Ugor

Ugor

Species: Ugor
Home Planet: Paradise system

Ugors were a species of large, sentient, unicellular organisms native to an unknown planet in the Paradise system. Members of the species were able to change their physical appearance and create pseudopodia to perform the functions of organs and simple tools. The highly efficient Ugor brain, located inside the nucleus, was capable of controlling up to 30 pseudopodia at once. In their natural form, they oozed about as blobs, but many Ugors wore environment suits and adopted a humanoid morphology when dealing with outsiders.

After ruining their once lush planet with industrial toxins and overpopulation, the Ugors evolved the ability to eat garbage and eventually began to worship it. They then set out from their home system—after having sliced up its planets to lay the groundwork for a system-spanning junk yard—and took on the role of scavengers and garbage collectors in the galaxy, bringing them into competition with other species, such as the Squibs. Ugor waste recovery companies reported to the Holy Ugor Taxation Collection Agency, which held authority over all members of the species in the galaxy

Biology & Appearance:
Ugors were sentient, unicellular protozoans who ranged from one to two meters in diameter. They were considered exotic for being one of the few sentient species to fall outside the standard groupings of birds, mammals, reptiles, etc. Their bodies consisted of cytoplasm, which could be green in some individuals, bound by an outer, slime-coated membrane. Whereas multicellular beings used specialized, permanent organs to sense and interact with their environment, Ugors employed complicated organelles. One of these was the brain, housed in the central nucleus. Unlike the brains of multicellular beings, which relied on neural networks to perform cognitive functions such as information storage and abstract reasoning, those of the Ugors relied on individual molecules. The molecular structure of these processes allowed the brain to operate several times faster and more flexibly than that of a multicellular creature.

One dramatic example of this was the species' ability to rapidly exude pseudopodia devoted to myriad functions. Ugors could mold their cytoplasm into dozens of separate limbs adapted to communicate information, manipulate objects, and facilitate sight, hearing, smell, and taste. In fact, by creating appropriate sensory pseudopodia, Ugors could hear and speak at frequencies beyond those of many other species and see in lower lighting conditions. They could sprout up to 30 pseudopodia at will, processing a vast amount of information in the process; a multicellular brain would have required several times as long to accomplish the same task.

Ugors were amorphic, able to assume nearly any shape. A member of the species might exude extra limbs to wield weapons or create several smiling mouths to placate a nervous customer. An Ugor might generate a tool-shaped pseudopod to act as a bag, knife, lock-pick, shovel, umbrella, or vise. The beings could fluidly adjust their natural abilities as well. By reducing the number of processes devoted to perception, for example, an Ugor might boost its strength or agility.

Nevertheless, most Ugors tended to adopt a default appearance and skill set. A globular form was most comfortable and easy to maintain, even though this body shape forced the Ugor to ooze from place to place at a somewhat slower pace than a member of a multicellular species of similar mass. Those Ugors who came into contact with members of other species often adopted a humanoid appearance, if only barely: the protozoan might take on a stocky body with two thick, handless arms and two short legs, with a mass of eyestalks projecting from where a head might otherwise be. Such a body structure required concentration and was difficult to maintain for long periods.

Ugors sometimes wore tailor-made, armored, full-body environment suits with large, dark helmets. Whatever their form, most other beings found them unappealing to look at. Squibs found their odor repugnant as well.

Ugors were natural predators and required a large amount of food. Nevertheless, their evolution had equipped them with the ability to digest substances that would prove toxic to other species, and they could subsist on other species' trash.

Society & Culture:
Ugor society revolved around trading and scavenging; they were famed for providing equipment to nascent civilizations and for salvaging wreckage from failed ones. The beings were supremely adaptable and astutely able to get what they wanted from others. Ugor business deals were extremely complex, incorporating opaque knots of loans, interest, and payment plans that were anathema to their rivals, the Squibs. If an Ugor sensed desperation in a potential business partner, the protozoan made every effort to squeeze the other party dry. The Paradise system was constantly visited by beings from all corners of the galaxy searching for older equipment or technology, and although Ugors demanded a hefty price for their goods, they were often the only resource for certain archaic parts. They excelled at those skills that were useful in their pursuit of rubbish collection: a member of the species' education emphasized skills related to scavenging and starship operation (although members of the species rarely became more than passable pilots).

Nevertheless, the Ugor love for trash had a deeper significance: they worshiped the stuff. The beings considered pieces of rubbish to be holy relics, and this zealous devotion led Ugors to fanatically and aggressively collect it. Upon discovering a dump site, an Ugor might first open fire on anyone present and attempt to drive them away. To this end, the species' starships were heavily armed and Ugors themselves often sported multiple pseudopodia specifically intended to carry weapons. They would then attempt to collect as much garbage as possible.

Non-Ugors found members of the species insufferably pompous and sanctimonious, which gave the species a reputation as unpleasant to deal with and, all things considered, best avoided. The species felt that games of chance, haggling, and con jobs were the Ugor way and even considered such behavior virtuous. The species had a tendency to start arguments and make bombastic religious proclamations. They rarely warmed up to outsiders, strongly preferring the company of their own kind.

Ugors reserved a special hatred for the Squib species, whom they considered to be their mortal enemies. The unicellular scavengers considered it a noble goal to scoop up salvage before any Squib interests could arrive. Their hatred could sometimes turn to violence: some Ugors hoped for nothing less than the extermination of the entire Squib species. The conflict evolved into outright war on occasion, at least in the minds of the players. The feelings were mutual, and the Squibs considered the Ugors to be their primary rivals.

Members of the species rarely professed a love for anything other than garbage or food. They were obsessed with the latter, though not to the level of the Ortolan species. Their cuisine was so complex that most recipes required 12 manipulatory appendages to prepare correctly. Ugor favorites included such delicacies as free-floating fungal fondu, glazed glucose pate, mitochondria crunchy surprise, photo-lipids in brazened fatty-acid sauce, single-celery soda, spirogyra gelatin, and Ugorian spore-gruel. Offers of victuals could brighten an Ugor's perception of the one offering it, although the change in attitude rarely went the other way.

The species' native language, which existed in both spoken and written form, was also known as Ugor. Most Ugors learned Basic, and a sizable number studied a trade language, such as Bocce, or the tongue of their rivals, Squibbian. Ugors could speak these languages by creating the appropriate communication apparatus, although their pronunciation often had a watery or slimy tinge. For example, the word give might be pronounced gib, pilgrims as bilgrims, them as dem, and sinner as zinner. The species' names typically consisted of two parts. Example names were ArrGack, GrrKack, and SplrMuck.

Attribute Dice: 12D
DEXTERITY *
KNOWLEDGE *
MECHANICAL *
PERCEPTION *
STRENGTH *
TECHNICAL *

Special Abilities:
*Amorphous: Normal Ugors have a total of 12D in attributes. Because they are amorphous beings, they can shift around the attributes as is necessary - forming pseudopodia into a bunch of eyestalks to examine something, for example, would increase the Ugor’s perception. However, no attribute may be greater than 4D, and the rest must be allocated accordingly. Adjusting attributes can only be done once per round, but it may be done as many times during an adventure as the player wants - but, in combat, it must be declared when other actions are being declared, even though it does not count as an action (and, hence, does not make other actions more difficult to perform during that round). Ugors also learn skills at double their normal costs (because of their amorphous nature).

Story Factors:
Squib-Ugor Conflict: The Ugors despise the Squibs and will go to great lengths to steal garbage from them, since they venerate garbage as a god.

Move: 5/7
Size: 2 meters tall in Diameter
Source: Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races (pages 89-90) & Wookieepedia (For the Ugor Description)