Sword of the Stars Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The Races in Summary[]

The seven races of the Sword of the Stars are the Humans, Tarka, Hiver, Liir, Zuul, Morrigi, and Loa.

Humans[]

Introduced as one of the original races in SotS1, the Humans are an adaptable and tenacious race. After having suffered disastrous first contact with a Hiver dreadnought, the race quickly learns that they are starting from behind in a race they didn't realize they were running.

Tarka[]

Introduced as one of the original races in SotS1, the Tarka are bipedal reptiles with an almost simian tail. Their race features three genders, infertile males, females, and "changed" males. Infertile males and females are on par with Humans in intelligence and strength. Changed males are much larger, stronger, and far more aggressive than any other sentient being, excepting the Zuul and Suul'Ka. Generally speaking, infertile males will be found in risky professions such as pilot or soldier, trying to gain enough renown to earn the change. Females will be intermediate authorities, such as a commissioned officer. Changed males tend to inhabit the highest rungs of political and military authority.

Hivers[]

Introduced as one of the original races in SotS1, the Hivers are insectoid sentients with a biologically enforced matriarchy. The queen is the only female capable of producing female young, who are known as Princesses. The queen and her princesses together birth the rest of the Hiver race, including workers, warriors, and princes. Workers either perform intellectual work or safe manual labor. Warriors perform dangerous physical tasks or command groups of other warriors. This group of Hivers is not exclusively for war, they can perform any physically dangerous task which requires the enhanced body and aggressive attitude of a warrior. The next kind of Hiver is a prince, the only fertile males of the species. While unfertilized Hiver eggs will hatch, the resultant young will only ever be fit for drudgery. If any sort of individual intelligence is required, a prince must fertilize the egg. Princes are also the only Hivers who have the desire to leave their mother's service to make a name for themselves. Some dedicate themselves to the sciences, others to war. As such, they are often found in positions similar to admirals. Whatever their calling, princes dedicate themselves to earning renown in their youth so that they will have their pick of mates later on.

Liir[]

Introduced as one of the original races in SotS1, the Liir are a race of psionically gifted aquatic mammals, using telekinesis in place of appendages. All Liir are hermaphrodites capable of bearing or siring young, and the main stratification in Liir society is based on age. At birth, Liir tend to be a bit smaller than dolphins. As they age, they slow down in body and thought, becoming longer, more massive, and much more thoughtful. There are Liir who have been known to reach several hundred meters in length. Liir elders are the leaders of their society, communicating telepathically with each other across the depths of space. The eldest of them is a near mythical figure known as The Black, which is also their name for outer space. As such, when The Black speaks, the entire Liir race listens and obeys. At present, the race is dedicated to the elimination of something known as the Suul'ka.

Zuul[]

Introduced in the SotS1 expansion, Born of Blood, the Zuul are a bio-engineered plague of psionically gifted marsupials. Zuul often begin their lives as furry snakes when the narcotic dribbling from their mother's teat stops flowing, allowing the young to rouse and feast upon her corpse. This will never sate the infant Zuul, and the Zuul and its pouch-mates will slither off to find fresh meat, mindlessly attacking anything that doesn't smell like a living Zuul. If they survive, they will develop into small, wolf-like creatures with more animal cunning and pack hunting behavior. At this point, sexual dimorphism begins to appear. The females will continue to grow until they appear to be bears with opposable thumbs and a crocodile grin. Female mental development also stops at the pup stage. Males, however, stop growing physically, lose their fur, develop an upright gait, and incredible psionic powers which he uses to direct the females in either tasks of construction or destruction. At this point, the Zuul are sexually mature and begin reproducing. This usually takes three months. Zuul society is made up of a string of mental dominations. The strongest Zuul male mentally dominates the Zuul around him to his will, and they carry forth his will into the rest of the population. As a species, they are gripped by a religious fervor to find whoever created them, and they will stop at nothing to rip that answer from any with the misfortune to cross their path. But perhaps, there may be good in some of them...

Morrigi[]

Introduced in the SotS1 expansion, Murder of Crows, the Morrigi are not easily categorized based on morphology. They have long, serpentine bodies supported by four clawed legs which raise the front third of the body so that the four hands can use tools. Males display more avian traits, having hollow bones and wings. Females are much more reptilian, being heavier and larger, capable of walking on two legs and using a total of six grasping appendages. The reason for this dimorphism is the cultural sexual assignments. Females stay on planets and manage production, while males travel in starships with low gravity. Further, all Morrigi possess psychic ability. Male Morrigi possess the ability to project a glamour, which causes a subconcious association in a witness's mind with beauty and grace and the Morrigi male. Males can also extract information from a sentient mind by simply being near one, though this is usually limited to picking up languages extremely quickly. Female Morrigi psionics are defensively oriented. They are easily able to notice when a psionic influence is being exerted upon them, and they are likely to be able to resist that influence. Particularly powerful Morrigi females can actively disrupt nearby use of psionics. The race as a whole is reeling from a devastating conflict with a group they call the Suuligi. Their culture used to be dominant beyond question in the galaxy, with evidence of Morrigi presence on Human, Tarka, and Hiver homeworld. Under a catastrophically effective assault from the Suuligi, the Morrigi fell back, leaving traps in their wake. At the beginning of SotS1, they have rebuilt their society to the point that they are now able to reach for the stars once again.

Sword of the Stars 2[]

Sword of the Stars 2:Lords of Winter brings more depth to the civilian aspect of the game with both differing political viewpoints and multi-race Factions, rather than the single race Empires of the original game.

Part of the expansion of the political game includes the introduction of non-FTL species, with whom a Faction can barter, protect or wipe out.

Hiver Imperium SolForce Liir Zuul Alliance Morrigi Confederation Tarkasian Empire Suul'ka Horde
Hiver Imperium SolForce Liir Zuul Alliance Morrigi Confederation Tarkasian Empire Suul'ka Horde

All items (7)

Advertisement