Species
Pure Human
Revered and admired. The 'upper class'. Unaugmented and untainted by the portals, they’re few and far between and often only breed amongst themselves. They have the most access to funds and resources and can often do whatever they’d like, in exchange for being one of the weaker races.
Augmented Human
The most common type of human, they carry at least one cybernetic enhancement or biological splice. Low-Augmented humans are favored to be Titian Officials. The more heavily augmented are cut out to be Hunters or Ravengers, though those that go the WareHead route are adept engineers or hackers.
Jinxed Human
Otherwise known as ‘portal-touched’, they’re sensitive to the frequencies and energies that stem from portals. In simplest terms they’re your ‘magic users’. All bear some kind of Reverbrant - a mark or sign on their body that stands them out from the rest. The mildest gifts may only turn a streak of hair white. The stronger the gift, the more dramatic the Reverbrant. One of the most ostentatious talents has a birthmark that consumes half of their body and seems to move.
Articulated Intelligent
Prospective players must be active within the server for a decent amount of time.
Robots, in short. Relatively uncommon, few remain. Of those, even fewer have artificial intelligence of a scale to be autonomous in any fashion. While one city still has a partially operational factory, most of the remaining AI consist of cannibalized parts, and all are rather heavily eroded.
ShiftSpawn
Prospective players must be active within the server for a decent amount of time.
Shiftspawn have the best of both worlds. Not only do they carry the power and strength of the Spawn, but they can take human form at any time. Shifters are exceedingly rare and heavily sought after by governments as ambassadors. Like the Jinxed, in their human forms, Shiftspawn are marked by a Reverbrant. Said Mark (such as orange eyes) displays readily in both forms.
Re-Spawn
Like the Jinxed and the Shiftspawn, Re-Spawn are humans attuned to the portals. Unlike the former, Re-Spawn are locked into Spawn form and will never again be human. Whatever genetic marker appeared in humans to create the Re-Spawn activated almost instantaneously when the portals opened, although occasionally there is a case where an unsuspecting person further out in the suburbs approaches the cities or locations in the outlands only to transform.
For the most part, anyone who will become a Re-Spawn has already, though occasionally between the Jinxed (and disguised Shiftspawn), a child will be born that transforms within 3 years of their birth.
Most are unable to relate to the Portal Spawn and they often form their own nests and familial structures similar to what they had in their human lives. Re-Spawn are the largest of the Spawn, the most powerful, and the most socially approachable.
Portal Spawn
Creatures from the other side. While this term often refers to all living beings from the other dimension (including feral animals), in this case it refers specifically to the large, intelligent monsters. While Re-Spawn and Shiftspawn can reach up to 18 feet nose to tail, Portal Spawn cap out at 10.
Swift and far-hearing, they’re quite capable hunters and their intelligence is near-human, though they communicate solely in frequencies and in sounds indescipherable to unaugmented and untrained ears.
While life-mated pairs are common and they often move in small groups, they’re difficult to deal with as there is no overarching structure.
The entire species works as an entire organism for the betterment of their kind, but there is no hierarchal structure to speak of. That is to say: each Portal Spawn is its own individual and does not answer to a single “leader" although they all share the same larger end goals.
Homonculi
[Non-Playable Species designed by Zoij]
Homonculi are humans which have been extensively altered by a dehumanising process involving memory wiping and surgery. Because of their human origin and limited intelligence, homonculi are usually mistaken for humans. Often they are only discovered when questioned on topics for which they have not been prepared.
​
Homonculi are near indistinguishable from humans. They are almost always an almost-but-not-quite exaggeration of a conventionally attractive human, with idealised figures and perfectly kempt body hair. The men are often well muscled with strong jaws and smouldering eyes, and the women curvaceous and painstakingly made up.
​
Normally this exceptional beauty would betray them immediately, but because of the growing popularity of vanity oriented augmentations, it is very unreliable to identify them by sight alone.
​
Despite being human, homonculi are incapable of breeding having been chemically neutered by the surgical process by which they are produced.
A human, usually homeless or alone, is taken by a homonculus scout. It is brought to a production facility and undergoes an extensive remodelling process according to the following steps:
The human is anaesthetised and remains unconscious for the duration of the process.
The subject's organs are injected with specially formulated chemical concoctions which revitalise and refresh. The stomach is emptied and altered to require less food, and lab-grown wetware is attached to the brain to enable reprogramming.
Bone reconstruction surgery is performed by machinery or other homonculi built to perform surgery. This step breaks, resets, realigns, and grows bones to better reflect an idealised body. Female hips and male shoulders are broadened, and bones are thickened and thinned until they best fit this 'perfect' mould.
Further, more delicate surgery is performed on the bones and cartilage of the face. Cheekbones are altered and eye sockets are enlarged.
Tissue surgery is performed, strengthening and enlarging muscle as required. Fat is redistributed and increased or decreased as needed. During this process, chemicals are introduced into the bloodstream, carefully measured to revert and reduce aging of tissue, bone, and skin so the homonculus remains permanently youthful.
Skin and hair is chemically smoothed and softened. At this stage, as well as during the tissue stage, primary and secondary sex organs are customised as required.
Ownership and vanity tattoos are applied as necessary. Female homonculi are often given eyeliner tattoos or permanent blush.
Using the pre-installed cranial wetware, a mental wipe is performed, removing memories and personality. At this stage, the homonculus is essentially a living corpse; it is only able to perform vital processes such as circulation and breathing.
The brain is programmed, granting the homonculus specific knowledge and skills it will use when it is put into active service.
Pure Human
Revered and admired. The 'upper class'. Unaugmented and untainted by the portals, they’re few and far between and often only breed amongst themselves. They have the most access to funds and resources and can often do whatever they’d like, in exchange for being one of the weaker races.
Augmented Human
The most common type of human, they carry at least one cybernetic enhancement or biological splice. Low-Augmented humans are favored to be Titian Officials. The more heavily augmented are cut out to be Hunters or Ravengers, though those that go the WareHead route are adept engineers or hackers.
Jinxed Human
Otherwise known as ‘portal-touched’, they’re sensitive to the frequencies and energies that stem from portals. In simplest terms they’re your ‘magic users’. All bear some kind of Reverbrant - a mark or sign on their body that stands them out from the rest. The mildest gifts may only turn a streak of hair white. The stronger the gift, the more dramatic the Reverbrant. One of the most ostentatious talents has a birthmark that consumes half of their body and seems to move.
Articulated Intelligent
Prospective players must be active within the server for a decent amount of time.
Robots, in short. Relatively uncommon, few remain. Of those, even fewer have artificial intelligence of a scale to be autonomous in any fashion. While one city still has a partially operational factory, most of the remaining AI consist of cannibalized parts, and all are rather heavily eroded.
ShiftSpawn
Prospective players must be active within the server for a decent amount of time.
Shiftspawn have the best of both worlds. Not only do they carry the power and strength of the Spawn, but they can take human form at any time. Shifters are exceedingly rare and heavily sought after by governments as ambassadors. Like the Jinxed, in their human forms, Shiftspawn are marked by a Reverbrant. Said Mark (such as orange eyes) displays readily in both forms.
Re-Spawn
Like the Jinxed and the Shiftspawn, Re-Spawn are humans attuned to the portals. Unlike the former, Re-Spawn are locked into Spawn form and will never again be human. Whatever genetic marker appeared in humans to create the Re-Spawn activated almost instantaneously when the portals opened, although occasionally there is a case where an unsuspecting person further out in the suburbs approaches the cities or locations in the outlands only to transform.
For the most part, anyone who will become a Re-Spawn has already, though occasionally between the Jinxed (and disguised Shiftspawn), a child will be born that transforms within 3 years of their birth.
Most are unable to relate to the Portal Spawn and they often form their own nests and familial structures similar to what they had in their human lives. Re-Spawn are the largest of the Spawn, the most powerful, and the most socially approachable.
Portal Spawn
Creatures from the other side. While this term often refers to all living beings from the other dimension (including feral animals), in this case it refers specifically to the large, intelligent monsters. While Re-Spawn and Shiftspawn can reach up to 18 feet nose to tail, Portal Spawn cap out at 10.
Swift and far-hearing, they’re quite capable hunters and their intelligence is near-human, though they communicate solely in frequencies and in sounds indescipherable to unaugmented and untrained ears.
While life-mated pairs are common and they often move in small groups, they’re difficult to deal with as there is no overarching structure.
The entire species works as an entire organism for the betterment of their kind, but there is no hierarchal structure to speak of. That is to say: each Portal Spawn is its own individual and does not answer to a single “leader" although they all share the same larger end goals.
Homonculi
[Non-Playable Species designed by Zoij]
Homonculi are humans which have been extensively altered by a dehumanising process involving memory wiping and surgery. Because of their human origin and limited intelligence, homonculi are usually mistaken for humans. Often they are only discovered when questioned on topics for which they have not been prepared.
​
Homonculi are near indistinguishable from humans. They are almost always an almost-but-not-quite exaggeration of a conventionally attractive human, with idealised figures and perfectly kempt body hair. The men are often well muscled with strong jaws and smouldering eyes, and the women curvaceous and painstakingly made up.
​
Normally this exceptional beauty would betray them immediately, but because of the growing popularity of vanity oriented augmentations, it is very unreliable to identify them by sight alone.
​
Despite being human, homonculi are incapable of breeding having been chemically neutered by the surgical process by which they are produced.
A human, usually homeless or alone, is taken by a homonculus scout. It is brought to a production facility and undergoes an extensive remodelling process according to the following steps:
The human is anaesthetised and remains unconscious for the duration of the process.
The subject's organs are injected with specially formulated chemical concoctions which revitalise and refresh. The stomach is emptied and altered to require less food, and lab-grown wetware is attached to the brain to enable reprogramming.
Bone reconstruction surgery is performed by machinery or other homonculi built to perform surgery. This step breaks, resets, realigns, and grows bones to better reflect an idealised body. Female hips and male shoulders are broadened, and bones are thickened and thinned until they best fit this 'perfect' mould.
Further, more delicate surgery is performed on the bones and cartilage of the face. Cheekbones are altered and eye sockets are enlarged.
Tissue surgery is performed, strengthening and enlarging muscle as required. Fat is redistributed and increased or decreased as needed. During this process, chemicals are introduced into the bloodstream, carefully measured to revert and reduce aging of tissue, bone, and skin so the homonculus remains permanently youthful.
Skin and hair is chemically smoothed and softened. At this stage, as well as during the tissue stage, primary and secondary sex organs are customised as required.
Ownership and vanity tattoos are applied as necessary. Female homonculi are often given eyeliner tattoos or permanent blush.
Using the pre-installed cranial wetware, a mental wipe is performed, removing memories and personality. At this stage, the homonculus is essentially a living corpse; it is only able to perform vital processes such as circulation and breathing.
The brain is programmed, granting the homonculus specific knowledge and skills it will use when it is put into active service.