ChaosRPDatabase
Furcadian Armory
Short Brief
[Being Revised][Male and female pic coming soon...] Idea (c) Larry Nivin. They are just being used as a player race in the Coloney RP.
Kzinti evolved from a plains hunting cat on a slightly colder, drier planet than Earth. The Kzin word for their home planet translates as Homeworld. The world is often known as Kzinhome by the Kzinti themselves. The Kzin home world is the third planet circling the star 61 Ursae Majoris.
The Kzin civilization was at a roughly 20th century technological level when an alien race called the Jotok landed and made stealthy First Contact with a tribe of primitive hunter/gatherer Kzin. The Jotok were interstellar merchants looking for a species they could use as mercenaries.
Once the Jotok had taught the Kzin how to use high technology weapons and other devices including spacecraft, the Kzin rebelled and made their former employers/masters into slaves, as well as the occasional meal.
Kzinti society is extremely male-dominated. The leader of the race is called the Patriarch, which is a hereditary title. The Kzin call themselves "Heroes" or the "Heroes Race" and because they believe themselves to be "heroes", their society places a very high value on "acting Heroic" and behaving in a heroic fashion.
To Kzin society, "heroic" means being honorable and having integrity. Kzin honor is similar in many ways to the samurai code of Bushido. Strakh serves as almost a sort of currency or favour system, since they do not use money in their culture. For example, if the patriarch gets meat from a sellers' market stand, the seller gains considerable strakh which will bring honour to the seller allowing him to get better customers - which leads to more strakh, which gives the seller a higher status within the community.
Once Kzin gained access to genetic manipulation technology, they started manipulating themselves in order to bring out the most "heroic" qualities and recede undesired ones. To this end, because females are not valued except as bearers of children, the male-dominated Kzin society bred (most of) their own females into sub-sapience.
Kzin are often described as anthropomorphic tigers, but there are significant and visible differences. These tiger-sized bipeds have large membrane ears, a barrel-chested torso with a flexible spine, and large fangs and claws.
Unlike popularly-depicted anthropomorphic animals, Kzin stand on two legs like humans do; they do not have digitigrade or "backwards-bending" legs. Their hands end in three fingers and an opposable thumb, all with retractable claws.
They are covered with a thick coat of long fur that comes in various combinations of orange, yellow, and black. Full black coats are rare, however, and all who have them are taken by the black priests.
Their tails are naked and are similar in appearance to a rat's tail, and their noses are black. Kzinti ears have fur only on the outside of the ear and only about half way up the ear itself, usually appear pink, and are shaped liked a segment of a Chinese parasol (or cocktail umbrella; they are also sometimes described as "bat-winged"); they can fold back flat against the head for protection during a fight.
They speak in a hissing language called the Hero's Tongue, which in its written form resembles commas and periods.
A small percentage of Kzinti are stunted, and forced into addiction of a drug derived from the lymph of an animal called a sthondat. 99% of such Kzinti are driven insane by the process, and the few who survive are left with telepathic ability.
Telepaths are tolerated by the warrior class due to the specialized use of their skill, otherwise they endure a low-caste position in society; just above the status of slaves, with the occasional slave being considered of a higher social status. Telepaths rarely, if ever, earn a name, and they aren't legally allowed to breed.
Most Kzinti females (s. Kzinrett, pl. Kzinretti) are sub-sapient, with a vocabulary of less than a hundred word/sounds and primarily instinct-driven behavior, and are treated as chattel by males (s. Kzintosh, pl. Kzintoshi). This was not always the case: archaic Kzinrret were sapient until the Kzin used Jotoki biotechnology to drive them to their current state while boosting their males' martial prowess.
Kzinti society explains this by stating the Fanged God removed Kzinrrets' souls as punishment for an attempted rebellion against him shortly after he created Kzin. Even by the period of the novels, certain bloodlines produce sentient females, as well as some if not most primitive tribes. These tribes, long isolated from the Patriarchy, were spared the genetic modifications.
Art and technology
Being such a belligerent species, the Kzin never developed a specific taste for art in the same sense as a human may intend it: this is probably also a result of the Kzin history missing some real periods of peace where art and culture could flourish. What little the Kzinti produced in form of orally transmitted or written art is obviously war oriented: myths of ancient Kzinti warriors such as "Karga the Hero" or "Vorgath the Hunter" have been handed down next to songs, poems and reports of the deeds of past Kzinti (emperors, nobles or warlords) who particularly distinguished themselves during some of the many battles the Kzinti fought across the centuries. However within the Kzinti such works are not intended as art, but rather as teachings, especially for the young who can learn what is expected from a true Kzinti warrior. Another example of this kind of Kzinti literature are the well known "Codices": this is a set of written principles with a profound value in Kzin culture, as they explain the Kzinti concept of honor, and serve to pass on the militant culture to the next generation of Kzinti .
Any other cultural aspect that in human civilization is usually related to art or aesthetics is mostly devoid of such concepts for the Kzinti . Everything is built, produced or decorated according to strict rules of functionality. Kzin designers never developed an appreciation for order and symmetry and therefore their designs are frequently asymmetric and discordant by human standards. The imagery used is iconic and bold, oriented almost entirely towards glorifying previous battles and intimidating foes. For example dressings and warrior uniforms look unrefined, a peculiar mix of functionality and ornament, high-tech and primitive. Favorite colors for textile fabrics are reds, blacks and maroons and the decorations are almost exclusively symbols and insignia identifying the warrior's clan and family. Metallic textures and elements of personal armor (used mostly by nobles) lean toward gold, copper and blood-red colors. Architecture is driven by these same principles of functionality and is adapted to the Kzinti's peculiar taste for death and destruction. Kzinti buildings bear evident resemblances to the primitive caves their ancestors used as lairs, since pillars and protrusions are often found rising from unlikely locations. Exposed machinery is common and ceilings are rarely enclosed, leaving cables and ductwork exposed. Details such as the dark lighting, high temperatures and low humidity favored by the Kzinti complete the description of their constructions. Decorations are minimal and mostly represented by trophies of war such as pieces of captured or destroyed starships or the skulls of victims.
In spite of such primitive principles, Kzinti technology is very advanced. While their starships and fighters lack whatever could be considered as aesthetically appreciable to human observers, these vehicles are extremely efficient war machines, designed to be lethal. Kzinti vessels are built with asymmetrical elements, protruding angles, weapons and engines placed in plain sight and often incorporate fang or claw-like curves and points, making them resemble ominous-looking blades or other melee weapons. This last detail is thought to be as much an expression of the Kzinti visual taste as a form of psychological warfare aimed at intimidating their adversaries. Decorations are limited to ship markings indicating the clan responsible for the ship's construction. In combat the Kilrathi are strongly biased toward smaller numbers of powerful heavy fighters coupled with swarms of swift advanced fighters. The Thrak'hra lords pilot the heavy crafts while the lowborn Kilra'hra are assigned to fight in the light crafts. Despite this division, many Kzinti aces have emerged, some of whom have won acclaim with the nobility. Ace pilots are also authorized to fly customized fighters mounting different energy weapons or loadouts and can decorate their ships with personal markings.
Psychology
A attacking Kzin appears to be berserk to a human, as they seem to attack without caution and ignore all but the most catastrophic damage. In fact they are usually quite calm during battle, but headstrong and willful to an inhuman degree.
Kzinti see themselves, at least in their heyday, as the unquestioned lords of creation, and believe military expansion and subjugation of other races to be their birthright.
Kzinti honour forbids the unneccesary torture of prisoners, although verbal abuse and a bullying outlook are common, if frowned upon. Prisoners are seen as practically devoid of rights, and can be summarily hunted down and eaten if they are not of immediate use.
This having been said, kzinti are not cowards, and truly respect those with strength, or to a lesser degree, intelligence, and may even bestow great honours upon members of other races if they prove worthy.
Scientists and scholars are generally looked down upon in kzinti society as weak, however the greatest of such kzinti are respected in the same way as our own men of learning and geniuses.
The Kzin have a sub-class in their society, those that have the Telepathic gift.
In addition to the Telepaths, there are also individual Kzinti who have a "Zirrgah" sense which enables them to sense emotions and gives them limited sixth sense insight. This talent is usually kept hidden by the individual Kzin who does not want to be distinguished from his fellow Kzin
Rank Structure
| Kzinti Rank | Human Equivalent |
|---|---|
| Least claw | crewman |
| Third claw | senior crewman |
| Second claw | petty officer |
| First claw | chief petty officer |
| Fourth fang | 2nd lieutenant |
| Third fang | 1st lieutenant |
| Second fang | captain |
| First fang | major |
| Shintahr | commander |
| Kal shintar | colonel |
| Kalahn | brigadier |
| Khantahr | major general |
| Kal Khantahr | lieutenant general |
| Kalralahr | Admiral |
How they came to be...
The Fate of the Jotoki
This story is set in the Known Space universe, which was created by sci-fi writer Larry Niven. It is an account of how the Kzinti became a star-traveling civilization.
There was a space-faring species call the Jotoki, who dreamed of creating a star-spanning empire. They were a very inventive and curious species, who learned quickly and rose from primitive beginnings to the grandeur of interstellar travel. They were particularly skilled in the technologies of gravity polarization (inventing the gravitic polarization drive) and genetic manipulation. Due to their unusual biology of having five cooperative brain-nodes, they were also extremely skilled with linguistics and diplomacy.
A strange race by most standards, an individual Jotok resembles large spindly starfish, with 5 arm-like sections each containing a semi-independent brain that operates the Jotok's body cooperatively. The Jotoki begin life as small aquatic creatures, most of which are eaten by various predators. Eventually, five of the survivors will merge to form one collective organism, which grows into a tree-dwelling adolescent. An adult Jotok who desires a family can simply go into the wilderness and "harvest" an adolescent of the proper age, a characteristic that the Kzinti would later find extremely useful. These adopted adolescents would then undergo rigorous education and training to become a full adult member of Jotok society.
With the discovery of gravitic polarization, the Jotoki began to expand from their homeworld. They traveled the immense interstellar distances at sub-light speeds, using their intricate knowledge of bio-engineering to suspend themselves in cryogenic sleep for the long voyages. In time, they forged a powerful empire, maintained by diplomacy, trade, and when needed, military force. The Jotoki were mercantile masters, and their merchants were known as consummate traders throughout the worlds of Known Space. In their desire to continually find new worlds, and markets for their traders to exploit, they ranged far and wide, discovering many worlds and making contact with numerous sentient species.
It is not known exactly when a Jotoki exploratory expedition discovered a habitable planet around the star 61 Ursa Majoris, but they found a fertile planet teeming with life. The average climate was colder and drier than the Jotok were used to, but was certainly within their range of habitability. Even more useful to the Jotoki than the planet itself was its inhabitants; large, furry, sentient, bi-pedal predators, with large fan-like ears, and razor-sharp claws & fangs. The civilization of these creatures had reached the early-gunpowder stage of development, and numerous wars raged between the various feudal warlords. The society of this new species was based mainly upon honor, status, and what the Kzinti called “acting Heroic”. Being a “Hero” bears many similarities with the Bushido code of the samurai of ancient Earth.
The Jotoki saw an excellent opportunity in the Kzinti. They had found a species ideally suited to serve as their mercenaries, and they quickly made binding agreements with many clans, warlords, and individual t’kzintar (warriors). The Kzinti rode to the stars in service to their new employers, fighting the Jotoki’s battles for them, winning glory in victory after victory. The empire expanded with each new conquest and its rulers grew immensely rich and powerful, until the Jotoki became the dominant power in their region of space.
With this unprecedented new success and power, something began to happen to the Jotoki that has afflicted every empire that ever was or will be; they started to grow decadent, complacent, and self-indulgent. At the same time, the Kzinti had been learning quickly, assimilating all the myriad new technologies, and honing their battle-skills through fighting the wars of their masters. The political situation on Kzinhome had changed as well; the old warlords were gone, having been replaced by a unified government led by an overlord known as the Patriarch. Many of the Kzinti were becoming dissatisfied with the idea of fighting and dying for the Jotoki, and not reaping the spoils of the conquests for themselves. They also had a steadily growing disdain for a species that would be so dishonorable that it would not fight their own battles.
With the instinctual senses of a predator that can detect the weakest animal in a herd, the Kzinti sensed that the time was upon them to rebel against the Jotok and take their rightful place as the dominant species. Across the Jotok Empire, the Kzinti rose up against their masters, slaying them indiscriminately and without mercy, feasting upon the flesh of their fallen foes. Battles raged for decades across numberless worlds, and many were laid to waste as the Kzinti let loose their long-suppressed rage of being a subjugated species. The Jotoki had a degree of technical superiority, and had been traveling the stars much longer than the Kzinti, but they had grown too complacent to withstand the pent-up fury of the Kzinti onslaught.
As each successive world fell to the brave Kzinti, they enslaved their former rulers and gained new technologies and resources. The outcome of the war was never truly in doubt, and eventually the last Jotok world was taken. The Kzinti were now their own masters once more, and a ferocious species had been unleashed upon the rest of the universe.
Over the subsequent years, the Kzinti wreaked a most terrible revenge upon the conquered Jotoki; they used their newly-acquired technical knowledge with bio-engineering to devolve the Jotoki into semi-sentient slaves. Now they serve the Kzinti not just as workers, but also as food and sport. Many Jotoki run wild in “preserves” maintained for the favored Kzinti sport of hunting. They are a highly-valued prey, for they are still very cunning, and make for very entertaining and dangerous hunts.
Such is the fate of all who stand against the Kzinti...
