A few thousand years ago, the Burgunn race was fairly peaceful. There were 1,000 Burgunn states, each with it’s own government, it’s own set of rules and regulations, and very few people traveled from settlement to settlement. Each state was ruled by the Builder, a genius of more ability than the either the great DaVinci or Einstein of Terran lore. Due to a machine he invented, he was able to rule the Burgunn people wisely and fairly for 500 years. Then the Rinn came. When the Rinn opened up a pathway to the Burgunn home world of Durgan, the machine controlling the Builder’s life support system failed. The mental arts were unknown to the Burgunn people, and affected the machines that they used to keep the Builder alive. The Rinn didn’t have time to apologize, for the Great War struck soon afterward.

The Great War of the Burgunns happened when the states vied for power. Without any real authority, Mayor Gurdin of the capital city of Rintil claimed the throne. Many of the state leaders felt he had done so prematurely, and that he was unfit to be emperor, so the leaders and most of the populace left through the Pathways made by the Wanderers. Each settlement went to a different planet and from there planned to take over Durgan and thus the empire. The capital weathered these attacks for over 700 years, and then peace was found. The price over the centuries was great, but it paid off. At the end of the Great War, the Burgunn Empire controlled 1,000 developed worlds, almost as many agricultural and low-development worlds, and a few hundred colonies and outposts. Today, the Burgunn Empire is bigger than ever, expanding over 5,000 worlds, and the war lead to great advancements in technology, with the development of plasma weaponry, chemical bombs, and weapon enhancements that even today are considered advanced.

This war caused the Rinn to believe the Burgunn people to be foolish, and thus they decided to deny the teaching of most psychic arts to Burgunns or help them establish a peace in the entire 700 years. The Burgunn people have resented this and the killing of the Builder, and the grudge between Rinn and Burgunn is still present to this day. It is the dream of many Burgunn engineers on Durgan to “show up” the Rinn one day by creating a device that will allow for better world travel than the Pathways without the use of mystical arts, but such attempts have proven fruitless.

Burgunns are a humanoid race, with gray skin and a stern outlook. Hundreds of years of internal warfare have turned the members of this race solemn and tough, and death is a common theme in the Burgunn stories from birth. They typically favor darker clothing, and leather jackets have been in Burgunn fashion since they first began trade with Terrans and discovered them. Drab clothing is the norm, as colors are seen as unnecessary and “Rinn-like.” In battle, they have been known to unleash “battle frenzy.” This is not so much an ability as an outlook, as it is seen that the noblest thing a Burgunn can do is die in battle, they fight all out, being known not to hold back even when fighting weaker opponents or grossly stronger opponents. It is said that a true Burgunn will not run.

Most Burgunns are either members of the Engineer class or the Soldier class, the former making devices for the latter. There are few Burgunn Warriors or Spies, and the few Burgunn Mystics are considered a disgrace to Burgunn-kind. Burgunn names are to the point, with names such as Regad, Wikrun, and Brackston being common. The adding of a vowel to the end of a Burgunn name is an indicator of femininity.

Costuming/Makeup:
All Burgunns have grey skin which must be reflected by makeup on the player playing the burgunn. Most Burgunns also tend towards dark clothing, although this is not always the case.

The Battle Frenzy:A Burgunn who places themself under a battle frenzy will ignore pain and injury until the object of their fury has been slain, or they become incapacitated. The actual effect of Battle Frenzy is that they are granted immunity to all Flavors except Mystic. Should they drop below 1 HP, come under a Net: Body effect, or otherwise be rendered unable to use skills, they must immediately and without chance of being saved, go to reclone. This effect lasts until the next debriefing, or until their chosen target is slain and has gone to reclone, at which time the Burgunn goes to reclone in the manner described above. This ability is not usable until the character has reached 7th level, and can only be used once per level.

Race Opinions:

• Terrans: Tough luck these people have had, but that’s what you get when you depend on luck.
• Rinn: Nothing but trouble, they think they are so great with their fancy psychic stuff.
• Furries: With so many types, they could one day get an empire that would surpass our own, now if only they would pick up a pistol.
• Mutants: Freaks. Nothing more. See what happens when you use that mystic crap?
• Technoids: Now here is a race that knows how to build about as well as we do, now if only they could last long enough to shoot it, they would be all set.
• Ork: Heh, they could be almost as good as we are, if they ever learn to tie their shoes, that is.