So, we all know why we're here so I'll skip the preamble: I'm hoping to lay the lore groundwork for a perk allowing more, and potentially slower pregnancies to feed that niche fetish. The in-universe explanation for this perk is that it's modified off of an existing set of severe genetic modifications developed by a race with very slow reproduction, in order to facilitate a population that can expand onto other planets (as well as give mothers a break from having to deal with a years-long pregnancy). The short version is that bird people, specialized for a constantly moving lifestyle on a largely arboreal planet created a genetically engineered subspecies of their race that's able to act as a sort of hive queen now that they can easily house and care for such individuals.
I'm still playing around with ideas for the specifics of their history and how they got to that point, but I figured I'd throw out the basic codex entry here to see what others think of the concept
Also, yes, I thought way too much about the biology of the race for the context its going into.
Name: Divroc and Neevroc, Plural: Divroci, Neevroci. Collectively, the race is simply referred to a Divroci.
Sexes: Male and Female (Divroc); Broodcarrier (Neevroc)
Height: Divroci grow to around 1.5 to 2.0 meters in height, with females somewhat shorter and broader than males. Neevroci normally grow to around 2.5-3 meters in length, but exceptional individuals can grow much larger.
Weight: Divroci generally weigh around 70-85 kilograms. Fully grown neevroci weigh upwards of 150 kilograms.
Average Lifespan: Divroci live around 3 centuries if they maintain good health. Neevroci lifespans are shorter, historically living well less than a single century, though improvements in bioengineering now allow some to see the end of their second century.
Morphology: Divroci are roughly humanoid, with builds somewhat more slender than the average Terran. They possess two arms, two digitigrade legs, and four wings: two at the shoulders and two at the base of the back. Neevroci are hexapedal with their front legs featuring dextrous feet that can serve as hands. Neevroci do not have wings.
Feathering: Divroci are naturally covered in dark violet, nearly black, feathers, with some variation in length and texture, but very little natural variation in color. Neevroci have similar feathering, but display a broad variety of blue, violet, and black patterings.
Eyes: All divroci have two eyes located towards the top of their head. They have V shaped pupils and complex eyelids with two nictitating membranes. The first of these is a sturdy, clear lid that serves to protect the eye during flight. The second is partially reflective and assists with night vision. A side effect of the latter is that divroci eyes can give the illusion of glowing when looking towards a light.
Antennae: Divroci hearing is facilitated by four clusters of specialized and highly sensitive feathers located at the lower sides, back, and top of the head. This arrangement gives them an excellent capacity for locating the source of sounds in any direction in 3 dimensions, though they are not as sensitive to pitch and tone as most advanced species. Their antennae feathers are motile, able to be raised away from the surrounding feathers, similar to a Terran cockatoo’s crest. This serves both to enhance directional hearing and as a form of body language.
Beak: All divroci have narrow beaks and a pair of partial secondary jaws which act much like molar teeth, grinding tough food against the upper beak, and a long, flexible tongue.
Limbs: Divroci arms are long and flexible, and covered in feathers to the base of their hands. Their hands feature four long, clawed fingers and two short, opposed thumbs tipped in short claws. Their legs are similar, digitigrade, and end in feet with four long claws and two opposed dewclaws. Neevroci limbs show more influence from their genetic engineering, with 6 sprawled, stocky legs. The middle and rear sets have paws similar to divroci feet, while the front paws have thumbs akin to divroci hands.
Wings: Divroci have two sets of wings, while neevroci are wingless. Divroci upper wings are mounted just below their arms on the shoulders. The upper wings are jointed and have four ‘fingers’ onto which a series of long, sturdy feathers are mounted. They are more suited to gliding than true flight, but on worlds with low gravity and dense atmospheres, flight is possible. The lower wings lack any joints or fingers and serve primarily to improve stability and control during flight.
Physiology: Divroci are a slender and agile avian race well adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. Their limbs have exceptional flexibility, and their hollow bones allow flight even with somewhat shorter wings than most flying species, and their keen eyesight and hearing give them excellent three dimensional spatial awareness. Additionally, their long talons and double thumbs allow adept climbing, and fluid filled tube structures inside their skulls help orient them to gravity and the polar magnetic field, helping them navigate even in the permanently dark undergrowth. Their bodies are covered head to toe in thick feathers that secrete oils to further minimize drag, giving them a slight shimmer in direct light. Male and Female Divroci are very similar in outside appearance, distinguishable to those familiar with the species by the shape of their beaks and skulls, and by the slight differences in build, though those without extensive contact tend to have great difficulty recognizing the dimorphism. Females have a vagina with a single set of labia, which stay seamlessly shut when not aroused. Males have similar aerodynamic adaptations, with their narrow, tapered penises kept safely within an internal cavity. Both sexes have four nipples that similarly retract, though only the males lactate under normal conditions.
Neevroci are strikingly different in appearance than their divroci kin. Their frames are horizontal and closer resemble many planet’s large herbivores. They have six legs, with the rear two pairs located approximately two fifths and four fifths of the length down their spines. The front pair can be used for support and locomotion, but also serve as arms, with dexterous paws. Further differentiating the subspecies are their much thicker and stronger bones and muscles, lending to an overall bulk that is quite at odds with other divroci. Their rib structure furthers this by being quite broad, moreso around the middle legs. Other features are quite similar to unmodified kin; their heads are nearly identical, with the same facial structure and sensory organs. Their feathers are largely similar, though they express a range of colors, often with differently structured feathers-i.e. down, primary, sensory, and vestigial flight feathers-expressing different shades, creating patterns. Neevroci are universally female, with similar, if proportionately larger, vaginas. They boast eight breasts, which produce lactation continually and have protruding mammaries and non-recessed nipples.
Appearance: Divroci often dye or modify their plumage as a matter of self-expression, especially their antennae and wings, which are often bright and/or highly contrasting colors. They are fairly open to gene mods, and had pioneered extensive developments in the field long before first encountering other uplifted races. Since that time, however, the variety of options has significantly increased, and it isn’t uncommon to see divroci sporting features of other races. Breasts, primarily for males, are a common mod, and a whole subculture has grown within divorci society around adopting “terrestrial” traits such as noses and mammalian ears, or, for those deep into it, smooth, furred, or scaled skin. Perhaps the most common modification drawn from outside species, however, is the development of “hair” in the form of long, non-rigid feathers along the head. The most popular of these mods, TerraCrest, even develops musculature akin to their antennae, allowing them to autonomously move their hairfeathers (The name being based on a common misconception that terrans have semi-prehensile hair, itself caused by confusion regarding the nature of ausar ears and the use of “terran” as interchangeable with “intelligent alien”.)
Sex and Gender: Naturally, divroci are an even mix of male and female. However, due to reproduction via neevroci, divroci society has become rather loose on preserving one’s physical sex. Furthermore, due to sexuality being largely inert until mating rituals begin, they also find gender to be a largely foreign concept. Two results of these factors are that voluntary infertility is very common among divroci and that sexual modifications are fairly common and considered unremarkable. It’s far from uncommon to find divroci who develop both sets of organs in order to accommodate whatever their partners might have, for them to swap out sexual organs on a whim, or to remove them entirely as an unnecessary bother.
Reproduction: Divroci have long pregnancies, as necessitated by the low caloric surplus of their evolutionary ancestors and the high biological costs of large, complex brains. The common divroci pregnancy lasts well over two terran standard years, and bears a single child, with twins being vanishingly rare and often non-viable. After delivering a child, mothers will not recover fertility for a similar period. Newborns are able to function independently, if clumsily, immediately upon birth, and even share in some of their mothers’ sensory input and cognition prior to birth, helping them rapidly adapt basic understanding of the world. Though their toddler stage is short, full maturity takes around four decades with peak sexual maturity occurring after five. Fertility and virility are conditioned upon body fat and nutritional wellness, but a healthy divroc has no mating season nor reproductive cycle. Fertility/Virility engages when they are physically and emotionally aroused by a potential mate, taking a few days to be fully ready. Ova will be held for a few weeks before being shed, and virility remains for a similar length of time or until the female has an implanted embryo, at which point pheremonal triggers cool down nearby males.
Neevroci reproduction: As an engineered subspecies literally made for reproduction, neevroci are far better equipped for the long divroci gestations. Their ovaries contain a large genetic sampling and produce undifferentiated gametes that can be fertilized by sperm or ova, allowing even an unmodded female to parent a child. They have a large degree of control over the release of gametes and can choose to release genetically void ones that will accommodate multiple donors. Their wombs are highly complex and always fertile, with implanted embryos budding off in independent amniotic vessels. A neevroc can bear several pregnancies at a time, limited only by the size of her maternal cavity and her nutritional intake. Their gestation period is the same, as natal development is critical, but new pregnancies can occur while existing ones are at any stage. Once fully developed, the amniotic vessel recombines with the womb, facilitating delivery.
I'm still playing around with ideas for the specifics of their history and how they got to that point, but I figured I'd throw out the basic codex entry here to see what others think of the concept
Also, yes, I thought way too much about the biology of the race for the context its going into.
Name: Divroc and Neevroc, Plural: Divroci, Neevroci. Collectively, the race is simply referred to a Divroci.
Sexes: Male and Female (Divroc); Broodcarrier (Neevroc)
Height: Divroci grow to around 1.5 to 2.0 meters in height, with females somewhat shorter and broader than males. Neevroci normally grow to around 2.5-3 meters in length, but exceptional individuals can grow much larger.
Weight: Divroci generally weigh around 70-85 kilograms. Fully grown neevroci weigh upwards of 150 kilograms.
Average Lifespan: Divroci live around 3 centuries if they maintain good health. Neevroci lifespans are shorter, historically living well less than a single century, though improvements in bioengineering now allow some to see the end of their second century.
Morphology: Divroci are roughly humanoid, with builds somewhat more slender than the average Terran. They possess two arms, two digitigrade legs, and four wings: two at the shoulders and two at the base of the back. Neevroci are hexapedal with their front legs featuring dextrous feet that can serve as hands. Neevroci do not have wings.
Feathering: Divroci are naturally covered in dark violet, nearly black, feathers, with some variation in length and texture, but very little natural variation in color. Neevroci have similar feathering, but display a broad variety of blue, violet, and black patterings.
Eyes: All divroci have two eyes located towards the top of their head. They have V shaped pupils and complex eyelids with two nictitating membranes. The first of these is a sturdy, clear lid that serves to protect the eye during flight. The second is partially reflective and assists with night vision. A side effect of the latter is that divroci eyes can give the illusion of glowing when looking towards a light.
Antennae: Divroci hearing is facilitated by four clusters of specialized and highly sensitive feathers located at the lower sides, back, and top of the head. This arrangement gives them an excellent capacity for locating the source of sounds in any direction in 3 dimensions, though they are not as sensitive to pitch and tone as most advanced species. Their antennae feathers are motile, able to be raised away from the surrounding feathers, similar to a Terran cockatoo’s crest. This serves both to enhance directional hearing and as a form of body language.
Beak: All divroci have narrow beaks and a pair of partial secondary jaws which act much like molar teeth, grinding tough food against the upper beak, and a long, flexible tongue.
Limbs: Divroci arms are long and flexible, and covered in feathers to the base of their hands. Their hands feature four long, clawed fingers and two short, opposed thumbs tipped in short claws. Their legs are similar, digitigrade, and end in feet with four long claws and two opposed dewclaws. Neevroci limbs show more influence from their genetic engineering, with 6 sprawled, stocky legs. The middle and rear sets have paws similar to divroci feet, while the front paws have thumbs akin to divroci hands.
Wings: Divroci have two sets of wings, while neevroci are wingless. Divroci upper wings are mounted just below their arms on the shoulders. The upper wings are jointed and have four ‘fingers’ onto which a series of long, sturdy feathers are mounted. They are more suited to gliding than true flight, but on worlds with low gravity and dense atmospheres, flight is possible. The lower wings lack any joints or fingers and serve primarily to improve stability and control during flight.
Physiology: Divroci are a slender and agile avian race well adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. Their limbs have exceptional flexibility, and their hollow bones allow flight even with somewhat shorter wings than most flying species, and their keen eyesight and hearing give them excellent three dimensional spatial awareness. Additionally, their long talons and double thumbs allow adept climbing, and fluid filled tube structures inside their skulls help orient them to gravity and the polar magnetic field, helping them navigate even in the permanently dark undergrowth. Their bodies are covered head to toe in thick feathers that secrete oils to further minimize drag, giving them a slight shimmer in direct light. Male and Female Divroci are very similar in outside appearance, distinguishable to those familiar with the species by the shape of their beaks and skulls, and by the slight differences in build, though those without extensive contact tend to have great difficulty recognizing the dimorphism. Females have a vagina with a single set of labia, which stay seamlessly shut when not aroused. Males have similar aerodynamic adaptations, with their narrow, tapered penises kept safely within an internal cavity. Both sexes have four nipples that similarly retract, though only the males lactate under normal conditions.
Neevroci are strikingly different in appearance than their divroci kin. Their frames are horizontal and closer resemble many planet’s large herbivores. They have six legs, with the rear two pairs located approximately two fifths and four fifths of the length down their spines. The front pair can be used for support and locomotion, but also serve as arms, with dexterous paws. Further differentiating the subspecies are their much thicker and stronger bones and muscles, lending to an overall bulk that is quite at odds with other divroci. Their rib structure furthers this by being quite broad, moreso around the middle legs. Other features are quite similar to unmodified kin; their heads are nearly identical, with the same facial structure and sensory organs. Their feathers are largely similar, though they express a range of colors, often with differently structured feathers-i.e. down, primary, sensory, and vestigial flight feathers-expressing different shades, creating patterns. Neevroci are universally female, with similar, if proportionately larger, vaginas. They boast eight breasts, which produce lactation continually and have protruding mammaries and non-recessed nipples.
Appearance: Divroci often dye or modify their plumage as a matter of self-expression, especially their antennae and wings, which are often bright and/or highly contrasting colors. They are fairly open to gene mods, and had pioneered extensive developments in the field long before first encountering other uplifted races. Since that time, however, the variety of options has significantly increased, and it isn’t uncommon to see divroci sporting features of other races. Breasts, primarily for males, are a common mod, and a whole subculture has grown within divorci society around adopting “terrestrial” traits such as noses and mammalian ears, or, for those deep into it, smooth, furred, or scaled skin. Perhaps the most common modification drawn from outside species, however, is the development of “hair” in the form of long, non-rigid feathers along the head. The most popular of these mods, TerraCrest, even develops musculature akin to their antennae, allowing them to autonomously move their hairfeathers (The name being based on a common misconception that terrans have semi-prehensile hair, itself caused by confusion regarding the nature of ausar ears and the use of “terran” as interchangeable with “intelligent alien”.)
Sex and Gender: Naturally, divroci are an even mix of male and female. However, due to reproduction via neevroci, divroci society has become rather loose on preserving one’s physical sex. Furthermore, due to sexuality being largely inert until mating rituals begin, they also find gender to be a largely foreign concept. Two results of these factors are that voluntary infertility is very common among divroci and that sexual modifications are fairly common and considered unremarkable. It’s far from uncommon to find divroci who develop both sets of organs in order to accommodate whatever their partners might have, for them to swap out sexual organs on a whim, or to remove them entirely as an unnecessary bother.
Reproduction: Divroci have long pregnancies, as necessitated by the low caloric surplus of their evolutionary ancestors and the high biological costs of large, complex brains. The common divroci pregnancy lasts well over two terran standard years, and bears a single child, with twins being vanishingly rare and often non-viable. After delivering a child, mothers will not recover fertility for a similar period. Newborns are able to function independently, if clumsily, immediately upon birth, and even share in some of their mothers’ sensory input and cognition prior to birth, helping them rapidly adapt basic understanding of the world. Though their toddler stage is short, full maturity takes around four decades with peak sexual maturity occurring after five. Fertility and virility are conditioned upon body fat and nutritional wellness, but a healthy divroc has no mating season nor reproductive cycle. Fertility/Virility engages when they are physically and emotionally aroused by a potential mate, taking a few days to be fully ready. Ova will be held for a few weeks before being shed, and virility remains for a similar length of time or until the female has an implanted embryo, at which point pheremonal triggers cool down nearby males.
Neevroci reproduction: As an engineered subspecies literally made for reproduction, neevroci are far better equipped for the long divroci gestations. Their ovaries contain a large genetic sampling and produce undifferentiated gametes that can be fertilized by sperm or ova, allowing even an unmodded female to parent a child. They have a large degree of control over the release of gametes and can choose to release genetically void ones that will accommodate multiple donors. Their wombs are highly complex and always fertile, with implanted embryos budding off in independent amniotic vessels. A neevroc can bear several pregnancies at a time, limited only by the size of her maternal cavity and her nutritional intake. Their gestation period is the same, as natal development is critical, but new pregnancies can occur while existing ones are at any stage. Once fully developed, the amniotic vessel recombines with the womb, facilitating delivery.
