Yautja Origins: In their distant past, the Yautja were once primitive apex predators on their homeplanet, but were enslaved by a hyper-advanced starfaring race: these "Dominators" genetically tinkered with Yautja Males to serve as expendable Shocktroops and slave Gladiators. Likewise, the Dominators employed their godlike science in modifying the Females to excel as intermediate handlers (and providers of maintenance and repairs) for the Males. It was not rare for the Gladiators to be pitted against each other or armed sapients of other species, but more often they were thrown into arenas of various designs and pitted against nightmarish apex beasts (including but not limited to Xenomorphs) selected from the Dominators' menagerie of horrors. In this nightmare-gauntlet, generations of Males lived and died, strained and tested to their limits, either breaking or emerging transformed—often twisted but sometimes transcendent: gleaning the true nature of honour in that primal crucible of blood, steel, and fangs. Above all, such warriors dreamed of one day breaking the chains forged by their alien overlords.
Legends bordering on myth tell that the Yautja finally overthrew the Dominators in a great revolt led by an enigmatic figure, "True Blade". Yet some Clans believe their overlords, already jaded and decadent, engineered their own downfall in a final act of morbid, nihilistic theatre, amused at the prospect of their own overthrow by the hand of slaves. [Optional flavour: those who hold that "True Blade" was more than allegory may muse on the meaning of the name, whether it was his true name, and whether he was a singular figure or the avatar into which some ancient fraternity had been condensed over generations of storytelling; Optional twist: True Blade was a form-shifting Dominator or Dominator-construct.] This uprising may have begun as a mutiny among the Shocktroops and caught fire with the Gladiators. After the Yautja "victory", the Females suppressed infighting between these two Male factions. Exploiting their control of advanced tech, the Females steered the Males toward a unified warrior-culture focused on interstellar hunting (the "Great Hunt" or "Path of the True Dominator"). Yautja Clans in general do not know whether this proto-history happened hundreds of thousands—or even millions—of years ago, though the Females may keep better records than the Males.
The "Dominators" were a radical micro-sect (later a suicide-cult) that splintered from the "High Ones" (aka the "Transcended"). The High Ones were a Kardashev scale Type-III plus civilisation native to a primordial galaxy formed a scant 290 million years after the Big Bang and lying billions of light years from the Milky Way. The High Ones were (and perhaps still are) near-absolute pacifists, having Transcended to a state of pure consciousness within higher dimensions eons ago. Andromeda and the Milky Way sit just beyond the fringes of their civilisation. The Dominators refused the sterility of Transcendence and chose to retain physical forms, dominating lesser physical beings for amusement. Ultimately, the Dominators tired at playing gods and gave the Yautja "freedom" by subtly enabling the latter's rebellion. The Dominators deemed this fitting, as they themselves had sought "freedom" from the gilded cage of Transcendence, and now found release in eternal oblivion.
Galactic Scale: The Milky Way is vast, with some estimates placing its size at around 400 billion stars and at least 1 trillion planets across 100,000 light years. Estimates place Andromeda at around 1 trillion stars across more than 250,000 light years. The distance between the two galaxies is 2.5 million light years. The Milky Way itself is a nigh-infinite sandbox, but Andromeda could still serve as an expansion for the setting. The "current" period in this LM is the mid-25th century: hundreds of years after Aliens (late 22nd century) and decades after Resurrection (late 24th century), but still before the likes of the Rage War (late 27th century). In this era, the entire Yautja species (including all sub-species and offshoots) would number roughly 10 billion scattered across the length and breadth of the Milky Way as countless, mostly semi-nomadic clans/tribes. An average Clan-size of 50,000 would mean roughly 200,000 Clans. As Clans tend to be highly autonomous and decentralised, no Yautja Clan would know the actual total population (or total number of Clans) making up their own species. The 50,000 figure would just be an average, and a possible distribution might look like:
(Small Clans) 500 to sub-10,000
("Typical" Clans) 10,000 to sub-70,000
(Large Clans) 70,000 to sub-120,000
(Mega-Clans) 120,000 to 150,000
Yautja Clans tend to roam wide swathes of the Milky Way, but typically choose a stellar system or cluster as their home-territory (usually encompassing or not far from their favourite hunting grounds). A Clan rarely encounters another Clan, unless the Clans' home-territories are relatively close to each other. In contrast, the human population of the mid-25th century might be much larger (more than 90 billion), and much more spatially concentrated and politically centralised.
Physical Stats (Males): Aeons ago (before they were augmented by the Dominators), Yautja Males possessed a raw physicality similar to that of a Bengal Tiger in humanoid (upright, tool-using) form, with the average specimen capable of lifting around 2.5x his body-weight. Through their bio-engineering and genetic tinkering, the Dominators vastly augmented Yautja capabilities: physical stats of the post-Dominator Yautja can be adjusted based on creative preference. For example, a more grounded augmentation might improve max lift from ~2.5x to ~7x (increased by a factor of ~2.
, and a less grounded augmentation might improve max lift from ~2.5x to ~40x (increased by a factor of ~15). A high-end set of physical stats for comics and novels might be:
(Speed) peak sprint 75~135km/h
(Agility) max vertical leap 25~55ft
(Strength) max overhead lift 6~14 tons
(Durability) generally "extreme", but adjustable based on creative preference
(Reflexes) sub-millisecond—a Yautja with "sluggish" reaction might have 0.9ms reaction; an average specimen might have 0.5ms reaction; and an elite specimen might have 0.25ms reaction
(Size) Almost all Yautja Males would stand between 6'6" (outliers approaching dwarfish) to 10'0" (outliers approaching gigantic), with most falling within the 7'2" ~ 8'8" range. Almost all Males would weigh between 350lbs (analogous to a human "90lb weakling") and 1400lbs (analogous to the heaviest human strongmen), with most falling within 500lbs ~ 800lbs.
The classic facial appearance of a Yautja Male can be summed up with: "A fanged mouth guarded by four tusked, finger-like mandibles; tendril-like "hair" adorned with intricate metallic ringlets; and a pair of deep-set yellow-amber eyes". Instead of actual hair, shorter quill-like bristles may also grow from some areas of a Male's tough mottled hide.
Xenomorph Origins & Physical Scaling: Xenomorphs were an ancient Giger-esque (of course) biomechanical nightmare-civilisation (Kardashev scale: near Type-II) subjugated by the Dominators and de-evolved into a regressed state. The Dominators found the biomechanical nature of the Xenomorphs intriguing and adopted elements. David did not create Xenomorphs; he imperfectly recreated the regressed Xenomorphs. The Dominators were the 14ft Lovecraftian, elephantine nightmare-fuel of the original Alien film. The 7~8ft "bald guy" Engineers in Prometheus were another play-thing of the Dominators. The Engineers worshiped the Dominators and aped the latter's customs and aesthetics. The Engineers created humanity to be its play-thing.
The average Xenomorph drone/warrior is 4% taller and 6% physically faster/stronger than the average Yautja Male — and significantly tougher than the average (unarmored) Yaujta Male, thanks to the Xenomorph's carapace/exoskeleton. Yautja might have a greater vertical leap, but Xenomorphs can climb on any surface. Yautja physical stats (wide bell curve) vary more across individuals relative to Xenomorphs (narrow bell curve), meaning that the stats of some Yautja (those more physically gifted) would outright surpass the average Xenomorph's. While the Xenomorph's blood is highly acidic (an incredible natural defence), Yautja blood is moderately alkaline. Coupled with their enhanced physiology, this allows Yautja to fare better against acid-splash relative to humans: what might destroy a human might maim a Yautja, and what might maim or cripple a human might injure (but not maim or cripple) a Yautja. A skillful Blooded hunter would "usually" defeat a small pack of Xenomorph drones in melee combat, but he would need the following: the right weapon (e.g., an acid-resistant pole-arm with dual blades on opposite ends, capable of detaching into a pair of Iklwas, with adjustable haft lengths); acid-resistant armour covering most of his body; an environment not too Xenomorph ambush-friendly — in other words, a victorious hunt would still depend on variables.
Despite their lack of eyes, Xenomorphs possess a 360-degree situational awareness (unless distracted), making them very hard to surprise. Other than Queens (potentially with 170 IQ), Xenomorphs possess an intelligence akin to Jurassic Park Raptors. Their natural weapons (outer jaws, inner jaws, claws, tail-blade) make them highly formidable in close quarters, especially with the advantage of environmental stealth and/or superior numbers. The Yautja do have natural claws, but these struggle to rend tougher substances like steel: whether a Yautja can use brute strength to punch through or pry open steel is another matter. In contrast, the Xenomorphs can easily rend tougher substances like steel (as if it were tissue-paper) with their claws, jaws, or tail-blade, while incurring no damage to these natural weapons in the process.
The Xenomorphs' physical edge (average vs. average—described above) pushes many Yautja to drill relentlessly: studying Xenomorph attack patterns, drilling strikes against Xenomorph weak points, honing muscle memory to dodge acid-splash. There are rumours that some younger Hunters and even older Hunters of the Blooded or Veteran classes (see below) use combat-drugs to obtain an edge, but this would be frowned upon if caught. Elders and Ancients (like Straight Spear with his armour capable of delivering advanced combat-drugs) may partake without being questioned, for it is said that Hunters of such stature have earned the right to experience combat on a higher plane against the most formidable foes.
Social Structure (Male): As a semi-nomadic, highly decentralised species, with potentially 200,000 autonomous Clans, there is no fixed social structure across the entire Yautja race. The Dark Blade Clan (currently 57,000 members with 28,000 Males) can be used as a non-outlier example of social structure.
Male Ranks(Ancients, currently four) those who have hunted for 1500 years plus (political responsibility for Clan on Male side)
(Elders, currently a dozen) those who have hunted for 1000 years plus (highly independent, freedom to roam)
(Honoured Veterans) around 700 ~ 1100 years of age and often function as Hunt Leaders
(Veterans) around 500 ~ 700 years of age
(Blooded) around 150 ~ 500 years of age
(Youngbloods) around 80 ~ 150 years of age
(Unblooded/Initiates) around 50 ~ 80 years of age
(Whelps) sub-50 years of age
After thirty years of training as an Unblooded Initiate and then passing the "manhood" trial of Blooding, a Male of the Dark Blade becomes a Youngblood, not a Blooded Hunter. The Youngblood rank reflects a seventy-year hardening phase after the Blooding Trial, a ritual hunt which must be completed within a day or two at most. The Dark Blade deem this transitional "Youngblood" phase to be necessary, based on the metaphor that after an Unblooded daubs (or bloods) himself with the life-blood of mighty prey, that blood must have the chance to "dry" before the young Hunter may join the ranks of the true "Blooded".
Recent History (Watershed Event):Localised to seven Clans with home-territories not far from Earth, the Clan Wars was a hyper-violent (even by Yautja standards) conflict fought roughly 1500 years before the "present" (i.e., circa 2450AD). The "Clan Wars" is but the Dark Blade name for this localized but high-intensity conflict.
Three "Heretic" Clans wished to forsake the Yautja custom against hunting their own kind. Two of these believed that this would weed out weak Clans, strengthening the species in this manner. The third Heretic Clan worshiped at the altar of individualised supremacy: what glory could be greater than dominating other elite Hunters and making trophies of them?
Three "Traditionalist" Clans (including the Dark Blade) opposed the Heretics and thought their heresy to be insane: while highly decentralised, most sane Yautja still valued their strength as a species, and recognised hunting their own kind for what it was—the path to extinction, not greater power.
The Serrated Moon, a smaller Clan with only two Ancients and five Elders was the seventh (divided) Clan. They initially joined the Heretics after one Ancient, advocating a path of heresy, murdered the other, and two Elders sided with the killer. The other three Elders eventually led the majority of the Serrated Moon in a devastating civil war, which ultimately resulted in the purging of Serrated Moon Heretics and the restoration of Traditionalist values. The Clan's small number even in the mid-25th century
In the wider conflict, the Heretics were strategically defeated by the more unified Traditionalists, who coldly culled the Heretic die-hards, but spared and absorbed those who were deemed to have joined the Heresy reluctantly or under pressure. The Serrated Moon lost more than half their number (and was almost reputationally destroyed) by the end of the Clan Wars, and the Clan's small size even in the mid-25th century is a legacy of that conflict. Even so, because the Serrate Moon had internally overcome their Heresy, the Traditionalists allowed the Serrated Moon to continue as an independent Clan.
Note that Yautja Clans may fight over resources and hunting rights, and members of the same Clan may duel to the death. The "Heresy" of the Clan Wars was the desire to hunt, and even eradicate, other Yautja—not as peer Hunters, but as Prey—and for sport (potential trophies) and dominance, rather than over resources or breaches of honour.
War-gear Available to Males (examples):Dark Blade war-gear is controlled by the Dark Blade Females: during wartime, the common Female practice is to make "muzzled" war-gear available to the warfighting Males. In general, Yautja war-gear (prioritising effectiveness) tends to be less variable across Clans with proximate home-territories, unlike hunting-gear which reflects more diverse cultural preferences.
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Hydra Launchers (wrist-mounted when armed, "muzzled"): The dual launchers are a pair of thick, octagonal discs (each the size of a human palm) with segmented "spider" legs (coated with micro-fibers) able to cling easily to almost anything, even SS's tendril-like "hair", where the launchers can hang like ornate hair clasps; the legs can adjust length by extending or retracting partially or fully. On the launcher's "carapaces", glowing runes pulse softly in sync with the user's neural activity, attuned to his very thoughts. When called upon, the "spiders" detach from his "hair", scuttling with eerie grace all the way to his vambraces (or wrists), where the "spiders" can mag-lock (and/or extend and wrap their legs) for purchase, becoming dual wrist-launchers that hum softly in resonance with their master's neural waves. With a simple neural prompt, clouds of predatory micro-drones (each no larger than a dust particle) spew forth from the launchers' multiple "mouths"; these drones can coalesce mid-air into writhing, tentacle-like swarm-shapes, and are smart, homing in on a target relentlessly before burrowing into it, shredding it from inside, and (when recalled) returning to their launchers. Visually, the swarms leave faint smears of iridescent light behind them, shifting through colors like oil on water. [If full loss of swarm, full nano-reassembly takes 70 sec]
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Annihilator Cannon (shoulder-mounted, "muzzled"): This heavy cannon has a sharp, angular barrel with intricate golden circuitry, and is a weapon that can unravel space-time. Its barrel glows faintly with a pale ghostly light. When fired, the cannon emits a deep resonant hum melting into a ear-splitting whine, almost like a wailing siren. A wide beam of concentrated gravitic energy erupts from the weapon's maw, void-black like a quantum singularity. The Annihilator beam doesn't burn or impact—it unmakes at a sub-atomic level. Anything caught in its path is erased from reality. Visually, the beam leaves behind a rippling wave (dimensional distortion) in its wake, straining the very fabric of space-time; the air also crackles with residual energy, and the scent of ozone lingers. [12 sec cooldown between shots]
Proposed Characters (Male): To breathe more life into this fictional species, these are some proposed Yautja characters of the Dark Blade and Serrated Moon.
Dark Blade Ancient #1 (the eldest)Name: Straight Spear
Age: ~1900 years
Age during the Clan Wars: an older, ~400 y/o Blooded Hunter well above the frontline cut-off age of 250
Build: Lean and muscular
Height: 8'0"
Speed: 115km/h peak sprint
Agility: 40ft max vertical leap
Strength: 10 ton max overhead lift
Armour:
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Bio-mask: Angular and horned, bearing the visage of Cetanu the Black Warrior* — a cold, sinister design crafted to strike fear into prey even before the first blow; a pair of dark eye-lenses can glow a yellow-amber not unlike Straight Spear's natural eye-color; houses advanced sensors and AI, including a powerful translation function). *Cetanu the Black Warrior is the Yautja deity of fear, annihilation and death inglorious, whereas Paya the Shining One is the Yautja deity of honourable victory, legacy and death in glorious struggle.
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Ebon Powered-Armour (sleek, neurally linked): Housing advanced sensors and visually striking with its glossy, ribbed contours designed to evoke the essence of the Xenomorph; worn over body-mesh regulating body temp; hidden compartments of the ebon armour's thigh sections house multiple smart-probes, glassy spheres propelled by suspensor-tech, equipped with powerful sensors, and neurally remote-prompted (further guided by their advanced AI); in a tight spot, the armour can deliver advanced combat-drugs.
Weapons:
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Plasma Glaive: An advanced Yautja pole-arm, its form like a glaive with a large blade (jagged and serrated) on each end of the metal haft; the blade on either end can fold and unfold, and the haft can retract and extend, so that in its collapsed, compact form, the weapon can comfortably mag-clasp to Straight Spear's lower back; in combat, Yautja runes glow crimson along its length, and black lightning (dark plasma) snakes and writhes around its dual blades; when the weapon cleaves into a target, dark plasma detonates inside the wound, often causing fight-ending internal damage.
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Blazer Cannon (mounted on left shoulder): Sleek, long-snouted cannon able to unleash the highly concentrated Blazer beam, a sweeping, sustained beam of orange-glowing energy hotter than the blazing core of a star.
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Wristblades (single pair on one vambrace): A standard pair of jagged double-edged blades that can extend and retract, each blade reaching to about a foot or two feet in front of his fist, depending on how far extended.
Philosophy: The atrocities and depravity he witnessed during the Clan Wars made him question the idea of Yautja species-supremacy. Over many centuries, developed belief that honour can be found in individuals of any species. Believes the Dark Blade should hunt apex-beasts, and reserve the killing of sapient warriors only for military situations.
Special Mastery: The Dance of Serpents is a Yautja martial art developed to counter Xenomorphs, with different forms to combat a single Xenomorph, a smaller pack, and a larger horde. DoS includes training muscle-memory to evade the acidic splash of Xenormorph blood in combat. Elite practitioners, like Straight Spear, can seamlessly switch between different forms of DoS.
Dark Blade Ancient #2Name: Grey Fang
Age: ~1760 years
Age during the Clan Wars: a younger, ~260 y/o Blooded Hunter just above the frontline cut-off age of 250
Signature Weapon(s):
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War Club: In size and weight between a one-handed and two-handed weapon; like a club or mace with a barbed double-edged blade that can fold down into the weighted end...or unfold up, transforming the weapon into a weighted war-pick. When neurally activated, a disruptor field flares into life around the weighted/bladed end; this field disrupts molecular bonds, meaning a blow with the War Club causes extreme damage, able to cave in a starship hull; when the blade is unfolded, its tip can punch through almost any material with ease; even when folded down, an edge of the blade still protrudes from the weighted "mace-head", like a bladed ridge; this means even in blunt-force configuration, the War Club can inflict devastating gashes
Philosophy: The "Traditional" code (honourable to hunt dangerous beasts or armed sapients) is already balanced. "Reformists" like Straight Spear and his followers have gone soft, and wrongly project Yautja virtues onto other species. Heretics who advocate Yautja-on-Yautja hunting as a standard practice (the other extreme) are psychopaths or short-sighted fools (likely both).
Dark Blade Ancient #3Name: Stone Hide
Age: ~1700 years
Age during the Clan Wars: an even younger, ~200 y/o Blooded Hunter who did not make the frontline cut-off age of 250
Signature Weapon(s):
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Warp-axe: In its deactivated state, a handle without blades easily mistaken for a massive two-handed baton or blunt weapon. When activated, the weapon draws upon an exotic extradimensional energy to sprout axe-like blades of roiling green energy, capable of easily disintegrating most kinds of armour.
Philosophy: Recognises honour in rare individuals of other species, but believes hunting sapient warriors of other species is critical to maintaining military readiness and obtaining combat-intel on potential threat-level sapients.
Dark Blade Ancient #4Name: Long Tusk
Age: ~1620 years
Age during the Clan Wars: a ~120 y/o Youngblood well below the frontline cut-off age of 250
Signature Weapon(s):
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"No-blade": A device resembling a sword-handle with no blade. When activated, the "blade" is actually a slender quantum-decohesion field, invisible to the eye, that can "split" most solid matter by shifting or scattering subatomic particles; huge energy consumption so only good for a half-dozen flick-on-then-off strikes before recharge
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How does it work: The location of a subatomic particle is fundamentally uncertain or "probabilistic", with possible locations (some more likely than others) residing within a probabilistic "cloud". At the micro-scale, the quantum-decohesion (not decoherence) field manipulates the probabilities within the cloud of each particle to shift or scatter the particles to the far fringes of their clouds. At a macro-scale, the effect manifests as a disruption of molecular bonds and the consequent splitting or severing of a large object through which the No-blade's invisible field passes.
Philosophy
: Recognises honour in individuals of other species, but believes hunting sapient warriors of other species is a core pillar of Yautja (and Dark Blade) cultural identity. Rationalises that truly honourable non-Yautja warriors are exceptionally rare, and that the rarity of such does not justify the wholesale abandonment of hunting sapient warriors. Long Tusk may further defend his position by asking how can one find honour outside the Yautja and connect with it — if not through the Great Hunt?
Dark Blade Elder, example AName: Top Knot
Age: ~1200 years
Age during the Clan Wars: Born 300 years after the Clan Wars
Build: Hulking and muscular
Height: 8'7"
Speed: 105km/h peak sprint
Agility: 35ft max vertical leap
Strength: 12 ton max overhead lift
Armour:
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Bio-mask: Bearing an aggressive, snarling design (blunt, pugnacious, unyielding); a pair of dark eye-lenses can glow palely (houses advanced sensors and AI, including a powerful translation function)
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"Hoplite" Armour: Near full-plate armour the color of dulled bronze. Though its surfaces speak of harrowing battles fought and survived, fearsome gouges, and scars left unmended, the armour plating has been molecularly augmented by Clan artisans, rendering it nearly impervious to conventional weapons; worn over body-mesh regulating body temp
Weapons:
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War Scythe: An advanced Yautja pole-arm with a colossal Guandao-like blade sprouting from one end and a piercing spike stabbing from the other, both conduits for the searing power of white plasma. Its huge blade is double-edged: the serrated concave edge favored by Top Knot (over the smooth convex edge) as his primary killing tool. This War Scythe leaves ghostly contrails as its blade sweeps through the air, melting through Tungsten as easily as butter. When its haft is telescopically retracted, it can be wielded as a fearsome war-sword, not unlike a torso-splitting Falx. While it feels heavy and cumbersome in most hands, Top Knot's strength allows him to wield it effortlessly with blinding speed.
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Advanced Plasma-Caster (mounted on left shoulder): Shoulder-mounted plasma-caster surpassing those of lesser Hunters, capable of unleashing orbs of white-hot fury at 4000ft/sec (rate of fire: one high-intensity shot/sec)
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Dual Wristblades (two pairs): A standard pair of jagged double-edged blades on either vambrace
Philosophy: Former-student of Straight Spear with whom he shares strong bond forged in combat, but ideologically leans toward Grey Fang's view (while attempting to understand Straight Spear's). Despite brutish appearance, smarter than he lets on and can surprise those who misjudge his cunning or insight.
Special Mastery: The Wrath of Giants is Top Knot's "tongue-in-cheek [mandible?]" name for his personal variation of the Dance of Serpents. When space allows, Top Knot uses the flat of his massive Scythe blade as a blunt-force weapon to shatter Xenomorph carapace, crush skulls and break necks, reducing acid-splash and the need to dodge it. In battle, Top Knot may also enter a combat-induced ecstasy teetering on the brink of suicidal frenzy. This adrenaline-fueled battle madness is known among the Dark Blade as Paya's Boon. During this state, the "eyes" of his helm might blaze to life like demonic lanterns, striking greater fear into his Prey. This is not some supernatural boost unique to Top Knot. Rather, it is a bio/neuro-chemical combat trance many Yautja Males may experience. Top Knot just has more...dramatic flair than most.
Dark Blade Elder, example BName: Red Claw
Age: ~1300 years
Age during the Clan Wars: Born 200 years after the Clan Wars
Signature Weapon(s):
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Smart-whip: Like a three-metre metal serpent formed by razor-sharp segments; when neurally activated, its sinuous length springs to life, guided by adaptive combat-AI and ready to strike; at the tapered tip of the whip is a barely noticeable maw or nozzle, able to spit a mini-Blazer beam (no thicker than a thread) for six sec before requiring recharge; this feature can be used to double the effective range of the Smart-whip when lashing out.
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Combat-gauntlets: Can nano-assemble/disassemble over the surfaces of his hands; visually, the gauntlets materialise directionally from Red Claw's vambraces (nano-assembly) and dissolve directionally from Red Claw's gauntleted fingertips (nano-disassembly); when enclosing Red Claw's hands, the gauntlets are segmented and silver-colored, with a four-inch talon, wickedly sharp, at the end of each finger.
Philosophy: Aligned with Straight Spear based on Red Claw's own temperament and personal experiences.
Vignette: On a planet seeded with Xenomorphs, a younger Red Claw (with less advanced versions of his whip and gauntlets) observed a group of native warriors face off against a trio of Xenomorphs. The natives were sapient bipeds—strong and fast, with bone-blades protruding from their forearms—but lacked a counter to the Xenomorphs' acid. The fight turned quickly against the natives: soon, only the leader remained standing against two Xenomorphs seeking to flank him. Red Claw observed as the leader chanted a short mantra (his bio-mask translating the gist) before the Xenomorphs pounced. With a bladed arm, the leader struck one down even as it tore off his other limb. As the final Xenomorph's claws pierced into his vitals, the leader struck a mortal blow to its head. In the aftermath, a strange urge compelled Red Claw to heap the slain Xenomorphs next to the leader's body, planting his bladed limb tip-first into the earth by his side. The leader's final chant has echoed in Red Claw's mind for centuries.
Serrated Moon Honoured Veteran, example AName: Light-Stepper
Age: ~850 years
Age during the Clan Wars: Born 650 years after the Clan Wars
Build: Wiry and lithe
Height: 7'8"
Speed: 122km/h peak sprint
Agility: 47ft max vertical leap
Strength: 8 ton max overhead lift
Armour:
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Infiltrator Armour: Very sleek, segmented plate-armour able to change color like a chameleon; worn over body-mesh regulating body temp
Weapons:
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Vibro-swords: Dual shortswords with blades capable of micrometer hyper-vibration almost inaudible and imperceptible
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Nano-carbine: Nano-converts surrounding air into very small, nail-like "bullet" gravitically accelerated to 7200ft/sec upon trigger-pull and leaving very faint, ionised trail
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Dual Wristblades (two pairs): A standard pair of jagged double-edged blades on either vambrace
Philosophy is usually reserved for the Elders and Ancients of a Clan. Light-Stepper finds no compelling reason to deviate from the "Traditional" view, to which the Serrated Moon has rigidly adhered since the end of the Clan Wars: hunting other Yautja is strictly taboo; dangerous beasts and armed sapients are fair game.
Straight Spear vs. Grey Fang:Grey Fang is not a one-dimensional Yautja "purtitan". He believes what defines the Dark Blade (and all Yautja) is not just the will to overcome fear of pain and death (or even the iron discipline to master exceptional skills): it is also the will to dominate, and rise above, all other species in an unforgiving cosmos. To blur the line between predator and prey is to blunt the Dark Blade's vital edge and invite cultural decay. Grey Fang was a younger ~260 year old Blooded Hunter during the Clan Wars, barely above the 250-year cut off age for frontline duty. As fate would have it, he mostly fought younger Heretics who had been pressured into their leaders' Heresy. To Grey Fang, the fighting was tragic but also "cleaner", and the Heretics were a warning of what happens when disciplined adherence to tradition is allowed to lapse. The lesson drawn by Grey Fang was that traditional values are the shield against various forms of degradation and decay. The Heretic problem could have been avoided by adhering to tradition, and after the fact, was fixed by reapplying tradition: most of the younger (surviving) Heretics who had been "reluctant" were ultimately absorbed by the victorious Traditionalist Clans.
A more senior 400 y/o Blooded during the Clan Wars, Straight Spear often engaged in the most vicious struggles against Heretic die-hards and even elites, many of whom were totally lost, reveling in sadism and torture: flaying enemy Yautja alive, wearing their hides and bones. Straight Spear's wartime mentor (an older Veteran*) was captured while covering for Straight Spear and other wounded Dark Blade who were being extracted: his mentor figure was subjected to a sadistic vivisection, which was broadcast by the Heretics to retreating Dark Blade as psychological warfare. Straight Spear later led a retaliatory strike and captured two Heretics whom he personally vivisected. Yautja, with just their natural claws and tusks/fangs, can do many depraved things to an enemy Yautja strapped down and restrained. At the time, Straight Spear felt the intense urge to dominate the Heretics and was almost drunk on the thrill of savaging them—for how could an honourable hunter like himself be unable to defeat the Heretics utterly?
*Straight Spear's wartime mentor was called Iron Heart, a 670 y/o Veteran who led a Spear-tip (analogous to a Lieutenant leading a Platoon), consisting of several Packs, one of which was led by Straight Spear, a 400 y/o Blooded (a Sergeant-equivalent). In wartime, several Spear-tips would make up a War-party led by an Honoured Veteran, and several War-parties would make up a Coalition led by an Elder or Ancient. To summarise (typically in the Dark Blade):
> Coalition (like a brigade)—multiple War-parties commanded by an Elder (if more bulk) or Ancient (if more elite)
> War-party (like a company or battalion)—multiple Spear-tips commanded by an Honoured Veteran
> Spear-tip (like a platoon)—multiple Packs commanded by a Veteran
> Pack (like a squad)—younger Blooded Males led by an older, more experienced Blooded Male
Iron Heart was the only Yautja in his Spear-tip who had experienced Yautja-on-Yautja War-fighting, and he instructed members of his Spear-tip on the differences between War-fighting and Hunting. However, those inter-Clan conflicts had been more limited, "sanctioned" wars over prime access to hunting grounds and resources, not an existential collision over the ancient taboo against Hunting other Yautja as Prey. Iron Heart thus found himself unsettled by the depravity of some Heretics. After Iron Heart fell, Straight Spear succeeded him as the Spear-tip's leader, despite being rather young for that role. Note that Grey Fang started the Clan Wars as a "fighter" (Private-equivalent) and ended them as a "warrior" (Corporal-equivalent), but was not in the same vertical as Straight Spear. Straight Spear's Coalition was a smaller elite formation led by an Ancient, whereas Grey Fang's Coalition was led by an Elder (a younger one at that); it was also larger (with a higher ratio of Yautja "barely above cut-off" like Grey Fang) and deployed primarily against softer targets.
To Straight Spear, the Heresy was an evolution, not a deviation, from dominance-obsessed Traditionalism: the Clan Wars proved that more fundamental change was needed. Over many centuries, Straight Spear's views deepened and the truth became ever more obvious to him: large-scale dishonor has always been possible (and perhaps even inevitable) among even Traditionalist Yautja, while soul-stirring honor can be embodied by more than just a few non-Yautja. This has been confirmed to Straight Spear through personal experience and studying archival records of non-Yautja conflicts.
Ultimately, Grey Fang (a 1760 y/o Ancient) respects Straight Spear (an even older 1900 y/o Ancient) for the latter's unparalleled experience and still-formidable combat prowess. Grey Fang does not doubt that Straight Spear, as the eldest Ancient, can implement his strange balance between strength and empathy, but the younger Ancient is far more concerned that younger, impressionable youths of the Clan will be compromised by Straight Spear's line of thinking: even though the eldest Ancient does not seek to drown out other voices, he does not hold back when expressing his unorthodox views. If pressed, Grey Fang would also be sophisticated enough to nuance his counterpoint to Straight Spear: "You think hunting sapients leads to hunting other Yautja, but hunting sapients, if tempered with our kind's iron-clad code, is an outlet for our drive to hunt the most intelligent and thus most capable Prey. You cannot dam that river; it would only burst. It is wiser to control its flow."
Shortly after the Clan Wars, to strengthen the Clan's genetic repository, the Dark Blade Females collected genetic material from the young "former-Heretics" (Males) who were absorbed by the Dark Blade. "True" Dark Blade Males (including all the Male leaders) hazed the young "Newcomers" ruthlessly, weeding them out to ensure that almost no Newcomers made it to Veteran status. The Dark Blade Females allowed the males to resolve their internal tension organically, reasoning that it was a necessary catharsis. As for Heretic Females, most were selectively memory-wiped and absorbed by the Dark Blade Females, but a small minority of Heretic Females were punished with exile: granted only basic survival gear, along with de-powered and de-fanged vessels. During this time, Straight Spear, in his 400s and fresh from the Clan Wars, could not help seeing and hearing the mentor figure's vivisection whenever he saw a Newcomer Male.
Integrating the Movie Predators:The Dark Blade's home territory is not far from Earth. The Clan in Predator and Predator 2 and the Clan in AvP (2004) and AvP Requiem (2007) can be treated as the Jagged Mountain Clan and Void Song Clan, respectively.
The Jagged Mountain are rugged and primal, and the Void Song hold a greater reverence for hunting Xenomorphs than even most other Yautja Clans: to the Void Song, the Queen's soul-chilling scream is the true Song of the Void.
The Dark Blade, Jagged Mountain and Void Song formed the three Traditionalist Clans in the Clan Wars. The Serrated Moon was the divided Clan that ultimately redeemed itself at great cost. The Traditionalists avoid mentioning the three Heretic Clans.
The Jagged Mountain does not have an Ancient class, only Elders, the eldest of which is "True Sight", i.e. Greyback/Golden Angel. True Sight has the respect of both Straight Spear and Grey Fang. Many centuries ago, on a remote island of the human cradleworld, True Sight found himself, through strange circumstances, fighting back-to-back with a human leader against the latter's own mutinous clan. His erstwhile ally fought well but ultimately fell to a craven shot from behind. True Sight took the human's weapon and placed his own Yautja sword in the fallen warrior's makeshift grave.
The Jagged Mountain's naming convention skews toward rugged simplicity:
> Jungle Hunter might be "Ghost Stalker"
> Urban Hunter might be "Fire Blade" or "Strong Blade"
The Void Song's naming convention taps into cosmic dread:
> The caped Elder might be "Oblivion Smiles Down"
> Scar might be "Cold Dawn Rises"
> Celtic might be "Roar at the Abyss"
> Gill/Chopper might be "Darkness Cuts Deep"
> Wolf (the Cleaner) might be "Night Kills Swiftly"
> The eldest Ancient of the Void Song (never seen onscreen) gives up his name for the title "One-with-the-Void"
> Other Void Song names might be "Endless Silence Speaks", "Light Pauses Twice", "Cold Star Blazing" or "Cold Star Strikes", "Dead Star Strikes" or "Dead Star Blazing" or "Dead Star Watching", "Dark Maw Waits", "Black Sun Burning", "Echo of Steel", Silent Stars Weep. Light Pauses Twice could refer to one who embodies the Void so completely, light recoils not once but twice before daring to touch him, or to light flickering before being swallowed by the infinite Dark. Is it a bit..."extra"? Yes, but it could also mean anything you want it to mean. The Jagged Mountain and Dark Blade respect the Void Song, but consider them to be a little..."off". It is suspected that the Void Song stayed Traditionalist because the Heretics disrupted their Xenomorph-hunting. The Void Song are known to cultivate especially dangerous strains of Xenomorphs, and the Clan's hunters track them in labyrinthine environments with handicapped gear, with elites sometimes even opting not to use the "Alien Vision Mode" — practices other Clans may deem "unwise". Void Song Females may employ quantum-synced gestalt-consciousness in combat, but vis-à-vis Dark Blade Females, may have weaker tech in other fields.
Yautja Females: Compared to the Males, Yautja Females are somewhat taller and rangier on average, with proportionally smaller heads and less prominent mandibles and tusks. There are no predaboobs. Yautja Males would have more fast-twitch, explosive striking power, and Females would have more slow-twitch, sustained pushing/pulling/squeezing strength, like the difference between the explosive power of a Tiger (Male) and the crushing strength of an Anaconda (Female).
Female Ranks (Dark Blade as non-outlier example)
(Matriarch, always one) the Female supreme leader to whom Ancients often defer if she insists
(Master [Mistress] Engineers, always six) upper chamber of the Female High Council
(Master [Mistress] Technicians, always twenty) lower chamber of said High Council
Various, more junior grades of engineers, technicians, specialists, etc.
Dark Blade Males hunt and wage war and are capable of basic maintenance/repairs. The Females control extant technology and scientific progress (including more advanced maintenance/repairs, iterative improvements, and cutting-edge innovations), meaning the Females have the Males by their figurative balls. Females keep the genetic repository and most destructive weapons of the Clan, and in desperate situations (like a losing war), can take more extreme measures, like gene-splicing or cloning to increase or strengthen ranks—or breaking out the Clan's WMDs. During the Clan Wars, while Heretic and Traditionalist Males waged open war against each other, the Females of the opposing sides engaged in clandestine operations of sabotage, counter-operations, and deterrence-posturing, influencing but not overriding the Male conflict. The unspoken agreement among the Females involved was that victory or defeat would primarily be decided by the warring Males.
In emergency situations, the Matriarch and her High Council may override the traditional (sexually bifurcated) power-structure, in effect declaring martial law. The Females are masters of sapient psychology (social intelligence similar to the Bene Gesserit), and female "nano-troopers" bring a more hard sci-fi edge: in wartime, a Female nano-trooper would operate more like Fedmahn Kassad than a Female version of a Male Hunt Leader. Her loadout would include "unmuzzled" versions of the "muzzled" Hydra Launchers, Annihilator Cannon, and No-blade permitted to Males and described above:
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Nano-suit(Female-only): Amplifies physical stats and reflexes tenfold; incorporates full-spectrum cloaking and "phase-tech" enabling short-range foldspace— i.e., teleportation-like "phasing" [seven "phases" in rapid succession before 20 sec cooldown]
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Hydras (Female version, "unmuzzled"): Like the above (see "War-gear"), but disgorges much larger swarms of much more potent nano-drones armed with quantum-decohesion fields and equipped with full-spectrum cloaking [full nano-reassembly only takes 9 sec]
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Annihilator (Female version, "unmuzzled"): Destructive power like the above (see "War-gear"), but one cannon per shoulder; independent AI-targeting and capable of rapid-fire [one shoulder-mounted cannon fires two shots/sec]
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No-blades (Female version, "unmuzzled"): Like the above (see "Long Tusk"), but a dual vambrace-mounted version, each with quadruple the energy-efficiency of Long Tusk's No-blade; Females would usually have no need to use these
Female-controlled WMDs•
Ship-grade Annihilator: Scaled-up version of the Annihilator with range of 0.1 light years
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Ship-grade No-blade (No-projector): Scaled-up version of the No-blade capable of projecting an elongated quantum-decohesion field across 350,000km
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Ship-grade Hydras: Can release thousand-strong swarms of cloaked (a) fist-size drones armed with tactical or strategic fusion warheads (city-killers), (b) head-size drones armed with antimatter warheads (planet-killers), and (c) thumb-sized drones carrying payloads of exotic matter, which can cause a locale of extreme space-time curvature, i.e. mini-singularity (star-destabilisers).
All drones are capable of FTL Alcubierre propulsion.
WMD Stockpile: The Dark Blade stockpile consists of 10,000 city-killers, 500 planet-killers, and 100 star-destabilisers. The planet-killers and star-destabilisers are not easily replaced. The Females will generally refuse to deploy even "mere" city-killers, except against tier-one threats (like an aggressive sapient species that endangers the Clan's existence).
Interstellar Mobility: Dark Blade starships, propelled by manifold macro-drives (operating on Alcubierre principles), can travel the length of the Milky Way (100,000 light years) in 60 days. As the distance propelled increases, energy consumption spikes exponentially. This means a trip to Andromeda (2.5 million light years) would take ~75 years rather than a mere handful of years.
Starship Stealth: Dark Blade stealth tech is such that if a Dark Blade starship were to park within range of the most advanced human sensors (circa 2450AD) for a whole month, there would statistically be a mere 0.1% chance of a single detection "blip", and that blip (if it were to occur) could not be easily identified as an artificial vessel, Dark Blade or otherwise.
This advanced tech is an inheritance from the Dominators, though what the Yautja (including the Dark Blade) have are relatively primitive reverse-engineerings accomplished by Females over generations. Dark Blade Females, and Yautja Females in general, understand the power of this inheritance, and adhere to a philosophy of nurturing Males, for without a nurturing "mission", the Females themselves would be tempted to become new "dominators".
Afterword:Intergalactic and interdimensional travel is less common among the Yautja, but not unheard of: such travel is typically reserved for exceptional circumstances or very high-rank individuals. The latter form of travel opens up endless opportunities for cross-over media should the appropriate licences be secured. This LM is modular and the material here (of varying depth) can be adopted (or not) based on creative preference. This LM also deliberately avoids fleshing out humanity circa 2450AD, as the Yautja (especially the Clans named herein) are designed to anchor this "Yautja-verse". While they are not splintered into 200,000 clans, humans (as adaptable and diverse in-universe as they are in a "meta" sense) can be customised by non-commercial fan creators to suit the potential media and myriad stories which may be based on this fictional setting.
