One of the first actual races I've created are a sort of fish people. They live on land in little villages right on the shore. Their skin is red and covered in scales but they are still the shape of humans except for a fin (like a seahorse) on their backs (should they have tails too?). So basically they're still in the planning stage so if you fellows could ask questions about them it'll really help me mold their culture and habits.

God Bless,

RJasmina

Do they have gills? And how much time do they spend in the water?


I think webbed feet would probably be better.

What do they eat? Fish? Seaweed? Pancakes? Do they celebrate holidays or birthdays? Do they cook? Do they sing, or play? Do they have weapons? Can they talk to fish? I like the idea of webbed feet.

They sound cool
Are they only red? Or can they be other colors? What are their house made of? What is their hair made of? (seaweed?) Do they have large families (more than 6) or small families?

I'm somewhere between giving them lungs and having it somehow be gills that can close... probably just lungs but they can stay under for about an hour if I go that route...

They have long webbed fingers and toes with small claws on the end so when they make their finger tips meet (like when you grab a handful of chips) it makes a sort of orb of skin.

They farm certain algae to dry and make a sort of flour they use to make thin, flat noodles. They also block off certain waterways to keep their "livestock" fish in. They eat the fish and use the scales with algae thread to make clothes.

They only talk to fish in the same way we know our pets, usually the body language, so they treat them basically like we treat any animal. They also tame eels and train them to act as guard dogs or falcons. They also use weapons and traps to hunt. Spears and bows are the usual instruments.

Their music is mostly percussion because it can be heard better underwater. They've also learned to sing like whales. They are generally rather quiet on land because they're not used to the way sound works.

They celebrate holidays based on tides and therefore, the moon(s). Because there is a greater tide once in the spring and once in the autumn those become days of celebration. They do not celebrate birthdays but rather phases.

Children are born gray-brown but turn more orange as they age. Because their scales aren't clear like a fish's, when the new colors come in the old ones sort of peel off (called phases). These happen very predictably at certain ages and take about a day. Because they grow more as children they have more phases however at about 20 years they reach the red phase which lasts thirty years. After that phase the men turn more and more yellow while the women change through various shades of purple and blue.

Their families are rather small because a child can only be born to a mother every five years.

Their hair varies from a dull rufus to olive drab (yes for blending in like seaweed). They grow it very long but it is very thin so sometimes it looks more like algae then seaweed.

Their huts are made from rocky mud and shells that are ground into powder. because of the moisture of the area they are very low to the ground to avoid collapses.

Wow, they sound cool. Are they eels they have electric eels? What sort of government or leadership roles do they have?

No, more like Moray eels. Electricity only works if the eel is alone otherwise people get hurt.

They have a group of elders (called yellows) that lead them. There is usually not much need for law enforcement because they keep to themselves and take pride in their work so the yellows only really determine how the people should act in outside affairs.

Are they peaceful, or more inclined to attack? Do they live in close family units? Does anyone rebel against the yellows?

they're very peaceful and like to keep to themselves. Because there are not very many of them a village is usually a group that can trace themselves to a few common ancestors so they practically are a family group. There aren't any real rebels against fellow people but against different races some individuals are more hostile than others. The sentence for disobedience is traditionally exile because they are all so close to each other.

Very interesting, and very well developed.

If they went to war, who would they go against? Why?

there aren't really many people on their side of the continent so they've really only fought with people trying to use their fields (basically a gulf) as a harbor, there was a time when they weren't on friendly terms with the merfolk of the atoll not far south of the mainland but they've since reached an agreement to leave each other at peace.

It's kind of cool that they were once enemies of the merfolk--I can see how two similar races like that might have some friction...

Just one question--you said that they have lungs, and only spend up to an hour underwater, but from most of their culture and pets, and so on, it seems like they spend more time underwater then above water? But I really like how much you've developed these--they sound really neat! =)

eruheran

The more I think about it the more I'm considering giving them gills but I don't yet have a good reason for them to stay so near land without them. Any thoughts?

By the way, their gills can close so they can stay on land but they inhale water into pouches rather like lungs. These pouches store water for breathing while they're on land. It's rather like breathing under a blanket so they don't like to do it for long if they're going to be moving around.

After some extensive Hawaiian research I think I'll name them the Nohokai.

These people are really cool. Personally, I am against the existence of tail, unless you have decided that already.
As far as the lungs go I definitely like your idea of the water pouches inside their bodies. An alternative idea would be to give them the ability of hydrolysis, that is, to literrally break an H2O molecule and use the Oxygen. The flip side to that is what they do with the H2 bubbles, but that could be half the fun. Maybe I will look up how our body's combustion process works. I know for a fact that the first three stages out of four produce some energy, while it is the fourth stage that makes most of the energy.
One other question... how does algae thread work? Sounds a little flimsy.

I don't think I'm doing a tail. And I'm going to stick with water pouches, I just need a reason for them to be on land since they like the water better. I'm not sure about the algae thread, it's strong and I've asked but they won't tell me how they do it...

Maybe they stay close to land because they need the gulfs for fields? How do they communicate underwater? If they use fish as pets, do they use any larger sea animals for work?

I think I'll have them stay by land because they like it... Perhaps they could harness manatees for field work.