A page devoted to the in-progress sci-fi RPG "Other Skies" by @roboremy (art @static-electric-dreams). Here I'll post alien art, concept art, process pieces and lore about the various species.
The year is 3035. Long gone are the years of wondering if we’re alone in the universe; not only does intelligent life exist, but the universe teems with it. Eventually, the vastness of space and the unknown universe was demoted from “insurmountable obstacle” to “mild inconvenience” for one planet after another, and more and more species began discovering each other over the radio waves and even in person. With enough contact came the need for diplomacy; the Intergalactic Union was formed as a sort of interplanetary united nations-- a way to ensure that all beings on all planets would be able to live as comfortably and harmoniously as possible. Slowly, more and more species began traveling to other planets, even making their homes there; advanced artificial gravity and inertial dampening technology made trips to planets millions of lightyears away as easy as a long airplane trip. The age of universalism had begun.
The biggest players on the intergalactic field are Santorna, Lunestria, Terra (nee “Earth”), Eshenal, Palazair, Laranth, Citadel-8 (nee “Atraxa”), Sucralis, and Kokoro, each populated by its own native dominant species (known as Santornans, Lunestrians, Humans, Eshenali, Zairs, Laranthians, Atraxans, Sucralites, and Kokoro, respectively). Though each has their own unique background, culture, and politics, all nine planets have agreed to operate peacefully with each other, welcoming the others in trade and travel across the board (though some planets can be more or less hospitable to some species based on environment alone). In fact, most species are well-known to the others now, and interplanetary immigration, education, and relationships are commonplace.
Even with so many of the mysteries of the universe understood and many of the great old questions answered, some things still remain out of our grasp. There are individuals, across the galaxies, who seem to possess amplified psychic powers. These people can move objects, manipulate speech, scry dreams, and even see the future with only their minds, a fact that is widely known yet little understood. What’s more, many people find that their dreams are more to them than fleeting, whimsical nonsense; some receive powerful visions and premonitions through their dreams, or can even visit others’ dreams; what’s more, the rising and ever-more-shadowy “Electric Dream Company” seems to have been infiltrating dreams for purposes yet unknown.
With nine inhabited planets full of dozens of billions of individuals, the possibilities for exploration, discovery, and drama are nearly endless. Enjoy the journey.
Had to do a repost with all 9 species! It's fun seeing them next to each other, noticing similarities and differences across all of them. Which one is your favorite?
Kids of each Other Skies species! I wanted to draw a size comparison, and I thought it would be fun to show all of them together. I think they’re all adorable in their own ways! They’re all equivalent ages, about 5 or 6 human years.
Some notes on each one:
Santornans don’t grow horns until they’re a little older. This little guy also had his tail docked shortly after hatching.
Lunestrians have tadpole tails until a certain age, and won’t learn to properly use their telepathy until they’re a bit older.
This Laranthian still hasn’t “woken up” yet; Laranthian brains don’t finish forming until they’re well into childhood. Until then, they’re acting on instinct alone.
Eshenali hatch with underdeveloped wings and no horns. They are a bit fluffier on the feet and tail than adults, though. She’s the biggest baby here, if we don’t count the Atraxan’s feathers!
Zairs are about human-sized, but fluffier. Their body markings aren’t present at birth, but form by the time they’re about this age.
Baby Sucralites are called kits. They require as much sugar as an adult Sucralite and twice as much attention!
Young Atraxans are a lot like baby birds; they hatch featherless, but soon the feathers grow in. This little fella doesn’t have a thagomizer yet, either.
“Baby” Kokoro begin life in simple, fortified robot bodies, gradually changing to other, more complex or more personalized bodies as they age. The basic bodies are built to protect the soft brain within and simplify interfacing with the world. The caution paint is to warn caretakers that the brain is in there!
We all know what a baby human is!!
As a reward for reading all that, here’s the same image but transparent:
In times of crisis, pain, and extreme medical distress, a Medic is the right person for the job. Often skilled doctors, surgeons, or nurses, Medics provide their party members with healing and health items that would otherwise be inaccessible to them. They are known to be sharp, intelligent, and good decision makers in times of stress. While Medics have a focus on physical health, they can improve mental heath as well.
The Con Artist is the master of lying, cheating, and looking damn good while doing it. They're known for being skilled talkers, deft pickpockets, and excellent salesmen; they're often best at reading people, and often have an impressive repertoire of disguises, false personalities, and cover stories close at hand for any sticky situation that might arise. They're not above a little trickery and deceit to get what they need--in fact, they thrive on it. This doesn't mean they can't be loyal to those they consider friends, though.
Empaths have the unique ability to tap into the emotions and even physical sensations of others; with practice, they can even affect these sensations directly through their own. Their psychic ability is usually innate, and can be cultivated carefully to make them either expert healers, or master manipulators. Empaths are generally not well-suited to combat, but can be indispensable when it comes to healing both psychic and physical damage.
Empaths gain +1 Psyche and +1 Heart. They multiclass well with Medic and Dreamwalker.
Special repost since I have now completed half of the classes! Six down, six to go! These are definitely a learning experience for me; I'm excited to finish them.
Above (left to right, top to bottom): Laranthian Assassin, Zair Survivor, Sucralite Idol, Lunestrian Psion, Eshenali Knight, Atraxan Scholar
Scholars have an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Their quest to learn more and more about the subjects that interest them can drive them into ancient ruins, towering libraries, and forbidden fortresses just to get a taste of what sweet new information they might find there. While a Scholar may have read a lot of books about fighting, most don't make the best warriors, though some select lucky Scholars advance far enough in their research that they unlock their own psychic powers.
Unlike many of the other classes, Scholars are not combat-focused and in fact mainly improve their intellectual skills completely outside of physical action. A Scholar will usually have a specialty, which will influence the advantages and disadvantages they take in rolls and skill checks, and usually starts with multiple known languages.
Scholars gain +2 Mind, and as alluded to above, can take moves from the psychic classes (Empath, Dreamwalker, and Psion) at higher levels.
Just as Earth has many different wedding traditions based on culture, religion, and preference, so do all the other planets. I'll list a few examples (one or two per planet) to give you an idea, but please don't take this to mean that marriage and weddings are homogeneous on each planet!
These got pretty long-winded, so I'll hide them under a readmore:
Some Santornan weddings feature gauzy, see-through gowns with colorful skintight clothes underneath for brides, and the opposite for grooms (a colorful dress attire with gauzy accents along the seams, or on the inside). The ceremony itself frequently involves the exchange of special crystals which grow abundantly in the soil of the planet and are often believed to have special powers; a particular crystal charm is then shared by the couple and hung ceremonially in their front door. Some couples keep it here for the rest of their lives (or for however long they live in that house), and others take it right down and put it somewhere else as soon as the wedding is over. It's supposed to symbolize the couple's union channeling positivity upon their lives, but everyone takes it more or less seriously depending on their own background.
Most Lunestrian wedding ceremonies and practices take place either underwater or at least standing in the ocean; it's considered tradition that both newlyweds and their parents breathe both water and air immediately before and after marriage, to symbolize letting love in any way you can. Underwater weddings can get pretty extravagant, with acrobats and complicated sculpture pieces; sea glass is a common wedding decoration, but almost so common as to be cliche (like flowers at human weddings). A good deal of the ceremony is also unspoken, but rather transmitted/understood through telepathy (again as a sign of intimacy and love).
It isn't true to say that there are no Laranthian weddings, but they look very different from what a lot of other beings (including you and me) might expect. First of all, the concept of "marriage" the way you might be imagining doesn't exist outside of the walled cities on Laranth. Most people will find and gather into small groups known as "stitches," where the relationships between individuals can vary on the scale from platonic to romantic naturally; couples generally do not form, except in the case of "kenmates," the closest concept a Laranthian would have to a soulmate. Kenmates are closely attuned to each others moods and needs, and orginated as a way to increase survival in the harsh Laranthian landscape. The romanticism of kenmates varies from person to person, but are often mainly pragmatic. As such, the weddings that take place within the walled cities tend to be business arrangements more than relationships for love. Many if not most marriages are arranged, and the goal is almost always financial and social gain.
Eshenali weddings are: 1) extremely family oriented 2) Very long affairs. Eshenali usually have huge families--as a reminder, eggs are laid in clutches of 3-5 and a family usually has more than one clutch--and everyone, including siblings, parents, grandparents, cousins, and ex-stepdads, is expected to be invited to the wedding. This obviously makes the guest list extremely long and the preparations arduous; if you think Terran wedding planning is a nightmare, you really should talk to a married Eshenali. The ceremony itself lasts a week or longer, with feasts, dancing, poetry reading, fortune telling, and often traditional fire-breathing. In fact, most Eshenali marriages are finalized when the newlyweds each light a torch with their own flame and then use the flames together to light a third "unity" torch. Tradition says this torch should be kept burning at all times after this point, but many modern Eshenali either don't take this seriously or simply prefer not to keep a burning torch in their home.
Zairs don't have weddings. They don't have marriage. Zairs have a unique view of the world, experiencing time and emotion in concentric circles or spirals and easily recognizing patterns and natural evolution and change. Because of this, romantic relationships are very loose and can end at any time with no drama on either end. (Child raising is a task collectively taken up by each community, so the family unit is not a prominent idea on Palazair).
Atraxan weddings are highly ceremonial and feature a lot of specific, moving parts that have to be rehearsed months in advance to carry out properly, including specific songs, dances, clothes, readings, and gifts. This makes them sound like serious and somber affairs, but when it's finally pulled off, the wedding is a delight for everyone involved (and in practice, usually no one minds if the happy couple flub a few lines). Many traditions feature a red dress, representing vitality and fertility, and the food at Atraxan wedding ceremonies is said to be extraordinary.
Sucralites are big on parties and sweets, so it's easy to guess what their marriages look like. Culturally, there's sort of a "one-up" culture to weddings-- you're expected to go big or go home. Animals made from fluffy sugar (marshmallows, basically) and chocolate are commonly displayed, and both newlyweds are adorned in flowers and star-shaped-garlands from head to toe. Like Eshenali weddings, Sucralite weddings can last up to a week, but have a reputation for getting destructive fast.
To speculate on Kokoro weddings would be to look into a darkened past alien even to its descendants. The origin of many traditions and practices was lost long ago, and near-immortality can shift a person's goals regarding interpersonal relationships. Having said that, modern Kokoro have weddings that are as diverse and experimental as their bodies. A lot of them have terms that allow the marriage to "run out" after a sufficiently long time (for example, 100 years) to allow its two long-lived members relief from monotony, though just as many find no need for such conditions. Kokoro reproduce artificially (this deserves its own post), so these relationships have nothing to do with progeny and can bend and twist to meet the individual couple's needs.
If you read all the way through this, bless you. I hope this answers your question, or at least prompts new ones! :)
Assassins are masters of fighting and stealth-- and usually, discretion. They’re just as useful in combat as they are infiltrating a dangerous location, and often have either a notorious reputation or little record they exist at all. They tend to have very specific disciplines in which they excel, and some even choose to join illegal, underground assassins' guilds to get more work. They're best suited to precision strikes -- quick, simple, and deadly.
Assassins gain +1 Body and +1 Mind. They also automatically receive a set of lockpicking tools in addition to two weapons of choice.
The Knight is a warrior, a fierce protector, and a person of honor. Unlike other fighting-based classes, Knights fight for a specific person or cause, and are generally willing to dedicate their entire lives to it. They spend their lives honing their skills and are often wanderers, always in search of new ways to best perform their duties. Knights are known to be steadfast, honorable, and strong-willed; on a team, they are very supportive of others.
Knights gain +1 Body and +1 Heart. They also gain bonuses when protecting others in battle.
Of the three psychic classes, Psions focus most on physical action. Psions can move objects, strengthen their bodies, and even change the weather via telekinesis. While each species has its own theories on where these abilities come from, all of them agree that Psions possess tremendous mental and physical strength, and have a tendency to be hot-headed, headstrong, and individualistic. For most Psions, abilities begin in childhood and only improve with age.
Psions gain +1 Body and +1 Psyche, and are best suited for combat.
Whether it's sing, dance, paint, rap, or joke, the Idol does one thing: perform. The idol performs their chosen art with class and style, easily turning an audience anywhere they go and even gaining influence over many of their fans. They are usually highly charismatic, talented, and just a little cocky, confident in themselves to charm their way into or out of anything. They likely achieved popularity on their home planet before traveling into the galaxy, and some Idols can even unlock latent psychic abilities through their artistic prowess.
Idols gain +2 Heart. They also start with a pre-established fanbase and an instrument or tool of their choosing.
Do you ever plan on making ref art/docs for the planets themselves, or have you already?
I've started! I've so far only drawn landscape references for Santorna and Eshenal-- I'll do a few environment pieces for each planet before the project is through. I think it's important to establish setting and to let the players get a good feel for where their characters are.
I will say I've done tiny, simple pixel pieces of each planet (in Animal Crossing: New Horizons) but those serve more as thumbnails for what's to come.
Survivors are highly adaptive and skilled at tracking and wayfinding, even in unfamiliar environments. They may have extensive knowledge of the local flora and fauna, or they may know the best place to find clean drinking water, or they may have an encyclopedic knowledge of all the types of mushrooms growing in the area-- either way, expect a Survivor to know up from down and dangerous from helpful. Besides that, Survivors have a knack for keeping themselves and others alive in trying circumstances, and can sometimes be considered more lucky than anyone else.
Survivors gain +1 Mind and +1 Heart. They also have one bonus HP and are resistant to toxins and exhaustion.
