space-wizards
Cyprin Roundstart Species
Cyprin are inspired by downstream Thaven, going into a more focused direction of being space carp/dragon people.
They’re a fully aquatic-inspired species that emphasize roleplay through Resonances, a system that guides personality and behavior without mechanical enforcement. Effectively acting as roleplay prompts.
Cyprin are humanoid descendants of ancient bio-engineering experiments that merged humanoid, carp, and draconic traits. Their defining feature is Resonance, an internal “frequency” that shapes their beliefs and compulsions, encouraging character-driven conflict and storytelling.
Mechanically, they feature distinct atmospheric interactions and a stun-based punch that sets them apart in gameplay.
Conceptually, Resonances are something I feel will be a major point of discussion. I've been very careful as to try and curate the Resonance list as much as possible and ensure clear messaging for the player that Resonances are something that should be thoughtfully acted upon. I'm happy to adjust Resonances as seen fit but I see this as quite possibly their most important feature, it gives them a unique identity and a fun twist for people who want to roleplay but aren't sure what to do, and for people who want to just have fun playing into different vibes every round.
I would love to bring the Thaven mechanics to upstream. I didn't even know they were supposed to be like carp people! I thought they were supposed to be like D&D tieflings. So I support this.
I'm most curious about what they might end up looking like. e.g. Just humans with some gills and fins? Kuo-Toa? Spongebob fish people? Blatantly furry shark people?
I'm most curious about what they might end up looking like. e.g. Just humans with some gills and fins? Kuo-Toa? Spongebob fish people? Blatantly furry shark people?
I absolutely love Thaven and would be very happy to see them in base ss14
Writing some stuff to address the concerns with Resonance and moderation
I'm putting this into a draft temporarily until I reorganize the document a bit and finish the Resonances list
hiya, i'm the original writer/creator of the thaven species (with a lot of help from others ofc) it's always fascinating to see other forks (and indeed upstream) try to adapt them, because i've always felt that the way they are is very tuned to the culture of Impstation lol. i like that you're leaning into the fishiness. to explain a bit of the thought process behind the original implementation, they were originally just "space elves," like the Vulcans from star trek. the idea was that they had somehow developed an organic brain chemistry very similar to the way positronic brains work. them being distantly related to space carp was more an easter egg, with the logic being that Carpotoxin is important in the making of Cognizine, so it must have something weird to do with the function of the brain. from concept to implementation, thaven took a grand total of four days to develop, so everything except the final set of moods is a little underbaked. writing moods in a way that's fun to play around and doesn't piss people off too bad is a reeeeeeally fine balance. feel free to hit me up on discord if you have any questions about things we know don't work lol
@widgetbeck Hi!!!!! Absolutely would love to message you about it if you're interested!!!
I made some changes to kind of steer away the focus of comparing them to Thaven, I think at this point they can be treated as different species with similar mechanics but with different philosophies on how to go about those mechanics.
Loving this so much. I never got to try the downstream races but reading the whole situations you can get up tow with Resonances sounds genuinely fun for every shift.
Would love to see these goobs on Upstream!
