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Kralien (Race)

Page history last edited by RyleyRA 6 years, 6 months ago

If there is any organization in the galaxy that can be said to be the enemies of the United Space Faring Planets, it is the Kralien (krah-LEE-un, alternate spelling Kralean) Defense Force, leaders and founders of the Hegemony. Unfortunately, this is not due to any misunderstanding or offensive action taken on our part. Nor can the Kraliens be reasoned with. Put simply, this conflict is a Holy War, in which our foes want not our lives, but our money. The Kraliens believe they are the rightful owners of the galaxy, which was granted to them by the gods, and they demand rent. We have tried to reach a peaceful solution, but the amount that would be required to pay for the territory that the USFP has claimed would cost more than the total resources of our core worlds. Our philosophy of exploration and discovery simply cannot coexist with a galaxy owned by the Kraliens.

 

Fortunately, while the Kraliens defend their claim with religious zeal, they lack any technological or military might to back it up. Their Cruisers, Battleships and Dreadnoughts are primitive, lacking either Warp or Jump drive, and equipped with very basic shields and weaponry. The Kraliens probably would not be a threat, but they have a very large population, and their military strategy seems to be geared towards quantity, not quality. Their ships are cheap and easy to build, and can be turned out in vast numbers. The majority of enemy ships and bases encountered in the Sagittarius arm will be Kraliens.

 

Kralien thinking tends to be very straightforward and direct, will little room for subtlety. A devout Kralien will fight to the death to defend what he believes his religion requires of him, but a less faithful captain will turn tail and run at the first sign of trouble. The majority of Kraliens are males, and females are very rarely seen, as it would be considered a great risk to put a female in harm's way. Kraliens worship various artifacts left behind by their gods, and they are always on the lookout for other artifacts that may be associated with their gods.

 

   A city on a typical Kralien colony world

When the Kraliens were first encountered, it was considered a mystery how they were able to travel on an interstellar scale, since our scans showed their ships had no FTL drive of any kind. Many theories were put forth, including that the Kraliens came from a home system near the center of the galaxy, and thus their star systems were within sublight travel speed from each other. It was assumed the Kralien ships that encountered us were sleeper ships that had been dispatched to the Sagittarius arm in order to collect rent there.

 

Over time, however, the sheer numbers of Kralien ships encountered made that theory unlikely. Eventually, the appearance of the Torgoth and the Arvonians added another piece of the puzzle. The mystery was solved with the introduction of the Skarrans, and most importantly, our first encounter with the Ximni. The Skarrans and Ximni had developed another form of faster than light travel called Jump drive, and rented the technology out to the other races. Although our forces have not yet explored Hegemony territory, it is assumed the entire area is crisscrossed by Jump Gates. Although the Kraliens, Torgoths and Arvonians do not have FTL drives installed on their ships, it is assumed they make use of Jump Gate "highways" to travel around the galaxy.

 

A few scientists and archeologists have put forth the theory that the beings the Kraliens refer to as their "gods" were actually an ancient race that have since moved on to another galaxy or died out. These Ancients may have been the first to invent Jump Drive, and establish the network of gates used by the Kraliens. This would explain why the Kraliens believe the galaxy is theirs, particularly if, as some expect, there are undiscovered gates in this part of the galaxy which allows the Hegemony to quickly enter the Sagittarius arm, or even the Orion arm. We have never found such a gate, nor have our scientists been able to study any Kralien gates, and so this theory remains only speculation at this time.

 

For information on the Kralien language, see here.

 

From the Terran Star Naval Academy Tactical Manual:

 

Despite human prejudices the Kraliens are not man-sized bugs. They are true vertebrates who happen to have hard carapaces like Earth’s beetles or lobsters.


Kralien society is highly religious. Upon promotion all Kralien captains are ordained into a priest class. Their religion is unusual in that all Kraliens believe in the same set of gods: ancient super-beings that lived on the Kralien homeworld for several generations then left our galaxy forever. Even Earth’s scientists believe the Kralien religion is grounded in fact.

 

Today’s Kraliens believe that their gods granted them ownership of the entire galaxy. They also believe that the gods answer the prayers of devout Kraliens.

 

The Kralien government considers all non-Kraleans to be tenants living on their property. We are welcome to stay, but we owe them millions of years in back rent payments. For now the ships of the Kralien Defense Fleet are ill-equipped to collect that rent, so they are often seen in formation with those of stronger allies.

 

From Arrew's Guide to the Alien Races: (Some of this information may be speculation)

 

The Kralien home world of Kralinnar is covered in swamp land, with a warm humid climate and gravity that is one point two Terran norm.

 

Kraliens males are a similar in size to Terrans, though broader and more muscular. They are mammalian but have hard beetle like carapaces over their heads and back, usually grey, black, red or a combination of those colours depending on their hereditary origin. They have three fingered hands and four toed feet, with the outer toe on each foot ending in a small curved claw. They have two black eyes with white irises and a pink inner eyelid that closes horizontally in additional to their external vertical eyelids.

 

Kraliens don’t measure age in terms of standard years like most other races but rather by the number of carapace shedding, with a male being considered an adult after three sheddings and the larger females after four.

 

The Kraliens have a large gland in the centre of their four lobed brains that excretes a hormone much like Terran adrenaline, only much more potent, in the presence of danger or at the prospect of impending violence. The effects of this hormone can last for hours and is relative to the intensity of the stimulating hostile emotion. The hormone affects Kraliens by actually making them considerably smarter, stronger and more agile. In the absence of this hormone a Kralien would be considered of low intelligence at best when compared to other sentient species. But that improves to just above stellar average once the hormone is released into their brains.

 

This means that Kraliens actively seek out aggressive and violent situations and is why they attack without provocation, regardless of their chances of victory. As a result Kralien culture is quite violent. Head butt greetings, blood spilling sports and giving and enduring brutal beatings are a part of everyday Kralien life.

 

Scientists have long since theorized that this unusual gland, that has shaped the Kralien culture so much, is in fact the product of artificial engineering at some point in the Kralien’s past. But it’s difficult to prove this theory one way or the other.

 

Kraliens are divided into tribal Clans. Though alliances are constantly formed and broken their hostile nature means that Clans tend to be at war with each other most of the time. The constant conflicts help keep Kralien populations down to manageable levels, though their supplies of food and other resources never quite seem to be in adequate supply. This makes Kraliens resentful of the other Stellar Powers, like the United Plants, where food is so plentiful. Thankfully the infighting also means that the Kraliens aren’t typically a threat to stellar stability, as Kraliens spend most of their time and resources fighting other Kraliens.

 

However all Kraliens share one single religion. When a religious crusade is called by their ruling priesthood all Clan disputes are put aside and all Kralien hostilities are directed at the offending blasphemers. In these circumstances, with their large numbers and war like mentality, the Kraliens pose a very real and terrible threat to anyone or anything that stands in their way.

 

Despite their disorganised structure the Kralien to have a uniting government of sorts. The single religious order that both permeates every Clan and is above all Clans in both status and power. For the most part The Chosen, the Kralien name for their priesthood, don’t get involved in the affairs of individual Clans and rarely pass decrees or take any official action what so ever, other than ordaining new priests and arranging couplings between the all male priests and the Kralien females. The Chosen elevate through the ranks of the priesthood by distinguishing themselves in Kralien society, usually by being victorious in combat. From the Kralien Council of Bishops a single Kralien is chosen to be the High Cleric, the Kraliens supreme leader. Though the exact method and criteria for the selection of the High Cleric isn’t currently known we do know that a new High Cleric is only ordained once the old one dies or is killed.

 

Kralien populations are ninety five percent male. Kralien females, once mature, can produce somewhere between ten and twenty offspring in a single birthing and can birth twice during the span of a standard year. Female Kralien offspring remain at the temple with their mothers while all the male offspring are sent to their paternal fathers Clan to be raised collectively.

 

Only the ordained priesthood are allowed the honour to breed with the Kralien females, so there is a lot of pressure for Kralien males to prove themselves in battle, which is the only way for a warrior to be promoted to a command position and be ordained with an entry level position within the priesthood.

 

Reproductive coupling between priests and females is very ceremonial and regulated by religious rules and practices. Etiquette dictates that an offering or a token of the male’s latest victory should be offered to the female at the outset of the breeding ritual, either the severed head or a limb of a defeated foe. This is why Kralien ships often loiter around in sectors where they’ve recently destroyed a vessel or station, searching the wreckages for trophies.

 

Kralien religion is centred around a collection of eight ancient scrolls and twelve contemporary texts that are considered sacred.

 

The Kraliens use a universal pictographic written language, which the religious scrolls are written in, and are mostly bilingual in terms of spoken languages. Individual Kraliens speaking the religious language of Kral and their own Clan language, which is similar to Kral but with different tones and accents on words that subsequently alters their meanings. All Clan languages still conform to Kral grammar conventions however. For instance, there are no personal pronouns in Kral and neither are there in any of the Kralien Clan languages.

 

The sacred scrolls detail how celestial beings came down from the stars to live amongst the ancient Kraliens on their home world of Kralinnar. These god like beings elevated the Kralien up from animal like primitives to a technology using civilisation and gave them laws, a simple social hierarchy and knowledge of fundamental economics. Then, once this was done, the celestials returned from where they had come, proclaiming that they would one day return and that the galaxy would belong to the Kralien.

 

The Kralien take the wording of the Scroll of Amborax, their most revered text,  literally and consider themselves the rightful owners of the whole galaxy. They believe that essentially all other races that live on planets, or even in space, are living on or in territory that morally belongs to them. As such they demand tribute and back rent for the last million years or so.

 

In some circumstances, like the Torgoth, these tributes have been wavered in exchange for mutual military cooperation and support. Only The Chosen can sanctify such an arrangement. Those races and species that have nothing of similar value to offer are either evicted or enslaved, and forced to work off a million years of debt and compounded interest. Mostly this involves strip mining their own planets for the Kraliens insatiable demand for resources to build ships and weapons.

 

Such enslaved races are called Debt Clients by the Kralien. Debt Clients can be found on every Kralien colony fulfilling the roles that Kraliens feel are below them, such as industry, agriculture and maintenance. This leaves the males free to be warriors and priests, and the females free for breeding and child rearing.

 

Saying or implying that a Kralien is a debtor or indebted to someone else is considered a very offensive slight and there is a huge social stigma attached to being indebted in any way to another person or group, such as financially or owing a favour. A Kralien that fails to repay his debt, whatever form it may be in, risks being excommunicated by The Chosen and exiled from their Clan. Shunned by their own people Clanless Kralien usually commit ritual suicide or else becoming wandering thugs for hire far from Kralien territory.

 

Economists agree that the Kralien economy is unsustainable but they have sufficient Debt worlds to maintain the current level of production for hundreds of standard years. The Chosen also realize that eventually even the Debt worlds will be exhausted. But since they own the whole galaxy, the Orion Galactic Arm is just a small part of their holdings.

 

Roleplaying and Cosplaying Suggestions:

 

Although Kraliens are considered the enemies of the USFP, they have been allied with the Terrans in the past. It is possible, though unlikely, that a crewman on a TSN ship may wish to roleplay a Kralien. More likely, a GM may wish to roleplay a Kralien as part of a scripted mission.

 

Kraliens are roughly human-sized, so cosplaying should be fairly simple. Costume suggestions would include the xenomorph from Aliens, or any kind of insect or bug-like costume. Remember that Kraliens are bipedal vertebrates under the carapace, however, with two arms and legs. They are usually black or dark in color. They tend to have spikes or spines on the top of the head, along the spine, and on the arms and legs, with more spikes indicating a higher ranking. The highest ranked Kraliens are Priests, with religious duties as well as command authority. Kraliens tend to get smarter and more active the more adrenaline is pumping in their systems, so they respond rapidly to danger and get sluggish when calm.

 

Kraliens do not engage in trade or business dealings since their deeply-held religious beliefs teach that all other races are just temporary interlopers. Within their own culture, rank and success in battle are all that is required to get all that you need, so there is no need to bargain or haggle for it. This can make Kraliens seem selfish or pushy, as they tend to just take what they want if they are of high enough rank. Most Kraliens in TSN crews either learn to keep this tendency in check, or defer to crewmates with higher rank.

 

See this post for Kralien costume ideas.

 

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