Uva Mosk

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The Uva Mosk in Deadlock II: Shrine Wars

**Uva Mosk** is one of 7 playable Races in *Deadlock: Planetary Conquest* and *Deadlock II: Shrine Wars*.

## Advantages

* Produce more Resources than other races, except for Food.
* Command Corps can perform a Shaman Dance to produce a resource bonus on a Territory Square.
* Infantry can spy.
* Have excellent combat Accuracy.

## Description

> *From "DEADLOCK: PLANETARY CONQUEST PART II: COLONY LEADER’S GUIDEBOOK" p. 21-22*
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The Uva Mosk worship nature. Throughout their culture, they believe that planets are living things that support life and so they always treat them with absolute devotion. Their view of themselves is that they are parasites that live off a host planet. The Uva Mosk are horrified by what they feel is the wanton waste of all the other galactic races. They believe that if it were not for space travel, these races' homeworlds would have killed all of them off. Unfortunately these polluting, wasteful beings escaped into space, spreading their blight to other planets. The Uva Mosk believe that their way, the Uva Mosk Revolution, will slowly convert other races into following Uva Mosk ways. Gallius IV would be the perfect world to prove the justice of their revolution.

To maintain the strength of this revolution, the Uva Mosk have spent much effort perfecting the arts of guerrilla warfare. All their infantry units have the ability to spy. Their soldiers change their body colorings to fit their surroundings; this makes their Scouts and infantry hard to see. Spying infantry can then go undetected inside enemy territory and launch a guerrilla attack, taking the other colony by surprise.

Careful observers of nature, they note all the variations in plant growth and rock outcroppings. Nothing escapes their meticulous topographical skill. An Uva Mosk settlement always produces more natural resources than other colonies and so they have plentiful supplies of food, wood, iron, energy, and endurium. Only their food production falls second -- as Tarth farmers produce larger crops.

As Uva Mosk grow older this skill of observation becomes a science. By performing a shaman dance mission, Uva Mosk Command Corps can detect hidden reserves of natural resources. These reserves give huge bonuses to any building placed on that square in the settlement map.

The Uva Mosk only allow one individual to guide their revolution. This high shaman, called the Grand Hortus, watches over the well-being of the Uva Mosk colony. All military and economic actions become this Grand Hortus's responsibility. Once the colony feels they that no longer require the services of this great shaman, the Grand Hortus retires to tend several lush gardens.

But even though they recognize the need for a single leader, the Uva Mosk have a huge problem with authority. The smaller the government, the better off they feel they are. Thus the Uva Mosk pay little in taxes.

Uva Mosk are born as medium-sized eight-legged larvae. The back four legs grow together within the first four years, eventually giving the young Uva Mosk the more common appearance of two legs, two claw appendages, and two hands. So dependent are the Uva Mosk on the nature of the planet that they wrap their young in leaves during the full moon. The lunar light is just the right intensity to stimulate photosynthesis in the leaves; the moist young feed off the photosynthetic energy generated by these leaves.

## History

> *From "DEADLOCK: PLANETARY CONQUEST PART II: COLONY LEADER’S GUIDEBOOK" p. 22-23*
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Uva Mosk literally means "Of Tree" as they believed their species originally bloomed from the Tree of Life. The legend has it that their homeworld was covered by desert. Only one part of the planet supported life -- a small fertile oasis around the Tree of Life. The Uva Mosk were created to tend the Great Tree and protect it from the harsh sandstorms. The Tree grew to astounding heights because of the care given it by the Uva Mosk. Each Uva Mosk was responsible for tending the different areas of the tree. Unfortunately, one gardener, named Tuka Dimx, was very lazy. He would rather bask in the shade of the great tree and dream about all the care he would give it when done napping. The tree grew weak on that side because the slothful Tuka would not keep it strong. A fierce sandstorm arose and tossed the Tree of Life about. Eventually the wind blew towards Tuka's area. His weakened section of the tree snapped and the Tree of Life crashed on top of the napping Tuka. His name is still reviled in many an Uva Mosk gathering.

Over time the Tree of Life rotted away leaving a deep canyon where it had once lain. This huge canyon is called the Bed of a Thousand Tears. Rotting pieces of the Tree of Life were cut off and moved to other parts of the desert. Small oases sprang up and soon the Uva Mosk turned their planet into a hospitable world.

Their civilization developed with little conflict until the time of the Disbelief. A group of sophists came to the conclusion that the Bed of a Thousand Tears was actually formed by the many rivers that ran through it and that the Tree of Life was only imaginary. This shook the foundation of Uva Mosk civilization and this idea was immediately suppressed. However much damage was done and soon a great debate arose from this radical idea.

Two factions emerged -- the Moska (Treeists) and the Burka (Riverists). Several wars broke out using guerrilla tactics that devastated both Moska and Burka alike. Some parts of the planet were severely damaged, but the victorious group was always careful to replant the destroyed vegetation. The Moska ultimately had the advantage. Years of tradition gave them much support and the Burka were eventually beaten back into the woods. One the eve of the second moon of 1072 (an Uva Mosk year, not a galactic year), the Moska launched a unified attack at every Burka settlement. The hard pressed Burka lost many converts. Former Burka felt that they were wrong for not believing in the Tree of Life and fled the sophists in droves. Finally even the original radicals decided their beliefs were wrong and came out of hiding. The Moska leadership welcomed their fallen brethren back into their settlements and the sad time of the Disbelief ended.

The Uva Mosk were the first race in space, wishing to tend other planets in their solar system. They developed a slow flying plane that could eventually ascend into orbit. They next built huge space stations where they could shoot off their early spacecraft without damaging the soil of Moska Bost, their homeworld. Moska Bost is located far away from all the other homeworlds, so the Uva Mosk were not known by the other sentients until about eighty-seven years ago. When the Uva Mosk met Human Scout ships, they reluctantly started to trade with these bipeds. However since the Uva Mosk have a deep mistrust of other races, they kept their interstellar involvement low, content to watch the Quadra Wars from a distance. Only when the Skirineen began their conquest did they actively join the galactic community.

## Gallery

**The Uva Mosk in Deadlock: Planetary Conquest**