2.2.6: Wu

The Wu (Homoniparilis adipemluctator wu) are a humanoid species and one of two extant sapient races native to the Kur'u'khag Quadrant of the Kilrah Sector (the other being the Kilrathi themselves). A formerly starfaring species, the Wu at one time were the leaders of a hegemony of sapient races. A peaceful, artistic people, they were among the first races to be attacked and enslaved by the Kilrathi after that race made first contact with the Utara, ultimately leading to the annexation of the entire Wu Hegemony by the nascent Kilrathi Empire in the process. The bulk of the Wu race today remains in the service of their Kilrathi masters, with some of them serving as a work force and the rest as a food source.
*Personality: Individual Wu are fairly pacifistic, wishing mainly to lead a creative life (a wish that often goes unfulfilled owing to their enslavement by the Kilrathi). Artwork, music and the like are all highly prized in Wu society and serve an important part of what's left of their culture. To increase the productivity of their slaves, many Kilrathi taskmasters still afford the Wu some opportunity each day to play the stringed instruments for which the species is legendary. Wu communities (usually located near a Kilrathi labor camp or slaughter farm) rely on an individual leader. Normally, this is the chief trustee of the taskmaster; they hold a somewhat more privileged position than the rest of his brethren. Due deference is paid for eldership in Wu society, with elder members of the race receiving preferential treatment even over those in nominal positions of leadership. Elder Wu generally have better clothing, are allowed to eat first and have better sanitation facilities made available to them as a rule. The expense of these privilages increases as a Wu ages and it's not uncommon for Kilrathi to send elderly Wu to the slaughterhouses once they reach the age of 40. Wu will fight to defend the ones they love and can be fierce opponents if enraged.
*Physical Description: Wu are a "near-human" species, with their natural, genetically pre-disposed girth being the major difference between them and the Terran norm. They have all of the standard humanoid sensory organs, propulsive appendages and motor appendages. Their faces have a somewhat pinched look due to an epicanthic fold in the area between their eyes and nose. Their mat of scalp hair is generally short and arranged in a topknot; it is unclear whether this occurs naturally or is a result of cultural convention. Wu are omnivorous, their incisors having somewhat of a "shovel" shape to them. Their dentition lends itself to a slight slurring of vowel sounds when they attempt to speak alien languages, but the Wu are quite capable of standard auditory communication otherwise. Wu average just under three meters in height and half a metric ton in mass. They are exceptionally strong and intelligent creatures, as capable of solving complex mathematical problems as they are of hauling great weights. They are capable of eating close to ten kilograms of food per day; this usually consists of protein-rich foods to keep their energy levels high. They can go about eight weeks without food and about seven days without water in an emergency. They also require about ten hours of rest per day, with some of it taken during the hottest part of the diurnal cycle of whatever world they're on and the rest at night. Wu reproduce sexually via standard intercourse. Females are polyestrous, capable of conceiving offspring for periods of up to five standard Earth days every thirty days or so. Their gestation period is a full Terran year, after which the female gives live birth. Single births are most common, though larger numbers of offspring are not unheard of; the occurrences of multiple-offspring births are about the same as those of Terrans.
**Motor Appendages: 2
**Visual Organs: 2
***Field of Vision: Optimal 123 degrees forward, Peripheral 205 degrees forward.
**Auditory Organs: 2
**Olfactory Organs: 1
**Gustatory Organs: 1
**Propulsive Appendages: 2
**Reproductive Organs: 1
*Relations with Other Races: The Wu are technically members of the Kilrathi Empire and as such are forced to have the same set of allies/enemies as their Kilrathi masters. The Kilrathi recognize the Wu as ukta, prey-food; those of their number who aren't working in the labor camps are kept in "food camps", being cultivated for the day when they are finally led off to the slaughterhouses. Given their large size, a single Wu can feed many Kilrathi and they are prized for this trait, a fact that has probably kept the Cats from wiping them out completely. For their part, the Wu are resentful of their enslavement but know the Kilrathi are quite capable of carrying out a gruesome retribution should they get out-of-line, having seen many of their old Hegemony client races meet that very fate. Those Wu who are free generally hate the Cats with a passion and often find themselves aligned with the Terrans (though not always; some find work as traders and merchants). They're generally friendly towards other races, though they have no formal relations with any of them. Those Wu remaining in the Kilrathi Empire at the time of Kilrah's destruction suffered greatly along with their masters when the Nephilim later invaded the former Kilrathi sphere. After 2700, not many Wu still exist outside of the Terran spheres of influence.
*Territory: The Wu are subjugate to the Kilrathi; officially, they are subjects of the Kilrathi Empire and as such they have no territory of their own. Their home system is in the Kur'u'khag Quadrant of the Kilrah Sector, with direct jumps to the S'kur Tql (10), Kur'u'khag (3) and Kur'u'khag (4) systems. Their homeworld was subjected to intense orbital bombardment prior to their enslavement by the Kilrathi; ambient radiation levels have not yet gone down far enough for the Wu to repopulate their homeworld, nor is it likely that the Kilrathi would allow them to go home in any event.
*Onomastikon: The Wu language consists of only eleven hard consonant sounds ("H", "K", "M", "N", "R", "S", "SH", "T", "R", "W" and "Y") and five pure, monophthong vowel sounds (short "A", long "A" (usually written as "E"), long "E" (usually written as "I"), long "O", and "OO" (usually written as "U")). It should come as no surprise that Wu names use the same set of sounds. Whereas most words in the language follow a repeating structure of consonant-vowel, Wu names place the vowel sound first; this is an easy way to determine if a word is a proper noun or not when listening to spoken Wu. A Wu name consists of a single word with anywhere between four and six individual name elements. The first three name elements are shared by all members of a single family and act as a surname. The last three name elements act as a given name; it is given to an individual by their parents at birth. Usually a Wu given name will consist of one element from the father's given name, one given to all members of that individual's generation and one at random. Wu names are generally not gender based, though the elements "ok", "im" and "em" are exclusive to female given names; note that they may still be present in the family name of a male.
**Name Elements: ak, am, an, ar, as, ash, at, aw, ek, em, en, er, es, esh, et, ik, im, in, ir, is, ish, it, ok, om, on, or, os, osh, ot, uk, um, un, ur, us, ush, ut, uw.
*Motivation: An individual Wu risks much by attempting to escape the Kilrathi lash; there have been instances where an entire labor force was exterminated due to the indiscretions of a single individual. Usually those who attempt to escape are in the slaughter camps already, since they and those around them have nothing to lose for trying. Escaped Wu usually head out of the Empire as quickly as they can, where they then face the daunting task of trying to fit in with alien races that are usually a lot smaller than they are. Some Wu fight to free their people, but most wind up serving as traders, a profession in which they can at least make enough money to feed themselves.
*Basic Characteristics:
**Size Class: C7
**Base HP: 90 (+50 AHP)
**Base HD: 58/52/58
**Physical Attribute Building Point Pool: 225
**Mental Attribute Building Point Pool: 200
**Discipline Building Point Pool: 200
**Genders: 2
**Life Stages: Adolescent at 11 years. Adult at 23 years. Middle age at 31 years. Old Age at 63 years. Venerable Age at 72 years.
**Lifespan: 72 + 5d10 years.
**Height: 2.19 + (2d5 x 0.15) meters.
**Mass: 371.25 + (same 2d5 from height x 24.75) kilograms.
**Speed: Runner (Biped) - 7 kph (12 m/rd); 2 (short-range combat), ½ (long-range combat)
**Trade Value: ¤1,300
**Racial Abilities and Restrictions:
***Thick Hide. Wu skin is particularly thick and resistant to damage, especially from any high velocity projectiles (which have a tendency to ricochet if fired from much further than point-blank range). They have First Class natural Armor and Weapon Resistant (Slugthrower).
***Heavy Hitter. Wu are particularly strong creatures. Any successful unarmed attack made by a Wu causes Basic Damage instead of Non-Lethal Damage (with any additional Lethal Damage still applied as normal).
***Massive Creature. Wu have the Trample special ability; the specific amount of damage caused by this attack will depend on the Power modifier of the individual.
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Category:WCRPG