Category: Tales from Talifar

Humans      

Description:

Humans on Talifar are quite varied  They all descended from a like minded people: future scientists and explorers.  That is a pretty good gene pool to come from.  Since the fiction of Talifar is being created for the entertainment and edification of humans, they will be the main lens through which we will see Talifar.  And all the statistics are based on them.

As humans spread throughout Talifar over the course of thousands of years, the environment and peoples affected them in numerous ways.  Also, through genetic engineering from their history on Earth, there was a fair assortment of ‘specialized’ humans.  Some that were very lithe and small, some large and hairy, but none with pointy ears. There were different races created to thrive in various ecosystems.  Darker, semi-reflective copper skinned people for tropical and equatorial regions.  Furry, chunky people for colder climes.  Very small people for scarce-resource areas.  There is even a race designed for living in water.  Because the settlers did not know what kind of a planet they might find they had a contingent of several different groups.  There are many different cultures and philosophies throughout humankind.

Statistics:

	Male	Female
Height	6’	5’9”
Weight	170 lbs.	130 lbs.
Strength	5	5
Speed	5	5
Intelligence	5	5
Dexterity	5	5
Toughness	5	5
Vision	5(light) 2(dark)	5(light) 2(dark)
Hearing	5	5
Smell	5	5
Taste	5	5
Age	90	95
Reproduction	NA	Up to 1 per year
Population	100 million	100 million
Group Size	20-5,000	20-5,000
Diet	Grains, meat, fruit	Grains, meat, fruit
Regions	All except underwater and the Poles.	All except underwater and the Poles.
Politics	All	All
Religions	Monotheism, Humanism, Atheism, Pantheism	Monotheism, Humanism, Atheism, Pantheism
Special Abilities	Good adapters	Good adapters

Rumsha (AKA Labyrinthine, Mazies)

Physical:

The rumsha are a Nocturnal, subterranean people.  They have a mammalian leg and arm anatomy, and generally walk on all fours.  They have a fat hump that allows them to go for a long time between meals and water.  All rumsha have a spiny, scaly underbelly that lets them climb almost any stone surface with ease, though the Warrior’s weight prevents them from much climbing.

Bound by a strict caste system, they have evolved different body types for each societal role.  There are four castes: Worker, Warrior, Nurse, and Royalty.  Only one in ten rumsha are female, and their caste is that of Nurse.  Workers are approximately human height, but more burly.  Warriors are monstrously large and instinctually fierce when any social protection is triggered.  (Such as mentioning women or children)  Nurses are fairly small with many teats for feeding nurseries.  And Royalty are the size of small adult humans, and generally stand erect.

 

Social:

 

Only the Nurse and Royalty castes are educated.  Workers and Warriors only know enough to do their jobs.  Obviously, there are no nuclear families in rumsha society.  Mating is highly organized and ritualized, serving to perpetuate the caste system.  This makes their society, religion, philosophy, moral code, etc. dramatically different than that of humans.  Many rumsha societies are propelled by the concept of a Cosmic Joker, who has hidden Nirvana somewhere underground.  

It’s not uncommon for other races take advantage of this, by directing rumsha colonies towards valuable deposits.  Then they trade the minerals and gems for paltry returns.  As the rumsha are focusing on the goal of finding paradise, the material they remove on the way is of little interest to them.  

This unique disposition makes them naturally friendly and almost pacifist since they rarely compete for resources and are more than happy to relocate to uncontested territory to further their search.

Rumsha wear little or no clothing with the exception of some leather armor for the Warriors and fancy clothing for the Royalty.  Rumsha Royalty (referred to as Surfacers) are not technically royal, they are simply the interface between rumsha society and the rest of the world, and they try to emulate whatever race they are working with.  This usually includes clothes, jewelry, and walking upright.  They also go to great lengths to minimize their unique rumsha features such as whiskers, climbing barbs, and fat humps.

The Royalty stay up to date and are competent in the latest technology, doing mining, smelting, leather working, etc.

 

History:

 

Rumsha were brought to Talifar on the Shepherd Ark from a system threatened by a supernova.

 

Statistics:

	Worker	Warrior	Nurse	Royalty
Height	6’	9’	4’	5’
Weight	200 lbs.	600 lbs.	100 lbs.	140 lbs.
Strength	8	9	3	3
Speed	5	5	4	4
Intelligence	3	3	5	5
Dexterity	7	6	5	4
Toughness	6	8	5	4
Vision	1(light) 3(dark)	2(light) 4(dark)	2(light) 3(dark)	3(light) 4(dark)
Hearing	4	5	4	4
Smell	9	9	9	8
Taste	7	6	6	5
Age	25	20	30	30
Reproduction	NA	NA	20/year	NA
Population	200 million	100 million	400 thousand	1 million
Group Size	1-5 million	.5 – 2.5 million	2,000 – 10,000	100-500
Diet	Insects, legumes, mold, moss, lichen, mushrooms, occasional meat	Insects, legumes, mold, moss, lichen, mushrooms, occasional meat	Meat, milk, insects, legumes, mold, moss, lichen, mushrooms	Meat, milk, grains
Regions	Subterranean in most zones	Subterranean in most zones	Subterranean in most zones	Subterranean in most zones
Politics	Communism	Communism	Communism	Communism
Religions	Monotheism	Monotheism	Monotheism	Monotheism
Special Abilities	Can climb on most surfaces, long times between meals, lives well in the dark.	Size and strength, long times between meals, lives well in the dark.	Can climb on most surfaces, cares for many young at once, lives well in the dark.	Can climb well, lives well in the dark.

Majismontem

 

Physical Characteristics

Majismontem are the largest sentient land animal on Talifar at around 200’ when standing.  They are Many-limbed mammal-like creatures with long, jointed necks.  They are able to rise up onto their hind legs, but not able to walk that way more than a few steps.  Their tremendous mass and height is made possible by several unique physical characteristics, including a web-like internal organ structure, an amazing waste reclamation system, and a cellular skin system filled with billions of tiny hydrogen-filled bubbles. Their nervous system intelligently shuts down parts of the body that are inactive preserving calories, resulting in a grayish appearance in that area.  Most majismontem spend most of their time at least 80% gray.  This leads to the idea of color being the primary indication of activity in their language and thought.  

They have a bony plate like a stegosaurus on their heads which are always intricately carved by the Spitters (or other willing contributors) and hung with meaningfully decorated quipus that denote personal, familial history, social status, and other biographical details.  

Reproduction is a complex system where a female creates an unfertilized egg that requires three males to fertilize.  The males have niches in their foreheads where they affix the egg for several weeks.  Because this process involves so many individuals, family heritage is incredibly complex, as well as heavily ritualized.

Majismontem have a royal appearance and demeanor. When they are asleep they resemble stone statues due to their desaturation and head carvings.

Social

 

Unlike common fantasy giants, these people are very intelligent.  They are not intolerant of the smaller people, but have strict codes of conduct regarding entanglements with them.  Majismontem see themselves as much more advanced than all other races, and find the thought of intervening in the matters of the small people a grossly inappropriate thing to do.  In fact, if any majismontem does get involved in the affairs of the tiny folk without very specific instruction from the Council, they are usually banished from majismontem society.  They have a story about a past in which they involved themselves in the political landscape and suffered great loss as a result.  They do not have the numbers that the other species have, so a single death has a much larger impact on their culture.

A simple way to think about their rules on this subject is this: only interactions that further the ends of majismontem society are permitted.  If smaller peoples benefit from these interactions, that is none of the majismontem concern.  Trade is forbidden.  But mutual advantage is not.  The arrangements are much like the birds that clean the meat out of alligators teeth.  So while political treaties are never signed, majismontem and other species are often found living in general harmony.  But strict rules are applied to all interactions to ensure that proper protocol is maintained.  If rules are broken, the majismontem may move away from their settlements, or drive off the other societies.    

They have created an immense set of protocols and traditions that must be followed on pain of banishment.  This extends to all levels of their society, from speech, to dress, to family structures.  They take great care of their appearance, with formal dress, jewelry, and hair.

They rarely have outright wars between their own kind.  Generally a cold war full of political intrigue, spying (by proxy), assassination, and the like, is carried out over generations.

Individual conflicts are resolved with duels (always between males with head butting)  that rarely result in death.

 

History

 

Majismontem were the first extraterrestrial species to crash their own ship on Talifar. (As opposed to the AI Ark.) They brought with them the Spitters, who are genetically modified former-parasites-turned-groomers, as well as the Driddyon, giant fungal cave systems and some fauna, all the floating gas-filled species.  During their first several generations on Talifar they farmed the fungus ecosystems they planted/constructed, but over time found other ways of sustaining themselves with local flora and fauna.  Now their fungal caverns are self-sustaining ecosystems.

Statistics:

	Male	Female
Height	200’	190’
Weight	100 tons	90 tons
Strength	10	10
Speed	2	2
Intelligence	7	7
Dexterity	2	2
Toughness	9	9
Vision	5(light) 3(dark)	5(light) 3(dark)
Hearing	4	4
Smell	3	3
Taste	3	3
Age	400	500
Reproduction	NA	Up to 1 per decade
Population	900	1000
Group Size	20-100	20-100
Diet	Plant matter, meat, water	Plant matter, meat, water
Regions	Temperate zones not to far above sea level	Temperate zones not to far above sea level
Politics	Republics, Monarchies	Republics, Monarchies
Religions	Humanism, Atheism, Pantheism	Humanism, Atheism, Pantheism
Special Abilities	Strength and size.	Strength and size.

Garloon      

Physical:

Garloon are like a mix between elves, trolls, and gazelle.  They are large and powerful, with a coat of fine, patterned fur.  Basically humanoid, but with backward-bending legs, a long tail, and graceful antlers.  They are powerful hunters and warriors, and very successful at adapting to a variety of regions.  Able to leap huge distances and wear heavy armor, they are a force to be reckoned with.

 

Social:

 

Garloon don’t mesh well with many other races.  They highly value art and make it a priority in their culture.  This appreciation of aesthetic, along with their size allows them to make some of the most awe-inspiring natural monuments. They seldom build permanent structures, opting instead to modify or rearrange existing nature.  Despite their size, they have long dexterous fingers that allow them to produce very fine weapons, jewelry, and textiles.  Central to every community is a theater where every kind of communication is played out.  Morality tales, educational and religious schooling, historic lessons, political addresses, and entertainment are all formatted to work in the theater.  Each of these is treated differently by the audience, with protocol for how they work.  In larger communities, multiple theaters are built to specialize in different formats.  

Though they are capable of creating large, powerful societies they tend to keep small villages with only a few structures.  Most of them are held back by a strong rejection of written communication.  It is deeply embedded in their culture that writing down thoughts causes stagnation, and that those ideas will rot.  Only the act of a living being communicating through spoken words, pictures, sculpture, music, song, or dance allow the ideas to thrive and grow.  The resulting illiteracy keeps them from fully entering the inter-race world of politics and trade.  Though many make exceptions for them, some agreements just need to be signed.

Another cultural curiosity is their vision quests, which are elaborate and potentially dangerous to outsiders.  All adolescent males go through a period where the state between awake and asleep blurs, emotions are heightened, and they are dangerous to anyone around them.  So this ritual was created as a way to deal with the physiological process. Anyone who makes eye contact with a Garloon on a vision quest causes an irrational rage and is hunted and killed unless they escape.  

 

History:

 

Garloon were brought to Talifar on the A.I. Ark from a system threatened by a supernova.

 

Statistics:

	Male	Female
Height	12’	10’
Weight	450 lbs.	380 lbs.
Strength	7	6
Speed	7	7
Intelligence	5	5
Dexterity	6	7
Toughness	7	6
Vision	7(light) 5(dark)	7(light) 5(dark)
Hearing	6	6
Smell	8	8
Taste	6	6
Age	90	90
Reproduction	NA	Up to1 per year
Population	10 million	10 million
Group Size	50-5,000	50-5,000
Diet	Meat, grains, grasses	Meat, grains, grasses
Regions	All except underwater and the Poles	All except underwater and the Poles
Politics	Monarchies, Theocracies, Communism, Tribalism	Monarchies, Theocracies, Communism, Tribalism
Religions	Monotheism, Pantheism, Shamanism	Monotheism, Pantheism, Shamanism
Special Abilities	Jumping, head-butting, art.	Jumping, head-butting, art.

Krulis

Physical:

Krulis look like six leg/armed polar bear men.  Giant, covered with layers of blubber and a thick fur coat, these people inhabit the polar regions and high elevations of Talifar.  They are surprisingly good swimmers and do most of their hunting underwater.  They use very little metal since it needs to be imported.  But rely mainly on bone for their tools, weapons, and accessories.

Adding to their ferociousness, they have chemical glands in their cheeks in combination with a specialized methane bladder that allow them to blow fire out of their mouths in very controlled puffs.  They use this in combat, for cooking, and sculpting ice.  They build towering palaces from this sculpted ice which they will often color with a rainbow of dyes.  Inside, fur rugs, fireplaces, and furniture create a comfortable environment for them.

They can excrete salt over their claws as a kind of de-icing agent that allows them to climb any ice surface.

 

Social:

 

Krulis are almost universally barbarous.  Often, they will carve forts into icebergs and sail them to warmer climates where they attack and pillage the area, then sail back before their craft melts.  They can stay cool inside the ice until night, when they can stand the warmer climate for short periods of time.

Krulis are very territorial, and generally slaughter anyone they see.  They are constantly at war with each other over prime fishing areas, low wind zones, or any other natural resource.

There is some variety among Krulis.  Those who live on the south pole differ from those on the north.  Additionally, some exist on tundra plains, living in sod and skin structures.  And a few live considerably closer to the poles, on glaciers and mountain tops.  Generally, the further they are from the poles, they become smaller, darker, and less prone to attacking everyone.

 

Because their thumbs are only partially opposable they are not good at crafting anything small or intricate.  But their primary source of pride and honor comes from spectacle, and so besides their massive ice castles, they import, steal or keep slaves who can craft metal ornamentation for them.      

History:

 

The Kruliss were brought to Talifar on an A.I. Ark from a system threatened by a supernova.

Statistics:

	Male	Female
Height	10’	8’
Weight	1,200	1,000 lbs.
Strength	9	9
Speed	4 (decreases with warmth)	4 (decreases with warmth)
Intelligence	4	4
Dexterity	4 (decreases with warmth)	4 (decreases with warmth)
Toughness	8	8
Vision	4(light) 3(dark)	4(light) 3(dark)
Hearing	6	6
Smell	8	8
Taste	7	7
Age	80	85
Reproduction	NA	Up to 5 per decade
Population	500,000	500,000
Group Size	10-100	10-100
Diet	Seals, fish, whales, people	Seals, fish, whales, people
Regions	Poles, tundra, mountain tops	Poles, tundra, mountain tops
Politics	Tribal	Tribal
Religions	Shamanism, Pantheism	Shamanism, Pantheism
Special Abilities	Fire breath, strength, swimming	Fire breath, strength, swimming

Ungol

Physical:

Ungol are anywhere from four to fifteen inches tall.  One of their special characteristics is the ability to rapidly evolve their physiology to a wide variety of environments over a small number of generations.  As a result they have a wide variety of looks.  (Like the monkey family.)  They generally look like a rabbit mixed with a monkey.  Some are hairy, some are hairless.  Some have tails and some don’t.  There are nocturnal ones with large eyes, aquatic ones with webbed feet, and a winged variety.  Some can even inflate specialized sacks with gasses for a variety of purposes.  What they all share in common are long, specialized digits with chemical excretion pores on the ends.  They grab the beast to be manipulated around the nose or mouth with these limbs while riding on the back of its head or neck.  Learning to sooth and manipulate any kind of animal takes practice and learning.  They can’t just jump on any old creature and instantly make it dance.  The secrets they learn concerning the right mixture of chemicals, appropriate doses, timing and sounds are fiercely guarded.  The last thing a village of bear-headers wants is for a competing faction to learn to control bears.

 

Social:

  

Some Ungol operate as free agents within larger societies, without their own politics or social structure.  The majority that do live in Ungol enclaves really hate the sell-outs that they see as sewer rats and slaves for other races.  Ungol have the ability to communicate well with, and influence almost every animal on Talifar.  This makes them an invaluable asset to most civilizations.  The advantages to being able to tame and control, breed, and drive away wild beasts are obvious.  Most beast riders have an Ungol or two as side-kicks.  (Unless they are riding normally docile creatures.)  In return the Ungol are usually happy to have fine foods, alcohol, and good company.  They will rarely stick around if mistreated.

Ungol can be quite dangerous as they can wield the power of many large and scary animals.  In addition to this, they can hold sway over most beings that have an intelligence of 3 or lower.  This includes the young of most sentient beings.  Other races who live near Wild Ungol enclaves try to be respectful.

Those who do live in their own communities tend to build homes in out of the way places; high in trees, underground, and even in river dams.  They build a wide range of structures.  Everything from woven straw nests, to intricate palaces of cut stone and mortar.

 

History:

 

Ungol were brought to Talifar on the A.I. Ark from a system threatened by a supernova 2,400 BH.  

Statistics:

	Male	Female
Height	6”-15”	4”-12”
Weight	1-4 lbs.	1-3 lbs.
Strength	2	1
Speed	6	6
Intelligence	5	5
Dexterity	9	9
Toughness	2	2
Vision	2-7(light) 5-9(dark)	2-7(light) 5-9(dark)
Hearing	8	8
Smell	10	10
Taste	7	7
Age	12	14
Reproduction	NA	Up to12 per year
Population	15 million	15 million
Group Size	10-1,000	10-1,000
Diet	Insects, seeds, legumes, roots	Insects, seeds, legumes, roots
Regions	All except deep ocean	All except deep ocean
Politics	Monarchies, Theocracies, Communism, Tribalism	Monarchies, Theocracies, Communism, Tribalism
Religions	Monotheism, Pantheism, Shamanism	Monotheism, Pantheism, Shamanism
Special Abilities	Manipulating weak minds, super-evolution, climbing, stealth, some can fly, some swim well.	Manipulating weak minds, super-evolution, climbing, stealth, some can fly, some swim well.

The Ancient Ones

Description:

Deep sea giants, the Ancient Ones are unlike any life form on Talifar.  They vary in size, but can be up to a mile in length.  Resembling a gelatinous sea-cucumber, they are able to form psuedopods at any point on their mass.  They have a proportionally tiny torso and head that pokes out of one end.  The torso is about 20 feet long with numerous appendages.  The head is elongated with a small face that is almost all eyes and antenna.  They sustain themselves through dissolving the ocean floor around them.  Their entire body is capable of this chemical action.  Ancient Ones are unisex beings that reproduce through division.  Another torso and head grow on the other end, and the body slowly splits in two.  They have full control over this process and do it very rarely.

They communicate with each other through a variety of methods.  Different moods, inflections, and subject matter have their appropriate method of expression.  Chemical, sound, vibration, sonar, gesture, water current manipulation, electrical pulses, and bioluminescence are all combined to create the most sophisticated and nuanced language imaginable.  It is this method of communication, along with the incredible length of time that allow the Ancient Ones to advance so far.

Besides their size, Ancient One’s other amazing features are their life spans and intelligence.  Their current form is highly augmented technologically to fulfill their function as planet shepherds. Their evolutionary history could have put them in a very different state than their present form. They are cybernetic, but not in the clumsy wires-n-circuit board style that most people associate with the word. They are transhuman, (minus the human part) having taken perfect control of their genes and customizing their bodies and minds for their jobs, fulfilling their culture’s primary values of preserving the maximum variety of life in the universe.  Living for hundreds of thousands of years, they have a unique perspective on life.  Their sense of time is very different than ours, as years seem like days to them.  They pass their time with intellectual pursuits.  They have an advanced understanding of science, religion, philosophy and many other things.  They have a shepherding view of the world above them, seeking out ways to better it for the good of all.  They mostly work indirectly, through a variety of agents.  Occasionally, they will surface, even oozing onto the continents to affect change.  They generally do this through landscaping.  They can dissolve mountains, form organic structures, make trench-like roads, canals, tunnels, or, if it’s drastic enough, eating a city.  They love the taste of the silica rich continent rocks, so they get a trade-off as well.  As individual kingdoms and rulers are so fleeting to them, they take a much higher-level approach to these physical works.  They try to balance the races, protecting some, hindering others.  Not in a mechanical, amoral fashion, but according to their moral precepts.  They pontificate with each other on every proposal for years before taking any kind of action.  Their main enemy is the Swarm.  (Though they do not know what the Swarm is.) The Ancient Ones attempt to thwart all the political machinations that the Swarm is continually pursuing.

History:
The Ancient Ones are the descendants of those who built the Arks.  Every planet that has transplants from an Ark gets a Shepherd who then divides as it sees fit.  So whatever year the first transplant arrived is when the Ancient Ones arrived.  

Statistics:

Height	1,000’
Weight	5 million tons
Strength	10
Speed	1
Intelligence	10
Dexterity	1
Toughness	10
Vision	1 (light) 9 (dark)
Hearing	9
Smell	9
Taste	9
Age	1 million years
Reproduction	Up to 1 per thousand years
Population	40
Group Size	5-15
Diet	Minerals, small sea creature that get too close
Regions	Deep ocean
Politics	Collectivism
Religions	Monotheism\Mysticism
Special Abilities	Can sculpt landscape, and has lots of perspective.