Okay trying something way mechanically different from last time for the sake of variation.
The Wargh
Soldiering: 8. The WARGH were designed as fighters, though they do not posess the high technology of other warfare-oriented species such as Humans. Their victories are often the result of sheer numbers and tenacity rather than the superiority of their weapons.
Spying: 7. This ain't no looky-loo spying. That's for pussies. When the WARGH encounter something new and interesting, they are most likely to kill whoever has it, then take it. If they can figure out how to use it, they quickly adapt it for their own purposes. If they don't understand it, probably it will be destroyed.
Culture: 7. WARGH are extremely hard-headed and have strong tribal ties to one another. Their united ferocity is such that the threat of their imminent attack will cause whole colonies to flee before their arrival, surrendering a planetary system with little or no fight.
Expansion: 2. WARGH are not particularly good explorers, and tend to expand by conquest rather than travel. They do, however, have primitive means of space exploration gleaned from the ruins of previous civilizations.
Intelligence: 0. WARGH are clever, but not intelligent. They were simply not designed to think. They were made to kill, pillage, and replicate. Thinking only complicates things. As such, their research efforts are often very unsuccessful.
Resources:0. WARGH don't develop resources. They pillage them.
Boring Narrative:
Long ago, an ancient civilization, the Elothir, had achieved space travel and colonized their home system, Eloth. They had just begun to look toward new solar systems when a civil war erupted among their colonies.
One of the factions had a desparately low population, and was not prosperous enough in natural resources to build the mechanized armies possessed by their enemies. They needed a way to develop as many warriors as possible.
Their answer was to develop an organic, self-replicating fighting machine that would decimate their opponents with no thought to their own lives, obeying orders without questions. Using their own genetic material as a base and augmenting it with the features of the many ferocious animals of the prime system in Eloth, the developed their Warfare-Adapted Replicating Genetic Hybrids... abbreviated as W.A.R.G.H.
Wargh were meant to be the perfect soldiers. Fast-growing, short-lived, self-replicating and nearly self-sustaining (a symbiotic bacteria that tints their green skins supplies them with basic nutrients, and their diet demands only high levels of protein), the W.A.R.G.H. armies grew, and proved more formidable that those of the other Elothir factions, both mechanical and otherwise.
This creative hubris was the ultimate demise of themselves, and the rest of the Elothir species. A small segment of the barely-sentient Wargh developed a degree of self-awareness that the Elothir did not anticipate. The uprising was swift and terrible, consuming the Eloth System in a crucible of blood and cruelty.
The W.A.R.G.H., being clever though not really intelligent, managed to sieze what was left of their masters' technology and used it to expand beyond their home system, conquering several other systems in the process, and wiping out two different species with the same rabid efficiency that had laid waste to their masters. Ultimately this new "Wargh Empire" grew too large and imploded in upon itself.
The Wargh now exist as feral scavengers once more on their home system... they have crawled up out of the ashes and prepare to rise again.
Phases:
Phase 1: Creation
The W.A.R.G.H. are developed to be brutal and efficient soldiers. They are physically powerful and resilient species, clever enough to use the weapons of their enemy and hard-headed enough to resist any attempt to turn them against their masters. They are designed to be only intelligent enough to follow orders unquestionably, and unified with one another only to the degree that is necessary to make them fight as a unit. Stupid Eldar... I mean Elothir. They thought they could design some Orks... I mean Wargh... without any consequences. Oh, the hubris.
Soldiering +2
Spying +1
Culture +1
Phase 2: War of the Eloth System
This organic war machine turns against its own masters in a torrent of blood and smoke. Their masters underestimated their brutal efficiency, as well as the ability for W.A.R.G.H. to develop brotherhood with each other and develop their inventive use of captured equipment. As a result their fighting abilities become even more ferocious and effective, much to the delight of their creators, who think that they are safe because they have designed a "contingency plan"... a disease engineered to wipe out their W.A.R.G.H. if necessary.
Soldiering +2
Spying +1
Culture +1
Phase 3: Independence
A W.A.R.G.H. unit calling himself General Groth rallies many fellow soldiers to him and rises up against the Elothir. They are unable to deploy the biological "anti-wargh" agent in time... they are overwhelmed by the Wargh too easily. In the wake of this war, the W.A.R.G.H. begin to build their own crude civilization from the ruins of the ancient Elothir. They continue to fight amongst themselves and band together in clans as they scrap the waste materials of the war in search of new and inventive methods of killing one another.
Spying +2
Culture +2
Phase 4: The Wargh Empire
The W.A.R.G.H. discover the methods of interstellar travel amidst the ruins of the Elothir's civilization. Naturally, when they discover other life forms present in the galaxy they immediately begin the process of conquering them and learning from the wreckage of their enemies. The Empire marks a new era in W.A.R.G.H. politics, and the unity of various Clans becomes stronger than ever under the banner of the twin axes.
Soldiering +2
Expansion +2
Phase 5: Conquest and Diplomacy
The Wargh Empire, though it has wiped out two species (the Kelari Collective and the Telomere), has found other brave warriors in the universe. They also learn of "trade", a previously foreign concept as well as expanding their primitive concept of "blood-pacts" to include relations with other species. Its contact with humans is particularly curious. Like the Wargh they are both bloodthirsty and savage to outsiders... yet also respect these qualities in others. Their Warboss, "Eric" is thought of as a worthy enemy whom the Wargh look forward to fighting when they have finished the rest of their wars.
Soldiering +1
Spying +1
Culture +2
Phase 6: The Empire Falls
In an all-out war with the robotic Damocles, the W.A.R.G.H. have extended their reach too far into space. Their Empire implodes upon itself when the General of the Blackskull Clan is supposedly killed in the magnetic wastes of the home system of the Damocles. However, this leader is reborn through cybernetic fusion as a further hybridization, one of organic as well as inorganic engineering. The infighting results in almost total annihilation of the species as the cybernetic W.A.R.G.H. rediscover the chemical agents that were designed to wipe out their species... and mistakenly believe themselves immune. The Wargh are wiped out on all except their home planet, where they again scratch out a harsh existence as they comb through the rubble of their once-mighty Empire... and prepare to make for the stars once more.
Soldiering +1
Spying +2
Culture +1
The WARGH are soldiering-aspected but I don't quite get how that works yet so it's not included in their ability scores.
It'd be lovely if the Wargh's color were red like last time.
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INeedNoSaltwith blood on my teethRegistered Userregular
edited June 2008
now everyone
go design your species in the Spore creature creator, *snaps fingers*
I need to work on it, either tonight after The Incredible Hulk, or tomorrow, but my civilization are The Tvashtri.
They're slightly nomadic, having lost their original homeworld to Rainfall's yet-to-be revealed robotic menace. The system they currently occupy, and their new homeworld, is a barely inhabitable planet, requiring them to live almost exclusively in their life-support suits. I'm going to put a slightly religious spin to them. They'll be Intelligence aspected, as we seem to be missing those, but I'll definitely be soldiering it up as they start the crusade to reclaim their homeworld.
Salt: I had the same idea when I saw the creature creator in action. So cool.
I've been thinking about game end conditions. The sorta goal of SM1 was to create a setting for character-based RPGs to be in, so the game was stopped when there was a decent amount of history but still enough variety in the universe to be interesting. I think we can pretty much assume it's not going to be used this time, so I'm trying to decide what to use instead. So far I've got:
1. When one species controls 60%+ of the map or
2. When one alliance controls 80%+ of the map or
3. When most or all of the players feel like it's done.
I've been considering adding some kind of super game-ending research, but I'm not sure I want people racing up the tech tree to try and "win" the game, since I don't really consider this quite that kind of game. Thoughts?
I might be scoring people, but just for fun I won't tell you what your score is or how it's calculated til the game's done, since I don't want people doing otherwise pointless/stupid stuff in an attempt to boost their score.
I've been thinking about game end conditions. The sorta goal of SM1 was to create a setting for character-based RPGs to be in, so the game was stopped when there was a decent amount of history but still enough variety in the universe to be interesting. I think we can pretty much assume it's not going to be used this time, so I'm trying to decide what to use instead. So far I've got:
1. When one species controls 60%+ of the map or
2. When one alliance controls 80%+ of the map or
3. When most or all of the players feel like it's done.
I've been considering adding some kind of super game-ending research, but I'm not sure I want people racing up the tech tree to try and "win" the game, since I don't really consider this quite that kind of game. Thoughts?
I might be scoring people, but just for fun I won't tell you what your score is or how it's calculated til the game's done, since I don't want people doing otherwise pointless/stupid stuff in an attempt to boost their score.
#1 and #2 seem feasible.
I could see alliances forming to combat the threat of the more militant races, and at the same time, I don't see everyone suddenly aligning to end the game. And the first goal, of one race controlling 60% of the map, seems in line with someone like the W.A.R.G.H., for example, who may want to conquer and be the sole conquerer.
Probably, yea. Just want to make sure everyone has some idea of what it might be so it doesn't end with one guy going "But!? I thought I had 6 more turns left to kick everyone's ass!" or something.
Btw, just in case people haven't considered the math, if you give yourself a starting stat of zero in Resources, Expansion, or Construction, you'll need a perfect roll to do anything (succeeding with a stat of zero is like saying your people did something completely by accident). Research can be done with less-than-perfect rolls in two turns, but if you get any negative rolls it could start to take forever.
Since fighting, spying and culturing are vs. the other players, you could have an easier time of doing something but pretty much only if they also have a zero.
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INeedNoSaltwith blood on my teethRegistered Userregular
I've been thinking about game end conditions. The sorta goal of SM1 was to create a setting for character-based RPGs to be in, so the game was stopped when there was a decent amount of history but still enough variety in the universe to be interesting. I think we can pretty much assume it's not going to be used this time, so I'm trying to decide what to use instead. So far I've got:
1. When one species controls 60%+ of the map or
2. When one alliance controls 80%+ of the map or
3. When most or all of the players feel like it's done.
I've been considering adding some kind of super game-ending research, but I'm not sure I want people racing up the tech tree to try and "win" the game, since I don't really consider this quite that kind of game. Thoughts?
I might be scoring people, but just for fun I won't tell you what your score is or how it's calculated til the game's done, since I don't want people doing otherwise pointless/stupid stuff in an attempt to boost their score.
#1 and #2 seem feasible.
I could see alliances forming to combat the threat of the more militant races, and at the same time, I don't see everyone suddenly aligning to end the game. And the first goal, of one race controlling 60% of the map, seems in line with someone like the W.A.R.G.H., for example, who may want to conquer and be the sole conquerer.
sure, it's the WARGH who will win
you keep on dreamin'
anyway @ shamus: In the last game, by the end, pretty much everyone who wasn't the WARGH or the Combine did ally together, all of their research was more or less shared with everyone else, and the game ended. That was pretty much #2.
I mean, Horseshoe's right in that it ended because everyone got bored, but everyone got bored I think because the entire galaxy decided to be Super Friends.
edit: @Scooter: Just how many different flavors of resources will there be? It's a bigger deal if we end up stacking resources like we did in the last game to get bonuses like +14 to Soldiering or something.
Btw, just in case people haven't considered the math, if you give yourself a starting stat of zero in Resources, Expansion, or Construction, you'll need a perfect roll to do anything (succeeding with a stat of zero is like saying your people did something completely by accident). Research can be done with less-than-perfect rolls in two turns, but if you get any negative rolls it could start to take forever.
Since fighting, spying and culturing are vs. the other players, you could have an easier time of doing something but pretty much only if they also have a zero.
Okay. I shifted an Intelligence Point to Resources, just to be sure that I had the bases covered. I want to be able to DO stuff.
Everything's as listed on the wiki. If you get every single training and attack resource, including the uniques (uniques in this version meaning you can't get one randomly unless all existing TUs of it are gone) +14 would be the max, however, resources no longer last forever like they did in SM1 (at the end of SM1 everyone's resource pile started looking too similar). +14 would require getting 6 different kinds of resources and they're not all going to pop out at the same time with the same number of TUs.
Goddamnit, I hope everyone doesn't play the guy with the chip on the shoulder. The political backroom dealings with shifting military alliances was the best part of Myth and if we all blow out in two seconds that won't be that fun.
Well, keep in mind that there will probably be 10-12ish systems on the map per species, and you don't have contact with each other til explored areas bump into each other. There'll be a chance for local politics and alliances before the Big One.
one Aspect per Phase, in addition to the 4 skill points per phase. Correct? Which means you could spread them around or stack them on one skill to be better at it.
Correct?
KrataLightblade on
LEVEL 50 SWORD JUGGLER/WIZARD!
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INeedNoSaltwith blood on my teethRegistered Userregular
edited June 2008
I'm not really sure how the aspects were supposed to end up working
I just slapped on the one because otherwise it doesn't really make sense (7 total aspects, with 6 of them granting a reroll, and a limit of 1/reroll per skill per turn, you'd basically just want to reroll every roll every turn.)
Scoots, why not just do it where each time you use an Aspect you get +1 to a roll, you can use one once per turn and it costs a FATE point to use. You (the GM) can use one of our Aspects AGAINST a roll once each turn, as you think each aspect applies, applying a -1 to our roll and gaining us a FATE point.
Clear as mud? This is more in line with the idea of the original Aspects in FATE.
I, unfortunately, do not yet have a logo. I'm working on one. This is Draft 2 of my Phases, and maybe helps a little better with each description.
Phase 1: Cometfall and Virus
The Anandan people had an easy life, on their homeworld, before the Comet came. The Comet that Anandan astronomers never saw coming struck the earth near to a major populated area, and thousands were killed. But this was only the beginning, as the Anandans discovered shortly thereafter It had never been a dangerous world, Ananda, and was not a dark or terrifying place. As a result, when the Anandans discovered the awful truth that their race was slowly dying of a space-born plague that generation after generation weakened their people, the Anandans, never having faced true hardship before, succumbed to deadly ennui. They had spread to cover their homeworld, but apathy and lack of competing species had made their race weak, and they had never needed to grow technologically. The Anandans despaired.
Intelligence=0
Soldiering+1=1
Resources+1=1
Culture=0
Espionage=0
Expansive+2=2
Construction=0
Phase 2: Anandan First Spaceflight
The first (successful) Anandan spaceflight was a miracle to the science community, and for a short time revitalized the failing Anandan spark of life. For the first time in centuries, the society was galvanized by the implications of true spaceflight. Maybe they could escape the world, and maybe they could find the answers to survive the plague in the stars. Or, perhaps, just perhaps, the revitalized science could find a cure! Unfortunately, the craft was destroyed while exploring the solar system, bringing Anandan culture to a staggering standstill once again. Unbeknownst to the Anandans, however, they had attracted the notice of a force that would change them... forever.
Intelligence+1=1
Soldiering+1=2
Resources+1=2
Culture=0
Espionage=0
Expansive=2
Construction+1=1
Phase 3: The Star Gods' Gift
The First Contact with the beings the Anandans have come to know only as the Star Gods occurred years later. Simultaneously over every receiving device on the Anandan homeworld the message came. “Love us, and grow strong.” At that moment, every single Anandan scientist discovered, at the exact same instant, precisely how to cure the Virus. Cults began to spring up all over the Anandan world. The Star Gods gifted their children with great leaps of technology, and asked only love and devotion in return. The cults were only too happy to oblige.
Intelligence+2=3
Soldiering=2
Resources=2
Culture+2=2
Espionage=0
Expansive=3
Construction=1
Phase 4: The Anandan Religious Revolution/The Exile of the Broken
The Anandan people were, once more, divided against themselves. Those who rejected the Star Gods found themselves under assault by those who accepted them. Finally, the Cultists claimed, they had something to live for. There was a cure for the Virus! Those who rejected the Star Gods, however, called the cure a lie, spoke of indoctriniation and bondage. They could not, however, match the Star Gods’ technology, which to them bordered on magical. The revolution lasted a decade, and ended at the Battle of Three, where an entire city stands as monument to the courage of the True Anandan people. When it was over, the Star Gods showed their final mercy. Those who had rejected them were given spacecraft and sent away, refusing their cure and disappearing from Ananda, perhaps forever. Henceforth they were known only as the Broken, called so because the Virus would shatter them as it had almost shattered all of Ananda.
Intelligence+1=4
Soldiering+1=3
Resources =2
Culture+2=4
Espionage=0
Expansive=3
Construction=1
Phase 5: The Reconstruction
The next fifty years were taken with the rebuilding of the Anandans into a force of change for the galaxy. The Star Gods asked, and the Anandans gave. In return, the Anandans were gifted with greater and greater feats of technological advancement. The Anandans grew dependant on the Star Gods, and this was exactly how the Star Gods wanted matters to proceed. In the end, the homeworld of Ananda was systematically stripped of resources and used to feed the expansionistic drive outwards. “Go forth,” came the message, “And make the universe understand.” The Anandans could not but agree. The Anandans went forth into their own system, first, and then began to probe outlying systems. Colonies were seeded on or in orbit of every world in their home system, and in the end, the Anandans saw that they needed more. Massive construction projects were made to provide the Anandans with habitations off-world and on worlds too deadly to survive unaided. The first of these was known as Messiah Station, and was set in orbit around the largest gas giant in the Anandan system. This station became the center of worship for the Star Gods, and all of the Star Gods wisdom flowed first from there.
Intelligence+1=5
Soldiering=3
Resources =2
Culture+2=6
Espionage=0
Expansive=3
Construction+1=2
Phase 6: The First Wave of Exploration
In the end, the Star Gods demanded more, and the Anandans were only too happy to provide. They were not masterful warriors, the Anandans, but their zeal was only too critical to the Star Gods efforts. They would go forth and convert the entire galaxy into the veneration of the Star Gods, and the cycle would be complete. No more bound by fear of the inexorable Virus, the Anandan people spread forth and seek to command the universe in the names of their gods. The Anandans would spread and grow and, in the end, the Star Gods would rule over all. So it was spoken, so it would be.
Intelligence+1=6
Soldiering=3
Resources=3
Culture+2=8
Espionage=0
Expansive+1=4
Construction=2
I hope to have a decent logo for them by tomorrow night. It's a pain, not being able to edit my own pictures, sometimes.
I've been thinking about game end conditions. The sorta goal of SM1 was to create a setting for character-based RPGs to be in, so the game was stopped when there was a decent amount of history but still enough variety in the universe to be interesting. I think we can pretty much assume it's not going to be used this time, so I'm trying to decide what to use instead. So far I've got:
1. When one species controls 60%+ of the map or
2. When one alliance controls 80%+ of the map or
3. When most or all of the players feel like it's done.
I've been considering adding some kind of super game-ending research, but I'm not sure I want people racing up the tech tree to try and "win" the game, since I don't really consider this quite that kind of game. Thoughts?
I might be scoring people, but just for fun I won't tell you what your score is or how it's calculated til the game's done, since I don't want people doing otherwise pointless/stupid stuff in an attempt to boost their score.
#1 and #2 seem feasible.
I could see alliances forming to combat the threat of the more militant races, and at the same time, I don't see everyone suddenly aligning to end the game. And the first goal, of one race controlling 60% of the map, seems in line with someone like the W.A.R.G.H., for example, who may want to conquer and be the sole conquerer.
sure, it's the WARGH who will win
you keep on dreamin'
no shit, right?
i don't think playing a species that is conflict-oriented can possibly work so i want to see if i'm correct.
I'm not really sure how the aspects were supposed to end up working
I just slapped on the one because otherwise it doesn't really make sense (7 total aspects, with 6 of them granting a reroll, and a limit of 1/reroll per skill per turn, you'd basically just want to reroll every roll every turn.)
I limited it to one reroll per turn.
Do GMs normally go randomly knocking people's rolls down in Fate? That seems odd.
Scoots, why not just do it where each time you use an Aspect you get +1 to a roll, you can use one once per turn and it costs a FATE point to use. You (the GM) can use one of our Aspects AGAINST a roll once each turn, as you think each aspect applies, applying a -1 to our roll and gaining us a FATE point.
Clear as mud? This is more in line with the idea of the original Aspects in FATE.
Well that just seems to really be about FATE points and not about Aspects at all.
I thought that Aspects were things you chose at character creation that you could use to invoke a reroll (either a total reroll or change one die).
If I am reading things correctly, the WARGH might be:
So I could positively invoke violent for say, offensive efforts. The WARGH are attacking the species of another colony, and I roll a positive and two negatives. This battle is a really important one, so I check off two of my three "violent" aspect boxes and change those two negatives to positives for a higher result. (I could have instead spent a single one to reroll the check but decided to spend two for a sure thing).
So I can only use the WARGH's "violent" aspect one more time until a refresh happens. When that happens is up to the GM. That this is a turn-based board game type of thing, perhaps Scooter will refresh once every X number of turns or something like that.
WARGH are aspected in such a way that it can easily work against them though. If they were, say, attempting to use a "spying" check to loot technology from another society, the GM might rule that being violent actually works against me because the WARGH's reputation means that their neighbors are freaked out by them and are more vigilant against their pillaging. That's when I might need to spend a FATE point to prevent the -1 to their roll.
Right now I'm using just the straight reroll...aspect...of the Aspects, with it refreshing each turn.
I could do the FATE point trading, but if we have 15-20 players (17 shown interest atm) I can tell you right now I'm not going to be able to do an analysis of every roll for each player to see if I can nail them on an Aspect conflict. Most likely we'd probably be talking one lucky randomly chosen player a turn. I mean, I'd only do one with an actual conflict, but I'd do as little searching as possible.
I was merely suggesting the use of a GM using an aspect and knocking down the "power" of a re-roll. In FATE, a GM can use an aspect AGAINST a character (for example Scoots, if Kerja had the aspect 'reckless pilot', I could say that you would do a dangerous route to a planet instead of the safer one). This, however, is by choice. If you agree to accept that aspect of the aspect, then you gain a FATE point.
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INeedNoSaltwith blood on my teethRegistered Userregular
edited June 2008
So basically do we got a bunch of aspects or just one? I mean, if we've got a bunch, might as well just say a generic free +2 bonus and then one free reroll to any ability each turn, since 7 aspects == 7 skills.
The Tvashtri The seventh prophecy has passed. The homeworld is dead.
The Tvashtri homeworld, Prithivi, is a lifeless husk. Drained of all it's natural resources, and broken by the wars of the clans, it is a tomb. It's cities lie in ruin as fierce winds erode it to nothingness. The atmosphere is a thick miasma, choking the last vestiges of life from the planet. Soon it will be nothing more then a rock.
However, The Tvashtri persevere. The eighth prophecy speaks of a new homeworld, a verdant paradise that will bring the race into a new golden age.
Physiology
Since the beginning of the war, The Tvashtri as a whole have survived in their survival suits. The weapons they used against each other left their world a polluted wasteland, and up until their exodus, life support systems were a neccessity and way of life. All Tvashtri wear their suits like a second skin, only removing them in the safety of their own ships.
Physically, the Tvashtri are slim, humanoid in shape.
Phase 1:The Exodus
The Tvashtri leave their homeworld en masse, relocating to the other planets within their system.
Expansion +2
Intelligence +2
Phase 2: Indra
Within their system, the Tvashtri discover the planet Indra. It is a harsh environment, home to atmospheric storms that strike the terrain with lightning constantly. However, it contains the resources necessary for the search of a new homeworld. The harvest begins.
Resource Richness +1
Expansive +1
Intelligence +2
Phase 3: Dyaus
Another planet is discovered. The environment is not welcoming to Tvashtri physiology. However, it does sustain life and a civilization of it's own. The Tvashtri begin to settle as they watch their new neighbors.
A new war begins on Dyaus, as the original civilization is hostile to the Tvashtri.
Soldiering +1
Culture +1
Espionage +1
Construction +1
Phase 5: The Winds of Change
While Dyaus is not the promised paradise, it's suitable enough to sustain the Tvashtri until the prophecy points them into the right direction. They fight for their new home.
Soldiering +2
Espionage +2
Phase 6: Prophecy Revealed
As the war ends with the extinction of the rival civilization, a broadcast is uncovered. The people rejoice as the fleets begin to get ready to leave, in search of a new homeworld.
Espionage +1
Culture +2
Soldiering +1
Intelligence 7 (5+2): The Tvashtri are intelligence aspected. Gifted in science, they consider it holy. Espionage 5: The Tvashtri way of war is to remain undetected for long as possible, before a careful and sudden strike. Culture 4: The Tvashtri culture is rich, though heavily intertwined with their religion. Expansion 4: The Tvashtri believe their promised homeworld awaits, and it lays beyond their stars. Soldiering 4: The military is designed for precise, quick strikes that disable the foe before they can react. The military has suffered, however, as much was lost in the Exodus. Resource Richness 1: They will plunder resources, as each planet is nothing compared to the world they believe awaits them. Construction 1: It took centuries to erect the monolithic cities of Prithivi. It'll take centuries for them to rebuild.
A little well-rounded. Color wise, I'd prefer purple, white, or blue.
I must have missed the love-in that was apparently present in the last Space Myth. I think I ended up with two allies but I stole some systems from one of them through culture and was at war with another faction pretty much throughout the entire thing. I'd rather there be a balance between diplomacy and war rather than effectively playing Risk: The Forum Game.
And I fully approve of secret points, Scooter, I think we all need to remember the goal is the create a neat setting rather than win. Frankly I'll be dissapointed if my race doesn't end up wiped out besides that small sample that's stored away deep in a bunker for Science.
So tomorrow night I'll think about aspects and any other last minute concerns.
Friday night I'll end the official signup phase.
Saturday I'll put out the map and start turn 0.
Unless my schedule messes with things.
If you've already posted your profile and turn 1 rolls it might be good to repost them again on Friday, so I know that's definitely how you wanna go with the rules set up as of then. To clarify: Main signups due Friday night/Sat morning, Turn 1 rolls due 8:00 PM EST on Tuesday, and if you want to sign up after Turn 0 you'll have to wait til after turn 1 and play as a split-off faction.
HacksawJ. Duggan Esq.Wrestler at LawRegistered Userregular
edited June 2008
I think I'm going to go ahead and bow out of this. Being as I've already got my finger in a bunch of other pies, I don't think I'll be able to dedicate enough time to this for it to be worthwhile.
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lonelyahavaCall me Ahava ~~She/Her~~Move to New ZealandRegistered Userregular
edited June 2008
Edit:: warning! Warning! Apparently I write a LOT when I get the chance to. Just thought I should warn you all that there is a whole lot of text in those spoilers. Please don't kill me!
The Assh Serai are a race made up of Dust and Shadow. They began as simply clouds of this matter able to think collectively as one and gather all thought into them. Over the course of their evolution, they have split into three distinct groups, The Nir, The Irva, The Vana. Hurled from Som, the first home of a simple cloud of dust and shadow, by a cosmic ray from a black hole, the Assh Serai developed sentience along the journey at the end of the ray. It was upon the end of the journey, a crash landing on the planet of Msara, all the way on the other side of the galazy, that the original single-thinking cloud of dust and shadow was broken apart into many individual Assh Serai. Their evolution is not yet complete, but they have a goal.
They Must Return To Som.
The Assh Serai Castes
The Nir
The Nir are semi-solid forms of dust and shadow. They are shape-shifting Assh Serai, able to form into any crack or crevice, be it physical, or psychic. They are the 'spies', for lack of a better term, of the Assh Serai. They hunt down any scrap of knowledge that is hidden from them and the Assh Serai as a whole, in hopes that they can use this information to help their people reach Som.
The Irva
The Irva are the purest of the Assh Serai, the closest beings to what they all were in the beginning, when they were first wrought out of one large cloud of dust and shadow and smashed into the planet of Msara, a long time ago. They are the thought keepers and generators for the Assh Serai. They spend all of their time thinking and communicating with the other Assh Serai as freely as they can, in hopes that one idea from them might spark another which will spark another which will lead them all back to Som.
The Vana
The Vana are the solidified Assh Serai. They were originally like the Irva, all Assh Serai were, but due to the jealousy of knowledge held by the Nir, and the desire to keep some of their thoughts private, the Vana put up barriers not only on their minds, but on their physical forms as well. It has been so long that they have lost the ability to return to their original state as clouds of dust and shadow. They are the fighters and the builders of the Assh Serai, determined to build and defend their people, so that all will be existing and ready when they finally reach Som.
The Assh Serai Phases
The Formation
At the farthest reaches of any galaxy, there are clouds of dust and shadow. Piercing through every galaxy, there are powerful blasts of cosmic rays. From the distant past, two of these elements met in a far distant area of space. One cloud of dust and shadow, and one powerful cosmic ray collided. From the force of the ray, the dust and shadow cloud was pushed further from the galaxy it once called Home, the galaxy of Som. While trapped within the forceful beam of energy and heat, a change occured within the cloud of dust and shadow. Sentience emerged. And so, when the cosmic ray finally gave it's last push, the cloud of dust and shadow broke upon the darkened landscape of a rock planet, a planet hidden from the light of nearby stars by it's own clouds of dust and shadow. When this happened, the Assh Serai were born.
At first, they were nothing more than roiling balls of shadow and thought, sentient forms of the darkness from which they were born. The large rock that they had been pushed to was uninhabitable by many creatures, it's lack of light allowing for no vegetation or moisture to accumulate and grow. But this was not a problem for the Assh Serai. They required no liquid or vegetation to grow and remain strong. They required no light, in fact the presence of light could harm or destroy them. It was there, under the darkened sky of ash and dust and shadow, that the Assh Serai grew, and thought, and became.
The planet upon which the Assh Serai developed did not have a name, though many have taken to calling it Msara. There was no need for a name for the Assh Serai. They were. It was. And that was all that needed to be said or known about the ball of rock that had become their home. It is hard to know, from an outside point, what those early periods of time for the Assh Serai were like, or what they even consisted of. The greatest of the Assh Serai historians describe their existence as that of peace and growth.
"We were as clouds upon the sky, as waves upon the sea. Rolling here, floating there, our minds the only active thing. We contemplated the galaxy from the distance of a child sent away from its parents for the first time. We considered the punishment we received which ended in our being thrown from Som and landing here upon Msara. We roved, we thought, we became stronger in our minds. We knew our place within this new galaxy, and we were satisfied.
The Contemplation
But, as it always comes to happen within a young thinking race, a thought was born that festered within the clouds of dust and shadow, that pushed its way through the sentient balls of ash and darkness. Why had they been pushed from Som? What had they done to anger the galaxy so that they were shoved from their happy existence and thrust across the stars to this world? Who was at fault?
And as all things do, the thought changed and provoked and stirred new ideas and debates. And, the peaceful existence of the Assh Serai soon fell to the growings of mistrust and chaos. While only being smaller clouds of dust and shadow, the Assh Serai were growing in their moral ways. In the New Beginning, all thoughts were open to all Assh Serai. One thought was shared by millions of other thoughts, travelling through the heat and ash choked air of Msara, the rock on which they all lived. But soon after the first thoughts of guilt and culpability were created and formed, the Assh Serai learned to hide their thoughts from one another. They learned to keep some thoughts to themselves, and even a few learned to put forth false thoughts into the miasmic cloud.
The first lie was created.
"What had once been for us a sea of ever changing, ever exchanging thoughts, no blockades, no turns, no walls, had now become a maze. There was no more sharing of free thought, there was no trusting that the thought you found within the wind was real, or was even a thought at all. We were as small children, jealous of our individual minds, jealous of what others might find within our thoughts. Some guilt, perhaps, or some filth. We were no longer a free society."
The Seperation
None can be sure what the first insidious thought was, but it was enough to bring the Assh Serai's innocent culture to a halt. Now, there were some that cconsidered themselves to be not part of the whole, but individual. Their thoughts were their own, and they need not share them with the others. For if the others could not think these thoughts within their own minds, then why should the others benefit from my ability? This was the emergence of the individual, the self, the singular. Up until now, the Assh Serai had been one mind, one thought, one seperated but equal being. Now, the clouds of dust and shadow that roamed the surface and air of Msara were learning to put up walls around their sentience, and their beings. And all know that when walls begin to go up, others look to find cracks within them.
And so it was, for why would a single Assh Serai put up a wall around a thought, if the thought was not something that should not be shared? What was it that they were thinking within themselves that they did not wish others to know? All Assh Serai had begun to cloud and wall off their thoughts from others. For if the others would not share, why should they? But the loss of interconnectivity and freedom and community bothered some Assh Serai, and they strove to break through those walls, by whatever means necessary, to recover the thoughts that by right and history, should belong to all Assh Serai, not just One.
"They are called the Nir, the insidious ones. Nir will find a way past your wall, they will find a way through it, over it, under it, around it. Nir are cunning, and strong in mind and spirit. They have guile and courage, and they do not falter when others would fail. The objective is the key. Nir will stop at nothing to achieve their objective. Be it a single thought that has been walled off from them, or a golden ornament that some other being desires. The Nir will find a way to retrieve that which they seek."
There were some Assh Serai that saw the rise of the Nir and sought to fight against this invasion, sought to stop what they felt as an attack upon their beings and their rights. These Assh Serai were the first to not only put up walls around their thoughts, but also around their forms. The Nir were capable of getting past the mental blockades and twists and turns placed around thoughts, but they had a harder time getting past the physicallity of these new Assh Serai. They were called Vana.
"The Vana were the first to take a solid shape. And while they looked nothing then as they can now, the Vana took this solidity as a means to protect themselves against the invasive Nir. And soon, they were having different thoughts, thoughts that in the beginning were not even capable of being thought. How to move, how to change, how to protect, and how fight. These were the answer to the Nir, these were the ones that could try to stop the Nir and their jealous and desperate need to know all. These were the Vana."
Now there are still some Assh Serai that were not accounted for in either of these groups. A third grouping one could say. These were the Assh Serai that saw no need for walling off their thoughts, saw no need for solidifying their forms. These were the Assh Serai that tried to stay as true to their creation as possible. The Irva. A collective whole made of many parts, the Irva strove to retain their identities as the true Assh Serai, a whole greater than the sum of its parts.
"Irva are the beating soul of the Assh Serai. They are the creators of thought and belief, the sustainers of both holy and unholy, they hide nothing and think of everything. They drive the culture of the Assh Serai, the beliefs and the morality. All are part of the Irva, as the Irva are the whole of the Assh Serai. They do not exclude the Nir, though the Irva feel the Nir are jealous to their own destruction. They do not exclude the Vana, though they feel the Vana are vanity to the destruction of others. The Irva are regarded highly by all Assh Serai, though their numbers are small in comparison. The Nir are the devious mind, the Vana are the strong body, the Irva are the delicate soul. But together, all are the Assh Serai."
The Realization
Years passed, and though the Assh Serai as a whole were intelligent beings, they did not have a means of marking time. It could have been days, it could have been centuries, but time did pass. And in this time, the Nir developed their skills of intrusion and detection, the Vana honed their abilities of form and function, and the Irva collected their knowledge and passed it on to all Assh Serai.
It was during this time, that the Irva extended their minds and thoughts out past themselves, past the Assh Serai, and even past the confines of Msara. They turned their thoughts to the universe, their minds to unravelling the mysteries around them, and the truths of their existence within the galaxy. And it was from this extension of thought and conscious that the Irva discovered something frightening, something amazing, something that would change the way the Assh Serai thought, lived, and fought forever.
The planet upon which the cosmic ray had thrust them, threw them, smashed them upon rock, creating smaller clouds of dust and shadow from the one large cloud they had been at the begin, this planet upon which the Assh Serai had come to call home, this planet of Msara, was not a planet at all. Msara did not have the stationary orbit of a planet, but was hurtling through the galaxy at a rate unknown to the Assh Serai. There was no projected path, no sure destination. They had come from one edge of the galaxy to the other, and now, this rock upon which they existed was barrelling back towards the side of the universe that the Assh Serai had originated from.
Msara was heading towards Som.
The thought was there, and was broadcast to all Assh Serai to hear and think on for themselves. The Irva were ecstatic, the Nir jealous, and the Vana emboldened. Whatever sin had caused them to be cast from Som originally, whatever problem it had been that had caused that cosmic ray to thrust into their being and bring them to this point, must have been forgiven. Because they were headed back home. The Assh Serai, for the first time since the Seperation, gathered together all over the planet of Msara, the rock of Msara, to discuss this change in fortune.
"There were no walls at that gathering, no blockades of mental or physical form. It was all the Assh Serai gathered, individual clouds of dust and shadow coming together into the form of the large cloud, the cloud that all Assh Serai had been born from. And in this state, the news was shared. They were all headed back to Som. This journey would bring them across the universe, both known and unknown. It would bring them within contact of other beings, other creations, other forms of life. But they would reach Som. This was the thought that held into the minds and consciousness of every Assh Serai, Nir, Irva, and Vana alike. They were headed back to Som. And nothing would get in their way of returning to where they came from. Nothing."
The Solidification
For the first time in their history, the Assh Serai had a unifying goal other than the pursuit of simple knowledge. They had a goal to reach, and that goal was Som. Of course, the different philosophies had different means in which they were sure the Assh Serai would achieve this goal. The plans were forged, and then put into action. While Msara was hurtling still across the open galaxies, the Assh Serai were hard at work.
The Nir were perfecting their skills, learning and thinking of new ways to get around blockades and barriers erected against them. They had begun to take on forms of liquid dust and shadow, seeping in through cracks and chinks not only through their targets mind, but also through the physical forms of their brothers, the Vana. The Nir were becoming highly adept at seeking out secrets and places that were intended to be hidden, and they practiced these techniques ever on and on.
The Vana were struggling to come up with new and inventive ways to stop the Nir from finding their secrets and their thoughts. They began to erect solid forms upon the surface of Msara, buildings of solid rock and shadow, as impenetrable as they could manage. The Vana were also emboldened by the thought of strange creatures and beings that might be met along the way of their journey. They were not fools, the Vana, they knew that not all beings they met would be friendly, or even courteous. So the Vana also prepared for encounters of the not so pleasant kind. Any thought of pain and injury was theirs, and they became adept at not only causing such things, but preventing them. Unfortunately, for the Vana, this brought about the single most drastic change for the Assh Serai ever witnessed or thought of. Their constant practicing and building and focus on the physical world and form had the Vana constantly in a state of solidity. After a time, none of the Assh Serai can say for certain how long it did take, the Vana had been holding solid form for so long, they could not remember how to release it. They thought of how they had been, of how the Irva and the Nir were still, but the change had taken place. The Vana were no longer simple clouds of dust and shadow. They were solid beings, locked in a two-legged, two-armed form that had been part of a thought long since forgotten. The Vana were solid.
The Irva, they tried their best to help out their now very different looking kin, but there was no thought that could undo the solidification, no matter how hard the Irva tried. And so, the collective mind turned back to the problem at hand. How would the Assh Serai cope with returning to Som? How would they find Som? What would it be like when they got there? The memories of what Som had been for them were dimmed, it had been many years, centuries, since they had been there, what would the Assh Serai find when they returned? The Irva gathered their thoughts, and tried to piece together what they knew of the past, and what they had thought of as the future. These thoughts were shared with all, as was the Irva way, the Assh Serai way. And through these thoughts, the Assh Serai as a whole grew stronger, more willing, more capable.
"It was the Irva the pushed the Assh Serai towards Som. It was the Irva that gave the Assh Serai the strength to stride on through difficulties. It was the Irva that thought of new and terrible things that they would face, and it was the Irva that helped their kindred clouds of dust and shadow, and their kindred solid forms of dust and shadow push towards that now known goal of Som. The Vana had changed, and the Assh Serai adapted. The Nir had changed, and the Assh Serai adapted. The Irva had stayed the same, and the Assh Serai adapted. Everything was pushing towards Som, everyone was striving for Som. How they got there was of little matter. All that mattered was that the Assh Serai were going back to Som."
The Dedication
The Assh Serai knew that they were not alone in the galaxy. They knew that they were bound to meet up with other races and beings on their journey back to Som. This was the thought that had come to the Irva and had been shared with the whole of the Assh Serai during the Realization. They knew that those races they came across would not necessarily be friendly, so the Assh Serrai took it upon themselves to prepare for whatever happened on their long journey. The Nir developed and practiced their infiltration and knowledge gathering skills. The Vana had solidified themselves and had taken to building up not only fortresses, but themselves as massive protectors and defenders and fighters for their Assh Serai kin. The Irva thought. And thought. And thought. New ideas came to the Irva at an alarming rate, and these ideas were broadcast to all Assh Serai, as was the way of their people since their time began.
Everything that the Assh Serai did, as individual beings and as a collective whole was dedicated to the eventual return to Som. Everything was focused upon that point in the future when they would finally end up back where they had begun. Their entire culture was based upon the concept of redemption and achievement. There was nothing that the Assh Serai could not accomplish so long as it was thought of.
In the second Gathering of Assh Serrai, when once again all the barriers that were erected were brought down, those that could be, a single goal was set for them. They would dedicate everything that they were, everything that they thought and learned and built, towards reaching Som. Their home of Msara, an asteroid surrounded by an ever-dark cloud of ash and smoke and dust and shadow created by the volcanic eruptions upon the asteroids surface, was hurtling them towards Som, the place of their creation and birth. Everything that the Assh Serai were and would be and could be was focused on that eventual goal. They Dedicated themselves, and their existence as a whole to reaching that place. What they would do when they got there, how they would react to the trials and hardships that were sure to come their way as they flew through the galaxies of the universe to their goal, was all a matter of circumstance and thought.
"Nothing would be impossible. Nothing could not be achieved. Reaching Som is the all encompassing goal for the Assh Serai. Everything is done with that final goal in mind. Those that would stand in their way, attempt to stop their journey, would be brought to a cold end, or an enlightened new beginning. There was a single solitary thought that was shared amongst all Assh Serai. Som. The word, the concept, the idea brought new meaning and new life to the Assh Serai as a whole. And while each went about reaching Som in their own way, all knew that it was their final destination. There was nothing that could stand between them and Som. There was no race or creature or creed or war that could cease their journey. There was no obstacle that together, the Assh Serai couldn't surmount. Everything and anything that could be thought of, was. They would reach Som. They would return to Som. Everything would come full circle. The Assh Serai were determined and capable. There is nothing the universe could hurl at them, that would stop the Assh Serai from reaching Som. Every existing Assh Serai now knew only one final purpose. Gather information as best and quickly as they can. Build and defend the knowledge and dreams of the whole. Think of every angle, every possibility, every permutation and find an answer. This was the way to reach Som. Everything leads back to Som."
Assh Serai Skills
Formation:
The Assh Serai are created by a cosmic ray hitting a cloud of dust and shadow and hurtling it across the universe while also providing the energy needed to form sentience.
Intelligence +2=2
Soldiering
Resources +1=1
Culture
Espionage
Expansive +1=1
Construction
Contemplation:
The Assh Serai break from their collectiveness and become individuals and learn the original forms of deception and subterfuge.
Intelligence +1=3
Soldiering
Resources 1
Culture+1=1
Espionage +2=2
Expansive 1
Construction
Seperation:
The Assh Serai find themselves dividing on philosophical lines into three seperate castes.
Intelligence+1=4
Soldiering +1=1
Resources 1
Culture+1=2
Espionage+1=3
Expansive 1
Construction
Realization:
The Assh Serai are brough together as a collective once more with the realization that they can return to Som.
Intelligence+1=5
Soldiering 1
Resources 1
Culture+2=4
Espionage+1=4
Expansive 1
Construction
Solidification:
The Assh Serai are dvided by physical differences but united by the goal of reaching Som.
Intelligence 5
Soldiering +2=3
Resources 1
Culture 4
Espionage +1=5
Expansive 1
Construction +1=1
Dedication:
The Assh Serai are travelling back towards Som in hopes of redemption. They have determined that nothing will stop them from reaching Som.
Intelligence =5
Soldiering +1=4
Resources =1
Culture +1=5
Espionage+2=7
Expansive =1
Construction =1
"We are the Assh Serai. Born of Dust and Shadow. Made of Thought and Care. We are the Assh Serai."
Alaac, as the dolphoids call their homeworld, was relative unique among life holding planets in that it's surface was almost completely covered with water. With only 1.4% dry landmass, life has never really evolved beyond the oceans, and instead continued on full force into the oceans. In time, as life is wont to do, one of the larger fish evolved intelligence. The fact that their looks resemble earth fish is not surprising, the basics of fluid dynamics dictate an optimal shape in any water enviroment. They live in floating inverse towers, where they filter the water, regulate the temperature, keep other fish out, including the very few predators they did not eradicate earlier on in their evolution (For while they're not exactly warlike, they are very protectionist). Currently, most of the species is about 10 feet tall, 400 pounds or so, although they see no issues at all in geneticly engineering some of their species to better adapt to space travel, among other things making them much smaller. Being a fish in space does not make life easier, but they have an advantage that in principle, they can share most systems because they life in the water, while most life they encountered are landwalkers. They watch upon most of them with bemusement, seeing them waggle along.
They're a naturally curious bunch, wanting to see what's out there. So they've started interstellar travel, do research, and perhaps see if there's other oceans to swim. They've encountered some nasty stuff though, and while they're not strong fighting hand to hand, they're certainly smart enough to find nasty solutions for nasty problems.
P1: The Awakening
While hunting fish is good, learning how to make fish grow and just wait till you eat them is better. And with a world made out of just water, there are lots of places to this. Having access to 98% of their homeworld's resources, their naturally curiosity, and no real compition made the Dolphoids grow into an intelligent, food farming, habitat building society far faster then most species. Excellent communication and a good memory means they remember what they've seen too, and they always seem to have a knack to find a fast solution for problems.
Intelligence +2
Resource Richness +2
p2: The Everlasting Empire
Even on Alaac there's not an endless supply of fish, and some fish is tastier then others. Heat and light aren't endless either, and for a long time, there was a dominant family, who owned most of it. And while they were ruthless to their enemy, they also greatly advanced Dolphoid culture by establishing elaborate rituals for everything from dining to dancing, talking to courting and building to warfare. Eventually the grip on power broke, but the rituals and intrigue has engrained itself into Dolphoid society
Culture +2
Soldiering +1
Espionage +1
P3 Above the water
While the ocean is vast, and home, there is more out there then fish. The Dolphoids flight and space age was initially almost completely unmanned, for they were better at making the machines, then making themselves able for out of water travel. They had sattelites making pictures of the furthest reaches of the galaxies, and exploring robots on other planets, before they had passenger flights to move around their globe. Even today, their construction and robotics skills is great, as their unmanned probes are build cheaply, and explore the galaxy efficiently and discreetly.
Construction +2
Expansive +1
Espionage +1
p4 The migration
Alaac became crowded, with over 10 billion Dolphoid living on it. When it was found that a gas giant in the home system had a moon that was nearly completely water under an icy surface, nearly 3/4th the size of Alaac, heated by the gas giants gravity, some Dolphoids decided to move there. Of course, this required geneticly altering themselves in order to survive both the trip and the changing conditions. Most saw no problem with this, though some conservative and religious elements were troubled. To this day, there are True Dolphoids who do not engage in gentech at all, Moon Dolphoids, who are descendant of the first generation to alter themselves to live on the Moon (relatively crudely), and Space Dolphoids, who altered themselves to easier survive space.
Construction +1
Expansive +1
Intelligence +1
Resource Richness +1
p5 The Culture Wars
Living apart, the True Dolphoids and Moon Dolphoids grew apart socially as well as physicly. Both sides radicalized to the point of having seperate governments for several decades, decrying each others lifestyle and religion. But when terrorist organizations started to appear, they saw the error of their ways, and instead ruthlessly struck upon the most extremists of both sides. The result was ended up stronger and more unified
Espionage +1
Culture +2
Soldiering +1
P6 Into the stars
Time passed on, and now two homeworlds began feeling cramped. So they agreed upon searching the stars for more watery planets. They built unmanned interstellar probes, huge telescopes to scout from the home system, and worked furiously on new technology to allow Dolphoids to survive interstellar space. Their labors paid off, and the first Starcrafts are now in production
Posts
The Wargh
Soldiering: 8. The WARGH were designed as fighters, though they do not posess the high technology of other warfare-oriented species such as Humans. Their victories are often the result of sheer numbers and tenacity rather than the superiority of their weapons.
Spying: 7. This ain't no looky-loo spying. That's for pussies. When the WARGH encounter something new and interesting, they are most likely to kill whoever has it, then take it. If they can figure out how to use it, they quickly adapt it for their own purposes. If they don't understand it, probably it will be destroyed.
Culture: 7. WARGH are extremely hard-headed and have strong tribal ties to one another. Their united ferocity is such that the threat of their imminent attack will cause whole colonies to flee before their arrival, surrendering a planetary system with little or no fight.
Expansion: 2. WARGH are not particularly good explorers, and tend to expand by conquest rather than travel. They do, however, have primitive means of space exploration gleaned from the ruins of previous civilizations.
Intelligence: 0. WARGH are clever, but not intelligent. They were simply not designed to think. They were made to kill, pillage, and replicate. Thinking only complicates things. As such, their research efforts are often very unsuccessful.
Resources: 0. WARGH don't develop resources. They pillage them.
Boring Narrative:
One of the factions had a desparately low population, and was not prosperous enough in natural resources to build the mechanized armies possessed by their enemies. They needed a way to develop as many warriors as possible.
Their answer was to develop an organic, self-replicating fighting machine that would decimate their opponents with no thought to their own lives, obeying orders without questions. Using their own genetic material as a base and augmenting it with the features of the many ferocious animals of the prime system in Eloth, the developed their Warfare-Adapted Replicating Genetic Hybrids... abbreviated as W.A.R.G.H.
Wargh were meant to be the perfect soldiers. Fast-growing, short-lived, self-replicating and nearly self-sustaining (a symbiotic bacteria that tints their green skins supplies them with basic nutrients, and their diet demands only high levels of protein), the W.A.R.G.H. armies grew, and proved more formidable that those of the other Elothir factions, both mechanical and otherwise.
This creative hubris was the ultimate demise of themselves, and the rest of the Elothir species. A small segment of the barely-sentient Wargh developed a degree of self-awareness that the Elothir did not anticipate. The uprising was swift and terrible, consuming the Eloth System in a crucible of blood and cruelty.
The W.A.R.G.H., being clever though not really intelligent, managed to sieze what was left of their masters' technology and used it to expand beyond their home system, conquering several other systems in the process, and wiping out two different species with the same rabid efficiency that had laid waste to their masters. Ultimately this new "Wargh Empire" grew too large and imploded in upon itself.
The Wargh now exist as feral scavengers once more on their home system... they have crawled up out of the ashes and prepare to rise again.
Phases:
The W.A.R.G.H. are developed to be brutal and efficient soldiers. They are physically powerful and resilient species, clever enough to use the weapons of their enemy and hard-headed enough to resist any attempt to turn them against their masters. They are designed to be only intelligent enough to follow orders unquestionably, and unified with one another only to the degree that is necessary to make them fight as a unit. Stupid Eldar... I mean Elothir. They thought they could design some Orks... I mean Wargh... without any consequences. Oh, the hubris.
Soldiering +2
Spying +1
Culture +1
Phase 2: War of the Eloth System
This organic war machine turns against its own masters in a torrent of blood and smoke. Their masters underestimated their brutal efficiency, as well as the ability for W.A.R.G.H. to develop brotherhood with each other and develop their inventive use of captured equipment. As a result their fighting abilities become even more ferocious and effective, much to the delight of their creators, who think that they are safe because they have designed a "contingency plan"... a disease engineered to wipe out their W.A.R.G.H. if necessary.
Soldiering +2
Spying +1
Culture +1
Phase 3: Independence
A W.A.R.G.H. unit calling himself General Groth rallies many fellow soldiers to him and rises up against the Elothir. They are unable to deploy the biological "anti-wargh" agent in time... they are overwhelmed by the Wargh too easily. In the wake of this war, the W.A.R.G.H. begin to build their own crude civilization from the ruins of the ancient Elothir. They continue to fight amongst themselves and band together in clans as they scrap the waste materials of the war in search of new and inventive methods of killing one another.
Spying +2
Culture +2
Phase 4: The Wargh Empire
The W.A.R.G.H. discover the methods of interstellar travel amidst the ruins of the Elothir's civilization. Naturally, when they discover other life forms present in the galaxy they immediately begin the process of conquering them and learning from the wreckage of their enemies. The Empire marks a new era in W.A.R.G.H. politics, and the unity of various Clans becomes stronger than ever under the banner of the twin axes.
Soldiering +2
Expansion +2
Phase 5: Conquest and Diplomacy
The Wargh Empire, though it has wiped out two species (the Kelari Collective and the Telomere), has found other brave warriors in the universe. They also learn of "trade", a previously foreign concept as well as expanding their primitive concept of "blood-pacts" to include relations with other species. Its contact with humans is particularly curious. Like the Wargh they are both bloodthirsty and savage to outsiders... yet also respect these qualities in others. Their Warboss, "Eric" is thought of as a worthy enemy whom the Wargh look forward to fighting when they have finished the rest of their wars.
Soldiering +1
Spying +1
Culture +2
Phase 6: The Empire Falls
In an all-out war with the robotic Damocles, the W.A.R.G.H. have extended their reach too far into space. Their Empire implodes upon itself when the General of the Blackskull Clan is supposedly killed in the magnetic wastes of the home system of the Damocles. However, this leader is reborn through cybernetic fusion as a further hybridization, one of organic as well as inorganic engineering. The infighting results in almost total annihilation of the species as the cybernetic W.A.R.G.H. rediscover the chemical agents that were designed to wipe out their species... and mistakenly believe themselves immune. The Wargh are wiped out on all except their home planet, where they again scratch out a harsh existence as they comb through the rubble of their once-mighty Empire... and prepare to make for the stars once more.
Soldiering +1
Spying +2
Culture +1
The WARGH are soldiering-aspected but I don't quite get how that works yet so it's not included in their ability scores.
It'd be lovely if the Wargh's color were red like last time.
go design your species in the Spore creature creator, *snaps fingers*
They're slightly nomadic, having lost their original homeworld to Rainfall's yet-to-be revealed robotic menace. The system they currently occupy, and their new homeworld, is a barely inhabitable planet, requiring them to live almost exclusively in their life-support suits. I'm going to put a slightly religious spin to them. They'll be Intelligence aspected, as we seem to be missing those, but I'll definitely be soldiering it up as they start the crusade to reclaim their homeworld.
Salt: I had the same idea when I saw the creature creator in action. So cool.
I've been thinking about game end conditions. The sorta goal of SM1 was to create a setting for character-based RPGs to be in, so the game was stopped when there was a decent amount of history but still enough variety in the universe to be interesting. I think we can pretty much assume it's not going to be used this time, so I'm trying to decide what to use instead. So far I've got:
1. When one species controls 60%+ of the map or
2. When one alliance controls 80%+ of the map or
3. When most or all of the players feel like it's done.
I've been considering adding some kind of super game-ending research, but I'm not sure I want people racing up the tech tree to try and "win" the game, since I don't really consider this quite that kind of game. Thoughts?
I might be scoring people, but just for fun I won't tell you what your score is or how it's calculated til the game's done, since I don't want people doing otherwise pointless/stupid stuff in an attempt to boost their score.
#1 and #2 seem feasible.
I could see alliances forming to combat the threat of the more militant races, and at the same time, I don't see everyone suddenly aligning to end the game. And the first goal, of one race controlling 60% of the map, seems in line with someone like the W.A.R.G.H., for example, who may want to conquer and be the sole conquerer.
I predict that it will be the same this time around.
Since fighting, spying and culturing are vs. the other players, you could have an easier time of doing something but pretty much only if they also have a zero.
sure, it's the WARGH who will win
you keep on dreamin'
anyway @ shamus: In the last game, by the end, pretty much everyone who wasn't the WARGH or the Combine did ally together, all of their research was more or less shared with everyone else, and the game ended. That was pretty much #2.
I mean, Horseshoe's right in that it ended because everyone got bored, but everyone got bored I think because the entire galaxy decided to be Super Friends.
edit: @Scooter: Just how many different flavors of resources will there be? It's a bigger deal if we end up stacking resources like we did in the last game to get bonuses like +14 to Soldiering or something.
Okay. I shifted an Intelligence Point to Resources, just to be sure that I had the bases covered. I want to be able to DO stuff.
I don't mind if I'm the lone voice of dissent versus the Federation of Friends. I'll go down in flames, happily.
Edit: To even get a single TU of a resource you need 1 point in resources and you've have to roll all 3s.
I'll just learn to trade.
I actually worded it wrong, just changed it. You can get 1 TU with 0 points. Which is to say a 1 turn bonus.
one Aspect per Phase, in addition to the 4 skill points per phase. Correct? Which means you could spread them around or stack them on one skill to be better at it.
Correct?
I just slapped on the one because otherwise it doesn't really make sense (7 total aspects, with 6 of them granting a reroll, and a limit of 1/reroll per skill per turn, you'd basically just want to reroll every roll every turn.)
Clear as mud? This is more in line with the idea of the original Aspects in FATE.
The Anandan people had an easy life, on their homeworld, before the Comet came. The Comet that Anandan astronomers never saw coming struck the earth near to a major populated area, and thousands were killed. But this was only the beginning, as the Anandans discovered shortly thereafter It had never been a dangerous world, Ananda, and was not a dark or terrifying place. As a result, when the Anandans discovered the awful truth that their race was slowly dying of a space-born plague that generation after generation weakened their people, the Anandans, never having faced true hardship before, succumbed to deadly ennui. They had spread to cover their homeworld, but apathy and lack of competing species had made their race weak, and they had never needed to grow technologically. The Anandans despaired.
Soldiering+1=1
Resources+1=1
Culture=0
Espionage=0
Expansive+2=2
Construction=0
Phase 2: Anandan First Spaceflight
The first (successful) Anandan spaceflight was a miracle to the science community, and for a short time revitalized the failing Anandan spark of life. For the first time in centuries, the society was galvanized by the implications of true spaceflight. Maybe they could escape the world, and maybe they could find the answers to survive the plague in the stars. Or, perhaps, just perhaps, the revitalized science could find a cure! Unfortunately, the craft was destroyed while exploring the solar system, bringing Anandan culture to a staggering standstill once again. Unbeknownst to the Anandans, however, they had attracted the notice of a force that would change them... forever.
Soldiering+1=2
Resources+1=2
Culture=0
Espionage=0
Expansive=2
Construction+1=1
Phase 3: The Star Gods' Gift
The First Contact with the beings the Anandans have come to know only as the Star Gods occurred years later. Simultaneously over every receiving device on the Anandan homeworld the message came. “Love us, and grow strong.” At that moment, every single Anandan scientist discovered, at the exact same instant, precisely how to cure the Virus. Cults began to spring up all over the Anandan world. The Star Gods gifted their children with great leaps of technology, and asked only love and devotion in return. The cults were only too happy to oblige.
Soldiering=2
Resources=2
Culture+2=2
Espionage=0
Expansive=3
Construction=1
Phase 4: The Anandan Religious Revolution/The Exile of the Broken
The Anandan people were, once more, divided against themselves. Those who rejected the Star Gods found themselves under assault by those who accepted them. Finally, the Cultists claimed, they had something to live for. There was a cure for the Virus! Those who rejected the Star Gods, however, called the cure a lie, spoke of indoctriniation and bondage. They could not, however, match the Star Gods’ technology, which to them bordered on magical. The revolution lasted a decade, and ended at the Battle of Three, where an entire city stands as monument to the courage of the True Anandan people. When it was over, the Star Gods showed their final mercy. Those who had rejected them were given spacecraft and sent away, refusing their cure and disappearing from Ananda, perhaps forever. Henceforth they were known only as the Broken, called so because the Virus would shatter them as it had almost shattered all of Ananda.
Soldiering+1=3
Resources =2
Culture+2=4
Espionage=0
Expansive=3
Construction=1
Phase 5: The Reconstruction
The next fifty years were taken with the rebuilding of the Anandans into a force of change for the galaxy. The Star Gods asked, and the Anandans gave. In return, the Anandans were gifted with greater and greater feats of technological advancement. The Anandans grew dependant on the Star Gods, and this was exactly how the Star Gods wanted matters to proceed. In the end, the homeworld of Ananda was systematically stripped of resources and used to feed the expansionistic drive outwards. “Go forth,” came the message, “And make the universe understand.” The Anandans could not but agree. The Anandans went forth into their own system, first, and then began to probe outlying systems. Colonies were seeded on or in orbit of every world in their home system, and in the end, the Anandans saw that they needed more. Massive construction projects were made to provide the Anandans with habitations off-world and on worlds too deadly to survive unaided. The first of these was known as Messiah Station, and was set in orbit around the largest gas giant in the Anandan system. This station became the center of worship for the Star Gods, and all of the Star Gods wisdom flowed first from there.
Soldiering=3
Resources =2
Culture+2=6
Espionage=0
Expansive=3
Construction+1=2
Phase 6: The First Wave of Exploration
In the end, the Star Gods demanded more, and the Anandans were only too happy to provide. They were not masterful warriors, the Anandans, but their zeal was only too critical to the Star Gods efforts. They would go forth and convert the entire galaxy into the veneration of the Star Gods, and the cycle would be complete. No more bound by fear of the inexorable Virus, the Anandan people spread forth and seek to command the universe in the names of their gods. The Anandans would spread and grow and, in the end, the Star Gods would rule over all. So it was spoken, so it would be.
Soldiering=3
Resources=3
Culture+2=8
Espionage=0
Expansive+1=4
Construction=2
I hope to have a decent logo for them by tomorrow night. It's a pain, not being able to edit my own pictures, sometimes.
no shit, right?
i don't think playing a species that is conflict-oriented can possibly work so i want to see if i'm correct.
i guess at some level that is fun for me.
I limited it to one reroll per turn.
Do GMs normally go randomly knocking people's rolls down in Fate? That seems odd.
Well that just seems to really be about FATE points and not about Aspects at all.
I thought that Aspects were things you chose at character creation that you could use to invoke a reroll (either a total reroll or change one die).
If I am reading things correctly, the WARGH might be:
Violent ( ) ( ) ( )
Unyielding ( ) ( )
Clever, but stupid ( )
So I could positively invoke violent for say, offensive efforts. The WARGH are attacking the species of another colony, and I roll a positive and two negatives. This battle is a really important one, so I check off two of my three "violent" aspect boxes and change those two negatives to positives for a higher result. (I could have instead spent a single one to reroll the check but decided to spend two for a sure thing).
After that my aspects look like this:
Violent (x) (x) ( )
Unyielding ( ) ( )
Clever, but stupid ( )
So I can only use the WARGH's "violent" aspect one more time until a refresh happens. When that happens is up to the GM. That this is a turn-based board game type of thing, perhaps Scooter will refresh once every X number of turns or something like that.
WARGH are aspected in such a way that it can easily work against them though. If they were, say, attempting to use a "spying" check to loot technology from another society, the GM might rule that being violent actually works against me because the WARGH's reputation means that their neighbors are freaked out by them and are more vigilant against their pillaging. That's when I might need to spend a FATE point to prevent the -1 to their roll.
Is that how it works or am I reading it wrong?
I could do the FATE point trading, but if we have 15-20 players (17 shown interest atm) I can tell you right now I'm not going to be able to do an analysis of every roll for each player to see if I can nail them on an Aspect conflict. Most likely we'd probably be talking one lucky randomly chosen player a turn. I mean, I'd only do one with an actual conflict, but I'd do as little searching as possible.
I was merely suggesting the use of a GM using an aspect and knocking down the "power" of a re-roll. In FATE, a GM can use an aspect AGAINST a character (for example Scoots, if Kerja had the aspect 'reckless pilot', I could say that you would do a dangerous route to a planet instead of the safer one). This, however, is by choice. If you agree to accept that aspect of the aspect, then you gain a FATE point.
The Tvashtri
The seventh prophecy has passed. The homeworld is dead.
The Tvashtri homeworld, Prithivi, is a lifeless husk. Drained of all it's natural resources, and broken by the wars of the clans, it is a tomb. It's cities lie in ruin as fierce winds erode it to nothingness. The atmosphere is a thick miasma, choking the last vestiges of life from the planet. Soon it will be nothing more then a rock.
However, The Tvashtri persevere. The eighth prophecy speaks of a new homeworld, a verdant paradise that will bring the race into a new golden age.
Physiology
Physically, the Tvashtri are slim, humanoid in shape.
Phase 1:The Exodus
Expansion +2
Intelligence +2
Resource Richness +1
Expansive +1
Intelligence +2
Phase 3: Dyaus
Expansive +1
Culture +1
Intelligence +1
Espionage +1
Soldiering +1
Culture +1
Espionage +1
Construction +1
Soldiering +2
Espionage +2
Espionage +1
Culture +2
Soldiering +1
Intelligence 7 (5+2): The Tvashtri are intelligence aspected. Gifted in science, they consider it holy.
Espionage 5: The Tvashtri way of war is to remain undetected for long as possible, before a careful and sudden strike.
Culture 4: The Tvashtri culture is rich, though heavily intertwined with their religion.
Expansion 4: The Tvashtri believe their promised homeworld awaits, and it lays beyond their stars.
Soldiering 4: The military is designed for precise, quick strikes that disable the foe before they can react. The military has suffered, however, as much was lost in the Exodus.
Resource Richness 1: They will plunder resources, as each planet is nothing compared to the world they believe awaits them.
Construction 1: It took centuries to erect the monolithic cities of Prithivi. It'll take centuries for them to rebuild.
A little well-rounded. Color wise, I'd prefer purple, white, or blue.
And I fully approve of secret points, Scooter, I think we all need to remember the goal is the create a neat setting rather than win. Frankly I'll be dissapointed if my race doesn't end up wiped out besides that small sample that's stored away deep in a bunker for Science.
SoogaGames Blog
http://www.says-it.com/seal/index.php
It's a Seal Generator for like, official looking seals and logos and things...
course, you get a watermark on it, but thought it might help
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
Or something like that.
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
Friday night I'll end the official signup phase.
Saturday I'll put out the map and start turn 0.
Unless my schedule messes with things.
If you've already posted your profile and turn 1 rolls it might be good to repost them again on Friday, so I know that's definitely how you wanna go with the rules set up as of then. To clarify: Main signups due Friday night/Sat morning, Turn 1 rolls due 8:00 PM EST on Tuesday, and if you want to sign up after Turn 0 you'll have to wait til after turn 1 and play as a split-off faction.
I might do more with it later.
The Assh Serai are a race made up of Dust and Shadow. They began as simply clouds of this matter able to think collectively as one and gather all thought into them. Over the course of their evolution, they have split into three distinct groups, The Nir, The Irva, The Vana. Hurled from Som, the first home of a simple cloud of dust and shadow, by a cosmic ray from a black hole, the Assh Serai developed sentience along the journey at the end of the ray. It was upon the end of the journey, a crash landing on the planet of Msara, all the way on the other side of the galazy, that the original single-thinking cloud of dust and shadow was broken apart into many individual Assh Serai. Their evolution is not yet complete, but they have a goal.
They Must Return To Som.
The Assh Serai Castes
The Irva
The Vana
The Assh Serai Phases
The Formation
At first, they were nothing more than roiling balls of shadow and thought, sentient forms of the darkness from which they were born. The large rock that they had been pushed to was uninhabitable by many creatures, it's lack of light allowing for no vegetation or moisture to accumulate and grow. But this was not a problem for the Assh Serai. They required no liquid or vegetation to grow and remain strong. They required no light, in fact the presence of light could harm or destroy them. It was there, under the darkened sky of ash and dust and shadow, that the Assh Serai grew, and thought, and became.
The planet upon which the Assh Serai developed did not have a name, though many have taken to calling it Msara. There was no need for a name for the Assh Serai. They were. It was. And that was all that needed to be said or known about the ball of rock that had become their home. It is hard to know, from an outside point, what those early periods of time for the Assh Serai were like, or what they even consisted of. The greatest of the Assh Serai historians describe their existence as that of peace and growth.
"We were as clouds upon the sky, as waves upon the sea. Rolling here, floating there, our minds the only active thing. We contemplated the galaxy from the distance of a child sent away from its parents for the first time. We considered the punishment we received which ended in our being thrown from Som and landing here upon Msara. We roved, we thought, we became stronger in our minds. We knew our place within this new galaxy, and we were satisfied.
The Contemplation
And as all things do, the thought changed and provoked and stirred new ideas and debates. And, the peaceful existence of the Assh Serai soon fell to the growings of mistrust and chaos. While only being smaller clouds of dust and shadow, the Assh Serai were growing in their moral ways. In the New Beginning, all thoughts were open to all Assh Serai. One thought was shared by millions of other thoughts, travelling through the heat and ash choked air of Msara, the rock on which they all lived. But soon after the first thoughts of guilt and culpability were created and formed, the Assh Serai learned to hide their thoughts from one another. They learned to keep some thoughts to themselves, and even a few learned to put forth false thoughts into the miasmic cloud.
The first lie was created.
"What had once been for us a sea of ever changing, ever exchanging thoughts, no blockades, no turns, no walls, had now become a maze. There was no more sharing of free thought, there was no trusting that the thought you found within the wind was real, or was even a thought at all. We were as small children, jealous of our individual minds, jealous of what others might find within our thoughts. Some guilt, perhaps, or some filth. We were no longer a free society."
The Seperation
And so it was, for why would a single Assh Serai put up a wall around a thought, if the thought was not something that should not be shared? What was it that they were thinking within themselves that they did not wish others to know? All Assh Serai had begun to cloud and wall off their thoughts from others. For if the others would not share, why should they? But the loss of interconnectivity and freedom and community bothered some Assh Serai, and they strove to break through those walls, by whatever means necessary, to recover the thoughts that by right and history, should belong to all Assh Serai, not just One.
"They are called the Nir, the insidious ones. Nir will find a way past your wall, they will find a way through it, over it, under it, around it. Nir are cunning, and strong in mind and spirit. They have guile and courage, and they do not falter when others would fail. The objective is the key. Nir will stop at nothing to achieve their objective. Be it a single thought that has been walled off from them, or a golden ornament that some other being desires. The Nir will find a way to retrieve that which they seek."
There were some Assh Serai that saw the rise of the Nir and sought to fight against this invasion, sought to stop what they felt as an attack upon their beings and their rights. These Assh Serai were the first to not only put up walls around their thoughts, but also around their forms. The Nir were capable of getting past the mental blockades and twists and turns placed around thoughts, but they had a harder time getting past the physicallity of these new Assh Serai. They were called Vana.
"The Vana were the first to take a solid shape. And while they looked nothing then as they can now, the Vana took this solidity as a means to protect themselves against the invasive Nir. And soon, they were having different thoughts, thoughts that in the beginning were not even capable of being thought. How to move, how to change, how to protect, and how fight. These were the answer to the Nir, these were the ones that could try to stop the Nir and their jealous and desperate need to know all. These were the Vana."
Now there are still some Assh Serai that were not accounted for in either of these groups. A third grouping one could say. These were the Assh Serai that saw no need for walling off their thoughts, saw no need for solidifying their forms. These were the Assh Serai that tried to stay as true to their creation as possible. The Irva. A collective whole made of many parts, the Irva strove to retain their identities as the true Assh Serai, a whole greater than the sum of its parts.
"Irva are the beating soul of the Assh Serai. They are the creators of thought and belief, the sustainers of both holy and unholy, they hide nothing and think of everything. They drive the culture of the Assh Serai, the beliefs and the morality. All are part of the Irva, as the Irva are the whole of the Assh Serai. They do not exclude the Nir, though the Irva feel the Nir are jealous to their own destruction. They do not exclude the Vana, though they feel the Vana are vanity to the destruction of others. The Irva are regarded highly by all Assh Serai, though their numbers are small in comparison. The Nir are the devious mind, the Vana are the strong body, the Irva are the delicate soul. But together, all are the Assh Serai."
The Realization
It was during this time, that the Irva extended their minds and thoughts out past themselves, past the Assh Serai, and even past the confines of Msara. They turned their thoughts to the universe, their minds to unravelling the mysteries around them, and the truths of their existence within the galaxy. And it was from this extension of thought and conscious that the Irva discovered something frightening, something amazing, something that would change the way the Assh Serai thought, lived, and fought forever.
The planet upon which the cosmic ray had thrust them, threw them, smashed them upon rock, creating smaller clouds of dust and shadow from the one large cloud they had been at the begin, this planet upon which the Assh Serai had come to call home, this planet of Msara, was not a planet at all. Msara did not have the stationary orbit of a planet, but was hurtling through the galaxy at a rate unknown to the Assh Serai. There was no projected path, no sure destination. They had come from one edge of the galaxy to the other, and now, this rock upon which they existed was barrelling back towards the side of the universe that the Assh Serai had originated from.
Msara was heading towards Som.
The thought was there, and was broadcast to all Assh Serai to hear and think on for themselves. The Irva were ecstatic, the Nir jealous, and the Vana emboldened. Whatever sin had caused them to be cast from Som originally, whatever problem it had been that had caused that cosmic ray to thrust into their being and bring them to this point, must have been forgiven. Because they were headed back home. The Assh Serai, for the first time since the Seperation, gathered together all over the planet of Msara, the rock of Msara, to discuss this change in fortune.
"There were no walls at that gathering, no blockades of mental or physical form. It was all the Assh Serai gathered, individual clouds of dust and shadow coming together into the form of the large cloud, the cloud that all Assh Serai had been born from. And in this state, the news was shared. They were all headed back to Som. This journey would bring them across the universe, both known and unknown. It would bring them within contact of other beings, other creations, other forms of life. But they would reach Som. This was the thought that held into the minds and consciousness of every Assh Serai, Nir, Irva, and Vana alike. They were headed back to Som. And nothing would get in their way of returning to where they came from. Nothing."
The Solidification
The Nir were perfecting their skills, learning and thinking of new ways to get around blockades and barriers erected against them. They had begun to take on forms of liquid dust and shadow, seeping in through cracks and chinks not only through their targets mind, but also through the physical forms of their brothers, the Vana. The Nir were becoming highly adept at seeking out secrets and places that were intended to be hidden, and they practiced these techniques ever on and on.
The Vana were struggling to come up with new and inventive ways to stop the Nir from finding their secrets and their thoughts. They began to erect solid forms upon the surface of Msara, buildings of solid rock and shadow, as impenetrable as they could manage. The Vana were also emboldened by the thought of strange creatures and beings that might be met along the way of their journey. They were not fools, the Vana, they knew that not all beings they met would be friendly, or even courteous. So the Vana also prepared for encounters of the not so pleasant kind. Any thought of pain and injury was theirs, and they became adept at not only causing such things, but preventing them. Unfortunately, for the Vana, this brought about the single most drastic change for the Assh Serai ever witnessed or thought of. Their constant practicing and building and focus on the physical world and form had the Vana constantly in a state of solidity. After a time, none of the Assh Serai can say for certain how long it did take, the Vana had been holding solid form for so long, they could not remember how to release it. They thought of how they had been, of how the Irva and the Nir were still, but the change had taken place. The Vana were no longer simple clouds of dust and shadow. They were solid beings, locked in a two-legged, two-armed form that had been part of a thought long since forgotten. The Vana were solid.
The Irva, they tried their best to help out their now very different looking kin, but there was no thought that could undo the solidification, no matter how hard the Irva tried. And so, the collective mind turned back to the problem at hand. How would the Assh Serai cope with returning to Som? How would they find Som? What would it be like when they got there? The memories of what Som had been for them were dimmed, it had been many years, centuries, since they had been there, what would the Assh Serai find when they returned? The Irva gathered their thoughts, and tried to piece together what they knew of the past, and what they had thought of as the future. These thoughts were shared with all, as was the Irva way, the Assh Serai way. And through these thoughts, the Assh Serai as a whole grew stronger, more willing, more capable.
"It was the Irva the pushed the Assh Serai towards Som. It was the Irva that gave the Assh Serai the strength to stride on through difficulties. It was the Irva that thought of new and terrible things that they would face, and it was the Irva that helped their kindred clouds of dust and shadow, and their kindred solid forms of dust and shadow push towards that now known goal of Som. The Vana had changed, and the Assh Serai adapted. The Nir had changed, and the Assh Serai adapted. The Irva had stayed the same, and the Assh Serai adapted. Everything was pushing towards Som, everyone was striving for Som. How they got there was of little matter. All that mattered was that the Assh Serai were going back to Som."
The Dedication
Everything that the Assh Serai did, as individual beings and as a collective whole was dedicated to the eventual return to Som. Everything was focused upon that point in the future when they would finally end up back where they had begun. Their entire culture was based upon the concept of redemption and achievement. There was nothing that the Assh Serai could not accomplish so long as it was thought of.
In the second Gathering of Assh Serrai, when once again all the barriers that were erected were brought down, those that could be, a single goal was set for them. They would dedicate everything that they were, everything that they thought and learned and built, towards reaching Som. Their home of Msara, an asteroid surrounded by an ever-dark cloud of ash and smoke and dust and shadow created by the volcanic eruptions upon the asteroids surface, was hurtling them towards Som, the place of their creation and birth. Everything that the Assh Serai were and would be and could be was focused on that eventual goal. They Dedicated themselves, and their existence as a whole to reaching that place. What they would do when they got there, how they would react to the trials and hardships that were sure to come their way as they flew through the galaxies of the universe to their goal, was all a matter of circumstance and thought.
"Nothing would be impossible. Nothing could not be achieved. Reaching Som is the all encompassing goal for the Assh Serai. Everything is done with that final goal in mind. Those that would stand in their way, attempt to stop their journey, would be brought to a cold end, or an enlightened new beginning. There was a single solitary thought that was shared amongst all Assh Serai. Som. The word, the concept, the idea brought new meaning and new life to the Assh Serai as a whole. And while each went about reaching Som in their own way, all knew that it was their final destination. There was nothing that could stand between them and Som. There was no race or creature or creed or war that could cease their journey. There was no obstacle that together, the Assh Serai couldn't surmount. Everything and anything that could be thought of, was. They would reach Som. They would return to Som. Everything would come full circle. The Assh Serai were determined and capable. There is nothing the universe could hurl at them, that would stop the Assh Serai from reaching Som. Every existing Assh Serai now knew only one final purpose. Gather information as best and quickly as they can. Build and defend the knowledge and dreams of the whole. Think of every angle, every possibility, every permutation and find an answer. This was the way to reach Som. Everything leads back to Som."
Assh Serai Skills
Formation:
Intelligence +2=2
Soldiering
Resources +1=1
Culture
Espionage
Expansive +1=1
Construction
Contemplation:
Intelligence +1=3
Soldiering
Resources 1
Culture+1=1
Espionage +2=2
Expansive 1
Construction
Seperation:
Intelligence+1=4
Soldiering +1=1
Resources 1
Culture+1=2
Espionage+1=3
Expansive 1
Construction
Realization:
Intelligence+1=5
Soldiering 1
Resources 1
Culture+2=4
Espionage+1=4
Expansive 1
Construction
Solidification:
Intelligence 5
Soldiering +2=3
Resources 1
Culture 4
Espionage +1=5
Expansive 1
Construction +1=1
Dedication:
Intelligence =5
Soldiering +1=4
Resources =1
Culture +1=5
Espionage+2=7
Expansive =1
Construction =1
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
There's only room for one non-biological species in these parts.
sorry sorry couldn't resist.
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
Alaac, as the dolphoids call their homeworld, was relative unique among life holding planets in that it's surface was almost completely covered with water. With only 1.4% dry landmass, life has never really evolved beyond the oceans, and instead continued on full force into the oceans. In time, as life is wont to do, one of the larger fish evolved intelligence. The fact that their looks resemble earth fish is not surprising, the basics of fluid dynamics dictate an optimal shape in any water enviroment. They live in floating inverse towers, where they filter the water, regulate the temperature, keep other fish out, including the very few predators they did not eradicate earlier on in their evolution (For while they're not exactly warlike, they are very protectionist). Currently, most of the species is about 10 feet tall, 400 pounds or so, although they see no issues at all in geneticly engineering some of their species to better adapt to space travel, among other things making them much smaller. Being a fish in space does not make life easier, but they have an advantage that in principle, they can share most systems because they life in the water, while most life they encountered are landwalkers. They watch upon most of them with bemusement, seeing them waggle along.
They're a naturally curious bunch, wanting to see what's out there. So they've started interstellar travel, do research, and perhaps see if there's other oceans to swim. They've encountered some nasty stuff though, and while they're not strong fighting hand to hand, they're certainly smart enough to find nasty solutions for nasty problems.
P1: The Awakening
Intelligence +2
Resource Richness +2
p2: The Everlasting Empire
Culture +2
Soldiering +1
Espionage +1
P3 Above the water
Construction +2
Expansive +1
Espionage +1
p4 The migration
Construction +1
Expansive +1
Intelligence +1
Resource Richness +1
p5 The Culture Wars
Espionage +1
Culture +2
Soldiering +1
P6 Into the stars
Construction +1
Expansive +1
Intelligence +2
Total
Soldiering 1+1 = 2
Resource Richness 2+1 = 3
Culture 2+2 = 4
Espionage 1+1+1= 3
Expansive 1+1+1 = 3
Construction 2+1+1 = 4