First Contact

I've been bandying an RP idea around, and I was wondering if anyone would be interested in this sort of game? I've got a sample here of what I'm imagining.

First Contact

The Premise

You have no idea how or why you arrived here. There are only three things about the situation that you do know with any certainty.

1. You are on board a massive spaceship that is beyond anything your kind could have built.

2. There is no power.

3. You are not alone.

Genre

Science Fiction - Survival (not Horror)

Your Character:

You are acting as an impromptu representative of your race. Perhaps you are an important dignitary, or a religious figure, or just an average person who isn’t any more distinguished than anyone else you know. No matter who you are though, nothing that you have experienced in your life has prepared you for this, because up until now, you thought your species was alone in the universe.

Your species can be anything you imagine, or human if you wish. Use this section to outline what your character and species is capable of and what they are about. A few restrictions are as follows:

1. They must either naturally inhabit an Earth-type environment, or be wearing equipment that lets them survive an Earth-type environment when the game starts.

2. Because of the open-ended nature of character creation, all character concepts must be approved by the GM before they can be played in order to maintain balance and fairness.

3. This is a low-power setting. Any special abilities you want your character to have must arise naturally from their biology or occupation. Overpowered abilities like telepathy, teleportation, and shapeshifting will not be approved. This is a survival game after all.

4. They must come from a period in their history where they can understand the concept of space travel, but haven't developed the technology to leave their solar system.

5. No more than two characters of any one race will be allowed in the game.

You:

Name

Gender (if applicable)

Description

Personality

History

Occupation and skills

Equipment and clothing

Other

Species:

Name

Biology

Society

Other

edited 12th Jun '13 10:23:23 AM by CDRW

Sound interesting. I'd play it. Are you looking for help on the setting and story or just a general interest check?

Did someone say sci fi survival? Count me in. I have a race of rhino people I would want to use but depending on exactly how rough a person can be (think krogan) I'm afraid they're probably too much so I'll probably have to make something new.

edited 11th Jun '13 7:51:42 PM by nman

Interest.

@ Parable: It's mostly just a general interest check. I've got bare bones story and setting already and just wanted to see if it's worth it to develop it further. That said, I might need help fleshing out stuff a bit later on if there's enough interest.

I'm thinking it should be a very character focused story. Most of it would be driven by RP and interactions between the players. That means careful thought about the species you pick and good roleplay are absolutely essential to make things fun.

The story on my end mostly consists of figuring out ways to appropriately reveal the information about how and why your characters arrive. I have the concept, but need to flesh out the mechanics) And supplying interesting and legitimately dangerous environmental hazards to keep the story moving. I have quite a few ideas, but need to bring them all together into a coherent whole.

@Nman: In regards to the environment of the ship, while strength is useful, I don't think it will be game-breaking. I'm planning on designing the environment at leas partly around the characters you guys would choose anyway. The only thing that has me really worried is PC interactions that escalate to violence. While Krogan levels of strength is a little high for my tastes, I'm not opposed to you playing a stronger than normal race if you're confident in your ability to avoid/mitigate PVP interactions.

@ Everyone else: It looks like there's enough interest that I'm going to go ahead and start fleshing out the rest of the game and setting. If you want to post character concepts, you're more than free to do so. Also, a little recruiting would be good. I'm planning on playing a PC myself (a completely normal, non-story-essential one), I think that having more than four players would be a great deal better. So, if you know anyone else, either on or off the site that you think might be interested, why not pass them a link?

Ah, sorry, I was thinking less about offensive might, but was too tired to say it right. I was wondering if having armor like a rhino would screw over plans you have for like, I dunno, flesh eating headcrabs or something. As for fighting PCs I wanted to do something against type, and have a Proud Warrior Race Guy who is a musician (more specifically, a rap artist)

I'll just PM ya more.

I just looked at what you have and replied to your PM. I love the concept and I think that he would actually be a great character for the game. I only have a few things that I want clarified for possible slight nerfing, but overall, he looks great.

Edit: One character rule I forgot to add into the original post was this: "They must come from a period in their history where they can understand the concept of space travel, but haven't developed the technology to leave their solar system."

edited 12th Jun '13 11:00:51 AM by CDRW

You had me at "First Contact." One of my favorite sci-fi story concepts.

So can we go ahead and start posting race summaries & characters or what? I've started working on an insectoid, ant-like race.

Yeah, go ahead and start posting profiles. If you have any questions, just send me a PM.

edited 12th Jun '13 5:43:39 PM by CDRW

Species:

Name - Latar (ley-tar)

Biology - All latar are humanoid in shape, but insectoid in appearance. While they retain the six limbs common to Earth-like insects they are bipedal and can only functionally use their two upper arms connected to their shoulders. The second lower set of arms have become largely vestigial and are much thinner and shorter; used primarily for emotive gestures.

Latar are typically lighter and weaker than similarly built humanoid species, due in large part to their exoskeleton being made of a more brittle material than others' bone structures. This exoskeleton takes the form of textured plates of a naturally light brown color and is obviously thicker around joints and vital organs. Latars' exoskeleton is an exterior system to maintain body structure, NOT a form of natural armor. Removal results in exposed and limp flesh.

For the finer details, their heads are more pointed. Two eyes are forward mounted, suggesting predator ancestry, and are slightly faceted to grant a degree of greater peripheral vision. Mouths are lipless and hidden behind mandibles that aid in communication through clicks. Lacking noses latar instead have a pair of partially retractable antennae that offer them a far greater olfactory sense than many other sapiens.

Latar historically went through five developmental stages prior to reaching adulthood, their physical development changing significantly based on diet, average weather conditions and activity levels of various bodily systems. This system has been inaccurately called "limited early life evolution," when it is really just an extended period of out-of-egg development preparing the body for highly specialized roles much more useful to early hives than the modern colonies. Today these changes are controlled by regular hormone injections so that individuals can choose the body-type and "special abilities" they are most comfortable with.

These developments typically take the form of enhanced abilities (greater strength, higher adrenaline output) or senses (sharper vision, keener ears). A rare few fully develop organs that in others are later consumed by the body: venom sacs for a poisonous bite and a secondary heart being the most popular.

Society - Latar society has never been able to escape the hive-like qualities of their ancestors. Xenophobia and mistrust of those who smell too different are deeply embedded in the culture, making organization on a large scale limited.

Colonies form the largest normal social group. Members of a colony are almost all related directly to the matriarch who has sole birthing rights (and indeed is the only latar capable of laying fertilized eggs, legally at least). Colonies are functionally city-states and strive to be as independent as possible. Only very small nations tend to form, the result of a number of close sisters becoming matriarchs of different (usually new) colonies at once and fostering limited trust. These have never survived past the founders.

Latar are, obviously, conservative as a rule and react poorly to unexpected change. They are used to strict rigidity in the defining of their peer groups, relatives and even their own roles in society. Due to their developmental ability a latar can groom themselves from childhood for the career they want, and the heavy independence-minded nature of a colony ensures that there is always a position open for a specialized worker since they certainly won't hire aliens.

Surprisingly the most successful colonies of the last two centuries have had populations that were themselves highly specialized. Pluralities of farmers, miners and even soldiers were able to make ludicrous sums of money selling their products and services to other colonies. This has prompted debate in the few pan-colonial think tanks over the possibility of seeing a truly unified latar nation, perhaps with a centralized queen and her daughter matriarchs overseeing specific industries.

Culturally latar colonies appear to be socialist. However this is again due to the general familial nature of colonies. The poor person suffering on the street is quite literally either your half-sibling or cousin. This appears to promote a wider spread of compassion across a city, but beyond those close family bonds identifiable by pheromones latar gain instant distrust and disinterest in their well-being.

Individuality is fostered primarily as a reaction against early "barbaric" latar cultures. Children do not have their social roles dictated by a queen and the apparent whims of fate. They are allowed to decide their place in the world, but once set down the path are expected to follow through without complaint.

Other - Technological advancements are slow to spread due to rampant xenophobia. As a result it has taken a much longer period of time for the latar to reach a period where space travel is even feasible (matching the population with the necessary resources, incentives and aptitude). The idea that orbital weapons platforms may soon appear overhead has begun stirring up a cold war that may well soon create the fabled latar nation-state as smaller less resourceful colonies gather around the larger space-capable ones for protection. In the meantime fear and tension have never been higher.

Me

Name - Io le'Tellyn

Gender - Male

Description - An average latar male. Notable features include grey irises behind his faceted lenses and more developed and lengthier antennae, hinting at an extremely powerful olfactory sense. Light brown exoskeleton as is common. About 5'8" and weighing ~115 lbs. Almost remarkably average, like a textbook model.

Standard two legs, four arms (top set larger than bottom). Both feet three-toed, all hands three fingers with additional thumb making four digits.

Personality - Very distrustful of those he is unfamiliar with by nature, his career path training emphasized this trait to the point of near paranoia. He is extremely loyal to the colony and his matriarch mother, and so seeks out those he believes mean them harm with cold fury. If the suspect happens to resist arrest and gets killed in the resulting struggle then all the better; less time in the court playing witness means more time spent uncovering the next perpetrator.

History - Born to Matriarch Yra and fathered by a Sergeant Nipha, Io grew up wanting to be like his father and protect his extended family. His immediate siblings all had dreams somehow relating to politics and following his instinctive need for inclusiveness Io chose to grow into the role of a political officer. While brothers and sisters became officials, teachers and inspectors Io joined the Internal Security Office and became one of the increasing number of men sworn to keep the colony safe from sabotage and secret attack by rivals.

Life and service record have been unremarkable. Indoctrination into the ISO was completed smoothly. 13 arrests, 24 suspects killed in action while resisting arrest, participation in 3 military-aided sting operations, and agreed to allow his likeness to be used on ISO recruiting posters (thanks to impeccably well kept uniform) alongside five other officers.

Occupation and skills - Io is an Internal Security Officer for the Tellyn colony. He is trained in rooting out propaganda and political dissidents as well as being able to propagandize his own speech. Enhanced sense of smell allows him to carefully track and identify a wide variety of chemicals even from trace remains. Some hand-to-hand combat and firearms training. Most noted official skill is interrogation. Most noted unofficial skill is lockpicking for use in breaking and entering suspects' homes.

Equipment and clothing - Io wears the standard ISO uniform: dark blue jacket with matching pants, black undershirt, grey gloves, ID medal around neck (like a tie) and sensible black leather shoes polished to a reflective shine. He has a normal baton and handgun attached to his belt. Handheld two-way radio is attached to right shoulder via straps.

I'm going to go pass out now. Let me know if I missed or messed up something.

Approved.

Yay conflict generator!

If only he didn't have antennae so I could give him a Commissar Cap!

Welp, I have the species done. Now I just need to put together the character.

I have this idea for a metal-based lifeform, but I don't know if metal-based lifeforms are at all plausible. (Mostly the problem is whether there's enough metallic content on the surface to sustain such a species. Like in the soil or rocks above ground.) They're steel spheres that move around using the planet's magnetic field, and feed by surface contact.

Workable?

I can't help but picture steel-plated pillbugs.

Definitely interesting. I can't help but think that a species like that would have a really hard time being mobile in a starship's environment though.

That's a really cool species.

Edit: I've created a discussion page for the game. That's where I'll be posting any news, including the starting date, so be sure to keep an eye on it.

edited 13th Jun '13 8:04:09 AM by CDRW

Okay, so! I have a species I'd like to use, but, um... well, I worry that they may come across as too similar to the species that have already been posted.

They're hermaphroditic, nocturnal, fungal insect lizards who produce a highly dangerous toxic sludge which they 'spit' through a hollow tongue - as a means to keep cool (due to not sweating), as a way to dispose of waste (due to lacking an anus) and as a way to defend themselves. They also have a Biological Caste System that affects physical and psychological traits.

They have eyes on the side of their head (due to essentially being prey animals on a shadowy Death World) and are almost suicidally collectivistic - the group is seen by many of their cultures as a god. Full summary here: http://sta.sh/021gqqcuii2f

I also came up with summaries for what their equivalents of the Seven Deadly Sins would be (plus Virtues) if they had Personifications of those traits, and in fact believed in such a concept as Deadly Sins - http://sta.sh/0br42x2a3ca

edited 13th Jun '13 8:44:38 AM by Eventua

Possible interest.

• Name: Unit 73-206-444 or S.A.M.U.E.L ("Synthetic Apex-Mathematics and Ultimate Exploration Lifeform)
• Gender: Masculine
• Appearance/Description: Overall, S.A.M.U.E.L is about six-and-a-half feet tall, and weighs in at around three-hundred pounds. The weight isn't readily apparent in his overall figure, either; He'd be described by a person like you and I as 'compact' with 'an acrobat's' body.' Most of that body is covered entirely in gun-metal grey, metallic plating, rendering him effectually featureless. His face would be the same, save for a triangular formation of evenly spaced red lights, appearing to take the functions of eyes. In-between the plating is a blackish looking weave of what nearly looks like exposed muscle-tissue. This is found most frequently near near the unit's joints, where flexibility takes precedent over protection. Small, red pulses of light run down the pseudo-muscular fibers at two-second intervals. Like a human, he has two arms and two legs, though the joint structure doesn't infer the same degree of restriction. He has a total of six digits on each hand, excluding a thumb-like digit that can take several postions on his palm. These digits can take on different angular structures, becoming almost claw-like if the situation calls for it.
• Personality: The degree to which S.A.M.U.E.L. can posses a 'personality' is debatable; however, he does have significant data on the behavioral displays of his planet's fauna, and can use that as a means to gauge and make detailed conjectures from newly acquired data. His software receives positive stimulus on the advent of any new discovery in this regard, provoking a highly inquisitive, 'curious' approach to social interaction. Whether that interaction ends positively or negatively for the person/species of interest isn't as relevant. If the temptation to attack S.A.M.U.E.L arises, it might be best to divert his attention to another perceived oddity. As to the weight and implications of his own existence, the unit takes what could be considered confidence in what he is. Attempts to anthropomorphize him may not be received warmly, however well intentioned. Lastly, there's no significant risk of S.A.M.U.E.L initiating aggression action against others; while he will defend his life if absolutely necessary, even then his programming instructs a strictly non-letal means of doing so.
• History: Being effectively two years old, there's not all much to the unit's existence. He was created as a member of an intelligent race of machines who call themselves 'the Kraaysh', his purpose being being to scout planets and fields of asteroids for both mineral resources and potentials signs of alien life. To accomplish this, he was afforded the finest hardware and most extensive identity programing available since the race's creation. It wasn't a week after he was 'born' that he was was imbued with the near-complete knowledge of his planet's history and set off in a shuttle towards deep space.
• Occupation and Skills: What S.A.M.U.E.L lacks in life experience and social graces, he comes to compensate for in how he was built. And he was built to face nearly everything, with question a second before caution.
  • Power Source: The most cutting edge of these technologies is a hydrogen power-cell, one with an output that could sustain both Rio de Janeiro and San Paolo for nearly a decade. This allows S.A.M.U.E.L. to function optimally without an external power source for upwards of two-hundred years. It goes without saying that he doesn't require food, or rest, or even a breathable atmosphere to function.
  • Computation: The transference of data inbetween S.A.M.U.E.L's CPU, his platform, and the outside world is to a human brain what a human brain is to to two cups connected by a string. His ability to summon, process, acquire, and react to new data is nearly unparalleled, even by the standard of his planet's supercomputers. Given around a minute after contact with any given material, he can access it's chemical makeup, though if that material is a part of a more complex object, he'll only know the surface material.
  • Physical Utility: Being built to survive even in hazardous environments, and possibly in gravities much heavier than his home planet's, this unit is tougher than he'd appear. His armor plating is similar to the ceramic materials used on military vehicles. This plating is reinforced by the 'muscle' substance, which is actually a reactive carbon nano-fiber weave that does well to disperse kinetic across the units body. At optimum performance, he can manipulate just over a thousand pounds in any given positon, and can reach running speeds of fifty-miles per hour at a full sprint. However, there is still significant lag in-between his physical capabilities and the sheer speed fo his 'thoughts'; more he pushes his physical limits, the less dexterous and agile he becomes in his movements. For example, at full sprint, he has more difficulty in altering his direction than an organic creature might. He can project a cone of 'light' that envelops objects (and only static, non-moving ones) in a strong electro-magnetic barrier, allowing him to gently manipulate objects within a range of ten feet so that he observe that object's properties without potentially harming/damaging it. This works with bodies that are five hundred pounds and lower In a feat of what might be considered inventiveness, S.A.M.U.E.L. can use this ability to achieve flight through zero gravity spaces . The most that could be considered a lethal, in-built weapon weapon is a laser-emitter, the primary function of which is to shear through inorganic materials and expose mineral deposits. He can emit three of these at a time from the glowing nodes on his face, adjusting intensity and width for different situations. Otherwise, his palms can run a electrical current; while this is use normally to interface with electronics, it also serves as a means to stun hostile organisms. The unit was equipped with an extraordinarily keen sense of sight and hearing (he cannot sense things otherwise), allowing it to see in every spectrum of light and hear frequencies that'd otherwise be considered sub-audible. Having to face extreme temperatures from time to time, the worst of which can rival the sun-facing surface of Mercury or the surface of Pluto, he can see thermally as well. Lastly, he possesses a dull grey 'blood' which is, in fact, a mass of nanites responsible for repairing him in the event that he becomes injured. Mild injuries can be healed entirely within half a day. Injuries like a severely damaged limb, or impalement, might take a week to repair. More severe injuries than that, provided that he can recover his parts, may require a month.
• Clothing/Equipment': A five-foot tall, armor-plated 'back-pack' that can actually detach from his body and move autonomously. Functionally, it's a packmule, capable of carrying up to a metric ton. It consists of separate compartments that put any material placed the aforementioned electromagnetic barrier. Aside from that, he's all natural.

edited 13th Jun '13 12:30:00 PM by goodisgood

@ Eventua: They are a little similar to the Latar, but I think they're differentiated enough that you won't be playing the same sort of character, so I don't have any problems there. I may be interpreting the character you're intending wrong, but it seems that he'll react to the situation in the game a lot differently than Io le'Tellyn will and I think the character interactions would be very interesting.

However, the corrosive, toxic sludge part has me really worried. If you want to play the Yaephath, you're going to have to heavily nerf that. It also seems at odds with them being essentially a prey creature (toxic animals like that are usually almost immune to predation) and I have a hard time imagining how such a close nit society could or would form when they have such an effective defense mechanism. It heavily negates the need to band together in order to survive. Also, the way that you say it prevents them from sleeping in close quarters seems to contradict with what you say about how they breed.

Another issue is that they apparently live on Earth with humans. That won't work at all for the game, as one of the requirements are that the P Cs be from a species that thinks themselves alone in the universe and don't have the capability to leave their own star system yet.

The final issue I have is with The Power of the Abyss. The entity and the powers that come with it are overpowered and don't really work with this setting anyway.

@goodisgood: It's looking good. I think S.A.M.U.E.L is going to make for some really interesting roleplay. I do have some tweaks I'd like you to make before I approve him though. While it makes sense for him to be stronger and more durable than an organic creature, I think that being able to manipulate a metric ton is excessive. The capacity of the pack mule also needs to be reduced. I'd like some clarification on the electromagnetic force that he uses to manipulate object as well. As it stands, it's effectively telekinesis. The limitation on static, non-moving objects is a good one, but doesn't go far enough to prevent it from becoming game-breaking. I'd have to insist that it at least have a mass limit that is well below his physical capabilities. I could see it being powerful enough to move himself around in zero gravity, but not enough to hover in full gravity.

I'd also like you to include the section on species information.

edited 13th Jun '13 12:03:27 PM by CDRW

She or xe, not he. o-o (is picky)

The corrosive, toxic sludge is good against small predators on their homeworld: the fact that they're still prey animals (in spite of being tough, strong, mentally adaptable and resistant to disease etc.) is meant to be indicative of just how dangerous their homeworld is. To compare, many ants are able to defend themselves with acid/poison and yet still die in the tens of thousands due to ant-eaters and termites, and in very small groups are still vulnerable to larger solitary predators.

For the most part, it's a 'defense mechanism' because it smells bad and obscures your vision, rather than doing direct damage. However, I can nerf it for the purposes of this RP, if you like - a necessary function, but merely disorientating and smelly when used.

As for the 'limits reproduction', that's somewhat true - that said, the spores can drift quite far, and 'close quarters' in their context is more like 'with a few feet between them each'. And, truth be told, they have a problem with a relative lack of numbers, in comparison to humans, due to slower breeding rates.

I can't remember how I wrote it in that article, but they don't live on Earth - due to how the setting they were written for works, their homeworld is a sort of 'alternate dimension': linked to Earth, but their histories are ignorant of each other for various timey wimey wibbly wobbly reasons. Long story short, the yaephath (at least the yaephath of Iukkoth) are ignorant of other intelligent species.

The Power of the Abyss is unique to their original setting, and so doesn't need to be carried over.

Species: the Kraaysh

Biology/Society: Meritocracy, ho!

At their very core, the Kraysh are more a race of Artificial Intelligences than anything concrete. There is no single bodily form that this race is limited to, with every individual Kraaysh heading going through different sets of hardware that can vary vastly. One could look at a de-humidifying device and a gargantuan excavation machine, with both identifying under the moniker 'Kraaysh' if they were so able to communicate. S.A.M.U.E.L's humanoid shape is very rare design amongst his people, a borderline ancient throwback to the time where their people were first manufactured. Another rarity is that S.A.M.U.E.L is a lone intelligence within his hardware; hardware of similar complexity may be saddled with dozens of Kraysh programs at any given time, with each of them governing individual systems and deciding the body's movement by consensus.

It could be said that the Kraaysh programs do experience what we could consider growth to maturity. Newly created Kraaysh are assigned to more simplistic machines, ones usually delegated to either industrial production or the harvesting of natural resources. Take note that many of the mature Kraaysh are a good deal smaller than their inexperienced counterparts. The young Kraaysh are afforded nearly 15 minutes (by earth measurements) out of their 50 hour day-night cycle to be 'taught' more advanced programs required for more delicate tasks. Even if the Kraaysh had the chemical prerequisite for stigma, there'd be none attached to not adapting to new programming; this simply means to them that a Kraaysh was 'content' with the simple unit they'd been given at birth. Their task remains critical to the existence of the species, after all.

Kraaysh that adapt well to newly received programming are suited with more complex hardware, and are thus delegated to more complex tasks. These jobs are more variable, but examples include maintenance of damaged structures, formulating the initial response to harmful software, and the management of the 'lower' Kraaysh programs. These units are given 10 minutes out of the day-night cycle to qualify for advancement. Kraaysh that repsond well to the new programs ascend into the higher echelons of their society, taking residence amongst equally qualified peers in their specie's supercomputers. From here, they decide collectively as to what new hardware can be researched and what long-term objectives the entire species are going to partake in.

History: The Kraaysh were created by of short, scaly looking humanoids called the Kraah. The Kraah are long extinct, though not for the reason one might think, not immediately. They evolved as herbivores on a planet with an ecosystem where most lifeforms were most certainly not''. As such, the history of mass internal conflicts could be counted on one hand; theirs were cultures where cooperation took precedent over all else. It almost goes without saying at this rate that when tool-use was first founded; the Kraah's cultural renaissance never quite ended. Within almost a thousand years, it became a world-wide obsession of the Kraah to super-cede the limits of their own body, with few to no systems of morality or philosophy that convinced their civilisations otherwise.

It would be in the next thousand years that their unorthodox goal would succeed in full. Prosthetic by prosthetic, replacement after replacement, one bit of machinery after another, the Kraah had come to swallow themselves with this mad pursuit of perfection. With time not even their base sense of consciousness was left untouched by technology. Minds could travel from body to body, with no body to change how that mind went about thinking. Awareness, and from their viewpoint, the very soul, was merely a matter of material.

Generations passed where things we consider so important ran cheap, and so the Kraah had been replaced by the machines that we know now.

Hold on to your butts, because this is gonna be long.

Species: Sahlyc

Biology:

Sahlycs are plant-like creatures. They appear as knotty stump-shaped lumps of wood, except that they have a face-like region containing 3 eyes as well as aural and olfactory organs. Their skin resembles bark. They have no mouths, instead possessing a sort of membrane which vibrates to produce soundwaves. They can also produce pheromones which indicate their moods.

They feed by secreting a substance that can break down nearly any kind of matter given enough time, and then absorbing the nutrients. Organic materials (especially dead or decomposing tissue) is dissolved much faster, whereas inorganic matter takes much longer to break down. (I.e. they could dissolve and absorb an apple over the course of ten to twenty minutes, but “eating” a small piece of metal could take over a day, and only if they constantly secrete mucus onto it.) They do have a vague sense of taste, but not to the degree of their other senses. They may show preference for certain types of food, but would generally not consider food “delicious” or “disgusting”. They breathe directly through their skin, making suffocation impossible unless fully submerged.

Sahlycs move by means of a number of root-like tentacles (generally numbering between four and ten). Movement is often slow, and a Sahlyc’s top speed under it’s own power would be considered a slow jog for a human. The movement tentacles are prehensile, but are not especially sensitive and do not have a great deal of dexterity. Most Sahlycs also have a few (one to three) much smaller, more sensitive vine-like tendrils that they use for more delicate work. These are more sensitive and dextrous, but are also much weaker. When either type of tentacle is cut off or damaged, a new one can be regrown, but this process often takes a very long time (fully regrowing a movement tentacle could take a year or two).

When injured, a Sahlyc bleeds a sap-like substance. Wounds often take a very long time to heal.

The species is biologically immortal; they can only die due to lack of nutrition, injury, or disease. When badly injured, malnourished, or sick, Sahlycs can enter a hibernation state which greatly slows their metabolism, using the energy only to heal. Disease is the most common cause of death, as their tendency to absorb nearly anything for nutrients makes them susceptible to toxins. Injury is less common, but still occurs, as certain lifeforms on their home planet attack them with the intent of eating the nutrient-rich sap that they produce. Lack of nutrition is very uncommon, as most Sahlycs do not venture far from home, and when they do they tend to stay on routes that they know contain food. They also have very slow metabolism and after a sufficient amount of nutrition is absorbed, they can live for up to a month without needing to feed again (although they cannot live for more than a week without water).

They have no genders, and reproduce via spores. To reproduce, Sahlycs migrate to certain designated areas on their home planet which are rich in nutrients and free of predators. They then release large amounts of spores into the air. The spores combine to form what might be called the fetal form of a Sahlyc. These then take root and absorb water and nutrients in their surroundings. When the infant Sahlyc is powerful enough to break free of its roots and move on its own, it is considered to be born. It then dwells in the safe area for the first few decades of its life while it’s bark develops. After this point it leaves the safe area to make its own dwelling.

While historically these gatherings took place at random, in the modern times the government directs when they occur. Due to the extremely long lifespan and low mortality rate, spawnings only occur every few decades (generally when most of the previous generation has left the safe zones) and each generation only produces a few thousand new individuals.

Society:

Sahlyc society values self-sufficiency very highly; every individual lives alone and is expected to be able to find or create shelter, food, and any other necessities. Only juveniles who have yet to leave the safe areas where they were born are given regular assistance. Outside of that, they are expected to take care of themselves. Medical facilities due exist for cases of extreme injury or sickness, but many Sahlycs will refuse to use such things even in times of need and would rather die on their own terms than be kept alive with someone else’s help.

Due to this emphasis on self-sufficiency, there is very little trade in necessary services; there are few cooks, construction workers, to work in an individual capacity. The exceptions are public service jobs where it is impossible for an individual to create the same result. For instance, there are no contractors (as each is expected to be able to build and repair their own home), but public and government buildings or services are run by groups. Likewise, research teams (while usually communicating via correspondence rather than face to face) are grudgingly willing to work together because they can make more progress than if they work individually. However, in these cases, the “research” is usually one member gathering information or calculating on their own, and then submitting their completed work to the rest of the group for correction.

The Sahlyc government is a council made up of elected members from various regions of the council. The government is very hands (tentacles?) off, and will only step in if serious problems arise. The police force is similar; they rarely get involved unless absolutely necessary. Even when they are involved, the tendency to take care of business on one’s own generally results in minimal involvement other than forcing a resolution. A typical method of dealing with a disagreement between two Sahlycs is to simply lock the two of them into a room and not let them out until they come to a mutually agreeable solution (given their inherent toughness and slow movement speed, there is little threat of physical violence).

Due to their long lifespans and durability, Sahlycs are extremely patient and tend to examine issues in extreme detail before taking action. Likewise, any scientific progress is rigorously calculated before being put to practical use. They nearly always weigh risks very carefully and are almost never impulsive. As a result, they tend to be very resistant to changes in the status quo unless the benefits of a change are proven.

They do have various social groups and political parties, but due to their extreme patience and willingness to weigh all the options, their most extreme opinions would not appear as such to outsiders. Different ethnicities also exist, but like with ideological parties, even the most radical differences in culture would not appear to be very noticeable to humans.

Me:

Name: Pando Fra-Sudbac

Gender: Technically none, but general personality and voice would come across as masculine to humans.

Description: Pando is about four feet tall (when sitting; lifted up on his tentacles he’s closer to five feet) and basically appears to be a knotty lump of brown wood covered in thick bark with a vaguely face shaped set of features near the front of the top of his body. On the top of his body are a number of greenish brown leaf-like growths. He has eight movement tentacles and two smaller tendrils further up his body. He weighs around 650 pounds.

Personality: By Sahlyc standards, Pando is considered a bit impulsive, but to most other species he would appear slow and deliberate. He is very old and as a result has a sort of jaded “seen-it-all” mentality. He is also very blunt, rarely if ever making any effort to sugarcoat or treat subjects with any degree of sensitivity. He is, however, willing to listen at length to ideas before responding. Just don’t expect him to pull his punches when he tells you what he thinks.

History: Pando is very old, around 800 years. He has held numerous jobs over this time. He lives in what would be considered a mid-sized village. Most of his life after leaving the safe area was spent in this area. The exceptions are his reproductive migrations back to the safe area, and a few decades spent working as a guard, living at the edge of the safe area to keep predators out while the young Sahlycs reach maturity. He currently works as a researcher who examines the possibility of space travel, analyzing the suggested methods before any practical application is made.

Occupation and skills: Pando has held a variety of jobs over his lifetime, but none are too specialized. Most of his skills are related to building and construction, as he’s spent a lot of his life adding to and modifying his home. Basically, he’s accumulated a good deal of practical knowledge, but aside from his recent forays into space exploration hasn’t put much effort into specialized knowledge. He is, however, very resourceful.

Physically, he’s the epitome of the Mighty Glacier. He is capable of pushing or pulling hundreds of pounds of weight without much difficulty, but cannot move very fast. He can exert a large amount of pressure on things, and his movement tentacles have very high grip strength, but he wouldn’t be able to punch or otherwise strike out unless his enemy was basically standing still.

Clothing and Equipment: Sahlyc’s exteriors are tough enough that they have no need for clothing in any but the most extreme climates. His only equipment is a sort of utility belt containing money, a multi-tool, a communication device (think cell-phone), and things of that nature.

Okay, I think that's everything.

@Eventua: Xe My bad.

Okay, that makes more sense when you explain the poison like that. Anyway, I would like you to nerf it, but you don't have to make it completely useless. Disorientation, bad smell, and enough corrosion to be painful and temporarily blinding when sprayed in the eyes should be good.

Since they don't have contact with humans or the powers of the abyss in this setting, I don't have any other objections.

@goodisgood: Approved. This is going to be fun.

@Japanese Teeth: Approved. I would, however, like you to do some thinking about how their nervous system works. Do they have an animal-type brain that works on a hybrid chemical/electrical system? Something else that's more fitting of a plant type creature? I ask because it may become relevant later on.

edited 13th Jun '13 2:59:00 PM by CDRW