“They...from....depths! Mud oceans do----They follow! They follow! We’re barely holding on! (muffled sounds of banging equipment, heavy activity)-ull retreat from the envirodomes! Main compound is fully in flames, can still see it from here! All surviving mobile units rallying-(crackle of heavy weaponry)-coming closer! (sounds of heavy activity, shouting over vocal membranes) -pov Es’trob attempting...his cruiser....-tract us! Show them no--- (sound of rising engines? Heavy naval weapons fire?) Coming in no---(screech of engines. Sudden concussion)-ssynthyth’s teeth! They’re flying?! Gods of darkness! Pull up! Pull up! (massive explosion) Port engin-(muffled thunder) -it’s ripped away the entire -IT’SCOMING DOWNGETOUTGETOUTGETOUT!!! (rolling explosions)”
----Portion of intercepted Splugorth datastream from the Thundercloud Core.
Clan Megalilith[]
aka ‘Gia-Striders
Information on this ‘tribe’ is scant, surprisingly, given the reported dimensions of its members. First , and primary, information comes from a number of intercepted communications from a Kydian fleet on a coreward incursion in the Thundercloud Galaxy and their efforts to colonize (settle with slaves and exploit) a heavy-gravity ‘superEarth’-type planet, when they were attacked by ‘giant Shemarrian warriors’. Additional reports are fragmentary, but depict the Splugorth force’s utter annihilation at the hands of their giant opponents. Several blurry images in the datastreams show hints of giant humanoids savaging a Splugorth ground force, as well as a close-up of an insignia showing what appears to be a Shemarrian warrior outlined on a giant claw or paw. Gauging from the Minions’ own hurried estimates and what few visual images show any sort of scale, the giant humanoids that attacked the Splugorth group(s) were in the range of some two hundred human feet tall (or between sixty and eighty meters tall).
The Shemarrians encountered by the Splugorth Core expedition have been dubbed ‘Clan Megalilith’ by the CCW. It is unknown exactly where the planet (or planets; the Splugorth message stream mentions several planets they were invested in when they were hit) the tribe claims are located.
Update[]
The initial run-thru of Fringe Tribes included Clan Megalith, but not a great amount of detail about them thanks largely to their enigmatic nature and isolated location in regions of the Thundercloud not yet thoroughly charted and traveled by the EShemar. However, thanks to the persistence of Wayfinder scholars in their efforts to compile a comprehensive picture of the Shemarrian sept, we now have more information:
It was widely believed, from early reports intercepted from Splugorth expeditions into the core regions of the Thundercloud Galaxy, that Clan Megalith Shemar could be expected to be oversized giants on a much larger scale than the existing Necriant and Joten Elites. While some individual Megalithians DO exceed the normal humanoid size range, the true giants in the tribe are their combination Warmounts/Caravansers. Clan Megalith Warmounts range in size from Behemoth Explorer-sized giants to huge mountain-scaled constructs able to carry small cities on their backs. Some of these monstrosities are even capable of space flight and FTL travel, allowing them to travel between worlds. The largest of these constructs are easily the equivalent of a Three Galaxies battleship in terms of firepower.
Statistics[]
| Clan Megalilith | ||
|---|---|---|
| Parent Tribe(s) | Possible Silvermoon | |
| Where First Encountered | Thundercloud Galaxy | |
| Tribe Size | Huge | |
| Tribe Organization | Meritocracy | |
Tribe Composition
| ||
| Female % | 21 | |
| Male % | 79
| |
| Highest Caste Class | Unknown | |
Tribe Facts
| ||
| Home Environment | Prefer Earth-like
Mechano-Arks | |
| Technology Level | Supertech | |
| Relations With Outsiders | Indifferent | |
| Relations With Other Shemarrians | Open | |
| Prefered Mode of Combat | Blitzkrieg | |
| Prosperity | Successful | |
SCRI Code: (Cmeg)
Motif[]
A dark silhouette of a female Shemarrian warrior superimposed on a giant hand/gauntlet.
Origins[]
Wannabes. The background story of the Megalithians is still emerging, but they appear to be an early colonial group of humans who somehow have fixated on the Shemarrians as a model for their society. Some of their revealed cultural texts suggest that their ancestors may have been a group of ex-Splugorth slaves who were liberated by a small group of Shemarrians and led to safety through a random rift that carried them through space AND time, in similar fashion as the founders of the Shemarrian Star Nation, and to a new homeworld where they uncovered some of the alien technology that started them as Megalithians. The original Shemarrians who liberated them apparently expired centuries ago, but their influence remained, impressed on the psyche of the people they rescued and the civilization they helped to create.
Where First Encountered[]
Three Galaxies, Thundercloud Galaxy. The Splugorth first encountered Clan Megalith deep in the Crèche Clouds coreward of the Desslyth territories. Later, Wayfinder explorers skirting the Annach Gulf made contact with Clan Megalith.
Tribe Size[]
Unknown; based on the Kydian report anywhere from 50-200 ‘giants’ were identified.
After recent research and findings: Huge; 7 million members. Sub-communities may have from 250-10,000 residents living in the same mechano-ark.
Tribe Organization[]
Meritocracy. The tribe is led by its highest achievers, but with a tendency towards matriarchal favoritism. Women, more often than not, tend to dominate administrative positions (65%) and spiritual leadership (80%).
Composition[]
The Kydian reports seem to depict a tribe of fairly standard Shemarrian composition, judging from the ratio of ‘female’ and ‘male’ giants encountered. It is unknown if Clan Megalilith has corresponding castes and which, if any, castes are represented.
Not applicable; Megalithians do not have castes as such.
Highest Caste Class[]
Not applicable; Megalithians do not have a structured caste system.
Gender Division[]
21% Female, 79% Male, but Megalithian society holds women to be sacred, and women hold a (admittedly slight) majority of the high administrative positions and a higher percentage of the high religious posts, in Megalithian society.
Home Environment[]
Prefer Earth-like worlds, but their massive mechano-arks allow them to live just about anywhere. By their own accounts, their original homeworld was less than hospitable, and REQUIRED their giant mechano-arks to move about its surface, but even after finding more welcoming worlds, the Megalithians continue to use their giant mobile home-fortresses. Unverified reports claim that the Megalithians have at least two human colonies/communities under their protection in the contested region of the Crèche Clouds.
Technology Level[]
Supertech. The tribe possesses an aptitude for a particular field of technology that pushes it into the range of Elder Races, like the Dominators. In this case, it’s constructing massive mobile robot structures that defy conventional material sciences and motive engineering. These technological giants tend to be each different from one another, no two alike, although they may share many traits and features in common.
Clan Megalith possesses advanced bionic augmentation/replacement and robotics technology. The Megalithians do not possess many of the arms and equipment standard to Shemarrian Tribes, although Wayfinder Pathfinders do report seeing a handful of smaller robotic vehicles that may have been based on the Monstrex and Monstr-Crane. They have evinced an interest in both new Warmount designs and Progen technology.
Relations with Outsiders[]
Indifferent. The Megalithians just haven’t had much contact with outsiders in their territories in the Crèche Clouds, and they tend to deal with new contacts on a case-by-case basis. From what scant reports have emerged, they’ve had tense, but brief, encounters with the TGE and Justicene Exiles, and a smattering of contacts with independent scouts and explorers. They have reacted most violently to the intrusion of the Splugorth towards the galactic core.
Relations with Other ‘Shemarrians’[]
Open. Contacts with outsider Shemar have been few, given their rather isolated location, but the Megalithians have displayed no objection to meeting with their cousins, though their attendance of the Low Council is intermittent at best. The Wayfinders first encountered them in the flesh, and introduced them to the Shemarrian Star Nation, and the recent information on their history has brought them to the Silvermoons’ particular interest. Some Silvermoons are both intrigued and frightened about what would happen if the Megalithians ever met Clan Scelptor and began trading with each other. Or the Chromites for that matter.
Purpose[]
Crusade; the Megalithians have turned from simply surviving to ridding their sector of space of the Splugorth. Given the most common account of their past as descendants of escaped slaves of the Splugorth, their animosity towards the Splugorth is understandable. Such a past would also explain why they idolize the Shemarrian model for their society, seeing them as an example of another ex-slave species (or at least one severely persecuted by the Splugorth) rising and turning on their tormentors.
Preferred Mode of Combat[]
Blitzkrieg; most notably hordes of fast airborne attackers supported by the massive artillery supplied by their oversized warmounts and mechano-arks.
Unique Attributes[]
Massive Warmounts/Cyborgs[]
The most prominent aspect of Clan Megalith is their massive mobile arcologies and giant warmounts. Each one observed so far has been different from each other, but all are massively armored and armed, and VERY imposing. Some resemble giant humanoids, others monstrous animals, and still others look like walking castles or city skylines. The administration/crews of these giant constructs apparently cyberlink themselves to supervise and monitor various operations, often with a somatic feedback component that allows the crew to ‘feel’ problems and address them accordingly.
Prosperity[]
Successful. The tribe is very well off, with replacement weaponry and equipment on demand, enough to supply every member in the tribe, and enough surplus capacity to spare for larger projects and trade.
Origin Tribe[]
There is some suggestion that the Shemarrians of legend that helped liberate the ancestors of the modern Megalithians were Silvermoons, making Clan Megalith arguably an offshoot of the Silvermoon Tribe.
Cyberization[]
Thorough. About 50% of the tribe are full conversion cyborgs, another 25% are partial cyborgs, and the remaining 25% possess 2d4 cybernetic implants. Cybernetic antennae and tendrils are a common feature of Megalithian bionics and seem another shout-out to their ancestral Shemarrian benefactors. Clan Megalithians often loan their minds through cyberlinkage to help run the massive mobile robotic constructs they call their homes.
Society[]
Again, scant information hints at a standard Shemarrian arrangement, with females predominant.
Enclaves[]
Basilca[]
Considered the home world of Clan Megalilith.
Kuragow[]
A Splugorth liberated slave world.
Notable Technology[]
Obviously Clan Megalilith’s giant bodies and the means to construct them. Whether they constructed them themselves or with the aide of found xenotechnology is unknown. What can be gleaned from the Splugorth datastream suggests massive armor and flight capabilities akin to the CCW’s Battleram robot, mounting capital starship-class weaponry.