Species

All inhabitants of the Omniverse, sorted by species and type.

Author's Note

While writing this, we always held in the back of our minds how to describe nations without stereotyping them or making each of their cultures unique with the great number of species that we see as being the core species for players and the ones that would help build a more unique and vast world. The question of cultures and ethnicities always seemed to rise to the top. So in an effort to lay the writing ground rules for the current world guide and any subsequent “splatbooks” covering a very specific region, we wrote our thoughts on this entire subject in hopes to help readers understand where we were coming from in a literary sense.

Ethnicity is the term for the culture of a species or group of differing species in a given geographic region, including their language, heritage, religion and customs. To be a member of an ethnic group is to conform to some or all of those practices. Species and ethnicity can obviously overlap, but they are distinct.

In all cases, when we speak of species, we are talking about certain group of species that share some basic physical, ethnic and cultural values despite geographic region. The species of Legends of Kralis are meant to serve as archetypes for players and readers and are meant to be reinforced by referring to their culture as a standard among each species.

Species and cultures/ethnicities only matter if they are distinct from each other both as statistics and solidified one culture source of that species. Ensuring that the species archetypes are used as the ground work for the whole species helps give players, GMs and readers with the ability to distinguish one species from another.

The only way to effectively get other species to stand out from each other is build them around the archetype of each species. Meaning that all Chovah tend to act like one-another despite whatever region they are in.

Species archetypes are meant to be used as tools to tell a better story and therefor must stand out. The key to creating the worlds of Legends of Kralis is to lean into and on the strongly defined species archetypes. Otherwise, both readers and players will never notice the diversity. This will help players to start to pile on assumptions about the species as they are used consistently.

This does not mean that all individuals within a species have to be identical. It means that all individuals should be built on the same foundation because that’s what the archetypes are. Each of the species include distinct traits and abilities as well as specific personality traits and should RARELY run counter to these traits.

These are not meant to be straight jackets, they are the foundations upon which the various species, their cultures, their nations are built upon. Any given individual that does stay within this foundation are a variation on that theme. These tend to be the aberrant archetypes and most of the time the rest of the world will not let them forget it.

Species pride can be a good thing when it leads to honor and self-examination. It can be a bad thing when it leads to egomania or xenophobia.

Within Legends of Kralis species and cultures matter and in order to accomplish this they must be built on the same foundations in order to make species and cultures stand out against the noise of the world and actually mean something to the players, readers and GMs.

Introduction

The Omniverse and its hundreds of millions of worlds is made up of hundreds of thousands of cultures from tens of thousands of different species. The sheer number of species prohibits this section from being able to describe, or even list, each of the species and their cultures, ethnic groups or any of the number of sub-cultures.

The following section focuses on the core fifteen species that are dominate with the Khirius Solvetras and the Drekahn Augua Region of the Void that is located within the Murcarsius Arphemhal.

The species of the Omniverse, as well as the world of Kralis, are rich and diverse. Every species and culture has a distinct identity and place they call home. A Ta’Jahu can trace her heritage and linage back to one of the ancient houses. A Bhahuul knows the names of the founders of their ancient culture. A jakarian can list every member of its apacik in a long line that leads back to Great Loss.

The Omniverse, its vast number of worlds, and the species and cultures that inhabit them are complex and fluid. Species and their cultures have spread to every conceivable corner of the Void. As they have done so, species cultures have undergone a number of transformations, from changes in views and faiths, to reverting back to their ancient ethnic traditions. These shifts in belief, tradition and culture has often created rifts and outright conflict between factions, families and the places they once called home.

Many times these returns of the “old ways” was to counter the ever growing divisions in a species whose indigenous cultures have be altered by contact by outsiders. As a result, in many regions, species that at one time saw themselves and seen by others as a single cultural group have been altered into two or more distinct groups. Which has lead to deep and probably permanent divisions within the culture of a single species: between those that live in the north and those that live in the south; those that live in the traditional villages and those that live within large metropolitan areas; between those that follow the old ways and those that have converted to newer visions; between those that live on land and those that live on the seas.

While perceptions of any given species is often based on only a few of its members; not all members of a species are the same. There is a great deal of variety in values and traditions. So while each of the following entries share archetypal foundations and characteristics, there will come events that can lead any individual from that group to “break the mold.”

When you have seen one Chovah, do not assume that you have seen every Chovah. As you set out onto your legendary journeys to meet the players in this deep, colorful, and often times frightening Omniverse, remember to approach everyone with an open-mind, but always keep a hand on a sword hilt or resting pistol.