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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Davies" data-source="post: 8231794" data-attributes="member: 30538">The Gardeners<img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/i-vpdmfWF/1/fe1026b5/M/727fb0d513e21a2fa8b4f7d231bb94ba-M.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />It's not known what they call themselves. Like many species who have well-developed telepathic abilities, they usually use their voices only to communicate with other peoples who aren't so gifted, employing the others' languages to that end. When doing so, those who have learned of the name by which they are known have usually indicated that it seems fitting. They do seek to care for plant life (as well as fungal and moneral life) and to catalog and study it, the better to care for it, and so they are, indeed, the gardeners of the universe.The largest concentration of their settlements can be found on a planet in what's called the Enigma Sector. Again, it's not known if this world is the world on which their people evolved, or if it is one that they settled as they spread throughout space. It's not even clear when they did that; the Albadine claim to have been mentored by them, long ago, though the two peoples rarely have much to do with each other. If it is true that the Albadine once ruled an empire in the regions of space which are now the Technate, some fifteen hundred years* in the past, it seems likely that they did so despite the Gardeners' teachings, rather than because of them.The Gardeners prefer to avoid interacting with other sapient life as much as possible. When visiting the worlds of other peoples, they do so covertly, limiting their contact as much as possible so as to avoid any possible conflict. That said, they will engage with others when necessary; many voyagers stranded on alien worlds, or on damaged space vehicles, have been rescued by the Gardeners and transported to safer circumstances. Even when this occurs, though, there will be very little interaction between their passenger and themselves. Some believe that they fear the consequences of contact, either for themselves or for others. Or it could be a shyness that is almost pathological.The Gardeners are known to practice a form of mysticism that is unlike either of the well-known schools of thought known in the Imperium, though some of what is known about the Yusei practice is similar. It is known that they refer to this as 'the greenbond', and that it involves sharing energy between examples of plant life in a way that can revitalize and even heal the injuries of other forms of life, as well as using them as a medium to receive sensory impressions, animating plants to serve as allies, and -- most spectacularly -- drawing on that energy to perform feats of telekinesis. They generally prefer to use these abilities to escape from conflicts rather than prolong them.Apparently, they have visited the Sol System (specifically Venus, Earth and Mars) many times in the past, most recently in the early 1960s, but seem to have satisfied themselves with the knowledge that they gained in those previous expeditions rather than embarking on new ones. Whether, as Captain Mystic speculated, they were the inspiration for the 'grey aliens' of Earthly folklore is not known, though they do not generally act in the callous and cruel manner that such creatures are reputed to do ... unless they are hiding the existence of renegades who pursue a very different agenda than the rest of their species. Adult Gardener -- PL 9Abilities:STR -1 | STA 3 | AGL 2 | DEX 0 | FGT 3 | INT 5 | AWE 3 | PRE 3Powers:Greenbond: Array (36 points) <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Aura of Vitality: Burst Area Energizing Healing 10, Affects Objects (Limited to Inanimate Plants), Others Only - 1 point</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Green Network: Remote Sensing 12 (visual, auditory, tactile), Medium (Plants) - 1 point</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Mind Over Matter: Perception-Ranged Move Object 12 - 1 point</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Natural Allies: Summon Animated Plants 9, Controlled, General Type - 36 points</li> </ul>Shielded Thoughts: Impervious Will 10, Limited to mental effects - 5 pointsSmall Size: Permanent Shrinking 4 (+2 Dodge, +2 Parry, +4 Stealth, -1 Strength) - 2 pointsSpecies-Specific Telepathy: Mental Communication 4, Limited to Gardeners - 12 pointsAdvantages:Animal Empathy, Defensive Roll, Improved Defense.Skills:Expertise: Science 6 (+11), Insight 8 (+11), Investigation 4 (+9), Perception 6 (+9), Persuasion 6 (+9), Stealth 4 (+10), Technology 4 (+9), Treatment 4 (+9).Offense:Initiative +2Unarmed +3 (Close Damage -1)*Defense:Dodge 4, Parry 3, Fortitude 5, Toughness 5/2, Will 13.Totals:Abilities 38 + Powers 55 + Advantages 3 + Skills 21 + Defenses 14 = 131 pointsComplications:Discovery--Motivation. Pacifism. Power Loss (Greenbond, while in areas without plant life.) Weakness (environmental damage.)* Included solely for completeness; it is difficult to imagine any Gardener resorting to this.Note: Younger examples of the Gardeners will have a weaker Greenbond (28 points), which removes Burst Area from their Healing and restricts their Green Network, Mind Over Matter and Natural Allies powers to 9, 9 rand 7 ranks, respectively. Elder examples will have stronger Greenbonds, and may be Medium-sized creatures. It is almost unknown for a Gardener to be able to remove the Others Only limitation from a power stunted version of their Healing; those who have accomplished this are regarded by their peers as having performed a miracle.</blockquote>

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