Oburkaan

**Species - Oburkann**

**Homeworld - Narkesh**

**Region - Desolus**

**APPEARANCE**

Oburkaan are massive four-armed humanoid creatures.
Oburkaan are typically eight to ten feet tall when fully upright. An Oburkaan's
skin is extremely black, evolved to reduce or block out entirely the harmful
effects of the constant sun. This skin is very tough, resistant on its own against
puncturing and tearing. Oburkaan have no claws on any of their hands nor their
feet, though they do have twin horns on their heads, bull-like in appearance. Oburkaan
skulls are canine in appearance, with an elongated snout and a mouth full of
canine teeth, though their back teeth are molars. Oburkaan mark themselves with
paint or iridescent tattoos to signify claimed glory, positions of
significance, capabilities, or clan identity. The horns of an Oburkaan remain
unmarked. To have one's horns marked by anything other than battle is extremely
socially damning. A "Shatterhorn" is an Oburkaan whose horns have
become marred, and are condemned as inferior, though some have found glory in
low-standards mercenary companies or by hiding their shame under heavy armor.
Oburgol, leaders of the Oburkaan, are typically much larger than normal, having
been biologically engineered to be larger and more dangerous than their peers.
Oburgol are brightly colored and sport a wider assortment of tattoos than other
Oburkaan. Oburgol can stand up to 15 feet tall, and some have biological
enhancements like bony protrusions or plating. It is highly unusual for an
Oburkaan to have too many biological enhancements, as such weaponry is closely
guarded by Oburgol, and, to be frank, most of the tech is reduced to ash,
researched again, and then inevitably blown up in some raid or another. True
progress is difficult for the Oburkaan, since their dedication to resource war
keeps them as a species from making too much progress in things that don't
directly impact war. Farming, for instance, has been reduced to the production
of a high-nutrient sludge that keeps the Oburkaan from starving, even if the
paste doesn't taste very good. However, the Oburkaan have managed to develop the technology to safely explore out into the Desolus region, and their startling ability to gather resources and reproduce has alowed them to spread out in a massive area of their universal region, and has brought them towards Stormfont

**ABILITIES**

Oburkaan are very strong, and their natural resilience
is intimidating. Oburkaan horns were not particularly tough, but sheer ferocity
has forced evolution to give the Oburkaan increased bone toughness; those whose
bones broke never lived to reproduction cycles, so their less-tough genes were
not passed on. Modern Oburkaan have bones harder than stone, and reports
indicate that Oburgol have head butted their way through steel. Oburkaan have
evolved to become very good at war. Over time, Oburkaan reproductive abilities
have sped up to allow their young to be produced more often to fill the ranks
of their clan. Oburkaan are asexual, and reproduce by themselves once a year
once they hit maturity. This is a choice, however. Oburkaan may deny their
reproductive cycle if they are off-planet or behind enemy lines where a child
would be inconvenient. In order to prevent genetic maladies, most Oburkaan
choose to reproduce only when on Narkesh , where their engineers can give the
child some new genetic material as well as growth hormones that allow the child
to hit its adult size within three years. The Oburkaan's reproductive annual
cycle occurs on their birthday.

In terms of technology, the Oburkaan have developed
extremely advanced, albeit somewhat wasteful, weapons and war-implement
technologies. Oburkaan technology includes advanced ballistic handheld weapons,
advanced heavy armor, mechanized war suits that range from combat skins to
towering mechanical behemoths that are ludicrously dangerous, flying
terrestrial vehicles, and long-range space flight. Oburkaan space technology
was originally developed simply to expand their killing field, and a menagerie of space
debris floats around Narkesh, a visible warning to other species of what goes
on on the planet. Their space technology has allowed them to spread out into Desolus, and their ability to gather and hoard resources has increased due to this.

In Oburkaan culture, if something isn't used for killing, it
probably doesn't carry too much esteem. Farming is done only by Shatterhorns,
who have been disgraced in combat and are now forced to perform menial labor
until death. Oburkaan biological engineering tech is fairly advanced. They are
capable of distilling biological material and genetically altering their
leadership, the Oburgol. This results in appearances unique to each leader,
depending on the ruler's available biotech. This ranges from increased size and
strength to various physical appearance changes like scales or a tail to hidden
changes like subdermal armor plating, increased stamina, acute vision, or
mental capacity enhancements. However, biotech is jealously guarded and only
awarded to the Oburgol, on whose authority the biotech is used, usually only on
themselves, and maybe a personal guard. However, literary and cultural
knowledge is little; Oburkaan have always fought, and there is little call for
technology that cannot be used to crush a skull, light something on fire, or
blow half of a city to hell.

All fighting Oburkaan have a warsuit. The tech
level of the warsuit, what sort of defenses it has, what weapons it supports,
what utilities it has, all are ways to identify the Oburkaan's status. More
advanced tech handed out by the Oburgol's engineers indicates more advanced
status. Technology can be highly variable. Some Oburkaan prefer tank-like suits
with piston-assisted movement and heavy onboard weapons. Others prefer sniping
suits built with long-distance optics and swift-movement electronic assistance.
Still others prefer shock-trooper builds with jump jets and heavy frontal
armor. It is common for Oburkaan suits to carry a wide assortment of grenades,
bombs, ammunition, and weapons. Medics do not exist. Some high-ranking Oburkaan
possess massive mechanized war suits that tower 30-40 feet over their allies.
These suits are true marvels of Oburkaan development. Their capacity for
destruction is impossible, their resource consumption irresponsible, their
munitions inexhaustible, their war paths inexorable. These suits indicate a
high-level Oburkaan, and each suit is the prized treasure of its owner. They
are unique; each and every one. Their weapons loadout and onboard tech reflect
their owner's battle priorities. The suit of each clan's Oburgol is the treasure
of the clan. These machines are nearly unstoppable in combat, their armor is
thick, their guns huge, their batteries massive, and their kill count
staggering. Each suit carries a reputation that itself frequently eclipses that
of the Oburgol. Most have names and all are reasons to retreat for normal
soldiers. Oburkaan see these suits as a challenge and fight to see them
destroyed. Such a blow to the clan would be nearly devastating.

Over time, the constant war of the Oburkaan clans
has created a thick veil of gun smoke, spatial debris, and long ago exploded
biological remains. This smog darkens Narkesh considerably, though the air
quality has deteriorated to the point where, were it not for the Oburkaan's
engineers, the species likely would have died out due to pollution. As it is,
genetic alterations to the skin, eyes, and lungs have enabled the species to
survive in the fouled air of the planet, and their warzones in space

**CULTURE**

Oburkaan wage war. It's what they do. Their planet,
Narkesh , is essentially a giant rock made entirely of an extremely useful
substance, Kortum, which can be used as fuel, refined into a tough metal, and
fired out of a gun at lethal velocity. Because of the availability of substance
for war, the Oburkaan have fought for centuries for control of the planet's
resources. Ironically, this has led them to waste more of the planet's
resources trying to control it than they have used for other ventures. But such
speculation is beyond the Oburkaan. They fight because it's what they were
raised to do, and, for the most part, they enjoy it. Oburkaan are born for war,
they live for war, and they die in war. Few Oburkaan care why they're fighting,
most simply obey their Oburgol and march into combat equipped with their
various weaponry, mechanized war machines, vehicles of war, or simply their
fists as they move to destroy the enemy. Oburkaan culture is comparatively
simple. Various clans are held in esteem based on their resource control, which
really boils down to territory. Larger more powerful clans control more, while
the smaller clans control less. Within the clans, the leadership is held by the
Oburgol, a massive specimen that is typically stronger, faster, smarter, and
overall meaner than its peers. The Oburgol leads through example, terror,
persuasion, or demonstration. Legendary Obugol have been invincible in combat,
their advanced access to the clan's highest technology affording them
advantages in combat that their minions and enemies simply do not possess. It
is rare for an Oburgol not to fight at the head of their armies. This is
generally a sign of cowardice and would be looked down upon, and probably
induce mutiny. The position of Oburgol is one that is earned. Once a year, the
Oburgol entertains a challenge. Only one challenge. The challengers must fight
amongst themselves to determine who will fight to obtain the position of
Oburgol. The challenge is hand to hand, unarmored, usually unclothed combat,
and is to the death in an arena in front of a massive crowd. No weapons or
mercy is allowed, and there are no rules except win, though a kill with one's
horns is seen as an omen of good luck. Once the Oburgol is killed, the new
Oburgol immediately undergoes biotech changes, and becomes the replacement
Oburgol. This change is always accepted, and obedience is not disputed. Oburgol
may, at any time, kill or maim their minions; it is their right, they are
ruler. Overly vicious Oburgol are killed eventually by their own minions in
challenge combat, though massive minion killing is unheard of. Oburkaan have no
reason to respect the sanctity of life, but the killing outside of combat is
not supported either, it is viewed as distasteful, similar to our perception of littering.

In battle, the number one rule is victory. No mercy
is shown, no prisoners taken, no innocents spared. All Oburkaan accept that
their life is war, and that to live means to kill. Oburkaan long ago lost
compassion as an emotional trait. It induces weakness, and is a drain on their
precious resources. This carries forward into other conflicts, such as when
contingents of Oburkaan were used in the Sickle Purges. They quickly became
notorious for their lack of camaraderie, though their abilities in battle saw
them heavy use as ground pounders in much of the conflict.

Culturally, Oburkaan are separated into four
categories. The lowest category is the Shatterhorns, who are disgraced and
hidden from the clan’s sight. Shatterhorns operate machinery in factories,
produce the clan’s food, and are generally used as menial labor. The second
class are the Oburkann that fight in battles. These Oburkaan earn glory and
technology from their Oburgol as they accomplish feats in war. As the Oburkaan
earn glory and the tech that comes with it, they are elevated to higher
standing within the fighting Oburkaan class. Separate from the fighting
Oburkaan, though not necessarily superior or inferior are the Oburkaan
engineers. These Oburkaan receive mental enhancement biotech from existing
engineers when they are born, speeding up their mental development, and
increasing their fluid intelligence; their creative abilities.  These
Oburkaan are highly prized, and they are essentially the backbone of Oburkaan
military. Losing an engineer, even if it is a child that will become an
engineer in their adult life, is an absolute outrage. This is an offense that
no clan will stand for, and some of Narkesh’s greatest battles have been fought
as vengeance for a slain engineer. However, the Oburgol oversees the engineer’s
development and forces them to abstain from the physical enhancements that the
fighting Oburkaan receive. This is an accepted sort of checks and balances
system to prevent the engineers from advancing themselves above the Oburgol and
their peers. This system is not challenged; it is natural for the Oburkaan to
be led and ordered; it is a part of their life and even the engineers do not question
their position in the world. Ultimately, the engineers respect and accept the
fighting Oburkaan for their role, and the fighting Oburkaan return the
sentiment to the engineers. Finally, the leading class on Narkesh is the
Oburgol. These Oburkaan are the biggest, the fiercest, the cruelest, and the
hardest to kill by a longshot. These Oburkaan rule without question; it is
their right, and this is questioned only one time a year during the challenge
period.

**ASSOCIATIONS**

Oburkaan were used as foot soldiers in The Sickle Purges , and were lauded for their technology, capabilities, and willingness to
fight. However, their wastefulness and lack of camaraderie earned them a bad
reputation. Oburkaan technology is used to having lots of available resources, and
without supplemental Jaliad technology, many battalions of Oburkaan were
overwhelmed and killed due to mismanaged resources. Oburkaan refuse to let
other Oburkaan, let alone other species, access their resources or technology.
This creates tension. Oburkaan engineers, held in high esteem by other
Oburkaan, were extremely reluctant to allow the Jaliad to help them adjust
their weapons tech, though, after numerous demonstrations, grudgingly accepted
the aid. Due to the extreme casualties of The Sickle Purges , no Jaliad -Oburkaan
tech made it back to Desolus . Oburkaan have earned a mercenary-like reputation
in the universe, and it is well deserved.

**ITEMS**
**OF SIGNIFICANCE**

A large clan of Oburkaan were taken to fight in The Sickle Purges . This clan was offered Jaliad tech and was very successfully
utilized as a ground-troop fighting force, earning them recognition Empyrian
Space. This clan has not returned to Desolus , and was either wiped out or
currently exists on The Ring, the living area of the species that fought in The Sickle Purges .

In Oburkaan history, a single Oburgol at one point
managed to secure dominance over a multitude of clans by securing challenge
rights and then slaying the opponent Oburgol. This Oburgol stands as an example
of Oburkaan ability to unite, but such a leader is not common, and this event
has not been repeated in history.