 KRYPTONIANS
Kryptonians are a near-human species that is rare and scattered across the galaxy. They come from a world once called Krypton that was destroyed long ago by natural cataclysmic disaster. The shattered planet left a debris field orbiting their native red sun of Rao in the Rao star system. Since then many generations of Kryptonian survivors have come and gone, many of which have taken wives and husbands of human or other near-human stock, weakening or losing their specie's natural abilities as generations pass. The few Kryptonians who start families among their own kind pass on their genetic heritage, potentially allowing them access to great powers when exposed to the light of a yellow star.
Kryptonians often settle down on worlds that do not orbit a yellow star (as stars come in all colors and sizes, just as the worlds that orbit them) and never come to realize their powerful heritage and legacy, and most Kryptonians that fled Krypton when it was destroyed never knew of these powers due to Kryptons long-standing isolationist culture at the time. as a result, very few Kryptonians ever realize these powers, and many who do keep them secret, not knowing what to make of them, and a rare number take advantage of these powers without ever telling anyone what they are really capable of (and often they themselves do not know what they are "fully" capable of).
Powers aside, Kryptonians tend to move towards three general interests: intellectual and technical studies and applications due to Kryptonian society having a long-lived culture devoted to developing science and discovering new knowledge; spacer activities of all kinds, seeming to come from repressed freedom from when their people lived on Krypton were often not allowed to leave when they desired to; and simple lives where they settle down and keep to themselves, such as becoming farmers in remote locations (moisture farmers on desert worlds actually appeal to these kind of Kryptonians). Whatever role they find themselves in, most Kryptonians these days are the result of a Kryptonian and human or other near-human having children and reducing or losing their powers along the way (though Attribute min/max can be the same as Kryptonians if desired).
For those Kryptonians who still have powers, most of these will keep their powers secret for fear of how people might react to them. Regular citizens could view them as something to fear, hunting them as monsters or some other type of evil entity. Some might view their powers in relation to ancient myths and legends like the Sith or Rakata and treat them as agents of true evil. The Galactic Empire would definitely like to capture them as experiments and attempt to replicate their near-human genetically based powers in other humans for Imperial use, as would any other organization, government, corporate entity, etc, with a dark, evil bent. Such treatment is actually the main reason why Kryptonians prefer to be reclusive or stay on the move across the galaxy, as many such groups in the past have attempted this. This could also be one of the key reasons why they never successfully reestablished their culture and society.
On the rarest of occassions, a Kryptonian with powers may take their abilities and fight for a strong cause, though whether this cause is just and honorable or dark and evil depends on the person and their drives and motivations. Heroes can be rare sometimes, and a Kryptonian hero could be the rarest of them all.
On a cultural note, Kryptonians tend to adopt whatever fashion style suits the area of the galaxy they find themselevs in. In the rare cases where a Kryptonian family or larger grouping are trying to keep Krypton culture alive, they wear clothing more in line with Krypton culture before that world ended. These often range from partial or full body glove suits, sometimes wearing a cape, but almost always displaying the family crest of the family or clan the Kryptonian comes from. These one-piece suits can come in one color, but sometimes have an extra color or two for detail, with boots, gloves, capes and other periphenelia to match. Those who wear partial body glove suits tend to be women, as they know just as well as anyone that attractiveness can aid in bargaining and negotiations and seek to use this to their advantage by wearing a form-fitting and revealing piece of clothing that leaves very little to the imagination. The family crest is usually displayed across the chest, but can be displayed elsewhere such as the shoulders, belt buckle, cape, etc. Jewelry and other accessories also come with this style of clothing to accentuate detail and display fashion, wealth, station in life, or all the above.
For more reserved Kryptonians, the full body glove may still be worn, but they may add robes or other large and free flowing materials and pieces of clothing that hide more of the figure. These robes and similar garments often display colors and symbols that mark the Kryptonian's place in a Kryptonian society, such as religious or science (if they maintain not only the clothing fashion of Krypton, but also the sense of cultural identity and social placement), but may reflect less the social norms of Krypton, and more the place of the individual in whatever culture they find themselves living and working in. Such social displays could even represent the job they happen to be working, such as a lab technician or theoretical physicist. This type of clothing isn't always about the mindset, but remembrance of where these people come from, honoring their past, and showing modesty in the present of that is how they are raised. These kind of outfits also often come with form-fitting covering or cowls for the head, and perhaps even a crest of some kind that displays symbology.
Truth be told, considering the wide range of species, cultures and fashions across the galaxy, such style of dress would seem quite normal and common, and perhaps even a bit tame on some worlds. As Kryptonian cultural observance to fashion is quite rare in the galaxy, many Kryptonians may forego such clothing in exchange for something more utilitarian and functional, like simple shirt, pants and boots, perhaps with a utility belt for carrying tools and weapons. However, even these Kryptonians who are distant from their culture of origin may still bear the symbol of their family crest on their shirt or other clothing, as this cultural trait is deeply ingrained in them from the earliest ages when they start learning. In many ways, this is often the only way to tell a Kryptonian apart from other humans if going by visual cues.
Attribute Dice: 12/18
DEXTERITY 1D+1/3D+2
KNOWLEDGE 2D/4D+2
MECHANICAL 2D/4D+2
PERCEPTION 1D/3D+1
STRENGTH 2D+1/4D+2
TECHNICAL 2D+2/5D
Move: 10/12
Size: Human norms
SPECIAL SKILLS:
Depending on if the character has powers, or what powers they choose to have and advance, they may require skills to use their powers effectively.
-Flying: Dexterity skill, used for the Flight power to perform maneuvers (see below).
-Heat Vision: Perception skill, used to attack with Heat Vison power (see below).
-Super Breath: Dexterity skill, used to attack or aim Super Breath power (see below).
SPECIAL ABILITIES:
Powers: Under specific environmental conditions Kryptonians gain access to a wide range of "powers". These powers derive from their physiology and its reaction to exposure to solar radiation from yellow stars. These stars must be Earth-like in nature, which also means, depending on your Gamemaster, that some yellow stars may actually not charge Kryptonian powers, due to being much karger than Earth-like suns or having different energy and radiation frequencies, or any number of other factors. GMs can simply say yellow stars do the job, but not every star in Star Wars is yellow. When exposed to this solar radiation Kryptonians gain +1 pip per round in these powers until fully charged. When not exposed to solar radiation, such as when leaving a star system aboard a ship, these powers fade at -1 pip per hour until gone. These powers are based on dice purchased like Force Skills at and after character creation, and are advanced like Advanced Skills or Force Skills without a teacher (the number before the "D" x2 per +1 pip). Each power has it's own dice code, like several alternate rules for using the Force in Star Wars D6. This means players must be selective in what powers they focus on improving and be careful not to neglect the other traits of their character, like skills (much like a Jedi or other Force user must do). This is the key balancing factor as to why Kryptonians as a species in Star Wars do not get overpowered, as they take time to enhance their powers, and if they travel they never know for sure if they'll have access to a yellow star's solar radiation. Kryptonian powers are derived from their biology and anatomy, and due to this many devices could be created to reduce or nullify their powers, such as gene-locking, a red solar radiation emitter of some kind, various forms of mind control, and many other methods. Kryptonians may have the potential to become very powerful, but they are quite far from invincible.
-Flight: At 1D a Kryptonian can fly equal to their Move speed. For every die they advance to afterwards, they ,ultiply their movement speed times their Flight dice. They can also roll their FLight dice against the Difficulty chart to fly faster. Starting at Difficult for x2, Very Difficult for x3, and Heroic for x4. Doing so for prolonged periods requires a Stamina check, which is done the same as a character moving fast on the ground. When making maneuvers during flight, this requires the Flying skill that other races would have if they had wings or some other species-specific method of flight.
-Heat Vision: When used, the Kryptonian's eyes, while still able to take in the light spectrum to see, can now emit heat built up within their body, which can be used as a ranged weapon when it is strong enough. Damage is equal to the Heat Vision dice. Heat Vision must now be a skill under Perception to aim, fire, and hit a desired target (not Dexterity, as this is less about hand-eye coordination and more about visual perception). Range is decided by the character's own visual range, which is that of the human norm. It should be noted that a Kryptonian that advances Telescopic Vision would also increase the range of their Heat Vision, though the GM can decide to limit the Heat Vison's maximum effective range. Heat Vision can deal full damage dice against a single target, but can also widen the heat beam to affect targets in a 5 meter area at -1D. This change in area effect can widen to encompass as many adjacent 5 meter areas as exists in front of the character and visible to their vision, at -1D per extra 5 meter area. this also reduces the Heat Visions range, 1/2 for a single 5 meter area, 1/4 for 2, and 1/8 for any more after this.
-Invulnerability: At 1D and for every dice after this, apply these dice to Strength when resisting damage. This is only for resisting damage and does not enhance any other factor of Strength, as it is a measure of increased physical durability from the strengthening of the Kryptonian's skin and other bodily tissues.
-Super Breath: At 1D the Kryptonian character's time limit for using Stamina to hold their breath increases from rounds to minutes (x10 rounds) and from minutes to hours. This is due to the Kryptonian's enhanced lungs now being able to take in massive amounts of air and compress it in their lungs, while their bodies also need less oxygen when charged with solar energies than when not, as their body is pulling its nutrition and energy from the stored and converted solar energies it has absorbed. If a human could hold their breath for a full minute, then a Kryptonian can hold their breath for a full hour. For every dice past 1D, this time limit is multiplied times the dice code. This compressed breath can also be exhaled in a single ranged burst that can deliver hurricane strength force to move objects, stun enemies while blowing them away (all equal to the character's enhanced Strength), and can affect one target at full force, or cover an area of 5 meters at -1D, and -1D for every extra 5 meter area added to this in a spread. Often the compressed air also leaves frost on things hit by it, as compressed air tends to be forced closer to a liquid form, which also makes it colder, which means this "super breath" could also be used to put out fires or in other situations where cold would be needed.
-Super Hearing: At 1D, the Kryptonian's hearing range is increased x10, and they can also hear sounds other species normally cannot hear, such as faint heartbeats or audio frequencies beyond the human norm. They may even be able to "hear" electromagnetic wavelengths involved with communications (where Electromagnetic Vision allows one to "see" these same waves). At 2D and every dice thereafter, this range is multiplied times the dice in the power. While they can hear at greater ranges, this also means they can hear everything within that range, which can be confusing and overwhelming to anyone not used to hearing an abundance of noises all at once. If they are not used to this, the Kryptonian may be overwhelmed by the cacophany of sound. Stamina VS Easy to resist or be Stunned until recovered, must roll per round until the sound is negated or a successful roll is made. This is for "short" ranges, but this Difficulty will increase as their hearing range increases, due to more sound being taken in. More extreme levels of sound could require a hogher Difficulty roll of Stamina, and could lead to a Wound result instead of Stun. To sift through these sounds and locate a specific sound, they can use Perception against the Difficulty chart to lock onto specific sounds within these ranges starting at Difficult and raising from their depending on the sound, the distance, how strong or faint it is, etc. Some Kryptonians never really adjust to their enhanced hearing and instead opt to wear muffles over their ears that negate most sounds within selected ranges to allow for normal hearing.
-Super Speed (Actions): At 1D these dice can be added to the Initiative roll in combat. At 2D the character can perform more than one action per round without dice penalty to the actions, with the number of these actions equal to the dice code for the power. This power is separate from Super Speed (Movement) due to how powerful they already are individually.
-Super Speed (Movement): This power works the same as the Flight power, except that the multiplier of the character's Move speed is times the dice code +1. For example, where Flight grants x2 at 2D, this power grants x2 at 1D, x3 at 2D, etc. Otherwise, it works the same, and requires the Running and Stamina skills just like normal running would. However, one difference is that the dice of this power cannot be rolled to enhance the character's Move speed like Flight. GMs may wave this if they desire (but truth be told, I would save that ability for when making something like The Flash).
-Super Strength: At 1D and every dice thereafter, these dice are simply added to the Strength Attribute to enhance every aspect of Strength except resisting damage (see Invulnerability above for that). One key difference is that Stun effects from blasters and other weapons are resisted by Strength and not Invulnerability, due to how Invulnerability is for direct physical damage, while stun weapons are not exactly "direct damage" weapons. Also of note, where normal Strength advancement is costly and time consuming (the number before the "D" x10 for +1 pip, requires a check before advancement), this may seem like a much easier and cheaper method for enhancing Strength. However it should be noted that this form of Strength is often temporary and can easily be lost under many conditions, where the normal rules for advancing the Strength Attribute are mostly permanent once achieved.
--Alternate Rule (Golden Age): If the form of Super Strength seems too powerful to players or GMs, an alternate rule that tones down Super Strength is presented here. Instead of the power's dice directly being added to the character's Strength Attribute, these dice would roll against the Difficulty chart to decide how much bonus dice are added to Strength. Easy +1D, Moderate +2D, Difficult +3D, Very Difficult +4D, and Heroic +5D. The bonus can stop there, or the GM can decide more bonus dice can be gained by rolling even higher on the Difficulty chart. Either way, this grants "Golden Age" Strength to the character.
--Alternate Rule (Silver Age): Another option if GMs and players think the Super Strength rules above are weak and want more. Use the rules as listed in Alternate Rules (Golden Age), but instead of rolling for bonus dice, you instead roll for scale increase to the character's Strength. Moderate for Speeder scale (+2D), Difficult for Walker scale (+4D), Very Difficult for Starfighter scale (+6D), and Heroic for Capital scale (+12D). If rolling Moderate for Speeder scale seems too hard for when the character starts out with only 1D in Super Strength, these Difficulties could be lowered one level where Easy (6-10) allows Speeder scale Strength. While this is hard to access early on at character creation, it allows for much greater Strength and raw power as the character advances, making them truly "super". Players and GMs wanting a truly Silver Age experience could allow Death Star scale (+24D) to be accessible at Heroic or beyond Heroic Difficulty, though caution is strongly advised for this as the amount of power already allowed in these Special Ability Powers is already potentially unbalancing.
-Vision, Electromagnetic: At 1D the character can now see in the electromagnetic spectrum and can perceive many kinds of energy, from infrared, ultraviolet, radio waves, other varied forms of communication, and various forms of radiation. With this vision ability, a character might be able to look up in the sky and see a radiation burst whenever a ship enters or exits Hyperspace. At 2D and higher, the character's range of vision increases times the dice number. Seeing various electromagnetic wavelengths can be overwhelming to the character, and follows the same rules as Super Hearing above when it comes to confusion, Stuns, sifting through the cacophony of visual input and stimulus to locate a specific wavelength or energy type, and trying to tune out the overwhelming visual input. Like Super Hearing, some Kryptonians never get used to this form of enhance vision, and opt for goggles or some other eyewear that tunes out all but the normal visual wavelengths. A Kryptonian with both Electromagnetic Vision and Super Hearing may actually wear a full helmet designed to reduce or nullify overabundant visual and auditory input and stimulation.
-Vision, Microscopic: At 1D, the character can focus their vision to see smaller objects than normal human level vision usually allows. The character can take their dice in this power and add it to Perception or Search rolls for looking for things in a given area or to spot objects, clues, etc, that other characters might miss. Furthermore, the character can roll their dice against Difficulties chosen by the GM to see small things normal human vision would usually not be able to see, with Microscopic views being possible at Difficult difficulty, with higher difficulties needed for seeing Microscopic views of objects and things at further distances. having Telescopic Vison can also greatly increase the character's range to view things with Microscopic Vision.
-Vision, Telescopic: At 1D the character's vision range is increased x10. At 2D and every dice code afterwards, this visual range is multiplied times the number of dice in the power. having Microscopic Vision with this power allows the character to see microscopic views at these greatly extended ranges.
-Vision, X-Ray: At 1D the character begins to visually perceive through certain materials and substances to view what lies beyond. They can roll against the Difficulty chart to see through thicker materials. Very Easy for peper and thin cloth, Easy for thicker cloth fabrics and light plastics, Moderate for light, thin metals and soft material walls (aluminum cans, light armor, some light speeder scale vehicles), Difficult for somewhat thicker metals and thick stone walls (heavier armors, powered armors, speeder scale vehicles in general), Very Difficult for very heavy metals used for Walker scale vehicles and reinfirced bunkers, Heroic for starfighter and space transport hulls and similar metals and materials. Capital (Heroic +5) and Death Star (Heroic +10) scale materials and thickness are possible too. X-Ray Vision is possible due to occular functions similar to Heat Vision, as the eyes, instead of projecting heat energy, project x-rays and other forms of radiation to penetrate various metarials, reflect off the objects they contact, and are bounced back to the eyes to be perceived just like visual light.
STORY FACTORS:
Caste System: If a Kryptonian character is made to have closer ties to Krypton's culture, they may have Attributes that more reflect the caste they are descended from. Science caste will focus on Knowledge and technical with some Mechanical. Religious caste will focus on Perception and Knowledge. Military caste will focus on Strength and Dexterity for combat, though military leaders will also have a measure of Knowledge, perhaps even Perception, but skills based solely on combat, tactics, strategy and war. And the Worker caste will focus more on Mechanical for operating equipment and machinery, Strength for physical labor, and Technical for assembly and repairs.
Force Users: In short, how powerful would a character be if they had Kryptonian powers AND access to the Force? Would they be a Jedi and fight for peace ad balance? Or would they be a Sith, combining their powers and abilities to become a great threat the likes of which the galaxy has never sen before?
Lost Kryptonian Technology: As Krypton was destroyed and their home star system of Rao was effectively contaminated with "Kryptonite" (read History below), some Kryptonians of modern galactic times have heard legends of how their people once had technological wonders that the rest of the galaxy has yet to achieve. Seeking their fortune, these Kryptonians may seek to salvage pieces of this technology from the Rao star system, though this is dangerous to Kryptonian biology due to Kryptonite. Others of non-Kryptonian heritage may want the same thing and seek the Rao system to salvage advanced tech and relics, though the strong saturation of kryptonite radiation will affect them too. Anyone who can find some remnant of Kryptonian records may find mention of Krypton's lost colonies from a long gone golden age of space exploration. Remnants of ancient advanced Kryptonian technology and relics could still exist on these colony worlds of they can be found.
Refugees: Since losing their homeworld, most Kryptonians never could bring themselves to rebuild their culture, and instead became refugees drifting throughout the galaxy. Many of them would settle down and create new lives, and even families, for themselves, but the Kryptonian culture was effectively lost for good. Many Kryptonians today don't even know their heritage, and many of the rare few who do decide to leave that heritage behind to build better lives. Being near-humans, Kryptonians sometimes find they can have children with humans. These children may have access to Kryptonian powers (at half power), but often these abilities are not present, or are greatly reduced, or only have certain powers appear and others never do, or any mix thereof. As Kryptonians have children with humans, the genetics that make their powers possible simply do not pass on to their children, or at least not as strongly. After a few generations breeding with other humans, Kryptonian powers eventually breed out, and the result from that point on is a normal human, though that human may have some genetic markers that would hint at their near-human ancestry if scrtinized by well-skilled medical experts.
Heralds of Rao: While Krypton is long gone, some facets of its culture may have survived. The Heralds of Rao are the survivors who represent the worst parts of Krypton. A mix of Science, Religious and Military caste to took advantage of the erupting chaos on Krypton to save themselves, they represent the racism, prejudice and xenophobia Krypton came to represent during its long isolated existence. Posessing some of the more powerful form of ancient Kryptonian technology, the Heralds of Rao seek to remake Krypton in all its glory, and are willing to subjugate or destroy anyone who gets in their way, even fellow Kryptonians.
HISTORY:
Kryptonians have their origins like many other humans and near-humans of the galaxy. They originated as humans from Coruscant, but long before the Coruscanti began reaching for the stars in their generation and sleepr ship colonies to begin spreading to the other Core Worlds. During these earlier millenia in galactic history, other races held power over all life throughout the stars. Races like the Rakata and their Infinite Empire, the Celestials and Architects, or the creators of the Infinity Gates on Dathomiir.
During this precolonization era, these ancient advanced races came to Coruscant and took humans by force, using them as slave labor, for experimentation, or some other less than noble purpose. The result was many groups of humans transplanted to distant worlds across the galaxy far and wide. These humans often eventually evolved along different evolutionary paths than the regular human, even taking a less-than-human appearance over time. A good example is the Chiss, near-humans with blue skin and blue or black hair due to elements and substances in the very oce of their native homeworld, and eyes that seem to glow red when exposed to oxygen. The Chiss, as an example, came much later in galactic history during Coruscant's earliest efforst at space colonization with sleep ships. By comparison, the Kryptonians began their evolutionary divergeance many, many millenia earlier, before such colonization would be possible by the Coruscanti people.
Kryptonians were transplanted by one of these ancient races, though which one is anyone's guess. This is because so much time has gone by, with so many shifts in their culture's history over many thousands of years, that the records of this origin have simply worn away and been lost and forgotten to time. What is know is that those who moved them from "The World Of Our Birth" saw fit to "Grant us audience before gret Rao himself", a metaphor to their red sun Rao and references Krypton's ancient religion of revering a sun god named Rao, which their sun and local star system are named for.
In Krypton's few remaining ancient hostorical records and in their most sacred holy texts, crossreferences can be made to powerful beings who moved them to the world of Krypton, but who were also fighting a "great war among the stars". There are mentions of "gifts" from the gods that the Kryptonians could never see, and how the gods were dissatisfied with this. The truth of what this meant would not come to light until ages later.
During the time between the fall of the ancient races that changed the shape of the galaxy and the forming of the Galactic Republic, Krypton was left to its own devices. The people of the world found many discarded pieces of technology left behind by the "gods", and this spurred them into a new age of technological advancement and scientific discovery. This led to a great space age as Krypton reached for the stars, expanded its presence, established many colonies and created new homes for their people.
But after thousands of years of this Kryptonian golden age, their culture began to shift its perspective on the galaxy. Every world they came to either had no life, extinct life that Kryptonians of the time knew muct have been due to the "gods" and their war, or had life that was simplistic and rarely ever barely past their stone age. Kryptonians had struggled to reach other worlds and share their positivity with others among the stars, only to find that most species simply weren't evolved and advanced enough to share such things with. This was very disheartening for most Kryptonians.
The Kryptonian Empire had a brief period of a few centuries where they attempted to uplift these other species to be closer to their level, but all attempts ended in disaster with these species' native homeworlds being scoured of life due to misuse of the advanced technologies Krypton offered to them. When this occurred, these events stigmatized the Kryptonians as a culture and society, and over the next few centuries they began to regress. This regression took place over many centuries and millenia, as the Kryptonians simply had no more desire to reach across the stars anymore, and future genrations still felt the guilt of having wiped out entire species and worlds by accident.
As Kryptonians shifted their collective societal and cultural mindset, entire colonies began to fail as people migrated deeper back into the empire. Kryptonian birth rates began to drop across the empire for varied reasons, both personal, cultural, and genetic issues that arose during this era of regression, which also led to difficulties in maintaining an interstellar population. Kryptonians in general felt that not expanding was safer, for them, and for the less advanced races they would undoubtedly encounter. And with the evnts of accidental genocide that they could never forget, they were justified in feeling this way.
Over many centuries this protective mindset through guilt eventually led to a completely different culture that ruled and directed their society. Kryptonians in general began to view themselves as superior to all non-Kryptonians, and yet again their experiences justified this and informed them they were not wrong. While this mindset never counted for all Kryptonians and some appeared from time to time who still dreamed of better days, this cultural stigma was reinforced when Krypton moved towards a caste system.
The science caste became the ruling government, with the Science Council being the highest tier ruling body and made decisions for the whole of the Kryptonian people. The council were the ones who pushed for Krypton to take a more intectual approach to decision making for their people, moving away from the desires of dreamers and adventurers, slowly stampung out imagination and creativity. After achieving such technological greatness before most other human cultures in the galaxy, Krypton's advancement after this time slowed considerably and rarely ever moved forward in any way that did not involve protecting or furthering krypton on a local in-system fashion.
The religious caste, devout followers of the sun god Rao. This caste's mindset over time matched the stagnated viewpoint and approach of the science caste, and together both castes aided in reinforcing the stigmatization of Kryptonian society. Sometimes a Kryptonian would learn from both the religious and science caste, but once the caste system was made law along with births and reproduction becoming less a natural process and more an institution under the science caste, such crossovers almost never happened.
The military caste defended the world against alien threats, which did happen at times during Krypton's isolation period. Often when invaders were apparent, the science religious castes would cede power to the military caste to handle the crisis with absolute authority. Once the crisis was averted, very rarely did the military caste not cede power back to the council. The few times they did, effectively attempting a coup, such attempts did not last long in their histroy as the science caste had now become instrumental in the continuation of their species.
And then the worker caste, who performed all the physical labor, and was looked down upon by the other three castes, as would be expected in such a societal and cultural system. When the caste system began, this was not the case, as Kryptonians were once very caring and positive. They originally receded from their empire due to guilt over their actions and unintended consequences of said actions when trying to be benefactors to less advanced species. As that racial guilt gave way to racist views of Kryptonian superiority, prejudice against anything not Kryptonians, and even xenophobia of foreign aliens touching the sacred grounds of Krypton under the eyes of holy Rao, the caste system became more rigid and inflexible. As such, in a caste system there must almost always be someone at the top and someone at the bottom.
It should be noted that as Krypton was in the millenia long process of receding its empire until eventually returning to their home star system of Rao, the Core Worlds had connected with their earliest hyperdrives and began the earliest days of the Galactic Republic. The Kryptonians and their space age effectively resulted in a similar fashion to that of the Columi race, advancing and evolving before other races, having no reason to maintain such a broad interstellar presence, and receding back to their homeworld to remain for the rest of their history.
Except for occassional moments in their history, Krypton stayed isolationist for the rest of its existence, even after the Galatcic Republic practically came to their front door seeking an audience to open political discussions for future interaction. Whether it was the Republic seeking open dialogue, that same Republic shifting iver time and attempting to force Krypton to join, or some other invader like the Sith Empire or many others seeking such power, Krypton rebuffed them all and had the ancient advanced technological power to enforce and maintain its isolationist policy to the rest of the galaxy over the course of the Republic's 25,000 year existence. Their ability to do this succcessfully for so long shocked and bewildered anyone who became aware of just how long this isolationism had lasted.
Closer to modern galactic times, Krypton began going through the beginnings of cataclysmic disaster. The planet started with the occassional earthquake from time to time. This was odd, because long ago the science caste had erected massive tectonic stabilizers to avoid such things as earthquakes and other geological issue and misshaps. For light tremors to seep through would imply that the planet was trying to release so much force that the world would shake itself apart. And several scientists discovered this, knew their world was dying, had been on this path for millenia, and that it was time to leave their world. The ruling council disagreed, denied these claims based on their own weak and unfounded scientific opinions combined with religious rhetoric from the religious caste. When these doomsayers tried to make thri voice louder, they were swiftly silenced by the military caste. This led to a literal earth-shattering uprising as the information leaked to the public, and the worker caste erupted with emotional rage built up over a near uncountable amount of time being forced to be Krypton's underdog. The military caste tried to quell the uprising, but as the planet itself began to shake more violently, their efforts came to naught.
When the disaster occurring, Krypton's government lied to the civilian populace and tried to keep them ignorant of the fact that their world was ending. This was due due to the high ranking officials either not believing their world could ever possibly die after such a long and glorious history, or religious zealots who believed so devoutly in their sun god Rao that they felt all Kryptonians should die together on the homeworld of their birth (even though enough records exsted that hinted at an origin from a different world). When the military caste was ordered to supress the uprising, the science and religious caste continued spoiting their propaganda, but this only succeeded in further angering the worker caste who were now collectibely fighting for their lives and the lives of those they cared about.
The worker caste grabbed every ship they could find, got them ready to fly in record time, loaded them up with everyone that could fit, and lifted off for orbit, the moon, and other worlds in-system, anywhere to get away from krypton's destruction. Many ships had hyperdrives despite the isolation, but many more did not and could only fly to other worlds in-system. Thankfully some of Rai's other worlds could sustain life, at least for a short time, and ancient colonial facilities still existed in these worlds, needing some quick fixes to be able to handle the refugees. As Krypton's destruction had been violent and the sun Rao was not the stablest star to be around, these refugees had to work together to stay alive as long as possible after Krypton exploded. They had to survive gravitational fluctuations that caused dangerous tides and earthquakes, as well as debris of Krypton crashing down on their heads and making the Rao system difficult to travel through in sublight at the best of time. Eventually, other larger ships with hyperdrives were found and hired to come get the refugees and ferry them out-system to safety.
As word spread of Krypton's destruction, those in galactic society who were aware of Krypton were surprised the world was just gone after keeping its secrets for so long. However, many who heard of the planet;s destruction had never even know Krypton was a thing. Most who met Kryptonians after this event simply categorized them as "humand" or "near-human" and never gave it much though. Most galactic citizens around this era decades to centuries before the Clone Wars simply had nit been aware of Krpton, Kryptonians, or the advanced technologies they once had at their fingertips. Kryptonians who survived Krypton's death as refugees were met with extreme culture shock as many of the technological conveniences they had taken for granted were not readily available and normal in the rest of the galaxy. Considering how convenient technology actually IS in the Star Wars galaxy, this says something about how advanced Krypton once was, yet also how hedonistic Kryptonian society may have been as they literally wanted for nothing.
Over the course of the first few decades after Krypton's destruction, many Kryptonians would acquire starships of their own and find their way back to the Rao system, looking for some other remnants of their people, homeworld, cultures, etc. Krypton's debris created a debris field orbiting Rao where the world had once been, while many pieces of Krypton had scattered throughout the system. The worlds in-system that had given temporary shelter to the refugees who got away from Krypton before the end had since then had their surfaces laid to waste by meteoric bombardment and graviotaional fluctuations due to Krypton's loss and how this affected the entire Rao system.
Worse still, many Kryptonians who made this pilgrimage to their homeworld did not return. Some did, showing signs of extreme radiation poisoning. Many considered this odd, as their ships had hull plating and shielding against exposure to radiation, as well as space suits insulated to protect against the same. When some other Kryptonians investigated the interior of these ships or the items removed from the ship and assumed to be salvage, they immediately fell ill as well. Most of these salvagers who retunred from their trops to the Rao system suffered immense pain before finally dying. Their autopsies showed accute and extreme radiation poisoning, having a sickly greenish hue to their skin. The other Kryptonians who fell ill later from exposure to these ships and their cargo recovered quickly after being distanced from these objects.
Upon investigation, it was discovered that due to factors involving the star Rao, elements composing Krypton's mass beneath the one-time surface of the planet, and possibly other factors such as ill-understood traits of Kryptonian technology infused into the planet itself, the physical remnant of the planet now harbored a unique radiation not found anywhere else in the galaxy as far as any xenobiologists were aware of. This radiation was effectively harmless to most species as long as they were not exposed to it fpr prolonged periods of time. But to Kryptonians, their bodies seemed to naturally absorb various forms of light and radiation. Due to this, they absorbed this unique readiation more than any other species and filled their bodies with it to critical levels almost immediately. Furthermore, this radiation was oddly unique in how it affected their biology and no other, not even other humans and near-humans. Some surviving Krypton scientists had theories about all of this, and medical technology in the rest of the galaxy was advanced enough to treat this exposure if treatment began soon enough. Measures could be taken to wear anti-radiation suits and armor, as well as taking powerful anti-radiation medicines to counteract exposure to this radiation. Having a bacta tank available specially outfitted with anti-radiation treatment in mind would also be useful and could mean life or death for a Kryptonian exposed to radiation or irradiated items from their homeworld.
While theories and treatments were discussed and developed over time, this affliction would in time gain a slang name that would instill fear in any Kryptonian aware of it and threatened with torture by exposure to it: kryptonite.
Time and several generations would pass before the Clone Wars between the Confederacy of Independant Systems and the Galactic Republic, followed by the Rise of the Empire and the Galactic Civil War, the rise of the New Republic, and the many other changes in galactic status quo to follow. During these times, the survivors of Krypton and their descendants have lost most of their culture, history, and identity as a people. They instead commonly mingle into the rest of galactic society and are mistaken for humans. Most of them do not think much on the difference between humans and Kryptonians, though these individuals have probably not yet been exposed to yellow sunlight.
Most Kryptonians who do get exposed to yellow stars have enhanced physical traits and "powers", but these are usually not very different from normal humans or other physically strong species. On rarer occassions a Kryptonian can train their bodies to become stronger in these abilities, though examples of any of them reaching extremely high levels of power are few and far between, and the few that have are considered rumors, myths and legends, and outright lies at best. Most Kryptonians with access to the lower limits of these powers are welcomed aboard trade ships and other jobs involving physical labor if their bosses know of these abilities, because the lower levels of these abilities are widely known among the spacer community.
In modern times right before and after 0 BBY/ABY, most Kryptonians have no homeworld of their own and have blended in with other humand and near-human cultures of the world, and many of them in modern times may not even be aware of their Kryptonian heritage and consider themselves human, or close enough to it if they were ever told of their Kryptonian origins.
|
