BARD PAPER: CARI9008

Bwaps

TNE Conversion by Peter Gray

Physical Appearance

Bwap are 1.3 to 1.5 meter tall bipeds of lizard or salamander appearance. They possess rubbery, mottled skin that glistens with moisture. They have a blunt snout, and two large, black ovoid eyes. The arms and legs are chubby in appearance, and they have four digits on foot and hand, the latter possessing three three-jointed fingers and an opposable thumb. Finally a long thick tail sticks out to the rear.

Because Bwap must keep their skin moist, in conditions of less than 80% humidity, a special kaftan and hood are worn at all times over the head and torso. These are plumbed with capillaries that pass water over the skin. It is also the source of the antebellum period "towelhead" nickname. Bwap blood is copper based, and in areas where skin pigmentation recedes a bluish hue can be seen to the skin. Mottling and shading of the skin differs between Bwap creches, and these are often used by the Bwap to further distinguish themselves.

Bwap Homeworlds

Bwap were most commonly found in the coreward and trailing areas of the Antebellum Imperium. Since the Collapse their numbers have been much reduced, but they continue to thrive on worlds where conditions are amenable to their survival. Bwap are comfortable on worlds of size 4-7, atmosphere 6-9, a hydrography of 7-9, and an antebellum population of 6-8. Worlds with these attributes and an antebellum government code of 6+ will have a surviving Bwap Creche present on a 2d6 roll of 8+, and a DM of +1 if the world was located in Vland, Lishun, Empty Quarter, Dagudashaag, Fornast or Ley sectors. In the Regency all worlds of code Industrial or High Population will automatically have a creche, in addition to the requirements above.

A Creche varies largely in size, but on average will not exceed more than 10% of the local population. On most worlds in the Wilds a creche will only number a few hundred to a few thousand individuals in an aliens quarter in the main city or settlement. In surviving Pocket Empires or the Regency, creches of up to fifty million individuals are possible on high population worlds. Each creche is a self contained community with its own internal laws and customs, security and public services, and education and health care facilities. A creche of more than ten thousand Bwap will possess a smaller version of the giant Bwap Administrative Academies that once loomed over the training of Imperial Bureaucrats. Bwap creches often have their own starships, lovingly maintained, and in many cases are likely to possess covertly materials and technology that are 1d6-2 points higher than the local TL. All Creches, regardless of where they are, report at the local and interstellar levels to a Council of Order, the Wewaka-Atapas.

Bwap Attributes

Str	2d6-5 (less than 2=2)
End	2d6-5 (less than 2=2)
Agl	2d6-1
Int	2d6-1
Edu	2d6-1
Chr	2d6-1
Psi	2d6
Soc	Normal

Bwap roll for initiative normally.

Bwaps begin aging at 31, rather than 35.

Psionics are rare, but present. They have a dm of -3 when rolling for psionic talents.

In antebellum times 9 out of 10 Bwap characters are likely to be male. In the Regency, this number falls to 2 out of 3, and in the Wilds it falls to parity.

Careers

Bwaps can not be Undercover Agents, Corsairs or Criminals and can not have the following skills: bribery, forgery, gambling and streetwise(*). They are also rarely in found in the following careers: Athlete, Barbarian, Entertainer, Martial Artist, Mercenary and Rebel(*). They have no hereditary nobility, though they did receive Imperial titles in the past. High Social standing meerly indicates a level of respect. Most Bwap characters are usually associated with the bureaucracy, corporate management, administrative positions in trading vessels or military units, research positions in academia or RISS, and jobs as investigators and inspectors in the police, customs and Quarantine Service.

An (*) indicates skills and careers open to Satha-a-attas-wapawab and Tap-a-wewaka-atapas characters only.

The Bwap Administrative Academies were established during the Rule of Man to provide a steady supply of trained Bwap bureaucrats and administrators. These facilities are rare and far between. In antebellum times only three worlds in the Third Imperium possessed such facilities: Capitol, Vland and Marhaban itself. Since the Collapse the Regency of Deneb has established four new smaller facilities on Mora, Lunion, Tobia and Vincennes. Admittance to these facilities is limited to Bwap, though Human, Dolphin and Aslan are permitted to attend special exchange programs.

Bwap Academies offer a four year program that culminates in the equivalent to an undergraduate degree. Bwap graduates automatically recieve Admin/Legal 2, and can recieve skills, equal to their educational level, in Economics, Fine Arts, Interaction, Perception and Social Science.

Graduates usually enter Bureaucrat, Computer Programmer, Diplomat, Manager and Trader careers; or can opt for admittance to Law or Graduate School.

Bwap Specific Careers

Satha-a-atta-wapawab (Elder of the Creche)

Elders of the Creche are a combination of teacher, theologian, diplomat and shaman. They are chiefly responsible for the indoctrination and cultivation of young Bwap in the races Wepawab (tree of life) philosophy, and are often called upon to provide mediation and information gathering services for creches located far from the homeworld. Since the Collapse, Elders have become even more important; in conjunction with Guardians they anchor lines of communication across the Wilds between isolated Bwap communities. Elders only recieve one term of training, and then must enlist in another career for subsequent terms. But they are subject to lifetime recall by their people, and can substitute the special duty listed below for one in their normal career. Other careers popular with Bwap Elders include Academia, Diplomacy and Journalism. In the Regency RISS and RQS are also popular.

Prerequisite: Bwap, Homeworld pre-industrial+
First Term: Theology (Wepawab) 4, Instruction 3, Interaction 2, Perception 2.
Subsequent Terms: Must enlist in another career upon completion of first term.
Special Duty: Roll 7+ for Explore, Language, Spacehand, Theology (Wepawab) and Vice.
Promotion: As per normal career.
Contacts: As per normal career, plus any two Bwap contacts for every special duty recieved.
Other Effects: Recieve two secondary activities per term.

Tap-a-wewakas-atapas (Guardian of Order)

A Guardian of Order is a combination of bureaucrat, police officer and inquisitor. They are charged with ensuring that creches remain faithful to the Wepawab, and are not violating their integrity through corruption or ethical backsliding. In antebellum times the Wepawab took more the form of bureaucratic conduct code that was informally recognised by the Third Imperium, and to a more limited extent by the Regency. In those days a Guardian was more akin to an official inspector who examined the books and operations of various creches and their members. If a creche was found to be in violation of the Wepawab, the Guardians meted out the appropriate punishment, including dissolution of the guilty creche. Since the Collapse, though, the Wepawab has been revived as an overriding philosophy, and the Guardians have become just that, maintainers of the safety and survival of those Creches that have survived into the New Era.

Prerequisite: Bwap, Homeworld pre-industrial+, Graduation from a Bwap Academy.
First Term: Acrobat 2, Determination 1, Gun Combat 2, Economics 1, Interaction 1, Melee 1, Space Vessel 1 (Regency Only)
Subsequent Terms Skills: Charm, Determination, Economics, Explore, Gun Combat, Perception, Space Vessel, Spacehand, Technician
Special Duty: Roll 6+ for Acrobat, Crime, Explore, Melee, Spacehand, Tactics or Vice.
Contacts: 2 per term. 1 must be a Bwap academic, government or military.
Other Effects: 2 Secondary Activities per term. 3 Ship DMs per term, with the roll on the warship table in the rulebook. Successful roll of a ship with the term "mod" in it causes the character to recieve a Bwap Teth-o-wewaka-atapas class Runabout. If the ship is recieved the character becomes an Elder Guardian responsible for a region of space, recieves a 2+ Soc benefit, and is subject to recal to local Wewakas for life.

Bwap in the New Era

Bwap characters are anal-retentive. They love order and harmony, and disdain unclean or disordered surroundings. And that is where they have so much potential in the New Era: if given half of the chance they are likely to slowly and quietly rebuild the former Imperium all by themselves. They do not put themselves into the limelight, preferring to reconstruct the shattered worlds of the Wilds from the shadows. In most places survival has been paramount for the local Creches, and compromises have to be made in the face of hostile local conditions. But where circumstances permit it, Bwap shine in the darkness. Most Bwap will be found in alliance with the more benign TEDs and an occasional friendly Vampire Fleet, quietly directing their efforts, and ordering and constructing their communities and forces. Many more may work on surviving Free Traders, laboring to help keep them running. Some may even work as pursers and quartermasters for the Mercantile Guild.

But no matter what their vocation, all Bwap are committed to the overriding command of their Wapawab philosophy, and are often more intent upon using the indifference and venality of their human employers to fill their own sails. Because of the resentment and fear of these tough times, Bwap are unlikely to collect or display wealth and power, preferring to invest it into community funds that tie local humans to their creches. Bwap traders and scouts scrounge the local space in search of vital technology, and keep on the lookout for corsairs and hostile Vampire Fleets. They act as negotiators and go-betweens in the wars between local TEDs, or with hostile Vampires. They keep commerce running, infrastructure repaired and maintained, and see to the needs of the sick and destitute. They faithfully serve human masters, never betraying judgementalism, but always upholding the welfare of their masters' people and homeland. A universe of darkness offends these gentle creatures, and they will rekindle the flame of justice by hook or by crook, if necessary.