Ysoki
Small and furtive, the ysoki are often overlooked by larger races. Yet through wit and technological prowess, they’ve spread throughout the galaxy, giving truth to the old adage that every starship needs a few rats.
Ranging from 3 to 4 feet tall, ysoki resemble humanoid rats who walk upright, complete with fur, long incisors, constantly twitching noses, and partially prehensile tails that help them keep their balance and maneuver in zero gravity. Their small, dexterous hands are perfect for working on delicate electronics, and their keen noses often allow them to identify complex chemicals by smell. Male and female ysoki are difficult for other races to tell apart, as they have similar body types and favor similar fashions.
While the term “ysoki” originates from Akiton, where the race has long been a vibrant and respected culture, populations of ratfolk (as they’re sometimes called) existed on several worlds for millennia before spaceflight became common. Whether these different populations were examples of convergent evolution or they shared a common ancestor is anyone’s guess, but today most of these cultures now identify as part of the overarching ysoki race. This is due partially to the wide variation in ysoki heredity, which makes ethnicity (and often even immediate family connections) almost impossible to determine by sight or genetics, but even more so to the fact that ysoki have done more than any other ratfolk group to demand and maintain the respect of larger races.
Ysoki society is chaotic and freewheeling, and a typical warren is full of half-finished projects and multiple ysoki talking over each other. Regardless of their role in society, nearly all ysoki hold a deep and abiding love for technology and gadgets, whether it be an engineer’s love of taking machines apart or a soldier’s appreciation for her armor’s construction. While they traditionally take on roles and societal niches other races view as unpleasant, acting as junkers or squeezing through the innards of starships, this is due not to a lack of pride, but rather an abundance thereof—ysoki are so sure of their own worth that living in subpar conditions doesn’t shame them. Larger races’ tendency to underestimate or pick on ysoki has left them fiercely loyal to their friends and families—both ysoki and otherwise—and a ysoki presented with a gross injustice often feels the need to fling himself teeth-first at the problem, consequences be damned. As a result, the most common ysoki alignment is chaotic good, though they can easily be tugged toward the evil alignments by loyalty or a need to strike back at perceived oppression (or even simple disrespect).
Friendly and talented, ysoki integrate easily into most civilized societies, sometimes in all-ysoki neighborhoods and other times living side by side with alien cultures. The large size of ysoki families and their tendency to travel also means that a ysoki on an Alliance World is shockingly likely to have a cousin or other contact in just about any major settlement. Regardless of others’ races, ysoki pride themselves on being quick judges of character, and members of many other races have been surprised to find a ysoki fighting on their behalf after no more than a conversation in a crowded bar. Quick to rile and quick to forgive, fond of laughing at misfortune (both their own and others’), ysoki can sometimes be exhausting, but they are rarely boring.
Origin/Ancestry
Forerunner
Lifespan
60+1d20 years
Average Height
3-4 ft.
Average Weight
60-100 lbs.
Related Organizations
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