Star Trek Cardassian

**Name**: Cardassian
**Dice**: 12D
**Dexterity**: 1D / 4D
**Knowledge**: 1D+2 / 4D+1
**Mechanical**: 1D+1 / 4D
**Perception**: 1D+1 / 4D+1
**Strength**: 1D / 4D
**Technical**: 1D+2 / 4D+1

**Move**: 10/12
**Size**: 1.6 - 2.0 m
**Weight**: 40 - 130 kg

**Special Abilities**:

* **Eidetic Memory**: Cardassians remember everything they see and hear. This does not apply to general skill use. Just because you've seen someone perform *mok'bara* does not mean you can do it, too. The specific bonus this ability provides is up to the GM's discretion.
* **Shrewd**: Cardassians have a keen sense for deception and persuasion. All attempts to bluff, fast talk, or lie to Cardassians are increased by one difficulty level.

**Description**

**PERSONALITY**: Most other species regard Cardassians as aggressive, harsh, and xenophobic; and capable of great cleverness, cunning, and eloquence. Cardassians prefer to deal with others from positions of strength whenever possible, whether that strength be military, intellectual, or social.

**PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION**: Descended from a species with reptilian and mammalian traits, Cardassians have gray skin and black hair. They are as tall as, but slightly heavier and broader than, Humans. Elongated vertebrae covered with scalelike plates support their necks. Segmented brow ridges almost encircle their eyes; they have slightly less pronounced unsegmented ridges along the nose, chin, and jaw line. A chufa, or spoon-shaped vertical protrusion, stands out from the center of the forehead.

**HOMEWORLD**: Cardassia Prime, the third of eight planets orbiting the star Cardassia.

**CULTURE**: The Cardassians once possessed a rich, vibrant culture, but because their world has few resources, they eventually found themselves ignoring loftier matters to concentrate on simple survival. The result was vereshvar, a gradual decline of Cardassian civilization that lasted for centuries. Art and religion were abandoned in a desperate struggle for survival that gave rise to a harsh military dictatorship. All Cardassians were expected to serve the needs of the state, from providing a molar for identification purposes to living under strict authoritarian laws.

By the 23rd and 24th centuries, the Central Command (the military) and the Obsidian Order f (the intelligence agency) dominated Cardassia. Necessarily harsh and aggressive, the Cardassians turned outward to solve their resource problems. Their first encounter with the Klingons led to an eighteen-year-long war. Similarly, they approached their early encounters with the Federation with suspicion and mistrust, perhaps seeing the Federation as a competitor for resources and hindrance on their ability to expand. The most infamous example of their ruthless exploitation of other worlds can best be seen on Bajor.

Although this militaristic culture lauded devotion to the state and purported to reward citizens based on merit, personal contacts and influence (vesala) were what really mattered. Among Cardassians, who you know is more important than what you know. Another Cardassian tradition to survive is devotion to one's family; Cardassians typically give preference to family members over outsiders, which sometimes leads to someone holding a position not because of their abilities, but rather because of a wellplaced relative. The price for failure, however, ranges from exile to death, so even the most undeserving officer quickly learns his job.

If After the Dominion War, which left over 800 million Cardassians dead, they may chart a newer, better course and leave vereshvar behind... or continue down the same terrible path.

**COMMON NAMES**: Cardassians place the given name first and the family name second.

**FAMILY NAMES**: Belor, Damar, Darhe'el, Dukat, Entek, Evek, Garak, Ghemor, Hadar, Jasad, Khoreth, Kovat, Lang, Madred, Makbar, Marratt, Marritza, Moset, Ocett, Pa'Dar, Rejal, Tain, Zarale.

**MALE NAMES**: Aamin, Crell, Elim, Enabran, Ghosar, Hogue, Mekor, Meros, Poren, Rugal, Talarn, Tekeny, Veroz.

**FEMALE NAMES**: Dejar, Gilora, Heena Iliana, Natima, Rekelen, Ulani.

**Source**:

* Memory Alpha: Cardassian
* Memory Beta: Cardassian
* Star Trek RPG Players Guide (LUG) (pages 268-269); DS9 RPG Core Game book (page 45)
* thedemonapostle