RACES OF GALAXTAR

Here are the races that are to be found in the Galaxtar setting. The first seven races are the ones that have signed the Pact of Major Races talked about in the previous post; the latter three are not members of said Pact, yet they're an important element in the galaxy. Without further ado, and in no particular order, here they are:

HUMANS: I'll take for granted you know what a human is. You should.

GOUALD: Parasites, shaped like a small serpent; when they reach maturity they're four-five inches long, and can still grow up to one foot before they're too old for implantation and start gruesome cancerigenous mutations that lead them to death. They have genetic memory, which allows them to quickly apprehend the knowledge from other races. When they infest a body, they grow inside gradually replacing every organ, starting with the nervous system. They've been parasiting humans for centuries, but now have to choose minor races. They are extremely aggressive, cruel and vain, and are at odds with most civilizations; despite being weakened, their kingdom still spans dozens of systems.

ASGARD: Little grey men, about five feet tall, lithe body, long limbs, big head with two enormous black eyes. All of them are extremely intelligent, and of a benevolent and civilized nature. That's made theirs a very advanced technologically and benevolent race (yet, they own a fearsome fleet of state-of-the-art warships). They are asexual, and reproduce via an artificial cloning process, but unfortunately the successive copies are maiming their DNA quality and their race is in a decline that not even their scientific knowledge seem able to overcome. In the XXI century allied themselves with humans, and keep good relations with them up to date.

SLIGG: Reptilian humanoids, very similar in frame to fit humans, but covered with little greenish-brownish scales; they are very tough and posses extreme healing capabilities, that medically improved can grant them up to regeneration. They are a bellicose race, and so proud of themselves that they're xenophobic and isolationists. But after milennia they became lazy, and developed the dangerous technology of Artificial Intelligence in order to build robots that fighted for them and served them. They finally gave the robots the responsibility of designing new models, and it didn't take long for a rise of the robots against their sligg masters, whom they seek to replace.

PLANT-MEN: This is the only sentient race in the galaxy that has evolved from the vegetal world. Yet they are (very) vaguely humanoid, although there's a great deal of randomness regarding their aspect and number of limbs/branches; also their skin, similar in compostion and texture to rubber is covered by very thin grass that is used for photosynthesis. Having very long lifespans have made them calm and patient, if somewhat apathetic. Their neutrality has granted them many times the role of lawyers and arbiters in galactic conflicts, which has made them evolve from a passive position to a more active one, seeking to maintain neutral balance in the galaxy.

DALEKTOIDS: Disgusting bugs cross of a crab and an octopus, the mishappen result of trying to force evolution during a nuclear civil war countless centuries ago. They are so physically weak that they must live perpetually connected to machines, to protect them. But being good engineers, basic support allows them to survive in a great variety of environments, and move levitating. Furthermore they can join minds and think like a hive; the backdrop of this being that they've grown so used to doing so their individual intelligence has dropped. Fascists at the extreme, they keep one of the biggest galactic empire sustained through mere cruelty, and their obsession with conquest is barely refrained by the Pact.

ANCIENTS: As far as it's known, the ancients were the first sentient race to appear in the galaxy. They have huge bald heads (three or four feet wide), with pointy ears and two little antenna coming out of the forehead; the rest of the body is very small and nearly atrophied. They have telekinesis, which they use both for propelling themselves and manipulating objects. Anyway, everything about them should be said using the past tense, because they have disappeared a long time ago. It's speculated that they finally found the absolute knowledge they were seaking, and that allowed them to transcend to a higher plane of existence, whatever that means.

NEOGI: The merchants, smugglers and slavers of the galaxy. Their look is that of a huge spider with a humanoid face atop a serpentine neck; and their behaviour is as disgusting as their looks. They don't claim any system as their own; in fact, they no longer have a known natal world. Travelling in enormous ships they engage in any kind of commerce with all races of the galaxy; and although even the vilest ones despise them, everybody ends up dealing with them.

HÜRN: The ultimate predators. Rather similar to big and strong humans, except for their ugly faces with four mandibles; they see infrared radiation instead of common light. They only inhabit their natal planet, and are limited in numbers, but it's been impossible to conquest them. They live for the thrill of the hunt, and they specially enjoy hunting sentient races; a single hürn can easily stalk and kill dozens, collecting their skulls as trophies.

XENOS: The most dangerous species out there. Humanoid, covered with a black chitinous exoskeleton, with wicked claws, a dangerous tail and a elongated eyeless head that holds a deadly secondary mouth; and best not forget their acidic blood. They infestate living beings (which kills them) for incubation; and spread like a wild fire. Many worlds have fallen under them; and the only good news is that they behave like vermin, apparently lacking true intelligence.