Race sculpting their way forward, The Effigies, A humanoid race of Stone like people

So, lets talk about the race

 

Just to be clear cause I wasn't 100% sure is Effigy singular, Effigies is Plural, and Effigion is an adjective(like Effigion Ship)?

Here are more ideas of mine. Possible refinements and additions for the biology section.
Body Makeup: The Effigies body is generally made up of denser materials. In order to move with a denser body makeup they're body temperature is noticeably higher than most other races.
Blood: Effigy blood is exceptionally hot and rich in minerals which give it's bright glowing color. The color is a inherited genetic trait that makes the blood predisposed to having higher levels of certain minerals that affect the color. When an Effigy dies their blood cools and hardens to an almost stone like density similar to their outer skins.
Skin: Like most creatures on their planet they have a clear under skin that shows their hot glowing blood underneath. Like most creature's they have an outer skin consisting of hard stony plates that cover their bodies and constantly grow. These plates are possible do to a diet heavily rich in minerals. They provide basic protection from their home planet's sometimes harsh environment and camouflage from ruthless predator. Most Effigies will chisel, sand, and sculpt their outer skin down, but if left unkempt the outer skin continuously grows outward spiny and jagged. Either outside forces like rubbing against things, attacks from predators, or gravity eventually snapping some of the jagged ends keep the plates from weighing them down.
Facial Features: The Effigies' only natural facial feature are their glowing eyes. But to emulate the travelers who visited their planet and brought them civilization they attempt to carve out other facial features. They'll carve mouths and noses and wealthier Effigies will carve out further details like jowls and cheeks to the point of almost looking like statues of humans.
Hearing: The Effigies under skin is covered in a sensitive membrane that feels vibrations that allow them hear all around them.
Speaking: The Effigies speak using coiling string like organs in their necks that work similar to speakers.
Eating: There are two small plates on the Effigies chest just below the neck. They open up to reveal a small orifice which works like a tongue that moves food directly to an esophagus like organ straight to their stomach. The Effigies have no teeth, but powerful stomach acids make up the difference.(The eating orifice could be moved to other parts of the body like the neck, or where a humans mouth is. They can still carve human like mouths over the opening plates just some idea's there)
Diet: Effigies' diet generally consists of foods rich in energy and minerals.
Metabolism: The Effigies' metabolism is more powerful than other races in order to process their diet of denser foods and generates the hotter blood that maintains homeostasis for their denser bodies.
Brain and Nervous System: Effigies' have roughly the same level of intelligence as most other races, but their nervous system operates a bit more slowly than other races due to more energy being committed to their metabolism. The Effigies take a little bit longer to formulate and give reactions. To other races they appear a tad slow, but to the Effigies this pace is normal and they perceive the other races as being a tad fast.
Reproduction: The basic concept behind conceiving new Effigy is similar to other races like Humans and Apex, but with the usual technical differences.(Debating whether I need to go into the details of the technical differences, probably not) Effigy pregnancies last on average 16 human months. The mothers belly will expand causing the outer plate in that area to crack and pieces fall off. The child is ready to be born when the mother entire groin plate breaks off. The mother gives birth in fashion similar to other races like Humans and Apex. The lost outer skin does grow back over time.
Development and Lifespan: Effigy youths have no outer skin and are extremely vulnerable. They're often closely watched over and coddled until they begin to mature at 21-24 Earth Years old which is signaled by their outer skins beginning to grow. They continue to grow not fully maturing until around 40 earth years. The Effigies externally don't seem to change at all until death. The only noticeable sign of old age is their bloods glow begins to noticeably dim, signifying a slowing and break down of their metabolism. Elderly Effigy tend to act and move much slower. When an Effigy dies their blood begins to cool for many hours until hardened to state similar to their outer skin leaving their corpse permanently in whatever position it cooled in.The Effigies' have one of the longest lifespans of the races. Their average lifespan is roughly 200 Earth years, but some have been known to live as old as 240 Earth years(Oldest recorded bing 244 Earth years).

Use edit and cut out as much as you see fit JunotheFox.

EDIT: I have added a few more things to this and may add more.

 

I love you

 

Great work really. I think this is pretty well done. And I Iove the fact everyone is adding to the collective idea!

 

Subject of discussion
should the effigies have a mouth to show things like facial expressions or have a mouth with it replacing the feeding hole or Keep it as no mouth.

 

can't of done it better myself, won't be adding it in till the subject of discussion is over.

 

I vote for a real mouth, it just makes everything easier, I mean, if they are going to have a hole to eat, why not put it on the face? :B

 

Would be most practical

 

I would say do what I described in the biology section, but on the face. A neat thing could be when they eat the inside of their mouths are the same color as there under skin and opens sideways.

Things we're going to need to come up for the Effigies for in-game aspects and aside from lore.

Character creation.

First Trait(Equivalent to Human Skin Color) is obviously going to be the Effigies' Skin(Or Scales) Color. With the exception of the Apex every race has ten choices for the first trait.
Secont Trait(Equivalent to Human Hair Style) this will probably be head carvings on the Effigies. Them trying to emulate hair. The number for each race varies, but non have less than 20 options.
Third Trait(Equivalent to Human Undy Color) the Effigies will probably have Under skin(Or Blood) Color for this one. Every Race has 10 options in this selection.
Fourth Trait(Equivalent to Human Hair Color) I'm not so sure what this one will be. Maybe facial hair, Secondary Scale Color, head sculpt color. One idea I had was that since the Effigy carve facial expressions this option could be a permanently carved Expression on their face. The number of options seem to vary for each race.

Every Race shares the next five. Shirt, Pants, Personality, Shirt Color, and Pants Colors. Every race share the same personality options and every race has 11 colors for the shirt and pants colors, so they'll probably be the same as each race. When it comes to the actual shirts and pants themselves every race has FOUR sets of starter clothes and I'm going to throwout possible starter outfits.
Toga
Tunic
Robes
Slave Rags?(Not so sure about this one, but I had trouble coming up with a fourth.)

Racial Armor Ability: The only idea I have is increased resistance towards non physical attacks like electricity, fire, poison.

Up next are thing we might NOT need to fully flesh out now because developers might do most of it if they do decide to add them in game.

Every race has ten tiers of unique Racial Armors made of Iron, Steel, Titanium, Durasteel, Aegisalt, Ferozium, Cerulium, Violium, Rubium and Impervium

Every race also has ten tiers of unique(looking) sets of weapons and the tiers work the same as the armor tiers.

 

Ok, I was working on the society drawing but I did something that you may not like. I already have the sketch done.

As you can see I used a toga on the woman, BUT I drew the town and the vendor a little bit more advanced in time... Im not sure how to explain myself so here is an example, the town I drew looks like it looks on Assassins Creed: The brotherhood, not like the OOOOOLD rome, but there are togas anyway and the same architectre, just a little bit more advanced. Give me your opinion and sorry for my english mistakes, again.

 

Update 2-3-14: I know I haven't been giving this the attention it deserves but I should have more time here soon and updates to the main post coming soon, but for now I leave you with a subject of discussion

What would you imagine the effigian ship to look like or what you think it should look like?

 

the buildings aren't to far off

I took a quick look for ancient Greek clothes and is what I got



we may have to get clever with this and think outside of the box

 

2-12-14 update
I know this is off topic but yesterday 2-11-14 I took a job shadow at S2 Games creators of Heroes of Newerth, I can't say what there making since i signed an agreement but I spent my time there with concept writers and I enjoyed it as well as it being insightful.

 

2-25-14 update
I had to get my wisdom teeth removed yesterday and i'm taking some time off because of that. so ill be working on a race intro for the effigies, continue race relations, possible reworks on race history and sent more requests for chuylol.

 

I think this is a really cool idea, though I'm not sure the idea of live birth really fits a statue-like race. Humans and Apex give live birth, Avian and Hylotl lay eggs, Floran have some undescribed method of mass-reproduction which involves cocoons, and then Glitch and Novakid have reproduction through recreation -- Glitch put together a new Glitch from parts and pass on information, Novakids make sure the pressure and heating conditions are right and then mix plasma until the brand and body of the Novakid offspring are produced. Effigies recreated in the fourth way would probably hold a little closer to the statue theme -- either one Effigy working slowly and tirelessly on their offspring or a pair working together, or who knows, maybe a whole group of them in some tangled up polyamorous chisel-happy Romanesque collective. This would allow an explanation for nobility and peasantry -- nobility have more time to dedicate to crafting the perfect offspring from expensive stone, whereas peasantry work harder and have less time to work on theirs -- they have so much work to do, however, that they frequently create new offspring to help them, so the nobility to peasantry ratio stays pretty constant. Peasant offspring could be mass-produced, rougher, and bulkier (in lore at least) to make up a substantial army. I'd kind of imagine them like the Florans -- lorewise, every villager is armed and ready to fight, but like the Hylotl, they desire beauty and refinement.

You could go vague with how the first few Effigies were created -- after all, both the Glitch and the Avian lore refer to some unseen higher power who respectively created and uplifted them. How they became sentient is important, but the details, details, DETAILS of the very first Effigies ever are not quite as important as they're being made out to be. Maybe they only developed a love for the preservation of history after a few generations when they realized that they didn't know their own origins? Maybe their ancestors didn't think it was important, or dedicated themselves more to the arts instead. Florans have pictograms and art -- carvings and paintings that tell stories. That could be a good jumping point for the first batch of Effigies, resulting in a quasi-repulsed second or third generation that dove into the deep end of culture and refinement, rocky Hylotl style.

Their life span would be long due to the low metabolism, but it might be cool for their natural deaths to deal with this hot-blood/cold-blood issue. When they are created, perhaps they are dipped in a vat of reactive chemicals and then sealed using secret Effigy craftsmanship tech -- they're burning hot, but as they age, they become even slower, and their blood becomes colder. They die when the sealant becomes either punctured or eroded and the chemical escapes, leaving them a lifeless statue. Each chemical dip is unique (lore to explain the different visible blood colors in the crevices) and can't be perfectly duplicated with the Effigies' current level of technical knowhow, so they can't redip themselves to extend their lives or anything god-moddy like that. If they die in battle, what remains of their body is carved into a tombstone, or if they die as a wretch, their body could be crushed into gravel to pave the streets or something. Nobles would have some sort of room dedicated to the bodies of their ancestors or late kin, possibly near a family altar. The nobility probably has some kind of old wives' tail about magical hot springs prolonging your life or something, though, that could make for an interesting Roman-themed structure -- communal baths.

Starter Effigy crops could be olives, maybe? Ancient Greeks and Romans were all about the olives, making olive oil and then having slaves coat their bodies in it and then scrape it off to stay squeaky clean (and kind of slippery, ick). Maybe that's how they move so fluidly, despite being made of stone? Porridge, or hot cereal, was common, made from husked wheat; maybe they could have a racial recipe that calls for 1x Grapes 1x Wheat? You could call it Fruity Pebbles. I also like the idea of pomegranites (get it? Pomegranates, but with a rock pun?) and maybe figs. Armor could progress from starter clothes (toga etc.) to Effigy infantry, gladitorial all the way to some sort of ceremonial armor at imperium tier.

I'm sorry for adding SO MUCH, but I don't frequent the forums often and this idea just seemed really cool. I was initially kind of worried about the sprites in the original post since they looked almost exactly like dummy sprites, but seeing the concept art and getting a better idea of their head/face/clothing styles has me sold. I know it's been a while since a substantial update was made to the thread, but this idea is REALLY cool and I hope it hasn't been abandoned.

 

I'll be brief, this is one of the best race suggestions I've read yet. And that's all I can say without possibly making angry many people that have spent a lot of time developing their own race suggestion.

 

I actually really like this idea, I hope you go through with it! If you need anyone to help sprite feel free to ask

 

thanks for your post. I'll keep your ideas in mind whenever I'm making alterations on the main post. lastly this isn't being abandoned, progress is a little slow because Me and Chuylol(the Artist for the effigies) have been busy.

well thank you, there are some really good race suggestions out there and some are a little more complete but I like where this suggestion is going

this is for everyone not just you. if you wish to help out this post by Art, Sprites, Suggestions, etc. feel free to add by posting it to this thread. thought I can't promise it will be added to the main post but your interest and time will be welcome. so far Chuylol is the only one that is doing both the Art and sprites.

 

As long as I get a good mentor (or a good mentoring post), I want to become a pixel-artist. My whole thing is that I am not sure exactly how to actually pixel-art.
I think that MS Paint actually works, but not too good. But, I might be able to sketch (quite crudely. I usually suck at drawing anything other than concepts) something for the Ship and possibly hairstyles or something?

I shall get onto that stuff soon.

But, before I head off for now, I need to say that this is quite an amazing race. It is quite well-thought out, but the grammar and such could use some work (sorry if this offended you at all, Juno).
If you would like me to, I can easily fix the things, send it through a PM, and possibly discuss other things about it. I will wait for your word on this part.

Lastly, referring to my first topic, if anyone would be able to help me out with beginning this, I would appreciate it beyond belief.

 

Sorry for the double post, but I think that I might have helped solved the question about the Fourth Trait that @ShamanMcLamie posed a question about.

So, it seems like this is how the whole customization looks like to me:

1. --- 3. ---
2. --- 4. ---

1. Main Color
2. Hair or anything that stands on for hair (foliage, fins, plumage,head module).
3. Color for Hair, or Extra Thing (Undy, beak, lights)
4. Extra Thing's Color or Style of Second Extra thing (fluff, beard)

I think that 1, 2, and 3 works, like this:

1. Main Color
2. Hair/Head Sculpt
3. Lava Color (or Sealant Color)

But, I think that I have found some things for 4.

4. Body Sculpt, or, Deep Grooves

Body Sculpt would be to show things like spikes coming out of shoulders, bulky shoulders, things of that nature if it is possible.

Deep Grooves would be to show scars, and pretty much definition in features, like facial scars, arm-strength (the grooves look like muscles), and possibly even things expressions on the face.