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Description
An alien race, from my game Stellarmass

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Ta’Koths: A Reference

Species: Ta’Koth (Tah-Koth) Ta’Koths as plural. ‘Glowsticks’ and ‘Ravers’ as slang.
Homeworld: Takelle
Language: Takith
Classification: Mammal

One of the only bioluminescent aliens in the galaxy, Ta’Koths hail from a cold planet that gets little to no sunlight. Because the planet is shrouded at all times in pitch darkness, the sentient race living there had to evolve accordingly. Ta’Koths vaguely resemble humans in general shape and size, but with notable differences. They have a similar facial structure, but they have no nose, and instead breathe/smell through a thin membrane covering that general area. They grow to around the same size as humans, but Ta’Koth as a race are rather thin, and they rarely ever get muscular or overweight. Also like humans, they are bipedal and walk with a plantigrade stance. They have 5 fingers, like humans, but only four toes. Each digit houses a retractable claw much like a cat, and they are very sharp. Ta’Koths will use them in a fight, but they tend to only use their claws nowadays to open up chip bags or CD cases. All Ta’Koths are born with black skin and hair, a throwback to the old days where they had to camouflage themselves against other predators. Ta’Koths nowadays enjoy dyeing their hair all sorts of colors, mostly favoring very bright neon colors, and sometimes it’s a bit rare to find a Ta’Koth with their natural black hair color. Also highly characteristically of them, is the bioluminescent markings that every Ta’Koth has. The markings usually tend to only show up on one side of their bodies, and go from the head down to their feet. As for the marking themselves, they vary extremely, going anywhere from almost geometric circuit board type patterns to sharp tribal-like tattoo markings and to delicate swirls. No two Ta’Koths are born with the same patterns and they are most commonly used to identify each other. These markings are bioluminescent, and every Ta’Koth can make them glow brightly at will. The colors of these markings vary just as much as the patterns, but the most common colors are blue, purple, and green. More lighter colors like yellow, red, and pink are more uncommon, with white being the rarest color. Color tends to be hereditary, and it’s not uncommon for a Ta’Koth couple with blue and yellow colors to have children with green markings. Ta’Koth have only one color for markings, and they don’t ever come in ‘multicolor. The eyes of a Ta’Koth are harmonious with their markings, with the sclera being a lighter color and the iris being a darker color. For example, a Ta’Koth with blue markings would have cyan sclera and a dark blue iris. Ta’Koth have no visible pupil, and they have the innate ability to see in pitch darkness as well as a human can see on a bright sunny day. Ta’Koths going offworld usually wear some sort of eye protection, as their eyes are very sensitive to light, and being on a particularly bright planet can render a Ta’Koth blind. Ta’Koth also do not have ears, but instead hear using a pair of highly sensitive antenna. The antenna themselves can be up 16 inches long, and they are covered with very fine, thin hairs. The tips of the antenna also vary, but tend to either end in a curl or a jagged zig zag. They can hear in a much different spectrum then other races, and are rumored to have the best hearing in the galaxy. Since the antennas are incredibly sensitive to both sound and touch, they do not like other people touching them, saving that honor for spouses and lovers.

Ta’Koth are omnivores, as they evolved from shoreline foragers. As such their teeth are very similar to a human’s, though a Ta’Koth’s teeth are a bit more jagged and sharp. They will pretty much eat just about anything, but they favor fish and a rice-like grain the best. Ta’Koth are notoriously light eaters, choosing instead to eat less but more frequently. This is an instinctive trait, as a ‘full’ Ta’Koth cannot properly get away from danger. Even though they have successfully climbed to the top of the food chain on their planet, and no longer need to fear predation, it’s a hard instinct to shake. They have been known to accidentally offend chefs’ offworld, due to their tendency to barely touch their food. Ta’Koth never figured out how to make alcohol, as their world only has one species of grain, so offworld they tend to be rather perplexed by the whole idea. So thus Ta’Koth have to be very careful when consuming any type of alcohol or drug, as their bodies have little resistance. They can at best become incredibly drunk off of half a beer, or at worse die from fatal alcohol poisoning. Ta’Koth can and do drink, but they must do so carefully.

Ta’Koth pair off identically with humans and other similar races. Two individuals will often just happen to bump into each other, and if they see they have things in common, they will begin to date each other. This dating period can take anywhere to a few short months from the upwards of years, depending on the individuals. If they decide they would like to be a permanent couple, they will then choose to be partners for life. Ta’Koth don’t really have or understand the concept of a marriage, as they believe they do not need to really prove their intent to anyone but themselves. Ta’Koth don’t also understand a concept of a divorce either, since Ta’Koth are unknown to split apart once they decide to be life partners. They will then move in together and share domestic duties, regardless if they are a hetero or homosexual couple.

Since Ta’Koth are very similar to Humans, they copulate in an identical way. The female will carry her child for 10 months before giving birth. The babies are born hairless, without any markings, and completely helpless. Their markings begin to come in about a week after birth, and are fully developed by the time they are 1 year old. They develop at roughly the same speed as human infants, though they lack the ability to make their markings glow until they are about 7 years of age. Ta’Koths are considered fully grown by 20, and they usually live up to their 80’s. They actually have a shorter lifespan if they live offworld, due to the extreme differences between their world and others.

The native language of the Ta’Koth race is known as ‘Takith’. To other races, it sounds almost lyrical, with flowing music-like tempos and softly spoken vowels. It’s possible for other races to learn the language, since it’s more about the ‘beat’ of a word instead of pronunciation. Takith can actually be written down as sheet music, since many of their words and phrases fit into the musical meter. Ta’Koths learn common fairly easily and are able to speak with only a slight accent, though they sometimes have a habit of singing a sentence rather than actually speak it.

Socially Ta’Koths are a rather warm race, despite coming from a cold dark planet. They evolved from a tribal society, climbing up the ladder of civilization until they became fairly modern. Before the wormholes opened up, their culture and life style was pretty similar to other modern species. They have cities, public transportation, vehicles, and other high technological advancements. However they did not manage to achieve space travel on their own, as they were more concerned with what was going on down on the surface of their planet more than what was out beyond the stars. They are bright enough to have achieved space travel long ago; it’s just that they were more concerned with keeping their people fed more than exploring. After they were discovered, they have since taken an active interest in space exploration, and they achieved space travel by themselves in a remarkably short time span. Indeed you can say that’s the general mindset of most Ta’Koth, being capable or many great things, as long as they are properly motivated to do so. Ta’Koth tend to get only well with other species, as they are rather calm and quiet people. They are a very intelligent species that have a knack for noticing things that other people tend to look, so they tend to find themselves entering jobs such as exploration, private investigation/detective work, and scientists. Since they hear in a spectrum beyond other species, many tend to become various types of musicians, though those in the techno/electronic field are most common. Nowadays it’s not uncommon to see Ta’Koths DJing at clubs or topping the music charts.

Takelle herself is a rather harsh planet. Marbled with cold deep oceans and strange forests full of glowing bioluminescent life forms, Takelle is possibly the most ‘alien’ of worlds discovered so far. Like mentioned before, Takelle gets virtually no sunlight, and they get barely enough to keep the planet from turning into a ball of ice. Thankfully, Takelle has a thick atmosphere, so any heat radiation it can get off its sun, which is a white dwarf, is kept locked in the planet, keeping it somewhat warm. It’s still very cold there and life had to adapt quickly. Just about every life form and plant on the planet has some form of bioluminescence, making exploring the planet incredibly eerie. The large open plain areas allowed the native sentient species to build large cities, which protect them from predators that still lurk in the darkness. There are no separate continents, as the sea sort of ‘marbles’ into the land. Takelle has only one moon, which affects the tides in her sea, and Takelle is the only planet in their solar system. Many other species do not visit Takelle, as the planet itself tends to unnerve the diurnal, sight based races. Ta’Koths do however, eagerly trade with other planets, and their main exports are medicinal plants, music, gadgets, and trained detectives/scientists.

Takelle is home to a democracy. The planet was up to scale with 2000’s Earth before being discovered (minus space travel), so they are able to keep in tight communication with each other. They elect a type of Prime Minister every 6 years, and they also vote for city mayors to watch over their many cities. Their government is similar to what you would find in the first world countries of Earth, but with a few differences. For instance, government workers are not elected because of influence or money, but because they can prove that they can get a job done right. As a result, it’s not very uncommon at all to see retired police chiefs or even a teacher/professor wind up as Prime Minister of the entire planet. Prime Ministers now elect representatives for Galactic Council, since Takelle has entered civilized space. Ta’Koths takes their role in the Council with pride, so to be chosen to represent the planet is considered a very high honor.

Ta’Koths are a somewhat agnostic race, and do not put a high priority on the worshiping of deities. Individuals however, are able to choose whatever religion they like to worship, and their fellow people are not the type to scorn them for it. As a whole they tend to favor science over the supernatural, and it’s not uncommon to hear one swear on a well known ancient scientist. Ta’Koths put creativity, passion, honesty, and hard work as their most valued traits, and they are one of the more level-headed and humble races of the galaxy. They tend to wind up in law enforcement, science, or music when they leave the planet. They are great to have around, especially if the power happens to go out at night.

Description
An alien race, from my game Stellarmass

----------

Ta’Koths: A Reference

Species: Ta’Koth (Tah-Koth) Ta’Koths as plural. ‘Glowsticks’ and ‘Ravers’ as slang.
Homeworld: Takelle
Language: Takith
Classification: Mammal

One of the only bioluminescent aliens in the galaxy, Ta’Koths hail from a cold planet that gets little to no sunlight. Because the planet is shrouded at all times in pitch darkness, the sentient race living there had to evolve accordingly. Ta’Koths vaguely resemble humans in general shape and size, but with notable differences. They have a similar facial structure, but they have no nose, and instead breathe/smell through a thin membrane covering that general area. They grow to around the same size as humans, but Ta’Koth as a race are rather thin, and they rarely ever get muscular or overweight. Also like humans, they are bipedal and walk with a plantigrade stance. They have 5 fingers, like humans, but only four toes. Each digit houses a retractable claw much like a cat, and they are very sharp. Ta’Koths will use them in a fight, but they tend to only use their claws nowadays to open up chip bags or CD cases. All Ta’Koths are born with black skin and hair, a throwback to the old days where they had to camouflage themselves against other predators. Ta’Koths nowadays enjoy dyeing their hair all sorts of colors, mostly favoring very bright neon colors, and sometimes it’s a bit rare to find a Ta’Koth with their natural black hair color. Also highly characteristically of them, is the bioluminescent markings that every Ta’Koth has. The markings usually tend to only show up on one side of their bodies, and go from the head down to their feet. As for the marking themselves, they vary extremely, going anywhere from almost geometric circuit board type patterns to sharp tribal-like tattoo markings and to delicate swirls. No two Ta’Koths are born with the same patterns and they are most commonly used to identify each other. These markings are bioluminescent, and every Ta’Koth can make them glow brightly at will. The colors of these markings vary just as much as the patterns, but the most common colors are blue, purple, and green. More lighter colors like yellow, red, and pink are more uncommon, with white being the rarest color. Color tends to be hereditary, and it’s not uncommon for a Ta’Koth couple with blue and yellow colors to have children with green markings. Ta’Koth have only one color for markings, and they don’t ever come in ‘multicolor. The eyes of a Ta’Koth are harmonious with their markings, with the sclera being a lighter color and the iris being a darker color. For example, a Ta’Koth with blue markings would have cyan sclera and a dark blue iris. Ta’Koth have no visible pupil, and they have the innate ability to see in pitch darkness as well as a human can see on a bright sunny day. Ta’Koths going offworld usually wear some sort of eye protection, as their eyes are very sensitive to light, and being on a particularly bright planet can render a Ta’Koth blind. Ta’Koth also do not have ears, but instead hear using a pair of highly sensitive antenna. The antenna themselves can be up 16 inches long, and they are covered with very fine, thin hairs. The tips of the antenna also vary, but tend to either end in a curl or a jagged zig zag. They can hear in a much different spectrum then other races, and are rumored to have the best hearing in the galaxy. Since the antennas are incredibly sensitive to both sound and touch, they do not like other people touching them, saving that honor for spouses and lovers.

Ta’Koth are omnivores, as they evolved from shoreline foragers. As such their teeth are very similar to a human’s, though a Ta’Koth’s teeth are a bit more jagged and sharp. They will pretty much eat just about anything, but they favor fish and a rice-like grain the best. Ta’Koth are notoriously light eaters, choosing instead to eat less but more frequently. This is an instinctive trait, as a ‘full’ Ta’Koth cannot properly get away from danger. Even though they have successfully climbed to the top of the food chain on their planet, and no longer need to fear predation, it’s a hard instinct to shake. They have been known to accidentally offend chefs’ offworld, due to their tendency to barely touch their food. Ta’Koth never figured out how to make alcohol, as their world only has one species of grain, so offworld they tend to be rather perplexed by the whole idea. So thus Ta’Koth have to be very careful when consuming any type of alcohol or drug, as their bodies have little resistance. They can at best become incredibly drunk off of half a beer, or at worse die from fatal alcohol poisoning. Ta’Koth can and do drink, but they must do so carefully.

Ta’Koth pair off identically with humans and other similar races. Two individuals will often just happen to bump into each other, and if they see they have things in common, they will begin to date each other. This dating period can take anywhere to a few short months from the upwards of years, depending on the individuals. If they decide they would like to be a permanent couple, they will then choose to be partners for life. Ta’Koth don’t really have or understand the concept of a marriage, as they believe they do not need to really prove their intent to anyone but themselves. Ta’Koth don’t also understand a concept of a divorce either, since Ta’Koth are unknown to split apart once they decide to be life partners. They will then move in together and share domestic duties, regardless if they are a hetero or homosexual couple.

Since Ta’Koth are very similar to Humans, they copulate in an identical way. The female will carry her child for 10 months before giving birth. The babies are born hairless, without any markings, and completely helpless. Their markings begin to come in about a week after birth, and are fully developed by the time they are 1 year old. They develop at roughly the same speed as human infants, though they lack the ability to make their markings glow until they are about 7 years of age. Ta’Koths are considered fully grown by 20, and they usually live up to their 80’s. They actually have a shorter lifespan if they live offworld, due to the extreme differences between their world and others.

The native language of the Ta’Koth race is known as ‘Takith’. To other races, it sounds almost lyrical, with flowing music-like tempos and softly spoken vowels. It’s possible for other races to learn the language, since it’s more about the ‘beat’ of a word instead of pronunciation. Takith can actually be written down as sheet music, since many of their words and phrases fit into the musical meter. Ta’Koths learn common fairly easily and are able to speak with only a slight accent, though they sometimes have a habit of singing a sentence rather than actually speak it.

Socially Ta’Koths are a rather warm race, despite coming from a cold dark planet. They evolved from a tribal society, climbing up the ladder of civilization until they became fairly modern. Before the wormholes opened up, their culture and life style was pretty similar to other modern species. They have cities, public transportation, vehicles, and other high technological advancements. However they did not manage to achieve space travel on their own, as they were more concerned with what was going on down on the surface of their planet more than what was out beyond the stars. They are bright enough to have achieved space travel long ago; it’s just that they were more concerned with keeping their people fed more than exploring. After they were discovered, they have since taken an active interest in space exploration, and they achieved space travel by themselves in a remarkably short time span. Indeed you can say that’s the general mindset of most Ta’Koth, being capable or many great things, as long as they are properly motivated to do so. Ta’Koth tend to get only well with other species, as they are rather calm and quiet people. They are a very intelligent species that have a knack for noticing things that other people tend to look, so they tend to find themselves entering jobs such as exploration, private investigation/detective work, and scientists. Since they hear in a spectrum beyond other species, many tend to become various types of musicians, though those in the techno/electronic field are most common. Nowadays it’s not uncommon to see Ta’Koths DJing at clubs or topping the music charts.

Takelle herself is a rather harsh planet. Marbled with cold deep oceans and strange forests full of glowing bioluminescent life forms, Takelle is possibly the most ‘alien’ of worlds discovered so far. Like mentioned before, Takelle gets virtually no sunlight, and they get barely enough to keep the planet from turning into a ball of ice. Thankfully, Takelle has a thick atmosphere, so any heat radiation it can get off its sun, which is a white dwarf, is kept locked in the planet, keeping it somewhat warm. It’s still very cold there and life had to adapt quickly. Just about every life form and plant on the planet has some form of bioluminescence, making exploring the planet incredibly eerie. The large open plain areas allowed the native sentient species to build large cities, which protect them from predators that still lurk in the darkness. There are no separate continents, as the sea sort of ‘marbles’ into the land. Takelle has only one moon, which affects the tides in her sea, and Takelle is the only planet in their solar system. Many other species do not visit Takelle, as the planet itself tends to unnerve the diurnal, sight based races. Ta’Koths do however, eagerly trade with other planets, and their main exports are medicinal plants, music, gadgets, and trained detectives/scientists.

Takelle is home to a democracy. The planet was up to scale with 2000’s Earth before being discovered (minus space travel), so they are able to keep in tight communication with each other. They elect a type of Prime Minister every 6 years, and they also vote for city mayors to watch over their many cities. Their government is similar to what you would find in the first world countries of Earth, but with a few differences. For instance, government workers are not elected because of influence or money, but because they can prove that they can get a job done right. As a result, it’s not very uncommon at all to see retired police chiefs or even a teacher/professor wind up as Prime Minister of the entire planet. Prime Ministers now elect representatives for Galactic Council, since Takelle has entered civilized space. Ta’Koths takes their role in the Council with pride, so to be chosen to represent the planet is considered a very high honor.

Ta’Koths are a somewhat agnostic race, and do not put a high priority on the worshiping of deities. Individuals however, are able to choose whatever religion they like to worship, and their fellow people are not the type to scorn them for it. As a whole they tend to favor science over the supernatural, and it’s not uncommon to hear one swear on a well known ancient scientist. Ta’Koths put creativity, passion, honesty, and hard work as their most valued traits, and they are one of the more level-headed and humble races of the galaxy. They tend to wind up in law enforcement, science, or music when they leave the planet. They are great to have around, especially if the power happens to go out at night.