Race A Conceptual Race of Crustaceans

Discussion in 'NPCs and Creatures' started by andySp, Apr 14, 2013.

  1. andySp

    andySp Sandwich Man

    Yep

    Not much else to add besides these little sprites. If people like the idea of a crustacean race I could probably add more background/story and concept art to these guys I guess.

    [REMOVED]

    Other than that, it is what it is. Just putting the idea for a crustacean race out there, do with it what you will.


    EDIT: Okay i've decided to put a little more effort into this



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    The Decapods
    'That shit cray'
    The Decapods are a race of crustacean-like bipeds who occupy the crystal homeworlds.
    They thrive on many types of crystals, using them as armour, building resources, and clothing.



    HISTORY
    The Decapods are a race of crustacean-like folk from the crystal planet of (name). Their exteriors are covered in rigid chitinous plates, which serve as an evolutionary countermeasure to the very high native pressure of their home planet's atmosphere. Most all surface dwellers on (name) have evolved similarly to adapt to the environment. As a result of the higher levels of gravitational pressure on (planet), the crust and mantle of the world are highly saturated in quickly forming crystalline structures and gemstones, which have become a staple material for the Decapods. The Decapods are unique on their home planet due to their bipedal nature and high level of cultural and technological advancement. Thought to have evolved from crabs over millions of years, they slowly grew upright, gained enlarged brains, and lost all but four of their limbs. Although, due to having their origin with multitudes of subspecies of crab, they have widely varying cranial structure and shell color, though their internal organs and muscle systems are biologically identical. In the earliest days of their race's history, they existed as nomadic tribesmen, living with others of their subspecies and warring amongst one another over the valuable crystals and gemstones that littered their planet. However, slowly the tribes merged through diplomatic bonds, and with the advent of written history, we know that the barbaric tribes were united under the warlord Crabicus Shellius Maximus, which ushered in a technological golden age. Though their first interactions with other spacefaring races was hostile, they have since maintained a semi-neutral stance on any conflict outside of their home planet, preferring to act as arms dealers and traders. Fastforwarding to the modern-age, the Decapods are a highly advanced species who are hailed throughout the galaxy as excellent weaponsmiths, armorers, and jewelers.


    TECHNOLOGY
    Because of the accelerated creation of crystals and gemstones on their planet to the point of being considered a renewable resource, much of their technology has been created from them.


    Weapons: Lasers implementing crystal-focusing to amplify and diffuse the singular beam, allowing Decapod laser rifles to function as both single-beam energy weapons and as a sort of laser shotgun.

    Fractal grenades operated with a quick-burst focusing crystal on a single pulse beam housed within the grenade. Upon detonation, Fractal Grenades scatter intense light in all directions, stunning those unlucky enough to be caught in the flash and leaving behind the casing of the grenade.

    Implosive Spall-Thrower Grenades. When activated they collapse violently inwards on themselves and expel superheated metal fragments in all directions. A variant exists which throws the molten spall in only one direction, and is often used for breaking the bolts on airlocks.

    Heat Gladius. A shortsword with a straight blade containing a heating element in the grip used to increase the temperature of the edges to a heat capable of cutting into crystal. The wounds it makes are instantly cauterized due to the heat and little to no bleeding occurs. The battery is contained in the pommel of the weapon and the weapon has a lead for being connected to the scabbard, which contains a battery recharger.

    Claw Hammers. A type of mining tool fashioned to look like the large claw of a crab. It contains a motorized set of jaws that clamp shut the pincers when the wearer pulls the throttle. Originally designed to assist in the dislodging of chunks of crystal from the rock it was housed in, it is occasionally seen as a weapon, though due to its unruly weight, it sees no official usage within the Decapod military.

    Scutum. Seen only during rarely-occuring riots or sieges, the Scutum is a large rectangular shield forged from retempered and chemically treated crystal, creating a clear plastic-like material with a slight blue sheen. They are fairly resistant to heat and cold, though can be shattered with concussive force. The shield's handle can be pulled down and locked to create a small waist-high portable cover.

    Clothing: Civilian and everyday clothing consists of flowing dresses, robes, togas, tunics, and capes of all colours, though white is a favourite. Military attire consists of high-impact armour fashioned into the shape of a Decapod thorax and abdominals, with capes draped across the shoulders to signify rank. As opposed to heavy boots they prefer to wear an open-toed boot designed during the Golden age, updated with modern materials.

    Construction Materials: Crystal, marble, and transparent rock. Wood is also used as insulation from the harsh winters. Due to the small size of their homeworlds, their building are tightly packed and focus on verticality.


    PERSONALITY/RELATIONSHIPS
    Decapods are adventurous and loud. They thrive on space exploration and collection of new materials and artifacts scattering alien worlds. They are very social and often share their technology with other species they come across, meaning that Decapod inventions and research are spread quickly across the stars.


    OTHER STUFF

    FAUNA: The animals occupying these worlds are colossal and slow. They are easy to hunt down but not so
    easy to bring down. Many Decapods obtain food on their own through hunting, which they dedicate a whole week (12 human days) for. The meat recovered from this week will feed their family for a whole season.

    Fauna characteristics include: 6-24 legs, colossal in size, slow and docile (but extremely aggressive and powerful when intimidated), exoskeleton armour, rocky/crystal shells, and sometimes fur around their appendages.
    Sea life is gelatinous-like and very tentacle-y.

    Imagine something like this (Not my art work, but captures my visual of the fauna perfectly).


    FLORA: Flora resembles stalagmite found on human planets. Branches are swirly, and leaves are rough and bio luminescent. The stalagmite trunks act as a protective shell for the pearl-like wooden material inside.

    Flowers are colourful n stuff


    ART AND DRAWINGS

    SPRITES:
    Just a few examples and ideas of how I want them to look like. Still not set on anything really. (although I like most of the red variations)

    STARBOUND decapod variations.png


    CLOTHING:


    STARBOUND decapod CLOTHING.png


    WEAPONS:


    Decapod weapon designs V1 x4.png
    Weapon art by Sabre http://community.playstarbound.com/index.php?members/sabre.56279/


    CONCEPT ART: [COMING SOON maybe]


    Majority of writing by Chamomileable, you're awesome. http://community.playstarbound.com/index.php?members/chamomileable.46631/
     
    Lecic, justynk, Boufman and 23 others like this.
  2. ThePhail

    ThePhail Subatomic Cosmonaut

    You shold probably add some story. Otherwise most people wont know if they like the Crustacean race.
    But I like the sprites! ;)
     
    andySp likes this.
  3. wilpin

    wilpin Starship Captain

    They look awesome everyone wants Mr.Krab to be into Starbound :3
     
    justynk and andySp like this.
  4. andySp

    andySp Sandwich Man

    Added some more sprites

    Still not entirely sure if i like this enough to put more effort into it
     
    ThePhail likes this.
  5. Chamomileable

    Chamomileable Subatomic Cosmonaut

    Crustaceans would make for really neat spacefarers. Though I feel like it may be sort of backward to give them a viking feel to their armor, I really dig the idea of them having vertically centered cities. Maybe instead of the viking armor, they would wear heavy waterproof cloaks and wetsuit-like clothing? Either way, don't drop this idea.
     
    andySp likes this.
  6. andySp

    andySp Sandwich Man

    Thanks!

    Yeah I'm not too sure what type of clothing i want them to wear, I just said Viking clothing because i want at least one race in this game to be viking-like haha. Cloaks sounds like a pretty cool idea, not too sure about wetsuits as the race is more land based instead of water based.

    I'm definitely gonna be playing around with the lore and history a bit more, I just wrote most of the thread late at night and in a hurry. I've been giving some thought around a bulky crystal or coral type armour, but I don't know what style I want it to follow. I love the idea that each races' clothing in this game follows a certain type of style (renaissance, cowboy, japanese/samurai, tribal).
     
  7. Silverduke1

    Silverduke1 Giant Laser Beams

    My first thought when i read the title was Zoidberg its an intresting idea but again wed need more on the lore
     
  8. Chamomileable

    Chamomileable Subatomic Cosmonaut

    I see. I think that it would be cool to see a viking influence. Maybe have them fashion armor and big round shields out of the carapaces of larger crustaceans that they hunt for sustenance. They could have a racial affinity that improves the effects of armor and shields that they use. Their drawback would probably have to be slower movement speed, though. I'm not great at spriting, but I think having some squidlike tentacles covering the mouth as an option would be cool. And to include viking-like influences, their feelers and tentacles could be styled into mustaches and beards in a scandanavian fashion.
     
    andySp likes this.
  9. Sandopwns

    Sandopwns Big Damn Hero

    Awesome idea!
    I love the sprites.

    In my opinion their armor and clothing/architectual style should be ancient greek.
    Their cities could be based underwater, kind of like an Atlantis.

    I just get that greek vibe from them.
     
    andySp likes this.
  10. andySp

    andySp Sandwich Man

    I was thinking about Greek clothing!


    Got started on drawing it right after I saw your post.


    STARBOUND decapod CLOTHING.png

    Armour would be gladiator looking, but much bulkier and incorporating crystal into the design.

    I wish I was more creative with the lore, i'm pretty terrible at writing. :p
     
  11. JackOfAllTrades

    JackOfAllTrades Cosmic Narwhal

    Crustaceans? Why not Zoi-
    ...Ahem, anyway, I quite like the idea.
     
    andySp likes this.
  12. Sandopwns

    Sandopwns Big Damn Hero

    They already look so beautiful.
    I can probably give you some ideas lore wise.
    I'd love to help in any way I can, especially if it means helping you get that race in game.
     
    andySp likes this.
  13. andySp

    andySp Sandwich Man

    That would be pretty awesome. It's completely up to you though. I originally made this thread just to have fun making some sprites in photoshop, so I don't mind if the lore and writing isn't all fleshed out and deep. (although it's fun doing so!)
     
    Sandopwns likes this.
  14. Sandopwns

    Sandopwns Big Damn Hero

    Well you may have done it for fun, but the end result was amazing!
    I'm going to put some thought in to their backstory, I'd love to see them in the game.
    I don't think you realize the gem of an idea you came up with.
     
    andySp likes this.
  15. Simi

    Simi Big Damn Hero

    Zoidberg! (\/) ;,,; (\/) !

    It looks bad-ass! Awesome.
     
    JackOfAllTrades and andySp like this.
  16. LordPils

    LordPils Orbital Explorer

    I can't help but remember that episode of South Park. All I'm hearing in my head is "Crab people, Crab people".
     
  17. Sandopwns

    Sandopwns Big Damn Hero

    Taste It's true xD
    I thought of that when I saw them

    Taste like crab, talk like people!
     
    VirgilTakahashi likes this.
  18. HerpDerpy

    HerpDerpy Guest

    Looks cool. That is all.
     
  19. LordPils

    LordPils Orbital Explorer

    Indeed they do. Personally I'm a sucker for a space-faring species in togas.
     
  20. Eric

    Eric Existential Complex

    Aw man, I was going to do some Scarab people, with an egyptian theme, but you sort of beat me to the flat-headed shell people slot...
     

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