| Toractan Package Deal | |
|---|---|
| Ability | Cost |
| +2 STR | 2 |
| +2 CON | 4 |
| +2 PD | 2 |
| Tough Skin: Damage Resistance (2 PD/2 ED) | 2 |
| Armoured Plates: Armour (3 rPD/1 rED); Activation 11- (-1) | 3 |
| Acute Hearing: +3 PER with Hearing Group | 6 |
| Acute Hearing: Ultrasonic Perception (Hearing Group) | 3 |
| Disadvantages | Value |
| -2 PRE | -2 |
| Running -2” | -4 |
| Physical Limitation: Toractan Eyes (colourblind and extremely near-sighted; -2 sight PER in appropriate situations when corrective lenses/medications not used) (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing) | -5 |
| Total Cost of Package: | 11 |
Known throughout the Empire for their work as mine laborers and heavy troops in the Imperial Army, the Toractans have thick skin, usually in tones of green or grey, and no hair.
Standing a bit more than 1 meter tall, Toractans are heavily muscled, virtually hairless humanoids who weigh more than 50 kilograms as adults. Their tough skin has armor plates on the back, forearms, and shins. Although often thought of as ponderous and slow, in truth they're every bit as agile as Humans. They have two fingers and a thumb on each hand.
Though warm-blooded, Toractans lay eggs in clutches of four. Throughout their history, most Toractans died in childhood or adolescence, vic tims of the many vicious predators on Toracta. Today, thanks to animal-control technology, the Toractan population has exploded - currently 13 billion live on Toracta, and another 7 billion offworld.
Much larger than Earth, the planet Toracta has a gravity of 1.4 standard G. Oceans and large inland seas cover eighty percent of the surface; the land masses are mostly in the tropics, and have several large rainforest basins. The Toractans evolved in one such region. The planet is well-known among galactic tourists for its majestic stretches of cloud forest, which the Toractans preserve as a genetic and economic resource.
Toracta's animal life tends to be big, comparable to Earth's dinosaurs, and includes several huge and terrifying species of predator. The largest such creature, the rostanac ("Eater of Forests") has a mass of 70 tons and stands 12 meters tall. Even today, fear of these predators remains high; the Toractans build their cities underground, or heavily fortify them against marauding animals. Hunting is a popular sport among daring Toractans and tourists alike.
Toractans primarily live underground, and most of their modern communities consist of immense tunnel complexes. They discovered agri culture early by growing fungi and raising large grubs in piles of waste and compost. Sound is their primary sense; Toractans are color-blind and extremely nearsighted. They have elaborate, complex music and poetry that appeals to many other species.
During Marissa III's reign, the Toractans are at the center of a major controversy over non-Human rights. While Toractans are Imperial citizens, cor porations recruit large numbers of them as miners under contracts amounting to virtual slavery. So far, the Imperial government seems more interested in keeping the mines productive than in protecting the rights of the Toractans. The traditional Toractan stoic endurance and fatalistic acceptance of harsh conditions only complicates the issue.
The Toractans had ATRI 4 technology when Terran explorers discovered them in 2467. Exposure to Imperial technology has rapidly advanced them to ATRI 9.