Tozol

"Goddammit, 67c611."

A species appearing in Tozol Quest, Battle Quest, and Venji Quest (kind of). Created by TestPattern.

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Physical appearance

Tozols are genetically engineered soldier-aliens. On average, they stand five and a half feet tall, though individuals maybe up to two inches taller or shorter. They less volume on average than a human, but more mass due to their high density. They have digitigrade legs ending in oppose-able three-toed feet and ten whip-like tails that sense movement and vibrations in air. Their heads are rich in sensory organs, with large eyes with vertical oval pupils, a snout allowing for a keen sense of smell, and four ears. They are coated in short gray fur. They also possess a number of retractable hook- or claw-like structures that aid in securing and carrying equipment.

Origin and physiology

Described in-universe as "self-replicating combat drones," Tozols are bioengineered super-soldiers created by an elusive and as-yet unseen race known only as the "Precursors". They have a strict, militaristic society that generally revolves around battle (though not to the extent of the jokes frequently made about their everyday lives), and as a whole they possess incredible martial prowess and superhuman ability in almost every sense of the word (see "observed abilities" section). Their current abilities are not known, as the only Tozol seen moving at this time is severely injured. Tozol genes are not carried in DNA, and their genes are not carried in every cell in their entire body like non-engineered creatures. They are immune to pure magical attacks.

Infant tozols are 'programmed' or 'taught' via direct and physical connection of nervous system to their mother as they develop, and thus understand the tozol languages, basic facts, and hereditary orders at birth. This is also why names are matrilineal (c.f. Baj Oriat, son of Reya Oriat). Under perfect circumstances with sufficient quantities of the necessary materials, it can take as little as three months for them to be considered fully developed.^[ref] These infants are born as largely-immobile larvae-like forms, with fully developed sensory capabilities - limbs and full body development occurs as they age - as they are intended to watch and learn whilst they are still young.

Tozols rarely make use of cybernetic enhancements, primarily because of their 'healing factor' and the extensive anti-tampering measures designed into them by the Precusors. Compatible implants must be able to pass extremely stringent requirements in order to 'interface' correctly and avoid rejection, and thus tend to be highly specialized.

The tozol healing rate is notably fast and efficient enough that tozols generally do not bother to study medicine - it is simply not worth the trouble of trying to improve the rate at which they heal already. So long as they have a relatively safe place, do not exert themselves too much, and have access to sufficient quantities of necessary materials, they can recover from almost any injury. It should still be noted, however, that repairs are 'build first, tune later'. Their design puts emphasis on getting systems up and running first, and then actually making them work as efficiently as possible when there's time; rapid repairs upon rapid repairs is essentially much like jury-rigging normal hardware into holding together with duct tape and wire. Fully and properly regenerating components, especially lost limbs, can still take several weeks.

Observed abilities

Penji, the only active tozol seen to date,^{[TODO: circa, what, mid 2011?]} has been observed with the following abilities. She is not at full capacity, and she will regain more abilities as she heals.

• Extreme regeneration. Penji recovered from having her brain mostly destroyed, though it took forty years to do so. Healing is greatly accelerated compared to humans, with most flesh wounds healing within an hour and broken bones not taking much longer.
• Toxin resistance.
• Acid resistance. Penji felt nothing but a tingle when exposed to what seemed like a strong enough acid to reduce a human to nothing but bones.
• Strong digestion. Penji has expressed a desire to eat room-temperature superconductors, and seemed vaguely surprised when /quest/ was confused when she considered eating a scrap of metal.
• Ludicrous physical strength. In an extremely weakened state Penji was able to overturn a heavy tracked robot and rip it to shreds with her bare hands(and feet). Rending metal is not much of a problem.
• Extreme agility.
• "Blindsight". Using the various dedicated sensory organs unique to a Tozol, Penji can 'see' in areas that are dark or even around corners by detecting minute vibrations or changes in air pressure with her ears and tails.
• Multi-spectrum vision. Penji can see far beyond the human range of vision, well into infrared and ultraviolet, with possible other types of vision not yet uncovered.
• Lightning reflexes. Penji implied that she could slap an oncoming rocket aside or dodge it if she were healthier.
• Intrinsic weapons knowledge. Penji either knows or quickly familiarizes herself with firearms and melee weapons.
• Invisibility to human scanners. In addition to being invisible to whatever sci-fi-tech the humans are using to track her, Penji can also mask her body heat at full health.
• Complete immunity to "displacer" (teleporter) missiles, including any matter close to her- the field seemed to extend about a foot in all directions from her body. Large weapons will have pieces cut off, but compact equipment is protected.
• Head and torso are highly resistant to damage, able to survive impacts up to and often including direct hits from 8mm battle rifles.
• According to Harold Qillig, "Active Tozols control their heat signature".
• {this space left blank for future filling in. Please add any abilities seen in Tozol Quest not listed here!}

Misc minutiae

Gathered from chats with TestPattern.

• They probably weigh somewhere in the range of 190 to 200 lbs, typically.
• They do not have bellybuttons.
• They do sweat.
• Their bones are dark grey, and their blood is a bit darker red than humans'.
• Their feet have single, y-shaped footpads along the bottom, which are harsh and sandpapery, for traction. These are rarely depicted.
• You cannot spin a Tozol dizzy.
• They experience something akin to the uncanny valley. Something that looks a lot like a tozol but not QUITE, can trigger their "error/mutant" reflex.
• They are meant to have some cyberware implants at the back of the neck, as two of the Battle Quest Tozols do. Their nervous systems refuse to interface with anything that can't match Precursor security requirements; not surprisingly, suitable interfaces are rare, and if a Tozol wants to have one, the best bet tends to be recycling one from another Tozol who has one installed.
• Tozols do surgery on awake Tozols, although they almost never do surgery at all. It can be a messy affair, as their knowledge of their own biology and appropriate medical procedures has been lost to time, and they are not usually inclined to research that kind of thing.

This article contains spoilers! You were warned.

Uncrippled abilities

Able to sprint 180 km/h, run all day at half that speed, jump, climb, and maneuver with great agility, lift multiple tons, carry hundreds of kilograms, survive and recover from grievous injuries from weapons that would defeat power armor, hear heartbeats, sense targets at range by detecting minute air currents or shock-wave geometry, see infrared, ultraviolet, and energy signatures, hear and analyze radio, speak the nigh-unbreakable battle language, resist utterly all psionics and similar exotic weapons and sensors, alter their fur's thermal conductivity and albedo, resist biological and chemical agents, resist radiation, survive in vacuum, produce no infrared signature for significant durations, act and react far faster than most humanoids, hit a head-sized target at five kilometers, shoot down a missile in flight.^[ref]

Known Tozols

Tozol Quest

• Penji aka "Tethys" (formerly Sgt. Saon Vocta)
• "Cronus" (original name unknown, deceased)
• "Hyperion" (original name unknown, catatonic)

Battle Quest

• Lt. Vaejra Alhar, Team Leader/Infowar Specialist
• Sgt. Ota Karsti, Combat Engineer/Medic
• Trooper Rinis Ayen, Tinkerer/Engineer/Infantry
• Trooper Reya Oriat, Backup Infowar Specialist/Technician
• Trooper Anak Utaza, Expert Sharpshooter
• Trooper Thaen Sinh, Pilot/Mechanic
• Trooper Baj Oriat, General Infantry
• Specialist Kaselir Vrin, Vehicle Operator

Other Quests

• Venji (half-Tozol, protagonist of Venji Quest)
• Zowl Etaz (DungeonSold)