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Shini’s Headcanon Guide
(A lot of these are about the Tal’darim)
Protoss Biology Stuff
Protoss live for about 1000 years, sometimes more. For example, Preservers and Grand Preservers extend their lifespan based on how in-tune they are with the Khala. Nerazim in-tune with Void energies are also more likely to live longer lives.
Protoss require crystals to varying degrees in order to aid fertility (one of the Frontline comics has Templar searching for a particular crystal), but some factions have a higher birthrate than others. Khalai have the lowest, the Tal’darim have the highest because I believe that likely Amon would have manipulated their physiology in order to have enough bodies to throw into the meatgrinder.
Khalai/Templar have blue/lavender/brown skin in various shades, light and dark. Their eyes range from cyan to amber, and they tend to have wavy or horned crests with freckles. They often grow bone beards. They tend to have two thumbs and two fingers, and two or four toes. Nerve cords can be tapered or slightly frayed, as though the cord itself is a bundle of much smaller wires, and warriors tend to carve patterns into them.
Nerazim have lavender/purple/brown/grey skin in various shades, light and dark. Their eyes range from teal to amber, and their crests are often wavy, often grow long, though are less likely to be horned. They grow bone beards, but not as often. They tend to have a mixture of two thumbs and two fingers or one thumb and three fingers, and two toes. Nerve cords are often textured more like ropes, and thanks to the ritualistic cutting, often heal frayed like ropes even after clamping.
Tal’darim have lavender/grey/white/pink skin in various shades, light and dark. Their eyes range from pink to red, with amber as a mutation. Their crests are spiky, can be long or short, and can be horned sometimes with freckles. They rarely grow bone beards, instead growing cartilage spikes along the jaw and cheekbones. They tend to have one thumb and three fingers and have a mixture of two or four toes. Nerve cords are smooth with tapered ends. As a specific mutation, because of the Terrazine-choked atmosphere of Slayn, Tal’darim also have indents around the bottom of their crests and under their hip bones, providing more surface area for air intake.
Protoss with significant psionic potential have white cords. This can be a gradient or completely white, and they tend to be more flexible than regular cords. Cord colours in general can range from black to a deep brown or blue. When cut, cords bleed energy rather than blood and must be clamped or cauterised depending on how short they are cut.
There are small vocal cords and ‘ears’ just underneath the bottom tier of the crest, close to the tapered cheek bone. The ‘ears’ are still used, though the vocal cords are only used rarely, often when they are in intense danger or want to communicate in a way that camouflages them. Sounds made include clicks, whistles, and screeches. They can also purr. Because why not.
Protoss heights are anywhere between 210cm (around 6 feet eight inches) to 300cm (around 9 feet eight inches). There are outliers due to complications during pregnancy or incubation, or because of environmental factors.
Protoss do not have sexes in a traditional sense, but there is some dimorphism left over from before they were uplifted. What a human would consider a ‘male’ would tend to have larger hip bones and rough, large ‘scales’ as skin. A ‘female’ would have smaller hip bones and have finer ‘scales’, enough that the skin would appear smooth.
They can change what parts they want like frogs, which includes none at all (in the field guide, the Terran study of Protoss bodies mentions no orifices, so I suppose that zealots and Protoss that exist in an army have elected to not have anything at all for the duration of their time serving), and both ‘male’ and ‘female’ can carry young. Because their hips are narrow, live birth is not possible, and so they produce a pouch with the premature foetus inside it and bury it near a heat source (often the natural crystal formations). With the advent of technology, the pouch is put into an incubator. Protoss babies, once fully formed, come out with small tails like tadpoles that disappear as they grow, and jellied claws that harden in the first few hours (they are, after all, in a water balloon type thing for that incubation period). Twins are very rare, though not as much among the Tal’darim, as any extra foetuses within the pouch are absorbed by the dominant one for nutrients while in incubation (can you tell I took some inspiration from sharks?).
Some Protoss grow breasts, most don’t. They’re vestigial fat deposits that serve no purpose and honestly that’s the point. They are just there and effect nothing and are drawn attention to by nobody apart from maybe a few Terrans within the story.
Protoss are also not gendered; they choose what fits for them. Voices are often only gendered to the Terrans listening; Protoss feel the vibe and personality behind the voice more often than not.
They can smell and taste through their skin, though they have control over that, as well as control over the air (so they can smoke) and water they take in (this is so they can bathe for the next thing). Waste is disposed of through the pores a little like sweat. They use soap and special plant ointment for wounds, as well as bandages that is formulated not to be absorbed by skin or only absorbed by open wounds to aid in healing. They also have special creams and perfumes for their cords to keep them from going brittle.
Claws have a quick, and so can only be filed down or clipped a little.
Tal’darim burn more easily in the sun than Khalai or Nerazim thanks to their planet’s atmosphere and the way they have adapted.
Protoss have three hearts (this is canon, they tend to refer to them all as one heart because of how close together they are) and each have a different function. One heart does the final pass for processing nutrients, one processes oxygen specifically, and the third filters out toxins and waste before it is excreted through the skin. The first and second hearts are easy to fix and replace if they start to fail or are injured, but the third heart is smaller, the vessels are closer together, and so the Protoss is more likely to die if that heart fails. Even with their advanced technology, it is the most difficult heart to operate on (very much inspired by the Centauri from Babylon 5 here). All three hearts help to pump blood through the system.
For the first and second pass for processing nutrients, they have the equivalent of a liver and a pancreas, and also have lungs, though they are smaller than a humans would be because of the way they ‘breathe’.
Crests are largely made of cartilage. The first tier of the crest that protrudes from the ‘face’ of the skull is solid bone, but the lower tiers are comprised of bone ‘scaffolding’ with cartilage between them, making them a little more bendy.
Tal’darim Structure
I split the Tal’darim into 3 castes because I didn’t think it was practical for the Tal’darim in the games to ALL be on the Chain of Ascension, so I’ve made a few tweaks to how they function.
- Temple Caste
- Votary
- Apostle
- Priest
- Prelate
(Bloodhunters are from the temples the majority of the time)
- Ascension Caste
- Supplicant
- Warrior
- Executor
- Ascendant
- Highlord
- Smith Caste
- Vanguard
- Phase-Smith
- Overseer
All mid to high ranking Tal’darim in the Ascension Caste are expected at certain time each decade to choose another Tal’darim within the Chain to bear a child. The temples oversee the ritual, which involves Terrazine in order to stop the pair from killing each other.
Each of the resulting younglings are sorted into batches by the temples based roughly on when they were born. These younglings have a relatively nice start to life, taken care of and given synthetic sunlight to aid growth by Votaries and Priests (Alarak’s “comfort is a myth” voice line definitely influenced this).
Once they are old enough (around 50-100 years old), the batches are handed over to Executors. These are Tal’darim from the Ascension Caste that then begin to teach them the ruthlessness required to join their society. From here on, younglings are moulded into potential warriors and watched and earmarked for their potential in certain disciplines. They are encouraged to gang up on and torture/kill weaker younglings, as well as eliminate ‘competition’.
As they come of age (around 150-200 years old), they ‘graduate’ from their batches, and are each given their first cord decoration. These represent their survival to adulthood and are very valuable as trophies to opponents.
From here, they are sorted into the three castes.
Those who were deemed weak or ‘defective’ are thrown to the phase-smiths and made to work the factory lines, reverse engineering stolen vessels and creating new technology from what they have learned. There is no upwards mobility here, and they are mistreated brutally by Overseers, warriors originally from the Chain that have been disgraced in some way, but not to the point that they are executed. Phase-smiths regularly die through neglect or abuse. They wear the same uniform and are made to keep their cords long with a ring at the end so that they can be pulled out of collapses or machinery dead or alive.
Some that display significant psionic potential or are adept at manipulation (those who are not killed by an irritated Executor or equally quick ‘classmate’, at least), are offered to join the temples as a Votary (they can refuse in theory, though in practice this may cause problems later). From there, they move to the rank of Apostle, Priest, and sometimes Prelate. From the rank of Apostle onwards, those who prove themselves with a trial may become Bloodhunters (those from the Chain can also do this if they wish).
The rest are bundled onto the Chain, where they start as Supplicants. Here, they take the opportunity to get rid of as much of the competition as possible, just like in the batches, and can move from Supplicant to Warrior, to one of the five Ascendants (if they’re lucky), or even Highlord.
Tal’darim that are severely injured in battle are put into Vanguard shells and told to go and die properly this time (this isn’t headcanon, it’s just what they are in-game), and their rank is immediately below that of even phase-smiths, because at least they are useful for something.
There are five Ascendants (I have only ever seen five mentioned in canon stories, and since the Dark Templar Saga mentions the Golden Ratio so much, I was pretentious and decided to go with the Fibonacci sequence. Sue me), and each Ascendant is in charge of a caste or branch of the army. Fifth is in charge of the phase-smiths, first is in charge of the temples, second through to fourth are all in charge of parts of the Chain, often manipulating their followings in order to rise higher or keep themselves from being killed in Rak’Shir.
Each Ascendant gets three Bloodhunters, the Highlord gets five, and also gets five personal Supplicants for Rak’Shir if necessary.
In the same vein, there are five Prelates that form a council. Despite the fact that the Highlord is technically the will of Amon, the Prelates often act under His direct order and have more de facto authority than the Highlord through charisma, fear, and respect. The Prelates control the younglings and the Terrazine harvesting, as well as occasionally picking pairs to bear young if they find two particularly suitable matches. Each Prelate also has their own devoted flock and a set of five dedicated Priests.
Uniforms for Supplicants and the Temple Caste (Supplicants are required to have at least one braid):
What’s With The Emphasis On Emotion?
(Alternate title: Amon’s Specific Control Over The Tal’darim)
Just before younglings are handed over to their Executors for training (hazing), they are taken into a temple room individually and participate in a ritual, using Terrazine directly for the first time in order to ‘meet’ Amon. With this door opened, Amon puts blocks around any emotion that is seen as positive to ensure that each Tal’darim stays as blocked off from one another as possible. It serves the dual purpose of making them reliant on Terrazine; the only time that Tal’darim feel good is when they take it, and Amon is the one that gives it to them.
Sometimes this ritual doesn’t work. These ‘defective’ Tal’darim, if found out, are hunted down and killed by Bloodhunters.
After Amon is killed in the epilogue of Legacy of the Void, that emotional control is lifted from the Tal’darim, and they slowly start to gain new emotions that were only ever achievable through excess Terrazine use. This is what starts the slow roll into revolution, catalysed by the large swathe of forces deliberately sent to die at Nova’s hands in Covert Ops, followed by Alarak’s embarrassing defeat.
Tal’darim Structure After Reform But Before Var’gash (Including Aiur Tal’darim)
(this part is vague because I am always scared of messing it up. History A-Level save me… Save me history A-Level…)
Demands for reform come from regular Tal’darim, and after many assassination attempts and his own mess of emotions after Amon’s death, Alarak is forced to go to Artanis and ask for help moving forward. He wants to survive and therefore has to bend to the will of everyone else.
Because the Aiur Tal’darim have mostly integrated into Daelaam society at this point, there is an air of superiority over the Slayn Tal’darim who, in their mind, decided to stay and continue slaughtering each other for no point. Therefore Alarak has to disguise himself in order to keep under their radar, or the assassination attempts will continue.
Aiur Tal’darim still solve their issues more aggressively than their Khalai and Nerazim counterparts, something that takes more time to iron out. They have a council of thirteen Judicators (Fibonacci sequence again), with five of them taking instruction and guidance from low-ranked Judicators in the Khalai to pass down. They also completely scorned the idea of priests or temples, deciding to abandon the idea of a god being there at all, though some found comfort in the Nerazim and the embrace of the Void and the Shadow Walk as a substitute.
Efforts were made to ensure that they were all safely weened off the very high doses of Terrazine, both directly taken and in their old planet’s atmosphere at night, because on first arrival, many of the newly landed Tal’darim got very sick or died from going completely cold turkey.
Obviously, there is no Rak’Shir, but more rowdy individuals, particularly in the early days, initiated challenges in the streets, which had to be monitored by an already slim Templar and Nerazim guard, so the council’s formation also came with a formation of their own guard to try and enforce Aiur law.
As such, Alarak’s reforms are informed by the Aiur Tal’darim by suggestion of Artanis, over the years allowing for family units, ordering Bloodhunters to be law enforcement rather than covert assassins (not that it went fantastically well), and eventually cutting Rak’Shir down to only the five Ascendants and himself by the time Var’gash rises to the position of first. Getting rid of the Temple caste completely was an option on the table (inspired by that co-op mission with Ji’nara, their rebellion was counter-revolution and an attempt to bring Amon back), but thanks to the messy nature of the allowance of family units, and the discovery that the rituals done for pairs of Tal’darim were mostly for show, they ended up being a necessary part of making sure that abandoned younglings were taken care of.
Protoss Culture Stuff
Khalai and Nerazim raise children in a ‘village’ structure, where everyone in a community helps to grow the younglings into adults and helps the new parents where possible, though Nerazim are more likely to also just raise younglings within the family structure, leaning on the ‘village’ if needed rather than completely relying on it.
Nerazim have a matriarchy, so the ‘mother’ is the head of this family unit (mother is in quotes because, again, no real concept of gender or sex, in this case it would be whoever bore the children).
Khalai speech is often formal, with no use of contractions (this changes a little after the loss of the Khala). Nerazim use contractions in their speech but lean towards Khalani with a few changed or new words for their particular culture. Tal’darim language is an offshoot of Khalani, and sound harsh when compared to the almost musical sound of its predecessor. It’s also 90% swear words, and after Tal’darim integration, words that were intentionally scrubbed, often referring to friends, lovers, or family, had to be borrowed from the Khalai and the Nerazim.
Khalai like percussion instruments with grand sweeping compositions, Nerazim like strings that are light and playful, Tal’darim chant/sing in slow, low harmonies.
Khalai and Nerazim have no protective instinct around others when it comes to their bodies. They dress and undress freely, and most don’t bother with any sort of cover when swimming. For Tal’darim, the indignation at not being alone when removing or putting on clothing is a fear response based on the fact that if you are vulnerable around another, you will be attacked or it will be used as leverage.
Aiur Tal’darim use their given cord decorations as promise rings. It is essentially like pledging their life to a friend or a lover, either in a full exchange or just a one-sided gift depending on the dynamic. This practice is something that they’ve come up with themselves, adopted by the Khalai and Nerazim around them and eventually the Slayn Tal’darim as well.
If a Slayn Tal’darim calls another their equal, it is basically a confession of love where their language does not have the words for such feelings.
Supplicants made the game Rak’Nak, which is essentially a Rak’Shir version of an IRL board game called the Viking Game (I am making a rule book for it so that’s a thing that’s happening) using pebbles they find on the edge of the Pits of Ascension. It was later taken by Votaries who began making proper carved versions of it.