Vesk

Heavily muscled and covered with thick scales and short, sharp horns, the reptilian vesk are exactly as predatory and warlike as they appear. Originally hailing from a star system near the Pact Worlds, they sought to conquer and subdue their stellar neighbors, as they had all the other intelligent races in their own system, until an overwhelming threat forced them into a grudging alliance with the Pact Worlds—for now.

Biology

The Vesk are large humanoid reptilians, bipedal in nature, with a larger than average muscle mass. They developed on a higher gravity desert planet, with high mountains casting vast rain shadows over the sands, resulting in their relatively beefy nature. Despite this, they are warm-blooded, likely due to the high temperature differentials of the days and nights of Vesk Prime. Has binocular sight with low-light capabilies, binaural hearing, and limited olfaction capabilities.

Appearance

The lizard-like vesk stand close to 7 feet tall, are thick with muscle, and are covered in tough, scaly skin. Though they’ve long since adopted technological weapons, they retain the thick claws and teeth of natural predators and enjoy using them to intimidate “softer” races. In addition, they also have long, powerful tails—while these are primarily used for balance, some vesk martial arts incorporate formidable tail slaps. Small horn spikes dot the skulls of both sexes, and protrude from their lower jaws in bony “beards” that sometimes extend down their spines to their tails. Female vesk are often larger than their male counterparts, and whereas males are various shades of green and brown, females often have vibrant, mottled coloration that’s considered an indicator of both health and attractiveness.

History

Developing on the relatively dry and hot Vesk Prime, these reptilians had a hard time evolving on their dry planet, with little food and basic resources outside of the fish at the coasts. The rocky soil of Vesk Prime did not allow for much agriculture, leading to great hardship in the vesk's development.
For many centuries, wars were waged between factions of vesk, often over trivial gains. After basic space travel was invented, however, the vesk unified into the strong and formidable empire known as the Veskarium. Quickly, the vesk conquered their own solar system, subjugating the other races native to the system and reaping the worlds of all natural resources. Today, these other worlds officially no longer even have names, only numbers correlating to their distance from the sun (such as Vesk-6).
After Drift travelers established contact with Veskarium, the Pact Worlders shared with them the technology to build Drift engines. Veskarium engineers raced to update their existing starships with the new technology, and immediately initiated a war to conquer the Pact Worlds. This lead to the Silent War, and lead to the creation of the Pact Worlds as a defensive alliance. After centuries of combat, Veskarium later declared a truce to fight alongside the Pact Worlds against two larger and much more dangerous threats: the Necross, and the Swarm.

Gameplay

Ability Modifiers: Vesk are a tough and hearty people, but are relatively isolated and stubborn. +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Intellegence.
Hit Points: 6
Size: Medium
Type: Humanoid (Vesk)
Speed: 30 ft
Languages: Vesk begin play speaking Vesk and Galactic.

Armor Savant

Vesk use armor in a way that complements their uniquely sturdy physiology. When wearing armor, they gain a +1 racial bonus to AC. When they’re wearing heavy armor, their armor check penalty is 1 less severe than normal.

Fearless

Vesk receive a +2 racial bonus to saving throws against fear effects.

Low-Light Vision

Vesk can see in dim light as if it were normal light. For more details, see page 264.

Natural Weapons

Vesk can attack with a special unarmed strike that deals lethal damage, doesn’t count as archaic, and threatens squares. Vesk gain a special version of the Weapon Specialization feat with this unarmed strike at 3rd level, allowing them to add 1–1/2 × their character level to their damage rolls for this unarmed strike (instead of just adding their character level, as usual).

Roleplay

Playing this Race

You Likely...

• See most other races as weak or dishonorable and believe the vesk way is best.
• Relish the chance to prove your worth in combat, though only against worthy opponents.
• Have an ironclad sense of honor and propriety, and strive to always keep your word.
• Bond closely with proven comrades and surprise non-vesk friends with sudden outpourings of emotion in private.

Other Races Probably...

• Find your size and bloodthirsty reputation intimidating.
• Assume you’re ignorant of anything beyond combat.
• Depend on you in battle yet fear and resent you for your empire’s past conflicts and conquests.
• Mistake vesk etiquette and propriety for a lack of feeling.

Scientific Name
Bellum Lacertis
Origin/Ancestry
Vesk Prime
Lifespan
90 Years
Average Height
7 ft (2.1 m)
Average Weight
250 lbs (113 kg)