Race Meet the Sporidium

I've got to agree with the general sentiment here. Your lore is nice, yes, and the ideas are interesting, but they're not really fully developed (or developed much at all) and some of the things you're talking about are a bit improbable if we're going for actual sciency-talk here.

Also they're very similar in concept to the Florans.

 

Okay, so instead of saying "this is bad mkay", let's try to show what exactly is wrong with the suggestion, so the OP can think of ways to fix it. (And to the mods, you can help a suggestion by posting actual criticism. Not saying "Oh it's nice but" doesn't make this a hateful or mean post. It's still valid criticism regardless of pleasantries (genuine or not) being put at the start of the post)

Firstly, and possibly the largest problem with the race, is the nuclear waste idea. It's no longer valid as a catch-all magical thing that does weird things. The average person knows what exposure to radiation and nuclear waste is. And it isn't making moss a sentient, humanoid lifeform. It might've been believable twenty or thirty years ago, but not today.

Another problem is the sporidium having such a large intelligence that allows them to make things and invent things that took human beings tens of thousands (And possibly hundreds of thousands/millions of years depending on what year it is ingame) in a relatively short time. This is probably the biggest problem with most suggested races. They're created out of X and then in a few years they have a space program and firearms. If you're wondering why this is so wrong, think of it this way. If a race is so intelligent and isn't hindered by some means (i.e. then novakids having space ADHD), then they'd conceivably outpace and outdevelop the other races in such a short timeframe to the point where they'd either swarmed and driven to extinction by the other races or have absolute supremacy (or just forego war altogether, they could reasonably solve most problems and establish a universal peace, with the right technology)

And the most obvious one is, we already have the florans. These are really, really similar to them, and florans can already be spore type plants, seeing as mushroom hair is one of the floran's things.

Try and address these problems, they're major holes in your lore and overall race idea.

 

I'd also like to say that the problem with this lore and the hundreds of other races suggested in this forum is the the lore is too limiting. You may have noticed that the cannon races already in Starbound say very little about their politics, origins or biology. This isn't done on accident. This is done because it allows other people to role-play with that species in a lot of creative ways, without being limited by the writer's original intentions.

If this race was to be implemented with your lore, everyone would have to role-play with the Sporidium race the way you dictated. It leaves no room for the imagination. You want to be a Sporidium in love with a Human? Too fucking bad, they're mortal enemies separated by years of racism (that also has no explanation, it's like you put that in just to be edgy). You want an orphaned Sporidium who is out for revenge? Fuck you, they were created with a mysterious zap of radiation (ambiguous and unoriginal). You want a slow, stupid, but lovable Sporidium? Well all Sporidium are intelligent because that is the lore and the lore is cannon.

This is why the Novakids were added to the game - they had a characteristic that practically shouted individuality and choice. The Novakid's personality was determined by choice of the individual, not the race. This meant anyone can play a Novakid and can be in love with a Human, an orphan who wants revenge, or a lovable idiot who has forgotten everything.

 

If I may just add one thing to this, well its more of a question actually. If they are made of bits of moss and rocks, well actually, that's a question in itself. How are they able to function if they are, again, just little bits of stone and moss? anyway, back to my first, how are they able to digest anyway? Are they similar to the carnivorous plants back here on earth? because if I am to read correctly, they are just moss and rock, not exactly like they have a digestive tract to speak of, and its not like moss has digestive enzymes or anything even like that.

Is it the moss that is intelligent, or the rocks? Because, again, just a bit of moss and rocks. I can maybe understand moss evolving to have some kind of simple hive-mind kinda thing going, but rocks? That's kinda pushing it.

I'd also like to know how a race of moss people was able to build and create such advanced weaponry when they have had no prior knowledge of it before being radiationed into existence only some time ago. I mean stolen tech, yes that's ok, but how do they understand or comprehend how to create those weapons form the ores they found underground?

OK two final things, one, how does the species have a concept of wealth? I mean they seemed to hate and kill the only other species that was anywhere near them, so its not like they can trade with anyone, at anytime. What do they even use to trade for wealth? More bits of rock and moss? What do they even create? MOSS AND ROCKS? It just bothers me. And finally, how does radiation do any or all of this to begin with? It don'y work like that, at all. In fact the moss would have just burned up and died, not just grew into these fantastic creatures made of rocks and bits of moss. They would just be either dead, cancerous moss, or, well yeah, dead.

Well anyway maybe I'm just nit-picking, who knows. Hope my criticism is helpful.

This was not of my creation, but it is perfect for this situation, and helpful.

How to fix Sporidiums to not be bad. Firstly, they are called Sporid, they are a creature, not an ore. Secondly, they are still considered to be Florans, just a subset variant of them. The first kind of Sporid lives deep in moist caves and has adapted to the low light conditions of their environment (glowing mushroom lamps!). They are hyper aggressive and attack anything that isn't another cave Sporid.

They also make use of swarms of tiny walking mushrooms, called Sporelings or something, that rush prey, latch on, and drain them of nutrients (health). Sporid then consume these Sporelings as food. Second kind is more peaceful, lives deep in thick forests, and uses their Sporelings to consume already dead stuff like normal mushrooms, which they also eat as food. As a player, you have to be a Floran, find a planet they are on (kind of rare), and do some bullshit quest ("go kill those cave Sporids that are coming up and eating us forest Sporids") in order to unlock them as a playable race. For all intensive purposes, they are considered florans as a player race, so same recipes, architecture, and item descriptions.

However some stuff is replaced by armor that spawns Sporelings when struck, weapons that spawn Sporelings when they strike, throw-able Sporelings, and a place-able Sporeling colony that lasts for a short duration and constantly spawns Sporelings. Sporelings would run at stuff and apply a stack of an initially weak DoT. When the target dies, it drops a Nutritious Sporeling for every stack it had upon death, which can be consumed like a health potion.

thanks again to the man who created this.

The Sporidium, as told by a texan Novakid:
1 http://vocaroo.com/i/s1ChMPPtW1Mw
2 http://vocaroo.com/i/s1Gd06wMgE6l
3 http://vocaroo.com/i/s1eTkyFtf2mU
4 http://vocaroo.com/i/s0XLopEHmYOb
5 http://vocaroo.com/i/s0mKSDLzkJFY

Don't over react, this is all in good fun.

 

eh.....the voice dosnt seem Novakid at all in my opinion....it just sounds so Human, and Texan, like you said.

 

not like we have any idea it'll sound any different.(as far as we know.)

 

Holy canoli! That's Commander Keen in your avatar! 3333

 

wow, sick for a week and a half and this thread goes to shit. Its like the walking dead, guy goes into coma, wakes up and the worlds gone to shit.

 

Reminds me of Smurfs...

 

I don't think we need a Moss or Fungus plant race, considering we can make Florans like that already and Fungal Floran can be explained by them just being Cave dwellers.The mushroom head option is a good example of that.