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Re: Miscellaneous Umiak/misc. races question-and-answer thre

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2016 1:10 am
by Arioch
Tamri wrote:What is the average height / weight Arekka? They Avian, or just something to ground with feathers / fur?
A typical Arekka is 2.5m tall and weighs 50-60kg. They are descended from ground-walking animals and have no ancestry of natural flight; the downy covering is for insulation and display.
Tamri wrote:Nissek expanded towards the people and have been blocked Loroi / Barsam, or they are the wrong way initially not too eager?
Earlier in their history the Nissek aggressively attempted to expand in all directions, and they waged a number of territorial wars against their neighbors, including the Mannadi and Barsam. Their spinward expansion attempts were mostly thwarted by the Mannadi and Barsam, and the formation of the Loroi Union in 1557 formally put an end to their attempts to expand in that direction.
Tamri wrote:What will take (hypothetically) Umiak, if they manage to drive a wedge into the Union to Mannadi-Arekka space (on the Loroi-Historian border like, well, except that it will effectively mean the defeat of the Union)?
Driving along the Loroi-Historian border would be a dangerous strategy, because occupied Mannadi and Arekka territories are not critical to the Loroi war effort, and such an offensive would form a long, narrow salient that could be easily counterattacked by both Historian and Loroi forces anywhere along its length.
Tamri wrote:What will their actions in the Loroi occupied species?
That would depend on the situation; the Umiak haven't declared a clear policy on the subject. The Umiak demanded and received unconditional surrender from the Loroi and Neridi colonies that they overran at the beginning of the war, but then later began extermination of the captured populations.

Re: Miscellaneous Umiak/misc. races question-and-answer thre

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2016 2:56 pm
by GeoModder
Arioch wrote:
Tamri wrote:What will their actions in the Loroi occupied species?
That would depend on the situation; the Umiak haven't declared a clear policy on the subject. The Umiak demanded and received unconditional surrender from the Loroi and Neridi colonies that they overran at the beginning of the war, but then later began extermination of the captured populations.
Extermination of the Neridi population/colonies as well?
I'd be a bit surprised to hear they waged a succesful guerilla war as the Loroi did.

Re: Miscellaneous Umiak/misc. races question-and-answer thre

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 5:02 pm
by Grayhome
In Warhammer 40k, GURPS and many other universes there are special munitions that create electro-magnetic pulses that short out cyborgs and machines. Would such ammunition types be effective against Umiak ground forces; or would the grubs have sufficient shielding built into their cybernetics to protect against such an obvious weakness?

Re: Miscellaneous Umiak/misc. races question-and-answer thre

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 5:16 pm
by Arioch
GeoModder wrote:Extermination of the Neridi population/colonies as well?
I'd be a bit surprised to hear they waged a succesful guerilla war as the Loroi did.
There were Loroi on the Neridi colonies as well. The Tinza sector was and is still fairly cosmopolitan, and the military bases are all Loroi-manned.
Grayhome wrote:In Warhammer 40k, GURPS and many other universes there are special munitions that create electro-magnetic pulses that short out cyborgs and machines. Would such ammunition types be effective against Umiak ground forces; or would the grubs have sufficient shielding built into their cybernetics to protect against such an obvious weakness?
Any military hardware needs to have some kind of EM shielding.

Re: Miscellaneous Umiak/misc. races question-and-answer thre

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 9:29 pm
by GeoModder
Arioch wrote:
GeoModder wrote:Extermination of the Neridi population/colonies as well?
I'd be a bit surprised to hear they waged a succesful guerilla war as the Loroi did.
There were Loroi on the Neridi colonies as well. The Tinza sector was and is still fairly cosmopolitan, and the military bases are all Loroi-manned.
Ah, of course. :oops:
It is telling that the Umiak didn't make a difference between the assumed few numbers of Loroi on Neridi colonies and the local Neridi populations.
Granted that the Neridi are by most the closest ally of the Loroi though. Did those genocides on occupied Neridi colonies start before or after the Hierarchy declared its anti-neutrality policy?

Re: Miscellaneous Umiak/misc. races question-and-answer thre

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 1:12 am
by Arioch
GeoModder wrote:It is telling that the Umiak didn't make a difference between the assumed few numbers of Loroi on Neridi colonies and the local Neridi populations. Granted that the Neridi are by most the closest ally of the Loroi though.
Most of the captured Neridi systems were made a part of Morat territory, and so were under a joint Umiak-Morat occupation. The largest captured Neridi colony was Azimol, which had a significant Loroi population. The Neridi were by no means innocent bystanders (a Neridi civilian can commit sabotage as well as anyone else), and it was a messy situation; when a facility blows up, you don't necessarily know who did it. The occupation forces were perplexed by the ability of captured populations to wage an effective insurgency even after they were rounded up and monitored. At one point the Morat began to suspect that the Neridi were also secretly telepathic. And unlike the comparatively dispassionate Umiak, the Morat (who were under a lot of pressure) responded especially harshly to the insurgency. To make a long (and unpleasant) story short, when the decision was made that the captured colonies could not efficiently be pacified, the resulting liquidation included Neridi as well as Loroi.

The Neridi have skin in this game. In addition to the losses during invasion and occupation, when the Umiak started raiding Laget through Tithric territory, it was mainly Neridi civilians who were killed. For the Neridi, the war is personal, and not just against the Loroi. In particular, the Neridi have developed a burning hatred for the Morat, who they had previously regarded as friendly neighbors.
GeoModder wrote: Did those genocides on occupied Neridi colonies start before or after the Hierarchy declared its anti-neutrality policy?
The anti-neutrality policy had nothing to do with the treatment of captured Union populations, who were most definitely not neutral. But to answer your question, the anti-neutrality declaration was in late 2141, whereas liquidation protocols began in late 2143.

Re: Miscellaneous Umiak/misc. races question-and-answer thre

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 1:58 am
by Grayhome
The occupation forces were perplexed by the ability of captured populations to wage an effective insurgency even after they were rounded up and monitored. At one point the Morat began to suspect that the Neridi were also secretly telepathic.
Oh my goodness, were the Loroi mind controlling/body swapping with their Neridi "friends" and using them as drone proxies to attack the Umiak? Oooo, the questions this raises. ;)

Re: Miscellaneous Umiak/misc. races question-and-answer thre

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 2:02 am
by dragoongfa
I suspect that the Neridi were easier to 'read' and could perhaps 'receive' basic instructions thus allowing them to act as lookouts and agents of opportunity.

Plus they are short little buggers and can fit everywhere.

Re: Miscellaneous Umiak/misc. races question-and-answer thre

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 2:38 am
by Grayhome
I suspect that the Neridi were easier to 'read' and could perhaps 'receive' basic instructions thus allowing them to act as lookouts and agents of opportunity.
I love your naive and idealistic nature.

Re: Miscellaneous Umiak/misc. races question-and-answer thre

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 3:44 am
by Arioch
Grayhome wrote:
The occupation forces were perplexed by the ability of captured populations to wage an effective insurgency even after they were rounded up and monitored. At one point the Morat began to suspect that the Neridi were also secretly telepathic.
Oh my goodness, were the Loroi mind controlling/body swapping with their Neridi "friends" and using them as drone proxies to attack the Umiak?
Of course not. The occupiers merely underestimated the effectiveness of the Loroi psionic warfare castes.

Re: Miscellaneous Umiak/misc. races question-and-answer thre

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 3:47 am
by Grayhome
Awww, so less ruthless than what I was expecting.
The occupiers merely underestimated the effectiveness of the Loroi psionic warfare castes.
Wow, people seem to do that a lot.

Re: Miscellaneous Umiak/misc. races question-and-answer thre

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 3:53 am
by Arioch
Grayhome wrote:Wow, people seem to do that a lot.
Well, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition!

Re: Miscellaneous Umiak/misc. races question-and-answer thre

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 9:50 am
by GeoModder
Arioch wrote:
GeoModder wrote:It is telling that the Umiak didn't make a difference between the assumed few numbers of Loroi on Neridi colonies and the local Neridi populations. Granted that the Neridi are by most the closest ally of the Loroi though.
Most of the captured Neridi systems were made a part of Morat territory, and so were under a joint Umiak-Morat occupation...
Ah? Did the Hierarchy so to speak grant additional territory to their Morat ally? Or was providing occupation forces for captured worlds a sort of demand of the Umiak towards the Morat?
Arioch wrote:The Neridi have skin in this game. In addition to the losses during invasion and occupation, when the Umiak started raiding Laget through Tithric territory, it was mainly Neridi civilians who were killed. For the Neridi, the war is personal, and not just against the Loroi. In particular, the Neridi have developed a burning hatred for the Morat, who they had previously regarded as friendly neighbors.
Had to look up the expression 'skin in this game'. Did you mean that beside the loss of life the Neridi also lost a vast amount of investment?
Arioch wrote:
GeoModder wrote: Did those genocides on occupied Neridi colonies start before or after the Hierarchy declared its anti-neutrality policy?
The anti-neutrality policy had nothing to do with the treatment of captured Union populations, who were most definitely not neutral. But to answer your question, the anti-neutrality declaration was in late 2141, whereas liquidation protocols began in late 2143.
Thanks.

Re: Miscellaneous Umiak/misc. races question-and-answer thre

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 3:59 pm
by Arioch
GeoModder wrote:Ah? Did the Hierarchy so to speak grant additional territory to their Morat ally?
Yes, it was a gift of territory in reward for their contribution to the war. The Morat were (and still technically are) an independent ally, and the Umiak know how to use the carrot as well as the stick.
GeoModder wrote:Had to look up the expression 'skin in this game'. Did you mean that beside the loss of life the Neridi also lost a vast amount of investment?
Having multiple colonies captured or destroyed and millions of your people killed is of course also a huge financial loss, but I was implying a more visceral investment. To throw more metaphor at you: when you "lose your shirt" that's financial ruin, but when you "save someone's skin" that's something more serious, so "skin in the game" implies (at least in my opinion) that there's more than just money at stake. The Neridi have shed their own blood and they want blood in return; their participation in the war is not just a favor for a friend (as it is for the Barsam).

Re: Miscellaneous Umiak/misc. races question-and-answer thre

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 11:34 pm
by Eluvatar
Arioch wrote:The Neridi have shed their own blood and they want blood in return; their participation in the war is not just a favor for a friend (as it is for the Barsam).
That's interesting.

Do the Barsam have no reason to believe the Umiak would enslave them?

Re: Miscellaneous Umiak/misc. races question-and-answer thre

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 12:21 am
by Arioch
Eluvatar wrote:Do the Barsam have no reason to believe the Umiak would enslave them?
That's open to academic debate (as the Barsam are committed to mutual defense of the Union by treaty regardless of how they feel about it), but I meant that the Barsam have suffered no direct attacks on their territory or civilian populations in the current war, and so there is no personal vendetta or hatred against the Hierarchy. The Barsam are nominally pacifists, so while they support the war effort, most just want it to be over. If the Umiak were to offer a truce tomorrow, I think many Barsam would counsel acceptance.

Re: Miscellaneous Umiak/misc. races question-and-answer thre

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 1:35 pm
by GeoModder
Arioch wrote:
GeoModder wrote:Had to look up the expression 'skin in this game'. Did you mean that beside the loss of life the Neridi also lost a vast amount of investment?
Having multiple colonies captured or destroyed and millions of your people killed is of course also a huge financial loss, but I was implying a more visceral investment. To throw more metaphor at you: when you "lose your shirt" that's financial ruin, but when you "save someone's skin" that's something more serious, so "skin in the game" implies (at least in my opinion) that there's more than just money at stake. The Neridi have shed their own blood and they want blood in return; their participation in the war is not just a favor for a friend (as it is for the Barsam).
Thanks again! :lol: I was thinking along those lines at first too, but looking up the expression online brought me to the financial meaning.

Re: Miscellaneous Umiak/misc. races question-and-answer thre

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 2:55 pm
by Eluvatar
Arioch wrote:
Eluvatar wrote:Do the Barsam have no reason to believe the Umiak would enslave them?
That's open to academic debate (as the Barsam are committed to mutual defense of the Union by treaty regardless of how they feel about it), but I meant that the Barsam have suffered no direct attacks on their territory or civilian populations in the current war, and so there is no personal vendetta or hatred against the Hierarchy. The Barsam are nominally pacifists, so while they support the war effort, most just want it to be over. If the Umiak were to offer a truce tomorrow, I think many Barsam would counsel acceptance.
And the Neridi would not?

Huh.

Re: Miscellaneous Umiak/misc. races question-and-answer thre

Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 1:07 am
by Hālian
...I just noticed that in the Umiak data file, the sample umiak's arms are on backwards.

Re: Miscellaneous Umiak/misc. races question-and-answer thre

Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 3:31 am
by Arioch
Carl Miller wrote:...I just noticed that in the Umiak data file, the sample umiak's arms are on backwards.
In what way are they backwards?