Talk:Jabberwock
Lewis Roberts
Crested Jabberwock
The Jabberwock was the last uplift project started by GenAssist before the Collapse. The project was started in 952. The First Solomani Rim War and the loss of the coreward sections of the Solomani Rim forced the project to move from the Jabberwock's home world of Kassan/Vega (A-785757-E circa 1100). Several hundred experimental specimens and most of the research facilities were relocated to Alpha Crucis Sector. The loss of the the native population wasn't a fatal blow, a few Jabberwocks had been placed in zoos and GenAssist had stored enough genetic material to continue the project.
GenAssist created the Jabberwocks to be another warrior species for the Solomani Confederation. The company had created several other warrior species from Terran stock, but the Jabberwock were native to a world with a dense atmosphere. It was hoped that Jabberwocks would be able to fight on those worlds where Terran species would be ill suited. GenAssist's primary market was the military , but they also thought that the Jabberwocks could be used as guards. Four hundred kilograms of teeth and claws is alot more intimidating than the standard rent-a-cop with a badge.
The Solomani Military was divided on the use of of uplifted sophonts as troops. It was agreed that they would never serve as officers, but some thought any use of non-human troops went against the principals of the Solomani Movement. GenAssist convinced a few member worlds of the Confederation to try a few small units of Jabberwocks.
Pre-sentient jabberwocks are one of the most aggressive species known to modern exobiology. They are also extremely territorial, attacking any trespassers and only tolerating others of their species during a short mating season. These traits do not make them very social, and had to be modified in the sentient brethren. Uplifted Jabberwocks are still very aggressive, but this aggression has been channeled into several areas. Jabberwocks are very aggressive during combat and hardly turn down a fight. They are also extremely competitive, both in their professional careers and their personal lives. They are still solitary creatures and tend not to engage in team sports, but more likely to compete in solo events such as races, shooting competitions and the like.
Jabberwocks are still solitary creatures but they can stand and even enjoy the company of others both human and jabberwock. Jabberwocks tend to spend several hours a day alone. They spend this time exploring their surroundings, practicing hobbies, or even contemplating the universe. Though their philosophy is very simplistic and tends to be violent.
One of the few activities that Jabberwocks gather together in large numbers to participate in is dancing. GenAssist turned some of their mating rituals into a fondness for elaborate dancing. This dancing is very energetic with Jabberwocks running, jumping, throwing themselves across the stage and rearing up on hind legs. The dance tends not to be a choreographed performance, but consists of all available jabberwocks thrashing around. The dance was performed for the enjoyment of the participants, not an external audience. Occasionally an few favored people would be invited to watch.
Originally Jabberwocks were bilaterally symmetrical, homeothermic, quadrupeds, standing about 1.2 meters tall at the shoulder and measuring some 2.6 meters in length. Their anatomy is unusual in that they have four two chambered hearts. A fully grown specimen weighs over 400 kilograms. Their head is mounted on a long neck, and is topped with a large multi-colored crest which normally lies flat, but is displayed during mating rituals and territorial fights. Their mouth is full of razor sharp teeth and spikes run down the spine to the base of the tail. The skin is very tough and furless. Jabberwocks are colored a light reddish brown. Sentient individuals tend to be a bit smaller, about 350 kilograms, about 2.3 meters in length. Their forepaws have been altered to be manipulative members capable of using tools. Their mouths have been altered to allow them to speak some human words. This is very crude speech, and most Jabberwocks use electronic translators, but are capable of getting their point across in a pinch. GenAssist planned on improving this, but the Collapse intervened.
GenAssist instilled in the Jabberwocks a deep loyalty to the Solomani Cause and to those humans who were in charge of the Jabberwocks. This loyalty did not correspond to all humans, for instance a unit of Jabberwocks had no problems when ordered to help put down a rebellion on Kestral/Spica. The Jabberwocks also believe that the humans are inherently superior to themselves and that most humans are smarter and better educated. If a Jabberwock is lost or without guidance it will seek out human leadership.
Jabberwock Armor-(1) Only vs melee attacks. Claws&Teeth Attack Damage: 1d6 Pen:1 Str Agl Con Int Edu Cha Soc Psi 2d6+4 2d6+2 2d6+2 1d6 1d6-1 2d6-3 1d3 0
Agility is halved when dealing with fine manipulation of objects.
Skills that use the halved agility include:
Energy Artillery Energy Weapons Forgery Intrusion Jeweler Machinist Music Pickpocket Pilot Slug Weapon Tac Missle.
Intelligence is doubled when applied towards Tactic skills. The minimum values for education and charisma are always one.The roll for social standing is the standard when the Jabberwock lives in an area controlled by humans who are unfamiliar with Jabberwocks. Examples include the Solomani Confederation and the Reformation Coalition in the year 1202. If the Jabberwock character was being generated for another time period there might be a different roll.
All Jabberwocks have a claw and tooth attack which does 1d6 damage and has a penetration of one. The attack is made with standard unarmed martial arts rules. All Jabberwocks are considered to have Unarmed Martial-0. If a Jabberwock has unarmed martial arts skill, calculate normal damage and add it to 1d6.
Jabberwocks raised in the Solomani Confederation before the Collapse have the default skills of Heavy Weapons-0, Slug Weapons-0, Energy Weapons-0, and Dance-1.
Careers:Jabberwocks use the standard human careers. Some careers are off limits do to social constraints, these depend on the exact milieu that is being played in. For instance during the Solomani Confederation era there were no Jabberwock Construction Workers, Diplomats, Nobles or Farmers.
Effects of Age: Jabberwocks use the standard human age charts, but begin to age two terms earlier. By the time of the Collapse there were no known anagathics that were manufactured for Jabberwocks.
Hit Capacity: Jabberwocks determine hit capacity normally. In addition they have a tail location with hits equal to (Str+Con)x2.
Initiative: Jabberwocks roll initiative normally, and then add one to the roll.
If not stated differently Jabberwocks are created as normal for humans.
References:
Best of the JTAS Vol. 4, "Bestiary:The Crested Jabberwock", John Marshall
TML_Archives/TML96/TD960723.TXT