It is dark. Like the void.
It is empty. Like the vacuum.
It is warm. Like the stars.
Then a rip. A rip of light tears through your emptiness, and true light and warmth coats your skin. You are born. You are pulled out by two Animals; they walk on two legs, they grab you with two arms, they have a face with an expression of awe and disgust. You stand on your feet, wobbly at first, but with their help you regain balance. You look back down at your Mother; a big rip in her giant womb, her face lifeless, but with a fixed expression of happiness.
"It worked! It has sent us a Prince! The ritual worked!" the Animals screech in an ugly tone.
Your naked body is carried into a room with elderly Animals. They make you kneel, say a few screams of ugly, guttural words, and adorn you with a robe of varying colors. They explain to you what is happening; you are only hours born, but you already appear like an adolescent version of the Animals, albeit more beautiful. You also understand everything they say, even though you did not exist moments before. You are wiser, stronger, better.
After they dress you in clothes and dress you, you feel a strong longing to leave the area. You look directly in to the Sun, and it does not harm you. You stare at it straight, and long to be with it. It feels like it wants to commune with you, be with you, be you. And vice-versa. You are taken to a large monolithic tower, made of beautiful silver and adorned with ornaments of fine craftsmanship. You board it, and are greeted by an entire crew of animals, numbering in the thousands.
They inform you that you are free to take the craft and crew to any place and to do as you please. All they ask in favor is one task.
What have they asked you?
You are a newborn Prince: a being whose exact nature isn't exactly known in science, or rather, science in the Animals' eyes. You have been created to do a task for the planet that has birthed you. After that, the galaxy is in your hands. The task they have asked you to do could be anything you want: finding a lost artifact, protecting them from a great trouble, or conquering in their name. You are much more powerful than the Animals; you are born grown, you have never felt the weakness of infancy, as you've never needed it. You have the strength of five men, the intellect of fifty, and the will as fiery and intimidating as the stars. You are born with the knowledge of many things; craft guiding, Animal command, divination.
You are allowed to do anything in this game, as long as it does not negatively interfere with another player's stoyline (unless it progresses both your characters stories). You must, at one time or another, fulfill the Animals' wishes. Make your goal something to be remembered, such as conquering an entire sector of the galaxy, finding a lost ruin of a derelict craft or empire, or ascending into godhood and place yourself back amongst the stars.
The setting this game takes place in is 100,000 years in the future. Humanity (referred to as Animals by the Princes) has conquered the Milky Way Galaxy in three parts: The Inner, the Commons, and the Outer.
The Inner: This is the inner rim of the Milky Way Galaxy. It is where the important, the wealthy, and the loved reside. It resembles a heavily industrialized Greek/Roman type area, with pillars of marble holding up factories of pure silver and gold. Statues of heroes adorn the street, all of them bearing weapons of such glory. This is the place where the Aristocrats reside, tended to by an ocean of swarming slaves and menservants who fulfill all their biological, social, and psychological needs.
The Commons: This is where most of humanity resides. The largest sector, it's denizens comprise of artisans, merchants, nobles, warriors, and those of higher stature. It resembles a Renaissance-like era; with many artists on the streets painting the artificial beauty of their planets. Many craft are built, so that they might discover new areas not yet explored, and gain knowledge and riches.
The Outer: This is the outer rim of the Galaxy. It is inhabited by savages who live among caves and trees. Some have literally went down the evolutionary ladder, resembling cavemen. The ruling faction that maintains the savages is an empire of scholar-warriors. They resemble a futuristic Aztec empire. They are the only one in the Outer to know how to create, maintain, and guide craft. They check up on the tree men to see that they are put in line.
All the sectors are disconnected from each other; the gap between their planets is too far for craft to travel through without running out of supplies and they will not be able to track their location. Therefore, every ten years, they spend massive resources to participate in a ritual that sends messages and reports of all their progress between each other. This ritual is kept closely guarded by the highest officials. However, this gap between the sectors will not impede you and your specially-designed craft. Therefore, you are an invaluable asset for trade or combat between sectors.
All of them have different languages and dialects, but you are able to understand their words. All have different cultures, but all worship the same religion. It is an omnitheistic religion; with an omnipresent deity who is said to be everything, although It is most represented as a sun-god. They all worship the stars, which they find mysterious and awe-inspiring as very few get to leave their planets and see the stars without an atmosphere denying its glory.
It is said that the Princes are part of the sun-god. The ritual to create them is said to involve taking the soul and mind of the stars and put into a woman host. After the rites and preparations, the woman quickly grows in size, so much so that she is unable to move and has to be chained to keep her vertical. As the sun sets, the woman screams as a grown man is created inside her. They must cut her open, killing her and releasing the Prince, but the feeling of the moment of birth grants them unspeakable happiness for as long as she can breathe.
Princes are scattered far and wide, they command vast planets and craft. Princes sometimes band together and even create more of them. One particular band of Princes built a massive craft named the Tower of Babel. It is so large and so self sustaining that it can provide food and comfort for the population of an entire planet's population. This Tower was created to be the first of a line of giants, to challenge the sun-god. But the Tower fell, as the swarm of slaves and workers banded together to rebel against the hundreds of allied Princes.
Many artifacts are scattered through the cosmos. Who left them, it might never be known. There are no aliens on this game; only strange subspecies of human. Many ruins of empires long gone are scattered everywhere, waiting to be replaced with yours.
Name: (What you named yourself)
Sector: (Which sector you came from. This affects the type of planet you were created in)
Goal: (Which goal they have asked you to complete. Make it grand, but not impossible. It will help me to give you encounters that you want to be involved in)
Appearance: (Most Princes have beautiful, terrifying, or inspiring characteristics)
Bio: (What you have done in the short period between now and your creation. Also list: name of ship, particular crew such as captain, friend etc. and info on the planet and their culture)
Gender:
Stats: (I'll be using the D&D 4e system. Cuz I'm lazy) (You have 20 points to add to the base 10. To find the modifier, it is *-10/2.For example, (14-10)/2= +2 bonus)
Str 10 (How buff and how much you can carry, etc.)
Con 10 (How healthy you are. Including sanitary health, sanity, and social needs)
Dex 10 (How good you are at acrobatic feats, slight of hand etc.)
Cha 10 (How smooth you are, how well you bargain)
Int 10 (How fast you learn, how good you are at memorizing things, and how good you are at solving puzzles)
Wis 10 (Your empathy, social reasoning, common sense etc.)
Name: (What you named yourself)
Sector: (Which sector you came from)
Prince: (Which Prince you are affiliated to)
Appearance: (What you look like)
Bio: (Why have you volunteered to be a consort to a Prince. Your life before, goals for the future, etc.)
Gender:
Age: (14-25)
Stats: (You have 10 points to spend instead of 20)
Str 10 (How buff and how much you can carry, etc.)
Con 10 (How healthy you are. Including sanitary health, sanity, and social needs)
Dex 10 (How good you are at acrobatic feats, slight of hand etc.)
Cha 10 (How smooth you are, how well you bargain)
Int 10 (How fast you learn, how good you are at memorizing things, and how good you are at solving puzzles)
Wis 10 (Your empathy, social reasoning, common sense etc.)
I'll take 4 characters. You can signup here to be a consort (whose character sheet I will post tomorrow) to aid a player whose goals you favor. They must accept you, and you may have any number of consorts unless it imbalances the game too far. I will either randomly choose the four, or pick the most interesting characters. Six more applications will be put on waitlist, in order of who signup-ed first. The rest may make a consort character as stated above.
Also, please give me comments on the game while I run it. I just like to hear the bad points and good points in my games. If you think something should be added here, please tell me. This system isn't done yet, as I'm really tired and I need to sleep.
IC Thread (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=127865.msg4358757#msg4358757)
Mechanics
The game will use the d20 dice to determine if an attack hits, how much is hit, and how much is negated or added. There will be no HP system, per se; it will be a sort of chunky salsa system.
Attack turns:
First, a player chooses to attack. He must specify an particular area, limb, or other things of note on an enemy such as horns or jetpacks. Then I will roll for him using random.org. You then add your weapon and dex modifier (and others that apply, such as scopes) to the roll. The target then rolls another d20 and adds his armor and con modifier. If your roll total is greater than your opponents, you hit.
Then, you roll for damage. Another d20 will be rolled and you add your weapon and str modifier against the targets armor and con modifier. If your result is larger than your target's, you subtract yours by his. Then add your weapon's modifier to the subtracted number. The enemy who has been hurt must make a saving throw by rolling a d20 and adding his wis modifier. The number you must reach will be on the table below. Rounds of personal combat consist from 6 seconds to 60 seconds.
Damage Table:
Attack Damage: 1-2 (Minor bruise)
3-4 (Cut)
5-6 (Laceration)
7-8 (Loss of function)
9+ (Dismemberment)
Psychic or Psychological Attacks:
If some great trauma or hallucinogenic effect causes psychological damage to you, roll a d20 and add your wis modifier against 15+(other modifiers to be stated during the turn). If you pass, nothing happens. If you fail, you take psychological damage according to the table. You find it the same as the way above.
Damage Table:
Attack Damage: 1-2 (Headache/Auditory illusions)
3-4 (Anxiety/Auditory hallucination)
5-6 (Paranoia/Visual hallucination)
7-8 (Dementia/Auditory+Visual hallucinations)
9+ (Psychosis)
Healing must be done with a medical kit (heals minor bruises and cuts), medical station (heals lacerations and regains some function), or an artifact (heals all except dismemberment, unless otherwise stated). To regain a dismembered limb (or other organ, such as eyes), you must find a robiologist to create an artificial replacement. These are not cheap; they cost about 10,000-100,000 credits (discussed later) depending on limb and functionality.
Treating psychological damage is much more tricky. You must have a therapist (headaches), psychiatrist (anxiety and paranoia), or psychotherapist (dementia). Psychosis needs you to go to a specialized mental institute to help you, but even then prices are high and success is low.
This is similar to personnel combat, but on a larger scale. Your craft (whose statistics I will create for you once I choose you; you can ask me to give you the stats beforehand if you wish to see if it is to your liking) will most likely have some advanced weaponry, such as ion and plasma cannons. On board might also be some fighters and smaller cruisers to assist your main craft (discussed in Command Combat). Your craft will have a protective shield against ion and plasma, but not to missiles and metal projectiles or meteors and space debris.
Attack turns:
You first determine which weapons to fire, which fighters to deploy, and command the inside of you crew. You may use any weapons with no limit, but your weapons must recharge (most recharge in one round; more depending on weapon and upgrades). Also, crew have to make morale checks at the start of the round to combat any penalties last round (only applies to crew that were affected). They will roll d20 to all of the affected crew and add your cha modifier and any bonuses such as previous parties or good moods, and penalties such as mass death or stressful situations. They must beat 15+(any modifiers that will be stated during the round). If it is less, subtract that with the amount they rolled and check the table.
Damage Table:
Morale Damage: 1-2 (Stress) (-1 bonus to all further rolls until changed)
3-4 (Panic) (-2 bonus to all further rolls until changed)
5-6 (Disorder) (Unable to follow orders)
7-8 (Mutiny) (They will attempt to attack you)
9+ (Violence/Riot) (They will attack each other and attempt to damage the craft)
If you shoot your weapons, roll a d20 to see if they penetrate the hull. Add all modifiers and penalties (see table above) against the hull value. Ion and plasma projectiles will not pass a shield (unless it is an artifact or with an upgrade), but metal projectiles and ballistics will pass through. Ion and plasma will immediately add +2 to damage if the attack reaches the hull. Shields must be down for this to happen. You choose the sector of the ship to attack, such as thrusters or the shield core as they are outside and visible. You will not be able to see the interior without special equipment.
Damage Table:
Hull Damage: 1-2 (Minor breach)
3-4 (Major breach) (Oxygen seeps out)
5-6 (Disastrous breach) (Immediate depressurization)
7-8 (Explosion)
9+ (Annihilation) (Irreparable damage and death of all nearby crew)
Hull damage can be repaired by onboard technicians (minor breach), hull drones (major breach), repair dock (disastrous breach+explosions), or a professional craft guild (all damage). The first two are free; the only fee is their yearly pay and maintenance of robotics. Repair docks charge 1,000+ including new weapons systems to replace damaged weapons, while craft guilds charge 10,000+ (you may also need to prove your worth, and your crafts worth).
You as a leader will not go alone and will often deploy forces to further your goals. You alone will not be able to command your entire army; you have lieutenants and commanders to assist you. Lieutenants work on the field with the troops, commanding them from their vehicle or forward base. Commanders stay on your ship or at your primary base, and help discuss battle plans with you and command from afar.
Attack turns:
You first relay your commands to the commanders, who send it out to the receiving lieutenants. To send orders, a d20 will be secretly rolled to see if the transmission is intercepted. You will not know if this happens (unless you are the one intercepting it. Once orders have arrived, the lieutenant relays it to the sergeants who will then mobilize and try their hardest to carry it out. They roll a d20 added with modifiers and training bonuses against 15+(difficulty to be stated in the turn). If it passes, subtract that with the difficulty amount. Then check the table.
Success Table:
Success Amount: 1-2 (Barely completed)
3-4 (Moderately completed)
5-6 (Completed)
7-8 (Superbly completed)
9+ (Superbly completed with random side-effect)
If it fails, subtract the difficulty score with your roll. Then check the table.
Failure Table:
Failure Amount: 1-2 (Insignificant loss)
3-4 (Significant loss)
5-6 (Grave loss)
7-8 (Complete failure)
9+ (Irredeemable consequences)
For space combat, it is essentially the same. It is a mix between craft and command combat. The damage and shields etc. systems apply to them in a large scale fashion. There are two types of support craft: fighters (1-2 manned small combat craft) and cruisers (50-100 manned medium sized craft; it is where commanders reside while not in the main craft). Your ship generally consists of 10,000 fighters, and 2-3 cruisers. Fighters fight in squads of 5, resulting in 2,000 squads of 5, and lieutenants command 20 squads, resulting in 200 lieutenants.
You command the fighters to attack the enemy; fighters can go through shields, and you may command different groups with different orders. Cruisers can be a rallying point for fighters and provide covering fire for them.
In times of peace, your military crew may train in your barracks (if your craft has one). Each month of training grants a +1 bonus. The bonus passes on to the next month, and if you train in that month, another +1 is added. But if their training is stopped, the bonus still lasts for that month but is taken away after that. Then you must train them again, starting at +1.
Consorts give a +2 bonus to the unit they are attached to, and a +2 bonus added to the training bonus if the soldiers are trained under them.
Money in this game is tracked in credits, often abbreviated as c. 1c is equivalent to $20 US. The general wage of a crew member is 5c per month. 5c is enough to last them through a month; higher ranks are paid higher amounts. Your craft generally costs 200c to maintain per month. This includes food and maintaining power. Craft-weapon ammo costs approximately 10c per set. A set is enough bombardment for an entire turn.
Your craft's cargo hold generally can carry 200,000-500,000 tonnes of goods. There are containers for different things: weapons, food, craftwork, and live cargo. Goods prices are different from planet to planet and sector to sector. If you want to know the price, you can ask the locals of a planet or subscribe to a merchant's guild to gain monthly trends of goods and places to get them.
You start with 2,000,000c. You gain more from doing jobs, collecting tithes from planets you have conquered, or loaning from merchant's guilds. You could also deal in underhanded work; selling narcotics, smuggling slaves, assassinating targets, or blackmailing people. You can ask me for hints on how to do jobs, as I can't list how to complete all of them here.
If you conquer a planet, either through war, deception, or if you buy it out, then you can hire a government cabinet to manage affairs and to help collect tithes for you. You can use these for whatever you wish, and you may spend them on improving the planet such as improving agriculture or planetary defense. The type of government it is is up to you; be it federal, republic, or feudal, ect.
As a spawn of the Stars, you have the ability to commune with them. Not in a usual conversation through auditory communication or visual pictures, but they give you a strong feeling inside your subconscious that you can't readily explain; you just know it's the answer.
Roll a d20 against 15+(difficulty to be stated) to see if it can answer you. Then roll a d20+your wis modifier against 15+(difficulty to be stated) to see if you can understand what it has replied.
Name: Verator Sanguinus Akroxis, formally known as Sol Akroxis
Sector: The Commons
Goal: To rediscover and reintroduce the 'perfect culture' of the Augur Stars.
The lords and ladies of Urbiventia believe that long ago, in the uninhabited Augur Stars region of the Commons, there existed a civilization of unparalled wealth and sophistication that had developed a culture that was simply, in all regards, perfect and supreme. Their symphonies drove billions to blissful mania, their artwork sent viewers to heights of emotions never before experienced by man, their narcotics and pleasures fulfilled your every desire - even their language was so beautiful they hardly dared speak.
Some believe this civilization reached ultimate perfection and ascended, leaving the world for good, while others think lesser civilizations destroyed them out of envy. Regardless, they are gone, but their legacy may remain - and the mighty and powerful of the planet need it.
Appearance: Verator stands tall and powerfully built, like some god of an ancient tale. His skin is tan, with a reddish shade, while his features are uniformly strong and gaunt. Long, straight black hair runs down to his shoulders and his eyes are a startling white, seeming to pulse with all the fury of a thousand sons.
Bio: Verator has been quickly introduced to all the high and powerful lords and ladies of Urbiventia, an affluent Commons world forming the political and economic heart of their region. They have granted him the ceremonial title of Sol, an epithet of great honor but little practical use. The young Prince's opinion of these Animals with delusions of grandeur has not been improved by their eternal petty squabbling and wars.
Verator's ship is the pride of Urbiventia, the Sol Invictus. It is a massive fortress-like construction, though as far away from a warship as possible. The Invictus is a cultural marvel, a home to thousands of people and countless theaters, music halls, great galleries and places of more modern artforms, such as the crafting of vast virtual realities and dens of myriad pleasures. It has some weapons, but it is no tool of war - instead, the vast ship travels the Commons as a testament to the wealth and progress of Urbiventia, spreading their influence far and wide.
Verator has few friends in the Animal crew, disdaining mere mortals having positions of power. He has grown fond of the composer Satralfi and other artists onboard, but few would call it friendship.
Gender: Male
Stats: (I'll be using the D&D 4e system. Cuz I'm lazy) (You have 20 points to add to the base 10. To find the modifier, it is *-10/2.For example, (14-10)/2= +2 bonus)
Str 12 (How buff and how much you can carry, etc.)
Con 12 (How healthy you are. Including sanitary health, sanity, and social needs)
Dex 10 (How good you are at acrobatic feats, slight of hand etc.)
Cha 16 (How smooth you are, how well you bargain)
Int 15 (How fast you learn, how good you are at memorizing things, and how good you are at solving puzzles)
Wis 15 (Your empathy, social reasoning, common sense etc.)
Name: Alsandair Domhein
Sector: The Commons
Goal: Assist in forcing the rival Hollenzern Armaments into an alliance: to be more specific on what exactly to do, HA holds a discreet exploration fleet with several ships - a few of which operate by themselves at times - and corresponding mining operations on a few planets. Taking down all of their ships and/or managing to obtain all the ancient technology and knowledge the Hollenzern are harvesting will inflict enough of a crippling blow to cause the rival corporation to start considering diplomacy to end their centuries-long conflict.
Background Info: Domhein Industries is a large company which focuses mainly on production of bellic material and possesses their own military forces. Their story dates to several centuries ago, when they were "only" a remarkably large and well-organized private army founded by the Domhein family. Military contacts were plentiful at that time, but the fact companies could very easily backstab their clients and sell their commissioned equipment to other customers made the mercenary corporation take a radical decision, buying and restructuring several small weapon manufacturers around the skeletal remains of a traditional but bankrupt arms company they were able to buy before all their machinery was sold out.
At the same time, the Hollenzern Armaments performed the opposite path: possessing several factories of impressive sizes spread across the Commons, they upgraded their already huge force of fleet guards into a private army and started to hire them out as a way of both showing the effectiveness of their products and to have a reliable military body to enforce their interests anywhere necessary. Needless to say, it was only a matter of time before conflicts between the companies started, reaching their apex at the "Caravan Wars", having been named over the constant attacks on the trading fleets of both sides which ultimately led to the full-blown war.
Nowadays, several years after the Wars have ended and the companies have already recovered from most of the damage caused to their assets, direct attacks against each other happen with less frequency but commercial competition is still violent, the soldiers of one company being very commonly being hired to fight off an invasion led by the opposing business.
Domhein Industries has both more tradition in the combat field and the best soldiers - disciplined, well-trained and brave men - while Hollenzern Armaments has a slight edge on technology and an almost overwhelming numerical advantage.
Appearance: Taller than most Animals and walking with steps which let a predatory grace show through, Alsandair appears to be a young man with a strong, serious countenance and an athletic body and pale skin. His eyes are lime green and his short curly hair displays a coppery color. His canines are slightly more noticeable and projected than in humans and his behavior makes him appear at times as a carnivorous beast walking in total peace amidst cattle.
Rarely given to flights of fancyness, he is usually wearing a classic military outfit - pants, shirt, beret, gloves and boots - with a large shieldlike badge over his left upper arm. Most of his clothes are different tones of grey, with his on-board uniform being easily distinguishable by the light gray color and green beret.
The one feature that sets him even further apart from the animals are his eyes, which look increasingly unnatural the more one looks into them; speckles of light and darkness criss-cross their surface and nebulae swirl in their interior in what was several times identified as a star chart, although no one has ever tried to read it nor risked asking permission to do so.
Bio: Alsandair, as he has taken to calling himself, was "born" in an industrial world under the thumb of the Domhein Industries and almost immediately dressed in a military outfit before being explained how he was to carry out their only request. He was given a short instruction in their ways and introduced to the council leading both the commercial and military parts of the industries before being supplied with a ship and the tools needed to achieve success in his mission.
Adapted and repurposed for Alsandair's use, the ship is a Prowler-Class ship, affectionately named "Hammerhead" after the fact it generally shuns beauty in favor of function. Instead of the sleek hulls of the Hollenzern craft, the Hammerhead is a large piece of flying armor apparently designed for going through hell and back. The exterior is the color of lead with the interior colored a light grey and even the well-distributed, practical interior lighting scheme can't take the impression of sobriety away from the metallic walls of the vessel. The entire superstructure was made to allow for modularity without losing defensive qualities, resulting in efficient usage of available space and the possibility of replacing weaponry and ammo storage for cargo holds and fighter bays and vice-versa.
The vessel is roughly the shape of a heavy-bladed sword with sharp edges and a notably sturdy contruction which lends the vessel an air of regal threat and brutal beauty. One of the few aesthetic concessions to be found on the Hammerhead are several silver panels displayed both in the interior and exterior of the ship which depict several military victories and bloody battles in the history of Domhein in bas-relief, with large parts of the exterior's sides covered in the bas-relief.
The Hammerhead's captain is Steinner Domhein, an Animal in his late middle ages with both chin and head full of mixed silver and black strands of hair. He is a disciplined man with a deep sense of duty and loyalty, being a veteran soldier and having become a friendly acquaintance of Alsandair's.
Gender: Male
Stats:
Str 12
Con 20
Dex 14
Cha 14
Int 10
Wis 10
Name: Forscher Hall
Sector: The Commons
Goal: They have asked me to discover new places, new artifacts, and new technologies for the Animals to live in and use.
Appearance: The Animals describe me as a grand, inspiring figure, one whom they could trust to do anything for them. I appear to them to be a tall man, around 6 feet and 3 inches by their measurements, who has golden hair, and wise gray eyes.
Bio: I have, in the time between my creation and now, familiarized myself with the technology and culture of the animals on the planet I was created. Having learnt well about such things, they now deem me fit to travel the stars.
Gender: Male
Stats: (I'll be using the D&D 4e system. Cuz I'm lazy) (You have 20 points to add to the base 10. To find the modifier, it is *-10/2.For example, (14-10)/2= +2 bonus)
Str 12 (How buff and how much you can carry, etc.)
Con 12 (How healthy you are. Including sanitary health, sanity, and social needs)
Dex 12 (How good you are at acrobatic feats, slight of hand etc.)
Cha 12 (How smooth you are, how well you bargain)
Int 18 (How fast you learn, how good you are at memorizing things, and how good you are at solving puzzles)
Wis 14 (Your empathy, social reasoning, common sense etc.)
Name: Pal-Palke
Sector: The Outer Sector
Goal: To find a way to the Inner Sector and devise a method for the Emperor of the Rim to establish his own interests there, far-reaching as they are. The signals of the other parts of the galaxy have begun to interest the Emperor intensely, enough to feel the need to call up a Prince to fulfill the task. Should Pal-Palke accomplish this task and invent a method for the Emperor to finally fulfill his dream of universal hegemony, she will know the true extent of the Emperor's generosity.
Appearance: an extremely short, dwarfish woman, about 1 meter and 20 centimeters in height and possessing very dark skin. Typically dressed in the flamboyantly colorful officer's garb of the Outer Empire. Head is shaved bald, has a round, not entirely unkind face. Possesses twenty eyes, one pair of which is dominant and humanlike (large and round in shape, dark brown irises), located on her face, the others are smaller, more primitive eyes that perceive movement more than anything, and these form a horizontal circle running around her head at about eye level and a vertical half-circle going from the bridge of her nose to the back of her head. Though Pal-Palke herself is short, her arms are unusually long, running to a total of her full body length. Her legs are rather short and stumpy, and her voice is unusually deep, with a refined tone to it.
Bio: as soon as she was born on the Golden Planet of Ur-Palke*, Seat of the Outer Emperor, who is also named Ur-Palke, Pal-Palke was groomed to become the perfect tool to realize the Outer Emperor's agenda. The facts of the matter were laid out to her, plain as the light of the stars themselves. She was called by the ancient Ritual of the Princes, the method of creating superhuman individuals obtained from one of the many tribes conquered by the Glorious Emperor. She was entitled to lead an entire crew of the Empire's finest soldiers, engineers and scientists, but her goal, though it may take her to many of the dark places of the Outer Sector, was singular, immutable and of paramount importance. This was to aid the Emperor, possibly a Prince himself, in a glorious plot to subjugate the weak and decadent Inner Sector, to take their resources and technology to further the glory of a soon-to-be magnificent pan-galactic empire. To do this, she was given a ship, the Depth-Wanderer, the Empire's most advanced (which by galactic standards isn't all that good) scouting and research vessel and crewed by an eclectic mix of fanatic soldiers, bright visionaries (frequently under the influence of some of the best psychotropics the Empire can offer) and meticulous engineers ready to further the glory of their Emperor. The most noteworthy among these is Kur-Karne, the acting captain of the vessel and aide to Pal-Palke. He is more than a tad less bright than Pal-Palke, but he is also more... presentable, shall we say.
* - Ur-Palke is a planet largely dedicated to its eponymous Emperor, and its habitation is purely designed to sustain the Emperor, his servants and their luxurious lifestyles. The entire planet is a mixture of pastoral farmland and hunting grounds for the Emperor, and the various residences of his notable personage dot the landscape. They range from ascetic dwellings to extremely luxurious pleasure palaces, each home designed to fit a certain mood and activity. The largest structure on the planet is the Monument of Ur-Palke, a massive complex of tombs that will serve as the Emperor's final resting place as well as that of his immediate servants in the unlikely event of his demise (it is said that the Emperor is actually a Prince, and most of the common folk certainly believe it readily enough, though only the Emperor's closest associates could confirm such a rumor). Also in the event of his demise the habitation of the planet is supposed to stop - any that do not entomb themselves are expected to leave and never return, leaving behind a tomb world for the esteemed ruler.
Gender: Female
Stats:
Str 10
Con 14 (+2)
Dex 10
Cha 10
Int 18 (+4)
Wis 18 (+4)