The Chupakri

Chupakri are an artificial race of sentient creatures whose unifying features are their mutable genetics and esoteric connection to a mysterious entity. They were created in a system of laboratories by a guild of madmen called the Collective to serve as a perfect slave-class and, some say, as manipulatable vehicles for some sort of power that never manifested.

Bred to serve and trained to obey from their earliest days, they were intended to replace the unwashed masses in all positions of service, manual labor, or really anything else that the paranoid Collective did not want to do and did not trust free thinkers to do, either.

Visually, chupakri are very varied, chimerical in nature and mutable in early childhood to the point of being designable (to a degree.) The most recognizable and iconic chupakri are the Elite class, which possess the most stable DNA and have all traits required to match the ‘breed standard’ of the species.

Based on consistent genetic variations and overall stability, chupakri are split into four playable castes; Elite, Berserker, Hybrid, and Stunted. There is also a non-playable caste of Progenitors--the first-generation chupakri from which all others descended from.

Regardless of visual variations, all chupakri share a few common traits: potent blood, mutable genetics, and a manufacturer’s mark set under the skin at birth, licensing and serializing each chupakri.

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Regardless of genetic makeup, all chupakri share certain anatomical features:
▴Mammalian
▴Paws for feet, never hooves
▴No bird DNA of any kind
▴2 arms, 2 legs (except in case of deformity or mutation, when there might be more or less)
▴At least 2 different, visibly presenting types of genetic material, one of which is always chupakri

The following may present in any chupakri but won't necessarily:
▴ Membranous wings
▴A very long tail
▴Tall, sensitive bat-like ears
▴Echolocation

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•Each chupakri has a mark that indicates, at a glance, which caste the chupakri belongs to. A unique serial code that is added to their mark likewise identifies that specific chupakri. The marks may be placed anywhere on the body--although they are often placed where the chupakri cannot see or meddle with it--and are usually about as large as that individual chupakri's palm.

•Marks can be any combination of colors, and the appearance of the mark uniquely represents the chupakri it belongs to. Marks do not often change their color or pattern, but sometimes they do if a major change occurs in the chupakri's life.


•All chupakri receive the base mark, which is changed should they present the characteristics of a particular caste as they near adulthood. Stunted chupakri keep the base mark their whole lives, while Hybrids, Berserkers and Elites receive modifications to the mark.


•Marks are created in a secret and very specific way that imbues them with a clear visual quality. They are set just under the skin, and glow through the flesh and fur. This makes it impossible for a chupakri with the base mark to try to give themselves a higher-grade mark with tattooing, scarring and similar crude forms of modification, and even if they were to use some kind of magic, the newly added pieces would very likely never match up completely. Even if it did, the savvy eye of one accustomed to handling chupakri could quickly tell that it had been tampered with.


•Marks appear to have a connection to a chupakri's identity and stability. Chupakri whose marks are removed, or severely damaged, suffer mental and physical malfunctions until a new one is placed.


•Marks serve as a seat of control for the Collective and even non-Collective Masters, through something known as 'interfacing.'


As the vector of life in these fundamentally artificial and unnatural creatures, a chupakri's blood is incredibly volatile, and is very conducive as a vehicle for metaphysical energies (like most forms of magic.) Especially once it is suitably refined into one of several potent drugs, it has the potential to be highly addicting, particularly to spellcasters who find that it quickens their power. Any consumer will experience rushes and hallucinations from the amount of raw magic a chupakri's body naturally collects and retains from their environment, reaching saturation often as early as childhood, and only seldom losing potency.

In addition to this base property, some chupakri may also have other effects native to their blood.
DOCUMENTED BLOOD DRUGS • SORCERER'S BLISS

A volatile substance that accelerates spellcasting, reduces the toll taken on mana reserves, and makes the mind feel as if it has free access to all of the secrets of the universe. Users have been documented summoning horrors with ease, completing multi-person rituals alone, and leaping off of cliffs with full certainty that their will alone is capable of defying gravity.

Highly addictive.

• MUTAGEN

Mutagen temporarily transforms the imbiber. Potential transformations include growing new limbs, altering features, generating deformations and spontaneous growth of strange tissue. Refined forms of Mutagen exist which are tenuously guaranteed to provide one particular transformation.

These transformations end between three hours and three days.

Mildly addictive. Too much use of Mutagen can result in temporary or permanent genetic instability.

• SQUICK

We don't like to talk about what Squick does.

The genetic material of a chupakri is a mutable and unstable thing, forming the core of the species' physically divergent identity and the shifting bedrock upon which their function and special abilities are built. A fertile chupakri may be bred with anything, and if the originating chupakri is stable enough, the result will be another chupakri with genetic combinations that would normally never be found in nature.

No one is entirely sure how chupakri genetics work, or what keeps them together. There seems to be a stable genome somewhere inside, that, when it manifests, presents with an individual that consistently matches certain qualities--the Elite class. This stable genome is the chupakri species; but like a virus, it seems it cannot exist independently, and usually requires genetic material from another, static species for the chupakri to remain stable enough to develop at all. Chupakri stability is usually measured by how many disparate types of genetic material show in the individual chupakri--it has nothing to do with mutations, which may occur in any member of the species.

Underneath that base chupakri genome is an incredible diversity of genetics from thousands of species, many of which can’t even breed at all. The more unstable a chupakri is, the more of these diverse genes show and the less the stable ones do. For this reason, no matter who the donor is for additional genetic material, a chupakri's genetic blend is almost completely unpredictable. One could theoretically achieve hundreds of completely different chupakri using the same pair of compatible parents!

In addition to this, a chupakri’s genetic configuration is not necessarily permanent. There are things that may be done early on in life to modify or diversify them, and later in life it is possible that they will destabilize again, gaining new genetic characteristics not previously found in the specimen. The Hybrid and Stunted castes are most likely to destabilize.

A destabilized chupakri will never become more stable, or lose characteristics gained from destabilization; only gain them and grow more genetically diverse. It is for this reason (among others) that the Elite and Berserker castes, the two most stable types of chupakri, are prized.
Mutation All chupakri, when born, look like the Elite caste; but usually by the time they reach six or seven years of age, they will manifest most of the characteristics that will grow with them into adulthood. However, they will also continue to maintain the mutable nature of their genetics until they reach the age of ~12 years old. This means that a young chupakri, after being examined and documented, may be subject to post-birth splicing and hybridization in order to further push the specimen in a desired direction, especially if it shows no promise of remaining stable enough to grow up successfully into an Elite. A chupakri intended for dextrous work, for example, might be modified to replace poorly developed eyes with better ones, or clumsy claws with sleeker nails. A chupakri modified this way can only sustain a few changes before the success rate diminishes significantly.

Botched modifications often destabilize the chupakri's genes, turning them automatically into a Stunted and manifesting additional traits associated with the caste, regardless of the chupakri's original projected caste.

There are rumors that Stunted specimens exhibiting genetics from more than 5 divergent species--whether it is natural or due to modification--must be habitually culled to prevent some sort of catastrophe brought on by a violent destabilization. If this is true, the exact circumstances that cause this, and the level of danger posed by such a monstrosity, are well-guarded Collective secrets. Genetic Failure Chupakri that fail to stabilize in utero do not become chupakri, but rather mutate into fleshy masses that the Collective call Elder’s Seeds. These fleshy masses detonate at unpredictable times if they are allowed to come to term--or even before then, swelling and then deflating nonviolently but causing a sudden expulsion of invisible, unmeasurable mutative energies that ravage the genetic makeup of nearby creatures. For the sake of avoiding this, the Berserker class is often trained and employed to find and kill Elder’s Seeds.

Any coupling that involves Berserker or Hybrid chupakri, or a pair of Elite chupakri, will always result in an Elder’s Seed, although these will be nonvolatile in cases where the chupakri is not the female.

▴ General Use
All of the castes have multiple societal uses, and together form a unit that is capable of sustaining the artificial chupakri race. Elites breed more of them; Berserkers keep order among the ranks; Hybrids exploit the potential of the unique powers and genetic variations of the race; Stunteds are farmed to keep the others alive and engineer more interesting variants.

All chupakri understand that the primary function of their whole race is to serve their betters. Some manifest this with very good behavior, some do so with immediate and inherent trusting, or acceptance of abuse. But like dogs, while they may be inclined to love and trust a Master, a chupakri that is abused too much or in the wrong way may go rogue and become angry, vicious or insubordinate. In the Collective's perfect world, such chupakri wouldn't exist, but not all Masters are perfect--in which case a Berserker may be employed to kill the broken chupakri.

▴ Research & Development
Due to their unique genetic qualities and potent blood, chupakri make for malleable, useful and obedient subjects for researchers interested in studying a breadth of fields from medicine to mind manipulation to fleshcrafting. Berserkers possess great stamina, making them suitable for weathering long, difficult or painful procedures; Hybrids take to additions and implants very well, and Stunted are magnificent sources of flesh and reagents that may be specially cultivated to regrow certain tissues for repeated harvest.

▴ Military & Combat
Berserkers are usually in roles that require great fortification, brute force or strength, while Hybrids, with their oft-designed biologies, will commonly cover disparate and specialized roles such as spying, artillery or medical service. Some Stunted may be designed for service on the battlefield as walking blood/organ donors, or expendable shock troops with defensive/aggressive qualities from the wide range of DNA that can manifest in the caste.

▴ Service & Slavery
All chupakri are capable of service because of how they are conditioned and trained. Berserkers are ideal bodyguards, manual laborers, or skilled craftsmen in fields requiring physical strength, such as blacksmithing; Hybrids are excellent companions that can be specialized in any way imaginable. Elites are perfect arm candy, malleable enough to be trained into being (pampered) personal care, companion or pleasure slaves. Stunteds might be selected for being exotic or interesting, but their hosts of potential psychological and physical issues make them more likely to be bought as cheap labor or expendable meat.