Homeworlds and origins

[AlCapowned]

NeoNite from BUF was wondering if there were any maps that took place on the Krall homeworld. While there aren't any, I used to have some ideas for the planets and origins of Unreal's main bad guys. This is going to be a long read, so I've split everything up into spoilers. It's mostly just a bunch of non-canonical ideas, but it was fun to think about.

Krall:
[spoiler]I picture the Krall homeworld as being a fairly dry and barren place, with castles and fortresses on top of large peaks and cliffs. I used to think that the Krall people weren't a very diverse group, but that changed as a lot of the old content and Krall skins were found. Now I imagine that, before the Skaarj invasion, a bunch of different Krall factions were constantly at war with one another. The Krall in the final version of Unreal could be the largest in number and able to survive in a range of conditions since they don't feel the need to wear clothing (that, or the Skaarj are really cheap). The greenish/reddish Krall from the 0.864v prototype might be brutal cave dwellers that live in networks of tunnels underneath the peaks. The DarkAngel skin (the one with the iron/steel armor and bloody feet) sort of looks like a mix of the final Krall and the 0.864v Krall; I picture them as being good metal workers. I imagine the Krall from the Unreal box art, the 1998 beta, and the Krall with the titan armor as being from the most advanced faction. They have the know-how to make their own weapons, armor, and fortresses.

The titan-armored Krall poses an interesting question for the Krall-Skaarj relationship. Maybe this particular set of armor was made by the Krall, and the Skaarj decided to give a larger version to the titans. Maybe the Skaarj made both the armor for the Krall and the titans, or (if the titans' armor is just their skin) maybe the Krall like to hunt baby titans and use it as armor.

The UT3 Krall kind of throw a monkey wrench in the whole idea of the Krall being smart enough to make anything more than clothing from the skins and bones of wildlife on their planet, so I like to imagine that they were genetically modified by the Skaarj or Necris in order to be more stupid, savage, and brutal than usual. Unreal's Krall don't come off as being the brightest bunch, but they don't seem as dumb as the UT3 Krall, either.[/spoiler]

Skaarj:
[spoiler]I can't keep track of where I remember some of these things, but isn't the Skaarj homeworld of Skrath supposed to have a lot of lush jungle environments? What comes to my mind is the jungle from Predator, but with large swamps or damp caves for the Slith, and big trees for the dragons (I think the UnBible suggests that they're related). Because Skaarj pupae are some of Unreal's weakest enemies, I like to think that full-grown Skaarj made up for their initial lack of strength with their intelligence (sort of like humans).

Since there are a bunch of different looking Skaarj from Unreal, UT2004, Unreal 2, and Unreal Championship 2, I like to think that the Skaarj really got into genetic engineering at some point (as shown by the brutes and Cryo-Skaarj); the different clans value different traits that make them better warriors, like strength (Unreal 2), agility (UT2004), or a mix of both (Unreal and UC2). Their appearances are so different that I can't see them being naturally compatible.[/spoiler]

Mercenaries:
[spoiler]There's not much to go on for these guys, but I imagine that the mercs are so sensitive to most conditions that they need to wear their suits at all times in order to survive outside of their homeworld (sort of like the Breen from Star Trek). Their homeworld could very well be a huge wasteland from all of their industrial production, so I think they built around it instead of addressing any environmental issues. Maybe they have huge cities filled with weaponry and technology that the Skaarj can only dream of, or maybe they don't have many cities at all.

With a shield that turns them invulnerable and some of the more lighthearted animations in Unreal, I picture the mercenaries as being the universal pain in the ass. Killing a mercenary is annoying enough, so imagine if one of them turns on their shield and steps in front of a huge ion cannon just as it's about to fire. Suddenly, somebody is short one ion cannon, and the merc just dances away and laughs. With that sort of technology, something must be keeping the mercs from ruling the universe. Maybe they don't have the numbers, or maybe they don't care all that much and just like to make money and piss off the Skaarj.

Even though there isn't anything that connects the mercenaries to the Drakk (aside from their technological natures), I like to imagine that that they're related in some way. Perhaps a Drakk drone found its way on the mercenary homeworld, was promptly dissected, and became the basis for mercenary technology. Maybe they're both related to those ships that have the advanced AI from the Unreal books. Or maybe they're not related at all.[/spoiler]

What are your ideas? I'd like to see what you guys come up with!

[Mister_Prophet]

I more or less agree on what might be an ideal Krall homeworld, based solely on how I have always perceived them. The Skaarj use them, in my estimation, because they are natural survivalists and more than equipped, physically, to handle the badlands of Na Pali. I like the idea of the Krall being interrupted in a sort of medieval state of living by the Skaarj since it explains the settings they appear in the main games. They are quite comfortable in those settings where technology is more primitive. I do believe they are more intelligent than some might give them credit for, perhaps on par with the Nali in many ways, though I do think that because they are warriors by nature and how they are used by the Skaarj has maybe made many of them restless and belligerent, with a taste for brutal pleasures and little else. I also always assumed them to be natural Titan wranglers and based on levels like Dark Arena and Dasa, assumed they were chiefly responsible for Titan hunts/captures.

I've never liked the UT3 rendition of the Krall. No imagination. They took what was essentially an interesting looking creature and turned it into another generic new Unreal engine monster thing with no inspiring characteristics. They don't look interesting, they don't do anything interesting, and their mere existence in that form further confounds the already blurred lines of canon between the Unreal and Tournament games. If I had to choke out an explanation, and I have to because Epic won't acknowledge these decisions, it would be that the Krall are like dogs and wolves in that they are capable of changing much between generations due to breeding and perhaps those UT3 Krall were bred that way.

I'm less apt to throw in quite yet on the Skaarj Homeworld, though I thought the Mercs might be best represented as being without a homeworld, perhaps due to calamity. A whole civilization of space farers who live on ships and high tech colonies on moons, but never in large population circles. Nomads.

[UB_]

UT3 Krall = The Minotaurs.
They evolved to the point of being worthy slaves.

By the way, while Drakk aren't part of Unreal 1, Epic did plan some cyborg enemies to appear but were scrapped. I believe the Mercs are just a bunch of different alien races inside the same suits.

[Tarydax]

Based on what I remember from a character description in the UT ladder, I was under the impression that Skrath was a volcanic world (though I haven't played that through in years, so I wouldn't be surprised if I'm wrong). If it was actually a volcanic world, I would image it looking like the cut Lavagiant map for UT2003.

As for the Krall homeworld, I always pictured it as a Nyleve-type place. One of the descriptions for a UT3 Krall mentions that he wants to lead his people out of the swamps - do all Krall live in swamps? Is the homeworld mostly swampland, or is it just a faction of Krall that live in swampy areas? The absence of the Skaarj in that game leads to more questions, but given that it's UT3 and Epic doesn't seem to have put a lot of effort into connecting the Unreal games, Krall's description is discountable.

I picture the Mercenaries living on a planet covered with cities, and that they've polluted it so heavily they have to rely on greenhouses to grow their food.

[makemeunreal]

Wow, those descriptions are all just wow.
Then, I'll explain my thoughts on Titans.
I am sure they are the rulers of Na Pali, but with a rather friendly behaviour.
As far as it looks like, their gigantic size would fit as a vegan creature, as well as the bashing( thats how they get a lot of delicious fruit)the long arms, and even the Stone titans ability to throw stones.( It was mentioned on an Onslaught map, that the Nali used Stone titans to guard their castle.
They love eating the leaves on the high end of the trees.
As the Skaarj appeared, they become hostile because of how the Skaarj did treat em. They did even capture those giant creatures, and attached armors on em.

[Rarsonic]

I like to think that full-grown Skaarj made up for their initial lack of strength with their intelligence (sort of like humans).

Skaarj larvae (technically that should be their name) are actually very strong and capable for being, well, larvae.

[Themisto]

Indeed. Imagine if a skaarj was forsaken in a human controlled planet and he wanted to escape. Would he encounter a bunch of babies jumping for his throat?

Loving those lore speculation. Where can I can I see pictures of the earlier creatures?

[AlCapowned]

That would make for a great campaign.

You're both right, but I just don't see the Skaarj evolving to be as intelligent as they are in Unreal if they could completely survive on their own from birth. There could be larger predators on their homeworld. I never would have guessed that it was a volcanic planet.

Some of the old creatures:
Krall:
[spoiler][/spoiler]
Dragon:
[spoiler][/spoiler]

[Carbon]

I think it is safe to say that the Krall are pretty stupid. Well, if not stupid, then simple, like the orcs in LOTR. Easily controlled but not without independent thought based on needs and impulses. Taken as slaves by the Skaarj, I see them as being quite 'elemental' creatures; no frills, just survivalist, tribal and violent. Little finesse in them.

Their world would be one of underground tunnels, carved-out rock caves, simple rock and mud dwellings, crude tools. I suspect that their lances were provided by the Skaarj; the Krall were too intimidated to use them against their captors (or the Skaarj are just too big and powerful for the shock lance to be of any use to the Krall against them). They are seen gathered together playing some kind of game which seems to be without complexity or otherwise just milling around guarding while their captors are busy working; again, they are pretty simple things. They win battles by sheer numbers, not strategy.

When I think of the Krall, I think of Mordor from LOTR again. Dark, utterly depressing - not like the Necris, as the Krall have no such advanced technology - but very chaotic and visceral.

[ividyon]

Back when I somehow managed to misunderstand the nature of The Source level, I figured it was some sort of mothership portal into a vast void where the Queen made its home. So that's how I came to imagine the Skaarj homeworld; structures and floating platforms like The Source's floating in eternal darkness, perhaps above a barren, unhospitable, dead planet.

That vision is what spurned me to make a set of "stratosphere" maps with various islands (natural Na Pali sky islands, Skaarj platforms etc) connected by .:..:'s airships; I'm actually pretty heartbroken that the Source turned out to be something else entirely. (Or at least, that's what I've been told since.)

[evilgrins]

My original thoughts on the Krall, being they looked a lot like the salamanders I collected as a kid, was they were more an amphibious type lizard than actual reptile. I pictured a very moist world: swamps and such... but then in one of the upgraded Unreal/UT games I saw the new version of Krall and they looked more reptilian.

Didn't much think on that aftewards.

[Gameite2260]

I like to imagine that the Mercs home planet is actually filled with really strong but dumb creatures. Mercs just happened to be the smartest and were just strong enough to become dominant. That explains why they have freaking pulse cannons grafted onto their arms; They would need some firepower at all times to deal with them. That or they're crazy NRA types.

Maybe some unknown force "uplifted" the Mercs like in 2001.