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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Davies" data-source="post: 8231594" data-attributes="member: 30538">Manguai<img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/i-r49ksBR/0/50e5fe56/S/Monster_Manual_D%26D_3.5_-_Sam_wood_-_Aboleth_-_p8-S.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />The amphibious filter-feeding entities known as the Manguai are known to have one of the longest recorded histories in charted space, dating back some four thousand years. That history, originally inscribed in stone blocks on the Manguai home world of Bavelon, begins with a recording of religious holidays, but very quickly turns secular with an increasing focus on exacting and precise details about the gifts exchanged in these ceremonies, somewhat presaging the Manguai's focus on commercial exchange. It would be more than two thousand years before they developed space travel and the warp drive and became interstellar merchant princes, however.Once they'd done so, however, they quickly became the dominant force in the regions of space that would later become the Imperium, with the Augrah, the Dhakamites, and the Gebela as their clients -- all cultures that bought their warp drive from the Manguai, and typically much of the rest of their technological basis as well. Their only real rivals were the Seshai and the Vautaro, and the whole history of the next millennium was basically a long sequence of alliances between and against these powers, punctuated by occasional civil wars and rebellions. The arrival of the Chiraben in this region of space eventually led to the formation of the Imperium, which the Manguai are fond of claiming as their own idea.While the Manguai were involved in the development of technomancy -- their ethical flexibility kept them from much success with the Starlight path of mysticism, but their lack of cruelty typically limited their access to the Nightmare path -- they found the results of the civil war that these discoveries provoked to be sufficiently sickening that the majority of their kind foreswore its use in the aftermath. A small number did not, and accompanied the Armada when it departed, becoming the ancestors of the small number of Manguai who reside in the Technate. As these Manguai found Muraddin's environment somewhat unsatisfactory -- it lacks oceans -- they were some of the major sponsors of the polity's first wave of colonial expansion, fortunately discovering a number of water worlds orbiting nearby stars. (It is also reported that a Manguai cyberneticist was a leading member of the team which created the Minds, meaning that both the major stellar civilizations have their origins with the Manguai.)The Manguai have found the Crimson Imperium to be somewhat displeasing to their sensibilities. While they have ample opportunities for commercial ventures, and those few who have made merchant contacts within the Yusei Star Kingdom are doing quite well for themselves, the gradual impoverishment of their customers within the Imperium is not at all to their liking. A number of the Manguai have responded to this by becoming covert supporters of the Insurgency, though none have joined the fighting as yet.When and if the Manguai learn about the cultures of the Sol System, they will be initially excited to discover a new market, which will cool off quite a bit when they realize that most of the local civilizations don't have any resources that the Manguai can't get somewhere else. This will in turn transform to horror when they learn about the Atlanteans on Earth (and Venus.) Their oldest myths claim that they were frequently hunted by aquatic humanoids who are a fairly close match to them, and the notion that their old enemies have survived is likely to upset them quite a bit ...Manguai Magnate -- PL 9Abilities:STR 6 | STA 8 | AGL 1 | DEX 0 | FGT 5 | INT 4 | AWE 3 | PRE 3Powers:Aquatic: Immunity 3 (drowning, pressure, cold); Swimming 6 (16 MPH) - 9 pointsLarge Size: Permanent Growth 6 (+6 Strength, +6 Stamina, +3 Intimidation, -3 Dodge, -3 Parry, -6 Stealth), Innate; Protection 1 - 20 pointsNatural Senses: Senses 8 (acute extended 2 tracking scent, acute ranged detect electrical signals, low-light vision) - 8 pointsSpecies-Specific Telepathy: Mental Communication 4, Limited to other Manguai - 12 pointsTentacles: Extra Limbs 2; Elongation 2, Limited to Extra Limbs - 4 pointsAdvantages:Beginner's Luck, Benefit 4 (multi-millionaire), Chokehold, Connected, Eidetic Memory, Fast Grab, Improved Hold, Jack-of-all-trades, Well-Informed.Skills:Expertise: Business 6 (+10), Expertise: History 4 (+8), Insight 6 (+9), Intimidation 5 (+11), Perception 8 (+11), Persuasion 8 (+11), Stealth 9 (+7).Offense:Initiative +1Unarmed +5 (Close Damage 6, Reach 3)Defense:Dodge 5, Parry 6, Fortitude 9, Toughness 9, Will 9Totals:Abilities 36 + Powers 53 + Advantages 12 + Skills 23 + Defenses 18 = 142 pointsComplications:Profit--Motivation. Enlightened Self-Interest. Weakness (must be immersed in water for at least one hour in every six.)Note: There are not as many Manguai with billionaire levels of wealth as you might expect, but they do exist, and generally have higher levels of Expertise: Business.</blockquote>

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