Plasmids consist of a collection of sub-races that consist of sentient oozes and slimes. These races can vary greatly in origin, with some being a wholly organic evolution brought about by the natural environment of a planet, while others being the inadvertant result of a Wizards experimentation. Plasmids share a common set of characteristics which allow them to be both amorphous and allow them to re-shape themselves to suit their own prospects for survival. Their formless bodies often confers to them a certain amount of natural resistances and resiliance against against particular forms of harm. Their formless nature also means that the internal organs and nervous system hang suspended within the viscous fluid that consists of their bodies.
Plasmids are not well known for their longevity. Their semi-porous barriers between their bodies and the outside world combined exposes them to natural sicknesses and infections that most humanoids naturally ignore due to their skin, scales, feathers, or fur protecting their internal organs.
Reproduction for plasmids follows the same general principles as cell generation and is naturally asexual in nature. Genetic material is simply duplicated from the parent and then split or cut off from the main body in order to create a new being. However, some plasmid sub-species, particularly those discovered in the vast reaches of Wildspace, have also developed methods with which to injest and absorb the genetic material from other species and then utilize that material as a baseline for itself or for its offspring as part of its own genetic evolution.
Plasmid offspring vary in initial size based on the sub-race or ethnicity, but they are all characterized by a rapid growth phase during the first two-years of its life. This is largely a survival tactic, as the smaller the mass of a Plasmid, the easier it is for its predators to pierce its membrane and damage its organs. It is common for many plasmids to grow 9-fold over the course of its first year, and then
Dejexic, Glebnor, Gorglebak, Glixikil, Ictalgor, Blexalgleb
Plasmids respect that which can remain fluid and yet give the perspective of solid. This impossible dichotoy speaks to the core of what makes them who they are, and so the sentience plasmids have earned affords them the ability to sense, comment, and form opinions about what they perceive as beautiful.
Very few plasmids self-identify as a particular gender. As such, the concept of "Gender Roles" and "Gender Ideals" is a relatively foreign concept to plasmids.
Reproduction is a critical and often misunderstood aspect of this species, particularly because each particular colony or variant may handle the act of procreation completely different manner from another, making cataloguing and study of the process by scholars and naturalist difficult. The vast majority of plasmids reproduce asexually, and so the race has no need for courtship ideals. However, the methods and feature of reproduction within particular plasmid colony's have not been fully observed, documented, or understood. Some scholars and reports from commoners have also cited plasmids as predatory and parasitic in nature, hijacking the reproductive organs of other species and implanting their own genetic material into unknowing or unwilling hosts, but these too have been neither confirmed nor denied by the scientific community at large.
Plasmids do not actively seek out mates, but will seek out life partners. These relationships are very rarely 'monogamous', as the asexual nature removes much of the natural drive for limited resources when it comes to procreation. Instead, a colony of plasmids forms, with organs and genetic material of the 'self' freely shared and spread across the larger commune, ensuring the maximum opportunities to both spread traits as well as 'survive' into the next generation.
Plasmids communicate by forcing air out of cavities they create and constrict in order to produce sound. They are known for their excessive and intense politeness when speaking. This may have been an early biological adaptation to ensure survival, as early plasmids may have been simply killed off by their creators, adventurer's, or townsfolk who encountered their ancestors. Through countless generations, this has evolved into a manner of speaking that removes the first person from their speech patterns. Instead, plasmids refer to themselves as "this one" or the impersonal "it".
Even when flustered or angry, a plasmid will still maintain exquisite poise, remaining formal even with those it wishes dead. As such, it is often diffcult to decode or intuit the intentions of a plasmid when one lacks familiarity with that particular being.
Due to their ooze-like nature, most Plasmid cultures ignore clothing all together and due to their amorphous and asexual nature, pay little mind to 'exposing' themselves or vice-versa.
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