Shashnimyn


A Shashnimyn is the bipedal myn culture with the largest society on the planet Shashnia.  Humanoid beings standing 5 to 8 feet tall, they are a diverse species with a lot of variation in physical attributes.  A selection of Shashnimyn individuals from around the globe might not even seem like the same speices.  They can appear similar to all nature of beings from human legend: from a feline or canine-like appearance, ogre-like proportions, slender elven builds, stocky dwarven builds, aquatic forms, and even more esoteric forms e.g. (one that appears necrotic).  This wide range of appearance is due to an extreme level of genetic diversity and generations of culture that has not interbred widely, but instead specialized to their environment.

 

   The Shashnimyn have an advanced culture of science and magic. Their technology level is approximately equivalent to present day Earth with some important differences. Due to the presence of magic and the naturalistic system of ideals, Shashnimyn have alternate origins for many of the technologies we are familiar with while some are not in use at all. For example, their global information network runs on magic energy transmissions between crystal towers and they don't use the combustion engine.
  Shashnani'i culture revolves around the pursuit of happiness and knowledge.  The most-subscribed to political view is a form of socialism, though the entire spectrum of political views are represented by varioius factions.  A hierarchical government system makes focused decisions from the level of the tribe, and world-level thinking is done by an elected global council.

 

Physical Description 

The Shashnimyn are mostly humanoid, having two arms, two legs.  The ancestors they evolved from had a third pair of limbs in the middle of the spine.  This was lost, and the rare occasions when a mutant possesses these limbs, they are very frail, mostly vestigal, have only two fingers and are useful only for delicate tasks.  Otherwise the limbs have 6 digits each.  The hands are mirrored such that there is two fingers and a thumb on each side of the hand, whereas the inner of the two big toes is elongated, and the outer shorter and splayed.

 

The limbs have an extra knee or elbow compared to humans on the shin or forearm.  On the forearm they only bend upward from the elbow to the wrist and are usually tensed, locking up to give extra rigidity. The additional joint on the forearm makes them very partial to the Kathini, a javelin-like throwing weapon.  The additional joint on the legs are rarely locked, and the extra bend goes backwards like a bird or antelope, helping them run and jump.

 

 

Explanation of the Figure.

Shashnimyn are double-jointed on the arms.  The medial pelvis-like structure is actually an ancestral girdle for a pair of limbs.  In the modern form it only functions as additional support to the rib cage, but in mutant and ancestral forms the limbs are still present.  The legs are drawn too short here

 

Regional variations

Depending on where the Shashnimyn grew up, there are a variety of different archetypical shapes or distinctive facial features.

The many different peoples of Shashnia - e.g. cat, lizardfolk, mountain dwellers, underwater, cloud farmers, etc

 

Language Notes

Shashnia - the name of the planet

Shashnimyn - the sentient humanoid beings of the planet Shashnia

Myn - sentient beings, be they animal, humanoid or magic

Shashnian - from the planet Shashnia

Shashnani'i - of the Shashnimyn