[New Species] The Deltrokamv

[Primitive Polygon]

====== The Deltrokamv: Children of a sleeping god ======

:!: **Note: This article is currently rejected, waiting for a complete overhall. Obviously, it is not fit for use. Please PM [[user:LavaLung]] with any questions you have.**

===== Introduction =====

Snared in the body of the gas giant 'Deltroka' for longer than man has crept across the stars, the Matriarch is a colossal entity that spends longer on one thought than the entire lifetime of mortal beings. Operating beyond the laws of physics, it is impossible to tell where it came from or how it became trapped here.

Yet, just as we operate at another level to the bacterium within us, the Matriarch has a sentient immune system of 'Antibodies', giant creatures born with the solemn task of both maintaining their parent from the inside and eradicating all threats beyond. Vivid, terrifying and utterly alien, these incorrectly titled 'Deltrokamv' soar about the heavens like angular organic mecha, making up for their complete lack of technology with the intelligent design of their Matriarch overseer.

Reaching out into the stars, they seek out the potential enemies of their sleeping parent and the means of which to finally free her from her vast prison...

===== Biology =====

**Note: Because the Matriarch is consciously designing the Antibodies, the type noted here is only the most common 'soldier' type. It is perfectly possible that other types exist.**

=== Appearance ===

{{lldeltroprofile.jpg|}}

Massive, generally between twenty and thirty foot tall, with a bizarre slightly Insectoid/bird-like physique. A triangular body hosts angular heads on both the top and the bottom, with one vast antenna-horn each. Two remarkably humanoid arms emerge from the sides, spindly and three-fingered, with large blades attached to the forearms. Behind those are another set of arms, appearing like vast angelic wings, alrough these could also be seen as the equivalent of legs since they remain on one side of the Antibody when in atmosphere (so that it can constantly hover a few feet above the ground.) The 'heads' are dominated with lines resembling a knight's helmet , but these sections are actually made up of dozens of thin gill-like mouths.

More abstract still, flat 'eyes pods' crawl around the body with a life of their own, actually tiny separate organisms.

They have a glossy exoskeleton, ranging in colour from silver to dark green. Both the eyes and the wings leave behind a orange (or purple in atmosphere) coloured haze when in use.

=== Maser Eye Pods ===

The tiny eye-like organisms that crawl around on the Antibodies' shell are actually organic magnetic arrays, allowing the Antibody to pick up and manipulate magnetic fields. This is not only how the Deltrokamv see and speak, but they can also be 'overcharged' and fired like microwave laser guns.

Typical Antibodies have about four eye pods, but if the Antibody chooses not to reproduce for long periods, it can have anywhere up to twenty.

=== Wings ===

Alrough the wings do possess feather-like scales, they actually work very differently from bird wings. The feathers 'fold out' to reveal a highly reactive skin layer underneath, which violently repels background radiation to propel the creature along with wicked speed and manoeuvrability. This is the reason that they can 'fly' in space, alrough only at sub-light speeds. Just like catching a good wave in surfing, an antibodies' speed totally depends on how much radiation is available.

=== Inner Biology ===

The Deltrokamv are made from a silicon substance that is more like memory metal than meat- no nerves, muscles or blood at all, just solid pieces. The composition of the metal is not particularly stronger than cast iron, but the fact that it all works at sub-zero space temperatures is a testament to the effectiveness of the design.

Hydrogen is the only thing that a Deltrokamv needs to survive, which it converts into metallic hydrogen to power it's movement, personal magnetic field, and natural laser weapons.

=== Reproduction ===

Deltrokamv are asexual and reproduce via mitosis. Alrough the simple design allows it to 'split' in just under three weeks, finding a comfortable environment outside the Matriarch is often difficult, and the Deltrokamv is totally vulnerable whilst undergoing such a transition. Both the resulting Deltrokamv have the memories of the predecessor, but those experiences only remain in the 'back catalogue' for one generation until the offspring decide to reproduce again.

The eye pods undergo mitosis by themselves aswell, but are generally split between the main bodies during overall mitosis, which is why Deltrokamv that choose not to reproduce have more of them.

===== Psychology =====

=== Overveiw ===

Not as animalistic as they look, the Deltrokamv are if anything, child like. They have a total dependency on their parent being, keep grudges for a very long time and are generally easily distracted.

It's in their nature to be violent, but the personality types are as diverse as in humans... which is also why the Deltrokamv are capable of starting wars without any indication from their parent being. It's totally possible for a Deltrokamv to posses a sense of mercy towards other species, but asking a Deltrokamv to betray their Matriarch is akin to asking a human to kill their own mother.

Note that despite being part of a greater organism, they have do not have any form of hive mind.

=== Language ===

Deltrokamv 'talk' by altering their personal magnetic field, making their language very complex, vector and frequency-based. The only way for a humanoid to hear them is to use a short-wave radio, in which case they sound like chaotic trance music.

===== Appendix =====

==== Notable Characters ====

None as of yet.

==== Deltrokamv Creation Tips and FAQ ====

[[Deltrokamv:CCG]]

There are still a few things missing on this, like a full-colour splash image that I am working on, and exact comparisons to enemy mecha, but I think this is more or less the final product.

However, I purposely made them as alien as possible, so I could really do with some imput on what lengths I would need to go to for them to be acceptable.

Also, for clearification, they are currently not cabible of trans-system travel. I hope to arrange a plot with someone during the 'marketing phase' that involves a FTL-cabible ship attempting to mine the gas giant of Helium-3.

 

[Doshii Jun]

https://wiki.stararmy.com/doku.php?id=ra ... sion_rules

 

[Primitive Polygon]

...Thanks, but I have already read that document.

Well, if clarification is clarification, then-

Guidelines

OOC
You should have some experience on the board.
The staff is only willing to accept submissions for major setting additions if you have been on SARP for at least a month or two, and shown you are consistently active as well as a competent roleplayer.

I've been here a month, and my lop-sided interest this place is what drove me to create the race in the first place- if the Nerkat would have actually started, I wouldn't have had the time...

You should have at least one other person with the time and inclination to Co-GM with you.
In the event you have to take a hiatus and you have no GMs to take over for you it's very likely your player base may fall apart in your absence. Always have a backup GM.

Admittedly, I do not have a second GM. But until I have a player base at all, I don't see why this is a problem, and I'm perfectly aware that a race of this type will probably only get two-three players at best. I will of course attempt to recruit a second GM before I even think of starting a plot arc, anyway.

You must create a race-specific CCG
This is to help potential players understand and play your race in the future. See the CCG section for an example.

Seems kinda trivial creating a race CCG when the race isn't set in stone yet.

You should have at least one player-character for every additional planet your faction owns.
Sorry, no major empires run by one or two players.

I could have sixty billion players- the Deltrokamv just don't hold any extra territory other than their gas giant.

IC
These aren't exactly rules but will still play a pivotal role in whether the staff accept your submission or not.

The tech level should be at basic spaceflight or lower.
Starting at a lower technology level is okay. If you start as an advanced species it may make it harder to explain the lack of encounters with your race so far in the IC timeline, as well as make the staff wary of potential power gaming.

Okay, I may be bending things a little here because the Matriarch is technically from a culture that DID have FTL travel, but since she is a big unarmed blob, trapped inside a gas giant, and the only vessel of the species, this shouldn't be much of a problem. The playable section that will actually be moving and fighting during the RP -the antibodies- are at a basic spaceflight level.

A civilisation should start with average resources.
We frown on so many species starting with heavily industrialised nations on very resource rich homeworlds, or those that have some miraculous new wonder fuel/substance totally unique to them that exponentially increases their power.

The Deltrokamv only need Hydrogen, which can be found anywhere in the universe.

Avoid being pseudohuman.
That means you shouldn't call yourselves a separate race if you're really just humans with special powers, minor cosmetic changes, or an extra organ or two. Staff usually really dislike this, though there is a small possibly to convince staff to forgo this if your species submission is unique and well-written enough. Still, be forewarned that this alone may be grounds for the denial of a submission; the setting already has more than enough pseudohuman species.

I'm most definitely not guilty of this.

Telepathy should be avoided.
In the past so many species were submitted with telepathy that it became very, very cliche in SARP. In addition, there is also the potential powergaming/metagaming in regards to potential players of telepathic races which have caused trouble in SARP's past. For this reason it is strongly recommended you avoid any sort of extrasensory perceptions along the lines of mind-reading.

Not guilty of this either- even forsaken the hive mind thing because it was too cliché.

Cliches to Avoid
These are less important than the above. Breaking the one or two is pretty common for most approved races, but breaking several at once may mean your race is quite cliche.

Avoid physiologically unbalanced species.
THIS IS A BIG ONE. This means avoid making your species stronger, faster, smarter, and longer-lived than humans with bonus powers to boot (such as telepathy, heightened senses, etc), while at the same time having absolutely no weaknesses, or negligible weaknesses that don't really bother them too much. Emphasis on the “negligible weakness” part; trying to pass of a weakness as being vulnerable to bullets, poison, or gamma radiation just won't cut it. Also consider that making the race too powerful may lead to potential power gaming issues on behalf of future players, so keep any racial abilities at a reasonable level.

Alright, the species main ploy is that they are all way stronger than conventional beings. A complete lack of ships, and thus anti-ship weapons, however, means that they are actually at quite a big disadvantage despite this. Even the strongest single examples of the entire race are only about as powerful as a Mindy power armour, with the rest being at about six to one Mindy. No nuclear weapons, no antimatter, no cruise missiles, no energy shields... if they can kill anything, it's with strength of numbers, and seeing as how even the Lorath have more numbers than the Deltrokamv, I'm not powerplaying here. Not to mention that if anyone decides to kill the Matriarch, it's game over.

Avoid the big bad mysterious foe cliche.
The mysterious evil alien attackers and/or overlords and/or monsters has been done to death. Having an antagonist species rule over yours is fine, but make sure you give it depth to avoid the aforementioned cliche.

Mysterious and alien, yes, but not evil. There isn't anything in the Deltrokamv write-up that suggests that they kill just for fun. They are purposely very inclined to attack other species, perhaps, but seeing as every new species I've seen since I've been here has been ridiculously nice, I think that it is totally warranted.

Avoid the "we're perfect" cliche.
Try not to make your race one that has a perfect corruption free government, and whose entire citizenship is always extremely virtuous to the point of dying for righteousness, and so on. Just about every race should have its flaws, scumbags, criminals, and dissidents. If your race doesn't have these types, make sure you also consider the negative impacts.

With no government it is possible for a Deltrokamv to rebel (particularly after alien exposure), but I figured It would be best to let the players do this.

Avoid the "we're totally badass" cliche.
What is meant by this is having your race possess a unique martial art, swordfighting technique, or mastery over Ki that allows a single person to decimate an entire squad of infantry. Having unique fighting arts is fine; just be sure to keep the power levels reasonable given their technology level. Also keep in mind your race's society; a pacifistic free society shouldn't have very many citizens well-versed in the art of fighting.

Considering that the Deltrokamv are made from something comparable to cast iron, I would say an unarmed Neko would have a pretty good chance of fighting one. Unarmoured Neplesians perhaps would have a lot of trouble, but you could technically kill an Antibody with even modern firearms, so the point in comparing them that closely is moot.

Avoid the "monopoly material" cliche.
Try to avoid having any materials totally unique to this race or planet that totally compensates for their lack of technology. This is essentially attempting to exploit or avoid the technology limitations of starting races, and is generally frowned upon. It's also considered quite cliche to have a special resource that naturally occurs on your planet, but nowhere else in the entire galaxy.

No special resources, even if the Matriarch does bridge the gap slightly in concerns of the tech level. I'd hardly call it totally compensating, through, they do not possess the ability to create a new Matriarch, or even directly communicate with it, so they are more or less permanently stuck at the tech level they are at now.

Examples of what to avoid: Ancient alien artefacts that give you a totally unique and copyrighted weapon that no one else has. A natural super-potent power source that allows your predominantly low-tech race to match the weapons technology of interstellar empires. An ore unique to your planet that allows knights with plate armor to withstand laser fire.

The Matriarch is not an 'alien artefact', as she is consciously going about her own decisions regardless of what the antibodies are up to. They can't just say "Please give us some better guns!", that would be like having a conversation with your liver.

 

[Doshii Jun]

I've been here a month, and my lop-sided interest this place is what drove me to create the race in the first place- if the Nerkat would have actually started, I wouldn't have had the time...

This isn't an excuse. Your interest is great, to be sure! But still, not an excuse.

Admittedly, I do not have a second GM. But until I have a player base at all, I don't see why this is a problem, and I'm perfectly aware that a race of this type will probably only get two-three players at best. I will of course attempt to recruit a second GM before I even think of starting a plot arc, anyway.

I'll explain this at the bottom.

Seems kinda trivial creating a race CCG when the race isn't set in stone yet.

This too.

Okay, I may be bending things a little here because the Matriarch is technically from a culture that DID have FTL travel, but since she is a big unarmed blob, trapped inside a gas giant, and the only vessel of the species, this shouldn't be much of a problem. The playable section that will actually be moving and fighting during the RP -the antibodies- are at a basic spaceflight level.

Alright, the species main ploy is that they are all way stronger than conventional beings. A complete lack of ships, and thus anti-ship weapons, however, means that they are actually at quite a big disadvantage despite this. Even the strongest single examples of the entire race are only about as powerful as a Mindy power armour, with the rest being at about six to one Mindy. No nuclear weapons, no antimatter, no cruise missiles, no energy shields... if they can kill anything, it's with strength of numbers, and seeing as how even the Lorath have more numbers than the Deltrokamv, I'm not powerplaying here. Not to mention that if anyone decides to kill the Matriarch, it's game over.

But the seeds are there to powerplay. A species that is made more or less of silicone, not cast iron, that supposedly is as powerful as a Mindy, could crush regular soldiers easily, and with no indication of how strong it is or what weapons it has. We need to know that stuff.

You say it's technically possible to kill an Antibody easily, but we don't know how. And we don't know how you'd kill the Matriarch.

The bottom line: The reason the staff have those rules that seem to really hinder people creating new races is ... they want to hinder you. A lot.

Nearly every experience we've had with new races has led to the GM abandoning them and doing something else when no one expressed interest or they got bored. The staff purposely WANT to put the cart before the horse here, and force you to have a dedicated back-up GM and a couple players before you start, not to mention the CCG.

If you're really dedicated, and you really want this, you'll do those things. You've got two more months to gather the GM and the players, so the time's there. But yeah, the rules suck for a good reason — the race needs to be viable, and it needs to succeed.

 

[Abwehran Commander]

I can't see this as a player race really, not with the information I've read. It reads more like this is to be a NPC race more than a PC race.

 

[Andrew]

I can't see this as a player race really, not with the information I've read. It reads more like this is to be a NPC race more than a PC race.

I agree with Matt. I see this more as something to "run into" vs. play a character in.

 

[Primitive Polygon]

Okay, well thanks for replying- I'm aware that post was silly-long.

I'm also aware how maverick this race is compared to the others, but that was more or less the point. Examining the other new player races, the blairing obvious reason that nobdy joins them is they are... well, boring. They are all demihumans and with more or less the type of technoligy, with a slight nice side to their culture so that Wes doesn't just annihilate them immediately with the Yamatai.

You can't have a sea of stars without a few sharks.

Would it get the Deltrokamv anywhere if I wrote up the Antibody type with power armour rules, and then wrote a comprehensive article on the Matriarch, including it's exact strengths and weaknesses?

 

[Wes]

including it's exact strengths and weaknesses

I won't approve your writeup if you can't properly use "its" in it. "It's" means "It is."

GRAMMAR CHALLENGE!!

 

[Doshii Jun]

My opinion is no.

It's not a player race. It's an NPC race. Why do demi-humans, semi-humans, or any other kinds of humanistic race crop up? Because otherwise they're hard to play. We're humans; it helps to have some kind of connecting factor.

I would pitch this to Andrew or Wes and ask them if they want it as their new "enemy" for the Yamatai Star Empire. If they don't want it, you can stop and refocus your efforts on something else. If they do, you have two months to tweak it into shape.

It's a cool design. But "maverick" isn't accurate. It's different and it's also oblique; people can't play this race the way it is.

 

[Primitive Polygon]

I stressed a lot on their appearance to make them look really human and alien at the same time, so trust me, I was thinking about 'the connection factor'. I guess I just misjudged the climate. Thought people agreed with the avoid being pseudohuman as much as I did (A few Zerg, Tyranid or Diebuster space monster fans would have been nice...)

Well, whatever. I'll use the stock art somewhere else. Perhaps I'll come up with something with a daft excuse to look more human, perhaps not. I'll decide later.

You can delete this thread.