The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse; Red Ronin! Netsuko Nishimura! Rinako Saeki! Fujiko Yoshihara! Masaru Kido!)

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
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EternalPhoenix
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Re: The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse; Newest: The Icons Completed! On Break!)

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Davies wrote: Thu Dec 01, 2022 12:37 am Eh, probably. Then again, they did name our first satellite after a voyageur folk song. ("Alouette.") Sometimes the mystical spirit overcomes the Scottish banker.

("I see Canada as a country torn between a very northern, rather extraordinary, mystical spirit which it fears and its desire to present itself to the world as a Scotch banker." Robertson Davies. No relation.)
All right, as you're a Canadian...how's Borealian Vanguard?
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Re: The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse; Newest: The Icons Completed! On Break!)

Post by Davies »

EternalPhoenix wrote: Thu Dec 01, 2022 1:45 am
Davies wrote: Thu Dec 01, 2022 12:37 am Eh, probably. Then again, they did name our first satellite after a voyageur folk song. ("Alouette.") Sometimes the mystical spirit overcomes the Scottish banker.

("I see Canada as a country torn between a very northern, rather extraordinary, mystical spirit which it fears and its desire to present itself to the world as a Scotch banker." Robertson Davies. No relation.)
All right, as you're a Canadian...how's Borealian Vanguard?
... sounds good.

("Borealian" is actually a word. Who knew?)
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Re: The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse; Newest: The Icons Completed! On Break!)

Post by Jabroniville »

I Think I missed Gunsmith entirely so I gotta go back. Where did this team’s posts start?
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Re: The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse; Newest: The Icons Completed! On Break!)

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu Dec 01, 2022 4:38 am I Think I missed Gunsmith entirely so I gotta go back. Where did this team’s posts start?
The Champions start here, with Starman & Starwoman. Gunsmith is the entry between them and Megagirl.

The Icons as a whole start here, with the Overview. The first member posted is just below that, in Queenie.
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Re: Gunsmith I (Connor Morris)

Post by Jabroniville »

EternalPhoenix wrote: Tue Nov 08, 2022 7:41 pm Gunsmith I (Connor Morris)

Power Level: 11; Power Points Spent: 255/255

STR: +3 (16), DEX: +5 (20), CON: +3 (16), INT: +5 (20), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +3 (16)

Tough: +3/+7, Fort: +8, Ref: +14, Will: +11
Ah, okay- time to tackle the group's Batman- I missed this one! I see most of the skills are in order- I'm seeing a near-uniform +15 to all stats. Was that the limit with regards to PL back in the 2e? I forget. The "Combat Suit" is a pretty nice super-deal, enhancing him a bit beyond "regular guy" and making it more intrinsic to him than Batman's easily-removed Utility Belt. But the GUN definitely makes him stand apart- not a lot of gun-toting Silver Age guys (much less the controversy of there being a BLACK one). This effectively makes him a Green Arrow/Hawkeye as well.

The character is obviously too nakedly controversial to be in "real" 1960s comics, but that's what makes it fun to do in a retroactive story. And there's a bit of Spider-Man in there with the "public menace" rep and the frame-ups. His death reminds me kind of like the main dude in Night of the Living Dead- shot despite being innocent. Having a "Superman Revenge Squad" of rich, powerful, and evil people coming after him does make for an epic end- like you were such a good hero that your enemies all become fanatics devoted to your destruction.

The man does overall feel very much like a Marvel character, just pushed harder. Not so much hard to like as hard to impress- like his standards of behavior were so high that even other civil rights leaders couldn't impress him except for the top two. It seems his fellow heroes admired and respected him, as there's little to the contrary (and the possibility he helped train the Starkiddies).

Now I'm wondering where he found out how to put elemental darkness into his gun :).
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Re: The Icons Complete! On Break!

Post by Jabroniville »

EternalPhoenix wrote: Tue Nov 29, 2022 4:43 pm First. Please, tell me your favorites.
Hmmmmm... it's tricky, because Supermanalogues typically aren't my favorite. I usually roll my eyes and just gloss them over, even in settings I respect. But you did something different with the Starfamily so I dig them- like two sides of Superman in a married couple. Plus the tragedies of what happened to Starman. Alsea is maybe the most "out there" and unique type of the bunch, but Countess might be the most original overall. As a CHARACTER I think I found the most to like in Megagirl, oddly- just being inquisitive and going to the stars and such. Gunsmith might have been the most interesting character in a series of his own, and he's probably the most complex in terms of motivation & demeanor, and could provoke the most conflict within a team book, which is always important.

So I guess Megagirl & Countess, maybe?
Second. Please take a look at the OP and note which group you would like to see next. I'm working on some cosmic stuff and the Edgerunners right now, but I can switch gears if enough interest is shown. I can elaborate on each one if necessary, but they're reasonably self explanatory because creative names? What are those? :sweat_smile:
Of the groups I see there, probably the English guys, because I wanna see what you do with the stereotypes, or whether you ignore them entirely.

I mean, I see a lot of "Lady This" and "Knightly Guy That" and stuff, plus the Alchemist and other wizardry-related things, so I'm curious as to what you do with the tropes.

Terrifica's Rogues might be fun. Then I'd have to read her bio beforehand :).

Let's see... I see some cosmic "Ronin" guys- those might be fun. Or the Cosmic Heroes in general to elaborate upon your space scene, with guys like the Edgerunners.
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Re: The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse; Newest: The Icons Completed! On Break!)

Post by Commander Titan »

Nega - I'm glad for the breakdown of the space-side of the Phoenixverse! I'm always curious what the space opera side of things look like in a superhero game. I like the idea of humans having been spread across space simply due to a thousand-and-one sci-fi plots.

Alsea - Whatever Alsea is, it's a compelling visual, and I love to see aspects of Megagirl's legacy. Heroes inspiring heroes (and not just ones wearing the same logos) is key to a supers universe in my mind.

Countess - That future is horrifying, even if we've made some incorrect assumptions. I really like the mix of magic and tech, and how the vagaries of time travel seemingly make it a case where she may or may not be filling a role in history that she always was destined to fill.

Starman II & Stargirl II - Legacy is tough. But they've each dealt with it in their own ways, and the Edgerunners are exciting - post-Kuros space seems like a very interesting place indeed! Also happy to get more info on Kuros' quest for the crystals.

----

For overall favorites, Gunsmith, Caviezel, the Stars

To see next, I'm happy to see you finish the "cosmic stuff" and Edgerunners. After that, I'm still deeply curious about Roth Investigations, and any and all heroes' rogues galleries you feel like fleshing out!
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Re: The Icons Complete! On Break!

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu Dec 01, 2022 6:17 am Ah, okay- time to tackle the group's Batman- I missed this one! I see most of the skills are in order- I'm seeing a near-uniform +15 to all stats. Was that the limit with regards to PL back in the 2e? I forget. The "Combat Suit" is a pretty nice super-deal, enhancing him a bit beyond "regular guy" and making it more intrinsic to him than Batman's easily-removed Utility Belt. But the GUN definitely makes him stand apart- not a lot of gun-toting Silver Age guys (much less the controversy of there being a BLACK one). This effectively makes him a Green Arrow/Hawkeye as well.
Nah. +15 is what both the books and I consider to be master level bonuses, more or less. And the Phoenixverse's Silver Age was not an age of skill over power like the Modern Age has been thus far. Rather the other way around, like a Silver Age ought to be. So while folks may have surpassed him in a skill or two, his sheer breadth of mastery allowed him to keep pace.

The limits for 2e are twofold. First there's the attribute, which is limited to PL+5. Second, there's the skill ranks which are also limited to PL+5. So, a PL 10 could have up to a +15 in the stat and spend up to 15 skill points to get up to a +30 bonus. But that's the line for them in that skill. It was 3E that clawed this back to PL+10 total from both combined. I know why they did it. They wanted to combat skill bonus inflation. But tying it to PL like that is kind of...weird? It made characters who get their highest PL from their skill ranks a thing and that's just frickin' odd, man. A mad scientist who can't fight off a couple of beat cops without an Invention handy shouldn't be listed as a PL 10 because he's got a +20 in Expertise: Science & Technology. It's super misleading and I don't like it.
Jabroniville wrote: Thu Dec 01, 2022 6:17 amThe character is obviously too nakedly controversial to be in "real" 1960s comics, but that's what makes it fun to do in a retroactive story. And there's a bit of Spider-Man in there with the "public menace" rep and the frame-ups. His death reminds me kind of like the main dude in Night of the Living Dead- shot despite being innocent. Having a "Superman Revenge Squad" of rich, powerful, and evil people coming after him does make for an epic end- like you were such a good hero that your enemies all become fanatics devoted to your destruction.
I see you have caught the vibe. This is good.
Jabroniville wrote: Thu Dec 01, 2022 6:17 amThe man does overall feel very much like a Marvel character, just pushed harder. Not so much hard to like as hard to impress- like his standards of behavior were so high that even other civil rights leaders couldn't impress him except for the top two. It seems his fellow heroes admired and respected him, as there's little to the contrary (and the possibility he helped train the Starkiddies).
The personal relationship between the Champions could be an entry all it's own. They were firm allies, but not all of them were friends. Admired and respected is correct, because not all of them always liked him much.
Jabroniville wrote: Thu Dec 01, 2022 6:17 amNow I'm wondering where he found out how to put elemental darkness into his gun :).
Silver Age SCIENCE, bay bee. It's wild stuff. ;)
Jabroniville wrote: Thu Dec 01, 2022 6:24 am
Hmmmmm... it's tricky, because Supermanalogues typically aren't my favorite. I usually roll my eyes and just gloss them over, even in settings I respect. But you did something different with the Starfamily so I dig them- like two sides of Superman in a married couple. Plus the tragedies of what happened to Starman. Alsea is maybe the most "out there" and unique type of the bunch, but Countess might be the most original overall. As a CHARACTER I think I found the most to like in Megagirl, oddly- just being inquisitive and going to the stars and such. Gunsmith might have been the most interesting character in a series of his own, and he's probably the most complex in terms of motivation & demeanor, and could provoke the most conflict within a team book, which is always important.

So I guess Megagirl & Countess, maybe?
Fair enough. You and greycrusader, eh? :mrgreen:
Jabroniville wrote: Thu Dec 01, 2022 6:24 am Of the groups I see there, probably the English guys, because I wanna see what you do with the stereotypes, or whether you ignore them entirely.

I mean, I see a lot of "Lady This" and "Knightly Guy That" and stuff, plus the Alchemist and other wizardry-related things, so I'm curious as to what you do with the tropes.

Terrifica's Rogues might be fun. Then I'd have to read her bio beforehand :).

Let's see... I see some cosmic "Ronin" guys- those might be fun. Or the Cosmic Heroes in general to elaborate upon your space scene, with guys like the Edgerunners.
Terrifica is here.

Sir Randall Knight (aka Crusader, patriarch of the Knight Family) is here.
Commander Titan wrote: Thu Dec 01, 2022 8:09 am
Spoiler
Nega - I'm glad for the breakdown of the space-side of the Phoenixverse! I'm always curious what the space opera side of things look like in a superhero game. I like the idea of humans having been spread across space simply due to a thousand-and-one sci-fi plots.

Alsea - Whatever Alsea is, it's a compelling visual, and I love to see aspects of Megagirl's legacy. Heroes inspiring heroes (and not just ones wearing the same logos) is key to a supers universe in my mind.

Countess - That future is horrifying, even if we've made some incorrect assumptions. I really like the mix of magic and tech, and how the vagaries of time travel seemingly make it a case where she may or may not be filling a role in history that she always was destined to fill.

Starman II & Stargirl II - Legacy is tough. But they've each dealt with it in their own ways, and the Edgerunners are exciting - post-Kuros space seems like a very interesting place indeed! Also happy to get more info on Kuros' quest for the crystals.

----

For overall favorites, Gunsmith, Caviezel, the Stars

To see next, I'm happy to see you finish the "cosmic stuff" and Edgerunners. After that, I'm still deeply curious about Roth Investigations, and any and all heroes' rogues galleries you feel like fleshing out!
Thank you. That's all.
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Re: The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse; Newest: The Icons Completed! On Break!)

Post by Commander Titan »

Should say for clarity's sake that my post seems to have been cut off, and you can add Medic, Spike, Z, Samaritan, the Human Rocket, Tidal, Shining Guardian, Megagirl, and Countess to my favorites!
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Guide to the Phoenixverse (Cosmic) is live.

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Find it via the link in the OP or at the top of Page 34. That is all.

I'm doing cosmic stuff, wheeeeee
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The Nobellian Federation

Post by EternalPhoenix »

The Nobellian Federation

. . The current status quo of the universe started with the Nobellians, way back on Old Nobellia 25 thousand years* ago. The Classical Nobellian Renaissance. It drove the species off their homeworld and into space. It left them a fully spacefaring civilization in less than two full centuries*. They spent the next 20 millennia* expanding and growing more magically and technologically advanced. They filled their own galaxy, invented a better superluminal drive than the one they were using, and jumped to the next. This was not exactly a benevolent exploratory civilization. Their history books are full of tales from the Sionil Wars. They enslaved the Borustans, Ingenti, and dozens of less common species for several thousand years*. The Sionil as a people were not enslaved, as stubborn resistance caused the Nobellians to simply quit trying out of sheer frustration. It was an empire built on arrogance, belief in their inherent superiority, and the accumulation of wealth at any cost. So what changed? Well, nothing. And everything. For you see, while they were notoriously unkind to other species, they weren’t any kinder to their own people. And in a universe full of possibility, enough soon became enough.

. . The First Nobellian Civil War (8 thousand years* into their 20 thousand year* expansion period) tore the species apart and shattered the idea that any of them were better than any other. To hear the Nobellian histories tell, it was necessary for their current unity. The aftermath put every Nobellian on equal standing with every other Nobellian. This is, of course, bullshit. The ruling class, those of them that survived and/or were elevated to the position as a result, learned nothing but to be more careful with their own people. Nobellians as a whole were now better treated than other species by their masters, but they still had masters. This, needless to say, was stupidity on a literally galactic scale. It worked. For a while. Until the Second Nobellian Civil War ripped the species apart again 8 thousand years later. It was a violent and nasty affair, tearing down many of the ruling class and executing them. Out of blood, fire, and sword was born the current Nobellian Federation. Monarchies and oligarchies became republics and democracies. Advanced magic and technology had made chattel slavery completely and utterly unnecessary by the end of the last war, let alone this one. But aristocrats are gonna aristocrat. So it was ended, more or less on the spot. Legally speaking, anyway. In practice, it took a thousand years for the practice to be stamped out across the Federation and every sentient species to be made citizens just like any Nobellian.

. . All good, right? 9 thousand years of expansion to go! Well. About that. Yes, but also no. The pace of expansion slowed. The new Federation warred with the Sionil over territory and past grievances. The fractious Borustans were a client state that kept fighting each other instead of cooperating properly. The Ingenti were genuinely difficult to find homes for. And the dozens of other species to deal with in similar fashion, well. The Federation government could see why slavery had been kept on for so long. Ending it was hugely expensive in time, effort, material, and money. To their credit, they were committed to getting it done, however the formerly furious pace of advancement and expansion began to slow for the first time. It took only 2 thousand years to stall entirely, at which point the Nobellian Federation entered its current slow decline. 5 thousand years ago.

. . The central problem is that they’re just too damn big. The Nobellian Core alone spans at least a thousand galaxies, each with at least a thousand worlds, each with at least a population waist deep in the millions. This is not counting the Outer Reaches, the Borderlands, the Fringes, or Nobellian citizens living outside of the Federation. As a largely monarchal and heirarcal state, this was doable as long as the boot was on more or less everyone’s necks. Keep the military strong and well paid, the merchants fat and happy, and everyone else in their places underneath. Mostly no problems. You know, except for all the simmering discontent over inequality that overthrew this system. Now every Nobellian citizen has a say in what the government does, and the Federation drowns in bureaucracy, cronyism, and corruption. The mega corporations get more done on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis than the government does. Still. Everyone gets paid. Nobody starves except in places where rescue is desperately needed. There is peace and prosperity for all. Just nevermind that rot in the center. It’s probably fine.

. . You see, here is a massive and fundamental cultural disconnect over what it means to be Nobellian. It was always this way, really, but other matters had made it much less important. The thing is that while a Nobellian from the Core is technically the same species as one from the Fringes, that’s just about the only thing they’re going to have in common. They may speak the same Neo-Nobellian language, but they could never understand each other. There are beloved cultural traditions in the Core that date back to the Classical Renaissance 25 thousand years ago. Someone from the Fringes wouldn’t know what they even are to see them. The economic and class based hierarchy of old is still there. The Core stands above the Outer Reaches, which stand above the Borderlands, which stand above the Fringes, which stand above the expatriates and exiles. They don’t listen to the same music, they don’t tell the same stories, they don’t eat the same food, and they don’t watch the same holovision. The thing that bound them together was the threat of an invasion from Kuros The Conqueror. He is now gone. His empire is gone, with every world within it ripe for the exploiting. Or in desperate need of humanitarian aid, if you’re not a ruthless capitalist. And so, the fault lines in Nobellian society are about to fracture. There may well be a Third Nobellian Civil War in the near future…

*-Dates are Earth approximate

Nobellians In General
Nobellian martial philosophy generally revolves around subtle bits of finesse, precision strikes, and intelligent, flexible tactics. They’re well known for their flashy, daring moves that always turn out to be part of a well thought out plan. This extends into the personal realms, as well. Nobellians generally aren’t brutes who muscle their way through things, nor are they the type to stand strong and endure either. They avoid such situations with graceful moves and a silver tongue. They are rarely too proud to make a tactical retreat when situations go poorly. This is not usually cowardice, but instead practicality.

Nobellian Appearance
Nobellians are humanoids that can be mistaken for humans at first glance. They are 3 inches taller than humans on average, but they’re significantly thinner and lighter, weighing only about 75% of what a human of that size and body would. They’re quite light. They have sharply pointed ears that extend towards the crown of the skull. The length of this point is usually about an inch, however, 2 and even 3 inch ears have been reported. No, this does not mean they hear any better. Their eyes are functionally identical to humans in appearance, however, inside is a different story. They can see into the ultraviolet spectrum, and can see further in low light conditions than humans can. Colors of their eyes and hair are no different than human. Their various ethnicities resemble human ones as well. Nobellian longevity is also exceptional. They age from birth to physical maturity at the same rate as human, however at that point Nobellians seem to cease to age at all (from a human perspective) for at least two centuries. Depending on the individual, it may be closer to three. In fact, the actual full lifespan of a Noellian is not known to those outside of the species. The younger ones simply don’t know, and the older ones who do simply aren’t talking. This perpetuates the myth of Nobellian immortality. And, to be fair, perhaps one in a hundred billion actually is genuinely unable to age. Strangely, they all seem to disappear when their agelessness begins to become apparent.

Nobellian Character Template

Nobellian Physiology (Container, Passive 3)
. . Nobellian Abilities (Enhanced Trait 6) (Traits: Dexterity +2 (12, +1), Charisma +4 (14, +2))
. . Nobellian Quickness (Quickness 1) (Perform routine tasks at 2x speed)
. . Nobellian Reflexes (Enhanced Trait 5) (Traits: Attack Bonus +1 (+1), Reflex +1 (+2), Feats: Dodge Focus, Improved Initiative)
. . Nobellian Speed (Speed 1) (Speed: 10 mph, 88 ft./rnd)
. . Starlight Vision (Super-Senses 2) (low-light vision, ultravision)

. . Almost all Nobellians also have the Feature Nobellian Longevity outside of the Container. A small select few, however, have Nobellian Immortality (Immunity to Aging). Nobellians are also remarkably adaptable. One who has spent a significant amount of time recently on a desert world will likely have a Half Immunity to Environmental Heat, for example. This is, however, always a double edged sword. That same Nobellian will also be weaker to Environmental Cold, and may find that relatively normal temperatures count as a Cold Environment for them.

. . Nobellians, being incredibly numerous as they are, have split off a trio of subspecies. The previous template is for a baseline Nobellian. The following three are not. Yardray, Penambru, and Corusca are their names. They are, by far, less numerous than baseline Nobellians. Granted that’s not saying much, considering there’s probably a quadrillion baseline Nobellians in the universe, but still they’re quite rare by comparison. A note. The subspecies do not have that Nobellian adaptability listed above, as their existence is the result of it going a few steps further and becoming permanent.

Yardray-Nobellian Character Template

Yardray-Nobellian Physiology (Container, Passive 4)
. . Photosynthetic Hair (Immunity 4) (poison, starvation & thirst, suffocation (all); Limited - Half Effect)
. . Starlight Vision (Super-Senses 2) (low-light vision, ultravision)
. . Yardray "Glamour" (Enhanced Trait 1) (Traits: Bluff +2 (+5), Diplomacy +2 (+5))
. . Yardray-Nobellian Abilities (Enhanced Trait 8) (Traits: Dexterity +2 (12, +1), Charisma +6 (16, +3))
. . Yardray-Nobellian Quickness (Quickness 1) (Perform routine tasks at 2x speed)
. . Yardray-Nobellian Reflexes (Enhanced Trait 5) (Traits: Attack Bonus +1 (+1), Reflex +1 (+2), Feats: Dodge Focus, Improved Initiative)
. . Yardray-Nobellian Speed (Speed 1) (Speed: 10 mph, 88 ft./rnd)

. . Yardray-Nobellians are pretty easily identifiable. They’re always brown skinned with natural green (because it’s photosynthetic) hair. Said hair is actually a plant. A grass, to be specific. It provides a measure of resistance to mundane poisons, starvation & thirst, and even suffocation. It can and does get cut like ordinary hair with no damage to the Yardray. This is cut, mind. Keeping a Yardray shaved bald can easily become a permanent thing, barring significant medical intervention. The grass dies, and the Yardray becomes sickly and weak. The other part is that even for Nobellians they’re charismatic, silver tongued figures. It’s claimed that this “glamour” is an actual magical ability, but it is not. It’s just easier for Yardray to become the smoothest of talkers than any other common species. So they’re often found in diplomatic and entertainment based roles within the Nobellian Federation and beyond, and they were never among the mistreated underclass as a subspecies. This does not mean that none were, mind, just that there was and is no prejudice among baseline Nobellians towards them.

Penambru-Nobellian Character Template

Penambru-Nobellian Physiology (Container, Passive 4)
. . Penambru "Cloak" (Enhanced Trait 2) (Traits: Acrobatics +2 (+5), Stealth +2 (+5), Feats: Hide in Plain Sight)
. . Penambru-Nobellian Abilities (Enhanced Trait 8) (Traits: Dexterity +6 (16, +3), Charisma +2 (12, +1))
. . Penambru-Nobellian Quickness (Quickness 1) (Perform routine tasks at 2x speed)
. . Penambru-Nobellian Reflexes (Enhanced Trait 4) (Traits: Attack Bonus +1 (+1), Feats: Dodge Focus, Improved Initiative)
. . Penambru-Nobellian Speed (Speed 2) (Speed: 25 mph, 220 ft./rnd; Subtle (subtle))
. . Starlight Vision (Super-Senses 2) (low-light vision, ultravision)

. . Penambru-Nobellians are just as easy to identify. They’re always ebony skinned with natural snow white hair. The hair is nothing special this time. It’s just hair. No, the Penambru are known for being faster and more agile than baseline Nobellians, but without quite as much natural charisma. They still have some, as they’re Nobellians, but it’s less. They’re also known for their “cloak”, which isn’t a magical ability either. It is merely an affinity for stealth and acrobatics that normally takes a year or two of training to acquire for most individuals. The affinity is, admittedly, good enough that those who have actually undergone such training can simply step into a shadow and disappear whenever they feel like it. This has given them a reputation as thieves, assassins, and other shady types. And if we’re being fair, there are many among the Penambru who are in such shady occupations. What gives them their quite undeserved reputation for cruelty and viciousness, however, was their old jobs in the Nobellian Empire. They were the slavers. Never the owners. As such, they did the slave catching, training, disciplining, and punishments. This is remembered by the Borustans and Ingenti, but forgiven by the Riidanians. What is often conveniently ignored is that being the slavers is a step up from being the enslaved. The Penambru were as much victims of the old Imperial system as those actually enslaved. And there are so many of them on the wrong side of the law because said system being abolished meant they largely all lost their jobs and had to get work were they could find it, as the Federation was more focused on integrating the now former slaves into society than those who had kept the shackles on them. As such, they easily have the worst reputation of all Nobellians.

Corusca-Nobellian Character Template

Corusca-Nobellian Physiology (Container, Passive 4)
. . Corusca "Sorcery" (Enhanced Trait 2) (Feats: Beginner's Luck, Jack-of-All-Trades)
. . Corusca-Nobellian Abilities (Enhanced Trait 10) (Traits: Dexterity +2 (12, +1), Intelligence +6 (16, +3), Charisma +2 (12, +1))
. . Corusca-Nobellian Mental Quickness (Quickness 2) (Perform routine tasks at 5x speed; One Type (Mental))
. . Corusca-Nobellian Reflexes (Enhanced Trait 4) (Traits: Attack Bonus +1 (+1), Feats: Dodge Focus, Improved Initiative)
. . Corusca-Nobellian Speed (Speed 1) (Speed: 10 mph, 88 ft./rnd)
. . Starlight Vision (Super-Senses 2) (low-light vision, ultravision)

. . Corusca-Nobellians are actually quite difficult to distinguish from baseline Nobellians. They don’t look any different, really. They do always resemble the Nobellian equivalent of European descended humans (as opposed to those whose ancestors came from different continents like Asia or Africa), but there’s trillions of Nobellians that look like that. What makes the Corusca different is their ferocious intellect compared with most species. They’re not quite as quick and agile as baseline Nobellians, but their intellect is dazzling. Their “sorcery” is somewhat of an in joke at this point in history. There’s no magic involved, just sheer competence in a broad variety of fields. The average Corusca can match even specialists in certain fields for a little while. Trained Corusca are, obvious, even better. In days long gone, knowledge and skill was easily passed off as actual sorcery to persons ignorant of how magic worked. That’s a much shorter list than it used to be, so now it’s a in joke and partial reference to stage magic. Of course, superior intellect breeds superiority complexes, and as such the Corusca have a reputation for being arrogant even for Nobellians. Unfortunately, they tend to be found in leadership or at least advisory positions due to the sheer breadth of their competence, and were a significant factor in the old Empire being as bad as it was. With that said, ones who have managed to avoid giving in to a superiority complex (well, too much) have been several legendary heroes and played integral roles in bringing the old Imperial system down. So their full reputation is a bit of a mixed bag. When they’re good, they’re really good, and when they’re bad, they’re really bad. Not a sub species with that many mediocre individuals, the Corusca.
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The Sionil Union

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The Sionil Union

. . At first glance, the Sionil Union appears to be a fascistic and theocratic military dictatorship. In theory and legally this is correct. The High King is in charge of running everything, from religious organizations to their powerful navies, and he may appoint whoever he chooses to exercise that absolute power. In practice, the Sionil have an impenetrable (to outsiders) web of informal customs and social practices that make them as much of a democracy as the Nobellian Federation. The High King hasn’t decided anything entirely on his own since long before the species first blasted off Sionil Prime into space, over 15 thousand years ago. Breaking with those informal customs and social practices is unthinkable. Literally so, as none permitted to rise within striking distance of High Kingship would ever have such un-Sionil thoughts. And that’s the other part that’s wrong about how outsiders see Sionil government. High King may be a lifetime appointment, but it is an elected position and not hereditary. So when one dies or becomes unfit to continue, all the old families (and no new ones, ever) put their heads together and vote in a new one. And if the son of the last succeeds in being elected much more often than not, what of it? That just proves he had the political skills to do the job in the first place.

. . That should tell you just about everything you need to know about Sionil history. It’s a remarkably stable political system, actually. They have had no major civil wars or even minor ethnic conflicts. When Sionil takes up arms against Sionil, it’s because one side one side or the other has either rebelled against the Sionil social contract or is already outcast and exile. And therein lies the dark side of the Sionil. As a culture they have not and will never bend for anyone, least of all their own people. Any of the species who dare to be genuinely different see a lot of cold shoulders, raised prices, and closed doors until they either get back in line or leave Sionil space. This cultural inflexibility was bred very early on. An asteroid impact on Sionil Prime slapped the species from being in the Iron Age and on the verge of going into their version of the Middle Ages straight back into the early Stone Age. Earthquakes wracked the planet. Tsunamis ravaged coastlines. Volcanoes violently erupted. Dust and ash blocked out their sun. Fires ravaged half the globe. The species (what wasn’t killed outright) was driven underground as all but the hardiest life on the surface died of cold and lack of light. In the cramped quarters that natural underground caves provided, disagreement would have had lethal consequences. Everyone had to be on the same page, or everyone died. It wasn’t quite as potent an impact as Chicxulub, which wiped out 75% of life on Earth 65 million years ago, but it was a global disaster and a genuine mass extinction event. In a sense, the original Sionil themselves went extinct that day.

. . So when the Sionil talk about their revered ancestors, this is who they’re talking about. The ones who survived a literal apocalypse and crafted an entirely new civilization underground based on the erroneous assumption that life was now impossible on the surface. So yes, the Sionil venerate these ancestors like deities. And to be fair, even accounting for embellishment over the dozen plus millennia since, some of them appeared to be actual gods. What they did seems about as close to completely impossible as it gets. The caves of modern Sionil Prime are all but barren of anything edible by even modern Sionil standards (which are a little lower than most, understandably). This is not because they ate everything. How their revered ancestors built a new civilization when there was nothing to eat but fungus and occasional handfuls of insects is a mystery for the ages.

. . The Sionil may have stayed underground forever, except for one High King. He got it into his head that he had been given a holy mission. A Heavenly Quest to return to the surface and reclaim their birthright as masters of their world. So he set a plan in motion to see it done. He would not live to see it done, however, as the Sionil had drilled deep into their world in search of warmth and water. It would take generations to return to the surface. Who they encountered when they got there depends on who you ask. The Borustans say that there was a nice big colony from their Golden Age there, and the Sionil slaughtered them to the degree that the old Borustans were driven off the world. The Sionil, understandably, claim that that was no colony, but the descendants of surface survivors from the asteroid impact. The Nobellians and Ingenti don’t know, with the Nobellians additionally not particularly caring. At any rate, that old grievance is the start of the bad blood between the Sionil and the Borustans. And whatever the people on the surface were doing, they had tech advanced beyond anything the Sionil of the period had. So they underwent a rapid technological renaissance unlike almost any in universal history, going from the equivalent of Earth’s Late Middle Ages when the emerged from underground to the mid 20th Century in a generation. A generation later they were colonizing their moon. And two generations after that they developed their first superluminal drive. And a generation after that they developed the second, faster one. They promptly ran into the old Nobellian Empire.

. . Many songs are sung in many old feast halls of the Nobellian Wars. The Nobellians call them the Sionil Wars, because of course they do. Most of the old Sionil heroes died in it, and rather spectacularly. Bravery, courage, and honor. Also the Sionil tendency towards suicidal stubbornness. But unlike the later encountered Borustans, Ingenti, and Riidanians, the Sionil beat respect for their personhood into the Nobellians. Or at least respect for their weapons, armor, and willingness to die to kill as many of the knife eared bastards as possible. It cannot be said that no Sionil was never enslaved. It can, however, be said the mightiest and most arrogant empire in the universe at that time simply gave up trying to conquer the entire species. Sionil don’t bend. They break, and never easily.

. . Relations remained tense, however, and another war or three sprung up every now and again. The Sionil merely laughed when the Nobellians dissolved in civil war not once but twice, continuing their own affairs and guarding their borders. And today, well…they’re much the same. Sionil don’t bend for the passage of years and generations, either. Their traditions hold strong. They are who they are, and will never change for anyone. Except for the growing problem of those outcast and exiled. There’s obviously more Sionil who are cast out and/or exiled with every generation, however…this is different. They’ve been having children together. Instead of quietly going away and dying forgotten by all, as mainstream Sionil society would prefer, they’ve been making families. Creating communities. Whole towns and neighborhoods full of Sionil people who do not adhere to Sionil tradition and have less than no use for the Sionil Union itself. It’s…it’s blasphemous, is the closest English word. Some hardline voices call for war, to purge such un-Sionil blasphemy from the face of the universe. Other, more reasonable voices point out the example of the Nobellians. Is the Sionil Union stubborn and prideful enough to wage a potentially devastating civil war for mere ideological purity? Are they not better than that? Such voices do not advocate for actual change in their ancient traditions, of course, however…the old ways are silent on what happens after a Sionil is cast out and/or exiled. Why should the Union even care what they do? However, the most interesting voices point out the most interesting thing about them being cast out and/or exiled. They’re not Sionil Union citizens anymore. They live outside of it. And it was the Union that did that to them. Threw them out. Alone and penniless, with only the clothes on their back. And in the process, these last voices say, the Union and all in it willingly surrendered all right to tell them how to live what was left of their lives. You can imagine how such statements would enrage the hardliners. As such, the arguments in the High King’s Court continue. As for the outcasts and exiles, not only are they ignorant of the arguments in the first place, but most of them wouldn’t care even if they knew about them. They are not of the Union. They are Free Sionil, and that is enough.

Sionil in General

. . Sionil have a reputation for being, uh, thickheaded stubborn assholes. This is not entirely inaccurate. Sionil stubbornness is literally legendary. And for those from the Union, they’re not thickheaded so much as closeminded. If it wasn’t invented, improved by, or popularized by a Sionil, than it’s probably worthless crap one shouldn’t spend any time or money on. And no species is full of assholes. It’s just that Sionil Union culture prizes honesty and straightforwardness, almost to a fault. In the wider universe (and especially among the smooth talking Nobellians) this can be misinterpreted as intentional rudeness, or assholery. They like stories, drinking liquors that make Nobellians, humans, and even some Borustans sick, and throwing massive feasts where they can drink said hard liquor and tell said stories. They can be quite a boisterous people, when they want to be. Loyal to the death for those who have earned it, and a literally legendary work ethic. Seriously, Sionil have worked themselves literally to death rather than be accused of being slothful. Also legendary is Sionil engineering, so people tend to expect them to be at least minimally competent at engineering, even when the Sionil in question is (for example) a baker or pro athlete. Still. Sionil are strong, tough, and strong willed compared to many species. They don’t need light to see. And they’ve survived many diseases and poisons that have felled even the sturdiest of Borustans and Ingenti. So you know, it’s not all bad. Sionil endure. It’s what they do.

. . Do note, however, that Free Sionil can have any personality traits at all, as long as they don’t match the above particularly well. Them and their ancestors were cast out and exiled for reasons, after all.

Sionil Appearance

. . Sionil don’t look dramatically different from humans. There’s just the simple matter of them being, on average, about a foot shorter and twice as heavy as humans of equivalent height. Interestingly, this puts them about on par or a little over humans that are that foot taller. They’re pretty thickly built all over, generally speaking, and they come in all human equivalent ethnicities, hair colors, and eye colors. There aren’t any other significant differences from baseline human physiology other than their size. Sionil longevity, however, is superior…if a bit unpredictable. Their physical maturation is the same as humans, but while human aging is a steady march towards the end of their allotted threescore and ten (or however long it may be), Sionil aging can slow down or even stop for years at a time. This is an erratic process that is different for every member of the species. Even blood relatives can be dramatically different. Parents have appeared to be younger than their children. Identical twins have passed for parent and child. Etcetera. The net result is that only Sionil who have reached two full centuries of age can be considered properly old, as none of them have yet reached that age without going grey and acquiring noticeable wrinkles. Otherwise, telling how old a Sionil is from just looking is a fool’s errand.

Sionil Character Template

Sionil Physiology (Container, Passive 3)
. . Lightless Vision (Super-Senses 3) (darkvision, infravision)
. . Sionil Abilities (Enhanced Trait 11) (Traits: Strength +4 (14, +2), Constitution +4 (14, +2), Wisdom +2 (12, +1), Will +1 (+2))
. . Sionil Resistance (Immunity 2) (disease, poison; Limited - Half Effect)

. . Sionil aging being as erratic as it is, individuals may have the Feature Sionil Longevity, a Half Immunity to Aging, a full Immunity to Aging, or absolutely nothing at any given time. Believe me, their biologists are still annoyed by it.

. . Still, as numerous as the Sionil are, they have a couple of subspecies that are rather dramatically different from them.

Achi-Sionil Character Template

Achi-Sionil Physiology (Container, Passive 4)
. . Achi-Sionil Abilities (Enhanced Trait 5) (Traits: Dexterity +2 (12, +1), Intelligence +2 (12, +1), Will +1 (+1))
. . Achi-Sionil Quickness (Quickness 1) (Perform routine tasks at 2x speed)
. . Achi-Sionil Reflexes (Enhanced Trait 5) (Traits: Attack Bonus +1 (+2), Reflex +1 (+2), Feats: Dodge Focus, Improved Initiative)
. . Achi-Sionil Speed (Speed 1) (Speed: 10 mph, 88 ft./rnd)
. . Lightless Vision (Super-Senses 3) (darkvision, infravision)
. . Neoteny (Shrinking 4) (-4 STR, -1 Toughness, -1 size category, 3/4 movement speed; Permanent)
. . Sionil Resistance (Immunity 2) (disease, poison; Limited - Half Effect)

. . Achi-Sionil are more or less instantly recognizable, as they appear to be literal children. Mostly. They certainly don’t act like human children do, but still. They are a foot shorter than even baseline Sionil but are still twice as heavy as human of equivalent size and body type. Still, their tiny size makes them appear rather fragile. They are, however, clearly Sionil. They don’t need light to see, and have the resistance to mundane diseases and poisons. It’s just that instead of being strong and tough, they’re agile, intelligent, and quick. They’re not exactly persecuted in the Sionil Union, but they spend their entire lives looking like children. It’s not a good way to be respected, even if a 100 pound Achi can usually drink even most humans under the table. So more Achi are found among the Free Sionil, having voluntarily exiled themselves. They generally veer towards the boisterous side of the Sionil in temperament. A happy go lucky people, glad to take it easy where they can, which is another way they don’t quite fit into mainstream Sionil society.

Dokki-Sionil Character Template

Dokki-Sionil Physiology (Container, Passive 4)
. . Dokki-Sionil Abilities (Enhanced Trait 9) (Traits: Strength +2 (8, -1), Dexterity +4 (14, +2), Constitution +2 (12, +1), Will +1 (+1))
. . Dokki-Sionil Resistance (Immunity 8) (damage type: Fire/Heat, disease, environmental condition: Heat, poison; Limited - Half Effect)
. . Lightless Vision (Super-Senses 3) (darkvision, infravision)
. . Small Sized (Shrinking 4) (-4 STR, -1 Toughness, -1 size category, 3/4 movement speed; Permanent)

. . Dokki-Sionil, on the other hand, are rather furiously repressed in the Sionil Union. They’re quite easy to pick out from a crowd, with their jet black hair, pointed ears, green skin, and pointed teeth. They’re the same size and weight as Achi, too, making them stand out further among baseline Sionil. The ones born in the Union are lucky to survive a week before being executed as a twisted freak, with their parents immediately cast out for birthing one. The male is lucky if he isn’t castrated and the mother sterilized in the bargain. The Sionil state religion views the green skinned creatures as barely more than demons, and refuses to admit they’re even a part of the same species. But the Dokki are, in fact, Sionil. They have no need for light to see and a resistance to mundane diseases and poisons, both Sionil hallmarks. They’re both stronger and tougher than they look, and stack on a resistance to overheating and even being burned to the baseline Sionil resistances. They are not, in fact, all ignorant bloodthirsty savages the moment they leave the womb. They’re just people like anyone else. Fortunately, they have found a place among the Free Sionil. Unfortunately, that place is at the bottom of the heap. Prejudice endures even among the outcasts and exiles, and so many Dokki have been pressed into thievery and violence to keep body and soul together. So even outside of the Sionil Union, their reputation is a bit…dodgy.
Last edited by EternalPhoenix on Sun Oct 01, 2023 5:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
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The Borustan Tribal Confederation

Post by EternalPhoenix »

The Borustan Tribal Confederation

. . The Borustan Tribal Confederation are a group of 108 endlessly squabbling tribes who only agree on one thing. They will all die before they are enslaved again as a people. Everything else is up for debate. And by debate, I mean everything from stalemated screaming matches to extremely persuasive orbital artillery barrages. The Borustans are a fractious bunch, and it keeps the Nega Corps on their toes. It was not, however, always like this. They don’t have any records of who they were. Millenia of slavery and Nobellian contempt for anything non-Nobellian destroyed them all. What they have left is an expansive oral tradition. The tales of the Borustan Golden Age. Before the coming of the Nobellians, before the Sionil emerged from their caves, it was the Borustans who ruled half the known universe in the sort of wonder and splendor only old legends can provide.

. . This sounds like a coping mechanism for the massive cultural trauma of having their existing civilization dismantled and species enslaved for several thousand years. And it is that too. However. Someone was living on Sionil Prime when the Sionil emerged from their caves. Someone with advanced technology, enough to rocket the Sionil into control of their galaxy in three generations.The Sionil say it was their own people, who’d survived the cataclysm that had struck their planet. The Borustans know better. That, however, is just one example. Ruins of past civilizations dot the universe. Obviously, they’re not all Borustan, but others…well. It’s not impossible that the Borustan oral histories have more truth to them than many would like to think. A grand tale of a people who rose to heights unimaginable, but were ultimately their own undoing. A tale of unchecked ambition, impossible glory, incredible courage and, in the end, unbelievably disastrous hubris. Such is the tale of the Borustan Golden Age.

. . And in the shadow of what they once were, the Nobellians found them. With their egos insulted from being repulsed repeatedly by the stubborn Sionil, they showed no mercy. The Borustan civilization at that time was ruthlessly crushed and it’s people placed most firmly in bondage. The Nobellian Empire was methodical and patient in destroying everything that could possibly remind the Borustans that they were once an independent space faring civilization. The Imperial ego demanded no less. Their jackboots required necks to step on, and the First Nobellian Civil War had shown that consistently using their own people for that was a poor idea. And so the Borustans were slaves with the Ingenti and dozens of other species.

. . As has been said, they were slaves for several thousand years, until the Second Nobellian Civil War brought the old Empire to its knees at last. This does not mean there were never any rebellions. This does not mean that there were never any successful escapes. Far from it. It is a very big universe. Indeed, Borustan and Nobellian fought side by side in the War to bring the Empire down, along with several other species. It was rather dramatic at time, but the slow pace of the newborn Nobellian Federation, well. The Borustans are a hasty people compared to the Nobellians. A lifespan perhaps a fifth as long will do that. So relations between the Tribal Confederation and the Federation are cool at best. They don’t get along with the Sionil, either. Borustans can hold grudges for generations on generations, if the other side attempts no reconciliation. As if the stubborn Sionil would.

. . So. The modern Borustan Tribal Confederation has 108 tribes. That means 108 separate governments, 108 separate militaries, and 108 separate sets of laws and customs. The only thing unifying them on a legal level is a pathetically weak central legislative body that can only request that the tribal chiefs, councils, and/or elders do anything. So when something in the universe inevitably goes wrong and requires large scale intervention, the Nobellians and Sionil are able to respond reasonably quickly while the Borustans inevitably bicker about which tribe gets to go first and who gets to be in charge of the operation. It ties into the main problem with them, honestly. Since being freed from bondage, they’ve gone a bit insane with freedom. On a cultural level, they’re violently opposed to being commanded. Even by their own. It’s too much like wearing chains again. So, in the Tribal Federation, everything is up for debate by everyone. And with their love of settling arguments with and general propensity for violence, well. The Tribal Confederation spends as much time fighting among its members as doing anything useful in the wider universe. Occasionally to the point where the Nega Corps has to intervene to prevent a full scale war between tribes. With that said, voluntarily submitting to authority and command is not the same as being forced to, and they’re well aware of that. They’re passionate about freedom and free will, but not to the point of complete stupidity or foolishness. So the Tribal Confederation functions on a day to day basis. Mostly. Well. At least they’re free.

Borustans In General

. . Borustans, generally speaking, are a very…energetic…people. They’re very, uh, fighty. Aggressive and forcerful. The stereotype goes that Borustans have four states. About to start fighting, actively fighting, just finished fighting, and asleep. While like all stereotypes it is grossly exaggerated, there is some truth to it. Arguing and martial combat are the main hobbies of the species. Any gathering of Borustans that doesn’t feature a blazing argument and a fistfight going on is either just starting or just ending. This makes them sound like the type of people who enjoy hurting others and/or being excessively antagonistic, at least from a certain point of view. That’s not entirely accurate either. This is how they express themselves. The Borustans are a culture (108 of them, really) shaped by several thousand years of not being able to express themselves the way they wanted. Zero freedom. Anything resembling a culture of their own mercilessly crushed every time it appeared. And then they had several thousand years of…well, not that. They were free to build their own nation and live as they chose. But building a nation means that not everyone gets what they want. It’s simply the nature of the beast. The cultural wounds of both run deep. Borustans, as a culture, haven’t quite figured out how to stop rebelling yet, only how to channel it productively. Most of the time.

. . What doesn’t help is that they don’t have half the longevity of the Nobellians or even the Sionil. Borustans are basically physically and mentally mature at 15 Earth years old, compared with 18-21 for those two species and arguably humans. And during the slavery days a Borustan was ancient at 45 Earth years. These days, with proper nutrition and actual usage of medical science that’s 60 Earth years, but still. They don’t live very long at all, even by comparison with humans. So by the time one of them has been well educated and starts making their mark on the universe their life is about half over if they’re lucky. So, a culture in perpetual rebellion but that’s learned how to channel it, and one that has to live fast to do anything that’ll last beyond a generation or two. One can see why they’re such a forceful people, then.

Borustan Appearance

. . Borustans are humanoids. They look mostly like humans, but there are several key differences. The first is that they’re 6 inches taller and weigh 50% more than humans of equivalent size. This makes them sound extra thicc, but really the way it looks is more…elongated, compared with human proportions. Longer and broader, not thicker. And their skins tones are…interesting. They have all the brown shades that human ethnicities do, but instead of the paler skin that European and East Asian ancestries have, their skin is vaguely orange and pink respectively. Otherwise, eyes and hair color match. Though many of them dye their hair in, uh, interesting shades to stand out. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen hot pink curls next to an electric blue Mohawk. Whew. The final thing that makes Borustans visually different is arguably the first one people see. The tusks and horns. The tusks are legitimately their lower canines, just anywhere from 10 to 15 times larger than human ones. They jut out of their mouths, unable to fit inside. The horns are barely a centimeter long at best, but as they’re a matched pair on either side of their foreheads, they’re pretty hard to miss.

Borustan Character Template

Borustan Physiology (Container, Passive 3)
. . Borustan Abilities (Enhanced Trait 13) (Traits: Strength +6 (16, +3), Constitution +6 (16, +3), Feats: Endurance (+4))
. . Starlight Vision (Super-Senses 2) (low-light vision, ultravision)

. . Borustans are fairly uncomplicated as species go. They’re very strong, very tough, and can exert themselves more than those unfamiliar with them expect. The amount of light they need to see perfectly fine is quiet low. A starry night or the light of a moon will do.

. . One would expect the rapid pace of Borustan generations to have produced their three fairly unique subspecies. This is not the case. Nobellian Empire wizards and geneticists produced them. Numbers untold died in the Imperial Science Academy as test subjects back then. Nobellian Federation wizards and geneticists (with baseline Borustan assistance and approval) stabilized the runaway mutations that resembled several dozen subspecies into the current three.

Nelgre-Borustan Character Template

Nelgre-Borustan Physiology (Container, Passive 4)
. . Nelgre Fangs (Strike 1) (DC 18; Mighty)
. . Nelgre-Borustan Abilities (Enhanced Trait 13) (Traits: Strength +4 (14, +2), Dexterity +4 (14, +2), Constitution +4 (14, +2), Feats: Endurance (+4))
. . Nelgre-Borustan Hearing (Super-Senses 3) (accurate: Ultra-Hearing, ultra-hearing)
. . Starlight Vision (Super-Senses 2) (low-light vision, ultravision)

. . Nelgre-Borustans aren’t especially difficult to pick out of a crowd. This is because their skin is always a shade of orange. This does not mean they’re descended from the European equivalent for Borustans. The rest of their features runs the full gamut of ethnic possibilities. The orange can be bright or dark, prominent or faded, practically yellow or almost brown. But it’s always there. They’re actually not any taller on average than humans, but maintain the 50% increase in weight. As such they’re not quite as strong or resilient as baseline Borustans. They make up for it, however, with increased agility, echolocation, and a set of fangs. They don’t have the Borustan horns, and their tusks are smaller, forming their lower fangs. In fact, all of their teeth are sharp, like a carnivorous predator’s. This is because they are almost exclusively carnivorous. Despite these differences they’re recognizably Borustan in temperament, if a bit more cautious due to their lack of physical stature. They’re a little more likely to rely on cunning instead of sheer brute force.

Holbis-Borustan Character Template

Holbis-Borustan Physiology (Container, Passive 4)
. . Holbis Stomach (Immunity 2) (disease, poison; Limited (to Ingested Material))
. . Holbis-Borustan Abilities (Enhanced Trait 17) (Traits: Strength +6 (16, +3), Constitution +6 (16, +3), Wisdom +2 (12, +1), Fortitude +1 (+4), Will +1 (+2), Feats: Endurance (+4))
. . Starlight Vision (Super-Senses 2) (low-light vision, ultravision)

. . Holbis-Borustans, by contrast, are almost indistinguishable from baseline Borustans in appearance. Some can pick a Holbis out based on their stronger wills and slightly stronger perceptiveness, but the easiest way is by their diet. Because by the gods, Holbis can eat anything. That can be successful chewed and swallowed, anyway. The disease or poison that can make them sick via ingestion apparently does not exist. So one can find the Holbis eating the most disgusting things imaginable. Things even a starving Sionil would recoil from. Paradoxically, they’re not really heavy drinkers. That’s not even a generalization. Finding a Holbis who enjoys drinking the normally bitter alcoholic beverages popular with most Borustans is a miraculous event. At any rate, they slot into Borustan society seamlessly aside from said diets and occasionally appalling personal hygiene.

Jinkan-Borustan Character Template

Jinkan-Borustan Physiology (Container, Passive 4)
. . Horned Headbutt (Strike 2) (DC 19, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Horned Headbutt (Strike 2)); Mighty)
. . Jinkan-Borustan Abilities (Enhanced Trait 13) (Traits: Strength +4 (14, +2), Dexterity +2 (12, +1), Constitution +4 (14, +2), Charisma +2 (12, +1), Feats: Endurance (+4))
. . Starlight Vision (Super-Senses 2) (low-light vision, ultravision)

. . Jinkan-Borustans, however, stand out to the degree that the tribes they’re in tend to be exclusively made up of them and them only. They’re utterly unmistakable in appearance. Extremely red skin and large horns rising vertically out of their foreheads. They have the usual Borustan height advantage over humans, however their weight is about the same. They’re not as strong or tough as baseline Borustans, but attempt to make up for it with some agility and charisma. The trouble with them is that they basically look like literal demons despite being nothing of the sort. So Borustan society in general is leery of them. There’s no active and/or formal persecution, the Tribal Confederation is simply too fractious for that, but a Jinkan alone among non-Jinkans can get ugly fast if there isn’t a more sensible head in the bunch. And that’s why they mostly have their own tribes.
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Re: The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse; Newest: The Icons Completed! On Break!)

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Okay, so. We have the other species profiles to go yet, followed by the Edgerunners. Then it's between, apparently,

Borealian Vanguard
Touring British's Best
Roth Investigations
The Red Ronin

I believe I have that right. My, but that's a long way to travel. S'pose that's 2023 laid out, unless I get detoured along the way. Which, as I keep meaning to do the Academy, could easily happen.
The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse!)
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EternalPhoenix
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The Ingenti Republic

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The Ingenti Republic

. . The Ingenti Republic is generally seen as the 109th Borustan tribe. And to be fair, most of the time they seem to act like it. The two states are allied militarily, financially, and politically. That, however, is where the similarities abruptly end. If anything, the Ingenti find themselves mediating Borustan disputes far more often than they participate in them. They don’t have tales of a semi-mythical Golden Age long in the past. In fact, they hadn’t even gotten out of their solar system yet when the Nobellian Empire came swooping in to enslave them. Their tale really isn’t any different than a dozen other species. A Nobellian expedition discovered their world, reported everything about them, and then the Imperial Navy came in and smashed their civilization under its jackboots. They were a few decades to a century more advanced than Earth is in 2019 at the time, so it wasn’t particularly difficult. Just another week at the office for the old Nobellian Empire.

. . What changed was what happened afterward. Even more than the Borustans, the Ingenti made for a genuinely excellent physical labor force. And unlike the Borustans, they weren’t quite so prone to periodic rebellions that had to be brutally suppressed. And and like most species, getting more living space to expand into (on Earth this has been new continents, but in space there’s so much more room than that) led to a population explosion. From a strict evolutionary standpoint, they were thriving. From every other standpoint, not so much. It cannot be expressed enough how much the old Nobellian Empire was stuffed full of enormous, arrogant, and enormously arrogant assholes. They considered their slaves to be little more than base animals. Such creatures have no need for any of the trappings of superior sentient life. Like families. Like stories. Like their own culture. Any who dared rise above this assigned station, to think, to dream, to be more than just an obedient organic robot, were ruthlessly and brutally crushed. The Borustans managed to hold on to much of their culture and history through much effort and many sacrifices. Riidanian trickery mainly kept the Imperials off their scent. But the Ingenti were not so fortunate. They lost almost all of who they were before the Nobellians came swooping into their system.

. . However, like all things good and bad, the Nobellian Empire came to an end. Rather violently, in fact, as the Second Nobellian Civil War tore it apart. The Nobellian Federation was born. The Ingenti were free. And they had no idea what to do with said freedom. Everything they’ve done since has been more or less guesswork and flailing. The old Empire had done its job too damned well. The Ingenti, as a species and independent culture, did not know who they were outside of being enslaved. A second population explosion (now finished) did not help matters at all. So, they modeled their government after Nobellian ideas and reassumed their role of trying to keep the Borustans out of too much trouble. Several thousand years later, their culture is an borderline incomprehensible (to outsiders) mishmash of Nobellian and Borustan ideas, modified for a people who don’t have the finesse of the former and lack the aggression of the latter. Well. It works for them, at least.

Ingenti In General

. . There isn’t really a typical Ingenti, exactly? They’re a diverse group, depending on whether they skew harder toward the Nobellian side of their cultural mishmash, the Borustan side, or try to strike a balance. The former tends to be diplomats, scientists, engineers, and politicians. Those who use their intelligence, cunning, and charisma more than their big muscles. There are more martial types, too, but they’re precision types like snipers and fighter pilots. Those who favor more Borustan ideas tend to fill out the infantry and violent criminal ranks. You know, places were aggression and violence are permitted, if not entirely encouraged. Those who try to strike a balance are, well, everyone else, really. From ordinary civilians to rank and file military to bureaucratic functionaries. Regular folks just trying to live their lives and not think too hard about things outside of their usual affairs. With that said, each of those three types is also on their own spectrum. They can all skew more towards finesse and intelligence or more towards aggression and violence. So the spectrum is quite wide, actually.

Ingenti Appearance

. . No one who has ever seen an Ingenti will ever mistake one for any other species. They are genuinely massive humanoid beings, standing two whole feet taller on average than humans do, and weighing twice as much as a theoretical human of that size might. This means that a relatively small Ingenti would be approximately 7 feet tall and 650 pounds. A large one would be over 8 and a half feet tall and close to if not over half a ton (1000 lbs). But wait, there’s more. Their lower canines are large and jut out of their mouths in the form of tusks, and they have full sized horns growing out of the sides of their heads. As for skin color, they don’t have the paler skin of those with European and East Asian ancestry. Those are a light gray. Other Earth ancestral equivalents are about the same in skin tone. Surprisingly, though, their hair and eye colors fall within human norms. No differences at all.

Ingenti Character Template

Ingenti Physiology (Container, Passive 4)
. . Ingenti Abilities (Enhanced Trait 16) (Traits: Strength +8 (18, +4), Constitution +8 (18, +4))
. . Lightless Vision (Super-Senses 3) (darkvision, infravision)
. . Natural Armor (Protection 1) (+1 Toughness)

. . Ingenti are very strong, very tough, don’t need light to see, and have a slight natural armoring. This really isn’t that complex. It’s pretty easy to see why the Nobellian Empre favored them for physical labor in the day. They’re damn good at it. However, machines can easily be stronger and have a few neat side benefits like never needing to eat or sleep and not being a sentient being with its own thoughts, feelings, and desires. Ingenti longevity is theoretically 150% of human longevity. However, none of them thus far have gotten old enough for that to matter. Their size breeds various medial issues such as joint problems, and gradual loss of major organ function that drops almost all of them by age 60, despite not being particularly old in a biological sense. Any medical literature on the subject comes from either the entirely disinterested Nobellian Empire, or what they themselves have discovered since their freedom. It is not known if the original Ingenti had a solution for the problem, or if there’s another primary cause besides their size and weight.

. . The population explosions both before and after enslavement have resulted in a pair of subspecies being firmly established. The Eoten and the Tura.

Eoten-Ingenti Character Template

Eoten-Ingenti Physiology (Container, Passive 5)
. . Eoten-Ingenti Abilities (Enhanced Trait 8) (Traits: Strength +4 (22, +6), Constitution +4 (18, +4))
. . Giant Size (Growth 4) (+8 STR, +4 CON, +1 size category; Permanent)
. . Lightless Vision (Super-Senses 3) (darkvision, infravision)
. . Natural Armor (Protection 2) (+2 Toughness)

. . Eoten-Ingenti are basically baseline Ingenti, but more. Bigger, stronger, and tougher. It’s the bigger than proves to be a problem. They’re legitimately enormous, with on average two and a half more feet than baseline Ingenti already have, and doubling their already standard construction straining weight. So, a particularly large Eoten can be over eleven feet tall and weigh an entire ton. There are hovercars smaller than that. Understandably, it’s difficult for them to get around in a universe where everything’s made for at most 7 foot 500 pounders. And even those would be uncomfortable. So most of them function as mobile cranes at space docks or live out in rural areas where it’s cheaper and easier to have homes custom made. Especially if one provides much of the labor themselves.

Tura-Ingenti Character Template

Tura-Ingenti Physiology (Container, Passive 5)
. . Lightless Vision (Super-Senses 3) (darkvision, infravision)
. . Natural Armor (Protection 1) (+1 Toughness)
. . Tura "Regeneration" (Healing 2) (Personal, Unreliable (5 Uses))
. . Tura Adaptations (Immunity 6) (damage type: Cold/ice, environmental condition: Cold, Feats: Environmental Adaptation (Ice); Limited - Half Effect)
. . Tura-Ingenti Abilities (Enhanced Trait 16) (Traits: Strength +8 (18, +4), Constitution +8 (18, +4))

. . Tura-Ingenti are rather visually distinctive. Normal Ingenti have body hair like most mammalian species, to be sure. Tura basically have fur. They’re in the same size, strength, and resilience ranges as baseline Ingenti, but several thousand years on arctic planets forced a bit of evolution on them. They have a strong resistance to cold weather and even cold damage, along with never losing their footing on snowy or icy surfaces. But the thing they’re most famous for is being able to “regenerate” from any injury. This has taken on a somewhat mythical status over time, but it’s quite mundane. Their flesh simply has a limited ability to recover from injury, if they’re both conscious and have time for a brief rest. The limited part is that it taxes their bodily resources to do such a thing, and as such can only be used five times before real rest and recuperation is necessary. It does nothing about diseases, poisons, or even simple blood loss, and cannot be used if the Tura in question is unconscious or too badly injured to focus in the necessary way.
The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse!)
The Archetype Blendarama!
You, Dear Reader, may comment on any build at any time. I will be happy regardless.
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