List of Player-made Custom Species
Name: The Primes (The Primes do not name themselves other than as "the empire", as such, this is a colloquial name)
Status to Humans: Neutral. Humans are valuable to trade with, but internally are seen as a waste of valuable resources.
Life expectancy: Ranges wildly, "regular" Primes range between 150 and 250, but super-intelligent Primes cannot die unless killed by external means.
Genders: None
Full Description:
Not much is known about the Primes, though plenty is known to describe what they are. The Primes are a series of bioengineered cyborgs, and all traces of what they were originally are gone or impossible to find. The Primes all work together, there seems to be no end goal for them other than to expand their production, as led by what's known as the super-intelligent Primes, also called SI-Primes.
The super-intelligent Primes function somewhat like a leadership, deciding what next is to be built or what next should be researched. While all Primes have intelligence comparable to that of a human (albeit unable to comprehend concepts too far outside of its tasks), SI-Primes are effectively several geniuses rolled into one being, and are manufactured just like every other Prime. SI-Primes are capable of easily comprehending even the toughest sciences and math, and can process complex structures with ease.
Primes primarily reside in what normally would be considered unexplored, uninhabited, or uninhabitable zones. It is fairly infrequent to see Primes visit more populated space, when they do they usually run off when approached, unless they wish to trade. When they do trade, they almost never ask for money, they usually ask for rare materials or other useful knowledge or items, in return they manufacture whatever the trader requires, or supplements them with knowledge.
Prime ships usually fall into three categories. Warship, miner/colonization, and Trade. Warships are brutally efficient in combat, and show one of the Prime's many capabilities, killing people when the situation demands it. Thankfully, no major conflict has occurred yet between the Primes and other groups, but some believe it is inevitable. Miner vessels do what they say, mine asteroids or salvage wrecks. They also provide all the needed materials and services for the Primes to colonize yet another celestial body. Last but not least, Trade. Trade ships are flying refinery and manufacturing platforms, and are the most common type of Prime ship spotted. They're relatively large compared to most ships, packing as many useful things into as small of an area as possible.
Prime vessels also follow a theme of brutalist efficiency, with snaking paths and unnatural corridors only a Prime could cleanly scale and navigate. It is not recommended for a human to attempt navigation of a Prime vessel, as a lack of safety protocols can cause human death.
Primes seem to utilize every single material they get their cyborg hands on, and reuse whatever is no longer useful. They even recycle dead Primes into new Primes, absolutely nothing goes to waste, and they will find a way to use everything they find.
Primes range wildly in their appearance, but follow an overall scheme. Large, buff, and directly integrated into an exoskeleton of some kind. They range between eight and seventeen feet tall, towering over other humanoid species. Despite their large size, they have no problems navigating through more human sized vessels, and are terrifying to counter in them. Additionally, they usually have four arms, sometimes even more depending on what that Prime was made for, this allows for a Prime to, for say, carry a machine gun in two arms, and pistols in the others.
Primes are rapidly manufactured (in comparison to other species), on complex production plants, Primes usually take about a few days to produce, taking a week or two on small plants, though more complex Primes, like SI-Primes, can take many weeks to even months to manufacture by complex production plants. Standard Primes are almost universally multirole, a worker can make practically anything given they know how and have the needed tools and materials, but also pick up a gun and be a talented soldier. Construction biases are a thing, though, as Primes intended to be warriors usually have superior armoring compared to their brethren, but still can build or dismantle something when required.
The fleshy bits of Primes usually are rapidly grown in a biomass lab, from the source materials needed to actually assemble flesh. Primes, however, can recycle other carbon-based fleshy lifeforms, breaking down their bodies into pre-made materials reassembled into Prime physiology. This can drastically speed up assembly, though hasn't been done and can be problematic at times if the recycled carbon-based lifeform has cybernetic augmentation.
The production of flesh for Primes is also quite expensive material wise, as such, producing Primes is done based on need, rather than capability. Dedicating a plant to produce Primes will quickly lead to a lack of required materials to produce their flesh, brains, etc.
For the most part, Primes all share the same personality. They see themselves as superior to others, and they all serve "the empire", which is what they refer to the entirety of all Primes as. Primes are incapable of rebellion, from years of optimizing their bioengineering, they see themselves as the empire, but not the voice of it.
Despite their trade nature, it is not a good idea to piss off any Prime. Despite being rather neutral and willing to trade, they are born killing machines, and respond to aggression with their own form of aggression, potentially with force. It is unclear why the Primes are so docile regularly in comparison to their exploitation of resources and violent capacities, but most people don't want to stick around a Prime long enough to figure out why.
Observation of Prime controlled planets turns interesting results, Primes convert planets and moons into giant factories, producing biomass, food, more Primes, and whatever else you think they could use, though almost all of them are nowhere near fully converted. Prime systems also all show signs of Dyson Sphere construction, though most are quite early in construction and are only in framework stages, with no further development having been spotted. One system, theorized to be a high resource system, has seen it's star slowly reduce in size over the years. This suggests Primes are incredibly power hungry, literally, and not even a star can sate their needs for long enough at peak. Other systems are noted to have active Dyson Spheres, but none match the aforementioned system. In total, Primes only have three active Dyson Spheres.
Military conflict with Primes is not advised, as behavioral analysis shows Primes are incredibly likely to throw any concept of ethical combat out of the window, doing anything to defeat their foe, such as nuking them, rendering planets inhabitable to humans, or various other unethical combat forms. Thankfully, Primes are not large enough to be a large threat, yet, though their growth is slow and steady.
It has been noted that a small collection of Primes exists separate from the empire. They were infected by an electro-chemical virus while exploring a planet potentially valuable for colonizing, the SI-Primes deemed them too much of a risk to recover. As such, they were disconnected from the empire and never accepted back, even though they had conquered said virus.
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Type of society: Primes most closely resemble a type of hivemind, though they have little to no sense of individuality, and have no concept of political structures.
Technological advancement: Primes are very technologically advanced, in the bioengineering and manufacturing aspects. They don't have the capability of manufacturing extremely high power weapons, resorting to more "primitive" and cheaper to produce weapons. They are capable of creating massive structures with ease, compared to other species. They also have not fully figured out FTL travel, and seek to further their understanding of FTL travel to match that of the Ascendancy.
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Miscellaneous: Primes have only recently learned that magic is a thing, due to this, Prime activity has somewhat increased. They seem to seek out magical artifacts for study, however they have not yet discovered what they are looking for. Social contact with other species is uncommon, due to the Prime's lack of long range FTL capabilities, though due to higher activity, it may become slightly more common to encounter Primes in low regulation areas.
Preferred Trade Items: Flesh of any kind, dead bodies, rare materials (like Perfected Electrum), hard to manufacture/unknown technologies, magical items.
Industrial capabilities: Powerhouse, adaptable.
Military: Average, technology is sub-par, infantry combat is specialized.
Political: Non-existent internally, SI-Primes handle relations with other factions.
Science: Average, sub-par to non-existent in tasks not useful to Primes. Bioengineering and similar related tasks are beyond most species, though.
Magic: Non-existent, as of present.
Exploration: Awful, Primes have not yet discovered long range FTL systems. Primes also only explore to find resources, trade, or catalog useful information.
Player specific information: Players cannot play regular Primes, only the GMs and Senhara can. There exists a faction of disconnected Primes, though, that players can control. When creating a player Prime, do adhere to what a Prime would be, but you have full control over your character despite formerly existing in a hivemind. Your character will also have a sense of individuality and can understand concepts more esoteric to most Primes.
If you need help, contact Senhara for assistance.
Status to Humans: Neutral. Humans are valuable to trade with, but internally are seen as a waste of valuable resources.
Life expectancy: Ranges wildly, "regular" Primes range between 150 and 250, but super-intelligent Primes cannot die unless killed by external means.
Genders: None
Full Description:
Reference image for the design language of The Primes, showing their brutality in combat. Art is of the Cravers, from Endless Space.
Not much is known about the Primes, though plenty is known to describe what they are. The Primes are a series of bioengineered cyborgs, and all traces of what they were originally are gone or impossible to find. The Primes all work together, there seems to be no end goal for them other than to expand their production, as led by what's known as the super-intelligent Primes, also called SI-Primes.
The super-intelligent Primes function somewhat like a leadership, deciding what next is to be built or what next should be researched. While all Primes have intelligence comparable to that of a human (albeit unable to comprehend concepts too far outside of its tasks), SI-Primes are effectively several geniuses rolled into one being, and are manufactured just like every other Prime. SI-Primes are capable of easily comprehending even the toughest sciences and math, and can process complex structures with ease.
Primes primarily reside in what normally would be considered unexplored, uninhabited, or uninhabitable zones. It is fairly infrequent to see Primes visit more populated space, when they do they usually run off when approached, unless they wish to trade. When they do trade, they almost never ask for money, they usually ask for rare materials or other useful knowledge or items, in return they manufacture whatever the trader requires, or supplements them with knowledge.
Prime ships usually fall into three categories. Warship, miner/colonization, and Trade. Warships are brutally efficient in combat, and show one of the Prime's many capabilities, killing people when the situation demands it. Thankfully, no major conflict has occurred yet between the Primes and other groups, but some believe it is inevitable. Miner vessels do what they say, mine asteroids or salvage wrecks. They also provide all the needed materials and services for the Primes to colonize yet another celestial body. Last but not least, Trade. Trade ships are flying refinery and manufacturing platforms, and are the most common type of Prime ship spotted. They're relatively large compared to most ships, packing as many useful things into as small of an area as possible.
Prime vessels also follow a theme of brutalist efficiency, with snaking paths and unnatural corridors only a Prime could cleanly scale and navigate. It is not recommended for a human to attempt navigation of a Prime vessel, as a lack of safety protocols can cause human death.
Primes seem to utilize every single material they get their cyborg hands on, and reuse whatever is no longer useful. They even recycle dead Primes into new Primes, absolutely nothing goes to waste, and they will find a way to use everything they find.
Primes range wildly in their appearance, but follow an overall scheme. Large, buff, and directly integrated into an exoskeleton of some kind. They range between eight and seventeen feet tall, towering over other humanoid species. Despite their large size, they have no problems navigating through more human sized vessels, and are terrifying to counter in them. Additionally, they usually have four arms, sometimes even more depending on what that Prime was made for, this allows for a Prime to, for say, carry a machine gun in two arms, and pistols in the others.
Primes are rapidly manufactured (in comparison to other species), on complex production plants, Primes usually take about a few days to produce, taking a week or two on small plants, though more complex Primes, like SI-Primes, can take many weeks to even months to manufacture by complex production plants. Standard Primes are almost universally multirole, a worker can make practically anything given they know how and have the needed tools and materials, but also pick up a gun and be a talented soldier. Construction biases are a thing, though, as Primes intended to be warriors usually have superior armoring compared to their brethren, but still can build or dismantle something when required.
The fleshy bits of Primes usually are rapidly grown in a biomass lab, from the source materials needed to actually assemble flesh. Primes, however, can recycle other carbon-based fleshy lifeforms, breaking down their bodies into pre-made materials reassembled into Prime physiology. This can drastically speed up assembly, though hasn't been done and can be problematic at times if the recycled carbon-based lifeform has cybernetic augmentation.
The production of flesh for Primes is also quite expensive material wise, as such, producing Primes is done based on need, rather than capability. Dedicating a plant to produce Primes will quickly lead to a lack of required materials to produce their flesh, brains, etc.
For the most part, Primes all share the same personality. They see themselves as superior to others, and they all serve "the empire", which is what they refer to the entirety of all Primes as. Primes are incapable of rebellion, from years of optimizing their bioengineering, they see themselves as the empire, but not the voice of it.
Despite their trade nature, it is not a good idea to piss off any Prime. Despite being rather neutral and willing to trade, they are born killing machines, and respond to aggression with their own form of aggression, potentially with force. It is unclear why the Primes are so docile regularly in comparison to their exploitation of resources and violent capacities, but most people don't want to stick around a Prime long enough to figure out why.
Observation of Prime controlled planets turns interesting results, Primes convert planets and moons into giant factories, producing biomass, food, more Primes, and whatever else you think they could use, though almost all of them are nowhere near fully converted. Prime systems also all show signs of Dyson Sphere construction, though most are quite early in construction and are only in framework stages, with no further development having been spotted. One system, theorized to be a high resource system, has seen it's star slowly reduce in size over the years. This suggests Primes are incredibly power hungry, literally, and not even a star can sate their needs for long enough at peak. Other systems are noted to have active Dyson Spheres, but none match the aforementioned system. In total, Primes only have three active Dyson Spheres.
Military conflict with Primes is not advised, as behavioral analysis shows Primes are incredibly likely to throw any concept of ethical combat out of the window, doing anything to defeat their foe, such as nuking them, rendering planets inhabitable to humans, or various other unethical combat forms. Thankfully, Primes are not large enough to be a large threat, yet, though their growth is slow and steady.
It has been noted that a small collection of Primes exists separate from the empire. They were infected by an electro-chemical virus while exploring a planet potentially valuable for colonizing, the SI-Primes deemed them too much of a risk to recover. As such, they were disconnected from the empire and never accepted back, even though they had conquered said virus.
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Type of society: Primes most closely resemble a type of hivemind, though they have little to no sense of individuality, and have no concept of political structures.
Technological advancement: Primes are very technologically advanced, in the bioengineering and manufacturing aspects. They don't have the capability of manufacturing extremely high power weapons, resorting to more "primitive" and cheaper to produce weapons. They are capable of creating massive structures with ease, compared to other species. They also have not fully figured out FTL travel, and seek to further their understanding of FTL travel to match that of the Ascendancy.
--------------------------------------------
Miscellaneous: Primes have only recently learned that magic is a thing, due to this, Prime activity has somewhat increased. They seem to seek out magical artifacts for study, however they have not yet discovered what they are looking for. Social contact with other species is uncommon, due to the Prime's lack of long range FTL capabilities, though due to higher activity, it may become slightly more common to encounter Primes in low regulation areas.
Preferred Trade Items: Flesh of any kind, dead bodies, rare materials (like Perfected Electrum), hard to manufacture/unknown technologies, magical items.
Industrial capabilities: Powerhouse, adaptable.
Military: Average, technology is sub-par, infantry combat is specialized.
Political: Non-existent internally, SI-Primes handle relations with other factions.
Science: Average, sub-par to non-existent in tasks not useful to Primes. Bioengineering and similar related tasks are beyond most species, though.
Magic: Non-existent, as of present.
Exploration: Awful, Primes have not yet discovered long range FTL systems. Primes also only explore to find resources, trade, or catalog useful information.
Player specific information: Players cannot play regular Primes, only the GMs and Senhara can. There exists a faction of disconnected Primes, though, that players can control. When creating a player Prime, do adhere to what a Prime would be, but you have full control over your character despite formerly existing in a hivemind. Your character will also have a sense of individuality and can understand concepts more esoteric to most Primes.
If you need help, contact Senhara for assistance.
Name: Kel'ta
Status to Humans: The Kel'ta tend to see humans as painfully attached to bloated systems of governments and causes so large that they are far removed from any actual individual impact. This is exacerbated the massive difference in lifespans. Outside of that, it is impossible to determine a generalized outlook from so individualistic a species.
Life expectancy: In terms of biology they are functionally immortal as far as anyone can tell but they tend to 'socially' die every two or three hundred years. Generally, by the time they're biologically five or six thousand they simply lose interest in living and drop dead.
Genders: Kel'ta clans do not have a concept of gender. While individuals who come into contact with other species might adopt a role for themselves the vast majority of Kel'ta don't.
Full Description:
Physical Appearance
The Kel'ta are a carnivorous humanoid species. Their skin tends to range in color from red to yellow to orange but it is common for them to stain some or all of it in a different hue. Both males and females of the species bear horns and have six limbs: one pair of legs and two pairs of arms, a set of which usually remain folded behind the back and hidden by clothing when not in use. The Kel'ta tend to stand taller than other species with the average height being 7'4" in the Imperial system. A hardy species built for climbing the crags of their homeworld the Kel'ta are capable of feats of strength such as bending metal or crushing rocks in their bare hands. The nails of their fingers and toes are hard harder than human keratin, capable of being gouged into stony cliffs for use as makeshift pitons.
Artist: Phobs
Culture
Kel'ta culture is highly individualistic in nature, to the point where the rarely used 'we' is usually replaced in conversation with "Myself and them". The Kel'ta put a premium on the ability to go anywhere and do anything. To ensure that this remains possible even after decades of being slowly tied down by habit and bonds with others they practice a tradition known as the Social Death. After a certain amount of time spent living one life (usually three centuries or thereabout) a Kel'ta will abruptly drop everything and move. Sometimes they say goodbye to acquaintances and sometimes they don't but every Social Death results in the Kel'ta forming a new personality with corresponding likes, dislikes and attitudes while also changing their physical appearance. The physical change can range from simply styling their hair in a new way and adopting a different form of dress to extensive body modification so that there is no trace of the previous version.
There is no word for country in the Kel'ta language, neither is there any for nation, kingdom, empire or state. They lack a unified religion or code of law, rejecting anything that would bind them into one political entity. The closest they get to any sort of overarching structure is their tradition of so-called 'false families.' When not traveling alone the Kel'ta move in groups as small as two and as large as a few hundred, forming temporary clans with a shifting membership. Kel'ta will eventually undergo a social death and leave their current clan wordlessly and wander until they find another to be a part of for another few centuries. This constant shifting of allegiance means that clan feuds, while still deadly, won't last thousands of years.
Since the advent of interstellar travel Kel'ta have been leaving their homeworld to live out new identities among the stars, joining with one of the spacefaring clans or simply setting out on their own. In either case they tend to pick itinerant professions. Mercenary, scout, smuggler, merchant, pirate and performer are all fairly popular trades for roaming Kel'ta. Despite what is often assumed by those with little knowledge of the culture Kel'ta are perfectly capable of working in groups and taking orders from superiors. However, they rarely if ever see themselves as being a part of the gang or company that has brought them on board, preferring to be referred to as auxiliaries.
Reproduction and Family
The Kel'ta are one of the few species of vertebrates that are synchronous hermaphrodites, each member has both male and female reproductive organs. This is an evolved trait that compensates for the harshness of the Kel'ta's homeworld. Since each Kel'ta can sire or carry young there will never be an imbalance in sexes, making it easier for the species to carry on to the next generation.
When a Kel'ta pairing decides to propagate they'll agree on who is the carrier. That half of the pair is essentially confined to the home for fourteen months, the strain of pregnancy making the already rough environment of Kel extremely dangerous. Any intensive physical labor such as hunting or scavenging will be handled by the other partner.
Once the whelp is born both partners are, at least in theory, tied to the family unit until it's matured into an adult. This takes roughly fifty years, the first half of which it spends as a helpless infant before rapidly maturing. The parents teach the offspring the basics of survival and whatever trades they practice during that iteration of their existence so that the child has a basis off which to build an identity.
It's not uncommon for one or both parents to undergo the Social Death at this point, the successful raising of a child often seen as a good note on which to end. The First Self will generally live out its life in the clan it was born into, getting a feel for adulthood in a familiar environment. Eventually they'll become restless, change themselves and head out to continue the cycle elsewhere.
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Type of society: Clan-based, loosely structured. The Kel'ta do not use money among themselves, trading only in goods and services.
Technological advancement: The planet Kel is a graveyard of some ancient civilization, ruined ships and war machines buried in the sand and imbedded in stone crags. Whether the Kel'ta are descendants of this lost society or entirely unrelated matters little to them when there is valuable tech to be harvested. Due to their nomadic lifestyles homeworld based Kel'ta lack mass production or mass industry but make up for it in mechanical artistry. They refurbish, replicate, repair and retrofit gear dug up from the dead civilization and adapt it to suit their own needs alongside the same ancient methods they've been using for millennia. It isn't uncommon for hunters to use scent-dogs to track large game which they then bring down with plasma weaponry while cybernetically augmented warriors make use of personal railguns and knives carved from the ribs of some creature.
Whether it's a sled pulled by beasts or burden or electrically powered scout bike Kel'ta creations are of high quality.
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Miscellaneous: The Kel'ta are biologically immortal due to their rapid production of the enzyme telomerase. This protects their DNA from denigrating over time which in turn allows the regeneration of cells to continue infinitely. While it's impossible for one to die of old age disease and severe trauma will still kill a Kel'ta as they would any other species.
Status to Humans: The Kel'ta tend to see humans as painfully attached to bloated systems of governments and causes so large that they are far removed from any actual individual impact. This is exacerbated the massive difference in lifespans. Outside of that, it is impossible to determine a generalized outlook from so individualistic a species.
Life expectancy: In terms of biology they are functionally immortal as far as anyone can tell but they tend to 'socially' die every two or three hundred years. Generally, by the time they're biologically five or six thousand they simply lose interest in living and drop dead.
Genders: Kel'ta clans do not have a concept of gender. While individuals who come into contact with other species might adopt a role for themselves the vast majority of Kel'ta don't.
Full Description:
Physical Appearance
The Kel'ta are a carnivorous humanoid species. Their skin tends to range in color from red to yellow to orange but it is common for them to stain some or all of it in a different hue. Both males and females of the species bear horns and have six limbs: one pair of legs and two pairs of arms, a set of which usually remain folded behind the back and hidden by clothing when not in use. The Kel'ta tend to stand taller than other species with the average height being 7'4" in the Imperial system. A hardy species built for climbing the crags of their homeworld the Kel'ta are capable of feats of strength such as bending metal or crushing rocks in their bare hands. The nails of their fingers and toes are hard harder than human keratin, capable of being gouged into stony cliffs for use as makeshift pitons.
Artist: Phobs
Culture
Kel'ta culture is highly individualistic in nature, to the point where the rarely used 'we' is usually replaced in conversation with "Myself and them". The Kel'ta put a premium on the ability to go anywhere and do anything. To ensure that this remains possible even after decades of being slowly tied down by habit and bonds with others they practice a tradition known as the Social Death. After a certain amount of time spent living one life (usually three centuries or thereabout) a Kel'ta will abruptly drop everything and move. Sometimes they say goodbye to acquaintances and sometimes they don't but every Social Death results in the Kel'ta forming a new personality with corresponding likes, dislikes and attitudes while also changing their physical appearance. The physical change can range from simply styling their hair in a new way and adopting a different form of dress to extensive body modification so that there is no trace of the previous version.
There is no word for country in the Kel'ta language, neither is there any for nation, kingdom, empire or state. They lack a unified religion or code of law, rejecting anything that would bind them into one political entity. The closest they get to any sort of overarching structure is their tradition of so-called 'false families.' When not traveling alone the Kel'ta move in groups as small as two and as large as a few hundred, forming temporary clans with a shifting membership. Kel'ta will eventually undergo a social death and leave their current clan wordlessly and wander until they find another to be a part of for another few centuries. This constant shifting of allegiance means that clan feuds, while still deadly, won't last thousands of years.
Since the advent of interstellar travel Kel'ta have been leaving their homeworld to live out new identities among the stars, joining with one of the spacefaring clans or simply setting out on their own. In either case they tend to pick itinerant professions. Mercenary, scout, smuggler, merchant, pirate and performer are all fairly popular trades for roaming Kel'ta. Despite what is often assumed by those with little knowledge of the culture Kel'ta are perfectly capable of working in groups and taking orders from superiors. However, they rarely if ever see themselves as being a part of the gang or company that has brought them on board, preferring to be referred to as auxiliaries.
Reproduction and Family
The Kel'ta are one of the few species of vertebrates that are synchronous hermaphrodites, each member has both male and female reproductive organs. This is an evolved trait that compensates for the harshness of the Kel'ta's homeworld. Since each Kel'ta can sire or carry young there will never be an imbalance in sexes, making it easier for the species to carry on to the next generation.
When a Kel'ta pairing decides to propagate they'll agree on who is the carrier. That half of the pair is essentially confined to the home for fourteen months, the strain of pregnancy making the already rough environment of Kel extremely dangerous. Any intensive physical labor such as hunting or scavenging will be handled by the other partner.
Once the whelp is born both partners are, at least in theory, tied to the family unit until it's matured into an adult. This takes roughly fifty years, the first half of which it spends as a helpless infant before rapidly maturing. The parents teach the offspring the basics of survival and whatever trades they practice during that iteration of their existence so that the child has a basis off which to build an identity.
It's not uncommon for one or both parents to undergo the Social Death at this point, the successful raising of a child often seen as a good note on which to end. The First Self will generally live out its life in the clan it was born into, getting a feel for adulthood in a familiar environment. Eventually they'll become restless, change themselves and head out to continue the cycle elsewhere.
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Type of society: Clan-based, loosely structured. The Kel'ta do not use money among themselves, trading only in goods and services.
Technological advancement: The planet Kel is a graveyard of some ancient civilization, ruined ships and war machines buried in the sand and imbedded in stone crags. Whether the Kel'ta are descendants of this lost society or entirely unrelated matters little to them when there is valuable tech to be harvested. Due to their nomadic lifestyles homeworld based Kel'ta lack mass production or mass industry but make up for it in mechanical artistry. They refurbish, replicate, repair and retrofit gear dug up from the dead civilization and adapt it to suit their own needs alongside the same ancient methods they've been using for millennia. It isn't uncommon for hunters to use scent-dogs to track large game which they then bring down with plasma weaponry while cybernetically augmented warriors make use of personal railguns and knives carved from the ribs of some creature.
Whether it's a sled pulled by beasts or burden or electrically powered scout bike Kel'ta creations are of high quality.
--------------------------------------------
Miscellaneous: The Kel'ta are biologically immortal due to their rapid production of the enzyme telomerase. This protects their DNA from denigrating over time which in turn allows the regeneration of cells to continue infinitely. While it's impossible for one to die of old age disease and severe trauma will still kill a Kel'ta as they would any other species.
Planet Name: Kel
World Type: Consisting mostly of barren deserts and arid crags with scattered seas breaking up the landmass.
Classification: Class R
Moon: Kel lacks a moon.
The Civilized Populace: The only known people currently living on the planet are the Kel'ta. While there was at one point another population very little is known about them. They were likely a very localized power who had little if any contact with civilizations outside their system and their relation to the Kel'ta, if any existed, is unknown. As such the Kel'ta just refer to them as the Forebears.
Population: Roughly 1 billion Kel'ta live on the planet in loose clans.
Tourism: The only 'tourists' that visit are outlaws trying to hide from the authorities and the occasional archeologist or anthropologist looking to study the Kel'ta and the Forebears. The Kel'ta treat both of these groups as oddities, trading with them when possible and driving them off when required.
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System Name: Terval
Star Class: F2 class sun
Planetary Bodies: Counting Kel there are four planets in the system. In theory all of them could be terraformed for large scale colonization but the benefits of doing so would be few. Pockets of natural resources can be found but not enough to warrant the effort.
Location: 42307 lightyears from Earth.
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Landmasses: The planet is roughly 80% dry land. There are no broken off landmasses as seen on other planets in the form of continents, simply vast tracts of empty desert and long mountain ranges of red rock. The monotony of the terrain is broken up by the appearance of wrecked space vessels and cities left abandoned by the Forebears, glistening spires of glass and metal containing the leftovers from a long disappeared society.
Waters: While it lacks anything large enough to be called an ocean Kel does support life through the thousands of major oases that dot its surface. Fed from deep wells of groundwater these serve as landmarks for the traveling clans. The larger ones can have rivers leading to or from them.
Notorious Monsters/Creatures: The ultimate monster on Kel is the Tlex'it, known as the Sand Stalker by superstitious children. A quadrupedal lizard standing at nine feet tall and weighing easily six or seven tons, it comes equipped with razor sharp teeth and claws that can tear through armored vehicles. Tlex'it are capable of taking down almost anything through brute force but prefer to stalk their prey. They're intelligent creatures, often wearing down their victims in hit and run attacks until the unfortunate animal collapses from exhaustion and is thus helpless.
The Tlex'it will prey on domesticated animals when given the chance so the Kel'ta form hunting parties to deal with individuals that get too close. A clan seeking to protect their herds will make use of coilguns and high explosives, far more interested in making sure the target is dead than they are preserving its corpse. Those looking to make names for themselves will undertake the hunt with simple big bore rifles or technologically enhanced bows, powerful weapons in their own right but not even close to enough for it to be an even playing field.
World Type: Consisting mostly of barren deserts and arid crags with scattered seas breaking up the landmass.
Classification: Class R
Moon: Kel lacks a moon.
The Civilized Populace: The only known people currently living on the planet are the Kel'ta. While there was at one point another population very little is known about them. They were likely a very localized power who had little if any contact with civilizations outside their system and their relation to the Kel'ta, if any existed, is unknown. As such the Kel'ta just refer to them as the Forebears.
Population: Roughly 1 billion Kel'ta live on the planet in loose clans.
Tourism: The only 'tourists' that visit are outlaws trying to hide from the authorities and the occasional archeologist or anthropologist looking to study the Kel'ta and the Forebears. The Kel'ta treat both of these groups as oddities, trading with them when possible and driving them off when required.
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System Name: Terval
Star Class: F2 class sun
Planetary Bodies: Counting Kel there are four planets in the system. In theory all of them could be terraformed for large scale colonization but the benefits of doing so would be few. Pockets of natural resources can be found but not enough to warrant the effort.
Location: 42307 lightyears from Earth.
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Landmasses: The planet is roughly 80% dry land. There are no broken off landmasses as seen on other planets in the form of continents, simply vast tracts of empty desert and long mountain ranges of red rock. The monotony of the terrain is broken up by the appearance of wrecked space vessels and cities left abandoned by the Forebears, glistening spires of glass and metal containing the leftovers from a long disappeared society.
Waters: While it lacks anything large enough to be called an ocean Kel does support life through the thousands of major oases that dot its surface. Fed from deep wells of groundwater these serve as landmarks for the traveling clans. The larger ones can have rivers leading to or from them.
Notorious Monsters/Creatures: The ultimate monster on Kel is the Tlex'it, known as the Sand Stalker by superstitious children. A quadrupedal lizard standing at nine feet tall and weighing easily six or seven tons, it comes equipped with razor sharp teeth and claws that can tear through armored vehicles. Tlex'it are capable of taking down almost anything through brute force but prefer to stalk their prey. They're intelligent creatures, often wearing down their victims in hit and run attacks until the unfortunate animal collapses from exhaustion and is thus helpless.
The Tlex'it will prey on domesticated animals when given the chance so the Kel'ta form hunting parties to deal with individuals that get too close. A clan seeking to protect their herds will make use of coilguns and high explosives, far more interested in making sure the target is dead than they are preserving its corpse. Those looking to make names for themselves will undertake the hunt with simple big bore rifles or technologically enhanced bows, powerful weapons in their own right but not even close to enough for it to be an even playing field.
Name: Kanarusii/Kanarusians
Status to Humans: The Kanarusii are members of the Alien Coalition, and as such, are considered part of the 'Alien Menace'. They're viewed as enemies of mankind, though the Kanarusii say that they merely defend themselves. On an individual level, the Kanarusii could be friendly to humans that do not provoke them, or they can be relentlessly hostile to the point of attacking humans on sight. One can never be sure.
Life expectancy: 250 solar rotations on average without augmentations; could reach up to 500 years when enhanced through technological or magical ways.
Genders: Male and Female.
Full Description:
Kanarusii are, for the lack of a better description, reminiscent of the dragons of ancient human mythology. They are a reptilian race of quadrapeds, with the front limbs of some subspecies being integrated wings like that of a bat, the others have none at all. Usually, they have a slender, sinewy frame, measuring at 7-12 feet long and 2-4 feet tall excluding the head and wings (if they have those). Kanarusii have sharp, serrated teeth, as they evolved from apex predators in their Homeworld. The entire race is instinctively capable of shapeshifting, though they are incapable of transforming into a different magical race, such as the Kaisoken or Zvevd. They most often shapeshift into a vaguely humanoid version of themselves in order to work tools and machinery.
Though the subspecies of Kanarusii are diverse, they typically fall into one of two groups; winged, or wingless. Flight capable Kanarusii, known as the Feldraken, are often wielders of pyrokinesis and aerokinesis. The wingless ones, known as the Sahrkosi, are typically electrokinetic, and hydrokinetic. They begin manifesting magic at age 20, and it usually takes decades for them to have fine tuned control over their abilities; it is noted that they are most in tune with World Magic. Usually, they're weaker than Star Marines and Kaisoken in terms of power output, but a well trained Kanarusian is still dangerous nonetheless.
Kanarusii live in a variety of environments, which has influenced the divergence of their race into different sub-species. Feldrakens live on the tops of mountains, cliffsides, and volcanoes, while the Sahrkosi inhabit the oceans, rivers, and lakes.
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Type of society: The Kanarusians are a loosely united feudal confederation, divided into the Nine Houses that hold power over the systems. The Nine Houses are, respectively, Loken, Astoria, Shtarbane, Fenruss, Karadras, Targon, Aoshen, Zeran, and Vulcaria. The most powerful of the Houses are Vulcaria (a Feldraken House) and Aoshen (a Sahrkosi House), who rule over the two core systems of the Kanarusian Confederacy. Kanarus itself is ruled by the High Lords; the council to which the Houses answer.
Technological advancement: Despite appearances, Kanarusians are technologically advanced due to being uplifted by another alien race two millennia prior to current events, which most often manifests in their cybernetic augmentations; some of them are half mechanical. However, Kanarusians with cybernetics render themselves unable to shapeshift.
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Miscellaneous: There are rumours that their shapeshifting allows them to have children with other races, though this has never been proven...
Status to Humans: The Kanarusii are members of the Alien Coalition, and as such, are considered part of the 'Alien Menace'. They're viewed as enemies of mankind, though the Kanarusii say that they merely defend themselves. On an individual level, the Kanarusii could be friendly to humans that do not provoke them, or they can be relentlessly hostile to the point of attacking humans on sight. One can never be sure.
Life expectancy: 250 solar rotations on average without augmentations; could reach up to 500 years when enhanced through technological or magical ways.
Genders: Male and Female.
Full Description:
Kanarusii are, for the lack of a better description, reminiscent of the dragons of ancient human mythology. They are a reptilian race of quadrapeds, with the front limbs of some subspecies being integrated wings like that of a bat, the others have none at all. Usually, they have a slender, sinewy frame, measuring at 7-12 feet long and 2-4 feet tall excluding the head and wings (if they have those). Kanarusii have sharp, serrated teeth, as they evolved from apex predators in their Homeworld. The entire race is instinctively capable of shapeshifting, though they are incapable of transforming into a different magical race, such as the Kaisoken or Zvevd. They most often shapeshift into a vaguely humanoid version of themselves in order to work tools and machinery.
Though the subspecies of Kanarusii are diverse, they typically fall into one of two groups; winged, or wingless. Flight capable Kanarusii, known as the Feldraken, are often wielders of pyrokinesis and aerokinesis. The wingless ones, known as the Sahrkosi, are typically electrokinetic, and hydrokinetic. They begin manifesting magic at age 20, and it usually takes decades for them to have fine tuned control over their abilities; it is noted that they are most in tune with World Magic. Usually, they're weaker than Star Marines and Kaisoken in terms of power output, but a well trained Kanarusian is still dangerous nonetheless.
Kanarusii live in a variety of environments, which has influenced the divergence of their race into different sub-species. Feldrakens live on the tops of mountains, cliffsides, and volcanoes, while the Sahrkosi inhabit the oceans, rivers, and lakes.
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Type of society: The Kanarusians are a loosely united feudal confederation, divided into the Nine Houses that hold power over the systems. The Nine Houses are, respectively, Loken, Astoria, Shtarbane, Fenruss, Karadras, Targon, Aoshen, Zeran, and Vulcaria. The most powerful of the Houses are Vulcaria (a Feldraken House) and Aoshen (a Sahrkosi House), who rule over the two core systems of the Kanarusian Confederacy. Kanarus itself is ruled by the High Lords; the council to which the Houses answer.
Technological advancement: Despite appearances, Kanarusians are technologically advanced due to being uplifted by another alien race two millennia prior to current events, which most often manifests in their cybernetic augmentations; some of them are half mechanical. However, Kanarusians with cybernetics render themselves unable to shapeshift.
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Miscellaneous: There are rumours that their shapeshifting allows them to have children with other races, though this has never been proven...
Name: The Shevastol, or the Forebears
Status to Humans: As far as humanity is concerned, the Shevastol are a long dead species. The ruins on Kel that are not entirely picked clean or squatted on by the Kel'ta clans don't reveal that there were any survivors after the end of their civilization. To the handful or so of Shevastol that exist in the present day humans are just one of many upstart species who became great while their ancient and noble people are doomed to extinction.
Life expectancy: Assuming that there are no complications the modern Shevastol generally live to be about seventy. While their bodies process nutrients with extreme efficiency they are a fairly fragile species whose bloodline is by this point riddled with genetic defects from catastrophic inbreeding.
Genders: The Shevastol tie gender to biological sex and thus have two: male and female.
Full Description: Due to the low gravity of their homeworld the Shevastol are long-limbed and hollow boned, their species lighter than many others since there was not much gravitational force for them to withstand. The average modern Shevastol stands at about seven feet tall, stunted compared to the towering nine foot statures of their "pure" ancestors. Compared to humans their eyes are extremely small and sunken into their face, giving them poor vision which they compensated with by mechanical enhancement of the senses.
Artist: Jerad Marantz
How it All Went Wrong: The Shevastol were established long before Earth supported intelligent life, already having established an interstellar empire by 37524 BCE. While relatively conservative in their expansion efforts (they only ever pushed into two solar systems outside their own) they were fairly vicious when it came to protecting what they considered to be their spheres of influence. They came into conflict with the Kaisoken a number of times along with countless other lesser species. Many of those would simply be scooped up and converted into manpower, serving as conscripts or simple manual labor in hazardous situations that would be too dangerous for the comparatively dangerous Shevastol.
It was their inherent frailty that did them in. The empire came into conflict with a small but tenacious species of amphibians known as the Tittlikits. The Tittlikits were noted for their extenssive understanding of chemical and biological warfare and fell back on their knowledge when faced with a superior enemy. The Shevastol erased the Tittlikits from existence on all but a few backwater worlds but not before some of their forces were unknowingly infected.
The virus had been engineered to lay dormant for years, allowing vectors to spread the disease before the first symptoms even showed. After roughly five years the carrier would experience coughing, nausea and chest pains. Death occurred in two to three days. The resulting pandemic sent the Shevastol's population numbers into a catastrophic freefall, losing about eighty percent of their total population.
In the meantime, the species they had enslaved sensed weakness. The disease had been formulated for the fairly weak Shevastol constitution while the species the Shevastol used for slave labor tended to be hardy. Thus while their were casualties among those groups they were far from the losses suffered by the Shevastol.
By this point the Shevastol had four main slave species:
-the Rordors, an avian species noted for their sharp talons and ability to regurgitate a noxious bile as a weapon.
-the Eventi, snake-like creatures who coil their enemies in their tails and crush them to death before swallowing them whole.
-the Kel'ta, a hardy species of climbers and hunters from from an arid desert planet who could break and bend steel with their bare hands.
-the Michus, a small rodent species notable for their incredible burrowing capabilities and the speed at which they reproduced.
All four species had been essentially kidnapped during their Iron Ages and kept in line by the superior technology and numbers of the Shevastol. But with the Shevastol devastated by the plague and their systems of communication thrown into disarray the Treasonous Four seized the moment and lashed out. The resulting war pitted the frail Shevastol against four much tougher species who had spent millennia as laborers and foot soldiers who had both the advantage in numbers and nothing to lose. Unsurprisingly it went poorly for the Shevastol.
One by one the planets they held were scorched and abandoned, the empire pushed back to the homeworld of the Kel'ta. It was at Kel where the final preparations to flee where made, a desperate raid launched to capture a number of Nominken whose lack of intelligence and raw magical energy made for a perfect power source. The few Shevastol that remained spent the last of their resources constructing what was essentially a biological logic bomb, their numbers dwindling as the Kel'ta pushed deeper and deeper into their lines.
In the end the Shevastol managed to escape, the device wiping the memory of their existence from the minds of their former slaves. Now numbering only in the hundreds of thousands the Shevastol scattered, splitting up into small groups so that they couldn't be found. Time would see their numbers dwindle further and further, inbreeding ensuring that by the modern day there is little hope of them ever resurfacing.
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Type of society: At the height of their power 30,000 years ago the Shevastol were an interstellar technocratic empire. While most of them lived on strategically placed space stations or traveled on large habitat vessels a core force of the species' best and brightest were stationed on the home world of Tes IV to serve as a governing body.
The Shevastol of today have fallen far from that peak. With their numbers reduced dramatically by a weaponized epidemic followed by violent uprisings by subjected species that took bloody vengeance for years of captivity the few remaining Shevastol were forced to scatter and their numbers have only dwindled since. They have no overarching civilization, just a few scattered groups trying to prolong their existence.
Unsurprisingly reproduction is extremely important to them but fraught with difficulty. In perfect conditions it takes five years for a clutch of eggs to hatch and even a few degrees too hot or cold can render them useless. And even in cases where the clutch is kept safe only in one ten eggs will actually hatch, producing offspring that will likely die in a few years due to genetic degradation. Cloning is not feasible for the Shevastol, the process requiring a better DNA template than they have access to (to say the nothing of the cost or unlikeliness that they'd be able to set up a clone production facility considering their refusal to work with the 'lesser' races.)
Technological advancement: The Shevastol were once extremely technologically advanced, making use of FTL drives as opposed to the now more common wormhole systems and even having access to specially formulate materials that could nullify magic. The total destruction of the Shevastol empire came with the the loss of most of their technological prowess. With their brightest minds centered in the capital world of Tes IV, an obvious target for angry slave species< they lost nearly all of their greatest innovators and scientists. Those who did survive couldn't overcome the fact that they had nothing to work with. Being a brilliant biochemist matters little when you lack the equipment to make use of your field.
Now the Shevastol make do with what they find, equipment that is often outdated and on the verge of breaking down entirely. It enrages them to know end that their old subordinates the Kel'ta have plenty of powerful "Forebear" technology to pick through while the creators languish in rusty puddle-jumpers and have to defend themselves with underpowered laser weaponry or whatever else they can scrounge up.
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Status to Humans: As far as humanity is concerned, the Shevastol are a long dead species. The ruins on Kel that are not entirely picked clean or squatted on by the Kel'ta clans don't reveal that there were any survivors after the end of their civilization. To the handful or so of Shevastol that exist in the present day humans are just one of many upstart species who became great while their ancient and noble people are doomed to extinction.
Life expectancy: Assuming that there are no complications the modern Shevastol generally live to be about seventy. While their bodies process nutrients with extreme efficiency they are a fairly fragile species whose bloodline is by this point riddled with genetic defects from catastrophic inbreeding.
Genders: The Shevastol tie gender to biological sex and thus have two: male and female.
Full Description: Due to the low gravity of their homeworld the Shevastol are long-limbed and hollow boned, their species lighter than many others since there was not much gravitational force for them to withstand. The average modern Shevastol stands at about seven feet tall, stunted compared to the towering nine foot statures of their "pure" ancestors. Compared to humans their eyes are extremely small and sunken into their face, giving them poor vision which they compensated with by mechanical enhancement of the senses.
Artist: Jerad Marantz
How it All Went Wrong: The Shevastol were established long before Earth supported intelligent life, already having established an interstellar empire by 37524 BCE. While relatively conservative in their expansion efforts (they only ever pushed into two solar systems outside their own) they were fairly vicious when it came to protecting what they considered to be their spheres of influence. They came into conflict with the Kaisoken a number of times along with countless other lesser species. Many of those would simply be scooped up and converted into manpower, serving as conscripts or simple manual labor in hazardous situations that would be too dangerous for the comparatively dangerous Shevastol.
It was their inherent frailty that did them in. The empire came into conflict with a small but tenacious species of amphibians known as the Tittlikits. The Tittlikits were noted for their extenssive understanding of chemical and biological warfare and fell back on their knowledge when faced with a superior enemy. The Shevastol erased the Tittlikits from existence on all but a few backwater worlds but not before some of their forces were unknowingly infected.
The virus had been engineered to lay dormant for years, allowing vectors to spread the disease before the first symptoms even showed. After roughly five years the carrier would experience coughing, nausea and chest pains. Death occurred in two to three days. The resulting pandemic sent the Shevastol's population numbers into a catastrophic freefall, losing about eighty percent of their total population.
In the meantime, the species they had enslaved sensed weakness. The disease had been formulated for the fairly weak Shevastol constitution while the species the Shevastol used for slave labor tended to be hardy. Thus while their were casualties among those groups they were far from the losses suffered by the Shevastol.
By this point the Shevastol had four main slave species:
-the Rordors, an avian species noted for their sharp talons and ability to regurgitate a noxious bile as a weapon.
-the Eventi, snake-like creatures who coil their enemies in their tails and crush them to death before swallowing them whole.
-the Kel'ta, a hardy species of climbers and hunters from from an arid desert planet who could break and bend steel with their bare hands.
-the Michus, a small rodent species notable for their incredible burrowing capabilities and the speed at which they reproduced.
All four species had been essentially kidnapped during their Iron Ages and kept in line by the superior technology and numbers of the Shevastol. But with the Shevastol devastated by the plague and their systems of communication thrown into disarray the Treasonous Four seized the moment and lashed out. The resulting war pitted the frail Shevastol against four much tougher species who had spent millennia as laborers and foot soldiers who had both the advantage in numbers and nothing to lose. Unsurprisingly it went poorly for the Shevastol.
One by one the planets they held were scorched and abandoned, the empire pushed back to the homeworld of the Kel'ta. It was at Kel where the final preparations to flee where made, a desperate raid launched to capture a number of Nominken whose lack of intelligence and raw magical energy made for a perfect power source. The few Shevastol that remained spent the last of their resources constructing what was essentially a biological logic bomb, their numbers dwindling as the Kel'ta pushed deeper and deeper into their lines.
In the end the Shevastol managed to escape, the device wiping the memory of their existence from the minds of their former slaves. Now numbering only in the hundreds of thousands the Shevastol scattered, splitting up into small groups so that they couldn't be found. Time would see their numbers dwindle further and further, inbreeding ensuring that by the modern day there is little hope of them ever resurfacing.
-------------------------------------------
Type of society: At the height of their power 30,000 years ago the Shevastol were an interstellar technocratic empire. While most of them lived on strategically placed space stations or traveled on large habitat vessels a core force of the species' best and brightest were stationed on the home world of Tes IV to serve as a governing body.
The Shevastol of today have fallen far from that peak. With their numbers reduced dramatically by a weaponized epidemic followed by violent uprisings by subjected species that took bloody vengeance for years of captivity the few remaining Shevastol were forced to scatter and their numbers have only dwindled since. They have no overarching civilization, just a few scattered groups trying to prolong their existence.
Unsurprisingly reproduction is extremely important to them but fraught with difficulty. In perfect conditions it takes five years for a clutch of eggs to hatch and even a few degrees too hot or cold can render them useless. And even in cases where the clutch is kept safe only in one ten eggs will actually hatch, producing offspring that will likely die in a few years due to genetic degradation. Cloning is not feasible for the Shevastol, the process requiring a better DNA template than they have access to (to say the nothing of the cost or unlikeliness that they'd be able to set up a clone production facility considering their refusal to work with the 'lesser' races.)
Technological advancement: The Shevastol were once extremely technologically advanced, making use of FTL drives as opposed to the now more common wormhole systems and even having access to specially formulate materials that could nullify magic. The total destruction of the Shevastol empire came with the the loss of most of their technological prowess. With their brightest minds centered in the capital world of Tes IV, an obvious target for angry slave species< they lost nearly all of their greatest innovators and scientists. Those who did survive couldn't overcome the fact that they had nothing to work with. Being a brilliant biochemist matters little when you lack the equipment to make use of your field.
Now the Shevastol make do with what they find, equipment that is often outdated and on the verge of breaking down entirely. It enrages them to know end that their old subordinates the Kel'ta have plenty of powerful "Forebear" technology to pick through while the creators languish in rusty puddle-jumpers and have to defend themselves with underpowered laser weaponry or whatever else they can scrounge up.
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