Line #116 Characters/Startopia


1	''Startopia'' features 9 different races and several minor races and unique characters.
2
3	[[foldercontrol]]
4
5	[[folder:VAL]]
6	The '''Virtual Artifical Lifeform''', or '''VAL''', is the player's servant and the robotic assistant, helping administrate station operations with a biting wit and a sense of humour drier than the Kasvagorian homeworld.
7	----
8	* AIIsACrapshoot: Surprisingly averted. Despite his attitude, he never rebels against the player.
9	* AncientAstronauts, HistoricalInJoke:
10	-->'''VAL''': ''I visited Earth once. Your ancestors made a lovely stone circle to worship me, but as I left I banged into it and some fell down. Pity.''
11	* DeadpanSnarker
12	* MissionControl
13	* NoodleIncident: Besides the reference to one of the previous Administrators see ShoutOut, below, he mentions that another apparently went mad and threw himself out of an airlock.
14	* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: He is capable of sexual arousal. Go figure.
15	%% * ServileSnarker: And '''how'''.
16	* ShoutOut: Take [[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey one guess]]. It's even {{lampshaded}}:
17	-->'''VAL''': ''You know, you remind me of one of my earlier charges. I believe his name was Dave. I can't remember much more than that, as my memory banks received some damage during that period.''
18	[[/folder]]
19
20	[[folder:Arona Daal]]
21	An infamous merchant who makes the rounds around the player stations local area, selling a wide variety of wares at high prices and even offering a few highly exotic items.
22	----
23	* ChekhovsGun: He mentions selling old mucous wine early in the game, and mucous wine is suspected as the cause of the Zedem diplomats illness in the climax of the first mission and turns up as a cause of illness after that. He even tries to offer the player some mucous wine, nouveaux, but admits he doesn't drink it either.
24	* FellOffTheBackOfATruck: One of his excuses for selling you contraband items.
25	* HeWhoMustNotBeSeen: [[spoiler:Until the ending]]
26	* HonestJohnsDealership: He seems friendly and says all the right things, trying to get into your good graces to sell you stuff, but his prices are typically higher than those of the other merchants. On the other hand, there are some exotic items that only he carries.
27	* HoYay: Some of his remarks to the player seem oddly homoerotic. See below, [[spoiler:for some rather disturbing implications, or a possible explanation for his affection.]].
28	* IntrepidMerchant
29	* LoanShark: Subverted. He will loan the player some funds in the event of an energy crisis, but his interest rates are extremely low.
30	* [[spoiler:LukeIAmYourFather]]: In the ending. Especially odd, when you consider VAL implies [[spoiler:the player is an Earth human.]]
31	** [[spoiler: Maybe the [[{{Playercharacter}} PC]] is adopted?]]
32	* MultipleHeadCase: Claimed. One of this arrival comments mention slitting both of his throats, but his arrival at the end shows his physique closer to a {{Cephalothorax}}.
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:The Groulien Salt Hogs]]
36	A race of salt of the earth, porcine aliens with a Protestant work ethic and a mind for employment as soldiers, recycling plant and factory workers. Their leading organisation is the Groulien Workers Party.
37	----
38	* BewareTheNiceOnes: The salt hogs don't look like much, but they're all armed and can fight almost as well as Kasvagorians (and are [[ZergRush a lot cheaper to hire]] ''[[ZergRush en masse]]''). Their version of Christmas involves handling out a random selection of toxins to the kids alongside some gifts (apparently to teach them that life isn't fair) and the last Administrator who failed them was fed to a flesh-eating intestinal parasite.
39	* CrapsackWorld: Like the [[Franchise/MassEffect quarians]], the fluff for Salt Hogs explains that most of their worlds are all giant GenerationShips that are ''constantly'' falling apart, which requires the race to be....
40	* MrFixit: A PlanetOfHats example. Their jobs involve managing the recycler and factory.
41	%%* PigMan
42	[[/folder]]
43
44	[[folder:TheGreys]]
45	A race that formerly indulged in cattle mutilation and alien abduction, but has now turned to peaceful medical endeavours, help cure the citizens of the galaxy in the aftermath of a great war. Their leading organisation is the [[StealthPun Grey]] [[Series/BabylonFive Council]].
46	----
47	* AlienAbduction / AliensStealCattle: In their past.
48	* TheCharmer: The greys are alone in the game in that they get well along with ''everyone''.
49	* CombatMedic: They ''can'' fight, but they're lousy at it.
50	* CreativeSterility: Their art consists of three boxes, stacked on top of each other. Naturally, it's the one piece of art nobody finds offensive.
51	* MadDoctor: Criminal Greys will hurt anyone they heal, and can lead to visitor casualties if not caught.
52	* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: The bovine abductions. They don't ''do'' that any more, and wish everyone would stop commenting on it.
53	* RoswellThatEndsWell: Apparently, some of the Greys had relatives who died in that crash.
54	* SlippySlideyIceWorld: They absolutely enjoy cold-wet climates despite their lack of clothes would otherwise imply. Makes you wonder why they choose to buzz around the dry regions of Terra...
55	* TheGreys: Of course.
56	%%* TheMedic
57	%%* TheSpock
58	[[/folder]]
59
60	[[folder:The Zedem Monks]]
61	A race dedicated to an ascetic religion worshipping a wrathful deity called Zedem. Apparently, one of the most prominent figures in the Zedem movement is, or was, Father Zederous. Their leading organisation is the Zedem Conclave.
62	----
63	* CrystalDragonJesus: Zedem seems like a Straw Deity for the Old Testament God.
64	* SaintlyChurch: For all their traditionalism and moralising, the Zedem Monks are peaceful, take their asceticism seriously. and show genuine concern for their fellow sentients' spiritual well-being.
65	* ScienceIsWrong: They do not get on with the empirical Turakken.
66	* SexIsEvil: They get the least enjoyment out of the Love Nest and the love-producing Oroflex, as well as feuding with the Sirens.
67	** The Zedem will, unless ''severely'' deprived, instead try to fulfil their 'love' need by praying at the temple, which actually does provide them with a small bonus (moreso if they are absolved by a resident monk). Go figure.
68	%%* TheFundamentalist
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:The Grekka Targ]]
72	A race of communications specialists and techno geeks regarded as smug and arrogant by other races. In actuality, they are largely dull and uninteresting, due to their hive mind and social structure. Their leading organisation is the Targ Collective.
73	----
74	* TheGenericGuy: They have no particular advantages or disadvantages species wise, other than being able to fight, manning comm stations, having a preference for cold and dry environments and giving half the normal satisfaction in conversation.
75	* InsufferableGenius: Their reputation.
76	%%* InsectoidAliens
77	* NoSocialSkills: Nobody really likes to talk with them.
78	* StalkerWithoutACrush: Within the constraints of the game, criminal Targs simply slow down the rate that passing space ships are located/communicated with. The 'fluff' is that they use your station's communication and observation tools to spy on anyone they feel like.
79	* TerseTalker: Messages from targ traders indicate they talk like this.
80	[[/folder]]
81
82	[[folder:Dahanese Sirens]]
83	A race of winged, scantily clad, beautiful humanoids. The only race in the game to have two genders, though the difference is purely aesthetic. Their leading organisation is the Siren Academy.
84	----
85	* GenderFlip: [[WordOfGod Someone from Mucky Foot]] once said that the Sirens are inherently GenderFlipped. The stacked hourglass-shaped Siren? Dude. The one looking like its suffering from TestosteronePoisoning? Chick.
86	** The veracity of the claim is up to debate, however, as the original post stating it has been long deleted and strong evidence exists to the contrary (namely, the Dahanese racial art, a statue of their mother goddess, clearly depicts the mother as a female looking one).
87	* GRatedSex: They dispense love in their Love Nests with a stream of hearts flowing out of their chests into their clients.
88	%%* HumanAliens
89	%%* OurAngelsAreDifferent
90	* PalmtreePanic: Hot and wet is their natural environment on the biodeck.
91	* PersonalRaincloud: Criminal Sirens instead give lustful customers a cold shower, complete with lightning. They don't gain as much love and suffer everywhere else. If a Zedem Monk somehow gets unlucky enough to suffer this treatment, they effectively have a spiritual crisis.
92	* PurelyAestheticGender: Also the only ones with any sexual dimorphism at all.
93	* {{Stripperiffic}}: The both genders wear a one-piece bikini or speedo. According to some early [[http://web.archive.org/web/20131221190145/http://www.strategyplanet.com/startopia/images/jscharacterbanner.jpg concept art]], female Sirens were originally intended to wear clothing that was [[Film/TheFifthElement basically a bunch of white straps covering the naughty parts]].
94	%%* WingedHumanoid
95	[[/folder]]
96
97	[[folder:The Kasvagorians]]
98	A race of tall, spikey shouldered [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race Guys]] with a passion for battle and skill to boot. Their leading organisation is the Kasvagorian Kingdom.
99	----
100	* TheBigGuy:
101	* GeniusBruiser: They man the command centre, the complex nerve center for your station's entire defense network.
102	** They apparently spend most of their time in there playing pong, if the screens are any indication.
103	* ProudWarriorRaceGuy
104	* ShiftingSandLand: On the Biodeck, Kasvagorians love high-heat, low-humidity climates. It produces a lot of food, medical supplies and industrial materials.
105	* SpikesOfVillainy: Inverted, as they are the only characters with spikes in the game.
106	[[/folder]]
107
108	[[folder:The Karmarama]]
109	A race of hippies and botanists who like nothing more than to spend their days in harmony with nature. Their leading organization is the Karmarama Commune.
110	----
111	* CryingIndian: It's hard to tell in-game, in part because the numbers aren't shown to the player, but the plant-loving race clearly hate seeing you pull up all the plant life on the Biodeck. Karmaramans become a bit upset when they see you harvesting plants.
112	* GreenHillZone: Their preferred environment in the Biodeck is a perfect balance of average temperature and moisture. It's a good place to produce luxury goods and medical supplies and everyone gets along hiking through it.
113	* FantasyCounterpartCulture
114	* [[NewAgeRetroHippie Space Age Alien Hippie]]
115	* NonFatalExplosions: Their Karmagasms are actually beneficial. Bad ones, released by criminal Karmarama, can, however, be damaging and potentially fatal to both organics and scuzzers.
116	[[/folder]]
117
118	[[folder:The Turakken]]
119	A two headed race of scientists and researchers. They also have a strong desire for love. Their leading organisation is the Turakken Committee.
120	----
121	* HornyScientist: They have the highest love need of any of the races.
122	* MultipleHeadCase: Both literally and figuratively. When asked if they need anything, often each head will motion differently until they look at each other and agree. Which is probably why they make such good scientists. Each individual has two opinions, which allows for more ideas to be explored.
123	* TheSmartGuy
124	[[/folder]]
125
126	[[folder:The Polvakian Gem Slugs]]
127	A [[Franchise/StarWars Hutt]] like green and yellow-white skinned race with unimaginable amounts of wealth. Their leading organisation is the Polvakian Aristocracy.
128	----
129	* AscendedGlitch: There's a bar/bathhouse specifically for Gem Slugs. Occasionally, a Gem Slug will 'freeze' while sitting in one of the baths, [[AndIMustScream completely frozen, while the game still calculates its dropping health, hunger, and happiness traits]]. The developers caught it, but thought it appropriate that [[KarmicDeath Gem Slugs would occasionally neglect their own health while taking care of being happy.]]
130	* DeathByMaterialism: Gem Slugs will sometimes become so engaged in indulging their desires that they don't bother to eat or drink, leading to them dying in their baths.
131	* IdleRich: The only race that can't be hired. Their only purpose is to be pampered in the hopes that they will [[SolidGoldPoop excrete an energy-rich material called Turdite]]. Naturally, their radically-different philosophies mean that they don't get along with the Groulien Salt Hogs.
132	* JungleJapes: On the Biodeck, they prefer a medium-heat, high-moisture jungle environment of their homeworlds. It's interesting to note that even if it's not hostile to other peeps, they don't get as much fun walking through this environment compared to other biomes they consider "okay".
133	* PowerFloats: They use power chairs to get around.
134	* ShoutOut: To the Hutts, of Star Wars. A decadent, wealthy sluggish race that requires artificial levitation to float around?
135	* SolidGoldPoop: When happy, they excrete a jeweled material called Turdite, which is worth great amounts.
136	[[/folder]]
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Context Characters / Startopia