Date: Tue, 13 Aug 1996 20:52:24 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Alter S. Reiss" <asreiss@yu1.yu.edu>
Subject: The Kumidai (new race)
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     KUMIDAI

     Homeworld:  Humitajj
     Other planets inhabited:  Usthis, Min, and Thostill
     Appearance:  The Kumidai are a subterranean race, adapted
for life beneath the surface of their desiccated homeworld.  They
are a large species, and powerfully built.  They have three pairs
of legs, with the forelimbs bearing huge claws designed for
tunneling through thick, rocky soil.  Their basically tube shaped
bodies reach three meters in length, and over a meter and a half
in width.  Their legs are short and muscular, around half a meter
in length.  The Kumidai are not an attractive race to human eyes,
with a very pale wrinkled skin that displays many of their
spiderweb vein networks.  They have a huge head, almost as wide
as their body, with a powerful fanged jaw, and very small red
eyes.  The ears of a Kumidai are just as small as their eyes, and
their primary sensory input comes from their rear feet, that are
designed to pick up vibrations easily.
     Leaders:  The Kumidai never had organized governments,
living in a fairly peaceful anarchy, but since the imperial
occupation they have been ruled by planetary governors.  They
have petitioned Moff Rulduk for independence very publicly, and
hope to gain that independence (for a brief time, at least) due
to Rulduk's desire to appear to be someone the Yaeger would ally
with.  This plan was formulated by several elder and respected
Kumidai, who are now their nominal leaders.
     World view:  The Kumidai are an individualistic and
phlegmatic race.  They try to avoid problems whenever possible. 
Their is a phrase that the Kumidai use often, that it is always
possible to outdig the devil (a surface dwelling humanoid, in
Kumidai myth).  They tend to look at problems as being a rock
face, finding some aspect of the situation that acts as the fault
allows them to bring the whole situation apart.
     Temperament:  The Kumidai are a genial race that seldom take
offence, and when they do, they are more likely to react by
absenting themselves than they are to react with violence. 
However, when pushed beyond their limits, they can be very
deadly, thrashing about in a random orgy of destruction.
     History and Culture:  The Kumidai are a nomadic people,
digging through the sands and rocks of their homeworld, sifting
small creatures out of the sand through their mouths, and
expelling the rest behind them.  When civilization came to the
Kumidai, they built permanent dwellings in the rocks of their
world, using metal claw tips to break the rocks open, and began
swallowing food alone, without the sand they used to filter. They
expanded slowly, maintaining good relations with all their
neighbors.  When the Empire came, they bowed to the inevitable
with a minimum of protest, though those Kumidai that could escape
did so, including most of their fleet, which left the sector
entirely, headed outward, away from imperial space.
     Kumidai are an egg laying species, with the young being
fully functional individuals within a few hours of hatching.  It
is customary for the young not to know who their parents are, and
they are educated at their own expense, by taking loans that they
are expected to pay back as soon as possible.
     Tech Level:  Space.
     Kumidai in the Sector:  The Kumidai are known as being good
natured and hard workers, and can usually find employment quite
easily.
     Language:  The Kumidai have a fairly advanced language that
can be spoken understandably by humans, though some of the sounds
used are below human capacities of reproduction.  When speaking
basic they tend to have very, very deep voices that sometimes dip
below audible levels.
     A Quote:  "It would be my honor to help you repair your
ship..."
     Spaceships:  The Kumidai have always relied upon single
pilot fighters to fight their wars.  The Shaku fighter was the
most advanced ship that they fielded, and many are still hidden
on the various worlds that they inhabit.

     Attribute Dice:  12
     Attribute Min/Max
     DEX:  1D/3D
     KNO:  2D/4D
     MECH: 2D/4D+1
     PER:  1D/3D
     STR:  3D/6D
     TECH: 2D/4D+2
     Move:  11/15 

     Special Abilities:
     * Burrowing:  The Kumidai can burrow with great skill,
moving at an average move of 6, a rate that is modified by the
nature of the soil or sand through which they are burrowing. 
Their rate is usually halved when they are feeding as well as
burrowing.

						Alter S. Reiss
					"And her perpetual motion machine
					sucks... It just keeps going faster
					and faster."