Complete Xeno (3.5e Sourcebook)/Gokiburi

= The Dutiful Hive =

Gokiburi are born to serve their colony. From simple nymph to grand elder, they live in a world where the greatest honor is ensuring the stability and peace of their next generation. Whether this is a result of social upbringing, insectoid behavior, or pheromonal mind control, none can quite say. What is certain is that a group of gokiburi is exponentially more dangerous and determined than one alone.

The gokiburi are said to have evolved from a race of desert insects called blattodea, or at least have a common ancestor with them. Quickly mobilizing their presence upon the land, they avoided infighting due to constant battles with the ocean-dwelling sister race of brachyurans, a battle which established their dominance as the primary race of planet Gokia. Working together, the society, the colony, the nation, and other secular groupings took charge over religious bearings, the zealous patriot taking the place of paladins in other lands. For better or worse, it has made them into an effective cosmic power, but one which can also be out of touch and sometimes without mercy. Traveling the stars for the sake of exploration, trade, and expansion, gokeburi could easily become either friends or foes.

External Anatomy
Gokiburi are certainly alien in form, sharing more traits with insects than man. Quadrupedal, with an additional set of limbs which functions as both hands or legs, they are extraordinarily stable. Their bodies are compact and round, with slender and sensitive antennae curving off of their backs, and a long trunk which ends in a three-parted mouth and a single short eyestalk. Their chitinous bodies are coated in a thin rubbery layer of skin which usually comes in various earth-tones, and limbs possess four joints, each tipped in three-digit fingers and toes.

Gokiburi vision is relatively poor compared to other races, only having one eye. However, the single eye's pupil is split into three slits which can expand and contract independently. Gokiburi vision is said to be "strange", and they view blue colors with more vibrancy than the average human, their sight extending into the low-ultraviolet range. The eyestalk has a direct connection into what constitutes the base of the brain stem, allowing its vision receptors to be so relatively distant from the location of its brain.

The gokiburi mouth performs the same function as a human mouth would, possessing teeth in a ring around its throat like a lamprey, with three large and pointed teeth at each of the bases of the jaw for grabbing and pulling in meat. Gokiburi are omnivorous and have a heavy diet of meats and fleshy flora, such as fruit. A great deal of digestion actually occurs within the length of the throat, where grinding nubs pummel any solid objects into mash as it travels to the stomach. Within the mouth itself, around the corners where one jaw meets another, slits within the fleshy lining open and close, acting as nostrils as well as the location of its scent and taste receptors, simultaneously acting as both tongue and nose. Gokiburi lack an actual tongue, but the slits, as well as the various muscle contractions within the throat and the clicking of teeth and bone, allow the gokiburi to speak in a hissing and chittering manner.

Gokiburi antennae are the most sensitive part on a gokiburi body, and function as the creature's ears. Able to direct small vibration, in older times they aided the survivability of the race by warning them of danger. Later, it allowed them to become vicious night hunters, where they could "see" through sound when others could not. Because of their sensitivity, a gokiburi who feels they are in danger seems skittish. They have a direct connection to the gokiburi brain, and subsequently the legs, to start into immediate action. Unlike the rest of their body, the antenna are the only part of the body a gokiburi is capable of regenerating naturally. Of course losing an antenna is certainly traumatic enough, removing half of their audio sensitivity.

The body of the gokiburi houses many organs, but besides hosting the base of the antenna, legs, arms, and trunk, it is rather bare of features. A gokiburi's reproductive organs in both genders are covered by a flap of skin which protects them, situated on the lower-backside of their forms, the pocket facing backward in females and forward in males. In males the flap merely is a covering for the male organ until use (male testes are internal), but in females the flap serves as a womb. In the event of pregnancy, the skin flap soon seals over, becoming half of the leathery egg case for newborn nymphs. A female gokiburi carries around the ever-enlarging egg case for 4 months until it finally drops off and continues to grow on its own for another 4 months. Pregnancy ends within 8 months resulting in a clutch from one to three gokiburi nymphs. The skin flap regrows shortly after laying the egg.

Internal Anatomy
Internally gokeburi are extremely strange, even less human than before. The various limbs and trunk are relatively simple in comparison to the body, which hosts the majority of the gokiburi vital organs. The gokiburi have exoskeletons, with exception what may be called a "skull and spine", the skull forming a layer of hard bone around their main body, and their spine extending from the body down to the end of the trunk and mouth.

The gokiburi brain is a dome found on the top of their bodies, with wings which extend down into the antenna on the sides, and a brain stem which travels along the spine to the eyestalk at the tip of the trunk. The brain stem is biologically optimized for high speed communication between the two ends, having no additional limbs far from the brain to worry about. A strange organ called a kryptokardiac node is situated within the brain, at the front-top just before where the trunk meets. Small and curiously bright blue, the nature of the organ is yet unknown but may somehow be connected to psionics, as the psionically gifted among them have unusually vibrant or large organs.

Below the brain, within a three lobed ring at the connection of body and trunk are the lungs, matching the nostrils within the end of the mouth. The esophagus runs directly through the center of the three lobes to the stomach within the lower-center area. From stomach, food spirals down in a complex coil into small and large intestines, exiting the anus situated at the lower back of the creature just above the reproductive flap. Gokiburi waste only comes in one form, a semi-solid slurry of waste liquid and undigested material.

Just above the stomach, and below the brain lies the gokiburi heart, a three-lobed ring shaped organ which pumps blood to the rest of the body. Gokiburi blood is red, possessing many of the same compounds as humans do. Additional organs such as livers, kidneys, and various glands litter the back end and spaces between other organs, all held in place by a web of cartilage to separate them.

Gokiburi Life
Gokiburi are born from pillow-sized and shaped leathery egg sacs in groups of one or two at a time, chewing through the nutrient-rich skin until it bursts out and clambers into the world, its soft and pale-white exoskeleton hardening and turning dark after a few hours in the sun. Gokiburi young, called nymphs, remain fairly pale and grow gradually darker and darker until they are nearly black by the time they reach maturity at age 8. Nymph skin is thin, allowing the exoskeleton to peel off with the exoskeleton remains as it grows. When an adult, the exoskeleton grows so slowly that any sloughing of skin is done at a microscopic and gradual rate. By any time between age 11 to 15, they are considered mentally adults as well and are allowed to pass through a ritual, which varies from colony to colony, as a passage into adulthood. While in the past these were usually physical tests, of late mental abilities have been prized just as well.

Gokiburis typically live and serve in their colony for up to 70 to 90 years before retiring. Old gokiburi often become teachers and bastons of wisdom, or take care of the youngest generation growing up. A gokiburi can live up to be 145 years old under good circumstances, though several pass on before that, for the gokiburi are an expanding, and militant, race. Colonization is dangerous, and when war breaks out, gokiburi are relentless, resulting in high casulaties on all sides. Gokiburi, as a rule, are not devoutly religious as the matters of colony and nation often take all of a gokiburi's zeal and effort. However they both recognize gods and do not prevent worshipers from worshiping their collective gods, so long as the interests of the divine leave the colony be.

Gokiburi Diet
Gokiburi are omnivorous, but favor meat and fleshy fruits over vegetables, using the latter for little more than seasoning and side dishes. They are capable of consuming meat raw, but find the flavor of cooked foods intruging. Gokiburis seem to favor sweet, sour, and "meaty" foods. Gokiburis found on Earth-like planets seem to have found a love in lemons, limes, pineapples, oranges, and various melons, as well as red meats and fish products. Gokiburi can endure hardship slightly longer than humans, needing food within 12 days and drink within 6 days before expiring, but they also consume slightly more food than the average human.

Gokiburi Houses
Gokiburi society is ultimately split into castes. While mobility is likely and one is not born ito a caste, their parents often expose them and ultimately end up drawing them into the ranks of their number. To this end, the gokiburi are split up into nine "houses", to denote their position within society. Sometimes a gokiburi may make a career change from one house to another, and they retain the titles bestowed from all houses they have entered. Thus it is an honor to be from more than one house. With the ritual of adulthood ultimately comes the naming of a house for the young gokiburi.

House Baas: The leaders of the gokiburi, they constitute both political leaders and management of a different sort at all levels. If your job is to cordinate the efforts of many, you have position within House Baas.

House Tongere: The thinkers of the gokiburi, they consist of scientists, judges, astronomers, and all jobs secular dealing with the mind and processing of information gained.

House Solidus: The warriors of the gokiburi, they make up the vast majority of military positions, as well as police, and rarely professional sportsmen of more violent nature are considered part of House Solidus.

House Meter: The caretakers of the gokiburi, they extend this rank to both mothers and fathers and to the medical profession. Jobs which consist of the upkeep of young, the health of the old, and the maintainance of society walk under the bannar of House Meter.

House Merx: The merchents of the gokiburi, they keep the economy running and the distribution of goods flowing throughout the colonies they serve. Out of all houses, those of House Marx are the most likely to be friendly with other beings, seeking opporunity.

House Iwar: The enlightened of the gokiburi, the term is broadly applied to thinkers who bring their thoughts to the metaphysical. The religiously devout, the philosophers, and the seekers of spiritual fulfilment are part of House Iwar.

House Crescere: The crafters of the gokiburi, they differ from House Merx in that they create what is to be sold. The house is largest of them all holding farmers, construction workers, mechanics, painters, and more as members.

House Avis: The performers of the gokiburi, they are crafters of a different sort, crafting that which cannot be held or kept. They craft experience, through acting, musical talent, and various enjoyments which take the form of events, rather than objects.

House Alius: The outcast of the gokiburi, the house technically covers the rare niche of one who is among no house at all. More often it covers those who, for some reason or another, cannot or do not contribute to society. Because this is usually associated with criminals and the exiled, House Alius is seen more as an insult than an actual house.

Gokiburi Paragon Prestige Class
SMW::off

Gokiburi Specific Feats
SMW::on

Gokiburi Science & Magic
Gokiburi are always improving their technology, having advanced it rapidly along the last few centuries. In fact, mundane technology dominates over the powers of magic often, an unusual event given the sheer utility of spellcasting. The reasons to why this is are varied and debated often, but it is believed that in early gokian history the weave of magic was somehow more unstable and dangerous for its casters to use safely. Such dangers were negated through careful binding of magic into permenant forms, advancing both the fields of golems and alchemical research vastly. It was the former which brought an age of construction through untiring labor, and the latter which ironically fueled technology's march, for while the wizards of yore were not often found casting a fireball, they were busy producing alchemical explosives, fuel for their machines, and other wonders. Through several battles against their brachyuran opponents who were themselves seeped in magic granted by their dark patrons, it seemed almost natural for the gokiburi to take the other side. By the time fear of non-crafting magic was snuffed and any magical instabilities in the world itself gone and vanished, the gokiburi already had a substaintal amount of technology, filling niches otherwise held by magic. This is not to say magic or the supernatural is not common. Some psionic and arcane powers have been fused with their machines. It is simply wise not to rely on it, for there are ways to shut magic down, especially when your opponents are magic users themselves. What can they do against the might of cold iron, however?

Technologically, the gokiburi excel in power sources, miniturization, mechanics, explosives, and planar physics, while they have a weaker grasp on biology and computer A.I., a hallmark which they have yet to achieve. While their computers are very powerful by the standards of a modern earth-like world, they are still machines. Some say this is due to a lack of understanding of what makes sentinence, while others claim the gokiburi purposefully avoid the ethical and social problems of living A.I. The greatest gokiburi achievement is functioning mundane faster-than-light engines, which has fueled their endless expansion into the stars. They work by pulling the engine and the surrounding space partially into another plane, "the warp" which according to gokiburi science is the border between the material and transitive planes such as the shadow and ethereal. Here, they exist in niether plane while enjoying partial benefits of both. For this reason half-martial half-shadow warp is used, to enjoy the shadow plane's morphic tendancies to increase acceleration, while being able to maintain a bubble of martial realspace around themselves. With this they can ignore the effects of time dialation, allowing the powerful engines to transfer them forward without regard to physics. It is this technology which makes them targets the the uberich, whose inferior and much slower spacefaring technology

On the other hand, magical and psionic studies often come in two flavors, the sort which is crafted, through alchemy and magical items, and the sort which is used as personal protection. To cast such manner of spells is seen as the same as learning martial arts, a weapon to rely on when you are unarmed and little more than that. The gokiburi may not be of humanoid form but benefits from all the item slots a humanoid does, although in strange places. Face slot items fit upon the end of their trunk by their mono-eyestalk, while hats and helmets lay atop their main body or on the base of the trunk. Shoulder item drape behind their back and belt and throat slots hang around their trunk at various distances. Although they possess four feet, they can only benefit from a single pair of boots at a time. Gokiburi can also where armor, but more appropriately it is similar to horse barding, and any armor purchased is priced for unusually shaped creatures.

History of Gokia
The history of Gokia has always been one of growth and dominance. Home to sapient creatures upon both land and sea, the two species, young gokiburi and ore ancient brachyurans, fought constantly for dominance. Through this external threat, infighting amonst the gokiburi were kept to a minimum, promoting the need for social growth and function against a more powerful and larger enemy. The constant wars also promoted technological growth so by the end of major conflicts between the two races, not only were the gokiburi dominant upon the surface but also advanced in the ways of machines. Great marine vehicles able to withstand pressure, life support for long journies, and terraforming prowess to reverse the brachyuran attempts to change Gokia's climate had given the gokiburi all the tools they needed to become a spacefaring race and, ever expanding in number, they turned their expansion to the heavens.

Thus the age of space travel was upon them. Initial efforts to colonize space were slow, until the discovery of warp drive. The ships of the gokiburi were massive hulks, more mobile space station than starship, as they mined their planets for sustenance and growth. As they reached the limits of their star system, they then discovered evidence of alien presence, life outside of their home, speculated to be Yod technology. Through its analysis, the first warp drive was completed, and the gokiburi colony ships said farewell to their home, spreading into the cosmos.

While all gokiburi ships retain a connection to the Gokian homeworld, each colony ship is a city-state onto its own. Their politics and happenings are each of their own, they are only expected to come to the aid of other colonies or the homeworld if nessicary. This loose confederation between them proved to be both boon and bane as the gokiburi began to encounter life not of their own. First contact with another spacefaring race was made by accident when they responded to a distress call of a seppian explorer craft which had crashed upon an undeveloped planet. The seppians had been assaulted by uberich aggressors, who soon made their presence known to the gokiburi race as well. What followed would be getting caught up of a vast conflict known as Dominion War currently running between uberich forces and effectively the rest of the remaining universe. The last major involvement of the gokiburi was at the Battle of Spearhead when a large number of uberich aggressors made a run at Gokia itself and the homeworld gave an emergancy call out to any gokiburi colonies to respond. Due to the loose nature of the government between homeworld and colonies niether the uberich forces nor the Gokian homeworld knew how many colonies were remaining, but were pleasently surprised when vastly more colonies than were known came to their aid, so long had gokiburi expansion had growth that new colonies and worlds were coming under their control.

After the end of the war, Gokia policies of expansions have become more subtle and gentle, to avoid appearing to be no different than the uberich opposition. However it is well known that the gokiburi do with to spread far and wide, seeing success in growth and safety in numbers. Thus, expansion continues to this day.

It is said that recently a gokiburi colony, having observed some strange activity around the otherwise unremarkable Haven system, encountered something strange and malviolent. Whatever it was, it drove the colony to madness, a psychosis which appears to be infectious. Gokiburi colonies are said to be on alert for fellow gokiburi behaving strangely or gokiburi which have passed through that area of space, a paranoia which is slowly undermining the concepts of unity and duty within the ranks.

Solar System & Planets
Planet Gokia is the gokiburi homeworld, 2nd planet out of an 11 planet system surrounding the F-class yellow-white star Photuris. A relatively earth-like world, ablit somewhat warmer from their higher carbon dioxide content and warmer star, it is capable of supporting traditional humanoid life with few problems. Other planets are largely unsuitable for life, but gokian terraforming efforts have changed this in recent history. The planets are as followed...

Kheper: The first planet, it is farther from their star than Mercury is in the earth solar system. It is often believed that a Mercury-like planet once existed, but it was subsumed into their star. Khepher is 3,500 km around it's equator, or slightly larger than Mars, and possesses no moons, but it does have a thin opaque and foggy atmosphere largely believed to be nitrogen and sulfer, with trace elements of carbon dioxide and helium believed to be stolen from solar winds. It's magnetic field is slightly stronger than earth, allowing it to maintain its atmosphere, and the planet is dense for it's size with its high metal content. The surface broils under the thin blanket of poison, and the entire planet is tectonically active, constantly venting more gasses from below the surface. It orbits at 0.6 AU, completing an orbit every 200 days. Kheper rotates on its own axis once every 180 Earth days, a surprisingly slow rate which is lead scientists to believe the planet is slowly becoming tidally locked.

Gokia: The second planet, Gokia is the homeworld for the gokiburi and teaming with life. Gokia is 6,100 km around its equator, ever so slightly smaller than earth, and has both a thin ring of debris and a single small dense moon named Blatta, with its own thin atmosphere and primative biosphere. Extremes in seasons causes Blatta to change between brown and green hued, as its plant life blooms and perishes in regular cycles. It has been colonized by gokians, who employ it as a waypoint off into deeper space. Gokia orbits at 0.9 AU, and completes an orbit every 357 Earth days. Gokia rotates on its own axis every 22 hours, making days slightly shorter than earth.

Helminth: The third planet, Helminth was once a world scarred and carved by vast trenches formed from sudden intense mudflows of earth and ammonia. The planet is 4,000 km around, and orbits at 1.4 AU completing an orbit every 680 days, and rotating on its own axis every 25 days. A cold desert most of the time wrapped in a blanket of nitrogen, the planet is criss-crossed by rock formations that look like snakes or worms. The normally dry surface is subject to frequent geothermal geysers that spread ammonia from deep within the cracked surface. The planet is home to a complex underground system of caves and rivers, where primative ammonia-based lifeforms feed off geothermal heat and chemical processes. These creatures are sometimes expelled on the surface during particularly strong eruptions. The tectonic activity is aggrivated by the heavy pull of two of it's three moons, known as Trichina and Fluke. Both moons are tidally locked at opposite ends, and provide intense tidal pressure on the underground oceans of ammonia, and underlying mantle. A third smaller moon known as Hirudinea orbits from afar and is believed to be a captured astroid. Gokians have dome-covered colonies on this planet, and explorations of its vast underground continue to this day.

Exigua: The forth planet is a broken world, a result of a recent (in astronomical terms) collision of a doomed double-planet that was cycling inward to their own destruction. As the planets collided, they released a burst of debris which formed a chaotic ring of rocks, and the two molten planets fused into each other, rotating at extremely high speeds. Only 2,500 km large (and much wider than it is tall), the forth planet exists on an tilted axis around the sun at a distance of 2.5 AU, taking 5 and a half years to complete an orbit, but completing a spin on its own axis in a mere 3 hours. This absurdly high rotational speed not only gives it an impressive magnetic field, but also flattens it out into a disc shape. The surface is broken and in constant motion, both tectonic and volcanic, and the planet is surrounded by a haze of gases which make the planet seem hazy. Lightning storms and chemical rains are common, and the planet is utterly uninhabitable. Meteor impacts caused by the astroid belt it travels through are a common occurance.

Gerridae: Largest of the rocky planets, gerridae is a "water world" composed of a sea of chlorine, mostly hydrochloric acid and diethyl ethers, wrapped in a thick hydrochloric acid atmosphere and no visible surface under its pale yellow-green waves. Far from the sun, it is nevertheless warmer than normal, about -150 F, due to high pressure and greenhouse effects. The 15,000 km planet orbits at 5 AU, completing an orbit every 11 years, and orbiting its own axis as a leasurely 3 days. The surface slowly churns, occational long-lasting storms brewing into form. The rocky surface is lost deep underneeth, covered in a crystal lattic of exotic ices. It would be ideal for life, were it not the hostile chemical reactions taking place. Gerridae has 9 moons of various sizes, and which help regulate the complex weather patterns. They are Adficio, Alveus, Flumen, Fons, Lacus, Lambo, Pluit, Quod, and Thalassinus.

Ari-Jigoku: Largest of the planets period, ari-jigoku is an ominous gas giant whose swirling mass is dominated by vast strips of red and black, thought to be caused by a predominately hydrogen atmosphere tainted with vast plumes of black carbon soot and traces of iron. The inside of the planet is presumed to be a diamond core, cracked and erupting with vast streams of molten lava that becomes magnetically charged and blast out like solar flares, slowly sinking back into the atmosphere after each eruption. It has a strong magnetic field and is surrounded by a shell of black iron particles suspended in the magnetic field. Electrical storms are common and violent, blasts visible from space arcing over the planet. In spite of its inhospitable nature, some features of the red clouds are believed to be simple lifeforms which float in the skies and absorb electrical energy, though no complex life forms exist. The planet orbit at 9 AU, completing an orbit every 28 years, and orbiting its own axis in 20 days. Ari-Jigoku is twice the size of Jupiter though notably of less mass, gives off a fair amount of radio radiation, possesses a faint ring, and has 18 moons. They are Sturmaz, Beaufort, Briareos, Aigaios, Aiolos, Cumulus, Perkunas, Ukko, Tlaloc, Perun, Esh Umaim, Phar Lap, Shamaim, Kerauno, Catatumbo, Maracaibo, Naru, and Namarrkun.

Anisoptera: A deep magenta colored gas giant with an extremely high rotation speed, it is believed it was formed in an event similar to Exigua which added both to its mass and its spin. The planet is obloid and flattened, possessing large storms with great arcs and occational flares. Anisoptera is the most massive planet in the system, yet is smaller and denser than Ari-Jigoku or even Jupiter, ranging in only about the size of Saturn. The planet has a powerful magnetic field, is rife with electrical storms, and is disturbingly hot, giving off much more radiation than recieved and warming the planet to a relatively toasty 300 F surface tempature. Because of the magnetic field, it is subject to arcs and bursts of energy similar to magnetic flares, with an active period every 7 years. Because it gives off light, it is visible as a dull magenta spot in the sky, and during flare events it flashes a bright red briefly. It is not massive enough to count as a brown dwarf, but shares many similarities to a T or Y-class brown dwarf, including the presence of water, carbon monoxide, methane, sodium, potassium, ammonia, iron, lithium, and hydrogen. It has 12 moons, many which are believed to be captured due to their irregular orbits, and in spite of the warmth of their planet none are suitable for life as they are constantly blasted by the strong radiation belts in the magnetic fields. Because it is too cool to be a brown dwarf the magnetic field is believed to be generated by metals, rather than plasma in the core. The planet orbits at 25 AU, completes an orbit every 124 years, and orbits its own axis in only 6 hours. The moons are Magnesia, Becquerel, Zij, Strahl, Tensor, Laplace, Lorentz, Oersted, Abfarad, Statfarad, Nozomi, and Verdet.

Nudibranch: A bright reflective white gas giant with a liquid interior and a large concentration of water, ices, methane, nitrogen, and oxygen, nudibranch is nonetheless devoid of life as it is far too cold. The interior is darkened by a thick layer of white clouds which simultaneously warm the planet through greenhouse effect, keeping its icy interior liquid, and also reflect away any radiation coming in including infrared radiation, which it is opaque to. It is a freezing -371 F, a distance of 45 AU from the sun, orbiting in 200 years, and orbits its own axis in 100 years. The surface is largely featureless, but rarely holes will appear in the cloud cover, revealing a blue-hued ocean. It has 6 moons, Kokytos, Nifol, Isaz, Firn, Tait, and Yedoma.

Hypogastrura: 0 moons

Solifugae: 1 moon

Nematocera: 2 moons

PENDING

Gokiburi Religion

 * Pho-Matris (3.5e Deity)
 * Pho-Vetus (3.5e Deity)
 * Pho-Sator (3.5e Deity)
 * Pho-Tener (3.5e Deity)
 * Ghora-Fatum (3.5e Deity)
 * Brachyura (3.5e Race)
 * Xolotl (3.5e Deity)‎‎
 * Necoc Yaotl (3.5e Deity)‎
 * Tlazolli (3.5e Deity)‎
 * Mayahuel (3.5e Deity)‎
 * Kukulkan (3.5e Deity)‎