OVERMAN 2335

The Hounds


Publicly Known Information on the Hounds

The average Hound (or wolf-bat) is roughly human-sized, however, although roughly humanoid it is in no way human. They are angular, thin, wiry humanoids with glossy black skin, two long arms, two four-toed digitigrade legs and a stooped gait. A spike-tipped razor-whip tail as long as the Hound is tall ends their torso. Large-spanned thin-boned bat-like wings sprout from the back with spikes on the joints and the tips of the wing supports; the wing membranes themselves are like iridescent black stained glass. These wings somehow allow them to fly even in the vacuum of space. The head is angular and wolfish with fanged jaws and a pair is sharp, straight backward-pointing horns on the rear of the head, parallel to the length of the skull and as long as the rest of the head. The eyes (of which there are a pair, facing forward) are triangular-faceted red-purple crystal with a faint light glowing deep inside them; like a cats eyes, they also reflect back light shone at them. Their hands each have seven long, thin digits, three fingers in the centre and two thumbs on each side of the palm. They have long non-retractile claws on the fingers and toes. They are considerably lighter than they appear. This most common type of Hound seems stupid, and barely sentient.

Several other, rarer, types of Hound are known, for example, one similar to the above, but with four arms, and a larger head. These sometimes seem to act as leaders.

In addition to their claws and teeth, all Hounds are able to generate a powerful, though short-ranged, electrical discharge from their tail spike. This electrical ability extends to what seems to be an electrical sensory field. They can also see in the dark, and seem immune to all hostile environments.


It is known that all Hounds are capable of reproduction, and breed true to type. They do not have blood or other fluids in their bodies, instead seeming to have a purely electrical metabolism, getting their energy from some unknown source and storing it in organic superconductor batteries within their bodies. However, despite this they are voracious eaters of all organic materials (including organic chemicals not actually found in living things), which they seem to use solely for healing themselves and producing large numbers of eggs (which they do without having to mate).

The Hound life cycle seems to consist of laying eggs. The parents seem to have no interest in these eggs once they are laid, and ignore them completely. However Hounds, despite their appetites, never seem to eat the eggs of other Hounds. Eventually the eggs hatch, producing an immature form of Hound (this has only been seen on long-range observations). This flies around, eating, until it encounters other Hounds who then seem to adopt it.


Hound Ships

There a many kinds of Hound ships. All have an organic look, with spiked sensor projections and gaping weapons orifices (most are based on the Santovasku ships from Johji Manabi's 'Outlanders'), and an iridescent black colour. The more common classes are named after dogs of various kinds :


Hound Motivations

There is much speculation as to what the Hounds actually want:


Hound Technology

All Hound technology is very strange to Humans because of its combination of 'normal' technology and magic techniques. This includes what seems to be the use of gold, salt, ceramics, running (perhaps 'holy') water and pure iron as 'insulators'. Wood, silver, blood (sometimes used to form the tracks on magical 'printed circuits'), nervous system tissue, channels of sulphur or 'unholy' water seem to be used as conductors to carry energy. Gems, brain tissue and heart tissue (particularly from the region which acts as a pacemaker) seem to be used as energy stores and/or transformer devices.

What appear to be magical 'circuit boards' are formed of 'insulators', inscribed with symbols and components of 'appropriate' materials which seem to channel magical energy through the system. 'Wires' connect three-dimensional symbol-components, often small, and always very detailed (the insides of Hound vehicles and installations are often like this). Magical symbols (some of which, such as pentagrams, are recognisable by humans who are familiar with such things) seem to form low-level energy sources, or hold and channel magical energy in certain ways. It seems there is more to this than simply the shapes having magical significance, though.

The Hounds seem to use very little inorganic/mechanical technology; instead their equipment and, especially, vehicles seem at least semi-organic in form and function, grown for the task at hand, and often incorporate Hounds built in to the control systems.

Because of the Hounds racial mind-set their technological development has been shaped very strangely in many areas :


Energy

Highly developed, including anti-matter and total conversion, with a few apparently purely magical energy sources, some of which are living things. They are much less concerned with shielding and radiation protection than human power sources, presumably because of their immunity to hard radiation.


Computers/Robotics

Not well developed at all as they tend to rely on specialised worker and thinker castes, and Hounds which are 'built in' to the equipment they control. Those which do exist tend to use magical rather than technological processors.

There is some speculation that the Hounds use some extremely exotic forms of computer, such as ones constructed from anti-matter fusion plasma.


Communications

Not developed - mind links (psychic or magical) tend to be used in the places where humans would use mechanical systems.


Sensors

This seems very well developed with both magical occultech devices and specialised Hound watcher castes.


Medical

Actual medical treatment is hardly developed at all, as if the injured Hound is important healing powers will be used on it, and if it not it will be eaten. However, genetic engineering by magic is very highly developed, and can be used to re-engineer Hounds at any time in their lives, for new roles or to become part of some larger device or system.


Environment

Hardly developed above lighting due to the Hounds immunity to most hostile environments. Contact with other races has led to some advancement due to the occasional need to take prisoners.

Hound settlements tend to be constructed by specialised builder castes, using materials extruded from their own bodies. These include large 'nests' which have been reported various of Jupiter's moons, and also floating in the Jovian atmosphere. Similar extrusion techniques are used in the construction of vehicles.


Transportation

While land and water transport are non-existent, air and space transportation is very advanced with occultech gravitic thrust in normal space and some kind of (perhaps magical) FTL system for interstellar travel. The faster than light (FTL) drive is estimated to allow travel at about 1 light-year per day, but is quite bulky. This means that most Hound warships are large FTL battleships so as to be able to take advantage of the surprise of sudden FTL to slower than light translations.

Vessel control systems tend to be magical with living components, often Hounds built into the vessel.


Military

Hand-held weapons are almost non-existent among the Hounds as warriors tend to have their armament built-in. Heavy or strategic weaponry is very highly developed with anti-matter bombs the Hounds weapon of choice; most Hound weaponry is at least vaguely analogous to the weapons of Humanity, but there are exceptions.

Perhaps their most feared weapon is what is known as the convertor beam, which somehow turns the target (or parts of it) into anti-matter. Even if the whole target is not converted to anti-matter, partial conversion always causes a massive explosion as changed and unchanged parts of the target react destructively. To humanity, the effects of this weapon are irreversible, and a lingering death sentence.

The Hounds ship-to-ship combat abilities are further enhanced by their cloaking device, which renders their ships undetectable to almost all human sensors (although the humans do have a similar device it is not quite as effective).


Hound Secrets

Obviously, there are many secrets about the Hounds which are not generally known to humanity of 2335. They can be reached by this link.

Also, go here to see Champions statistics for a typical Hound warrior.


Back to the Overman 2335 Page.

Or, go to the Hounds Strategic Weaponry in Champions terms.