Xandarians

Xandar in the Tranta system is a human colony and one of the finest colonies at that. The beginnings of the Xandar colony were difficult for the settlers. They were originally supposed to colonize the planet IR-43981 in the Floronis Sector, but were driven off course by Horune Pirates. Badly damaged and with much of it's fighter contingent destroyed, the captain crash landed the colony ship on Xandar in a last ditch effort to give the colonists a fighting chance against the pursuing Horune.

With a large dose of luck and the tactical knowledge of the garrison commander, the Horune were driven off. However, Xandar was an unpopulated world in a distant sector of space and they were unsure if their distress buoy was properly launched to give the TSA (Terra Space Agency, the governmental body in charge of colonization of planets before the Great Schism and the formation of the Sol Systems Alliance) an idea on where to look for them. Plus, the number of either dead or wounded were staggering. It seemed unlikely that they would be able to pull through.

The first few months were the worst. The survivors began setting up the colony, but many tech supplied were heavily damaged and unusable which only made their jobs harder. To add insult to injury, they also had to defend against occasional attacks from the same Horune pirates that stranded them on this system. Each raid leaving fewer survivors. It seemed that the only stroke of luck on the colonists' side was that Xandar was a world very much like Earth filled with plentiful resources.

It was two years before the Terran Authority located Xandar and the surviving colonists. By that point, the colony, dubbed New Phoenix, was a thriving colony. It even had a burgeoning spaceport for trade with other nearby species that were a bit nicer than the Horune. The Terran Authority offered to take anyone that wished to the original colony site on IR-43981 (now known as Theda), but everyone declined as Xandar was now their home.

Over the years, Xandar became a power in the border sectors between the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. They were too isolated from the Terran Authority to expect any timely help with troops, medicine, or general supplies, so they had to rely on what they would get from the planet and the surrounding celestial bodies and from trade with aliens. When the Great Schism occurred, Xandar was hardly affected. In fact, it was assumed that in the midst of the turmoil of colony after colony declaring independence, that Xandar did as well. After the smoke cleared and the Sol Systems Alliance was born, Xandar joined.

Being out on the fringe of the Alpha Quadrant, Xandarians deal more with species that are either not part of the Galactic Concord from the Alpha Quadrant or with species from the Beta Quadrant. Xandar was the first Concord world to meet members of the Kree Empire, and they are the first to repel attacks from said empire. Another aspect of their remoteness from both human space and the Concord is that Xandarian defense forces take their own form. They do incorporate aspects of Concord military traditions, but they have largely kept to their own defense force: the Nova Corps. While they make use of larger Concord ships, Xandar still uses fighters of their own design, a distinct star-shaped design. They also adhere to their own uniform design; a distinctive blue and gold design with a gold helmet with a series of red star badges to signify rank.

Xandarians are human. Xandar is largely Earth-like in climate, seasons, and mineral and chemical composition, so there has been little genetic drift from standard Earth humans. That said, over the generations, Xandarians have become essentially a singular race with tan skin and darker hair being the norm, although there are still some lighter or darker skinned people or those that look more like one race or another. Also, with Xandar being a hotbed of intergalactic trade, there is a large population of mixed species families.

Xandarians are generated for both Savage Worlds and Rogue Space as a standard human.

Galadorians

Galadorians are a species of near-humans from the planet, Galador in the Goldarak Sector. They are a wise and learned people devoted to peace cooperation between the species of the galaxy, but they are best known for being the first and ultimately last line of defense against the Dire Wraiths of the Dark Nebula.

Galadorian culture is one devoted to peace and prosperity. They are a calm and scholarly people, though that has not always been the case. Before the Wraith War, Galadorian society was split into rival nations, each vying for more wealth, power, and prestige. This drove their space race, which led to their contact with the Dire Wraiths. The Dire Wraiths were a threat on par with dangers only imagined by Galadorian sci-fi authors of the time. The technical superiority of the Dire Wraiths forces the rival states to set aside their bickering and work together. The end result being a unified Galador.

After the Wraith War, the Galadorians began to carefully explore deeper into space. At first they were constantly wary of discovering another species that wanted nothing more than their destruction, but they found many other species that mostly just wanted to conduct trade and live their lives. However, they also found a galaxy full of needless war and strife all in the name of wealth, power, and prestige, much like how they used to be before becoming a unified people. Therefore, the Galadorians attempted to "light the path" to any culture that would listen. This has given Galadorians the reputation of being akin to space-faring evangelists; known more for their preaching of showing a unified front to the darkness of the universe than for their scientific discoveries and the treasures of their culture.

Politically, Galador has met with many stellar nations. They have trade negotiations with many single nations and alliances, but have declined offers to join both the League of Non-Aligned Worlds and the Galactic Concord. Out of the two, they have joined forces with the Concord more than most. While Galadorians see the Concord as a real possible force for true, lasting peace in the Alpha Quadrant and beyond, they still feel that they are too quick to go to war and to slow to rout out corruption in their own ranks. So for now, the Galadorians are content to sit on the proverbial sidelines and wait.

Galador itself is a beautiful world. They spend most of their resources toward furthering scientific and artistic pursuits. Their universities are quickly gaining a reputation throughout the Alpha Quadrant for being some of the finest in charted space. These qualities have lead to Galador becoming a popular destination for both students and tourists. That said, while their culture is quite advanced, the shadow of the Dark Nebula looms over Galador constantly. Couple that with Galador being an unaligned power with a reputation for being more interested in peace rather than war, and that makes Galador and it's colonies targets for raiders, pirates and rogue stellar nations. However, Galador has a strong military. While no match for the Concord, Klingons, or Peacekeepers, they are still a force to reckon with. Ironically, even though their science and culture are well renowned, it's their mobile battle armor that has given them the most notoriety.

During the Wraith War, Galadorian scientists developed a suit of power armor with a level of dexterity unmatched in charted space. The armor links with the wearer neurally to allow much quicker movement and mobility compared with other power armor suits. The suit allows the wearer nearly full mobility even in the vacuum of space. These suits of armor are highly sought after by nearly every military in the Alpha Quadrant, but to date the Galadorians have not traded the technology with any other stellar nation.

Galadorians are a near-human species. They have the same racial range as humans, and even age and grow at similar rates. However, Galadorian skin is nearly uniformly bronze-tinged in color. There are a few Caucasians, but their lack of bronze tinge is due to a genetic mutation (similar to being an Albino among humans) rather than being a distinctive race.

Galadorian characters are generated as a normal human.

Threats of the Galaxy: Dire Wraiths

The dreaded Dire Wraiths hail from a mysterious area of space known as the Dark Nebula in the Goldarak Sector, the most coreward inhabited sector in the Alpha Quadrant. The people of Galador have known about the aggressive and duplicitous species for some time. The Dire Wraiths made themselves known to the Galadorians as they made their first forays into space exploration. The Dire Wraiths waged a war of sabotage and subterfuge seemingly in with the goal of destroying Galador's space programs and plunging their civilization into chaos. The Wraith War was a long and bloody affair for the Galadorians, but one in which they prevailed. However, the Dire Wraiths have continually been a menace to peaceful people of Galador and have set their sights many of the civilizations of the Alpha Quadrant the more that the Galadorians trade and travel further into the galaxy.

What has always perplexed not only Galadorian scientists, but also military tacticians and historians that have studied Galador's struggle with the Dire Wraiths, is the species strategy in combat. During the time of the Wraith War, the Galadorians were just entering into the first stages of the Gravity Age and were easily outmatched both in technology and numbers by the Dire Wraiths, but the wraiths never launched a full offensive. The only times during the war that they showed massed force was when the Galadorians entered the Dark Nebula, and each time were repulsed suffering heavy losses. In the end, the war was declared "won" when the Wraiths were driven back into the Dark Nebula. The other puzzling aspect of the Wraith War is that the supposed goals of destroying Galadorian culture that started the war only made their civilization stronger. The various nations pulled together to form a united front against the Dire Wraiths, and any other threat that could be found in the galaxy, and the technology salvaged from Dire Wraith starships and personal effects propelled Galadorian science forward by at least a century.

Very little is known about the Dark Wraiths. The location of their homeworld inside the turbulent and dangerous Dark Nebula remains a mystery to this day. What is known is taken from eye witness accounts and from the few autopsies that have been performed on slain Dire Wraiths whose embedded atomizers failed to activate upon death. What is known is enough to give all stellar nations a cause for concern.

Dire Wraiths are shapeshifters who can mimic those they "taste" with their needle-like tongues. Tasting does not kill the victim, but Dire Wraiths rarely leave their victims alive. This allows them to change their form, including changes in mass, to mimic species from one meter to four meters in height. This ability to mimic other species allows them to mimic specific beings as well. They do not gain access to the full length and breadth of their memories, but they do gain knowledge into important events, personal connections, and skill sets that allow them to put up a convincing ruse to even those that know the mimicked person best.

Dire Wraith shapeshifting does have limits. It appears that it only works on humanoid or smaller centauroid species of mammalian, reptilian, or avian origin. Insectoid, piscean, and vegetation-evolved species and stranger species like the Dralasites are apparently too much for a Dire Wraith's ability to mimic. Most genetic scans are even fooled by a Dire Wraith's mimicking ability, but a thorough scan will show some slight anomalies virtually imperceptible to most genetic scanners. Plus, only the most highly trained Dire Wraiths can house the genetic material of more than one being, even then most Dire Wraith special agents, or "Ghosts" can only house two or possibly three beings' genetic makeup in their bodies. Most Dire Wraiths lose the ability to shapeshift into a tasted form once then shift back into their original forms, and must taste another being in order to shapeshift again.

Dire Wraiths in their original form is a largely humanoid mass of pink flesh with areas purple that look like bruises. Their hands and feet have only three digits, and their mouths are book-ended by two small, tentacle-like appendages. Their mouths are wide and triangular allowing them to open much wider than most species. Dire Wraiths also sport long tails. They walk with a hunched gait and look ungainly and obese due to their lumpy and plump bodies, but are surprisingly agile and strong. They are hairless and their eyes are stark white with no visible pupils.

Dire Wraiths have made their presence in the galaxy known with several acts of sabotage in many sectors affecting several different stellar nations from Galador to the Concord and even to the Klingon and Romulan empires. Their goals appear unchanged from their first encounters with the Galadorians: cause chaos and hinder technological and cultural advancement. Even though they have struck at rival stellar nations, none of the attacks have been done in a way that would point suspicion at a rival; in fact, in many cases Dire Wraiths have taken credit for their actions. Why this is the case is inscrutable to all military and political strategists and scholars, it is almost like they are attempting to provoke a fight with the galaxy at large all at once. Some theorize that might just be their goal: goad stellar nations into attack en masse on the Dark Nebula where the Dire Wraiths hold sway so completely that they could take out their foes more easily than in open, traditional warfare. So far, no one has taken the bait in 400 years since the time of the Galadorians' Wraith War.

Dire Wraiths in Savage Worlds
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, Strength d10, Vigor d10
Skills: Fighting d8, Investigation d8, Persuasion d10, Piloting d8, Shooting d8, Stealth d8, Survival d8. (Many Dire Wraiths also have some Knowledge skills in Computers, Chemistry, Politics, etc. depending on their mission parameters).
Pace: 6 (or by form taken); Parry: 6; Toughness: 7
Gear: Dire Wraiths are typically armed with weapons are armor on par with the local culture (generally taken from the victims of their tasting)
Special Abilities

• Infravision: Dire Wraiths can see in dim light and ignore penalties for poor lighting in all but pitch darkness. 
• Taste: Dire Wraiths can flick their long, sharp tongues at foes to sample their DNA and then take the form of the person they tasted. This attack does Str+d4 damage and has a range of 2. If the attack causes a Shaken or Wound result, the victim's DNA has been sampled and the Dire Wraith can then take the form of the victim in the next round. No other effect is bestowed upon the victim other than the knowledge that their is now a being that can take their form. 

Dire Wraiths in Rogue Space
DRM +2; TP U; SZ A*; MV Humanoid (30')*; AR L; DM M or V; HP 5; SP *
Gear: Laser Pistols or Laser Rifles, but that can change based on the culture they are found in.
Special: Dire Wraiths can make a tongue attack that does L damage with a range of S. If this attack does damage, the Dire Wraith can take the form of the victim on the next round. This allows them to alter their Movement rate to that of the new form.

Silence

I've been pretty quiet of late, and really I haven't been working on much of late. This time of the year gets more than just a little crazy schedule-wise, and we're not even into the thick of it yet. However, there are some things in the hopper that I just need to find time to wrap up.

First off is going to be a write up of Marvel's Dire Wraiths for my Mythic Space setting. From there, I plan on doing a series of posts about various threats found throughout the galaxy from hostile non-sentient species, to rogue stellar nations, to threats from beyond.  Some of the subjects will be: Vidiians, Romulans, Xenomorphs, Macroviruses, Yuuzhan Vong, and Illithids.

I'm also batting around ideas about a series of "engimas" of the galaxy that will cover more myterious happenings and beings in the galaxy like wormholes, different dimensions, and beings like the Watchers.

There's still plenty to post, but like I said earlier I don't know when I'll get back on a more regular posting schedule other than "hopefully sooner rather than later."