Ashen One

Rust and Ruin The Ashen Ones were first discovered by United Nations of Worlds Explorer- Robert Tanzer. Starship crash survivors themselves, their ships pulled down to planet by a mysterious gravitational force. It was quickly determined that their planet, Akhlaqi, is home to a virulent form of plague. Called 'The Pale Death' this disease causes a rapid wasting away of living tissue in those contracting it.   In response to this plague, Ashen One doctors began acting quickly to remove tissue before it could spread, and replace the missing limbs, or body segments with mechanical replacements fashioned from whatever scrap that could be salvaged.   The Ashen ones were evacuated from their wrecked starships-turned-cities, no trace of the disease coming with them. They now are settled on the lava world of Tsatsos, where their ingenuity with metal and salvage is powering the growing city-forge of Rigers Corps of Engineers.   Characteristics Ashen Ones are diminuative humanoids, the tallest standing at just 5 feet (1.5m) tall. Their features are sharp and highly angled, remining some of crows or other corvid like Terran creatures. Those who still have their own faces are a splotchy complexion of pale and tan.   A holdover from their time on Akhlaqi, The Ashen Ones communicate with one another through an elaborate haptic and visual system implanted in thick goggles that each of them wear- continually seeing the world in a sort of Augmented Reality, information imposed over what they are actually looking at. RCOE engineers have re-created this network with their city founding on Tsatsos, but Ashen Ones operating away from the world would likewise find themselves slightly disconcerted as they precieve the world without the information processing abilities of that network. To someone not fitted with these goggles, their sub-vocal speech and gestures sound like croaks- further adding to their crow like characteristics.   Ashen Ones have a lifespan of just 40 years, with a being considered an adult at just 10 years of age. It remains to be seen if there will be an increase in lifespan with their renewed access to TL4 medical treatments, and what sort of cultural effect on them it may have.     Playing an Ashen One Ashen Ones are naturally intelligent creatures and have a base of 14 in that attribute. It may be boosted to a 16 if intelligence is the class attribute for the character.   Their mastery of scrap and salvage has given them a unique understanding of technology, and this mastery allows them to always have minor items on hand (50 credits or less), either secreted away in one of their many pockets, or quickly cobbled together from salvaged/stolen components at hand. In play, this functions similarly to the precognitive 'Sense the Need' skill.   Ashen Ones have composmised immune systems as a reminder of their time on Akhlaqi and automatically fail physical effect saves related to resisting the contraction or advancement of an illness or toxin. Ashen Ones operating with proper protective gear take no save simply for being in the area, though a suit rip or hazard compromising their protection would force an auto-failed check.   When operating away from Tech Level 4 planets under polity control, if a party member is not carrying a dedicated comm server with a network copy on it, they have a -1 penalty to Notice and Know checks, representing their reliance on the all-encompassing augmented reality they prefer to live in.   Adventuring on a planet with its own planetary net does not relieve the need for a comm server, as most planetary governments would not warm to the idea of invasive alien software re-writing the city administation information on their servers. In late 2669 a Greystar Confederation Ashen One scientists named Groshim completed a highly technical series of experiments and downloaded his mind into a mechanical shell. Leaving his failing body behind, he is the first of what is expected to be a species altering shift.  

The Digital Evolution

  An Ashen One player may sacrifice their second foci pick at character creation to start in a mechanical shell known as a "Jack". Spending thirty days of downtime while traveling will allow them to attain affinity with the shell, representing their mastery over their new bodies. If the Ashen One player is playing a class where a second foci pick at character creation is not given, they cannot take this digital evolution at later foci picks, but can work toward this change through story.   The Jack shell is a flexible and relatively cheap platform designed for technical work in environments that would be difficult for an organic shell to survive, the Jack is equipped with a wide range of integral tools. Most are humanoid in outline, though many have several additional manipulatory appendages or tendrils in order to aid in the repair of complex devices. Those mechanics are covered on the following page.   Jack Shell Mechanics Attributes: Strength 12, Dexterity 12, Constitution 12   Basic Abilities   A Jack has a built-in postech toolkit and hand tools that can be used as the equivalent of Small Advanced melee weapons. It gains a +1 bonus to all Fix and Program skill checks, and has a durable structure with a base Armor Class of 15 and 10 bonus hit points.   Due to the digital nature of these shells, if the foci pick is spent to attain the Jack shell, the Ashen One player will no longer be subject to the automatic failure of physical saves. Some conditions are too hellish for even a ,echanical shell to endure with no trouble and any requested physical saves may now be rolled as normal.   An experienced Jack operator knows how to improvise with the shell’s integral hardware. They can jury-rig any portable TL4 technology of 1 Encumbrance or less with a Main Action and one unit of spare parts, except for consumables such as power cells or stims. Items that require power are rigged with one cell’s worth of energy. This jury-rigged tech only works for the rest of the scene. The Jack’s improvised weaponry now counts as a Large Advanced melee weapon or a rifle with no ammunition requirements, either usable as needed.   Magic and MES   Ashen One characters may choose to play as psychics or magic users.