The Altess Dynasty is an unusual blend of social engineering, genetic engineering, and political engineering. It is one of the most stridently human-supremacist power blocs in the Anvil Galaxy, but through adept diplomacy, artful dodging, and outright bribery, it has managed to ascend to the top circles of galactic power, somehow avoiding destruction along the way. The Altess are a race of humans from the Altetch star system, deep in the heart of the western Halo. They claim to have descended directly from The First, that mythical race that once commanded the Cosmic Forge. According to Altess legend, when the Cosmic Forge went into hiding, it revealed to the Altess where it would go, but in a way that no single Altess could know. The Cosmic Forge is said to have imparted upon each Altess alive at the time a tiny fragment of its hiding place, like a single piece to a puzzle.
The Altess Dynasty has, through genetic engineering and breeding techniques, refined its people into a slightly more evolved version of the human race. These are the Altess, and they are, according to the Dynasty, the new face of humanity itself. On the surface, there is nothing unusual about them except they are especially good looking and physically fit. However, they possess attributes and abilities far beyond the range of ordinary humans, as anybody who has tangled with one can attest.
They perfected genetic engineering techniques that extended their life span to well over 1,000 years. That, coupled with incredible medical and regenerative technologies, made it so that an Altess could pretty much live forever. With such long life spans, the average Altess has an enormously long period of time to amass wealth, which many of them do. All told, the Altess are the richest population per capita in the Anvil Galaxy. Each Altess citizen has more money than many independent governments. A large portion of this usually is in cash deposited in banks all across the galaxy, while the rest is tied up in an elaborate network of investments spanning the Anvil Galaxy. This makes Altess wealth very diversified and immune to catastrophe. It also gives them a vested interest in everything that goes on in the Anvil Galaxy, so they have learned to keep their ears to the ground. Historically, they have learned to be neutral in galactic politics, though they are not above pulling some strings in the background every now and again to make sure certain events or trends tum out their way.
Bonus' [/b] total value 12
- Wealthy Beyond Imagining: The Altess are the creators of much of the technology the makes the Three Galaxies tick and they still hold the patents. At home in the Dynasty their wealth is near limitless but while out adventuring their access is much more limited. They begin with the rich and very rich edges. (4)
- Extended life span: The Altess live far longer than normal humans. With access to the medical facilities on their homeworlds they are virtually immortal. Without them they still live to be around 250 years old. (Note this provides no game effect, it's just flair)
- Attractive: The forced evolution process administered to the Altess includes genetically engineering them for beauty. They have the Attractive Edge. (2)
- Genetic Engineering: Millenia of genetic engineering had made the Altess more than human, they begin with a starting Agility, Strength, and Vigor of d6. This increases their natural maximums in these attributes to d12+1. (6)
- Ignorance from Arrogance: Most Altess spend their lives perusing recreation and their various hobbies, leaving much of lifes daily maintinence to servants and slaves. This leaves them woefully under-educated and naive about the world at large. They suffer a −1 to all Smarts rolls and do not receive Common Knowledge as a core skill. (-3)
- Wanted (Major): Any Altess adventurers are considered to be AWOL from the empire and are hunted with the intent of bringing them back home. (-2)
- Bad Reputation: The Altess are infamous having built their empire on conquest, indenture and the concept of racial superiority. Most other species find them intolerably arrogant and condescending. Reaction to them starts at Unfriendly for most species. (-1)
- Aloof and Superior: Between their wealth, genetics, and advanced technology the Altess feel they are clearly superior to most of the upstart races and cultures of the three galaxies. Because of this even when it’s painfully obvious they’ve made a mistake they try to justify it with half-truths and rationalizations and be intolerably insistant on things being done their way. (Stuborn retrap, -1 bp)
- Rightful heirs to the Cosmic Forge: The fragments of the secret of the forges location held by every Altess are considered their birthright even more so than their wealth or immortality. It is rare that an Altess to share it even with their loved ones. (Retrapped minor Vow -1)
- Wanted (Minor): Every Altess is born with a fragment of the location of the cosmic forge imbedded in their minds. While too proud and disinterested in the Forge to work together and find it,sSeekers of the cosmic forge covet the knowledge and will often harass individuals and worse to gain it from them. (-1)
- Near-Human Physiology: The Altess have diverged more from the base human physiology than appearances may suggest. Their neuorology, tissue density and altered organ layout gives a –1 penalty to Healing skill rolls and cybernetics checks involving installation, repair, and modification to those not studied in their biology. (-1`)