Overview

The Rinn are perhaps one of the most recognizable races in the entire galaxy. Virtually every other spacefaring culture has had at least some contact with this race due to their unique relationship with the beings known as “The Wanderers”.

The Rinn evolved on a world with only one major continent, although it was many times larger than the continents found on other worlds. This continent had a fairly temperate climate and the young race flourished. Similar to the terrans, the early Rinn were an aggressive and hostile race, with frequent fighting between warring clans. All Rinn, since the beginning of their race, have been extremely clan oriented and no Rinn will ever betray their clan.

Physiologically, Rinn are very similar to terrans except for a few extra bones in the upper ear, giving it a more pointed shape. Genetically, however, Rinn are far different. Their chromosomal structure is much more complex, and this complexity leads to frequent mutation amongst their numbers. As a clan breeds these mutations spread into the offspring, and over several generations these mutated clans become almost in effect a separate race altogether, although in most cases these mutants can bond with the other “varieties” of Rinn. One of these offshoot sub-races are collectively known as “The Wanderers”, they were responsible for the initial creation of the structures known as “Pathways”. The Wanderers are said not to speak to anyone outside their clan, and since none of them have been sighted for many years much of their work has been lost to time. However, several of the “normal” Rinn were taught how to manipulate the Pathways to travel between worlds by the enigmatic Wanderers. Although the creators were able to control the Pathways by magic alone, by integrating magic and technology several control structures were created that allow the less magically skilled Rinn to manipulate the Pathways almost as effectively as if they were Wanderers themselves.

Most Rinn see themselves superior to the other races. The word of another Rinn is always taken before the word of any other race. For a Rinn, the main loyalty is always to their clan and patron god (seen as being roughly equal), then to other Rinn, then to other races. Generally speaking, this superiority complex is well earned, as Rinn have frequently proven themselves to be the consummate masters of the Mystic Arts, and magic users amongst the Rinn are more common than in any other race.

Other subspecies of Rinn exist, ranging from ones superficially similar to the main species to others that can survive in more hostile environments such as underwater or deep space. However, despite their common roots and predisposition to being very family oriented, the majority of Rinn don’t feel any particular kinship to other subspecies, considering them to be of a completely separate race entirely. The other subspecies generally have the same tendencies towards both each other and to the main body of Rinn society, so there are frequently Rinn “outcasts” who look and act like normal Rinn to other species such as the Terrans, but to whom the Rinn consider inferior beings.

All Rinn belong to a clan. All of the clans have a patron deity in the Rinn mythology, although many of the clans worship the same gods, particularly the more powerful or major gods, some of them worship multiple gods, and many of the Rinn gods aren’t followed by a clan at all. In modern day Rinn culture several clans - particularly those farther distant from the Rinn Core Worlds - don’t follow their god or gods with the same devoutness that earlier Rinn did, and some have lost touch with their gods entirely.

In other worlds, polytheism has frequently resulted in religious zealotry and warfare, this is not so in the Rinn culture. Jihad is virtually unknown to them, since Rinn are taught to value both their own abilities and acknowledge the different roles other skillsets play. This has led them to develop an unconscious ability to sense the strengths and weaknesses of others to better complement themselves in a tactical role. For an example, the Rinn who follow Fiera, the Rinn goddess of flame, have a tendency towards being Warriors. Orks in a similar position would disregard Mystics as being useless since they’re generally inferior in swordplay, but a Rinn would use the mystic to better enhance their tactics and fight plan, using a Psionic to provide covering fire or a Projectionist to either distract or inhibit their opponent while the Rinn goes in for the kill.

History

Much of Rinn history is undocumented in any other form than oral tradition. The Rinn, while literate, feel that the only way to properly communicate an idea is to discuss it, so they commit very little to writing.

The Rinn evolved on a fairly small world with only one major continent. They evolved into a nomadic tribal society, so cities were fairly rare. Since they rarely stayed in one place for any length of time, they learned to travel lightly and pass all of their knowledge on verbally. This led them to evolve a highly developed memory and mental discipline far superior to most other races.

It is unknown when they started practicing the Mystic Arts, but they quickly developed extensive powers. They were among the first of the known “common races” to learn the powers of magic, and even now their mages are amongst the most powerful of any race. This makes up for their rather serious lack of technological innovation, as nomads they very seldom needed any technology other than improved shelters and methods for transporting supplies.

When The Wanderers created the Pathways, the Rinn instantly started exploring the new worlds at their disposal. Their nomadic ways made them much more adaptable to the different and exciting worlds opened up by the Pathways, so in a very short period of time they had established domains in the new lands. On the old world, Rinn clans frequently had a small holding of land that they maintained, mostly to tend to those of their number who were unable to travel well. As the Rinn traversed the galaxy, they created more of these settlements, which invariably drew members of other races to see the strange aliens to their worlds. The Rinn taught their magical ways to the other races, which taught them some of their local technology. After some time, the Rinn managed to adapt some of the alien technology to fit their magic. Each clan shared the technology they learned with the other clans when their paths crossed and so the whole race evolved at a similar pace. Sometime after that, the Rinn realized that their nomadic ways were over and started settling down in their cities and tried to help the others on their planet. The oldest and most established colonies frequently take up most of their respective worlds. These are known as the Core Worlds, and most are peacefully ruled by the Rinn society even though they belong to other races. In this way, the Rinn “empire” is fairly far reaching, although they are not generally ambitious enough to engage in active expansion.

They will, however, maintain the lands they’ve expanded into, quite fiercely in most cases. The Burgunn, being an expansionist empire, has on several occasions tried to push it’s way into Rinn-held territory, and while the wins and losses are about even, the Burgunn have learned to respect the Rinn as formidable opponents despite their still somewhat inferior technology. At the present the Rinn and Burgunn have a polite relationship, while not friends they are not fighting either. Many predominately Rinn worlds are inside the confines of the Burgunn Empire, and those that are usually fully supportive citizens of that empire. Alternately, there are many Burgunn among the Rinn Core Worlds, and they follow the Rinn without any problems.

Currently, there are roughly five hundred planets in the worlds considered Core Worlds, these are worlds run predominately by Rinn. This number is very fluid, since worlds are added or subtracted very subjectively.

Society And Culture:

As mentioned previously, Rinn are extremely clan oriented. Clans also fit in an unofficial hierarchy, with the older, more established clans advising and directing the younger ones. Many clans can trace their roots back several hundred years or more, even if the clan didn’t exist that far back.

As a clan grows in size, due to reproduction or “adoptions”, it eventually grows too large for Rinn taste. At this point, a large portion of the clan will strike off on it’s own to form their own clan. The newly formed clan will maintain it’s ties to the original clan, although be treated as an independent entity. Generally, the original clan will give the new clan enough of it’s own holdings to establish itself, but part of the culture behind new clans is that they prove they are capable of supporting themselves, so this gift is usually fairly limited - generally consisting of a decent parcel of land, some older equipment, a handful of weapons, and a year or so in food rations if the land granted doesn’t have established agriculture already. For the first few years the clan has to work hard to survive, but if it survives the initial period it is welcomed into Rinn society and given any assistance it requires.

Rinn are extremely communal, and trade between clans usually consists of making sure everyone can live well rather than individual groups attempting to make profits. This outlook is only taken when trading with other Rinn (and allies, which is close enough) - it in no way applies when trading with members of other races. Rinn traders are extremely savvy, and have been known to be able to bargain with the best of any race. They feel that any profit they manage to share with the rest of the Rinn will help the race as a whole, so the gathering of resources is seen as a high priority for these people.

Most Rinn engage in a task almost to the point of obsession. The majority focus on a single discipline and learn as much about that discipline as possible. Rinn warriors tend towards learning a single weapon as skillfully as possible, and seldom stray from it - seeking to master every facet of it. Rinn mystics almost always follow only one of the disciplines, so it is unlikely for a Psionic to have any projection abilities at all. Rinn weapon designers, while uncommon, produce some of the most elegant weapons anywhere. Rinn Engineers are rare but on par with the best technicians anywhere. Due to their ability to work well with members of other disciplines, they form highly skilled units by combining specialists in a variety of different areas. This frequently leads to legends of the Rinn being godlike in primitive cultures, since they manage to give off the impression that they all have each others’ abilities in field situations, making the natives believe that they have exceptional skills in every area. This is not something the Rinn encourage, however, since they feel that knowledge is power and so they try to educate the natives on the true nature of their skills.

Rinn Clans, particularly those on worlds operated by Rinn but not predominately Rinn, sometimes adopt members into their clans. These members receive tattoos from the clan and are treated the same as any other Rinn by their clan, although not always by members of other clans. Generally other clans are accepting of other races being in clans, but this isn’t always true, particularly among air clans.

Physiology:

Rinn are physiologically similar to Terrans, although they have a much lighter bone structure. This is mostly due to a slighter gravity on the native Rinn worlds, where a heavier bone structure wasn’t as necessary as it is on higher gravity worlds. More expansion into different worlds has led them to evolve differently, so many Rinn have bone densities comparable to Terrans on worlds with higher gravity levels.

At the same time, Rinn also tend to be slightly taller than Terrans, although this is minimal in most cases. Short Rinn are far from unheard of, although even then the shorter Rinn are still usually taller than their short Terran counterparts.

Rinn have slightly improved hearing, and they have an additional series of hollow bones in the upper ridges of their outer ear, giving it a pointed shape, similar to a cat’s ear. This allows Rinn to hear into more frequencies of sound than a Terran, although produces very minimal enhancements in practical areas such as range or the ability to hear quieter sounds. Their native language also uses sounds in different sound spectrums, which the hollow bones pick up far more readily than Terrans, who generally can’t hear the sounds at all. These bones are extremely sensitive, and generally they try to avoid things coming in contact with them.

Due to their slighter frames, they are usually not quite as muscular as the average Terran, although those in occupations like warriors compensate for this by exerting themselves more physically during training to build equivalent muscle mass. Weaponsmiths and Armorsmiths require a high amount of strength in many cases, and these also have muscle strength nearly equal to a Terran.

In most other respects, Rinn are very similar to Terrans physically. Reproduction between the two races is impossible due to their different genetic structure, even though physical relationships are possible and fairly common between the two races.

Government

Each Rinn clan is unique in its governmental system, although generally the clan’s elder members advise and/or lead the clan in its daily activities. The Elders of the twelve highest clans, usually the oldest, largest or most powerful (in that order) act as the racial “congress” and lead Rinn society as a whole, although very little is actually mandated and the clans have significantly more autonomy than in other cultures.

Clans almost always follow one (although sometimes more) of the Rinn gods, and follow the related Path associated with that god. Most of the gods in Rinn culture are tied to an element, and the bulk a clans membership will follow the paths tied to those gods. Each clan also has a color and symbol, both of which are displayed by the members of the clan. The system varies from clan to clan, but the most common method is for a clan to have a specific symbol, with each member being tattooed with a variation of the symbol somewhere that is easily visible. This allows members of other clans to quickly identify a Rinn based on the markings shown and colors worn. The tattoo is usually a single color, either the clan color or a color which complements the element the clan follows, although this is not always the case. For example, although the traditional colors of Star clans are yellows, a clan with red as a clan color might tattoo an individual with a blue starburst if they are going to be a gatekeeper later in life, since the traditional color of gatekeepers is blue. However, there is no hard and fast system for this since each clan decides the system on their own. Each individual usually has a different tattoo than others even in their same clan, although similarities generally still exist such as common locations, colors, or similar design styles. Very few clans use the same tattoo on each of their members.

Fire Clans have a tendency towards combat pursuits. Most of them value martial traits such as adaptability and tactical knowledge. Mystics in Fire clans tend towards psionics. Most fire clans use reds and oranges as their clan color. Black is also common. Fire clans are uncommon compared to other clans, since many Rinn disdain fighting.

Earth clans have a tendency towards construction and building, although there are a significant number of farmers amongst their number. Engineers are common, and practical creativity is considered to be the most valuable asset to most earth clans. Clan colors are generally muted tones, such as light browns and greens, or pastels. Mystics in Earth clans generally lean towards projection.

Water clans usually act as healers, although they have a large number of farmers like the earth clans. Chemists are frequent, but most of the members of water clans tend towards mystics, specifically harmonicists. Most Water clans lean towards blues.

Air clans generally value thinking above all else, most members of Air clans are philosophers, artists, teachers, and politicians. Most interplanetary traders are also members of Air clans, and they are reputed to be hard bargainers. Mystics are almost evenly split amongst all disciplines, and magic is fairly common to air clans. The Air clans tend towards lighter blues, whites and greys for clan colors. Air clans also tend to see themselves as superior to other races moreso than other Rinn, and less frequently accept other races into their clans.

Star clans are generally explorers and travelers. They tend to be a little hardier than most of their counterparts. The few Rinn spacecraft are usually piloted by star clans, and the majority of Gatekeepers come from this clan as well. Most star clans prefer yellows, but clans with high concentrations of Gatekeepers use blues frequently too. Mystics are usually projectionists, since the flexibility of their powers allows for easier exploration of new areas. Star clans also have a tendency to be more accepting of other races, and tend also to be the most common because of their rapid growth.

Each clan type also has it's own currency, which varies in value depending on how much value the clan puts on it. Ordinarily, the clan itself trades for resources so the money is traditionally used for interclan trade more than trade between individuals, although some of the more independent Rinn trade individually as well. It is not uncommon for a Rinn clan to reject any currency besides it's own, although most of them will trade in any easy to move currency. Earth Clans have a tendency to be the most stubborn in this regard, while air and star clans frequently ignore Rinn currency altogether in favor of the more common Burgunn Imperial Credits.

Roleplaying, Costuming and Makeup

When roleplaying a Rinn, the most important thing to remember is your relations with other Rinn. Most Rinn see each other as family and will act accordingly. Clan loyalties are usually the most important aspect of Rinn culture, so knowledge of your clan’s background is as important as your own character’s background, sometimes even moreso. Also, knowing your element is usually important as well, although many clans don’t follow their paths so don’t put as much emphasis on it as others.

Most Rinn dress in whatever is practical for what they do. Fire clans have a tendency to dress in heavier garb and integrate armor, while air clans generally dress in lightweight, more elegant garb since they seldom engage in combat. Most Rinn prominently display their clan color somewhere in their garb, although many Rinn are more discrete about it. All Rinn have their clan color somewhere, although it may be harder to identify in certain individuals.

All Rinn also have pointed ears. The easiest way to do this is with stage ears, Woochie produces an excellent line of “space ears” that work well for playing a Rinn. This is somewhat expensive, although usually a single pair of ears can be acquired for less than $10 and they can be used for years before wearing out if taken care of. Ear tips can also be made with liquid latex or other substances to save money, but usually this is more difficult than the money you save by doing it (and if you mess up more than a couple times it costs as much as if you’d just bought the woochie ears in the first place) but if done well they can look better than any other type because they’re custom molded for you. Liquid latex also tends to wear out faster.

Rinn Clan tattoos are usually fairly simplistic. Most of the time, they are a stylistic representation of their element with a single color. These can usually be drawn in with magic marker on the face or hands, although a border or band around the upper arm is also common. For example, a fire clan tattoo is frequently a stylized flame on the face. A realistic style flame is also common, as are either symbol tattooed onto the back of the hand. Stylized bands of flame, or realistic flames could be done around the upper arm like contemporary tattoos. Similar systems can be used for clans of other elements. Note that not ALL clans use their elements for their clan symbols, this is just the most common practice. More elaborate tattoos can be created if desired, and some clans (although this is rare) continue to add to their tattoos throughout their lives.