Don't Post your races here. Put them in their own Thread.

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Nightfish
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Don't Post your races here. Put them in their own Thread.

#1 Post by Nightfish »

eleazar wrote:The old "Post your races here" organizational idea isn't really helping. It's also confusing people.

Please just make a new thread, for your new species ideas, and remove it from this thread..

For those concerned with making the most up-to-date concept of their aliens easy to find, i'd recommend editing the first post in your species' topic, to make that the most finalized form.


See this thread for more guidance on species creation.

EDIT: Ignore the old rules below:

I'm reviving the thread where people could post their races for review. Although races are not a high priority right now, there is no reason why we shouldn't start gathering suggestions now.

Please don't make comments in this thread. this one is simply for gathering new races and we can sift through it a lot quicker if there are only 5 races and not 5 races and 20 comments to each race. It's not a problem right now, but may be at a later stage when races are rolling in. Place comments in the thread of the corresponding race as it is created, thanks! :wink:
Last edited by Nightfish on Fri Jul 11, 2003 5:47 am, edited 2 times in total.

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utilae
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Gyisache (Yee-Saish)

#2 Post by utilae »

Gyisache (Yee-Saish)
==============
They have always been the prey, having survived through the many dangers on their homeworld, creatures that are perhaps the deadliest in the galaxy. They are the Gyisache, sheep like humanoid creatures that face these dangers everyday, to them, there is no safe place. The Gyisache have always been at the bottom of the food chain and they strive to be at the top of the food chain, but not just of their world, of the entire universe.

The Gyisache live on a Terran world callled Miziu, where plants (their food) are plentiful, but where there are also other deadly creatures. The Gyisache live in areas of flat plains, on high mountain flats. The valley's below are where the deadliest creatures lurk, however, there stil are those creatures that make there way the top of the mountains. In such situations the Gyisache fight back or run for the nearest cave huts, which is where the Gyisache sleep, in sets of rooms, within caves in the ground.

What a Gyisache does, who a Gyisache follow is usually dependent on the majority, but often just one Gyisache running away can cause all Gyisache to run as well (very sheep like). So there form of government is a dispersed (maybe?) government, where everyone is for themselves and whoever is followed is the leader.

Appearance-Humanoid sheep like creature, covered in woollish fur, large strong three fingered hands, sheep like feet, two short tales and glowing yellow eyes.

Ground combat/Space combat-for every ship/troop that retreats, two more automatically retreat as well.

Growth rate-they breed fast.

Morale-they have a penalty to morale, because there homeworld is there nightmare.

Production/Research-they have a bonus, because they like to keep 'in doors' to take there mind off the scary creatures outside, thereby getting work done.
Last edited by utilae on Fri Jul 04, 2003 11:14 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Impaler
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Additional Gyisache Info

#3 Post by Impaler »

I whent and wrote up a Physiology of the Gyisache with Utilae's permision. I realy liked the core idea of a "cowardly" race but felt that the physical description was a bit lacking (I see others agree). I have tried to go with a very far out yet plausable design here thats very all encompasing and reinforces the key behavioral elements of the race. All, some or non of this might be incorporated into the race at Utilae's discression.


The planet Miziu is sligtly smaller then Earth but with a thicher atmosphere of Nitrogen, Amonina and Carbon Dioxide. Most parts of Miziu are moist but it lacks lacks large oceans, only 5% of its surface is covered in water. The main topographical features are enormous high rocky mesas cut by mile deep canyons the bottoms of which contain the only standing water. The porus and highly soluable nature of the highland rocks prevent any surface water from acumulting their and water seapage creates numerous caves. The thicker atmopshere at the bottoms of these canyons inhibits plant growth as too much of the light from Miziu's white sun is scattered. Thus most plant growth is on the higher rocky plains. The lowlands prove vital as breeding grounds for many of the planets semi-aquatic organisms who migrate between the highlands and lowlands anualy. Most of the planets carvinores migrate in this fashion and fatten themselves while in the highlands feeding on Herbivorus species that live in the highlands year round. The Gyisache are just such a herbivorus species.


The average individual stands 2.5 metters tall when fully errect, alsomt all of which is leg. The core body is 1.5 metters long and (american) football shaped tapering almost to points in the front and rear of the organism where 2 small orafices are located. They are Bipedal each leg has to 2 forward knees and one backward knee inbetween, when they crouch the leg folds into an efficient W making the animal only a half meter tall. The bird like foot is conected by a ball and socket ankle and has 4 identical toes each a foot long spreading out in an X shape. The tips of the toes have sticky pads for gripping rocky or slippery surfaces. Most of their bodies are covered with a short currly white hair which covers their bright red flesh. All together the Gyisache have wonderfull balance, speed and jumping abilitys which aid them in the daily struggle to escape being eaten.

Their Oblong bodies lack anything resembaling a head, insted they have 3 identical eye stalks that are located at the forward tip of the body. They are each 120 degrees apart with one pointing strait down and the other two upward/outward. Each apendage is 1 metter long with a hinge joint connecting it to the body and a ball and socket joint half way down its length. All three arms can be tucked closse to the body when their is a need to get into tight spaces or when running. The end of each arm contains a large yellow eye surrounded by 6 short muscular tounge like flaps that serve both at fingers and secondary eye lids (a smaller primary lid keeps the fingers from getting contaminants on the eye).

A small mouth is located at the base of the arms. Inside 3 flat obtuse trinagular teeth meet to crush the nut like fruits and seed pods that are the animals primary food. The teeth also rotate round each other to grind with their sides when powered by the muscles of the base of the arm. A small tounges sit between each tooth. The rest of the digestive track is fairly normal and runs through the belly area of the body terminating at the rear. Most of the rest of the body is filled by the unique lungs of the creature. They are a one way system air flows in the front and is expelled to the rear, The lung tissue is like stacked corugated cardboard oriented perpindicular to the air flow. The whole thing is rivin with layerd blood vessels that connect to the Heart ath the center of the lungs. The Gyisache breath in Nitrogen and expell Amonia and Carbon Dioxide, Their circulatory system contains Lithium Ions bound to small Protiens which facilitate the transport of hydrogen. The central nervous system is located directly infront of the heart.

The Gyisache are hermafrodits yet do not mate, insted they reproduce in a system similar to plant polination. Each individual contains glands at the back of the body that grow polips filled with tens of thousands of tiny pollen like granuals. These burst and are blow outward by exhaled air. Each granual contains half the genetic information needed to produce a member new individual. Unlike Humans he Gyisache have only 1 copy of each gene so only half the Genes are present in each granual. The granuals can survive several months untill breathed in by another member of the species. Once imbedded in the lung tissue it releases chemical signals that atract one of the many mobial roaming "egg" cells that live in the lungs. The egg merges with the granual and begins growing into a tiny maggot like worm that feeds off the blood supply of the lungs. After reaching a sertain size it enters a dormant state. At any one time their will on average be hundreds of these embionic creatures living inside the lung tissue of the average Gyisache. When an individual has a sufficient energy supply to reproduce it will release chemicals that activate all of its empryos to migrate to the Gestation chamber behind the heart. The embrionic larve begin attacking and eating each other in a free for all untill only 1 remains and is free to draw energy from the parent. After a quick growth period of 2 months the newborn is delivered live at 1/5 the mass of a fully growth individual. It is completly independent from this moment on. They forage durring the day in herds then retire to caves for the night.

The Gyisache are always warry of predators and are easily alarmed. Their natural response is to run away from everything. This results in a Zenophobic response to other races. Their military forces will try to avoid conflicts, they ofted abandon contested systems. They are smart enough to not be bullied into doing things that will be detramental to them, such as giving away valuable tecnology. Their goverment system is Dispersed as each individual is completly independent and forms no bonds with other individuals. They do have a herding tendency though and this keeps them tegether when faced with danger. Their tecnology trends towards speedy ships (to run away) and excellent sensors (to see danger coming) and ofcorse armor. Passive defenses and consealment are their strengths, they prefer to build and grow and research their way to becoming to large for thouse threatening them. They attack only when their advantage is overwhelming and even then they take as long as nessary to prevent losses. They are almost entirly emotionless creatures so positive moral effects have very little effect. When not alarmed they can be think clearly but when a group of Gyisache is threatened their productivity declines and they become even more defensive.

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utilae
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#4 Post by utilae »

Impaler wrote: I have some nice ideas for that race of Artists and the race of preditors that enginered themselves to become part plant.
I had a plant race. I forget there name, I'll just make up a new name, heh. :lol:

Ikasynbe-plant/animal hybrids
======
Essentailly:
------------
A race of humanoid plants, ie creatures that lived so closely with plants, that they and plants became symbiotic, so plants grow on them and are apart of them, some of their organs are plant based.

Ikasynbe Description:
------------------------
The Ikasynbe are creatures with two legs, two arms and a head. On their back they have a seed that blossoms into a flower over their lifetime. The seed has tendrils that extend into the legs, arms and head. The Ikasynbe has yellow eyes that pierce through a face covered in grass. Their arms and legs have many short roots hanging off, which can be put into the ground, where they hibernate to gain mineral energy from the ground, while the seed on their back collects energy from the sun. On various parts of their body they have blue orbs (that appear to be full of water) sunken into their skin. They feed on the water in these orbs and they can tell when they are low, at which time they rest in water, using their roots to collect water. On the ends of their arms and legs they have strong claws, which help them climb trees. They are very agile and quite flexible.

Society:
--------
They build their holmes (huts made of plants, etc) against trees. The trees on their planet are huge, massive. Their society is one where the more important/richer build their holmes higher up in the trees. So the the less important/poorer live at the base of trees, middle class live in the middle and richer and more important live near the top.

Homeworld:
-------------
90% of life on their world is made up of plants. Their homeworld is called Nasuiue. It is an environment covered in forests, made up of the tallest trees anywhere. Their are oceans on this world, only these oceans are not visibile from space, because forests cover the oceans. Their are few mountainous areas, only myst, trees and swamp. The planet varies from rainforrests to the wettest swamps, with very few open areas. Most animals on the planet also have a symbiotic relationship with plants, with plants growing on them, etc.

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utilae
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#5 Post by utilae »

A brand new, completed race (below): :wink:


Gigazisku (Jig-A-Zis-Ku)

Intro
The Gigazisku are a race of predators and farmers. They exist in overwhelming numbers, dominating the skies and all other domains on their planet. Now under the orders of their newest generation of queens they are attempting to transcend the upper sky, an unexplored domain. The upper sky is a new source of food, to be controlled and farmed, worth being explored just as a new taste is worth trying.

Homeworld
The Gigazisku live on a large planet called Sivuit, which is covered by mountainous islands, surrounded by a great sea. Around the edges of the islands are steep cliffs that descend 1000 meters below the surface of the ocean. From the surface of the ocean to the upper surface of the cliffs is a distance of about 1000 meters, as high as the oceans are deep. The upper surfaces of these islands are large areas of flat land covered in thick forest vegetation, so thick that it grows down the cliff side and into the ocean. This world is also home to an endless rain, which constantly fills the ocean and helps vegetation to grow.

The sun this world orbits around is quite hot and as a result of the heat and water there is very thick fog, a result of the continual evapouration of the great sea. Almost every from of life on this planet has evolved some means to move from island to island. Such means include the ability to fly through the air, swim the seas and climb the cliffs. There are few creatures that live only on land, as food cannot be sourced from one island alone.

Social Structure
On this planet the Gigazisku have evolved to become the most dominant carnivore. Over many centuries they have evolved into highly intelligent predators. They have ensured that they have an endless supply of food, by farming many of the creatures on this world, which are common prey to them. The Gigazisku patrol the skies, setting up parimeters that divide different creatures into feeding grounds and breeding grounds. These parameters are created by spraying a powerful chemical which prevents any creatures from going near. As a result of being surrounded by a perimeter of this chemical, prey cannot escape an area, as they instantly recognise areas beyond the perimeter as dangerous and so feel safer within the current territory. The Gigazisku are forbidden from feeding in non feeding areas, as it could cause their source of food to be wiped out.

The Gigazisku are rulled by a queen, which is able to live for thousands of years. The queen has a very high breeding rate and can have upto a thousand young at once. The queen is alot larger and tougher than normal Gigazisku and is formidable in close combat, just like any other Gigazisku. As well as this, the queen is heavily guarded by other Gigazisku, making the queen well protected. The chance of a normal Gigazisku being born is very high, while a queen being born is very low, so the queen is a very important member of the race to protect. Each queen retains knowledge from previous queens and also passes some of this knowledge onto normal Gigazisku. This means that as a race the Gigazisku become more intelligent as new queens are born. The Gigazisku queen also has a phychic link to all normal Gigazisku, to send orders and also retain control over the normal Gigazisku, which vastly out number the queens.

Physical Description
The Gigazisku can be thought of as a giant bug, more wasp like then anything else, but very alien. They have a long snake like body, which is thicker around the torso area. The body extends with the same thickness for several meters before narrowing into a sharp needle like tip, at the end of its tail. On the front end of the torso (opposite the tail) is the head. Its head has two large pincers attached, which extend out in front of the mouth of the head. In between the pincers are two smaller mandibles. The head has two large eyes that glow with a gleaming brightness. On the back of the torso are two large lumps, one located at the head end of the torso and the other located at the tail end. Both of these lumps contain very large dragonfly like wings, a few meters long. Each lump has two pairs of these wings, which total to four wings on the left and four wings on the right. In the middle of the torso, on each side are a pair of long arms that have a houlder and an elbow joint. On the tip of each arm is a very long and sharp thorn. On the inner part of the arm (just before the arm part ends and the thorn part begins) is a smaller thorn that extends to the end of the arm (but not to the end of the long thorn).

History
Sivuit had always been a forbidden place to many in the Orion empire. Not much was said, but much was known. Those who went there often would not return, for once stepping off their ships, all mannor of carnivorous creatures would attack, seeking food. Many from the Orion empire (even with all of their technology) could survive for long on this harsh world. Further more, not one creature of any common species could be identified as the threat on this planet.

All creatures on Sivuit were viewed as hostile, though lerking in the deepest parts of the forest and in the furtherest parts of the skies were the Gigazisku. They had plenty of food available to them and so could resist their feral instincts for a while. This is why the Gigazisku watched the Orion visitors from afar, studying them, while making sure they themselves remained unnoticed. In reality it was the Gigazisku prey that had scared many an Orion visitor away. The Gigazisku would easily be more of a threat to the Orions then the Orions could ever know, though the Orions dissappeared not too long after these times.

Never having the chance to threaten the Orions, the Gigazisku are now in the process of exploring the upper sky (space). If the Orions are still out there, the Gigazisku might finally get there chance to see what might of been and become the greatest threat the Orions could ever face.

Race Attributes
-Excelent farming.
-Homeplanet has a research bonus (queens live there).
-Higher food stockpile cap.
-Excelent ground combat (high speed & attack, defense average).
-Excelent space combat (high speed & attack).
-Very high population growth.
-Very high security (good defense against spying).
-Small ships (ie size 1-4) cost less and are cheaper to maintain.
-Low mining and production.
-Poor research.
-Very bad spying (on other empires), because of their buzzing wings.
-Poor diplomacy.
Last edited by utilae on Thu Aug 21, 2003 6:03 am, edited 2 times in total.

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utilae
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#6 Post by utilae »

Heres a new race, completed and it is really cool. 8) :
----------

Nocias (No-She-As)

Intro
The Nocias are a race of scientists, fascinated with studying others. Their ability to go invisible is vital to their spying activities, which are apart of their on going research of other races and creatures. They feed on moisture and water, so they like cold, damp worlds with lots of water.

Homeworld
The Nocias live on a small, cold planet called Basient. Basient has an icy atmosphere and a flat surface with few mountains, but many caves and tunnels. The surface is covered with a layer if ice and some snow, which is enough for plants to grow and for animals to survive. The caves and tunnels break through to massive underground oceans, which are larger then the few small oceans on the surface. Plants on Basient are in great abundance, though there are no tall plants, such as trees. There are only short ground hugging plants, which are bushy, tend to lack flowers, but have very long roots that cover the surface mostly and are dug deep into the ground. It constantly snows on Basient, though sometimes it rains, as the temperature is only just warm enough during the day to allow some rain.

Social Structure
The Nocias are ruled by a group of the eldest of all Nocias (Nocias can live up to 500 years maximum), consisting of the 10 oldest Nocias individuals. Nocias do not deteriorate as they grow older, their physical and mental fitness remains constant, while the experience the oldest Nocias have is extensive. It is a Nocias life long ambition to become one of the 10 oldest Nocias, the elder group. The elder group make decisions through voting, where each member has an equal vote.

All Nocias are scientists. They can think of many things at once, so in this way they can carry out research while doing a non-research job. When there job is research, they make more progress and carry out more research, then if on some other job.

An ability commonly used by Nocias, is to go invisible. Because of this ability, the Nocias have always had a fascination with the study of others, other races, creatures and life. Also, with this ability, they have become excellent spies, studying those who they are spying on, adding to their on going research efforts. Those being spied on never realise that a Nocias is floating right next to them, observing them, all while invisible.

Physical Description
The main body of a Nocias is made up of three flat, round segments that together make a rounded 'OOO' shape. The front of the Nocias has the smallest segment, while the rear has the largest segment. Attached to the side of each segment is a light, flexible wing segment that ca hover in the breeze because it is so light. There are three of these wing segments on each side of the main body. At the rear of the main body are two segments that are shaped like figure eights ('8'), though filled in. These two figure eight segments are connected by two very flexible pipe like segments ('8=8'). On the sides of the figure eight shaped segments are three small wing segments, exactly like the larger wing segments explained before, though smaller. The front of the figure eight shaped segments are connected to the main body by two more very flexible pipe segments. At the rear of each figure eight shaped segment is a very long tail that extends for several meters in length, more than twice as long as the rest of the body (in total there are two of these long tails). The appearance of a Nocias is varied, depending on its intentions. Its skin is see-through, and within can be seen a liquid like substance and no organs. The Nocias can change the colour of this liquid substance to any colour it wants, even to match its surroundings, becoming invisible.

The Nocias have no organs, only a liquid substance that is within their body. Everything that allows a Nocias to live occurs at a microscopic level based around complex chemical reactions. The liquid substance is where all of this chemical reaction occurs. Within the liquid substance are billions of microscopic chemical matter, that carry out the functions of organs and even thinking. The Nocias can think as fast as super computers (through chemical reactions) and also use their ability to change colour for attracting mates. There are no 'male' or 'female' Nocias, there is only one type, however each Nocias has different qualities. When a Nocias mates, it does so with any other Nocias, the end result being a new born Nocias with similar genetics to the parents. The Nocias carry their young for an extremely long time (10 years), before they are born and only one baby Nocias can be carried at a time. This means that Nocias have a slow growth rate, though their extra long life times (500 years maximum) offsets this problem.

The Nocias absorb moisture and water for food and release hydrogen as a result of absorbing water. The hydrogen can be stored and released at will, giving the Nocias the ability to float as a result of the releasing the hydrogen as apart of a chemical reaction, effectively creating hydrogen based propulsion. This ability can also be used to melt ice, releasing moisture and water, necessary to absorb as food. Any moisture or water absorbed by a Nocias can be passed on to another Nocias or can be deposited in an area of food storage.

History
For along time the Orions had noticed the strange creatures that were the Nocias. There physiology was considered unique, strange and efficient. Even more intriguing to the Orions were the Nocias two main abilities, invisibility and a hydrogen based floating ability. No other race the Orions had seen had such features. The Orions studied these creatures for centuries, applying many concepts (related to the races physiology) to useful technologies.

The Orions did not know what they were getting themselves into, studying these creatures, but not realising that the creatures were studying the Orions. The Orions couldn't tell when there was a Nocias floating by, watching keenly. Because of this the Nocias knew that the Orions had captured some Nocias, who were being experimented on. Of course, being scientist, the Nocias believed that they were apart of the Orion research effort, they considered that advancing Orion research was as good as advancing their own research. Through all of this, the Nocias became extremely fascinated with other races, found uses for their invisibility and gained valuable research techniques, observed from the Orions.

Now hundreds of years have passed and the Nocias have started developing space based technologies (like the Orions had), so now a new opportunity had arisen, to explore space and study other races.

Race Attributes
Advantages
-Very good Research
-Generate a small amount of research, no matter what job they are doing
-Very good Spying
-Good mining (using natural hydrogen propulsion)

Disadvantages
-Slow population growth

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Krikkitone
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#7 Post by Krikkitone »

Setinon

Intro-basically a race of sentient microscopic cells... To distinguish from a number of other 'micro cell type' races here however they are Individually sentient, they do not form group brains, etc.

Homeworld-Swamp: a world with a dense atmosphere and fairly dense biosphere, Yrarbil's many forms of life spawned multiple parasites, viruses, and incredibly complex forms of genetic defense against such. One such form eventually became sufficiently complex in its responses to genetic and chemical assault that it became effectively intelligent with proteins and nucleic acids taking the place of neurons of the more standard minds of sentinet organisms.

Physical Description-Technically, ~1 mm across with multiple sub subcompartments and structures (sort of the next step past eukaryotic cells) However, in game terms, when they interact with other ,ie macroscopic, races they use a biological construct that is a highly simplified semi-humanoid... the nature if which will be different based on the type of interaction expected.. so a 'diplomat' would likely have large simple eyes, simple ams and legs... ears/mouth modified for communication only.

Society-Setinon society is based on two factors, firstly their strongly individualistic, defensive nature, and secondly their contrasting need to cooperate to deal with any of the outside world. (as the typical communicator is actually a construct requiring thousands of operators and the financial backing of millions to construct). The population of their homeworld would be well into the quadrillions, meaning there are many layers of connection between any two Setinon. Colony ships routinely drop poulations of a few billion consisting of several semi-independent Nation-state equivalents as 1 population unit. Therefore Setinon society is best summed up as highly complex with multiple interacting channels of power that may change weekly.

History-The Setinon equivalent of the Industrial Revolution was the development of structures (all initially biological in nature) that allowed them to interact with the macroscopic world. It was these that allowed their 'cities' to expand from populations of a few thousand and centimeters across to populations of trillons spanning a few kilometers.

Effects-Due to their fear of the strange nature of the macroscopic world, as well as the fear of macroscopic races of 'germ people' they have
-Diplomatic penalties

however, the novelty of such differences gives them a
-Trade bonus

The fact that they farm by interacting on a cellular scale with their crops means that they get a strong
-Farming bonus
[possible terraforming/environment bonus as well]

given that a spy team can insert literally as a fly on the wall, and that it's pretty hard to insert deeply into their society.
-Spying bonus


-Industry penalty? given their unfamiliarity with the macroscopic world


-Cybernetic ?.. since their 'food' needs are mostly for supplying their standard of living.. a big 'house' etc. which needs minerals too, and they can repair their ships on a Very small scale.

-Ground combat bonus? since all their infantry are actually small scale biological battleoids.. and their ships are hard to board

-Social change bonus (costs less/takes less time, etc.)
-Unrest Penalty (Independence)
Last edited by Krikkitone on Sat Feb 14, 2004 5:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Krikkitone
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#8 Post by Krikkitone »

Egassem

Intro-Living nuclear powered Islands, super massive crystalline amoebas, that live in and subsist on lava


Homeworld-Inferno, a world so large and close to its sun that it is wracked with tidal and geological heating, as well as the more conventional solar radiation, large 'oceans' of liquid rock cover most of the surface.


Physical Description- Egassem are several kilometers across and have no fixed shape, they are capable of operating multiple instuments at once through custom formed appendages. Egassem are incredibly slow capable of moving at most a several meters an hour. This is neccesary as they strip an area of resources (particularly available fissionable materials) as they move on. They reproduce by budding, releasing a young that is a mere hundred thousand tons, and somewhat more mobile.

Society-Egassem society is essentially feudalistic, with each Egassem individual being one 'fiefdom'. In practice on the homeworld, a series of Overlords have a fair degree of power. Individuals are highly concerned with Wealth, even those of a more contemplative nature are typically those who have significant amounts saved. The fact that Egassem are typically long-lived (effectively ageless) means that they are highly conservative, even though they are ambitious.


History-With the development of Heavy Industry, Egassem were able to stop moving and use advanced tools to extract their needs from the earth. This led to an over all expansion of size rather than population, and the beginning of border wars, as mature Egassem fought each other to get access to more resources for growth. Eventually series of treaties and agreements resulted in the development of governments. These however remained limited in their range (typically it was an alliance of a few bordering individuals to stop anyone of them from attacking another)

The development of means of 'swimming' through the lava promoted a new wave of wars and consolidations, and soon all Egassem had small armies of remotely controlled 'subs' that flew through the lava. This might have locked down development, but the formation of larger scale governments also led to reinvigorated reach for resources. Eventually technology was developed that allowed colonization and exploitation of the continents, this led to a final increase in population, and the return of young into society provided new competition.

Once the continents had been developed, it soon became a short jump to space. Of course manned space flight required some truly advanced technologies to lift even infants into space, but once developed, The Egassem's acquisitive nature soon prevailed and they prepared to colonize their star system.


Effects-

Ground combat toughness bonuses, and evasion/movement penalties given that individuals are massive fortresses that live in lava, and even small unpiloted vessels are typically the size of aircraft carriers..(except of course for aircraft themselves)

Lithovore
they feed off of fissionables, an insignificant amount is needed

slight Spying penalty,
they don't have the same grasp of interpersonal relationships as most species

slight Diplomatic, strong Trade bonus,
they do however understand relationships between states very well (as they effectively are states)

Ship combat penalties (while a battleship is typically a one-man operation, the improvement in 'crew' coordination is offset by poor ship to ship coordination and their unfamiliarity with concepts of movement)

Industry bonus,
given that they both work and own their factories, the economic bonuses are immediate

High G? Large HW? Rich HW?
Last edited by Krikkitone on Sat Feb 14, 2004 5:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Krikkitone
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#9 Post by Krikkitone »

4 ideas (figured I'd put 'em in one post for posting efficiency)

RIMEKH

Introduction - The Rimekh are a race that has devoted itself to the principle of eugenics as a solution to medical and social problems.

Homeworld - a Toxic world where the primary liquid is concentrated nitric and sulfuric acid. Fortunately for the natives, the planet is far enough from its star that even the enhanced greenhouse effect doesn't heat it up enough to dry the planet out.

A reason for leaving the home planet - The Rimekh see themselves as the natural rulers of the universe. They plan to take other races and put them in their proper place (as part of either an 'enlightened' and 'cultured' Rimekh empire or its history books)

Physical description - The Rimekh are ~1.5 meter tall grayish centaurs...except their head is sort of like those of the movie 'Aliens' (no eyes, just a mouth at the end) and their legs are more feline or saurian than equine having several large toes that make for somewhat better climbing than running.

Social Structure - Rimekh society was strongly shaped by their appreciation for the effect of genetics, and serious concerns about the risks of genetic engineering. They therefore have a long-standing policy of eugenics. All births are done through a form of IVF and an individuals gametes are only used after they have lived their entire life (such that their whole lifespan can be evaluated). Those individuals with the highest 'fitness' (as defined by a combination of government bureaucracy and the individual parents who will take the child) have their gametes used to produce children for parents that adopt. Most xenosociologists note that this tying of the state and society into the reproductive decision actually has more impact on the nature of Rimekh society than the genetic changes it has encouraged.

History - The Rimekh were at their Industrial Revolution when the Orions came. The concept of evolution, and even more so genetic engineering as practiced by the Orions took their society by storm. With significant advances in medical technology they began massive genetic engineering improvement programs. Unfortunately, a number of these had significant sidefeects that weren't detected until several decades (and sometimes generations) into their introduction among the general populace. Concerns about 'contamination of our societal fitness' resulted after several high level individuals showed signs of strange mental instabilities. This led to the adoption of increasingly rigorous controls and the final elimination of private reproductive genetics, in all forms. This was a period of bad relations with the Orion empire as well because they were seen as making the Rimekh dependent on them. Eventually that rift was healed as the Rimekh began to believe they had regained a measure of control of their genetic culture. However, they always felt that they dealt with the Orions as equals, or even superiors as they were now 'naturally' better rather than being dependent on technology. The fact that their state survived the fall of the Empire more or less intact (emphasis on the less, rioting was only controlled through increasing the brutality of the regime for a century or so) allows them to feel that their superiority now entitles them to the galaxy.

Race Attributes - The Rimekh are indeed well evolved for the society they live in. As they live in a relaively rigid bureaucratic state they have bonuses to
Trade
Diplomacy
Spying

and penalties to
Combat

They also have a penalty to growth due to the cumbersome nature of their reproduction


IRGA

Introduction - The Irga were the result of an Orion experiment into complex genetic engineering and the long term biological evolution of societies, it failed beyond their wildest dreams.

Homeworld - Noisiloc is 100% covered with water, to an average depth of 20 km. While there is still vastly complex geological topography, it is dependent on pressure differences between areas rather than difficult mountains to climb.

A reason for leaving the home planet - Exploration, (as well of a mix of the standard power, money)

Physical description - Noisiloc life has a highly modifiable character to its besic genetic structure and development. Due to this, most Noisiloc organisms are capable of degrees of guided metamorphosis with changes that are passed on in some degree to their offspring. This is partially due to their basic biochemistry and partially due to Orion meddling. The Orions were incredibly curious as to what a process of highly Lamarkian evolution would do. The results of the changes they made astonished them. They had manipulated most of the life forms on some areas of the planet, and on another they had only manipulated some near sentient organisms up to sentience (as well as enhancing the Lamarkian nature of their genetics). Within 1000 years nearly every form of non-tiny animal life on the planet was extinct, having been replaced by one form or another of the Irga, or a few small symbionts that had derived from the supposedly isolated area (which were able to biologically keep up with the changing nature of technological society). To make an already long story short there is no single physical description for an Irga, they represent a spectrum of subspecies with sizes from 10 kg to 10 tons, metabolisms ranging from feeding on geothermal bacteria to plant life from the upper layers of the ocean. The one most likely to be encountered are the 'Diplomats' who have a relatively large head, and four 'leg-arms' each having 5 large 'fingers' (about 1/3 th length of the whol 'leg arm' and thick enough for them to walk on the tips, but flexible enough to be used for manipulation.) An individual Irga will slowly change their physiology over time through simple adaptation as well as conscious effort, so career soldiers, workers, and bureaucrats will have fairly predictable appearances based on what their job is.

Social Structure - Irga society is highly diverse and democratic. This is partially due to the trully different nature of their societal groupings, as well as their flexible nature. The fact that some of their people are born to be significantly better as an underground worker, but could over the course of about a decade become a good orbital worker, means that differences are significant enough to be appreciated, but not divisive enough to tear them apart. They did do this earlier, there were nations of various subspecies, all constantly at war. When this phase of their development finally exhausted itself, the resulting society was still highly militaristic.

History - The presentient species the Orions modified into the Irga did not have a very complex society (even for near sentients) so as they spread, thousands of seperate tribes emerged, often with unusual physical features marking the differences between them. Some of those tribes were able to retain the use of the crude technology Orions had given to accelerate their development, and rapidly gained the advantage over those that didn't. Eventually kingdoms of various dominant sub species grew up each often have some regional or economic niche, some lived underground, others in deep trenches, others in mountains, others actually swam through the seas. These subspecies could often retained their differences even in the warrior classes so you could tell easily when the High Princes of the Plains were battling the Cold Tribes from the Mountains. Eventually, they began to work on alliances among different subspecies and that provided an advantage to those alliances for multi terrain and combined arms operations. The autocrats that made these alliances, often put personal power plays over the good not just of the alliances but of their own people. This led to series of revolts against autocratic governments and leave the people very mistrustful of government activity, but relatively enamored of war, for the only major violent conflicts in the alliance period was the overthrow of the corrupt leaders of individual subspecies.

Race Attributes -

Tolerant (of a wide range of environmental conditions (distance doesn't matter as much for EPs)/pollution)
(due to their ability to adapt)

Combat Bonus
(due both to society and their ability to self-modify)

Research Bonus
(due to their ability to more directly experience things and work with a wide array of equipment)

Growth Rate Penalty
(Medical Care is good but expensive due to the variety of physiologies and the complications from their modifiable developmental structure are significant so parents often only have a few children, and make sure those survive)

Farming Penalty
(Their Ocean HW is not terribly productive, so even though they are rather efficient farmers in that environment, their techniques are rather specialized)

They tend to create larger amounts of rebels/militia than normal (whether against invading armies or a foreign government, or thier own if it gets annoying enough)





REPLICONS

Introduction - The Replicons are a race of sentient self replicating robots

Homeworld - Cisarruj is a heavily irradiated planet with a profound mystery about it. The planet is dominated by a wide variety of autonomous self replicating machines.

A reason for leaving the home planet - Population pressure, more resources are needed to support the populations of the Replicon Empire

Physical description - The Replicons look like a 3m tall robotic spider with wings. The wings are actually highly efficient solar panels that fold out to a relatively large area, the 'abdomen' is actually the 'industrial processing center' where replacement parts and new Replicons are forged.

Social Structure - By the time the Orion Empire falls apart, the Replicons are still in a relatively primitive social structure. They do have a planetary government, but that is only because a few feudal lords discovered space travel as a convenient way of attacking people really far away. Their government is effectively feudal, due to some unusual effects that allowed them to reach space flight before achieving the nationstate/industrial revolution stage of development. Because of the wide variety of self-replicating machines on Cisarruj, most needs that are met by industry on other worlds are met by 'agriculture' or 'breeding' by Replicons. They end up without any actual 'Industrial Base' or even much of an understanding of technology other than what verious 'natural' parts and products can be used for. This means that their society is highly illiterate, most people passing on knowledge that their pappies taught them on how to skin a "creature's" titanium coat, just enough so that it could grow it back or how much uranium ore to feed a reprocessing reactor if it was giving bad aluminum. Most things that normal 'developed' societies would expect are only present in the lord's estates, the remainder of society looks like something out of a post-apocalyptic novel.

History - No one really knows. Well there are the recorded histories of who went to war with who when, and this is actually significant when dealing with the formation of the Cisarruj Empire. However, most simply reads like any other world's pre industrial history periods of powers large and small waxing and waning. The Mystery of the Replicons, however is in their prehistory. Did a sentient race assemble them as an experiment maybe, or were they some type of accident (an industrial development project left unsupervised) did their creators simply leave and forget about them, or did their creators meet a worse fate possibly at the hands of those beings they created. Supposedly the Orions would have investigated this, It is vaguely known to other races that the world was interdicted for research reasons, and the Orions supposedly would know how to look for traces of previous life forms consistent with an Irradiated world (or a world that might have been modified to become Irradiated, as that transition has been noted in some planets with weapons sufficient to destroy magnetic fields and blow off atmospheres). If there was any evidence of this, or if the Replicons were the Orions' own experiment (which is possible, Replicon histories only date back to about several hundred years after the Orions became a truly technologically advanced race (from the stories that remain of the Orions). In any case, even if the Orions knew, it is truly a mystery now.

Race Attributes -
Growth Rate .. Maximum balanceable
Artifact HW (bonus to research on HW)

Strong Penalty to Research,
Moderate Penalty to Industry
more Unrest /disorder than usual (because they have a primitive society)




GEORGE

Introduction - George is a single Telelpathic entity that consists of multiple mobile telepathic transmitter/receiver/sensor/manipulators

Homeworld - George's world (that's the name) is a large cold world with oceans of liquid CO2, and an atmosphere of N2.

A reason for leaving the home planet - maybe curiosity, maybe its a fad he's going through, possibly to deal with the traumatic experience of losing the Orions and a whole bunch of knowledge along with it.

Physical description - To deal with George you deal with one of the 'units' that make up George, something that looks like a 2.5 m long, 0.5 m tall centipede except with a far smoother skin, and a cluster of about 6 tentacle/antenae at the front for manipulation (they are also used as for communicating in sign lanquage as the units have no normal means of communication other than with each other telepathically. (VERY IMPORTANT NOTE, George's telepathy only works for and on George's units, but it works over interstellar distances... instantly)

Social Structure - There isn't any, as far as anyone can tell. George is a single individual where the left hand always knows what the right hand is doing. To races ruled by George, it is like having a whimsical dictator.

History - George has been around a Long time. Important things in his life that he still remembers were the discovery of trains so he could move stuff around easier, and meeting other people (Orions) Geoge never really recovered from the shock of this and it was made even worse by their sudden dissapearance, which also coincided with a massive disruption to George, causing some significant memory loss (aside from the usual drop off with time).

Race Attributes -
0 Rebels for any of George's units under George (not a George, but their original George) Unrest for George's units under George creates decreased work output over All of George. (Unrest is averaged over all George's units under George, and the Unrest he feels leads to him resting to make it up to himself)

Slight Bonus to
Industry
Farming
Mining
(George is very good at organization, and is super intelligent)

Neutral
Research, Combat
(both require enough original thinking or dealing with others that George's efficiency and massive intelligence just balance out his weaknesses)

Penalties to
Diplomacy
Spying
Trade
(George still hasn't developed many social skills)
Last edited by Krikkitone on Sat Feb 14, 2004 5:48 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Krikkitone
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#10 Post by Krikkitone »

the 'centaurs' (Rimekh I think) yeah, head, 2 armed torso , four legged rest of body (tail optional)

Irga I assumed they were primarily bottom walkers (except for those that gave up the ability to walk altogether) but of course most could probably swim somewhat... the real restriction would be pressure, since moving more than a couple km or so up or down, would have bad effects on a whole bunch of functions.

George, yeah, basically like the parts of a body (which is basically it George is a single disconnected individual.. some of his actions are probably unconscious, but I'd assume he could concentrate on and coordinate a Whole bunch of things at once)..

I'm not quite sure how they'd reproduce, but... it doesn't matter too much as it has no real impact on their behavior or mechanics. (either asexually or by standard methods would be fine.. asexually probably better).. actually for george I can't think of a good reason for him to have evolved naturally, maybe from some type of ant colony equivalent, where you got better and better communication.. The problem is that his very structure would tend to ...
Actually flash idea.. reproduction is through the standard method and the reason that the trait developed is that it provided a means of selection (telepathic mates selected other more telepathic mates because it was a broad means of communication, ass well as being able to cooperate more effectively and possibly force others to care for them to their own detriment.. once the capacity got good enough, George was formed.. and has 'grown up' through the development of greater numbers and capabilities of his parts.. making George possibly millions of years old.. although forgetting an awful lot)



As for the Balancing, as you said that'll depend on our final values and mechanics.. If nothing else they should hopefully be balancable by maximizing some of the negatives and minimizing the positives. I'm sure other weaknesses could be thought of if necessary.

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Krikkitone
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#11 Post by Krikkitone »

2 Desert Dwellers as I realized there weren't any



QWERITAR

Introduction - The Qweritar are devious creatures that are the most well known example of solid-state life

Homeworld - Jikol is totally devoid of liquid water and the minimal amounts of solid water are far beneath the surface. However for the creatures that live on the surface this is ideal, large solar powered organisms crawl through the sand extracting needed minerals, and these creatures are attacked by swarms of more active creatures that devour them, their materials and their energy.

A reason for leaving the home planet - The Qweritar know there are others out there and they want to come to meet them, see what they are like, and manipulate them

Physical description - The Qweritar are solid state essentially organometalloid organisms that are based on an electronic metabolism. The process they use for ion transport through themselves is highly unusual, and was under study by the Orions. They Feed on the massive slow moving 'plants' that are the bottom of the planet's food chain. They look nearly exactly like some type of heavily beaked beetle, except for rows of small manipulators on their back and underside (this is their mouth and 'hands' the 'mouthparts' and 'legs' are used as weapons or to pass materials back to the manipulators). They have 4 sexes each of which contributes a unique part of the genetic code (so certain traits always come from certain parents) this leads to highly complex family structures.

Social Structure - Qweritar Society is controlled by an aristocratic oligarchy, and is complexly stratified. This means that the relations between any two levels of society is highly dependent on a variety of circumstances and that a member of one level can change their position in a variety of cases, all with at least a few prerequisites.

History - The dominant Qweritar culture was dominated by a vast empire at one point. That empire made a study of the various means to control its subjects. When a second empire arose in a distant but not distant enough land and posed a long-term challenge, the Old Empire began to strain, although even as it collapsed its remnants held on to and expanded the study of control, this time from weakness. Eventually the successor state wiped out both empires and after going through various phases of war and peace began to have an Imperial Renaissance. The dominant Qweritar culture then set up the precursor for the current oligarchy, which slowly but surely gathered power. It was given a major help when the Orions contacted it as it was just passing into the Information Age. The Orions provided valuable help to the Council in terms of allowing it to establish trade relations throughout the galaxy.

Race Attributes -
Bonuses to

Diplomacy+Combat excellent (skill + tactics, rather than natural speed or toughness)
(Both of the above are based on their heralding of all means of manipulation)

Spying and Trade good
(also the above)

Penalties to

Growth strong (Complex reproductive system, slow healing and growth)

Industry+Research (The natural world bores most of them, 'things' are considered low class)
(possibly Farming and Mining as well)



VERDE

Introduction - The Verde are a biotechnological experiment of a race that came before the Orions, most races consider them to have given rise to legends of space monsters

Homeworld - A Desert world, Zlewis is nearly totally devoid of life, on first glance. However, a few creatures noticably crawl through the soil feeding on the microscopic plants embedded in the sand.

A reason for leaving the home planet - Curiousity, acquisitiveness (these are about the same, Verde are substantial collectors)

Physical description - A marvel of biological engineering, the Verde are massive creatures capable of producing and manipulating complex gravitational fields, as well as producing a number of other effects thought to be unique to technology. They are unigue in the sense that they do not actually reproduce, and are in a sense like the workers of an ant colony. Or more appropriately the soldiers because they protect those that breed. A Verde begins its life as a soil worm, it grows to breeding size and begins to have young, as it continues growing slowly, its life ends in one of two ways, it either grows large enough to stop having young and metamorphoses into a full Verde, or it is eaten by a full Verde, them being the only large form of life left on the planet. A full Verde is approximately 100 meters long and rather like a bug-shaped body with the hide and head of a cat and the 6 legs replaced with 6 bat like wings, that can be used as legs, or somewhat as arms, and the tapering tail of a lizard. The wings and tail are best used in the atmosphere, athough out in space they apprently allow some ability to change orientation. Verde can actually travel through space, using complex manipulation of gravitational fields to power themselves, however, they do not go very fast for space travel, and it is only because of their ability to store large amounts of food that they can reach nearby planets.

Social Structure - Minimal to none, there are occasional great councils, but they are poorly attended, most Verde just pay some minimum of taxes in the form of protection money to be left alone.

History - again Minimal to None, Verde traveled to several of the nearby planets and found them relatively uninviting, (And were unable to colonize anyways, as they couldn't transport the young Verdes for food (or future breeding)).. They were examined by the Orions, and manipulated as others were, but the Orions primary interest in the Verde seemed to be in the race that had made them, of which there was little evidence, but not none, other than the Verde themselves.

Race Attributes -
Bonuses

Research (they are terribly curious collecters)
Tolerant (they are capable of surviving a very wide range of environmental conditions)
Environment (They tend to think long term)

Penalties to

Unrest (terribly independent)
Industry (not likely to work on large scale cooperative projects
Last edited by Krikkitone on Sat Feb 14, 2004 5:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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#12 Post by StratCaster »

I'm not a great writer or artist. Please help to add some detail and/or sketches!

Kruge - (Kr-ew-j)
Description: Doglike bipeds, long arms, hind-like legs.
Reason to expand into space: The thrill of the hunt
Homeworld: Jungle Planet
Attribs: Skillful fighters, excellent hunters(farming)
Soc Struct: Monarchy of 'noble' packs with one (usually female) leader. It is common to have the leadership challenged and is socially exceptable. It is seen as a way to protect the pack, having the strongest leader. Strength, cunning and honor is their way.

Olothian - (O-lo-thee-an)
Description: Peaceful & enlightened albeino race of artists, musicians and philosifers. Their bodies are frail and thin. They commonly stand 6-7 feet tall.
Homeworld: Lush and Temperate Planet
Reason to expand into space: Artistic discovery, inspiration, awe and wonder of the universe.
Atributes: Strong mental disipline. Telepathic. Physically very weak.
Soc Struct: Unification

Rill
Description: The Rillidae look like they belong to the Proboscidea (elephant) family but walk on 2 legs. With large ears that they keep back unless in danger. Blue-ish and sometimes green skin due to high consumtion of chlorophyl from plants. 4-5 feet tall.
Homeworld: Io, a Jungle Planet, Mineral Rich
Reason to expand into space: Pursuit of building, invention and a need for materials.
Attribs: Very mechanically inclined. A creative race with high work ethic. Not good at diplomacy, care little of what other races think, somewhat single minded. Infrasound abilities developed early in their evolution allow them to communicate over great distances.
Soc Struct: Monarchy. General reactions to a crisis/necessity is one of celebration as the populace comes together to problem-solve.


Pyroth - (Py-roth)
Description: Volcanic dwellers. Their exterior 'skin' acts more as armor and looks like rock. A high concentration of minerals provides an exoskeleton. Thin interior organic system runs throughout their bodies.
Atrribs: Very big and slow, and extremly strong. Very aggressive.
Reason for expanding into space: Dominance and Territory
Homeworld: Volcanic Planet
Soc Struct: Military Junta
Last edited by StratCaster on Sat Aug 21, 2004 7:48 pm, edited 2 times in total.
"The mighty warships of the Vl'Hurg Empire dived screaming upon the unknowing Earth, where due to a terrible miscalculation of scale the entire battle fleet was accidentally swallowed by a small dog." -Hitchhikers Guide

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Geoff the Medio
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#13 Post by Geoff the Medio »

Ents (or something else if that's copyrighted)
Inspired by Tolkien. Sentient trees, with an decentralized neural network throughout their woody trunk and branches.

There are a number of subspecies suited to various terran-like environments, depending on climatic factors such as rainfall, temperature and soil conditions where they originated. More recently, many additional subspecies of Ent have arisen due to technological advances which promoting a much greater degree of specialization.

Ents reproduce sexually by flowering, pollination and producing seeds, in a variety of styles depending on their native climate. A cutting of an ent is also viable if allowed to grow, and Ents are able to reproduce asexually in this manner as well. Seeds are viable after many years if unhurt, and remain dormant until germinated.

Ents live in social units known as groves, which in some ways act like a single organism, with the decentralized "brains" of each individual Ent merging to form a larger unified mind.

Capable of rapid growth when necessary, using stored energy to cause growth of runners at a rate measurable in meters per hour. runners may grow to several kilometers in length, depending on the size of the originating grove and the effort and energy put into growing them. The ends of runners may sprout new ents, creating a new cloned grove, or may carry seeds, creating a genetically unique individual at a new location. Ents are capable of growing hand-like dextrous manipulation vines, allowing use of tools (and making the Ents a viable interstellar colonizing species). These are nearly as functional as human hands, however require somewhat more care in use, as Ents lack the useful skill of vision through natural means (though video camera technologies have been developed more recently).

Ents have no need for aural or visual communication between Ents, as they generally connect runners to members of other groves, and share thoughts within groves naturally. Technological advances have allowed Ents to communicate over longer distances with radio and electric methods, as well as more advanced communication technologies. The advent of near-istantaneous electronic communication revolutionized Ent society, allowing unprecendent exchaange of thoughts between distant groves, however this has not replicated the complete sharing of thoughts within a grove on a larger scale.

Individual groves are generally task-oriented and rather specialized since the communications revolution. A grove might be a communications relay for the whole planet, a mining base, or a dedicated manufacturing or research facility. Each Ent ship is "crewed" by a single grove of ents.

Given its natural communal nature, Ents have never had any sort of internal civil war, and naturally began functioning as a larger collective group upon the discovery by a single grove of electronic communications. This discovery has prompted greated specializaition among different groves, however, allowing rapid progress of Ent technology and "society".

The roles of individual Ents in a grove are somewhat specialized as well, depending on their physical location within the grove and the grove's overall purpose. The majority of the Ents in a grove will at any given time act essentially like trees, photosythesizing and storing starch in their roots. Others will engage in grove-purpose dependent acts, such as manufacturing with vine tendrils, functioning as central nodes within the grove neural net to improve research efforts, or operating mining equipment. In some cases, individual ents must be separated from the grove for their task, during which time they operate indipendently, or while in electronic communication with the grove.

The main trunk and root system of an individual ent is basically immobile, however industrial methods and hydroponics have allowed some groves or individuals to move more freely since these technolgoies were discovered. Ents generally don't move much, however, and prefer to send runners to communicate with nearby groves or slowly move the grove over long distances. Very long distances, as in space travel, are ironically less of an issue, as the environment of the grove itself moves, in the ship, rather than the grove having to actively engange in more traditional movement methods.

Different subspecies are less compatible mentally and metabolically, so rarely form groves, compared to Ents of the same subspecies. This can be a limitation on ships, where the disparate tasks that need to be accomplished require a variety of subspecies to work together. Ents are working to overcome this problem while exploring the galaxy.

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Geoff the Medio
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#14 Post by Geoff the Medio »

Gaseous Sentience / Gasbags

A partial symbiosis of two dissimilar species, one in control, but in many ways dependent on the other. Consists of:

a) Sentient gas-phase entity. Not so much a race, as a self-propegating "infection" of space nebulas and gas giant planets. They exist as delicate and complicated energy patterns in clouds of hydrogen and trace elements.

b) Unintelligent sack-like "gasbags". A thin skinlike layer enclosing a volume of mostly hydrogen and trace gases. The skin is a complex, flexible and durable polymer secreted by a highly evloved species of bacteria-like micro-organism. The sacks are kept lighter than the "air" they inhabit by constant active transport of hydrogen through the sack wall by another species of bacteria (itself forming part of another symbiosis). By staying buoyant, the gasbags keep their bacterial makers and riders in their native and habitable regions of the gas giant atmosphere they live in. Gasbags are not "alive" in the sense we may know, but are able to reproduce by budding, and their bacterial manufacturers are able to evolve.

After the nebula inhabited by the gaseous sentience organism came into contact with the system and gas giant inhabited by the gasbags, the nebular consciousness tried to "infect" the nice dense gas of the giant's atmosphere. Finding it too contaminated with other elements, however, the infection nearly died out, until the consciousness came into contact with an early gas-bag organism. The infection's essence was transported into the gasbag by the bacteria maintaining it, and when inside, found a rich and nearly-pure volume of hydrogen in which to flourish.

After analyzing its new environment, the gaseous consciousness was pleased, and began to exert control over the bacteria maintaining its home. The size of the gasbags was increased form their initial naturally "evolved" size of less than a meter, to a much larger size... or range of sizes, between ten and one hundred meters across in some cases.

Having for the first time, a solid surface and access to another living organism with a more physical presence, the gaseous consciousness also began to direct the evolution of the bacteria maintaining its shells to other tasks. Carbon, Nitrogen and other elements were extracted from the gas giant's atmosphere by bacteria on the surface of the gasbags, while the consciousness resided inside, safe from the contamination.

Eventually the gasbags developed tougher skins, as well as primitive manipulable appendages, produced out of the elements extracted from the gas giant. This allowed the gaseous consciousness to control the motion of the gasbags to a great degree, allowing them to explore down lower in the gas giant atmosphere, as well as higher, to the edge of space from which they had originated.

Eventually, very tough gasbags were constructed, which were able to withstand the forces of a rocket-like reaction of elements in lower segments, allowing the gaseous enetities to propell their new gasbag homes compeltely out of the atmosphere of their gas giant home, and into orbit, where they went directly to the icy and rocky rings of their gas giant. The same rocket-toughened gasbags were also sufficient to contain the rarefied hydrogen of the gaseous entities against the vacuum of space.

The rocks and ice of the rings provided ample sources of both hydrogen, oxygen and other elements, allowing the gaseous entities to begin directing the construction more advanced technological versions of their gasbag homes, while still maintaining their own existance.

The planet-dwelling gaseous entities were then also finally able to rejoin their nebula-dwelling ancestors, who took quite warming to the advantages of the solid shells that their progeny had devised. The combined thought power of a whole nebula of gaseous entities, inspired by the new solid-state chemical reactions just then was exposed to, also began to mine the asteroids in great quantities, and discover new profound forces and powers of the universe, allowing it to construct spacecraft based around asteroids and begin colonizing the galaxy.

The "race" is now capable of living in either nebulas or gas giants, and has a wide variety of gasbag shells it can grow for various purposes.

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#15 Post by Geoff the Medio »

Amorphous Metallic

T1000-like artificial lifeform. Physically consists of a shapeless semiliquid metal that can change shape and assume solid or liquid form at will. Is at home on Inferno planets, and is immune to radiation or many "toxic" chemicals. Are not at home in environments with free oxygen (like terran), which can damage the metallic alloys of their "body" (much like toxic or inferno would damage humans).

Amorphous metallic beings are able to generate electrical power from heat gradients on inferno planets, or by absorption of a broad spectrum of electromagnetic radiation (light).

The ability to change shape at will is very useful for amorphous metallic beings, as they are able to quickly fashion any simple tool they need out of the material of their own "body". They are also able to work in very tight enclosures, and can form as many appendages as are necessary for a particular job.

The lifecycle of amorphous metallic beings is fairly simple. They can reproduce at any time by splitting "budding", which essentially creates a new small amorphous being out of part of the body of the old one. They grow by grinding apart metallic ore rock, and extracting the valuable metals chemically inside their body, leaving the remnant rocks as waste. Older amorphous beings eventually grow more rigid and less flexible with time, eventually becoming essentially unable to function. Before this happens, they generally commit suicide by extinguishing the internal electric impulses that form their consciousness. When doing this, they generally assume a useful solid shape which will aid their race after they die. This could be a structural girder, or a part of a spaceship, or a drill head. A given amorphous being will generally assume a form for its death that somehow represents some aspect of its life or personality.

The process of budding actually speeds up the aging process of amorphous beings, as the more flexible fluid portions of their "body" are given to the budded young, while the parent retains its more inflexible material.

Newly budded amorphous beings have all of the knowledge of their "parent", however are much smaller and do not inheirit the "skill" of their parent. "Skill" in this case means the ability to quickly and accurately assume useful or intricate shapes. This "skill" needs to be relearned for each budded young over its life.

Each amorphous being is a unique individual from the moment of its budding. It is budded with a personality similar to, but simplified and immature compared to that of its parent. Over its life, it will change and acquire and develop a unique personality of its own. There are no significant special connections between parent and young after budding.

As the young gets older and gains skill, it also grows by breaking down rock ore, allowing it to tackle larger tasks, though this very growth eventually leads to its own death, as above.

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