The Kzinti

[BouncyCaitian]

http://www.larryniven.org/kzin/gallery.htm Images of the rat-cats

[JALU3]

What area of space do they inhabit?

And are they cannon?

[BouncyCaitian]

they are Canon in that they appeared in the Episode "Slaver Weapon" (adapted the Story 'Soft Weapon' by Larry Niven) from Star Trek: The Animated Series. Paramount declared them an unpresence when it turned out they'd have to pay the Niven family MONEY if they used them again. So they just sort of let them lay and not mention them again.


As to the particular area of space, if you are looking down from the galaxy above, the are just to the galactic north of the Klingon Empire and northwest of the Federations Sphere of influence. I'll try to dig upa graphic of a map for players

[JALU3]

Thanks, the map could be useful.

They could be a strong potential force after the main powers have been weakened in the Alpha Quadrent immediatly after Post-DW. For although they threw their full weight into the war effort, via the UFP, they didn't expend their fleet.

[BouncyCaitian]

LANGUAGE AND NAMES

Names for Kzinti deserve a little explanation. Names for a Kzniti infer status, power, and most importantly, the right to breed and have progeny with select 'prrets' (a dimmunitive of Kzinretti). Starting at the bottom, a Kzintosh has no name, other than what is assigned to them by thier position in the chain of command such as Navigator, Second Navigator, Third Navigator and so on. Competition for the primary version of the position is fairly fierce among the Nameless, as it denotes higher status.

'Half-Named Kzinti' indicate a Kzintosh who has done something (or several somethings) of note that has not warrented a full name (leading a group of kzintosh into battle against 'equal' forces, genetic enginnering to breed a slave race into docility, commanding a starship, etc). This tier is typically occupied Senior NCOS and most Officers. Examples of Half Named: Chuft-Captain, Gzak-Navigator, Hrok-Trainer.

'Full-Named Kzinti' Indicate a Kzinti of Noble status who has done much fo the Patriarchy and has been given a select choice of breeding mates, lands (perhaps a planet to administate, more for higher ranked nobles), warriors to command, and titles. Names are a two part affair, which also tend to be a descriptor of the Kzinti's past. Graff-Nigg (Speaker-to-Animals) would indicate a accomplished diplomat, Chau-Rzzak (Slasher-Of-Bellys) would indicate a General. And so on.

[BouncyCaitian]

Err...Languages. Kzinti Will typically learn the Heroes Tounge (Kzints'utng) as well as Galanglic (Federation Standard, the language of thier most bitter enemy). Females typically are not named at all.

[BouncyCaitian]

FAVORED PROFESSIONS

Solider and Starship Officer. All Kzintosh aspire to a higher position in Kzin society through service to the Patriarch, amassing honors through conquest of alien species (or each other), personal glory, and victory (by hook or by crook). All Kzintosh (even Telepaths) are servants of the Patriarch, and all serve the Patriarchy in what was they can, with the warrior caste being the primary means of advancement.


SPECIES ADJUSTMENTS:
Normal Kziniti
+ 4 Strength, +2 Agility, + 2 Vitality, - 2 Presence, - 2 Intellect

Telepaths
+2 Strength, +1 Vitality, -2 Presence, +3 PSI. Note: Telepaths cannot normally take Mind Shield. Also Kzinti Telepaths need to take suppressive drugs to numb thier Empathic abilites, as they cannot shut them off.

BONUS EDGE: HIGH PAIN THRESHOLD (Normal Kzinti)
Kzinti, due to thier punishing environment and genetic enginnering, ignore pain as a matter of course. Normal Kzinti get this edge normally for free. Telepathic Kzinti do not receive this normally due to thier empathic nature making pain resistance rather difficult.

VERTICAL BRACING: Rather simular to Klingon Brak'lul, Kzinti physiology is unusual in that Kzinti possess vertical bracing in thier rib cages, making it significantly more difficult to break bones over most of their vital organs. Combining this with genetic engineering to make themselves capable of surviving on less food, remain active for longer periods of time, and more efficent healing processes, Kzinti remain a feared opponent physically. All Kzinti recieve a +2 to Stamina reactions.

FRENZY: As Klingon Ferocity, but considered to have the Bloodlust Flaw (requiring 2 courage points to stop fighting).

HONOR: Kzinti Honor is somewhat peculiar comparatively speaking. Kzinti are more concerned with shows of physical strength and dominance than the show of being an 'honorable warrior'. Kzinti consider honor 1) Loyaty to the Patriarch (self- preservation, if nothing else), 2) the Crushing and Consumption of Enemies (Showing one's power. Doing this in a 'fair' fight is more glorious, but they aren't too particular how the crushing is completed), 3) Expansion of One's Terrirtory, & 4) Answering Challenges to One's Power.

That being said, Kzinti tend to be fairly loose with planets they administrate, leaving the day to day operations to the lower ranks and anything that makes the planet more prosperous, as long as it does not impune on a Kzinti's personal honor, they will let tend to slide. Of course, given the normal Kzinti's temprament, the definition can be pretty broad.

Telepath honor is somewhat different and usually consists of 1) Aspiring to be Ignored (Being an Empath amongst Predators is not pleasant) , 2) Getting Enough Drugs to Silence the Voices In Thier Heads, Loyalty to the Patriarch (To get protection from having thier heads staved in by overly hormonal warriors), and Developing a Mind Sheild (A near impossability). After that, the usual Kzinti honor priorities tend to assert themselves.

Kzinti Honor benefits are fairly similar to Klingon ones, but tend to be more aspected towards intimidation give the Kzinti's general mindset. Kzinti Honor modifies his interaction with other Kzinti and species familiar with Kzinti. When making Intimidation or Negotiation tests, the Kzinti adds his Renoun modifier to the skill test (no renoun test required)

FANGS AND CLAWS: Kzinti are predators with few equals and are able to take down most humanoids witha single swipe of thier claws or fangs. In hand to hand combat, add 1d6+3+STR mod to hand to hand damage dealt by a kzinti from biting or clawing thier opponent.

[BouncyCaitian]

BONUS FLAW: SCREAM AND LEAP: Due to Kzinti physionomy and psychology, Kzinti have exceptionally hot tempers and are prone to savage 'scream and leap' solutions to complex problems when under stress, much to their detriment. When faced with a problem while under stress, even when the Kzinti knows better, The Kzinti must make an Intellect Roll of 15+ or use 2 Courage points to prevent themselves from acting in anger or taking an action that while emotionally satisfying, will be deterimental in the long run.

It should be noted that most Kzinti do not view this as a particular problem to be overcome. However, some forward thinking Kzinti have realized that 'Scream & Leap' behavior has caused more setbacks to the Race of Heroes than anything else in Kzinti history, and have worked towards disciplining themselves to where they will not react in such a manner. Such Kzinti are known to 'Feint & Pounce', have iron wills and discipline rivialing that of forces around the Quadrant. And are reguarded as infinitely more dangerous by said forces.

Buying off this flaw in play for a PC is at the GM's discretion.

[Tobian]

Making them more ballanced I think

What is the roll of 15 on..?

[BouncyCaitian]

THE KZINTI

PERSONALITY

Kzinti (Kzin) are murderously aggressive by any reputable standard within the Alpha Quadrant. Where as a Klingon might be considered aggressively temperamental for reasons of honor or glory, the Kzinti are aggressive for reasons of natural and somewhat re-engineered biology that makes them predators with few piers. They view all other species as, quite literally, potential prey to be killed or eaten, and give little thought in dealings with other species other than sizing them up for potential conquest and literal consumption. That being said, the Kzinti’s own highly refined predatory instincts and general disposition to charge into combat with very little thought once it is initiated seems to keep the population somewhat in check. Much to the relief of the rest of the galaxy at large.

While the Kzinti are intelligent, their predatory instincts are constant overlaid on their thought patterns, which tend to stunt more inquisitive behaviors in favor of direct action, or as they say, “Scream and Leap”, leading to behavior that could be best described as exceptional brave or determined, suicidal by less generous individuals. Predation amongst the Kzinti is a fairly common occurrence and cannibalism of the defeated in any combat is the usual end result, though there have been exceptions to this rule if the Kzinti is feeling generous. Trophy taking from a defeated enemy is common, and the most common trophy is a string of ears on a belt worn by Kzin warriors. It should also be noted that Kzinti do not differentiate between able bodied warriors and civilians, as all are prey, except if they are planning to take slaves and capture territory for themselves or their leadership.

Kzinti are known for a refined, if exceptionally brutal aristocratic culture

KZINTI PHYSIOLOGY AND APPEARANCE
Typical Kzinti that most people think of usually loom over even what would normally be considered a larger species by human standards, some 2.5 to 3.3 meters, weighing in at some 200+ kilos, with some individuals even larger.

The description of a Kzinti by a human colonist (shortly before he was killed) of 'an humanoid, jack legged cross between a Bengal tiger and a gorilla' is a fairly accurate generalization of a Kzinti's general appearance (given that their claws are an inch long), but there are some notable differences which make them stand out.

The general ear structure, while resembling the typical feline ear, is more webbed and actually tends to resemble a fur covered bat's wing. There has been some speculation that this may have been an evolutionary adaptation to increase protection of the ears from damage in combat, but the structure is unique enough to draw attention.

The two meter long tail of the Kzinti is also quite bald. Given the rather dubious evolutionary benefits of such a lack of hair, it has been wondered if a genetically damaged sport in Kzinti pre-history gained dominance in the Kzinti's rather Darwinist hierarchy. But not in a Kzinti's presence.

The fur patterns of Kzin tend to follow the humanoid tiger pattern, but their have been occasional sports resembling jaguars or black furred panthers, the latter of which are given to the priesthood of the Kzinti for training into their Fanged God priesthood.

The general skull and facial structure tends to resemble general felinoid construction, with pronounced muzzle and teeth structure capable to tearing large chucks of flesh from a target. Eyes are set as to provide a wide range of vision, and a are low light sensitive and the average Kzinti is well capable of tracking by sense of smell alone.

HOMEWORLD
The Kzinti homeworld Ka’ashi lies in the Celene sector in the system of Gamma Lyrae, one fifty five degrees northwest of the galactic plane, in an older type G2 star system. There are three other planets and five Class-J gas giants within the system, as well as four asteroid belts. Of the four planets, two are Class-M and one near Class-M, all of which have been conquered by the Kzinti. The Kzin system is an abundant source of precious strategic materials such as pergeium, deuterium, and dilithium. The relative proximity to Federation and Klingon space makes the Kzinti more than a small concern to both respective civilizations.
Ka’ashi is a large-heavy gravity 1.5 world roughly 2 times the size of Earth. It has 6 primary continents with a large amount to archipelagos and islands dispersed throughout it’s oceans which are still quiet tectonically active. The planet is still in what could be termed a pre-Cambrian style period and is lush and filled with many sorts of highly aggressive natural predators.

HISTORY AND CULTURE

Pre-history:

The history of the Kzinti species is some matter of conjecture for Kzin and other species scholars for several reasons. The first being that the Kzinti have never been particularly concerned with the keeping of history until the relatively recent innovation of the Patriarchy by Chuu-Riit, the first Kzin Patriarch some several thousand terran years ago, 2) The Kzinti aren’t exactly forthcoming about their history (tending to kill and eat non-Kzinti historians in short order), and 3) a long history of exaggeration and bluster in the Kzinti history that have been spirited away by renegade Kzintosh to various historians makes what has been gathered suspect at best.

What has been found to be true is as follows:

1) The Kzinti are one of the eldest races in the Alpha quadrant. In spite of this, they are one of the most mentally backward and prone to violence, in part due to resentment of the younger races continually defeating them on the battlefield.

2) The Kzinti actually derive from a somewhat weaker genetic stock originally, but at some point in the past, they genetically re-engineered themselves into “The Race of Heros” into what they considered the optimal form for their males. The females were genetically re-engineered (not always successfully) to be little more than dumb animals and breeding machines, much to the disgust of the rest of the galaxy. There is also the occasional odd genetic sport (much higher incidence than in human bloodlines) that shows up every now an again in the bloodlines, providing the Kzin with a most useful, but despised asset. Telepaths. Kzinti telepaths are nearly universally despised in the Patriarchy because they embody many traits that make them more ‘monkey-like’. They are empathic (which they cannot shut off), thus can empathize with an enemy. They are physically weak (about human standard). They snivel. They whine. They are relatively weak willed. But conversely, they can read the minds of prey and, with proper training, can form psychic attacks that can give even the strongest Kzin pause. The Riit Patriarchy has stated they will be treated by other Kzin as potential military assets. Which tends to drive regular Kzin to distraction. In short, the Telepaths are tolerated as low scum within Kzin society. And they know there is little they can be done about it.

3) The Kzinti were once slaves of the Thrintun Empire, better known to the galaxy at large as the Slaver Empire. As to how the Kzinti survived the exceptionally long period of time between the Slaver Revolts, the extinguishing on all sentient life in the Galaxy, but for the Kzinti, no one is sure. The Kzinti haven’t chosen to comment on the subject, but any mention of Slaver artifacts will get their attention faster than anything else.


The Man-Kzin Wars (pre-TOS Era)
Earth’s first run in with the Kzinti was during the first period of expansion by Earth after the Earth-Romulan wars of the latter part of the 22nd century. Earth had established a colony known as Weyland near the Crab Nebula. Contact with the Weyland colony was lost in 2178 and the USS Challenger, an NCC-Class (formerly NX-Class, NCC-03) was sent to investigate.

The ship arrived to find that the colony was being attacked by an unknown alien species via ground assault. Using the two Proteus-class carrier shuttles and transporters, the ships detachment of MACO’s (the 3/7 “Hansen’s Harradins”) and security forces managed to surprise the large and hideously savage Kzinti. Not baring Kzin bravery and stamina, the well experienced MACO’s made short work of the Kzinti ground forces, while the Challenger destroyed three Kzin space craft with it’s armament of 4th generation thermonuclear torpedoes, while sending off a warning to Starfleet and allied commands of a new potential threat.

The Kzinti were aware that their forward invasion force had been destroyed and gathered a large assault squadron to press the attack. They were met by a squadron composed of three Andorian Chaka-class cruisers, two Vulcan T’vet-Class battle cruisers, and two Starfleet Dadealus-class starships.

Which promptly made short work of the majority of the technologically inferior Kzinti warships. The survivors were interrogated and the combined fleet headed for the nearest Kzinti colony, M’rrst. As the combined fleet showed up over the planet, making short work of the local defense network. The task force commander, Commodore Reed, imposed a peace settlement in which a border between the Federation and the Kzinti would be respected. When the Kzinti protested, he promptly had the local space docks atomized. The Kzinti got the point, and agreed to abide by the treaty, allowing for a embassy to be established on M’rrst.

The peace would not last long as bitterness at being defeated by “monkeys and grazers” would stick in the Kzinti’s collective craw and the hatred would fester for many years. The Kzin Patriarch, Rawlitt-Ritt, ordered his Kzinti to quietly comply with the treaty while gathering intelligence and advanced technology through theft or trade. Through contacts with the unscrupulous Orions and other forces hostile to the Federation, the Kzinti acquired first generation shield generators and second generation gauss driven laser cannon. The Kzinti embarked on large scale refit of their own navy and began constructing newer cruisers to take advantage of the new technologies at their disposal.

In 2204, working on what they considered to be sufficient intelligence (many SI agents and Starfleet Admirals later commented that the Kzin’s battle plans were ‘spotty’ at best), the Kzinti executed well-planned strikes against Federation listening posts and civilian shipping. There was more than one howl of dismay as the federation showed up in newer generation Starfleet battle cruisers sporting third generation phase cannon and second generation photonic torpedoes. The Kzinti fought well, but were technologically outclassed by the Federation’s Starfleet, who’s ECM and ECCM capacity rendered Kzinti sensors useless and their ships veritable target practice for the Federation crews. Another generation of Heroes had died with nothing to show for it, except strengthened borders on the Federation’s side and the loss of several colonies to the Federation as they chose to occupy several systems which the Kzinti had traditionally launched from.

The new Patriarch (the son of the previous Patriarch who had cannibalized his father for his monumental failure) embarked on a long period of learning about the Federation, it’s people, and it’s structure. Realizing that traditional Kzinti tactics were simply not working very well, he spoke with the priests of the Fanged God. He spoke with his Warmasters. He spoke with what were considered ‘heretical’ soldiers (advocated using ‘monkey tactics’ against the Federation.

After some debate, which ended in the death of three higher ranking Kzinti soldiers, the plan was put into action. With further weapons and shield improvements purchased from as of yet still unknown parties, the Kzinti began a retrofitting program of their older starships as well as drafting new vessels to take advantage of the technological improvements. While the new invasion fleet was being drafted, the Patriarchy’s General Command was busy drawing up invasion plans of Federation territory, Kzinti traders were keeping an eye on Federation ship and troop movements.

In 2238, a Kzinti border patrol captain had observed an patrol vessel, U.S.S. Sun Tzu, running standard sensor scans of the border area with an new and improved long range suite. The Kzinti captain mistook the sweep for target acquisition sensor sweeps and ordered his patrol vessel to attack the patrol ship. By the time the Sun Tzu’s crew understood what was happening they had been blown out of space by the Kzinti.

Unfortunately for the Federation, the Sun Tzu’s message record had been blown out of space by the Kzinti and as a result, were caught completely flat footed as the Kzinti launched a co-ordinated assault along their entire border, destroying all sensor and observation posts as they commenced a blitzkrieg invasion into the Federation. The Colonies of Wayland, We Made It, Gamma Hydra, and Eridani Indi fell quickly, but not before a warning got out to Starfleet and the member worlds military’s.

Starfleet, just out of the first Klingon War, short of personnel and vessels, took a very dim view of the Kzinti and resolved to crush the Kzinti’s military industrial capacity once and for all. This proved far more difficult than first expected as Starfleet discovered that the Kzinti were on technological parity for the first time since the wars began.

Outnumbered and desperate, Starfleet organized hit and run raids upon Kzinti shipping and supply posts while the Andorian, Tellerite, and Vulcan navies acted as a united front verses the Kzinti incursions. The Kzinti offensive began to fall apart as supplies and lack of adequate training in the new technology acquired, and the Federation combined forces destroyed the Kzinti with the uncharacteristic lack of taking prisoners as they counterattacked. After the main Kzinti fleet had been pulverized, the Federation forces began appearing over the Kzinti worlds, bombarding shipyards and planetary defenses into rubble. The Kzinti expected the worst as the last of the defenses fell.

The final blow never came as the Federation imposed a far more harsh treaty upon the Kzinti, limiting the forms of weapons and propulsion technologies the Kzinti could have access to, as well as snap inspections by Federation forces. The Kzinti, staring practical annihilation in the face, swallowed their pride, and surrendered to the Federation.

[BouncyCaitian]

Empire And Federation (TOS ERA)

The treaty imposed on the Kzinti by the Federation was humiliating and quite harsh by Kzinti standards, but they see began to see the Federation as something more than a collection of ‘plant eaters’ and omnivores. The Andorians and the Terrans has long and bloody histories before they had gone into space. Kzinti reasoning (such as it was) came up with the idea that the Andorians and Terrans ran the Federation with assistance from the Vulcans in areas of technology execution, the Centauri for medical research, and the Tellarites for mining.

While most Kzinti scoffed at this notion of species working interdependently, a few forward thinking Kzinti began to suggest noting the effectiveness of the long term combination of strengths and weaknesses the Federation possessed, while deferring to more conservative forces on practical matters of building a new armada to challenge the Federation and other Alpha Quadrant powers. Many Kzinti despaired of ever matching the Federation’s warships, particularly the newer Baton Rouge and Constitution class Heavy battle cruisers, which woefully outgunned anything the Kzinti could field with their pre-warp technology.

There were several attempts by various ‘free-booters’ organizations, in actuality, servants of the Patriarchy sent on espionage missions to gather technology for the Patriarchy to even the odds in the next war. One of the more notorious incidents happened in 2272 when the shuttlecraft Copernicus, (assigned to USS Enterprise Reg File #: NCC-1701/1), under the command of Commander Spock, with Lt’s Sulu and Uhura, was returning from the Beta Lynxis system with one of the most dangerous artifacts known at the time, a Slaver Stasis Box that had been found by accident by miners.

The only known way to discover a Slaver stasis box, was with another stasis box and while on return, the box glowed, indicating another box was nearby. After a few moments, the Copernicus headed for an ice asteroid in the Lyre system. After setting down on planet, the crew were ambushed by a crew from the Kzinti patrol ship Traitor’s Claw, commanded by Chuft-Captain. Chuft-Captain had acquired the second box and used it to lay a trap in hopes of it containing a weapon from the Slaver Empire that could turn the tide against the Federation and the rest of the Quadrant.

The Kzinti found an artifact about the size of a modern ten pound dumb-bell, from Commander Spock’s later analysis, was identified as a spy’s weapon. It included what must have been an onboard replicator that reconfigured the artifact into a form of transport, a laser pistol, a rather serviceable telescope, a reasoning computer, and most horrifyingly, a total matter-energy conversion beam. The efficacy of the weapon was proven when the Enterprise crew members used it against a target mountain, which promptly disappeared. The resulting shockwave allowed Cmdr. Spock and Lt. Sulu to escape with the weapon, but Lt. Uhura was captured. After a brief negotiation, involving Cmdr. Spoke facing off with the Kzinti commander, and losing a personal duel with Chuft-Captain, the Copernicus crew were reunited. The Kzinti were desperate to find the Matter-Energy weapon and asked the artifact how to find it. It responded and they went to test their findings. The resulting explosion damaged the Kzinti patrol vessel to the point when the Copernicus crew could escape and make a report to Starfleet Command.

The Patriarch, began ordering attack probes into the Federation with singular ships to gather information on Federation weapons, tactics, and strengths. Most of which were promptly crushed by the Federation and denied by the Patriarch as having any connection with. But with each skirmish, the Kzinti’s knowledge grew. Including knowledge of other enemies such as the Klingons, which appeared to be almost like the Terrans, but bred for war and worthy prey.

The Klingon’s for their part, had heard of the Kzinti, and had considered most Federation reports to be exaggerated on the Kzinti’s viciousness, but sent a delegation to Kzinti space, consisting of the IKS Dominator (D-7C), Revenge (D-7A, and Ravager (C-7). They were forced to reevaluate their position when no response from the delegation was forth coming, but revenge for the delegation would have to wait as the Federation and the Empire and discovered that the Organians had disappeared, and both sides raced to arm themselves, anticipating an attack from the other.

The Kzinti had ambushed the Klingons in the Patriarchs Eye, a nebula some twenty light years from homeworld. They had managed to take the Ravager and the Dominator intact, and the Revenge was missing a warp nacelle. Many heroes ate well over three nights as the ships were towed to a secretly constructed shipyard and research center on the far side of Kzinti space. The Federation, far too busy with the Klingons and the Romulans, paid little attention to a relatively quiet border. The Patriarch was ruthless in exterminating threats to his line and had the Kzinti expand away from the Federation and the major Alpha Quadrant powers, crushing and dominating whatever species came in their way while building far from the eyes of the Federation.

The Kzinti eventually bumped into the Ferengi and after a few untoward incidents, realized they could be useful as eyes and ears within the Alpha Quadrant as information and technology gatherers and were willing to pay the Ferengi handsomely for as much weapons technology and templates as they could get their hands on. The Alpha Quadrant paid little notice to the diminutive, if annoying traders . Much to their pain.

An unexpected shift between Klingon-Federation relations in the form or the Khitomer Accords caught the Kzinti by surprise as the two major superpowers of the quadrant brokered peace between them, something previously unthinkable to the Kzinti mind. It also freed up a Klingon invasion fleet to avenge the Kzinti’s treacherous dealings with the Klingons in previous years. The Klingons went with a three full war fleets of hundreds of ships, expecting minimal resistance from previous records obtained from the Federation.

They were not expecting hundreds of top-of-the-line dreadnaughts, battle cruisers, torpedo cruisers, frigates, cruisers, and attack fighters numbering in the thousands. The galaxy was painfully introduced to the Flesh-Tearer and Throat-Slicer class ships which have become a signature of Kzinti power today. The Klingons had to fall back as the nearly suicidal tactics of the Kzinti decimated the First Grand Fleet under Thought-Admiral Kang. The Klingons beat a hasty retreat across into Federation space, who were aghast at the armada that had been created without them noticing.

In the first combined fleet assault by the Federation and Empire, the Klingons and Federation cemented the Khitomer Accords by fighting their way into Kzinti space. Bu the Kzinti made them pay for every inch, using tactics that would later be recognized as those used by the Dominion’s Jem’Hadar. The fight over Ka’ashi involved desperate maneuvers and tactics on the part of the Federation and the Empire, who simply weren’t ready for the sheer number and ferocity of the Kzinti.

The Federation and the Empire both had to withdrawal and execute a policy of containment while the Kzinti had to desperately move supplies to their fronts and dig in, waiting for the counterblow. Which never came.

[BouncyCaitian]

Reconstruction & Revolution (LOST ERA- TNG)

The Patriarchy was more than puzzled by the Federation’s reluctance to pursue the war further, but they began to sweat as the Federation had a ‘show of the flag’ with an grand armada of well over one hundred ships on their border consisting of the new ‘warp ten fleet’ consisting of Nichter Class Dreadnoughts , Excelsior Class Cruisers, Noah Class thru-deck Carriers, and Leavenworth and Joshua Paul Class Frigates, which would be more than able to crush any Kzinti incursion

Reports were sporadic from various independent worlds that the Kzinti hadn’t managed to alienate as of yet, but it appeared the Federation was having an internal debate on the future of Starfleet as an exploratory or military force. Apparently there was a rather large faction in the core worlds that believed that war was a thing of the past with the peace treaty with the Klingons (an utterly insane notion from the Kzinti point of view) and wished to scale back the fleet. They were countered by fringe wolders, who had suffered assaults by the Kzinti, many of which would prefer to burn the Kzinti homeworld to ashes and be done with it.

After a some debate, the Patriarch decided that for the moment the Kzinti should lay low and replenish their stock of heroes and population, as well as do as little to draw the attention of Federation as possible, for which he had a healthy respect for it’s industrial and technological might once it tasked it’s capacity to war. To keep the various houses happy, he did not relent on pursuit of war verses the Klingon Empire, should they choose to invade again.

Unfortunately for the Patriarchy, idle hands and minds often spelt trouble and many of the lower classes and warriors who did not see themselves ever profiting from the regime began grumbling. One particular minor house, House Tsar, a dedicated adherent to the Shaper of the Paths of War (a military philosopher somewhat reminiscent to of Terra’s Sun Tzu and Qo’nos’s Khaless The Unforgettable) had grown tired of being forced to serve the Great Houses, innovating a good deal of the Kzinti’s military technology and reverse engineering most of it’s purchased and captured alien technology.

It had spent some time working through it’s agents, gathering materials, ships, would-be-Heroes and command codes from each house for their fleets. They struck without warning, hitting the various Great House ship yards, and more importantly, the palace compounds where most Kzintosh (males) kept their Kzinretti (females) making off with them using transporters and escaping at high speed using previously unseen cloaking devices.

The Patriarch was enraged, as House Tsar had attacked his royal compound and stolen his many Kzinretti, sabotaged his databases, and made off with his collection of blackmail material he used to keep the Great Houses in line. He vowed the extermination of House Tsar and the burning of it’s planets in retribution. Gathering the Patriarchal Fleet, as well as a majority of the other wronged houses, who were all eager to crush the upstarts, they set a course for Tsar space.

The Kzinti would howl for years to come at the decision. The Tsar had been very thorough in laying traps for the invading fleet, in the form of cloaked battle satellites, thermonuclear and anti-matter mines, and previously unseen fighters which were a generation ahead of anything the Patriarchy had. To make matters worse, they had set up a secondary set of prefix codes into the hardware of all of the Kzinti Fleets.

In what later had become known as “Tsar’s redoubt” in the Federation, House Tsar obliterated over 50 percent of the total Kzinti fleet before the Kzinti withdrew as it’s weapons would not work and their navigational systems would not respond to collision course instructions. The bitter taste of defeat would hang sourly in the noble houses combined with bloodthirst as House Tsar wiped out the Patriarchal fleet to the last Kzin, initiating a feeding frenzy as the surviving houses fought for position. House Tsar, for it’s part, broke away from the Patriarchy and formed a neutral pocket empire with thirty worlds under its dominion along the Federation and Kzinti borders, and quickly developed somewhat friendly ties to the Federation.


The New Breed (DS9 Era and Beyond)

The Kzinti Patriarchy (after the dust settled) and House Tsar forces withdrew into their collective territories and licked their wounds and both began to evaluate their positions. The Patriarchy knew it couldn’t match the Tsar force’s technological edge and had a large number of enemies it had otherwise to deal with, internal and external. House Tsar knew it was too small (comparatively speaking) to further it’s gains against the Patriarchy without a period of consolidation and time to grow.

House Tsar, being far more pragmatic than the Patriarchy, went to the Federation council and petitioned for admittance, surrendering intelligence and information on weapons production, industrial capacity and other projects that it had been in charge of within the Patriarchy as well as long-term economic data regarding the Patriarchy. The Federation Council knew an opportunity when it saw one with the more ‘civilized’ Kzinti, as did Starfleet and promptly admitted House Tsar as a Federation protectorate territory until it could meet admittance requirements. With the appearance of the 17th Fleet, headed by a Galaxy Class Cruiser, the Patriarchy threw up it’s hands in disgust, and began rapidly working on redistributing it’s defenses and economic capacity to compensate for the intelligence windfall that House Tsar had given the Federation.

Things changed in the Early 2370’s with the coming of the Dominion. Reports were scant, but what little information came back made the Patriarchy very nervous, as it was said that the Dominion employed genetically engineered shock-troops called Jem’hadar and worshipped their leaders as gods, were technologically superior to any race in the Alpha Quadrant, and were bent on total domination of the quadrant. The report that cause the Kzinti to snap collectively was the finding that the Dominions leaders were master shapeshifters that could appear as any form of matter, energy, organic or inorganic material, including other Kzinti. Feeding on racial memories of ‘weapons that could speak’, and time-distorted legends of the Slavers drove the Kzinti into a frenzy of what could be call for them fear (most flight reactions had been bred out of the Kzinti), and they immediately sent word to the empires bordering them declaring a state of non-hostility, and promptly withdrew patrol ships from their neighbors borders, except for scout ships keeping smugglers from crossing.

The Klingons, not in any position to take advantage of the situation, merely grunted and moved the bulk of their forces on the Kzin frontier up to the front with the Dominion, while House H’joQ quietly monitored the border, which showed surprisingly good faith on the Kzinti’s part as they left the Empire alone. The Federation, suspicious of the Kzinti kept the 17th in the area, while with drawing other allied fleets away from the Kzinti border.

There was some apprehension by Starfleet Command has any Kzinti which had transferred over to Starfleet had become agitated and worked in a nearly monomanic frenzy to help the war effort and try to return to Tsar territory to help with construction and the laying of traps for the Dominion. When asked, most of the replies were cryptic and consisted of something to the effect of “The Old Ones/Slavers have returned.” While more reputable scholars disagreed with this assessment, many could see the similarities between the Dominion and the Slaver Empire and chose not to disabuse the Kzinti of the notion, noting how the race collectively turned it’s energies into defeating the Dominion and Jem’Hadar.

The Kzinti had gone on a building frenzy and it rest of the Alpha Quadrant was unpleasantly surprised to find that the Kzinti had been working on updated versions of it’s Flesh-Tearer and Throat-Slasher class Battlecruisers, as well as a new generation of vessels, such as the Ravener class Heavy Escort and Gut-Sifter Class Heavy Battlecuisers. What was more disturbing was house Tsar’s innovative new ‘shield-cracker’ seeking warp torpedoes, a weapon which made short work of Dominion (and anyone else’s) shield grids., as well as a preponderance towards various other seeking weapons which made sub-light tactical combat a whole new problem for various admiralties through out the quadrant.

Starfleet noted the effectiveness of the weapons and heaped praises on the Kzinti and began forming battle plans integrating the Kzinti into Alliance Fleets as the tide began to turn for the Allies against the Dominion. The Kzinti for their part, made the Jem’Hadar fight to the last Kzinti or Jem’Hadar when both sides met in battle. The Jem’Hadar learned a healthy respect for the Kzinti, while technologically inferior, more than made up for the deficiency in battle and sheer dedication. The Kzinti, on the other hand, learned a deep contempt for the Jem’Hadar when they found out they were genetically addicted to ketracel white (an unforgivable weakness) and did nothing to get themselves out from under the Founders heel.

The Kzinti are in much better position than they were at the start of the Dominion War, with most of the surrounding empires in tatters or at least severely weakened. While many Heroes were lost, breeding programs by the new Patriarchy and House Tsar have made for a large population explosion of new Kzinti to which the full effects of has yet to be seen. Rumor (vehemently denied) has it that House Tsar has dabbled into creating ‘breeding tanks’ to accelerate population growth, as well as fine-tuning the Kzinti ‘template.’ Starfleet has found no evidence of this, but give the Kzinti perchant for treachery, the situation will be monitored closely.

[BouncyCaitian]

LANGUAGE AND NAMES

Names for Kzinti deserve a little explanation. Names for a Kzniti infer status, power, and most importantly, the right to breed and have progeny with select 'prrets' (a diminutive of Kzinretti). Starting at the bottom, a Kzintosh has no name, other than what is assigned to them by their position in the chain of command such as Navigator, Second Navigator, Third Navigator and so on. Competition for the primary version of the position is fairly fierce among the Nameless, as it denotes higher status.

'Half-Named Kzinti' indicate a Kzintosh who has done something (or several somethings) of note that has not warrented a full name (leading a group of kzintosh into battle against 'equal' forces, genetic engineering to breed a slave race into docility, commanding a starship, etc). This tier is typically occupied Senior NCOS and most Officers. Examples of Half Named: Chuft-Captain, Gzak-Navigator, Hrok-Trainer, Rrit-Conservator.

'Full-Named Kzinti' Indicate a Kzinti of Noble status who has done much for the Patriarchy and has been given a select choice of breeding mates, lands (perhaps a planet to administrate, more for higher ranked nobles), warriors to command, and titles. Names are a two part affair, which also tend to be a descriptor of the Kzinti's past. Graff-Nigg (Speaker-to-Animals) would indicate a accomplished diplomat, Chau-Rzzak (Slasher-Of-Bellys) would indicate a General, and so forth

Kzinti Will typically learn the Heroes Tongue (Kzints'utng) as well as Galanglic (Federation Standard, the language of thier most bitter enemy). Females will have names consisting of a first letter, a comma, then the rest of the name, such as M'ress or T'zunn.

Note: It is known that Kzinti and Caitians are genetically related as some point in their history, and it is thought that Caitians perhaps represent pre-genetic modification Kzinti. But this is not mentioned within earshot of the Caitians, who find the concept of being related to Kzinti exceptionally offensive. Kzinti have little to say on the matter, other than they find it amusing that Caitians use the female diminutive for name both their males and females.


FAVORED PROFESSIONS

Solider and Starship Officer. All Kzintosh aspire to a higher position in Kzin society through service to the Patriarch, amassing honors through conquest of alien species (or each other), personal glory, and victory (by hook or by crook). All Kzintosh (even Telepaths) are servants of the Patriarch, and all serve the Patriarchy in what was they can, with the warrior caste being the primary means of advancement.


SPECIES ADJUSTMENTS:
Normal Kziniti
+ 4 Strength, +2 Agility, + 2 Vitality, - 2 Presence, - 2 Intellect

Telepaths
+2 Strength, +1 Vitality, -2 Presence, +3 PSI. Note: Telepaths cannot normally take Mind Shield. Also Kzinti Telepaths need to take suppressive drugs to numb their Empathic abilities, as they cannot shut them off.

BONUS EDGE: HIGH PAIN THRESHOLD (Normal Kzinti)
Kzinti, due to their punishing environment and genetic engineering, ignore pain as a matter of course. Normal Kzinti get this edge normally for free. Telepathic Kzinti do not receive this normally due to their empathic nature making pain resistance rather difficult.

VERTICAL BRACING: Rather similar to Klingon Brak'lul, Kzinti physiology is unusual in that Kzinti possess vertical bracing in their rib cages, making it significantly more difficult to break bones over most of their vital organs. Combining this with genetic engineering to make themselves capable of surviving on less food, remain active for longer periods of time, and more efficient healing processes, Kzinti remain a feared opponent physically. All Kzinti recieve a +2 to Stamina reactions.

FRENZY: As Klingon Ferocity, but considered to have the Bloodlust Flaw (requiring 2 courage points to stop fighting).

HONOR: Kzinti Honor is somewhat peculiar comparatively speaking. Kzinti are more concerned with shows of physical strength and dominance than the show of being an 'honorable warrior'. Kzinti consider honor 1) Loyaty to the Patriarch (self- preservation, if nothing else), 2) the Crushing and Consumption of Enemies (Showing one's power. Doing this in a 'fair' fight is more glorious, but they aren't too particular how the crushing is completed), 3) Expansion of One's Territory, & 4) Answering Challenges to One's Power.

That being said, Kzinti tend to be fairly loose with planets they administrate, leaving the day to day operations to the lower ranks and anything that makes the planet more prosperous, as long as it does not impugn on a Kzinti's personal honor, they will let tend to slide. Of course, given the normal Kzinti's temperament, the definition can be pretty broad.

Telepath honor is somewhat different and usually consists of 1) Aspiring to be Ignored (Being an Empath amongst Predators is not pleasant) , 2) Getting Enough Drugs to Silence the Voices In Their Heads, Loyalty to the Patriarch (To get protection from having their heads staved in by overly hormonal warriors), and Developing a Mind Shield (A near impossibility). After that, the usual Kzinti honor priorities tend to assert themselves.

Kzinti Honor benefits are fairly similar to Klingon ones, but tend to be more aspected towards intimidation give the Kzinti's general mindset. Kzinti Honor modifies his interaction with other Kzinti and species familiar with Kzinti. When making Intimidation or Negotiation tests, the Kzinti adds his Renown modifier to the skill test (no renown test required)

FANGS AND CLAWS: Kzinti are predators with few equals and are able to take down most humanoids with a single swipe of their claws or fangs. In hand to hand combat, add 1d6+3+STR mod to hand to hand damage dealt by a Kzinti from biting or clawing their opponent.

BONUS FLAW: SCREAM AND LEAP: Due to Kzinti physiognomy and psychology, Kzinti have exceptionally hot tempers and are prone to savage 'scream and leap' solutions to complex problems when under stress, much to their detriment. When faced with a problem while under stress, even when the Kzinti knows better, The Kzinti must make an Intellect Roll of 15+ or use 2 Courage points to prevent themselves from acting in anger or taking an action that while emotionally satisfying, will be detrimental in the long run.

It should be noted that most Kzinti do not view this as a particular problem to be overcome. However, some forward thinking Kzinti have realized that 'Scream & Leap' behavior has caused more setbacks to the Race of Heroes than anything else in Kzinti history, and have worked towards disciplining themselves to where they will not react in such a manner. Such Kzinti are known to 'Feint & Pounce', have iron wills and discipline rivaling that of forces around the Quadrant. And are regarded as infinitely more dangerous by said forces.

Buying off this flaw in play for a PC is at the GM's discretion

[BouncyCaitian]

Found this out at the ADB page. Kzinti Territory is the blood red blob up and to the left of the large blue blob which is Federation Territory

http://www.starfleetstore.com/MERCHA...duct_Code=5010

[BouncyCaitian]

*bump*