[quote=@orichalk] I'm going to bed now. I'm not sure how much work I'll be able to get done on my character tomorrow, but either way I think it's best if you take a look at this before I get too far into that task. So anyway, here's the species description I wrote out tonight. It's not especially inhuman, but I'm not sure I want to deal with the complications of that right off the bat. Tell me what you think. [hider=Species: Oko] Species name: Oko Appearance: In the early days, there was quite a bit of experimentation with the Oko genome and a great amount of variety has mostly died out since stability returned. Though exceptions remain, individual variety is not larger than, as a point of reference, humans, and traits have been selected for utility in space travel. They are slender and small (normally between 100 and 130 centimeters in height and rarely exceeding 40 kilograms in mass) four-limbed sophonts, functionally either bipedal or quadrupedal. A human would compare them to a very strangely-proportioned monkey or variant of marsupial. [I’m going to use convergent evolution here as an excuse for not wanting to deal with a very non-human character having to interact with human ones.] The Oko have rust-red to burnt-orange, feathered (though in somewhat hairy, in that Oko kind of way), slender, and vaguely humanoid builds, atop of which are relatively large heads, set with aural canals on either side, two eyes facing forward, and a large mouth. Their ears are capable of hearing slightly higher than humans (their speech is also higher and has but a few very distinct consonants); their slitted eyes have but one color, which is usually a shade of blue; and their mouths a row of square teeth and sensory receptors for both taste and smell. Perhaps owing to similar initial conditions as those of Earth’s, Oko have many traits that are similar to humans: they respire, they have a skeletal system supported by muscles not too different conceptually from ours, they maintain very precise homeostasis, they have highly advanced and adaptable immune systems (though they have mostly fallen out of practice), they have four four-fingered hands/feet (two of which are more like thumbs), and they have a tough and greyish layer of skin. They really aren’t too interesting for a human xenobiologist, but they do have olfactory receptors elsewhere in their skin, so they can “smell/taste” objects with their arms or hands. They are hermaphroditic. Owing to the enhancements back in the more hectic old days, their skeletons are made from much tougher mineral structures than those of a human. Their bodies are much better at repairing the damage done by radiation, mostly rendering it hardly a problem. They can alter their homeostatic state to decrease their requirements of food and water. They are very good at thinking in three dimensions. They can take twice as much instantaneous acceleration as a human. That being said, they are still small and physically weak, so they are pretty easy to beat in a fistfight. They’re aware of that, though. Powers: They can take a lot of gees Strengths: They are relatively intelligent and optimized for space travel. As a species, they tend to be pragmatic, but this has been known to lessen with age. Weaknesses: Size, strength Age scale: With rudimentary medical techniques, Oko can easily live with their advancements to 200 years, of which youth is considered to be about 30 and old age past 150. In the highly-developed core worlds, individuals have been known to live to 600 years, but past 400 the brain has checked out. Culture: Most of the extreme elements of Oko culture died out a long time ago. bloodthirsty factions tended to die out in the long-run, and the religions that remain have given up on any violence, instead trying for converts by being appealing. For the most part, the Oko begin any interactions with other species in a friendly manner and attempt to keep them that way. Return customers are the best customers, and the combination of a certain understanding that the galaxy is a dangerous place and their desire to have as many allies as possible tends to make them fear ripping others off even when they easily could. That being said, they’re not ones for charity. Though some of the technology they possess may be vastly superior to anything a human has even laid eyes on, they don’t give away those things for free, or even for anything humans could possibly offer them. Their pragmatism and skill in economics leads them to always match product to customer: highly developed civilizations get the expensive offerings while the new species, such as humans, are offered the technology of the Oko’s dark ages. But everybody gets something better out of it, and that’s enough justification for the Oko. They’re a species aware of their mortality, playing to stay around as long as they can. Homeworld: Oka Rarity: Common, about 30 billion, but spread relatively thin over a considerably large volume of space. Government type: This varies somewhat, though the most long-lasting and powerful independent states are democratic. Strength: They are no military superpower. They keep themselves armed enough to deter attackers and no more, preferring instead to buy their way out of conflicts or turn enemies into trading partners. They think they’ve learned from some of the older civilizations around that warmongering is a pretty bad strategy to outlast the competition. Backstory - The Oko have been a space-faring civilization (depending on the definition) for about 1200 years. The first few hundred were rather tumultuous: hasty expansion, wars, and environmental disasters brought the species to fewer than a billion living on a handful of distant worlds. Eventually, a collection of peaceful factions restored stability and put the pieces of their civilization back together. The discovery of other intelligent life forms sped the recovery and spurred the path of their development into a species predominantly dependent on trade. As they have matured and developed as a species, the Oko have developed a set of peaceful and relatively democratic institutions focused mainly on trade. They continue to expand, with timing determined by the best guesses of sophisticated artificial intelligences so as to minimize risk. They have outposts extending in tendrils hundreds (sometimes thousands, along the best trade routes) of light-years from their core dozen-or-so home worlds (which are in a sphere about 50 LY in diameter). The trade networks ferry goods from their sources to the optimal markets, which are generally determined by AI. Anything that will turn a profit and not endanger the Oko themselves — raw materials, hardware, software, technical knowledge, artwork (which they produce a fair share of themselves), passengers, often even weapons, etc. — is fair game for the Oko merchants. For the most part, they have been able to avoid conflict simply by doing their best to provide whatever other species want. Sometimes, of course, their goals are territorial expansion. In that case, there’s not much choice but to fight, and the Oko have proven able though not especially apt. When they succeed, it is not through force but through clever use of whichever advantages (be they better AI, weapons technology, or resources) to subdue the aggressors. When they fail, they normally attempt to trade territory for security, which has been a successful strategy thus far. The core worlds of the Oko are highly developed, relatively egalitarian, crowded, and wealthy; however, these qualities all begin to fluctuate more and more outside of this region, and often are highly dependant on the status of surrounding civilizations: the wealthier they are, the wealthier and better-run the Oko colonies near them tend to be. Some of the colonies along major trade routes may even be wealthier than many core worlds, though others are not so lucky. The tendril of colonies which overlaps with Human space (for all intents and purposes a very young, if potentially promising race), for example, are generally considered to be a backwater of crime, poor automation, perpetual poverty, a relative lack of enhancements, and wretched medical technology. [That’s where I intend my character to start out, as an “in” for this human-based venture.] [/hider] [/quote] [quote=@Zlatan Criceto] Hey, how are we all? Thought i'd post my proposed race before creating a character. [b]Species name:[/b] Mesocricetians [b]Appearance:[/b] Mesocricetians (mazo-cry-sate-ians) are typically stout-bodied, with tails shorter than body length, and have small, furry ears, short, stocky legs, and wide feet. They have thick, silky fur, which can be long or short, colored black, grey, honey, white, brown, yellow, red, or a mix, depending on the sub-species. They posess an upper and lower pair of large incisors, and have elongated cheek pouches that extend as far as their shoulders. Generally speaking, a Mesocricetian is around 3-4 feet high when on all fours, but can reach 6-7 feet if they stand on their back legs. Their front feet are akin to human hands, with stunted claws and only four fingers, but lack posable thumbs. [b]Powers:[/b] None to speak of. [b]Strengths:[/b] Mesocricetians are extremely flexible beings, despite their size and stocky build. They're also quite strong, and this coupled with their large incisors makes them formidable in close combat. They are able to communicate and hear in the ultrasonic range. [b]Weaknesses[/b]: Despite their powerful build, Mesocricetians possess fragile bones, and cannot take the kind of beating they look like they could. Additionally, they are colour blind and nearsighted, forcing them to rely on their sense of smell. [b]Age scale:[/b] 30 years is considered the average lifespan of both males and females. [b]Culture:[/b] Mesocricetians are anarchists by nature, believing that no one creature has authority over the other. Their history has not been of competing nations, but of competing individuals. Naturally, they did not evolve same way as other races, and their population has always been small. However, with the advent of human contact, came outside intervention in the form of behavioural inhibitors. Over the last 100 years, nearly 90% of the Mesocricetian population has been implanted with microchips that greatly impair their natural aggression to each other. The consequence of this, is the rapid establishment of the Mesocricetians as a rising power. Birth rates have skyrocketed, and under careful human observation, their technology has reached plateaus that would have otherwise been impossible. However, a cultural void has taken the place of their inhibited aggression. Depression is widespread, and most Mesocricetians rely on a cocktail of anti-depressants to keep the suicide rate stable. No religion, and not much art to speak of. The Mesocricetians exist because they must; because alien ideals of unity, increasing life spans, flashing lights and political clout have to pay off at some point. Right? [b]Homeworld:[/b] Meso [b]Rarity:[/b] Mesocricetians now number in the hundred millions, thanks to the behavioural inhibitors. However, they are rarely seen anywhere other than their homeworld. [b]Government type:[/b] Democracy, based on and established by Earth. [b]Strength:[/b] Meso is a rising power, with its current industrial output sitting at roughly 50% of Earth's. Their fleets and ships are modelled on Earth's, with slight alterations. Though capable of mounting an effective defence of Meso, they are ill equipped for offensive warfare. Typically they assist Earth in its endeavours, and rely on it for defence in return. [b]Backstory:[/b] See culture. Can expand if necessary. [/quote] Both sheets are good, loving the detail on each of them. I cant totally see humanity converting the Mesocrietian people to democracy, I mean America seems to try to do that nowadays, only makes sense that in the future its attempted with other species, hehe. [quote=@RumikoOhara] Character name: Ro'Essel Criminal?: Exiled Convicted for: Her family failed to overthrow the Se'lela and as the highest genetic claimant left alive Ro'Essel was exiled to live among the dammed as her people think of the Oblivion Squadron Species: Ko'secti Gender: Female Age: 19 Ko'sect (43 terran) Appearance: [IMG]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/22/e7/31/22e7310559c9843d03bb3f68302d1bd9.jpg[/IMG] Sexual orientation: Bi Height: 6'2" Weight: 162 Apparel: Her most common war attire is a type of cloth armor called Iridis silk that can resist most hand held ballistic weaponry and blades. Weapons: Long sword, Six throwing daggers, sling with 28 one ounce spheres and a medium laser pistol. Equipment: Medkit, comms, humidity collar and wrist computer. Personal starfighter: (Optional) Skills: Martial Arts, Melee weaponry, Tactics, Desert Survival an Linguistics. Weaknesses: Caffeine and Desert conditions Powers: Telepathy and Teleportation Omega Level. (As an Omega level teleportationist Ro'Essel is a living capital weapon when injected with an enhancement drug but use of this drug can cause her instant death. Omega talents are capable of causing people an up to entire worlds to vanish forever dependent on the amount of enhancement drug injected with the greatest level having a 97.87% chance of killing her. The drug is held by the Oblivion Squad's High command because the laws of her home world do not allow any there to kill her so they hope the other races will) Personality: Ro is a very intelligent and honest young woman who even considering her condition is never depressed. Open with her thoughts and feeling she can seem too blunt to many she's around. Brave she never fears nor is apprehensive about combat no matter the odds. Biography: Ro'Essel was a member of the Royal house's Na'Helar branch which recently tried to overthrow the Se'lela in a war of succession but lost. Few if any know the details of her former existence or the reason she was not killed but only exiled. What is known is that she is a very powerful and skilled fighter trained as all of her caste is in the arts of war. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Species name: Ko'Secti Appearance: Ko'Secti appear to be human at first glance but this only superficially as being a race descended from aquatic mammals their eyes have two eyelids and when they blush they are colored by jagged strips of either green, brown or in the case of royalty turquoise blue and pointed ears that have caused some humans to nickname them elves. Powers: As a race the Ko'Secti are telepathic but they also poses different mental powers as individuals which range from telekinesis, pryomancy and rarest teleportation. Strengths: Ko'Secti are about 25% stronger that humans their size an as a semi amphibious race can hold their breath for 30 to 45 minutes and dive to depths of nearly 200 meters Weaknesses: Ko'Secti have an acute sensitivity to caffeine which is poisonous to them and coming from a very humid world an being semi amphibious need to wear special clothing in dry environments or suffer wounds due to drying skin in less than four hours. Age scale: 75 to 200 years old determined by under coloration greens living 75 to 100, browns living 100 to 150 and the blues 125 to 200+ years of age. Culture: The Ko'Secti are because of their telepathic nature a very honest race and because of this have learned that other races are not. This leads them to be very cautious and suspicious of non telepathic races. Home world: Ko'Sect Rarity: 21 billion + on three worlds in their star system Government type - Matriarchal Monarchy: Ruled by genetic hereditary royalty who fight for the right to become Se'lela (Empress) who is the goddess mortal the Ko'Secti respect the powerful. Strength - The Ko'Secti are ruled by a war caste that seeks battle as a way to enter their highest aspiration of reincarnation or the court of their moon goddess. They prefer to fight with what many would see as archaic weaponry such as swords and even spears but do have acess to powerful high tech weaponry as well. Their Religion makes their war caste unshakable warriors in combat as well as masters of tactics which to them is another form of worship. Back story - The Ko'Secti were a subject race about 5,000 years ago to a powerful race they call Jen'hal (The Evil Ones) who practiced genetic manipulation an selective breeding on their people. The Jen'hal ruled over the Ko'Secti for 2,000 years till one day Se'lela rose up and led a major revolt against them and succeeded in their overthrow an eventual destruction. Her race was now free but Se'lela saw from her telepathic gestalt that the Jen'hal were not the only evil in the galaxy so even though they held the high tech created by their former masters the Ko'secti became an insular race that refused contact for nearly 2,000 years. Then there came Tonya Es'yatan (Tonya the Longwalker) who showed the war caste their true hearts. Isolation was removed and the three worlds of the Ko'secti began building starships that could leave their system using the tech remembered from their former masters. These ships they named the Black Daggers were and are powerful warships designed to fight but used only to protect the Ko'secti Home system and pursue those who they deemed enemies. Then they built the Seekers which were designed to explore beyond their system and controlled by a new war caste called the Sa'Essel (Celestial or Star Dragons). The Sa'Essel like other races are forbidden to set foot on the sacred world of Ko'sect because of their contact with outsiders. They accept their fate as a house apart knowing that by being such they are the direct servants of Se'lela second only to the royal house in her eyes. The Sa'Essel have fought several of the members of the races which they are now allied most battles due to a lack of honesty on their part. Now a member of the Galactic Union the Ko'secti have given aid in the form of starship technology and high tech armors, weapons and other tech. They do not however lend troops or ships to the cause as their system has never been attacked. [/quote] Both race and character accepted. You can just edit your post in the characters section to your character's sheet. [quote=@Empty Fate] Finished Drew up. I sent you a PM regarding him, Heat. Depending on that answer, he might change one more time, but you already know how, so you can probably determine whether you want to accept him or not off of that. :P [/quote] Answered your PM. I'll be accepting a couple more characters then we'll close it for the time being.