[Xenos] The Periophians

[The_Glyphstone]

WARNING: WALL OF TEXT DETECTED. ESTIMATE 68,000+ INDIVIDUAL POINT SOURCES. VOID SHIELDS TO MAXIMUM. ALL HANDS BRACE FOR IMPACT.

Well, here it is at last, four years in the making,. My 'magnum opus' of the ASP, so to speak, even though the connection to the Anargo Sector is tenuous at best, and I haven't contributed a great deal to begin with - but I first found the ASP as what I thought was the perfect place to develop my "uber1337 homemade aliens", and so it's the only real appropriate place to put their spiritual descendants. My focus changed towards the more mainstream parts of the Project, such as Karnak, but I never really gave up on what had been the Amphiblians , turned into the Atlanteans , and have finally evolved into the Periophians . Now, they're finally done in a form I'm willing to risk exposing to the 'public'. What with the launch of the Explore website approaching far too quickly (which reminds me, I should be finishing that SR I volunteered for instead of working on my own side ventures), I'm not expecting detailed feedback any time soon...but here it is anyways, the

INDEX XENOS PERIOPHIANS

For thousands of years, the galaxy has had observers. They study from the shadows, watching and waiting with infinite patience. Their planets stretch over an area almost as large as the Imperium and even into areas the Imperium does not control, but without any pretence of controlling that area, for the very nature of their survival is that they remain hidden from the galaxy at large. These are the mysterious beings known only as the Periophians, and their story has much to reveal.

The Table of Contents:
1.EVOLUTION AND HISTORY
2.PHYSICAL TRAITS
3.CULTURE
4.RELIGION
5.LAW, CRIME, AND PUNISHMENT
6.MILITARY A - COMPOSITION AND TACTICS
7.MILITARY B - TECHNOLOGY AND WEAPONS
8.PERIOPHIAN LIFE CYCLE
9.PERIOPHIAN AND THE WARP
10.PERIOPHIANS AND OTHER RACES
 

Evolution and History

“If only…if only I had the time. So much I could tell you, so much knowledge I would love to share. Your race is so primitive, yet has so much potential for greatness. You know so little of your own people, your own past, lost to ignorance and the mists of time. Perhaps next year, or next century, or next millennium, it will be time at last for this charade to end and the peoples of this galaxy to be set on the path they were meant to follow.” – Tritus Ekim’sar Kiiyata Hyjal-tas Sies'nis Wroltro, Periophian interrogator

The planet that would become the birthplace of the Periophians sits on the fringe of the galaxy, far outside the reach of the Astronomicon and the Imperium. Much of the planet was once water or swamps to some degree, most fertile and lush near the equator. Closer to the poles, they became marshes and bogs, culminating in icy tundra around the polar caps. Two massive moons, totaling nearly a half of their parent’s mass, orbited the planet, exerting considerable influence on the planetary tides. Most of the year, the moons’ gravity counteracted each other and kept the waters stable. On the rare occasion that the moons’ gravity coincided, the waters surged to flood the flat plains that otherwise relied on rainfall for water. This primordial environment was full of life, both plant and animal, but nothing with more than the most primitive self-awareness.
  
Intelligent life could eventually have evolved on the planet, but its rise was greatly accelerated by a freak celestial accident. A large comet,  was snared by the local sun’s gravity and its path altered. The comet’s new path put it on a collision course with one of the planet’s two moons, and the bodies impacted with catastrophic results. The comet was vaporized, and the moon pulverized into hundreds of fragments. A majority remained in orbit, forming a small ring system that the remaining moon mingled with. But many more plunged to the surface, wreaking devastation across the planet. Meteorites plunged into the oceans, causing massive tidal waves that caused entire seas to relocate over a distance of miles. Numerous fish and water plants gasped out the end of their life in the open air, and others drowned in the sudden deluge of moisture. Countless species were rendered extinct, and others brought to the brink. But just as chaotic as the moon’s destruction was the void it left behind. Without the gravity of the second moon, the tides could not reach the heights they once attained, transforming the planet from a spread of alternating swamps/shallow seas and floodplains, to a hostile collage of oceans, sun-baked wasteland, and the thin strips of surviving floodplains that separated them. Thus the ecology of the planet was forever changed, from a lush and peaceful swamp world to a harsh, unforgiving land where the necessity of survival in two contradictory environments tested the limits of adaptation. Those species that survived the initial cataclysm evolved rapidly, or died out in the face of those that did.

A certain species in particular, a type of migratory fish, developed a unique method of survival. Other types, when moving to a new sea, simply flopped forward with no clear knowledge of where they were headed and were devastated by marauding beasts that ate their fill of the school as the rest forged blindly onward. But this fish was different. Similar to the pre-historic 'sharks' of ancient Terra, or the modern-day shockstrangler vines of Catachan, it possessed organs sensitive to the electrical fields given off by other living organisms in water. But unlike shockstranglers or 'sharks', whose structures merely aid(ed) them in seeking prey, this organ was far more sensitive. A healthy fish could detect the electrical emanations of other creatures from a great distance away, even through non-liquid mediums such as air; and even more curiously, pick up the subtle electrical charges of neural activity in close proximity that fell within a narrow wavelength. Unsurprisingly, the neural patterns of other members of the species fell within this range, and it became possible for one fish to “read” the simplistic emotions of others of its kind. Sentience began to arise from the connections learned between anger, fear, or pain, and an attack by a hungry predator; or pleasure/contentment, and a meal of a lesser creature. As the complexity of their thoughts grew, so did their ability to interpret the readings of others, creating a strange form of instinctive telepathy. Two organisms in close contact could establish a sort of passive mind-link, each forming thoughts or concepts intended for detection by the other as a sort of communication. Thus this particular genus of lungfish survived and thrived, becoming the most widespread species on the planet with the accompanying growth of the electrical-sensory organ. As evolution took its course, the fish’s body changed to meet its new environment. Fins and tails split into stubby legs, a more effective method of escaping from enemies. Optical lenses altered slightly, more effective at perceiving depths and distance both above water and below it. As their legs grew stronger, they gained the ability to walk upright for short distances, a more effective means of locomotion and also capable of supporting an even more capable brain and neural structure.

The pseudo-telepathy had its uses, but it was hampered by the exceeding short range of sensitivity. More than a few feet away, individual thoughts could no longer be deciphered, only vague emotions and general moods. At greater distances, it dimmed to merely the same awareness of presence that came from any living being within detectable range. As a result of this, a spoken language arose, singsong chords that bordered on ultrasonic and were inaudible to most other life above-water. A written form followed, carved into rocks or bone.

Almost every sentient race in the galaxy possesses a connection the Immaterium, that realm of shifting energy and entropy that humans refer to as the “Warp” and the proto-Periophians were no exception. Some found they had a talent for tapping into this hidden realm and manipulating its power, becoming the first shamans and seers. Some seers spoke of creatures formed purely from this ethereal energy, both wise spirits and ravenous monsters, but it was not until scientific innovation and discovery rose in prominence and experiments were conducted about this “hidden realm” were these claims thought to be anything more than nonsensical rambling. In the minds of the Periophians, all living things other than plants must give off electrical signals that can be felt, and if these “demons” could be felt, they could not exist.

The species continued to evolve, going through many of the typical stages of an emerging civilization.  Their early encounters with fire were heated steam vents underwater, a long period of time before they learned how to work the heat above the seas. Simple machinery became more advanced, their first vehicles consisting of simple submarines and paddleboats. One of the most important stages of their growth was when they discovered that mixtures formed from the oils of certain native plants could be used to make permanent, waterproof houses. It was no longer necessary for them to migrate according to the whims of the tides, although it was quite some time before most gave up their nomadic lifestyle.

As the Periophians developed and spread across the surface of their world, they naturally began to conflict with one another over the availability of resources of all kinds, from safer breeding grounds to plentiful food sources. But the empathic sense born from their soul-heart remained solidly in force, and its intensity increased exponentially as the distance between two individuals decreased. This sensitivity prevented one Periophian from harming another without feeling all of the anger, fear, and pain from both themselves and their victims simultaneously. It was not unknown for a Periophian to literally die from the act of killing a different one, their minds unable to cope with the last emotions of the slain. But the sources and causes of those conflicts had not gone away, and a release would be needed if their civilization was to avoid collapsing in upon itself.

Some races may have simply struggled to ignore the side effects, deliberately deadening themselves to others’ feelings to soften the impact of killing them. Instead, the Periophians took the greatest obstacle to the expression of their feelings and turned it into their solution. When two Periophians developed a dispute that could not be reconciled easily, they would agree to meet for what could only be described as a form of emotional combat, a duel of sorts. Separated by a small amount of physical space, the two “combatants” used the strength of their emotions and their unavoidable empathy as a weapon upon each other, projecting their feelings and attempting to overwhelm their opponent. Unlike a more traditional duel, such contests were very rarely lethal, though an exceptionally strong or desperate person could incapacitate an unlucky rival for days. This method of dispute resolution proved quite effective in many cases, as heart-felt emotions were easier to project than artificial ones, giving someone who was honestly desperate or starving a significant advantage over one who was merely greedy for additional food. It was also easily adaptable to scale – two feuding clans could engage in a mass battle of the minds as easily as two individuals, often coming to resemble a more typical battlefield as different clan members focused on attacking or defending according to their particular aptitudes.

Relatively free of the internal conflict that plagued the development of most sentient races, the Periophians’ technology level grew steadily. The first drysuit was invented, a sort of reverse wetsuit that allowed the Periophians to venture above-water for longer periods of time. Their first gun was a primitive harpoon launcher, using compressed air or water to launch a projectile. Later studies into the native predators of their planet gave them the first sonic disruptor, a weapon that bent focused ultrasonic waves to wreak havoc on living tissue. Their first successful space probe sat atop a simple chemical rocket, and even as the probe hummed its way into deep space, the Periophians had already set about devising a reliable way to place objects in orbit around the planet that would be safe from the debris field of the “Dead Moon”. Once this hurdle was crossed, a minor revolution in space exploration followed. Numerous satellites were placed in orbit, and colonies established on the remaining moon. They turned to the debris field to supply heavy metals, and built the first of their manned colony vessels. These gargantuan constructions, designed to be self-sufficient, vanished into the inky night with many families aboard. Entire generations would live and die within their cylindrical walls, until the vessel came upon a planet suitable for colonization, or within terraformable limits. The latter was much more frequent, water-heavy planets being hard to find. The resources required to build these mammoth starships took time to accumulate, and launches were few and far between.

The generation vessels had been written off to fate, since communication was impossible. This changed with the discovery of a telepathic ability inherent in the previously neglected seers. They could communicate with others of their talents through the “hidden realm”, which became known as the Unseen Ocean. It was discerned that psychic talent was a dominant gene, and several families with seer blood were placed aboard all further exploration vessels. Fueled by this discovery, Periophian scientists conducted dozens of experiments into the nature of this “Immaterium”. They learned that not only was it possible to communicate through it, one could travel within it as well and escape many of the limitations of space and time. To their surprise and joy, it appeared as an analogue of their native seas, currents and tides of energy swirling in an endless ocean. This stalled their exploration for a time, though, as it became apparent that the Unseen Ocean was not like any conventional ocean, unbeholden to the normal laws of physics, and could not be effectively traveled through until a Periophian analogue to the Geller Field was invented, and exploration began in earnest.

Warp-capable scout ships spread all over the galaxy, and the Periophians were horrified by what they found. With few exceptions, most other life in the galaxy was brutal and savage, warring bloodily with themselves or each other. To the sensible Periophian, the mass slaughter of one’s kinsmen or of a sentient neighbor was unthinkable, the result of universal insanity or confusion. They decided that it would be their duty to the rest of the galaxy to guide them away from their chaotic ways, counteracting this downward spiral of self-destruction. The lesser races, unaware of their errors, required guidance to enter a state of balance and unity like that which the Periophians enjoyed. Up till this point, the name they had possessed for their own people had been simple and unpretentious, variably translatable as "Us", "The People", or "Those Who Need Not Follow The Waters", instead adopted for themselves the title “Morq-Eso-Nae [trnsl: “Wardens of All in Balance”]. There was controversy over how this grand plan would be engineered, but a consensus was reached that the first stage would be to collect as much information as possible, concerning every other sentient race in the galaxy, to better understand them and how they could be manipulated for their own good. Driven by their new fleet of warp-engine-equipped ships, they spread a network of small colonies and watchposts across the galaxy, connected by the multitude of Periophian seers.

The first contact with humanity occurred roughly during what would become known as the late Bronze Age. They found nothing unduly interesting about the land-dwelling primates, except for a slightly disgust-worthy inherent willingness or even eagerness to commit violence against their own kind, and left after collecting the typical samples and experiments. They likewise discovered the Orks and the Eldar, a bit baffled by the pervasive resilence of the former despite their apparent primitive nature, and cautiously intimidated by the imposing power of the latter even through their species-wide debauchery and indulgences that left them, in Periophian eyes, no more civilized than the Orks.  During the Dark Age of Technology, many colonies were abandoned or cut off to avoid discovery by the eternally curious and still-violent humans, and the Age of Strife that followed was a welcome opportunity to expand their eyes and ears once more.

The psychic shockwave resulting from the Fall of the Eldar was devastating to the Periophians. Hundreds of Wave-Seers were killed, and the psychic feedback injured or crippled many ordinary Periophians. Assessment of the damage was catastrophic. One of the great races of the galaxy had been laid low, and humanity was rising to take its place. The Great Crusade was a venture of significant interest to the Periophians, who watched the appearance of the Emperor closely to see how effective his reunification of the human race would be. Everything appeared to be going smoothly, and the Periophians documented it all - till the Horus Heresy caught them completely by surprise.

The disruption caused by Chaos initially fractured their galactic network into countless semi-independent pocket empires, until they managed to re-establish psychic contact with the homeworlds. Unfortunately, their tiny military was not geared towards any sort of large-scale combat, a lesson that was emphasized upon their first hostile contact with demons. A small group of Periophians encountered a group of Chaos-worshipping human scouts, who called upon a host of Khornate Bloodletters to assist them. The naive Periophians advanced fearlessly, recognizing the foes as warp creatures, recognizing the foes as denizens of the Immaterium with seemingly fragile physical forms. Less than a half-dozen warriors escaped the massacre that followed, and the Periophian response was to withdraw completely around their core worlds to await the end of the war. When Horus fell and the traitors fled to the Eye, the Periophians wasted no time in reconnecting to their extensive network of spyposts while the Imperium teetered on the brink of collapse, using their newly reinvigorated military as escorts. Their studies into the warp continued, though they were forever wary of those that lurked there after being made aware of their material power.
 
They were the first to realize the impact when strange, six-limbed beasts were discovered on the edges of the Imperium. The humans found them first, naming them the Genestealers of Ygmarl after the planet whose moon they came from. But the learned Periophians deduced that such a primitive species was not capable of space travel on its own, and they had been found on many planets. Several were captured, and experiments performed, but it was slow work. By the time they worked out the horror that was upon them, the leading edge of Hive Fleet Behemoth was creeping into the galaxy. They watched in mourning as several alien races were enveloped utterly by the Great Devourer for the crime of fighting, or merely being in the way, and they vowed to escape that fate.

[The_Glyphstone]

Their homeworlds were fortunate enough to be out of the path of Behemoth, but many watchposts were not and the hidden empire was once again split. Small Periophian raids chipped away at isolated hive ships and fleets, but the seers knew that it would be up the Imperium and their mighty Space Marines to hold back the tide. Thankfully for the galaxy, they succeeded and Behemoth was shattered, Kraken receiving the same fate soon after. The schism torn by the two hive fleets had devastated many previously habitable worlds, and the galaxy-wide network of colonies became small pockets of worlds linked by Wave-Seers if present, and remote satellites/messenger ships if not.

Each Black Crusade was another time when the Periophians had limited involvement, knowing the forces at work to be beyond the scope of their strength. Similar to their battles against the Tyranids, the Periophians chipped away at the Chaos war machine where it was vulnerable to their attacks, but focused more on maintaining and expanding their observational network in the midst of Imperial distraction.

When the Necron raiders emerged, panic reigned through the Periophian society. Their wide-ranging explorations had uncovered several dormant tombs, but they had no reason to suspect that the crypts were anything other than relics of an extinct race. They were able to link the legends of the ancient C’tan and their Necrontyr minions, to the silent metal hordes emerging from the abandoned tombs. The race as a collective was horrified, and a battlefleet dispatched to the planet where the C’tan called the Nightbringer lay in deep stasis. They would have scoured the world from existence for the benefit of the galaxy, but the Periophians arrived too late, and could only watch helplessly as the awakened star-demon made its escape to recover lost strength.

PHYSICAL TRAITS

“The subject ceased visible life functions at 13:43. Observable brain activity had dropped to 0% approximately nineteen hours earlier, within minutes of capture. Autopsy revealed approximately humanoid internal structure. Nature of skin coating, hermetically sealed armor analogue, and internal differences indicate a high probability of aquatic or amphibious origin. Recommend further investigation and cross-referencing with primary Inquisitorial database.” – Top-secret classified Ordos Xenos report

The race as a whole is almost fully bipedal, though they retain paddle-shaped feet for rapid movement in the water and are very ungainly on land. They are quite tall, standing six to seven feet tall on average, up to a foot longer with their necks fully extended. Their arms and legs are thin but sturdy, the feet being roughly oar-shaped with only rudimentary toes while the hands and clawed fingers, all six of them arranged in a half-circle, are fully developed. Hearkening back to their primitive origins, they breathe through a system of gills when underwater, and a single lung-like organism when above it. Their skin is thick and rubbery, ranging in color from grey to a blue so dark it appears black, the exact shade depending on their home oceans, save where a thin layer of scales blankets their chest and limbs. A heart pumps bluish-copper blood through veins, and various other organs perform vital functions such as digestion, surrounded by a thin but dense rib cage. These functions are usually unconsciously driven as normal, but Periophians are capable of exerting a certain amount of influence on their own vital systems in times of great need, inducing a sort of hibernation state if isolated for long periods of time, or even deliberate self-induced brain death should they be captured by an enemy. Their muscles are quite strong, theoretically capable of matching a powerful human or even a Space Marine unaugmented by their power armor, but this is hampered by their weak skeletal system. Their bones are fragile for increased buoyancy, and it is difficult for their spinal cords to bear the full weight of their upright body for long periods of time, requiring the development of the armored combat suits for long-term surface operations. Their flexible limbs provide great speed underwater, with the oar-like feet giving forward thrust as the muscular arms paddle.

The organ that they refer to as their “soul-heart” grants them their unnatural ability to sense electromagnetic emissions in many spectrums. It is nestled inside their head, tucked beneath the brain stem for protection, and is tied directly into their central nervous system. A massive web of nerve fibers blankets the rest of the Periophian’s body, giving the sensory organ detailed information on its surroundings and the proximity of other living creatures. At the most unconscious level, a Periophian is always aware of the presence of others of his kind, even at a distance of miles, and can sense other life forms at lesser distances. Closer in, general moods such as anxiety, fear, or happiness can be detected, often amplified if a number of other Periophians are close together and feeling the same way. Sensitivity continues to increase as the distance decreases, culminating with what might be considered actual telepathy on skin contact. This is not true telepathy, as practiced by psykers, but merely a magnification of their sense to a point where one can form thoughts and images in their head that are picked up by the other and returned likewise. In rare cases, an Periophian can be born with a powerfully hypersensitive electro-pathic organ that can detect even the emanations of non-living materials, a very literal sixth sense. Altogether, the organ creates a strange paradox in the Periophian mind: The concept of personal space is hardwired into their very self, but the ultimate torment is that of being truly alone in the world.

Aside from the electro-pathic organ, the rest of their senses are still quite acute. The eyes are heavily developed for effective use both above water and under it, protruding above the head and supplying an excellent field of periphial vision without any need to move the head. They possess a number of transparent eyelids with varying degrees of reflectiveness, a sort of telescopic vision that enables them to see details at great distances. Their ears are also very complex, serving the dual purpose of detecting sound and aiding them in keeping their balance. The net of fibers tied into their central nervous system also gives them a powerful sense of touch – A Periophian can maneuver in total darkness without a serious handicap, and can identify a familiar substance merely by brushing it. They also have a strong sense of taste, though it is focused more on texture and flavor with an almost utterly atrophied salt palette. Last is their sense of smell, likely the only area in which they are lacking. A Periophian’s nose is a puny thing, a pair of holes on the face that aid in respiration but are almost completely useless for anything except the strongest odors.


CULTURE

“It would be cruel of me to expect their understanding. Blinded, blinkered, and alone in their worlds, with no knowledge of what awaits them or what lies beyond their grasp. After all, they are only human.” – Jaamsa Oka’taylos Pearlstone Crestrider

Periophian society is centered on a clan unit, an extension of the schools of their pre-sentient state. A clan will usually consist of several extended families that live and travel together. On the homeworld, clans are habitually nomadic, traveling when the waters begin to dry up. Rarely must they travel far, though, because across the surface are spread clusters of buildings, small villages erected by other clans and left behind when the oceans seeped away for another clan to inhabit. It is by mutual, unspoken law that a clan must treat the area they inhabit with care and respect, in honor of those who lived there before and those who will come after. These villages, constructed of standardized air/waterproof structures, are spread out over a number of miles to avoid crowding, and are only rarely visible from orbit. In contrast, the five colossal metropolises spread across the homeworld are easily seen from space, the Periophian equivalent of a hive city. They are domed and sealed, reinforced against the crushing tides, creating a year-round habitat for the operation of the government, the spaceports, and other critical industries. Clans are present here as well, though they tend to intermingle as families spread out. On other worlds, where the waters are not as turbulent, clans may still be found. Occasionally they may be nomadic out of habit/instinct, but the majority live in fixed villages. Clans are the base unit of the social society, eclipsing even families (for they are in effect a very large family), which is one root of a common Periophian battle cry, “For Clan, For Honor, and For Destiny!” Military life also contains its clans, though clans there consist of the soldiers grouped within a division or company. This may sometimes lead to membership in several clans for those who belong to the military. Multiple clanships can also occur in civilian life, though it occurs extremely rarely and usually only given as an incredible honor. Being the cornerstone of Periophian society, other clan members are the only people that society will permit physical contact, and the ensuing telepathic link, between. Periodically, though the time frame varies between clans, the group will gather for celebrations that honor the clan ancestors, the gods, and each other.

When a hatchling is born, they are given two names; a personal moniker to identify them, and their clan surname. Upon reaching their cultural adulthood after fifty years of childhood, they select a third name that they personally feel is most representative of their true self. From this point on, the adult Periophian’s name continues to grow and sometimes change, adding or exchanging one of their chosen “descriptive” names for another that reflects some great experience or change in their lives. This typically occurs no more frequently than once every hundred years or so, but particularly tumultuous events can warrant an additional name by themselves. Thus, a Periophian’s name is not just an identifier, but a summarized history of the person to whom it is attached.

The average Periophian selects a life-partner somewhere at the beginning of their second century, though some pairs form earlier or later in life, and some never find partners at all. The Periophian equivalent to marriage, life-bondings can be within the same clan, but are most typically inter-clan relationships to avoid any potential inbreeding. They are monogamous pairings and, except in the rarest of circumstances, are maintained for the length of the participant’s lives. A bonded pair of Periophians enjoy a particularly special relationship, becoming unusually sensitive to the nuances of each other’s electromagnetic fields. This can have many positive benefits, first and foremost the ability to exchange mental communications at short distances even when not in bodily contact, but can also have a terrible backlash if one of the two is slain in battle or from an accident. Survivors of a broken life-bonding are heartbroken beyond any traditional sense of the word, and it has become regretfully accepted by society if a widowed Periophian chooses to end their own life as well rather than continue with a void in their soul.

A typical Perophian’s day starts with a tribute to the two Primary Faces of Moranon (see below), as well as the particular lesser Faces that they prefer. After, they consume the small morning meal and prepare for the day. From then till mid-day is filled with the daily activities of life. At mid-day, they break for another meal of similar size. They then return to work, stopping in the mid-afternoon for a prayer session then continuing until the end of surface-light (sunset) when the water temperature typically drops and they return to their dwelling for the final meal of the day, much larger than the first two. Latemeal consists of two phases. First, they consume a variety of dishes including salads made from sea plants and flavorings, and different types of small, snail-like shellfish. The meal is broken up by a short period for digestion, when they will typically either discuss their day or meditate. When this is over, the second course begins, consisting of various fish and sea vegetables. Much is eaten raw, though the occasional dish is boiled, steamed, or even roasted for variety. However, this is viewed as detracting from the natural splendor of the food, and those that consume a majority of their food cooked are considered eccentric. Some Periophians prefer off-world foods, though this is generally restricted to the more affluent ones who can afford the import fees. When the latemeal is concluded, another prayer session follows, paying final respects to the Faces before sleep.

RELIGION

Periophian religion centers around their god, Moranon, and his five Faces, or aspects. Each has a specific personality and governs a certain area of life. They consist of the following:

Sala’Moranon (sah-lah-more-a-non): A Primary face, the Face of light and Life. Commands the positive forces of the universe, including the eventual renewal of all.

Sulu’Moranon (sue-loo-more-a-non): The second Primary face, the Face of Death and Darkness. Counterpart to and rival of Sala’Moranon. The master of entropy and destruction, but also responsible for the elimination of outdated things to make room for the new and better, the upswing of the great cycle.

Moranon’irali (more-a-non-er-alley): A secondary face, the Face of War. Worshipped by soldiers and warriors, for it is believed to bring luck to them on the battlefield and to smite down their enemies.
 
Moranon’yere (more-a-non-ee-air): Another secondary face, the Face of Peace. The counterpart to Moranon’irali, though they are not rivals and each takes their turn in prominence. It is worshipped by craftsmen, merchants, government officials, and diplomats, all of which need calm waters in which to conduct their business.

Xa’Moranon’az (Za-more-a-non-az): The final Face, also a secondary face, the Face of Growth. Growth is the one force in the universe that will remain regardless of interference, and as such this Face has no counterpart. It is worshipped primarily by traders, builders, and farmers, though all Periophians pay a degree of worship out of cautious respect.

All Periophians give daily homage to the two Primary faces, with secondary faces given regular observance depending on occupation. Individual clans often pray to ancestor spirits, typically wise and respected heroes from the clan’s past that supposedly stick around to watch over their descendants. Worship takes the form of small shrines or statuettes dedicated to each Face, with sacrifices of food and valuables given on festival days. The concept of dedicated priests or mass worship ceremonies is alien to them – every Periophian that goes about their duties with dedication and effort is serving Moranon in the most effective way possible.

Law, Crime, And Punishment

In Periophian society, governmental power is set up in a series of layers. At the lowest rank is the Tidemaster of each clan. The Tidemaster is chosen from among the ranks of the clan, often a very wise, respected, and/or powerful member. They will make the decisions that affect the clan as a whole, but always keep the benefit of their clansmen in mind. Anyone that attempted to usurp power would be quickly driven out of office, and at risk of losing his or her life as well. Tidemasters are almost always chosen for life, though they may retire early to enjoy living in peace. In urban areas, a Tidemaster will instead be entrusted with the maintenance of a small portion of the city.

 At the regional level are the Currentmasters. Currentmasters in a city will oversee larger areas, each managing several Tidemasters. For example, a large city may have one Currentmaster overlooking the residential sector, one to run the industrial areas, and another to manage commercial areas or farming territory, with very large cities having plurals of all the above. Like all Periophian leaders, Currentmasters are careful not to abuse their power, and often defer to the Tidemasters under them in lesser matters. Among the nomadic clans, Currentmasters serve as heralds of important changes, having few duties beyond that.

The next major link in the chain of government is the Seamasters. Seamasters watch over large areas, encompassing multiple Currentmasters and their clans, or may be the head of a large city’s government and the area surrounding it. In a city, the Seamaster would be in charge of things that involve the city as a whole, such as transportation, crop harvesting, and business. A Seamaster is elected in a general election by all Periophians in the region/city, and holds their office for one local year, at which point they must step down. Re-election is possible, but only after at least one term of not holding office. In some cases, a Seamaster may be in charge of an entire colony (the smallest ones, at least).

At the top of the rhetorical totem pole are the great Oceanmasters. They are the most powerful and respected of all Periophians, making decisions that affect entire planets. The Council of Five, the five greatest Oceanmasters, rule over the entire far-sprung Periophian spread of planets from the homeworld. Individual planets are then assigned their own Oceanmasters, or systems in case of multiple small colonies in one system. Oceanmasters rule for life or until they step down, but must be incredibly careful due to the immense power they wield.

Due to the fragmentary nature of the power, it would appear that Periophian government borders on anarchy. That is far from the truth, for the system flows very well. Leaders at the local level make decisions that affect those around them, but always strive to cooperate with neighboring leaders and will obey the dictates of their Currentmaster/Seamaster/Oceanmaster in matters of importance. This is the primary cause for corruption being such a hideous crime, for trust in the other levels of government is essential to keep the system working. The higher echelons trust the lower ones to manage their affairs well, and in turn the lower levels trust those in positions of higher authority to not intervene unless necessary. Any abuse of this system could lead to a breakdown of trust, and eventual collapse of society. Note that this does not mean Periophian government is free of politics. Intrigue is a traditional part of the Council’s rule, with two seats always being filled by those of the Silent Eyes idealism and promoting the traditional passive observation, two being taken by those of the Fist of Iron philosophy in favor of more direct action and a more aggressive fulfillment of their “great destiny”, and the fifth seat left for one of neither preference, typically one of the minor and more moderate groups. This fifth Councilmember is consistently the target of attempted cajoling by one of the two major factions, stopping just short of outright bribes or blackmailing.

[The_Glyphstone]

The Periophians have a loose set of laws, as befits their flexible society, but they are still bound by a strict moral code. Universal taboos such as theft are naturally banned, punishable by reparations and fines. Corruption and blackmail are considered particularly heinous, a voluntary departure from the order and respect that fuels their lives. A result of the Periophian’s electro-pathic sensitivity, one of the worst crimes that can be committed is deliberate assault on another; this is viewed as a violation of the body (in any degree) and that of the mind. Even unintentional physical contact is considered extremely rude. As a precaution, all Periophians wear thin gloves of some material that block skin contact, and their acute sense of self-awareness helps prevent other accidental brushes. Physical assault is crowned only by one type of crime – that of murdering another Periophian. The output of emotion generated by a dying spirit is terrible, a crushing blow to one who can read such energies. It was not unknown in times past for one Periophian to die from the act of killing another one, their mind unable to stand up under the torrent of anguish and pain, and this has evolved into the mightiest taboo possible for a sentient society to create.

When a deviant or lawbreaker is found, Periophian society differs from most other sentient beings in that they are not viewed as criminals to be punished. Instead, they are considered ill, with some sort of mental disease that prevents them from functioning in an orderly society. The Periophian version of a prison is more along the lines of a guarded clinic or hospital, geared towards treating the “problems” of those inside. Rehabilitation comes in the form of counseling, brainwashing, or even drugs, before the patient is returned (hopefully cured) to normal life. Those with chronic mental illnesses like kleptomania or schizophrenia that prove resistant to chemical treatments are sentenced to permanent residence in protective wards, to live out their days in safety. This clinical justice system stops at only one point – the act of murder. In the Periophian mindset, the deliberate killing of one of their own kind is an impossible thing to do, thus only animals could do such a thing. As would befit a mad dog or some such uncontrollable creature, murderers are hunted down and exterminated before they can kill again.

MILITARY: COMPOSITION

 Periophian military forces are grouped into types depending on their specialization. When a Periophian joins the military, they are first tested and evaluated, then assigned a specialization depending on their aptness for certain tasks. Recruits who show talent in marksmanship and shooting, or those who are not special enough to join one of the other classes, join the Jouer-Nae [trnsl: “gun-wardens”], known to those rare Imperials aware of their existence as “Strikers”. The basic infantry of the Periophians, Strikers carry the high-tech disruptor rifles and are the mainstay of many assaults.

A Periophian who shows particular ability in hand-to-hand combat will become one of the Khaz-Nae [trnsl: “blade-wardens”], the Periophian assault troops. They carry small pistols and the dangerous vibro-blades, which carve through armor and flesh with equal ease. They are often known for their viciousness on the battlefield, sometimes approaching a state that borders on frenzy, which earns them their classified nickname of “Piranhas”. Piranhas are always the first into a combat, and the last to retreat.

Those who are notably stealthy and skilled at concealment are inducted into the ranks of the Vhil-Nae [trnsl: “stealth-wardens”], the “Stalkers”. Stalkers are the scouts and snipers of the force, creeping ahead of the main force and gathering intelligence, before peppering the enemy with deadly fire from their lifeseeker rifles. They are often as fast on land as they are in the water, and are peerless in taking advantage of whatever cover they can find.

The biggest and burliest of the Periophians are trained as Pocq-Nae [trnsl: “cannon-wardens”], the heavy weapon-bearing “Barracudas”. They are trained in the use of the most powerful weapons in the Periophian arsenal, including the electrical teslacannons and the jet-propelled submersible razor torpedo launchers. Occasionally these weapons are given to other units, primarily squads of Strikers for fire support, they are always concentrated in the Barracudas for maximum effect.

The fifth and final Periophian common soldier type is an anomaly, for they are not recruited from the general population. The northern ice cap of the Periophian homeworld is very thick, and thus one of the few places on the planet where water is present year-round, though the thickness varies as the ice melts and freezes. Due to the thinner atmosphere here, disproportionately high amount of radiation from the sun reaches this area, and affects the Periophians living there. Occasionally, this increased radiation is known to induce a bizarre mutation among Periophians exposed to it, causing them to sprout a set of long and tactile tendrils from their backs, almost like tentacles minus the suckers. Warriors affected in this manner can use these tentacles like extra limbs, and are destined for a special fate. At birth, Periophian hatchlings displaying this mutation are taken away and raised to become one of the Chors-Nae [trnsl: “history-wardens”], the feared “Octopi”. They are trained in the most specialized combat arts, and entrusted with the safety of their race’s greatest treasures: The knowledge and records contained within the Great Library of the Periophians. These solemn warriors are rarely seen off the homeworld, rare in number as they are, but are sometimes joined to a warhost for a short time. During that time, they display their skill in a most deadly manner, tearing through enemy troops with ease. Their tentacles wrap about enemies and strangle or immobilize them, leaving them helpless to a killing blow from the Octopus’s blades. They are the elite guard of the Periophians, and prove their worth with every foe they slay.

To support their infantry, Periophians also employ a number of support assets, both mechanical and organic. Among these are the specially enhanced crab schools, bred from one of the handful of predatory species from their battered homeworld almost as evolutionarily successful as the Periophians themselves. These carnivorous crustaceans are genetically treated for size and aggressiveness, then augmented with implanted armor and special receivers that subordinate their primitive intellects to commands from a Periophian bearing their respective transmitter. Cheap and expendable, they are employed as living speed bumps, distractions, or flanking units to deploy against exposed enemy positions, though they are vulnerable to the loss of their controller and rapidly descend to simple instinct if the connection is lost. In a similar vein, the massive and brutish Dreadfish can fill the role of living tanks alongside more conventional vehicles. Actually a symbiotic relationship between the Dreadfish itself, a gargantuan carnivorous turtle-like creature, and the scavenging screamer slugs that limpet themselves to the Dreadfish’s shell. These huge gastropods are virtually defenseless except for their ability to direct a paralyzing blast of sonic energy onto their prey – one of the original inspirations for the Periophian disruptor weaponry. Similarly, the dreadfish are powerful but slow, unable to catch most prey in their vicious teeth and clawed limbs. Together, the two creatures share their mobility and ability to immobilize food in the wild; domesticated, they are set loose on the Periophian’s enemies to wreak havoc with their morale and organization.

MILITARY – TECHNOLOGY AND WEAPONS

“Analysis inconclusive. Exact function of xenos weaponry unknown. High-frequency sonic vibration resonance theorized. Filed into Unknown Xenotech, directory A568D, subdirectory BB6312, mainframe reference F84KG9KFDJ37D07420C. Praise the Machine.” – Summary of Adeptus Mechanicus examination of recovered alien technology from Caylister VII colony massacre.

Periophian weaponry is very advanced in nature, with perhaps only the Eldar and maybe the Tau surpassing them. Their basic weaponry, the disruptor pistols and rifles, are sonic based. Two resonant crystals embedded in the barrel project narrow streams of ultrasonic energy, which intersect for maximal effect on the target. An enemy struck by the shot is bombarded with ultrasonic energy that is fatal to an unarmored target and still dangerous to an armored one. Eardrums can rupture, eyeballs explode, and blood vessels pop under the barrage of sonic death. Fragile electronics can be ruined by the shock, and sensors blinded. Even those shielded from the worst effects will be stunned and disoriented under the onslaught. The larger disruptor cannons can be fine-tuned to frequencies sympathetic with their target, reaching harmonics that rend apart even the thickest armor and turn the flesh beneath into liquid ruin.

Also among their diverse arsenal are weapons such as the electroshock cable launchers, lifeseeker rifle, razor torpedos and various plasma weapons. Electroshock cable launchers are effectively a massive taser of sorts, firing a pair of entwined cords attached to tiny rockets that embed themselves in a target and release a immense surge of electrical energy coruscating through it. Once released, this energy is completely wild and known to arc from enemy to enemy before dissipating. The Stalkers, skilled scouts and snipers, wield the complex lifeseeker rifles. Lifeseekers are a miniaturized mass driver or railgun, firing a small slug at hypersonic velocities while maintaining pinpoint accuracy. Occasionally Stalker groups will swap the stealthy rifles for more bulky harpoon guns, aiming to snare a vulnerable enemy and drag them into reach of other units’ guns.

Only rarely are plasma-based weapons utilized, because of the inherent difficulty in making them function. Early in their history, the Periophians quickly and explosively learned that plasma was not an effective medium underwater, till they devised a solution. Experimenting with the chemical and physical properties, they succeeded in creating a new compound that was capable of restraining plasma within a definite shape, like a bubble. Their weapons were built to fire spheres of this “nega-plasma” filled with its more volatile cousin, which would rupture on impact. They do not overheat like a human plasma weapon, but a plasma sphere rupturing prematurely can have much the same effect. Assuming it does not, calibrated targeting systems and the inherent stability of the plasma spheres meant that a warrior armed with such a weapon could fire it “from the hip”. The end result make Periophian neoplasma cannons much more mobile than their Imperial counterparts, though no less risky.

Another of the less-used tools of war is the razor torpedo. Fired from special launchers, the razor is named for its unique propulsion system and shape, which allow it to travel both underwater and through the air without any noticeable change in velocity. Often, troopers stationed in water will fire the torpedoes underwater and the ingrained computer chips will ignite the rocket propulsion at the correct moment, resulting in a deadly missile “popping up’ out of seemingly harmless water and speeding to its target.

On the rare occasion that a Periophian force cannot retreat and must defend themselves in large-scale battles, they are quick to employ defensive minefields. Much more sophisticated than their human equivalent, Periophian mines are closer in nature to extremely small remote drones, carrying a warhead and a microcomputer atop a tiny propulsion unit that enables the mine to burrow itself into the ground and wait for a suitable target within the preprogrammed mass range to pop out and detonate. These mines can also be used offensively, deployed in the midst of battle from high-speed minelayers in front of enemy troops or even in the middle of them.

Periophian technology does not stop at their weapons. With the stress on their spinal cord from walking upright for long periods of time, Periophians were forced to develop artificial aids. The result of long research was the "drysuit". Crafting a drysuit is a long and involved process, but the result can be a work of art as easily as it can be a weapon of war. All drysuits start with an elastic, skintight layer of a rubber-like polymer that is water-permeable. The next layer is a network of hundreds of hair-thin tubes, interlaced and interconnected, all filled with a liquid solution and sandwiched between another layer of rubber. This tiny hydraulic system is controlled by equally tiny pumps at various points in the suit, programmed to reinforce and mimic the movements of the wearer. A final layer of rubbery material is applied over everything, and its composition depends on the particular variant of the drysuit. Ordinary, civilian makes will be ordinary material, treated for water-retention. Combat drysuits have an outer layer of a much tougher rubber, coated to repel heat and laser blasts, and reinforced with sheets of metal or bone to block solid blows. Versions for working in vacumn or exotic environments have their own alterations. The result is a product that offers a great deal of protection, but at almost no restriction of movement.

Conversely, the Periophians are almost totally unschooled in the area of functional artificial intelligence programs. Their attitude towards such devices is strikingly similar to that of the Imperium, though for subtly different reasons. They feel that life requires the electromagnetic impulses their soul-heart allows them to detect; like the phantasms of spirit that dwell within the Immaterium, a mind without a life behind it is not truly alive at all, and so should not be allowed. They have compensated somewhat with incredibly complex computer systems programmed to allow for a mind-boggling number of contingencies and alternatives, but their machines have none of the initiative given to even the most simplistic of machine-spirits, able only to fit their current situation into one of their pre-determined programs or rely on a living Periophian for further instructions. Mortally wounded Periophians are sometimes permanently hardwired into mechanical devices or war machines as a means of preserving their lives, but the result is much closer to that of a Dreadnaught than any sort of artificial intelligences, and those who adopt this method of escaping death are viewed with suspicion by the general population, outright distrusted by many as some sort of cyborgian monster.

MILITARY – TACTICS

The Periophian’s natural fragility and paranoid xenophobia have caused them to embrace raiding and hit-and-run strategies as their primary combat maneuvers, even more so than the Eldar. A Periophian force on the defensive will first and foremost attempt to run away – the fighting retreat, both simulated and actual, has been developed nearly to the point of an art form. Against certain enemies, particularly those most likely to be caught up in their own bloodlust (Orks, Chaos, some Space Marines), even offensive maneuvers can take the form of an apparent retreat after a failed attack, only to draw the “defending” army into a carefully prepared killing zone of mines and ready weaponry. In other cases, they use tactics similar to those of Eldar pirates, though less dependent on sheer speed and more so on disrupting the enemy’s formations and communication, leaving them in disarray and easy prey to concentrated Periophian strikes. Prolonged attacks and sieges go against the Periophian mindset, as well as posing a great risk of catastrophic loss to their forces, so attacks on large fortified positions are rare unless the Periophians have brought both overwhelming force and a guarantee that enemy reinforcements will be unable to arrive in time, or are truly desperate to prevent something from taking place.

In space, their tactics are quite similar in nature, though with a more aggressive bent to them. Periophian starships are not a great deal more maneuverable than Imperial vessels, and far less so than Eldar ones, but they make up for it with their seemingly fearless short-range warp jumping. The instinctive ability of Periophians to navigate the currents of the Immaterium combined with their racial resistance to the predation of demonic entities gives them a powerful advantage in close-ranged combat with enemy fleets, as the Periophian vessels engage in tiny hops through the warp far deeper in-system than any non-suicidal Navigator would dare, and with such precision as to sometimes be used in place of actual maneuvering or as a supplement to such. One such common maneuver is a sort of repeated strafing run, where a ship or squadron of ships makes a high-speed attack run against an enemy that carries them far past the target, then performing a synchronized micro-jump to reposition themselves back on the original side of the opponent for a second or third such pass without any loss of acceleration, and possibly providing the illusion of numbers greater than their actual strength. This can sometimes be necessary because of the nature of those ship’s armaments. A Periophian vessel forced into close quarters is at great risk, as they are typically quite weak on lance and beam armaments in favor of extremely heavy missile arrays; a natural result of their environment, Periophians never developed the laser weaponry common to other races, and have been forced to reverse-engineer and retrofit those alien designs to match their own vessels with a corresponding reduction in effectiveness.

LIFE CYCLE

“I’z tellin’ ya dey’s fishboyz! Dey smell like fish, dey bleed like fish, dey run like…wait a sec…” – Ork Warboss Fragsnaggler

Periophians begin their life as eggs. Since newborns are incapable of walking for the first few days of their lives, the species evolved a mechanism designed to ensure survival of as many young as possible. The female produces the eggs in batches of up to a dozen at a time, and after being fertilized, they are placed within special flaps or pouches under the skin of her back. Here, they develop in relative safety, slowly growing and gaining the appearance of large fleshy bubbles on the mother’s back. Over the next hundred and fifty to two hundred days, the bubbles swell to roughly the size and shape of a coconut, after which they rupture and the eggs emerge. The process is painful, but causes no lasting injury. Here the eggs enter a dormant stage, developing a thick outer casing that will only dissolve upon prolonged contact with water. This kept the embryo healthy for another two hundred days at minimum, until the school reaches another water source, where the young hatch and are ready to walk by the time migration occurs again. Until then, the eggs would be carried by the mother or other clan members, supplying the near-physical contact essential for the developing newborn’s soul-heart. Children born without having received this close attention turned into the closest Periophian equivalent to a sociopath, unable to distinguish the mental impulses of their own species from any other creature’s, and in the past, were almost invariably killed or exiled due to their inability to function as a member of the tribe. Modern Periophian eggs are cared for in group nurseries by teams of specially trained egg-keepers, except among the most traditionalist clans who maintain the old clan-based care system.

[The_Glyphstone]

Newly hatched Periophians are capable of walking within a few days, but develop very slowly (physiologically) after that. Their equivalent of adolescence is reached after roughly twenty years, and full physical maturity and recognition as an adult being achieved at fifty years of age. Mentally, maturity is more accelerated, necessary to interpret the complex signals from their electro-sensory organ. A ten-year old Periophian will possess the cognitive ability parallel to a human in their late teens, maxing out at the same time physical maturity is reached. Mature Periophians are capable of bearing offspring immediately, though the decision to do so is usually delayed till they have found their preferred life-partner to bond with and produce children. A Periophian female is technically able to begin growing a new brood of eggs as soon as the previous brood has detached from her back, but this is exceedingly dangerous to the mother’s health. As the civilization and survival ability of their society has improved, so has the time that elapses between hatchings, to the point where modern Periophian couples can wait twenty or thirty years in between broods. Both female and male Periophians are capable of extruding natural contraceptives at will, preventing any sort of accidental birthings that could have been fatal in pre-sentient times.

The average Periophan lifespan can reach up to three hundred years or more, though physical infirmity accelerates at an exponential rate after two and a half centuries of life, confining such elders to spend their remaining years underwater. In prehistoric times, corpses were left to be eaten by local predators in a symbolic rebirth back into the world, now replaced by cremation or disintegration towards the same ends. Periophians who die in space can be launched into the heart of a local star, though it is more common to have their ashes interred until the ship returns to a colony world with waters for them to be scattered into.

PERIOPHIANS AND THE WARP

“It was like nothing I had ever seen before. To the sensors of our battle-armor, they were just another bunch of anonymous xenos scum, targets to be exterminated. But to my second sight, they were not many but one, a single unified presence that seemed to outstrip even my own.” – Imperial Fists Brother-Librarian Petrarchus


Possibly one of the most intriguing aspects of the Periophians is the manner in which they interact with and are represented within the chaotic interface of the Immaterium. The “soul-heart” organ found within all healthy Periophians grants them a heightened sensitivity towards the electrical impulses given off by living beings, particularly those of other Periophians. In the physical world, this is not easily observed or felt, even by the participants themselves aside from the unconscious comfort of having their kinfolk within sensing distance. However, inside the Warp, this communal connection has a very unusual side effect. All living creatures are reflected within the Warp, as pinpricks or brighter lights depending on their psychic aptitude. Periophians, however, are an exception to this rule; their warp-signatures are not individual, but blend together between all the Periophians within a certain physical range. The greater their numbers, the stronger this collective warp presence becomes. This does not require the individuals involved to be capable of channeling psychic energy, though those who can are naturally aware of the effects. The primary result of this phenomenon is a downright unnatural resilience of all Periophians against the predations of demonic entities. When a warp creature attempts to attack a Periophian, it finds its efforts and its energy divided among the minds of every Periophian nearby as well, diluting the strength of the attack to the point of harmlessness. Being embodiments of chaos, such beings are incapable of cooperating for any sort of collective assault that might overcome this defense, which means only the very strongest of demons are capable of successfully attacking a Periophian. It is rare, but can be devastating, for the flipside of this communal warp presence is the unavoidable fact that if it is suborned, every Periophian included within it becomes subject to the control of the demon responsible simultaneously. They refer to such events as Khaam-Vana [trnsl: Broken Souls], with horror stories about Periophian vessels lost within the currents of the Unseen Ocean forever, their entire crews mindlessly babbling under the influence of some hideous demonic being.

When a Periophian displays a potential ability to consciously manipulate flows of warp energy, they are apprenticed to an experienced Wave-Seer, a Periophian pysker. There, they are taught the proper methods of channeling their psychic power without opening themselves up too greatly and risking their own lives and those of others around them. Veteran Wave-Seers are capable of funneling far more energy, using the presence of other the Periophians around them as a safety net to shield them from minor warp entities they might otherwise be vulnerable to when directing such a volume of power and allowing them to perform normally dangerous or suicidal psychic actions.

Many analogies and metaphors given to qualify the Warp liken it to an ocean or a maelstrom, though one composed of psychic energy and emotions instead of water. Navigators steer their vessels through these ‘waters’, and demonic creatures lurk in their depths like hungry predators. To a Periophian, however, this is not metaphor, but literal fact. They interpret the “Unseen Ocean” as just that, an ocean, having much in common with the watery environments they evolved to survive in. When traveling within it, the currents and patterns of the Warp are laid bare for any Periophian to see and confront directly where it would take a skilled human Navigator to survive. Even novice Periophian ship captains are capable of steering their vessels safely within the Warp on an instinctual level; when that steering is given over to a specially trained warp-captain, a ship under their control is capable of maneuvers that would seem impossible to any other race. Periophian ships frequently and easily make warp jumps at distances far larger and far smaller, as well as far closer to a ship or planet’s gravity well, than any Imperial fleet captain could ever risk. The very greatest of the master warp-captains are said to have unlocked the secrets of the Unseen Ocean’s time-streams as well, giving them a limited ability to take their ship forward or backwards in time as they travel through space – but mastery to this point typically comes with physical age advanced enough to where they are unable to bear the rigors of space travel any longer; they can instruct their pupils, but such truths cannot be understood by anyone who has not personally experienced them.

Periophians and Other Races

“Amusing, pretentious upstarts, to have such delusions that they will someday find some hidden truth of the galaxy, a truth that we with a million times their history have yet to discover.” - Warlock Orodfalas, Craftworld Ulthuan

The central tenet of the Periophian’s “Great Destiny” is that they must remain unseen and unnoticed until the proper time has come for them to emerge and lead the galaxy to peace. The exact time and nature of this is unknown, and may never be known, but has still resulted in a very secretive and insular culture that does its best to prevent the other races from knowing about their existence. Naturally, this has been unsuccessful, but successful enough to the point where they are still relatively obscure in many cases.

To the Imperium of Man, the Periophians are nothing more than yet another of the odd, disgusting xenos species that plague the galaxy. It would be quite a shock if Humanity was to discover just how widespread this particular “plague” is, but the sheer size of the Imperium combined with its sub-glacial bureaucracy and the Periophian’s own well-honed secrecy work in favor of the aliens.  Except in the possible case of a handful of secret Inquisitorial records, there is no knowledge of the fish-like xenos in one sector being connected to the sleek, high-tech alien raiders of another sector halfway across the galaxy, or either of them to the mysterious xenos starships capable of near-sorcerous warp jumping maneuvers in another equally distant region.

Of the four Chaos Gods, Tzeentch alone is cognizant of the Periophians and their schemes, something that he finds endlessly amusing. Passive observers are little fun to manipulate, but this is no obstacle to the Lord of Change, who takes a particular pleasure in occasionally co-opting the Periophian’s own religious beliefs through the fifth Face of Moranon. The Periophians are unknown or irrelevant to the other Gods and to the forces of Chaos as a whole, being a far less interesting target than the hated Imperium. As mentioned, the collective psychic presence formed as a side effect of their electropathic sensory ability is a suitable protection against possession by most minor demons.

Conversely, the Eldar are quite aware of the Periophian’s overall existence, even without knowing the exact locations of their many colonies and observatories. Eldar attitudes toward them range from amused to dismissive, at worst annoying parasites that hang around without any discernable purpose or effect on the space around them. The ‘Great Destiny’ of the Periophians is utterly irrelevant to the Eldar mindset and way of life, and so most Eldar are happy to stand by and let the primitives play their little games as long as it does not endanger a Craftworld. Dark Eldar are one notable exception, but they have their own problems with the Periophians – namely, their elusiveness and difficulty to capture, and their almost total uselessness as slaves; captured Periophians typically suicide on the spot, shutting down their vital functions to an irreversible state and starving to death. They are considered unworthy prey for the most part, requiring far more effort to obtain than they provide in reward.

With the record-keeping abilities of Orks being almost completely theoretical, it is no great surprise that the Greenskins have no awareness of the Periophians beyond purely local levels. Individual warlords and bosses who have fought them are typically quite frustrated at the “fishy-boyz” refusal to engage in a traditional stand-up fight instead of using “sneaky stuff”. Many Orks are simply unable to distinguish Periophian raids from Eldar ones – both are fast and deadly, with technology far beyond Orkish comprehension, and a distinct interest in “takin’ da fun out ov it”. Any proper Eldar would be insulted beyond reason by such a comparison; A Periophian wouldn’t care, as anything obscuring their presence can only be a boon.

The Tau know vaguely of the Periophian presence in their area of the galaxy, though without the knowledge of just how far that presence spreads beyond their immediate location. Attempts to coerce them to join the “Greater Good” are rebuffed or ignored, causing a great deal of friction allevated mainly by the fact that the Periophians choose when and where to initiate contact with the Empire. From the Periophian point of view, the Tau are admirable in their motives, if a bit proactive and hasty in their methods. Conversion by force is an ineffective way to unify the galaxy, though certainly ambitious.

Necrons and Tyranids make no distinction between Periophians and any other race, being lifeforms to exterminate or consume. The Periophians do their best to protect their colony worlds from both, but they lack the ability to fend off the Tyranids for anything more substantial than a delaying effort while colonies in a Hive Fleet’s path are evacuated. The disruptions of Behemoth and Kraken were severely detrimental to the Periophian’s galactic network, and they are still reconnecting some isolated observatories in the wake of the latter’s defeat. They likewise lack the resources to properly wage war on the Necrons in an offensive manner, but are quite practiced at putting information about the presence of a hidden tombworld or Necron stronghold into the hands of others more effectively equipped to deal with the threat, depending on who is at hand and can be manipulated or persuaded into cleansing the danger.

[CELS]

Dodge this!  <fires a barrage of bullet-point comments>

- The name... maybe I'm a moron, but I really had to concentrate to figure out how to pronounce that. Granted, the same can be said about the Aoideans (frequently referred to as the Aedoians, Aideoians, Aeodians or Ayia-iya-oh-dians), but I'm going to be hypocritical and make the argument none the less. Perhaps you could shorten it? Periophans? Perophians? Pheropians?
- "Deep within the wilderness areas of the galaxy, far beyond the reach of the Imperium, there lay a large, watery world". Sounds a bit like the start of a fairy tale, in my opinion. You might want to make it a bit less... storytelling-like
- "Intelligent life may eventually have evolved on the planet". Shouldn't that be "could eventually have"?
- "A large comet, traveling from far away..." You might want to drop "travelling from far away"
- "Similar to sharks, it possessed organs sensitive to the electrical fields given off by other living organisms in water." I have to say I love this concept and the fact that you've got a non-psychic form of telepathy. Not sure if it's scientifically feasible, but I thought it was very clever. With that said, I urge you to remove the comparison to sharks, unless you do it like "Similar to the pre-historic sharks of ancient Terra". This has to do with the 'rules' of 40k prose, which is normally written from the perspective of the 41st millennium, rather than a contemporary real-world view.
- "In the minds of the Periophians, all living things other than plants must give off electrical signals that can be felt, and if these “demons” cannot be felt, they could not exist." Temporal problem here. Should probably be "if these cannot be felt, they cannot exist" or "if they could not be felt, they could not exist".
- In regards to the inability of the Periophians to kill eachother - surely they would be able to overcome this as they grew more intelligent. Conflicts are bound to rise, and what would stop the Periophians from killing each other from a distance? Seems likely to me that any non-violent instinct from aeons of telepathic empathy would be overcome if the situation was dire enough. Imagine a situation where the Periophians had a lack of resoruces, for whatever reasons, resulting in disease, famine, drought or whatever. I think the Periophians would be just as likely to experience conflicts as other races, except that direct violence and abuse would be far less common.
- "Their first successful space probe, atop a simple chemical rocket, rose into the heavens around the Terran mid-10th millennium B.C." Again, this is inappropriate in 40k prose as the term "B.C." doesn't exist.
- "Thus their race, which until then had been nameless..." This seems impossible, given the commonly held principle that cultures will tend to have words for everything they know of. I forget the name of this concept / hypothesis. Anyway, try to think of all the situations where the Periophians will be discussing themselves as a race, look how often the word "humans" is used in the media.
- As a personal preference, I would not put the Periophians on any planets or moons in the Sol system. In my eyes it seems unlikely that they would go undiscovered, given the extensive colonisation and exploration of the Sol system described in the 40k background.
- "...the Horus Heresy caught them completely by surprise. The disruption caused by Chaos crumbled their galactic network of colonies to a small cluster around their homeworlds. " This doesn't make sense to me. They managed to remain hidden for so long, so what changed in the Horus Heresy? If anything, it should be easier for them to hide since everyone else was suddenly very busy with other things.
- "They would have arrived, and scoured the world from existence for the benefit of the galaxy, but for the chance interference of the Imperium." Objection, Your Honour, this is purely speculation.

Well, I made my way through the first post. Three posts to go. Overall, I like the changes that you've made compared to how I remember the Atlanteans. I'll have to read through everything before I can make further comments, as I don't know if my current concerns will be validated yet. Stay tuned

[The_Glyphstone]

Wow, a response a lot sooner than I expected. And true to form, you've managed to ferret out almost every one of the holdout text fragments from V2.0 that don't mesh with the re-envisioning.

All of the grammatical suggestions are good ones. As for the "plot"-related ones:

- On pronounciation: The name is actually derived from the Latin terminology for the genus of amphibious fish called "mudskippers" (Periophthalmus) , which are quite close to the Periophians. I was mentally pronouncing it "Perry-oaf-ians" myself.

-"Deep within the wilderness areas of the galaxy, far beyond the reach of the Imperium, there lay a large, watery world".
I'd like it to be less fairy-taleish too, any suggestions on how to reword it?

 - For their phobia against killing each other, you offer good points. But what I was picturing was a situation where it took them long enough to develop the means to harm one another out of range of the mental backlash that by then the prohibition had already wired itself into their psyches. They would have had conflicts, but resorting to solutions involving force would have been among the "isolated outbreaks" mentioned, where the general trend was to find non-violent solutions to their respective issues. Note that their first ranged weapon was closer to a harpoon launcher meant to snare its target and drag them into melee range - it was a while before they figured out how to adapt the native fauna's sonic-based abilities into usable weaponry.

- I'll have to do some pruning in various parts, such as the bit about them being nameless - though what I was trying to say there was they didn't really have any specific word to refer to themselves other than the local version of "us". Still, it needs changing, or otherwise deleting.

Ditto on the Horus Heresy, though I think that was a relic of when they used couriers instead of Wave-Seers.

-Being in Sol System is implausible, though I'd think it more likely that they just packed up and left when the situation "got hot", so to speak, rather than never have been there in the first place.

-Nightbringer is one of my favorite Ultramarine novels, but it'd make more sense canonically if I just say "they arrived too late" and leave it at that. K?

[CELS]

- On pronounciation: The name is actually derived from the Latin terminology for the genus of amphibious fish called "mudskippers" (Periophthalmus) , which are quite close to the Periophians. I was mentally pronouncing it "Perry-oaf-ians" myself.

I guessed that the name was inspired from some sort of latin classification, and to my credit I was able to understand how it should be read eventually. My suggestion was merely that their name would be better if it was a bit easier. Ork, Eldar, Tyranid, Kroot, Necron, Tau.... one, two or three syllables. Per-i-oph-i-ans, five syllables. Anyway, it's just a suggestion. Like I said, one could easily counter with A-o-id-e-ans, also five syllables

-"Deep within the wilderness areas of the galaxy, far beyond the reach of the Imperium, there lay a large, watery world".
I'd like it to be less fairy-taleish too, any suggestions on how to reword it?

Oh, I don't know. Something like; "The homeworld of the Periophians lay in the galactic east [or whatever you want], deep within the unexplored areas beyond the reach of the Imperium." It's not as dramatic and engaging, but it has more of a sci-fi tone to it, I think. I'm not a very good wordsmith though.

- For their phobia against killing each other, you offer good points. But what I was picturing was a situation where it took them long enough to develop the means to harm one another out of range of the mental backlash that by then the prohibition had already wired itself into their psyches. They would have had conflicts, but resorting to solutions involving force would have been among the "isolated outbreaks" mentioned, where the general trend was to find non-violent solutions to their respective issues. Note that their first ranged weapon was closer to a harpoon launcher meant to snare its target and drag them into melee range - it was a while before they figured out how to adapt the native fauna's sonic-based abilities into usable weaponry.

Yes, I recognised the logic before as well, but my point is that the race would probably eventually find a way to bypass these instincts. Furthermore, there is a very good reason why humans have learned to view their race as "in-groups" (allies and friends) and "out-groups" (everyone else). Humans are naturally social creatures, but at some point in time the humans (or their predecessors) were faced with a lack of resources. Humans who did not act aggressively towards others would starve, humans who acted aggressively towards everyone were isolated and thus vulnerable, and humans who were able to form groups and friendships in order to secure the limited resources would survive.

I think it's quite interesting that the periophians have an extreme sense of empathy due to their evolutional heritage, but I just think that if you take it too far it becomes utopian, which isn't really interesting. That's my humble opinion, I know Dazo disagrees (for example), but I think the majority of 40k fans feel the same way. It would be far more interesting if their sense of empathy led to other forms of aggression and rivalry within the periophian culture. They might be more inclined to "outmatch" their rivals through isolation, just like... well, women. If they didn't like someone, they tried to isolate the individual (or group), thus avoiding the empathy pains. As soon as the periophians reached a high enough technology level, this kind of indirect aggression was no longer necessary and the periophians were able to overcome their instincts. Just like many human civilisations have been able to overcome the natural empathy of humans by rationalising unnatural acts such as torture and genocide.

I think I've made my point, so I leave it up to you to decide how to respond. My conclusion is simply that not only would it be more interesting with aggression within the periophian society, but it also seems far more realistic in my eyes. So there you have it!

-Being in Sol System is implausible, though I'd think it more likely that they just packed up and left when the situation "got hot", so to speak, rather than never have been there in the first place.

It does beg the question of why there were there before the situation "got hot" though. Who would have predicted the potential of Mankind, except maybe the Old Ones through their psychic foresight? If the Periophians happened to be in the Sol system, it would suggest that they either possessed extraordinary foresight or that they were monitoring millions of sentient races across the galaxy.

-Nightbringer is one of my favorite Ultramarine novels, but it'd make more sense canonically if I just say "they arrived too late" and leave it at that. K?

Fair enough! Nothing wrong with leaving the option open for personal interpretations and heresies

Now, I've just read the rest of the article, but I have to wait an hour or two before I reply, because I'm at work. <shakes fist>

EDIT -

Physical traits.

- You might want to start by mentioning that they're humanoid, having two arms and two legs. Speaking of which, I would personally suggest making them less human - right now they're humanoid, they've got eyes, ears, noses, spinal cords, ribcages... it sounds a bit Star Trek-y (i.e. all aliens look human). Granted, the same can be said about orks, eldar, tau and necrons, but my opinion stands.

- "The organ that they refer to as their “soul-heart” grants them their unnatural ability to sense electromagnetic emissions in many spectrums." Unnatural? I would think it was completely natural, given the 'scientific' explanation.

Culture...

- I'd very much like to see more characters with their 'true' periophobian names, like the ones you wrote for the aspects of Moranon, in their native language. Calling them stuff like Longsight and Starglow makes them sound undeniably Eldar / Elven.

Law, crime and punishment

- This section needs a bit of work, in my opinion. It's quite... naive, I guess is the best word for it. There's a boss, a big boss, a bigger boss and the biggest boss. They always strive to cooperate, they trust each other, they're wise and respected and they're careful not to abuse their power. Without mentioning any flaws in this system, introducing any sources of disagreement or conflict, there's not much to work with here. I notice that the Periophians are apparently quite democratic, so you might want to mention that specifically and elaborate a bit on whether or not this transfers to their civilisation as a whole, as opposed to being a patriarchal society, for example.
[Note: I know a lot of our members find the government-part of any article hard to write, maybe because it reminds them of boring politics, but if done right it really adds some depth to a fictional civilisation. If we just write "there is a king ruling over several princes, each ruling over several dukes and they're all working in perfect harmony", then who's going to want to read about it? Sounds like something out of a fairy tale ]

- You may want to reconsider the names for the various officials. Currentmaster, Seamaster, Oceanmaster... it's a bit on the banal side. It's like calling the leaders of Eldar aspect warriors "Aspectleaders" instead of coming up with a whole new term like "Exarch", which is much cooler. Inventing new terms is a tricky part of such articles, but never the less very important. Dan Abnett is a master of coining new terms, giving his novels a whole new level of plausibility and realism, so I recommend reading his work if you're not sure what I'm talking about.

Military: Composition...

- All good stuff, but this has a very Warhammer 40,000 bias. When discussing their military you're specifically talking about the forces one is likely to encounter in a game of tabletop 40k (equivalents of tactical squads, assault squads, scouts and heavy support squads), without mentioning the rest of their military forces. What about artillery? Sea-faring vessels? Aircraft? Starships?

- Perhaps it would be better to cut down on the information that, begging your pardon, is a bit obvious (such as saying that their military forces are grouped into types depending on their specialisation, or that they are tested and evaluated in order to determine their aptness... ) and expand on a larger-scope analysis of the Periophian military. It might also make sense to start by explaining the strategies of the Periophians on a galactic level (i.e. hit-and-run, avoiding large confrontations and not trying to accomplish their goals through brute force) and then go on to explain how this manifests itself in their military forces (e.g. fast and lightly armed ships, extensive use of transports to ensure rapid mobilisation, etc).

- As you may recall, I was never a huge fan of the "Octopi" guys. If you do want to include them, my personal suggestion is to at least make some effort to explain why they have such a weird kind of mutation. I mean, mutation tends to be random (and most often unhealthy), yet a certain group all end up with tentacles. Why tentacles, instead of extra ears, third nipples or chickenwings? I would like to see either a scientific or a warp-related explanation. Otherwise, it's just plain Rule of Cool.

Military technology and weapons...

- I guess the "beams of ultrasonic energy" is basically... sound. Right? It's probably a stupid question, but with your use of the word "energy", I was a bit confused as to what you meant exactly.

- I really like most of the weapons. I think the teslacannon should be renamed, since it fires rockets attached to cables. The word 'cannon' seems to suggest that it fires some sort of loose projectile. But I love the concept.

- You might want to reconsider the line "Periophian weaponry is very advanced in nature, with perhaps only the Eldar and maybe the Tau surpassing them". It's a can of worms in several aspects. The use of "perhaps" is a bit worrying, and you fail to mention the Necrons, which is strange. Furthermore, a lot of fans would argue that Tau weapon technology isn't necessarily more advanced than that of the Imperium - it's just developed in a different direction. And last but not least, this statement tends to eliminate the possibility of other very advanced races in the galaxy.

- I have my doubts about the plasma weapon. Plasma spheres that can contain plasma, yet ruptures on impact? Nega-plasma? Firing from the hip? This smells like an awful amount of hand waving and shoehorning, sorry.

- "Periophian technology does not stop at their weapons." Another case of stating the obvious, surely?

- "Ordinary, civilian makes will be ordinary material." And again...?

Military tactics...

- Pretty good, though I must once again point out that it would be useful to reconsider the order of presenting this information. For one thing, I think it would be useful to start the tactics section with explaining the whole galactic strategy and ambition of the periophians, which would then make it easier to understand the point of their hit-and-run tactics.

Periophians and the warp....

- I really like the concept of connected souls, which protects the periophians but also opens for the possibility of mass corruption. Mind you, if it wasn't for the latter, I would probably hate the idea, but the possibility of this kind of mass corruption is very interesting in terms of narratives. But yeah, I like it - which is saying a lot, because I normally the fact that every race in 40k except humans seems to have a natural resistance against chaos.

- The warp travel is something I have a problem with. I think there needs to be a better explanation why they can navigate the warp so well, other than their aquatic origins. The warp is unnatural and the only reason why Navigators can navigate in it so well is because they are unnatural ab-humans as well. Experiences from the physical universe might help a little for the periophians, but it doesn't change the fact that the warp is wholly unnatural, with very few "laws" at all, and perhaps none at all that are similar to the laws of the physical universe.
It's like saying... "To be a good speaker, one needs a great sense of balance when choosing one's words. Thus, an acrobat with excellent balance should be a good speaker."
You might consider this example a gross exaggeration, but I find it very apt given the differences between the Matterium and the Immaterium.

Overall....
I think it's very promising. The parts I didn't comment on, I quite liked. I do think that more people should chime in before you choose whether to heed my comments or not, because I tend to be a bit... headstrong, and I don't presume to speak for everyone else. Sorry if my feedback has come off as harsh - I know there's a fair bit of [constructive!] criticism, but... just trying to help, really.

[The_Glyphstone]

I don't mind the constructive criticism - it's what I'm most after, really....pointing out the blind spots in my own writing abilities, particularly on something like this that I've spent so much work on.  I'll work on your suggestions/comments in order.

---------------------
Introduction: That sounds good - maybe use the Astronomicon in place of the Imperium though - they're functionally the same, but it ties it a bit more to the setting. I'll try to figure something out.
------------------------

Culture/Law: Re-reading it myself, I agree that it's a bit bland. Not gritty enough for 40K, really - and the "harmonious utopia" is the realm of the Tau Empire now, to be honest. I'd still rather keep their ingrained bias against physically harming each other,but they do need some internal strife - and I may have a solution.

It may have taken long enough for them to develop their technology to the point where the empathy aspect wasn't a barrier to killing each other anymore, though I was picturing that by the time they got there, it wasn't the actual empathy preventing them from harming each other so much as the habit of avoiding it...it just wasn't done, and people who did it risked getting themselves outcast from the community. Humans may feel empathy towards one another naturally, but it's not really the same as literal not-quite-psychic empathic ability.

But they need an outlet for conflict, still. So what if during that growth period when they still had conflicts but were unable to overcome their racial programming (so to speak) against civil strife, they instead turned to non-violent, or at least non-lethal means of conflict resolution? Specifically, what my bleary half-asleep mind last night conceived of as..

--
--
--
The Game

As the Periophians developed and spread across the surface of their world, they naturally began to conflict with one another over the availability of resources of all kinds, from safer breeding grounds to plentiful food sources. But the empathic sense born from their soul-heart remained solidly in force, and its intensity increased exponentially as the distance between two individuals decreased. This sensitivity prevented one Periophian from harming another without feeling all of the anger, fear, and pain from both themselves and their victims simultaneously. It was not unknown for a Periophian to literally die from the act of killing a different one, their minds unable to cope with the last emotions of the slain. But the sources and causes of those conflicts had not gone away, and a release would be needed if their civilization was to avoid collapsing in upon itself.

Some races may have simply struggled to ignore the side effects, deliberately deadening themselves to others’ feelings to soften the impact of killing them. Instead, the Periophians took the greatest obstacle to the expression of their feelings and turned it into their solution. When two Periophians developed a dispute that could not be reconciled easily, they would agree to meet for what could only be described as a form of emotional combat, a duel of sorts. Separated by a small amount of physical space, the two “combatants” used the strength of their emotions and their unavoidable empathy as a weapon upon each other, projecting their feelings and attempting to overwhelm their opponent. Unlike a more traditional duel, such contests were very rarely lethal, though an exceptionally strong or desperate person could incapacitate an unlucky rival for days. This method of dispute resolution proved quite effective in many cases, as heart-felt emotions were easier to project than artificial ones, giving someone who was honestly desperate or starving a significant advantage over one who was merely greedy for additional food. It was also easily adaptable to scale – two feuding clans could engage in a mass battle of the minds as easily as two individuals, often coming to resemble a more typical battlefield as different clan members focused on attacking or defending according to their particular aptitudes.

--
--
--

Yes, beating each other up with emotions. It made sense to me, at least, in a weird and sleep-deprived way - emotions were what kept them from physically fighting each other, so why not turn those same emotions around and use them to fight instead?

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In Sol System: I think I'll swap the entire situation around, actually. They didn't notice anything particularly special about humanity, it was just another bunch of  surface-dwelling primitives. So they landed, took their readings and studies, then left - it'd help explain why the aftermath of the Fall was so surprising to them, they never saw Humans coming as the replacement to the Eldar's dominance.

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Physical Traits: The humanoid body shape is intentional...though as much as I hate to use the analogy (and am steadfastedly refusing to refer to it as a Trap), don't think of Star Trek Rubber Forehead Aliens so much as Star Wars's Mon Calamari. Their eyes bulge up over their head - actually a trait of the mudskippers that inspired them - and if you gave Admiral Ackbar a much longer, more serpentine head/neck and limbs while keeping the bobbly eyes, it'd be a lot closer to my current mental image.

Soul-Heart: I guess the word would be "unusual", not "unnatural".

On Octopi: I guess elaborating on this is necessary. There's still a hefty amount of Rule of Cool involved here, but it's not quite as bad as it appears. The Periophians are subject to mutations just like any other race, and most of them are harmful as normal - though I'm toying with them having effectively decoded their own geonome to where they've eliminated most genetic problems and diseases. Think of the Octopi gene more of like the Periophian version of albinism, only it's a potentially controllable and harnessable physical deformity instead of a inconvenient and mildly problematic one. If the albino mutation in humans carried with it the potential ability to shoot laser beams from their eyes, it'd be a better analogy, but meh.

Actually, that would be awesome - hopefully no actual albinos reading this take offense.

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Law/Crime/Punishment: Now that their past isn't so happy-go-lucky-pet-kittens-and-smile, I do need to rewrite this section. I'll probably keep the low tendency towards corruption/abuse of power, but not out of "trust" so much as the fact that it's kind of hard to conceal that you're a greedy amoral scumbag when your constituency is only a short distance away from literally reading your mind.


--------------------------------------------------------------------

Military: I'll rework this entire section at some point - putting the tactics first is a good idea. And as for it reading like a WH40K army list, guilty as charged - this is one of the last sections that's made it through three edits without significant changes, all the way back to when I wrote Codex: Amphiblians. I'll do my best to trim out the "obvious" bits where I find them and where you point them out....like I said, a good chunk of this was actually written a couple of years ago.

Weaponry: Technically "ultrasound" - which is just very high-frequency sound waves, but yeah. I mentioned the energy trying to make it clear that it's potent/powerful enough to actually cause damage to tissue/materials - being yelled at usually isn't fatal, though it can have adverse effects on your eardrums. I did my research here when I rewrote this section, and there's actually some real-world tech that this is a semi-logical extension of.

On the plasma weapon.....it sounds hand-wavey and shoehorny(?) because it's a fluffed-out way of saying "Range 36", Strength 7, AP 2, Assault 1 Blast, Overheats". Blatant wargame bias again, something I don't need to mention again that this section is violently guilty of. I'm still partial to the idea of what is effectively plasma balloons, but it's discardable if there's no feasable way to design plasma-based weapons that would function underwater.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Warp: I actually like the analogy, particularly since I found an article somewhere online while doing my research for the quotes that talks about Navigators and how one might see it as an ocean, while another might see it as an overgrown jungle. Maybe tie that collective warp-presence into this somehow? It'd mean rogue Periophians would do a lot worse trying to hire out as Navigators to renegade traders, but I deleted that idea anyways on grounds of rampant stupidity. Instead, it might be the Periophian version of the Navigator is able to tie themselves in to the expanded psychic connection, giving them so many different "viewpoints" that they can perform the sort of short-range warp maneuvers that I was building towards.

[CELS]

Well, suffice it to say that I shall keep an eye on this thread to wait and see what others think. Perhaps others will be able to persuade you where I failed, or persuade me where you failed

For now, I'm going to have to focus my efforts on the website, so don't be surprised if my activity drops for a while.

[The_Glyphstone]

Don't blame you. For my part, I'm going to let this sit and stew for a while, hopefully someone else wanders in with commentary, and go off to finish up Fornax.

EDIT: Though, if I haven't already lost your attention, do you have any thoughts for or against "The Game"? Is that a logical enough substitution for armed conflict in a race that's physically prevented, or at least restrained, from engaging each other in normal combat?

EDITEDIT: And maybe I should explain why I'm calling it that - the concept is still a bit hazy, so bear with me. The part I haven't written yet describes how in "modern" Periophian society, emotional combat has survived and evolved into a cross between a sport and a form of dueling. The primitive form is still practiced sometimes with just raw emotions battering at each other, but professional Gameplayers fight "inside" the mind of a neutral third-party referee/judge, who joins hands with both participants and projects their duel to each other, and sometimes spectators via machinery in public "events". Here, the contestant's emotions are rendered as images or symbols, adding a second layer of complexity to the fight. One player might 'attack' his opponent with a battalion of armored tanks as a manifestation of his anger, while the other player's mental defenses and counterattack are rendered as a towering wall lined with sentry turrets. Skilled players find unorthodox or unusual images to represent their feelings and make them harder to combat - that same "tank battalion" could destroy an imaginary wall, but might find it much harder to fend off a swarm of gigantic multicolored soap bubbles, or something equally inane and bizzare.

[Malika]

Personally I´m not a super big fan of more races who are very powerful and all across the galaxy, meaning that I´m more a fan of minor races and such. But without trying to be too biased I will comment on your stuff:

As the Periophians developed and spread across the surface of their world, they naturally began to conflict with one another over the availability of resources of all kinds, from safer breeding grounds to plentiful food sources. But the empathic sense born from their soul-heart remained solidly in force, and its intensity increased exponentially as the distance between two individuals decreased. This sensitivity prevented one Periophian from harming another without feeling all of the anger, fear, and pain from both themselves and their victims simultaneously. It was not unknown for a Periophian to literally die from the act of killing a different one, their minds unable to cope with the last emotions of the slain. But the sources and causes of those conflicts had not gone away, and a release would be needed if their civilization was to avoid collapsing in upon itself.

Now this I like! The whole idea that killing your own kind could potentially kill one self because of the emotional distress that it brings. It makes one wonder how they would protect themselves from Chaos since...well these kind of emotions sounds stronger than even the Eldar´s who are pretty emo and vulnerable to Chaos because of it.

How would they react to killing other species? Personally I like the more Buddhist or Hindu (at least influenced by those) idea that life should not be killed, basically making these guys the ultimate pacifists in the universe. Sure they might hvae a military, but that is purely defensive. The Periophian military objective is not to kill the enemy but to beat them back. This would kind of make them more consequent about their beliefs than the Tau who are claiming to be all "peaceful and noble" while in reality they are just as savage as the rest of the galaxy. So while I like the idea of sound based weapons and such, I would make them primarily non-lethal since they don´t want to kill their attackers. Their primarily way of dealing with war is by avoiding it, so stealth technology, diplomacy and faster engines would be their focus as well. You might even want to include some technology linking to the soul-heart in which certain Periophians could use that device to influence hostile leaders, basically manipulating enemy commanders into retreating and what not.

Some races may have simply struggled to ignore the side effects, deliberately deadening themselves to others’ feelings to soften the impact of killing them. Instead, the Periophians took the greatest obstacle to the expression of their feelings and turned it into their solution. When two Periophians developed a dispute that could not be reconciled easily, they would agree to meet for what could only be described as a form of emotional combat, a duel of sorts.

Sounds similar to how animals solve their problems, look at wolves for example. They don´t fight each other so they can kill each other but simply for submission. You might want to look into male wolf behaviour when looking into "The Game" (oh I´m getting horrible mental pictures to that rapper with a similar name).

In Sol System: I think I'll swap the entire situation around, actually. They didn't notice anything particularly special about humanity, it was just another bunch of  surface-dwelling primitives. So they landed, took their readings and studies, then left - it'd help explain why the aftermath of the Fall was so surprising to them, they never saw Humans coming as the replacement to the Eldar's dominance.

Did they keep their eyes closed or something? Did they not notice the humanity´s golden age of expansion into the stars?

[The_Glyphstone]

Interest, yay! Two different people commenting, I'm practically a star now. Or not.

Personally I´m not a super big fan of more races who are very powerful and all across the galaxy, meaning that I´m more a fan of minor races and such. But without trying to be too biased I will comment on your stuff:

Well, good that you're here. Would it reassure you that I'm trying to avoid exactly what you're describing? They are all over the galaxy, but they're not (supposed) to be powerful at all - quite the opposite. They don't have the military strength to take on any of the other races of the galaxy on any sort of large scale, which is why they emphasize stealth and secrecy. Especially considering the narrow range of planets they live on, it'd be pretty easy to annihilate most of their "empire" if the Imperium got wind of it. In small confrontations, when they have surprise and/or overwhelming force, sure they're powerful, but who isn't?

Now this I like! The whole idea that killing your own kind could potentially kill one self because of the emotional distress that it brings. It makes one wonder how they would protect themselves from Chaos since...well these kind of emotions sounds stronger than even the Eldar´s who are pretty emo and vulnerable to Chaos because of it.

Did you get down to the section about their relationship with the Warp? While being resistant to Chaos is nothing new in 40K, the way I've done it for them and the side effects that come with it are hopefully different enough to be interesting. I don't know how emo they are about it, though. Eldar are vulnerable to Chaos because they're emo all the time - the average Periophian's emotions aren't significantly stronger than any other sentient creature in normal circumstances, they're just more perceptive to how their fellows feel. It it seems stronger in the description...imagine how much distress/ anger it takes for people who aren't under the influence of drugs to try and commit suicide. For the Periophians at that stage of development, that's what it would have felt like to them; they were already feeling the anger/hatred/guilt/fear that caused them to kill in the first place, layered on top of the fear/pain/agony/anger pouring out of the person they're in the process of killing, as if they were the ones being killed instead of the one doing the killing. It's this sudden overload of negative emotions from both sides of the link that did most of them in, not just the emotions on their own.

How would they react to killing other species? Personally I like the more Buddhist or Hindu (at least influenced by those) idea that life should not be killed, basically making these guys the ultimate pacifists in the universe. Sure they might hvae a military, but that is purely defensive. The Periophian military objective is not to kill the enemy but to beat them back. This would kind of make them more consequent about their beliefs than the Tau who are claiming to be all "peaceful and noble" while in reality they are just as savage as the rest of the galaxy. So while I like the idea of sound based weapons and such, I would make them primarily non-lethal since they don´t want to kill their attackers. Their primarily way of dealing with war is by avoiding it, so stealth technology, diplomacy and faster engines would be their focus as well. You might even want to include some technology linking to the soul-heart in which certain Periophians could use that device to influence hostile leaders, basically manipulating enemy commanders into retreating and what not.

This is an interesting idea, and one worth thinking about, though I don't know if true pacifists would really survive long in the Warhammer world.


On the emotional side, I had another potential brainstorm that might bear fruit. My focus right now is revising their culture, focusing on how a society would evolve dealing with the sort of hyper-empathy the Periophians have. Empathic combat might be how they solved their disputes in prehistoric times, but there's so much more to be developed. I'm considering taking them in an almost  Vulcan-like direction, where they're trained and acclimated to keeping their emotions as tightly harnessed as possible. For them, though, it's more social/politeness in nature - since they can't shut their empathic sense off, it's the next best thing. A Periophian touching another's bare skin uninvited is a close equivalent to one human punching a stranger in the face; one letting his emotions just run free might be like that same human walking around in public screaming "LOOK AT ME!! I'M HAPPY! HAPPY! HAAAAAAAAPPPYYYY!!!!!!" - distracting and somewhat rude. And if everyone in public acted like that, not a lot would get done.

The problem with this is they start to get a bit too Eldar-like for my personal liking...not that I have anything against Eldar, but I want to make them distinctive. Maybe the solution is to point out that it's more of a cultural trait than a survival one for the Periophians; you don't broadcast your emotions to everyone in range when you're out in public the same way you don't walk through a crowded department store letting off a chain of volatile farts. In private or in small groups, it might depend on how close you are and how well you know them, as well as the setting.

Did they keep their eyes closed or something? Did they not notice the humanity´s golden age of expansion into the stars?

It's not quite that bad in the re-write I'm working on, but that is a good point. I can't think of any logical reason why humanity would be an unexpected successor to the Eldar except for the idea that the Eldar would need a successor at all.

[Malika]

This is an interesting idea, and one worth thinking about, though I don't know if true pacifists would really survive long in the Warhammer world.

The 40k universe is more than an everlasting war I think. This reason alone could justify pacifists in space. Another way of survival might be that these guys try as hard as they can to avoid wars.

On the emotional side, I had another potential brainstorm that might bear fruit. My focus right now is revising their culture, focusing on how a society would evolve dealing with the sort of hyper-empathy the Periophians have. Empathic combat might be how they solved their disputes in prehistoric times, but there's so much more to be developed. I'm considering taking them in an almost  Vulcan-like direction, where they're trained and acclimated to keeping their emotions as tightly harnessed as possible. For them, though, it's more social/politeness in nature - since they can't shut their empathic sense off, it's the next best thing. A Periophian touching another's bare skin uninvited is a close equivalent to one human punching a stranger in the face; one letting his emotions just run free might be like that same human walking around in public screaming "LOOK AT ME!! I'M HAPPY! HAPPY! HAAAAAAAAPPPYYYY!!!!!!" - distracting and somewhat rude. And if everyone in public acted like that, not a lot would get done.

Intriguing idea... So normally these guys would practically turn off their emotions, very similar to the movie Equilibrium with Christian Bale. However this leads to the possibility of some sort of "emotionally handicapped" Periophians who are unable to turn off their feelings and experience them too intensely all the time. Of course this is lethal for them, but it does leave us with the option of adding a non-pacifist part to them: suicide units. Very similar to Blood Angels affected by the Black Rage it are these who are sent into combat/war in the more dire circumstances. Of course this wouldn't be something that is common knowledge in Periophian society but more like a (dark) secret. This could of course lead to various political plots and ideologies, some wanting to expand this militarism while others want to remain purely peaceful. Perhaps we could add this with the whole "impending doom" vibe the 40k universe has, so the Eldar are slowly dying, the Imperium is becoming more and more unstable and the Periophians are becoming less and less able to control their emotions, as in that more of these "handicapped" start to appear.

[The_Glyphstone]

I think you're misunderstanding the whole empathy thing - I don't know if you've read the article through or not, but I assume you have and I just wasn't clear.

The "soul-heart" I mentioned isn't any sort of transmitter, it's just a reciever that allows them to sense the electrical signals that make up neural pulses, and in the case of other Periophians, interpret them. Emotions are by no means lethal to Periophians under normal circumstances - it was just the feelings of killing someone at the same time you experienced the feelings of being killed that they were feeling that formed a lethal combination. The sort of "handicapped" Periophian you suggest is interesting, but it (probably) wouldn't be lethal to them, just intensely irritating to everyone around them who's subjected to the constant full-volume emotional "shouting". They'd probably end up isolated for everyone else's protection, but that could end up lethal to them in the end anyways.

On the pacifism angle, you've definitely got a good general grasp of how I'm trying to shape their "foreign policy". They can't afford to get involved in a serious war or large-scale conflict, so all of their tactics are built around raiding, false retreats, and rapid evacuations if things go wrong. Giving them a spiritual aspect could add a neat bit of flavor though - while they might have no compulsions against killing non-Periophians (whose emotions/thoughts they can't sense), they might still regret taking lives anyways like you described. They'd value the lives of their enemy's soldiers as much as their own, and try to minimize the casualties on both sides while accomplishing their objective...though that objective might still require destroying the entire enemy force to, say, prevent discovery of a Periophian colony world.

[Malika]

Emotions are by no means lethal to Periophians under normal circumstances - it was just the feelings of killing someone at the same time you experienced the feelings of being killed that they were feeling that formed a lethal combination.

So it´s the empathy that makes the emotion of anger in combination with physical violence so dangerous. For humans killing isn´t an automatic thing, armies train their men, or should I say condition them into killing the enemy. This means that killing is no longer an action but a reflex in a certain way. I assume that for a Periophian killing would be even more difficult and while humans often get something that is called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after fighting wars the Periophians might receive more lethal concequences.

The sort of "handicapped" Periophian you suggest is interesting, but it (probably) wouldn't be lethal to them, just intensely irritating to everyone around them who's subjected to the constant full-volume emotional "shouting".

When looking at it like what I posted above the handicap could be that the empathy is turned off, for them the whole "having murdered somebody" doesn´t really do anything. In a way these handicapped could be seen as the sociopaths and psychopaths of Periophian society. Society would then try to isolate them while the military might want to use these figures as soldiers since the rest of Periophian society wouldn´t emotionally be able to wage wars, so you have these guys to do it for you.

Giving them a spiritual aspect could add a neat bit of flavor though - while they might have no compulsions against killing non-Periophians (whose emotions/thoughts they can't sense), they might still regret taking lives anyways like you described.

I would still link it to their whole empathy/emotional state thing. I think it wouldn't be so difficult to kill animals (as in non-sentient life-forms) but as soon as they start killing species with intelligence and self-conciousness will we start seeing difficulties.