'Bout to drop

[cats]

Alrighty, everyone. I'm writing an experimental RP and I need some details on species. Some relative strengths, maybe a few weaknesses, quirks or unique characteristics, and a brief description. It's not likely that everything will be included for ease's sake. So far I have Trackuul, Batii, and Human. So don't include human unless there are significant differences between old-Earth humans and your subset.

For reference, the RP will be set in the latter half of the 3rd millennium, probably in the 2700s or 2800s.


Okay, everyone. I'm going to drop this steamy RP on you soon. Probably tonight. If not tonight, tomorrow. So if anyone has any suggestions, go ahead and out them now.

I currently have Human, Novan, Trackuul, Kylathan, and Batii and don't plan to add any more.

[ACH0225]

Strigiforme

Basic overview:
A species superficially appearing to be a large(2-3 meters) Terran owl, resulting in their name, the Strigiforme are a relatively xenophobic species. Internally, they are radically different from Terran owls, with radically different bone and organ structure, and larger brains. They possess no inclination for diurnal or nocturnal natures, and have roughly equal day/night vision. They have no upper appendages, instead having a keen sense of balance and using their lower talons to manipulate things, simplified in Strigiforme ships by most command consoles being on the ground. The Strigiforme are capable of short flights(1-5 km, average) and can hover for periods of time. Most Strigiforme are grey to brown, with the rare black Strigiforme, which is rare and extremely venerated for femininity, and occasional red Strigiforme.

Strengths:
Capable of flight
Larger than humans
Born with deadly weapons(talons)
Superior eyesight than humans
Longer lived than humans

Weaknesses:
Inborn xenophobia prevents easy diplomacy
Hollow bones break more easily
Lower radiation tolerance than humans
Slower on ground
Cannot operate most human or bipedal machinery

[Error]

Novans

Overview:
Externally almost identical to humans, the Novans are a subspecies resulting from genetic engineering and alterations. Novan anatomy is partly similar to human, although they possess four lungs and a partial redundant circulatory system.

The Novan immune system is considerably more adaptive and capable than moat species', often developing antibodies within days or even hours of infection. The redundancy circulatory system - serving all the major organs (but not limbs) - also has a significantly increased white blood cell count.

Psychologically, the species is something of an oddity; while often afflicted with varying mental illnesses (approx. 63% of the population), there is little, if any, debilitating effects resulting from that, and the Novans are one of the kost social species in the known universe.

Skin tone varies, but is predominantly pale; if it is an effect of living on Novus, or from genetic alterations, is unknown. Physically weaker than humans, they have difficulty moving normally in anything over .95g (Terran). However, they are almost ridiculously radiation-tolerant, being capable of surviving doses that would kill humans (albiet with sterility or minor cancers).

While the reason is not known, Novans also have a very high psionic birthrate - 98% - making it one of the most psionically-attuned species.

Strengths:
Very disease-resistant
Highly radiation-tolerant
98% psionic birthrate, 100% psionic population via genetic engineering
Generally more physically attractive than humans

Weaknesses:
Badly adapted to 'high' (normal) gravity worlds
Physically weak
High rate of mental illness (specifically schizophrenia)

[Professor Fenway]

Kylathans

Overview:

The Kylathans are a warm-blooded reptilian race. They existed many billions of years ago to the present, and no record of their civilization remains save for the few Kylathans that remain today, in isolated communities around the galaxy.

Much like Earth reptilian species, Kylathans are covered in a thick, scaly hide that is very flexible and resistant to damage. This external hide serves to protect the rather fragile interior of the Kylathans. They possess no rigid skeleton, instead having an internal network of strong and flexible supports that can bend, expand, and contract at will. This gives them extreme flexibility, and the ability to change their shape and fit into spaces no other sentient creature could. Kylathans evolved on a lower-gravity world, and thus can only tolerate up to 0.7 G comftorably without training or support. No Kylathan can survive over 1.5 G's of gravity for long, because they quite literally collapse. Their eyesight is above that of an average human's in terms of resolution, but they cannot see the colors red or violet, which morph into a darker orange or blue instead. Their hearing allows them to precisely place noises around them, but it does not have the range of human hearing. They are bipedal with 4 arms on their torso. They have an unusually small head, especially compared to other species, due to the special structure of their nervous system.

Their nervous system, rather than possessing a single 'brain' consists of a series of 5 smaller sub-units scattered throughout their body. These units all cooperate simultaneously and can operate autonomously, giving the Kylathans unprecedented reflexes compared to any other species. Unfortunately, due to the lack of a single controlling body, Kylathans can have up to 5 different personalities, affinities, and preferences based on which sub-brain is in control at a given time. They have intelligence equaling that of humans. The controlling sub-brain can be switched at will by only the most wise and skilled Kylathans; for others, the switches are semi-random and usually synchronize with sleeping cycles. Any number of the 5 sub-brains can possess psionic aptitude, but the Kylathan can only tap into it if a sub-brain with psionic aptitude is in control at that particular time. The loss of a sub-brain is not fatal, but a Kylathan will lose the personality, experiences, and talents of the lost sub-brain.

Kylathans are effectively immortal, thanks to an specialized immune system dedicated to finding and eliminating cancer arising from DNA damage. Unfortunately, the immune system is otherwise poor-equipped to deal with other threats, meaning that most long-term deaths are not from cancer, but from long-running infections that other species (like humans) would deal with very easily.

Most Kylathans are mottled green and blue, with each scale a different color, though other colors are known to occur.


Strengths:
-Flexibility
-Reflexes
-Malleable Form
-Effectively Immortal
-4 arms

Weaknesses
-Cannot generally survive on normal gravity worlds (though they LOVE zero gravity)
-Weaker structure compared to other creatures
-5 way split personalities in extreme cases, 2 way in most.
-Terrible at resisting disease
-At best, only psionically adept 1/2 of the time.
-Super squishy organs

I had these guys in my mind for a long time. Time to get them out.

[Shadowcatbot]

Nivanshae

Overveiw:

The Nivanshae are comparable to Humans mythology of the Arachne. However beyond the basic structure they are widely different. The Nivanshae have an eight legged lower body like that of a spider with long spindly legs, A torso structure sits on the front of the lower body and has four spindly arms with five smaller appendages on the end of each arm. The head is shaped like a sharp triangle and has four sharp mandibles for a mouth, Nivanshae will have four, six, or eight eyes and rarely ten, Half the eyes will perceive normal light while the other half perceive infrared light, They have no eyelids and their eyes are covered by a hard and clear material. They have four ears underneath a thinner exoskeleton on their head which can perceive a much wider range of sound frequencies then the normal human, The Nicanshae communicate in chittering like language which can enter frequencies unable to be heard by other species.
There entire body is covered in a exoskeleton and a minor skeleton provides support for their internal organs. They have three lungs chained together which clean away the poisonous gases that cover parts of their homeworld. They have a strong four chambered heart which pumps a thick redish-green blood through their body, This blood clots extremely fast to seal any damage to their exoskeleton or organs.
They are a nocturnal species with good nighttime vision on their regular eyes and have patches or stripes of bioluminescence on their exoskeleton.
Much like Terran spiders they are capable of producing a strong silk like substance and reproduce through eggs. Specific to the Nivanshae they remain as females until the need for a male arises for reproduction, This change is permanent.

Side note: 14% of the population is Psionic.

Strengths:
Good eye sight in both human ranges and infrared
Good hearing
Climbing abilities
Webspining abilities
Poisonous substance and gas resistance

Weaknesses:
Not very strong
Not very fast outside their own domains
Sensitive to very bright lights and loud sounds

[Prototype]

Skytherian

Basic overview:
Bipedal reptiles, similar size to humans. Unusual in that nearly every individual possesses some for of psionic ability. While the vast majority of the population cannot muster more than limited telepathy, every so often an individual may arise that possesses incredible Psionic abilities. In ancient times said individuals were hailed as gods by their culture, and while mortal they were known to use their abilities to extend their own lives significantly.

Because of the species widespread use of telepathy, communication is very easy between individuals, however when faced with a member of another species communication can become more difficult when the other individual possesses no psionic ability.

Scales are more durable than human skin, but not enough to provide any significant protection. Natural weapons may grow in the form of horns of talons, but are usually regulated or trimmed (as one would their nails or beard).


Strengths:
Near 100% of population with some psionic ability
Relatively long lifespan
Quicker movement than most species

Weaknesses:
Widespread use of telepathy has made conventional communication less necessary, communication with other species more difficult.
High psionic affinity leaves population vulnerable to psionic threats

[Ivan2006]

Uh, yeah, since the "originality or GTFO" rule isn't in place I'm still doing Mobians, tho less Sonic lore now.

Macaians are on average slightly over one meter tall, have distinct rounded heads and a feline-like snout combined with pointy, turnable ears, relics from their evolutional history as small game predators.
Their opposable thumbs come from hunting of prey living on trees.
Due to not suffering from a major catastrophic event that wiped out most of the species like it happened to the humans, they enjoy great genetic variety, they are also very psionic, with over 90% of the population consisting of psionics.
While their fur can take a variety of colours and patterns, bright colours, as some may rteport seeing on Macaians, are very rare and the result of a genetic mutation.
Living on a planet together with other sentients, specifically ape-like creatures similar to humans in many aspects, has led to them having an easy time accepting non-Macaians as sentients and xenophobia is quite uncommon. They are also, despite their small size, generally faster runners than humans (save for some exceptions e.g. a human sprinter) and due to their fur less reliant on clothes, which leads to a large ammount of nudity, with clothes being mostly used to adjust to non-ideal weather or extreme climate situations or as a status symbol among the upper class.
Anoher thing to note is that due tot heir size, using stuff made for Mobians is fairly hard for larger humanoids and vice-versa.
Their greatest weaknesses compared to humans is their lack of physical strenght, which, combined with their small size leads to Macaian firearms generally being weaker than human ones. (e.g. pistol-like calibres for assault rifles) and they also have a hard time dealing with excessively hot environments due to their fur (versus humans who just make special clothes for that situation).

[Archduke Daynel, PhD]

Zuguthians

Humans that were adapted to life on the jungle planet of Zuguth through genetic alterations in the past combined with some degree of selective breeding.

Strengths:
-Physically stronger than "regular" humans.
-On average more intelligent than "regular" humans.
-Basic human strengths (endurance, toughness, high healing rate, creativity, adaptivity).
-Favors diplomacy over aggressive acts.

Weaknesses:
-Relatively low psionic birthrate.
-High energy consumption.
-Favors diplomacy over aggressive acts.
-Basic human weaknesses (hypocrisy, delusional behavior, belief of racial supremacy).

[Vinyl]

Hexalani

Raised from birth to be the galaxy's best fighting force, over generations they've developed ingrained nationalism, ferocity, strength, and a type of homogeny.

Strengths:
- At least twice as strong as a Terran
- Intelligence is heightened, but focus is usually more on tactics
- Instilled belief of supremacy
- Often considered the most attractive type of human
- Aggressively competitive

Weaknesses:
- Sunburns easily
- Blinded by lights easily
- Instilled belief of supremacy
- Aggressively competitive
- Inexperienced in modern technology

[Error]

TIL Hexalani are bred to be mildly Luddite.

Huh.

[Vinyl]

Not wholly intentionally. It's just harder and more expensive to now.

Think of it like this, your security guards are armed with the best you've got, and you keep growing the force, but gradually, the best is more expensive and harder to get, until the 'best' you can give them is batons while the other guys have ray guns.

[Professor Fenway]

So while everyone else reduces their force to get ray guns, you just keep adding more guys to keep up because it's cheaper.

Got it.

[Vinyl]

Yes. Growing your force is pretty cheap when when they breed their child is born in servitude to you.

[Professor Fenway]

But, if you invest in science and tech, you aren't banging rocks together to make rayguns, you can get robots and such to do all the work for you for free, and make it cheaper and cheaper to make rayguns, meaning you have to expand your force exponentially to keep up, and eventually your rate of force expansion will dramatically exceed birthrate unless you have more tech.

The first step is making rayguns. The next is making it cheaper and actually useful.

[Vinyl]

We aren't trying to make rayguns. We're trying to make better batons while managing our massive force of security guards.