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{| align="right" style="width:310px; margin: 0 0 0 5px;"
|-
|colspan="2"|[[File:Vimh.png|300px]]
|-
|style="background: navy; color: white;" colspan="2" | '''Characteristics'''
|-
|style="width:100px;"|Average Size|| 1.9m fully erect,<br />1.5m in natural posture
|- style="background: #eeeeee;"
|Average Mass|| 70kg male or female
|-
|Average Lifespan || 60 years
|- style="background: #eeeeee;"
|Reproductive System || heterosexual,<br />viviparous
|-
|Body Temperature || 39 degrees Celsius
|- style="background: navy; color: white;"
|colspan="2"| '''Ability Scores'''
|-
|STR/STA || +20 STA only
|- style="background: #eeeeee;"
|DEX/RS || +5
|-
|INT/LOG || +0
|- style="background: #eeeeee;"
|PER/LDR || -10
|-
|style="background: navy; color: white;" colspan="2" | '''Movement'''
|-
|Walking || 10 meters per turn on foot<br />15 meters per turn if on all fours.
|- style="background: #eeeeee;"
|Running || 20 meters per turn on foot<br />30 meters per turn on all fours.
|-
|Hourly || 5 kilometers/hour (either mode).
|- style="background: #eeeeee;"
|Swimming || 15 meters per turn, 2 kilometers per hour. Can swim 4 hours before taking Stamina damage.
|-
|style="background: navy; color: white;" colspan="6" | '''Special Abilities'''
|-
|'''Iron Constitution'''|| Resistance to infection, disease, and toxins. 5%
|- style="background: #eeeeee;"
|'''Nearsighted''' ||Poor distance eyesight. -20% to hit on ranged attacks past Point Blank range.
|-
|'''Superior Olfactory Sense'''|| Extraordinary sense of smell and taste.
|- style="background: #eeeeee;"
|'''Swimming''' ||Swim faster and longer than other races.
|-
|style="background: navy; color: white;" colspan="6" | '''Optional Ability'''
|- style="background: #eeeeee;"
|'''Bite Attack''' ||1d10 damage base. Military PSA characters may take Bite Skill (but not characters with other PSA), increasing both chance of successful hit and extra damage according to ‘more lethal combat’ optional rule in Alpha Dawn, Digitally Remastered, Section 6.
|}

by [[R. Kevin Smoot]]

The Vimh are scavenging mammalian creatures found
throughout the frontier. Even the casual observer can
see their rodentia ancestry. Each of the major frontier
races has their own name for the race, usually quite
derogatory in nature. The human term,
‘ratling’ is one of the least offensive
terms, although they prefer to call
themselves ‘Vimh’ (both singular and
plural). Although not a proper scientific
classification, Rodentia-Sapiens is the term that
civil rights minded individuals have termed the
Vimh.

==Physical Structure==
The Vimh are descended from some sort of rodent
ancestry. Humans describe them as essentially having
the appearance of a nearly man-sized rat. They have
the typical rat-like face with sensitive whiskers, small
but deft hands, and lower limbs that appear more
primitive and animalistic than the Human or Yazirian
humanoid form. Vimh have long hairless tails that are
quite strong, but non-prehensile.

When standing completely upright a Vimh is almost 2
meters tall, although this is not their natural posture.
They stand hunched over and appear roughly
1.5 meters tall, or roughly a little shorter than
the average human. Internally, the organs of a
Vimh are quite similar to the Human and Yazirian
races, although the digestive system seems more robust
than either of those mammalian races.

Vimh eyes are quite dark, generally described as beady.
The whiskers on the Vimh face are quite sensitive to touch
and vibration.

The hands and feet of a Vimh have some webbing
between the digits – making the Vimh quite good
swimmers. Even in cold water, a Vimh can swim for
extended periods, as their furry coat is well developed for
heat retention.

The skin color of Vimh is typically pale and pinkish to
grayish, but the fur can vary wildly. Solid coats of
browns, blacks, and grey tones are the most common fur
colors. Less common are spotted coats or all white coats.
Albinism is overall quite common as well, although not
typical.

==Senses==
Descended from tunneling rodents, the vision of the Vimh
is not quite as good as Human sight in well lit areas, and
not quite as good as Yazirian eyesight in darkness.
However, the Vimh’s acuity for close up details is
remarkable. Sensitive facial whiskers enhance this close
range vision, allowing the Vimh to detect even minute
movements in close proximity. Distance vision is blurry
and indistinct, so Vimh do not handle ranged-weapons
well.

Vimh sense of smell is quite superior to humans, generally
on par with Dralasite olfactory ability. Vimh can
differentiate individuals by their smell alone. Vimh may
also track by scent alone, although this requires training
(i.e. environmental skill, tracking).

==Speech==
Vimh speech is accomplished in a manner similar to that
of Yazirians and Humans. Air from lungs is forced through
a larynx producing a variety of sounds. Their own tongue
has a rodent-like skittering quality to it, as one would
expect. Vimh language is quite advanced when describing
qualities of smell, taste, food, and associated topics.
Visual descriptions of landscapes, scenery, or objects at
range are more difficult for a Vimh to convey, as they
simply don’t have as much vocabulary describing that kind
of stimuli.

==Society and Customs==
The Vimh are a prolific race found throughout the frontier.
Their home world is a mystery, even to the Vimh. They
just seem to appear wherever the other civilized races
build settlements, apparently catching rides or otherwise
stowing away on transport vehicles. Many speculate that
the Vimh do not actually have a world of their own, but
were genetically engineered on one of the core worlds.
The unknown home world and lack of distinct Vimh culture
seem to support this hypothesis. Regardless of origins,
the Vimh are an ever-present part of life in urban slums of
many worlds.

They live their lives day to day as scavengers, traders,
and various criminal activities. Prodigious eaters, the
Vimh find great amount of pleasure in food, so one could
say that Vimh family relations are generally formed
around the dinner table. If Vimh have a culture to speak
of, it seems to be borrowed from the immediate
surroundings. Vimh do not seem to care much about
maintaining extended family relations beyond their
immediate nuclear family members. Vimh produce many
offspring, birthing almost every year if food supplies allow,
with often three to four siblings per birthing.

The Vimh do not seem to have technology of their own,
borrowing this and that from the major races. The
occasional Vimh who ascends out of poverty has a great
love of gadgetry and technology. When educated, Vimh
gravitate to the technological trades. Because of their
limited vision, Vimh combatants prefer melee and hand to
hand combat tactics.

==Attitudes==
The Vimh have varied attitudes towards the frontier races.
Some Vimh get along quite well with any of the races,
while other Vimh seem soured by their second class status
and despise the other races equally. Being mammalian,
they generally will get along well with Humans and
Yazirians if given a chance to overcome their social class
stigma. Vimh do not care much for Dralasites, as they
have very different concepts of what smells and tastes are
pleasant, often causing arguments. Vimh and Vrusk have
strained relations, as the Vrusk find them rather repulsive
vermin that their corporations often try to remove from
their premises. Surprisingly, even the Sathar seem to be
unable to eradicate Vimh presence around their hidden
bases.

==Special Abilities==
'''Iron Constitution (5)''' - In addition their great stamina,
Vimh are naturally resistant to Infections, Diseases or
Toxins. In the case of Toxins and Infections, the amount
of damage is reduced by 5 points of stamina per damage
increment. For Diseases, reduce the ability check penalty
that a disease causes by five points. For contagious
diseases, the referee may declare that the character is a
carrier of the disease until treated or its course is run,
even though the character takes no damage personally.
Vimh can increase their Iron Constitution rating by
spending 5 experience points for each point of increase to
an upper limit of Iron Constitution (15).

'''Nearsighted''' – The Vimh do not have very clear distance
vision. For all ranges other than point-blank, the Vimh
have a –20% penalty on Ranged Weapon attacks.

'''Superior Olfactory Sense''' - The Vimh sense of smell and
taste is very keen. Even in total dark they can rely on
their scent to identify specific individuals, follow the trail
left behind by someone’s specific scent (requires
Environmental Skill), or identify trace elements that would
go unnoticed by others. The referee should grant a bonus
to any ability check or skill check that would involve a
sense of smell (use a base of +20% for guidance).

'''Swimming''' – Vimh are superior swimmers. They can
swim faster and longer than many other races. See
movement table on the right.

Vimh - Revision history

Terl obar: Created page with ' Top:Star Frontiersman main page | Up: Star Frontiersman Issue 5 main index | Up: [[Character Rac…'

Terl obar: Created page with '
Top:Star Frontiersman main page | Up: Star Frontiersman Issue 5 main index | Up: [[Character Rac…'