See if anyone salutes this one... (EX)

[Chrystal]

This is a pretty horrific idea, and is really only suitable for the strong of stomach:

The time is the 23rd century. The place is outer space. Specifically a planet somewhere in the constellation of Taurus.

A collony vessel from Earth finds a new and previously uncharted world. It is an Earth-type planet and looks to be suitable for colonisation. Live is abundant, but there are no cities, no radio transmissions, no sign whatever of intelligent life. The bulk of the world appears to be covered in fairly dense forest.

The colonists land and set up camp in the Northern, more temperate, less forested areas, and begin to establish their colony.

At some point, they begin to explore the forests to the south. Some people mysteriously disappear. An investigation ensues...

And this is when the human player characters encounter the native player characters.

I did try try to find a picture that captures what I was after, but I couldn't find one, however after a couple of aborted attempts to draw one, Kunoichi came up with this (linked rather than embeded due to nudity).

Picture if you will, a race of beings, the females eight foot tall, the males two foot. They have black, chitinous skin, four arms and four legs, plus a slightly bulbous bottom. While obviously exhibiting arachnoid traits, they are equally clearly mammalian - at least, the females are. The males don't actually figure very much in the story, as they usually get eaten right after mating. The young are raised by the female, breast-fed until they are ready to eat solid food.

The males don't generally live longer than two years and are fully mature within one. Males are little more than animals anyway.  The females can live to be fifty, and do not reach maturity until 16. They are, in fact, highly intelligent and have a well developed society. They go naked, and thus inhabit only the warmer regions of their planet. (Fortunately for any future colonisation, but unfortunately for the explorers, the Earth ship landed in the tropics!) They live in houses of spun silk, that they make for themselves. They hunt using the same substance, coating it with an adhesive they secrete that is stronger than superglue®, and can only be dissolved by their saliva. They feed in much the same way as earth spiders.

With a distinct shortage of males, lesbianism is common among the females. They are a violent society. Kidnapping and rape are commonplace, and let's face it, bondage is the norm - when you have the means to immobilise your victim built in! Bestiality is also extremely common, with females often tormenting larger mammals that they catch in their webs while feeding off them

Our human colonists must somehow convince the natives that they are intelligent and not food....


I need:

Several domme females to play the spider-women (Can be male or female players and can be gay, bi or straight).
Several sub players to play the human colonists. Characters need to be a good mix of M & F.

I will be playing Ariadne, the Spider Queen. I am willing to do this as a one-on-one if only one person is interested. Ideally I would like an even number of spiders and humans. PLEASE NOTE: Male spiders cannot be player characters, and will feature only in passing.

So, does anyone feel the need to overcome their arachnophobia?  Does anyone feel, with Halloween approaching, the need to scare some poor arachnophobe rigid?

Please comment here if interested, or PM me if you have any questions.

*edited to change scenario slightly*

[kaz]

Oh blimey what a great idea.  I'll put my name down as one of the crew.  Female, who has a fear of anything creepy crawly. :)

[DarkCassandra]

Oh blimey what a great idea.  I'll put my name down as one of the crew.  Female, who has a fear of anything creepy crawly. :)

Count me in, too!

[Transgirlenstein]

A race of driders?  Love it!

Sign me up as a space marine aka future victim.

[Chrystal]

Not sure we're having any marines on an exploration vessel, TG, but I'm sure they would have some sort of security detail.

Nice to have plenty of interest so far. Now I need some more spiders... Not that I wouldn't be happy taking on all three of you delicious meals ladies, but I feel it only right to share...

[BraveEarth]

MIght send you a paragraph in attempt to apply for one of the natives let you decide if I would be acceptable....

[Kunoichi]

I'll be keeping my eye on this one. ^^ If you don't get many other natives, I'll sign on as a spider-woman.

[Chrystal]

Okay, it seems I have enough interest to make this a goer!

I will put up a character thread in the appropriate forum (Extreme small groups, I think...!  >:) )

I would like everyone interested to post a character sheet there, based on one of two templates I will post.

For humans, we have the following positions available. Note that not all of them need to be filled, as a lot of the crew will have already disappeared before we start the story.

Ship's Captain x 1 (f)
Ship's Pilot x1 (f)
Ship's Navigator x 1 (f) (also cartographer)
Ship's Engineer x 1 (f)
Ship's Doctor x 1 (Also head of microbiology)
Xeno-botanists x 3 (scientists who study alien plant life)
Xeno-zoologists x 3 (scientists who study alien animal life)
Geologists x 2 (Scientists who study rocks - also double as vulcanoligists, studying volcanoes, eath quakes and plate techtonics.)
Meteorologists x 2 (Study the weather - also the air composition)
Microbiologists x 2 (Study micro-organisms, including bacteria and viruses. Ships doctor is the third member and leader of the microbiology team.
Anthroxenologist x 1 (Fancy title for someone who's job is first contact with alien sentience - skilled in diplomacy and negotiation, is also good with languages - probably has a cranial implant that has linguistic analysis software loaded.)
And last and (obviously) least, Ship's security x 2. (If this were star trek - it isn't, but if it were - they would be the red-shirts!)

Technology: Computers are palm-size - in fact you can have one built into your palm. The ship has an AI built in but it will be a NPC. The AI will respond to every crew member differently, so each Human player can play the AI. I already mentioned cranial implants. (Over the next en to twenty years we will see these come into being - they are already working on them!) Basically it is a computer chip in your head, that allows you direct, wireless access to the local communications grid, and also functions as a computer that you have instant access to.

Any other technology you want, (sampling devices, analysis probes, whatever) I leave to you guys to make up, as long as it's reasonable! If in doubt, ask!

Weapons: NO RAY GUN! PLEASE! Bullets are the most effective means of killing we've found so far. Only the four flight crew (f) and security may carry weapons. You can have gauss rifles as long as you remember to change the battery every six shots! Important point - a gauss weapon is pretty quiet when fired. You want to make a noise, fire a cordite (conventional cartridge) weapon, they go bang!

This is a science vessel, not a military one, so please keep the military hardware to a minimum. Two rifles, six side arms, and that's it!

THE SHIP:

You can name her what you like, but do make sure you agree on the name!

Everyone has their own cabin. Additionally, each department has either a lab or an office. Flight crew counts as a department their "office" is the bridge, but additionally, the Captain has a day-room off the bridge and connected to his/her cabin. Also, the Engineer has a machine shop down near the engine spaces.

I don't think it's necessary to go into too much detail regarding the actual workings of the ship, as it is going to be on-planet for the entire story.

The ship IS armed, with a single missile turret, capable of launching a maximum of five nuclear tipped missiles, one every thirty seconds. However, the Captain's authorisation is required to arm the turret!

I think that's it for now. Any questions, let me know, any ideas, let me know. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know!

[Chrystal]

The Planet:

The world of Gossamer (approximate translation - see notes on the Natives) has a single vast land mass covering about 75% of the planet's surface. Open water occurs mostly in lakes and inland seas, except at the two poles. cloud cover is approximately 60% at any one time. It rains a lot!

This is (obviously) because the world is a lot closer to the primary (star) than Earth. This gives most of the world a sub-tropical to tropical climate. At the equator, the climate is super-tropical with temperatures reaching 50°c on a normal day. The only temperate regions are the polar oceans. Average humidity is 85%.

Atmosphere is 30% O₂, 35% N₂, 20% CO₂ 5% other. This is a higher oxygen content than earth, so our humans might get a bit light headed. They should also watch lighting fires (or firing weapons!)

Gravity is 0.72 Earth normal. In other words, drop something and it accelerates at 7.05 m/s² towards the ground (9.8 on Earth).

Flora:

Everything from lichens to vast trees. Parallel evolution means that whatever type of plant life can be found on Earth can be found on most worlds that support life. However, there are always differences. What those differences are, I leave up to anyone wanting a xenobotanist role, however the most obvious one should be broader leaves that are bluer in colour - less sunlight and more oxygen means less photosynthesis!

Much of the planet is covered with forest, as already mentioned.

There might be carnivorous plants in there, big enough to eat a human! *sniggers* (Oh, you guys are allowed machetes, by the way)

Fauna:

There is a rather noticeable absence of insects! (I wonder why? hee hee!) Other than that, we have the equivalents of fish, reptiles, birds, rodents, and large mammals. Most of the larger mammals are herbivores, although there are a few predators - similar to wolves, bears or big cats. Most of the (non-sentient) predators live in the water, the equivalent of crocodiles. However, there are some pretty big non-sentient spiders.... (Apes, if you will). These arachnids feed on smaller animals and birds. Oddly, they are vertebrates (have a skeleton) and mammals! There are no invertebrates anywhere!

Birds (or the equivalent of) occupy the ecological niche left by the absence of insects, and specimens as small as 2cm wingspan can be found.

[Chrystal]

(Long: Lost it once due to stupidity on my part!)

Here is the last info post....

The Arach:

Language:

The Arach language is complex and is composed of sequences of whistles and clicks of varying pitch, frequency and duration. It will be possible for the humans to decipher it but it will take time.

Geopolitical Structure

The Arach live in cities built high in the trees from the silk they produce. Each city controls a certain area the size of which is dependent upon the population of the city. Each city is ruled by a Queen, who is then served by up to five generals, each of which is in charge of a specific aspect of the city’s society.

The Arach are a warlike people, and wars between neighbouring cities are common, usually in order to expand the city’s hunting grounds.

Arach society is layered and hierarchical, with both horizontal and vertical strata. Promotion is usually dead-spiders-web! In other words you either wait for your superior to die, or you bump her off! Of course, the latter course is risky, because your superior got where she is the same way and if you fail, it will be your head on the dinner plate!

Currency:

None! The Arach are a hierarchical collective, and all things are owned in common, distributed fairly, from the top, down. If there is a food shortage, it is the lower castes that take the brunt of it – usually supplementing the food supply themselves!

Social Structure:

There are five castes of Arach, and they each have a certain status within Arach society. Each caste is headed by a general , usually from the caste, but in the case of the lower two castes the general will more often be a warrior. From the top, down:

Warrior Caste. The warriors are the most formidable, being 2.6m tall, naked, black spider-amazons! Their thumbs on their second hands (see below) are anything up to 50cm long and razor sharp. They also have especially adapted spinnerets for creating extra strong threads for use as garrottes. Their silk will not harden, though and can be either smooth or extremely sticky.

Hunter Caste. The hunters average around 2.4m tall. They are less formidable that the Warriors, but not much so. They have a much browner skin than the warriors, too, enabling them to blend in. Hunters are most able to produce the sticky adhesive on their webs, and can control exactly how much they use to vary the adhesive quality. Their glue is also waterproof. Hunters are thinner and more agile than Warriors.

Engineer Caste. These Arach are the builders. They are responsible for building the cities, the road ways, water ducts, telephone system (see below), and for maintaining and operating of the same. They have bulbous backsides, where they store the silk they need. They have no ability to make sticky silk at all, but instead secrete a chemical that causes the silk to harden, They average about 2.0m in height.

Nurse Caste. Nurses are probably the least formidable, but most creepy of the Arach. They stand about 1.8m tall, when they get to stand, which isn’t often. They look after the young Arach, both their own and other Castes’, breast feeding them until weaned and then feeding the females on food supplied to them until the females are mature. The Nurses are almost constantly pregnant due to the constant presence of male Arach.  The Nurses are responsible for increasing the population of the city. (Warriors are almost invariably responsible for decreasing it when necessary). The nurses usually have distended bellies and very large breasts. Note: Arach “milk” would be poisonous to humans!

Servant Caste. The lowest of the castes, the servants stand on average a mere 1.4m tall. They basically do everything for the society that the other casts won’t do. Cleaning, fetching, looking after the food in the larder, etc. They are the prostitutes and most common rape victims among the Arach. They are also the most expendable and will be the first to be culled if there is a food shortage.

Males. Strictly, male Arach are not a Caste. They are more a semi-sentient subspecies. They are an average of 0.6m high, and can only be distinguished from some of the non-sentient species of spider by the fact that they are quadruped,  not octopod, with four arms and four legs. Their one function is to mate with the female and then die. They are usually eaten by the female they mate with – usually a Nurse, sometimes the male’s own mother! Average life span is about one and a half years. Minimum, one year, maximum usually two.


Caste and gender are determined by random genetics. Arach Nurses have to some extent discovered that breeding with a closer related male is more likely to produce a higher proportion of lower Caste offspring, but scientific research is not a high priority in this society.

Social Mobility:

It is physically and biologically impossible for an Arach to change her caste. Vertical mobility, as mentioned, is usually by killing the Arach above you, but this can be extremely risky, and will often result in the promotion of at least one Arach below! Beware, therefore, if your subordinate  suggests that your superior has a weakness – she might tip the superior off!

Killing a subordinate is not usually considered sporting without good reason. “Good reason” can mean anything from attempted assassination, to being two seconds late for work. But it is worth pointing out that persistant removal of subordinates could be regarded as a “good reason” by one’s own superior, if it affects the department’s performance.

Once one reaches the lofty height of General, one must be very careful. The Queen is of course constantly on guard for treachery, but the generals themselves are in competition General of Servants is a demeaning post for a Warrior and she will always want to move up. More than that, Each general has a whole raft of others below, all itching to move into their vacant seat.

It is therefore not unusual for a group of Five Generals to simply be content with their lot and combine their resources to maintain their positions against those below them. The problem of the demeaning lower posts can often be solved by rotation, or, in extreme cases, by promotion from within the lower castes.

Appearance and anatomy:

All Arach look pretty much the same to Human eyes, apart from the physical differences of Caste. They have already been described in general, so here are more specific details:

The face is largely humanoid, with no ears and no hair (in fact there is no hair anywhere on any Arach). The Arach have nine eyes, eight evenly spaced around their heads and the ninth on top.

The skin varies in shade from pure black to deep blue, to muddy brown to almost purple. There is not much variation within a caste, but the brown colours tend to belong to the hunters. The first arms are true hands with three long slender fingers and opposable thumbs. Second arms have the “ears” built in to them. The thumbs are elongated and pointed and are used as telephone receivers. On the Warrior Caste,  they are extra long and razor sharp and used as weapons.

First feet are true feet with four toes and are used for walking. Second feet are prehensile with longer toes, the big toe being opposable. They are usually used for climbing.

The Arach are vertebrates (as are all the “spiders” on Gossamer), having a proper internal skeleton. It is not made of bone, however, but of chitin.

The spine juts backwards at the first hip-joint, allowing first and second legs to be the same length, and giving the Arach a sexy, bulbous bottom! The spinnerets are located just above the anus, which is just back from the second hip joint. The sex is located between the first and second hip joints.

Technology:

The Arach do not have fire, nor electricity. Their technology is based almost entirely around the threads they spin themselves. Engineer Caste Arach can be amazing artists, creating things of great beauty. The cities themselves are often a wonder to behold, with vast delicate walkways that look like they ought to collapse under their own weight, awe inspiring structures that soar to the very tops of the trees, and water channelling systems to make the bravest Human plumber weep for joy!

Probably the biggest mystery, however, is the Arach telephone system. A complex network of taut, hard threads, almost invisible even to Arach eyes, stretch between homes and businesses, and also between the various cities. These wires are used to carry vibrations from one point to another, which are interpreted by the Arach ear as speech.  How the signals are directed, and how they are kept separate, is something the Human race will never discover. (Cop out on my part. I have a vague idea, but it’s too vague).

Weapons:

Warrior Caste Arach use silk as their primary weapon. They can make trip-wires, webs, nets, garrottes, snares, traps, lassos, slingshots, flails, whips, etc... For close combat they have the thumbs on their second hands.

Food:

Arach are primarily carnivorous, but will occasionally supplement their diet with fruits, nuts and grains. Gathering these is Servant Cast work.

Arach hunters work either alone or as a team. A team will usually have one or more warriors along for security. They hunt with silk, the same as any spider, using much the same range of weapons as the warriors. Preferred food is large mammals and birds. They will take reptiles and fish too, and even the smaller arachnids, though this is less common.

Once caught, prey is cocooned while still conscious – there is no paralyzing bite – and transported back to the city. It is kept alive in a larder by the provision of fruit and grain or raw fish, and a supply of fresh water usually channelled directly to the prey’s mouth by a silken straw. Looking after the prey is the job of the Servant Caste.

Arach feed by biting into their prey and injecting an acid which dissolves the flesh. They then suck this back out. Arach prefer the taste of living flesh, and so will usually take care to avoid any vital organs until the end.

Arach will often take sexual pleasure from captured prey too, regardless of the prey’s gender or species.

Canibalism is also common. Eating prisoners of war is a normal way to feed your army, males are usually eaten after they mate, and eating a defeated superior or subordinate is considered a good way to cement one’s position!

Arach Armies:

An Arach army will be composed of 60% warrior caste, 15% Hunter Caste, 15% Engineer Caste and 10% Servant Caste. The hunters are along to provide food for the army, and also to provide their skills in creating traps and scouting, the engineers are there to create any special weapons required, and the servants are there as – well, servants!

RP Characters:

Queen: (ME!)
Up to five Generals, one for each Caste.
Hunters,
Warriors,
Engineers,
Possibly one servant looking after the larder...


I think it best to keep the Nurse Caste out of the story, as all they generally do is have sex, eat, give birth, and feed the young. The best caste to be would be hunters, with second best being warriors.

And I am almost certainly going to have a second player character who is a hunter, because the queen is not going to get much action early on!

[kaz]

I'll grab the Captain if I may, I'll have her up when the threads up.  She will be a strong woman, not used to being looked down at LOL but hates spiders and all things creepy crawly.

[Chrystal]

Flight crew are on a first come first served basis!

[Chrystal]

OOC thread is up. Please read the rules. I've also posted the info there again too, because it helps to have it in one place.

I think it would be best if people could PM me with their character sheets as soon as I've designed them!

[Chrystal]

Just to add to this one:

Slight change in scenario, in that first contact between the spader women (now referred to as the Arach) and the humans will come AFTER the human colony has been established.

In this way, we can accept new players on BOTH sides, rather than having a limited number of humans available but an unlimited number of Arach.

Anyone interested, please check out the OOC thread and PM me a character sheet.

[Kunoichi]

Just as a suggestion, it may be better to edit that into the first post... ^^;

[Chrystal]

Good idea... *does so*

[Kunoichi]

Here's hoping we can get a few new entrants, then. ^^;

[Sarasham]

If you guys are still looking I'd like to play one of the Arach.
I'm brand new to E so I have no idea how to find your OOC and such so if you could link me that would be awesome. ^__^
Sarasham

[Chrystal]

Hi, welcome to E.

Please read the OOC thread (ignoring my feeble attempts to draw a spider-woman) and then post something there. Also please have a read of the characters (in the characters thread) so far and PM me a character sheet for approval.

Oh, and if you know of anyone who might like to play a human, please point them in this direction? We need more humans.

(Ratio of Sub:Domme needs to be 1:1 or better for any multi-player game to work!)

[TastyBacon]

I'll take on a Human character in this, gonna go read the OOC and Character threads now :)