ANCESTRIES
Here we have brief outlines of the different ancestries for our setting, listed alphabetically. You can view the stat blocks for character creation by clicking on the art!
The Erro are synthetic humanoids powered by Kori energy. When refugees from The Zero first traveled underground, they utilized robots and androids with limited, programmed intelligence to assist them with their day-to-day lives.
As Kori emerged in different physical states, the resonance began to interfere with electronics. After discovering how to harness Kori as an energy source, settlers began upgrading existing tools and devices to be powered by it.
When the first robots and androids were given Kori as a power source, the circuitry and programming changed, infusing them with increased computing power that quickly became true artificial intelligence.
The Erro emerged as a new breed of sentient life. Realizing the value of life forms not dependent on limited resources such as food and water, but capable of and willing to help ensure continued mutual survival, the Erro were quickly established as citizens with equal rights in cities such as Caldonyx in the years since.
On the surface, where survivors of The Zero were never exposed to the ideas of sentient machines with thoughts, feelings, and rights, they are treated with hostility, paranoia, and distrust. Since communication and travel has opened even more in recent years, this means Erro are forced to deal with bigotry even in their homes.
The Erro have been granted autonomy for determining when it is appropriate to create more of their kind to ensure there will never be a question of servitude, “ownership”, or general equality between themselves and the organic races.
Humans have always stood alongside the Karnak as one of the two dominant sentient races on the planet. Versatility, adaptability, and ingenuity allow Humans to fit into nearly any pocket of society and the world.
Following The Zero, humankind had found itself changing and expanding more than ever before. As new genetic offshoots emerged as splinters of humanity, humans continued to fill in the gaps. Their capability to harness the power of Kori on the same level as the Vel or Ori and their lack of the physical dependencies and deformities of the Nakhiir and Yara ensure humans are not overtaken by their new cousins.
Social acceptance of these new cousin-ancestries occurred rapidly as well. Many humans experienced direct genetic mutation after exposure to Kori, leading to diverse families. Newborns also began experiencing these mutations, which led to an immediate next generation and new way of life.
Humans can be found in every society.
The Karnak, scientifically known as Serpens sapiens, are genetically diverse reptilian bipeds that evolved alongside mankind. The planet was once home only to Humans, Karnak, and the rest of the less-intelligent animal life forms.
The two dominant species experienced strife in the distant past, but in more civilized ages, they comingled without difficulty. Societies the world-over benefited from the collaborative efforts each brought to the table.
The Karnak suffered in the wake of The Zero far more than humanity did, as the species has an innate aversion to cold temperatures and weather. On the whole, more Karnak than humans perished, but their populations have evened out in the years of The Thaw.
While several new genetic lines have mutated from humans, the Karnak’s natural genetic diversity saw further rampant growth as Kori emerged in the world. New sub-species, bloodlines, and adaptations emerge with greater frequency than ever before.
Karnak prefer to make their homes in warmer climates. Now that The Thaw is underway, The Belt has become a far more habitable ecosystem for them to enjoy. They are numerous both on the surface and underground in subterranean cities such as Caldonyx.
The Nakhiir are humanoids with snake and batlike features. Like the other human-offshoots, the Nakhiir first evolved following the emergence of Kori years ago. It is hypothesized that the Nakhiir are somehow the blending of Human and Karnak genetic material. They can adapt to nearly any environment but must remain close to sustainable sources of meat. This leads many Nakhiir to pursue professions or hobbies in hunting or animal husbandry. Further, their immunity to disease makes them prime candidates for exploring the unknown wastes.
Nakhiir follow human norms for hair and eye color, although extreme variations are possible. Patches of scale-like flesh may be scattered on their bodies but are almost always found along their brow-ridges and nose. Their eyes have large, black, snakelike pupils, and the surrounding iris is always a full, solid color.
Nakhiir are omnivorous but have the bodily need to consume at least 2 pounds (~1 kilogram) of meat per day. To assist in this process, they can unhinge their jaws and fold open their mouths to consume a larger volume of food at once. Seams at the edge of their mouths run into their cheeks and mask the additional muscles that allow their mouth to contort. Nakhiir have many sharp teeth lining the inside of their mouth, in addition to molars.
It can be disconcerting for many of the sapient species to watch a Nakhiir unfold their full maw. This is compounded by their rattle-like tonsils hidden in the back of their throats. The Nakhiir are capable of striking primal fear into the hind-brains of sentient creatures through a combination of their terrifying visage and rattle. This has led to the inaccurate stereotype that Nakhiir are inclined toward hostility or downright bloodthirstiness.
The Ori are a vibrant, bold people, named after the Kori in their veins. In the wake of The Zero, some Ori mutated directly from humans, while others were born as they are, but all have power and possibility brimming within. Every Ori has the ability to manipulate the natural Kori in their bodies, and are known as Linked. This manipulation is different for each individual, and grants them special power.
Ori appear similar to humans in every aspect, save two: their eyes seem to glow a vibrant, unnatural color as a reflection of the power within, and their natural hair color matches the color of their eyes. Their eyes give off no light, but reflect and radiate existing light to create this sensory effect. Eye color varies in the extreme: all the colors of the rainbow, and any shade imaginable beyond that.
The extra power running through each Ori has several other side effects. A constant higher-energy baseline forces their body into a state of constant hyperactivity. Their mind is unable to keep up with this state, and they are unable to process the excess information or release it in a productive way. This leads to their mind feeling overloaded, a difficulty in concentrating for prolonged periods of time, and a negative effect on their ability to avoid further distraction. The mind’s way of dealing with this excess energy is to funnel as much as possible into one outlet, which manifests as a hyper-fixation. The hyper-fixation is different for each individual, but more often than not leads to complications. It isn’t all bad, however; the mind’s inability to focus as well as a normal human also lets them ignore some negative sensory input, allowing them to avoid limited distractions from pain.
In society, the Ori are as varied as their powers. While not all Ori will hone their Linked abilities, it is a common practice since it comes so naturally. Professions and interests will often arise from the specific powers they manifest.
Most social stigma the Ori face comes from their occasional “spaciness” or head butting over their jealous hyper-fixation. Intellectual pursuits in academia are just as viable for the Ori as other races. This stigma is also partly linked to the Vel. While the Ori developed gifts of the body, the Vel developed gifts of the mind. They are seen by others as counterpart evolutions in many ways, but the individuals may not always agree.
Aware and insightful, the Vel emerged alongside the Ori as the first genetic variations of Humans following The Zero. Vel share a greater visual similarity with humans than any of the other genetic variants. Only their vertical, cat-slitted pupils, varied eye color, and lithe build set them apart. Most Vel trend toward the taller end of the human spectrum, averaging in the 6-6.5 ft. (1.8 - 2.1 m.) range.
While the Ori have power in their bodies, the Vel carry it in their minds. Every Vel’s brain has been supercharged with Kori energy, and each individual has the power to draw upon that energy in the form of Psionics. The mind channels as much of this energy as possible, but in doing so, neglects the rest of the body. Due to the level of energy expenditure needed, the Vel find their internal systems to be slightly less effective at staving off disease, sickness, and injury than other sapient races.
The Vel’s mysterious Psionic abilities manifest in a way that other ancestries do not: they have a literal sixth sense that is capable of alerting them to mortal peril in the moments before it occurs. This power comes at a cost, however; the mental stress of constant psychic exposure and awareness to their surroundings is often too great, and they are forced to funnel all the ambient stress and anxiety into a single fixation in the form of an irrational phobia.
Vel can fill many niches in society, but often gravitate toward avenues and careers that compliment their Psionic aptitudes. When possible, they tend to avoid dangerous and physical assignments due to their frail constitutions.
Much of the stigma the Vel face is the appearance of frailty, and off-color jokes about their capabilities. Add to this is the rare ability to look inside the mind of another being, communicate past language barriers, or affect the minds of others directly, and it is easy to see why many remain wary.
The Yara evolved alongside the other human-offshoots following The Zero and emergence of Kori. Physically, they appear similar to humans. Their defining characteristic is an additional two sets of limbs sprouting from their backs and a second set of Infravision eyes instead of eyebrows.
Yara are one of the most physically distinct humanoid ancestries to emerge after The Zero, and suffered for a time. However, in the wake of technological collapse and temporary return to hunter-gather traditions, the Yara found a niche as powerful predators with unparalleled mobility. Whether for their own survival or the benefit of others, Yara proved their capabilities and earned respect in dire circumstances.
In more recent years, Yara are prevalent and productive in all facets of society. Technology remains problematic, and Yara generally gravitate towards activities and interests that offer fewer opportunities for them to break things or embarrass themselves by mistake. Many Yara are formidable unarmed combatants and take up martial careers.
In the 200 years since The Zero, the ancestries of the planet experienced unparalleled genetic mutation and adaptation. While several “core” humanoid species have risen to the fore as the most common variants, diversification will always continue.
Karnak and Erro share this diversity in their own way, but are incapable of reproduction with the other sapient species. Humans, Nakhiir, Ori, Vel, and Yara all have the capability to share and pass on genetic material.
Kori is a volatile energy source, with the extreme mutagenic diversity stemming from Kori itself. One expression of this unpredictable volatility is that genetic material can only ever be pulled from two sources at once. This means that, while it is entirely possible for an individual to have a family tree full of every single humanoid variant, only attributes and abilities from two types will be dominant at once.
Additionally, one of the individual’s two strains must come from their parents. This means that a character with a Vel father and Yara mother might show no signs of Yara lineage - instead manifesting the tell-tale throat rattle of her Nakhiir grandmother - but they would still have some traits of their Vel father. It is possible for a character to have visual indicators of ancestry with none of the ancestry benefits, as well. Sekka Pahvi has an Ori mother, a Nakhiir father, and all of the ancestry attributes of a Nakhiir. She still sports the matching yellow-orange hair and eyes of her Ori mother, but instead of the tell-tale Ori “glow”, her irises are a full color and her pupils are snakelike.
In gameplay terms, the two-ancestor limit helps streamline the character creation process and ensure individuals still maintain a level of unique identity. It is certainly possible that in-universe future generations might have even more cosmopolitan individuals pulling from three or more ancestors as the world continues to change - and you are free to pursue this in your own game!