The Embri: The Molluscs.

[yackronin]

The Embri are masked molluscs with a rigid, if unnatural, social order. Every Embri knows it’s place in this society due to indoctrination from birth preparing them for their lives. The few rebels or free-thinkers of their societies are cast out or executed to maintain the rigid control of those in power. As is customary for Embri, each has a mundane cosmetic mask designed to conceal obvious emotion.

In the past, this rigid control has caused it to be one of the foremost societies in technological and magical advancement.though outsiders may view them as cold or ‘soulless’ (though they have just as much warp presence as most other races), their forgeworlds ring with machinery, and their vessels, though tinged with the cost of the lives used to make them, are brutally efficient.

Physical Characteristics:
Average Height: 1.2-1.5M
Average Weight: 80-120Kg
Languages: Trade, Embrian
Common Personality Traits: Cold, Isolated, Loyal, Proud, Manipulative, Focused.
Common Physical Traits: Dark skin, Fleshy Membranes, Intricate Masks, Embedded Jewelry.
Example Names: Ji, Cho, Aei, Hre. (Monosyllabic, often ending in vowels).

Racial Statistics:
Characteristic Bonus: +1 Intelligence or Composure
Skill Bonus: +1 Deceive and Perception
Power: Strange Body:
    The strange biology of the Embri has four grasping limbs that also act as locomotion. When considering body location, the ‘legs’ count for the hind legs, and the ‘arms’ count for the forelegs. Each can manipulate complex items and weapons as if they were arms. Additionally, you gain a personalised mundane cosmetic mask, as is customary for Embri.
Size: 4



Racial Feats:

Hardened Claws [Embri]:
You have made the claws on your legs into living weapons. You gain a Natural Weapon as follows: (1k2 I or R, Melee, Brawling,)

Ergátis-Caste [Embri]:
After years of indoctrination preparing for your station in life, deep in the mines, you have been genetically modified to assist in this role. You gain the Dark Sight trait, however, you gain a -1k0 to all physical tests in areas of bright light.

Mageía-Caste [Embri]:
You were indoctrinated into your future school of specialisation. Gain one rank in the chosen magic school. You also gain +1k0 to cast spells from the chosen magic school. This feat may only be taken during character creation.

Technocratia-Caste [Embri]:
You have been adapted and altered since birth alongside your indoctrination in order to better serve the Technocratia Corps in both Body and Mind. Gain the Mechanicus Implants feat.

Igétis-Caste [Embri]:
You were bred and raised for commanding positions, you were taught policy and history to guide the Embri to their rightful place of supremacy. However, the greater social nature of your assigned role has made you dependant on your mask to protect your cold facade. You gain a mundane cosmetic mask, when wearing their masks you gain +4k2 to resist Mind-Affecting effects, such as Charm and Command. However, should the mask be removed this becomes a -2k0 penalty to resisting these effects instead.

Polemistís-Caste [Embri, Paragon]:
You are the best of the best, raised to be generals, commanders and men of action. The greatest soldiers, as such you have been given your ancient ancestor’s shell-like armour to protect yourself. You gain AP equal to Excellence and the Guidance specialty to any one skill.

Physical Qualities:
Embri, being descended from aquatic molluscs, yet being primarily terrestrial, have four strong limbs that work as both locomotion and are flexible enough to work as manipulating appendages. A large, developed brain sac lies on the top of their head, with their face consisting of two small eyes above an orifice used to smell, hear, and speak. The mouth meanwhile is used solely to eat and is hidden on the underside of their bodies when not in use. All Embri are Molluscs, and share the reproductive cycle of these ancestors, being entirely Hermaphroditic.

As they age, they generally begin to ‘dry out’ so to speak. And as such result in sagging flesh and have been referred to as ‘raisins with legs’ by other species. They tend to live up to 60-70 years of age.



Playing an Embri:
Embri are a people hiding their emotions. Not easily moved to laughter, wrath or sorrow. The passions that other races indulge in, they scurry away and place under heavy guard, unwilling for such a show of ‘weakness’. They are not inclined to impulsive behaviour, or impulsivity, planning and scurrying for the most base to remote of ideals. This has taken the form of hiding one’s emotions behind a literal mask, each being culturally significant to the Embri, and many being personally significant to the individual. Having one’s emotions and strong reactions so easily on display is tantamount to nudity in most societies. The vast majority of their commitments take the forms of whatever they were indoctrinated into at birth, depending on their assigned role.

Embri’s societal roles are divided into five main ‘castes’. The Ergátis are labourers. Miners, factory workers and farmers. They, naturally, have the lowest station and the shortest lives, often dying of exhaustion. The Mageía-Caste are the mages, raised form birth for the duties of magework, and the aptitude for spellcraft. The Technocratia is the caste of technology and machines, charged with the development, maintenance, procurement and general duties of machinery and tech. This is not limited to mechanical technologies, biological augmentation and editing are also the forte of the Technocratia. In addition they act as the merchant caste of the Embri, with an affinity for numbers and administrative duties of sale. The Polemistís are the warriors and soldiers. A vanguard against the aggressors toward (and victims of) the empire as the warrior caste. Finally, the Igétis are the ruling class of Embri that decide policy and command the empire. However, the nature of this development has led them to a greater reliance on their masks to retain their veneer of calm collection in a charged environment.

Though officially, Embri society is Atheistic. Though no matter how Authoritarian a society becomes there always tend to be cults, which is where the igétis-caste’s activities come in. The Igétis, as the ruling caste have control over the vast majority of society, as such the fact that many of them are embroiled in Daemon worshipping cults is… unfortunate. The largest of these being the ble pagóni, a cult worshipping Daemons of Tzeentch, and the alithís dikastís, a cult of Bahamut. This has pulled the ruling cast in two separate directions, with their ever increasing expansionist policy as the only true unifying issue. Other sectors of society hold their own cults. The Technocratia-Caste’s numerous cults of the Omnissiah alone are almost widespread enough to be openly practised (though officially this is still punishable by floggings and a decade’s imprisonment). All but the most dogmatic of the Mageía-caste views Deamonic possession to be an honour in this manner, with Daemon-hosts being near worshipped.
(Some dissenters speak of a cult of Malal, secretive and revolutionary wishing to seize control of the empire. As you can imagine, this has made the Igétis-caste anxious. Cults of Malal are the only true cult that gets punished as harshly as possible in, and to the full extent of, Embrian Law.).

Embri revere little, but are socially conditioned to not display any emotion, Doing so is considered barbaric and dangerous. They wear masks at all times in order to better hide their emotions and designate their social standing, even when sleeping. This conditioning has made them highly resistant to charms and magical effects, and allowed them a greater ability to determine other’s emotions. Even then, another witnessing their untamed or pure emotions is intimate, and tantamount to an admission of weakness, which itself is exceedingly rare.

Those from outside their primary societies, exiled or deserted, these views become far more freeing and expressive. Often they will become complentative by comparison. Philosophers, idealists and violent mercenaries all share this in them, as the new freedom they become exposed to becomes stifling when first exposed. The openness of their Daemon worship often increases, with many becoming open priests, and many, not coincidentally, worshippers of Malal.



Embri Heroes:
Joh is a Mollusc with a mouth. An Igétis by birth They’re an expert negotiator. It is rare the Embrian empire does not possess technology or mystic secrets, Joh’s work is to acquire these by diplomatic means. Should they fail, it is then his retinue’s task to obtain them through… other methods.

Bri was born along the seasonal cycles of the Embrian homeworld. Both her parents were exiles and she has never known the indoctrination of the Embrian empire. Her mask a bright signal in the dark, a colourful beacon of hope to all who see it. However odd it may be to see hope in a clawed, faceless, mollusc.

Jer was sent to mine offworld as an assigned colonist of M1das-4. When the outpost was raided by pirates, he hid underground until scavengers came to snatch what was left. Now he’s marketing his light adaptations in order to gain passage back to the Embri home sphere.

Crot is one hell of a mollusc. Raised as an Ergátis, they were inducted into a Malal cult early on. Then later fled the sphere in favour of not-dying. They proceed to lean into gun running and explosive manufacture. To this little clam, nothing in life compares to a freshly made Molotov.