Scalfi
Tyrant was a nice place. The Scalfi lived there. Then a monster came. From a place where the sun’s light did not reach. Brave warriors went deep beneath the planet. They found an old weapon there. Those Scalfi saved the system. The monster died. The planet did too.
This is about the most any scholar can hope to extract from a Scalfi about their people’s history. Not just because the Scalfi are a remarkably solitary race, but also because many Scalfi simply don’t know much about the planet of their people which perished a century and a half ago. While a few living Scalfi spent some of their lives there (they can live to be up to 900 years old after all), the memories of Tyrant and its loss are just too distant or too painful for most to recount.
It’s a shame too, because the planet saw many of the Fractured Histories’ watershed moments. The first discovery and activation of a Hyperion Bomb, the current menagerie’s only encounter with the titanic creatures who sleep frozen in interstellar space (now called Tyrants; after the planet they destroyed), and of course the first complete destruction of a sphere.
Currently the Scalfi reside on three of Io’s moons which were granted to them by The Undying Empress for the heroic sacrifice of their planet. Irked by the Scalfi’s presence and their tendency to attack or devour their vassals, one of the conditions the Homyn stipulated upon joining the Alliance to overthrow the Empress was the removal of the Scalfi from the moons.
Sadly, few spheres are keen to pay their share of the system’s debt to the noble tortoises. The Scalfi’s biologically induced rages coupled with their oftentimes crippling agoraphobia make them a misunderstood, if not flat out dangerous addition to alien civilizations. The sad truth is the vast majority of Scalfi remain on Io’s moons as trespassers, terrorizing helpless vassals and warring with the Lunar Brigade, with few memories of their true home.
As ostracized and feared as the Scalfi are, many residents of the spheres still follow the century old tradition of giving a copper frog to any Scalfi they come across and telling them “thank you”; even if they’re no longer sure what for.
Occasionally, Scalfi formed larger social groups to combat greater threats to Tyrant. Their innate agoraphobia and tendency to fly into berserker rages made such close cohabitation difficult, but a skilled war chief could use these traits to their tactical advantage. Though rare occurences, raging scalfi hordes were forces to be reckoned with. Even the mighty armada of the Koan Empire dared not challenge such armies when they waxed to their fullest might. However, these hordes were often short-lived affairs, as infighting and their soldier's natural desire for solitude would always inevitably lead to their dissolution.
After the destruction of Tyrant, the Scalfi's political system has all-but dissolved beyond the family unit (although even these can reach the size of a small village over generations given the Scalfi's long lifespans). Most modern Scalfi now live as trespassers on other people's worlds--most commonly on the Homyn moons of Trys, Zen, and Autumn, which the Koan Empire "gave" the Scalfi in honor of the sacrifice of their homeworld. Despite the liberation of these moons during the rebellion of Nasser Graham, more militant groups of Scalfi seek to hold the system accountable for the Empire's promises and take back these moons from the Homyn. In recent times, these factions have gained power, and rumors even swirl of a horde amassing in Io's East Orbit.
Fewer, but still sizeable, numbers of Scalfi become citizens of other spheres, most commonly joining the Koa of Sera, who designate special crowd-controlled neighborhoods for them. Still, most Scalfi find the metropolitan life among the Koa too confining for their tastes and yearn for the day when they will truly be free to wander as they once did on Tyrant.
Like their political units, Scalfi have turned to adopting the cultures they find themselves surrounded by in the wake of diaspora. Some lament these changes as giving up traditional Scalfi culture, but in truth the practice is little different from how Scalfi would move between tribes in Tyrant's heyday. Individual Scalfi often integrate themselves into other cultures, adopting new names and living among other races for a century or two until they inevitably outlive those in their found community and move on to do it all again.
This is about the most any scholar can hope to extract from a Scalfi about their people’s history. Not just because the Scalfi are a remarkably solitary race, but also because many Scalfi simply don’t know much about the planet of their people which perished a century and a half ago. While a few living Scalfi spent some of their lives there (they can live to be up to 900 years old after all), the memories of Tyrant and its loss are just too distant or too painful for most to recount.
It’s a shame too, because the planet saw many of the Fractured Histories’ watershed moments. The first discovery and activation of a Hyperion Bomb, the current menagerie’s only encounter with the titanic creatures who sleep frozen in interstellar space (now called Tyrants; after the planet they destroyed), and of course the first complete destruction of a sphere.
Currently the Scalfi reside on three of Io’s moons which were granted to them by The Undying Empress for the heroic sacrifice of their planet. Irked by the Scalfi’s presence and their tendency to attack or devour their vassals, one of the conditions the Homyn stipulated upon joining the Alliance to overthrow the Empress was the removal of the Scalfi from the moons.
Sadly, few spheres are keen to pay their share of the system’s debt to the noble tortoises. The Scalfi’s biologically induced rages coupled with their oftentimes crippling agoraphobia make them a misunderstood, if not flat out dangerous addition to alien civilizations. The sad truth is the vast majority of Scalfi remain on Io’s moons as trespassers, terrorizing helpless vassals and warring with the Lunar Brigade, with few memories of their true home.
As ostracized and feared as the Scalfi are, many residents of the spheres still follow the century old tradition of giving a copper frog to any Scalfi they come across and telling them “thank you”; even if they’re no longer sure what for.
Physical Characteristics
Scalfi are noted for their size and the hard shells permanently attached to their backs. They range from 6’-9’ tall and from 300-700 pounds.Racial Edges:
Large. +1” reach.
Shell Armor. +2 natural armor.
Agoraphobia.Oftentimes Scalfi are mistaken for anti-social or testy when most of the time they only lash out because of a biologically induced agoraphobia. No one knows what kind of environment Tyrant had to instill its people with such a fear of crowds but nonetheless the trait has outlasted the planet that bred it. Scalfi takes a -1 penalty on all checks when 3 or more characters are adjacent to them.
Berserk Whenever Agoraphobia is activated and a Scalfi is shaken, roll 1d6. The Scalfi goes into a berserker rage for the result-2 turns. While berserked, the Scalfi is no longer agoraphobic and attacks a random adjacent target with a +2 modifier to all melee attack rolls and damage. If all adjacent enemies fall before the Berserk wears off the Scalfi attacks a random enemy (not necessarily the closest) at the GM’s discretion.
Short Limbed.When Scalfi are knocked prone they take a full round rather than a movement action to get back up. Additionally they take a -2 penalty when using small melee weapons such as daggers.
Toss (Sprinting Edge)Massive frames and tiny limbs do not a gifted sprinter make. Scalfi compensate for their relative lack of speed in other ways to launch others across the battlefield. Rather than sprint himself, a Scalfi may pick up any medium or small ally or grappled enemy extra and throw them “ equal to his strength. He may spend two sprints to throw a small ally or grappled enemy “ of twice his strength. Scalfi can still sprint normally if they so choose.
Backgrounds
War Chief
While Scalfi prefer to live alone, desperate times have called for the formation of war bands. A Scalfi Chieftain knows that a beserking Scalfi, when used effectively, is more like a cannonball than a time bomb. War Chieftains aim to take back the moons their people are owed -and if those ungrateful Homyn are lucky, just those moons.Background Skills: Axes/Hammers 1d4, Interrogate 1d4, Block 1d4.
Racial Edge: Suppressed Anger.Once per day, a chieftain may elect to go berserk without first becoming agoraphobic or shaken.
Shaman
Some Scalfi strive to detach themselves from the emotions that surge through their ancestral blood and forgive the system’s debt to their people. Shaman belief that the species’ only hope for prosperity is to integrate with interplanetary society. Through diplomacy and peacemaking they hope to one day find a legitimized new home and perhaps representation in the Alliance.Background Skills: Diplomacy 1d4, First Aid 1d4, Astral Combat 1d4.
Background Edge. Anger Management. Once per day, a shaman may elect to avoid going berserk, when they otherwise would.
Politics
On their native sphere of Tyrant, Scalfi preferred to live in small, nomadic communities--always ready to move should a natural disaster threaten the land or another tribe move in to crowd the land. They adhered to loose hierarchical structures with a chieftain managing the tribe's day-to-day needs and a shaman providing spiritual guidance. Beyond the revered status of these titles, they possessed comparitively little authority to dictate the actions of their subjects. Once born, accepted, or married into a tribe, a Scalfi was always welcome there for the rest of their long lives, allowing them to come and go as they saw fit. As such, tribe leaders were always careful to respect the wishes of their followers, or else risk losing them during the time of their rule.Occasionally, Scalfi formed larger social groups to combat greater threats to Tyrant. Their innate agoraphobia and tendency to fly into berserker rages made such close cohabitation difficult, but a skilled war chief could use these traits to their tactical advantage. Though rare occurences, raging scalfi hordes were forces to be reckoned with. Even the mighty armada of the Koan Empire dared not challenge such armies when they waxed to their fullest might. However, these hordes were often short-lived affairs, as infighting and their soldier's natural desire for solitude would always inevitably lead to their dissolution.
After the destruction of Tyrant, the Scalfi's political system has all-but dissolved beyond the family unit (although even these can reach the size of a small village over generations given the Scalfi's long lifespans). Most modern Scalfi now live as trespassers on other people's worlds--most commonly on the Homyn moons of Trys, Zen, and Autumn, which the Koan Empire "gave" the Scalfi in honor of the sacrifice of their homeworld. Despite the liberation of these moons during the rebellion of Nasser Graham, more militant groups of Scalfi seek to hold the system accountable for the Empire's promises and take back these moons from the Homyn. In recent times, these factions have gained power, and rumors even swirl of a horde amassing in Io's East Orbit.
Fewer, but still sizeable, numbers of Scalfi become citizens of other spheres, most commonly joining the Koa of Sera, who designate special crowd-controlled neighborhoods for them. Still, most Scalfi find the metropolitan life among the Koa too confining for their tastes and yearn for the day when they will truly be free to wander as they once did on Tyrant.
Culture
Many ignorant of Scalfi traditions mistake them for an illiterate and uncultured people due to the paucity of Scalfi art within the system. This misconception stems largely from the fact that Scalfi rarely afffix their cultural works to written or physical form. To a traditionalist Scalfi, a book is the corpse of a story and art is only "alive" when spoken (preferably by somoene who personally witnessed the events that inspired it.) It should be no surprise that oral tradition plays a strong role among Scalfi, especially when their long lifespans meant that their elders could rember most events in their people's history. Still, with their planet's destruction and dwindling population, some modern Scalfi have reevaluted the significance of the written word and set their memories to prose, poetry, and music, and what few Scalfi novels and songs have been documented in this way far surpass the beauty and complexity of art produced by the rest of the spheres.Like their political units, Scalfi have turned to adopting the cultures they find themselves surrounded by in the wake of diaspora. Some lament these changes as giving up traditional Scalfi culture, but in truth the practice is little different from how Scalfi would move between tribes in Tyrant's heyday. Individual Scalfi often integrate themselves into other cultures, adopting new names and living among other races for a century or two until they inevitably outlive those in their found community and move on to do it all again.
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