Vhuck it. We ball. Vaurca Lore Deputy Application

[whitewolftamer]

Ckey/BYOND Username: whitewolftamer
Position Being Applied For: (Wiki Maintainer, Lore Developer, Deputy Lore developer): Deputy Lore Developer (Bottom of the food chain baybee)
Have you read the Lore Team Rules and Regulations wiki page?: Yes
Past Experiences/Knowledge: I DM for my friends in DnD.
Examples of Past Work: No accepted works, but I've made a few different Lore Canonization Applications. One for Zaurghis (God bless its soul), and the two most recent ones for a bit of Tajaran folklore and an expansion on Skye'mok

Additional Comments: Hzzzz, yez... very nize...

Vaurca Deputy

Perspective on Lore: The short Version: I like the bugs. They're cool
The long Version:
Vaurcae are incredibly enjoyable to me because there is such a broad array of possibilities with them depending on both hive and brood. Xetl's brood can be truely alien individuals who hardly see the other races around them, or Athvurs brood who can easily relate and converse with humans and other species. Although, I must confess, the thing that interests me most are the Lii'dra. Just because of how truely alien they are, and the potential for truely aberrant war or workerforms with them. As the makers of VR, and creators of their own Hivemind, the Lii'dra have such a capacity for cold-calculating alien hate. And I love it. 

How I'd like to expand the Lore:
I enjoy expanding pieces of lore that have been given a relatively minimal amount of love. With the Vaurca the least loved chunks of lore are probably Luthien and Pid (I would include Caprice but with the Phalanx that will probably change). Of course, there's always an argument for leaving things intentionally obfuscated. And in the case of the Interstice in VR for example, I'd agree. Eldritch horrors are no-longer Eldritch once they're explainable. It's also important to leave some room for players and the other people in the community to create their own narratives in these locations.

 

I'd uh. Also have the power to update the Vaurca Biology page. Vaurca Biology has plenty of lore it just. Hasn't been updated on the wiki. There's no section on Ra' or Cephalons.

[Triogenix]

I've enjoyed speaking with you about a number of topics on the multitude of Aurora discords, and I think you'll be able to fit in well with the overarching lore team. That said, I have a question or two for you.

1) What are your thoughts on the K'lax, and their relationship with the Hegemony? If you could change one thing about it, what would you change?

2) If you could retcon one Vaurca arc that has been run in the past, which would it be and why? If you wouldn't retcon any, why?

Edited August 8, 2023 by Triogenix

[whitewolftamer]

12 hours ago, Triogenix said:

1) What are your thoughts on the K'lax, and their relationship with the Hegemony? If you could change one thing about it, what would you change?

I have a softspot for the K'lax, as my first Vaurca was a Mi'kuetz queenless.(Yes, queenless, but Mi'kuetz is still pretty polite with the main hive.)
I greatly enjoy most all of the lore regarding K'lax and the Hegemony, the only thing I would change isn't even truely related to the Hegemony, I'd just like more lore about how the K'lax hive interacts with the other groups on Moghes. The Queendom for example. One other thing is a really fun quote from the "Queens and the Government" section; "Most of Vedhra’s offers to “perfect” the Unathi’s biology has been rejected by the Hegemony." This quote is fun to me because of the word "Most". And that can be heavily toyed with.

12 hours ago, Triogenix said:

2) If you could retcon one Vaurca arc that has been run in the past, which would it be and why? If you wouldn't retcon any, why?

This might seem like a cop-out answer but I wouldn't want to retcon anything, and that's simply because I don't like retconning at all. I quite like the Court of Queens Arc. The only thing I personally don't 100% like is how human some of the Vaurca involved are, for example, Ra'Akaix'Zol Zo'ra. Then again, a Ra created to display their caste to the public likely would be good at communicating.

[La Villa Strangiato]

You know I like roleplaying with you a great deal, and I've copied some of your -isms to incorporate into my own characters (Gimb's thumbs-up thing, for example). I think you have what it takes to grow into this position. However, I have a few questions!

1. What do you think are your strengths and weaknesses as a writer?
2. As a deputy, you'll be expected to communicate and work alongside not just the rest of the Vaurca team, but the other lore maintainers (Skrell for C'thur, Unathi for K'lax). Do you find yourself comfortable dealing with people?
3. Have you ever "killed your darlings"? You are going to be subject to the cutting room floor a lot, not just from your own perspective but from the advice of others. Do you think you're capable of cutting out elements that you love and worked really hard on?

[whitewolftamer]

1 hour ago, La Villa Strangiato said:

1. What do you think are your strengths and weaknesses as a writer?

Strength/Weakness: I like to give depth where it absolutely isn't needed. I enjoy little details, and because of this I'll spend time that probably should be spent elsewhere on fleshing out small details

Strength: Worldbuilding. I enjoy building locations and cultures, where stories can be built from

Weakness: Storywriting. As a DM I'm used to creating locations and allowing players to build the story from them, because of that I'm a bit underpracticed on writing the actual story. I can still write stories and narratives, I just feel like I'm a bit out of practice

1 hour ago, La Villa Strangiato said:

2. As a deputy, you'll be expected to communicate and work alongside not just the rest of the Vaurca team, but the other lore maintainers (Skrell for C'thur, Unathi for K'lax). Do you find yourself comfortable dealing with people?

I like to think I'm good at communicating with other people, and resolving conflict when it does arise, but there are times when I have difficulty expressing my thoughts or feelings on a topic. Because of this I sometimes overcompensate by overdescribing or overexplaining something that could probably be done in like 2 words.

1 hour ago, La Villa Strangiato said:

3. Have you ever "killed your darlings"? You are going to be subject to the cutting room floor a lot, not just from your own perspective but from the advice of others. Do you think you're capable of cutting out elements that you love and worked really hard on?

Pain.

It's an unfortunate part of writing and worldbuilding that as a setting grows and progresses certain things will no longer fit. It sucks. But nonetheless it must happen in order to keep a well made setting.

Whenever it happens I try to think of it similar to pruning a rosebush. It's unpleasant. You don't want to do it. But in the end it's better for the rosebush itself, and for the appearance of the rosebush.

Edit: And, when you're done pruning, you have some roses to use elsewhere. (ie; in another story/setting.)

Edited July 31, 2023 by whitewolftamer

[Fluffy]

What is your opinion on factions on the more "evil" side of the spectrum (eg. Lii'dra, SRF, ATLAS)? Any plan/direction on/for that front?

[whitewolftamer]

1 hour ago, Fluffy said:

What is your opinion on factions on the more "evil" side of the spectrum (eg. Lii'dra, SRF, ATLAS)? Any plan/direction on/for that front?

Keep them evil, but humanize them (Except for Lii'dra. They literally made themself into monsters)
I think something that is often lost in narratives is that no matter how evil the villain is, they are still human. This shouldn't be taken to say that you should sympathize with the villain, but rather to instill the notion that anyone can become a monster.

The Idea that Truely horrific people aren't human, but rather a monster, an entity, or some boogeyman loses a great deal of the complexity of their situation.

I think something that should be toyed with more, both in Aurora-Lore and in other settings is what causes a person to become a monster?

Why would a Human being decide to commit atrocities?

The Lii'dra for example, before becoming a hivemind, were a greatly technologically advanced hive. The Lii'dra are the inventors of VR. A technology which the K'lax stole from them, presumably alongside many other inventions. Due to this, alongside the pressure due to the N'knu hive attacking the Hy'looh hive, caused the Lii'dra to try and develop an end to war and other problems caused by individuality. In doing this, they made the Hivemind, which then put further pressure on the Lii'dra hive due to the negative reception from literally every other hive

The modern Lii'dra should not be empathized with. They should not be given sympathy, and they should not be given mercy. However, this piece of "humanization". This notion that they once were Normal, can allow them to be used not only as an external antagonist, but an internal one as well. Imagine the K'laxan Queen Vedhra creates a new augment which allows her warriors to "sync" to one another in combat, in order to make them infinitely more effective in combat. It could instantly cause a "Beware the Pipeline" moment from every other queen, trying to ensure that Queen Vedhra does not lose herself in an attempt to ensure that she can fight the Lii'dra.

Monsters are born from necessity. Whether that necessity is truely there, or simply percieved is irrelevant. The SRF formed out of what they saw as a necessity for order. The Lii'dra formed out of what they saw as a necessity for self defense, and peace. The way that they try to reach these goals is what turns them into a Monster.

The SRF should not be sympathized with. You should not try to justify the actions of an SRF soldier. You Should think about the things that led them down the path they chose, and allow it to reverberate within your mind when you find yourself taking similar steps.

Another fun part of this is the age-old trope of "Becoming a Monster to fight Monsters."

The SRF Became monsters in an attempt to purge the alien threat. To them, the aliens were the monster, so they became a monster to "protect" other humans.

The Lii'dra likely did not percieve the other hives as monsters, but, they were faced with the monstrous power of the court of queens.

ATLAS does not exist anymore. And frankly I do not want to talk about it. Looking at the old ATLAS wiki page, it seems like they were similar in stance to how the DPRA is. And then people got carried away with space racism and made them Nazis. Gotta love it. Over time ATLAS in lore leaned heavily into the extremism of its parties, rather than just remaining as Human DPRA.

[Fluffy]

This application has my +1; while it does not align perfectly with my opinion, it's insofar the closest one

[GeneralCamo]

I will be asking other possible applicants these questions, but I'd like your take on them.

1. How do you feel the K'lax would react to the recent lore developments regarding the Hephaestus takeover of the Hegemony? Do you feel that this may change the hive's opinion on vassalization by the Zo'ra?
2. How do you feel the C'thur would react to the Traverse rebellions? Do you see their political situation changing?
3. Do you see yourself developing any of the hives' political situation? What about their relationships between each other?

Edited August 7, 2023 by GeneralCamo

[whitewolftamer]

14 hours ago, GeneralCamo said:

1. How do you feel the K'lax would react to the recent lore developments regarding the Hephaestus takeover of the Hegemony? Do you feel that this may change the hive's opinion on vassalization by the Zo'ra?

I feel that the with the Hegemon dispatching K'laxan warriors to aid in quelling the riots on Ouerea, it shows a level of trust in the loyalty of the K'lax as a vassal. With this, had I the power to do so, I would like for Zkaii to try and foment themself not only on Ouerea as peacekeepers, but also to expand their presence on Moghes, potentially forming a K'laxan Peacekeeper Guild, with which they may act to protect the Hegemons interests, and by extension, their own interests. Doing so would not only deepen the relations of Hive K'lax with the hegemony by becoming a guild, and thus a subsidiary member of Hephaestus, but would also provide the K'lax with greater funding for Vetju and Vhedra. With Vetju, greater funding would allow her to pour more resources into revitalizing Vaurcesian technology, and with Vhedra, the manpower and funding would allow her to grow as a military power, strengthening the K'lax and allowing Vhedra to continue scouring the spur for Lii'dra.

As for how this would affect their opinion on vassalation by Zo'ra, I feel it would drive them further away from Hive Zo'ra. As in doing so they would essentially be further pledging themself to the Hegemony, thus abandoning their prior fealty to the Zo'ra.

 

 

15 hours ago, GeneralCamo said:

2. How do you feel the C'thur would react to the Traverse rebellions? Do you see their political situation changing?

The C'thur are in a position where disagreeing with the Federation could put their High Queen in further jeopardy. High Queen C'thur is already in dubious health, and is, ostensibly being kept alive only due to the joint effort of the greatest doctors the C'thur can muster, and the greatest scientific minds the Federation is willing to give. Due to this, the public opinion of Hive C'thur would likely be near or exactly the same as the Nralakk Federation. As for the queens themself, they would likely have their own opinions they would not voice, for fear the Federation may let their Queen die.
To start, High Queen C'thur herself would likely mimic the Nralakk Federation to continue her treatments. And she would likely have a fair opinion of the Nralakk Federation, as they have been keeping her alive.
Queen Mouv likely sides with the Nralakk Federation, as they have provided her and her brood with both a setting and the means to further her research. Though, should the rebels in the Traverse become the larger power, she would likely claim that she has always preferred them, in order to keep herself, her brood, and the High Queen safe.
Queen Vytel would likely remain neutral. As a queen who has only ever sought to be an impartial peacekeeper. Queen Vytel likely recognizes the faults of both the Nralakk Federation, and the Traverse Rebels. And, assuming the Rebels were ever to gain considerable power, would likely urge both sides to make peace, and allow the Rebels of the Traverse to establish their own nation upon the northern end of the Federation, with Tattuqig and Xrim as their core planets. Allowing the Rebels to expand northwards, and the Federation to expand southwards.
Queen Xetl. Well, It's Xetl. She would likely side with whoever lets her continue doing what she's doing. As of right now the Federation allows her to continue perfecting her hives augments, and, y'know, being her. But were the Traverse to offer a suitable opportunity to expand the work she takes pride in, she may lean towards them.
 

 

15 hours ago, GeneralCamo said:

3. Do you see yourself developing any of the hives' political situation? What about their relationships between each other?

Half of me wants to cause problems. The other half wants the hives to recognize they are an extreme minority in the spur, and work together to form a new empire. The Zo'ra are already de-centralized, and if any hive were to establish a sovereign nation it would be one of them. Out of all the Zo'rane queens I'd think it would likely a joint effort between Zoleth and Scay to form an independent Vaurcesian nation. Zoleth attempting to construct an independent nation to strengthen the Zo'rane Hive, such that they do not need to depend on anyone but themselves, and with Scay, I'd presume it as a further attempt to seperate herself from the rabble of humans and unafilliated Vaurcae, such that she could pursue her research further and to greater heights. Un-tethered by human perceptions of morality.

As for Inter-hive relationships. I definitely think that some strife may arise between the Zo'ra and the K'lax should the K'lax further lean into vassalization by the Hegemony, and, should the K'laxan hive fully mark themselves as independent from the Zo'rane hive, it would likely cause the C'thur to try and entirely disregard their roots as a minor diplomatic hive, and attempt to diminish the power of the Zo'ra over the other hives.
So to say:  

[goolie]

You're such an integral part of the Vaurca that play on Aurora that it almost wouldn't be the same without your characters! I've already spoken to Wiggles in our messages about what they're wanting to add, but just to put you on the spot and ask you as well, what'd you think about adding more mechanics to Vaurca augments? I'd like to see more game mechanics added rather than lore, but, I want your opinion! +1!

[whitewolftamer]

14 minutes ago, goolie said:

You're such an integral part of the Vaurca that play on Aurora that it almost wouldn't be the same without your characters! I've already spoken to Wiggles in our messages about what they're wanting to add, but just to put you on the spot and ask you as well, what'd you think about adding more mechanics to Vaurca augments? I'd like to see more game mechanics added rather than lore, but, I want your opinion! +1!

Were I able to I'd live to add more mechanics to all augments to be quite honest. However that takes coding and spriting and so-on so forth (Pain). If I was able to though, I would like more Vaurcan augments. Both to make Viax even more of a piece of equipment than they already were, and also to lean into the aspect of Vaurcesian lore which is the merging of organic and synthetic. There are four seperate queens (Scay, Xakt, Vedhra, and Xetl) who are focused on augmentation, be it through synthetic augmentations or biological augmentation. And it would be great to be able to reflect that on the Horizon. Nanotrasen only hired "minimally" augmented Vaurcae, but with the formation of the SCC, I could see them having a more relaxed policy, allowing for more intensively augmented Vaurcae being allowed on the vessel. As their further specialization could improve whichever department they are assigned to work in.

[NewOriginalSchwann]

I am not incredibly familiar with you as a person, alas, but I have some familiarity with your characters and behavior. I have no concerns about either, so here are some questions!

1). How do you feel about the Zo'ra and their relationship to Biesel? What would you expand there?

2). What are your thoughts on the Lii'dra Incursion? Would you change anything with it?

[whitewolftamer]

13 hours ago, NewOriginalSchwann said:

1). How do you feel about the Zo'ra and their relationship to Biesel? What would you expand there?

Honestly, I quite like it. While as a whole the relation ship between the Zo'rane Hive and Biesel is friendly, due to High Queen Vaur's being friends with president Dorn, It ranges from Friendly to Terse or Apathetic depending on which Queen you "ask". 

For example, 

Queen Zoleth I would most definitely describe as having a terse relationship with Biesel. She is polite, and actively works towards maintaining positive relations with Biesel, but it rarely feels as though she truely likes Biesel. More-so abiding by the wishes of her High Queen and remaining friendly in order to ensure the safety and continued power of her Hive. Heck, she literally sent kill-teams to assassinate Gang Leaders in Biesel because she wasn't confident in Biesels ability to deal with it.

13 hours ago, NewOriginalSchwann said:

2). What are your thoughts on the Lii'dra Incursion? Would you change anything with it?

In older pieces of lore there are often things which I am going to call "Skrell Moments". Where-in the Federation is able to perform some unreasonable display of power.

The only real thing I'd want to rework, Is the "Skrell Moment" where-in 28 Tup Commandos were able to Kill a Lii'raic Lesser Queen and Extract the body while only suffering 12 casualties.

Sincerely:

Part of my immense discontent with this is the Tups only suffering Casualties. Maybe I'm misinterpreting, and by casualties they mean 12 deaths, but in my head a casualty is an Injury and a fatality is a death. So they Killed a Lii'draic Lesser Queen after battling through what is undoubtedly a minor hive city AND extracted the queens body fighting their way out with it and only had 12 people get injured. 

Skrell Moment.

Other than that. Yeah they're pretty rad. They're called invasions but in my head they're pretty much just a mineral excavation, or scouting incursion. What's a queen to a Hivemind that places no importance on these fancy titles. To them a queen is literally just a powerful vessel that can produce eggs. It's a strike forward to test the capabilities of a new opponent, and potentially, if the opponent is weak enough, foment themselves in a staging area to strike out at other enemies.

Heck, if you're a massive hivemind, why wouldn't you make a queen on planets you've established a foothold on. It just means you can get warriors on the field faster, and eventually have a self-sustaining warrior producer. In the invasion of Bursa, the Lii'dra established themselves heavily, if somethings going well, why not try to make it even better. Until Elyra had access to Cardox the Lii'dra were pretty much unstoppable. Other than the Skrell Moment. The front on Bursa was described as the Lii'dra continuously expanding outwards, and despite the best efforts of Elyras military it couldn't be stopped until the Skrell Moment happened.

[whitewolftamer]

Also, who did the drawings for the Lii'dra on Elyra? Shit fucks.

This image was on the header for the uh Jan 14 2018 (2460) article

[SilverSZ]

Now that I know I'll just have to respond to these applications as a lore plebeian and not actually make any important comments. I can do so.

I'm not super familiar with Whitewolftamer as well, but I've seen then knocking around the relay and spoken to them there enough. Both about lore and non-lore topics to believe that they would be a perfectly polite and capable member of the team if accepted. But I also have some questions.

1) What do you think of the current plot thread around the unconfirmed fate of Queen Zo'ra? Do you believe this is something that could be resolved. (Through articles or events she is found dead/alive) or do you think that this is something better left as is?

2) There was a question about evil factions in general but that makes me want to ask. What is your vision for the Lii'dra? At the moment they don't really have any lore besides the invasions and the wiki page which I also think is very lacking, especially on what the Lii'dra are doing now. Do you think this information light approach is good and that you wouldn't change it? or do you have a vision for the Lii'dra to be a more known-about or active force in the setting?

3) What would be the ideal Vaurca arc for you to work on and then run in-game? As a species that isn't Humans, Skrell or Tajara I haven't seen a Vaurca focused event arc since I started playing here in 2020 (I'm a baby I know). Do you have any plans or desire to change this? Especially with the new freedom for running arcs with our new setting on the Horizon.

4) What is your favourite and least favourite piece of writing in Vaurca lore?

[whitewolftamer]

5 hours ago, SilverSZ said:

1) What do you think of the current plot thread around the unconfirmed fate of Queen Zo'ra? Do you believe this is something that could be resolved. (Through articles or events she is found dead/alive) or do you think that this is something better left as is?

I'm incredibly torn in regards to High Queen Zo'ra. If I were king in charge there would be four potential options that I'd have the vaurca team vote on

A. High Queen Zo'ra has left for the frontier, and is establishing a new Zo'rane empire far away from the gaze of alien species

B. High Queen Zo'ra has returned

     1. After mustering her forces to return the Zo'rane hive to its rightful position as rulers

     2. After getting assaulted by a Lii'dra force, and seeking security from the queens of her hive.

C. High Queen Zo'ra has been assimilated by the Lii'dra

D. Leave it unresolved

 

For option A, I think it'd make sense for a Vaurcesian Queen who has lived their entire life "above" others to want that position back again, and try to establish an empire where she would rule without question or opposition again

For option B1, it has about the same explanation as option A. She desires to be powerful, as she once was

For B2, the Lii'dra are lurking in the dark. And when one ventures where the light doesn't shine, they're bound to find others who did the same

For option C. The entire invasion of New Gibson was to put pressure on the "Biesel Hive" to deliver High Queen Zo'ra to the Lii'dra. Only makes sense that if Queen Zo'ra fled the rest of her hive alone with only her brood the Lii'dra might see that as an opportunity prime to take her for themselves

For option D. it always helps to leave a vote option that's just. "Leave it as it is"

6 hours ago, SilverSZ said:

2) There was a question about evil factions in general but that makes me want to ask. What is your vision for the Lii'dra? At the moment they don't really have any lore besides the invasions and the wiki page which I also think is very lacking, especially on what the Lii'dra are doing now. Do you think this information light approach is good and that you wouldn't change it? or do you have a vision for the Lii'dra to be a more known-about or active force in the setting?

I would personally like more information on the Lii'dra. Things that those from Tupii, or Vedhra's brood could reference or speak of. Or just people who have had the misfortune of interacting with the Lii'dra in general could talk about. While there is a good amount of Lii'dra lore when you look for it. I think it would be nice for there to be some more research. Perhaps a group of Vedhran warriors managed to raid a Lii'dra complex in the deep frontier, and though the Lii'dra successfully destroyed everything, they were able to take the corpses of the Lii'dra they did manage to kill and study new augments, both biological and synthetic. There's also the Lii'dra bioform that interacted with a Diona gestalt in the New Gibson invasion that I think would be cool as fuck to expand upon.

I think the Lii'dra should stay in the shadows. But just because something is in the shadows, doesn't mean you cant see its writhing silhouette in the dark. With Vedhra constantly scouring the stars for Lii'draic influence. it's hard to believe that even with the Lii'dras approach of "Burn it all. Let them learn nothing" Vedhra hasn't discovered anything.

I don't think the Lii'dra should be an active force in the main-show. But it should be something that lurks in the dark. You don't swim in the ocean without thinking about the shark. You don't dive deep into unmapped frontier without thinking about the Lii'dra.

7 hours ago, SilverSZ said:

3) What would be the ideal Vaurca arc for you to work on and then run in-game? As a species that isn't Humans, Skrell or Tajara I haven't seen a Vaurca focused event arc since I started playing here in 2020 (I'm a baby I know). Do you have any plans or desire to change this? Especially with the new freedom for running arcs with our new setting on the Horizon.

Were the Horizon to enter the deep frontier, it would recieve a distress signal from a small corporate colony. Probably Hephaestus given they would strip-mine Earths Moon if they could get away with it. Upon arrival the colony fails to return hail, prompting an expedition to the planet. The colony itself would be a mining colony of middling size, with a large pit, similar to a cobalt mine. Or perhaps a mine system built into caves (caves would probably be more feasible given the horizontal nature of SS13) Any vaurcae visiting the colony would hear a deafening "static" over the hivenet. An intensely uncomfortable cacophany of indecipherable pheremones.

The colony itself would be empty. Save for the occasional splatter of blood. Red, Blue, or Yellow. Venturing into the caves would similarly be a "quiet" trek. Constructs of resin, flesh, and bone adorning the passageways as the stone walls around them slowly close into biological resin chambers.

From there. The caverns and chambers would extend deep into the ground. With the occasional fissure in the wall. Veterans of the Hive war would recognize these fissures as spelunking passageways. Not the spelunking of Mankind or any other species, but rather the land-based combat the Lii'dra revived in the great hive war. Throughout the caves would be the unconscious bodies of K'laxan workers and warriors. Should the expedition crew harm the unconscious bodies, they will awaken, transmitting an alert broadcast to the greater whole. As those bodies would not be of the K'laxan hive anymore, having been assimilated by the Lii'dra. Upon this alert being sent out, the other K'laxan bodies would awaken, slowly awakening the slumbering giant which lay dormant within the stone. 10 minutes after the slumbering giant has been awoken, a hivenet broadcast by "Ta'Avixiet'[Placeholder] Lii'dra" would project "the delirious cogitation of one who has awoken after a long slumber". 30 minutes after awakening the Lii'dra. Ta'Avixiet'[Placeholder] Lii'dra would project "intense nauseating hatred" and a squadron of warriors, (4-5) would be sent to attack the expedition team. Should the expedition team decide to linger even longer for some reason, at the 45 minute mark, two squadrons would be sent. So on-So forth, until the crew evacuate. Afterwards, in newspaper likely, Vedhra would send a large group to purge the planet of Lii'draic presence. Depending on how long the crew had lingered. Vedhra would either be faced with a large group to face, but being able to learn more about the Lii'dra, or be faced with an empty cave complex, with the only sign of Lii'draic occupation being the excavation of the stone to form a Hive complex (The longer the crew lingers, the less that Vedhra would be able to discover)

7 hours ago, SilverSZ said:

4) What is your favourite and least favourite piece of writing in Vaurca lore?

One of my favorite piece has almost zero writing for it. It's the Lii'draic bioform that interacted with the Diona Gestalt. A strange form with a distended abdomen, which shed the carapace it "wore" to speak with the gestalt. Eldritch horrors. I love it.

Another would be the extensive writing for the Great Hive War. It's just well written and genuinely interesting to read.

My least favorite piece is a relatively minor complaint, but still something that doesn't sit well with me. The Zk'reii transfer phoron through trophallaxis. ...Which is something that is explicitly stated as disgusting to Vaurcae. As for a solution, there's a couple of different options. Could have it so that Zk'reii droppings are refined for their phoron. Or that Zk'reii eat the k'ois and vomit out a phoron paste which is then refined. Or if you want vaurcae to be gross could have it so they dont refine it at all and simply consume the Zk'reii byproducts for the phoron.

[Desven]

Thank you for applying for Vaurca lore deputy. I'm still making my choice and, in order to be more informed about each candidate, I have some questions to ask you:

1. Do you have any big proposals for lore? What would you like to change or steer in a different direction? Anything works.

2. You've talked about Eldritch horror on this app, and while body horror is something we like in the team, we still try to keep it balanced. You mention the trophallaxis and that's an aspect that I included because it helps balance the Vaurcae between this super-advanced society while also disgusting and "primitive" in some intimate aspects. What do you think of this balance? Would you do things differently yourself?

3. If you could write a complete wiki article yourself on Vaurca lore, what would it be about?

[whitewolftamer]

On 20/08/2023 at 21:39, Desven said:

1. Do you have any big proposals for lore? What would you like to change or steer in a different direction? Anything works.

Nothing big clunking around in my head as of yet. I like the way things are going with vaurcae. For the most part the thing I enjoy the most is fleshing out pieces of lore that have gotten comparatively minimal love.

On 20/08/2023 at 21:39, Desven said:

2. You've talked about Eldritch horror on this app, and while body horror is something we like in the team, we still try to keep it balanced. You mention the trophallaxis and that's an aspect that I included because it helps balance the Vaurcae between this super-advanced society while also disgusting and "primitive" in some intimate aspects. What do you think of this balance? Would you do things differently yourself?

I firmly believe Vaurcae should still be Alien. They should be weird, and oftentimes gross. The reason I meantion Trophallaxis of Zk'reii as a negative is because it is explicitely mentioned as something which is disgusting to vaurcae. Were it not stated as such I'd have no problem with it, but given that it's a major disgust/cultural taboo to vaurcae I prefer the alternatives I provided in my prior comment

On 13/08/2023 at 15:14, whitewolftamer said:

My least favorite piece is a relatively minor complaint, but still something that doesn't sit well with me. The Zk'reii transfer phoron through trophallaxis. ...Which is something that is explicitly stated as disgusting to Vaurcae. As for a solution, there's a couple of different options. Could have it so that Zk'reii droppings are refined for their phoron. Or that Zk'reii eat the k'ois and vomit out a phoron paste which is then refined. Or if you want vaurcae to be gross could have it so they dont refine it at all and simply consume the Zk'reii byproducts for the phoron.

 

On 20/08/2023 at 21:39, Desven said:

3. If you could write a complete wiki article yourself on Vaurca lore, what would it be about?

I'd like to catalogue all the different bioforms Vaurcae have.

There's a ton of interesting bioforms and warforms mentioned in different places on the wiki, but there's no central place to reference the different bioforms that Vaurcae have

Potentially categorized by Hive of Origin and then from there by brood, or purpose

 

As an aside from the Wiki I would frankly really enjoy writing the account of a Vedhran Ta' who is trying to both
A. Categorize and oversee the reverse engineering of Lii'draic technology (The small bits they can recover)
and
B. Try to think of the reasoning behind the Lii'draic hiveminds various actions 

Because of its nature as a second-hand account it could remain an unreliable insight into how the Lii'dra function, giving more information for antags to toy with, while still not being 100% fact that Joe McHuman knows for some reason.

Potentially as a forum post? No idea how that would actually work in regards to actually posting it

[Desven]

This was a very hard decision, but unfortunately, I decided to move forward with another candidate. I hope you're still willing to continue contributing to Vaurca lore through PRs and lore applications.