View source for Species

= Species =
The following species are available for character creation. If you want to make a character that is of a species not listed here, we can come up with the rules.

== Andorians ==

[[File:Andorians.jpg|400px|thumb|left]]

=== Personality ===
Andorians present a curious juxtaposition between being by turns both taciturn and passionate. In a society where the least slight could result in vendetta, Andorians are notably reserved in their manner and speech. They admire the ability to hold one's tongue, and despise gossips and long-windedness. Because of the disorder caused by disobediencem they can be sticklers for procedure and form. They believe strongly in a clear chain of command and adherence to rules. The breaking or bending of regulations leads eventually to (often bloody) conflict. Indecision can drive an Andorian crazy.

Hot-blooded romantics, the average Andorians have quick tempers and a willingness to kill or die for their ideals. When they believe they have been wronged, they drop their reserved veneer and spring into action. Andorians believe revenge should be something that is both passionate and immediate. When Andorians come to a decision, they stand by it regardless of the consequences. They do not give up easily, nor are they readily dissuaded from their objectives. It can be difficult to get an Andorian to change his mind. Outsiders typically see them as either pig-headed or belligerent, although Andorians themselves believe that they see the universe the "right" way.

=== Physiology and Appearance ===
Andorians stand between 1.7 to 2.2 meters tall, roughly the same height and build of the average Human. Their skin tones range from pale to dark blue, and they have pure white hair. Hailing from a frigid world with a thin, ozone-rich atmosphere, they have evolved a redundant circulatory system that allows them to survive comfortably in this environment. Andorians efficiently metabolize nutrients and regulate body heat.

The most distinctive aspect of an Andorian is the pair of antennae atop their heads. These provide an additional sense that other species lack. Andorians obtain a great deal of sensory information through their continually waving antennae—such as temperature, changes in pressure, subtle variations in air flow, and sub-sonic sounds.

Andorians speak Graalen and learn Federation Standard.

=== Homeworld ===
Andor (also known as Andoria) lies close to Earth, Betazed, Tellar, and Vulcan, placing it squarely in the core of Federation space. The Andorian homeworld is the fifth planet in a system consisting of seven planets orbiting a single blue-white giant star (Type B2 III) known as Kuy'va. The planet has one satellite, a small moon called Olith.

An M-class planet, Andor has an Earth-standard gravity, oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere (though with a high ozone content) and slightly lower than Earth-normal atmospheric pressure. The climate is similar to that of Earth's taiga, a region located between the Arctic Circle and the deciduous/temperate forests of central North America. Visitors to Andor find it a frigid world, with long winters interrupted by brief, but warm, summers. While visitors can comfortably breathe an Andorian atmosphere for short periods of time, prolonged exposure to the planet's thin air results in easy fatigue.

=== History and Culture ===
Much of Andorian history reflects their personality. After a lengthy period of internal strife, during which their penchant for passion almost destroyed them, they conflicted with almost every alien government they encountered: The Vulcans oppressed them; Humans were the lackeys of the Vulcans; the Tellarites violated their space. In traditional Andorian fashion, they sought to redress these perceived wrongs in the most direct way open to them. Only through mutual respect would the Andorians come to help found the United Federation of Planets.

==== Age of Lament ====
Terrible violence in Andor's past nearly led to the destruction of the Andorian people. Their clan structure was a source of extreme, nationalistic pride and the root cause for warfare. Competing clans fought at the slightest provocation during a time now known as the Age of Lament. Rivalries spun out of control in a never-ending cycle of vendetta that culminated in a series of private wars. Nearly one-quarter of the Andorian population killed each other in one of the revenge wars, leaving their civilization at the brink of ruin.

After years of chaos and continued clan warfare, Lor'Vela, leader of one of the strongest clans, brought peace to Andor. Lor'Vela replaced the clan-versus-clan warfare with the promulgation of a code by which Andorians could channel their passions. Instead of outright warfare, the Andorian people could settle their disputes through ritualized combat between the aggreved parties. This Code of Vengeance prescribes when a duel is appropriate and establishes the rules of combat, thus providing a forum for controlled retribution and breaking the cycle of revenge murders. Clan leaders eventually accepted this system, and it remains their accepted legal system. With a formal means to control civil unrest and dispute, Andorian society finally stabilized and fostered cultural and scientific growth.

==== Outside Contacts ====
As the Andorians ventured out into space, relations with alien governments did not initially go well. The Vulcans, appalled at Andorian comfort with violence, tried to guide their first steps beyond their world, much as they did with humanity. The Andorians came to believe that the Vulcans actively, and covertly, hampered their interstellar aspirations. Naturally, the Andorians reacted with characteristic directness; after an initial conflict, the two sides agreed to the Tau-Ceti accords, which provided the Andorians a measure of breathing space by mandating a "hands-off" policy for the Vulcans. Unfortunately, this did little to assuage Andorian mistrust, and they long accused the Vulcans of operating hidden monitoring stations.

Their conflict with the Vulcans indirectly led to first contact with another species from a nearby star system—Humans. In 2151, the prototype starshuo ''Enterprise'' traveled to the P'Jem monastery, a Vulcan retreat near Andor. Unfortunately, this was precisely the time that an Andorian commando team arrived looking for evidence of Vulcan espionage. In the end, it was Earth's Captain Archer who not only uncovered proof for Andorian accusations, but also forced the Vulcans to publicly admit this to the Andorian people (much to Andorian delight and Vulcan consternation).

Many additional encounters between Andorians and Humans (or "pink skins" as they like to say) eventually built trust not only for the two, but also with the Vulcans. The three species would come to realize the importance of an alliance, especially during the Romulan-Earth wars (2156-2160); Andor became the fourth of the five founding members of the United Federation of Planets.

Andorians bring a strong sense of vitality and passion to whatever they do. Their vibrant culture demonstrates a love of all things that stimulate the senses—music, food, dance, and art. Andorians prefer things strongly felt—bombastic music compositions, raucous color use in painting, strongly flavored food. The subtleties of Vulcan cuisine or Betazoid art escape them. They favor physical pursuits and athleticism, channeling their aggressive instincts into individual sports such as boxing and parrises squares, where one excels or fails through personal efforts.

==== The Kethni ====
National boundaries are unheard of on Andor. Instead, they divide their society along complex family and clan lines. Each clan governs not so much a physical territory as an associational one,an intricate web of relationships. An Andorian feels loyalty to his family first and foremost, with these families tied together through marriage (which involves two couples) into extended clans.

The clans, or ''kethni,'' serve as local governments, social welfare organizations, and loose guilds. The ''keth'' assists those of the clan in need. Each ''keth'' also specializes in an area of expertise for which it is renowned. ''Keth'' Kor, for example, is renowned as skilled negotiators, while ''Keth'' Idisha trains its members as some of the best entertainers (frequently reenacting famous duels). A strong headman or chieftain governs each clan, and speaks on its behalf in the Council of Clans, the ruling body of Andor.

==== A Culture of Dueling ====
Andorians channel their aggression through a culture of dueling. They demand satisfaction in the most direct manner possible, settling their differences with a duel. This prevents the conflict from escalating into a war of vendetta between families and clans.

The Code of Vengeance can only be invoked for personal grievances, on the assumption that the right person will win. For a duel to be appropriate, only the aggrieved and the alleged perpetrator can participate. The code mandates a single duel for each crime, to prevent an Andorian from facing several members of the same family over the same accusation. Once a duel settles the matter, it's considered closed. Other rules permit satisfaction to the first strike, the first blood, or until a participant yields, depending on the nature of the dispute. Only the most grievous violations of personal freedom, such as murder, are fought to the death. Andorians reserve the code for other Andorians, and only traditionalists call out members of other species. Starfleet stringently discourages the practice even among Andorian crewmembers.

==== Notable Andorians ====
Igrilan Kor, the greatest Andorian to ever serve in Starfleet, was the captain of the all-Andorian ''U.S.S. Eagle'' from 2247 to 2272. The crew under his command amassed the most commendations of any crew in Starfleet. He was promoted to Rear Admiral, and then selected by his homeworld as a delegate to the Federation Council from 2272 to 2293.

The prophet Umarin was born in the Andorian city of Tarsk in 2128, and was profoundly influenced by Andorian first contact with Humanity. She began to receive visions, prophetic images of the future, in which the Andorian people would take up the torch of galactic leadership from a "friend who had lost his spirit." As Andorians spread into the Galaxy, Umarinism spread with them; although it is not the largest religion on Andoria, most space-going Andorians follow at least some of the tenets of Umarinism—friendship, joy, and passion for life combined with a regimen of physical and mental readiness for leadership. Umarin died in 2201.

=== Encounters ===
Andorians are most frequently encountered throughout the Alpha Quadrant and along the frontier. With their long history of space exploration, bolstered by the Federation, Andorians range throughout known space—as far as Starfleet ships will carry them.

As the Federation matured, internal divisions became less frequent. Andor settled into life among the interstellar family of worlds, becoming a staunch ally and supporter of Federation ideals.

== Atreonids ==

[[File:Atreonids.jpg|400px|thumb|left]]

=== Personality ===
Atreonids cultivate a dignified and genteel bearing. This is true of the race as a whole and not just the upper ranks of their society, for Atreonids of all classes strive to project an air of civilized dignity. Some non-Atreonids find them stuffy and too reserved, while others perceive the good nature and generosity of spirit that lies beneath their regal façade.

=== Physiology and Appearance ===
Atrenoids are tall, rangy humanoids with high, furrowed foreheads and growths of facial hair that extend below the sides of the mouth, rather like whiskers. Their height an strong spinal columns help them maintain the dignified bearing for which they are famous. They like to wear their thick hair long and swept back, so that (coincidentally) it resembles the mane of a Terran lion.

The Atreonids' native language is Atreonid. As a general rule, Atreonids who have received a university-level education also speak Federation Standard at least passably well, and they consider it a point of pride that they don't need a universal translator to communicate.

=== Homeworld ===
Atrenoids come from the planet Atreos IV in Alpha Quadrant. It is flat world of little geographic activity, with savannah, plains, and desert as predominant terrain. The only mountain peak of any consequence is the 4,572-meter tall Mount Eteon tar-Chereos, so named in 2296 in honor of the only Atreonid to ever serve as UFP President.

=== History and Culture ===
For several millennia before the Federation made first contact in 2248, twelve noble dynasties ruled Atreos IV, and carved the planet between them into feudal states. These twelve kingdoms jousted with each other constantly, trying to enlarge themselves at the cost of the others. Sometimes they contested each other through military actions, at other times through diplomacy, at still others through trade or technological innovation. The Chereos, the Zatain, the Paratan, the Karoon and the Houtan were the wealthiest and most prominent of these families, as they controlled the most consistently powerful kingdoms.

First contact, however, jolted the Atreonids into the starfaring age. Communications with extraplanetary intelligent life forced them to alter their view of their place in the cosmos. The twelve kingdoms set aside their rivalries and united to form a republican federation that would choose its head of state from among their leaders—once kings, but now national presidents. No longer able to justify notions of supposed noble superiority in the face of clearly more advanced intelligent life, the Atreonids' class structure cracked. In turn, all adult Atreonids would be granted the right to select their political leaders at the national and local level, so that the twelve kingdoms would be transformed into representative democracies. This process was already well under way when Atreos IV formally joined the Federation in 2252.

The most famous Atreonid to serve the UFP was Eteon tar-Chereos, a career diplomat who represented his homeworld in the Federation Council for 20 years before he was elected UFP President in 2290. He presided over one of the true turning points in Federation history in 2293, when Klingon Chancellor Gorkon decided to end decades of hostility between the Second Klingon Empire and the UFP. He survived an assassination attempt by rogue Starfleet and Klingon military officers at the Khitomer Conference and presided over the ensulting crisis with prudent and patient statesmanship.

The Atreonids' ancient feudal aristocracy may have evolved into a democratic republic, but the twelve great families who ruled Atreos IV during that time still retain their wealth and standing. Although all adult Atreonids have the right to political representation in theory, in practice their soceity remains rigidly stratified and nobles expect and receive deference from those of lower rank.

As a general rule, any Atreonid who ventures off of his homeworld is connected in some way with one of these noble dynasties. Education, wealth and family connections either allow them the luxury of adventurousness or impress upon them the importance of service to their race and the Federation. From the moment that Atreos IV joined the UFP, serving the Federation as a diplomat or a civil servant has been quite the fashionable thing for educated young Atreonids of noble birth.

=== Encounters ===
By the 24th century, Atreonids are well-accepted in many ranks of the Federation, although only a few leave behind their comfortable utopia for the risks of the unknown frontiers.

== Axanar ==
[[File:Axanar.jpg|400px|thumb|left]]

=== Personality ===
In a response to being hunted by a variety of large predators with highly sophisticated camouflage abilities, the Axanar evolved acute perceptual abilities. They can see, hear, and smell better than many other species, and their brains process this information at a phenomenal rate. They instinctively look for recognizable patterns in all things. Where no pattern apparently exists, they will usually find one anyway. Axanar don't like uncertainty; they are known for making snap decisions, even if they lack conclusive evidence, then stubbornly sticking to them. Once they decide upon something, it can be difficult for the Axanar mind to accept contrary information. Axanar simply have a trying time changing their ways.

Axanar do not like to deal with those of a perceived lower social class, a hold over from their ancient caste system. Even after decades living in an egalitarian society, the Axanar prefer to know the social status of those with whom they do business. They often ask personal questions and scrutinize others, and if they can't tell a person's position in society they usually assign one to him.

=== Physiology and Appearance ===
With a pseudo-reptilian appearance, the Axanar were perhaps the most off-putting of the alien species first contacted by the NX-class ''Enterprise.'' Yellowish or greenish leathery skin combined with a prominent series of grooves and spherical ridges along the sides of the mouth and vertically along the forehead all distinguish the Axanar. They lack hair, and the skull case is elongated, with oddly-shaped patches of pinkish flesh on each side.

The Axanar speak ''atem'', a language of difficult consonants, but pronounceable by most humanoids.

=== Homeworld ===
Axanar is the seventh of thirteen planets orbiting a bright, yellow-white main sequence star (Type F5 V) known as Toredar. The planet has a semi-terrestrial environment, though high stellar radiation and high density lend ot a strong magnetic field. The atmosphere is heavily nitrogen-methane and quite cold; unprotected Humans would asphyxiate in only a few minutes.

=== History and Culture ===
The Axanar were first contacted in 2151, when the NX-class ''Enterprise,'' commanded by Captain Archer, rendered aid to a derelict Axanar ship. An unknown alien species had murdered the crew and was in the process of draining them of triglobulin. The captain of a second Axanar ship, sent to locate the first, neither appreciated Archer's efforts, nor seemed particularly interested in making friends.

Although Humans and Axanar encountered each other sporadically for the next few years, it would not be until the Axanar War that the two governments related officially. In the early 23rd century, the Axanar pressured the inhabitants of the planet Fabari to extend extensive trade and mining rights; Axanar starships harassed Fabari merchantmen and frequently incurred into Fabari space. In response, the Fabari sued for Federation membership to protect them from the Axanar. Axanar blockaded the planet and threatened war. When a Federation starship arrived bearing an ambassador to negotiate a settlement, the Axanar attacked, and the two sides were at war.

Starfleet and Axanar starships fought in and around Fabari space for months, until Captain Garth of Izar won the final, conclusive battle that defeated the Axanar. Soon afterwards, the Axanar sued for peace. With the help of Federation experts, the Axanar set about reorganizing their society, as encouraged by the terms of the treaty. They abolished their caste system and created a more open, democratic government. When these transformations were complete, the Axanar government petitioned to join the Federation, and as a testimony to how far they'd come they succeeded. Axanar is the only planet to have the dubious distinction of having fought a war with the Federation prior to its membership.

Traditionally, the Axanar lived within a rigid caste system of Thinkers, Doers, and Outsiders. The lowest echelons, various classes of Doers, were virtual slaves. Castes could not intermingle, to the point where the elite classes, the Thinkers, refused any social contact with the lower classes. Living isolated from the masses, the elites believe they knew what was best for all Axanar, even as the lower classes starved nd labored under terrible conditions. Only Thinkers could govern, and one could only be born into this class.

With the conclusion of the Axanar-Federation war, they abolished their caste system and established a government drawing from all classes. Intense educational programs worked to tear down old, ingrained barriers. Thinkers and Doers were encouraged to intermingle, and adopt democratic principles.

As a society, the Axanar value order, science, and discipline. To them, everything follows an established pattern. Underlying any seemingly chaotic system, there is an order that can be perceived—in everything from rainfall frequency to sapient behavior. They expect everyone to conform to the rules of an ordered society. Yet even rogues and scoundrels have their place in society, and are accepted (if not wholly tolerated). This acceptance of pattern, any pattern, led them to evolve their rigid caste system.

== Betazoids ==

[[File:Betazoids.jpg|400px|thumb|left]]


=== Personality ===
Outgoing and friendly, Betazoids generally feel a genuine sense of satisfaction in helping others. Using their telepathic abilities, some Betazoids attempt to foster understanding between alien cultures or those with differing points of view. Many combine their telepathy with a study of psychology, to help others understand their feelings, anxieties, or phobias. Those Betazoids who join Starfleet often combine these two impulses into one, signing on as ship's counselor, where they can help fellow crewmates and advise on diplomatic matters.

Because they can sense the turmoil in the minds of those around them caused by discord, Betazoids have a strong predilection toward harmony. They prefer to resolve conflicts through non-violent means, and their dedication to peace and cooperation are well-known throughout the quadrant. Even the typical man on the street or shopkeeper works to resolve their disputes with a minimum of fuss.

Generally, Betazoids value candor and integrity (though they are capable of lying). Sometimes this rises to the level of brutal honesty, and those unaccustomed to this characteristic can find Betazoids arrogant, rude, or off-putting. They do not like liars; once lied to, it can be very difficult to regain a Betazoid's trust.

=== Physiology and Appearance ===
Outwardly, Betazoids resemble Humans in their Physiology and Appearance. They have the same range of height, weight, and build. Often, the only way to distinguish between the two is the limpid black eyes characteristic of Betazoids. They tend toward dark, olive complexions, and brunette or black hair.

Betazoids speak Betzed, and learn Federation Standard.

=== Homeworld ===
Betazoids hail from Betazed, the second planet orbiting a single Type G2V star called Hainara. There are four other planets in the star system, three of which are Class-I gas giants. An abundant source of deuterium, as well as the system's close proximity to other Federation core worlds such as Earth, Tellar, and Vulcan, makes Betazed strategically important.

The planet has a total of five small continents together with hundreds of islands grouped in archipelagos. Along the tropical latitudes, the planet is ringed with a band of lush rainforest. The temperate bands alternate between vast wetlands, grasslands, and forests. Betazed's numerous islands mainly consist of rocky, steep mountains wreathed with lush vegetation and tropical canopies.

=== History and Culture ===
The earliest Betazoid legend tells the story of their struggle with mysterious enemies, an evil race of beings knonwn as the "demons of pain and anger." These entities floated through walls and barred doors. When these entities descended upon a community, they brought with them anger and strife. Said to be able to make primitive weapons appear out of thin air, whole villages would be found to have massacred each other. An orgy of violence spread across the land.

The mystical hero Khysaros used her great mental powers to defeat these flickering, ghost-like enemies. While it appears as though all Betazoids possessed some rudimentary form of telepathy, Khysaros found a way, according to the stories, to develop this potential. She gathered several acolytes and trained them to battle the entities. They, too, developed incredible telepathic powers. The greatest among them was Rixx, who banished hundreds of these demons. 

==== The Terabian ====
As the Betazoids ventured out into space, they eventually came into contact with other sapient beings. Among the first to be encountered, the Terabian were at first fascinated by Betazoid telepathy. The two people became fast friends, fostered ties between the two peoples, and many Betazoids and Terabian emigrated each other's world.

As more and more of the Terabian became familiar with telepathy, however, they came to fear unwanted intrusions into their private thoughts. Betazoids on Terab IV were rounded up and sent to internment camps to protect them from paramilitary groups roaming the streets and assaulting Betazoids. The Betazoids who avoided incarceration increasingly turned to violence to protect themselves; conflict erupted between rival Betazoid and Terrabian gangs.

Betazed sent diplomats to resolve the situation. After lengthy negotiations, they won the freedom of interred Betazoids, persuaded the Betazed terrorists to lay down their arms, and orchestrated a mass exodus from Terab IV. The Ruling Council of Betazed promulgated the Code of Sentience in response to this disastrous event, to guide Betazoids in their conduct among alien species. As a result, Betazoids prefer not use their telepathy on a non-telepath without permission.

With careful adherence to the Code of Sentience, the Betazoids have avoided a repeat of the Terabian situation and wide-scale persecution on other worlds. In fact, Terab IV eventually joined the Federation, their delegates requesting seats alongside Betazed's representatives, as a testimony to how far the two people have come.

==== Social Telepathy ====
Telepathy is the central organizational theme of Betazoid society. Among their own people, Betazoids communicate telepathically. Betazoid towns and cities are filled with an undisturbed (some off-worlders may say eerie) silence. Many resort to speech among non-Betazoids, out of respect, though this isn't universal. Betazoids dislike species whose minds they cannot read, such as the Breen and Dopterians, feeling uncomfortable in their presence; this remains their only unresolved prejudice. Betazoids who lose their telepathic ability feel handicapped, frightened, and alone, with many choosing to lead their telepathically mute lives off-world among other non-telepaths.

==== Code of Sentience ====
The Code of Sentience guides Betazoids in their use of telepathy among non-telepaths. Individual Betazoids follow it to a lesser or greater degree, each according to his or her nature. Like any social code, it outlines what is acceptable, proper behavior, to both reassure non-telepaths and safeguard Betazoids:

* Reading the mind of another without his knowledge is taboo.

* Even when permission has been granted, the code forbids reading thoughts separate from the purpose of the mind reading.

* The code discourages a Betazoid from divulging what he reads to another without permission.

* It is considered rude for Betazoids to communicate telepathically with each other in the presence of non-telepaths.

==== Government ====
The great noble houses, descendants of Khysaros' first acolytes, govern Betazed. They are ranked in the order in which their ancestor is believed to have joined Khysaros. Rixx, for example, was the fifth to heed Khysaros' call, and his descendents make up the Fifth House of Betazed. No other privileges stem from this rank.

Betazoid society is strongly matriarchal. The eldest female in the family almost always leads her house, following in the tradition of Khysaros' leadership.

Every ten years, the twelve great houses meet in what is known as an ''omaz'' to select the five who sit on the ruling council. This legislative branch passes laws, debates vital issues, allocates resources, and issues directives to the bureaucracy. The ruling council makes all its decisions by coming to a telepathic consensus. Unlike many other governments, Betazed has no single ruler, speaker, or high commissioner, such as the Federation President.

A vast bureaucracy divided into many different ''Relzari,'' or departments, handles the government's actual day-to-day operation. The High Office of Defense, for example, commands the Betazed Defense Force, while the High Office of Finance allocates resources to various government programs. Although by tradition only women may lead a great house or sit on the Ruling Council, there is no such restriction on men serving in the bureaucracy.

==== Marriage Customs ====
To cement ties between households, the ancient Betazoids practiced a tradition of arranged marriages, in which the betrothed are genetically bonded to each other at birth. In those days, Betazoids distinguished between these marriages of covenience and their ''imzadi,'' or beloved (and the term continues to have overtones of "true love" or "soul mate" in the modern day). Weddings customarily required the bride, groom, and guests to go without clothes, to honor the act of love being celebrated and symbolize that all parties entered the agreement openly. Only the most tradition-minded Betazoids hold to these customs in the modern day.

==== Betazoid Relics ====
Ancient relics like the holy rings of Betazed and the Sacred Chalice of Rixx are important symbols to Betazoid society. For most, they represent a touchstone to the past, or a symbol of office. A small group of Betazoids, however, believe these sacred relics possess true power.


Whether simply antiques of great historical value of enchanted relics capable of fanciful feats, not all Betazoid relics are accounted for. Certainly, such relics would be highly sought after, should their whereabouts become known. The following is a small list of items mentioned in Betazoid legends that remain lost:

The Mighty Spear of Vard<br />
The Sword of Lexx<br />
The Blessed Lantern of Javv<br />
The Righteous Staff of Gand<br />
The Virtuous Wand of Kazz<br />

==== Notable Betazoids ====
Commander Deanna Troi, ship's councelor of the ''U.S.S. Enterprise-D,'' as served with distinction in Starfleet over 10 years. Although only half-Betazoid and thus possessing only empathic powers, she has helped many fellow crewmembers adjust to problems and difficulties in their lives. She has also aided her captain, Jean-Luc Picard, in many diplomatic matters.

=== Encounters ===
Betazoids inhabit the Alpha Quadrant, and can be found throughout the Federation core systems. As stalwart members of the United Federation of Planets, Betazoids made their presence felt throughout the quadrant. Betazoid diplomats negotiated several peace treaties, and the position of ship's counselor became synonymous with Betazoid Starfleet officers.

== Betelgeuseans ==
[[File:Betelgeuseans.jpg|400px|thumb|left]]

=== Personality ===
Betelgeuseans dislike change, and look to the past for answers to life's conundrums. They are introverted as a rule, focusing on their own behavior and concerned primarily with how others perceive them. They are not especially empathetic.

Betelgeuseans are unable to distinguish between fiction and history. To them, stories like Hercules and the Seven Labors, or the Epic of Gilgamesh, are as true as Zefram Cochrane's invention of the warp drive. Every Betelgeusean chooses a hero from their mythology to emulate. The Betelgeusean becomes the quasi-fictional character, typically adopting the hero's personality traits, interests, and quirks. It has been appropriately said that Betelgeuseans have only seven personalities that they use over and over.

=== Physiology and Appearance ===
Tall, thin humanoids with apparently delicate bone structures, Betelgeuseans look fragile. In fact, all Betelgeuseans possess unusually strong skeletons, perhaps the result of high concentrations of bilenium in their environment. They stand approximately 1.5 to 2 meters tall, though their slight frames make them look taller. Their skin is bluish in color, ranging from pale to cerulean. Their eyes are deeply set, and they lack both hair and noses (they breathe through two nostrils set behind their ears).

=== Homeworld ===
Betelgeuseans occupy all three of the Class-M planets in the system orbiting Betelgeuse, a Type M2 lb star, although they call Betelgeuse IV home (or Hav'a'halar in their language). The planet Hav'a'halar is a terrestrial world comprising a wide range of climates and environments.

=== History and Culture ===
Betelgeusean history begins with the Age of Heroes, when gods walked among them, orderin the world, healing the sick, building the cities, and leading the masses.

Then came the Dark Age, when the heroes retreated to the realm of imagination. They left behind them only mortals—the Betelgeuseans—who did not know what to do. It became clear that Cordban—the embodiment of strife—remained to plague the now-leaderless Betelgeuseans. The deceptions and conflicts of the Dark Age pushed the entire planet into sporadic warfare. Without Lahile to heal them, though, and without F'ter to make them weapons, the Betelgeuseans soon lost the taste for war. Slowly, the Betelgeuseans learned to channel the power of their lost heroes, in a period known as the Age of Finding. They banished Cordban and set about remaking their world.

The Vulcans introduced Betelgeuseans to Earth in the 22nd century, in the form of several Lahilites who participated in the Interspecies Medical Exchange program. Although a few went on to serve on Human starships, Betelgeuseans remained reclusive. To them, the Humans were too mercurial, changing their personalities and refusing to hew to their chosen tasks; they were too much like Cordban. Betelgeuse did not join te Federation until the year 2270, after a long period spent observing the organization and its members.

Like all societies, the Betelgeuseans have their own government and laws, their own scientists and artists, their own mores and customs. What distinguishes them among the many species in the galaxy is their unusual practice of embodying the personalities of their cultural myths. This is a quasi-religious way of life called the Path of Emulation. At the age of six, a Betelgeusean decides which of the Seven Heroes he will strive to emulate:

'''• ALTAA THE WARRIOR:''' He who slew the beasts and cleared the land. Followers of Altaa collect weapons and practice contact sports. They like to hunt. They tend to be hot-headed and reckless.

'''• CORDBAN THE TRICKSTER:''' He who tried to tear things down, because he didn't like them. This rogue often troubled Altaa, Doban, and Slichez, as he believed that he was more deserving of accolades, could rule better, and could profit from hidden knowledge. His followers tend to be jealous, scheming and devious, and often pose as devotees of other heroes.

'''• DOBAN THE RULER:''' He who made the world and created the beasts and ordered the land. Followers of Doban typically become diplomats and politicians. They often discuss little with other Betelgeuseans, and keep their contacts infrequent. His followers tend to be haughty, noble, and wise.

'''• F'TER THE CLOCK-MAKER:''' He who set time in motion, Followers of F'ter like to tinker, play board games, and collect mechanical devices of all sorts. They are often inquisitive, thoughtful, and optimistic.

'''•OST THE VAGABOND:''' She who laughed and played all day, while others worked. She brought joy into the world, and the sadness that comes afterwards. Her followers are joke-tellers, magicians, and actors. They are typically mischievous, light-hearted, and cunning.

'''• LAHILE THE MOTHER:''' She who could not be beaten, because she was first. She plowed the first field and sowed the first crop. She bandaged Altaa after his many battles. Followers like to dance and sing, and create beautiful works of art. Her followers are often nurturing, kind, and outgoing.

'''• SLICHEZ THE THINKER:''' He who gathered the knowledge of the world and stored it in his great library. Followers of Slichez play complex, abstract board games when not performing scientific experiments. Followers tend to be quiet, reserved, and narrowly-focused.

As they grow up, Betelgeuseans study the myths of their heroes, and undergo tests designed to encourage them to respond as their heroes would. They join tightly organized groups called ''naccords'' made up of followers of a particular hero and led by a master. Although they once fought wars against one another, with each nation's Altaa ''naccords'' joining the battle, today Betelgeuseans recognize the importance of all heroes equally.

Betelgeuseans look at life through the prisms of the heroes they embody. When a devotee of Altaa does something, Betelgeuseans believe the original Altaa of legend is responsible. They take up professions appropriate to their heroes, and even adopt his or her personality and quirks. When they meet, Betelgeuseans expect each other to behave according to their chosen roles. A Betelgeusean in need of medical aid, for instance, expects the help of a disciple of Lahile, and disciples of other heroes won't intrude—even if skilled in medicine.

== Bolians ==
[[File:Bolians.jpg|400px|thumb|left]]

=== Personality ===
The Bolians' famed drive, devotion and ability to cooperate won the race praise within the Federation and contributed to the growing number serving in Starfleet. Indeed, the Bolian work ethic strikes many observers as an inherent part of the race, as natural to them as their blue skin. Those who work hard and work well with one another garner great respect and admiration. An inability to do so practically marks one as a social reject.

Bolian work ethic differs in a number of ways from Humans', though at first glance they are extremely similar. Both focus on effort and accomplishment, and both feature some version of the phrase, "Work well done is its own reward." Where they differ, however, is in the role of individual accomplishment. Bolians long ago accepted the idea that a team could accomplish more and do a better job than a single person, even if the time spent coordinating everyone meant that the entire job took longer. While the human work ethic glorifies individual accomplishment, Bolians feel that one's own success means little if the entire team does not succeed.

As a result, while Bolians can work alone when they need to, they much prefer to work with other like-minded individuals. A Bolian, doing his job as part of an efficient team, finds himself fulfilled and happy. Not only does he receive the approval of his teammates, but he also knows he can count on their support if anything goes wrong. When he works alone, or the team does not succeed, he may find himself unhappy of even depressed.

This does not mean that Bolians turn into mindless worker ants, or that they subordinate their own interests to those of the group. Bolians can become very critical of their group if they feel it is straying off course. The success of the group means much to them and makes them leery of anything that could contribute to its failure. A Bolian's teammates can expect his complete cooperation if they seem destined for success. Bolians avoid much (though not all) of the petty internal politics that mar many other groups. Should the group begin to fail, however, a Bolian can turn into its harshest critic.

The Bolian tendency to meddle with group dynamics leads many people to view Bolians as interminable busybodies. They constantly seek out teams with which they can work, and they subconsciously see may of their social groups as groups that they have to help succeed. As such, they constantly give advice or look for other ways to support their teammates. This can reach into many areas of their friends' lives. After all, if a friend's personal romantic problems begin to interfere with her work, or even look like they might, the Bolian feels he must do what he can to keep the friend effective as a teammate.

=== Physiology and Appearance ===
Similar to humans in size, weight and basic shape, Bolians tend to be slightly shorter and stockier than Terrans. Their legs, chests, and arms are usually a little thicker. Their most obvious differences, however, appear in their skin pigmentation and the structure of their heads. Their skin tone, similar to some ways to that of the Andorians, ranges from a yellowish green tinge to a darker blue-green tinge to medium blue. Their blood is also blue, with a high content of cobalt. In extremis, it's possible for a Bolian to receive specially-treated Andorian blood, a sign of the basic similarities in their physiologies.

The most notable outward difference of Bolian physiology is a bifurcating ridge that runs the length of the head, straight down the center along the nose. Some Bolians also exhibit a series of lesser ridges running perpendicular to this along the head at intervals of a few centimeters, spanning from ear to ear across the top of the scalp. Bolian men and women heighten the effect of these ridges by shaving their heads, a custom that makes the ridges more prominent and emphasizes their ears, which are slightly longer than most Humans'. For many Bolians, a bald head denotes physical prowess and dedication.

While Bolarus IX's three main nations have their own ancient languages, a common Bolian tongue came to prominence shortly before first Federation contact. Most refer to this language as Bolian, though native speakers also know it as Clifsonian. Structurally close to Federation Standard, its linguistic similarities have caused some past embarrassments. For instance, the human name Frederick translates into a Bolian obscenity.

=== Homeworld ===
The Bolians have made their mark on Bolarus IX as much as it has marked them. Primarily a water world, the small landmasses of the planet required that Bolians work well together in order to accomplish much. Such small cultures provided little room for anyone who could not work well with others. That the Bolians could build such a successful civilization on a planet of limited landmasses shows the effectiveness of their cooperation.

=== History and Culture ===
Despite their tendency toward collaboration, serious divisions once rent Bolian society. Prior to its membership in the Federation, three nations dominated the planet. Their constant strife put the world in peril, and its earliest extraterrestrial contacts only exacerbated the problem. Alien races managed to play on Bolian group pride, turning it into jingoism and a hatred of others. As Bolian society developed, however, many began to realize the troubles this rampant nationalism caused. Contact with the Federation caused the other alien races to retreat and gave Bolarus IX the chance to form a united front.

While national divisions still mark Bolian culture, most consider themselves primarily members of the Federation and Bolarus IX, and only secondary members of their own nations. Even though they only joined the Federation in 2320, Bolians have already made marked contributions to this new team. Their natural inclination toward industriousness and their desire for approval from their coworkers makes many Federation members happy to work with them. Not many Bolians have joined Starfleet yet, but those who have serve with distinction.

The Bolian desire for teammates applies to almost every part of their lives, not just their professional roles. Bolian marriages often involve multiple partners, and for a man to have a wife and co-husband strikes none as unusual. All the partners' children are welcomed into the group, and Bolians take almost as much pride in their family members' success as they do in their own. Dysfunctional families prove a real embarrassment to their members and coping with them a major part of Bolian psychology.

Bolian psychology also addresses the race's desire for praise. Such praise does not have to be overt. Bolians relish the slightest recognition for their actions, and the most trivial positive feedback can turn into the approval of Bolian needs. While Bolians do not require extravagant praise, they do like a lot of it. They would rather receive many small compliments than one large commendation. Those who get neither tend to become morose and melancholy.

No Bolians like to see a teammate suffer, and they do their best to care for another. Caregivers earn great recognition in Bolian society, and their compassionate nature surprises many who view this race as one of nonstop workers. This teamwork goes all the way to the deathbed, and assisted suicide has a long and honorable place in Bolian society. Known as "the double-effect principle," it legitimizes actions required to relieve suffering, even when those actions lead to death.

Bolians also seek out artistic endeavors that work best in teams. Dance, drama, and musical symphonies attract many. Expert teams craft giant statues out of Bolian crystal steel. Bolian cuisine suffered from this, however, with many seeing cooking as a solitary endeavor. Lacking innovative mixes of spices, Bolians developed a taste for partially decayed meat. This became a staple of their diet, much to the consternation of many alien visitors, who often stick to the many varieties of tomato soup. Bolian drinks gained popularity throughout the Federation, though some joke that this is as much for the beauty of their glasses as it is for the taste of the Bolian Sunset Martini and Bolian tonic water.

==== Notable Bolians ====
Vaxx, the father of Bolian unity, carefully negotiated the formation of the tripartite world government that allowed the Bolians to join the Federation. Bolians also honor him for his ability to prevent global war during the crisis with Iren. His example, as much as the benefits of membership, keeps Bolarus IX in the Federation.

Admiral Taneko led the Federation fleet in the Battle of Alphard in 2351. He sacrificed his badly-damaged flagship, the ''U.S.S. Mizar,'' to destroy the Tholian fleet. His work on fleet tactics and organization helped transform Starfleet strategic doctrine.

=== Encounters ===
Bolians now pop up throughout the Federation, though their membership in Starfleet remains low. Their numbers seem a little inflated, however, since they usually gravitate toward areas where people congregate anyway and rarely seek isolated roles or locations. They tend to appear to most in areas where industry and enterprise are prevalent.

The 24th century saw radical changes as the Federation helped introduce Bolians to new ways of thinking. The Bolians saw their membership in the Federation as a means to become part of an even larger group effort. As a result, species cooperation reached new heights. Once Bolians joined the Federation, they became a prominent minority presence in Starfleet.

== Capellans ==
[[File:Capellans.jpg|400px|thumb|left]]

=== Personality ===
The Capellans hold a strict set of warrior mores. They consider combat more interesting than practically anything else, and show a marked aptitude with weaponry of all kinds. Nothing interests a Capellan more than a new way to kill, and they have a disturbing aptitude for finding deadly uses even for benign technologies. Capellans kill for specific reasons. In cases of immediate danger—someone brandishing a weapon, for example—they react swiftly. In other situations, they reserve their retribution for later. When they attack, they do so abruptly; a Capellan never makes idle threats. Convinced of the credo that the strong survive, Capellans also refuse medical aid and hold the practice of medicine in disdain.

Unlike the Klingons, however, Capellans do not advance a highly stylized code of behavior; they have no warrior's honor to protect. Capellans kill when it seems the thing to do. Yet the two cultures share similarities—they prefer to fight and die on their feet over stealthy murder, and they both eschew poison. If there is a difference between the two, it is this: while a Klingon will brawl, use the threat of violence to intimidate, and back off when his point is made, when a Capellan fights he kills someone.

To outsiders, the Capellans appear stoic, almost phlegmatic. Capellans say what they mean, and mean what they say, even if it is little. They make difficult conversationalists. They love, hate, cherish, and laugh, but only among family and friends and in the privacy of their own homes. This veneer stems partly from the Capellan's natural suspicion of outsiders, and partly from the Capellan tendency to brush off other species or groups as unworthy of notice and, therefore, undeserving of any sort of response.

=== Physiology and Appearance ===
Capellans are outwardly identical to Humans. They share the same height and weight ranges, and the same variety of complexions and hair and eye color. In fact, most outsiders cannot tell the difference between Capellans and Humans. Their internal physiology evidences some differences, but is mostly compatible—with the right immunosuppressants, a Capellan could give or receive organ transplants with a Human. Their neurological chemistry, however, is markedly different, showing less development of areas like the amygdala and frontal cortex; evolutionarily, the Capellans still have a way to go to bring their impulsive, aggressive natures under rational check. Furthermore, Capellans require more time and contact to form psychological bonds with other people: for this reason, Capellans are often unemotional and distant to outsiders, while they are highly emotive with their families. To the typical Capellan brain, an outsider isn't really even a person, and thus triggers no real depth of response.

Capellans speak ''laam,'' their native tongue and Federation Standard.

=== Homeworld ===
Capella IV, a Class-M planet orbiting a dim, white dwarf star (Type A6V). Capella is a rich source of topaline, vital to the life-support systems of Federation colonies. Its landscape consists of variety of environments, though low, flat expanses and bare, rocky terrain predominate.

=== History and Culture ===
Capella IV was propelled onto the galactic stage in 2267, when both the Klingons and Federation attempted to negotiate a topaline-mining treaty with the inhabitants. Then High Teer Akaar was predisposed to sign with the captain of the ''U.S.S. Enterprise,'' which led to a significant power struggle with Akaar's rival, Maab. Maab believed the Capellans shared more in common with the warrior-culture of the Klingons, and with the support of their operatives, he killed the aging High Teer. When Maab was himself later killed, the leadership of the Ten Tribes fell to Leonard James Akaar, the infant son of the late Teer. Akaar's widow ruled as regent as the child grew, and she signed the topaline treaty with the Federation.

Although primitive by Federation standards at the time of the negotiations, the mining treaty brought wealth and change to Capella IV. They retained their strong tribal government and continued to live in their yurts, yet the Capellans adapted technology to suit their lifestyle. It soon became common to see their large tents furnished with electricity and computers. When he became old enough to rule on his own, Teer Akaar II sued for Federation membership. As the Capellans possessed a stable world government and no outside conflicts, the Federation Council had little reason to object.

The Capellans have a strong tribal government. The populace is divided among ten tribes, each led by a teer. These tribes traditionally stake out their territory, migrating seasonally to follow herds of game animals (though hunting became less vital) to the Capellan way of life after the introduction of replicators). Fiercely protective of their hereditary lands, Capellans used to fight wars over water and hunting rights. After the first High Teer unified the Ten Tribes under his leadership, this became less prevalent. The High Teer governs the Ten Tribes, with each tribe's Teer sitting on a council to voice their opinions. Given the Capellan propensity to violence, these tribal meetings can be terminal. Still, the Federation has little say over how individual planetary governments conduct their affairs. While the Federation frowns on Capellan violence, it still recognizes Capellan sovereignty and cultural distinctiveness; the Federation hopes to lead by example, not by trying to enforce regulations over the Capellans. Changes in diet and education help after the Capellan-Federation mining treaty: New generations, given better opportunities, exhibit a markedly greater tendency for concentration and self-discipline.

Those Capellans who wish to join Starfleet must take an Oath of Nonviolence. This oath assures Starfleet Command, and individual captains and crewmembers, that the individual will restrain his impulses to kill. The oath is sworn before a Starfleet captain prior to the Capellan officer's first posting, and is kept on file with his personnel records. Only a few notable incidents have occurred over the years; thus far, the few Capellans who have made it through Starfleet training have served with distinction.

=== Encounters ===
After the Capellan-Federation mining treaty, Capellans became notably more prominent on the galactic stage, although still within limited numbers. The change in Capellan behaviors took several generations to manifest. Early Capellan diplomatic efforts and explorers tended to meet with disaster because of the Capellan propensity to kill first and ask questions later; only persistent Federation intervention keeps them from provoking one species or another into wiping them out. Capellans encountered often retain a strong warrior mentality and tradition, but are now painfully aware of just how easily any number of other races could crush their entire homeworld with the excuse of one misbehaved traveler.

== Centaurans ==
[[File:Centauran.jpg|400px|thumb|left]]

=== Personality ===
Centaurans value peace, beauty, thought, and spirituality. They prefer long-term thought and planning, centered on core moral principles. This can make Centaurans somewhat asocial, or even hesitant to act.

=== Physical Description ===
Centaurans resemble Humans down to the mitochondrial DNA level. Genetic scans indicate that Centauran and Human stocks diverged roughly 400,000 years ago; Centaurans may have been "seeded" on Alpha Centauri by some unknown species.

Centaurans speak Centauran Prime and Federation Standard.

=== Homeworld ===
Alpha Centauri IV, a beautiful ringed planet orbiting two stars (a yellow dwarf and an orange dwarf) of a trinary star system.

=== Culture ===
Centaurans seek out beauty throughout the galaxy; where they find no beauty, they try to make some. This attitude spurred the development of Alpha Centauri's most famous technological discipline, terraforming, and its favorite art form, holography. Centaurans treat ecologies as art forms, attempting to create harmony and beauty; these skills were crucial to the Centauran effort to rebuild Earth after World War III. Warp drive inventor Zefram Cochrane moved to Alpha Centauri and became a planetary hero there, as well; Centauran diplomats aided Earth in unifying its governments and finally banishing the specter of war from the Human homeworld. Collective memories of shameful rights abuses during the terrible Plague Years motivate the Centauran people. They have sworn to never again permit themselves to allow the fears of the majority to override the sacred freedoms of the individual. Any decision that favors expediency over principle will draw spirited argument from any Centaurans in your midst.

Centaurans see themselves as long-term thinkers. A favorite proverb says, "Worry about tomorrow, and today will take care of itself." To embark on a course of action without exhaustively exploring all of its possible ramifications is completely irresponsible. On a starship, this habitual hesitation and introspection often proves to be a Centauran's worst enemy. Some Centaurans find it difficult to unhesitatingly obey a snap order. In an emergency situation, even a sliver of a pause can be deadly, so Centauran starship officers strive mightily to overcome this habit. On the other hand, they enjoy a positive image as far-thinking rear-echelon strategists.

==== Notable Centaurans ====
Kulei Asephas, the brilliant medical researcher who ended the devastating Plague Years, used her scientific fame to build a lasting peace for her planet, serving as the first Speaker of its first global Parliament. She is easily the greatest heroine of the Centauran people, and her life story remains the topic of more Centauran holoplays and paintings than any other, even after almost five centuries.

Captain Gan Laikan, whose ''U.S.S. Asimov'' discovered more Class-M planets than any other starship in the 23rd century, later served as Federation President and on the Supreme Court. Statesman, starship commander, and scientist, he remains a role model for many Centauran Starfleet officers.

== Deltans ==
[[File:Deltans.jpg|400px|thumb|left]]

=== Personality ===
Despite a long and illustrious membership in the Federation, Delta IV never achieved much prominence. In fact, many other Federation members maintain a distinct wariness toward Deltans. This does not stem from any fear of Deltan violence or destructiveness. In fact, the exact opposite is true. What they fear most are Deltan tendencies toward love and passion.

Deltans truly earned their designation as the Federation's most sexually advanced race, and outsiders regard tales of incredible physical rapture and emotional pain with trepidation. For Deltans, the connection between people during their most intimate moments holds a significance that nothing else can equal. The period of attraction, engagement, passion, climax and satiation brings people together physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. Defenses drop, and a person's true self comes out. Deltans claim to love ''all'' their partners, because no other Federation Standard word appropriately describes the emotions that sex brings out.

Deltans take great pleasure and pride in sharing this emotion with one another and often describe themselves as loving many people. Among other Deltans, they are naturally outgoing and affectionate, freely expressing their emotions and taking great delight in caring about one another. They can exhibit such strong feelings for members of other races as well, though bitter experience taught them to treat "less-advanced" races with care. Not all people can handle the free nature of Deltan love. Time spent together can reach extreme levels of intensity and closeness. Unfortunately, Deltans learned that not everyone is ready for such relationships, nor are they ready to see their partners share such feelings with so many people.

As a result, Deltans who spend time in the company of other races learn to control their feelings and restrain their basic tendency toward openness. In fact, Deltans serving in Starfleet take oaths of celibacy to protect both themselves and other people. Not only do they seek to protect other people from the intensity of these couplings, but they also need to protect themselves from the pain they cause. Hurting other people via this most important act creates real grief and pain in Deltans.

The oath of celibacy proves to be a real burden for Deltans who take it. It cuts them off from their most important way of connecting with other people and the emotional support it provides. Deltans who take the oath find they have a hard time forming emotional bonds with others. Many Deltans cease all casual contact with other people in order to avoid any temptation to violate their vow. Others hide all their feelings, afraid that the slightest emotion might endanger themselves and others. Some Deltans find such a sacrifice almost impossible, but others see it as strangely appealing.

Indeed, a number of sociologists say martyrdom runs through Deltan society. Sexuality makes up an essential part of their adult lives, with the emphasis being on how well they can please their partners. Some Deltans willingly deny their own pleasure in their quest to fulfill others. They focus so intently on pleasing whoever they are with that their own physical needs become secondary. Most Deltans feel this lessens the experience, however, and expect their partners to enjoy themselves as much as they do.

=== Physiology and Appearance ===
Deltans bear a strong similarity to humans, though they have slighter frames. Most have little hair on their bodies or heads, though not all are bald. Some maintain a small layer of soft, short hair on their heads. Their skin colors run the same gamut as Humans'. Deltans mature a little faster than Humans, but they do not live as long. That is not their primary difference, however.

Deltans made sexuality the core of their culture years ago, but some observers say they had no choice. Their pheromone production is so active that those around them may become aroused without any understanding of why. Deltans cannot just turn this pheromone production on and off. It only begins when they themselves become at least somewhat excited. When Deltans group together, this pheromone production can build to the point where everyone around them becomes aware of it—and involved in it.

This does not only happen when Deltans become sexually aroused. Fear, anger and other strong emotions can spark it as well. These pheromones draw attention to the Deltan, and those who have already taken note of the Deltan become more interested, sometimes to the point of obsession. This is good when the Deltan plans on reciprocating but can turn dangerous otherwise.

Deltan pheromone production also magnifies the entire sexual act. As Deltans become more aroused, their pheromone production accelerates. Their partners soon find that this heightens their own sensitivity. The slightest touch turns into a symphony of pleasure, and a kiss feels like the focus of the entire world. Deltan sex tends to be both passionate and languid, with participants taking a long time to enjoy their partners' bodies and reactions.

Most Deltans share a common language (Deltan), but many variations exist of it. In fact, many consider it bad form for people to use the same phrases and terms in business that they would use in bed. While they would use the same language, they speak in softer tones, using sweeter words and more emotive phrases. Deltans also use Federation Standard, although they find that the language lacks many subtexts and nuances. Deltan language typically includes heavy components of body language, and a Deltan will occasionally "read" someone by posture.

=== Homeworld ===
Even before joining the Federation, Delta IV gained renown as a cosmopolitan world. Gleaming cities filled with towering spires and full domed structures dot its surface. Since social interaction makes up a primary part of Deltan lives, meeting places pack their cities. Music clubs, discussion halls, restaurants, shopping centers and other buildings draw Deltans as much for the chance to meet others as for their other enticements.

The world also offers plenty of natural attractions as well. Since most Deltans prefer to live in close proximity to each other, they never developed large areas of the planet. Lush forests, jagged mountains and deep valleys give many parts of Delta IV a wild, untamed look that attracts visitors almost as much as do the pleasure-filled cities. Much of Delta IV boasts fiercely rough ocean of the tropical variety; Deltans evolved along forested and jungle island chains and small continents.

=== History and Culture ===
Deltan culture tends to be highly cooperative, though at times their passions cause division and conflict. Some anthropologists speculate that their pheromone production developed to help spur cooperation, but note that it can also make Deltans extremely aggressive. Throughout their history, Deltans maintained strong social groups and ties. While conflicts split these groups much like they did on Earth, Deltans rarely stooped to warfare—their naturally emphatic nature made physical conflict painful for all partners.

Sports play a prominent role in Deltan life, though some observers feel that sex is Delta IV's favorite team sport. Most sporting events take very little time, with individual athletic competitions like track and field holding the same popularity as team sports. The most popular game on the planet bears strong similarities to Earth soccer, though with more use of the hands.

Cooperation plays as large a role in other areas as it does in sports. Delta IV's industry and agriculture tend toward large projects handled by scores of people. Universities are also well-established, with hundreds of students taking classes together and joining in feverish discussions. Children, however, play little role in a Deltan's day-to-day life. Until they begin generating the pheromones that mark them as achieving adulthood, mature Deltans pay them little heed. Indeed, teachers and childcare professionals often illustrate the Deltans martyrdom complex, since they spend so much time with those who cannot stimulate them the way adults can.

The arts also seem to emphasize the people's social nature, with plays, performances and music proving more popular than the visual arts or cinema. Holoprogramming, while available on Delta IV, never caught on here as much as it did throughout the rest of the Federation—possibly because Deltan sensitivity to emotions and pheromones doesn't receive stimulation from holographic technology.

==== Deltan Sensuality ====
Most renowned for their sexual nature, Deltans consider themselves a highly sexually evolved species. They have no taboos regarding sexual behavior and find such constraints "backwards" and "uncivilized." Nevertheless, for the sake of amity, they do try to reign in their habits when among the less-open species of the Federation and the galaxy at large. Indeed, many Deltans feel a strong sense of pity for species like Humans who lack strong emphatic ties and pheromones; the Deltans feel that such species are, in a sense, blind to the full depths of sexual communion.

A combination of genetics and environment shaped Deltan sexual behavior. Communities forming on islands or small landmasses had to work together with their limited space. Combined with natural empathy and the strong emotional bonds fostered through their own natural pheromones, the Deltans took quickly to cooperation, extended families and communal lifestyles without much conflict or competitiveness. Indeed, pleasing one's fellows became a key factor in helping oneself—any Deltan who felt sad, ill or lonely in a community immediately broadcasts this discomfort to all nearby members, who naturally intervened to bring back a sense of well-being and interpersonal harmony. Sexuality, as a form of both closeness, physical euphoria and emotional bonding, was an outgrowth of such behaviors.

Sex also takes on an important role in politics. An old Earth saying has it that "Politics make strange bed-fellows," but Deltans see nothing strange in political opponents sharing a bed. Indeed, they expect it. Many political deals have resulted from political adversaries spending an evening together, giving into their passions, and then working through the differences as they relax in each other's arms. This pillow talk is an excellent opportunity to understand another person's real hopes and fears.

Pillow talk represents another reason for the oath of celibacy. Deltans understand that his is a time of incredible closeness and use it to truly familiarize themselves with their partners. Other races do not use this period anywhere near as extensively as do the Deltans, and they often reveal more about themselves than they wanted. When Deltans act on this new knowledge, aliens often feel deeply betrayed. Since such close communion represents such an important part of Deltan communication, they do not find it easy to limit it with aliens.

The period after sex, whether it involves politicians or not, has attained storied prominence in Deltan society. While many cultures celebrate the events leading up to sex, be it seduction, the hunt, or something else, the period of relaxation that follows sex probably has more written about it than does any intellectual closeness once the physical and emotional ones have been established. In fact, an old Deltan proverb refers to foreplay as creating the emotional tie, sex the physical tie, afterplay the intellectual tie, and the whole experience the spiritual tie.

==== Notable Deltans ====
Ilia, the navigator on the first voyage of the refit ''U.S.S. Enterprise,'' had also worked closely with the Starfleet teams assigned to Delta IV after the Deltans became full members of the Federation in 2259. She formed a strong attachment to Captain William Decker, with whom she was reported "missing in action" after the ''Enterprise'' encountered the V'Ger probe in 2271. Her example further cemented Deltan-Human friendship.

Niro, the Deltan sage who guided the planet through its tumultuous decades from first contact with the Andorians in 2182 to Federation membership, developed the Oath of Celibacy and wrote much of the Deltans' modernized legal code. He was also a gifted poet and sexual artist.

=== Encounters ===
Deltans appear throughout Federation space, though very few join Starfleet. If they do not take the vow of celibacy, then they tend to be gregarious and popular. They often find themselves surrounded by friends and associates who find their company strangely stimulating. Deltans often travel on ships primarily crewed by other Deltans, exploring the universe in the company of similar souls.

By the 24th century, Deltan protocols with other species in the Federation were well established. The Oath of Celibacy is relaxed somewhat due to growing cultural exchange and understanding. Along with Betazoids, the Deltans are key in establishing the position of ship's counselor.

== El-Aurians ==
[[File:El-Aurians.jpg|400px|thumb|left]]

=== Personality ===
The El-Aurians have a reputation as a race of listeners. Listening, to the El-Aurians, is an active process. Good listeners learn to draw out their conversation partners, getting past expressed concerns to unearth fundamental difficulties. Good listeners rarely solve other people's problems, instead helping them to find their own solutions. These traits combine with the El-Aurians' natural sense of the ebb and flow of space-time to make a placid, observant race that harmoniously watches the goings on of the universe without feeling a driving need to control or shape the galaxy around them. El-Aurians follow in the wake of destiny, and while they may not create great things, they are almost always present at important beginnings.

The El-Aurian talent for listening may well stem from their exceptionally long lives. A very healthy and robust race, El-Aurians live well in excess of 700 human years. While one might think that in that time they had heard it all, El-Aurians find other people's problems and situations endlessly fascinating. They usually have a wealth of experience from which to draw, and they look forward to the chance to add more.

Some also say that the El-Aurian's fabled loneliness contributes to their ability and desire to listen. The Borg destroyed the El-Aurian homeworld in the late 23rd century, scattering the race throughout the galaxy. El-Aurians rarely gather in large numbers any more, and some believe they do this out of fear that another catastrophe could leave their race on the edge of extinction. Lacking companionship of their own kind, they seek out whatever camaraderie they can find. Becoming known as a good listener is an excellent way to gain new associates.

Just because El-Aurians willingly listen to those who come to them does not mean they take these people as friends, however. El-Aurians are friendly with many but friends with few. They may have earned a reputation as great listeners, but they rarely reveal as much as they learn. Some people joke that the El-Aurians had to become great listeners since they almost never say anything. Even those people an El-Aurian claims as friends rarely learn much about her.

El-Aurians usually reserve their respect for those people who exhibit as much common sense as they do—a rare breed, considering most people do not have as long as El-Aurians do to learn from their mistakes. While El-Aurians can listen to anyone about anything, they demonstrate little tolerance for stupidity. Acting foolishly in their presence is a sure way to find oneself quietly shunned.

This intolerance for mistakes may also stem from their world's destruction. Though this happened in the 23rd century, even a hundred years later many El-Aurians remember it personally. Almost all the survivors lost friends and family in its destruction. This mass catastrophe left the race shaken and anxious, afraid of losing what they have left. It also contributed to their reticence at letting people close to them, since they have already lost so many people important to them. Any long-lived race faces this dilemma, since so many of their friends die before them, but the destruction of the El-Aurian homeworld made their losses that much more severe.

Many El-Aurians also manifest personality quirks that other races might term dementia. These include obsessing on individuals, seeking to recreate their pasts at any costs, and imaginary friends with whom they speak throughout their lives. Some people even refer to the El-Aurians' reticence at divulging information about themselves an obsession. No one knows whether these stem from the El-Aurians' past trauma, their long lives, or some other source.

=== Physiology and Appearance ===
El-Aurians have so many similarities to Humans that they successfully and covertly lived on Earth long before Humanity realized it. Their height, weight, skin, musculature, skeletal structure, and even internal organs require that observers know about their differences before noticing them. El-Aurian evolution and genetic manipulation made all these more efficient, however, and contribute to their longevity.

El-Aurians rarely fall ill, and their bodies can survive years of abuse and hard living. Their immune systems seem almost intelligent, targeting only those foreign bodies that can actually hurt the El-Aurian and ignoring benign ones. This also makes them more resistant to poisons, though by no means immune.

One significant El-Aurian difference comes in their time sense., which many consider a real "sixth sense." Not only can El-Aurians easily track the passage of time, but they can detect aspects of it invisible to other observers. They quickly become aware of disruptions in the flow of time, and, while they may not understand the nature of the problem, they can easily determine if they are getting closer to or farther from the disruption, both physically and temporally. Federation scientists do not understand the source of this sixth sense, nor have the El-Aurians allowed them to study it in depth, but it has revealed itself most prominently in individuals exposed to the nexus energy ribbon phenomenon.

=== Homeworld ===
The Borg destroyed the El-Aurian homeworld in the late 23rd century as part of an attempt to destroy the race. The Federation has never determined why the Borg sought to destroy this race instead of assimilating it, theorizing that the El-Aurians pose some sort of real threat to the alien collective. While some think this might have to do with the El-Aurian time sense, others note that Borg hostilities lessened after destroying the El-Aurian homeworld. This would imply that the Borg feared the El-Aurians as a group, not as a scattered race, or that some property of the El-Aurian homeworld itself was in danger to the collective.

=== History and Culture ===
The loss of the El-Aurian homeworld also destroyed most of their culture. They became a refugee race, traveling the galaxy in search of safety. Most of their art, industry, and history disappeared in the attack, causing a loss that xenoanthropologists still bemoan. The El-Aurians scattered throughout the galaxy and now reside within the Federation, the Klingon Empire, and wherever they can find homes.

The destruction also manifested itself in other problems for the race. Many El-Aurians sought to escape back to their past, either recreating their old lives through holoprograms, using artificial means to forget, or even trying to change the course of time itself. Eventually, most realized the futility of such efforts, but some become obsessed. Other El-Aurians look on these demented few with pity made all the more personal by the realization that these fixations could have happened to any of them. Strangely, El-Aurians tend to treat their personality quirks as strengths, not character flaws. Such fixations and pastimes help to deal with an otherwise long and traumatic existence.

El-Aurians have little problem inserting themselves into new cultures, finding acceptance almost everywhere they go. Their wisdom and ability to lend an ear seem welcome among all cultures. El-Aurians adapt easily to their new homes, learning new ways and manners with ease. Their long lives also mean that they see cultural forces come and go, change and evolve, and either disappear as fads or stay as cultural norms. Changes barely phase them. Young El-Aurians inherit this detachment, emulating their elders' own indifference to fluctuations in society.

El-Aurians can even adapt to other cultures' family structures, though they tend to follow many of their own practices here. Since they live so long, few expect to have the same partners throughout their entire lives. El-Aurian women tend to have many children over the course of their lives, and they stay fertile for centuries. The destruction of El-Auria caused many women to try to have more children as a way to repopulate their culture, though the sorrow struck others so deeply that intimacy became a problem. They also lost the desire to bring more children into a universe that could manifest such horror.

Families do not hold the same importance to El-Aurians that they do for other races. Even the most dutiful child or loving sibling drifts away through the course of centuries, and few El-Aurians look to their families as their primary support structure. Nevertheless, El-Aurians take their family responsibilities very seriously, and most feel that they must pass their wisdom on to their children. At the very least, they have to teach them to listen well.

=== Encounters ===
Most surviving El-Aurians make their home in the Alpha and Beta quadrants. There they take on a variety of roles, most of which involve regular contact with other people. Many of their activities put them in an entrepreneurial role, often running their own business. This allows them to interact with other people without having to follow their commands. Even in Starfleet, El-Aurians tend to end up in positions that give them a great deal of flexibility in what they do.

El-Aurians are known as a separate species in the 24th century, although the Federation still considers them a minor footnote—mostly because they don't do anything to stand out, and the lack of homeworld rates them as a "transient species."

== Grazerites ==
[[File:Grazerites.jpg|400px|thumb|left]]

=== Personality ===
Grazerites are optimistic and placidly confident, with high self-esteem. They make few snap decisions, being thoughtful and contemplative by nature. Grazerites are hard to anger, and seldom show it openly even if furious. Grazerites prefer consensus to conflict, and are distressed by others' unhappiness. Extremely patient and highly resistant to boredom, Grazerites excel at tasks requiring a long attention span and close detail work.

=== Physical Description ===
Grazerites are heavily-built humanoids, but not unusually so. Their thick hide has a flat layer of hair all over it, usually amber in color, but white, beige, and black Grazerites exist, as do piebald or mottled ones. Grazerite facial features include a pronounced, deeply furrowed brow and a bovine snout. Two slightly curving horns, which may reach four inches in length, crown their skull. (Current fashion calls for a tight-fitting cloth cowl to cover the horns.)

Grazerites speak Grazerite and Federation Standard.

=== Homeworld ===
The planet Vacca III, a planet of large, flat continents and temperate climate orbiting a yellow dwarf star surrounded by a pinkish hydrogen "halo." This halo cuts much of the harmful radiation from Vacca, while increasing solar heating; Vacca is a warm, fertile, clement world.

=== Culture ===
The basic social unit among the Grazerites is the ''upsol,'' a conglomeration of anywhere from a hundred to five hundred individuals who work, relax, eat, and ruminate together. They are often related to one another by blood, but ''upsols'' consisting entirely of unrelated individuals also exist, and behave no differently than their more common counterparts. Grazerite life centers on the group, not the individual; privacy, for example, is a concept unknown to them except as a topic in one of Vacca III's prestigious Outworld Cooperation Symposia (the equivalent of academies for Grazerite diplomats, starship crew, and scientists).

The ''upsol'' plays the primary role in raising, tutoring, and sheltering of Grazerite children. Although Grazerites usually retain some affection for their blood parents, all adult members of the ''upsol'' share equally in child-raising duties. Herds of adult Grazerites carefully shelter the young from even the minimal dangers of Vacca III, and shower them with love, food, and affection. Grazerites grow up emotionally secure and certain of the benign nature of the universe. With the birth of their first child, Grazerite parents attain full citizenship, and can participate in their own ''upsol's'' deliberations and in Vacca III's consensus democracy. Like all important Grazerite occasions, a communal ritual involving the entire ''upsol'' marks first-birth.

Grazerites enjoy thinking and talking together, as agreement comes easily. Grazerite debates, such as they are, resemble long-winded rodomontades in which each speaker agress with the last while slightly restating and refining the previous arguments. Grazerites can while away endless hours in this fashion, never getting bored, solemnly agreeing with each other for hours while jointly ambling toward a consensus. Their self-image as scintillating converstionalists is not shared by other species, but they prosper in Federation governmental circles.

==== Notable Grazerites ====
Grazerite psychologist Dalig-Bentor heads up the counselor program at Starfleet Academy. His pioneering work in the connections between group and individual psychology have overturned academic though on Vacca III and in the rest of the galaxy.

== Humans ==
[[File:Humans.jpg|400px|thumb|left]]

=== Personality ===
It can be difficult to speak of a single Human personality, for as soon as you make a generalization, someone comes along who shatters it. Their dual natures puzzle most other alien species. The Human psyche has great capacity for evil, displaying incredible violence, cruelty, and self-centeredness. Humans can be ruled by their passions—anger, fear, loneliness, greed, and desire. Yet, they display an equal capacity for what some have called the better angles of their nature. Courageous, altruistic, kind-hearted, curious—these are just some of the words used to describe humanity.

If indeed Humanity can be stereotyped, it can be said that they are insatiably curious, principled, and friendly. They seek out what lies beyond the farthest horizon just to see it, and search for answers wherever there are questions. They stand by their principles, even in adversity, and fight tenaciously to defend them. But over all, Humans are outgoing, eager to make friends with anyone and share a sense of connectedness with other beings.

In many ways, Humans represent the best and worst of what any sapient species can be.

=== Physiology and Appearance ===
Humans form the baseline from which most demographers describe other species. They stand from about 1.5 to 2 meters tall, with skin color ranging from dark brown to pale pink. Their hair and eye colors likewise span the spectrum. Many aliens find the Human lack of distinctiveness not only boring, but ugly.

Humans speak Federation Standard, and language that sounds remarkably like the old Earth language English.

=== Homeworld ===
Humans hail from Earth (Terra), the third planet orbiting a type G2V star named Sol, in Sector 001. Several important installations are located in this star system—the Utopia Planitia shipyards, Jupiter Station, and Pluto Flight Control—as well as colonies on Mars and the Moon. Most importantly, Earth is the capital world of the United Federation of Planets, with the Federation Council convening in San Fransisco and the President's office located in Paris.

So many worlds are climate controlled to meet the narrow tolerances required by Humans that people often forget the diversity of Earth's environment. From the stark beauty of the Gobi desert to the lush vegetation of the Indo-Chinese jungle, from the island ecologies of Melanesia to the frozen wonder of Antarctica, Earth holds numerous biozones equal to dozens of planets.

=== History and Culture ===
Human history is marked with many dark chapters, characterized by war, hunger, disease, and want. For some 6,000 years, Humanity seemingly sought to tear itself apart, as the species struggled over economic systems, political philosophies, and national boundaries. The Eugenics War of the late 20th century occurred after genetically bred supermen quietly seized behind-the-scenes power in some forty nations, then fell to fighting amongst themselves. World War III, the third global conflict in 100-years, almost wiped out the Human race and left the planet on the verge of ecological and economic collapse. Afterward, warlords ruled pockets of civilization with an iron hand, while large swaths of the population were left to fend for themselves. It seemed as though Humanity had exhausted itself.

==== Zefram Cochrane ====
The importance of Zefram Cochrane's first faster-than-light space flight cannot be overstated. Using research he started prior to the Third World War, he constructed a prototype of his "warp drive," which solved the problem of relativistic space by "warping" space around the vessel. On the first test flight, the warp signature of Cochrane's ship attracted the notice of a passing Vulcan survey ship. Realizing that Humankind now had the capacity for interstellar travel, the Vulcans landed near Cochrane's settlement in Montana. Although he embarked on is endeavor to earn money, Cochrane instead revitalized humanity.

This first contact with extraterrestrial life sparked a remarkable recovery from the recent nuclear war. Humans once again learned to look up from their problems, to imagine the possibilities open to them.

==== Stunning Transformations ====
With new vistas to explore and new challenges to meet, the Human race rose to confront the root causes of their dark past. They begin to conquer hunger, eradicate poverty, and cure many of the diseases that plagued humanity—cancer, heart disease, diabetes. By the 24th century, this transformation of Human nature is complete. Free from suffering, want, and pain, the Human condition changed from one of strife to the true pursuit of happiness.

Alongside this social revolution came a political one, as well. The old United States of America merged with the European Hegemony and the Pan-Asian Alliance in 2113, to establish the planet's first united world government. Though dozens of countries held out (Australia was the last to join, in 2150), the drive toward political unification was inexorable. With a forum to discuss global issues and the political muscle to enact global policies, along with a dedication to democratic principles and individual freedoms, Humanity eliminated the root causes of war.

These changes culminated in the incorporation of the United Federation of Planets in 2161. After the devastating Romulan-Earth wars of 2156-60, Humans feared a return to conflict and strife, only on an intergalactic scale. Andorians, Tellarites, Vulcans—all could become potential adversaries in the same way Earth's nations contended over land and philosophies. Humanity sought to expand the principles of unity, peace, and self-determination on an interplanetary scale by forming a federation of planets. The Vulcans, Tellarites, Andorians, and Alpha Centaurans, each with histories similar to those of Earth, agreed to band together into an alliance of worlds, where differences could be aired peacefully and all would share equally in prosperity.

The United Federation of Planets would bring its message of peace, friendship, mutual respect, and freedom to dozens of worlds over the next several hundred years.

Compared to many other space-faring civilizations, Human culture is very young. Having developed over the last 25,000 years, it is a flourishing, vibrant, though some might say arrogant and naïve, civilization. When the Vulcans first encountered them, they believed Humanity to be a savage species ruled by emotions, a belief they would not shake for some time. The Tellarites thought Humans unsophisticated philosophically and politically. Many other species, though, would be amazed at Humanity's optimism, openness, and vitality.

==== Customs ====
Humans have a lot of customs, held over from ancient nation-states, religions, and ethic groups. Humans take a great deal of pride in their balkanized past. They are proud of their heritage, and many can recount where their ancestors originated from across many generations. Indian or Scots, French or American, these distinctions remain important touch-stones to the past, while not limiting their potential. Many retain their attachments to their individual ancestries; they enjoy their regional garb and practice regional art forms, and speak thousands of languages and dialects. In short, Humans celebrate their diversity, while remaining distinctively Human.

==== Exploration and Innovation ====
Humans are seemingly consumed by a desire to see what's behind the next horizon, to climb every mountain, to plant their feet on virgin ground. And when asked why, their answer is simply "because it's there." From the first raft of lashed-together logs that set off from a nameless shore for parts unknown, the Human experience has been one of exploration. Explorers like Amerigo Vaspucci, Magellan, and Marco Polo braved the unknown in their quest to travel to unexplored parts of the globe—and are celebrated heroes to this day. And when they had spread across their world, they looked to the stars.

Humans don't believe it when they're told "it can't be done." Heavier than air flight was considered impossible, until the Wright Brothers launched their fragile airplane. Traveling faster than the speed of sound was thought impossible, until that was done, too. Sending Humans to the moon and getting them back safely wasn't feasible, until Neil Armstrong took his first steps. Superluminal space flight was once thought science fiction, until Zefram Cochrane broke the light barrier.

These twin impulses, common in Human society, led them to fling themselves into space. The moon shots of the United States in the 1960s, the Voyager space probe program, the Jupiter missions, and the launch of the ''Enterprise'' are all steps on an unstoppable march into space. Humans are confident they can do anything, and that it's their destiny to go where no one has gone before.

==== Notable Humans ====
Doctor Leonard McCoy, Chief Medical Officer of the ''U.S.S. Enterprise,'' represents humanity's capacity for caring, compassion, and self-sacrifice. Known to his friends as "Bones," he repeatedly risked his own life to provide medical care to anyone who needed it, including people who wished him ill. Intolerant of regulations, procedures, customs, or orders that inhabited his ability to do his job, he always stood up for the dignity and rights of all sentient beings.

=== Enconters ===
From isolated dilithium mines to far-flung colony worlds, Humans can be encountered under almost any circumstances in almost any environment. Even in their early days of space exploration, Humans seem to have a knack for finding trouble or hard-to-reach places.

After two hundred years in space, humanity is involved in intergalactic politics on a grand scale. They make peace with the Klingon Empire and maintain a stalemate with the Romulans, although new threats arise—the Cardassians. More and more, Humans become embroiled in thorny issues requiring deft handling and subtle negotiations.

== Napeans ==
[[File:Napeans.jpg|400px|thumb|left]]

=== Personality ===
Napeans strike outsiders as dour and reticent. As a race, they are still grappling with their empathic powers, which they gained only recently in their evolution. Without intending to, they read the emotions of others. This makes them cautious about revealing their feelings to non-empaths, as they worry that they may be tainted by things they are not supposed to know.

=== Physiology and Appearance ===
Napeans are humanoids with putty-colored skin and a large, leaf-shaped bone ridge that runs down from the crown of their high foreheads to the top of te nose. A tiny, egg-shaped organ near the base of the brain, created as a mutation by an experiment in genetic engineering, receives empathic signals and communicates them to the brain proper.

Napeans speak Napea, a choppy, harsh-sounding language.

=== Homeworld ===
The Napeans have terraformed their homeworld of Napea to a state of conformity that strikes many outsiders as obsessive. Each continental land mass has been reengineered so that it consist of 70 percent flat, arable plains and 20 percent rolling hills, which are also suitable for agriculture and pastoral grazing. The remaining 10 percent is devoted to the whims of those fortunate enough to own large tracts of it. So Napea does have mountains, canyons, waterfalls and other such spectacular features, but they are all artificially created, just like the planet's overall design. The Napeans have also engineered their weather to flatten out all seasonal variations. Precipitation falls in predetermined amounts in predetermined places according to need and the temperature never strays far from 20 degrees Celsius.

=== History and Culture ===
Napea was once a hostile place for advanced life forms. Volatile weather and geology made natural catastrophes frequent occurrences. The idea that Nature is an enemy to be fought and tamed has therefore been part of the Napeans' collective consciousness since their prehistory. When their race came of age technologically, mastering their environment became both a possibility and an urgent priority. Within a century, they mastered sophisticated terraforming and weather control techniques that would make their past hardscrabble life a distant memory.

As the prosperity that came with an absolutely stable environment settled in, however, so did widespread boredom. With the struggle for basic survival no longer an outlet for their energies, it seemed that Napeans began to turn on each other out of sheer anomie. In their major cities, rioting and other violent crime became common pastimes, especially among the young.

At this point, scientist Iwane Opuh began investigating mutated pathogens as a way of modifying their behavior to, in effect, "cure" violence. Opuh developed a virus that caused a mutation in the Napean genetic structure; this mutation produced an organ embedded in the brain that granted them empathic ability. If Napeans were forced to understand how others felt, he reasoned, they would stop killing each other. In 2216, without prior approval from any higher authority, Opuh released his creation into the air, forcing his designed mutation on the planet's entire population.

Not all Napeans approved of Opuh's action and he went into hiding soon thereafter, never to be heard from again. But it worked. All Napean children born since then have empathic ability, and Napean society quickly stabilized to the point where their political and scientific development could resume. In 2290 Napean scientists developed a warp drive, and in 2320 they became members of the Federation.

==== Society ====
Napeans still grapple with Iwane Opuh's double-edged gift to them. While their empathic powers have forged social stability, they also struggle to suppress negative emotions and embarrassing feelings. This is quite impossible among their own kind, but they try anyway, since absolute emotional transparency has a way of straining familial and social relationships.

Their history has taught Napeans to place great faith in advanced technology as a way to solve serious problems. Having learned to see the natural world as hostile, they don't understand conservationists objections to re-sculpting the environment. However, the idea of genetically altering life forms appalls them; this, too, stems from their collective history. They feel deep amdivalence toward Iwane Opuh's legacy, and their popular culture has turned him into an almost supernatural figure. No firm reports of his death have ever surfaced, and rumors exist that he invented an immortality elixir and yet lives. Dozens of sightings of Opuh are reported every year, although most are pure hoaxes and the rest are otherwise dubious.

== Regulans ==
[[File:Regulans.jpg|400px|thumb|left]]

=== Personality ===
The average Regulan is calm, collected, and strongly individualistic. Regulans dislike crowding, dirt, noise, and disputatiousness. Some Regulans can seem finicky or prickly to outsiders, and they remain non-demonstrative of even strong friendships. However, many Regulans put a veneer of flirtatiousness or banter over this private core, especially when dealing with non-Regulans.

=== Physical Description ===
Regulans are slightly slimmer in the hips and chest than Humans, but well-muscled on their lighter frames. Regulans closely resemble Terran felines, with flat noses, fore-mounted eyes, tufted ears, prominent canine teeth, long tails, and sleek fur ranging from deep black to tawny. Female Regulans tend to have longer manes than males.

Regulans speak Regulan Standard and Federation Standard.

=== Homeworld ===
From their home planet of Regulus V, Regulans have settled a number of colony worlds, including Asref IV, 15 Lyncis II, Regulus III and La'ven III. Regulans from any of these worlds can serve in Starfleet.

=== Culture ===
Regulans evolved from arboreal predators with many similarities to the smaller Earth feline species such as ocelots or jaguars. Early Regulans spent their whole lives on the move, prowling across hundreds of square kilometers of forest and plain. Regulan society evolved as a loose confederation of matrilinear clans, meeting at specific locations for mining, government, and other relatively fixed functions. Regulan civilization advanced much slower than Earth's, since the Regulans lacked the "trooping instinct" that Earthly primates had. The Regulans acquired star drives from a failed invasion by an aggressive species millennia ago, during their late industrial era. Although it killed hundreds of thousands of Regulans, the war with the Kodom allowed them to bootstrap their technology without overpopulating and devastating their planet's ecosystem.

Their cultural insistence on low population densities (and the fear of a follow-up attack) caused the Regulans to spread out over a number of planets almost immediately after the war; Regulans made first contact with a number of races, including the Orions and the Ferengi, during this exciting "frontier era." When Regulan and Federation ships first met in 2249, it only took a few years of discussion for seventeen of the twenty Regulan colony worlds to accompany Regulus V into full Federation membership. Regulans merged their Regulan Sky Navy with the Federation's Starfleet, and have continued to provide a disproportionate number of Starfleet's most intrepid explorers and fighting captains ever since.

==== Notable Regulans ====
Admiral S'rrel became one of the first Regulans to join Starfleet, working his way up the chain of command serving both as Regulan Ambassador to Earth and full-time Starfleet officer. He encouraged other Regulans to join up, and was famous for placing Regulan communications officers onto front-line starships. Many of "S'rrel's get" later served as Regulan ambassadors themselves to planets they first visited as shipboard officers. S'rrel remained a strong supporter of Starfleet in his later years on the Federation Council.

M'morr is 15 Lyncis' best-known archaeologist, and famous in Federation historical circles for her unorthodox theories and for her absolute fearlessness in hunting down proof of some ancient culture or bizarre legend. She specializes in new discoveries, often handing off immense finds to junior scholars for cataloging and publication.

== Tellarites ==
[[File:Tellarites.jpg|400px|thumb|left]]

=== Personality ===
Tellarites tend to have personality extremes, be they extremes of happiness, irritability, heroism, passivity, or anything else. Other members of the Federation find this tendency amusing, irritating and often bizarre, but the Tellarites' many good qualities more than make up for it. For instance, a Tellarite diplomat might get so involved in arguing that some people only think of him as a nonstop debater. Only later do they realize that his questions and counterpoints often make them consider problems in new ways and develop unique solutions.

Such behavior might also stem from the Tellarites' hatred of the unexplained. Tellarites who find themselves confused or out of place may ask more questions about the situation than would a three-year-old Human. This need to know serves them well in their professions, especially for those who become engineers and scientists. It also means they spend large amounts of time working on problems that other people consider inconsequential. While such tendencies can be annoying, they also make the Tellarites ideal for problems that require fastidiousness and attention to detail.

While Tellarites can run to extremes of cheerfulness, jocularity, enthusiasm and the like, they rarely become incredibly indolent. Despite their girth and pig-like appearance, they are physically active by proclivity. Naturally energetic, they take great pride in accomplishment, no matter how minor that accomplishment might be. Like most beings, they enjoy having their achievements recognized, though vanity does not rule their race.

Tellarites especially admire deeds that help ensure their own security. Tellarite's rarely enjoy finding themselves at the whims of chance. They always want a backup plan, like to know that someone else is watching their backs, and hate to operate without a safety net. Part of the reason they so willingly embraced the Federation was the additional security it could provide them. Some say this also helps explain their desire for extreme levels of detail—they hate the unknown, no matter how little it may be.

Their obsession with detail also shows itself in how they set up their administrations and bureaucracy. Tellarite bureaucrats can prove nightmarish for those who don't know how to deal with them, insisting that every form get filled out properly and go through the proper channels. However, Tellarite bureaucrats often know what those channels are and, unlike many other bureaucrats, rarely try to pass the buck. A good listener can quickly sift through Tellarite bureaucracy simply because their instructions are accurate and their bureaucrats accountable.

=== Physiology and Appearance ===
While Humans may not find Tellarites beautiful, they take great pride in their swinish appearances. A light fur covers their short, stout bodies, and they can grow very full beards and lush heads of hair. These beards do nothing to obscure their porcine-like snouts, however; and these upturned noses do more to contribute to their similarity to Terran pigs than does anything else. The Tellarite snout proved an asset on Tellar's thinner atmosphere, however, Tellarite blood runs rich with oxygen. This helps explain their much-vaunted endurance, which enables them to work longer (and argue louder) than others.

Their deep-set eyes, smooth skin, short fur and abundant hair run the gamut of colors, and they take such pride in their natural colors that they rarely use dyes. Whatever their skin color, they tend to take on a reddish hue due to their higher blood pressure and bright red blood.

Descended from a Tellar mammal with similarities to Terran apes, boars and groundhogs, they share features with all of these. They have fewer fingers than humans, and their digits tend to be much larger, but they can maneuver these with a surprising dexterity. Their ancestors left them with a well-defined fatty area around their midsections, and Tellarites can live off this area for a long time, if need be. They still eat and drink a great deal, though their body tends to quickly burn through the effects of alcohol. Omnivorous, Tellarites enjoy eating a wide range of plants and animals, including more than a few that make Humans ill. Alien cuisines catch on easily on Tellar, and the planet even hosts Klingon-style restaurants.

Tellarites speak their own common language, Tellarite, as well as Federation Standard. Most Tellarites learn both languages, though Tellar sees less and less use. Most concepts have multiple words related to it, with each of those words emphasizing some other part of the concept. This enables Tellarites to explain the smallest details of an idea and split the tiniest hairs while arguing.

=== Homeworld ===
Life thrived on Tellar despite an atmosphere slightly thinner than Earth's. Tellarites never went in for the teeming metropolises that cover Earth, and much of the planet's natural environments still survive. Beautiful forests, teeming jungles and clean waters cover much of the planet. Part of the reason Tellarites left so much of Tellar's surface unchanged was their development of subterranean habitats. Descended from a burrowing animal, many Tellarites prefer the comfort of an underground den.

Tellarite communities dot the planet, often developed in such a way as to meld into the natural surroundings. Exceptions to this rule do exist, however, and Tellar's largest cities include architectural wonders that attract visitros from across the Federation.

=== History and Culture ===
Prior to their encounters with Starfleet and the other founding members of the Federation, the Tellarites had already struggled their way through planetary divisiveness to space travel. Unlike other worlds where resource acquisition or territoriality led to warfare, the Tellarites fought primarily over intellectual concepts—almost like religious warfare, but without the spiritual underpinnings. Tellarite engineers, with their species' tendency to see patterns and mechanics in all things, proposed the creation of mathematically-generated, regimented forms of language, bureaucracy, and government. Different factions adopted elements of these artificial cultures, but also battled over who had the most efficient "social technology." With their typical pig-headnedness, though, Tellarite citizens refused this call and instead settled on older, historically-recorded linguistics, vocabularies and cultural activities. This "throwback culture" then used these elements as a basis for redefining technological living; the Tellarite engineers and scientists recast their inventions in the mold of an agreed-upon standard. Individual citizens showed that debate and divisiveness were central to healthy government, and refused to participate in the carefully-machined state engines of the era. Within four generations, state divisions had crumbled so far that a de-facto world government emerged simply because cultural and national boundaries no longer existed. Tellarite engineers fashioned early warp drive and soon met the Vulcans, Humans and other nearby species.

Tellarites often demonstrate a marked caution about the world around them. They despise unexplained phenomena and take pains to make things fit into their meticulous worldviews. In their quest for knowledge, though, they travel the length and breadth of the Federation as merchants, tourists, engineers and members of Starfleet. Some earn stellar reputations for honesty while others become known as rogues, with most Tellarites falling in between.

Thanks to their insatiable curiosity coupled with an eye for detail, Tellarites excel at managing business ventures and are among the first to voice enthusiasm for exploring strange, unknown places. Even while traveling, however, they try to learn everything they can about a place before visiting it. If they discover a new world, they prefer exhaustive sensor scans before setting foot on it. They hate dealing with new races until they've learned how the race's culture and physiology fit into the scheme of things.

Consequently, Tellar's libraries gained renown for the comprehensive nature of their collections. If one has materials on a subject, then it probably has a plethora. Finding exactly the data one needs may take a long time, but one of the books or computers surely has it. Many Tellarites enjoy feeling that they contributed to their race's knowledge, and they send reams and reams of their studies to these repositories. Much of the data may appear useless, but Tellarites like to know all the facts. Given their enthusiasm for debate and discourse, Tellarites often put seemingly contradictory materials and studies side-by-side with equal weight; one must view all sides of a problem, the Tellarites believe, to arrive at a solution appropriate for all approaches.

In fact, Tellar prides itself on having everything a person could need somewhere on (or in) it. Visitors joke that the planet's massive bureaucracy exists primarily so Tellarites can keep track of where they left things. Tellarites hate to discard anything that might prove useful, but they do not let it clutter up their lives. They store old objects in museums and storage facilities with comprehensive records; should a need for some cast-away item surface, it's usually a simple matter to track down.

==== Notable Tellarites ====
Tarnoc, the political scientist and diplomat who helped draft the Federation Constitution in 2160, also helped ratify it on his homeworld. His debating skills remain the stuff of Tellarite tall tales and children's stories to this day, and his absolute and unflinching personal integrity continues to inspire even adult Tellarites of all types.

Gnarr began his career as a spaceframe designer, and eventually became head of Starfleet's space design team after Tellar joined the Federation. Frustrated at the weaknesses of conventional metals, he eventually led the team that first refined duranium from pollarium. Since Tellarite companies owned almost all the pollarium mines in the quadrant, he also made Tellar immensely wealthy. Engineer, metallurgist, and financier, he typifies the Tellarite dream.

=== Encounters ===
Tellarites make their homes throughout Federation space, though they tend to associate primarily with their own kind. This has less to do with any racism on their part as it does with many other races' exasperation at their pig-headed nature.

Many Tellarites work as engineers and merchants, travelling the galaxy in search of interesting work and good money. They make good soldiers, though a few commanders lose their tempers in the face of relentless Tellarite questions.


== Tiburonese ==
[[File:Tiburonese.jpg|400px|thumb|left]]

=== Personality ===
Tiburonese project an easy-going, sensual, hedonistic image. Tiburonese enjoy respect without formality, and honor those with open minds. However, their desires can easily become drives; a dedicated, single-minded Tiburonese is far from the contradiction in terms it might seem.

=== Physical Description ===
Tiburonese are taller-than-average humanoids, ranging in color from reddish tan to pale golden. Some Tiburonese have faint stripes on the back of their heads, hands, and legs. Tiburonese have large, elaborately flanged ears and sport a row of tiny, bony protrusions running across the head and down the neck. Many, though not all, Tiburonese of both sexes shave all body hair; others trim their into elaborate styles.

Tiburonese speak Tiburonese and Federation Standard.

=== Homeworld ===
Tiburonese are hybrids of the natives of Tiburon and those of Ucal, another Class-M planet in the same system. Both planets have completely interbred.

=== Culture ===
The highly technological society of the Tiburonese is a direct outgrowth of alien conquest. The warlike, authoritarian Ucali conquered the pastoral inhabitants of the planet Tiburon in a war for resources fourteen centuries ago. The Spartan elites of the Ucali ruled Tiburon with cruelty, allowing the infamous butcher Zora to conduct atrocities in the name of "genetic experimentation" on the Tiburonese populace. However, the nativ Tiburonese cleverly subverted their captors, tempting them into pleasure, gratification, and eventually decadence. The Ucali finally underwent a total cultural meltdown; their young military cadets and elite soldiers refused to follow the orders of a corrupt regime that no longer practiced the stern asceticism it preached. During a period of anarchy, the Tiburonese population interbred with the Ucali, removing the problem and ending the caste system the Ucali had enforced.

Although the Tiburonese rejected science for centuries, they were forced to maintain an intricate technical infrastructure to keep their planet alive after its looting and devastation by the Ucali. The work of Neprin and others led to a culture and economy heavily dependent on robots and labor-saving devices, freeing the Tiburonese themselves to pursue only joy and pleasure. The brilliant acoustic physicist Dr. Sevrin rebelled against this insulated culture, claiming that over-reliance on technology had weakened the Tiburonese. It does seem to have suppressed their immune systems; the incurable and deadly disease ''synthococcus novae'' infects hundreds of thousands of Tiburonese.

Fortunately, Tiburonese high technology remains well able to control any problems it may have created (Dr. Sevrin was, it turned out, insane), not least because the Tiburonese treat the satisfaction of curiosity as a crucial pleasure. The joys of scientific investigation and exploration animate Tiburonese culture. They also delight in subverting intolerant or authoritarian regimes. Ever since joining the Federation in 2229, Tiburonese representatives on the Council or in Starfleet constantly urge it to take a more active role in deposing despotic rulers. To many Tiburonese, there are self-evidently higher virtues than the non-interference doctrine of the Prime Directive.

==== Notable Tiburonese ====
Alari, the Tiburonese courtesan who seduced the Ucali High Suzerain in 1154, began the Grand Subversion that transformed Tiburon from an occupied planet into the soruce of all cultural trends for the system. Her precepts and proverbs guide many Tiburonese even now (if often ironically); one of the best-known is "He who can make love best, never needs to make war."

The neurochemist Neprin pioneered emotional cybernetics, practical robotics, and atmospheric reionization. His scientific principles led to the development of the orgone re-oscillator, the key device at the center of Tiburonese energetic biophysics.

== Trill ==
[[File:Trill.jpg|400px|thumb|left]]

=== Personality ===
Trill do not possess a stereotypical personality, except for their universal concern for the symbionts. Every Trill child grows up with the hope of being assigned a symbiont, and those joined with a symbiont guard it with their lives. Much of their society revolves around these extraordinary beings.

As with Humans, Trill personalities run the gamut from kindness to curmudgeon, openness to introspection, optimism to cynicism. They are generally open to new experiences, eager to discover more about the universe, and willing to lend a helping hand to those in need. Joined Trill in particular seem to be especially outgoing and inquisitive.

=== Physiology and Appearance ===
Outwardly, Trill appear much like Humans. They stand 1.5 to 2 meters in height, with weight ranges similar to Humans, as well. Skin tones range from light pink to olive, but no darker. Hair and eye color is almost universally dark—brown, black, as well as other shades. What distinguishes Trill from Humans or other humanoids are two rows of dark brown spots that run down their bodies from their foreheads to their heels. These are distinctive to each individual Trill, as fingerprints are to Human, or head ridges are to a Klingon.

Internally, joined Trill are distinguished by their symbiont. A cavity above the stomach holds the symbiont and provides several neurological connections for the symbiont to link up. The symbionts themselves appear as small, sightless vermiform, approximately half a meter in length.

Trill speak their own language of the same name, and Federation Standard.

=== Homeworld ===
Trill is a beautiful, Class-M planet oribing two stars, one Type A7 V (white, dim dwarf), the other Type O4 V (blue, bright dwarf). The two stars are in close orbit, with planets orbiting the center of mass. It is the sixth of nine planets, with predominantly rocky worlds in the inner orbits (planetary Class-D and -F) and Class-G "sludgeballs" in the outer orbits. By the 24th century, Starfleet established a starbase orbiting the outermost planet to provide for system defense.

The Trill homeworld is earthlike—oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere, 70% water, and a gravity of 1.1G. The planet is on average hotter than Earth, with a mean temperature of 30 degrees Celsius. The landscape consists primarily of densely packed forest, although extensive ice fields exist in the polar regions. Due to the unique chemical composition of the water, oceans on Trill are purple.

=== History and Culture ===
Trill history has been marked by a surprising lack of violence. Their annals record no wars or social upheaval, and they have experienced an unending history of peace and prosperity, largely due to the presence of the symbionts.

==== The First Joining ====
Although Trill history recounts the First Joining between host and symbiont, it says little about origins of the species. There are two theories as to the genesis of their symbiotic relationship. One suggests that the symbionts, already intellectually highly-developed, realized the limitations of their form and "invented" hominid life. By chemically manipulating amino acids and proteins found in the water combined with bioelectric discharges, they encouraged the evolution of sapient bipedal life over thousands of years. Another theory holds that humanoid Trill migrated to their current homeworld, perhaps fleeing some planetary disaster or merely seeking to colonize another world. Once on Trill, they discovered the symbionts and agreed to the peculiar arrangement they have to this day.

==== The Federation Era ====
Since the 23rd century, the Trill have been known to the Federation. During this period, a handful of Trill wandered the Galaxy as adventurers, scientists, and explorers. They remained neutral in Galactic politics, and kept the location of their homeworld a secret, to protect the symbionts from what the Trill saw as more primitive and warlike species, though they frequently offered their "good offices" to negotiate settlements between political rivals. Although Trill joined the Federation in the early 24th century, they kept the nature of symbiosis and the identity of the symbionts a secret. It was not until an emergency involving Ambassador Odan in 2367 that the Federation learned of the symbiotic relationship. This fact is not known at the beginning of the campaign.

==== Society ====
The symbiont forms the center of Trill society. They have touched every aspect of Trill culture, and society revolves around them. Rules governing marriage, the education system, the legal system—all have been designed to account for the needs of the symbionts. In fact, it is impossible to discuss Trill society independently of the symbionts.

Trill are a species of over-achievers as they all crave symbiosis with a centuries-old intellect. Federation psychologists believe that Trill somehow feel incomplete without a symbiont, that joining may be a biological impulse that gradually wears off with age. As the product of millennia of symbiosis, Trill society is highly advanced and highly sophisticated. They possess a rich trove of literature, music, and art.

==== The Symbiosis Commission ====
This body of five officials oversees all aspects regarding symbionts. While a vast bureaucracy of life scientists tend the spawning pools in the Caves of Mak'ala that hold unjoined symbionts—maintaining their temperature, the delicate chemical balance of the water, and providing sustenance—the commission screens applicants to the symbiont program. Only the best and brightest are selected to join, and even many exceptionally qualified applicants are rejected; the process is very competitive. Even those who qualify mentally and academically must also pass a physical examination, for it is widely believed that only one in a thousand Trill can join. The Commission matches the personalities and capabilities of host to symbiont to achieve the maximum benefit not only to both symbiont and Trill, but also to society.

Little known, however, is the truth, that almost half of all Trill possess the physical and mental requirements to join. No special training is required, nor do the symbionts themselves require highly-educated hosts. The Symbiosis Commission suppresses this information because there are not enough symbionts to meet demand. Were the secret to get out, the Symbiosis Commission fears social upheaval as citizens clamor to join. Thus, they maintain the fiction that symbiosis is a privilege to be earned through achievement.

==== Joining ====
For a trill to be considered eligible to join, the must undergo a rigorous training program designed to screen out those mentally, psychologically, and physically unfit. To present a suitable host for the fantastically old and educated symbionts, all Trill children attend school for much of their childhood (eight hours per day, seven days a week, for most of the year). The requirements are stringent and most who apply fail the rigorous admission exams.

When joined, a Trill undergoes an operation to implant the selected symbiont. Once joined, host and symbiont become biologically interdependent and after 93 hours neither can survive without the other. Should the symbiont be removed, the host usually dies within hours. The host experiences physical and psychological changes as his personality and that of the symbiont merge into a hybrid persona. Personality traits such as favorite food, treasured book, or handedness might change. The host gains the memories of the symbiont's past lives, and since symbionts can live for centuries, passing from host to host, it may contain the experiences of many Trill. This can be disorienting for the newly joined host, as he finds himself attracted to new "old" friends, and remembering experiences he didn't directly go through.

This new, hybrid life-form is considered to be another person under Trill law, and does not have to uphold commitments of previous hosts.

There is one strong taboo associated with joining—that of reassociation with former spouses and relatives of a previous host. Such an occurrence can be extremely disorienting for both the host and the symbiont. Loved ones have a difficult time reconciling old feelings with a new face, and can find new personality traits both confusing and upsetting. The host often feels as though his feelings have been hijacked, as he loves people he's never met and feels differently towards his own friends and family. And the symbiont is caught in the emotional storm. Joined Trill who violate this custom are ostracized, and when they die their symbiont is not passed on to another host; instead it is left to die.

=== Encounters ===
Trill make their way across the Alpha Quadrant, visiting many worlds within Federation space. A few join Starfleet to provide their considerable expertise to the cause of peaceful exploration. Rarer still are those Trill who make their way beyond the Federation's borders, into the Klingon Empire, Cardassian Union, and Tzenkethi Expanse; these Trill seek to foster amity between rivals, or simply want to learn more about the native culture.

The Trill have increased their profile in the galaxy, with more and more Trill leaving their world to explore. Trill diplomats began working with the Federation on difficult negotiations, such as those between the two moons of Peliar Zel.

== Vulcans ==
[[File:Vulcans.jpg|400px|thumb|left]]

=== Personality ===
Vulcans exalt logic over emotion, and usually repress or sublimate emotions in daily behavior. Vulcans who deal with non-Vulcans on a regular basis often maintain an almost glacial calm, possibly as self-defense against so much unguarded feeling. Among themselves, Vulcans usually seem more relaxed; Vulcan ambassadors often cultivate a kind of distant good humor and politesse. Even Vulcan ambassadors, however, have trouble predicting or depending upon the behavior of more emotional species.

=== Physical Description ===
Vulcans closely resemble Humans, with the same average height and weight. Their pointed ears are slightly larger than the Human norm, and their slanted eyebrows sometimes give them a questioning look. The inner, or nicitating, eyelid is not visible. Vulcan skin complexions range from olive to dark mahogany, with a green cast provided by their copper-based blood. The Vulcan heart rests in the lower center of the torso, surrounded and protected by highly efficient lungs.

Vulcans speak Vulcan and Federation Standard.

=== Homeworld ===
The planet Vulcan (or Ti-Valka'ain, in the Vulcan language) is the second planet of six orbiting the orange star 40 Eridani A (part of a trinary system; the other two stars are too far away to be immediately visible in Vulcan's sky). Vulcan is a harsh, desert world (barely a quarter of the surface is water) with a thin atmosphere and high (1.4 G) gravity. Vulcan's geology produces starkly upthrust mountains: craggy, inhospitable, and inspiring to the planet's ascetic logicians and mystics alike. The capital city of Vulcan, ShirKahr is a low, stark city laid out in logical grids and quarters around an ancient oasis.

=== History and Culture ===

The Vulcans possess a sophisticated, ancient culture with customs dictated by their devotion to logic. Vulcan art forms are formal and precise, intended not to evoke an emotional response but to stimulate thought or help induce a meditative mindset. Vulcans also enjoy strategy games, formal debates, and similar activities. A Vulcan must apply logic to all situations he encounters and never give in to emotion (including violent emotions). The constraints of Vulcan reproductive biology, however, make this difficult. Every seven years beginning at age 14, Vulcan males experience ''Ponn farr,'' in which the mating urge emerges with irresistible force. A Vulcan who does not mate suffers a fatal neurochemical imbalance. He may also experience ''plak-tow,'' the "blood fever," when he loses all control of his emotions and can fight and kill without hesitation. Hence, Vulcans generally bond in their preteen years, to logically select mates before the madness of ''Pon farr.'' Vulcan marriages then proceed logically in the ''koon-ut-kal-if-fee'' ceremony, only rarely resulting in ritual combat to the death.

Vulcans see violence as a waste of resources, time, and lives, and therefore illogical. If a Vulcan practices a martial art, he does so to hone his physique and discipline his mind. Above all else, Vulcans value peace and prefer to resolve differences—logically—through meditation. They are no fools, however, and when a Vulcan logically concludes that force must be met by force, he makes a formidable adversary.

==== Surak ====
Surak, the great teacher whose Awakening in 312 is the central event of Vulcan history, rejected violence in all its forms. He believed in total peace, pure logic, and ideal selflessness. Since all Vulcans know empirically that they possess a ''katra,'' or soul, ideologies of peace and life resonated with them even in Surak's era of global civil war. Vulcans applied his teachings to the formal logic of T'Plana-Hath and arrived at the philosophy of "infinite diversity in infinite combination," a delicate blend of studying the universe and aiding those who can add both diversity and spirit to it. Suc motives caused Captain Sevak to contact Earth in 2063 to welcome Humanity to the stars. Captain Sevak was a follower of the way of Jarok, who attempted to reconcile Surak's logic with the undeniable truth of emotional existence; followers of Jarok seek to embrace, understand, and thus tame their emotions rather than fighting to repress them.

Even more radically, some Vulcans have rebelled against the emotionless nature of Surak's ideal, from the warrior followers of Tellus (who left Vulcan in exile in 369 to eventually found the Romulan Empire) to Tomaris' 22nd-century group of disaffected psychic explorers to Sybok's quixotic 2287 search for God in the center of the Galaxy. Emotional stress in Vulcan lives has even led to the development of opportunistic infections such as Bendii Syndrome, which leaves Vulcans prey to sudden emotional attacks and mental breakdowns. Like all members of the Federation, the Vulcans have not achieved full species maturity, or learned all the answers, even from their violent past and scientific present.

==== Notable Vulcans ====
Spock, son of Sarek and the Human Amanda Grayson, was the first Vulcan to join Starfleet. He served as Chief Science Officer aboard the ''U.S.S. Enterprise'' during the legendary five-year mission commanded by his good friend James T. Kirk. After retiring from Starfleet, Spock followed in his father's footsteps and became an ambassador. He paved the way toward peace with the Klingon Empire.

Sarek, Spock's father, was one of the Federation's greatest diplomats. He played a pivotal role in the debate over Caridan's entry to the Federation and later joined his son in a peace initiative toward the Klingons. His principles and logical arguments won over a majority of the Federation Council in many debates.

=== Encounters ===
Vulcan can appear anywhere, in any story. Although most Vulcans will be the law-abiding, emotionless professionals familiar from science labs and Starfleet vessels across the Federation, there are many exceptions. Vulcan traders ply the spacelanes, even on quite primitive planets; a logical search for a profit is no different, to some, than the logical search for new nebulae. Vulcan terrorists of the Vulcan Isolationist Movement connive to separate their homeworld from the emotional Federation, possibly with the aid of the Vulcans' descendants in the Romulan Empire. When the situation requires it, Vulcan ambassadors can lie with the best of them, which can have repercussions among less-peaceful species.

The 24th century Federation holds hundreds of member species, but the Vulcans are one of the few founding races. This affords them a level of great respect among younger races, who see the Vulcans with something like awe. Human-Vulcan relations normalize to the point that the two species often fraternize and regularly learn to accommodate each others' differences. Still, even within logic, there is room for dissent; the Vulcan Isolationist Movement hopes to secede Vulcan from the Federation, even as legendary Ambasador Spock attempts to reconcile the differences between Vulcans and their Romulan cousins.

== Zakdorns ==
[[File:Zakdorn.jpg|400px|thumb|left]]

=== Personality ===
Zakdorns are highly solitary beings, so they get very little practice in social interaction and don't grasp its importance to other races. They have an understandable reputation for arrogance and petulance because they don't know how to smooth over their differences with others, and they wouldn't care even if they did. They frequently display compulsive behavior and feel threatened if they cannot control the immediate circumstances in which they find themselves.

=== Physiology and Appearance ===
Zakdorns are humanoids whose bald heads are marked by folds of thick, fibrous tissue that hangs down from their cheeks. Most Zakdorns have three of these pouches on each side of the face, although the number has been known to vary. Scientists who have studied Zakdorn anatomy theorize that these structures served as mating displays early in the race's evolution.

Zakdorns speak Zakdorn.

=== Homeworld ===
Zakdorns take their name from their original homeworld, Zakdorn, which was destroyed by an artificially induced catastrophe in 2170. They now live on an exact replica of Zakdorn that they constructed in their home system. This replica is not entirely satisfactory—many geological features are simply holographic simulations of the originals, and genetically engineered replicas of native fauna occasionally behave in uncharacteristic ways—but it remains a remarkable feat of engineering.

=== History and Culture ===
Weak central authority characterized most of Zakdorn social evolution, as their instinctive reluctance to cooperate with each other made it almost impossible for those who would lead to persuade others to follow. Even chieftains and kings whose intentions clearly served the common good found that their persuasive (and even coercive) appeals had limited effect. Nation-states were exceedingly fragile, as communities (and individuals within communities) did their best to remain isolated from each other.

The invention of electronic communications technology made it easier for ambitious Zakdorn leaders to make their constituents associate with each other whether they really wanted or not. Various nation-states began cobbling together their own comprehensive communications networks. These networks eventually merged into a planet-wide network called the Imon Uldani. But for the Zakdorn, easy worldwide communication meant bickering on an unprecedented scale. Small groups dedicated to destroying the network surfaced. In 2170 one of these underground organizations detonated a massive explosive device in the atmosphere, intending that the electromagnetic pulse would cripple the Imon Uldani. Instead, it set off a chemical chain reaction that ultimately dissolved Zakdorn's ozone layer and made the planet uninhabitable.

Faced with such a crisis, the Zakdorn united for the first time in their history to evacuate their homeworld and resettle on nearby class-M planets. Over the next 150 years, Zakdorn scientists and engineers worked on the Great Project—a replica of Zakdorn as it had once been, complete with all geological features and native life forms, and sen in an orbit synchronized with the irradiated hulk of the original planet. This new Zakdorn became habitable in 2320.

The Federation made first contact with the Zakdorns in 2300. The Zakdorn accepted technical assistance from Federation member races on the Great Project and applied for formal membership in 2344.

==== Society ====
In keeping with their prickly temperaments, Zakdorns have a deliberately anti-social society. They live by themselves and do not cohabit for any reason other than child rearing. They consider reproducing their species a chore at best, a distasteful biological compulsion. Mating involves only brief contact between partners, usually arranged by long-distance communication through third-party brokers. The brokers help negotiate a contract between the partners stipulating their obligations (or lack of obligation) to participate in raising the child. They also name the child if the parents cannot agree on a name (Zakdorns have no social convention requiring that children inherit their parents' names). Children live with their fathers until maturity, receiving only periodic visits from their mothers.

== Zaldans ==
[[File:Zaldans.jpg|400px|thumb|left]]

=== Personality ===
Zaldans are inherently territorial and brusque toward those they conceive as interlopers or outsiders. However, there are few truer friends than a Zaldan who has "adopted" you. Zaldans enjoy hard work, especially hard mental work. The Zaldan ethical code of complete and total honesty means they don't "get" sarcasm or irony, and often seem rude and abrupt to non-Zaldans. Zaldans consider even elementary social courtesies grossly rude and immoral, although they accept Starfleet discipline as a military necessity.

=== Physical Description ===
Zaldans are bulky humanoids with thick muscles and an extra layer of subcutaneous fat. The average Zaldan is taller than the average Human, and can additionally be distinguished by webbed fingers and toes. Zaldan skin color ranges from grayish-tan to pinkish-white; their hair color runs from deep brown to platinum blond. Off duty, Zaldans dress in leathers, usually trimmed with fur.

Zaldans speak Zaldan and Federation Standard.

=== Homeworld ===
Zald (Dolium V) is a cold, oceanic world orbiting a white main-sequence star. Zaldans mostly live in floating cities, drawing power from ocean-thermal conversion and hydrogen fusion. Zaldans mine metal from seawater, and farm the herds of marine mammals on Zald and fields of carnivorous kelp.

=== Culture ===
Zaldans evolved from aquatic mammals, and retain a strong territorial and social instinct. The difficulty of developing high technology with a population as low (and a land area as small) as Zald's kept the Zaldans at a primitive, tribal state for millennia. In 1567, the coming of alien colonists, the Kimilon, upset this harsh equilibrium. The Kimilon attempted to civilize the natives, training them in technical skills and preaching Kimilon etchis and religion while using the Zaldans to construct the floating cities the Kimilon used as mining and farming stations. Unfortunately for the Kimilon, the Zaldans' territorial instincts remained intact; a rebellion led by one Rouil Lees captured a network of cities, knocked the Kimilon starships out of orbit, and completely liberated the planet by 1916. Successful, the most extremist rebels purged Lees, massacred every Kimilon colonist, and plunged the newly-independent world into civil war. Two centuries later, the exhausted Zaldans slowly unified under the mantle of "Leesite" thought—a code of complete, unflinching honesty in all matters personal and governmental. Examining Kimilon technology, the Zaldans developed warp drive in 2290, and immediately encountered a Centauran freighter. Although the Zaldans' prickly demeanor proved challenging for Federation diplomats, Zald became a full member of the UFP in 2339. Intriguingly, no traces of the Kimilon have ever been found in Federation historical or xenological records.

==== Notable Zaldans ====
Starfleet Captain Rondon currently commands the deep-space exploration vessel ''U.S.S. Jah'tor.'' A brave and clever officer, he wisely keeps a Vulcan anthropologist and a Betazoid historian on his staff to handle first contact missions. Rondon takes a strong interest in Starfleet Academy, and often serves on entrance examination panels.