As was suggested by Machisimov in the "How It Works" forum, a thread where we can list and add many of the recurring alien species that come up in RP threads might come in handy for everyone, whether they are monster races, SFAs or outlaws, or even simple NPC characters as minor appearances, distant threats, helping hand in a pinch, etc. Using them recurringly across threads might make the world (galaxy?) feel more alive and it might feel good for users to know their created species are being used by others to spice up the settings of their threads. If anyone actually ever needs some alien species to use for something, they might find just what they are looking for here, for things relevant to their plot or even as simple as borrowing a name.

There should be no obligation to add any species you have created or imagined here, but if one would like to see them being used for the aforementioned purposes, it'd be great that people start posting their characters' species and/or relevant NPC species that come up often. It would be a nice touch to also see who might have created the original species, in case someone wants to ask a question about them for use in their thread that might not have been made entirely clear in here. Although perhaps this thread might be a good enough place to ask and discuss things too.

This shouldn't prohibit people from making up new species of aliens or places if they wish to do so. In fact, if they do and decide to share it here, it might be even better to keep interesting names, cultures or places varied among the forums.

If there is any issue with posting this list here, by all means let me know.

This list should use some kind of sheet template to make it easier to read. I don't consider myself good in making those, so any additions/corrections/improvements are welcome. I realize that not everyone has come up with their original races and species in the same manner, and some might be more methodical while sometimes it was much simpler to wing some details and leave other stuff vague. So it is not necessary to fill every field, and some have been left open-ended in case the amount of details that it should include varies depending on the creator. Any updates to the species that comes up should be reflected here, it would help a lot in keeping continuity, probably by highlighted text (feel free to add a thread's name/link that caused the change, we love reading after all, don't we?).

Though most of the descriptions for each field imply "normal" alien races, this also applies to any magical or supernatural species that happen to come up in RPing threads. For example, any demonic or angelic-like beings, a species that came from a dark realm or live in the world of dreams, etc.

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Species name: (self explanatory. Also, sometimes referring to them can be tricky; for example, if the plural for their name is different. Please add that here as well).
Homeworld/Place of Origin: (where they came from. Some might have left their original home, so any new cradle for their civilization should also be mentioned here, as well as any important description of what the world is like).
Important places/worlds: (Colonies they own, the name of the solar system they are in, temples or shrines, stations, ships, etc; basically any place that is important or has come up in RP threads)
Meta description: (this is just in case you want to reference something that is generally known that is "out of character" but gives some clear short way to picture them for readers; for example, "this species is pretty much space vampires" or anything else, if you so wish).

Biological description: (a vague field, feel free to add more specific fields regarding their biology below this. Things like life expectancy, skin color and texture, body shape, height and weight, number of eyes, number of limbs, etc., go here. In case you deem it more convenient, it might be easier to pick up on interesting details like if they have tentacles and how many, number of cocks they have, and if they have wings, or how voluptuous or varied in body shape females are, and if they can grow members as well, in new fields below this one. If your species are actually machines or mechanical, just treat this as "Physical/Mechanical Description".).

Superhuman abilities: (another vague field. Again, feel free to add any specific fields if you wish below this. You can change the field's name for "Magical/Mystical abilities" as well if they are capable of doing such feats. This field, of course, is dedicated to any superhuman or supernatural ability your species possesses. Magical or extraordinary biological features like petrifying gazes, hypnotic scales, paralyzing venoms, aphrodisiac venoms, psychic abilities, control over elements, etc., you name it. Any peculiarities about those abilities, like how often they can use them, any duration of their effects, if they take a toll on the alien or such, should be included here as well).

Level of Technology: (you can use this field to give a simple description of how technologically advanced they are for reader's convenience, and/or you can follow up with detailed descriptions of these advances. For example, if they are space-capable, do they have cities, are they tribal, can they travel in their own world fast or not, are their weapons melee or ranged, do they use ballistic projectiles and physical melee weapons or are they energy-based, etc. This field can also serve as some indication to their level of intelligence; maybe they are brutes with sticks and stones or they are actually a hive-mind connected via ultra-advanced technology).

Goals/Objectives: (Some species are very organized or are under pressure of some kind to achieve something together. You can give a short explanation of their goals here, like if they are trying to expand their territory, are they out to analyze other species, do they have to gather the sexual fluids of females to perform a ritual, are they slavers, do they actually help others, just chilling in their corner of the galaxy, etc.).

Culture/Way of Living: (You can give a description here of how they actually live. Government, traditions, wars, etc. They can be peaceful aliens, or maybe they are war-like and prioritize strength over others. Are they matriarchal or patriarchal? Are they democratic, ruled by councils, or choose a leader in some other manner, or the leader takes its role by force or some heroic feat? Are they aliens of reason, can you negotiate with them? Do they trade with money or items? Are they wary of other aliens or are they welcoming perhaps? Are they masters of other alien races or are they enslaved?)
Faith/Beliefs: (this could have been included in the previous field, but adding it here just in case some actually have mentioned important aspects of this manner in threads. Maybe they mention their gods' names or have one goddess. Maybe some ritual or rite of passage is important as well, or their motives are led by their beliefs. If there's nothing worth mentioning about this, feel free to ignore this field).

Important/Persons of Interest: (These characters can be the ones you use for threads or just people that are mentioned in discussions or eavesdropped conversations. Whatever the case, it probably is a good rule of thumb any people you mention here should be pretty much well known not only among themselves but also to other species, like leaders or famous criminals. Or if you don't know if they fit in those descriptions, feel free to name them and include who or how others can know about them, which can serve as some plot hook or some nice detail in conversations or hearsay).

Relevant threads: (A field where you can include links to threads that have interesting pieces of information or changes to the species, or perhaps simply mentions of them).

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[[This last bit is just a blank template, for your copy-pasting convenience]]

Species name:
Homeworld/Place of Origin:
Important places/worlds:
Meta description:

Biological description:

Superhuman abilities:

Level of Technology:

Goals/Objectives:

Culture/Way of Living:
Faith/Beliefs:

Important/Persons of Interest:

Relevant threads:

I figured I might as well start, too, providing the species that my monster Rahs is from.

Species name: Syrictae
Homeworld/Place of Origin: Syrictova, first conquered world of their kind. Their homeworld was abandoned due to natural disasters.
Important places/worlds: They control other planets in the system, named Syrictova II through IV.
Meta description:

Biological description: The Syrictae are a humanoid species that derives from snakes. They are well-built and intelligent. The tallest specimens might reach a height around 2.4m while the shorter ones can be as low as 1.4m (7'10 and 4'7 respectively). They are warm-blooded and their physical capabilities are generally better than a human's. In general, Syrictae have thick tails reaching around their knees in length, but newer generations have shorter ones as it believed that they will lose them through evolution eventually. Their hands have sharp nails. Their eyes are snake-like in nature, with slitted pupils and their irises can come in many different colors. Their skin comes mostly in shades of green, from gray tones to verdant exotic ones. Their skin also is scaly in nature, having many little ones that act almost as chainmail giving their bodies great resistance to slashing or piercing weapons. It can feel smooth and soft when brushed towards one side but rougher when done in the other direction. Males have visible cocks and testes and females can have small perky breasts up to bountiful, soft mounds. Their tongues are forked and their mouths have fangs that can inject a paralyzing venom.

Superhuman abilities: As they derive from snakes, Syrictae have heat vision, which helps them immensely in detecting hiding prey or when clad in total darkness. They are sensitive to tremors in the ground but the range for that is somewhat limited, although with strong shockwaves they might be able to feel them from a long distance. Their strength is much higher than above average, but compared to other incredible species they might not make it to the top of the list in terms of raw strength. One shouldn't underestimate them in this regard, nevertheless. They can, however, also be very fast on their feet and very agile and flexible. They have great sense of smell, as well.

Level of Technology: Syrictae are very technologically advanced, capable of space travel and their most powerful weapons are energy-based, like plasma mortars and cannons for ships. Their planets are dotted with tall cities. They still use ballistic weaponry but the trend of going to energy weapons is increasing. They use enhanced melee weapons, whether by vibrating mechanisms for cutting or short plasma bursts and shields, and their armors are durable and resistant to many forms of damage.

Goals/Objectives: The Syrictae are currently living mostly in peace without goals of expansion just yet. Individuals seek to improve the civilization through research, trade or search for adventure in other systems as well.

Culture/Way of Living: The Syrictae were well-known as warriors before and they still are some of the best fighters someone can find in the galaxy, thanks to their intelligence, discipline and strength. Until now, most leaders arrived in their seats by meritocracy or might. However, with time, they also evolved to be very intelligent and have great interest in the arts as well. Their civilization lives with these contrasting concepts, and families usually dedicate themselves to one role in society through generations. Warriors are proud and seek to improve in every way, learning other forms of combat or weapons, and even people in other jobs have the natural tendency to improve in some area as well.

Important/Persons of Interest: Rahs Xalezel is a genetically modified Syrictae that works as a mercenary. He does not have the fame that a well-known leader does, but is infamous among ADD agents for avoiding arrest while at the same time capturing the agents that have gone after him. Though not a slaver by trade, crimes for which they seek him are generally because of aiding slavers himself. If you are in this business, Rahs can be known in some sectors for being a capable muscle for hire, and for always fulfilling his contracts. There are rumors, however, that people that have crossed him ended up dead.

Species name: Infernus or Faceless Ones

Homeworld/Place of Origin: Originally Scadrial, but that world has been destroyed in a devastating war.

Important places/worlds: Gamalon 6 has the largest colony of open Infernus in the galaxy, but the race can reproduce asexually and integrate into alien societies extremely easily.

Meta description: Heavily influenced by the Kandra from the Mistborn book series, except with their transformations based on harvested DNA rather than bones, because of the board's theme.

Biological description:

Saying that Faceless Ones have a single biology would completely misclassify their race. Instead, they could be best described as an infinitely re-shapeable pile of organic material controlled by a central intelligence. An Infernus has essentially perfect control of every cell directly attached to its body, allowing it to grow just about any organ, limb, or other biological structure it desires in seconds. While making large changes to their structure, a Faceless One's skin turns transparent, revealing the musculature and bone beneath. They are limited in size by the amount of organic matter they've currently digested, but extremely glutenous members of the species have been known to grow to the size of dinosaurs, while badly injured individuals have survived in bodies the size of chipmunks before eating enough to regrow to a more comfortable size.

One quirk of their body manipulation abilities is that creating new organs from scratch is an extremely difficult and time consuming process without a template to work off of. Instead, the race habitually gathers DNA samples from other species, and incorporates their biologies into a flawless internal database of body parts Infernus call the "Corpendium". Any DNA sample is enough to reconstruct organs, but by collecting a sample of reproductive DNA an Infernus is capable of perfectly duplicating a person, copying every detail from DNA, to retina, to fingerprints. They are even able to replicate synapses in the brain to the point that they can recall the creature's core memories. Individuals can share their collection of DNA with one another, but it is considered one of the most intimate and trusting actions a pair can do together, as one Infernus needs to physically place its brain inside the other. Which family member inherits a dead Infernus' Corpendium has been the single largest cause of conflict within the race. Their home world was in fact destroyed in a war over the inheritance of a royal line's DNA collection.

On the subject of brains, Faceless ones are capable of dividing their consciousness among as many thinking organs as they choose, but for practical reasons they generally limit themselves to 2 to 4. Each mind is entirely redundant, and holds duplicate copies of all of the creature's memories, but each can be directed towards different tasks, creating the illusion of incredible swiftness of thought, as well as a failsafe in case of injury. Creating too many minds has been know to cause strange mental disorders, multiple personalities, and difficulty in controlling transformations.

Infernus can reproduce either sexually or asexually to create more of their kind, though due to their individualist and dispersed culture asexual reproduction is by far the more common option. Infernus rarely have more than two or three asexual children in their lifetimes, and it is believed that they must give up some fundamental part of their self in the process. They are also capable of mating with nearly any race in the galaxy, but can't generate viable reproductive cells unless perfectly copying an individual of that race. Perhaps just legend, there are tales of a Faceless one repopulating a aquatic species of aliens it had lived among for several centuries by laying eggs as females, then fertilizing them with the all of the men it had encountered to that point, following a catastrophic asteroid impact.

Infernus are capable of living almost indefinitely, but their mental capacity has been known to begin decline around the time they reach 1000. Their race has only been space faring for roughly 5 generations, and it is entirely possible that the truly ancient among them remember a time before space travel. Great age is considered a powerful status symbol in their culture, and what passes for a government among the Faceless is led by the oldest member of a royal line dating back to before the fall of Scadrial. The longer one of the creatures has lived, the more DNA it has accumulated, the more powerful it becomes, but by gaining flexibility in forms, and through absorbing knowledge from borrowed memories.

(I may add more to this section, but its already getting pretty long)

Superhuman abilities:
A specific Faceless One's abilities are defined by the DNA it has encountered in its travels, but in theory their abilities are nearly limitless. Without relying on sampled DNA, an Infernus can construct a body with strength, speed, and stamina far exceeding anything in the animal kingdom by increasing the density of their bones and muscle tissue. An individual with the body mass of a human would have roughly the power of a full grown bull, or even a rhinoceros, depending on their skill at fine tuning their transformation. They are also capable of extending or retracting limbs at will, producing boney carapace strong enough to stop small arms fire and most bladed weapons, and growing wings, fins, or other forms of transport. They can also improve their senses to far surpass human levels. Perhaps their most terrifying base ability is their near indestructibility. An Infernus can regrow from any wound to their flesh nearly instantaneously by reattaching the lost piece of their body. Even explosives and energy weapons are only a mild inconvenience so long as their body is not entirely disintegrated. Poisons, diseases, and toxins are entirely ineffective against a Faceless One. The only sure fire way to kill one is to destroy all of the minds within their body (easier said than done, as they are housed in extremely resilient "skulls" and can be moved to avoid attacks), or by completely eliminating viable tissue to form a body from. Being dissolved in acid, irradiated, electrocuted for an extended period, frozen at sub zero temperatures, or ejected into space are some of the few ways to dispose of an Infernus.

Those are only the most basic abilities of the race. Each individual has almost certainly collected samples from hundreds if not thousands of creatures over its lifetime, and is capable of reproducing any combination of their biological functions. This can range from venom secretion, to fire breathing, sonic attacks, electric shocks, or nearly any natural defense mechanism among the quintillions of species in the galaxy. Interestingly, Infernus seem to have no talent for the mystic arts, either because they lack some ingrained spark or simply because their natural abilities are so extensive that they simply don't have the need.

Level of Technology: Faceless Ones have been a spacefaring civilization for several millennia, and have purchased, traded for, or stolen all relevant technology openly available in the galaxy (and much classified tech as well). They are not known as an especially industrious race, and generally obtain goods from other races rather than building or inventing their own. That is not to say the Infernus don't have scientists. Indeed, one of the most prestigious professions among their culture is known as the "Biosmith", Faceless Ones who dedicate their lives to the grueling process of assembling unique organs one cell at a time to solve problems which nature has not provided a solution to. Some of the most celebrated inventions of their culture, on par with the wheel in human civilization, are organs which can convert body mass into building materials, produce woven fabric, and integrate a piece of their body into another being to close wounds. Legends speak of folk heroes, known as the five saints, who spread knowledge of the first biosmithing across Scadrial, and are revered throughout the culture. Currently, the most sought after invention is a biological structure capable of surviving the extremes of space and capable of self propulsion, which would permit for at least short space flight.

Goals/Objectives: While the vast majority of Infernus live quiet lives impersonating other races and isolated from their own society, there are exceptions. The royal line of Scadrial still holds sway on Gamalon 6 and has been doing its best to extend its influence over its far flung kin by offering to share new biosmithing innovations with those who submit to their rule. Also based on Gamalon 6 is the Colimi crime family, a sinister organization run by Don Mecano Colimi, focused on accumulating power and wealth throughout the galaxy via espionage, assassination, and slavery. The inherent gifts of the Faceless Ones towards infiltration have allowed the Colimi to obtain troves of sensitive information, ranging from blackmail material, shipment manifests, to cutting edge technologies. While the number of actual Faceless Ones within the organization is blessedly few due to their low reproductive rates, their influence reaches to all corners of the galaxy.

Culture/Way of Living: Most Infernus live a nomadic life among the stars, traveling from world to world, encountering new species, integrating into new cultures, living peaceful lives for a few decades, then moving on. Their skill at blending in among other races is so flawless that even their own government can only make the broadest guess as to how many of their species exist in the galaxy. On Gamalon 6 Infernus generally live a metropolitan lifestyle in any of the dozens of plant's large cities. Nearly all labor is done by robots or drones, allowing the populace to focus on other pursuits, such as art, biosmithing, philosophy, and, unfortunately crime. The most celebrated form of art on the planet is self sculpture, where the artist shapes their body into the desired piece and remains on display, sometimes for years. It is believed that the sacrifice of one's freedom in pursuit of artistic vision is the highest pinnacle of expression.

Important/Persons of Interest: Jarvok Colimi is an out of favor member of the Colimi crime family, frequently tasked with jobs considered either too dangerous or distasteful for his relatives. He works as a spy, assassin, slaver, or whatever else his family requires to earn back their good graces. When not working, he is lazy, sexist, and a generally disagreeable individual. He makes an exception for those he views as peers in his profession, treating other hired killers with significantly more respect. He views humans as only one step up from roaches, but has to admit they make excellent slaves.