Both Needed Journey for the Evolutionary Staff

[CasualAdventurer]

"Adventure, ho!"
(Ask questions if you've got 'em~)​

Spoiler: Premise

Just as humans evolved from apes, I present a world in which other taxonomic families evolved in tandem with our own to become the races we're familiar with in the fantasy genre. Orcs from suidae, elves from felidae, along with other examples I'll get into later. The cause of these parallel routes in evolution would be magical, which has a lot to do with the plot of this story. Those of you who are still awake, read on~

Spoiler: Races

(Just like humans can be further categorized into races and nationalities, other fantasy races can physically vary through their evolved animal's genus and species. I only present this fact so that there can plausibly be different members of the same race who can look drastically different.)

Human (Humans, Human)
Taxonomic Family: Hominidae (Great Apes)
Chromosomic Genders: Female, Male
Average Lifespan: 82 Years
Racial Trait: Adaptability (Climate, Tolerances)
Distinguishing Characteristics:
~ Rounded Ears
~ Soft Flesh
~ Red Blood
~ Omnivorous

Dwarf (Dwarves, Dwarven)
Taxonomic Family: Hylobatidae (Lesser Apes)
Chromosomic Genders: Female, Male
Average Lifespan: 76 Years
Racial Trait: Toxic Immunity (Unharmed By Foreign Substances, Cannot Be Inebriated)
Distinguishing Characteristics:
~ Rounded Ears
~ Semi-Soft Flesh
~ Red Blood
~ Omnivorous
~ Short, Stocky Builds
~ Only Brown Eyes

Elf (Elves, Elven)
Taxonomic Family: Felidae (Felines)
Chromosomic Genders: Female, Male, Hermaphrodite Type
Average Lifespan: 280 Years
Racial Trait: Higher Mental Capacity
Distinguishing Characteristics:
~ Pointed Ears
~ Soft Flesh
~ Red Blood
~ Herbivorous
~ Only Blue or Green Eyes
~ Red, Green, and White Hair Colors + Human Hair Colors
~ Slight Quadrupedal Ability

Orc (Orcs, Orken)
Taxonomic Family: Suidae (Pigs, Hogs, Boars)
Chromosomic Genders: Female, Male, Hermaphrodite Type
Average Lifespan: 122 Years
Racial Trait: Higher Physical Strength
Distinguishing Characteristics:
~ Pointed, Curled, or Twisted Ears
~ Leathery Flesh
~ Green Blood
~ Omnivorous
~ Tusks (Vary between large canines to full-blown tusks.)
~ Genetic Alopecia (Some born without hair. Not all.)
~ No Natural Blonde Hair

Fairy (Fairies, Fae)
Taxonomic Order: Lepidoptera (Butterflies, Moths)
Chromosomic Genders: Female, Male
Average Lifespan: 94 Years
Racial Trait: Flight
Distinguishing Characteristics:
~ Rounded Ears
~ Soft Flesh
~ Blue Blood
~ Carnivorous
~ Wings (Any Lepidoptera Species)
~ Proportionally Tiny (Human-Shaped, but around 5 inches tall.)

Draconian (Draconians, Draegan)
Taxonomic Family: Varanidae (Monitor Lizards)
Chromosomic Genders: Female, Male, Hermaphrodite Type
Average Lifespan: 166 Years
Racial Trait: Enhanced Senses (Night Vision, Predatory Sense of Smell, etc)
Distinguishing Characteristics:
~ No Ears
~ Semi-Soft Flesh
~ Red Blood
~ Carnivorous
~ Poisonous Blood
~ Unable To Grow Body Hair

Spoiler: Worldbuilding

(Of course, history-wise, a lot would be different with the presence of fantastical races. For the sake of being brief, I'd like to avoid too much shifting-around of historical events. If it comes up, I'll make up a little timeline.)

Technologically, the RP would be set around the 1970's to the 1980's, so keep that in mind while posting. (I'm by no means an expert on anything before the 90's, so don't worry too much~) The Polymath Institute will be in a version of England that never fully gave up its ways of interfering in other nations. I.E., our characters will not be welcome. The majority of our characters' obstacles will be the local populous, who, while perhaps ignorant of their true goals, would be generally hostile.

On the subject of races, there would be a soft element of scientific racism in this society. However, unlike how the pseudoscience works in real life, there would be more merit to the discussion. Elves and fairies would be at the top of this proverbial food chain, then draconians and orcs, then humans and dwarves. Of course, not everyone would agree with this consensus, so I encourage a little reversal in the minds of characters that get the short end of the stick.

(Kinda always a WIP~)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

​

Spoiler: Plot

You have been hand-selected by the archeology department at the Polymath Institute of Research and Education (PIRE for short), a front-runner in the scientific community's search for the secret force behind so many parallel routes in evolution. For your intellect, your military experience, your time in the field, you've been chosen to join in the search for a fabled artifact said to genetically propel forward species in a miniscule fraction of the time. Said to be hidden away by an ancient civilization in the Amazon, you've been tasked with finding said artifact and returning it for examination.

Spoiler: Character Sheets

(Please do not post your character sheet without PMing it to me first for my approval.)

[Face Claim, Drawn or Otherwise]
Name:
Age:
Gender: [Binary, Ternary, or Self-Identifying]
Original Nationality:
Race:
Sexual Orientation:

Height:
Weight:
Build:
Skin Color:
Hair Color:
Eye Color:
Tattoos:
Piercings:

Role:

Spoiler: Roles

(Many colors make a rainbow! This team needs brains, sure, but this is more than your run of the mill archeological expedition. Think Indiana Jones. There can be more than one of each!)

Enforcer: In charge of the team's safety.

Tech: Data recording, operators of equipment and radio.

Driver: Trained in all manners of transport, air, land, and sea.

Archeologist: Handling of relics and excavations.

Biologist: Present to study the unnatural changes of the surrounding environment.

Personality:
Bio:

 

[Peachy00Keen]

Name: Cressida Sabaciel, Ph.D.
Age: 112, (Apparent Age: 30-something)
Gender: Female
Original Nationality: Greek/Polish
Race: Elven
Sexual Orientation: Pansexual

Height: 5'6"
Weight: 130 lbs
Build: Small-framed, slight belly, healthy and fit
Skin Color: Alabaster
Hair Color: White
Eye Color: Blue
Tattoos: None
Piercings: None

Role: Evolutionary Biologist
Personality: Stern but friendly, studious, curious, hands-on, turns to pastries when stressed

Bio:
Born into families of Greek and Polish descent, Cressida learned to appreciate all aspects of the world around her from a very young age. Her family fled wars throughout Europe from the time she was very little, leaving her birthplace on an island in the eastern Aegean Sea and fleeing north, into mainland Europe. For the first several decades of her life, she and her family lived in the Polish countryside, where her mother had grown up. Her formative years were spent doing what most other members of the farming peasantry did at the time, and despite life being rather dull outside of her books, it was a safer and calmer life than the one she would have led had her family stayed in Greece.

During the early half of the 1900s, when German tensions were high and Europe swayed between wars, Cressida decided to find her own way, leaving their home in Poland and traveling to England, where she took on several different wartime occupations, several of which eventually funneled her into her choice of studies after the War. Her family, including her younger brother, had chosen to stay in Poland. Their fair skin, blue eyes, and light-colored hair bought them relative safety so long as they kept their ears hidden and their identities quiet. To the dismay of her parents, Cressida's brother took an interest in evolution and phrenology through secondhand information from the Germans. He wrote to his sister about things he'd heard from passers-by, and though the actions of the barbaric individuals he eavesdropped on made her sick to her stomach, the science -- or attempts at it -- behind their madness piqued her curiosity.

Postwar, Cressida enrolled in higher education, finding herself seated in the back of the lecture halls thanks to merit and a decades-long piecemeal education. Her university studies were riveting, ranging from chemical sciences to philosophy. By the end of her undergraduate program, she'd decided to pursue a career as a Professor of Evolutionary Biology. After eight more years of arduous studying, researching, and dissertating, she'd dabbled in most every earthly subject and earned herself a position among the staff of the Polymath Institute of Research and Education as a young professor. She rarely heard from her parents, despite advancing technology making it easier than ever to communicate. Occasionally, her brother still sent her letters, but as her career matured and she gained tenure, his letters eventually stopped coming.

Alone but never lonely amidst her studies and students, Cressida found a love for good food to keep her inspired when things got slow. Her morning never feels complete without a cup of tea and a croissant, and when the skies are gray and her spirits low, nothing gets her back to feeling like herself faster than a little fruit tart or a delicious cupcake. Her home is small and crammed to bursting with books dating back to the 1800s, many of them first editions. Her windowsill is overflowing with plants, and a sturdy table against the wall supports a hefty aquarium full of colorful tropical fish.

 

[Raxacoricofallapatorius]

First of all: very interested.
I was actually just talking about the scientific implications of fantasy races and their genetics to someone else haha. What you're proposing is my favorite kind of "science fiction" and I'm very eager to be a part of it, if you'll have me.

Couple questions though, or rather assumptions:
-You say the period is 70s/80s (loosely) so I'm assuming the socio-political tensions are similar-ish, just in a fantasy-esque context.
-The Pre Internet world, like, right before computer networking became a thing. But computers exist, they're just very primitive.
-Cell phones are actual bricks.
-Homosexuality had been decriminalized in most of the "Western World" but is still a taboo.
-Actual question: what role does magic play other than being a part of the theory of parallel evolution? Are there magic-users or is it more like superstition/not taken seriously by science?

Correct me on any of these if I got it wrong. I'm working on a CS right now and I'll PM it for approval once I'm finished.

 

[CasualAdventurer]

Your assumptions are all correct! (Though I'm fine if our characters are all tolerable of homosexuality and the like.)

As for your question, simply put, none of OUR characters will be magic users. Might make an NPC character or something that has some magic ability. Besides that, our characters will eventually end up following the trail of clues left by the titular staff to find it. (I'm thinking it activates randomly and is starting to effect the environment around it, which would be a major telltale sign that it's nearby. Something like that, anyway.) Magic could be regarded differently from character to character. Some might wholeheartedly believe, others might consider it a science they just don't understand yet.

 

[Raxacoricofallapatorius]

Brilliant! I'm just finishing up the bio bit for my character. He's going to be a nerdy Ecology professor. I felt that field seemed appropriate in lieu of the task ahead of them, but if you'd prefer an Archeologist instead I can change it if that slot doesn't get filled by someone else. I just think Ecology is more interesting than Archeology (but it's only a personal preference).