Player Species

Player Species

“…never seen anything like it before…”
“…mark object as unknown until further information…”
“Officer, I'm picking up signals…”
“… heading towards us…”
“…it appears these signals are intelligent…”
“…Officer, it's getting closer…”
“It's a ship, Officer, it's a ship!”

– Quotes from the audio transcript of the Badar Outpost log, dated at the time of First Contact.

There are five different player species – the Balra, the Sailors, the Rissi, the Xhuva, and Androids. The Xhuva and Androids are not technically species in the scientific sense, but are treated as such for the purposes of the game.

Player species are all sapient, technologically advanced, and aware of each others' existence. For OC reasons, you can assume that, when Sailors wear their pressure suits, all player species are roughly the same size as each other.

The Features section under each species heading tells you what the species already comes equipped with. This will help you make decisions when choosing Equipment and Augmentations or Quirks, as some species may benefit more from different Equipment. For example, a Sailor starts with an EVA suit, whereas a Rissi would need to spend Equipment Tokens in order to get one. These benefits do not count against your Quirk Score or Equipment Tokens in character creation.

The Physrep Ideas sections are suggestions only – you are under no obligation to wear physrep during uptimes if you do not want to. You are also not obliged to follow the traditional naming systems for each species. The player species have been designed to be easily customisable; skin tone, feather/fur/eye colour, pressure suit/chassis design, and other aesthetic features can be customised to suit your character.

The Balra

Homeworld	Corico
Description	Bipedal, reptilian beings.
Traditional Clothing	Intricately woven shawls, which are built up layer by layer over the course of a Balra's life.
Traditional Naming	Names are transcribed phonetically and consist of two phrases (e.g., Bida Green-scaled, Ibus Inoloc). Balra surnames are often vocational or attribute-based, describing the ancestor who originally took that surname. Over the generations, many names lost their original meaning (e.g. “Inoloc” is an antiquated name for a barrel-merchant, “Bryes” is a contraction of “Bright Eyes”). Example surnames include Hunter, Herder, Inoloc, Old, Bryes, and Green-scaled.

Balra Features

All Balra start out with the following (in addition to any extra Equipment, Augmentations, or Quirks that they choose):

You have sharp claws, as well as venom glands in your neck. You gain the benefit of the Integrated Weaponry Augmentation.
Due to the extreme temperature range of deserts in Corico (much wider than that of Earth), your physiology is well adapted to hot and cold temperatures. You gain the benefit of the Extremophile Metabolism Augmentation.

Balra Physrep Ideas

Balra have distinctly reptilian bodies, which could be represented with scale face paint – shades of brown, green, brick red and yellow are naturally occurring colours, but many other colours are possible through Body Augmentations.
Cloaks and woven patchwork designs play an important role in nomadic Balra culture on Corico, so may be an important garment for someone from there. They are less important for Balra from the cities and off-world colonies however, but may still be worn.

The Sailors of the Eight Moons

Homeworld	The Thousand Colours Moon
Description	Ammonia-based, octopode-like lifeforms. Better known as the Sailors.
Traditional Clothing	Every Sailor requires a pressure suit to visit the Cartographers' Guild space station. The suit and Sailors' bodies are often decorated with colourful bioluminescent algae.
Traditional Naming	Because their language is non-verbal, Sailor names are typically translated literally (e.g., Omnipotent Light, Blue of the Deepness); however, since contact with the Balra, some Sailors use phonetic names transcribed from their common languages (e.g., Du-niib).

Sailor Features

All Sailors start out with the following:

You have and use a Sailor suit for mobility and environmental protection in atmospheres not rich in ammonia. You gain an EVA Suit, which you are able to customise and apply Modifiers to.
Your vision extends into the near infra-red. You gain the benefit of the Bionic Eye (Night-Vision) Augmentation, although it is a fully biological phenomenon.

Sailor Physrep Ideas

Bioluminescence and physical movement play an important role for both Sailor language and culture (although you can assume that Sailor characters are still using Carto-speak during uptimes). You could choose to represent this using glow-sticks or fairy lights.
Sailors need to use specialised suits to provide the liquid ammonia they need. The suit could be shown using padded sports equipment.

The Rissi

Homeworld	Kallimar
Description	Bipedal, flightless, avian-like beings.
Traditional Clothing	Military uniform - dark green vest and red bandana around neck.
Traditional Naming	Every citizen of Kallimar, whether Rissi, Xhuva, or other, holds a military rank. Rissi first names are often long, polysyllabic, and “song-like” (e.g., Lathaleeay). Their last names typically are the same as the place they are from (e.g., Veeris).

Rissi Features

All Rissi start out with the following:

Your body is designed for manoeuvring between treetops, allowing you to navigate difficult terrain with ease. You gain the benefits of the Prowess Quirk, specifically benefitting Athletics.
While Rissi have lost the ability to fly, your body is still capable of gliding. You gain the benefit of a Wingsuit, although the source is innate for you.

Rissi Physrep Ideas

Rissi have a distinctly avian appearance, which could be replicated with colourful feathers. These tend to be more present on the arms, tail, and forehead. You could use physical props for these, or use face paint to recreate them.
For Rissi that come from Kallimar, they might wear clothing resembling military uniform, owing to the planetary government's being run militarily. Rissi from other places might not follow this.

The Xhuva

Homeworld	Kallimar
Description	The term Xhuva refers to any mammalian beast of burden genetically modified by the Rissi to be sapient and bipedal. Xhuva therefore have a huge variety of appearances.
Traditional Clothing	Military uniform - dark green vest and red bandana around neck.
Traditional Naming	Like the Rissi, the Xhuva hold military ranks. Xhuva names tend to be short and direct (e.g., Dadak). While historically Xhuva would only have had one name, many modern Xhuva, being equal citizens, take the Rissi practice of using their place of origin as a last name (e.g., Sannevanas).

Xhuva Features

All Xhuva start out with the following:

Your body was made to withstand physical exertion and handle physical injury. You gain the benefit of the Tough Quirk.
Your body was designed for some particular task, and the remnants of that are still apparent in your physiology. You gain an additional Augmentation of your choice, although it cannot cost more than 3 Tokens.

Xhuva Physrep Ideas

Xhuva have a range of different physiologies, but real-world mammalian creatures present a good source of inspiration, with most real-world beasts of burden being mammals. Costume props like tails, animal ears, paws, and hooves could be used, but this is not a prescriptive list.
Xhuva from Kallimar are likely to wear clothes that look like military uniform, as equal members of society. They may not wear these if they are from other places, however.

Androids

Homeworld	Variable, tend to live on space-based and off-world installations.
Description	Sapient AI in a typically bipedal robotic chassis. Sometimes this chassis is covered in synthetic skin, but can be left bare. Can be made to resemble any of the other species, or something different.
Traditional Clothing	Work uniform, whether that's overalls, military uniform, or office-wear.
Traditional Naming	This comes from the maker of the Android, unless they chose to take a name for themselves. Their names can be acronyms, the names of their android model, inanimate objects, or names from the culture they work in. Examples include C.A.T.N.I.S. and Bookend, though the naming conventions of the other playable species are just as applicable for androids raised among members of that species.

An Android is a sapient robot designed to resemble a living creature. Androids can be as different from each other as their organic counterparts, with even those from the same line often having different modifications and specialisations installed to fit their purpose.

Androids are designed with the following principles:

Androids have a minimum Class 5 AI, with anything lower being considered a robot. Player characters will be exclusively Class 6, virtually indistinguishable from other sapient life. For OC reasons, you can assume Androids are fully sapient and player Androids will remain as Class 6 AIs.
All Androids must be fully autonomous (No other being, organic or artificial, may have direct control over an Android's actions).
An Android chassis must not contain hardware allowing its AI to copy/move itself to another device, or allow software to be installed onto its AI.

These principles were not designed to control an Android's morality, as this would be impossible to categorise universally. Instead, it is intended to hold AI accountable for its own actions, as any other sapient being would be. In addition, they're designed to prevent an AI being a single potential point of failure in any system, in alignment with the principle of modularity.

Android Features

All Androids start out with the following:

Unlike the other sapient species, you do not need an EVA suit to survive in space, or to enter hazardous areas. You gain all the benefits that an EVA Suit would bring.
Your lack of sensitive organic parts enables you to survive in extreme conditions. You gain the benefits of the Extremophile Metabolism Augmentation. It is still possible to freeze or burn out your circuitry, however.

Android Physrep Ideas

While some Androids have skin designed to look like other species (for which you can copy the other ideas listed on this page), some Androids have distinctly metallic looking skin, which could be copied with a silver body suit or silver body paint.
Many Androids that work in space stations or ships (because of their inherent lack of need for air) wear the station overalls of their workplace.

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