Ten Things About the Gyao Rai

1. The Gyao Rai are tall, lithe flightless birds with large hooked bills.  They are fearless and stoic, unwavering even with the Kholibar always at their door.  
2. The Gyao Rai are the newest race I have developed.  What would happen if Big Bird mated with the Skeksis in Masai Territory?  The Gyao Rai, that's what.
3. Gyao Rai society flourishes in the cold circles of the Kholibar poles.  There, they live in colonies of spread settlements only recently coming into the use of more modern technologies.  They are kept warm by thick layers of fluffy plumage, and the hides of the hunted.  
4. The Gyao Rai breed through clutches of enormous eggs.  A colony of Kholibar settlers once tried to harvest them for food.  Once.
5. Their language involves quite a bit of beak clicking that is difficult for many species to emulate.  On the other hand, they have little trouble mimicking the pronunciation of others.  This mimicking is often the closest thing they have to humor.  
6. Gyao Rai youth (chicks) have for centuries played a simple game known as "skull".  The rules are...irrelevant.  
7. They do not live well in regulated environments, such as stations and starships.  This has lead to a well-known propensity towards sedative addiction among Gyao Rai travelers.  
8. The Gyao Rai are known to say, "A spear in hand makes a partner from prey."
9. Many Gyao Rai have joined the cause of the Tor in recent years, seeing the Darkness Beyond as another quarry to be seized in the name of the Serpent.  
10. They serve most of all Uhl Fa Erhit Dvel, Patron Deity of The Hunt, White Serpent upon the Wastes.  High ranking hunters wear the skin of the snow serpents that stalk the northern tundra as a mark of their devotion, as they are considered the most dangerous foes on the planet.  The Kholibar find themselves considerable lower in the rankings.  

Ten Things about the Tethari

1. Tethari are small, green people that live in trees and can camoflauge themselves ala cephalopods or chameleons.   They hold beauty above all else, especially right and wrong.  
2. The idea for the Tethari came first.  I had been playing a lot of Mass Effect, but watching a lot of Lord of the Rings.  I began to wonder what hobbits would be like if they were completely immoral...in space.  Sometime around there, I watched a special on cuttlefish chromatophores.  Thus, the Tethari were born.  
3. The Tethari homeworld, Tethon, is a wooded wonderland, and the Tethari have chosen to live in dense centralized settlements rather than break into the natural resources and risk damaging the view.
4. There is an old Tethari proverb: "Better to believe a beautiful lie than suffer an ugly truth."
5. Tethari have only three fingers, but they are strong and dexterous.  They lie apposed to each other, allowing versatility and incredible grip strength.  
6. If you ask a Tethari, and they'll tell you they're vegetarian.  Ask anyone else, and they'll say they're cannibals.  
7. The Tethari language involves a lot of aspirrated syllables and soft r's.  They have the easiest time learning Human tongue, but the most difficulty learning Gyao Rai.  
8. Though they have only been in the craft for a short time, Tethari build star ships are a prized commodity.  Shipwrights, like other Tethari, are artists, and every ship is built unique.  Handcraft and perfectly balanced; you'll never see a factory on Tethon.  
9. The Tethari dedicants of Ashani Adjai are known as Shadows, and they serve her passionately.  They wear suits of the only material that can effectively channel the Tethari's camoflauge abilities.  It is a substance known as Noth Hide and only the Tethari know that it is made from other Tethari. 
10. Tethari prostitutes are masters of their trade and sought throughout the Cluster, leading the government to strictly regulate their ability to travel off planet.  It might go without saying that it's worth travelling for the experience.  

Racial Basics

Here is a table of racial basics.  These are some of the most important factors to consider when choosing the race for your character.

Character Creation

As per request, here are the basic rules of character creation for Scions:

Sample Scion : Djolaf Redpaws

Djolaf Redpaws:
     Dunn Scion of Little Horn, Patron of Blood and Revenge
     Journeyman in the Guild of Physicians
          - Bonus to rolls about healing and medical knowledge
          - Bonus to rolls in acting stealthily

First sessions and mechanics

     I've been trying for a while to wrap my brain around exactly what it is I look for out of table top gaming mechanics.  While there is something to be said for games that rely solely on narrative, that's not my style.  I like the roll of the dice, both tactile and emotional.  Maybe it's a personal obsession with Math that makes me feel that the ability to break a living world down to it's most basic arithmetic form is quite cathartic.  Just the same, I prefer simplicity to the sea of dice and tables that some games have to offer.

    In any case, before I start waxing philosophical, the point is that I've been looking at a lot of systems in my development of what I call the "Scions Engine".