Neospace- Races

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Player Character (PC) Races:

These are the races in known space at current that are allowed as races for characters. This list may get additions in the future as more minor races make themselves present, but as of current these cover the major races of Neospace.

Humans:

Homeworld: Terra in the Sol system

Avg Height: 5.5-6.5’
Avg Weight: 90-250 lbs
Avg Lifespan: 90-120 years
Climate: Prefered temperate, but can adjust to any climate

Physical description: Humans are bi-pedial beings, evolved from primates on Terra. Humans lack the thick coat of fur, tails, and other features of their primitive primate ancestors.

Notes: Humanity remains the driving force behind the massive Terran Confederation, and this means that Humans can be found throughout the known galaxy. Humans are an adaptable and versatile species and this has made them able to adapt to and survive in almost all environments inspite of having very little in the way of natural or genetic enhancements. Competitive and expansionist in nature, the Confederation strives to spread humanity to every corner of the galaxy.

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Recoms

Homeworld: Sol. Recoms are genetically engineered human-hybrids

Avg Height: 5-6.5’
Avg Weight: 75-300 lbs
Avg Lifespan: 90-120 years
Climate: Varies
Physical description:

Recombiants aka “Recoms” originate from genetic engineering splicing both human and animal genes together to produce many different species of “Anthromorphic” humanoids.

Most recoms share both human and animal traits, being covered in thick pelts of fur, scales or feathers along with having the other traits of their hybrid species such as large, pointed ears, extended muzzles and tails. Like humans they are bipedial and most have five fingered hands with opposable thumbs.

Notes:

Recoms were originally created as the product of late 20th century genetic engineering on Terra, developed by the government for military and scientific research alike; and were quickly pressed into commercial ‘use’ including forced labor and military service due to their genetically enhanced qualities.

In the century to follow, Recoms fought and earned their sovereignty in a planet wide civil war fought by both recombinant and their sympathizers to free them from the dark era of slavery and indentured military service.

Recoms are still bred to this day but have the same right as all humans, and other races of the confederation; and make up the second largest part of the population of the Confederation, being as widespread as Humanity itself

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Androids

Homeworld: NONE

Avg Height: Generally human/ recom height
Avg Weight: 300-750 lbs
Avg Lifespan: N/A
Climate: Any climate, even those inhospitable to organic life.

Physical description: Most androids are made to resemble humans or recombiants in appearance and height; the two races which most commonly indenture androids into service.

Notes: Since Androids are purely artificial, they are viewed to be lesser beings by most humans and recoms at best. In the worst situations, androids are often thrown into forced labor much the same as recoms were 300 years ago.

Not all androids are fully sentient, and are often pre-programmed with a limit of self-awareness and intelligence, and while there are some who claim that androids can evolve past their initial programming, most disregard this as pure myth and taboo.

Both the Selvans and Talosians have mixed feelings about the creation and use of androids, but for their own different reasons.

The Talosian’s technology with cybernetics is primitive at best, and does not include the technology to make fully sentient cybernetic lifeforms or advanced Artifical Intellegence processors small enough to fit in a humanoid figure; though cybernetic limb replacements are still common within the Republic.

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Selvans

Homeworld: Raiz in the Alpha Centauri system

Avg Height: 5-5.5’
Avg Weight: 75-125 lbs
Avg Lifespan: 170-200 years

Climate: The Selvan homeworld is a Class-O world with a temperate subtropical climate. They like their weather to be warm and humid, but can adapt to almost any climate, being almost as adaptable as humans.

Physical description: Selvans are "dinosaur"-like humanoids with short, stubby tails and large rounded muzzles. Altough they have the appearance of being reptilian, Selvans are warm blooded.

The Selven are the evolved descendents of pack-animals used by the Saurians millions of years ago. They bear no resemblance to those ancient ancestors, side from being dinosauroid; lizard-like features, with warm blood.

Selvans are slightly shorter then the average human or recom in height.

Notes:

Evolving on a world of islands, Selven society was, for a long time, tribal in nature. That tribal nature extends to this day and is present in their government, and the council of 13 elders that govern Raiz.

The Selven are an advanced race, with a mean tech-level above the standard of the Confed. They excel in the fields of medical technology, recreational and entertainment technology, and robotics. Their technology is very peaceful in nature, and usually has some use to benefit their society rather than to wage war.

The Selven helped Humans form the Confederation 200 years ago, and were very happy to make contact, previously thinking themselves to be the only form of life in the galaxy. Selven technology has helped catapult the art of space travel to its present state.

Though they are a founding race of the Confederation, they are happy keeping to their own star system, with few Selven venturing out of the system. Joining the Confederation military, while frowned upon by many, is not taboo, and is considered by the Council to be noble.

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Talosians

Homeworld: Talos IV (Talosia); Talos System

Avg Height: 5-7’
Avg Weight: 85-350 lbs
Avg Lifespan: 80-110 years
Climate: Temperate; longer haired “pedigree” of Talosians have higher tolerances to cold weather, breeds with shorter fur like Greyhounds have climate tolerances closer to humans.

Physical description: Talosians are a race evolved from wild, feral canine like humanoids of Talos IV. Thousands of years of selective breeding has evolved the species into many different “breeds" which paralled the evolution of domestic canines on earth.

While Talosians closely resemble domestic canine recoms, this is where the similarity ends. Talosians have no similarties to human genetics and are a true canine-humanoid xenos race.

Notes:

When the confederation first made contact with the Talosian race fifty years ago they were a pre-warp information age society. Thirsty for improved technology that would integrate and enhance their perfectionist society, the Talosians eagerly traded for the technology offered to them in first contact with the confederation.

Shortly after first contact, the Confederation was plunged into civil war, and what became a spark of technology in the Talosian’s hands became a blazing technology inferno.

In fifty years not only did the Talosians re-engineer and adapt the technology given to them by the confederation, but they were able to make significant improvements on confederation starship and computing technology.

This ranged from improved plasma and charged ion capital ship weaponry to advances in extended range albicure warp drive technology that allowed the Talosians to expand their empire without acess to the Saurian warp gates of the Confederation. Only recently have they been forced to negotiate with the Saurians for use of the jump gates with the looming threat of war with the Confederation.

[Fargo]

New PC race! Aren't we excited that something finally happened out here? Well fluff wise atleast.

Dragons need a place in Neospace and well, the Republic needs more then just Doggies in it I think. So after some thought and creative writing based on the discussion here is the result:

Wu Jen

The Draconic Wu Jen are a proud and culture-rich race from a system which resides within the Talosian Republic. They mix advanced technology with a culture rooted in mysticism and art. They are as industrial as they are cultured, and integrate the advanced technology given to them by the Talosians into their society and way of life.

The Wu Jen are master-crafters of exotic melee weapons. Vibroblades and Powered Swords crafted by the Wu Jen are the best in the known galaxy. Several more exotic and advanced melee weapons such as the retractable crystalline glassteel swords are made only by the Wu Jen.

Much like Talosians, Wu Jen have evolved as a varied race, though are still all genetically compatible. This came from natural evolution to the extreme and wide ranging climates on their homeworld, Xiang. Most of these variants are resistant and take an “essence” of one extreme condition; such as extreme heat in heightened volcanic areas (Fire), Extreme conditions in arctic areas of Xiang (Cold), Evolving from a nomadic society on one of Xiang’s large oceans (Water), Toxic environments such as swamps with deadly natural gases (Acid, poison gas), Areas of Xiang with heightened year-round thunderstorms and heavy winds (Lightning, Wind), etc.

Appearance: Wu Jen vary greatly in appearance but have some common features. They have long, prolonged snouts with sharp, serpent like teeth and thick, scaly hides. Some Wu Jen have wings, a throwback to their genetic ancestors and have limited abilites to sustain short flights, or are aquatic and can breathe both an oxygen based atmosphere and water.

They can vary in color from solid colors such as white, green, blue and black to metallic and even “crystal” like shades such as diamond, emerald, pearl, gold, copper, brass, and silver.

Wu Jen vary in size and composition ranging anywheres from five to eight feet tall and between 150 and 500 lbs.

Avg Lifespan: 190-250 years. Wu Jen have a natural ability to resist diease and age slower, therefore they have natural longetivity.

Homeworld: Xiang in the Yao Ren system.

Climate: Varies, but Extreme

[Kenoshi]

Not exactly a common PC race, but since I have a couple of characters of this species, I thought it would be a good idea to write about them a bit. Not to say that others can't play this race, but due to their secretive and paranoid nature they do represent a particular challenge to play.

Imaja

Homeworld: Tarlec.
Avg Height: 5' 6" - 7' tall.
Avg Weight: 150 - 280 lbs
Avg Lifespan: 180 - 300 years. Since they are engineered beings, the Imaja are largely resistant to disease and the ravages of age. The technologies that they possess on Tarlec enable them to turn back the clock every few decades and add years to their lifespans, but without that periodic maintenance they will eventually grow old. The Nexus is the ultimate arbiter of how old they are allowed to get; at times it will determine that an individual has accumulated enough knowledge that he is more useful as a part of the Nexus, and is absorbed into it permanently.
Climate: The Imaja are highly adaptable to extreme climates, capable of surviving in environments that would be hostile to human life. Their actual preferences lean towards warm and dry climates, with an Earth-normal atmosphere.

Physical description: By all accounts Imaja are not a result of natural evolution, but seem to be the result of the deliberate re-engineering of other life forms into a morphology that is deemed to be ideal by their kind. Their appearance overall seems to speak of a biomechanical nature; it is easy to mistake their kind for being some sort of biological android.

Their bodies are humanoid in design: from the neck down they look human, except for the presence of claws instead of nails, and that their skin is thick and black, appearing as if some sort of stylized wetsuit. Their heads are more variable, some looking human, others looking like some sort of animal. There seems to be no rhyme or reason behind the kind of form their heads take, no indication of heredity or assigned roles within their society. Their eyes are always red, seeming to glow with an inner radiance; they lack tails and they are always completely hairless. They do have distinct genders but their reproductive organs are internalized. Because of the rather self-sufficient design of their bodies, they have little need for clothing, and they wear little if any unless there is a particular reason for it.

Origins

The Imaja are not so much a naturally evolved species as they are a society of scientists and scholars who collectively serve a hyper-dimensional entity that they refer to as "The Nexus". What the Nexus is, exactly, isn't clear even to them, but apparently it is a being that exists in a higher dimension and has a limited ability to interact with our own universe, so it employs the Imaja to explore the universe, conduct experiments, and gather data for it. In return it shares its esoteric knowledge with them. The Imaja have existed as a society for thousands of years, occasionally being referenced in the ancient writings of the Tairez and the Saurians.

Culture

The Imaja are a democracy in the truest sense, voting on all matters as equals. They do have elders who are greatly revered, but their elders are seen as guides rather than leaders.

While they venerate the Nexus in an almost religious sense, they do not regard it as a god....they don't believe in any gods....they merely regard it as a more advanced life form that they can learn from. The Nexus regards them as tools used to explore a universe that it cannot directly interact with. Its ultimate purpose in wanting to explore our universe is unknown.

The Imaja don't seem to change much, culturally or technologically, instead spending much of their energies on their esoteric studies. They are also very isolationist and secretive, preferring that most other people have no awareness of their existence, allowing them to conduct their research in peace. Technologically they seem to not be innovators so much as they assimilate knowledge brought to them by new initiates.

In terms of personality, they come across as cold, remote, lacking in empathy, and emotionally detached from their surroundings. They are typically so wrapped up in their studies that they give little thought to much else, including social interaction. They do have artistic expression in their culture, but with a preference for the heavily symbolic and esoteric.

Notes on Tarlec

The Imaja's homeworld of Tarlec is itself displaced from this universe, existing in a pocket dimension that serves as an island amidst a sea of unstable space. The planet is rocky and arid, having only a red dwarf as a sun. Not that they often see their sun, or the planet's two small moons, for the atmosphere is thick and constantly roiling with heavy vapors that obscure any sight of the sky. Vast machinery exists within the planet that is responsible for generating much of its own heat. This machinery also enables the Imaja to open wormholes from their world to locations across the known universe and beyond, allowing them great freedom to explore.

Physical Capabilities

Their bodies function as natural hazmat suits, allowing them to survive in extreme climates without need for additional equipment. Their rubbery skin has excellent insulating properties, as well as screening out toxic chemicals. They can tolerate temperatures ranging from 98 C to -60 C, though only for as long as their energy reserves can power the organs needed to balance their internal temperature; their core temperature is 37 C, and while it can vary more than that of a human, it's not by much. Their bodies can withstand pressures up to one hundred atmospheres, as well as the vacuum of space...given time to adjust. Sudden changes in pressure can still be damaging.

They must breathe oxygen, but they can function with low oxygen levels for an extended time, even if it is mixed with gasses that might be toxic to human lungs. While underwater, or in a vacuum, they can hold their breaths for several hours while engaged in light activity; specialized organs in their bodies scrub the oxygen supply in their blood, although this process consumes a great deal of their energy reserves. Their flesh is slightly denser than that of humans, the skin in particular serving as a light armor against small firearms; a drawback to this is that they are not buoyant in water.

All Imaja possess a small, round crystal, roughly the size of a marble, inside of their brains, located close to the pineal gland. The crystal functions as a short-range radio, utilizing electromagnetic radiation to allow a limited form of telepathy with other Imaja. Unaided the signal has a range of a couple of miles; on their homeworld there are towers that rebroadcast the signals, allowing them contact with each other anywhere in the world. Their drones, as well as their computers, feature similar crystals so they can be controlled remotely. The signal is electromagnetic in nature, close to microwave wavelengths, and can be blocked by physical shielding. The presence of the crystals does present a vulnerability: a strong feedback pulse along the specific wavelength that they use can cause a build up of electrical energy in the brain that is temporarily debilitating.

Reproduction

The Imaja are equipped to be able to reproduce naturally, but generally they do not. Their emotional detachment from one another may seem to be the reason for this, and certainly it has something to do with it, but the primary reason is their own stringent standards about who is allowed to be part of their society. They prefer to expand their numbers through the assimilation of outsiders who have been chosen for their intellect and creativity.

Defense Technology

Being largely a community of academics, they are not very skilled in combat. They have genetically engineered drones....insectoid beings that they shaped with their technology....that perform menial labor and see to the defense of their homeworld. The drones are obedient, in fact incapable of causing harm to their masters, and they are tactically very smart, if lacking any sort of free will or higher thought. The Imaja's primary defense is their isolation from the rest of the universe, and the secrecy with which they conduct their activities within the territories of other factions.