Chelonians

CHELONIANS

Personality: Fond of pomp and ceremony, the Chelonians are a species of rituals and rules. They have a hierarchical government and caste system in which the elite are served by their inferiors. However, the real power in Rovillian culture lies with the servants, who work behind the scenes as diplomats, fixers, and power brokers.

Physiology and Appearance: Tall and powerful-looking, Chelonians are descended from a species of sea turtle. Their beaks are intensely powerful, capable of shearing through a human arm with little trouble. They have strong clawed hands, and armored skin. Their eyesight is poor, but their hearing and sense of smell excellent. They reproduce sexually, then lay eggs which take over a year to hatch. For the first year, the young must be cared for at all times, at which point they reach the equivalent of human toddler.

Homeworld: Rovillia IV, a pelagic planet within the Interstellar Concordium.

History and Culture: Rovillian culture is old, its history a fascinating mix of Machiavellian court intrigue and clan-based politics. They achieved a level of technology equal to that of Middle Ages Earth early in their development, but remained stagnated at that level for nearly a millennia. They began to advance again at a breakneck pace with the introduction of capitalism and off-world trade from the Veltressai. They became a space faring race under their first ‘world king’ in 2100. The Chelonians were closely linked to the Veltressai Commonwealth and became a founding Interstellar Concordium member in 2258. Since then, they are among the foremost engineers and ship designers in the ISC.

Chelonians have a ‘world king’ who actually has power to chart the course of legislation and controls the executive branch. His powers, however, are tempered by the de facto power of his courtiers – the actual movers and shakers of the Rovillian government. The various local nobility mimic the arrangements at the global level – although one goes to pay their respects to the king or lord, anything that needs to be done requires that you deal with the secretary or other servants.

Language and Names: Rovillian, a language of gutteral sounds, pops, and clicks.

Favored Profession: Rogue, Scientist or Diplomat.

Species Adjustments: +1 Vitality, -1 Presence, +1 Perception

Species Abilities

Amphibious: Chelonians require air to breathe, but are capable of swimming long distances while holding their breath. If undertaking relaxed or standard activity, they can remain submerged for a base time of 10 minutes before making a TN 10 Stamina test; if engaging in demanding or extreme activity, this base time is reduced to 2 minutes; if the test is passed, additional tests are made every 10 (or 2) minutes with a cumulative +5 TN. Once a test is failed begin testing for asphyxiation as normal.

Courtier: Chelonians are always thinking in terms of political power, and receive a +2 species bonus to their Savvy reaction. They also gain a +1 bonus to Influence tests, and a +1 bonus to Enterprise (Administration) tests.

Bonus Edge: Skill Focus: Keen Smell: Chelonians gain a +4 to all Observe (Smell) tests.

Home By The Sea: When swimming, Chelonians move at half the normal speed land-dwelling species normally do (‘Walk’ 3m, ‘Jog’ 6m…). They don’t normally need to make Swim tests, only doing so under the
same circumstances that land-dwelling species do (e.g., running during combat).

Nearsighted: Chelonians are nearsighted, and consequently suffer a -2 penalty to all Observe (Spot) tests, as well as to all attacks beyond close range. The Narrator may also rule that the penalty applies to various other skills where visual acuity might be a factor, such as a Knowledge roll to recognize a specific vehicle at a distance.

Optional Rovillian Traits

Because of their highly political (some would say intrigue riddled) culture, the following traits are common among Rovillian characters, though not universal:

Edges: Alert, Shrewd.
Flaws: Arrogant, Rival

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