Kerestian



The Kerestians are a species of humanoids, best known for their mastery of a unique weapon called the darkstick. They were descended from mammalian carnivores on the planet Kerest.

Biology and Appearance
Kerestians are easily recognized by their height (1.8 to 2.5 meters tall) and a row of breather tubes that run along their cheekbones. The breather tubes were once used for long-range, high-frequency communication, but that ability was lost over time. Two thin strips of hair grow in a strange double widow's peak from the ridges, and the strips continue down the Kerestian's back. Their nose is defined by a single, vertical slit above their mouth. Their small ears are little more than holes located at the base of the skull, and are surrounded by folds of skin.

History and Culture
At one point, the Kerestians had developed a sophisticated civilization, complete with fusion technology and sublight space travel. However, disaster struck when their variable sun went into an inactive cycle. The sun's power was greatly reduced, and the amount of light and heat reaching Kerest was greatly diminished. Temperatures plunged, and the glaciers advanced to cover all of Kerest save a thin band around the equator. Their civilization descended into barbarism. The surviving Kerestians became aggressive, determined hunters, even killing one another without remorse if necessary to survive. Kerestians hunted each other so frequently that a female could never be certain if an approaching male was looking for a mate or for prey. Over the centuries, the Kerestian species approached extinction.

Perhaps because of the reduction of their sun's power, Kerestians developed a mythology that upon death, the soul of an individual was doomed for all Eternity to wallow in the Great Darkness. Kerestians were unafraid of such a fate, instead embracing it and attaching it to the ritualistic significance behind their darksticks.

Stats & Skills

 * Attribute Dice: 12D
 * DEXTERITY: 2D/4D+2
 * KNOWLEDGE: 1D/3D+1
 * MECHANICAL: 1D/2D+2
 * PERCEPTION: 2D/4D
 * STRENGTH: 2D/4D+2
 * TECHNICAL: 1D/2D+2
 * Move: 10/12

Special Skills
Darkstick: Time taken: one round. This skill is used to throw and catch the Kerestian darkstick. The character must have thrown weapons of at least 4D to purchase this skill. The darkstick skill begins at the Dexterity attribute (like normal skills. Increase the difficulty to use the darkstick by two levels if the character is not skilled in darkstick. The weapon’s ranges are 5-10/ 30/ 50 and the darkstick causes 4D+2 damage. If the character exceeds the difficulty by more than five points, the character can catch the darkstick on its return trip.