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Josh
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Well yeah it kind of would.

#31 Post by Josh »

Yup.

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Bigjoe5
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Genus Hominum

#32 Post by Bigjoe5 »

Genus Hominum (JAY-noos OH-mee-noom)

Genus Hominum, is the one remaining faction of a once populous civilization. They are the survivors of the two great cataclysms of their race, and the cause of one of them...

Physiology:

Each member of Genus Hominum (which is referred to individually as an Homo Hominis (OH-mo OH-mee-nees)) is a bipedal creature with four primary limbs. Approximately half it’s height is taken up by its strong legs, while most of the other consists of a flexible torso, atop which lies the approximately ellipsoidal head, supported by a short neck.

The head features two round, glassy, eyes placed symmetrically about the vertical axis approximately half-way up the head, facing forward and entrenched deeply into the head. Directly on the axis of symmetry slightly below the eyes, protrudes a somewhat triangular nose with two separate orifices on the bottom for the intake of air. Beneath this organ, near the bottom of the head, lies a mainly horizontal mouth which varies in length and shape depending on the mood of the creature. Inside this mouth is a strong tongue, used for manipulating objects in it’s mouth, and 32 teeth, used for crushing its food. On each side of the head, slightly less than half-way up, protrude two more sensory organs, ears, each with a vaguely semi-circular appearance. These ears are very flexible, but an Homo Hominis is unable to control their movement directly. They also tend to stay immobile relative to the head, despite their flexibility.

In addition to the basic form of the head, thick hair grows on most parts of it. This hair is usually much longer at the back and top than on the front, bottom, and sides, and on females is almost always completely limited to the back and top, but nearly all members of Genus Hominum selectively remove hair from all parts of the head to produce a desired visual effect. As such, the natural length of the hair is unknown.

On the side of the torso are two arms, used primarily for the manipulation of objects. These are attached to the top of the torso at the sides via ball-and-socket joint. The arms are separated into two main parts by a simple hinge joint, and end in a strong manipulative hand with five individual fingers on each. The innermost of these fingers has much greater mobility that the other four and allows the grasping of many objects when it is used in combination with one (or more) of the other four.

The legs of an Homo Hominis are similar to its arms in structure, but the toes at end are much shorter than the fingers at the end of the arm and each toe is functionally identical to the others. This eliminates the use of the legs for object manipulation, but the flat feet at the end allow it to use it’s legs for rapid changes in movement, with the toes acting to provide balance.

An Homo Hominis has a total of five different senses, the organs of each located almost exclusively on the head. However, one of the senses they possess is a tactile sense which is able to detect physical attributes of objects, as well as their temperature. This ability operates in every outer area of the body. They also have the ability to detect the frequency and intensity of photons (within a certain range of frequencies) using the eyes embedded in the head. The nose beneath it collects samples of particles in the air and is able to identify certain properties of these samples. Similarly, the tongue is also able to perform this function with larger objects, though not to the same level of detail. The ears on the side of the head can detect vibrations in the air within a great range of frequencies and amplitudes and are able to distinguish between them.

The Homo Hominis inhales oxygen and exhales carbon dioxide. It breathes through its mouth as well as both orifices of the nose. The air is processes by two large lungs on either side that take up a large portion of the torso. The left lung is slightly smaller that the right lung, because the primary organ of the circulatory system is also located on the left side of the upper torso. It communicates by causing vibrations in the area directly below their head and directing these vibrations through the mouth, which are detected and processed by the ears. It is an omnivore, but little is known about its defecation organs, because it considers them to be “private” and always keeps them hidden. This is also true of its reproductive organs, which are suspected to be in approximately the same area of the body: near the separation of the legs at the bottom of the torso. Some have theorized that a single organ combines the waste disposal functions and the reproductive functions of the Homo Hominis, but this theory has been largely discredited in zoological circles.

The moods of an Homo Hominis are primarily shown by the shape of it's mouth and the position of its head. When it is happy, the mouth becomes wider and occasionally opens slightly. When it is sad, the mouth becomes slightly smaller, and a slight forward tilt of the head is usually observed. Anger is not communicated with the mouth, but with a more pronounced forward tilt of the head and a furling of the skin above the eyes. A similar state occurs when it is trying to look imposing, but not to the same extent and is usually accompanied by a straightening of the body in order to increase its height.


Home Planet:


The original homeworld of the Genus Hominum was terran world in the third orbit of a yellow dwarf. However, they were forced to leave their homeworld and settle on their current homeworld, which they gradually cultivated from a swamp world to a terran world. Their name for their current homeworld is Terra Denuo.


History:


Long ago, the Genus Hominum were a populous race. They were dominated by a great civilization whose capital was the great city Roma. But this great Roman civilization was surrounded by barbarian tribes and, seeing it’s own superiority, became lazy, ceasing the great progress they had made. They saw only what they had surpassed, not what they had yet to achieve. They had a military of great might, but, as with everything else, they became lazy and wasteful with it. Great warriors fought to the death in coliseum battles, and the cities defense was constantly loose…. They had ordered a recipe for destruction, and they were about to get served. The barbarian tribes around them saw their opportunity to destroy their envied foe, and thus, with a great assault, the powerful city of Roma fell to the barbarians, plunging the planet into what is only known in their history as “The Dark Ages”…

But not all that the Romans had accomplished was lost to the darkness. A group of Roman scientists survived the barbarian invasion and stole away to safety. They continued developing their technology for generations, with a renewed fervor and watchfulness, unknown to the barbarians. As civilization gradually recovered, the Roman scientists were forced to delve deep into the mountains to avoid detection. At long last, the technology level of the outside civilization surpassed that even of the ancient city Roma. But the society retained its barbarian roots…

The Roman scientists, well versed in their history, deemed the new civilization unworthy of its presence. But with the ever expanding barbarians always eager to exert their influence on as much of the world as possible, they knew it was only a matter of time before they would be discovered. With this in mind, they made preparations for the inevitable final retreat from this barbaric planet: The retreat into space.

They had always known that they could not stay on their planet forever, for the barbarians were ever developing and expanding, and at last, a means of escape was within their grasp. A great scientist and the father of many children gained the right to yet another child* when he discovered the secret of hyperspace travel along a series of pathways among the stars which he called the "Siderius Semita". At last they began their final preparations to rid themselves once and for all of the wretched barbarians that swarmed over their world. But simply leaving them was not enough. Their hatred ran deep, and they would not be satisfied by a mere silent parting. Through methods that even now remain unknown, they prepared the destruction of their planet so fully using only the resources of their enemies, that it was engulfed in flames before they left their solar system.

They settled on a distant swamp world, almost uninhabitable. They were forced to turn their spacecraft into shelters, and turn their attention towards cultivating the land, rather than on advancing their technology. With great time and effort lasting centuries, the descendants of the Roman scientists turned the swampy wastelands of their new home into a glorious reproduction of their homeworld. And thus it became the new Genus Hominum homeworld, Terra Denuo.

*see culture section for explanation

Culture:

Ever since the barbarians destroyed their great empire, they have always placed a great emphasis on maintaining their culture and advancing their technological knowledge. Because of their fear of the barbarians, they developed an extensive spy network that spread throughout the world, disguising their high-powered spy airships as clouds. They have always vowed to hold on to their culture, and as such, place great emphasis on beauty in their architecture. Thus, their society was comprised of many scientists, several spies, a handful of artists/architects/laborers, and a bare minimum of farmers, ruled by a single emperor. The combining of artists and laborers into one class of people prevented the "class warfare" we have generally seen in history, because the basic laborers were skilled and well-respected. Their society was so small that they had no use for currency, rather the emperor had total control over resource production and distribution.

The nature of their society required that it was kept small, so early on, one of the emperors put drastic measures in place to ensure this end. If anyone had a child that was not permitted to, the child and both its parents would be killed. Permission to reproduce was a reward for accomplishing a great feat of espionage, research, or architecture. Marriage after a certain age was a necessity to ensure that those deserving of reproduction would have someone with whom to mate. Infringements of this law gradually decreased over time and eventually stopped altogether. As such, the society quickly became extremely disciplined and devoted to their work.

Years of space travel did little to change their society; they had always been self contained and independent. They sailed peacefully through the stars to their final destination. It was here that their society underwent its greatest changes. The ban on reproduction was at last lifted, and their population grew quickly, though not without retaining the great discipline they had acquired over the centuries. As their population grew, currency became necessary, but they never strayed far from the centrally planned economy. Every person, including government officials is given equal pay, thus increasing the "communal" feeling of this race. They abhor other less disciplined races for their selfish economies and are fairly unskilled in making trade agreements. Always, they remained wary of others, cultivating their espionage, even when their technology fell into ruin, and always, they maintained a strong emphasis on beauty in architecture that served still to bring respect to the working class.


Racial Attributes:

EP is Terran

As a result of changing their focus from research to agriculture for so long, the Genus Hominum have lost most of their technological capabilities and talent. Thus, their researching ability is average, but they have exceptionally good farming. They have always been wary of others, even their own species. As a result they are highly xenophobic. The effects of this include:

Very tight spy defense
Very good spying offense (they like to keep an eye on what others are doing)
Poor diplomacy (citizens don’t like you making deals with other empires)
Anti-expansionist (citizens don’t like you making new colonies)
Elitist (citizens like you [and other empires] capturing and enslaving colonies)
Stealth and detection equipment on ships is good
Allegiance to their own empire is very good, allegiance to enemy empires is very bad.
Citizens don't mind you glassing planets at all. In fact, if they hate an enemy enough, they might actually really like it.

High discipline=good ground combat. Works well with the "expansion mainly through conquering" thing

All members of their race are considered equal, because you're pretty much either an artisan, a scientist, a spy or a farmer (or in later years, an astronaut), all of which are obviously very important. There is no lower class except aliens (which are SUPER lower class). Because of this, citizens like it when you outright enslave a captured planet rather than making it a full fledged member of your empire. This also gives an money income bonus because no members of society are paid disproportionately to their labor.

They also place an emphasis on beauty in architecture. As a result, their production is decreased heavily, but morale/happiness/whatever gets a large bonus, even for slave races within their empire (these races don't get the production penalty).

Mining is significantly decreased due to the fact that it is looked down upon culturally. There is no opportunity to create beauty as there is in production, so mining is generally overlooked and understaffed. Almost nobody devotes their entire life to mining, usually miners only work part time and engage in a more culturally accepted occupation for the rest of their time.

The anti-expansionist tendencies of the civilians lead this race to more of a turtle style of play, but expanding a little bit isn't a problem because of their high allegiance. And, of course, they love enslaving people, so expansion through the capture of planets is usually a good option.

Bonus Effects:

They speak Latin.

Ship design should reflect this ancient emphasis on beauty, perhaps resembling ancient Roman architecture and/or artwork.

Things I Especially Like About This Race:

They are Human (That’s right! Surprised? :P) but not boring. They’re entirely different from the way we’ve come to expect humans, and I think that’s very good to have in a game like this.

They’re good at spying. (I like spying)



Note: I REALLY don't like the idea of humans being descended from the Orions, but if that needs to be the case, then it's still reasonable to say that they settled on Earth, developed through the aforementioned history, and when they "achieved starflight, and encountered another race", it occurred after they flew to the swamp world and cultivated it into a terran world.
Last edited by Bigjoe5 on Fri Feb 20, 2009 8:13 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: Post your races here.

#33 Post by Bigjoe5 »

Xelytia (ze-LEE-tzee-a) Singular: Lytia (LEE-tzee-a)

The Xelytia are a race of lithovores, strong and intelligent, but with a primal fear driving them nearly to the point of insanity...

Homeworld:

The Xelytia originated on a large inferno world. Great oceans of liquid lithium cover 60% of the planet's surface and the Xelytia are incapable of living in them due to their inability to see through them. There are also numerous smaller pools of lithium scattered about the surface very frequently which are vital to the survival of the Xelytia...and the source of their fear. Long volcanic mountain ranges divide the single massive continent into five distinct regions.

Physiology:

A Lytia is a lithium based life form that consumes liquid lithium. Its physiology is very adaptable, however, and thus it is able to sustain itself with almost any liquid metal, and, if necessary, it's metabolism is capable of melting solid metal, though it is not able to consume it as easily. Xelytia have extremely hard skin and are not easily susceptible to any form of outward attack. Xelytia vary in hight and width, as their size increases proportionally to the amount of liquid metal they consume. They have no organic waste, as everything they consume is added to their structure or burned as energy. A Lytia usually progresses from being one meter tall and .2 meters wide to being 24 meters tall and 4.8 meters wide. As their proportions remain the same with growth, a picture of a .5 meter high Lytia is indistinguishable from that of a 12 meter high Lytia, provided no reference is provided.

Xelytia have four legs, 90 degrees apart, that attach near the bottom of their ellipsoidal body through ball-and-socket joints and have a single hinge joint halfway down each leg. Their legs end in sharp points which protrude into the ground like stakes, giving them increased stability when moving. The flexibility of their ball-and-socket leg joints allows them to sit down on the ground with their four legs planted firmly in the ground around them. The legs comprise half their hight, and they are able to rotate each leg 360 degrees.

The upper two thirds of their main body is an eye, the color of which can be anywhere between red and green on the electromagnetic spectrum. Their field of vision is 360 degrees horizontally, and approximately 270 degrees vertically. The only place they cannot see is directly beneath them. The eye is protected by a flexible, transparent covering that the Lytia can separate and repair at will. A Lytia has only one orifice on its body, which can be considered a mouth. This mouth is located directly on the bottom of its body. It eats by sitting in pools of lava and sucking it through its mouth. It also has a sense of taste of sorts, in that it is able to distinguish between different molten metals. It has no tactile sense on the outside of its body except its leg tips however, and thus cannot sense the viscosity or temperature of the lava until it has consumed it. The inside of its body is quite sensitive, and it finds the sensation of consuming lava quite pleasurable.

A Lytia manipulates objects by extending “arms” of heavy, malleable metal - which it is able to harden and soften at will and comprises most of its insides - through its eye covering. As such, it is able to have any number, size, or shape of limbs that it pleases, limited only by its own size, and thus is unsurpassed in its ability to manipulate objects. It can only extend these limbs very slowly, but can retract them quite quickly, so a Lytia usually keeps a few limbs out at all times.

The Xelytia communicate by vibrating the pointy tips of their legs, which sends vibrations through the ground to be detected by the leg tips of other Xelytia, which are interpreted much like sound. This method of communication is useful for communicating at a distance or with a large number of people, but is not ideal for private conversations. Two Xelytia must touch their leg tips together in order to have a private conversation.

Xelytia reproduce when it has consumed too much in a given time for its body to process. It regurgitates the partly processed lava which takes the form of a much smaller Lytia, having been infused with a special bundle of genetic material that forms inside the Lytia when it is about to regurgitate. Naturally, large Xelytia have larger children and smaller Xelytia have smaller children, but it is more common for larger Xelytia to reproduce, because their appetite for lava increases exponentially with size. Xelytia are essentially immortal, but after they have reproduced several times (usually 6), their DNA begins to break down and they become afflicted with a condition with an outward appearance much like leprosy. Eventually, the beings outer layer of skin deteriorates and it's insides leak out, causing a painless death, after which it undergoes decomposition. This condition can also occur if the Lytia goes an extremely long time without consuming lava.

When a Lytia is angry, it tends to bend its legs more, lowering its stance. The color of its eye also becomes duller. When it is sad, it also lowers in its stance, but the eye color shifts towards blue in the electromagnetic spectrum and becomes shinier. When it is happy, it's eye colour is in its normal state and its knees are only slightly bent. When it is trying to look intimidating, it stretches to its full height and its eye color shifts towards red.


History:

The Xelytia originated on a small volcanic island completely separate from the planets main continent. Having no predators, they mainly spent their days simply sitting around, thinking, creating art, and occasionally developing technology. What little technology they developed however, was simply out of interest, and had no real purpose for increasing their comfort. But as their population continued to increase, they saw the need for more territory. Detachments of Xelytia were sent out on expeditions through the lava to find land, but none ever returned... Before long, they saw that their efforts were futile, so they devoted their resources to building a ship and sailing across the ocean of lithium. This was a successful venture, as they discovered the main continent on their planet. They settled there and lived quite peacefully - for a short time.

Soon, an unknown fear was discovered. Upon partaking of the magma, some Xelytia felt something squirming inside their bodies... Great cracks formed on the lower bodies of these unlucky ones within minutes, and they perished as their insides leaked out, shrieking in pain. After the death of a Lytia, a small creature could sometimes be seen burrowing back into the ground. The Xelytia had not known pain or suffering in their previous home, and were extremely frightened. Lava was the only thing that could keep them alive, and in it was the only think that could destroy them...

Much smaller Xelytia were usually unaffected by this, presumably because the creatures were unable to fit inside their mouths, but while it was not extremely common for this to occur, even in larger Xelytia, feeding was always a risk: to sit in a pool of lava, unable to see beneath them, unable to feel anything moving below... This was the new life of the Xelytia. Each meal was a close brush with death, and sometimes, a head-on collision. Those who were bolder took shorter drinks of lava more frequently, while the most frightened ones waited a long time between drinks and then consumed as much and as quickly as possible. This led to the more frightened Xelytia reproducing more often, as they tended to overdrink, thus passing down greater fear through the generations. Driven to the brink of insanity by this new unnatural fear, the Xelytia put all their efforts into finding a way to protect themselves from this horrible threat.

They first attempted to develop a detection system that would inform them of this creatures presence, but the primitive sensors they were able to create could not distinguish their foe from the rock surrounding it. They could never capture one for analysis, for it was able to melt through any substance that they put underneath a dying Lytia to capture it. Some people tried to find pools of lava where they were less likely to appear; most simply tried to quit drinking lava altogether, though few were able to abstain from it for long. New methods of protection emerged, such as strong meshes to protect the mouth, and spikes made of Lytia skin, to try to deter their new predator. But they had underestimated its strength. No artificial protection could be attached to a Lytia with any stronger a substance that that which comprised its makeshift limbs. A sturdy substance it was, but not sturdy enough to withstand the forceful pulls of the subterranean foe. These artificial guards were torn off violently, undetected by the now defenseless Xelytia, who were penetrated in the same manner as before...

The perspicacity of their foe was driving them to the point of madness, and they saw no alternative but to flee their planet entirely. They put all their efforts into achieving space fight, but their progress was severely hampered by their conditions. In the millenia that followed, the Xelytia became less and less productive, their fear of the creatures become a deeply rooted psychological fear... But their productivity did not cease altogether. At last, they achieved space travel, and were able to rid themselves of their fearsome predators.

Note: The missions that were sent out form the island on foot to find a larger area of land in which to live did not fail entirely. The scouts eventually found the main continent on the planet and settled there. The trouble was, that their inability to see under lava greatly diminished their ability to return to the small island that they came from. None of the scouts that were sent back to the island ever reached it, most likely finding a different part of the continent instead. The scouts that remained on the continent lived very peacefully at first, but soon encountered the predator that drove the rest of the species to the brink of insanity. At this point, it was not extremely skilled at preying upon the Xelytia, but as the insides of the Xelytia contained an already metabolized form of their own food (also lava), which they used a great deal of energy in metabolizing, those who were able to penetrate the Xelytia became stronger, faster, and more able to reproduce. As a result, they were already quite proficient at preying on Xelytia before the majority of the race migrated to the continent.

The scouts who were sent out were far from the most intelligent and creative of the Xelytia, and their technology was non-existent, having been sent on their mission with no equipment. As such, their ability to defend from the threat evolved more slowly than the threat itself, and they were eliminated before the other Xelytia arrived. This process occurred over the course of thousands of years, as the Xelytia were a very patient people and knew that it would take a long time to find a greater landmass and find their way back to the island with zero visibility. Unfortunately, they underestimated the size of their planet, and thus the difficulty of returning to the island.


Culture:

The Xelytia had no need to develop any form of government, simple because they had no needs that could not be met by sitting in a pool of lava. Once the mysterious parasites were discovered however, they began to form a democratic government, beginning with absolute democracy and evolving into representative democracy as they expanded over the continent. They had never experienced war, as they had no means of harming one another. They have no official beliefs, because each Lytia generally kept to itself, except when showing off a piece of art, or a new technology. This did not change with the social structure, as their primary concern became leaving their homeworld, leaving very little time for philosophy. The Xelytia are peace loving, and cannot fathom the wars that occur in the galaxy.


Racial Attributes:

EP is Inferno

The Xelytia do not consume units of food. They are lithovores.

Xelytia have very slow reproduction.

The Xelytia are peaceful and thoughtful, and thus skilled at diplomacy.

If any hostile lifeforms are present on a planet, the penalty for production on that planet will be very high, as they are highly paranoid when it comes to indigenous lifeforms. This includes their home planet, unfortunately, giving them a considerable starting disadvantage.

The Xelytia are skilled with research. Their innate intelligence and object manipulation ability allow them to develop technology much faster than normal.

They are good miners and manufacturers, due to their tendency to selectively heat and reshape metals they come in contact with, using their personalizes limbs.

They are exceptional at ground combat: They have the ability to wield a multitude of weapons at once, and are extremely well protected naturally. They are also extremely resilient to orbital bombardment.

Citizens disapprove strongly of military shipbuilding and wars, and approve heartily of trade and treaties with other specie.

When at war, Xelytia feel that they are being preyed upon, and overall productivity decreases.
Last edited by Bigjoe5 on Fri Feb 20, 2009 8:23 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Krikkitone
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Re: Post your races here.

#34 Post by Krikkitone »

Tobnvi [Obnvi (singular+adj.)]

Homeworld: Ius’bf* is an average sized Inferno world. Lying very close to its parent star
*consonant combo not pronouncable by certain species

Reason for leaving: competition for resources and prestige, exploration, an attempt to maintain progress, find more freedom

Origin:
Ius’bf’s early environment was dominated by extreme solar energy that provided for the formation of small metaloorganic composites that were somewhat stable at its high temperatures. Through the process of chemical evolution, eventually small organisms formed made up of the composites and began radically altering Iusbf’s environment. Eventually some of the species began utilizing the energy from the sun to synthesize the metaloorgano composites they were made of which altered the environment even further. Organisms adapted to the new environment, which allowed more rapid metabolism, by becoming larger and more complex. Eventually dominant species left the molten seas, and began spreading over the solid masses of the planet. The first species to approach intelligence was one that had a heritage of moving among the large photosynthesizer organisms. This heritage gave them excellent depth perception and complex limbs that proved useful in toolmaking. Changes in their local environment led to number of them moving to a predominantly open environment, where the needed social cooperation further drove, and was driven by, the development of intelligence.
Physiology:
An Obn’vi (plural: Tobn’vi) stands upright on two limbs, with two more dextrous limbs at the top of the body. Most of the organs are in a space between the two pairs of limbs, with the exception of the brain case on the very top of the body which also includes major sensory organs and the digestive and respiratory openings. They consume various metalloorganic compounds and metabolize them with vaporized metals that make up most of their atmosphere. They are not partiticularly strong although they do have a strong silica composite endoskeleton, that provides support and protection.
Tobn’vi are diploids which reproduce sexually, with no particular mating systems, without advanced technology the fertile period is uncertain. Males insert a probiscis into the lower birthing cavity of the female, where the gametes will fuse if a female gamete is present. The young develops for slightly less than 1 year within the female and then is nourished by them for another few years. The infants don’t become adult until 12-15 years, and don’t achieve full sentience until approximately 20-25 years.
History:
After developing intelligence the Tobn’vi spread throughout the planet, adapting to their local environment. Eventually means of manipulating the environment and other organisms for the purpose of food led to the development of city-states, a practice that spread thoughout most of the planet. Particularly rapidly and early in areas where the ion fluxes needed for their metabolism flowed. City-states were soon merged into empires, which went through dynasties, declines and replacements. Some regions, due to geography and history made it difficult for large empires to form, and as such led to constant competition. It was in these areas that technology advanced most rapidly overall and was the first to actually begin to achieve global travel and means of projecting power. They established colonies and dominated the planet. However this area dominated by competition and instability of power between nations led to the development of that idea within their populations, particularly in some of their far off colonies. Concepts of democracy, equality, and freedom slowly began overturning established powers as the planet began to Industrialize. By the time the Atomic age had been reached, a large portion of the planet was under democratic limited government. This portion increased through time, and actually worked to break up many empires, as local populations sought independence. Eventually the planet reached the point where all of its major powers and most of its minor ones ran elections, even ones that were for show. The economy was largely controlled by individuals and even large non state organizations were prevented from obtaining too much economic control. As economical spaceflight and finally starlane travel was achieved, the planet did not truly unify, the 'planetary/interstellar government' has no real power, it is primarily a forum. However, the major powers were much more able to cooperate with each other given increasingly common interests.
Culture/Psychology:
Obn’vi culture is incredibly diverse, but there are certain strands of commonality. One is the concept of family. This concept is developed from the emotional pair bond shared between mating individuals and the bond between parents and offspring. Tobn’vi will tend to form a small number of bonds like this even outside the area of reproduction. This relatively small social unit keeps society fairy diverse and separate, but provides connection between the individual and larger groups.
The other strands are more based in Obn’vi history than biology and that is the focus on freedom, equality, and diversity among the populations, and the at least pseudo-democratic nature among most powers. The competition between groups also yields a concept of progress, and this supports social, economic advancements as well as those in the sciences. There is also a care that the vulnerable are taken care of, based in the idea of their equality. This is what most often is the appeal of any thing that would seem to violate some of the other principles of liberty or diversity, which also clash sometimes.

Traits:
Economic Bonus (competition/progress/freedom)
Research Bonus (diversity+competition/progress)
Slight Creativity Bonus (diversity/freedom)
Diplomatic Bonus (both their respect for other powers as well as experience dealing with them… and the appeal of their society)
Spying penalty (open society makes it difficult to control information)
Slight Ground Combat penalty (preference for nonviolent conflict resolution, particularly at the ‘personal’ level)
Possibly Slight Growth Penalty (focus on individual members can distract from family, particularly its reproductive role)
Democratic Government Tendencies
Non Unified Government Tendencies (probably penalties)

Ethos/Values:
Diversity
Tolerance
Mild Xenophilia
Freedom
Equality
Change>stability
Slightly Pacifistic

Ship design:
large saucer shaped sections with powerful engines towards the rear of the vessel
OR
Flying wedges



A Recombined race

QWERITAR

Introduction - The Qweritar are devious creatures that are the most well known example of solid-state life

Homeworld - Jikol is totally devoid of liquid water and the minimal amounts of solid water are far beneath the surface. However for the creatures that live on the surface this is ideal, large solar powered organisms crawl through the sand extracting needed minerals, and these creatures are attacked by swarms of more active creatures that devour them, their materials and their energy.

A reason for leaving the home planet - The Qweritar see themselves as the natural rulers of the universe. They plan to take other races and put them in their proper place (as part of either an 'enlightened' and 'cultured' Rimekh empire or its history books depending onthe mood at the time)

Physical description - The Qweritar are solid state essentially organometalloid organisms that are based on an electronic metabolism. The process they use for ion transport through themselves is highly unusual, and it is believed Precursors may have been studying it. They Feed on the massive slow moving 'plants' that are the bottom of the planet's food chain. They look nearly exactly like some type of heavily beaked beetle, except for rows of small manipulators on their back and underside (this is their mouth and 'hands' the 'mouthparts' and 'legs' are used as weapons or to pass materials back to the manipulators). They have 4 sexes each of which contributes a unique part of the genetic code (so certain traits always come from certain parents) this leads to highly complex family structures.

Social Structure - Qweritar society was strongly shaped by their appreciation for the effect of genetics, and serious concerns about the risks of genetic engineering. They therefore have a long-standing policy of eugenics. All births are done through a form of IVF and an individuals gametes are only used after they have lived their entire life (such that their whole lifespan can be evaluated). Those individuals with the highest 'fitness' (as defined by a combination of government bureaucracy and the individual parents who will take the child) have their gametes used to produce children for parents that adopt. Most xenosociologists note that this tying of the state and society into the reproductive decision actually has more impact on the nature of Rimekh society than the genetic changes it has encouraged.

History - The technologically dominant Rimekh empire was at the Industrial Revolution when they discovered genetics, evolution and genetic engineering. It is widely believed that this was the result of their complex reproductive mechanism which was much easier to actually study in some ways, so the rate of discovery of the nature of genetics was unusually rapid. The concept of evolution, and even more so genetic engineering took their society by storm. With significant advances in medical technology many Qweritar empires began massive genetic engineering improvement programs. Unfortunately, a number of these had significant side effects that weren't detected until several decades (and sometimes generations) into their introduction among the general populace. Concerns about 'contamination of our societal fitness' resulted after several high level individuals showed signs of strange mental instabilities. This led to the adoption of increasingly rigorous controls and the final elimination of private reproductive genetics, in all forms. It also led to rifts between the Rimekh empire and the other ones that had adopted genetic engineering. That rift remained as the Rimekh did not join in the globe spanning organizations that began to regulate reproduction, trade, diplomacy, etc. due to the fact they limited their independence and technological development. However, the members of the Qweritar Union always felt that they dealt with the Rimekh as superiors as they were now 'naturally' better rather than being dependent on technology. The Rimekh empire fell (as empires usually do) during the rise of equality between genders, which caused complex family problems, and for its colonial inhabitants. This allowed the Qweritar Union to feel they had justified their superiority (given that they had eliminated families entirely already and the state everywhere was overwhelmingly powerul) entitling them to the galaxy.

Race Attributes - The Qweritar are indeed well evolved for the society they live in. As they live in a relaively rigid bureaucratic state they have bonuses to
Trade
Diplomacy
Spying

and penalties to
Combat
Growth due to the cumbersome nature of their reproduction

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eleazar
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Re: Post your races here.

#35 Post by eleazar »

The "Post your races here" organizational idea isn't really helping. It's also confusing people.

Please just make a new thread for your new species ideas.

For those concerned with making the most up-to-date concept of their aliens easy to find, i'd recommend editing the first post in your species' topic, to make that the most finalized form.

I'll lock this for now, until we figure out if we need a new organizational thread, and if so what it should be like.


EDIT: unlocked so people can remove posts as per these instructions

But please don't add any more to this thread

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eleazar
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Re: Post your races here.

#36 Post by eleazar »

The new species wiki list (in progress) can be found here:

http://www.freeorion.org/index.php/Species

Zireael
Space Dragon
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Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2011 5:33 pm

Re: Post your races here.

#37 Post by Zireael »

Has anything been done for the past year? I found the list nice, but it's missing the pics of the races....

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eleazar
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Re: Post your races here.

#38 Post by eleazar »

Most species don't have pictures.

If you want to know what's been done recently to a wiki page, just click on the "history" tab at the top.

The list was never complete, and has gotten more out of date as i have been adding species to the actual game-- since that is in a state of flux it hasn't been documented yet.

Again, it's a wiki page, so feel free to add more of the species to the list or fill out missing information.

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eleazar
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Re: Post your races here.

#39 Post by eleazar »

eleazar wrote:The old "Post your races here" organizational idea isn't really helping. It's also confusing people.

Please just make a new thread, for your new species ideas, and remove it from this thread..

For those concerned with making the most up-to-date concept of their aliens easy to find, i'd recommend editing the first post in your species' topic, to make that the most finalized form.


See this thread for more guidance on species creation.

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