Playable Species
Anansi
The Anansi are a race of six-armed humanoid beings with digitigrade legs, and feet that can act like their clawed hands if need be. They are primarily carnivores, preying on smaller creatures, but have been known to eat types of plants as well. They produce a potent venom in their sharp fangs that can paralyze and kill a Hundred in under an hour.
They are low-level shapeshifters, able to blend in with a species if given enough time. They are not protected, nor are they targeted by the AEC. They are considered a neutral species.
Their home planet is Nay'r, on the edge of the Alo'Qri System, and tend to live in 'natural' homes, lightly modifying the enviroment to make it habitable. You will rarely find an Anansi planet that has anything equivalent to 20th century buildings. The males tend to be tasked with sciences, medicine, and other technology-based careers, while the females deal with hunting and farming. However, the Anansi are an "equal opportunity" race, so it is not uncommon to see a male hunting or farming, or a female doctor.
Common names are a myth, Anansi can be known as John Smith, Four, Qu`Tal, or Keynrir Alyndrask Vehrmelaten the Fifth. There are no "gender specific" names, and they tend to adapt to whatever is needed to keep a disguise. The most common disguise is humans.
Racial Bonus: +1 Stealth
Caw
Named for their bird-like exclamations of excitement, the Caw are a species very new to, and rare in, the galactic community. On their home planet, they had barely reached the equivalent of the bronze age when they were suddenly pulled into a much, much larger world by other species. They are, at first glance, birdlike, with large, heavy black beaks that dominate their features, smart dark eyes, and clawed, scaly hands and feet, but their bodies are covered with thick, full fur, most often dirty white with brown, mottled blotches, and they have semi-prehensile black scaled tails. They are deeply superstitious, and treat many objects as if they have their own sentience, not to mention that they tend to be rather technologically clueless. Caw who are born off-world tend to have names from other species, most often human. Male caws tend to have larger, heavier beaks and features than females. There is distinct racial tension between two subtypes of Caw, those with un-furred black faces, and those with furred faces.
Racial Bonus: +1 Survival
Human
Your typical, everyday Earthlings… only now they're not just on Earth. They're all over the damn place! You might find hybrids that have been spliced with animal or other types of DNA, or perhaps you've met the child of an inter-species couple. Regardless, humans seem to have a knack for surviving even the worst. Humans took their first steps in the galaxy on 12 September 2013 when the Voyager 1 spacecraft entered interstellar space.
Humans usually come in 3 varieties: Pure (no alterations), Augmented (using bio-organic 'upgrades' or electronic upgrades), and Hybrids (splicing DNA from something else with a Human).
Racial Bonus: +1 Leadership
Hydina
Their planet is lush with life, having highly diverse climates and biomes. Most outsiders, however, never get to see much past the handful of trading ports on the planet's surface.
In general, the Hydina are about three feet in height standing on two legs. Resembling a vague hybrid of bird and lizard aspects, their coats vary between full plumage, soft down and lizard-like scales and skin. On either side of their faces will be horns or fins sloping back, depending on gender and caste.
They have small, pointed snouts which house small, sharp teeth more designed for cutting meat than eating fruit. Though omnivores, they find it difficult to eat harder fruits, such as apples. Their bodies are mainly muscle so, small as they are, they are surprisingly strong and able to wield heavy weapons with the same ability as a strong human.
They have four castes into which they are born, depending on the elements of the region of their planet and the castes of their parents.
Pnaawa - "Pen-ah-wa". The air element Caste. Their coats are made of very fine downy feathers of dark blues and navy with a lighter sky blue underbelly. They boast wings of violet and cobalt; the males looking more dragon-like and the females more bird-like. Fast fliers, they are adept hunters and seekers, able to 'read' the winds and alert their people to storms and such that might be approaching. They can be found anywhere on the home planet, working as messengers, though they prefer to live in the cooler climates of the south and north.
Racial Bonus: +1 Athletics
Sumdah - "Seeom-du-ah". The fire element Caste. Resembling Phoenixes, their plumage is silken, generating heat even when separated from them and under high demand in markets, which has put this particular caste in great danger of dying out as outside forces have seized a great number of them. The females have the largest feathers, making them more likely to be captured for profit. Their coats are golden and orange, the feathers around their heads resembling crowns. Light blue eyes contrast their colouring. Using their body's naturally high temperature, they can float around with ease. They have no preference for where they live, able to survive in many climates from frigid cold to desert heat.
Racial Bonus: +1 Expression
Yxiy - "Ee-yik-see". The water element Caste. The most mysterious Caste of the four pure element types. They live within the deep oceans of their home planet, though little is known even by the other Castes as to how they live. Mostly monochromatic in colour with any variant of patterns, their hide resembles that of a snakes but the scales are so fine it is hard to see them. These scales give them remarkable armour against the elements but not so much against physical harm.
They have six extra limbs on their back which allows them to speedily swim through water, but also grants them the ability to alter their personal gravity to 'swim' through air. They do not speak out loud, having evolved minor telepathic abilities to speak to the minds of those around them and to read emotional cues. Their eyes are dark but retain unusual sparks like stars.
Racial Bonus: +1 Empathy
Knuiht - "Knu-hee-it". The earth element Caste. They are born with no armour or horns; these grow during their childhood and adolescent stages until adulthood and are formed of the same rock types they live around. Their hide is formed of hard scales with a soft downy underbelly.
The females are a sandy-brown hue with a lighter underbelly and green-blue eyes typically. They grow sharp rock spines along their backs and tail to the tip. The males are a dark earth-brown with orange eyes. Their armour is more plated and their tail tip ending in a mace-like weapon. These are typically the warriors of the Hydina, having high endurance and good reflexes. Though not the fastest, they are very cunning.
Racial Bonus: +1 Brawl
For further information if creating a Hydina, their Culture can be found here
Lurk
Lurks are an odd species. They are humanoid in appearance, but have long, elegant tails, and spines along their back, not to mention their digitigrade legs, two meter long tongues, and eyes that change color… Oh, did we mention that their skin color ranges from a metallic silver to black? Lurks are stereotypically very friendly, maybe a bit too friendly at times, and can often lead to issues.
Racial Bonus: +1 Persuasion
Martian
Martians were once the same humans born from Earth but later moved to the harsher landscape of Mars and her various colonies. Often brute forcing themselves onto other worlds they are excellent at construction, mining and other labor intensive crafts. Unfortunately this industrial revolution has caused a vast amount of the pollution to build up to dangerous proportions on their various world. Also their xenophobic nature has caused them to reject all forms of genetic alterations and hybridization with other species. All Martians belong to an extremely fanatical religious group called the Church of the Cog, which believes that divinity can be found solely in industry. The Church of the Cog borrows heavily from the Ancient Egyptian religion. After their secession from there mother planet (Earth-I), Martians has grown tougher, gaining a knack at surviving harsh environments at the cost of a lower lifespan, intelligence and tolerance.
The xenophobia shared by most Martians tends to fade once they leave Mars and venture forth into the galaxy. If you're playing a Martian, chances are you don't outwardly hate Aliens.
Racial Bonus: +1 Intimidation
Sesshoun
Sesshoun, or Sess, are something of an oddity among races in that they don't travel off of their own world much. Humans from earth have described them as mixes of anteaters, dinosaurs, and peacocks. Standing a good several feet over human average, they have slim, jawless, anteater-like heads, strong raptorlike bodies and legs with powerful arms and four-fingered (two fingers, two thumbs symmetrically) hands, and long, heavy tails that are fanned at the ends. Their entire body is covered with a coat of pale, downy fur of various texture and thickness depending upon individuals. While females have relatively smooth feathers with short, stiff 'ruffs' along their ears, arms, and legs, males have much longer, more elaborate 'ruffs' that, in mating season, can grow into dazzling, colorful displays of long, stiff feathers. Males often retain other colored patterns through the rest of the year, but only have full, dazzling coloration at the height of mating season. Various color morphs of the species as a whole exist, making them a varied, visually stunning species. Despite their large, strong bodies and sharp claws, they're nectarivores, and are very friendly and fiercely loyal by their herd-animal nature.
Racial Bonus: +1 Academics
Squiddie
Squiddie (true name unwritable using roman alphabet) are a somewhat atypical race, compared to most humanoids. They have a humanoid torso, with three arms tipped with clawed hands, and large, bulbous tails jointed into two main sections, with twelve symmetrical tentacles for locomotion and a large pair of pincers at their rear end. Their bodies are soft and elastic, except for their hard, chitinous armor that covers their head, arms, chest, back, and genitalia. They tend to be brownish-green or grayish, and have large, sensitive antennae and short white "hair" (actually a fungal growth). They are a widely nonviolent race, preferring peaceful resolutions by nature, and are quite calm and slow to anger or excite. They're curious as well, and intelligent and empathetic. This doesn't mean they can't fight, though, as their clawed hands, heavy pincers, and chitinous mouth all make formidable weapons.
Racial Bonus: +1 Intimidation OR +1 Empathy
NPC Species ONLY
Chir'Tul
The Chir'Tul are a race of sentient robots that live in the Naxos System. They are very neutral in most matters and are a very honorable race. They have a distinct appearance of looking like silver versions of humans, as their technology has advanced to the point they are essentially building humans of metal. The Chir'Tul are known well for their participation in the Straos War, where they created the Imperta Declaration thus ending the 4 year civil war.
The majority of the Chir'Tul were deeply upset with the brutal nature of the Fall of the AEC. Most have left the Milky Way and cut off all communications.
Hundreds
The Hundreds are a subterrainian race of large, grey, leech-like oligochaetes that walk on two back legs, typically around ten feet long and possessing a large, toothy maw that is capable of producing a powerful corrosive agent. Unlike most races in the explored Local Group, Hundreds are extremely antagonistic and territorial, completely uninterested in relations with other species. A long history of conflict between humans and Hundreds dates back to the earliest exploration efforts outside of the Milky Way, which culminated in the destruction of their central hiveworld, the death of their queen, and the resulting animosity that remains to this day. An omnivorous race, Hundreds use their natural acids to devour nearly anything, which has been observed to hold true for anything from trees to vehicles to anyone unlucky enough to run across a hungry Hundred. Given their unnaturally high metabolism for such slow creatures, it's unlikely that an encountered subject won't be hungry at any given time. As a result of the War, Hundreds have been declared extinct.
Originally viewed as a nuisance race encountered only by mining colonies during the early colonization efforts in the outer rim of Andromeda, the Hundreds were a common sight for miners who often found themselves discovering vast cave systems full of the creatures. Ignorant of the species sapience, humans led poisoning campaigns which flooded their vast hives with toxic gasses, treating them like pests, rather than a legitimate race. This was in part due to a vast propaganda campaign launched by the now defunct Titan Mining Corporation during their early expansion efforts, which despite a great deal of protest from both Andromedian aliens and human residents, continued unabated during the early, lawless years of slipstream expansion. This behavior continued unabated until finally, exploration efforts would accidentally stumble upon their core Hiveworld.
TMC began to encourage active efforts to colonize the planet formally known as Titan V once early long-range scans had detected vast mineral wealth, essentially kicking off an intergalactic gold rush, as numerous colony ships made their way to the newly discovered world. It's not certain to this day how much TMC actually knew about the planet, possibly having surpressed the organic scanning reports for their favor, but the result still remains a blot on human-alien relations to this day. Not long after mining efforts had begun, the entire planet seemed to slip off the radar, all communications off-world going dead. It wasn't long, however, until they came back up, panicked colonists reporting vast swarms of Hundreds overrunning civilian colonies, videos of the grey hordes killing everything in sight as Titan V burned uploaded to the net by the thousands before things once again went dark.
As expected, the extreme nature of these videos sparked massive outcry among human colonists, who demanded action be taken against the hostile world. Meanwhile, the Hundreds began an effort to reclaim a number of worlds that they had previously inhabited, striking out in grotesque living transports that floated through space, attacking and devouring colonies across the outer rim. This lead to one of the most violent and controversial wars in the era of space exploration, carrying on for 4 years until finally, TMC provided their own private sector solution: a fusion bomb. Long outlawed since it's use in early exploitative mining efforts, and better known as a "planet cracker", it would bring an end to the war and the Hundreds homeworld in a single blow.
The Hundreds have yet to recover from the war, now spread across the galaxies, living in smaller hive-colonies known as "factories", where their instinct to create their hives in resource rich areas causes them to clash with mining colonies and exploration teams. The Hundreds lack a formal culture since the destruction of their homeworld, with each factory possessing it's own Hive Matriarch in place of a single queen. Hive Matriarchs are often up to 3-5 times bigger than a typical Hundred, and dictate the lives of all under their perview. Since the war, the Hundreds relations with the other intelligent races of the galaxy have only continued to sour, and attacks remain frequent on populated worlds. Even so, they remain only a shadow of their former selves, their destiny destroyed with their home. While attempts have been made to re-establish a homeworld, none have been successful.
The Hundreds have a unique ability to salivate a powerful acid, which is primarily used for breaking down rocks in the construction of their homes, and for digesting nearly anything they can fit in their gaping maws. Like a lampray eel, they possess layers and layers of teeth, which are capable of "shredding" through softened rock like a drill, which produces an odd byproduct known as "Dred Diamonds", ultra-dense carbon fragments created through the grinding process. Useful in a number of scientific and industrial fields, attempts were made at points to try and farm the creatures, all of which failed and were eventually banned as an inhumane practice. Hundreds are also capable of storing up the corrosive saliva into an "acid bomb", a coagulated ball about the size of a human skull which can cause massive damage to whatever it impacts.
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Kthonians
Very little is known about this strange plant-like race, aside from their technology which seemingly combined organic matter and synthetic technology with very little difficulty, they were governed by one figurehead of a leader, and they do not exist in any modern-day archives.
Caeligo
The Caeligo are a type of cephalopod dwelling within the atmosphere of Viento Escaldado, a jovian planet orbiting Estrella 22. The Caeligo have several physical adaptations allowing them to dwell within the atmosphere of their gas giant. Large, umbrella-shaped bulbs, similar to those of the "Terra Cnidaria Medusozoa", or the "Earth Jellyfish", are responsible for keeping them aloft within the atmosphere, catching gusts and updrafts with its large surface area. These bulbs have long, thin tentacles that while again sharing similarities to the jellyfish, lack any nematocysts, instead being used as sensory organs rather than predatory tools.
They have relatively smaller bodies compared to their bulbs. Unlike typical Earth squids, their bodies resemble reversed light bulbs, with their eyes situated relatively on the sides of their 'head', yet still set forward. They have six tentacles situated around the base of their bodies, concealing their beaks. They have two additional tentacles, significantly longer than the other six, which are used as their primary manipulators. A few mutations have been appearing on these limbs, consisting of the tips breaking apart into five 'fingers'. Their skin appears transparent, with a constantly moving and alternating bio-luminescence that they seem to use for communication. This is exceptionally useful in the low-visibility of the Jovian atmosphere, especially among the Caeligo blooms.
Their nervous system is a combination of a nerve net and a nerve center. The nerve net stretches all along the Caeligo, working similarly to that of a jellyfish, meaning they're incredibly sensitive to touch, in order to compensate for poor visibility. They react instantly to any dermal stimuli, whether they consciously want to or not. The Caeligo react positively to this adaptation, as because physical stimuli is so rare, it is welcomed as an honor. This mindset has caused the Caeligo to become both curious and impulsive, attempting physical contact with any sort of previously unknown anomaly, despite the danger or risks. Their nerve center is, of course, responsible for conscious thought and the processing of any other sensory information.
They live and travel in 'blooms', large packs. Rather than a definite hierarchy or leader, each Caeligo is recognized as an equal. Their decisions on where to migrate are made by casting votes, where majority rules. In fact, all of their decisions are ruled by this true democracy, even seemingly small activities. They usually migrate with their food sources- microbes in the atmosphere, not too different from earth plankton. However, they've been known to migrate according to other patterns, such as wind direction, and oddly enough, their planet's moons, which are seen as holy spirit guides and protectors.
There are 7 moons, each with a name relating to their intricate mythology. They are considered wind gods, and all of them are considered responsible for the wind currents. Like the blooms, rather than believing in a central leader, they believe all play their parts in keeping the currents calm. However, they do believe in disputes between their gods, and lightning, thunder, hurricanes, even space debris, are interpreted as battles between gods with the two moons closest to the anomaly being considered the disputers. Two moons who share a similar orbiting path and speed are considered bitter enemies, and are used in tales of 'good and evil', regardless of their grey view of the subject. There is a history of 'wars', three or more gods close to a particularly bad weather anomaly. In regards to blooms and migrations, blooms will usually stick with a particular moon, electing them as a 'protector'. While all gods are prayed to, harsh times will often bring large prayer sessions, consisting of several days of fasting and strict migrational paths following their moon constantly, only stopping once the time of fasting has been finished. These time periods vary among blooms, but never change once the time has been set.
They pair for life - once two pair up, they never separate. Reproduction is performed by the female laying eggs along her back. The male releases a cloud of seed, fertilizing the eggs. Eggs will grow until they hatch, at which point the young are introduced into the bloom. When the young hit adolescence, they are given the decision to either stay within the bloom or travel to a new one. Those who decide to travel to a new one must stay along the path of their former protector moon until another bloom crosses the path of orbit, at which point they may adopt the new protector moon of said bloom.
Caeligo are, for obvious reasons, rarely seen outside of their planet. However, an increase in visits to Viento Escaldado by catalougers, explorers, and biological researchers, sparked by the relatively recent discovery of the Caeligo, has caused various members of the race to attempt communication. Those who've established successful communication have often expressed an interest of further exploration outside of their planet. Augmentations, such as the necessary low-power propulsion, synthetic communicators, and artificially fixed bulbs, have been developed to aid off-worlding Caeligo in successfully thriving outside of their natural habitats.
Tweehoo
The Tweehoo are a race of dome-shaped trilobite like creatures with six supporting digitigrade limbs and a pair of soft manipulators. The manipulative limbs are tucked against their undersides for protection. The Tweehoo are native to a desert environment, and often sit through sandstorms or tunnel during rain. They have four eyes spread equidistantly along the upper edge of the front hemisphere of their shell, covered with a transparent layer of keratin. They grow to 3 feet for the oldest and tallest, with a 1:1.3 foot ratio of height to diameter. Tweehoo are sapient, although their culture is at the tribal level.
Their diet appears to consists of lizard and insect analogues and desert flora, and it is unknown what materials and chemicals they require. Disease is uncommon due to the Tweehoo's isolate nature but not unheard of. Their mouth is situated just under the lip of their shell. It has a variety of teeth-like protrusions used for grinding and tearing. Their tongue retracts into their throat while the plates grind, and then ferries the chewed food to be swallowed. Food is softened in a primary stomach before being transferred to the actual digestive stomach. Often the food is ruminated for further softening until it has been reduced to a sludge, whereupon it is digested and sent to the intestines. Undigested objects are vomited. Excretion is performed once a day. It is unknown if the Tweehoo have a sense of smell, or through what organs they would smell through.
Speech occurs through their nasal orifices, which are located on either side of the mouth. Sphincters just inside the openings modulate airflow, creating a whistling sound that is modulated to produce speech. Preliminary attempts at translations have revealed a correlation between higher-pitched chords and affectionate behaviors. Chords seem to be arranged on a hexatonic scale, which can be grating to some species.
The Tweehoo's four eyes are extremely similar to snakes in that the eyes are covered by a transparent scale of sorts, permanently closed. They burrow into sand or otherwise cover their eyes when they attempt to sleep. The bottom of their feet is sensitive to vibration, allowing them to sense nearing animals.
The brain is centered at the top of the dome, where the plating is thickest. Their brain is large and developed. Research has not been done on their psychology, however.
Mating is performed through the use of ovipositors, and the Tweehoo have no discernible sex or gender. The ovipositors are long, flexible tubes kept tucked inside a shell at the back of the Tweehoo's underside. When sex is initiated, the ovipositors extend, revealing testes-like sacs at the base, where the egg/sperm analogues are produced. Dominance is established and the dominant inserts the tip of their ovipositor into the others, releasing eggs into the flexible tube. Ciliae inside the tubes ferry the eggs towards the fertilization chamber, where they attach and grow. The dominant Tweehoo proceeds to create a shelter, as the pregnant one's shell will often crack under the growth of the fertilization chamber. This exposure is not often lethal, as the carrier will bury their underside in sand. The pregnant Tweehoo will not move from the shelter for several months, and the caregiver must feed and care for it during the pregnancy. After approximately 4 months, the eggs are ejected from the Tweehoo while still small enough to travel through the ovipositor and buried in the sand in the shelter, where they will continue to mature and grow until they hatch. When ejected, the eggs are small, opaque sacs with a flexible covering, approximately 3 centimeters in diameter. When fully matured, they are on average 20 centimeters in diameter. The caregiver will proceed to care for them as they did the pregnant Tweehoo for another 3 months. Then the parents will lead the children to the nearest population shelter, usually a gathering of 20 or so individuals, and stay until the children have matured. Often the couple will split apart afterward. Some choose to stay together from affection and to aid in raising the communal raising of children, but most choose to resume foraging and hunting.
Children start out much smaller than adults and grow extremely quickly, however, maturation appears to take far longer. They will remain in a pre-pubescent state for at least 5 years. Until they mature, their shells are soft and flexible to allow for their explosive growth. Still, many die early from ruptured or cracked plates.
The Tweehoo do have a language, but attempts to translate have been poor. It is unknown if they have art of any sort, however, they are remarkably welcoming of strangers, so long as the visitors are capable of caring for themselves. Many villages have begun primitive horticulture, using excrement and indigestible food as fertilizer. Shelters are considered sacrosanct as long as a person has laid claim to one; excess shelters are often used as storage until otherwise needed. It is not uncommon to find a couple living in a completely empty village. Tweehoo usually attempt to be self-sufficient wanderers, but despite the majority being nomadic, there are a few population centers scattered across the continent they live on. During the day, the villages are almost empty but for children and caregivers, with the rest of the population foraging and hunting.
Hunting is done mostly by the Tweehoo camouflaging themselves as a rock, then jumping out and throttling whatever they leap on, usually small lizard-like creatures. Traps are common however, used mostly at oases and other places where animals converge. The foragers feed themselves throughout the day and then bring food back to the village for the children. Feeding the children is a communal ritual, the village gathering in a circle and preparing the food for the smaller, weaker children that cannot chew many of the hard substances that they eat. This is when the majority of the communication takes place. It is unknown what they are communicating about, however, it is suspected that they are sharing information about their surroundings. Occasionally, one will rise onto their back set of legs and speak at length to the crowd.
Many villages have not discovered fire yet, however the technology appears to be spreading. It is mostly used to cook and soften food for children, and also to help produce tools. Socialization takes place early in the development cycle. Children who are caught fighting are scolded and separated. Despite the numbers of children, they are coddled until they reach maturation. Once a child is completely matured and can consume food by themselves, a ritual is enacted, and they are allowed to choose a shelter of their own. Young adults usually stay with the village for a year before moving on.
Tools are often made using the sharp shards of wood from the spike-tree, pounded and shaved using rocks. These are carried tucked up against the softer bottom of the adult, held in one of the grasping limbs. Bags to gather food are woven from thin strips of leaves and hung under the Tweehoo, the straps wrapped around the joint of the first leg. The tribes closer to the oceans are farther along in development of culture, and a few have discovered fire. Coastal tribes are culturally separate from inland tribes, as they are less nomadic. Couples tend to stay together for an average of 6 months longer after their brood matures, and instead of traveling randomly, they appear to merely travel from population center to population center.
Hunting techniques in the coastal tribes are a variation of the leaping used in the desert, and fish is a large part of their diet. They do not eat birds and react strongly when a child attempts to do so, or an observer attempts to harm one. The inland ones do not shed their shells for growth, as they are often polished smooth by the wind. Coastal tribes often bathe in the shallows to dislodge excess keratin, and bathing is often an activity engaged in by couples. When one dies, which happens often as they have a high mortality rate, the inland ones will crack their shell and surround the body with stones, chasing away all scavengers except for birds. Coastal variations on this is to weave a raft from seaweed and send the body out to sea.
Before the sun rises each day, those in population centers will gather, leaving the children to sleep. They will face the direction the sun rises in and the oldest of the group will 'stand' and seem to give a speech. Then the group will wait until the sun rises before separating to start their daily tasks.Some villages have 'mascots'; birds that have discovered that if they live with them, they will be very well taken care of.These mascots are treated as they treat their children, save that the birds do not enter into the maturation rituals.When a young adult chooses to leave the village for the first time, the bird is often released into the air, and the adult will choose the direction the bird first flies in to explore. If the bird flies to sea, then the village will build a raft. Adults who journey to sea do not often survive.
One village has been established on a continent other than the main one, due to rafts flowing into one current during the spring season of that continent. The young inhabitants of that village tend to stay close to the village and are currently attempting to procreate as much as possible. Unfortunately, trade is not an option as they have not designed boats yet that can take them back to the main continent.
