Neo-Avian
Varies; see subtype Neo-Avians are a type of neo-animal drawn primarily from two sources: corvids, which consist of ravens and crows, and psittaciforms, which consist primarily of parrots. Together they make up what's widely regarded as the two most intelligent classes of avian creatures on Earth, and so it was only natural that humanity would look to try and uplift them. However, there's a great deal that can go wrong in altering a bird's brain with eugenic and transgenic sequences, so rather than attempt to simply just try to create a smarter raven or parrot, designers opted to instead redo the entire genome, splicing not just human genes but also bat genes, as well. The result was the neo-avian. Neo-avians are roughly the size of human children, with larger heads that gave their designers much more room to work in. Their general posture and body shape remains unaltered, since its how they fly, although designers opted to alter their wings with genes spliced in from bats, and then added a pair of transgenic hands, in a reverse procedure to some off-shoots of the flyer (engineering arms from wings rather than wings from arms). This was trickier than it sounded, since the most important bone in the forearm for mammal like bats and humans is the radius, while most important bone in the forearm for birds is the ulna. However, engineers managed to make them work together with slight changes to the overall arm shape and structure, and the result is that neo-avians are capable of folding their wings up like bat wings, which lets them use their transgenic hands. While in flight, they're capable of using their feet and their beaks as manipulators, as well. While they lack spectacular manual dexterity, that they have limbs they can use as manipulators while flying puts them above fliers that have a similar arrangement. One of the biggest advantages they gave over others was the presence of a fairly intricate voice box - they didn't need a transgenic voice box since they came with one built in already, and a very versatile one, at that. As one might expect, both species are perfectly at home in microgravity and in zero-gravity conditions, and many prefer to live in such conditions. Neo-Avians have no problem with faces, although crows and ravens are much better at recognizing people by their face than parrots are; parrots often need a voice that they can associate with the face and name, much like dogs do. Once a raven or crow sees your face, it's very likely they will not forget it, and they can immediately associate faces with names. Neo-Corvid 27 Points Neo-corvids are derived from two closely related species: C. corax, or the common raven, and C. brachyrhynchos, also called the common crow or the American crow. Both birds were very smart and highly social, and being Passerines (also known as songbirds), they had their own inbuilt voice box with a wide range of uses, so engineers didn't have to install a transgenic one. Both species are highly omnivorous, although ravens tend to be more carnivorous than crows, since they were also carrion feeders. Modern neo-corvids have retained this omnivorous nature, but this omnivorous nature sets them aside from their psittacine relatives, since parrots tend to be herbivorous. This gives the raven and crow a wider ranges of senses than parrots, since both birds can not only smell, but have a highly acute sense of smell. As with all birds, they have spectacular eyesight and good hearing. As neo-animals, they tend to be a bit more shy and less outgoing than their animal counterparts, and while they lack the neophobia that characters ravens and crows, as a group they don't seem particularly keen to try need things if they know that something they're used too isn't broken. Even though they are functionally different species, the template below applies to neo-crows and to neo-ravens. Attribute Modifiers: ST -5 [-50]; DX +3 [60]; IQ -2 [-40]; HT +1 [10]. Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: FP +2 [6]; Per +2 [10]; Basic Move -3 (Ground speed only, -50%) [-7]; SM -3. Advantages: Acute Smell and Taste +2 [4]; Acute Vision +2 [4]; Claws (Sharp Claws) [5]; Enhanced Speed 1 (Air) [20]; Flight (Winged, -25%) [30]; Mimicry [10]; Reduced Consumption 1 (Cast Iron Stomach, -50%) [1]; Telescopic Vision 2 [10]; Teeth (Beak) [1]; Ultravision [10]. Perks: Feathers [1]. Disadvantages: Bad Grip 2 [-10]; Chummy [-5]; Curious (9) [-7]; Hidebound [-5]; Impulsiveness (12) [-10]; Overconfidence (12) [-5]; Social Stigma (Neo-Animal) [-5]; Unusual Biochemistry [-5]. Quirks: Playful [-1]. Features: Tail. Cost: $77,000. LC3. Neo-Psittacine 25 Points Neo-Psittacines are derived from a number of closely related species collectively referred to as "parrots," including macaws, macaques, and the primary donor, the African Gray Parrot, which is widely regarded as one of the most intelligent of the parrots. Like corvids, they came with their own voice box, so engineers didn't have to program one, but their sensory range is very different from corvids, owing to entirely different lifestyles. Corvids can sometimes act as hunters, which is why they have binocular vision; parrots lack binocular vision in the conventional sense, as their eyes are positioned on the side of their heads rather than the front. This means a parrot has to turn its head if it wants to see something with its binocular vision, and it can only do it with one eye at a time. However, the positioning of their eyes gives them impressive peripheral vision, and the ability to focus each eye on something independently. This is in exchange for the sort of depth perception common among species with binocular vision. Neo-parrots, as well as their animal counterparts, lack a sense of smell; engineers didn't bother to put in one, figuring that their efforts were better spent neurologically redesigning the brain to be intelligent while leaving many of the preexisting senses as baseline as possible, although they do have a very sensitive touch. Neo-Parrots tend to be very good talkers and are often outgoing individuals, even more so than their corvid counter parts, although on average they tend to be smaller and weaker. Attribute Modifiers: ST -6 [-60]; DX +3 [60]; IQ -2 [-40]; HT +1 [10]. Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: FP +2 [6]; Per +2 [10]; Basic Move -3 (Ground speed only, -50%) [-7]; SM -3. Advantages: Acute Vision +2 [4]; Acute Touch +3 [6]; Claws (Sharp Claws) [5]; Enhanced Speed 1 (Air) [20]; Flight (Winged, -25%) [30]; Mimicry [10]; Telescopic Vision 2 (No Targeting, -60%) [4]; Teeth (Beak) [1]; Ultravision [10]. Perks: Feathers [1]. Disadvantages: Bad Grip 2 [-10]; Chummy [-5]; Curious (9) [-7]; Hidebound [-5]; Restricted Diet (Fruits, Nuts, and Vegetation; Very Common) [-10]; Social Stigma (Neo-Animal) [-5]; Unusual Biochemistry [-5]. Quirks: Playful [-1]; Tends to put things foreign objects in their mouth instinctively [-1]. Features: Tail. Cost: $75,000. LC3. Neo-Bear
30 Points Neo-Bears can be seen as something like the inverse of the Misha econiche parahuman; where the Misha makes use of bear genetics by incorporating them into a human, the neo-bear makes use of human genetics by incorporating them into a bear, with the result being superficially similar in both cases, although the Misha is better adapted to cold environments since many of the genes that make up the Neo-Bear are borrowed from warmer-weather bears, especially the American Black Bear and the American Grizzly Bear (the Misha borrows many of their genes from the Polar Bear). Neo-Bears have had significant alterations to their posture and their gross physiology, giving them a completely upright posture with transgenic hands instead of front paws and a head that sits atop an upright spine. They tend to tower over most humans, standing around 6 to 8 feet tall on average, and possessing a shaggy, dark brown coat of fur. They also have transgenic voice boxes, and their snouts have been some what altered so they can better mimic human speech, but they still have a growling accent that, while not stuttering, produces the same effect: they can be difficult to understand. Why bears would be targeted for a neo-animal project is a mystery for some, but their few know about their intelligence. Bears are renowned for a lot of things but smarts isn't one of them; however, anyone who's watched a bear knows that they are decent enough problem solvers, and many studies shows that bears were at least as intelligent as dogs, if not slightly more so. They were also chosen because neo-animal engineers wanted to see if they were up to the task of making a bear/human splice, since the human/bear splice had already been designed with the Misha. Neo-bears tend to be ill-tempered and uncongenial, like their natural counterparts, and while attempts to fix the bear's issue with resolving non-moving objects worked, the result was a nearsighted problems that forces many bears to wear glasses or contacts. They also tend to be overly fond of food and drink, which given the retained their bear ancestors' omnivorous nature, can be anything. As an interesting note, Neo-Bears often don't identify people by their faces, and they sometimes have a hard time making out faces. They identify individuals best by their smells, and so a Neo-Bear may associate a person with a particular smell and give them a nickname based off that smell. Thus, one might nickname a person "Spicy" if they have a husky, strong odor, or label someone as "Cinnamon" if they routinely smell like cinnamon. As a result, a Neo-Bear might not immediately recognize a person if they change their cologne or perfume type. Attribute Modifiers: ST +4 [40]; IQ -2 [-40]; HT +2 [20]. Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: FP +2 [6]; Per +2 [10]. Advantages: Acute Smell and Taste +2 [4]; Claws (Blunt Claws) [3]; Discriminatory Smell [15]; DR 2 (Tough Skin, -40%) [4]; Metabolism Control 2 (Hibernation Only, Triggered by extreme cold, -50%) [4]; Night Vision 4 [4]; Reduced Consumption 1 (Cast-Iron Stomach, -50%) [1]; Teeth (Sharp Teeth) [1]; Temperature Tolerance 2 [2]. Perks: Extended Hearing (Ultrasonic) [1]; Fur [1]. Disadvantages: Bad Grip 1 [-5]; Bad Temper (12) [-10]; Bad Sight (Nearsighted, Mitigator, -60%) [10]; Gluttony (12) [-5]; Laziness [-10]; Social Stigma (Neo-Animal) [-5]. Quirks: Uncongenial [-1]. Availability: $80,000. LC3. Neo-Dog
20 Points While the K-10 was one of the first successful upgrades, the K-10 almost achieves sapience but remains sub-sapient in a number of ways. As the designers found out, there was only so much room in a dog's skull to alter it's brain, and every alteration reduced over all sensory perception. So rather than try to alter the basic dog further, engineers took the genome from the smartest dogs, spliced it together, and added in human genetics, creating the Neo-Dog. Neo-Dog stand upright and have their front paws replaced with hands that are decent enough as manipulators to do the job, especially when combined with their own innate dexterity. This decision was a controversial one, since being a quadruped was what gave dogs their incredible speed. However, engineers figured K-10s already existed for that purpose, so they made the Neo-Dog stand upright. It still features a bushy tail, and while the muzzle has been flattened somewhat to make it easier for them to replicate human sounds, like Neo-Bears, they tend to have a rolling, growing accent that makes them difficult to understand. Their faces and heads still remain very dog-like, however, with similar parabolic hearing to their four-legged cousins and with almost just as sharp a sense of smell. While they aren't the brightest of the neo-animals, they are one of the sharpest in terms of senses, although their overall metabolism lacks the endurance necessary to keep up with humans over long periods of hard work, and so they often find themselves needing to rest periodically. While they lack the full-blown ultrasonic hearing of their predecessors, they still have the ability to hear into the extended ultrasonic range, much like a human teenager before they lose the ability to hear certain ranges once they get old. Neo-dogs are exceptionally good at recognizing faces and reading those faces; they are perhaps second only to Neo-Hominids and humans in terms of being able to quickly identify a person by face alone. However, they are also very good at identifying people by sound, as well, and by smell, although because they are so good at recognizing faces, changing one's perfume does not affect the way that a Neo-Dog responds. Attribute Modifiers: DX +1 [20]; IQ -1 [-20]; HT +1 [10]. Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: FP -2 [-6]; Per +1 [5]. Advantages: Acute Smell and Taste +2 [4]; Claws (Blunt Claws) [3]; Discriminatory Smell [15]; Night Vision 4 [4]; Parabolic Hearing 1 [4]; Reduced Consumption 2 (Cast-Iron Stomach, -50%) [2]; Teeth (Sharp Teeth) [1]; Temperature Tolerance 2 [2]. Perks: Extended Hearing (Ultrasonic) [1]; Fur [1]. Disadvantages: Chummy [-5]; Gluttony (12) [-5]; Social Stigma (Neo-Animal) [-5]; Stuttering [-10]. Quirks: Layabout [-1]. Features: Tail. Availability: $70,000. LC3. Neo-Hominids
Varies; see subtype Humanity's nearest relatives were a shoe in for uplifting experiments, and perhaps more than any other neo-animal species, these blur the line between uplifts and neo-animals. And this isn't simply because humanity is closely related to all of the species listed here, either. When compared to hominids, humanity appears positively child-like, and this isn't intended as a backhanded compliment. A baby chimpanzee has a number of features that humanity has; a flatter face, a smaller jaw, and most importantly, their foramen magnum, which is the hole that the spine passes through, is more conducive to an upright posture. As they age, their head and posture shift to the semi-upright posture that the species more commonly associated with, and their faces feature more pronounced mandibles, as well as the development of a sagittal crest, which is what serves to anchor their tremendous jaw muscles. This sagittal crest posted a major problem, since it reduced the available space in the skull for brain modifications. So all the pieces were there; all humanity had to do was figure out how to make baby hominids grow without actually letting them grow. This is called neoteny, and it's the reason why humans share so much in common physiologically with baby hominids and so little in common with adult one (as a species humans seem to have a fascination with neoteny; features associated with the young are generally seen as more attractive, this, consequently, is also why modern humans in the Verge and Bleed no longer have wisdom teeth while many neo-homonids do - many thing that humans no longer having wisdom teeth is the result of genetic engineering. It wasn't; the mutation appeared long before regular genetic engineering shaped the human body, in the early Interplanetary age. The disappearance of wisdom teeth in humans is a consequence of evolution in action). As a result, neo-hominids display a high number of features that are neotenous compared to their baseline ancestors. Some humans may even find members of the neo-hominid species to be attractive, so appearance bonuses and penalties generally apply to all humans and hominids. Neo-Bonobo 22 Points Neo-bonobos are descendants from the species Pan paniscus, and are often called pygmy chimps, although they are both similar and different in a number of ways. Their legs and limbs tended to be a bit loner than chimps, and the neotenization of their faces and skulls was well underway when humans began to use them as the basis for neo-animals. Classical bonobos have a well-deserved reputation for being sexual athletes, and sex is used as a ritual to encourage group bonding among them, including sex between same-sex members. Neo-bonobos have less extreme drives, but some things are just hard-coded in and it isn't uncommon from colonies or settlement dominated by Neo-Bonobos to switch back to the old ways, since group bonding of any kind has a tendency to make them feel more comfortable. Neo-Bonobos also often continue the species tradition of being matriarchal, with many neo-bonobo households gathered around a matriarch who oversees it. Like Neo-Bonobos on average stand little over 5' tall, making them small by most human standards. Subtle alterations to both sets of hands (on their feet and their arms) have improved overall manual dexterity to a level equal to that of humans. Attribute Modifiers: ST -+1 [10]; HT +1 [10]. Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: FP -1 [-2]. Advantages: Brachiator [5]; Extra Arms 2 (Foot Manipulators, -30%; Short, -50%) [4]; Perfect Balance [15]. Perks: Fur [1]. Disadvantages: Chummy [-5]; Lecherousness (12) [-15]. Quirks: Playful, Curious [-2]. Racial Skill Bonuses: +2 to Climbing [4]. Availability: $74,000. LC3. Neo-Chimpanzee 28 Points Neo-Chimps are perhaps the closest of the neo-apes to baseline humans, and are one of the oldest of the neo-animal species, since they blur the line between neo-animal and uplift to the point where it may as well not even exist. Neo-Chimpanzees are also one of the best adjusted of the neo-animal species, frequently appearing in various places around the Verge and Bleed as common citizens, perhaps second only to Neo-Pigs in terms of frequency of appearance. They are so common that most people rarely give it any thought, and so they, like their bonobo cousins, don't face the same strong social stigma that usually crops up in the Verge and Bleed towards various neo-animals. However, while their psychology is very close to baseline human, they on a whole tend to dislike individuals who have a higher status than they do, especially males. As with Neo-Bonobos, Neo-Chimps generally stand just over 5' on average, and subtle changes to their manipulators (both on their arms and legs) have improved overall dexterity to a human-level. Attribute Modifiers: ST +2 [20]; HT +1 [10]. Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: FP -1 [-2]. Advantages: Brachiator [5]; Extra Arms 2 (Foot Manipulators, -30%; Short, -50%) [4]; Lifting ST +1 [3]. Perks: Fur [1]. Disadvantages: Chummy [-5]; Jealousy [-10]. Quirks: Nosy [-1]. Racial Skill Bonus: +1 to Climbing [2]. Availability: $78,000. LC3. Neo-Gorilla 38 Points The gorilla was a big more of a challenge to turn into a Neo-Animal; not due to biochemistry or major distinctions with humans (although those were issues, too; the LCA of humans and gorillas was much further down the evolutionary river than the LCA between humans, chimps, and bonobos), but because of questions about posture. Much of the gorilla's tremendous strength comes from its posture, and altering the posture would result in altering its strength and making it slower. Despite this, engineers decided to make the leap and change the posture, resulting in a gorilla less strong than its uplifted cousin, but with a functional bipedal posture that is still stronger than the average human. Mature males may still develop a large silver streak down their back. Compared to most apes, gorillas are calm and placid, and that remains true for Neo-Gorillas, regardless what the InVids might otherwise suggest. While they don't lack a bad temper, it takes a great deal more to make them angry than it did their ancestors. However, they are one of the dimmer of the Neo-Apes; not stupid, but scoring below average for human intelligence. Attribute Modifiers: ST +4 [40]; IQ -1 [-20]; HT +1 [10]. Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: FP -1 [-2]. Advantages: Brachiator [5]; DR 1 (Tough Skin, -40%) [3]; Extra Arms 2 (Foot Manipulators, -30%; Short, -50%) [4]; Lifting ST +3 [9]. Perks: Fur [1]. Disadvantages: Bad Temper (15) [-5]; Impulsiveness (12) [-10]. Quirks: Distractible [-1]. Racial Skill Bonuses: +1 to Climbing [2]. Availability: $88,000. LC3. Neo-Neanderthal 20 Points The Neo-Neanderthal is the modern descendant of the ancient Neanderthal that vanished sometime between 20,000 and 60,000 BCE. While humanity had access to the genome, and had sequenced it fully by the beginning of the Interplanetary Period, bringing them back was less a genetic trick and more an ethical one. However, they were one of the first species that humanity resurrected, and upon resurrection, where subsequently uplifted. Thus, like Neo-Chimps and Neo-Bonobos, they blur the line between an uplift and a neo-animal; so much so that few think of them as neo-animals and most will simply refer to them as an uplift. Neo-Neanderthals are similar to their processors, standing around 5' or slightly over, with a small chin and heavy brow. They don't have any more of a tendency to be hairy than the average human does, although they do have a strong tendency towards red and copper hair and green or blue eyes naturally. They are also relatively stocky, and they tend to be stronger in some ways than they area in others (and lack the overall endurance that even a baseline human possesses). Cognitively, they are very similar to humans, although they appear to have a natural talent for music. Nobody is sure if this was inbuilt into the genome by nature or if it was a design choice that was made when bringing them back. Attribute Modifiers: ST +1 [10]; HT +1 [10]. Secondary Characteristics: FP -2 [-6]. Advantages: Lifting ST +2 [6]. Quirks: Distractible [-1]. Availability: $70,000. LC3. Neo-Orangutan 37 Points The Neo-Orangutan is the last of the neo-hominids, and the one most removed from humans genetically. Male orangutans develop distinctive pouches around their faces, while their hair is a very distinctive russet color, unique among hominids. They spent much of their lives in the tree tops of their jungle homes, and are largely solitary animals, with the only lasting bond between their mother and child. Many of these behaviors carry over into the neo-animal version, with adults traditionally preferring to live by themselves rather than living with family members. This means Neo-Orangutans, more than any other neo-ape species, are best suited for individualist memes and a fair number are survivalists as well. This psychological pattern is more clear with them than it is with any other species. They are also incredibly deliberate; natural orangutans are some of the slowest and most deliberate animals in the animal kingdom, and their Neo-Animal counterparts have a similar personality. This fact aside, their ancestors were masterful climbers, and many Neo-Orangutans maintain that, even if their postures have been altered for a more upright-stance that, were it not for the russet hair and (on males) the cheek pouches, would make them difficult to distinguish from Neo-Chimps and Neo-Bonobos - at least until they take to the trees and start swinging with their typical, methodical pace, at any rate. Attribute Modifiers: ST +1 [10]; DX +1 [20]; HT +1 [10]. Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: FP -2 [-6]. Advantages: Brachiator [5]; Extra Arms 2 (Foot Manipulators, -30%; Short, -50%) [4]; Superior Equilibrioception 1 [5]. Perk: Fur [1]. Disadvantages: Bad Temper (15) [-5]; Indecisive (12) [-10]. Quirks: Methodical [-1]. Racial Skill Bonuses: +2 to Climbing [4]. Availability: $87,000. LC3. |
Neo-Pig
22 Points Few animals are as surprisingly intelligent and social as the domesticated pig. Furthermore, of all the animals on this list, pigs are the ones that share have the most in common genetically with humans (outside of the Neo-Apes). This genetic similarity is one of the reasons why pigs have been test animals, and why pigs were used for growing human tissue. This very striking similarity also played a role in why the pig was one of the easiest animals outside of the Neo-Apes to adapt to human genetics. There had been some talk of uplifting the pig dating back to the very early Interplanetary period, and while it did eventually manifest in the Smart Pig (also called the Martian Pig, since most uplifted animals are from the red planet or in orbit around it), it took neo-animal engineers to make the last great leap. Neo-Pigs are fully biped organisms, with their front hooves replaced with a functional pair of hands and their back hooves replaced with feat. All told, they stand just over 5', similar to most other neo-animals (a few exceptions notwithstanding). They integrated the human genetics better than most species, and their brains adapted as well. Engineers didn't reduce the shout, reasoning that a larger head would give the mouth more room to articulate noise, and they were correct. If the Neo-Pig can be said to have any problem, it's that some germlines haven't fully adapted to their upright posture, and as a result disadvantages like Klutz [-5] and Bad Back [-10] are more common among them than other neo-animals. Culturally they have attained a reputation as hard and diligent workers, but there's very little genetic about this and everything cultural. Neo-Pigs can train themselves to recognize faces, but most don't instinctively recognize a person by their face. Instead, they, like Neo-Bears, prefer to recognize individuals according to their smell, categorizing people mentally based off how they smell and organizing that with a mental picture of the person's face and name. Similar to Neo-Bears, Neo-Pigs can get tripped up by individuals changing their cologne or perfume type. Attribute Modifiers: HT+1 [10]. Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: FP -2 [-6]; Per +2 [10]; SM -2. Advantages: Acute Smell +2 [4]; High Pain Threshold [10]; Night Vision 2 [2]; Parabolic Hearing 1 [4]; Reduced Consumption 1 (Cast-Iron Stomach, -50%) [1]. Perks: Extended Hearing (Ultrasonic) [1]; Fur [1]. Disadvantages: Gluttony (12) [-10]; Social Stigma (Neo-Animal) [-5]. Features: Tail. Cost: $72,000. LC3. Neo-Octopus
129 Points The Neo-Octopus was the last of the neo-animals to be adapted, appearing sometime around the middle of Le Belle Epoque, and it was one of the most extreme adaptations. Octopuses have long been valued for their intelligences and problem-solving, and together with their alien mind made them a shoe in for engineering. The results of these uplifted attempts were both the Octosapiens, which is roughly as intelligent as the most intelligent dog breeds, and the Astropus, which is a fully uplifted version of the octopus. However, the Neo-Octopus goes in the other direction; rather than attempting to uplift the animal, it blends the animal's genetics with human genetics to produce an octopus/human hybrid. The Neo-Octopus' biggest deviation from a standard octopus is that it uses internal hydrostatic pressure to keep itself rigid and upright. Where a normal octopus sprawls out and lays flat under gravity, a Neo-Octopus can hold itself upright on its tentacles, treating them as legs if it needs to in order to move about. This makes them similar to an elephant's trunk. Other major alterations were done mostly to the nervous system, attempting to boost overall intelligence to a human-level. They were largely successful, although the Neo-Octopus retains the semi-autonomous nature of its arms, so unless a Neo-Octopus is looking right at it or commanding the arm to do something, the arm will generally act of its own accord and can sometimes knock over objects. They use an implanted computer interpreter to translate their thoughts into spoken language. Attempts to alter their vision were less than successful; they remain color blind and nearsighted, and often require specialized contacts simply to see correctly. The hydrostatic nature of their tentacles has also reduced some of their ability to manipulate and grasp objects, giving them the Bad Grip disadvantage. Like humans, Neo-Octopuses recognize people based off a combination of voice and face, since they have such an exotic sense of smell and taste, compared to many of the other neo-animals (they smell and taste with their tentacles, so a Neo-Octopus shaking hands is also tasting hands, and they may also comment that a floor tastes dirty if they run across it). Attribute Modifiers: ST-2 [-20]; DX+2 [40]; IQ-2 [-40]; HT+2 [20]. Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: Per+2 [10]. Advantages: Chameleon 2 [10]; Constriction Attack [15]; Damage Resistance 1 (Tough Skin, -40%) [3]; Doesn’t Breathe (Gills, -50%) [10]; Extra Arms (6; Extra-Flexible on all 8 arms, +50%; Foot Manipulators, -30%) [96]; Extra Legs 8 [15]; Injury Tolerance (No Neck) [5]; Obscure 10 (Vision; Accessibility, Only in water or zero-G, -30%) [14]; Peripheral Vision [15]; Teeth (Sharp Beak) [1]. Perks: Sanitized Metabolism [1]. Disadvantages: Bad Grip 2 [-10]; Bad Sight (Nearsighted; Mitigator, -60%) [-10]; Cold-Blooded [-5]; Colorblindness [-10]; Hidebound [-5]; Klutz [-5]; Mute (Mitigator (computer interpreter), -60%) [-10]; Social Stigma (Neo-Animal) [-5]; Unusual Biochemistry [-5]. Quirks: Uncongenial [-1]. Availability: $172,000. LC4. Neo-Raccoon
27 Points As anyone who's attempted to keep them out of a trashcan knows, raccoons are very smart and versatile creatures. It was only a matter of time before someone attempted to uplift them and train them, but raccoons suffer from the problem of space even more than other animals on this list do, except perhaps the the Neo-Avian species. So while it was possible to uplift them to high levels of cognition, sapience was out of the question. Thus, the matter passed into the hands of the neo-animal designers. Neo-Raccoons are fully upright bipeds, with their front paws replaced with transgenic hands that are among some of the best out of any species to have them. They still feature their long ringed tail, and while attempts to fatten out their face to make their muzzle less pronounced have worked, they suffer from the same issue that plagues Neo-Dogs, Neo-Bears, and others. However, they keep their mask-like fur-patterning, and they also kept their whiskers, which allows them to detect movement around them in the air. They are still every bit as agile and flexible as their animal counterparts (the original raccoon could be semi-upright when wanted to, so designers had an easier time keeping much of the original joint and muscle work while pushing it up to a bipedal stance). They also keep their impressive smell, good night vision, and their ability to sense motions in the air. Psychologically they aren't callous like their predecessors, but they do have bad tempers, likely a consequence of neurological adaptations. Since they lack the stamina that humans possess, they also tend to rest periodically throughout the day, which gives them a reputation of layabouts. Neo-Raccoons, like most other neo-animals, identify people based off smell first, face second. They can learn faces and associate names with faces, but they first associate a name with a smell. However, because their vision is good, they can quickly identify a face as well, so changing perfume isn't a quick way to confuse a Neo-Raccoon who knows you personally. Attribute Modifiers: ST -4 [-40]; DX +2 [40]; IQ -1 [-20]; HT +1 [10] Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: FP -2 [-6]; Per +2 [10]; SM -2. Advantages: Catfall [10]; Discriminatory Smell [15]; Flexibility [5]; Night Vision 6 [6]; Sensitive Touch [10]; Teeth (Sharp Teeth) [1]; Vibration Sense (Air) [10]. Perks: Extended Hearing (Ultrasonic) [1]; Fur [1]. Disadvantages: Bad Temper (12) [-10]; Social Stigma (Neo-Animal) [-5]; Stuttering [-10]. Quirks: Layabout [-1]. Features: Tail. Availability: $70,000. LC3. Neo-Troodon
31 Points The Neo-Troodon is an interesting case, since it isn't just including human DNA, but at the same time, it's also reverse engineering chicken and turkey DNA to create something that's been dead for 65 million years or more. Humans have been recreating dinosaurs since the late Interplanetary Period, but it wasn't until the end of the Second Interstellar Period that someone got the idea to blend the reverse engineered chickens with human DNA, and in the process create a dinosauroid that Dale Russell could be proud of. Neo-Troodons make up the majority of the citizenship within the Archosaur Autocracy, and while they aren't the only dinosaur type, they are the one that most frequently leaves the Autocracy and so they're the one that everyone is most familiar with. They have a horizontal body plan similar to their ancestors with the ability to adopt an upright posture if they wish (most don't bother, since remaining upright requires effort). Their arm-wings end in flexible manipulators that they can use to grasp objects and hold them, and while they're incapable of flight, they can use their wings as something like a parachute, slowing their descent so long as they have the time or the atmosphere to do so. A long, rigid tail extends behind them to provide balance. Interestingly, like songbirds and parrots, Neo-Troodons are capable of mimicking a range of sounds, which includes human speech, and they use this to talk in much the same way that Neo-Avians use their mimicry ability to talk - they just aren't as flexible as Neo-Avians are (since Neo-Avians can mimic a wide range of sounds from voices to toilets flushing). Their body is covered in soft white, brown, and black feathers. Their bad eyesight applies only to targets that aren't moving; they have a hard time resolving any still target or object. Since this is neurological, contact lenses and glasses do nothing to repair it. Given their poor eyesight, Neo-Troodons are similar to Neo-Bears and others in that they identify based on smell first, face second, and they can likewise be temporarily thrown off by someone experimenting with new cologne. Attribute Modifiers: DX +1 [20]; HT +1 [10]. Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: FP -2 [-6]; Per +1 [5]. Advantages: Acute Hearing +1 [2]; Acute Taste and Smell +1 [2]; Catfall (Parachute, -30%) [7]; Discriminatory Smell [15]; Long Talons (Heels Only, -50%) [6]; Nictitating Membrane 1 [1]; Night Vision 3 [3]; Striking ST +4 (Kicks Only, -20%) [16]; Teeth (Sharp Teeth) [1]. Perks: Feathers [1]. Disadvantages: Bad Sight (Nearsighted; non-moving objects only, -20%) [-20]; Colorblindness [-10]; Curious (15) [-3]; Social Stigma (Neo-Animal) [-5]; Restricted Diet (Fresh Meat, Very Common) [-10]; Unusual Biochemistry [-5]. Quirks: Thin Build [-1]. Racial Skills: Mimicry (A) IQ [2]-10. Features: Tail. Availability: $81,000. LC3. Sesheyan
43 Points The Sesheyan is a product of a company named Alternity BioDesigns, which operated out of the Alpha Centauri system during Le Belle Epoque. They derive their name from the Chinese 澀碛岩 (Sè shě yán), which means something akin to "Rough sandy rock," which is the name of the facility they were engineered in (the Sandy Rock Facility in English). The species has an interesting history, since most consider it to be an alien/human splice, but it isn't. In this case, the species in question was a species of flying bat-like salamanders from the planet 色蛇亞 (Sè shé yà - Color Snake Home, named after the snaking clouds created by the tidally locked nature of the world). These creatures achieved something like a stone age existence before an asteroid ended their species several thousand years ago, but enough genetic material was extracted so they could be sequenced, analyzed, and engineers could begin to figure out how to fill in the gaps with human genetic material. While the first dozen times resulted in failure, they finally clicked on a method that worked when they modeled what the Sesheyan could do with Earth-based genetics and synthetic genes and then injected those into the human genome. The original design was produced for VoidCorp, but they have since found homes all over the Verge and Bleed. The average Sesheyan stands little over 5' tall, and is wire thin with impressive musculature. A humanoid organism, the result of using so much human DNA, they have two arms, two legs, and two large wings that emerge from their shoulder blades that allow them to fly in low gravity. When not in use, they can wrap their wings around their body. Both sexes have long tails, but only males have fans at the end. Where they really stand out, however, is their head, which is entirely inhuman. Rather than have a normal face, their face is a flat salamander-looking face, with six eyes, three on each side of the head. This provides them with the best of both worlds: perfect binocular vision and perfect monocular vision, while being attuned so they can amplify light (however, they're also light sensitive; this means that while Sesheyan reduce light penalties by 9 in poor lighting, in full lightly, they suffer a -9 penalty unless they wear goggles to mitigate it). Their ears are large and can move independently of one another, allowing them to hone in on noises; it's believed this was a trait of the original aliens given the ears and head are largely same, with some minor efforts to rearrange it. If the Sesheyan were an alien/human splice it would be a miracle, but because the engineers modeled artificial chromosomes and genes after the species but used the language of earth DNA to do it, they're no more complex than any other splice on this list. Psychological, they prefer the company of one another and prefer the dark. At some point in the engineering, they developed a mild neophobia, disliking new things and preferring to stick with the old. This suits VoidCorp just fine, since VoidCorp as a business isn't known for rushing to embrace new technologies but rather, editing and tweaking ones it understands. They lack the stamina that humans have, although their perception is superior in every way to the human sense, and their ability to maneuver and fly in microgravity is truly impressive - and the reason why VoidCorp keeps them employed, working with their Clark-1 androids. Their unpleasant voices are the result of the high-pitched nature of their speech. Attribute Modifiers: ST -1 [-10]; DX +1 [20]; IQ -1 [-20]; HT +1 [10]. Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: FP -2 [-6]; Per +3 [15] Advantages: 3D Spatial Sense [10]; Acute Hearing +1 [2]; Acute Vision +2 [4]; Flight (Accessible, requires low gravity 0.6 G, -20%; Winged, -25%) [22]; Parabolic Hearing 2 [8]; Peripheral Vision [15]. Disadvantages: Chummy [-5]; Disturbing Voice [-10] Hidebound [-5]; Unusual Biochemistry [-5]. Quirks: Dislikes Sunlight; Thin Build [-2]. Racial Skills: Flight (A) HT [2]-10. Features: Night Vision 9 (see text); Tail. Availability: $63,000. LC3. T'sa
45 Points The T'sa is similar to the Sesheyan in that it was developed by Alternity BioDesigns during the height of the Concordance Era and used similar methods. However, they decided to use the T'sa as a trail to see if it was possible to splice in reptilian genes into a mammalian genome, and quickly realized that wasn't practical since the metabolism did not work at all. However, once again they found away around the limitation and the T'sa was the result. There is some confusion over where the name comes from. The origin of the name is the Japanese プログラムツァー, or "Tsar Program," which was the original name of the project. The Japanese word for tsar,ツァー, Romanizes as "tsa"; now, this is properly pronounced [t͡sa̠ː], with the <ts> as one phoneme, like the <ts> in the English cats. However, English speakers unfamiliar with the Japanese way of pronouncing the Romanji instead read it as /ˈtʌ.sɑː/, or something like [tuh-sah] and added the apostrophe to split the <t> from the <s>. The name as stuck ever since. Biologically, the organism was modeled after a species creatures though to be near reptiles that went extinct several thousand years ago. The engineers sequenced the genetic code, deciphered what it meant, and then like individuals transcribing Japanese Katakana into English, recreated the genome using the language of earth DNA and spliced these artificial chromosomes and genes into the human genome, with the T'sa being the final product. Small reptile humanoids, the T'sa convey a sense of speed about them even when they're standing still, which is something that they find difficult to do. Their posture is somewhere between upright and semi-upright, although they move about faster on their hindlegs, which are the legs of a runner. A rat-like tail traces behind them, while thin interlocking scales of various colors - although red, green, and blue are the most common - cover their body. It's incredibly hard to sneak up on one of these creatures, and they always seem to be moving, always fidgeting with some new toy or always compelled to push buttons and pull levers to see what happens. They're also impulsive, and tend not to plan things out all the way through, although they do enjoy the company of others, and have a infectious sort of cheer that makes it hard to dislike them. Their minds are working fast even when their bodies aren't, and they are capable of impressive feats of mathematics, as well. Attribute Modifiers: ST -2 [-20]; DX +2 [40] Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: FP -2 [-6]; Basic Speed +1.00 [20]. Advantages: Acute Vision +2 [4]; Combat Reflexes [15]; DR 2 (Tough Skin, -40%) [6]; Less Sleep 2 [4]; Lightning Calculator [2]; Versatile [5]. Perks: Scales [1]. Disadvantages: Chummy [-5]; Curious (12) [-5]; Impulsiveness (12) [-10]; Unusual Biochemistry [-5]. Quirks: Likes playing with new gadgets [-1]. Features: Tail. Availability: $93,000. LC3. Weren
46 Points The weren are the final send up from Alternity BioDesign and are one of the last species to be created. The name comes from the Dutch "to defend one's self" or "to put up a resistance," which are apt names for the creatures in question. The weren follow a path similar to the Sesheyan and the T'sa; they began life as an idea and ended as a realization of that idea after a great deal of hard work and ingenious thinking. The primary inspiration for them comes from a series of extinct herd animals, similar to bison or cattle on Earth, from a planet called Drasland. The original weren had achieved something similar to an early modern tech level, but their burning of hydrocarbons caused their climate to shift rapidly, plunging it from the cool temperate to cold tundra climates they were used into a hothouse climate. Agriculture failed and famines wiped out cities. What famine didn't kill virulent new diseases and warfare finished off, with the last weren dying between 14,500 and 13,000 years ago. Drasland remains an unpleasant world suffering through ecological collapse. However, Alternity BioDesigns was able to get rights to the genome of the species. Once they had the rights, they sequenced the genome, and produced then replicated the genome using synthetic genes in the Earth DNA alphabet. Once they had the synthetic chromosomes and genes, they inserted them into the human genome and the modern Weren resulted after a half-dozen failures. When standing fully upright, a Weren can't be missed; they stand between 6 to 7 feet all at their maximum height, although Weren tend to adopt a hunched over posture. Their humanoid bodies are covered in fur and slab-like muscles, while a mane covers their neck and head. Two large tusks emerge from their bucket jaw, while beady eyes star out from their faces. While they have claws, the claws are switchable, like a cat's. This affects manual dexterity, however, and restricts them to large devices without many moving pieces. For this reason, many Weren prefer large, cannon-like flintlocks to modern firearms, simply because their hands can better operate the device. Weren are incredibly tough, surviving gauss gun rounds unarmored, while their punch is capable of crippling weaker humans. As an interesting feature, their fur will shift its coloration to match the background of any forested area, an unconscious effect that the Weren are barely aware of. Psychologically, they throw themselves into life with an intensity that can startle others. They often become fanatics once they glom onto an ideology that they can understand, whether it be a religion like Christianity or a ideology, like Marxism or Libertarianism. They seem to have an easier time maintaining an open mind about new ideologies than humans do, however, and not every discussion ends up with a fight. This is likely a consequence of them coming from a herd species, where the cooperation of the herd meant everyone working together in unity. Thus, while they can be attracted any ideology, Weren are especially attracted to collectivist ideologies that sometimes have an authoritarian edge to them, so Fanaticism is very common among them (but not included since it isn't genetic). Attribute Modifiers: ST +7 [70]; DX -1 [-20]; IQ -1 [-20]; HT +2 [20]. Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: FP -1 [-3]. Advantages: Acute Taste and Smell +1 [2]; Claws (Sharp Claws; Switchable, +10%) [6]; DR 2 (Tough Skin, -40%) [3]; High Pain Threshold [10]; Hard to Kill 2 [4]; Hard to Subdue 2 [4]; Striker 2 (Tusks, Impaling; Cannot Parry, -40%; Limited Arc, Forward, -40%) [3]; Striking ST +2 [10]; Temperature Tolerance 2 [2]. Perks: Fur; Limited Camouflage (Forest) [2]. Disadvantages: Bad Grip 1 [-5]; Chummy [-5]; Disturbing Voice [-10]; Increased Consumption 1 [-10]; Restricted Diet (Vegetation, Common) [-10]; Unusual Biochemistry [-5]. Quirk: Embrace life with zeal [-1]. Availability: $96,000. LC3. |