Saurian
The
Saurian clans, what can I say? Very
few people can get along with any Saurian for very long. They're raised
from birth into piracy. It's all they know, they will lie, cheat, and
steal their way into and out of anything. I can't say they're all bad
though, I do have a few Saurian friends that are considered the most
notorious pirates in 'verse. They give me free passage through their
territory all the time so long as I bring them something in trade.
Since I'm usually quite broke, I tend to drag other pirates, whether
they be Terran law enforcement, or otherwise into my friends territory
and offer them complete ships in trade.
I have to say that
this is a good
arrangement. Bounty hunters that used to dog me at every port now give
me a wide birth, and only the most ignorant of the Saurian pirate clans
still try to attack me. Most of them learned their lesson after the
first few dozen ships I led across the galaxy in a game of cat and
mouse only to be ambushed and sacked by my friends.
There are a total of
37 different clans,
with only 4 of them actually being of any significant power. Each
Saurian is given a choice during their transition into adulthood which
clan they may choose regardless of which one they were born into. Some
clans are more miltant, while others are more into exploration. About
the only thing any of them have in common however, is that they fund
themselves with piracy. No, that's not entirely true. The other thing
they have in common is a code of ethics that they abide by when
plundering.
A Brieft outline of their code (I don't know the exact code, one of
these days I'll ask.
1. Never kill anyone if you don't have to.
2. Never destroy a ship if you don't have to.
3. Never take hostages.
4. Never attack a ship that's already engaged in combat, or has
just finished combat unless it is a direct threat against your clan
mates.
These rules tend to be open to
interpretation, especially the first
two. They are followed though, and some of the best pirate hunters in
the 'verse are Saurian who are specially trained to keep the rest in
line. To a Saurian piracy is a job to take pride in. Murder and mayhem
is nothing to take pride in.
Oh, heh on to the
information.
Saurians are a bipedal reptillian race. Oddly enough they are warm
blooded and partially mammallian. They don't lay eggs, they have live
births of up to 6 babies at a time. Saurian babies tend to be very
small. Which is saying something considering the biggest Saurian I've
ever met stood a whopping 5 ft tall. Their skin colors range from many
shades of green, brown, and yellow mixed in many different ways. Males
tend to have thorns and spines on their heads and down their backs,
while females only seem to develop small spines on their heads and down
their arms. They have short tails which grow very slowly with age,
meaning the fastest way for a non-Saurian to tell a Saurian's age is by
the length of their tails. They have 4 long fingers with 2 extra
knuckles per finger on each hand, and no opposable thumbs. 4 toes on
each foot, and they tend to walk on their toes, not on the full of
their feet like Terrans, Humans or most of the other races. They're
also "genetically adaptive" which allows them to breed with Humans and
Mon'Za. I've seen many mixes of Human/Saurian DNA, but none of
Saurian/Mon'Za. Saurian DNA tends to be dominant in mixed heritage
births.
Females:
5 ft/GS
120 lbs/GS
Males:
4.5 ft/GS
100 lbs/GS
Anyone reading this, below I'm
going to post more
info about the Saurian clans, but I'm not going to embelish it. I'm not
good at that, so I leave it up to anyone reading to embelish as they
see fit. I KNOW it's not professional, but when I'm just thinking of
"facts" the info flows so much easier and freer than when I'm trying to
make it look presentable. Sorry
The Saurian language is hard to
translate. I pride myself on my ability
to speak many, many languages but I just can't pick Saurian up that
well. I apologize in advance. Hopefully the info below isn't to
wackadoodle.
Clans are led by a "High Captain and
Commodore". This role grants
them command over the entire fleet for their clan, with
command/owndership of 3 ships of their own. The next in line are
Captains, which command their individual ships. Each clan is also
represented by a Magistrate, Magistrates have no command over ships,
but they all meet together regularly to discuss politics, negotiate,
and screw. The wild and raucous parties thrown by Magistrates are
legendary. The Magistrate for SEC has been deified for her,,,,,, "uses"
during these meetings. The SEC however has been gaining more and more
influence and power since she started working as their Magistrate. They
do get their jobs done make no mistake, but it's just in the Saurian
mindset that a being should get rewarded for a job well done.
Lord Commodore is a title given to a
High Captain during times of
war. Absolute command over the entirety of the Saurian clans. With
mounting tensions between the Terrans and Saurians, SarRia also carries
the title of Lord Commodore.
SarRia is also the Magistrate for the
HKC. She is the only Saurian
in history to carry so many titles. It's a testament to her ability and
many a Saurian would lay down their lives for her.
SarRia works with many outside interests
for the betterment of all
beings, she can also be found at the side of the Rider at the Gates
anytime a big nasty decides to try and pay a visit to the Patrolled
Sectors. The HKC have, in many respects, become the fast response
police force for righting wrongs in the PS. Even the Cerians will let
the HKC pass through their territory on occasion. She's an idealist,
and the Riders leash when it comes to dealing with trouble. While he's
of the mind that the ends justify the means, she reigns him in.
The "Big 4" clans are-
"SEC", or Saurian Expeditionary Clan.
The primary job of this clan is
intelligence gathering, requisition
of alien technology, and wet work. They've also started delving into
the Psy sciences and are working on developing a psychic branch of SEC.
The clan representative, or Magistrate, is a Human woman but the High
Captain and Commodore is unknown. Nobody outside of the SEC knows, and
if they're suspected of knowing they get drunk and accidentally walk
out of an airlock. SEC started out as the long range explorers and
colonizers for the Saurian people, but they found that their frequent
travels across the Patrolled Sectors made them a font of intelligence
gathering so they switched to their current focus of black ops.
"HKC", or Hunter Killer Clan.
They are Masters of the Code. It's their
job to hunt down code
breakers and dispense justice in the form of firey hot plasma. No
judge, no jury, only execution. Currently being commanded by High
Captain and Commodore of the HKC, SarRia. HKC ships are constructed
differently than all other Saurian ships, they use a double wing design
and pulsed plasma weapons. They trade cloaks for armor and shielding,
and their crews, especially under SarRia are very by the book militant
while on duty, but off duty they enjoy their "drinkin' an' whorin'"
just as much as any Saurian.
"TBSC"
"The Black Sea Clan" are the typical
Saurian pirates, the majority of
Saurians join this clan by default. About the only requirement TBSC
captains have of their crews is the ability to have a good time and
follow the code. The tales of members from this clan sacking a ship
then sticking around long enough to get flat busted ass drunk WITH
their victims are many. There are also stories of beings getting spaced
for being party poopers. They take their "drinkin' an' whorin'"
seriously. The current High Captain and Commodore is a lithe little
fellow named Box. He's the son of SarRia and many feared he'd make to
many changes to the TBSC because of who his mother is, but now his clan
mates would follow him to hell and back as long as he brings the booze.
He has however reigned in his clan mates and code violation doesn't
happen nearly as much anymore. He's a big fan of long walks in small
airlocks for suspected code breakers. There is some Human slang going
around calling the BSC the Biscuit brigade. I don't get it, I've never
understood Human humor but I'm sure the Saurians think it's funny.
------Insert here the 4th and final Saurian clan that focusses
mainly on keeping the other clans fed, clothed, outfitted and in
general happy and healthy. This is also the branch that does the
majority of research and exploration. I can't think of a good name for
them. This clan took over the roles that the SEC abandoned. This is the
largest clan in regards to over all duties. There is little glory to be
had here, but everyone knows that without them, there would be no
drinkin' an' whorin'.----------
There are 37 total clans, they all have Magistrates representing
them but only the Big 4 have any real power. Saurians recognize all
clans, but they generally just don't have the members to be of much
consequence.
In
game terms I originally figured that only the "4" would be open to
players joining. However, I think it might be interesting to have some
of the minor clans be extra tasty crispy in terms of eccentricities. I
don't have any details on specifics, but I think it would be
interesting to see what other folks might come up with for the minor
clans.
It's hard to describe what a Saurian
ship looks like
without pictures. I unfortunately don't have any anymore. (I originally
had doodled some in 3ds max but I can't seem to find them, regardless
they weren't very good anyway) So, let's see
if I can describe what the typical Saurian "Stalker" class ship looks
like. Picture a flying wing type of ship (stealth bomber). Now make it
a delta wing,
that means wings are swept forward. Make it all rounded and smooth.
Take the engine exhausts and stretch them out along the trailing edge
of the wings, getting smaller the further out they go. Put a great big
plasma cannon on the wingtips, now starting at the cockpit or bridge,
cut one wing off. That's as close as I can describe a Stalker. Stalkers
can fire one shot while cloaked, but the power requirements will cause
the cloak to fail within seconds. Stalkers are also outfitted with
Force Fields.
"Hunter" class ships, the typical HKC ship don't have cloaks and
still have both wings but they are swept forward to an even greater
angle. The large plasma cannons have been replaced with rapid firing
plasma cannons that can fire a steady stream of plasma non-stop.
Typical plasma cannons can only fire every 3 seconds. HKC ships also
carry a compliment of fusion torpedoes, much heavier armor and variable
frequency Shielding. These ships are fast and maneuverable and can go
toe to toe with equivalent ships of their weight.
I always pictured the Saurians dressing and acting somewhat like Human
pirates did during the Age of Sail. They carry swords on their hips,
wear flamboyant but modern clothing, and obviously support themselves
with piracy.
Saurians have a natural lifespan of close to 200 years. Couple that
with their large birth rate they tend to overpopulate quickly. SarRia
has brought up plans to the Magistrate Council to curb birthrates, but
so far the idea has been rejected outright. However, many Captains see
merit with the idea and have imposed their own restrictions on their
crews and their families. Currently, a family may only have children
once the parents retire. Which is forcing families to be a bit more
thrifty with their money. They are also only allowed to have one
birthing. Typically, a Saurian can bear up to 6 babies at a time,
average is 4. Now however, families are being told they can only have
ONE birthing, regardless of how many children actually pop out. Future
plans are being discussed to reduce the amount of children being born
in a single birthing. Saurian populations are out of control and is
causing undo stress on their populations and outside interests are
getting paranoid about the Saurians wanting to take over their space.
Mixed union children are not mistreated by pure blood Saurians. They
see it as a strengthening of their peoples heritage.
SarRia is pushing for all the major races to get together and make
some sort of galaxy spanning oversight committee. (A league of Sentient
beings if you will) Currently the only race not 100% onboard are the
Terrans. SarRia has mentioned on many occasions that the Bentrine
should moderate all League meetings as they're the oldest and least
hostile of all the major races. Cerians and Humans have agreed, this is
what's keeping the Terrans from commiting. They refuse any moderator
other than a Terran.
Saurian planets are great adventuring opportunities. The laws are lax
and trading food stuffs is a great but slow way to make a profit.
Saurians don't generally sack ships known to be carrying supplies to
Saurian colonies. Also, the HKC sometimes outsources code violation
jobs.
Space is considered the "black sea". Water is scarce on the Saurian
homeworld of Siecko. Shipping water ice in Saurian space is another
great way to make a profit.
Saurians can regenerate lost limbs. Regenerating a full arm lost at
the shoulder can take upwards of a year. A leg can take 2 years.
However, most Saurians opt for cybernetic replacements. Their
regenerative abilities has made them very hardy and resistant to most
diseases. SEC has claimed on numerous occasions that the Terrans are
experimenting on captured Saurians trying to develop viral weaponry
that can defeat Saurian resistances without also wiping out the rest of
the galaxy. In all likelyhood the Terrans really are doing this, plus a
whole lot more.
SEC will in all likelyhood start infiltrating and destroying Terran
research facilities. In the process of doing this, they'll make sure
any relevant Cerian research will be accidentally on purpose leaked to
the Hiearchy. The Hiearchy are itching for a fight with the Terrans
anyway. If there is no such research, they'll just fabricate it.
The SEC are doing their own "research", in all likelyhood they're just
as guilty of crimes against nature as the Terrans are.
Saurians are like many other races in terms of their home and
family lives. Really, the only differences in terms of culture is they
fund themselves with piracy.
Saurians are very affectionate with their mates. They may sleep
with whomever catches their fancy while on duty, but when they're at
home their family and mate is all that matters.
Saurians have no STDs. They don't/can't catch colds, and seem to be
immune to many bio-weapons. They do however get what they call the
"squits". It's a form of incontenance rendering them unable to control
their bodily waste. A common joke among the Clans is the cause of the
Squits is a Terran singing. It's not known what causes the Squits, but all Saurians will
get it at least once in their life.
Saurians are exotically beautiful, as coined by many Humans.
Saurian/Human relationships are growing steadily as more and more
Humans are being adopted into the Clans.
Saurian parts match up just right with Human parts. Nobody likes to
kiss a space slug.
Saurians living in other race's territories find it hard to adapt
to a life of having a "real" job. They like to move around and be
active, so they tend to be ship captains or adventurers. If they have
to work legally, they at least want to be in a position to blow
something up or kill someone legally.
Saurian brains have a racial defect which skews their perception of
time. It keeps them on their feet and always moving. Basically they
can't percieve the passing of time the way most other beings do. To
them sitting for an hour can seem like days or even seconds. Brain
scans have shown that the brain doesn't record memories in a linear
time line like most other races. It's most likely not a defect, but a
evolutionary modification because their home planet used to be
inhabited by some very dangerous carnivores so the small Saurians
needed an advantage and their evolution went this route.
This racial defect was my sons idea, he knew exactly what he was
talking about, but I can't remember the specifics of it. I would like
to keep it as it sounded like a good plot item at the time. If anyone
would like to spew some pseudo-science and explain this be my guest.
Saurian homes tend to be stacked and crammed into large housing blocks
that resemble a hive of bee's honeycomb. On planets without population
issues, they prefer geodesic shaped dome homes with as many floors as
possible submerged underground. They'll use any readily available
building material.
Saurians tend to have little to no decorations as far as knick-knacks
and artwork in their homes. They prefer to keep things as minimal as
possible to make moving easier. As far as furniture goes, traditionally
the only furniture they would buy/keep/maintain were their beds and a
dining table. They generally sit on the floor on pillows, their tables
are generally just high enough to get your legs under if sitting cross
legged. However if you're anyone but a Saurian it's an uncomfortable
fit. They rarely keep physical mementos of loved ones or lost family
members. While they do care deeply for their families their lack of
being able to perceive time like most other sentients means they just
don't miss family and need reminders like everyone else.
The Saurian diet consists of anything that doesn't eat them first,
and will fit in their mouths. They'll eat ANYTHING, there are legends
of early Saurian civilizations that primarily subsisted on canabalism.
It's a ongoing joke that when a Saurian meets a Human looking to join
the Clans the Saurian will tell them they look tastey and smile and
show all their very sharp teeth. During the last indoctrination
ceremony SarRia was giving a speech and welcoming the largest group of
Human initiates to join the Clans to date, her final words to the
audience was "Oh and remember, the Humans are NOT dinner, you must
resist the temptation to sample and nibble!" An orchestra of
dissapointed female Saurians rang out in contempt as she walked off the
stage laughing her tail off.
There is only ONE legitimately run and legal Saurian company. The
founder consistently states that the very act of owning and operating a
company, regardless of the comodity or line of production, is without a
doubt at it's core a form of piracy.
Saurians make great farmers, however they like to roam so if you're
using Saurian labor in your fields you're unlikely to ever have a group
of workers stick around for more than a couple of days at a time. They
tend to be day laborers. On the plus side, it's a good bet that another
group of laborers down the road is already on their way to work in your
fields.
Saurians will never steal from an employer or their workmates, however
a crew of workers at another farm are fair game.
A benefit to their lack of time perception, they don't grumble from
working long hours. They'll complain if they're hungry, tired, or hurt
but if kept fed and safe they can work 20 hours a day and never
complain once.
Females are bigger than males. In a home environment a male is most
likely to stay home and raise kids and keep the home.
Females tend to take leadership roles more often then males. It's
not that males can't get leadership roles, they just don't care. Males
tend to take more of an advisory role. There's a saying among Humans,
that behind every great man, their is a greater woman. Among Saurians,
it's the opposite. A female Captain may command her crew with an iron
fist, but when she comes home to hubby what he says is law, for lack of
a better way of describing it.
Saurians love bright colors and their clothing tends to be
flamboyant and risque. Males don't tend to show much, but females have
been known to wear just enough to cover the important bits. Both sexes
favor cloaks that can be used to quickly cover themselves if needed.
I however doubt they wear them for anything more than flash.
The Saurian worship a being they simply call the "Dragon". Before
the launch of their first satellite they were a fractured race of many
clans with many different beliefs all on the brink of species wide
starvation. Then the Rider at the Gates intervened and helped them
along and pushed them into space. The first pictures of their home from
space united them. There were legends that they all came from a massive
dragon that drifted through the black sea. She stopped and rested on a
great mountain and liked the valley below so much that she left some
eggs behind. What the orbital pictures revealed was that the many
mountains, valleys and gorges lined up to resemble a massive claw print
that spanned the entire planet. It litterally looks like a giant claw
grasped the planet.
Since uniting under one common religion, violent infighting among
the clans has vanished, there are still dissagreements but the blood
and wars of the past are gone and any being threatening the Clans will
find a people united, steadfast and strong.
The Saurians have an unnaturally low amount of beings that can
perceive when the Rider changes time. Most likely because of their
genetic defect. To 99.9% of the Saurian people, the Rider at the Gates
IS a part of Saurian history, he's always been there and will always be
there. Historical artwork that shows his appearance always picture him
as a Saurian, just an ugly Saurian, where as other races show him as he
is, a Human.
Saurian culture never did much painting compared to other cultures.
There are early cave paintings, but after a certain period in time the
cave paintings stop, painting in particular tends to cease. In its
place is an ornate bead and sand art. Even in modern times if a home
has any artwork in it, it's a long tapestry of beads sewn together in
an ornate pattern that can be easily rolled up and moved at a moments
notice. It's posited that Saurian culture went this route partly
because of their nomadic nature, and that the tapestries could be used
to keep warm or act as a sort of armor if you go by the legends. Sand
art tends to be used in public structures. Even in their early ancient
nomadic lives a Clan would leave behind sand art as a way of showing
other Clans who was there previously and what resources were available.
In modern times sand art gets the most use as decorations on official
buildings. It can takes months or years to complete, but they are
supremely beautiful once done. I
saw a sand art "painting" once on a documentary about the Dali Lama and
thought it was one of the most beautiful works of art I've ever seen.
So thats where I got the idea for the Saurian art.
Saurians do not have opposable thumbs, they do however have extra long
fingers with extra knuckles allowing for tighter articulation and
gripping. Their hands also tend to be a bit more muscular in comparison
to other races. They have small claw like nails at the end of each
finger. Males and females both tend to paint their nails. They can be
sharpened and used as weapons, but generally the only blood they draw
is from the backs of their lovers.
Saurians have a long history of eating the family pet. However
since buying house cats from Humans they've found that they enjoy
having pets. Well, and the fact that cats taste like shit. They do
however enjoy Chihuahua immensely, even though all the other races
can't stomach their meat. The mutant Chihuahuas breed very quickly, can
get up to 200 lbs and can eat anything so they're starting to become a
staple foodstuff.
There are no orphanages in Saurian culture, their are boarding
schools however. Orphaned children are very, rarely ever adopted. So An
orphaned child is raised in a boarding school where they generally
learn a trade and the skills needed to survive in any chosen clan.
Generally this includes reading and math. A Saurian child is generally
far more skilled in the trades than an equivalent age of any other
race. However they tend to be a bit lackluster in the arts and
sciences. Generally Saurians only ever further their educations if they
join the 4th clan. The 4th clan houses some of the brightest minds in
the 'verse and even has a large compliment of MachiNa working with
them.
Saurians don't dislike or shun orphans, it's just that they have
such a large birth rate that it's hard for a family to take on the
responsibility of more kids. However, SarRia is plotting to make it
mandatory that every family must adopt a child before bearing any of
their own. This combined with some of the other population control
plans would do a great deal to fix overpopulation problems.
