This is a suggestion for a sentient race in Starbound. The Deguon are, as the name may suggest, very similar to a real species of rodent known as the degu but are significantly larger, being about the size of a guinea pig or chinchilla. If you don't know what a real degu looks like, just click on this link: http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.e...ions/contributors/james_dowlinghealey/Odegu1/ The idea for a sentient race based off of these rodents is due to the fact that they are believed to be amongst the most intelligent of all rodents, having been taught in laboratories to grab treats with a miniature rake and can even stack blocks in size from smallest to largest (an intellectual feat previously observed only in apes amongst mammals!) Plus I am planning to buy a pair as pets in the future - they can make very good pets. Backstory: The deguon originated on a harsh, desert planet where the only food available are dry herbs and trees, and where many animals would enjoy eating a rodent the size of a football for lunch. The Deguons were originally a solitary race of non-sentient rodents, but a kind, reptilian alien named Gilbatrar gifted them their sentience and convinced them to band together into small colonies to assist each other in the ever-present quest for food. Sadly, one day a hyper eagle (one the size of an elephant) shot Gilbatrar's ship down and killed him (an event the deguons mourn to this day by reserving a whole week towards mourning his loss) , but not before he had taught the deguons the art of agriculture - revolutionizing Deguon life forever! The deguons now live in large, desert cities composed of hardened bricks they built from their environment. Doors, too small for most creatures to go through but just large enough for a deguon to squeeze through, abound in these mound-like buildings, and if trouble beckons the 10,000-plus degus in the city (obviously not that many will be in starbound on-screen at once!) will all rush into these buildings. Deguon society is controlled by a elite band of deguons known as the elite ergonomists: to compensate for their almost dictatoral control over deguon society they must do most of the farming work (a task made easier by their impressively fast breeding rates which make them 1,000 strong). The home of the elite ergonomists is also the temple to Gilbatrar, honoring the extraterrestrial that elevated them to sentience and gave them their kind, cooperative spirit. Deguon society has, since the species came to be, revolved around everyone sharing their supplies in order to survive in the harsh desert environment, and so the planet has suffered little from natural resource abuse or other common problems. But with the advent of space travel, will this altruisim hold up? Will the deguon be able to refrain from strip-mining their desert homes? Will their gullible, trusting spirit get them into trouble? And finally, will the newly available fruits the deguons can reach with their spacecraft drive the fiber-loving deguons into fattyland? We'll find out in starbound! Abilities: The Deguon, unlike some other races, have unique advantages and disadvantages to playing as them. They are far smaller than the other races, being only up to most other races's heels, and so can fit through VERY small spaces as they would on their home planet; in addition, they run and dig much faster than the other races and can jump quite high (a third of the screen height in earth-like conditions!) . However, they have half the health of other races and cannot attack bare-fisted, meaning that the deguon will initially have to rely on fleeing from danger until they gain better equipment. On that note, deguons cannot use the armor and weapons of other races due to their quadrapedal nature and small stature and need to custom-make their equipment. Finally, deguons do not have a food meter, like the other races, and can eat just for fun or to heal. HOWEVER, they cannot eat fruit or other sugary foods - trying to do so will deal the deguon damage (like real degus, deguons cannot process sugars well at all). To compensate, however, they can eat anything else that isn't sugary - even plants that are toxic to other races, due to their sophisticated digestive system. How to unlock: Since their abilities differ from those of a normal race, deguons will have to be unlocked in order for them to become a playable race. To do so, a player must find 3 deguon cities and speak to at least one NPC inside them. The deguons can also be unlocked by slaying a monster that tries to attack a NPC deguon. Note that neither of these methods will work if you had just attacked the deguons in the city, in which case the normally passive, friendly deguons will run into their homes, hide, and summon a tamed eagle to kill you. They will turn permanently hostile if you kill the eagle, fleeing from you on sight and summoning another such bird; otherwise they are passive and will not attack the player.
I wanna poke that fat hamster, lets see it move . Anyway, I don't see it as a races mostly a mob...or npc animals.
