Successors

The Successors are a species of amphibious octopus-like aliens living in an area of the galactic southwest. They are the descendants of the citizens of a much more expansive interstellar empire that collapsed approximately 1500 years before the present day, whom they now refer to as their Predecessors. They live in a small, sealed-off subset of their original territory; many of their former core worlds in the Tangled Shroud, including their original home planet, now lie uninhabited in systems afflicted by strange and damaging spatial phenomena. Their modern government is divided into six noble High Houses, each of which commands its own individual power while also contributing to one of two larger alliances: the Old Houses and the New Houses.
== History ==
The Successor species was largely aquatic for most of their evolutionary history, though they eventually established terrestrial aspects to their civilization as well.
At least eleven thousand years ago, the Successor species developed spaceflight capability and came to establish an interstellar empire centered around their home system of Uuoru-Sossa, in the region of the Tangled Shroud, located rimward of the Graveyard. By 1600 C.E, they had developed cloaking technology, which they used to "observe the development" of other species, including humans. They seemed to take an interest in human culture and language, producing translation devices so that Successor audiences could enjoy Shakespearean plays in their original form. The species reached at least Tier 2 during this time. The Successor species is "familiar" with jump drives, though it is unclear if they ever produced their own or, if so, whether they retain any to the present day.
Approximately 1500 years before the present, the empire began to collapse as the hyperlanes between systems in its core territories began to degrade and disappear. The damaging anomalies that remain present in these territories also developed during this time. Several then-extant High Houses, including Houses Sejra, Jasii, Vejret, and Ijridanii, collapsed, and the remaining Houses were embroiled in "the last inter-House war." This eventually came to an end as the remaining High Houses and the bulk of the remaining population evacuated through a wormhole to a group of safe systems farther to the south, where the species remains contained to the present day. Much of the species' advanced technology was lost during this time as well, and they seem largely unable to replicate it. The Successors refer to their ancestors of this era as their Predecessors.
Those High Houses which had colonized this cluster prior to the collapse of the empire—Houses Chydiyi, Myurej, and Sioeora—formed an alliance as the so-called Old Houses, while those immigrating to the cluster—Houses Aqrabe, Kaatrij, and Seineq—formed the New Houses. Because the New Houses originate from the more central and historically richer parts of the empire, they are in some cases actually older than the Old Houses.
Those Successors who belonged to a House which had collapsed were, in some cases, adopted into House Kaatrij in an unusual act of inter-House solidarity. Most, however, remained essentially stateless. Without a habitable world to claim as their own, and without the economic and military support of a House, these Successors are largely stuck on overcrowded and uncomfortable space stations in the southwestern part of Successor space. Many of those there have banded together under the banner of the so-called People's Houses, a loose collection of semi-familial groups that act somewhere in the range between functional democratic governments and gangs of outlaws.
Though the wormhole separating them from their former territories is unstable, requiring a Quantum Keystone to traverse, the High Houses have managed to develop unique hull plating for their warships that allows them to pass through. However, the limited number of systems that remain connected to the other end of the wormhole has curtailed their efforts to explore their previously-inhabited systems. The player meets them at this point, with the High Houses eager to use a jump-drive-equipped ship to retrieve some long-lost items.
== Attributes ==
The Successor species resembles octopuses from Earth, but are of much greater size, standing at least three meters tall on land. Though they are amphibious, they require constant moisture on their skin to survive and consequently most of the worlds they have colonized are watery. The species is able to change the color and texture of their skin at will, something that was originally used for camouflage but is now mostly used as a component of communication. Communication with most Successors requires a translation device provided by one of the High Houses. Though effective, this antique device was originally designed to translate Shakespeare's plays to the Successor language and so sounds somewhat out of date.
== Technology ==
Most of the more advanced technology employed by the Successors is restricted by the High Houses for their own use.
Successor technology is designed to be efficient and synergistic. Many outfits are "bimodal", having two modes of use in different situations. Their shield generators recharge exceptionally quickly at the cost of increasing the damage taken by shields. To exploit this, their engines have built-in afterburners that draw shields rather than hyperspace fuel. Their reactors multiplicatively reduce the energy cost of shield generators and hull repair, and are very heat-efficient. Their ships feature a heavy bias towards hull rather than shields, allowing them to make use of their shields for other purposes without greatly compromising their durability.
Successor warships can also employ unique multimodal armor, which allows them to choose certain benefits: greater hull durability, faster hull repair, resistance to slowing and corrosion effects, or the ability to pass through unstable wormholes.
The High Houses prefer to use kinetic weapons in combat. Their primary ship-to-ship weapon is the "Ojet" Bimodal Coilgun, which inflicts high hull damage up close and high shield damage at range. They also use Drag Cannons and the "Sjeja" Kinetic Lance as more dedicated close-range and long-range options, respectively. Their hand-to-hand outfit, the Kinetic Rail Rifle, uses similar technology to their larger coilguns, albeit at a smaller scale.
=== Ships ===
Transport
*Kvelqde
*Nnaatej
*Nnesaarau
Space Liner
*Ejniisde
Light Freighter
*Myaede
Heavy Freighter
*Ojde
Utility
*Kaskhorade
*Seiitej
Interceptor
*Kvelqde-Khora
*Stolsaqra
Light Warship
*Veusade
*Vujlet
Medium Warship
*Aaulqra
=== Outfits ===
Weapons
*"Ojet" Bimodal Coilgun and Turret
*Drag Cannon
*Successor Pulse Laser and Turret
*Overcharged Pulse Laser and Turret
*"Sjeja" Kinetic Lance
**High-Velocity Spike
**High-Velocity Spike Rack
Systems
*"Byiaa", "Ej", "Jaase", and "Jorv" Shield Cortices
**Shield Cortex Interface
*Successor Cooling
*"Tuur" Scanning Suite
*"Veldt" Combat Scanner
*Successor Fuel Sail
*Multimodal Armor: Heavy, Regen, Resilient, and Keystone
Power
*1-"Uurau", 3-"Kaska", and 6-"Ruuv" Betavoltaic Cells
*OC-"Mavra" Betavoltaic Cell
*"Nnesa", "Ryuit", and "Uoret" Fusion Cores
*Auxiliary and Primary Power Reserves
Engines
*"Niis" Inductive Engines
*"Aqra" Inductive Thruster, Steering, and Reverser
*"Chyyra" Inductive Thruster, Steering, and Reverser
*"Veusa" Inductive Thruster, Steering, and Reverser
Hand to Hand
*Kinetic Rail Rifle
Licenses
*Successor License
*High Houses License
== Interspecies Relations ==
Due to what happened to their home systems, the Successors are isolated from the rest of the galaxy.
* Humans - Before their collapse, the Predecessors had observed humanity during the early Renaissance with great interest. The player is the first human to make contact with them, but is unable to speak their language. A linguist member of House Sioeora can communicate with the player thanks to their understanding of Early Modern English and House Sioeora offers to give the player a translation device in exchange for helping them retrieve an animal from one of their lost worlds.
* Coalition - The Successors are aware of the Coalition. Before their collapse, the Predecessors produced translation devices for the Coalition language.
* Drak - The Successors are aware of the Drak.
* Hai - The Successors are aware of the Hai. Before their collapse, the Predecessors produced translation devices for the Hai language.
* Korath - The Successors are aware of the Korath.
* Quarg - The Successors are aware of the Quarg. Before their collapse, the Predecessors interacted with the Quarg in some capacity.
Category:Species
Category:Successor