From: Ground Zero Games <jon@g...>
Date: Tue, 7 Mar 2000 10:08:21 +0000
Subject: [OFFICIAL] Kra'Vak psychology preview!
Hi all, Thought you might like a brief preview of the the way that the K'V psychology has been developed for use in FB2; it should adapt quite well to DS and SG games.... Jon (GZG) -------------------------- KRA'VAK: Literal translation: "People of the Sorrow Killer " ZHA'VAK: Literal translation: "World of the Sorrow Killer " - the Kra'Vak Homeworld. Kra'Vak psychology: RO'KAH (Clouded War Mind): When a normal Kra'Vak becomes angered, fearful or otherwise strongly emotionally stimulated, chemicals released into its brain cause a reaction known as Ro'Kah (literal translation: "Clouded War Mind"), which causes the Kra'Vak to become steadily more enraged as the source of the stimulation increases. In its extreme stages, the Kra'Vak will enter a kind of "berserker rage" in which it will attack almost anything (including, in some cases, its own fellows) but loses its capacity for rational and coherent thought and planning. This gives Kra'vak warriors a kind of "reverse morale" effect, where the worse the situation gets in terms of enemy threat, casualties etc., the more frenzied the warriors will become in their attacks. In Kra'Vak prehistory, this was a survival trait - running away was of little use against the fast predators of Zha'Vak, and the only defence was to launch a furious frontal attack with all their strength. While in the grip of Ro'Kah, a Kra'vak warrior will fight like a demon, using any and all weapons to hand (natural and manufactured), but loses all concept of tactics. In personal combat, an enraged Kra'Vak will simply launch itself at its opponent, with a weapon if it has one and with mandibles and claws if it doesn't, uttering a terrible war scream. At this point, it will either win or die. This frenzied burst of energy cannot be maintained for long, and if the warrior wins the fight it will soon subside into a much more passive state as the causes of the Ro'Kah are removed and the effects of the fury drain away. As the Kra'Vak civilisation rose from barbarism and they began to develop technology, mechanised warfare and eventually spaceflight, the racial legacy of Ro'Kah remained with them. Its effects are most strongly seen in Kra'vak ground troops, where their close proximity to the enemy triggers the neurochemical release that precipitates Ro'Kah very easily. Warriors that are more remote from the "sharp end" of the fighting, such as AFV crews and to a greater extent Starship personnel, feel some of the effects but at a slower rate and with less ferocity; they may also have the benefit of the controlling influence of a Sia'Na (see below). The area in which Ro'Kah has most bearing on space combat is with Kra'Vak fighter pilots - the exhilaration and stimulation of individual combat is strong when flying a fighter, and incoming fire and losses to a group will often push the remaining pilots into the frenzied state, causing them to make violent and sometimes-suicidal runs at their targets. Any fighter crews that survive such an attack pass will then generally rely on their computer systems to take their fighters back to the carrier while they themselves recover and calm as the effects of Ro'Kah gradually subside. In a group, Kra'Vak will suffer the effects of Ro'Kah just as intensely as on their own; in some ways each feeds off the emotional stimulation of the others, and the tension rises even faster. This is true both of small groups (say, a squad-size unit of ground troops) and larger gatherings, and can even extend to entire War Families. At the macro level, these effects are reflected in the interaction between Kra'vak Clan groupings and in their reactions towards other races - it is a race-wide form of Ro'Kah which has brought about the war against the perceived threat of the Hu'Man. SIA'NA (Walkers of the Path): The Sia'Na (literal translation: "Walkers of the Path", but the concept best translates as "Moderator") are a small caste of Kra'vak in which the physiological processes that cause Ro'Kah are absent or dormant. In Kra'vak pre-technic civilisation, where Ro'Kah was an accepted and necessary part of inter-Kra'Vak relations and conflict, offspring found to be Sia'Na were considered defective and either exiled from the War Family or simply killed. As the Kra'vak culture matured and their society became more sophisticated, however, it was realised that the Sia'Na held a unique place in the scheme of things - they could serve as a moderating influence on warriors consumed by the fury of Ro'Kah, making proper tactical and strategic decisions without minds clouded by the fury. The presence, words and thoughts of a Sia'Na have a calming and controlling influence on Ro'Kah-enraged warriors, which seems to be accomplished through a mixture of cultural conditioning, "religious" belief and some kind of empathic link - the Kra'Vak's own scientists and psychologists don't fully understand it themselves, any more than human science really understands the occasional manifestation of apparent psionic abilities and other paranormal phenomena in humans. To be born Sia'Na is to live a precarious life in Kra'Vak society; they are both revered and despised at the same time by the warriors, and it is not unknown for a warrior in the grip of Ro'Kah to turn on and kill a Sia'Na who tries to calm and control him. For this reason, the Sia'Na are masters of subtle diplomacy and persuasion; these skills grow with age and experience, as does the Sia'Na's ability to affect larger numbers of Kra'Vak over a wider area - some of the Sia'Na Elders can extend their influence to a huge crowd, or even by remote communications, while the younger and less adept of the caste must be in close physical proximity to the warriors they are attempting to "advise". Kra'Vak warships will normally have one Sia'Na in their crew to act as advisor and moderator to the ship's commander; in very large ships (dreadnoughts and heavy carriers), and in any ship acting as a fleet flagship, there may be a small group of three or more Sia'Na assigned to the Flag command staff. In essence, the presence of Sia'Na in a ship crew or force command is a reversal of the role of the "Political Officers" found in ESU forces; while the Political Officer will watch for signs of cowardice and dissent among the troops or crew and force them to keep fighting, the Sia'Na exists to STOP the Kra'Vak warriors from throwing away their lives, ships and equipment in their frenzied battle-rage.