The Founders (Star Trek):

Based on Star Trek: Deep Space 9

The founders are a rarity, a sentient race that is liquid based. Along with this unique physiological development, they have the amazing ability to form themselves into a variety of things, from a mouse to a horse to a suitcase. They can form their body into any shape, size, texture, and color with very few limits.

They come from an alternate Earth dimension where they control a vast empire who revere them as gods, but they have arrived at other portions of the megaverse due to their habit of sending out members of their race to scout portions of the galaxy. A good number went missing from time to time, victims of dimensional anomalies. These members of the founder race have been sent to different portions of the Megaverse, and could show up nearly anywhere.

Founder Society

Founders Society is unique in the fact that they have a pseudo-collective: The Great Link. This collective is not as restrictive or encompassing as the Borg, it is simply a vast pool of Founders, where they go and receive the memories and knowledge of all the other Founders in that link. Unlike the Borg collective, the Founders do maintain anonymity, and can attempt to withhold information from the link.

Founder supremacy is also common, the Founders have a society where violence among them is unheard of (In there history, only one Founder has ever killed another of their species). On many worlds they become god like figures who lead hordes of normal races, or Solids as they are called.

Founders are generally of an aberrant alignment when dealing with outside races. Those who give themselves willingly and subserviently are treated well, those who are not are infiltrated and destroyed outright, the Founders have a ruthless attitude towards enemies.

Founder Biology

The Founders are a liquid life form, their natural state is that of a gelatinous mass with no apparent sensory organs of any kind. They learn to shapeshift by linking to other Changelings and receiving their knowledge, if a Founder is not linked to at birth, then they must be taught to shapeshift by external stimuli, otherwise they will be content to stay a liquid forever.

The Founders can form almost any shape imaginable, and are the ultimate shapeshifters. However, founders do have limitations. First, they cannot separate and form two parts, they must stay all together. Secondly, they must rest in their natural state for several hours out of the day, shapeshifting is taxing on them and they must rest from it.

Founders are asexual, and have children through a sort of Mitosis, once every 50 years a Founder has 1 day where he (or she) is capable of producing offspring. At this time a small portion of their liquid breaks off of them and begins to develop into a changeling. This development process takes approximately 1 year, and at this time they will be sentient and capable of being linked to. During the development process, the changelings parent will keep it in a safe, secluded, and preferably warm place.

Founders do not need to eat or drink, but they do need Oxygen to retain memory.. Prolonged Oxygen deprivation will cause them to enter a form of hibernation and when awoken they will have no memories whatsoever, and must be taught all over again. To suffocate a Founder, one must cover the whole body, as they have no special organs to breath from, the oxygen just diffuses. In their natural state, the Founders have no vocal cords, and cannot talk to species through audio communications, they must be taught to form vocal cords in order to speak with humans. Also, they can absorb liquid such as blood, water, etc. and hold it in their bodies, and release it on cue (making blood screening ineffective of them). When a Founder dies, it temporarily reverts to its liquid state, and then begins to crumble and turn into a black powdery substance, similar to ash.

Psychologically, all Changeling have the traits of being nearly obsessed with order, and rather paranoid of 'Solids'

The Founder R.C.C.

Alignments: Any, but group influence means Aberrant is most common IQ: 3D6 ME: 3D6 MA: 3D6 PS: 4D6 PP: 3D6 PE: 3D6 PB: Special, as per form
Spd: 3D6 / 1D6x10 flying S.D.C.: 1D4x10
Hit Points: PE + 1D6 per level
ISP/Psionics: As Human (All have Psionic Link capabilities)
PPE: 1D6 Naturally (Can be trained in magic)

Racial Abilities
1) Does not need to Eat/Sleep//Breath(See limitation above)
2) Immune to Poison, Radiation, etc.
3) Shapeshifting - Changeling can shapeshift into any creature, with a minimum size of a small cup or a mouse to a maximum of 6 cubic feet. They can create simple machinery (Radios), and weapons (Knives) but no projectiles. This power can only be used for PE + 1D6 per level hours a day, then the Changeling must regenerate or sleep. They can attempt to push this power even longer, but this requires a saving throw of over 10 every 30 minutes. +1 For each additional save. A failed save means the changeling takes 1D4x10 damage. Strong bursts of electricity can force the changelings to revert to their gelatinous state. The Changeling has an ability to imitate a certain inanimate object at 60% + 5% per level, a certain animal at 50%+ 5% per level, or a certain human being at 40% + 5% per level.
4)Immune to Kinetic Attacks - Kinetic attacks do no damage to the changeling, cold based attacks do ½ damage.

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Writeup by Crow T. Robot. ( Crowbotw@psinet.net).

Minor revisions and formatting by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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