Aravir (Honorable Arachnids)

Honor-bound Arachnids from the world of Kassik. They now wander the stars seeking to expand the influence of their people. Guided by The Code, the Aravir are a noble and respected species in the galaxy, even if their strict life style can be a bit grating for the other inhabitants. Their homeworld is Kassik, fifth planet in the Cassius System.

Physiology:

Tall and Slender the Araviri look fragile at first glance. However a closer inspection shows their bodies to be covered in a hard chitinous exoskeleton. They have six limbs from their torso’s that have all evolved for different purposes. The lower limbs are the longest and end in a segmented foot with no toes, despite their small feet Avavir are extremely well balanced. The upper limbs are the second longest and end in a hand with three fingers and a thumb used for grasping, small hairs along the segments and joints on these hands assist with gripping. The middle limbs are smaller and more specialized than the others, tied directly into a spinneret organ in the torso of the Aravir. These smaller arms are normally curmed against the torso and end in a pair of specialized hooks. With these arms the Aravir can excrete bits of webbing that is extremely strong and sticky. The Aravir traditionally used this webbing to catch prey, but now it is used to assist in movement.

Their heads are rounded with double pair of mandibles and eight eyes. The first larger set of mandibles are set on the sides of their skull and are mostly vestigial, however play a role in selecting mates. The second smaller set of mandibles have grown closer together capable of acting as a jaw like structure often seen in mammals, the soft chitin layer above even forming lips and a nose structure. However if required for eating larger prey the smaller mandibles can split open to expose the entire mouth cavity. Inside the mouth a series of fangs inject paralytic poisons and digestive juices into the prey so that the innards can be dissolved and sucked into the Aravir. While this poison is extremely dangerous to small prey, anything larger than a few pounds has little to fear from the bite of an Aravir. Eight black eyes are spread around the upper side of the skull protected by thick chitinous ridges. On the back of the skull the Aravir grow long kinked black hair which is often woven into tight braids and dreads.

A harder outer chitin armor covers most of the Aravir’s body, the exception being around the face and reproductive organs which have a softer for flexible chitin. Below that layer of hard chitin is another inner layer of chitin that is extremely flexible. These two layers provide a level of protection to the Aravir from sources of concussion and impact. Their limbs have taut strong muscles that are capable of pulling their limbs inward but use valves and use hydraulic force to extend those limbs and extremities outwards.

Internally the Aravir have an open circulatory system that allows a viscous faint blue fluid called Haemolymph to carry oxygen around their bodies. A large heart is able to contract increasing the pressure of the Haemolymph in their bodies insuring that even under high G-Forces the Aravir are able to keep oxygenated. Two pairs of book lungs located along the sides of their torso pull in and across the Haemolymph before being pushed back out around their bodies. Their heart is not chambered but instead is a long slender tube muscle that runs from the base of their skull down along their torso.

Sexual dimorphism is extremely apparent in the Aravir with females being larger and stronger than the males. Females tend to be dark black with bright accent marks while males are more muted browns and greys. Females have an Opisthosoma on the back of their hips that holds their reproductive organs. While not baring eggs the opisthosoma is small and only slightly pronounced but spells while eggs grow. Reproduction happens internally and the females carry the fertilized eggs for four weeks before they are deposited in an egg sack in a safe location. The eggs then hatch after an incubation period of six months. Young are protected by caretakers until they reach fourteen years of age.

Sociology:

Honor is the core tenant of the Araviri Culture, their cultures code dictates almost every aspect of their way of life. Outsides often find it difficult to live among the Aravir for long as few are willing to make the sacrifices required to be Araviri. Every aspect of life from raising children, to crime and punishment, and even to warfare are dictated by the Aravian Code.

Araviri culture is Matricidal with leaders being selected from the three branches of the Military. This Matriarchs are chosen for life by the other Matriarchs when one dies. This Council makes the final decisions for the species as a whole, which representatives from the various factions and planets that make up Aravir Space.

Military service is mandatory, all children going into a one year boot camp when they reach fourteen years of age. After that they spend the next five years as members of one of the three branches of the Aravir Military. The branches include Space, Land, and Logistics. The Space Forces control and staff the Aravir Fleets and serve as the main line of defense in Aravir space. Land Forces are foot soldiers that are involved with conflicts planet side. They also serve as peace keeping forces while in Aravir Space. Logistics Forces serve as both military logistics and government logistics keeping the Aravir Military Government running.

The daily life of the Aravir is heavily influenced by their homeworld of Kassik. Kassik is a heavily forested planet with very little surface water. Instead there are vast underground oceans that supply the world is clean drinkable water. Heavy foliage never allowed for cultivation of crops or herd animals, instead the Aravir cultivated and domesticated large insects. Hollowed out trees originally served as the location of the Hassi Grub Farms. The Hassi Grub remains a staple of the Aravir diet to this day.

The mineral rich caves above the Under-Seas made it possible for the Araviris to progress into industry and eventually becoming a spacefaring race. As soon as space life became a viable option almost all industry was moved to mobile space factories where production could be done more efficiently in Zero-G. Since then effors have been made into restoring Kassik to its former glory and healing the scars of the industrial revolution on the Forests.

Stratagy games are favored by the Aravir above games of chance, and gambling was never an issue faced by the Aravir people. Instead a sport known as Rashin is the most popular form of entertainment. In Rashin teams must deploy their players around an arena so that a ball can be passed to the other teams goal, however they do not know where the other team with deploy in an attempt to block them. Thus the game requires both teams to attempt to predict the other sides deployment and counter it.

Origins:

Four hundred million years ago the first known ancestor to the Aravir was said to have been born on Kassik. It was a large bird hunting arachnid with six legs that dwelled high in the tree tops. From there the species continued to evolve into more and more territorial and patient hunters. The oldest remains of what could be called a modern Aravir was dated to be ten thousand years old. In their earliest days the Aravir where still canopy dwelling ambush hunters, but the invention of a crude drill pushes them past the others allowing them access to nutrient rich grubs hidden in the hardwood trees. This reduced the energy spent on hunting and allowed the Aravir to expand on art and culture.

Religion was never founded on Kassik, instead the creation of The Code served as the foundations for the Aravir society. This code has changed very little from the early days when the Warrior Hunters created it. Now it is such an integral part of the Aravir people that its almost instinctual. Those who choose to live outside the code become social pariahs, often the isolation driving them to madness. These Code Breakers are known as “Calkisi” in the Araviri tongue which roughly translates to mean “The Worthless”. To be called Calkisi is the greatest insult that can be laid upon an Aravir and often will be met with deadly force.

The Araviri Code:

• Glory before Cowardice – It is better to be glorious and live a short life than to die a coward in your bed. In all things the Aravir should strive towards actions over inaction, but this should be tempered by wisdom.
• Protector of Life – Life is a precious thing that should never be taken callously. Even among your enemies, the children and caretakers of the young should never be killed.
• Honor in Conflict – Conflict cannot be avoided completely, and when it must come to be an Aravir will approach it with ferocity. However in all things the Aravir must approach with honor, never using cheap tricks or deception to overcome their foe.
• Debts must be Paid – The Aravir do not remain in debt overly long, and when in debt you must strive to pay back that debt in full no matter what the cost to the Aravir, even if it means swearing your life to the holder of your debt.

Racial Stats:

• Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
• Age. The Aravir reach adulthood quickly by the age of fourteen. However they have accelerated growth and reach middle age by thirty. They rarely live past 70 years in age.
• Alignment. Aravir grow up living by an extremely strict code that limits their behaviors and promotes and honorable life style. Almost all of them are Lawful with most leaning leaning towards good as well.
• Size. Aravir are tall and slender. Females ranging from 6’6” to 7’ in height, which males trend between 6’ to 6’6” in height. Your size is medium.
• Speed. Your base walking speed is 35 feet.
• Body Armor. Chitinous covering that provides AC of 12+ Dex
• Extra Limbs.: You may take two bonus actions during your turn rather than one, so long as they are different actions coming from different sources.
• Spinneret: You may produce webbing material from your body which grants you advantage on Climbing skill rolls and grapple attacks when used.
• Oath Bound: You are sworn to the The Araviri Code, and breaking it results in becoming a social Pariah. As long as an Araviri is in good standing with their people they can always count on at least some assistance from others.
• Languages. You can speak, read, and write Universal and Araviri. Araviri is a language made of up chitters and clicks. It is a difficult language for non-Aravir to learn but it is possible to replicate the sounds with practice.

Art Credits

Photo's owned by Virgini Ropars. https://www.facebook.com/VIRGINIEROPARSOFFICIAL/ Forest green planet by Ryce826 http://ryce826.deviantart.com/art/Forest-green-planet-279521630