Tothok

The **Tothok** are an ancient species closely associated with the Progenitors.

## History

Tothok history began thousands of years before the start of Standard Galactic Time, during the Progenitor Era. Amongst all the species of the Milky Way, Tothok are the only ones known who possess written history and tradition from a time before the Galactic Proletariat. In their records, it is written that they were created by the Progenitors from their own genetic material as a race of stewards and guardians. Their populations were seeded across many hundreds of worlds, specifically those with temples under the affiliation of a powerful Progenitor whose name has been blanked from their records. Since the Tothok were created near the end of the Progenitor Era, and their only task was to safeguard the temples and preserve Progenitor data wherever it could be found, many historians postulate that they represent a last-ditch effort to archive what remained of Progenitor knowledge before the collapse of their civilization in the Milky Way.

When the GP discovered the first of many Tothok planets, they attempted to take it by force but were met with unexpectedly advanced resistance. The local Tothok made use of archaic but still functional defensive technology to destroy any ships who got close enough to bombard the planet, and eventually, the Proletariat was forced to order a ceasefire. What followed was a tense period of negotiation in which the GP agreed never to attack a Tothok world unprovoked. In return, the Tothok would offer up a sampling of their most learned monks in order to help the Proletariat better understand the various Progenitor technologies they had discovered over the course of their expansion. These monks worked only with a specialized branch of the Proletariat's science division that would later become the Stellar Officiators' Guild.

After over a century of research with the help of the Tothok the Stellar Gates were made functional and the speed of galactic life increased drastically. The Tothok were thanked for their service and promised eternal protection by the Proletariat.

By the time the GP fell, many Tothok had already ventured out into the greater galaxy to join the emerging mixed galactic population. LEX does not officially uphold the oath of protection, but it has been known to come to the aid of the Tothok in times of great need.

## Abilities

Ancient and Renown: +1 to all diplomacy checks, +6 to all tech checks made against Progenitor ruins or Progenitor machines.

Hardened Mind: Tothok are treated as having 20 Defensive Psi.

Constricting Tail: +2 to grab checks.

## Homeworlds

Tothok planets vary wildly in climate, topography and ecology, but all have protean ruins around which the Tothok communities are built.

## Factions

Tothok can be found in all major factions, though many choose to live as unaffiliated monks in the monasteries of their homeworlds.

## Biology

Tothok are large and serpentine, with long sinuous tails and muscular forelimbs. Their torsos are covered by a hard armor shell, and they see by means of four compound eyes spaced towards the fronts of their heads. Even after thousands of dissections and years of research, scientists have never found a biological explanation for the Tothok's incredible resistance to psionic attack. Many theorize that it is a safeguard implanted by the Progenitors to prevent loss of information via psionic trauma.

## Culture

Tothok culture revolves around the progenitors and their temples. All Tothok feel a strong, almost ancestral bond to that lost civilization, and even the irreligious amongst them have a kind of divine reverence for the Progenitors. The various Tothok monasteries are responsible for the propagation of the Galaxy's largest organized religion, called the Word of Za. This faith has brought thousands of pilgrims to the various Tothok worlds in search of enlightenment. Tothok personalities tend to be stoic and proud, but are rarely scornful or narcissistic. Many feel that their manifest destiny is to hold a constant vigil for their long-dead forebears and to protect the galaxy from another great corruption.