The Kamaki
Amphibious humanoids who make their home on the watery planet of Maki-ke. They are united under psuedo democratic world government known as the Ke'le'Ka Syndicate. They are renown scientists and geneticist and some of the systems biggest leaps in medical knowledge and technology have come from Kamaki labs.
These creatures are incredibly isolationist, even among their own kind they rarely meet outside their clutch or a spawn exchange. Though not particularly xenophobic, they often even refuse to meet with other species for trade and will dedicate their Ka-mo servants to do so to such a degree that there are many other species who think the Ka-mo are what the Kamaki look like. This is due in part to the unique social and biological separation that Kamaki keep, called the Ke and the Ka.
These groups are varied in size and often static, some larger ones are centuries old and have thousands of individuals associated with them. Each one can be dedicated to a wide range of pursuits and they often form industries and corporations around these pursuits, usually based around the desires of the Mother or Father of the group. These groups all hold equal votes within the Ke'li'ka Syndicatebut they hold varied political power, the landscape of Maki-Ke politics is a tangled web of Spawn Exchange, trade and scientific alliances that is difficult to navigate if one is a Kamaki expert and nearly impossible for an off-worlder.
All Kamaki are born from a Ka and live their early lives within that Ka or the corresponding Ke, though not all Kamaki choose to continueing and instead move to the cities or offworld.
The Ke
These are female only groups that all female Kamaki tend to find themselves in. Ke is the Keka word for "Mother", Keka being the language of the Kamaki. All the females in these groups are related to the leader and are all sisters and half sisters. The Ke is the primary unity of egg creation and the group dynamic is that of the mother being the first among equals. Sisters tend to form sub-groups within the Ke. Females are just as competent as Males at all things and are self sufficient. Though all eggs are fertilized and hatched with a Ka, all females are immediately given back to the Ke and are not even given names until then. (They will generally be called by their Ke while at the Ka though they are rarely there long enough to need addressing). Ke can split amicably, often along sister group dynamics, into new Ke whenever a single Kamaki, often with her sisters instead keep their eggs to themselves and leave the group. There are often complex social cues and dynamics at play and the sisters will usually pay some perceived debt to the Ke for being raised by them. Due to this debt, most Kamaki females do not start their own Ke as individuals. The sisterly Ke stay together only as long as it takes for them each to have a significant amount of daughters, allowing them to safely break apart again.The Ka
The male only groups are based around a singular father who fertilizes any eggs negotiated for through Spawn Exchanges. Ka is the word for "Father" among the Kamaki. These groups are usually arranged into a strict hierarchy with the father and the eldest sons holding the most power and most ideal positions within the Ka. Though their names reflect their Ke, males rarely concern themselves with that as a part of their hierarchy though they will group into factions within the Ka based around their Ke. Ka split only whenever the Father grants a son leave to take the eggs of a spawning and fertilize them. Traditionally the son was forced to take the eggs and go out into the wide ocean, left to the fates to survive. These days they are usually just given an isolated but still protected part of their fathers Ka to raise their own first spawning into adulthood before venturing out. Sometimes males will steal their fathers rightful eggs, this is something seen as intensely shameful and usually the cause for violence as the original Ka will hunt the son and any conspirators down as well as many allied Ke will likely get involved. This happening is also seen as a terrible blow to the viability of the Ka for Spawn Exchanges. Often the most fraught time for a Ka is whenever the original father dies. Usually the successor is long arranged for and the eldest son takes over but this is very much a delicate time as historically this is the time whenever Ka Brothers are most likely to turn on each other. If there is any unfertilized eggs in the Ka, the tensions are many times more high and can lead to a bloody battle for leadership among the eldest brothers. This also usually leads to eggs being stolen by opportunistic males or the survivors and running into the wilds. Few Ka survive a leadership battle intact and those that do might not recover in the new Fathers lifetime.Basic Information
Anatomy
The Kamaki are lightly scaled, fish like individuals who can breath in both water and open air with a special series of gills through several sets of lungs. They tend to stand in a stooped posture and move somewhat stiffly when on dry land but when in water they are lithe and graceful creatures.
Genetics and Reproduction
The Kamaki are born from large clutches of eggs fertilized externally by a single male. Females will lay a clutch of 3-5 eggs over the course of several weeks which she then gives to a male to fertilize.
These are often done in large ceremonies involving dozens of different females eggs being given to a male called a Spawn Exchange.
Ecology and Habitats
Kamaki primarily live underwater. They originally evolved within the massive coral reefs on their watery world, Maki-ke.
While they can live on land, they tend to find it uncomfortable to be dry for longer than a few hours. Even Kamaki spacers tend to have sealed watery containers that they can rest in.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Kamaki are omnivores and preferences vary by region.
Behaviour
Kamaki are generally distant, logical creatures who tend to see things relatively dispassionately. They enjoy contracts and agreements and tend to abide by things like that strictly. Their word is incredibly important to them as is family, though those relationships are complicated.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Intensely individualistic creatures, the Kamaki seperate into male and female bands who are built socially around a Mother and a Father who are the progenitor of every person in either type of band. The Father or Mother are always the absolute leaders of the bands, with Ka (fathers group) being more strictly hierarchal while the Ke (mother group) are less concerned with strict hierarchies.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Kamaki live primarily on the world Maki-Ke, though they can be found within every ocean in the system as well as they are uniquely equipped to live where most other species cannot.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Evolved to live on mutliple stratas of the large oceans on Maki-ke, they can deal well with the colder water in the depths as well as see in the darkness of that abyss.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Their naming traditions have solidified over many centuries and are relatively cohesive across the world. Males will always incorporate their fathers Ka into their names as well as their mothers Ke while Females will do the same in reverse order. They have a name given to them by the group that raises them.
Examples:
Mari Ke'wa-Ka'Indio = Mari whose mother is Wa and whose father is Indio
Kando Ka'Logi-Ke'Mari = Kando whose father is Logi and whose mother is Mari.
Beauty Ideals
They prefer flowing, organic shapes over hard edges and blocky frames. They associate bright colors with desirability, safety and darker with solidity and intelligence. This is tied directly to their visual sexual dimorphism.
Gender Ideals
There is little Sexual Dimophism between the male and female Kamaki, the notable exception is that the males tend to be brightly colored, solid or a rainbow of multiple colors while the females are drab brown or green.
Courtship Ideals
There are not relationships between male and female Kamaki in the way that other species readily understand. Ka spawns and Ke groups do not meet except to negotiate business deals or spawn exchanges. Ke will gather all the spawned eggs of the group and negotiate with several Ka spawns that they consider ideal for an exchange of knowledge, goods or currency for the eggs. Guarantees of mutual defense and trade as well as political clout with the Syndicate are often built into these Spawn Exchanges.
Built into these complex deals are a promise that any females born to that exchange will be given back to the Ke of origin. It is also customary to wait a generation to make a new Spawn Exchange, though this is not a hard and fast rule and is only enforced by the Syndicate if the Ka has recently had a change in leadership.
Relationship Ideals
Kamaki do not have romantic relationships though they do form close relationships with their spawn-mates and sometimes even their attendant Ka-mo.
They do have a hard time forming close relationships with other species though when working in close proximity they can, they just have a hard time conceptualizing relationships outside of their spawn. Strangely enough, they have even more trouble forming close relationships with the opposite sex of their own species due to the distant biology and culturally isolated mannerisms.
Average Technological Level
Though the Kamaki never achieved space flight on their own, they were one of the most technologically advanced species in the system hidden in the depths of their homeworld. Though a Kamaki city is rare, those that do exist are technological marvels of traditional science with discrete applications of magitech that capitalize on their unique physiology and environment.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
The Kamaki culture has solidified in the last 1000 years and with it any real fragmentation of the language. The language spoken is called Keka.
Common Dress Code
They have little need for clothing outside of practical reasons and their garb is almost always utilitarian.
Common Taboos
They consider the keeping of pacts and deals to be of the utmost importance and breaking ones word is considered a grave sin, though more punished socially than legally some Ka and a few Ke are known to treat this more corporally.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Kamaki do not get along the best with other species, being particular and difficult individualist they tend to work with those that they need to but make few lasting friendships. They are quite capable of maintaining working relationships so long as the help accomplish their goals.
That is not to say that Kamaki cannot make good and lasting friends, it is usually despite the above issues that they get friends rather than because of it. The concept of relationships outside of spawnmates is hard to grasp for them but they can make great if eccentric friends.
Kamaki Traits
Kamaki are roughly Analagous with Vedalken and Triton in D&D 5e Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1. Age. Kamaki mature slower than Drynn do. reaching maturity around age 40. Their life span is typically 350 years, with some living to the age of 500. Size. Tall and slender, Kamaki stand around 6 to 6½ feet tall. They usually weigh around 200Ibs(90kg).They are medium creatures. Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. Logical Dispassion. You have advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma Saving Throws. Tireless Precision. You are proficient in one of the following skills of your choice: Arcana, History, Investigation, Medicine, Performance, or Sleight of Hand. You are also proficient with one tool of your choice. Whenever you make an ability check with the chosen skill or tool, roll a d4 and add the number rolled to the check's total. Amphibious. By absorbing oxygen through your skin, you can breathe underwater indefinitely as well as breathing oxygen normally. Dwellers in the Depths. Adapted to even the most extreme ocean depths, you have resistance to cold damage. Languages. You can speak, read, and write Ulang, Makle, and one language of your choice.
Genetic Descendants
Scientific Name
Homo Coelacanth
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Females have desaturated colors, inherited from their fathers and they have a distinct pattern, often iridescent or color shifting and unique to the Ke that they are attached to. These patterns will often shift slightly over generations but will largely stay the same. An increasingly complex bookkeeping effort has always been a way that the various groups keep track of specific bloodlines.
Males are brightly colored but have a diffused patterning that is often hard to discern, historically the more discernable the pattern the less desirable the male. These light patterns often help tell the story of their mothers parentage, though it would take a scholar to decipher.
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