This'll be a species and empire request in one. It's heavily based off of the Tyranids, but Im trying to make it differentiated from them. The most important changes are the facts that A, they have a homeworld(the Tyranids live in their Hive Fleets), and B, they aren't mindless, and have personalities of their own. Also, individual Castes of them will be applied for in Tech, since its a form of Biotechnology that allows them to create new Castes. I'll only apply for the most important in this topic, like the non-military ones.
This will take a loooong time to finish...Considering I'll probably have to get everything about them...
Lorcar:
Empire Name:Lorcar. Sometimes referred to by a slang term, the Locusts, but this term only applies to the empire as a whole, not the species. Individual Castes have their own slang names.
Primary Race:Lorcar
Empire Description:Species-The Lorcar are a species of extremely varied, both physically and mentally, parasitic organisms. In a sense, they are like intergalactic locusts; they travel from planet to planet to devour all of the biomatter on the world, leaving it a barren wasteland. They transport this biomatter to their ships, where it is sent back to their own planet to be processed and used to create more of them. They aren't a normal species; they use the DNA and genes from the species they devour, after processing it, to make more 'castes' of them, and often take live prisoners to use as slaves and livestock to keep a fresh supply of the DNA in the event that it can be used to create better broods. The good news? None of their technology is metal or anything; all of their weapons, their buildings, their everything is organic and their planet, by now, is actually a Lorcar in and of itself, in a matter of speaking. The bad news? They are numerous. They have massive amounts of soldiers which, while not especially trained, work together in a way that maximizes the use of their technology. Further, there is literally no negotiating with them, as when they are made, the DNA is spliced together from several different species to create the Caste, and then has the mind downloaded into the empty brain. Any whose minds are defective are immediately thrown back into the Genepool to be broken down back into genes to be made again as a different organism. Once they land on a world, they stop at nothing to kill, enslave, and devour all biomatter on that planet, dead or alive. The only thing left is a wasteland, spanning whole planets.
While few and far between, there ARE a few magic wielding Lorcar Castes. These are due to having used the DNA of magically inclined beings, however, and as such, they do not rely on magic. However, they are gifted psychically, and the larger ones have been known to use telekinetic shockwaves to attack their foes. However, only their Bioships have the possibility to destroy a foe with sheer mental force alone; being such massive creatures. They are able to use this power due to the Semi-Hive Mind linking them all together; the link they have connecting their minds generates psychic energy, which in turn is used by them. The more complex the brain is, the better off their psychic abilities are, and Castes that are extremely psychic are known as 'Psykers*'. These are known to be their most deadly, if weakest physically, of Castes.
Culture-While you wouldn't expect it of a species this horrific, they do in fact have a culture. They havetheir own traditions and superstitions, one of which being to never kill a defective OR better-than-normal slave, and to instead allow it to live its full life. It is thought to be both unlucky and stupid to kill off a slave whose performance in comparison to the rest, even if its mentally or they are merely more enthusiastic about their work. As for those with physical/mental deficiencies, that is merely considered bad luck to kill them.
Other things that are considered bad luck:
-Bumping into Spire Plant(basically just a really tall Plant Caste of them; not all are animals, of course)
-Having a noticeable piece of their partial-Exoskeletons broken off. A reversal of this form of bad luck in their culture is to find the fragment and keep it with them for about a week.
-Having your landing pod not break on impact with the surface of whatever planet your landing on. Considering they have a finite supply of air and nutrients, and usually have the bigger factory-class as well within them, there might be something to this one.
They also have a multitude of holidays, though they aren't celebrated on a regular basis. Here's a list of the most prominent of them:
The Great Feasting:This is a celebration of their high form of evolution, and usually consists of slaughtering all but the most productive OR enthusiastic of slaves of each gender and species and devouring them. Generally, this leaves them with little slaves, but those left are the most productive.
Free-Days:Not a single holiday, but the collective name of a larger amount of them. Free-Days are the days they give the slaves to rest, usually to boost moral and make sure they aren't working them to death. It doesn't help with the fear of their overlords, but thats what you gotta live with when using sentient species as livestock.
Grakensburg:Its been compared to as a combination of Earth's Thanksgiving and Christmas, barring any religious connotations(considering, if anything, their only religion would be Evolutionism). They give one another gifts and generally feast, mainly on non-sentient organisms, since they cant have a Great Feasting kinda holiday too much, lest they run out of livestock. Those slaves that are exceptionally enthusiastic or otherwise not hateful of their conditions are often given gifts as well, as a sort of thanks for their hard work and little complaining.
Santunarkle:This is the most perplexing out of all the holidays known to any who have studied the species. All that is known about is is that everyone apparently gets themselves completely drunk and go on a rampage, generally breaking everything not completely vital.
If those people were to actually find out about it, they'd learn that its not really a holiday, but more of a randomly-occurring 'glitch' in their Hive-Mind; the links between all of them are for whatever reason cut, and their intelligence is greatly weakened, reverting them to primal beasts. The Slave Chambers are known to be sealed at the time, preventing any of them from getting in to murder the slaves.
Other than that, I'll think of anything else when I think of it. XP
Additional Information:They are technically insects, and have a semi-Hive Mind. While each one has a mind and personality of its own, they are all linked by a Hive Mind, and they have a combination of a partial exoskeleton(it doesn't cover the whole body) and a normal exoskeleton.
They also, in a matter of speaking, share a Soul. While each has a individual mind, it all makes up a complete Hive Mind, and they all share a soul as a species; its the Hive Mind that has the soul. However, depending upon the DNA used for a certain Caste, they may have a Soul
Organ like the species the DNA was from. Its just a organ enabling them to use magic, however. Nothing more.
As far as stealing this soul goes, it cant be randomly plucked from an individual. Its a tricky matter, being as they constantly mass-produce their species, even creating a new body for their King if that one dies, so to steal their soul, you inevitably have to hunt them down to extinction-no easy feat, mind.
Territories: I'll PM it to be made to one of the Admins if these are approved. Other than that, its called 'Maltruse'.
Here's the Castes I'll start out with, and the rest I'll apply for AFTER its approved.
Bioship:
Size-Various; I'll go into detail with every specific type.
Nicknames-Again, I'll go into more detail with each specific type.
A Bioship is their main form of transport, or generally the only ones able to survive in space. These are used to transport a small attack force consisting of several attack Castes and a few small Factory Castes to produce more units. They are known to be among the most powerful Psykers, being their main for of attack, and should not be taken lightly.
A fleet is always in orbit of their home planet, on guard against any possible attack.
Brood King:
Size:Gigantic. About 10 feet tall, with four arms and powerful bone swords.
This...Is the King of the Lorcar. A massive beast, if ever slain-however unlikely-its mind is preserved to be placed in a new body, effectively reincarnating it. Coupled witht he fact that he IS the most powerful of their Psykers, he is a force to fear. The good news is, however, they never leave their castle. You wont have to worry about him attacking you on the front lines.
(yes, I know thats a picture of a Swarm Lord. They look cool, though...So I wanted the King to look like them)
I will apply for the King as a character if this is approved. This is a short explanation.
Aaaand all else will be applied for after this. Its not everything essential for them, but it'll do for now, considering I wont PM about their planet untl all the essentials are down.
*Psyker IS a term used in Warhammer 40K, used to explain a being capable of using the power of another dimension known as the Warp to interfere with this one. This is any being that uses Psychic abilities. Merely using the term for lack of anything better.
