Aliens of the Alba System

Aslans

Lion Warrior by Demarcos

The Shisa are lion-like bipedal humanoids. They populated Novus Albion before the humans arrived but their medieval technology level was no match for the First settlers and the Shisa were quickly pacified.

The Shisa have about the same height and weight measures as humans. They have a slightly longer lifespan, up to 140 years, but reach sexual maturity after only six or seven years.

In the centuries since they have either lived on closely observed reservations maintaining their traditional way of life or have served as slaves for affluent humans. Lately Shisa have regained some of their position on Novus Albion, but many Shisa are hesitant of becoming to integrated with a human society viewed as too technologically focused.

Honor and tradition are very important to the Shisa. Their society is democratic and democratic participation is tied with honor. Breaking the trust of the community are one of the worst sins in Shisa communities.

Shisa architecture is dominated by a fascination for stone circles and pagoda-like structures. Their dress is reminiscent of Asian cultures on earth and so is their expertise in sword-making. This art form almost died out during the first years of slavery, but swords have lately become fashionable among the elites of New Camelot.

The Alba system Shisa are inspired by the Aslan-race from Traveller and the Rakasta from the D&D module Rage of the Rakasta.

Pechs

These green-greyish humanoid bipeds live mainly underground on both Novus Virginia and Novus Victoria, but on Victoria they are believed to be close to extinction.

Pechs have large heads and large eyes on top of spindly bodies. They are species of sentient fungoid and don’t have a circulatory system. Pechs have a single sex and reproduce by planting spores into decaying plant or animal remains.

Goblin Necromancer by NetherRealm

Growing conditions are important to pech size and lifespan. Most pechs are between 0.9 and 1.2 meters tall with a mass of about 20 kilograms, but smaller versions (even under 0.3 meters) have been encountered and the largest pechs observed have been over 2.5 meters tall with a mass of around 150 kilograms.

Pechs have developed crude steam technology used primarily for mining and warfare purposes. Still they do not pose much of a serious threat to the human colonial populations on their home worlds. However, occasional abductions and subsequent ritual murder of people and livestock, for the purpose of growing new Pechs, have made them both feared and hated by the humans.

The fact that such a low-technology species appears on two planets have continued to puzzle the science community of the Alba system. No definite answer has been given, but in popular media theories of an ancient space-faring race moving the Pechs from one planet to another have grown popular despite the lack of evidence.

Pechs are inspired by the standard D&D goblins with a steampunk twist and the "get out of the way peck!" line from the movie Willow (1988).