The Graal

Overview:

 The Graal are a race of metalloid tribal warriors. Their ships and culture may be primitive, but their skill and technology in ground combat make them a force to be reckoned with. They are a brutal and tough race, with little regard for others, except as potential challengers. They follow complicated codes of honor and superstition, and also practice some magic in the form of rituals.

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CoLC Index

Index:

Q-dex / Technology / Magic
Size / Population / Climate & Geography / Flora & Fauna
History / Government / Foreign Policy / Domestic Policy
Society / Languages / Religions / Castes / Economy
Military / Sports & Leisure / Major Population Centers / Chronic Problems
Submission Information

Q-dex:

T 825.4553/111.030S M 437.5341/145.17

S = Being controlled by a Xenophobic Alien Race

Technology:

 The Graal are highly skilled in technology, though in some areas (like space or quantum zone travel) their knowledge leaves something to be desired. They are best in weapons technology and ground combat technology, but are always most interested in a weapon's efficiency and brutality of kill.. They are also advanced in the area of bionic armors or implants, which graft extremely easily to their metalloid bodies. (They are not robots, however, only metallic beings.) Their technology tends to be rough but very effective, and always war-oriented. Very little of their high technology is used for what they consider `frivolous' purposes, including living conditions. Many tribal or larger scale wars are fought entirely over resources. Because the Graal produce immense amounts of weapons constantly; they are eventually forced to re-process scrap and search for more materials. Their ships do leave something to be desired, but are of course built more to insert ground troops, than to battle on their own. They work and improve upon technology with great ease, and have almost an instinctual knack for it.

Magic:

 Magic exists, although weak, but the Graal do not make use of it in the same way as technology. Magic is performed in the form of rituals among tribes, and seldom by any single Graal. Those who are skilled in magic become the tribe's `shaman' of sorts, and lead in the rituals or ceremonies. The amount of magic known seldom improves in the Graal's home quantum zone, and thus such ceremonies are well known and recorded in traditional tomes of tribal magic and superstition. Each tribe's knowledge is slightly different, and some rituals actually are merely superstition, but others have positive magical effects. Sometimes this is obvious, but at other times the desired effect is such that it is difficult to tell. These ceremonies will generally be performed before and after every battle, and on occasions of celebration, or even defeat. Some of the more common rituals are one of the things that serve to tie tribes together. The ceremonies themselves usually recognize nature,' and while they do not worship it as such, they instead `acknowledge it's power,' and attempt to be a part of it. Often, symbols of life and death such as special masks or even sacrifices will play a key part.

Size:

 The Graal have 10 systems, with typically three colonized planets in each, all of which are extremely populated. This stems from the Graal's natural resistance to many types of climate, so, finding worlds to colonize is relatively easy. The home system has two colonized worlds in it -- the homeworld extremely so. This does not, however, count small territories or outposts, nor does it count newly conquered, but as of yet unsettled planets that the Graal may posses.

Population:

 Each of the Graal's worlds are very densely populated, and their total population is somewhere around 600 billion Sentients. (Each planet is judged to have approximately 20 billion, as they are extremely overcrowded.) This does not take into account newly conquered territories as of yet, however.

Climate and Geography:

 The Graal are extremely well adapted to all sorts of harsh environments, mainly due to their original homeworld. The Graal evolved on a world with a slightly irregular elliptical orbit, causing certain periods, each full rotation, of both extreme cold and extreme heat. Ordinary Humanoid life forms would not be able to survive there; metalloid life, much more resistant to such conditions, arose instead. (Incidentally, in part because of this, the Graal turned out to be the only metalloid life in their original quantum zone.) The Graal as a result are able to live on almost any type of world. Their other colonies include permanently arctic or heated volcanic worlds, and of course more moderate worlds as well.

Flora and Fauna:

 The colonies of the Graal contain ordinary organic plants and animals, as they already existed there before the Graal arrived. The Graal homeworld, however, contains many metallic forms of life which also sprung up before sentient life developed. The metalloid plant life is comprised of mostly thick, cable-like plants, with long and twisting vines. The leaves, thorns, or vines themselves all served as a fundamental food for the ancient Graal. These plants, when brought to other planets, will slowly smother all encountered organic plants simply because of their superior strength and ability to survive.

The drawback is that, because of their metallic nature, they take energy from the minerals found in the soil, growing best in fact out of solid rock. This is no problem to the Graal, however, because the plants themselves can then be used as resources, virtually eliminating the step of gathering and mining.

The other metallic animals are also food for the Graal, many of which have been domesticated or are raised for slaughter by the various tribes. Beasts come in every size and description, but are generally rather hulking and fierce, as survival has always been difficult on the Graal homeworld. When these beasts are brought to other worlds, (occasionally they are even used in war), ordinary weaker animals must be kept away from them or face a quick death.

History:

 The Graal do not know the full extent of their history and origins, but their knowledge begins with a series of stories about great past empires. In these stories war leaders of the Graal united some of the race and formed mighty nations. Generally, these were built on the war figure's leadership, and would crumble at his death. As the race progressed, such `great conquerors' were fewer and less powerful, as new technology made wars drawn out and difficult. For a long while, there were no great leaders at all, and much ancient knowledge was lost.

This all changed when the Graal encountered their first alien race; or rather, when it encountered them. The Alshain Imperial Regime, more technologically advanced than the Graal, descended virtually out of nowhere and seized control of the planet in mere hours with their advanced ships and weapons.

For almost two generations the Graal became an enslaved race; doing the hard labor of the other. Many Graal continued to fight bitterly, but the technology of the other race gradually exterminated most troublemakers. The other race also existed within the same quantum zone, but was human-like. They had in fact only just achieved long-distance space travel before attacking, and thus their knowledge, on a galactic scale, was fairly slim. Eventually, as it became evident there were few other useful slaves in the quantum zone, (and as inter-zone travel had not been perfected yet by the Alshain), the Graal began to take on more and more tasks as slaves; the trusted ones eventually taking higher positions, perhaps manufacturing more valued or complex items. This gave them the opportunity they needed.

A small group of Graal, led by the former Chieftain's son Bal-Hazar (meaning `ax blade'), took charge of a rebel movement and led the Graal into war. After some careful research and small raids for many years in the weapons factories, the Graal slowly learned how to create the complicated technology of the Alshain, and gained some of their precious weapons.

In a massive wave of destruction, their world was purged of every last invader, as Graal swarmed in every city and over the face of the planet. The fighting was long and drawn out, and millions upon millions died in the war, as the Graal were still less advanced. So inspired were they by their leader, however, that they would sacrifice their very lives so that the others might gain needed weapons, honor, or victory. The young chieftain became warlord of a mighty army, and the fighting did not cease there. Seizing ships the Graal went on to sweep across the other enslaved worlds of the empire as well; sending hordes of Graal onto the planets over years and years.

Eventually, the Graal claim to have hunted down and killed every last member of the race and their slaves on those planets. The warlord expanded the Graal's empire to the far reaches of the quantum zone, in a slow but steady blood bath. The warlord, however, died before the final conquest of the empire's original worlds was launched. The morale of the race dropped, and they were heavy hearted, but according to legend, their leader's dying words were that others like him would follow and lead the Graal to dominion over all who dared oppose them. The world the Graal had been attacking then was the last they conquered, and the Graal ripped and burned it's every surface, leaving it as a dead world; a memorial for their warlord. The Alshain were left too weak and crippled to strike back, and have been rebuilding for centuries. Over time they evolved into quite a different, and even peaceful, race. So, they are no longer the Graal's immediate target.

Government:

 The Graal's current leader is Di-Hazar (meaning `twin ax'). He is a mighty warlord, respected by all of the race, and truly believed to be the one who will deliver the galaxy to them. He controls the race loosely, by issuing commands to the tribe chieftains, and thus commanding the Graal as one united army. He has no real power over the others, but if he gives an order, they will obey. They see him as a great leader, an authority figure of almost religious importance.

There is no central government, however, among the Graal. Instead, thousands of great and small tribes cover the empires of the Graal. Each is led by a chief and some part of the larger tribal nations, others are isolated and reclusive. Each tribe claims its own territory and follows it's own beliefs. There are a great variety of values followed, from morals to religious, and most tribes have even developed their own language making understanding between the tribes extremely difficult. Tribes fight among each other for a broad range of reasons. Power, land, resources, honor, or precious items may spark any number of wars. They too generally have no solid structure, only a group of Graal, and a chief, chosen for his skill in combat or brilliant leadership.

Foreign Policy:

The Graal present no face to the Galaxy. They completely ignore all foreign actions and instead focus on the actions of their fellow tribes, and on tribal wars and Graal affairs. They believe only themselves are important, and all the other races insignificant. They know it is their destiny to conquer them all.

The exception to this is when a major warlord is in power; a Graal that has the will and vision to gather them together and strike out at a neighboring empire. In this case, the face they present is senseless rage and hostility. They throw themselves at their enemies in unrelenting fervor, and there is no persuading them otherwise. Unfortunately, Di-Hazar is one such warlord, and is in power now. Alliances are extremely rare, and historically short term; but sometimes decreed by warlords in order to further the interests of the Graal. One such alliance exists with the Shadakar now, although under slightly different circumstances.

Domestic Policy:

The Warlord has no major hand in domestic affairs, other than orders ushering more Graal into the active army. Otherwise, Graal's lives are run entirely independently, or in some cases by the tribe. Again, it depends on the individual tribe -- and there are thousands -- but in general the tribes encourage or enforce the sharing of resources, land, and even food and water equally among the community; with perhaps a little extra going to the chieftain or other important officials. This can be in the form of a commune of sorts, or in the form of a tax type system. The tribes also assign the strongest Graal to fight and protect the tribe, because there is always danger of attack or raid. If population is low, Graal may also be assigned to work producing weapons or defenses, but in general the Graal perform those tasks of their own will. As far as freedoms, the Graal are only forbidden from betraying their tribe. This does include speaking badly of it, but a Graal always has the option of leaving and joining another more suited tribe instead of protesting.

Society:

 Graal society is based upon tribes, with the tribal unity being even more important than that of each family. In general, children are raised by the entire tribe rather than just the parents, or in the cases of large tribes, they are raised by a part of it. Because of this, the most important thing to a Graal is it's place in the tribe. There is only one chieftain, who has the final word on all goings-on within the tribe. (Sometimes the chieftain's spouse -- or equivalent -- will also have some respected power).

The chieftain has total freedom of control, which is the reason for the many different types of tribes; the society can change from one generation to the next. Aside from that, the next most respected of the tribe are always the warriors, who keep the others well protected. They are given much respect for what they do. They do not really have power, nor does anyone besides the chief, but their opinions and words are valued. (This is the same with old warriors, even if they can no longer fight. Their knowledge is considered of great value for the younger members of the tribe.)

There are also Graal who work and design machines, making the weapons for those who fight. In many cases, Graal will both fight and work as well, but there are some jobs which require constant attention and they cannot leave to join the battles. These Graal are next on the social ladder, sort of in the middle. They are not looked down upon, but not really respected either. Lastly would be the other Graal, who do nothing to serve the community. Usually this is only temporary; for instance the children fit into this class, but that is only until they grow old enough to fight. There are also sometimes slaves, taken from other tribes; and slavery is the utmost humiliation for a Graal. (Most would rather die).

Aside from this general pattern, the actual morals and interactions of each tribe are governed by the chief. Some kill freely, others are less prone to anger, and some are almost entirely devoted to production and trade, instead of fighting. (But they don't tend to last very long.) Tribal interaction also depends upon how similar two tribes are, and how willing they would be to reasonably communicate.

Languages:

There are hundreds of languages within the empire because of the language that develops within each tribe. Generally, with present communications technology, new language is not just `springing up' everyday. However, certain regions or groups of tribes will each have a different language. Some only slightly different, some very confusing. The languages that exist are those that were formed during the long period of tribal war on the homeworld, before the period of enslavement. The Graal's other planets merely use the same tribal languages from their homeworld, thus no significantly new languages tend to develop. Also, there are a few basic languages, of major tribes, used for inter-tribal communications. The language of the warlord currently in power is also considered the main language, for the duration of his rule.

Religion:

Religions also differ between sects, in meaning and strength of practice, but there are some similarities. First, magic is practiced through rituals or religious ceremonies. For this reason, the ceremonies that actually have an effect, especially the strong ones, are commonly practiced in most tribes, but just in slightly different forms. The differences occur when some tribes make changes to spells, or discover new ones altogether. Also, there are of course some ceremonies that do nothing at all, other than serving a spiritual purpose. Religion is very powerful altogether, because of the genuine magic effects. The Graal believe the power of the spells is tangible proof of the power of their beliefs. Religions may focus on anything from nature, to gods or spirits -- this differs widely between tribes.

Castes:

The tribes themselves have different levels of respect (or fear) depending upon their size and power, so the tribes could be seen as types of castes, depending upon how prominent they are. Their interaction, however, does not depend upon class, but common beliefs or practices, such as religion, types of government, etc .... Relations are also established if two or more tribes could benefit from combining might, or some sort of resource exchange or bargain. This only happens when the tribes are VERY similar though, because they have to trust each other.

Slavery does exist in some tribes and is increasing constantly, as more demands for supplies and workers pile up and capable Graal go off to fight under the command of the Warlord. However, it is still generally frowned upon, because of the Graal's own slavery experience.

Economy:

 The economy is completely trade based, and that is the only type of exchange between tribes. Precious minerals or resources, land, weapons, sometimes slaves, all are acceptable items of trade. As for currency, there is no real system of currency other than within some of the very largest tribes, and even then it would be coins or chunks of precious materials, and purchases would still involve much bartering as to the exact value of the coins. The chieftains and mightiest warriors tend to have control of most of the wealth, the chieftain collecting tax or tribute from the tribe, and the warriors getting to keep the spoils of battle.

All adult Graal who are capable can work or fight, regardless of age or gender; the only judgment is on ability. Children too can fight as soon as they complete training or prove themselves. Generally children are able to aid the workers first, while they are still young, then eventually try to become skilled warriors. Slaves, in the few tribes that have them, are usually reserved for manufacturing or lesser work.

Military:

 All of the population that possibly can fight, does. The tribal military is controlled by the chief, and each tribe's warriors generally work as one strong unit, going where needed. Only the very large tribes have any sort of structured army, or multiple units. The warriors use only weapons that can be hand held. Very few vehicles or large mounted guns of any sort exist in the Graal empire. Sometimes the tribes will have constructed defenses, but that is the limit.

Graal will use highly advanced weapons, however, hand held clubbing or projectile weapons designed only to do large amounts of damage. They also use bionic and genetic enhancement, to improve their best fighters. (Only the best are given this honor, as it can be costly). Built in armor and weapons, and various boosts to ability are the most common. Everything is centered around ground combat.

The Graal do control ships, but they are rather un-sophisticated. They are mainly massive flying hunks of armor, with one or two unwieldy weapons. All Graal vehicles are designed for the specific purpose of blasting in, dropping off as many Graal troops as possible, and going back to get more. Ground transports function similarly.

When a warlord is in power, he is the supreme commander of all Graal forces, and organizes the army by controlling each tribe or several tribes combined as parts of the attack force. Each grouping of Graal can be directed to specific points of attack, thus forming a vary large and complicated attack pattern, involving wave after wave of fresh troops.

Sports and Leisure:

 Competitive, and usually brutal sports are not surprisingly the favorite of the Graal. Traditional, one-on-one, combat is the most entertaining sport, especially to the participants. This can be armed, unarmed, or even to the death; that just makes it all the more entertaining. Aside from that, large group games (also very rough) are another favorite, and there are many variations on specific games or challenges. Other leisure activities such as art, music, or theater, are very limited. There are, however, paintings and stories depicting famous battles in history, and respected warlords. Songs, too, can be found in the form of war chants.

Major Population Centers:

 There are no major population centers that remain for any period of time. All of the Graal planets are densely populated, but made up entirely of small tribes. The tribes are at constant war, and because of this all cities or encampments are often destroyed, or are set up to be able to quickly move. The Graal have the ability to quickly set up and transport their homes and even factories, because of their mechanical skill. They do this out of necessity, because of the tribal wars. Even during the time of a warlord, the tribes remain small unconnected villages. The warlord himself will have a large camp, but even it is ready for travel at a moment's notice. It is with this same skill that the Graal can quickly conquer and colonize planets, setting up defenses as they move. Often, too, because of the massive numbers of Graal on each of their colonized worlds, the entire planet may seem like one large city.

Chronic Problems:

 The only major chronic problem among the Graal is that they are split up into so many small warring tribes. When they have no warlord, they only fight amongst themselves, and pay no attention to other races of the galaxy. This includes races that may threaten or possibly overwhelm them. Now, however, they do have a warlord in power, so that isn't really an issue -- they act as one united military force. Once a command for attack is issued, the Graal will not stop unless they complete their goal, or every last one of their kind is killed. The only danger would be if the warlord himself were ever killed -- those responsible would die in a violent battle of revenge, but the Graal would fall back into disorder soon after.

The only other possible weakness is the issue of Graal keeping slaves, as it is a hated practice. However, very few presently do and any conflict over that would be a long way off. The presence of a warlord keeps that conflict at bay as well.

Submission Information:

Submitter's Name: David Crow
Submitter's Email: [none at this time]

RPG Contact: Mael'Sheran, Mouth of the Shadakar

Sifter Name: Falcon
Sifter E-mail: Falcon@starshield.com