An evolutionary path with no relation to conventional genetic life, Sourcia are instead composed of a subtype of XNA or xeno-nucleic acids - a variant with zero sugars and instead, bio-polymers. They are able to dynamically edit their own genetics and body to adapt to new conditions or reconfigure themselves for a given role, changing shape, size, and form.

Sourcians as a species revolve around central meta-intelligences composed of enormous structures (also made of Sourcians) which serve as the sum of knowledge and learning, and a place to live, work through problems, rest, and entertain themselves. Sourcians can also act alone from a colony or community, but for some, loneliness can have adverse effects on the psyche of the character, as nothing connects to Sourcians quite like other Sourcians, or a group of other people they happen latch onto.

• There are many identified types and forms of Sourcian, and many of them are not strictly humanoid, or serve as intelligent objects or structures. The two best suited to being player characters are as follows:
  • Adagio - Generally humanoid in shape, and intended by Sourcians as a whole as the 'peacetime' form, which generally moves independently from the central intelligence and socialises with other people. They are mostly composed of water.
  • Salaxi/Crude - Composed of dense hydrocarbons to form prehensile, gelatine liquid bodies of visco-elastic polymers, this offshoot of Sourcians is much more fluid than their peers. They are not considered 'true' Sourcians, but are considered as such by others - particularly Greasehearts.
• A typical Sourcian's body is composed of an outer skin with an optional carapace created using structol, an inner medium called picora wherein organs and devices are stored, and a pair of Maesus cores which constitute the brain and eyes of the Sourcian.
  • One maesus stays in the 'head', the other in the middle of the being, and both are connected to the nervous system the Sourcian creates.
  • A humanoid Sourcian is killed by having both Maesus destroyed. For this reason, the head maesus is usually hiding in an Acorium skull and face-mask while the body maesus is protected by organs and clothing.
  • A missing head maesus on an Adagio or Salaxi will result in a near-fatally wounded Sourcian.
• Sourcians are always changing on the inside - creating and destroying new organs, as well as absorbing and and regurgitating equipment as needed.
  • Sourcians can carry things within their medium. With the right wiring and configuration, they can interact with them too.
  • It takes a week to a month of focussed effort including dieting, research, acquiring resources, organ reconstruction and conditioning to make major changes to the shape, size, density, or composition of the Sourcian. Time necessary is dependant on how solid the medium of the Sourcian is. Gooey sourcians can change quickly. Solid sourcians require more intense reconfiguration of muscles, organs, and other systems.
  • The standard organs and devices expected on Sourcian characters include:
    • An outer skin woven from structol fabric¹⁾, or visco-elastic PVC in the case of a Salaxi/Crude.
    • A jointed carapace to hold the Sourcian's body in a desired shape, made of Structol.
    • Lungs designed to breathe the local atmosphere, usually oxygen-rich.
    • Optics adapted to seeing in or close to the visible light spectrum.
    • A rudimentary nervous system for processing stimuli throughout the body, and add hearing²⁾.
    • Various mini-Maesii crystals for smaller tasks, knowledge retention and the like.
    • A skeleton composed of crystallised or bone-dense structol.
    • A hardened mobile communicator to be used as a bio-electric computer.
• A Sourcian's dietary requirements are … strange. What constitutes as edible to them can include algaes, rocks, oil and other hydrocarbon-based fuels, and minerals. Their meals are processed from hydrocarbons into carbohydrates to nourish the Sourcian³⁾.
  • They can adapt to eating conventional carbohydrate foods in polite company.
  • Sugar acts as a narcotic and nourishing substance towards Sourcians. It acts as a high-density and lazy source of carbohydrates without the need for processing. The more refined the sugars, the stronger the effects.
• Sourcians seek other sourcians out, so as to share evolutionary knowledge, organ configurations and adaptation styles.
• Sourcians are adapted towards humid weather, and warm climates, and can live in the ocean. They shun cold and dry climates.
  • Water-composed Adagio Sourcians are capable of sensing electromagnetic fields and their movement, through trace amounts of metallic minerals in their medium. This can prove disorienting or damaging without an insulated bodysuit.
  • Sourcians are attracted to intense gamma radiation and aurora phenomena, as the interaction of solar winds with the magnetosphere create pleasing wavelengths.
  • Infrared radiation is highly damaging towards a Sourcian. Structol cracks, picora contracts and dries out, and the maesus becomes progressively more discombobulated as the radiation bombards it.
  • Microwaves are fatal towards a Sourcian. Structol shatters, picora boils, and the maesus becomes fractured, essentially paralysed where without medical intervention, the Sourcian can die. Even then, said medical attention can leave memory loss and damage in its wake.
• Absorbs surface-level grit on their outer skin to form pearls, which they consider a waste product. Still valuable.

And that's just scratching the surface. Sourcians are weird! To dive deeper, read more on the Sourcian species page.

Sourcians in a large organisation or colony derive their names from hexadecimal strings. '45.6C.65.6E.61' which translates into 'Elena', for example. Names are case sensitive, but not strictly so in speech. Otherwise, Sourcians have the power to bestow whatever name they see upon themselves.

A tool to assist you in turning plain text into hexadecimal strings and vice versa can be found here.

In conventional oxygen atmospheres, Sourcians find themselves drawn to areas with balmy, tropical weather. Their ideal heat level is 70 degrees Celsius⁴⁾. They observe seasons in a “wet and dry” cycle. Sourcians shun extreme temperatures where moisture cannot be drawn from the air. In extreme heat and direct sunlight, picora can dry out and turn waxy - limiting a Sourcian's movement and potentially damaging organs and components. In the cold picora can become brittle and break, leading to similar complications. Problems relating to the regulation of temperature in a sourcian can be solved by access to water. On dry and cold planets and biomes, they can only be found in the oceans where available - a Sourcian travelling over land in those conditions is either an experienced and prepared traveller, or on a death wish.

In short, a Sourcian needs water more than they need air, but that brings its own complications. Trace elements of metallic minerals and chemicals in water within a Sourcian's medium can conduct electromagnetic fields, which can disorient mental processes and electronic devices. Strong electromagnetic currents, such as those from dedicated weaponry, electric pylons and turbines, and badly constructed and 'leaking' electronics can be violently painful.

To this end, the dark bodysuits humanoid Adagio Sourcian are seen wearing act as electromagnetic insulation, warmth generation and retention, and moisture recycling systems, enabling them to get by in public with other species. A truly naked Adagio Sourcian on land is rare unless in a highly controlled environment⁵⁾, conversely its standard for Salaxi/Crudes to walk around essentially naked with their attachments, as their hydrocarbon composition sidesteps many of the problems water-based Adagio Sourcians experience.

• From A Space Colony - Your Sourcian spawned within a Kolossallium hive orbiting a planet or a star. Becoming curious of the terrestrial world and all the stories you read and watch of it, you've decided to fashion yourself into an Adagio shape solid enough to 'get by', and have gone out to discover the new world. New sensations, new trials and tribulations await.
• From Sargasso - Your Sourcian spawned somewhere in the tropics of Sargasso. Civilised and urbanised Adagio Sourcians used to moving among people are likely to hail from the suburbs of Redfield or Bay Grove in Central View. Salaxi/Crudes are drawn to the industrial districts, such as Vulcanshore on Ogonori Island, Helion Overlook in North Shore, and Drill Plains in Southern Palms. Aquatic Sourcians are in the shallows of the urban islands and coast, and the Aquahub in the centre of the bay. The primary sourcian food source is Sargasso Slime.
• From Noir - Your Sourcian spawned within the sprawling city limits of Noir. House-trained and personable Adagio Sourcians are likely to have come from the wards of Chelton or Gala Walk. Industrially inclined Salaxi/Crudes are be attracted towards the Hothouse. In addition, there is a honeycomb of caverns and pools beneath the city of Noir where wild sourcians are known to spawn as a convenient⁶⁾ food source.

Fashion isn't just a matter of appearance for Sourcians. It's a matter of shape, adaptation and physical presence. Sourcians who take the shape of humanoids generally stand six to eight feet tall. Picora in Adagio type Sourcians is near-alabaster in colour or off-white, so skin tones range from pale to flush, depending on the arrangement of organs and density of flesh. Salaxi/Crudes are effectively made from hydrocarbons and can fabricate exteriors in a smattering of acrylic and plastic tones, sheens, glosses, and finishes.

In both main varieties of Sourcian, it isn't uncommon for lights to be visible underneath the skin as devices and organs process input and deliver output throughout the body.

• Inner Composition - The inside of a Sourcian is called Picora. Picora is a bright orange colour. How dense is it?
  • Liquid - The picora is in a completely liquid state. Often unsuitable for integrating or supporting organs.
  • Soft Jelly - Suitable for aquatic Sourcians, who spread out and manage large amounts of organs or devices, and act as thinking machine or colony. An example Sourcian who uses this setup is 4d-75-6c-6c-65-72 Muller, Calculator for Gruppen Tanhauss. He is spread out among a catchment of 375,000 litres⁷⁾ in the pools underneath the city of Noir.
  • Hard Jelly - A happy middle-ground for many Sourcian beings on land or in the water. While the internal makeup of the sourcian is soft and pliant, its outer skin is thick enough to contain and hold the shape and structure of the sourcian and its attachments. An example sourcian who uses this setup is Yttrium Blue, whose exact size changes regularly as she imbibes and burns through hydrocarbons. She makes use of limbs salvaged from a Powered Armour for gripping and locomotion.
  • Flesh - Picora is arranged as an analogue to flesh and muscle, bound to a skeleton inside the Sourcian. While individual muscle arrangements can vary, the underlying structure is modelled off mammalian flesh. While the most approachable of ways to wear oneself, it is the hardest to remodel once created.
• Outer Skin - Skin can have the following qualities. Unless otherwise noted, most skin is created from woven structol.
  • Membrane - Lighter than skin, analogous to a giant amoeba. Sourcians composed entirely of membrane are extremely fast to grab and integrate or regurgitate new things, and capable of swimming through water with ease, but lacks basic defences against many forms of attack and leaves the maesii exposed to attack.
  • Skin - An analogue to skin, without a single pore or flaw⁸⁾. Adagio skin is generally white/pale in colour, and Salaxi/Crude can take on any number of plastic colours and finishes.
  • Chitin/Shell - Structol can be woven into harder shells over or beneath the skin to compliment a solid shape a Sourcian can take. A humanoid sourcian making use of chitin and shells over their skin resembles a ball-jointed doll.
  • Hair - Fibres can be woven together from structol strands to create a formation analogous to a haircut, down to the look and feel. Adagio hair is normally worn white, or they can choose to bind all a manner of dyes within the form.
• Outerwear and Apparel - Adagio Sourcians who move around people and other aliens generally wear body-suits, to keep dust particles and grit out, shield from electromagnetic interference, and retain heat and moisture. Atop this suit, additional gear may be worn and carried, and some suits come with pockets that reach inside the Sourcian, for easy access. Sourcians also accessorise decoratively with with soft fabrics, structol protrusions and outcroppings, valuable jewellery and precious metal.

A Sourcian-built mega-structure. Note the use of hexagon-centric design meshing with an interconnecting lattice to affix and connect the many sub-structures. Render by Osaka.

The Skills Guide can be found here!

After being raised by the local Sourcian intelligence and finding a suitable working form, Sourcians adapt themselves into many broad roles in their society, leveraging their physiology and transmutative properties to work. Many Sourcians don't need a humanoid form during their working hours, but it helps Sourcians and Salaxi who're work among humanoids.

• Ambassador - Sourcians like this are shaped in the approximation of a human with two legs, two arms, a head with long ears, and a body structure best described as a long person. They are modelled to act as approachable faces towards other species. Ambassadors also act as cultural beacons for the species too, trying to integrate with a foreign system's arts and culture by bringing their perspectives and to light. An example of an Ambassador Sourcian is 45.6C.65.6E.61 'Elena': A Sourcian shaped as a woman who works in the local film industry, radio, and appears on morning talk shows.
  • Arts or Entertainment - A common avenue for Ambassador Sourcians is to integrate with a culture's artistic avenues. This can include radio, tapes, movies, games, dance, and more.
  • Fitness - Where possible, a Sourcian will want to maintain an aesthetically pleasing exterior. Creating functional and aesthetic muscular arrangements requires reference, trial, error, and gainful exercise. Sourcians who engage in sporting events⁹⁾ may wish to be 'fit' for purpose within the rules of the game.
  • Humanities - Being able to study a culture's patterns, likes, dislikes, and taboos lets an Ambassador work cleanly and effectively with other species.
  • Communications - Being able to tap into the local communications networks and keep atop the local goings-on, events, news, and to reach out to other Sourcians.
• Apothecary/Builder - Apothecary is a historical term given to Sourcians who work as living, biological and material industrial processes; Aleph Null System and Acala System refer to Sourcians filling these roles as Builders¹⁰⁾. This role involves the operation of organs, glands and other viscera to change one substance into another. The essential Apothecary Sourcian integrates nearby materials into picora, which is then woven into solid Structol. A good operational equivalent would be a 3D printer and lathe fed with plastic prills, creating objects within its space. Salaxi/Crudes in particular are known for their insights regarding hydrocarbon based propulsion, and frequent collaboration with mechanics and engineers.
  • Craft - A builder's bread and butter. Seniority, experience, and the right tools allow for fine and mechanically complex, multi-stage creations like vehicle and spacecraft components and weaponry.
  • Construction - Builders can work with a 'large-scale' implementation to mold larger structures for Sourcian habitation, understanding the fundamentals of sound building, geographical constraints and material tolerances to build once, and build right.
  • Biology and Chemistry - Where the term 'Apothecary' catches traction: as the study and creation, mixing, filtration, distilling, recycling, and disposal of substances and chemicals including structol, picora, freshwater, petrol, food, and more.
  • Mathematics - Though they won't need a Calculator's level of precision, a builder needs a grasp on mathematics in regard to plotting, planning, and machining components.
  • Engineering - These skills serve more of a Builder than a true Apothecary, for planning, prototyping and creating marvels of engineering.
• Calculator - The blanket term given for a Sourcian who acts a living, biological information process. Whether as a computer program, database, algorithm like space navigation vector-gathering, or any other clerical knowledge-heavy role. Elder calculators with access to petabytes of data, information, media and knowledge also act as community leaders and administrators. The work of a calculator is a cushy, but necessary task by Sourcian standards. Travelling Calculators are also known to work with operations run by non-Sourcians, lending their insights to the business as contractors, or becoming a permanent fixture of a business' day-to-day operations.
  • Mathematics - The bread and butter of a Calculator's work. Crunching algorithms and returning sums, coefficients, vectors and more.
  • Communications - Being able to communicate the information a Calculator manages to other Sourcians is critical to success.
  • Biology - A Calculator is expected to be versed in the workings of organs they administrate within their medium, and their tolerances.
  • Humanities - A Calculator may process and log inputs from hundreds of other Sourcians in their area.
  • Concentration - A single-minded focus on intense computing tasks in critical moments.
  • Starship Operation - A team of Calculators act as the bridge crew on a Sourcian starship.
• Myrmidon - The Sourcian term for a member of a caste or clade of soldiers, traditionally protectors of Sourcian residential structures. Sourcians leverage their versatile anatomy to become monstrous combat machines, able to hide blades and firearms within limbs, create organs and glands for augmenting their combat style, and taking advantage of the principles of the six-axis doctrine of combat¹¹⁾ to push the doctrine to its limits. Sourcians of Adagio and Salaxi subtypes expected to see combat for prolonged periods develop develop battle-optimised, inhuman bodies closer to quadruped or bipedal beasts. A specific adaptation of Sourcian known as the Maevallis is a duellist, a diplomat who conducts their bargains through warfare - a pertinent fact discovered during The Old War.
  • Archaic Weapons or Hand to Hand - For bladed weapons of short and long sizes, and grappling with bizarre anatomy and inhuman layouts and joint ranges.
  • Firearms or Gunner - Another staple of conventional warfare, dependant on the scale the soldier is expected to inflict upon potential threats.
  • Chemistry and Technician - Fabricate an organ and glands which secrete acid with a touch, interface with an internal computer/sensor suite and process combat data, for example…
  • Powered Armour - Many combat bodies have similarities to powered armour once propulsion and hardened structol shells join the mix.
  • Biology - For Sourcian-related maintenance, strengthening, and the optimisation of adaptation and form.
• Symbiont - The Sourcian lives within or as part of another creature, usually a mammalian or robotic host. Humanoid aliens may play host to a Sourcian symbiote, with one of the two Sourcian's Maesus replacing an eye or part of the brain on the host. The second maesus rests somewhere among the organs as picora snakes throughout the body. A positive relationship between Symbiont and its Host is necessary for a fruitful living, as the host will be eating for at least two.
  • A Symbiont may take advantage of the skills of the host, albeit indirectly. In areas with a lot of Sourcian traffic¹²⁾ they're likened to biological artificial intelligences.
  • Biology - Crucial for understanding the anatomy of the host and maintaining their preferred livelihood.
  • Three other skills from another Sourcian profession on this list for the Symbiont.
  • Three other skills for the host, based on their character creation choices/process.
  • You can change the balance between skills 2/4 or 4/2 if you'd like, but this will present accordingly: Discrete Symbionts require less maintenance, while obvious combat adaptations are likely to scare pedestrians.
• Weaver - The Sourcian equivalent to a medical professional. While all Sourcians are able to make changes to their biology, Weavers can read the DNA of patients as tapestry, drawing from an abyss of patterns and desirable structures. They regard their work much like sculpting with clay, fingers and hands from bone and raw material, or engaging the patient as a symbiont within a fluid medium to perform deeper intense reconstructions or tumour absorption. They prefer not to use sharp implements - a soft touch is possible, and can work best for the patient.
  • Medicine - The Weaver's premier skill. The discipline runs the gamut from DNA and XNA plotting, patterning and editing, cybernetics installation, limb reconstruction, cancer treatment, regeneration, and cosmetics.
  • Biology - A pillar of knowledge supporting the Weaver's medical skills.
  • Arts - Their ability to sculpt new flesh for a patient requires the study and reproduction of the shapes and textures which make up established Sourcian adaptations. This includes but is not limited to limbs and body chassis, vascular systems, nerve cluster arrangements, hair formations, genetic tattoos and body painting.
  • Technician - For cybernetics and computational organ installation and programming.
  • Repair - As Technician, but for reconstruction and maintenance.
  • Culinary - Navigating the Sourcian palette and beyond to nourish is second nature to a kindly Weaver.

Written by Luca via adapting Osaka's writings on Sourcians.