Since the dawn of time, the races of men have looked to the stars. There have been tales of men from beyond the skies. Sightings of blazing chariots streaking through the night sky. Cattle stolen and torn open, only to be returned to the field. Stories from villagers who were taken to the clouds. Even in a world of magic, such occurrences are unusual. Though usually credited to extraplanar entities, the ravings of madmen, or a wizard getting his kicks, the world's scholars have begun to wonder: Are we alone on the Material Plane?
Of course, you know the answer: No, they aren't. There's an entire galaxy full of sentient creatures, of wonders beyond their paltry dragons, of knowledge beyond any found in their halls of learning. The kind of knowledge that put YOUR species in the stars, and keeps the magic-obsessed wildlife grounded. But being a newly discovered world, it's fresh in the mindset of galactic society. There's plenty of Wulongs to be made from this world and the infestation of groundlings. All it would take is an enterprising crew of aliens.
This is a campaign in which players are aliens, performing typical alien shenanigans... in a generic fantasy setting. No Core Races. Nothing tied to the "natural world" at its core like the Killoren. Basically, anything sufficiently "alien" is okay as a player race. If you want to play a race not listed here, just let me know- and give me some idea of what their homeworld and dominant culture are like.
Player Races:
Of course, you know the answer: No, they aren't. There's an entire galaxy full of sentient creatures, of wonders beyond their paltry dragons, of knowledge beyond any found in their halls of learning. The kind of knowledge that put YOUR species in the stars, and keeps the magic-obsessed wildlife grounded. But being a newly discovered world, it's fresh in the mindset of galactic society. There's plenty of Wulongs to be made from this world and the infestation of groundlings. All it would take is an enterprising crew of aliens.
This is a campaign in which players are aliens, performing typical alien shenanigans... in a generic fantasy setting. No Core Races. Nothing tied to the "natural world" at its core like the Killoren. Basically, anything sufficiently "alien" is okay as a player race. If you want to play a race not listed here, just let me know- and give me some idea of what their homeworld and dominant culture are like.
Player Races:
- Asherati: Vaguely humanoid beings from a sandy world. Very little water exists aboveground, and their cavernous underground cities are built around aquifers. Because of their origins, they are unaccustomed to humidity and tend to be uncomfortable in the presence of large bodies of water. Due to their ability to emit light, they tend to forget to install lighting in their architecture for other races.
- Daelkyr Half-Blood: The Daelkyr are the things that should not be beyond the edge of eternity. In the pitch-black formless space between galaxies known as the "Far Realm," they watch and wait... for something interesting to happen. Constantly bored with the eternal darkness, the Daelkyr have taken to sending their artificial offspring through the cosmos to entertain them with stories of their travels. Keepers of eldritch knowledge and dark secrets, the Half-Bloods seek glory and adventure among the stars.
- Dohwar: These psychic avians are an utter oddity. Geared more for the water and arctic environments, they have no logical reason to be in space- as their ramshackle spaceships show. However, most races seem to say that the Dohwar were there to charge them a "starfarer's toll" when they left their systems for the first time, indicating a long and storied tradition of space travel. They are a frugal race, living by a merchant's code encouraging profit, honesty (when profitable), profit, reliability (when it's profitable), and profit. Known for a perverse love of the female form, regardless of species.
- Fraal- Typically known as "The Greys," the Fraal homeworld lies in a dead zone where psionics and magic don't function reliably. Because of this, they never went through the "Sword and Sorcery" stage of development, and have become one of the most technologically advanced races. Magicians, priests, and psychics are laughed at in their culture, and because of this, most Fraal would sooner die than study magic- despite their phenomenal mental prowess. Instead, they conduct strange experiments to advance their knowledge of biology and chemistry. Whether it's kidnapping wildlife for vivisection, trying to hybridize the local life forms, or the process coloquially known as "Probing," Fraal will do almost anything in the pursuit of knowledge.
- Hadozee- Ape people who glide around.
- Jermlaine- a race of tribal savages from generally unpleasant heavily forested world, the Jermlaine were dragged kicking and screaming into galactic society when it was discovered their planet was exploding. They've established a niche in galactic society as mechanics and engineers, able to squeeze into the parts of space stations and vessels that nobody else can- where nobody can see their unpleasant features or hear their gurgling language. Though they often fumble in space-based societies, their knowledge of the natural world makes them an almost-tolerable part of any away team. Their company is so odious in fact, that they are the reason sentient creatures qualify as "wildlife" below a certain technology threshhold: so galactic society isn't required to save doomed assholes.
- Kenku- Nebulously related to the Dohwar, the government of the Kenku homeworld is a strict feudal society ruled by noble families. However, the Kenku residing on other worlds follow a range of governments, so long as they defer to the wishes of the Emperor- the current representative to the United Sapients is the President of his native world. The Dohwar claim that they are the ancestors of the Kenku, while the Kenku claim they are the ancestors of the Dohwar- a mild war has raged over this subject for three thousand years, resulting in a total of three and a half casualties.
- Muckdweller- A race of little lizards that evolved from swamp-dwelling reptiles. Small and inoffensive, they fill a similar niche to the Jermlaine- however, their society is advanced enough to actually understand what they're doing, and their temperaments pleasant enough that people can enjoy their company. Notable for producing amphibious vehicles exclusively- even their spacecraft can function underwater.
- Neraphim- something-something frog people asteroid natives.
- Phanaton- Phanaton are native to a terraformed world completely covered in forests.
- Pterran- Another uplifted race of savages, the Pterrans have the opposite problem of the Jermlaine: Pleasant company, a society which values brotherhood, and familiarity with nature. They'd already transferred from a nomadic hunter-gatherer society to fixed tribes before their sun started to expand. Now they find themselves in a galactic society they must struggle to integrate with, unfamiliar with the cultures, and unable to understand so much of what happens around them. Pterrans follow strict paths in life, which are assigned when they come of age based upon their talents and interests.
- T'kel- A race of insectoids. Long ago, at the dawn of their civilization, there was a race of bee people which used the T'kel's ancestors as slaves. That is, until the great warrior T'kel rose up and slew the race's queen's. The slaves rejoiced as their oppressors slowly died out without Royals to replenish their numbers. Taking on the name of their liberator for their race, the T'kel have stricken all mentions of the race which once ruled them from the annals of history. These events have shaped the T'kel mindset with very specific lessons: "Everything can be solved with precise application of violence and trickery. There is strength in numbers. Never wish slavery or subjugation upon your equals. The greatest insult is to be forgotten."
- Warforged & Warforged Scout- They're combat robots, now recognized as sentient creatures and citizens. Not much beyond that.
