[TechnoScrabble]

Species: Shudath

Appearance

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The Shudath are thin, bipedal humanoids with large, shining eyes that are usually covered with a black carapace like cover to protect their eyes from radiation and debris. Upon closer inspection, these eye covers are made up of geometrically arranged tiny triangles of the thick black material that makes up the covers. Their eyes beneath have wide, deep orange irises and slightly ovoid pupils. Their faces are smooth and curving, and lack nostrils or mouths.

The Shudath as a species have pebbly skin that is a healthy shade of olive green, and thick, hair-like growths the color of oak tree bark extending from the backs of their head. Their hands have three thin fingers and an opposable thumb on either side. Their legs and forearms are thin compared to a human's, but are proportionally very large on them. Their muscles are well developed and their feet have three large toes each, each toe tipped with a large, blunt claw. They walk on the tips of their toes, giving them a bounce to their step.

Because of the way they reproduce and feed, some Shudath have patches of their body covered in fur, scales, fur, or some other sort of covering, and only those females of their species that come from mammal-based families have mammary glands. Shudath usually prefer to wear light, close fitting clothes.

Abilities, skills, and other adaptations

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The Shudath breath, drink, and eat by absorbing nutrients through their skinl They can also absorb DNA from other organisms (even plants!) and take on some of their features! They are amazingly adept climbers and sprinters and are very flexible and lightweight thanks to having hollow bones like those of most avian species. They are a hunting and scavenging species, and prefer to get their nutrients by ambushing smaller animals and absorbing their nutrients via skin contact. The Shudath have inefficient hearts and metabolisms due to their silver based blood and that is why they prefer smaller, weaker prey and plants that are low on the energy pyramid, to gain the largest amounts of nutrients each feeding. They have three hearts, but only need two to stay healthy. They are skilled scavengers, and most have jobs as scrap collectors and recyclers near their home planet, which has been taken over by another species as of late.

Birth, life, and death

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The Shudath lack their own reproductive organs, and must adapt them by absorbing DNA from another species and growing the required organs. This affects the birthing and feeding methods of the Shudath greatly, but not how quickly the young grow or age. The pregnancies or periods of time until any eggs hatch usually take about half a year. The young become adults (able to breed) around the age of 16 (in Earth years) and barring any disease or injury, should live until somewhere around the age of seventy Earth years.

Mindset

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The evolution of the Shudath has given them a predisposition to being rather impersonal, and doing whatever feels right at the time, as long as it doesn't endanger them. They don't form strong attachments to living beings, but will become extremely protective of owned objects. They see nothing wrong with claiming anything broken or left in a scrapyard, or taking a life to protect themselves or someone more important. They are rather bad at business, and because of that, most of their species was unwittingly sold into slavery as scrap collectors and arms manufacturers recently.