hive plays differently
Two things set the Geonosians apart from every blaster faction you've run.
First, their sonic weapons can't be deflected by a lightsaber. A Geonosian blast is a concussive pressure wave, not an energy bolt, so the Jedi's signature answer to ranged fire simply doesn't apply — and the Elite's beam ignores armor and cover on top of that. A party that leans on a lightsaber wall for defense is in for a bad afternoon.
Second, the hive fights as one. Drones gain the upper hand whenever they're together, an Aristocrat's presence sharpens everything near it, and the whole thing coordinates in a way a pack of mercenaries never will. Kill the commanders and the swarm gets sloppy; leave them up and it only tightens.
The Queen turns a fight into a siege
The Hive Queen isn't a duelist — she barely moves. She's a siege engine. She lays and hatches a fresh drone every round, she reanimates the fallen with brain worms as fast as the party can put them down, and a pheromone aura physically pushes melee characters back while her hive-mind link supercharges every Geonosian on the map. Legendary Resistance and an unbreakable will shrug off the save-or-suck control a party would normally reach for.
The trick — the fun of the fight — is that it's a damage race with a kill switch. Clear the drones off her so she stops healing, then burn her down, because her death collapses every husk she raised and routs the living hive in a single stroke. Give the party a reason to push in — a reactor to reach, captives to free — so they can't just turtle at range and outlast her.
Running the hive
Build the encounter in waves, the way the hive actually defends itself. Open with drones and a Warrior wing to feel the party out; escalate with an Elite and an Aristocrat once they've committed; and save the descent to the Queen's chamber for the finish, where the reanimation and the endless brood turn it into a proper set piece. A Picador is only as dangerous as the beast it's steering — pair it with an arena beast and let it drive.
And loot the carapace
When the dust settles, the hive leaves something behind. Harvested Geonosian chitin forges into three new chitin armors — lighter than the metal plate at each protection level, and carrying the same radiation resistance the living hive relies on — plus matching Chitin Plating upgrades for any armor. The spoils of a hive-siege, if the party lives to strip them.
See the Geonosians in the bestiary →
The arena always had two sides. Now your table can run both.