Creature:Tauntar

= Information =

Statistics
Species Type: Omnivorous Terrestrial Mammalian Lifestyle: Social Warriors Hunt/Forage Success Rate: 80% Forage (75-98% success rate), 20% Hunting (23-70% success rate) Armor: Armor wearing is a common practice amongst the Tauntar. Much of their bodies are covered, although joints usually remain uncovered, except in space exploration or heavy warfare armors. Defenses: Natural defenses for the Tauntar race are few, although their one major tactic before the use of technologies was their ability to leap great distances, which when combined with their natural agility, made them difficult targets to take down. Weapons: While natural offenses are, like their defenses, few and far between, technological weaponry is a Tauntar's specialty. Naturally, Tauntars can deliver powerful kicks and punches, as well as hard bites to opponents. However, their technological prowess for offensive tactics has led to a wide variety of fatal weapons useful for battle. It is said that there is no word in the Tauntar language for "nonlethal weaponry". Tools: Tauntars manipulate their environment with two wonderfully-evolved hands, each possessing three, three-knuckled fingers and a two-knuckled opposable thumb. Their feet are completely incapable of manipulation, thanks to being evolved for hopping purposes. Method of Eating: Unspecified Reproductive Rate: Unspecified Gestation: Unspecified Offspring Incubation: Unspecified Number of Offspring: Tauntars usually have two young per litter. Assuming they are born of the same gender, they are encouraged to take on a habit of friendly competition between the two of them, which is the adults' attempt to have the two youth try to always one-up each other, thereby granting the entire species a larger set of greater achievements between each set of children. This actually works very well, and is one way Tauntars may become frighteningly powerful warriors. Offspring Survival Rate (before age of maturity): 80% -- While Tauntars force their youths through a sort of initiation during the onset of maturity by sending them on "Warrior Quests", they typically attempt to adjust and tweak these quests just right to suit the individual Tauntar's natural abilities while at the same time testing them to their breaking point. Most survive these trials. While younger, the youth are trained heavily in their chosen professions, but are at the same time very well protected, as they are an investment for the Tauntar species' future in what they see as a dangerous galaxy. Singular/Plural/Possessive: Tauntar/Tauntars/Tauntar

= Technologies = Offensive technologies are the Tauntars people's specialty. They take great pride in the killing abilities of their ships, vehicles, and mecha.

War Machines
War Machines are used often during ground assaults, and are typically aided by large Tauntar infantry forces.

Land Sprinter
Crew Capacity: 5 Maximum Speed: 108mph Weaponry:
 * Energy Machine Guns
 * Surface To Air Phase Rockets

The Land Sprinter is the most common Tauntar war machine seen on any ground-based battlefield. The Sprinter is a mech, walking on two thick yet still stilt-like legs. Typically, they are deployed in sets of two, where the crews are brothers of the crew in their double. This is set up this way to allow one-upping one another to the full extent of their assumed abilities.

Land Pod
Crew Capacity: 4 (+10 inside Land Sprinters) Maximum Speed: 83mph Weaponry:
 * Surface To Surface Distortion Rockets

The Land Pod is what one might consider the Tauntar's version of an APC, only instead of troops, it carries two Land Sprinters. While significantly slower than the walkers themselves, it possesses heavier armor paneling, and large treads for all-terrain movement. They only require a crew of four: two pilots and two weapon operators.

Starships
The Tauntar people take the most pride in their starships; while typically built into odd, angular shapes, the Tauntar do not see the use of "streamlining ships intended for space combat". Most Tauntar starships utilize a communication system that requires at least one large antennae to stick out of the vessel; a tactical fighter will disable these first. However, a tactical Tauntar fighter will protect this antennae at all costs.

Death Probe
Crew Capacity: 10 (Only in use during routine maintenances) Maximum Speed: 500mph (cruising speed) Weaponry:
 * 6 Shock Antennae

Death Probes are usually unmanned, exploratory craft used for scientific expeditions, although they are very commonly conscripted as defensive vessels to protect key locations during times of war. Each probe has a complex AI installed on board, which can determine whether or not a vessel is hostile. They are considered a direct upgrade to the original Tauntar Probes, whose AIs occasionally when rogue and were known to kill innocents. To cut down on rogue behavior, maintenance crews are routinely sent to the Death Probes, to make certain everything is in working order. This usually takes a month, and therefore the probes are equipped to handle a full complement of engineers. Death Probes are incapable of hyperlight travel, and must be placed inside larger ships to move through large distances of space.

Voyeur
Crew Capacity: Unspecified Maximum Speed: Warp 3 (Hyperspace Capable) Weaponry:
 * Microsteel Spinblades

Well-known as the smallest Tauntar starship capable of hyperspace flight, it is used for quick spy missions against enemy installments. Because of this, Tauntars may occasionally use them to enter warp speed in planetary orbit to disrupt planetary signals or even cause irreparable harm to the atmosphere. As spy vessels, they are only equipped with nanolathes, which are intended to construct microsteel spinblades at jaw-dropping speeds. These are attached to the two front 'wings', and can only be fired forwards, to avoid damage to the rest of the ship. During hyperspace travel, these spinblade bays close up to prevent hyper-turbulence damage.

Striker
Crew Capacity: Unspecified Maximum Speed: Sublight Weaponry:
 * 4 Ion-Propelled Warp Rocket Bays
 * Microsteel Spinblades

The Strikers are the most common Tauntar starship on any space battlefield. Like the Voyeur, they are armed with nanolathes on the 'wings', which can construct and fire spinblades at an alarming rate of speed. They are also equipped with 4 rocket bays which construct warp rockets at a slower pace. Because Strikers are sublight craft, they must be carried into battle within the Destroyers' docking bays.

Kamikazer
Crew Capacity: 1 Maximum Speed: Mach 7 Weaponry:
 * 8 Nuclear Chemical Isotope-Laden Missiles (Non-Detachable)

The Kamikazer is a Tauntar's final glory device. This is only used in dire situations, and piloting by a non-disgraced Tauntar is highly prohibited. These vessels are intended for extremely close combat, and cannot go any faster than hypersonic speeds. Each Kamikazer is streamlined for maximum speed and has a grand total of eight nuclear warheads permanently attached to it. All disgraced Tauntar are immediately trained in what is dubbed "drunken flight patterns" by other species, to maximize the effectiveness of the vessel. It is also very small, only requiring the piloting prowess of a solitary Tauntar. A Tauntar who sacrifices themselves through the use of one of these are immediately granted an honorable pardon, whether they hit their intended target or not. Because Kamikazers are sublight craft, they must be carried into battle within the Destroyers' docking bays.

There is a massive monument on each Tauntar world, where they construct a realistic statue of any and all pilots who have sacrificed themselves this way. Their statues are taken to the world they originated from, or where they considered home, so that their loved ones may visit their statue at any time.

Tauntar Destroyer
Crew Capacity: 250 Maximum Speed: Warp 5 (Hyperspace Capable) Weaponry:
 * Travesty-Class Nuclear Fission Missiles
 * 2 Shock Thrusters
 * 6 Mega Cannons
 * 6 Double Barreled Mega Cannons

These are the flagships of any Tauntar fleet. The Tauntar do not believe in overkill, and they have therefore went all out on equipping these ships to make them formidable foes. It is the Destroyers who typically carry the lighter starships into systems, many of which are sublight fighters.

Tauntar Battleship
Crew Capacity: 399 Maximum Speed: Warp 2 (Hyperspace Capable) Weaponry:
 * Deep Space Torpedoes

The Battleships are the capital ships of the Tauntar fleets. Oddly enough, they're not tremendously well-equipped, like the Destroyers before them are. Instead, they are intended to stay several million miles away from the actual battlefield, lobbing deep space torpedoes into the mix. Each missile is equipped with a complex VI system, so that once it enters the battlefield, it will avoid all friendly ships as well as pick out the most important enemy targets to lock on to. Battleships possess extremely thick hulls, and many weapon systems have a difficult time puncturing it. Several bulkheads provide the crew inside a measure of security, as well. An odd attachment to these vessels is several large fan-like objects, which constantly rotate all over the hull. These stir particles to create small electrical fields, which are then ionized to strengthen the ship's energy shield. Each particle fan is equipped with several nanolathes at its base to immediately begin repairs should one be damaged.

= Trivia =
 * The Tauntar are yet another of my ancient races, created back when I was in 7th Grade, approximately in 1997 -- that makes the Tauntar a bit over a decade old.