Sci-Fi Worldbuilding: Fessamid Realms

Sci-Fi Worldbuilding: Fessamid Realms

Fessamids are a weird psionic gasbag species that dwells on gas giants. They were difficult to stat up, and I had to read up on gas giant atmosphere structure, temperature, composition, and wind speed to make everything consistent. As a faction, they have advanced bio- and psi-tech, but all their devices are biological, so they might not fit everybody. As a racial template, they are quite expensive and very exotic.

Fessamid Realms

Capital World: Fessamus V.

Major Species: Fessamids.

Languages: Fessamid.

Culture Groups: Fessamid.

TL: 9 (TL 11 bio-tech and psi-tech).

Fessamus V is a gas giant, not unlike Jupiter, orbiting a main sequence star. What made the planet special is presence of sentient life. The fessamids, naturally psionic gasbag-like creatures, created a slowly developing culture in the gas layers just above the “surface”. The large and long-lived fessamids were unable to progress technologically in a traditional sense, but had advanced biotechnology. Instead of building everything, they grew everything – from tools to psychotronics to buildings and recently even spaceships.

In the ancient past, Fessamus first was used as an “antimatter farm” by a precursor civilization (the susna), and then was a site of an experimental artificial planet construction. The project was abandoned or relocated for ethical reasons when the builders found out about the lifeforms dwelling in the atmosphere of the gas giant. Thus, the fessamids always knew that they were not alone among the stars and now are the only known species that have had confirmed first-hand contact with a now vanished precursor civilization, making the fessamids probably the oldest living sentient species in the known galaxy.

Fessamid Realms have been isolated for a long time, because it takes a very long time to grow a spaceship and it took a while before psychokinetic batteries became powerful enough to power a hyperdrive. Only recently have the fessamids started spreading across the stars, colonizing gas giants, and often sabotaging antimatter mining and other exploitation of their gas giant homes. Their advanced bio- and psi-technology makes them valuable allies, even though their grown psychotronic devices are usually repulsive to look at.

FESSAMID [50] Attribute Modifiers: ST+5 (Size Modifier, -20%) [40]. Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: SM+2. Advantages: Ambidexterity [5]; Doesn’t Eat or Drink [10]; Extended Lifespan 1 [2]; Extra-Flexible Arms [10]; Extra Arms 2 (Extra-Flexible, +50%; Weak, Half, -25%) [25]; Flight (Lighter Than Air, -10%) [36]; Injury Tolerance (No Head; No Neck) [12]; Temperature Tolerance 3 (Cold) [3]; TK Grab (Short Ranged) 4 [16]. Disadvantages: Acceleration Weakness [-1]; Cold-Blooded (Below -136°C (-213°F)) [-5]; Dependency (Sunlight; Weekly) [-10]; Flammable [-10]; Hard of Hearing [-10]; Increased Life Support (Extreme Cold; Pressurized) [-20]; Invertebrate [-20]; Mute [-25]; No Legs (Aerial) [0]; Unusual Biochemistry [-5]; Weak Arms (Half) [-5]; Weak Bite [-2]. Racial Skills: TK Grab IQ+0 [4]. Natural Comfort Zone: -100°C - -150°C (-150°F - -235°F), 0.2 atm., 2.5g, hydrogen atmosphere. Knowing Your Own Strength version [40] Replace ST+5 (Size Modifier, -20%) [40] with ST+3 [30]. Fessamids are a gasbag species adapted to living in the atmosphere of a gas giant. Their large dome-shaped bodies are filled with hydrogen that makes them flammable, but light, allowing the fessamids to fly. A toothless mouth on the bottom is surrounded by four flexible, but weak tentacles with manipulator-feelers. The eyes are situated on the rim near the bottom. The top part of the body is green – the fessamids are photosynthetic, but the bottom and the tentacles are orange, red, or pink. With their biochemistry based on liquid hydrogen, the fessamids are used to extreme cold conditions, but they tend to stiffen up, when it gets cold even for them. The fessamids are mute – they communicate using their complex sign language. They lack ears, but can hear with their membranous skin. Their nervous system is distributed throughout the body – the fessamids have no brain. All fessamids possess inborn telekinetic powers, but most of them develop them further or “branch off” into other psionic powers. Fessamids who often deal with aliens favor telepathy, as it allows them to communicate more easily. Fessamids are peaceful, but they often look repulsive to many other species, especially when inside their biological life support suits. Sample Universal Names: Aohonaal, Woomaawa, Huunamoo.