. These are actually distinct weapons but the difference between them is insignificant for game purposes. These items are worn and doing so decreases the dexterity of the humma's tail -10% to any action that requires holding an item or the referee rules requires some dexterity (holding or operationg another weapon for instance). They cannot be effectively put on or removed during combat. These weapons are not permitted during mating combat.
Foot Blades are worn on the feet to increase damage but can be hindering (-1 IM). While a humma generally attacks with both feet in a typical snatch and rake while supported by his tail attack there is only one attack and damage roll for this weapon. This weapon is not permitted during mating combat.
The humma can use standard rifles despite their short arms as they make up for their physical short commings with their prehensible tail. However the popularity of tail spikes, blades and weights create a hinderance to using long rifles. This has led to the development of carbine rifles in the Fokrik system. The carbine class of rifle is a shorter rifle but it is better suited to cavalry and the humma's springing attack style. A typical humma carbine has a cresent shaped stock that braces across the chest with two pistol grips mounted to either side of the weapon.
A blast carbine is a longer version of the blast pistol. Developed on Forge in the Fokrik system as a response to cost and manufacturing difficulties of laser weapons. In fact on few Rim worlds, few beam weapons specialist are sporting the latest laser weapon. They carry blast carbines.
Its bulky but packs a wallop. When fired, the energy from a standard SEU clip is focused through a inexpensive crystal membranes (where some of the energy is wasted and dissipates in the form of heat). The energy releases in a rather large, nasty red blast that sounds thunderous rather than elegant. After the sho, there is a few seconds of high pitched whine while the crystal membranes perform a regeneration (thus the slow rate of fire for a beam weapon). It is not a stealthy weapon.
The blast carbine drains 2 SEU per shot and causes 4d10 points of damage. It uses a standard 20 SEU clip but does not come equipped with a power port for the connection of an external beltpack or powerpack. An albedo suit or screen defends against the blast carbine.
. An automatic carbine looks like a shortened automatic rifle. It fires in semi-automatic (3 single shote per round) and full auto (1 burst per round). A single shot causes 1d10 points of damage. A burst fires 10 bullets, and has a +20 modifier to hit. It can be aimed at up to five adjacent targets in a 10 meter wide are. A burst causes 5d10 points of damage, plus 1d10 for every additional target after the first. Only one roll is needed to hit all the targets, but any negative modifiers that could apply to one target apply to the entire group. For example, if one target has soft cover, all of them are considered to have soft cover. The damage from a burst is divided as evenly as possible between all the targets. Skiensuits and inerita screens reduce the damage by half.
A needler carbine is a shorter version of the needler rifle. It makes a very soft, coughing noise when it is fired. Needler carbines magnetically propel a cluster of needles at high speed. Two types of needles can be used: barbed needles that caused 3d10 points of damage per shot, and anesthetic needles that put the victim to sleep for d100 turns. An individual can resist the anesthetic by passing a current Stamina check. Needles will not penetrate skeinsuits or intertia screens. Neither the suit, screen, or individual is damaged.
A gyrojet carbine is a shorter version of the gyrojet rifle. It shoots miniature, self propelled rockets that cause 3d10 points of damage when they explode. A gyrojet carbine is not effective at very short range, because the rocket is still accelerating. Thus the short range modifier is used even at point blank range. Skeinsuits and inertia screens halve damage.
Racial Description: Boon'sheh
Physical DescriptionThe teal-skinned boon'sheh are slim, tall bipedals, usually standing at least a head above humans. Their skin is soft to the touch, and they're completely hairless except for patches of fur on their shoulders and forearmes.
Their faces are unexpressive and almost skeletal, as they have very little muscle in them. Their noses are square, with tiny nostrils, and their ears are pointed and long.
Boon'sheh bodies are built for running, and as such they have little mass compared to other sentient species. Whatever physical weakness they have as a consequence, they make it up with their great speed.
Characteristics
| |
Average Size
| 2.0 m
|
Average Mass
| 55kg male
60kg female
|
Average Lifespan
| 75 years
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Reproductive System
| heterosexual,
viviparous
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Body Temperature
| 39 Celsius
|
SensesBoon'sheh senses are very well developed: particularly, their sight, hearing and sense of smell. Its believe that these senses were hieghtened as survival traits in their native environment. Tests performed at the University of Zebulon indicate that the zones of the boon'sheh's brain that deal with these three senses are in a permanent state of overdrive, and that their sensory organs are always absorbing more data then the conscious brain can process. This has resulted in the boon'sheh developing a 'danger sense', their unconscious selves picking up warning singals from eyes, ears and nose, and forcing their bodies to act before they notice what's going on. While some individuals tend to think of the boon'sheh as 'fidgety' (or even paranoid), their dander sense has saved them and their colleages from certain death more than once.
SpeechBoon'sheh speak in high pitched tones, and their native language is very dependent on them. They also use many palatal and alveolar clicks when talking. While their language appears to be complicated at first, most people can learn it in two or three weeks.
Their names commonly have two or three syllables and are always preceded by the prefix "Boon-" which stands for 'person', as in Boon-Shube or Boon-Gurenn. This prefix is usually dropped in informal converstation.
History, Society and CustomsSharing the same world with the humma, the boon'sheh have been pushed close to the brink of extinction during their tragic history. Despite a brief period in their history where they formed a significant landed civilization the boon'sheh have largely been nomadic wanderers. If the history of the humma can be characterized as one long brawl the history of the boon'sheh can be characterized as one long flight from that brawl.
During a particularly barbaric time in humma history the boon'sheh managed to establish a landed civilization with cities and became more advanced technologically than the humma. This could not last, as the humma came very close to unifying themselves in an effort to take them down. For two centuries incessent attacks for first one Hummarin house then another wore the boon'sheh down and eventually the Boon'Klash civilization collapsed and the survivors were scattered. In the aftermath most cities were razed but a few were appropriated by the humma and exist still today.
At the time of first contact with the ifshnit and osakar the boon'sheh had effectively maintained a territory in the most desolate wastes on Hum for generations. However, the visitation of interstellar neighbors kicked off the Hummarin Space Age. In a short time satellites began to reveal the mineral richness of the Boon'sheh lands and encroachment commensed anew.
Eventually, it was decided by the Highest One that the boon'sheh should be relocated for their own good (and to make way for his house to grab the krik share of their vacated land). Where to move them too became a topic of hot debate but eventually the decision was made to forcibly relocate the bulk of them to the planet Larg and set up a preservation for them.
Some boon'sheh clans scattered and have continued to subsistance in the lost wastelands on Hum and a few areas (preservations) were left as havens for them on Hum. The largest conscentration now dewls on the planet Larg.
They sided with the Capellan Free Merchants during the Ifshno-Hummarin War. Which despite the hummar being declared a winner, did not turn out negative for them. Transfers in tech and military hardware from the CFM gave them an edge to hold out in their mountain strong holds on Larg. The negotiation of the peace treaty left them with more protections then they previously had.
With the formation of the Rim Coalition the boon'sheh of Larg attempted to pettition for membership. Stout resistence from the governments of the the three humma populated worlds and astute maneuvering by diplomats from House Jorah blocked their admission to the Rim Coalition on the basis that the planet Larg already had representation on the council.
Since that time some cadres have formed in boon'sheh society with the goal of autonomous government for the boon'sheh. Some of these cadres have taken a militeristic stance, stockpiling weapons and supplies while others are more open and seek negotiated change.
The boon'sheh on Larg have instituted a policy of sending the best and brightest off world to be educated in Osaka, Capella and the Frontier. Many return but some are learned away by the promise of a better life elsewhere in the Rim and Frontier. The boon'sheh have been readily accepted into military organizations in the Frontier (corporate, militia, and UPF) but until recently were blocked from joining the Flight in the Rim.
The average clan holds around 200 individuals, most of which live in the same village or town. There are no true boon'sheh families: all children are raised by the clan as a whole, and the parent-child bond is unknown to them. Boon'sheh worship their clans and fight fiercely for them. Those that don't uphold the clan's expectations are often cast out of their districts. Most of the star-faring boon'sheh are such outcasts.
AttitudesThe boon'sheh dislike the humma strongly but are very found of ifshnits and dralasites. As to be expected they are nervous around yazirians but neutral toward osakar, humans, and vrusk. The feeling of most races are recipracol toward them except yazirians who are ambivelent. They are distrustfull of humanity because of their curiousity (boon'sheh call it 'deathwish'). Their lack of facial expression is a source of bemusement and ammusement to other races. The ifshnit use the idion 'To see a boon'sheh smile' when talking about mirages and illusions.
Special Abilities
Danger Sense (10%): Boon'sheh's keen senses can subconsciously alert them to perils they aren't aware of. Whenever a boon'sheh is endagered, the referee secretly rolls for danger sense: a success means the boon'sheh becomes aware of danger (though not able to pinpoint its exact source) and can warn others of it. This special ability may be imporved by spending experience points, but even if rased to 100%, any roll of 96-00 is considered a failure. No matter how keen the senses of a a boon'sheh, there is always a slight chance he can be duped.
A Brief History of the Boon'Sheh
Place holder text
The Tragic Tale of the Boon'Sheh
From the Journal of Olson Steed
It was in a seedy spacer bar on the outskirts of Volkos while looking for a berth to work my way back to Truane's Star that I encounted Captain Artimis Caine. He was advanced in age and no longer had the look of the legendary rogue who had broke the hearts of a 1000 women, made and lost 100 fortunes, discovered 10 planets and captured 1 sathar carrier. In fact I would have never recognized him if the bartender had not pointed him out.
He appeared down on his luck, like me, but I felt obliged to buy his drinks and soak up his stories. Several days I spent feasting on those stories while he drank up my remaining credits. That was how I learned of the tragic tale of the boon'sheh.
The boon'sheh are a little known race from the Fockrik system with the misfortune to have evolved on the same world as the humma. The humma, being humma, hounded and fought with the boon'sheh till they were nearly wiped out. Eventually they had retreated into the furthest recesses of the most inhospitable environments on Hum or were herded into preserves under the protection of the humma's Highest One. That was until some valuable resource was discovered in one of the major preserves. At that time, many were forcibly relocated to the barely inhabitable planet of Larg .
Captain Caine had come to befriend a disgraced outcast from boon'sheh society and took him on as crew. Boon'Gig travelled with Caine for 6 years before trying to return to Fockrik to reclaim his ancestral lands or die trying. Captain Caine was visibly choked up as he told of Boon'Gig's death. It was obvious he was quite fond of him.
Apparently, the death of his friend had for once in the Captain's life, given him a political cause. He became the champion of the marginalized race. As one of the first human captains in the Capellan Free Merchants, he had enough political clout to push for recognition of the boon'sheh by the Rim Coalition.
He valiantly stormed the heights of power demanding autonomy and membership in the Rim Coalition for his friend's people. The Highest One of the humma banned Caine from Fockrik. The incident, though little reported in the Frontier, was a major firestorm in the Rim.
The power and influence of the Highest One went further than Caine anticipated. In short order he was expelled fromt he Capellan Free Merchants and his docking privileges were rescinded in the Capella system. His petition to the coalition government fell on deaf ears and no one would hire him to carry cargo in the Rim.
The once great legend returned to the Frontier and climbed inside a bottle. I can now say that a man should never live to see his hero at his worst. The legend seldom survives when you are confronted with this reality. I found his body two days before shipping out on the Dixon's Dawn. Captain Artimis Caine was dead in his quarters of a self inflicted wound from the multi-pistol given to him by his friend, Boon'Gig.