OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: Further flesh out the Eldorai rebel forces Kaida has joined. Expand on the Xioquo.
- Image Credit: Here. Found on mmorpg.com in an article posted by Suzie Ford. Unknown artist.
- Role: The Revenants are a unit entirely composed of Xioquo and part of the Shadow Knights, a group of Eldorai renegades. They serve as special forces whose focus lies in sniping, infiltration and sabotage.
- Links: Xioquo, Twilight of the Goddess
- Unit Name: Revenants
- Affiliation: Kaida Taldir, Shadow Knights.
- Classification: Special forces.
Weapons/armour:
- Reflec coated Reinforced Durapast battle armour or Storm Commando Armour.
- Stealth Carbines, SFOR Carbine or Magnetic Repeater
- Specialised: Verpine sniper rifle (sharpshooters), Bolt-thrower, dart riflehttp://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dart_gun (variable chemical payload).
- Optional: Microgrenade launcher
- Cryo projector.
- Verpine shattergun, Sonic stunners, Sonic disruptor, A-280 CFE blaster or Magnetic Revolver.
- Holdout blasters, stealth palm shooter.
- Wrist Bolter.
- Garotte, Vac blade, slice wire, monofilament wire, Neural Inhibitor.
- Rodian death blade.
- Vibroblades, throwing knives, Talon Vibrodagger.
- Dioxis Grenade, Frag Grenades, Smoke Grenades, Ion Grenade, Flash Grenade. Thermal Imploder, Sonic Imploder, thermal charges. Devastator mines (mission-specific).
- Berserk.
- Dart Gun (variable chemical payload).
- Monomolecular Energy Chorded Combat Knife
- Outland Rifle (with scope and silencer)
- Enforcer pistol
Misc:
- No-show, sensor packs, jammers, scramble keys, communication wave descramblers, target painting equipment.
- Electrobinoculars, googles, individual field disruptors, cryptographic coder, Ghostwave communicators. Whisper jetpacks.
- Neural Band, Force mask.
- Access to speeder bikes, salvaged drop pods.
- Sky Swooper
Cybenetics:
- Hyperaccelerated nerve implant
- Cardio-Muscular Package
- Hi-Sense Enhanced Eyes
- Bonemer
- Cybernetic Limbs - covered by synthflesh
Cybernetic Legs - Cybernetic Eyes
- Cybernetic Arms
[*]Cybernetic respirator
[*]Cortical datasplint
[*]Hifold sensory package,
COMBAT INFORMATION
- Availability: Rare,
- Deployment: Limited.
Strengths & Weaknesses: The Revenants are crack commandos, ideal for covert operations, precision strikes and acts of sabotage. They are experts at blending into their surroundings, striking unexpectedly and fading back into nothingness. They have a knack for simply disappearising and are trained in hand-to-hand combat and martial arts. Being Xioquo, these operatives are extremely agile and dexterous. Their racial traits also mean that they are able to see much further in the darkness than humans or other elves.
They also have excellent hearing and sense of smell. Moreover, their natural abilities have been enhanced by cybernetic - or rather bionic, as their mechanical parts are covered by synthflesh - augmentations, which enhance their mental and physical capabilities. They benefit from enhanced strength, speed, nervous system, memory, resistance to toxins and can hold their breath longer. Cranial implants enable nonverbal communication, allowing them to coordinate their actions in a near-seemless manner and avoid eavesdropping. Their gear and training makes them proficient in resisting mental attacks and concealing their thoughts.
However, while their implants are hardened and they have access to Duraplast armour, they are still vulnerable to powerful EMP and ion attacks as well as electrical discharges. Moreover, the Revenants are not frontline soldiers. They excel at gathering information, sniping, performing sabotage and ambushes, but not at frontline battles or prolonged combat against large enemy forces. They would be out of their element in such a situation, especially if confronted with heavy weapons, entrenched fortifications or heavy armour. They are not meant to take on tank platoons or other 'heavy' combat forces, especially since they lack heavy weapons such as anti-tank missile launchers or rotary cannons.
Being infantry they are obviously vulnerable to long range bombardment. The same applies to air strikes, as they lack effective air defences. If they are attacked in such a manner, their only realistic options would be to hide or retreat. Furthermore, the sun and other extremely bright lights are painful to Xiqouo because they have lived in literal darkness for so long. Thus they must wear attire that conceals their bodies if they go out into the sunlight. Flashbangs and the like are more painful to them than normal humans if they're exposed. They are deployed in small units and thus risk of being outnumbered. They have access to speeder bikes, which gives them mobility on the ground. But said bikes are naturally weak against heavy weapons fire. Drop pods can be utilised for rapid, stealthy insertion into an area. But they are obviously vulnerable to flak and starfighters while in transit and if a safe zone turns out to be hot, there is little the operatives inside a pod can do. In short, the Revenants are a surgical instrument, not a hammer.
Description:
Of all the native races of now-abandoned Tygara, the Xioquo have always been the most tech-savvy. While the Vashyada lived in forests and the Qadiri did not progress beyond a Renaissance era tech level, the Xioquo built ironclads and outfitted their elite soldiers with primitive bolt-action rifles. Of course, the vast majority of the Xioquo lived in abject poverty and was never a beneficiary of progress.
Indeed, in the end the Xioquo were held back by themselves. A magocratic slavocracy, built on deceit, oppression and bloodshed was not conducive to progress. Unity never came easily to them, for their entire culture was steeped in the Dark Side. Their matriachs vied for power, fearful of their rivals, the millions of slaves who were kept in bondage and the hated Qadiri. If their society had been less self-destructive, perhaps the Xioquo could have become Tygara's dominant race.
By the time Firemane and the Eldorai arrived, Xioquo society was a powder keg ready to explode. Inevitably war erupted. It ended with the collapse of the old order when the Tygaran Alliance's forces stormed the Xioquo's subterranean capital. Mystra herself, the Xioquo's demigoddess, arose and was slain. By then she'd proved herself to be a rather bad mother who disdained her 'children' and saw them as little but tools. Encouraged by the outsiders, the slaves rose in revolt against their mistresses. In the aftermath, the secret lightsider Liavondra became the Xioquo's new queen and now faced the monumental task of building a better future for her people. To many, the new order was an opportunity, whereas others never reconciled themselves with it. Both groups looked towards the stars. Even before the Second Exodus was launched and Tygara was denuded of sentient life, some enterprising Xioquo left the confines of their world to seek their fortunes elsewhere.
The group of Xioquo who would eventually call themselves the Revenants were among them. Many of them were former soldiers who had fought against the offworlders and their allies and could not stand being under the control of foreigners, though none of them were matriarchs. Ironically, a good number of them had once served House Qual, a Xioquo noble family whose matriarchs had tried to prevent the disastrous awakening of Mystra. One of the matriarchs had died during the failed insurrection, the other had vanished and was presumed dead. What united these veterans was a desire to assert their independence, build a new future for themselves and see the stars the outsiders had come from. They were joined by Xioquo who had tried to tinker with foreign tech by salvaging outsider machinery that had been left behind during the battle.
However, they faced two problems: Firstly, they lacked a starship and secondly, they did not know how to pilot one due to being a pre-spaceflight civilisation. Indeed, the Xioquo were ignorant of hyperspace. However, where there is a will, there is a way, and so they persuaded a group of merchants to help them. When the merchants, who judged them to be simple primitives, tried to cross them, retaliation was swift. They kept the offworlders' droids around because they needed someone to fly the ship and teach them about the outside world. Fortunately the protocol droid aboard the vessel had constructive things to say, instead of bragging about the number of languages it was fluid in.
But now that they had managed to reach the stars, the Xioquo found themselves in a very unfamiliar world. There was a multitude of species, each with their different languages and customs. None of them spoke Xio and the Xioquo soon realised that their primitive weapons were of little use. Moreover, a number of their people succumbed to diseases that had been unknown to Tygara. Moreover, a first fight with pirates went poorly for the elves. In order to survive, they needed to adapt. Putting their affinity for technology to good use, the Xioquo lived up to their people's reputation for having minds of metal.
They turned to crude cybernetics to steel their bodies and help them cope. They called themselves the Revenants, founding a mercenary group. Their initial operations were defined by trial and error and they suffered their share of setbacks, but they were the stronger for it. Rather than relying on brute strength, they focused on finesse, precision and infiltration, modelling themselves on special operations units they had heard about via their droid helpers or the Holonet.
Eventually, the Revenants encountered the Shadow Knights, a renegade splinter group of Eldorai. The rebels they encountered were led by Kaida Taldir and Ylaea Althena, who hired them to help 'liberate' supplies and some ships from a the Independent Mining Guild. At the time the two did not know of the Revenants' Xioquo heritage, as they tended to wear armour or concealing attire. The mission went well, as the Revenants put their skills as infiltrators and covert operatives to good use. After the daring escape, the Revenants were offered a chance to join the rebel group, but turned it down, as they still felt wary of Eldorai. As a gesture of good faith, they were given the chance to replace their crude cybernetics with more sophisticated bionic implants. After some hesitation, they accepted it, though on their terms, as they did not want to become dependent on others. They would only have their own people and droids modify them. They decided to remain on contract, but not shackled to the Eldorai exiles.
Their relationship deepened after a number of joint missions. The Second Exodus allowed the Revenants to expand their pool of recruits, as the Xioquo left Tygara along with the other elf races. Thus they reached out to their kin, replenishing their numbers by recruiting some of the most adventurous and independent-minded from among them. They have tried to pass on their ideology of self-reliance and improving oneself through use of machinery. Amusingly, by then the lost Qual matriarch, Qual'Zyanya, had returned and even regained a position of influence in the new Xioquo administration, but the Revenants had tasted freedom and thus did not want to become anyone's servitors again.
The Revenants stick together and are a rather tight-knit group, which gives them a strong esprit de corpse. Kaida works with them on operations that require subterfuge rather than mere brute force. She approves of their work ethic and self-reliance. Of course, she is not the type to display affection and is still her laconic, dour self, though she lacks the racism of many Eldorai. Their lack of unconditional obedience irritates her though. They're good at doing the Eldorai rebels' dirty work. It helps that they are not shackled to any of the three big factions in the Eldorai rebel coalition.
