Thot

The thots are a crustacean-like creature that mostly live in hives in a deeply stratified society. Only members from the top three echelons (alpha, beta and gamma) could be considered sentient. The overall appearance of the thots have resulted in them almost universally referred to as the prawns. Even yidi ronites from some far-flung desert world who have never seen (or even heard of) a prawn, call them prawns. This, of course, annoys them, and it doesn’t help showing them a picture of a prawn and saying: “see?”

The thots appear like, well, prawns, because they have a carapace with articulations, like an arthropod, and have colourations of orange and white. They have four legs and four arms. In the warrior caste, the gammas, the arms are rather oversized. The similarity in appearance to prawns belies the extraordinary differences in their biochemistry. Thots have a sulphur biochemistry, and drink sulphuric acid like we drink water. Their bodies are mostly sulphuric acid, rather than water, because sulphuric acid is the solvent on Vyshvan and other thoti-formed planets, typically around early G-type and late F-type stars.

The thots are comfortable in temperatures, that would kill humans, and have thermo-regulation, like mammals, so they can survive in surprisingly cold environments. Thots come in a variety of sizes, but most are about half the height of a human. The notable exception are the asexual gammas, which is something of a warrior caste, which are slightly larger, and much stronger, than humans. With the advancement of thot science, came changes in societies that had the effect of reducing the strictures on the upper echelons. The necessities of science and technology led to exploration, scouting, then as hives grew further apart, spying and other forms of espionage.

The traditional hive arrangement found competition in other, looser arrangements. Firstly in having sub-hives of various sizes, down to a mere thousand individuals. Secondly in having inter-hive alliances, requiring emissaries and embassies.

Inevitably, this meant that some thots would be operating as individuals for extended periods of time. But it also meant changes to the way thots managed their life-cycle and breeding. In the traditional hives, all remained largely unchanged, but in the smaller units, some of the echelons (particularly the lower ones) would not be represented. The smaller the unit, the fewer the echelons. Thots in outposts would typically consist of a collection of alphas, betas and gammas without the worker echelons, for example. Thots as individuals would typically be one of the top three echelons. Normally individual thots are doing a job for a hive or sub- hive, but some escape thot society altogether and fall in with pirates, adventurers, or find employment in some larger, non-thot society.

Thots that are isolated from the more traditional hive societies start to form personalities more in-keeping with those surrounding them, and can find the so-called hivers, rigid and robotic. Thots are, however, community and species-minded, and will always be sympathetic to other thots. These “isolons” are from where thot adventurers come.

Hive Ships

There are also hives that have come to inhabit very large strikers. These roving hives operate throughout the thot sphere and beyond, as scavengers and pirates on a grand scale. They use their striker to swallow other ships, habitats, bases, mining facilities, power stations, and even smaller hive ships, essentially stripping them for parts and material.

While the hive ships rarely attack planets (owing to the annoying gravity well they have), they are nonetheless a significant hazard, and for many constitute a military threat.

It should be noted that not all hive ships carry out this kind of pillage. There are a good number that are simply a combination of mobile habitat and mining facility. There are also explorer hives, whose mission, it seems is simply exploration. Although this last category are extremely rarely encountered in the inner regions of Guild Space.

Thot Alpha

Alphas are the strategists, planners, organisers and leaders of the traditional hive. Of the three upper echelons, the alphas are the most likely to be encountered as leaders of a small group of thots, than individually. However some diverse societies have found great value in having a thot diplomat as they are empathic, clever and focussed.

Properties

Category: mod-gen (Thotus sapiens alpha)
Aspects: Biochem-Sulphur, Biology-Thot, Tech-Thot
Senses: 20(lightsense), 1(olfactorsense), 1(audiosense)
Traits (resource): small|3|+1(size), 1(hardness), 3(HX), 2(EX), 2(FX), 1.2(height), 40(weight), 0.5(reach)
Traits (defensive): 1(resist,prc), 2(resist,sls), 3(resist,heat) Traits (physical): 8(speed), stock(walk, crawl), quarter(climb,swim), multilimbed, immune,prone, vuln(radiation, poison)
Traits (personality): Elitist, Polite, Reliable, Sanctimonious. Any alignment, but tend toward lawful
Skills (bonus): +0(Health, Energy, Focus, Perception, Insight, Investigate, Perform, Persuade, Antiquities, Society), -1(Survival), -2(Stealth, Deceive, Science), -3(Resolve, Agility, Cbt-Melee, Cbt-Ranged, Cbt-Tactical, Eng-All, Psi-All), -6(Strength)
Age: 60 years at start, 300 years lifespan Languages: speak, read, and write the language of the hive and 2 other hives
Natural weapons: strike (fists,m-act,b-act) chk(C)= +M(Wpn-Fistload) with -6(Str,min), 20(q) eff 1d2 +M(Wpn-Fistload)+M(Str) (hp,frc)

Thot Beta

Betas are as clever as alphas, perhaps even more so, but they do not focus on leadership, rather they are scientists, engineers, explorers and scouts. Of all thots, betas are the most likely to be found as individuals, as they are the most independent-minded. Traditionally the betas were the scouts and signallers of the tribe, and the ones that would recruit the gammas to respond to threats. Their other role was to oversee the reproductive cycle. It is from the betas that medicine and genetics were developed.

Properties

Category: mod-gen (Thotus sapiens beta)
Aspects: Biochem-Sulphur, Biology-Thot, Tech-Thot
Senses: 20(lightsense), 1(olfactorsense), 1(audiosense)
Traits (resource): small|3|+1(size), 1(hardness), 3(HX), 2(EX), 2(FX), 1.2(height), 40(weight), 0.5(reach)
Traits (defensive): 1(resist,prc), 2(resist,sls), 3(resist,heat) Traits (physical): 8(speed), stock(walk, crawl), quarter(climb,swim), multilimbed, immune,prone, vuln(radiation, poison)
Traits (personality): Complexifier, Deliberate, Intense, Loyal. Any alignment, but tend toward lawful
Skills (bonus): +1(Insight) +0(Health, Energy, Focus, Perception, Investigate), -1(Persuade, Antiquities, Science, Society), -2(Perform, Survival, Cbt-Melee, Cbt-Ranged, Cbt-Tactical, Eng-All), -3(Resolve, Agility, Stealth, Deceive, Psi-All), -5(Strength)
Age: 30 years at start, 300 years lifespan Languages: speak, read, and write the language of the hive and 1 other hive
Natural weapons: strike (fists,m-act,b-act) chk(C)= +M(Wpn-Fistload) with -6(Str,min), 20(q) eff 1d2 +M(Wpn-Fistload)+M(Str) (hp,frc)

Thot Gamma

Gammas are more cunning than clever, they don’t spend much time of considering the whys and wherefores, rather they act. Gammas are physically imposing, surprisingly quick, and have a talent for violence. Gammas have an innate instinct for following the orders of alphas, and particularly, betas. If an adventuring party has both a beta and a gamma, the gamma will tend to team up with the beta, who will guide them in life: the gamma being comfortable with the idea that they don’t make particularly good decisions. In fact the only point of contention between a beta and a gamma would be that the beta is spending too much time deliberating, and would they just give the order to attack.

Gammas that act alone are the most likely to be bounty hunters and skirmishers. They certainly are useful warriors in rebel groups or in gangs of pirates. Leaders of these groups can be like adoptive betas to the gamma thot.

Properties

Category: mod-gen (Thotus sapiens gamma)
Aspects: Biochem-Sulphur, Biology-Thot, Tech-Thot
Senses: 40(lightsense), 1(olfactorsense), 1(audiosense)
Traits (resource): medium|4|0(size), 1(hardness), 4(HX), 4(EX), 2(FX), 1.6(height), 80(weight), 1(reach)
Traits (defensive): 1(resist,prc), 4(resist,sls), 3(resist,heat) Traits (physical): 10(speed), stock(walk, crawl), quarter(climb,swim), multilimbed, immune,prone, vuln(radiation, poison)
Traits (personality): All-in, Hot head, Loyal, Optimist. Any alignment, but tend toward lawful
Skills (bonus): +0(Health, Energy, Focus, Strength, Perception), -1(Insight, Investigate, Survival, Cbt-Melee, Cbt-Ranged, Cbt-Tactical), -2(Stealth, Perform, Persuade, Society), -3(Resolve, Agility, Deceive, Antiquities, Science, Psi-All), -4(Eng-All)
Age: 10 years at start, 100 years lifespan Languages: speak, read, and write the language of the hive
Natural weapons: strike (fists,m-act,b-act) chk(C)= +M(Wpn-Fistload) with -6(Str,min), 20(q) eff 1d2 +M(Wpn-Fistload)+M(Str) (hp,frc)