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Description
The sixth sapient species met by humans. They live in deep burrows under the light side of a tidally locked world, and they form eusocial colonies with a fertile queen, a few males, and about a hundred sterile workers. They have rings of bristles that help crawling in tunnels and reflective shields that protect them from the searing light. Their culture is very communitarian, and a Gbodr wouldn't think twice about dying for the colony.

More information at: s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_E…

Long version:

The world: The Gbodr planet is somewhat larger than Earth, and tidally locked to an F-class star. It is now believed that tidal locking occurred well after the origin of life, which had to adapt to a half-burning, half-freezing world. The dark side is mostly empty, with clusters of sessile chemoautotrophs growing around volcanic ponds; the light side is a rocky desert with a sparse covering of heat-resistant algae. The most prolific biome is found in the twilight belt: hardy forests of interlocking trees able to withstand the constant storms and hurricanes. Despite this, intelligent life is found only in the burning desert.

The species:
--Body structure: Like any other macroscopic organism, Gbodr survive the heat by burrowing. They have a flexible snakelike body, about two meters long, covered in rings of stiff bristles that allow them to anchor to the dirt. Two pairs of shovel-like limbs are used to dig new tunnels. When on the surface, a row of glass-like shells reflects the searing sunlight away. While they have a set of frontal palps, Gbodr lack a true head.
--Metabolism: A row of mouths is found along the ventral surface, all connected to a gut, ending with a single anus at the rear end. Gbodr mostly graze algae that grow on the stones, but they can also feed on tiny sandflea-like creatures and larger "plants". A certain species of giant tubers (they grow several meters wide to reduce water loss) are particularly appreciated. Feces are pushed on the floor of the galleries; some communities have recently started using them as fertilizer.
--Perception: While Gbodr don't have a specialized gustatory organ, taste receptors are found in large amount on the frontal palps, and in smaller amount on the digging limbs. The entire length of the body is lined with papillae that detect sound and vibrations. The glassy shells are connected to nerves, and they provide a limited visual perception: this allows them to come out on the surface only when light is less intense. Comunication occurs primarily by tapping the ground with the limbs.
--Reproduction: Gbodr are eusocial: most of the individuals are sterile, and only one female per colony is fertile at any given time. In each generation, a small group of Gbodr develop an immature ovotestis: the strongest and fattest one becomes the new queen (doubling her body weight in a few days) as soon as the previous one dies, and the others grow into fertile males. After each mating, the queen stores the semen in a receptacle for future use, and then kills and eats the male; the prestige of each queen is measured by the amount of hollowed shells that cover her body.

The culture: Despite what one might assume about a eusocial species, all Gbodr appear to be equally self-aware. However, they have little self-preservation and a strong sense of community: while they'll try to avoid accidental harm, individual Gbodr are always willing to die for the sake of the colony, and the idea of moving to another burrow is almost unthinkable. A Gbodr community is composed by 8-16 related colonies a few kilometers apart, each of which has a queen and up to a hundred workers. Most communities have complex storytelling traditions and art based on stonecarving; they also have a good knowledge of surface geology. Stories are almost always centered around colonies, rather than individuals. A few of them have recently started experimenting with agriculture.

How they see humans: Living underground, under the costant threat of overheating, has made the Gbodr somewhat agoraphobic, which means that interaction with humans should be restricted to enclosed and shadowed spaces. Humans, even in their most authoritarian society, appear extremely selfish and undisciplined; that applies especially to unchecked procreation, which would immediately result in crippling overpopulation for Gbodr colonies. When talking to humans, they're only concerned about the issues of the respective communities as a whole, rather than the mediators themselves.

Description
The sixth sapient species met by humans. They live in deep burrows under the light side of a tidally locked world, and they form eusocial colonies with a fertile queen, a few males, and about a hundred sterile workers. They have rings of bristles that help crawling in tunnels and reflective shields that protect them from the searing light. Their culture is very communitarian, and a Gbodr wouldn't think twice about dying for the colony.

More information at: s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_E…

Long version:

The world: The Gbodr planet is somewhat larger than Earth, and tidally locked to an F-class star. It is now believed that tidal locking occurred well after the origin of life, which had to adapt to a half-burning, half-freezing world. The dark side is mostly empty, with clusters of sessile chemoautotrophs growing around volcanic ponds; the light side is a rocky desert with a sparse covering of heat-resistant algae. The most prolific biome is found in the twilight belt: hardy forests of interlocking trees able to withstand the constant storms and hurricanes. Despite this, intelligent life is found only in the burning desert.

The species:
--Body structure: Like any other macroscopic organism, Gbodr survive the heat by burrowing. They have a flexible snakelike body, about two meters long, covered in rings of stiff bristles that allow them to anchor to the dirt. Two pairs of shovel-like limbs are used to dig new tunnels. When on the surface, a row of glass-like shells reflects the searing sunlight away. While they have a set of frontal palps, Gbodr lack a true head.
--Metabolism: A row of mouths is found along the ventral surface, all connected to a gut, ending with a single anus at the rear end. Gbodr mostly graze algae that grow on the stones, but they can also feed on tiny sandflea-like creatures and larger "plants". A certain species of giant tubers (they grow several meters wide to reduce water loss) are particularly appreciated. Feces are pushed on the floor of the galleries; some communities have recently started using them as fertilizer.
--Perception: While Gbodr don't have a specialized gustatory organ, taste receptors are found in large amount on the frontal palps, and in smaller amount on the digging limbs. The entire length of the body is lined with papillae that detect sound and vibrations. The glassy shells are connected to nerves, and they provide a limited visual perception: this allows them to come out on the surface only when light is less intense. Comunication occurs primarily by tapping the ground with the limbs.
--Reproduction: Gbodr are eusocial: most of the individuals are sterile, and only one female per colony is fertile at any given time. In each generation, a small group of Gbodr develop an immature ovotestis: the strongest and fattest one becomes the new queen (doubling her body weight in a few days) as soon as the previous one dies, and the others grow into fertile males. After each mating, the queen stores the semen in a receptacle for future use, and then kills and eats the male; the prestige of each queen is measured by the amount of hollowed shells that cover her body.

The culture: Despite what one might assume about a eusocial species, all Gbodr appear to be equally self-aware. However, they have little self-preservation and a strong sense of community: while they'll try to avoid accidental harm, individual Gbodr are always willing to die for the sake of the colony, and the idea of moving to another burrow is almost unthinkable. A Gbodr community is composed by 8-16 related colonies a few kilometers apart, each of which has a queen and up to a hundred workers. Most communities have complex storytelling traditions and art based on stonecarving; they also have a good knowledge of surface geology. Stories are almost always centered around colonies, rather than individuals. A few of them have recently started experimenting with agriculture.

How they see humans: Living underground, under the costant threat of overheating, has made the Gbodr somewhat agoraphobic, which means that interaction with humans should be restricted to enclosed and shadowed spaces. Humans, even in their most authoritarian society, appear extremely selfish and undisciplined; that applies especially to unchecked procreation, which would immediately result in crippling overpopulation for Gbodr colonies. When talking to humans, they're only concerned about the issues of the respective communities as a whole, rather than the mediators themselves.