Droyne

Droyne
Typical Warrior-caste Droyne.
Status	Major Race
Classification	Omnivore/gatherer
Size	1.0-2.0 m
Weight	25-50 kg
Homeworld	Eskayloyt
Multi-world	Yes
Canon	Yes
Extinct	Extant
Reference	Droyne (Alien Module)

Droyne Synopsis

Droyne are a Major Race inhabiting scattered worlds within an area slightly larger than the region of the current Third Imperium.

Droyne Physiology

The Droyne vary in size depending on caste but generally stand one meter tall although workers and warriors are often much larger and taller than Humans.

Droyne Evolutionary History

The history of their evolution remains a puzzle because their home world is not known with certainty. However, it is theorized that the Droyne are a small race derived from winged omnivore/gatherers although many, perhaps most, Droyne seem to prefer a primarily vegetarian (herbivorous) diet.

Droyne Subspecies?

Some Imperial scientist and researchers consider Chirpers to be a subspecies of the droyne, while others consider Chirpers to be atavistic (retrogressed) Droyne. The Imperial scientific community remains divided with this theories.

The Droyne as Ancients?

Although the Droyne are well known as a race, and have been the subject of extensive research by academics, it is only recently that a hypothetical relationship between the Ancients and the Droyne has been even partially understood.

Droyne History

n/a

Droyne Society & Culture

There is little individual freedom in Droyne society, and as a result, society and government join into one concept. Workers work. Leaders lead. All of society is dedicated to continuing the existence that provides all members with food, shelter, and the other amenities that make life enjoyable. In addition, there is little discord in Droyne society when things are running smoothly, as each member of society has its own function to perform. Only when disaster happens is the group forced to strain.

A typical Droyne group consist of a variety of Droyne from the different castes. There will be many workers, few drones and leaders, and technicians and warriors based on current needs. Each group will also have several sports, although they may not be present; instead they may be occupied with their own solitary tasks.

This is not to say that Droyne are mindless. Leaders are quite capable and responsible; warriors have strategic and tactical senses; technicians are inventive and clever. But all accept the central group as a part of their lives and work for its benefit above their own.

Droyne Social Organization (Castes)

A Droyne society, be it large as a world or as small as an isolated enclave, is called an Oytrip.

Oytrips are further divided into rigid castes determined when an individual reaches adolescence.

The six castes of the Droyne all serve different functions within Droyne society. Although identical at the time of caste selection, caste members develop pronounced physical and mental differences by maturity. Different genetic programs are awakened by differences in diet and environment among the various castes. Young leaders, for instance, experience a nearly 30 percent increase in brain size in the first year after casting; drones develop sexual organs; and so on. The following are descriptions and definitions of the castes:

• Drone Caste

Drones have a variety of purposes in Droyne society. They perform a reproductive role which makes them both fathers and mothers to Droyne young, and they have a role in the ceremonies which determine caste for maturing young. In addition, drones comprise a sort of middle management caste, which is responsible for many of the routine functions in business, trade, and administration.

• Leader Caste

Leaders are required to manage and direct society. They are ultimately responsible for everything that the Droyne as a whole do.

• Sport Caste

Although the caste system of the Droyne is rather rigid, the sport is the deliberately accepted exception to caste structure. Sports are special individuals who cross caste lines to become individual scouts, messengers, representatives, hunters, prospectors, and to take other occupations that require individual initiative or separation from Droyne society for long periods of time. A sport is the most encountered Droyne away from a Droyne world.

• Technician Caste

This caste is the science-oriented portion of Droyne society and is concerned with both research and practical implementation of technology.

• Warrior Caste

Trained for combat and possessing comparatively well developed muscles and reflexes, the warrior is the security troop, the soldier, the marine, and the policeman of the Droyne culture. They are common in frontier bases, and less numerous in civilized areas.

• Worker Caste

Manual labor and mundane ordinary activity are the province of the worker. Workers are not too smart and are temperamentally suited to contentment with ordinary labor and subservient tasks.

Droyne Government

Droyne Government functions as a part of the Oytrip. See "Droyne Social Organization (Castes)".

Droyne Language

The universal Droyne language is known as Oynprith. Unlike like many other tongues, Oynprith is remarkably uniform and seems to suffer next to no linguistic drift compared to other languages.

For centuries, only the vast distances separating Droyne worlds from each other concealed the fact that Droyne worlds had a common language. That is not to say every Droyne spoke the same language; indeed, different Droyne communities spoke different languages, often very different languages. But all Droyne communities shared one common language — Oynprith, the language used in the coyn casting ceremony. Outsiders missed Oynprith simply because it was not used in public very often; it had a status as a ritual or ceremonial language, much like the status of Latin on Terra.

In interstellar commerce, Oynprith was soon discovered by Droyne to be a universal language among their race; as trade increased, Oynprith became more commonly used, finally reaching a status as the universal Droyne language.

Droyne Calendar

n/a

Droyne Technology & Trade

Most Droyne worlds are TL 7 to TL 11 averaging TL 9 to TL 10.

Droyne merchants and traders are well-known throughout Imperial space and beyond.

Droyne Military

n/a

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Alien Module 5
• Adventure 12: Secret of the Ancients
• GURPS Traveller: Alien Races 3
• Supplement 8 Library Data (A-M)