Kemono

From Galaxia

Current revision as of 05:57, 25 September 2009

[edit] Origins

Despite wondrous magical power and incredible high technology, life out on the fringe worlds at the edge of the galaxy, in the waning days of the Old Federation, was boring as Hell. These small worlds, far flung from any real oversight by the Federation's Peacekeepers, Humanitarian Councils, or the Universal Temple's Inquisitors, made for the perfect places for all kinds of illegal, unpleasant, and downright horrible things to go on with little notice or care. Primarily, these worlds served as gathering sites for dark cults, or as places for criminal organizations to plan and put into motion their operations, or just a good place to hide from the rest of galactic society. Not that it was all bad, but the Peacekeepers were weak here, and all too often blind eyes were turned for the sake of personal safety or money. That being said, the beginnings of the Kemono were fairly innocent. The idea was simple enough- forcible evolution plus genetic manipulation of popular Earth animals- because their genome structures were easier to work with due to familiarity- equals fancy, intelligent, humanoid pets that can help out around the household. The family dog is no longer a dumb animal that follows some simple commands- now it's a babysitter that can guard your children with a gun instead of just teeth. The old cat lady can now speak with her precious babies who will never leave her like her ungrateful children and grandchildren did. But, without restriction or oversight, perversion and greed swiftly corrupted the designs. Marketing departments took over. Instincts were cut out or altered, bodily designs were adjusted to be more streamlined and pretty, livestock could be made to be even more productive while being useful for other services. Suffice it to say, as the Federation spiraled further and further out of control, so did the fates of these beast-people, these Kemono. They made a race of slaves, of disposable playthings. While the Great Wars were an end for many things, and many peoples, it was a second chance for the Kemono.

[edit] Background

For many years, the Kemono served their humanoid counterparts as slaves. In some places they were literally used for everything. Free labor forces. Household servants. Gladiatorial pit fighters. Sex toys. Food. Consumer goods. Shock troops. Combinations of these. This arrangement very likely would have kept on going, were it not for those pesky, meddling Universalians and their little friends. And, as history has proven many times, combining religion and the oppressed masses makes for an extremely powerful tool; especially when backup comes in the form of heavily armed and armored Inquisitors bringing down the proverbial fiery hammer. At the height of the Wars, the Kemono's chains were broken, and they turned upon their former masters and mistresses. Some called the resulting massacres an act of barbarism, proof that these beasts could not be allowed to roam free. Others said it was a glorious sight to behold such justice. But wise minds realize that it was merely cause and effect. However, unlike other recently freed slaves in history, the Kemono had no idea what to do with their newfound freedom- especially since the galaxy was now a smouldering ruin in dire need of rebuilding. Intellectuals occasionally argue whether or not this made it more difficult on them, as they had no past experiences to draw upon to form culture and society beyond that as playthings, or perhaps made it easier, as they had a completely fresh start. The question is of course, purely an academic one at this point.

[edit] Cultural Tendencies

Lacking a previously existing culture, as well as most of their feral instincts, Kemono were forced into the position of adapting into the societies of the other humanoid races. A slow and arduous process at the best of times, the majority of their aid came from various religious sects. For good or for ill, Religion was the biggest helper in their transition from slaves to people. Apropos, most Kemono are very religious people- whether they follow the Universal Temple, the Heretics of Pazuzu, or the Pagans of Bast; Kemono are often more spiritual than their fellow humanoids. This is of course not to say that the average Kemono should be thought of as a petting zoo person wearing a turban/miter/yammulkah/funny head beads/those bigass wide-rimmed hats you can actually see through/what have you, they've proven to be damn near as adaptable as their creators.

[edit] Biology

The Kemono are less of one specific race and more like a collection of sub-races. All are united by shared genetic manipulations to make them closer to humans, but separated by their species differences. Certainly, some were designed to inter-breed with each other, with humans, elves, dwarves, and so forth, but that's a rare trait that doesn't pop up too often. Kemono diets tend to reflect their sub-race. Same with fur, scale, hide, and eye colors and patterns- though most of them have hair. As one might expect, these various anthropomorphic creatures require a fair amount of grooming. And flea seasons can be a right bitch. On the bright side, shedding is not much of a problem- in fact, if they start shedding, it implies poor health and a need for medical care. Kemono are divided into four general categories, referred to as 'Models'. Kemono have lifespans and maturing rates equal to humans, cause.. Y'know. They were based off humans.

[edit] Marketing Divisions

Companion Models are largely made up of the animals most often kept as pets, such as small felines, dogs, rodents, mustelids, lapines, several species of birds, and so forth. They are the most numerous of Kemono sub-races.

Consumer Models is a twofold moniker, entailing both the animals most useful in the production of goods and foods, as well as exotic pets that didn't fit into any of the other categories. This includes cows, pigs, gophers, armadillos, kangaroos, frogs, and whatnot.

Labor Models, these Kemono were the ones to do the heavy manual labor, pit fighting, and soldiering. Examples of Labor Model Kemono include bears, tigers, horses, elephants, and other large, strong beasts.

And finally, Social Models. Most commonly, Social Models were pack animals, creatures with an instinct towards loyalty towards an Alpha, or at least lived in large groups- and augmented to better deal with people, seeing them placed into roles of administrative assistants, teachers, entertainers, receptionists, secretaries, and whatnot. They took the heaviest brainwashing to emphasize their loyalty instincts, making them a prized, if expensive, commodity. Wolves, lions, primates, bats, meerkats, some species of snake, and other creatures fit into this grouping.

If you're not sure what grouping your Kemono would fall under, ask Torgo. He taKeS cAre oF tHE plACe wHilE thE MasTeR is AwaY.

[edit] Appearance

..They're bloody anthros. Space furries. You figure it out. They have plantigrade (human-like) feet and leg structures- the ones with hooves just have particularly thick toenails with fewer toes, four or five fingered hands. Avians don't have proper feathers, it's more like soft down or fur attached to hair-like strands, and large wings separate from the arms and sharper toes and fingernails.

And if you must know how something with a beak can talk normally, it's simple- the beaks are hard, except around the edges, particularly at the edges near the cheeks- allowing for enough range of motion and flexibility to facilitate talking. It's also why they don't get a peck attack.

[edit] Statblocks

+2 Wisdom, -2 Strength. Sharper senses and quick wits are a throwback to their feral ancestors, but they were intentionally made to be weaker than average for safety purposes.

+2 racial bonus to Balance and Climb checks. +2 racial bonus to all forms of Tracking rolls, what with strong noses- but not strong enough to warrant the Scent ability.

You gain additional racial abilities based on what category your Kemono falls into. Note that you do not choose the category: Torgo does. If you wanna play a skunk, you don't get to be a Labor model, you have to be a Companion. If you wanna be a Tiger, you can't be a Consumer, etc.

Companion Model - +2 Charisma, Low Light Vision, +2 racial bonus to Listen checks.

Consumer Model - +2 Constitution, +1 Natural Armor bonus (Or +1 Dodge bonus to AC depending on species, IE: Frogs), +1 racial bonus on Survival checks.

Labor Model - Lose -2 Strength penalty, gain +2 Strength bonus, -2 Intelligence. Endurance feat. Carrying capacity increased by 10%.

Social Model - Additional +2 to Wisdom, +2 racial bonus on Diplomacy checks, +1 bonus to Spot checks.

Aviary Types - Not technically a proper 'model' but, this group encompasses Kemono that can actually fly, such as bats and birds. Aviary Kemono have a flight speed of 40 ft (average maneuverability), a +2 racial bonus to Climb and Spot checks (or Listen, if a non-bird flyer), and a +2 racial bonus to Dexterity.

Kemono are treated as Humans for the purposes of special abilities, feats, spells, and so forth. You don't get an extra feat or the skill points, you can just take human-only feats 'n you count as Humans for Favored Enemy and so forth.

Favored Class: First. (Your first class becomes your favored class.)

Medium size

Speed: 30 feet (land)

LA: +1

[edit] IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE

For the love of everything good, decent, wholesome. For the love of Jesus and dead puppies. For the love of everything that isn't Kevin Smith- don't make your beloved Torgo regret making a race of space furries.