Ar-Turan System

AR-TURAN

Ar-Turans are nearly as diverse in appearance as the humans of Earth. Some are tall, some are short (although the average is around 1.6 meters); some are heavy, some are light (the average is around 60 kilograms). Like humans, they are bipedal. They possess a variety of skin colors--browns and greens in the equatorial regions, lighter blues and whites in the polar zones. However, unlike humans, Ar-Turans have absolutely no hair on their bodies or heads. Their skin is fleshy and moist, very much like earth amphibians. Their feet are supported by only three large, frog-like webbed toes, and their hands feature three nimble webbed fingers with one long opposable thumb. They have large, wide eyes (almost always brown or dark-green in color) that are positioned very much like human eyes, although their blinking reflex is more like that of a frog. They do not possess external ears, but rather have recessed sensory orifices on the sides of their head. Their jaws are structured very much like those of a human, although they possess a long, thin tongue and hard, dagger-like teeth (an eating mechanism designed to crack and consume shellfish). There is little difference in appearance between males and females--neither has visible sex organs. Every spring most Ar-Turan adults return to their birthplace for breeding (although in times of population decline, Ar-Turans can breed more frequently). Each female lays two or three palm-sized eggs in shallow coastal water, and then the chosen males lay a foam over the egg clusters to fertilize them. Ar-Turan young are hatched six months later and raised communally. At birth Ar-Turan youths are simply known by the order they emerged from that season's brood. Upon achieving maturity, however, they are each given a new two-part name by the Ar-Turan elders who raised them: the first part is the name of their birthplace, and the second part is a nickname that describes their unique appearance or personality (for example, Prin Dolbrai means "Long Legs from the birthplace of Prin, in the Bryiaran continent"; Tor is the first name given to Ar-Turans raised in space among the "stars"). With no concept of marriage or family besides the community in which an individual is raised, there is virtually no social or political distinction between the genders. Although they are raised communally (and perhaps because of it), Ar-Turans are fiercely competitive and individualistic. Even Ar-Turan youths boast about the order in which they hatched, so that "the Third" is considered stronger and fitter than the "Eighty-seventh". Ar-Turan life span is comparable with the seshayans of the STAR*DRIVE campaign.

Role-playing

Ar-Turans are a highly spiritual species, intensely attuned either to mysticism or magic depending on the branch of the culture. Mental attributes are prized, and not only those relating to mystical pursuits. Many Ar-Turans consider themselves scholars or scientists. Nonetheless, attunement to arcane or faith powers is considered the ultimate achievement in Ar-Turan culture. Especially for those Ar-Turans who possess particularly strong natural tendencies, everything else in life is subordinated to the pursuit of maximum attunement. Only the most elite Ar-Turan mystics are FX Adepts; most others are primarily Diplomats, Free Agents, Tech Ops, or Combat Specs. No full Mindwalkers are known among the Ar-Turans, but a surprisingly high percentage of the population (around 2%) are Psionic Talents (Telekinesis and Telepathy are most common).

Special Abilities

FX Powers: By their nature, Ar-Turans can control what the humans of Earth call "magic" or "miracles". Although they are no less special to the Ar-Turans, these powers are part of their everyday lives. Even if members of other species have access to FX powers, Ar-Turans are extremely proficient in this area. Every Ar-Turan character is considered at least an FX Talent (with 5 FX points, knowledge of one FX broad skill, and the ability to raise two FX specialty skills up to Rank 6 and all others up to Rank 3). Elite Ar-Turans are full FX Adepts (with 10 FX points and the benefits of the Adept profession as described on page 6 of Beyond Science). Ar-Turan characters receive one specific FX broad skill based on their culture (see History) as one of their free skills. For Talents, this free FX broad skill is the only one they can learn. For Adepts, this free FX broad skill is automatically the choice for their Skill Cost Reduction benefit.

Note: Playing with the Ar-Turans as written requires the supplemental book Beyond Science: a Guide to FX. If you do not own a copy of the book, it is possible to revise this species so that the standard Psionics rules are used instead. In such a case, ignore the last sentence under Role-playing (above); all Ar-Turan characters are at least Psionic Talents (starting with a number of psionic energy points equal to their Will score), and elite Ar-Turans (around 2% of the population) are full Mindwalkers (starting with a number of psionic energy points equal to their Will score times 1.5). In the text below (History), replace references to Alienism with Biokinesis, Shamanism with ESP, Diabolism with Telekinesis, and Hermeticism with Telepathy; ignore references to all other FX powers. However, this is a poor substitution, and getting Beyond Science is recommended.

History

The Ar-Turans are the only sentient species on their planet, which they call Ar-Turo ("the place of being") in their species' unified language (Ar-Turans translates as "those who are"). The species evolved over the past three million years as a coastal amphibian predator, feeding on the incredibly abundant sea life of the largely aquatic planet. Just as humans on Earth adapted to land-based agriculture and animal husbandry, the Ar-Turans adapted to sealife-husbandry and aquatic agriculture. Wherever there were lakes or rivers, the species expanded and built new communities.

Ar-Turo has much less surface land than Earth, so the Ar-Turans never fragmented to the degree the human species did. Ar-Turans developed language and literacy over 50,000 years ago while still relatively close together. Around 10,000 years ago, however, the Ar-Turans developed shipbuilding and ocean navigation and quickly colonized the planet's few continents. The result was what the Ar-Turans call Ir-Tacha ("the Sundering"): the division of their species into separate cultures. It was after the Sundering that the Ar-Turans discovered their natural affinity for supernatural powers: their evolved amphibian physiology is perfected attuned to the strange cosmic (and possibly inter-dimensional) energy signals that crisscross Ar-Turo and saturate the life forms that live there. The divided, primitive Ar-Turan cultures attributed the changes to various celestial events, such as the appearance of a nova in the night sky or the arrival of a new lesser kar ("moon"). Indeed, the planet Ar-Turo does have one primary moon and one subordinate satellite.

There are four distinct cultures or Brunai ("tribes"), each specializing in one particular branch of FX powers. The Bruna in which an individual is raised determines the free broad skill received. The vast majority of Ar-Turans fervently believe that this specialization is hereditary, but this belief purposefully ignores evidence to the contrary. Some youths have defected to a rival tribe or were captured as eggs and hatched and reared by another tribe, and these individuals specialized in that tribe's power (with no attunement to the specialized power of the 'genetic' tribe). Furthermore, a small union of heretics has formed in the past thousand years, secretly recruiting members from all Brunai and somehow learning all known powers.

The Praiarans ("followers of the Ancients") are perhaps the most influential tribe, and certainly the most technologically advanced. Their specialized power is the Faith FX broad skill Alienism, which they call Praion ("Ancient power"). Believing that their Sundering was ordained by the Prai ("Ancients") who originally created all life, they have aggressively pursued space exploration since entering the industrial age 400 years ago. The tribal leadership is, not surprisingly, very unstable due to the psychologically debilitating side effects of Alienism. As a result, the eldest Praion Adepts provide merely symbolic leadership and inspiration. Praiaran technologists and holy warriors have long held the real political power in the tribe; a comparison from Earth history can be made with Pakistan (an Islamic state run largely by its military) in the late 20th century.

The Turonai ("those with life-force") are the largest tribe in terms of population and area controlled. They also claim to be the closest to their species' original way of life. Their specialized power is the Faith FX broad skill Shamanism, which they call Turon ("life-force"). They deny the omnipotence of the "Ancients" and instead pursue a link to the spirit world, a parallel dimension in which all sentience in the universe is eternally merged across time and space. This tribe is the most primitive technologically, having entered the industrial age only a century ago (and only very reluctantly); PL 4 and 5 technology is restricted to the three small islands off the coast of their continent. Tribal hierarchy can be best described as a theocracy, in which the eldest Turon Adepts rule unquestioned; a comparison from Earth history can be made with Iran in the 1980s.

The Karbrunai ("tribes of moon") are the least-populous tribe, feared and distrusted by the others. Their specialized power is the Arcane Magic FX broad skill Diabolism, which they call Kuron ("dark power"). Minority clans within the Karbrunai specialize in Hemomancy, which they call Vuron ("blood power"), and Necromancy, which they call Duron ("death power"). Adepts from this culture can learn all of these powers. The Karbrunai believe they are still directly in contact with the Ancients, or powerful servants of the Ancient, in a parallel dimension of darkness. To the Karbrunai, the Ancients are spirits of tremendous evil power--destroyers, not creators--who put the lesser moon in the night sky as symbol of their eternal pact with the Karbrunai. They are a mildly technological society, entering the industrial age around 300 years ago--mostly in order to fight against the Praiarans, who consider them heretics. Tribal hierarchy is fairly authoritarian, with an hereditary caste of Kuron Adepts ruling over the entire society; a comparison from Earth history can be made with China in the 1980s.

The Bryiarans ("followers of form") were the last tribe to experience the Sundering. Inhabiting the most distant, isolated continent, they did not re-establish contact with the other tribes until around 500 years ago, after they first entered the industrial age. An alliance with the much larger Praiaran tribe gave them expanded influence, but allowed the Praiarans to absorb their technology and quickly become the most advanced tribe. Their specialized power is the Arcane Magic FX broad skill Hermeticism, which they call Bryion ("power of form"). Minority clans within the Bryiarans specialize in Illusion, which they call Darbryion ("false form"), and Mesmerism, which they call Taron ("mind power"). Adepts from this culture can learn all of these powers. Bryiaran philosophy is what Earth humans might call "materialist"--they deny the existence of a spirit world and argue everything proceeds from the natural universe. They were the first to identify the Ancients as off-world alien species. Although their population is small and they often still rely on the Praiarans for trade and resources, the Bryiarans produce the planet's best scientists. Tribal leadership is fairly egalitarian and democratic, with mass participation in regional representative assemblies. However, the assemblies tend to be dominated by the eldest Bryion Adepts; a comparison from Earth history can be made with parliamentary England (dominated by land-owning gentry) in the first decade of the 1900s.

The Kumonarai ("the masters of all power") are the secret faction of Ar-Turans who seek to learn the specialized FX powers of all the Brunai. They are called the Dartuchai ("false ones") by the four tribes, who denounce them as heretics. A few small islands serve as independent Kumonarai strongholds, but many Kumonarai remain in their original cultures, gathering together in secret meetings from time-to-time. What has made the Kumonarai most hated by the Brunai is how this movement tends to attract the best and the brightest among them, so the Kumonarai benefit from the knowledge, expertise, and technology brought to them by their new recruits. Leadership of the movement is very decentralized, with a secret military command at the top handing orders down to independent cells which have little knowledge about the other cells (and thus cannot betray them if captured by the other tribes); a comparison from Earth history can be made with the French resistance movement during WWII. Even the Kumonarai do not considers themselves a Bruna; they simply are not numerous enough (no more than 10,000 individuals), nor do they aspire to gain a large population and become a new nation. If allowed as player-characters, Kumonarai can choose their free FX broad skill from among the specialized powers of the four main tribes, and Adepts from this culture can learn any of the specialized powers.

Current Campaigns

Only the Praiarans have achieved the full potential of PL 6--interplanetary space flight. The Bryiarans have achieved early PL 6 technology, but they share in interstellar technology through a perpetual alliance with the Praiarans. The Karbrunai are still in PL 5 (although they have achieved limited space flight in recent years), and the Turonai are still in early PL 5. Most PL 6 technology is available somewhere on Ar-Turo (and some PL 7 equipment through trade with the Terdalis System). Cybertech is increasing in popularity among the Ar-Turans (except the Turonai), although PL 7 gear is rare and expensive. Curiously, the Ar-Turans have never built weapons of mass destruction--wars have long been fought between them using FX powers and hand weapons (mainly shields, swords, and spears, sometimes imbued with FX power). Even after coming into contact with advanced species from other planets, most Ar-Turans disdain guns (although some have embraced newly available but rare laser and stutter guns). Instead, Ar-Turan inventers have applied what they have learned from alien technology to improving melee weaponry--the Chainsword (actually the blade is a vibrating ceramic edge, so the Ar-Turans call it the "ceramic sword"), Pulse baton (called the "thunder rod"), Gravmace ("force hammer"), and Power cestus ("power gauntlet") have virtually replaced the metal weapons of the past, and a primitive version of the Star sword has also been invented in recent decades:

Weapon	Skill	Acc	Range	Type	Damage
Beam blade*	Melee-powered	+1	Personal	En/O	d6+1w / 2d6w / d4+3m

Weapon	Actions	Clip Size	Hide	Mass	Avail
Beam blade*	3	10	+2	2	Mil

* A beam blade is a palmed-sized hilt that generates a glowing stream of charged gas contained in a phased magnetic field; unlike a star sword, the user does not suffer any special damage on a Failure or Critical Failure.

There is only one other planet in the Ar-Turan system, Tor-Prai ("star of the Ancients"), a world poisoned by widespread atmospheric toxins. There are signs of particularly old ruins on it, which the Praiarans claim were left by the Ancients. As the only space-faring Ar-Turan culture, they claimed the planet as a colony destined for them by the Ancients. It was while trying to colonize this toxic world that they first encountered the alien races from the other nearby solar systems. This desolate planet is of interest to all of the other species and cultures as well, arguably making it the system's biggest bargaining chip.

Mythology: Follow this link for more detailed information about the Ar-Turan belief systems and FX powers.

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