HOMEWORLD TL: TL 13
LIFESPAN: 110–130 std. years
PSIONICS: Rare (~1:several thousand)
EDITION: Public / Player
The Vek'shar are bipedal reptilian humanoids averaging 2.0–2.3 m in height and 90–140 kg in mass, with sexual dimorphism slight enough that offworlders rarely distinguish it. Their hide ranges from deep olive through slate-grey to near-black, with caste-linked scale patterning that grows more pronounced with age. A low dorsal crest runs from brow to mid-spine; in the Priest-Leader caste this crest is taller and often ceremonially marked.
They possess trichromatic vision shifted toward the infrared, granting excellent low-light perception and a tendency to find human-standard lighting uncomfortably bright. Their jaws, claws, and a muscular tail make for a serviceable natural arsenal — though the Vek'shar are not naturally aggressive. The threat display reads as menace to mammalian eyes; among themselves it signifies little.
Slow Metabolism · Slow Increase
The Vek'shar run a cool, efficient, slow metabolism. They tolerate heat well and cold poorly, and can enter a torpor state during deprivation. The same biology that grants them long lives makes them slow to breed: clutches are small, gestation and maturation are protracted, and generations turn over across decades rather than years. A Vek'shar world fills slowly and empties catastrophically — which shapes everything about how they hold territory.
Roll Vek'shar characteristics as below. They are physically formidable and resilient, mentally deliberate, and — as a people — socially reserved with outsiders.
| Characteristic | Dice | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Strength (STR) | 2D + 2 | Heavy musculature; powerful grip and tail. |
| Dexterity (DEX) | 2D − 1 | Deliberate rather than quick. |
| Endurance (END) | 2D + 2 | Torpor reserves; exceptional stamina. |
| Intelligence (INT) | 2D | Baseline; methodical reasoners. |
| Education (EDU) | 2D | Caste-channeled, deep but narrow. |
| Social Standing (SOC) | 2D | Reflects caste rank within Vek'shar society. |
Racial Traits
- Natural Weapons Claws & bite inflict 1D+2 damage; tail strike 1D with knockback on an Effect of 4+.
- Armored Hide Natural Armour 2 (3 in older, heavily-scaled individuals).
- Infravision No penalty in low light or darkness with a heat source; DM−1 to tasks in harsh bright light without eye protection.
- Cold-Blooded DM−2 to END checks in cold environments; may enter voluntary torpor to survive prolonged deprivation.
- Long-Lived Begin aging checks at term 6 rather than 4; ageing DMs accrue more slowly.
- Reserved DM−1 on social tasks attempting to rush, pressure, or fast-talk a Vek'shar; they are unmoved by urgency.
Vek'shar society is built on hereditary functional caste, assigned in infancy and held for life. Caste is determined shortly after hatching through lineage, examination, and — rarely — the detection of latent psionic talent. Movement between castes is so rare it borders on the mythic.
The Vek'shar do not experience this rigidity as oppression. To them, knowing one's function from birth is a form of profound security; the offworld notion of "choosing" a life strikes them as needlessly cruel.
True psionic talent is rare — perhaps one in several thousand — but its appearance is the most significant event in any community. A psionic hatchling, regardless of lineage, is removed to the Vrek-sha and raised from the earliest age in the dual disciplines of leadership and the psionic arts. They are not merely valued; they are considered the living justification of the caste order itself — proof that the order can recognise and elevate worth wherever it emerges.
Vrek-sha psionicists typically develop Telepathy and Awareness, with Clairvoyance less common. The caste guards psionic training jealously. There is no Vek'shar equivalent of the rogue adept; a psion outside the Vrek-sha is, by definition, a contradiction the society has no framework to hold.
Psionic Rules
- Rarity Only ~1 in several thousand Vek'shar carry usable talent. Player psionic Vek'shar are extraordinary by definition and will be Vrek-sha.
- Trained from Birth A psionic Vek'shar enters play with Psionics skill already established and at least one trained talent — no "untrained latent" stage.
- PSI Characteristic Generate as 2D+2 for confirmed psions (reflecting lifelong cultivation), versus the standard 2D for other races.
- Status A revealed psion gains effective SOC 12+ within Vek'shar space regardless of birth caste.
The Vek'shar hold a compact domain of several sectors and have shown no meaningful expansionist drive across recorded contact. Their reach is consolidated rather than growing; colonisation is deliberate, slow, and undertaken for resource security rather than ambition. They defend their space firmly but rarely project force beyond it.
Their society reaches TL 13 at its height, with capability concentrated in core worlds and tapering toward the frontier. They are competent in jump technology and system defence but uninterested in the restless frontier-pushing characteristic of more expansionist powers.
Toward outsiders the Vek'shar are formal, patient, and slow to trust — but reliable once an arrangement is made. They find mammalian races impulsive and disorderly, and extend a wary, faintly condescending courtesy to those who deal with them honestly. A bargain struck with the Yenu-tal is kept to the letter; an insult given is remembered for a generation.
Sample Homeworld (drop-in UWP)
Adjust to taste — but keep population growth slow in your sector notes. A Vek'shar high-population world represents centuries of settlement, not decades.