Hresh

Hresh
Adult
Base Information
Classification	Producer
Status	Minor Race
Locomotion	Walker
Terrain	Forest
Body Form
Confluence	Non-humanoid
Bio-Identenoid	Alien
Size	3.0 meters
Weight	110 kg
Culture
Languages	Native Language
Social Structure	Balkanization
Technological Epoch	TL:0-3
Psionic potential	Standard
Origin World
Homeworld location	Shashwas
UWP	D866774-2 Starport D Poor: No Construction, Minor Repair, Unrefined fuel Size 8 Large (12,800 km, 0.80g - 1.08g) Atmosphere 6 Standard Hydrographics 6 Wet World 60% Population 7 Moderate (10 million) Government 7 Balkanization Law 4 Moderate Law (no light assault weapons) Tech Level 2 Pre-Industrial (printing)
Primary Star	G2 V
Atmosphere	Standard
Off-world presence	No
Zoetic individuals	Yes
Source
Reference	Aliens Archive 59-68.
Canon	Yes
Also see

The tree-like Hresh can grow to 3.0 meters tall, with a ball of branches and leaves some 2.0 meters in diameter, though they are quite light for their size, just 90 to 110 kilograms.

Physical sophontology

Hresh bodies are covered with tough, fibrous bark, though their root-tentacles are far more tender. Hresh have from thirty to fifty individual "branch arms" of 0.5 to 2.0 meters in length, though their limited mobility makes these unusable for, say, hand-to-hand combat. Each arm has up to ten "branch fingers" along its length, giving them many two-fingered hands but with poor manipulation.

The Hresh brain can control every finger/arm manipulator independently, allowing them to perform hundreds of small tasks at once, though they are incapable of reacting swiftly enough to use this for multiple attacks in combat. Still, the Hresh can bring great strength to bear. Their casual movement rate is in inches per hour, but they can match a human walk if pressed.

In general, Hresh have rather poor agility and cannot use human personal equipment.

Hresh light-sensitive leaves allow them to perceive events all around them, seeing twice as far as humans and making out close-up details twice as well. They can also distinguish light somewhat above and below the human spectrum. Hearing is roughly equivalent to the human norm, but their sense of smell can only detect intensities of odor, and taste is largely limited to detecting poisoned water. The Hresh sense of touch also tends to be imprecise: they can easily detect bumps or blows, but must pay more attention to detect soft touches or breezes. They are mute, and communicate by funneling breezes through their leaves.

Diet and trophics

The Hresh are photosynthetic: they do not eat, but do require sunlight and water. If deprived of adequate light and water for two weeks or so, they may enter a "photosynthetic priority" state to renew their energy stores. Though flexible in schedule, normally they spend 22 out of 44 hours in a resting state, still remaining more alert than a sleeping human.

Life Cycle and reproduction

Hresh grow rapidly from seedpod to seedling (a few weeks) to immobile but sentient sapling (1.8 years) to free-moving adult (1.8 years). Full size is attained within another 3.6 years, and Hresh can live for 90 to 180 years before hardening of the "bark" causes immobility, then for up to 300 more years.

Cultural sophontology

The Hresh have a strong mothering instinct, often carrying with them a menagerie of small animals inhabiting their branches. Indeed, they will almost automatically extend courtesies and aid to any non-threatening creature less than about half man-sized. They become disturbed by the human practice of eating such creatures (or even innocent plants), and indeed send prophets throughout known space preaching their "photosynthetic bigotry." Hresh are gregarious among themselves and lonesome when isolated from their fellows.

Societal sophontology

The peaceful communal lifestyles of the Hreh make them distrustful of centralized, controlling governments. Hresh governance, when required, is composed of the Hresh Council of Elders.

Hresh physical technology is Stone-Age TL–0, though they have an interesting biotechnology based on grafting, giving them missile weapons and containers (TL–1).

Astrography

Homeworld

The Hresh homeworld is Shashwas.

World Listing: 1105

Significant communities of Hresh are known to exist within the following systems and worlds:

No world articles for Hresh

References and contributors

This article is missing content for one or more detailed sections. Additional details are required to complete the article. You can help the Traveller Wiki by expanding it.

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 Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Marc Miller. Marc Miller's Traveller (Imperium Games, 1996), 148.
• Timothy B. Brown. Aliens Archive (Imperium Games, 1996), 59-68.