Belza

Belza are a gaseous species of synthetic origins that use robotic suits to live and interact with the realm outside the gas giants they call home.

• Bevels everywhere!
• Their suits have plenty of room for whatever they want, since they don't need much in the way of the complex life support most creatures need.
• They see using LIDAR!
• Their eyes glow.

• Rapidly reaches maturity after one year.
• Theoretical lifespan of 200 years, however the species has only existed since PA 178.
• Does not propogate often outside the gas giants, is honestly more effort than its worth.
• Uses a form of asexual reproduction that's more of a forking of consciousness rather than a simple copy/paste
• Reproducing is mostly a choice, but towards the end of their lifespan, Belza feel the need more.

The Belza, as a cloud, run the gamut of colours, but mostly suiting towards a “mood ring” style of emoting. As they spend most of their time in the outside world in suits, this becomes very handy indicating emotion.

The Belza suit is what most folks will interact with. The choice of form is a very wide field, but several aspects show up most frequently. The Belza love bevels in their aesthetic design and try to incorporate curves into all of their metalwork. The limbs, given the EM nature of the hardware, connect without joints, allowing the limbs to float and flip and extend the reach without stressing or grinding any bits.

The actual torso unit of a Belza suit uses some form of coolant to make all the hardware running smoothly, usually either an oil tank or a rod of some kind. They don't particularly like painting the metal, opting to either mix in colour when forging the parts, or decorating with things like cloaks and other fabrics.

Finally, the most important part of the suit is the head, where the Belza actually is and the little amount of life support it needs. The head can detach in emergencies for a quick getaway, but otherwise it's usually a knight-helmet shape with a glass plate where the visor would be.

The Belza have no average in either suit or cloud form.

The Belza use a form of LIDAR in order to see the world. As clouds, this gives them the appearance of will o' wisps. In suits, it gives the viewing plate the visage of glowing eyes.

An unsuited Belza speaks in trilling, vibrant tones that resemble chimes. A suited one has the many options a voice translator can provide.

• Vision - As mentioned above, Belza use a form of LIDAR to see, which allows them a very fine vision but sacrifices a lot of the nuance that one might get from a regular, light-accepting eyeball.
• Taste - Belza, being composed of particulate matter, have a very particular sense of taste. Meaning, if something is impure in their very limited diet, they will know.
• Hearing - Another benefit of being a floating cloud is that Belza have exceptional hearing. . . when they're a cloud. When in suit form, it's ultimately up to the hardware to translate outside audio to inside - and quality of the parts really makes the difference.

Belza don't have brains in the traditional sense - they effectively are brains. But, their complex nature allows them to interface with electronics in their cloud form, allowing them some form of flexibility.

Belza subsist mainly on a diet of raw helium and electricity. Both of which are inserted or absorbed either through a suit's interface or directly by the cloud.

Belza don't have or need an immune system in a traditional sense, but their cloud forms can't thrive for long in an atmosphere that isn't rich in hydrogen.

Belza, for the most part, are a solitary species, preferring at most three other individuals to bond with at any given moment. They can go long periods without conversation without succumbing to things like cabin fever.

Belza are highly intelligent and adaptable, but oftentimes are found lacking in the knowledge department. It isn't uncommon to have one of them not able to converse with a foreigner one day, and the next be able to speak in broken conversational speak. There is no central education system for the Belza, so really it is up to the individual Belzan to make the most of their living experience.

Given their natural state of dwelling (Leagues apart on a gas giant), Belzans have a rather wistful, romantic view of most things - which often is based on incorrect information.

Belza don't necessarily shun strangers, but they interact with a polite aloofness with most of them. Even the more eccentric ones seem more canned in their expressions - they might might sound like a character directed by a terrible director more than a person, or perhaps they'd come off as unsincere like a robotic car salesman.

With the few individuals a Belzan is close with, they share their innermost thoughts freely. But it's hardly close the way other, more meaty species see “close”. Belza still maintain a distance emotionally.

Belza, being an artificial species, have no tether to the magical fold, but they also have no interest in it.

The Belzans often enjoy an innate (but weak) psionic prowess by using it to Construct things, rather than using it as a mind to mind force or some astral wind technique. They don't hesitate to use it to repair chinks in their armor, and many of their suits components are insulated with psi-layers. It takes them a long time, but their craftsmanship is excellent due to a forced attention to detail.

Thundercloud Belza glow brighter than their counterparts, rapidly generating electricity on their own but consuming hydrogen instead of helium. Their suits have more capacitors than regular belza, since if they don't bleed off their energy over, they have a tendency to explode after around 1 month of no discharge.

Belza Character Creation Guide