At every Vargr character generation, I ask what does that Vargr look like? We know the Vargr are wolf-like, somehow uplifted by the Ancients and then left to evolve over the past 300,000 years to 1105 and on. I have seen references to naming Vargr sub-species by their pelt coloration. But we have only translations for Gvegh and Aekhu, 'tawny' and 'black' respectively. We later see the Suedzuk referred to as "red pelts" or "blood wolves". Much later in MegaTraveller, we find the Irilitok described as bred for their cuteness to the disgust of the Ovaghoun who look down upon them and in turn are hated by the Suedzuk for (laying with the flat-faces), but I digress. Descriptions of average height and mass are given to a few that are outside the norms, e.g. Urzaeng and Kokasha. And still one more: the Akumgeda have distinctive spots on their pelts.
This got me thinking. So, here I break down what can generally be expected pelt colorations for each Vargr sub-species (or ethnicity for those with delicate hearts).
Aekhu - aek means black and so the Aekhu of Deneb Sector are generally black, ash or dark arctic (a dark silver wolf) in pelt. I see them with dark blue, alert eyes. This ethnicity was pushed into Deneb during the Vargr Campaigns and rediscovered there and parts spinward.
Gvegh - translates from the Gvegh language as tawny. We see a very wide range of tawny beige, brown, even orange-brown Vargr here with a wide spectrum of eye colors.
Logasku - IMTU, I see the Logaksu as the brown wolf, two-toned with lighter ventral coloration, becoming orange-brown where they overlap sectors or subsectors with the Gvegh. Their eyes are brown and sometimes feature red.
Urzaeng - This one is easy. The largest, bulkiest, most primal and dire sub-species of Vargr are naturally the gray wolf, timber wolf in coloration and may feature hints of Siberian huskie. Their eyes are light or sky blue and they always have a Resting Predator Face.
Ovaghoun - Meshan, and Antares Sectors produce a proud, supremist sub-species of timber wolf, Siberian huskie with patches resembling the German Shepherd though they retain full wolf genotype.
Suedzuk - an easy to spot "red pelt" an any crowd, the Suedzuk are feared and hated for the Sack of Gashikan. Their pelts are a range of red wolf, ruddy, blood and can be dark or vibrant red depending on where in the Vargr Enclaves they are found. Their eyes can be green, amber, brown, hazel, but almost never blue.
Irilitok - bred for Humaniti preferences, the enslaved Irilitok have recently been freed by the Menderes Corporation. Featuring Siberian huskie, black, arctic, tundra colorations based on homeworld, the Irilitok have larger, expressive eyes, attractive tails (a recent trend is tail docking by rebellious youth), bushy manes and thick neck ruffs.
Kokasha - the cloistered, surrounded and diminutive Kokasha appear similar to the Mexican wolf, small, sleek and very cunning. Their eyes are brown to amber.
Akumgeda- the second most powerful psionic sub-species, the Akumgeda are distinctive in that they are the only Vargr to feature spots on their pelts which breed true despite their re-Contact with the Gvegh and Logaksu. They have yellow, golden or amber eyes which can darken to brown. Humans liken them to hyenas but the comparison is unfair since they are still of the wolf genotype.
Nakagun - most akin to the Himalayan wolf, very little is known about this psionic phenotype of Vargr in Listanaya Sector.
Roth Thokken - born blind and the most psionic at birth, the Roth Thokken of Angfutsag Sector (and surroundings) are a distinctive Iberian or Indian wolf in coloration. Their eyes are milky white and dysfunctional. If one can get past their odd dress, unkempt appearance and fetishistic trinkets and talismans, the Roth begin to share some red-brown with their Suedzuk neighbors.
Tundra and Arctic colorations - any Vargr sub-species can feature Tundra, Arctic and even Silver wolf coloration, especially in polar, Cold (Co), Tundra (Tu) world environments.
Piebald coloration - overlapping regions featuring more than one Vargr sub-species can develop piebald pelts, often downtrodden as mixed blood or 'mutts'. Cubs of this pattern can be teased for being 'muddy' or 'puzzle' Vargr.
There are no true 'mutts' of indeterminable heritage in the Vargr In My Traveller Universe. We have read references that Ovaghoun can smell an Irilitok at conversation distance. The territoriality of the Urzaeng keeps them from double-occupying a starship stateroom. And who would want to interbreed with the hated and paranoid Suedzuk, to say nothing of the ostracized psionic varieties?
I hope this helps Traveller fans to envision the general appearance of the Vargr partitioned by their sub-species such that there is no 'Standard' Vargr. This rich variation should be exercised just as we Humans exercise our human variation.
From the sub-species archives on Lair, this is the Pakkrat.
This got me thinking. So, here I break down what can generally be expected pelt colorations for each Vargr sub-species (or ethnicity for those with delicate hearts).
Aekhu - aek means black and so the Aekhu of Deneb Sector are generally black, ash or dark arctic (a dark silver wolf) in pelt. I see them with dark blue, alert eyes. This ethnicity was pushed into Deneb during the Vargr Campaigns and rediscovered there and parts spinward.
Gvegh - translates from the Gvegh language as tawny. We see a very wide range of tawny beige, brown, even orange-brown Vargr here with a wide spectrum of eye colors.
Logasku - IMTU, I see the Logaksu as the brown wolf, two-toned with lighter ventral coloration, becoming orange-brown where they overlap sectors or subsectors with the Gvegh. Their eyes are brown and sometimes feature red.
Urzaeng - This one is easy. The largest, bulkiest, most primal and dire sub-species of Vargr are naturally the gray wolf, timber wolf in coloration and may feature hints of Siberian huskie. Their eyes are light or sky blue and they always have a Resting Predator Face.
Ovaghoun - Meshan, and Antares Sectors produce a proud, supremist sub-species of timber wolf, Siberian huskie with patches resembling the German Shepherd though they retain full wolf genotype.
Suedzuk - an easy to spot "red pelt" an any crowd, the Suedzuk are feared and hated for the Sack of Gashikan. Their pelts are a range of red wolf, ruddy, blood and can be dark or vibrant red depending on where in the Vargr Enclaves they are found. Their eyes can be green, amber, brown, hazel, but almost never blue.
Irilitok - bred for Humaniti preferences, the enslaved Irilitok have recently been freed by the Menderes Corporation. Featuring Siberian huskie, black, arctic, tundra colorations based on homeworld, the Irilitok have larger, expressive eyes, attractive tails (a recent trend is tail docking by rebellious youth), bushy manes and thick neck ruffs.
Kokasha - the cloistered, surrounded and diminutive Kokasha appear similar to the Mexican wolf, small, sleek and very cunning. Their eyes are brown to amber.
Akumgeda- the second most powerful psionic sub-species, the Akumgeda are distinctive in that they are the only Vargr to feature spots on their pelts which breed true despite their re-Contact with the Gvegh and Logaksu. They have yellow, golden or amber eyes which can darken to brown. Humans liken them to hyenas but the comparison is unfair since they are still of the wolf genotype.
Nakagun - most akin to the Himalayan wolf, very little is known about this psionic phenotype of Vargr in Listanaya Sector.
Roth Thokken - born blind and the most psionic at birth, the Roth Thokken of Angfutsag Sector (and surroundings) are a distinctive Iberian or Indian wolf in coloration. Their eyes are milky white and dysfunctional. If one can get past their odd dress, unkempt appearance and fetishistic trinkets and talismans, the Roth begin to share some red-brown with their Suedzuk neighbors.
Tundra and Arctic colorations - any Vargr sub-species can feature Tundra, Arctic and even Silver wolf coloration, especially in polar, Cold (Co), Tundra (Tu) world environments.
Piebald coloration - overlapping regions featuring more than one Vargr sub-species can develop piebald pelts, often downtrodden as mixed blood or 'mutts'. Cubs of this pattern can be teased for being 'muddy' or 'puzzle' Vargr.
There are no true 'mutts' of indeterminable heritage in the Vargr In My Traveller Universe. We have read references that Ovaghoun can smell an Irilitok at conversation distance. The territoriality of the Urzaeng keeps them from double-occupying a starship stateroom. And who would want to interbreed with the hated and paranoid Suedzuk, to say nothing of the ostracized psionic varieties?
I hope this helps Traveller fans to envision the general appearance of the Vargr partitioned by their sub-species such that there is no 'Standard' Vargr. This rich variation should be exercised just as we Humans exercise our human variation.
From the sub-species archives on Lair, this is the Pakkrat.
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