Zakalwe
Inactive Member
Yangfan:
It has come to my attention that my Phodian race isn't as detailed as I would like it to be. Even though they're a NPC species, more details will allow me to RP them better, and RP more of them in the future.
However, I'm not sure what areas are lacking. The fastest way to flesh out the details would be for everyone to ask questions about the Phodians. I will answer them the best I can, and take suggestions on areas where I haven't thought things through. In the end, I will have a written record and ample material to transfer to the wiki page.
To get things started in true in-character cluster flux fashtion, allow me to introduce a Phodian NPC:
A brown Phod in red pants walks up.
Hello sir.
The Phod speaks in gibberish.
Oh yeah. About half of the Phodian population doesn't speak a lick of English. Let's try another one. Thank you for your time, sir.
The brown Phod bows and walks away. A gray Phod in blue pants walks up. He's sporting a mohawk.
Hey dude.
"h1 dud3z w4ssup l0l."
The rest speaks some English. Although I use the term "English" loosely... Hey, at least they're better at it than the Mishhu.
Doshii Jun:
Yukari raises her hand from the theater-style gallery and stands to ask a question.
"How is Phodian society organized?"
Luca:
A young man with sideburns raises his hand.
"Just tell me quickly, what does a Phod look like, and how'd you come into being anyway?"
He put his hand back down and waited for an answer.
Yangfan:
Let's tackle the questions:
"How is Phodian society organized?"
The gray Phod ponders the question. We don't want to judge anyone by their hair-style, but social studies probably isn't his strong suit.
"y0 check 1t. noth1ng comes betw33n me and my f4mily."
Err, allow me to translate: The basic unit in Phodian society is a family, very much like humans. However, a Phodian couple will usually raise a few more children than human couples do. This, combined with their shorter life-span, makes the Phodian population growth rate higher than those of human populated planets.
Why is Ohara not overpopulated? Their scientists tell me that they weren't always the dominant species on Ohara. Predator species probably hunted them to near extinction before they discovered things like fire and metal-smithing that slowly turned the tide.
"7he eveRspRing p33ps Raise th3iR k1ds in gRoups th0"
However, the priests of the Order, a religion based around the first human visitors to Ohara 150 years ago, are different. They raise their children, and orphans that they adopt, in communal creches. Children who grow up in these creches usually become priests and paladins, although they're free to choose other paths in life.
"What does a Phod look like, and how'd you come into being anyway?"
The gray Phod shrugs.
Let me get this one. The Phods look like a mixture of a pig and a bird. It has the head of a pig, and its body most resembles that of an owl, in that it's feathery, short, and stocky. They have strong chest muscles, although they're not strong enough to allow the Phods to fly, or even glide. They have "fingers" on their wings that are as flexible as human fingers, although the physiological mechanisms are very different.
They usually come in colors of brown, gray, black, white, pale pink, or some mixture of those. They wear shorts and armbands with their national colors, and adorn themselves with jewelry to display their social status.
As for origins, the Phods don't know any better than we do about ours. However, they know for sure where their homeworld is, which should be enough to make the humans in the SARP setting jealous.
Michael Brazzile:
Do they have a military? If so whats it like? How big is it? Etc?
Yangfan:
Well, according to the wiki page on Phods, "the Lage Republic and the Haton Federation each maintain several dozen divisions, consisting of infantry, tanks, fighter jets, and naval warships. In addition, several hundred long-distance nuclear missiles are pointed at the planet’s various military bases and major population centers."
The Phods are peaceful creatures by nature. There have been only a few major wars in their entire history, so their military technology has not developed as quickly as ours. The Phods have a general tech level comparable with that of 1960s Earth. However, their ground and naval military tech is much closer to what we had during WWI, while their aerial military tech is around what we had during the 1950s. Most military efforts in recent decades went to developing the atomic bombs.
And I doubt that they'd have gotten even this far, if the original Nepleslian visitors to Ohara did not leave behind blueprints for all of their military technology.
That leaves the city state of Everspring, and I'll let Head Priestess Mina handle that. I'm sorry, but there is only so much leet-speak that a man can take.
The gray Phod with the mohawk nods and exits. Mina Ottoson, a Phod resplendent in her green gown and gold jewelry, walks up.
"Everspring maintains no official army, but our paladins serve both as a police force and a self-defense force. We do, however, maintain a small naval force and an air force, which we direct against the pirates that operate in our trade routes and fishing waters. Everspring is neutral in the current state of cold war between Lage and Haton. However, we are hopeful that the recent fulfillment of the Goddess's prophecy will reduce hostilities between the two superpowers. Surely their conflict must seem petty to them now that they realize far greater conflicts rage outside of their planet."
And what is Freya's prophecy, Mina?
"That someday her kind will return to Ohara. ... The Goddess Freya and her crew transformed our society. They gave to us terrible weapons, but also the concepts of freedom, democracy, meritocracy, the rule of law, honor... the list goes on. Then they passed away into the next world... We have high expectations now that her kin has returned."
Thank you, Mina.
Doshii Jun:
Yukari nods, then stands again to ask another question.
"What do Phods eat?" She glances briefly at a volumetric window. "It says here eating is very important to them. Do they like fish? And milk? At the same time, perhaps?"
Fian:
A soldier of the SAoN with narrow eyes and messy black hair raised a hand right after Yukari was done.
"What are their leisure activities? Are their arts and games similar to ours?"
Wes:
"Do Phods find Nekovalkyrja attractive?" a catgirl asked.
Yangfan:
Ah, my audience grows.
I believe I'll let Mina handle one question and leave the rest for tomorrow.
"It says here eating is very important to them. Do they like fish? And milk? At the same time, perhaps?"
No, my dear Yukari, you're thinking of Nekos.
*ba da bump*
Seriously though, here's Mina's response:
"Most foodstuffs in a Phod's diet are native to Ohara. Our fruits, vegetables, and grains would look very alien to a human. However, like the foodstuffs that humans consume, the foods that Phods eat come from vegetation that are still oxygen-breathing, carbon-based lifeforms. So Phodian foodstuffs are different from human food only in form, not function.
"The vast majority of Phodian fruits and vegetables can be safely consumed by humans. A few do produce toxic compounds when digested by the human digestive system, however, so Nepleslians are advised avoid consuming Phodian food for the time being. Further laboratory testing will allow us to have enough information to produce "human-safe" dishes in the future.
"Due to their anti-toxin immune systems, Yamatains and Nekovalkyrja can consume Phodian food with little to no side effects.
"Of course, Freya and her crew brought to us some seed samples from their world. A few of the hardier plants have taken root in Ohara. Of them, corn, barley, and cotton are abundantly planted and harvested here. Corn can be ground into powder to make a variety of foods. Barley is a good source of starch, and also good for brewing drinks. Cotton is our main source of cloth.
"You will note that I have not mentioned any meat or diary products. That is because they're not a regular part of our diet. While we're omnivores, we have never domesticated any other species, like the humans did. And until the age of gunpowder, we were poor hunters as well. A Phod would not go out to hunt for food unless his crops are ruined, which happens very rarely. The climate of Ohara has been kind to us for centuries, and we're skilled farmers.
"Nevertheless, we Phods are far more adventurous when it comes to food, now that trade lanes have been established between Yamatai and Ohara, we look forward to incorporating human foods, such as meat and diary products, into our dishes. The results should be quite interesting."
You know, Mina, Phods remind me of owls, and owls are quite adept hunters.
Mina shakes her head. "No. We cannot fly like the birds on your worlds. We're a ... " - she pauses to find the right word - "prey, yes, prey species." She looks slightly uncomfortable.
Perhaps we will speak of this at another time, Mina. Thank you.
"Yes, another time."
Yangfan:
"What are their leisure activities? Are their arts and games similar to ours?"
“Our evolution has not kept pace with our changing climate. The typical Phod has an insulating layer of feathers such that it can be dangerous to even wander around outside during daylight. We built most of our cities on the coasts, and this alleviated the problem somewhat, but about half of our world population still live in rural areas.
“Thus, Phods mostly enjoy calm, sedate activities that can be enjoyed indoors. We have a rich tradition of card games and board games. Some of these games were passed on to us by Freya and her crew. As for the rest, we either invented them ourselves or derived them from those the humans had given us.
“We also enjoy cooking, of course, although any heating of foods usually take place after sunset and the temperature has cooled down. During the day, we would pass the time by drying fruits and preserving vegetables in salt and spices. Due to the heat, our food spoil very quickly unless refrigerated or preserved.
“We also enjoy spending time near the beaches, since the weather is usually cooler near the seas. However, we’re very poor swimmers and generally avoid the water.”
"Do Phods find Nekovalkyrja attractive?"
Mina shook her head. “I’m sorry, but we don’t find you physically attractive at all. Even humans still look weird to us after all these decades, after all the gifts they had given to us.
“Humans have claws on their fingers and toes. Humans have sharp teeth rather than tusks, and even their females have sharp teeth. Human eyes are both pointing straight forward. Basically, humans remind us of the reptilian predators that hunted our ancestors. And a Nekovalkyrja is really just a human with even more sharp corners. No offense, but you scare us… just a little bit, even though we know that you’re friendly.
“However, if it’s any consolation, I guess you could say that we find your kind emotionally attractive. We are inspired by the sheer willpower exhibited by humans, and the natural optimism of the Nekovalkyrja is very infectious. And the Yamataian government has done so much for us while asking for so little in return… I believe you will find that Yamataians and Nekos are quite popular on Ohara.”
Any more questions?
Doshii Jun:
Yukari, seemingly inspired by the kind Phodian, stood again. "What is Ohara's main city like? And can I visit? With Freeman-Heisho And do you sail?" She sounded horribly excited.
Luca:
The man with sideburns looked to the enthusiastic woman, "Oh, yeah! I wanna stop by there some time and see the atmosphere! What are the drinks like?"
Fian:
Fian thought that the typical Neko had curvier lines than of his own womenfolk. But at least now he knows that the Phods wont try anything on Elsa if she was there. Now, about that and the two other questions raised earlier...
"So, how is the security for foreigners there? Do I have to bring a gun or something?"
Yangfan:
“What is Ohara's main city like?”
“Actually, Ohara has three major cities, although Lagepax is easily the largest in terms of area covered and population.
“Lagepax is the capitol of the Lage Republic. It is the seat of power of the Boop and the Grand Assembly. It was once the capitol of the dominant kingdom on Ohara. The city is noted for its ancient architecture in the downtown district, with many of the historical buildings being hundreds of years old. The ancient king who drew up the original city plans believed in the power of circles. The streets consists of concentric circles and straight lines radiating outward from the center. The ancient palace that once sat in the center of the city has been converted into the building where the Grand Assembly meets.
“Baytown, despite its name, is the second largest city on Ohara and the capitol of the Haton Federation. It is the location of the Grand Congress. The vast majority of Ohara’s independent corporations were incorporated in and are headquartered in Baytown, due to the city’s lax tax laws. Giant advertising billboards line the sides of apartment buildings. The downtown area boasts stately, straight tree-lined avenues and towering office buildings, although city planning sort of breaks down further away from downtown. The old city district hosts of the oldest Freyan church on the mainland.
“Everspring is actually the fifth largest city on Ohara in terms of population. However, it is the cultural heart of Ohara, for Everspring is the base of the Order of Freya. The city sits upon a large island. The entire island was once a pirate haven, until Freya and her followers came and eradicated the pirates, so that Freya may have a place to preach to her followers without fear of persecution, and free of the danger of being drafted as an advisor to one of the warlords. As for what the city looks like, you should ask Taisho Chen. He has been there and could probably describe it better than myself, having seen it through human eyes.”
I’ll have Mina tackle the rest of the questions later.
Yangfan:
“Can I visit?”
“Most of the planet surface is barred from non-natives. This is for your own protection, as the local governments do not know how the populace will react. You will most likely get mobbed by crowds of curious Phods, and the local governments cannot guarantee your safety.
“The free city state of Everspring is open to Star Army of Yamatai personnel, whether they’re on official business or on leave. Yamataian civilians are not allowed even in Everspring, however. The city is a place of learning and healing, not a tourist trap.
“We do trade extensively with Yamatai, but the trade goods are shipped planet-side by Phodian personnel.”
“Do you sail?”
“Like I said, we’re poor swimmers, and generally avoid open waters. Necessity, however, dictates that trade between the cities must carry on, and thus we do conduct commerce on the seas. This situation attracts morally-challenged opportunists: Piracy is still a problem on Ohara. Phods, both merchants and pirates, sail for business, not pleasure.
“However, we do realize that a dip is the water is a fast way of cooling off. The more wealthy Phods have small swimming pools. The rest of us use baths and showers to cool off in the evenings. That’s about it.”
Yangfan:
“What are the drinks like?”
“Alcohol is most used as a source of safe drinking water during long journeys. We know how to ferment fruit juices and grains into mead, ale, rum, or wine. These liquids can be easily transported via barrels on long journeys, and can even be taken aboard ships. They’re then drank straight out of the barrel on sea voyages. During journeys over land, they’re usually mixed with water found locally so that they last longer. I believe you Freya-kin call the mixture grog.
“While we Phods are very fond of food, we are not big fans of alcohol. Our physiologies react differently, and the drinks mostly just make us sleepy. Being sleepy is rather desirable on a boring sea voyage, but it’s usually a bad idea to sleep the days away when there are crops to be planted and harvested.”
"So, how is the security for foreigners there? Do I have to bring a gun or something?"
“Since no non-native technology is allowed on the planet surface, Star Army of Yamatai personnel are forbidden to bring firearms to Ohara. We realize that your side-arms are part of the uniform, and will loan Phodian pistols to you once you arrive. Please don’t take them with you when you leave, as the pistols are from the Everspring armory and you would be depriving our paladins (who are our police force) of valuable equipment.
“The city of Everspring itself is a very safe to be, with one of the lowest urban crime rates on Ohara. Our priests, paladins, and acolytes are trained to be comfortable around humans, or at least act in a decorous manner. The local police will keep nosy Phodian tourists and pilgrims off your back.
“And as I had mentioned earlier, even Star Army of Yamatai personnel are not allowed outside of Everspring, for your own protection. Requests for exceptions in special cases should be directed to the Ohara Coalition Government.”
