Orion Sphere LRP

Numerous vassal species look to the Commonality for guidance and protection. The Elysians see their role as shepherds and guides, slowly encouraging their flock towards enlightenment and understanding. The vassals of the Commonality can be found anywhere they operate, and often a prominent Judge or mystic will surround themselves with an entourage of disciples from other species.

It is possible to create your own vassal species - if you have a great idea for a species, then you can submit it to the game team for possible inclusion into the Orion Sphere universe. See the Vassal Species page for details and guidelines of the kind of things we are looking for in a new species.

Respected by the Commonality for their plant-like nature, the Boreans are a race of humanoids with photosynthetic microbes embedded in their cells. The Boreans have been a part of the Commonality for a long time, and are originally from the Elysian cluster - specifically the Ard'Borea system in the Borean Sector.

Character: Boreans are practical and hard-working, and enjoy being outdoors in the sun. They dislike the dark, and prefer to have light sources nearby at night. They are close to the land, and less prone to flights of philosophy or deep contemplation. Although they do participate in Commonality cultural refocusing sessions, they prefer the forms with body movements involved rather than meditation.

Appearance: All boreans have completely green skin, coloured by the chloroplast-like bodies in their cells. Their blood is thick and dark, and is often visible as dark veins beneath their skin, particularly around their neck and temples. These effects can be achieved with makeup.

Abilities: Boreans have 2 locational body hits. Although they are no tougher than a human, their physiology allows them to recover rapidly from injury. Boreans regenerate lost locational hits at a rate of 1 every ten minutes. Their thick, sap-like blood also increases their Death Count to 300 seconds.

A Reskan hive resting against a building

Hailing from the Resk system in the California Nebula Sector, the Reskan are hive minds of tiny insects that adopt humanoid forms. Not even recognised as sentient when they were discovered by the Ascendancy, the Commonality regards them as an excellent example of their philosophy of interconnectedness - though they are individually small, together they form a Mind and Will on par with others. The Resk system was one of the main targets for Commonality control during the Elysian Revelation.

Character: Reskan hives always refer to themselves as “we”. They are highly cooperative with allies and tend to form strong friendships.

Appearance: Reskan are made up of millions of tiny, chitinous insects that resemble Terran beetles or flies. These insects tend to be shades of black and browny-red, but some can be partly iridescent. This can be physrepped with a mask or other head-covering decorated by tiny insects – the exact type of insect used can vary – Reskan hives contain a number of different specialised insects that perform different functions. Some form of thin mesh to obscure the eyes would be ideal to incorporate into the mask or suit. The rest of the body should be covered with clothing, or incorporate the insects on any exposed areas.

Abilities: Reskan hives are extremely difficult to eradicate – when they take damage, a few individual creatures die, but the majority merely disperse into the local area. As a result, they do not have locational hits – instead, they have 10 global hits, and become unconscious when this total is brought to 0. Each +1LH they would gain normally instead becomes +3 global hits. Reskan cannot wear armour – their bodies are unable to support its weight. When they do take damage, Reskan hives can rapidly reintegrate separated individuals as long as they remain in the area – they regain 1 of their total body hits for every minute they remain in the area where they took damage, as long as they are not in combat or performing other intensive activities. Reskan hives are also immune to the LETHAL call, and call RESIST any time they are hit by it.
Reskan hives are more vulnerable to certain specific attacks – the DISRUPT call causes a massive loss of hive cohesion for a short time – if a Reskan is hit with DISRUPT on their global hits, they suffer a KNOCKOUT effect for 30 seconds (which can be reduced by the Steel Head skill as normal). If a Reskan Hive is incapacitated (on 0 body hits), a DISRUPT call will begin their Death Count (rather than LETHAL). The First Aid and Physician skills can be used on a Reskan as normal, although the roleplay they perform may be different. Reskan have a Death Count of 200 seconds.
Environmental toxins can rapidly poison a Reskan hive – their many-bodied forms respire from everywhere, so the hive can quickly take on a lethal load of toxin. Reskan are unable to use respirators (but can still take advantage of full-body forms of environmental protection), and environmental toxins progress in a quarter of the time it takes in most species. Reskan are also unable to use most injectors without some kind of specialist delivery mechanism like an environmental suit.