Sometimes known as Tech Scum, these are biomechanical, space faring vagabonds. Though resembling highly cyberized human beings, they are actually the remnants of an ancient culture of space nomads, genetically engineered to survive generations of pre-FTL space flight.

When human contact was re-established, and a bloody conflict followed, the vast majority of 'normal' organic Voidfolk either settled down in Nepleslia or joined sleepy hidden colonies. This left only the truly inhuman, bizarrely adapted, void-proof creatures to haunt old night.

Wandering tradesmen, gas giant miners, religious occultists, warrior monks and degenerate thieves- The modern Voidfolk is highly independent and difficult to kill!

This page was created because the old 'Freespacers' don't really exist as a faction anymore, but strange techno-nomads and Tech Scum are cool character ideas to make! You may find some cross-contamination of history and technology with older articles, but don't worry! This page contains everything you really need to know in a modern (YE 46) sense! Feel free to sling the faction manager Primitive Polygon a private message, if you have any questions or ideas!

Voidfolk can join basically any plot where space weirdos are welcome. They are sometimes members of the The Star Army of Nepleslia, Origin Industries, or Shasta No Sekai, but more often than not are completely Independent.

Ramshackle cyborgs, members of this species are best described as half human beings and half forklift. They can have any colouration of skin, hair or eye color, and any body type. This often goes beyond human standards, due to genetic engineering. Many are also marked with tattoos- Both tribalistic markings, as well as identification codes that let them work alongside junkers more easily.

They are incredibly resistant to radiation and industrial contaminants, but can catch colds and other human viruses rather easily.

Many Voidfolk were created as “Freespacers” onboard gigantic, moon sized craft known as motherships. These original societies were often strict dictatorships based on efficiency and survival at all costs, though they did allow religion and personal expression. Disintegration of this culture followed shortly after they re-established contact with regular human societies in the Kikyo sector, in YE 30.

Opinions on whether this was a good thing or a bad thing are varied. Some die-hards hid in the blue rift and continue the war as insurgents to this day. Most became completely independent, and simply merged into the outskirts and undergrowth of Nepleslian society, finding odd jobs or becoming criminals to survive.

Since the race's great fall, new children and clones have of course been created. Sometimes junker-drones will simply decide they need a humanoid crew member, and create one for themselves.

Regardless of their origins, many are so cyberized they can practically survive without their suits in space. This makes them very socially mobile, and notoriously good at sneaking onto ships undetected! They can appear basically anywhere!

The main calling card of a modern Voidfolk, they often have a myriad of extra robotic limbs and augmentations grafted to them. This can include industrial gripping, drilling or grappling tools, hidden weapons, camera-eyes, mecha tendrils, rebreather-grills… The list is as long and diverse as Voidfolk themselves. Many of them simply have tank tracks or multiple spider-like appendages, having never possessed human legs at all.

Almost all are nuclear powered, with a large RTG cylinder implanted somewhere in their chest- And all have a 'mindware' socket at the back of their neck, originally designed to connect to a vast social hivemind, but now mostly used for hacking and interfacing with machines directly.

Many Voidfolk are simply referred to by their job title, or alternatively, the first two digits of the ten-digit identification number given to them upon creation. As they get on in life, they may also be given an alias by their close friends, or even simply decide to make up one for themselves. This nickname can be a great many things, from a highly technical and obscure pun, to something more traditional and ritualistic.

Using the standard name format, for instance, “Trashhead Treasure 33-7158-9427” could be referred to by her job title (Trashhead), her alias (Treasure), or her serial number (Three Three), entirely at their own discretion.

Either created in a gene-fabricator, or more rarely born naturally, Voidfolk are generally created with a specific purpose in mind. Genetic editing and modern nanotechnology means they are normally created as the equivalent of seven to ten year olds, already implanted with a mindware socket, which gives them all the basic skills they need in life.

As they are not exactly a natural organic race, Voidfolk can be male, female, trans or completely androgynous by design. There are literally no rules.

Highly unprofessional and disorganized, Voidfolk are frequently very independent and self-styled. Some have weird religious connections, whilst others prefer to think like machines, and remove themselves from 'human emotional baggage' as quickly as possible.

Having spent long journeys in isolation, it's not uncommon for them to have terrible social skills, though cunning traveling salesman and gifted public speakers exist too.

Then, of course, there are the Voidfolk who are entirely machines, either created that way, or beings that have transferred over from a previously organic body. These forms tend to follow the same rule of designing for a specific task in mind, and thus can appear deceptively crude compared to the androids of other races, despite being vastly more intelligent internally. Blocky joints, exposed wires, integrated weapons, and heads bearing little but multiple cameras are all things marking a true native Automata. Some may even ignore the humanoid form completely, and take on something more closely resembling a small tank, spider or crab.

Junkers are robot crabs which either accompany Voidfolk or simply operate on their own. They are about as intelligent as a dog, and can be ordered to help out or repair ship systems- But are also quick to attack strangers- and left uncontrolled, they are very much known to tear ships apart in order to find components to replicate themselves with!

Some planets like Freehold are even infested with giant, tank sized junkers armed with a lethal assortment of anti-armour weapons…

Originally known as “Syntelligences”, all Voidfolk may eventually become a digital program when their organic body dies. This was one of the original functions of the mindware, to allow the user to become a program which jumps from computer to computer, mindware jack to mindware jack, brain to brain. However, lacking the infrastructure that once supported such things, such ghosts can inevitably become corrupted, restless or morose…

Now frequently little more than incredibly dangerous, semi-sentient computer viruses, taking one into your system is a really bad idea. Many Voidfolk allow digital ghosts to inhabit their mindware anyway, regardless of risks, seeing them as honored ancestors to be praised and protected- Regardless of the mental damage that comes from allowing an unstable, gibbering intelligence to constantly backseat one's neural cortex.

There is no real limit to what members of this race can be good or bad at, but many are often versed in starship operations simply due to their lifestyle. The mindware also grants them special access to a huge reservoir of knowledge, and the ability to talk to others over great distances or even create virtual experiences. Technology repair and religion are two rather more unique, distinct traits they might take.

It's worth considering what kind of cyborgizations they have, and how many junker-robots they surround themselves with- It's likely they were built that way for a purpose!

Any tools, weapons, clothing, space suits, musical instruments, jewelry, data storage devices, e.t.c. go here. It could be characterful to think about what they do in their spare time.

Having a space suit or perhaps a personal shuttle of some variety is probably a good idea.

• Finances (Or Lack Thereof);

Voidfolk don't start with any money, but you can pick up to 3000 KS worth of stuff in order to represent some cool kit they might have 'borrowed' over the years. It is perfectly acceptable to use restricted technology from other races, so long as it is worth less than this value, and they have lived in that area of the galaxy for a time.

Similar opportunities to nab even more kit will occur during roleplay!

Primitive Polygon originally created this article on 2017/04/16 08:32. The original, pre-wiki update of the information page is still available here; Creating a Freespacer (Old Version). Special thanks goes to Strangelove and MissingNo for coming up with the wonderful and original concept of the Freespacers in the first place. It's been a long time and many additional revisions of this page have been made, taking the species in a rather original direction these days, but ten years of real life evolution is bound to do that. Media as a whole has changed, and thus so has the niche that these guys really occupy… Rest assured, I still truly appreciate the additional contribution of members like Dumont, Cordinarr and Legix.