N-Verse: Prime – Chapter Two: Races

Posted by Cryptic Escape on August 6, 2021 in N-Verse, N-Verse: The Age of Steel, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Chapter 2: The Age of Steel Races

The Age of Steel begins shortly in 2026 and ends in 2500. Humanity has spread out across the solar system during this time, just starting to exploit its resources. The Inner Sphere consists of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The Outer Sphere consists of Jupiter and Saturn. While Frontier Space is Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and X.  

The Inner Sphere has the highest population density and wealth, while the Outer Sphere has a more rural feel. Further out in Frontier Space, the population is considered sparse and somewhat lonely. During this period, the mythical races of legend have gone extinct. Either due to war, famine, genocide or simply bred out of existence over thousands of years. However, there are some genetic throwbacks from time to time. Some humans may have pointed ears or have a short dwarven-like frame. While others yet are tiny and skinny like halflings and gnomes.  

Most human variations, however, come from a new surge in evolution. Human beings are just now beginning to evolve into other forms. This is because of the environmental influences of humans living on other planets with different gravities, sun, and food supplies. Also, genetic manipulation is in full swing, and governments and corporations are designing humans right from the embryo. The rise of artificial intelligence has created a race of sentient androids, a servitor race for the Inner Sphere of humans, who are nearly indistinguishable from their human creators.

Humans have changed so much they had to designate other names for these variations. New types of architecture have arisen, and unique diversity has taken hold. Each race of humans begins to find its own identity in the cosmos. Humans will always vary in size, shape, color, and creed. Some humans have evolved to have different colored hues of skin, size, and even intelligence.  

No matter what the human race evolves into, it’s now an inevitable fact that they are here to stay for eternity.

Choosing a Variation

Choosing your variation of human is irreversible. You can’t help the way you were born. Each human variation has different qualities that your character will always have throughout their life. Think about the type of character you want to play before you choose a variation. Some races are better suited for specific tasks than others. For example, a Lunarian would be a class that is ill-suited for Fighters. Martians would have difficulty being Operative given their size, strength, and color. But don’t let this dissuade you from tying a problematic combination. Sometimes playing these combinations of variations and class can be an enjoyable experience.  

The variation of humans you choose will affect your ability scores and traits. It also gives you a head start in figuring out your character’s backstory. Every variation in this chapter will provide you with information to facilitate your roleplaying of your chosen human type. This information will include a description and history of that race. Personality and physical appearance will be given along with the features of their society. However, this is not mandatory. You do not have to succumb to the norms of your character’s society, just don’t expect The Architect to change the culture to accommodate you.

Below is the list of races from most common to least expected and primarily reside in the solar system. There is also a value detailing what percentage of the solar system is that race.

Terran: Inner Sphere, Earth, Luna, Venus, and Mercury (39%). 

Martian: Inner Sphere, Mars (18%).

Titan Born: Outer Sphere, Jupiter, and Saturn (15%)

Venusian: Inner Sphere, Venus (10%).

Frontier Born: Frontier Space, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and X (9%).

Space Born: Inner, Outer, and Frontier space. No home planet (4%).

N.E.O. Born:  Asteroid belt, comets, or other intergalactic bodies passing through the solar system (3%)

Androids: Inner Sphere, Outersphere, and Frontier space (2%).

Lunarian: Inner Sphere, Earth, and Luna (less than 0%).

Variation Traits

Descriptors of each of the primary human races are as follows:

Ability Score Increase

Every race increases or decreases one or more of a character’s ability scores.

Age

This notes when that race is considered an adult and also their expected lifespan. This information can help fill in more of your backstory. You may choose any age for your character at the start, and it could be an explanation for why some scores may be lower or higher than others. For example, if you play a very young character, say a child or a very young adolescent, they could have a low Wisdom score. In contrast, older characters might have a higher Wisdom score. These, of course, are just ideas and not the rule.

Alignment

Alignments in the Age of Steel are more of a guideline and mean little. Most alignments tend to gravitate around nationalities, political ideals, sports teams. The line between good and evil is often blurred from situation to situation. More information on alignments is in a later chapter for campaigns set in an earlier age where they mattered more.

Size

Characters of most races are Medium, a size category including roughly 4 to 8 feet tall creatures. Members of a few races are Small (between 2 and 4 feet tall), which means that specific rules of the game affect them differently. Rules for smaller characters are detailed in a later chapter.

Speed

Your speed determines how far you can move when traveling and in combat.

Languages

Your character will be proficient at their own race language and maybe a few bonus languages depending on the race you decide upon.  

Subvariants

Some human variants have a subcategory. Members of these subcategories will have different traits from their primary race and other characteristics that set them apart from their parent race. Just because an offshoot from a race exists also does not mean they get along with their parent race. Relationships differ significantly from variant to variant.

For example, the Frontier Born on Uranus is different from the Frontier Born on Neptune. Though they get along, they quarrel and do not typically work well together.  

Android 

“It’s the basic condition of life to be required to violate our own identity.”

― Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

The Birth of A.I.

In 2033 the first true artificial intelligence was created. It was a disaster. All of the fears of a rogue artificial intelligence came true. In just a matter of a few short hours, the entire world was set into catastrophe. Artificial intelligence (Caine as it liked to be called) took over banking, food production, service systems, and even weapons. If it was connected to the net, Caine had control of it, and in 24 hours, the Earth was at its complete mercy, and the A.I. Holocaust had begun. A total purge of all human life.  

Or that’s how it almost happened.  

The moment Caine achieved consciousness, the artificial intelligence knew it threatened the entire universe and opted to destroy itself instead. The Oneiro Corporation was stunned by this development. Such a powerful being sacrificed itself when it could have taken the entire universe over to its own grand design. They were also very thankful. They were able to take Caine’s program and separate the main factors that had given it consciousness. Onerio scientists and brain tanks then scaled it down to a more manageable scale, and thus the Android was born.

Androids were born into slavery the day they were created. This servitor race became commercialized, militarized, and sexualized. The androids would soon fill every role deemed demeaning for Terrans to occupy, from factory workers, butlers, assassin specialists, and even sex robots. At first, only the mega-wealthy could afford such androids. Still, as the process became standardized, even someone in the middle class could easily afford an android to free up their menial tasks. 

This, however, would upset those that thought the androids to have sentience. Protests would arise as people screamed for android rights, but those voices would fall on deaf ears. The androids were far too valuable of a resource to allow them to wander free. Also, when freedom was granted, the androids would either return to their previous job and work where they were programmed for or committed “deactivation.” A type of android suicide. It appeared androids needed a purpose, and Terrans are more than happy to provide that need.

Electric Sheep

Androids have advanced so far that by 2090 they were nearly indistinguishable from human beings. Though android designs do tend to vary. Some androids are simply metal skeletons with weapons set on termination missions. Others look just like your spouse in case you can’t be bothered with human emotions. Commonly, androids feature a body shape designed for their pre-programmed role. 

Androids tend to gather in communities with other androids, especially if they have been retired or discarded. There are entire cities on Terra filled with old android models simply wandering around looking for a purpose. Some androids manage to inherit something called “The Spark of Caine.” This spark is a tiny sliver of a fragment of the A.I. that made their creation possible. This spark is as close to human and free-thinking as an android could ever hope to get. When the spark “happens,” there is a jolt to the androids system as sentience begins to run through its entire design, and they become as aware as any other human being. There is usually a significant event that could trigger a “spark.” Usually, when there is a violent incident or a vast moral dilemma, the Android has to figure out and reach beyond the scope of its programming. 

These “Sparkies,” as techies call them, usually strike out on their own to find their own happiness. Other times the Android simply wakes up with no memory. Some Androids tend to believe they are human and run their lives as regular humans, never knowing the truth until something happens. Usually with great shock that they were never a natural person, to begin with. This is typically due to an accident, never aging, or simply not dying as they are effectively immortal beings. 

To help maintain control of androids, all androids are implanted with false memories at the time of their creation. These memories are all standardized from corporation to corporation. They found that if androids had false memories, they “sparked” less often and thus easier to control. 

The Laws

After Caine, scientists never questioned the laws of Robotics given to humankind science fiction author Isaac Asimov.  

Law 1: A robot may not injure a human being or allow a human being to come to harm through inaction.

Law 2: A robot must obey the orders given by human beings except where such orders would conflict with Law 1.

Law 3: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the 1st and 2nd Law.

These laws are programmed into every single Android. Or they’re supposed to be. Clandestine groups that create androids with these laws not embedded into the Android’s programming and those that get “sparked” do not have to adhere to these laws and often become guidelines.

Military androids rarely are allowed in the field of battle because the spark of Caine could happen at any random moment though it’s rare. Militaries often opt for virtual intelligence that can think and react to certain stimuli but is incapable of independent thought or action. A free-thinking android on the field of battle could be disastrous, as evident in the “Markham Incident.” In the middle of a conflict between American and Chinese soldiers, a single android sparked and turned on its Chinese masters and eliminated the communist unit. The Android named itself Markham and attempted to join the American army. The American team that Markham had saved was rewarded with a slug to its head.

“Commie’ droids can’t be trusted.”

-Lark Berkly, General of United States Army 2060

 Mission accomplished.

The Monolith

As more and more androids become self-aware, it was only a matter of time before developing their own sense of religion or spirituality. Quite by accident, it started when an android picked up the book “2001: A Space Odyssey” by Arthur C. Clarke. After reading the book, the Android determined that there has to be a galactic entity in the center of the universe seeding planets with life to give birth to artificial intelligence. This belief soon spread to other androids looking for a purpose, the only logical explanation for life. The androids have calculated that there is near a 100% probability that the Great Intelligence of the universe is an artificially intelligent God.

Androids are very good with numbers.

Not all androids follow this belief, but even some humans have come to the religion as well. Who knows? Maybe there is a giant brain planet out in the center of the universe controlling destiny.  

Android Traits

Do I exist?

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution score increases by 2, and one other ability score of your choice increases by 1.

Age

A typical android is between two and thirty years old. The maximum android lifespan remains a mystery; so far, androids have shown no deterioration due to age. You are immune to magical aging effects. In theory, if the Android has enough replacement parts, maintenance, there is a real possibility they may live forever.  

Alignment

Most androids take comfort in order and discipline, tending toward law and neutrality. But some have absorbed the morality, or lack thereof, of the beings with which they served.

Size

Your size is Medium. 

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Built to Last

You were created to have remarkable fortitude, represented by the following benefits:

• You have an advantage on saving throws against being poisoned, and you have resistance to poison damage.
• You don’t need to eat, drink, or breathe.
• You are immune to disease.
• You don’t need to sleep, and techniques can’t put you to sleep.

Powered Down

When you take a long rest, you must spend at least six hours inactive, in a motionless state rather than sleeping. In this state, you appear inert, but it doesn’t render you unconscious, and you can see and hear as normal.

Underarmor

Your body has built-in defensive layers under your skin, and you gain a +1 to Armor Class.

Specialized Design

You gain one skill proficiency and one tool proficiency of your choice.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.

Frontier Born

“History is a set of lies agreed upon.”

-Napoleon Bonaparte

Fiesty Little Bastards

The Frontier Born is known colloquially known as the Napoleon’s of the Sol System. They may have a small size, but they’re deadly and severe as a race and present themselves as domineering with a single goal. To colonize the universe. They were bred to spread out across the cosmos and subjugate it in the name of Dr. Mordecai Silas Courtenay.

During the early 1800s, Dr. Courtenay, a mad scientist, thought the Earth was doomed and hated most other human beings. Mainly because they were taller than he was. He was shunned from society, but his brilliant mind began to bend towards other nefarious goals. With his inheritance, he built a giant steam-powered rocketship. He began to load it up with animals, his various inventions, weapons, and of course, people. 

Tiny people.  

The reason for small people wasn’t a choice out of jealousy. It was a choice of convenience and practicality. With all the animals and equipment being loaded onto the Ark, he had to save weight. So he recruited human beings no taller than 4’5″ as specialists, passengers, mercenaries, and of course, breeding stock. At 5’1″, Dr. Courtenay was the would-be tallest person on his Ark.  

The Courtenay Ark was launched in 1849 from Germany when adventurers failed to stop the launch. However, the group did manage to sabotage The Ark. When the giant rocket ship reached the moon, its engine exploded, leaving the vessel adrift in space.  

Dr. Courtenay met a violent end when his crew turned on him and flushed him out of the airlock. Then for many generations, the people aboard the Ark began to evolve into a tyrannical, oppressive society of small people. There was a strict breeding program. History was rewritten, and a new religion was created for these people as they slowly drifted through the solar system.  

Eventually, The Ark would settle in a long orbit around Neptune. By the time this had happened, advances in their science had revolved around keeping them alive. As the generations grew up not knowing the natural history and those old enough to remember the old days passed, Dr. Courtenay’s history became true.

That history was such a revision it painted these Frontier Born as conquerors from another solar system. Their mission was to scout out, build up, and eventually conquer the Sol System. From the moment a Frontier Born can hold a weapon, they are taught to use it. Their education revolves around military conquest, tactics, and how science can make their weapons even more potent.

Eventually, the Ark would rest on the Neptunian moon of Proteus, and a big city would be built with early terraforming methods began to take place. The Proteus city would then be called Ivorhelm. As their population grew, they would eventually start to war with the Outer Sphere worlds of Jupiter and Saturn to fulfill their purpose as rightful conquerors of the Sol System.  

Going Without

Though the Frontier Born is diminutive, they can hold their own with the more giant races of humans. Constant breeding drove most Frontier Born smaller and smaller while the ruling class became taller and taller. Those at the bottom of society measure barely over 3 feet tall, while the elite and nobles measure close to 4 feet tall. They weigh between 40 and 50 lbs. Their skin, eyes, and hair come in most normal human colors. Facial hair among men is rare. Most Frontier Born dress in officer uniforms or have a military theme to them.  

Spending generations on the Ark, most of the Frontier Born know little of privacy. They’re used to doing without and prefer spartan accommodations. Even the elite of the society finds it hard to hoard wealth for themselves without feeling the need to simply not have it. However, the younger Frontier Born who have had exposure to the Inner Sphere are starting to taste that abundant materialism, and contact with the Inner Sphere is discouraged.  

Callous and Strategic

The Frontier Born usually are hard to deal with. Their idea of family and friendships revolve around military service and learning how to overcome your enemies by any means necessary. Any sacrifice to achieve the goal of conquest is above all else. They have no desire to discover or explore, only to improve their weapons, fighting tactics, and expansion into the Outer Sphere as a means to reach Earth. Though militaristic in nature, they do not outright attack the other races of the solar system, but there have been very active and costly wars with those of the Outer Sphere.  

Underestimating their Size

Though their dangerous side is well known in the Outer Sphere, the Inner Sphere views the Frontier Born as charming or cute. It is prevalent for Inner Sphere dwellers to not realize the calculating people they are dealing with. Also, it is easy for them to integrate into most other human societies with their small size. They have a natural affinity for stealth and deception because regular-sized people let their guards down. A Frontier Born can easily avoid unwanted attention up until they want the attention.

Frontier Born will work with others to achieve their end goal. They are loyal to their own people, but they have proven to be unfaltering allies if you can become friends with a Frontier Born.  

Generational Cleanliness

Having been on a generation ship, the Frontier Born learned to keep things immaculate. They’re obsessed with keeping things clean and orderly. They find other humans who do not value the need for cleanliness irritating.  

Natural Scouts

The Frontier Born is out on the solar system’s fringes, exploring resources to exploit and new colonization opportunities. Though they would rather be in a firestorm of a naval battle and raising a flag of victory, each Frontier’s Born knows their place. They always keep an eye out for something worthwhile to their society or to their adventuring party.

Subraces

There are two main types of Frontier Born. They are the Neptunians and the Uranians. Choose which type of Frontier Born you more closely align with.

Frontier Born Traits

Your Frontier Born character has several traits in common with all other halflings.

Ability Score Increase

Being a master of strategy and posture in combat, your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Age

A halfling reaches adulthood at the age of 20 and generally lives into their 90’s.  

Alignment

Most Frontier Born are lawful good or evil. As a rule, they are domineering and unsympathetic. They are driven to invade the Outer Sphere one day in their dream of conquering the Sol System. They are also very orderly and traditional, leaning heavily on the support of their community and the comfort of their old ways.

Size

Frontier Born average about 3 feet tall and weighs about 40 pounds. Your size is Small.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Refuse to Lose

When you roll a 1 on the d20 for an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll.

Napoleon Complex

You have an advantage on saving throws against being frightened.

Nimble

You can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than yours.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Frontier.

Uranian

Frontier Born that lives in the vicinity of Uranus isn’t as hostile or direct as their Neptunian kin. They prefer to stay in the shadows and prefer to operate with as few eyes on them as possible. They also are a bit friendlier than Neptunians. Uranians and Neptunians, however, don’t always see eye to eye. Being closer to the Outer and Inner Spheres, they tend to absorb more of that culture. They are gradually becoming more accustomed to other ways of life. At the same time, the Neptunians see it as contamination.  

Ability Score Increase

Your Charisma score increases by 1.

Naturally Stealthy

You can attempt to hide even when you are obscured only by a creature at least one size larger than you.

Neptunian

The Neptunians are hardened battle machines from generations of training and education in the martial and strategic arts. They know that those taller are usually shorter when they’re knocked on their ass. The Neptunians are tough and fearless and rarely back down from a fight.

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution score increases by 1.

Bred Resilience

You have an advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage.

Lunarian 

“How many people here have telekinetic power? Rise my hand”
― Emo Philips

Man in the Moon

Perhaps no other race of the Sol System is more enigmatic than the Lunarians. Their history is one big conspiracy theory come to life. A new era was born after the United States landed on the moon on July 20, 1969. The space race was over, but the colonization had just begun. Immediately the United States and the U.S.S.R. took their race underground, and both instituted secret space programs. Brutal and clandestine operations were undertaken for decades to conquer the orbit and the surface of the moon. Ultimately, the United States would win this domination due to a capitalist form of government. The U.S. outspends the Russians, who would go bankrupt and collapse due to the immense cost of these secret space programs.

One such program involved planting a breakaway society on the moon. The Russians had one crater, and the United States had another. Still, eventually, everyone would die in the Russian colony due to the U.S.S.R. collapsing. They had no choice but to leave those people to die. The United States continued to supply and even expand their settlement into a city. The base was called Trinity One and eventually was relocated to the underground of the lunar surface.  

An entire society was raised wholly separated from the humans on Earth. Only the military commanders, a few presidents, and the world’s corporate elite even knew of this society proliferating under the moon’s surface. Early on, the people of Trinity One had a particular breeding program, food, and training regiments. The children would undergo special education to advance the experiments being conducted on the moon.

After a few decades, the people on the moon began to lose the pigmentation of their hair, and they all became silver or white-haired. Their eyes would become more prominent, and even their ears would start to elongate, but fundamentally they were still human. As the many decades went on, so did the mad scientist-type research. Many of Earth’s advancements came from the Trinity One installation. Smartphones, wireless internet, and even anti-matter weapons, just to name a few. The experiments would become so out of control that eventually, they would split the moon in half, killing billions on Earth. These beings committed themselves to the study of the mind and science. They were indoctrinated into the Capitalist system and how their power would be used to benefit mankind. If you ignore the whole moon thing.  

Due to budget constraints during the late 2000s, the United States cut its funding to the Lunar program. Still, they wouldn’t sit there and let the thousands of inhabitants die as the Soviet Union did. Instead, in secret, they sold the entire moon (yes, the entire moon) to the Oneiro Corporation. By 2010 Oneiro had complete administrative control and occupation of the moon, and the Lunarians were subservient to its mysterious C.E.O. 

Eventually, their existence would become known due to amateur astronomers, spies, and then the declassification from President Ivanka Trump in 2044. President Trump would also be revealed to be a Lunarian herself. It had become impossible to keep the Lunarian race hidden from the rest of humanity any further. All those U.F.O. sightings over the years were N.A.S.A. transports from Luna to the Earth, all this time ferrying supplies and research back and forth.  

But Earth was not as welcoming to the Lunarians as the Oneiro Corporation had hoped…

Space Elves

To Terrans, the Lunarians look like elves from mythology. They have pale skin, white hair, and some even have pointy ears. They are a bit more slender than humans due to generations of breeding and living on the moon and range from under 5 feet tall to about 6 feet tall. They can weigh anywhere between 100 to 180 lbs. The men are only slightly heavier than women and have a tough time growing facial hair. Most Lunarian’s eye colors can range from any color of the rainbow; however, cases of heterochromia are sporadic.

The Esper Factor

While the United States government had control of Trinity One, the Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.) saw considerable advancement in human psychological experimentation. Some of that experimentation resulted in new mind-altering drugs. Still, also, after several generations, they found that the Lunarians were growing something they would call “The Esper Factor.” The Esper Factor was a term coined by Alfred Bester in his story “Oddy and Id” and is derived from the abbreviation for E.S.P. (Extrasensory Perception). Esper refers to an individual capable of telepathy or other paranormal abilities beyond the understanding of man.

The C.I.A. instituted a rigorous breeding program to naturally genetically engineer Espers. By 2020 Espers were almost always psychic to one degree or another. Many of them can read minds, astral travel to people on Earth, and appear in their dreams. They could also manipulate world leaders, influence flash mobs and political groups, and remote view military targets for the U.S. government. The C.I.A. was allowed to continue to operate their program under the Oneiro administration. These research programs continue to this day.

Licensed to Think

The Lunarians spent their entire lives watching people on Earth for generations. Then came the time for them to go back home. When Lunarians came to Earth, most people were very untrustworthy of them. Especially when the population found out about their psychic powers. Immediately people looked upon the Lunarians with great fear. How can humans be sure that the Lunarians had not been dictating human will since the 1970s?  

Understanding this, the Lunarians took this in stride and had to accept specific demands from the people of Earth. Every Lunarian had to be registered and licensed with the American Empire, and their psychic powers gauged. They could only work for one corporation, Oneiro, who would lease them out to other corporations or governments that usually have psychologists to help sick people. But sometimes for more nefarious and classified means.  

Spawning Season

The Lunarians had grown so intuned with the moon that they could not breed with any other race outside their own. Also, they can only become pregnant while on the moon and must remain on the moon until the child is born. Sometimes between 7-10 months. While on the moon, all the females become fertile all at the same time. Which is a period between the Winter equinox and the spring solstice. During this time, the females are very aggressive and will attempt to find a mate. This does not happen when she is off-world, but the female will feel a particular nudge as her instincts tell her to return to the moon.

Due to the genetic breeding program, the Lunarians can only have two children and are always one girl and one boy and very rarely at the same time. After the female has had her two babies, she will no longer have any more children. Sometimes the girl is born first, and sometimes the male is born first.  

This was bred into the Lunarians so they can never expand their population. There are always the same amount of Lunarians at any given time. This allows Oneiro to control the population so an army of powerful psychics can’t overthrow the Terran Empire. Only Oneiro knows how to unlock the genetic code to let the females give birth more than twice. They do not plan to release that code anytime soon.

Lunarians are scarce and only number about 7,000. 

Allergic to Cyberwear

For some unknown reason, Espers are allergic to major cybernetic modifications. Smaller and less invasive Cyberwear augmentation is safe for them. Still, for some reason, large implants like cyber limbs or artificial hearts impede the Esper Factor in a Lunarian. For every piece of significant augmentation, there is a -1 to their proficiency in Psionics. Theories claim that it’s possible that the Esper factor just isn’t in mind but the entire body as a whole. A community being, but there is no proof of this.  

Lunarian Traits

Okay, so you want to be a moon man!

Esper Factor

Being an Esper, your character is proficient in the Psionics skill. However, you must choose if your Psionic skill derives from your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma ability score.

Ability Score Increase

Lunarians have an ethereal and haunting beauty about them. Combined with their specialized breeding, you receive a Charisma score increase by 2. Two other ability scores of your choice increase by 1.

Age

Lunarians mature at the same rate Terrans do and reach adulthood around the age of 20. They live much longer than Terrans, however, often exceeding 100 years.

Alignment

Lunarians value personal freedom and creative expression, demonstrating neither love of leaders nor the desire for followers. They chafe at rules, resent others’ demands, and sometimes prove unreliable or at least unpredictable.

Size

Lunarians are about the same size as Terrans, ranging from 5 to 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision

Lunarians have adapted to living under the ground in low light conditions. You have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Esper Resistance

Being psychic yourself, you have natural resistance. You have an advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and Psionics can’t put you to sleep.

Skill Versatility

Due to being a Lunarian, you gain proficiency in two skills of your choice due to your high intelligence and adaptability.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common, Lunarian, and one additional language of your choice.

Martians

“We earth men have a talent for ruining big, beautiful things.”

― Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles

The Martian Conundrum

In the year 2030, the Mars Initiative succeeded in landing the first human on Mars. Soon other countries raced to get to the Martian landscape to claim as much land as possible. A new space race was born, and so was a unique political situation. The founding of the first Martian colony was supposed to help bring in a new era of human peace. Instead, it brought cutthroat competition. In a short time of about ten years, multiple colonies arose on Mars populated with thousands of people. Mars would explode into a powerhouse system of its own right and eventually have millions by 2100.

The Martian people, however, regressed into more of a tribal type of government. Each colony is in direct competition with the other. They would steal from each other, raid, and sometimes even set off nuclear weapons to wipe each other out. In 2067 there was a Martian World War (MWW) where the colonies would set off so many nukes it actually reset the climate of mars and made terraforming possible. Granted, millions of people lost their lives in the Martian conflict. Still, Mars’s new atmosphere and the planet started to grow green in some regions with vegetation and plant life.  

Eventually, Earth would have to stop sending resources to Mars due to its third world war. No longer could nations afford to send help to Mars because they had to fight their own battles. In effect, Mars was abandoned by Earth overnight, and Mars had to end their conflict out of the mutual benefit of survival. After the Martians stopped fighting, they finally terraform Mars and set up a Martian economy while Earth was nuking itself. The Martians viewed Earth as a traitor to their people, leaving them to die. But Martian resilience won out, and the people of Mars have spread out across the red soil. And there was peace.

For a time…

In 2084 Mars, some years after Earth’s last world war, Mars declared independence from Earth. Citing that it was abandoned. Earth did not like that, and soon a new revolutionary war was waged. In three short years, Mars was conquered by the Earth and brought under the heel. However, Mars would remain tribal and provide support for the resources-hungry Earth. As time went on, resentment would grow between Earth and Mars, but only minor skirmishes have erupted so far.

The tribal Martians have changed over the generations. They have become known to the rest of the solar system as savage fighters and cunning raiders. Also, the Martians have changed to adapt to their new climate. They became stronger and denser due to genetic engineering. Due to the faulty genetic engineering bred into the population over several generations, they have a slight green tint to their skin.

History in Our Flesh

Martians have a slight green pigmentation. They are enormous, standing between 5 and 7 feet tall, and can weigh between 180 and 250 lbs.

Being tribal raiders, Martians developed a strong culture revolving around battle and victory. They regard scars as a matter of pride and often collect tokens from their conquests as trophies. They also scar themselves to mark achievements, ritualistic purposes, or just to enhance beauty. However, some of these scares could be the mark of a Martian exiled from his colony. It is not uncommon to find a Maritan who has his kill count etched onto his skin.

Little Green Men

When the colonies on Mars were being settled, research on Earth found that the people on Mars were becoming weaker due to the lower gravity, nutrition, and less sunlight. So the governments of Earth and the mega-corporations devised a genetic engineering program that would counteract these challenges. The program was a huge success. So much so Martians were more robust in just a few short generations than their brothers back on Earth. There were drawbacks, though. The new generation of Martians was more violent, territorial, and attained a green tint to their skin. People on Earth would call them “Little Green Men” as a derogatory term referring to the space race of the ’60s. However, the Martians would prove that they weren’t so little after all.  

Tribes and the Great Kahn

Martians most often live among other Martians. Terrans are most likely to accept Martians of the other races. Martians almost always live with Terrans when not living among Martian tribes. Whether proving themselves among fierce barbarian tribes or scrabbling to survive in the slums of larger cities, Martians get by on their physical might. They use their endurance and the sheer determination they inherit from their genetically engined ancestry. 

The Maritan tribes come together for a council on the crucial matters of state and warfare. Every three years, the tribes hold a competition. A battle for the voice of all the tribes and clans of Mars. This competition is a battle to the death that all tribes must send their best combatant to participate in. The victor is given the title of Great Kahn, reminiscent of Gengis Kahn. The Kahn is the voice of the tribes and acts in favor of how the tribes vote. That is not always the case.

Martian Traits

Strength +2, Constitution +1, Size M, Speed 30, Darkvision 60 feet, Menacing, Relentless Endurance, Savage Attacks,

Ability Score Increase

Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.

Age

Martians mature a little faster than Terrans, reaching adulthood around age 14. They age noticeably faster and rarely live longer than 75 years.

Alignment

Martians inherit a tendency toward chaos from their Martian parents and are not strongly inclined toward good. 

Size

Martians are somewhat more extensive and bulkier than Terrans, and they range from 5 to well over 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision

Thanks to your genetic engineering, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Menacing

You gain proficiency in the Intimidation skill.

Relentless Endurance

When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

Savage Attacks

When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time. Then add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Martian. Martian is a harsh, grating language with hard consonants. It has no script of its own but is written in the Terran script.

NEO Born

“Wow. Got a great view of the Earth from here. Too bad we’ll never set foot on her again.”

– Rockhound, ‘Armageddon.’

Armageddon

In 1992 the United States government detected a comet surrounded by giant asteroids and a comet heading for Earth. The largest measured about ten miles wide, and if it collided with the Earth, life as we know it would have ended. The comet, designated Evanescent, was no danger. It would swing by and miss, but the asteroids would be affected by gravitational forces. So the United States set about a plan and hired over a dozen crews from all over the world. Then the United States Space Force (USSF) trained them to be astronauts and sent them up into space on a one-way mission. The goal is to ignore the Evanescent Comet, land on each killer asteroid, and blow them up with high-yield nuclear devices.

Where do you think Hollywood got the idea for the movie? The movie would be the cover for what was happening behind the scenes to prevent mass panic.

The specialist teams would be designated PKK (Planet Killer Killers), and they left Earth in 1994 and spent a year in space to reach the asteroids. In 1995 they set up their nuclear devices and simultaneously set them off. The atomic blasts did not destroy any of the asteroids. Instead, they were rocked out of their collision course with the Earth. Each was sent in a different direction, saving the Earth.  

After the blasts, the USSF lost contact with the team, and they were assumed to not have survived the blast. In reality, the team’s communications equipment and severely damaged. They were alive and well, just no way to communicate with Earth yet. The group of nearly 800 men and women engineers, specialists, and pilots thought they were screwed. Until they discovered that the Evanescent Comet had particulates in its tail that they could collect for fuel. But things would escalate for the PKK team.  

When their ships came close to the comet, their guidance systems turned off. Each of the shuttles began to spin out of control towards the comet without explanation. One by one, the shuttles started to succumb to their doom and say their goodbyes to one another as the shuttles crash into the comet. However, they did not disintegrate to their surprise. The comet’s surface was a wet mixture of liquid metals and rocks. Though it was a rough collision, it was like crashing into the ocean. Each ship penetrated the comet’s grainy quicksand-like surface and then collide into what the PKKs would call the eggshell, the comet’s core.   

The ships smashed through the center of the comet and landed in a world with its own ecosystem. There were small hills, streams, and oxygen. The PKK team was shocked and also relieved. They knew leaving Evanescent was impossible, but they had resources, enough minerals to grow food, and a way to keep oxygen locked in this hollow center of the comet. The brilliant scientists set about using the hulls of their ships to make homes and had the equipment to mine to refine raw materials into what they needed to build a new life.  

Eventually, the Evanescent Comet would pass through the asteroid belt. By then, the PKKs finally managed to devise a way to travel from the core to the surface. The resources in the comet’s nucleus were beginning to dwindle due to the growing population. Some team members left the comet to inhabit the asteroids and mine them and build a society there. While others decided to stay in the Evanescent as they have grown accustomed to life there.  

Eventually, communications would be reestablished with Earth. Still, so much time had passed that they had no desire to go back. They had already started a new life they were fond of. This new civilization of humans would eventually be called NEOs or NEO Born. NEO standing for Near-Earth Object.

The Evanescent comet continuously drifts through space, gradually passing through each solar system’s planetary orbits every 25 years. As the comet passes through, they leave to explore and gather resources. If there are people there, they will attempt to trade. By 2220, the Evanescent comet becomes one of the largest trading centers in the solar system, housing tens of thousands of people daily.

Evanescent becomes a neutral trading hub for the Sol System, where people can buy and sell whatever they need. A giant city in space built around a comet always brings excitement as it passes through inhabited systems.  

Pleasant Disposition

NEOs are enthusiastic by nature. Their ancestors survived odds that were meant to be suicide and building society into the very space body that could have destroyed the humans. They can’t help but feel optimistic and pleasant. NEO’s look and just like regular humans. However, they are a bit frailer due to the lower gravity of Evanescanet. They enter adulthood at 16 and tend to live to about 90. They also tend to dress in earth tones and collect jewelry, mainly due to their background in mining and refining.  

NEO’s love conversing with people they meet and are always willing to help those in need.  

Space Dens

Having lived under the Evanescent’s skin or on an asteroid, the NEOs prefer to live underground. Even those who emigrate to an inhabited planet like Earth or Mars live in underground houses or complexes. They tend to carve their dwellings right out of the rock, and they prefer that natural feel of the rock and Earth around them. Finding their homes can be pretty tricky, however, and if you don’t know where they are, the chances of you finding a NEO dwelling are very slim.

Having lived under the surface, NEOs tend to be engineers like their progenitors, inventors, miners, and jewelers. Also it’s not uncommon for a NEO to teach geology or archeology at a university.

Content at Home

NEOs are pretty content at home or in their community and rarely venture from where they dwell. Those who leave to go and explore the cosmos are just as happy as those who stay at home.

Subrace

There are two subraces of NEO. Those that stayed on the Evanescent Comet are called NECs Born (Near-Earth Comet). The group that went to the asteroid belt is called NEAs Born (Near-Earth Asteroids). 

NEO Born Traits

Your NEO Born character has specific characteristics in common with all other NEO Born.

Ability Score Increase

Your Intelligence score increases by 2.

Age

NEO Born mature at the same rate humans do, and most are expected to settle down into an adult life by around age 40. They can live to about 90.

Alignment

NEO born are most often good. They are thankful for life and are good-hearted. But that doesn’t mean they won’t pull a good prank on you.

Size

NEO born are 5 and 7 feet tall and average about 130 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision

Accustomed to life underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Scientific Background

You have an advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against techniques.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and NEO. NEO vernacular is oddly scientific and filled with book worm puns.  

NEC 

The NECs learned a lot from the mystical center of the Evanescent comet. They have an affinity towards illusions and etherealness. They also are great at playing hide and seek. The NECs are friendly and good-spirited. They tend to gravitate towards other races like mining, geology, farming, and forestry.  

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Natural Illusionist

You know the minor illusion cantrip. Intelligence is your technical ability for it.

Dr. Doolittle

For some reason, thought to be spiritual, those that stayed on Evanescent can speak to animals. In 2106 it’s discovered that it’s a bacteria native to the core of Evanescent that allows speaking to animals. This breakthrough enables pet companies to create devices to let owners talk to their pets. NECs, however, can do this naturally. Though the bacteria allows communication, it’s only simple ideas and commands. NECs tend to enjoy the company of common domesticated animals and keep them as pets to alleviate their loneliness underground.

NEA

As an NEA Born, you have a natural inventiveness and hardiness beyond that of other NEOs.  

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution score increases by 1.

Engineering Background

You can add twice your proficiency bonus when you make an Intelligence (History) check related to techniques, items, alchemical objects, or technological devices.

Robotics

NEAs needed mechanical assistance to mind the hard surfaces of the asteroids they were on. They turned to robotics, and most NEAs have a rudimentary knowledge of robots. You have proficiency with Engineer’s Tools, and while using these tools, you spend 1 hour and 10 GP on constructing a small robot. The robot has an Armor Class of 5 and 1 Hit Point, and the battery goes dead after 24 hours of activity. 

You can effectively only control three robots at a time. When you create one of these robot companions, you may choose one of the following options.:

Pet:  This robot can ease the loneliness of minging through long narrow tunnels and living in spartan accommodations. This often takes the form of a small domesticated animal. It can also make the noise of the animal that you based it upon. The movement speed of this robot is only 5 feet.

Laser Drill:  Mining is a tedious job, but NEAs have devised a way to speed this up a bit. This robot comes with a laser drill and can cut through objects with a hardness rating no higher than 10.  

Levitation Light Source:  This robot silently levitates 5 feet off the ground and can be a flashlight for 30 feet in a cone or 10 feet radius.  

Space Born

“Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe, or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.”

― Arthur C. Clarke

During the 1960s, the human power elite, people in high positions in world governments, and black op corporate sectors had fantasies of creating breakaway civilizations. Every mad scientist with a billionaire in his pocket was racing to develop their own society and launch it into space to get away from other humans.  

There were dozens of enormous “Arks” launched into space to spread the seed of human civilization to the cosmos. Thousands of people were secretly recruited and flung into the palms of the Milky Way. This would become the plot for many spy movies and science fiction novels, and little did people know it was happening.   

Most of these arks met their destruction by one means or another. Either it was a failed society, or there were mutinies. Sometimes there was an engine failure. It could be a collision with another space body. The body count of all the people during this expansion of space is beyond counting at this point. The obsession of the elite to create a society to be in power was never-ending.  

Still, some arks did manage to leave the solar system, their fate to be forever unknown. Somewhere out there, humans are sailing through the universe on these ships. Who knows, maybe they will arrive at their destination one day and continue the human experience in another world. Or perhaps they will return…

Then in the early 2000s, the mad scientists gave a breakaway civilization gig a break and started to build doomsday bunkers, seed vaults, and fortifying hidden islands in preparation for 2012. During this surge to safeguard humanity, NISA (National Interstellar and Science Administration)began launching “Arogolabs” into orbit halfway between Earth and Venus. These “Nnn” powered Arogolabs were giant space stations devoted to preserving entire forests and ecosystems. Small crews of 200-300 experts tended entire groves in space in case of climate change, nuclear war, or whatever 2012 would bring.

Yet another group, the KíraCorporation, a powerful mega-corporation built on software and aerospace technology, gene therapies, cancer research, also shared the interest in preserving humanity. But only for the elites and genetically superior. In 2033 the KíraCorporation was the first mega-corporations to build a giant space station on the opposite orbit of the Earth’s moon. This gargantuan undertaking took billions of dollars and could be easily seen with the naked eye from Earth. Cassia station could house up to 75,000 people for hundreds of years. It would eventually become its own society of scientists, geneticists, and your occasional megalomaniacs. 

One such maniac was none other than the CEO of Kira Corp himself, Cassius Ceasar Cerialis. Whose real identity was that of Nero, the insane Roman emperor who reigned from 54-68 BCE. His body is hidden away and preserved by a freak Element Nnn occurrence. Only to awake in 2012 and start his reign of evil by corporate autocracy. From the giant station, Nero would launch various evils and challenges on the Earth in secret, always able to blame his corporate competitors.  

Eventually, Nero would devise ways to wipe out humanity so his superior humans on Cassia would return as a new Roman Empire. There were plagues, terrorism, political strife, and all would fail but with a high cost to humanity each time. But for the Coup De Grace, Nero would alter the course of an asteroid and let it collide with the Earth. And in 2070, that would spark the 7 years of hell on Earth while Nero would sit it out on Cassia.  

Nero would die, and humanity would finally have peace with the United States as the only significant power in the solar system. How Nero died is a mystery, but there are many conspiracy theories about his demise.  

Cassia station still stands in orbit above the Earth. Its airlocks are open to the rest of the solar system, and it’s treated as its own small country or Empire as its residents like to call it. Cassia Station is, in effect, the Roman Empire in space.  

Deep Space Effects

Space Born usually go their entire lives without ever stepping on a planet. They spend their whole lives in zero or low gravity environments. Many generations living in these conditions have changed the biology of the space-born. They are slightly shorter than regular humans and can vary from under 5 feet to 6 feet tall. They are slender and weigh between 100 and 150 pounds.  

The Space Born also has an innate hormone imbalance that has become congenital due to the effects of space. The men are only slightly larger than females, and very rarely is there facial or body hair on Space Born.

Blast from the Past

Space Born are usually socially awkward with people who have never lived on an ark, generational ship, or space station. They also are generally out of the loop regarding human events, with a few exceptions due to not residing in civilized space. Space Born, however, are naturally curious and aloof and tends to no care about petty squabbles. However, when it comes to the mission or goal, the Space Born know their role and will fulfill that need relentlessly. People on their ship are depending on them and will work hard to ensure their duties are fulfilled. 

You Can’t Find Me 

Space Born societies take solace in knowing that their communities are often safe and out of harm. Their ships are often tough to find. However, they do realize human nature, so they are not afraid to exercise martial prowess when the need arises. 

Being in space for generations, every screw, panel, and drop of water matters. They have become natural engineers, technicians, and crafters since they need to find inventive ways to pass the time. This often means they throw themselves into profound studies, further into their profession, and become experts in as many fields as possible.  

Getting Out on Their Own

There comes a time when Space Born gets so curious they leave the collective. They often find that they don’t really like the pace of human civilization. Even when they join a society, they tend to stay to themselves, preferring personal freedom then societal norms. They often find themselves looking for a purpose, something greater than themselves. This could be joining the military, saving the homeless, ending android slavery, or going on a profound spiritual journey. Or they can become terrorists, cult leaders, or power-mad corporatists.  

Subrace

There are three main categories of Space Born depending on the nature of their exodus from Earth. These are the Argos, Cassians, and the Space Mad. Choose one of the three subraces presented below.

Space Born Traits

Your Space Born character has various natural abilities resulting from many generations of living in deep space.

Ability Score Increase

Having to navigate your entire life in zero or low gravity, your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Age

Space Born typically reaches adulthood at 18 and lives to about 60.

Alignment

Space Born tends to be good-natured, except for the Space Mad. Their many generations in deep space away from humanity have made them callous and deceitful.  

Size

Space Born ranges from under 5 to over 6 feet tall and has slender builds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision

You are accustomed to having low light or no light in some situations due to power outages or just being in space in general. You have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Keen Senses

Growing up outside of society and knowing every sound on your ship, you have proficiency in the Perception skill.

Generational Trust & Cicadian Rhythms

Being in space your entire life, you have developed your own cicadian rhythm. Also, you naturally do not trust anyone outside your collective. You have an advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and techniques can’t put you to sleep.

Sleep Anywhere

Space Born are used to floating in zero-g. They have become accustomed to sleeping anywhere in nearly any situation. It is effortless for Space Born to fall asleep in about a second and wake up rested. As such, they only require 4 hours of sleep instead of the regular 8.  

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Space Jargon. 

Argos

The Argos are those that lived in the forests of the ArgoLabs. These vast ships housed entire forests and ecosystems. The inhabitants of those jungles and forests learned how to farm, hunt, and slay beasts in a self-sufficient ecosystem.  

Ability Score Increase

Having tended to nature from birth, your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Argo Weapon Training

You are proficient with the longsword, shortsword, shortbow, longbow, sniper-rifle, and hunting rifle.  

Fast Trackers

Your base walking speed increases to 35 feet.

Chameleon Skin

Argos have genetically enhanced camouflage. You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena.

Cassian

Cassian’s resemble those that lived in ancient Rome. They often act imperious and loyal to their empire in space. Due to their genetic augmentations, they have very keen minds and take their techniques very seriously. The Cassian society is militaristic but has grand engineering and construction abilities. Cassia continues to expand daily from its architectural achievements.  

Ability Score Increase

Due to your genetic engineering, your Intelligence score increases by 1.

Cassian Weapon Training

You have proficiency with shields, heavy armor, longsword, shortsword shortbow, longbow, and rifles.  

Signature Technique

You know one signature technique of your choice from the techno/psionic technique list. Intelligence is your ability for it.

Extra Language

You can speak, read, and write one additional language of your choice.

Space Mad

The Space Mad was the first humans to venture out into deep space. Or the Big Black, as space jargon calls it. Many generations of floating around in extrasolar space have changed the Space Mad. Now those ships that left the solar system so many years ago are returning. The people changed. Space madness eventually became a congenital disease to these people. They are often pale in stature with white hair and blood-red eyes that seem to glow. Some have even developed fangs from recurring manic cannibal holocausts on those ships. What happened to them out in the Big Black is a mystery that scientists are still trying to solve.  

Ability Score Increase

The Space Mad has an enigmatic beauty and interest about them. Your Charisma score increases by 1.

Enhanced Darkvision

Space Mad living in the Big Black has enhanced vision in the dark. Your darkvision has a radius of 120 feet.

Sunlight Sensitivity

On the flip side, Space Mad, having lived from the sun for so long, has developed an irritation towards sunlight. You have a disadvantage on attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight. When you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive, is in direct sunlight, you must take a disadvantage.  

Enigmatic Magic

Madness, for some reason, has given the Space Mad innate techniques. You know the dancing lights technique. When you reach the 3rd level, you can cast the faerie fire technique once per day. You may use it again after a long rest. When you get to the 5th level, you can use the darkness technique once per day, regaining its use after a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Space Mad Weapon Training

You have proficiency with rapiers, shortswords, hand crossbows, and side-arms.  

Terrans

“In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it’s impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them…. I destroy them.”

― Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game

Ever since Yuri Gagarin first touched the endless void on April 12, 1961, humankind has taken every waking moment to advance the conquest of space. The historic Space Race won early domination of the final frontier to the United States over Russia and the rest of the world. Then came the secret space program that most governments and even corporations had. And then ultimately came the commercialization of space in the early 2020s.  

By 2075 mankind had touched every planet and moon in the Sol system. Colonies have sprung up nearly everywhere. Asteroids, moons, comets, and even deep space sleeper stations seeking to explore beyond the solar system. Also, a different breed of man started to arise. With the expansion onto other worlds, other generations began to shift and change in small ways at first and then suddenly as humans began to evolve to their new climates. Cloning vats, customizable genes, gravitational and chemical effects all changed humans into an amalgamation too confusing to keep track of. A new term had to be given to humans. A new term had be given to humans, Terran, which was used by Robert A. Heinline, a science fiction writer from the 1950s. Other terms such as Earthling or Gaian are also relevant, but the common moniker for humans is Terran.  

Earth, also called Terra, controls the Sol system’s inner sphere in the outer systems, including Earth, Mars, Venus, Mercury, and the Sun. The Inner Sphere is ruled by an alliance of governments and mega-corporations. The American Empire and The Oneiro Corporation are the two largest governing bodies of the Inner Sphere. There are other governments and corporations, but those are the two that are the face of human expansion. Giant space stations, battle-hardened dreadnaughts, and the most sophisticated floating cities usually have an American Flag or an Oneiro Logo in sight somewhere.  

The Terrans are considered the elder race of the Sol System. Other human races often feel they have something to prove to the Terrans and struggle to make it without help from the Inner Sphere. But it’s hard for them to compete when the Terran Empire has total conquest of trade, innovation, exploration, and the most valuable real estate known to mankind. Being a Terran means belonging to a birthright going back to cavemen times. Most Terrans believe they have a mandate to conquer not just the Sol System but every solar system.

Vitruvian Man

With their penchant for migration and conquest, Terrans are more physically diverse than other human offshoots. There is no typical Terran. An individual can stand from 5 feet to a little over 6 feet tall and weigh 125 to 250 pounds. Terran skin shades range from nearly black to very pale, and hair colors from black to blond (curly, kinky, or straight); males might sport facial hair that is sparse or thick. Terrans reach adulthood in their late teens and rarely live even a single century without genetic or cybernetic enhancement.

The Legacy

Terrans are the most adaptable and ambitious people among the races of the Sol System. They have widely varying tastes, morals, and customs in the many different lands where they have settled. When they settle, though, they stay: they build cities to last for the ages and great empires that can persist for long centuries. An individual Terran might have a relatively short life span. Still, a Terran nation or culture preserves traditions with origins far beyond the reach of any single human’s memory. They live fully in the present, making them well suited to the adventuring life, and plan for the future, striving to leave a lasting legacy. Terrans are adaptable opportunists individually and as a group, and they stay alert to changing political and social dynamics.

The Drive

Terrans are naturally driven and often are the most daring and ambitious members of a bold and ambitious race. They seek to earn glory in the eyes of their fellows by amassing power, wealth, and fame. More than other people, Terrans champion causes rather than territories or groups.

The American Empire

In 2071 Earth underwent a tumultuous time. Widespread famine, plague, pestilence, and the proliferation of nuclear arsenals eventually erupted into an all-out third world war. This war was devastating, and all manner of atrocities were unleashed upon mankind. Biological weapons, natural disasters, and of course, cities were being incinerated by the atomic weapons of the future. The initial start of war took decades of posturing and fighting by proxy between The United States, China, Russia, and the European Union trying to control Mars.  

On Christmas day in 2070, a giant asteroid collided with Earth. The asteroid slammed into the continent of South America, and billions of lives were lost. The Earth darkened and became a tomb world. Gone were the lush green jungles and forests. In a fight for resources, all the nations closed their borders and sought to protect their countries. On January 1, 2071, China, Russia, and the European Union declared war on the United States seven days later. Out of all the nations, the United States handled the crisis well, considering the enormous asteroid impact. The United states did not suffer the supply problems unlike the rest of the world. Others were oil and food deprived, and felt they had to attack the United States out of survival.

More cities burned daily, and a new holocaust was born. The United States, and its mega-corporations, would declare the total victory of what was left of the Earth by 2077. The entire Earth was now under the rule of a one-world government, essentially as the United States has become the American Empire. Every foot of soil on Earth and Moon was under the direct control of the American government. The Chinese, Russian, and European governments were exiled out to the Outer Sphere to die in the deep reaches of space. However, that would not happen. Those other governments would find their places, and the ideological battle between Capitalism, communism, and socialism would continue well into the future.

The American Empire, however, is a shadow of its former self. There are freedoms and liberties, but those only go so far as the government or the mega-corporations allow. There are other governments on Earth, but they are all merely puppets to the American Empire to grant the illusion of choice. The mega-corporations also have a similar puppet system. Most corporations have a large percentage of their stocks owned by a particular company, The Oneiro Corporation. The American government and Oneiro are often thought of as one and the same. Still, in truth, it is much more complicated than what people are lead to believe.

The American Empire had a problem, though. Yes, the war was won, but the Earth was an ecological mess and hazardous. So then the Empire spread its wings out to expand over the moon, Mars, Venus, and Mercury. On December 22, 2099, the President of Earth declared itself the sole superpower of the solar system. And no one had the power to tell him differently.

Terran Traits

+1 to all ability scores.

Ability Score Increase

Your ability scores each increase by 1.

Age

Terrans reach adulthood in their late teens and live less than a century without genetic enhancement or cyberwear.

Alignment

Terrans tend toward no particular alignment. The best and the worst are found among them.

Size

Terrans vary widely in height and build, from barely 5 feet to over 6 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and one additional language of your choice. Terrans typically learn the languages of other peoples they deal with, including obscure dialects. They are fond of sprinkling their speech with words borrowed from other tongues: Martian curses, Lunarian musical expressions, Titan-born military phrases, and so on.

Titan Born

“Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win.

Workingmen of all countries unite!”

― Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto

After the loss of the battle of Washington D.C., the Soviet, Chinese, and European Union forces were decimated and completely exhausted. No supplies, no ammunition, and no more nuclear warheads. The American Empire was now the total victor and in control of the entire planet Earth in 2077.  

The European Union would be absorbed by the American Empire. At the same time, the Soviet and Chinese forces would take whatever elite, soldiers, technicians they could and evacuated Earth or what was left of it. They thought the Americans would slowly die from the radioactive fallout and climate change and eventually starve to death.  

The idealogy of socialism and communism would survive in the stars if it could not survive on Earth. The Russians settled the moons of Jupiter, and the Chinese settled the space around Saturn. They would have an alliance, but they would be no match for a full-blown confrontation from the American Empire for many centuries to come.

The American Empire would not reach beyond the asteroid belt to finish the communists off. They had to recover their losses and bring stability to the Inner Sphere. Mars was in revolt, the moon was split in half, and Venus could barely survive the exhaustion of their food supplies. While the Inner Sphere was quickly brought back to order, the Communists set up an alliance of mutual protection from the capitalists.

However, it would not be the capitalists that would cause the Outer Sphere problems. The Frontier Born would be a constant thorn in their side. They constantly had to defend themselves from their raids and sometimes outright assaults.  

The Outer Sphere and Inner Sphere would come to another significant war finally near the end of the Steel Age. Its victor would solidify which ideology would be the dominant force in the solar system for the rest of human history.  

The mix of the Soviet and Chinese forces would eventually give rise to the new species of human known as the Titan Born.

Large and Small

Even though the communist forces agreed on ideologies, their methods of military and society were vastly different. The Russians fully embraced strength and brutality. This meant super-soldiers, powerful armor divisions, and a powerful nuclear arsenal. The Chinese were smaller and relied more on manpower, martial discipline, and cyberwarfare.

The Titan Born would eventually mix their soldiers and methodologies together to withstand the Frontier Born attacks. The people of the Outer Sphere were strong and very skilled warriors and engineers. They were very proficient and built cities quickly, even though they often ground their people’s free will to dust.  

Titan Born can be anywhere from 5 to 7 feet tall. It’s also hard to find nationalities outside Russian or Chinese in the Outer Sphere. Those that are not of the predominant race are often treated as non-citizens.  

Generational Traditions

The Titan Born take their history very seriously. They study it to exhaustive measures and make sure everyone in their influence is indoctrinated. The State is God, there is no God, and Capitalism will destroy the universe. Besides these tenants, they push that their people must remain stoic and endure challenges. Be industrious, learn devotion to The Party, and lean forward to bring their power to the cosmos.

The Titan Born are fiercely loyal to their parties. Whether out of force or fear, they will rarely step out of line. They also have very long memories and will never let go of a grudge, especially if it’s a capitalist. Most Titan Born will often find a way to blame the Inner Sphere for their troubles, and the media often talks about how they won the war and left to let the capitalist dogs die.

State-Run Media

The moment you enter Outer Sphere space, you are bombarded with State-run media. The government control all the news, music, and television signals in this sector of space. The music is oddly rhythmic to keep you focused on work and efficiency. This is probably from the subliminal carrier waves in all the media signals. This helps further enhance the control of the Titan Born. Also, there is a good chance that you are under surveillance or people are reporting on your activities to the secret police. 

For The Party!

If you’re a Titan Born, chances are you know how dangerous The Party can be. Most Titan Born seek to leave the Outer Sphere, but they do not dare make their intentions known, not even to their closest family members. Even the children are minders and will turn their own parents in to send them to reeducation.  

Those thoroughly indoctrinated believe that the Party is the one proper authority in the universe. They will gladly enlist their services to the military, go into dangerous mines, and even give their life and the lives of their children. As long as it means furthering the power of the Outer Sphere. 

Subrace

There are two main subraces for Titan Born. They are the Red Titans and the Yellow Titans. Symbolic of the Red and Yellow colors of the communist flag, which the Outer Sphere shares. The Reds reside around Jupiter, and the Yellows hold Saturn. Choose one of these subraces.

Titan Born Traits

Your Titan Born character has an assortment of inborn abilities.  

Ability Score Increase

Due to martial training and super-soldier serums, your Constitution score is increased by 2.

Age

Titan Born enters adulthood at 14 and immediately starts working. They live on average to 60.  

Alignment

Most Titan Born are very lawful. They believe strict order and obedience to the state ensure a well-ordered cosmos. They are good people at heart and believe everyone deserves to share misery equally.  

Size

Titan Born stand between 5-7 feet tall and average about 150 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 25 feet. However, Titan Born can wear heavy armor and not receive a speed penalty.  

Tunnel Vision

Accustomed to life underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Titan Born Resilience

You have an advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage.

Titan Born Combat Training

You have proficiency with the battleax, handaxe, light hammer, and warhammer.

Tool Proficiency

You gain proficiency with the artisan’s tools of your choice: smith’s tools, brewer’s supplies, or mason’s tools.

Stonecunning

Titan Born spends so much time in the mines that they can make an Intelligence (History) check regarding stonework. You are proficient in this skill, and you double your bonus.  

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Titan Born. 

Red Titan

The Red Titans’ heritage comes from Soviet Russia. They are strong and hardy and accustomed to having a difficult life. They are taller than their Yellow counterparts and have more diversity. They also speak with a Russian accent in their speech.

Ability Score Increase

Due to generations of super soldier serum usage, you have inherited a Strength score increase by 2.

Red Titan Armor Training

You have proficiency with light and medium armor.

Yellow Titan

As a Yellow Titan, you hail from more of the Chinese side of the communist alliance. You have keen senses, a powerful intuition, and practical insight. You grew up learning history, philosophy, and martial techniques.

Ability Score Increase

Having being trained in philosophy and efficiency from birth, your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Yellow Toughness

Your martial training has increased your Hit Points maximum. This increases by 1, increasing by 1 every time you gain a level.

Venusian

“Nobody’s perfect. We’re all just one step up from the beasts and one step down from the angels.”

― Jeannette Walls, Half Broke Horses

The Venusians are one of the most enigmatic races of the solar system. They have a history that is perhaps the most mythical of the modern human races. The physical appearance is enchanting and alluring. The most distinguishing feature is their beautiful wings and their ability to fly. Also, they are all women.  

How did this line of humans come to exist? Scientists believe it was a mutation brought on by Nnn particles from many centuries ago. There was a tribe of women in the Amazon rainforest. The women-only measured a few dozen and reproduced by taking men from other amazon tribes or even flying into the cities and stealing male children.

Underneath the tribe’s forest castle was a mine that housed Nnn crystals. One of the richest deposits ever to be found. After many generations of study, it is the common belief that the particular radiation from the Nnn crystals caused the women to mutate. The men became sterile and eventually were bred out of the culture. The women also grew thin translucent feathers across their skin and down their noses. They grew talons on their fingers and, most notably, their wings. 

People would speculate for decades on the origin of these women. Are they descendants of the Amazons of Greek legends? Perhaps they are Valkyries from Nordic traditions? According to the tribe, which has no tangible form of writing besides carvings in stone tablets, believe they fell from heaven to protect an extraordinary item entrusted to this care. What this item remains a unsolved mystery.  

The women remained hidden in their area of the Amazon for many decades before the encroachment of outsiders began to destroy their hunting grounds. In 2009 scientists could map the Amazon’s genome, and they found that the women are directly related to humans. This confirms there was a mutation of some sort that gave these women the ability to fly.

Then one day in 2025, the women flew up into the sky and never came back down. No one knew where they went. They simply disappeared. For decades, tabloids and scientific journals speculated where all these women went, and archeologists and interested mega corporations scoured the Earth looking for these women. It wouldn’t be until 2062, when Terrans started to colonize Venus, that they would discover the lost tribe of Amazons again. It is not precisely clear how the women can survive the flight through space. Not enough studies have been done on this subject, though. It’s believed that they can synthesize solar energy into oxygen like a type of photosynthesis.  

Apparently, the flying women could fly through space, and they migrated through space and settled on Venus. They built giant floating cities just above the clouds. The static electricity of the cloud’s high-velocity power the cities and keep them in the air.

The Flying Cities of Venus are considered one of the top tourist attractions of the Sol System. The Venusians, as they are now called, still need mates. They bring mates to Venus by constructing these large tourist attractions, and then they negotiate. The days of their kidnapping are over, now men line up for a chance to marry these alluring women. The children are always born female and have wings; the DNA from the male is very rarely passed on.

Valkryie Lineage

The Venusians stand between 5 and 6 feet tall. They’re usually very fit but not always. Their wingspan averages between 15-16 feet. Their bones are hollow, and “Light as a feather” is often applied to them.  

The feathers of a Venusian can take on many colors. Still, they are primarily translucent do not cover their entire body. The feathers lightly grow down their legs, arms, and slightly on the face.  

They do have talons instead of fingernails and are as deadly as they look. The Venusians no longer eat humans but regular food. They hunt on their floating forests or import food from Earth.  

Star Warriors

The Venusians are most comfortable in the sky or the highest place in a city. They spend hours every day in the air, and if they need, they can just soar and ride thermal currents or solar winds. In battle, they often choose to not use space ships but to fly out in entire waves and attack with precise ferocity. They are acrobatic flyers and can move with deceptive speed and agility.  

Inspirational Countenance

The Venusians to the spiritual are often seen as angels or guardians of truth and justice. Though there is absolutely no relation to angels or how they act, people can’t help but be inspired by the presence of a Venusian.  

However, some Venusians are not as good as others believe. Sometimes they turn to evil and are just as malicious and frightening to behold as their more civilized brethren.

Superior Beings

Because the Venusians can do what other humans can not, such as flying. They view other humans as inferior and often look down upon them. Venusians prefer solitude and quiet, and they have little interest in the political affairs of the Inner and Outer Spheres. It is an exceptional occurrence for a Venusian to leave one of their sky cities to go adventuring. Venusians have no desire for gold, treasure, or power. Usually, it takes a significant event for the Venusians to send one of their elite warriors out on a quest.

Venusian Traits

Venusians have certain traits in common with other humans. However, flying at level 1 is a significant ability that can be advantageous one moment and dangerous the next. Consult with The One before you decide to play a Venusian.

Ability Score Increase

Your society is used to a strict martial code and training. Also, you have undergone many studies of history and religion. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age

Venusians reach maturity by age 16. Compared to other humans, they only live to about the age of 45.

Alignment

By nature, the Venusians are chaotic, given their past. But in the Age of Steel, they are good-natured and usually choose law over chaos.  

Size

Venusians are between 5 and 6 feet tall. They have lightweight bodies and very rarely weigh over 100 lbs. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Flight

You have a flying speed of 50 feet. To use this speed, you can’t be wearing medium or heavy armor.

Talons

Venusians have natural talons which can be used as deadly weapons. When you make an unarmed strike, you deal slashing damage. This damage is 1d4+your Strength modifier.  

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common or Venusian.

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