Hey all, I ended up spotting this RP on a different site before Maxwell decided to move it over. After a couple of PMs I found my way over here. Seems like most of the discussion is currently going on here. I wrote up a rough draft for a race profile of the character I was thinking of making. Was wondering what you all thought. Feel free to ask questions and say if anything doesn't make sense. Hopefully I can hammer this race out quickly so I can start on the CS. [hider= MaxStokes, Race Profile] [b]Race Name:[/b] Insect People, “Bug Men” [b]Physical Characteristics:[/b] Insect People, more commonly referred to as Bug Men, are an unsurprisingly insect like race. The ratio of Male to Female insect people is quite disproportionate. In fact it is more accurate to consider the distinction, and most scholarly individuals do, as less a matter of male and female and more a matter of Queen and Worker. Queens are “female” only in the sense that they give birth. Worker’s are “male” only in the sense that they do not give birth. Workers themselves have no impact on reproduction. Queens give birth to large clutches of workers at a time and require no “conception”. Queens can go through a sort of mating ritual with each other Queens, though that only rarely happens. ------------------------ The “meat and potatoes” being the Workers is what gives Insect People their more common race name of “Bug Men”. The physical characteristics of these workers is similar enough to humans to make a distinction. That is combined with their known inability to give birth and lack of other female features to create the name of “Bug Men” meaning literally Men who are Bugs. -------------------------- “Bug Men” are bipedal and generally similar in form to humans, with a few glaring distinctions. ---The most obvious of which would be the presence of two sets of arms. One set on top of the other and similar in length and girth between each set. Their arm sets lend them a surprising amount of versatility and deftness. And while each arm on average will be slightly less powerful than the human analogue, combined they are considered to have greater strength on average than a human. Put simply, given only one arm a piece the average human would beat a Bug Man in an arm-wrestling match 7-8 times out of ten. But Given the use of both arms the Bug Man would win consistently --- Dermis Another highly distinct from humans feature that Bug Men have is their skin. A lot of it is similar, if not a little more leathery, than human skin. However, there is a noticeable presence of a hard, smooth, and chitinous thin plating on regularly inflexible and exposed portions of the dermis such as the forearm or head. Though not nearly as strong as metal and rather brittle, this light dermal plating is highly resistant to scratching and soft impacts. Almost like wearing a glove laden with wooden plates. ---- Facial Structure The most potentially “monsterous” feature of the bugmen would be considered by most to be their head. Their outer mandible had a vertical split as opposed to the horizontal one present in humans. They have fairly large, almost tusklike used for tearing on their outer mandible. They have an inner mouth with small teeth, a mix of sharp and flat, used for breaking down and pre-digestion. Their nose is no more two small holes with internal sphincters which lie midway through their face. Their eyes are relatively small, yet surprisingly human-like in structure. With Iris color and variation being one of the chief ways of distinguishing one Bug Man from another. The top of their head holds no hair and is a smooth chitin. ---- Physical Prowess The average Bug man would be considered slightly more deft and generally stronger than the average human male. They would be considered only slightly heavier. In generally they would be considered more fragile to blunt trauma due to their bones having a slightly avian lightness to them. However, their have a faster recovery speed and are able to metabolize a wider variety of food compared to the average human. ---- Posture Bug men tend to walk on the balls of their feet, their heels being slightly smaller and farther up the leg than humans. This gives them a fairly forward leaning posture. Also, though they are bipedal, the presence of extra arms gives them a large aptitude for climbing and acrobatics. ---- Voice Bug Men have a surprising knack for language, vocal or otherwize. And while their voices tend to have a rather distinct lack of bass, they have surprising vocal range. ----- Age Bug Men have an average lifespan of around 30-70 years and an optimal lifespan of nearly 200. The disparity in their average lifespan is attributed to their average laborious lifestyle. Though they lose little physical prowess to age, the number of Bug men who have died to age can probably be counted on one hand. It would be accurate to describe Bug Men as “built to last, but not destined to”. Queens can live for centuries given proper care and feeding. [b]Mental Characteristics:[/b] Bug Men are instinctively hive creatures. Just as their physiology is that of the Queen and the Worker, so is their psychology. Workers instinctively feel at ease orders and having someone overseeing their work. They almost never seek to take lead in most any endeavor and while they have their own opinions they will seldom be the first to voice them. Bug Men are most comfortable in groups of at least three or more individuals, regardless the race. Below that, they begin to feel vulnerable. In isolation or given the feeling they aren’t part of an imidate group things get much worse. The effects of loneliness on a Bug Man can range from insomnia and paranoia to even suicide if they stay “alone” for too long. Even the most steeled and independent Bug Men begin to agitate and become fidgety after so much of a day without being a part of an identifiable “group”. [b]History:[/b] Sadly, very few know the extent of the Insect People’s history. Virtually none of those who know the heights and empires the race have achieved in the past are Insect People themselves. A long and intricate history of cultural and even physical evolution are in a sense lost to time, muddied and shattered by the position they are now in. The only history that is relevant to the current situation is that of the “slave race” known as the Bug Men. Most of the Queens of the insect people are held in captivity on trading ships that move freely around the Fanged Isles, remnants of a human colonial fleet that arrived too late to find good territory and stumbled on a much more hostile subcontinent to the south. Though the colonial fleet were unable to tame the hostile wilderness of the southern subcontinent, they brought back with them the few seed Queens. These few Queens and ships would be what grow into a large migrant merchant fleet that now frequent the ports of the Fanged Isles. Though the fleet has long expanded it’s enterprises beyond the Bug Men trade, selling large clutches and renting Bug Men laborers still makes up a good chunk of their dealings. Though their main source of income comes from transporting various goods and even troops between the Fanged Isles. [b]Culture:[/b] A slave race, the Bug Men have very few cultural features of their own. Mostly they tend to absorb and slightly distort the cultures under which they serve. Since there are virtually no distinct generations of Bug Men, outside of a few special cases within the trader fleets that control the queens, the can be no real cultural heritage. However, due to physical and psychological factors there tends to be a few similar values amongst the Bug Men. These tenants drive what few Bug Men sub-societies exist. Those who work hard will be rewarded. Those who fail deserve no reward. Death is failure. Failure is death. [/hider] Side note, is there a way to preview a post before it goes up?