Attribute Dice: 10d
Claws: Str+1d
Metallic Skin: The turian's skin is resistant to radiation and provides a +1d bonus to radiation exposure.
Limited diet: The turian digestive track requires food designed for turians. The food of other species provides no nutrition and could trigger an allergic reaction (rolling a 1 on a die roll indicates an allergic reaction that does 3d damage and the turian suffers -1d to all actions until treated).
Turian honor: Turians are militaristic and honor bound. They are bound by duty and their word.
Turians typically stand over six feet tall, have two long, proportionately thick fingers and an opposable thumb on each hand, each tipped with talons, and a set of mandibles around their mouths. The most distinguishing feature of turians is their metallic carapace, which is a result of their evolution. Turians are avian in nature, however unlike most avian creatures, turians are viviparous, giving birth to live young. Turians are also recognisable by their voices, which have a distinctive flanging effect. Males and females do not differ greatly in physical appearance, but female turians lack the crest of horns found in the males of the race. The lifespan of a turian is comparable to that of a human. Turians exhibit the characteristics of predators rather than those of prey species (compare to krogan biology). Their forward-facing alert eyes give the impression that they possess outstanding eyesight and their teeth and jaws mimic the structures possessed by apex predators. Needless to say, their talons on both their feet and hands seem capable of ripping flesh. Their slender bodies also seem to suggest that they are also capable of moving at high speeds.
The turian homeworld, Palaven, has a metal-poor core, generating a weak magnetic field and allowing more solar radiation into the atmosphere. To deal with this, most forms of life on Palaven evolved some form of metallic "exoskeleton" to protect themselves. Their reflective plate-like skin makes turians less susceptible to long-term, low-level radiation exposure, but they do not possess any sort of "natural armor". A turian's thick skin does not stop projectiles and directed energy bolts. Turian blood has a dark blue colouration, possibly from the presence of hemocyanin rather than hemoglobin, which would fit with the biology of a metallic exoskeleton. Although life on Palaven is carbon-based and oxygen-breathing, it is built on dextro-amino acids. This places the turians in a distinct minority on the galactic stage; the quarians are the only other sapient dextro-protein race. The food of humans, asari, or salarians (who evolved in levo-amino acid-based biospheres), will at best pass through turian systems without providing any nutrition. At worst, it will trigger an allergic reaction that can be fatal if not immediately treated.
Most have tattooed-on markings on their faces whose design and color denote which colony or system they were born or raised in. This cultural observance was first developed during the Unification War, in which various turian colonial holdings fought each other for territory and influence within the Hierarchy; however, years of infighting made most of them too weak to oppose the unifying influence of the Hierarchy itself. Outmatched, they accepted unification under the Hierarchy's leadership, but the markings remained. There are some turians who do not have face markings; during the war, they were typically Hierarchy loyalists and were disparaged as "bare-faced". While turians without markings are no longer singled out as such, the slur remains and is commonly used to imply that certain turians are "politicians" or "untrustworthy"; in the turian language, these terms are synonymous and interchangeable.
The Unification War, as it was later named, began with hostilities between the colonies furthest from the turian homeworld, Palaven. These colonies were run by local chieftains, many of whom had distanced themselves from the Hierarchy. Without the galvanizing influence of the government, the colonies became increasingly isolated and xenophobic. Colonists began wearing emblems or facial markings to differentiate themselves from members of other colonies and open hostilities became common. When war finally broke out, the Hierarchy maintained strict diplomacy and refused to get involved. After several years of fighting, less than a dozen factions remained and the Hierarchy finally intervened. By that time, the chieftains were too weak to resist; they were forced to put an end to fighting and renew their allegiance to the Hierarchy. Though peace was restored, it took several decades for animosity between colonists to fade completely. To this day, most turians still wear the facial markings of their home colonies.
In the midst of the Krogan Rebellions, the turians brought their considerable war machine to bear on the krogan, now a recognized threat. While the initial turian offensive was successful in routing many krogan warrior bands, it provoked a massive counterattack from the krogan which devastated several turian colonies. Rather than scaring off the turians with this show of force, the turians only fought with more resolve to quash the krogan utterly. Eventually, the turians implemented the salarian-developed genophage. With their advantage in numbers removed, the majority of krogan were subdued, although scattered insurgent actions would continue for decades.
Turian society in general is very honor-bound, concerned with the performance of one's duty, regardless of one's role in society. All turians work for the glory of the Turian Hierarchy, a collection of military leaders and autocrats, and most are state-employed in some way. The Hierarchy is multi-layered and vast, and despite its complexity, contains little corruption or nepotism. A member is promoted to greater levels of responsibility based solely on their performance, and demoted for failures of duty; any resulting shame is assigned not to the individual, but to the state which failed to assign them an appropriate level of responsibility. This curbs the tendency to promote individuals into positions beyond their capabilities. Settling into a role and rank is not considered stagnation. Turians value knowing one's own limitations more than being ambitious. Military service is mandatory for all turian citizens, as well as client races who wish to become full turian citizens.
Turians are noted for their strong sense of public service. It is rare to find one who puts his needs ahead of the group. Every citizen from age 15 to 30 serves the state in some capacity, as anything from a soldier to an administrator, from a construction engineer to a sanitation worker. Turians have a strong inclination toward public service and self-sacrifice, so they tend to be poor entrepreneurs. To compensate, they accepted the mercantile volus as a client race, offering protection in exchange for their fiscal expertise. The military is supported by a well-developed infrastructure. Manufacturers such as Armax Arsenal and the Haliat Armory produce advanced, reliable equipment. Volus manufacturers have been known to produce cheap knock-offs of turian equipment.
Turian society is highly regimented and very organized, and the species is known for its strict discipline and work ethic. Turians are willing to do what needs to be done, and they always follow through. They are not easily spurred to violence, but when conflict is inevitable, they only understand a concept of "total war." They do not believe in skirmishes or small-scale battles; they use massive fleets and numbers to defeat an adversary so completely that they remove any threat of having to fight the same opponent more than once. They do not exterminate their enemy, but so completely devastate their military that the enemy has no choice but to become a colony of the turians.
The turian military is the center of their society. It is not just an armed force; it is an all-encompassing stratocratic public works organization. The military police are also the civic police. The fire brigades serve the civilian population as well as military facilities. The corps of engineers builds and maintains spaceports, schools, water purification plants, and power stations. The merchant marine ensures that all worlds get needed resources. Other species see turians as "men of action." Since their culture is based on the structure of a military hierarchy, changes and advances accepted by the leadership are quickly adopted by the rest of society with minimal resistance.
Turians are taught to have a strong sense of personal accountability, the 'turian honor' that other races find so remarkable. Turians are taught to own every decision they make, good or ill. The worst sin they can make in the eyes of their people is to lie about their own actions. While there are some turian criminals, even they maintain a level of conscience unheard of by criminals of other races; a turian criminal will, like most other beings, attempt to evade capture and consequence for their actions, but once caught and taken into custody, he or she will almost always admit to their guilt and accept due punishment. Judicial proceedings are 'interventions'; peers express their concerns and try to convince offenders or criminals to change. If rehabilitation fails, turians have no qualms about sentencing dangerous individuals to a lifetime at hard labor for the state, without parole. Despite this preoccupation with law and order, many are surprised by the importance turian society places on personal freedoms. Turian society allows for freedom of speech, religion, and the practice of practically any activity that does not harm or undermine the state; so long as one completes his duties, and does not prevent others from completing theirs, nothing is forbidden.
There are turians who are known to observe and adhere to asari and even human philosophical or religious practices. Turians believe that groups and areas have "spirits" that transcend the individual. For example, a military unit would be considered to have a literal spirit that embodies the honor and courage it has displayed. A city's spirit reflects the accomplishments and industry of its residents. An ancient tree's spirit reflects the beauty and tranquility of the area it grows within. These spirits are neither good nor evil, nor are they appealed to for intercession. Turians do not believe spirits can affect the world, but spirits can inspire the living. Prayers and rituals allow an individual to converse with a spirit for guidance or inspiration. In the past, turians believed that titans strode across Palaven, reaching for the heavens. They worshiped these deities and communicated with them at a structure called Temple Palaven. The temple was tended to by a religious order called the Valluvian Priests, who wear special purple robes which obscure their forms. In order for turians to join this order, they had to be considered worthy enough through some action. When the turians spread out from Palaven and discovered other life among the stars, however, they sealed Temple Palaven because they no longer needed legends to prod them upward. With the temple abandoned, eventually the Valluvian Priests fell into legend.
Politically, the turians are conservative, paying great observance to tradition, duty, loyalty, honor and the preservation of the status quo. Still, they generally get along well with most other races. There is a great deal of hostility between turians and the krogan for obvious reasons, and there is a lingering degree of distrust and enmity between turians and humanity, the bitter memories of the First Contact War still very fresh for both races. However, turians still greatly respect the military tactics and aptitude of the humans as demonstrated against them in battle during the reclamation of the human colony of Shanxi.
The turian government, known as the Turian Hierarchy, is a hierarchical meritocracy tempered by the civic duty and personal responsibility turians learn in childhood. Turians have 27 citizenship tiers, beginning with civilians (client races and children). The initial period of military service is the second tier. Formal citizenship is conferred at the third tier, after boot camp; for client races, citizenship is granted after the individual musters out. Higher-ranked citizens are expected to lead and protect subordinates; lower-ranking citizens are expected to obey and support superiors. Promotion to another tier of citizenship is based on the personal assessment of one's superiors and co-rankers. At the top are the Primarchs, who each rule a colonization cluster. The Primarchs maintain a "hands-off" policy, trusting the citizens on each level below them to do their jobs competently, and only vote on matters of national import.
Turians have a reputation for skill and bravery in combat, but are not considered bloodthirsty. In combat, turian units are highly adaptable and highly disciplined. Turian lines rarely break, even in highly disadvantageous circumstances; they will retreat and withdraw if necessary, but will do so in an orderly fashion, setting up vicious rear-guard actions and ambushes along the way. A popular saying holds: "You will only see a turian's back once he's dead." Officers and NCOs are "lifers" with decades of field experience. Enlisted personnel are thoroughly trained and stay calm under fire. A rigid code of honor and strict discipline are the hallmarks of any turian officer or enlisted soldier. This includes humane treatment of prisoners and conquered enemies. A turian unit will never willingly leave behind one of their own, no matter what the cost of going back to retrieve their comrade.
Boot camp begins on the 15th birthday. Soldiers receive a year of training before being assigned to a field unit; officers train for even longer. Most serve until the age of 30, at which they become part of the Reserves. Even if they suffer injuries preventing front-line service, most do support work behind the lines. Force-users are uncommon. While admired for their exacting skills, force-users' motives are not always fully trusted by the common soldier. The turians prefer to assign their Force-users to specialist teams called Cabals. Command and control is decentralized and flexible. Individual squads can call for artillery and air support. They make extensive use of combat drones for light duties, and practice combined arms: infantry operates with armor, supported by overhead gunships. Strategically, they are methodical and patient, and dislike risky operations. The turians recruit auxiliary units from conquered or absorbed minor races. Auxiliaries are generally light infantry or armored cavalry units that screen and support the main battle formations. At the conclusion of their service in the Auxiliaries, recruits are granted turian citizenship. Tradition is important. Each legion has a full-time staff of historians who chronicle its battle honors in detail. The oldest have records dating back to the turian Iron Age. If a legion is destroyed in battle, it is reconstituted rather than being replaced.
Turian wars are often marked by citizen resistance. Most turian families keep small arms in their homes and take basic training courses that include instruction on how to create simple anti-vehicle explosive devices. To suppress citizen militias, the Turian Hierarchy makes use of "execution squads" known as hastatim. First, "safe camps" are established in cities to incentivize surrender. Next, hastatim soldiers are deployed door-to-door; anyone refusing to transport to a safe camp or demonstrates hostile intent are shot. Hastatim burial units then retrieve and cremate the bodies. This approach is necessary because without the safe camps, no turian would ever surrender, and without the hastatim, it would take years for a population to be pacified.
