Neanderthals
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Neanderthals are a xenotype of slow and sturdy humans.
Lore
Neanderthals are stocky, powerfully-built humanoids. Their most salient characteristic is that they are difficult to hurt: they are very resistant to injury, and their strong immune systems protect them from infection. However, without ever having evolved in a complex civilization, they are less adept than baseliner humans at intellectual and social tasks, and their impulsiveness can make them dangerously aggressive.
Homo neanderthalensis was originally an archaic population of hominids that emerged over 200,000 years ago during the Pleistocene epoch. After they were replaced by and merged with humans 30,000 years ago, they were absent for tens of thousands of years until scientists resurrected them from ancient DNA. Neanderthals now survive in sub-societies on some settled planets. On the rimworlds, neanderthal tribes carve out the same existence as their Earth ancestors did so long ago. - In Game Description
Summary
Neanderthals are slow in more ways than one, but they are excellent survivors. They are also strongly suited for melee fighting, and much less for shooting. They cannot be easily identified at first glance, but if you get in a fight with one, their unique talent for staying upright will soon be apparent.
Genes
Neanderthal genes are germline, so all of their genes are inheritable:
This table has been collapsed due to length. Click to expand  Click to collapse 
|
|---|
| Name | Description | 
|
|
Exclude |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Strong immunity
|
Carriers of this gene gain immunity to diseases faster than normal.
|
−1 | 1 | Immunity |
Slow runner
|
Carriers of this gene move more slowly than normal.
|
+3 | 1 | MoveSpeed |
Cold tolerant
|
Carriers of this gene are slightly more comfortable in cold temperatures.
|
−1 | 1 | MinTemperature |
Heat tolerant
|
Carriers of this gene are slightly more comfortable in warm temperatures.
|
−1 | 1 | MaxTemperature |
Strong melee damage
|
Carriers of this gene do more damage in close-quarters combat. Extra-strong fast-twitch muscle fibers make their strikes accurate and powerful.
|
−2 | 1 | MeleeDamage |
Robust
|
Carriers of this gene take less injuries than others from the same damage. They have thickened, densified bones, nearly-solid ribcages, and strengthened binding factors in joints and flesh.
|
−2 | 1 | Toughness |
Reduced pain
|
Carriers of this gene feel half as much pain compared to a baseliner. Reduced neuron activity in the brain's nociception centers makes pain dull and faint. This can be advantageous sometimes, and dangerous other times.
|
−1 | 1 | Pain |
Slow study
|
Carriers of this gene have deficient long-term memories and don't understand new ideas quickly. They are slow at learning new skills and knowledge.
|
+2 | 1 | Learning |
Aggressive
|
Carriers of this gene are quick to anger. They are twice as likely to start social fights. When they have mental breaks, they are twice as likely to choose an aggressive kind of break.
|
+2 | 1 | Aggression Aggressive |
Heavy jaw
|
Carriers of this gene have large jaws. | 0 | 0 | Jaw |
Heavy brow
|
Carriers of this gene have a prominent brow. | 0 | 0 | - |
Hulk body
|
Carriers can have large bodies. A person can have more than one body type gene; one body type will be chosen among those that are allowed. | 0 | 0 | BodyType |
Standard body
|
Carriers can have average-shaped bodies. A person can have more than one body type gene; one body type will be chosen among those that are allowed. | 0 | 0 | BodyType |
Fat body
|
Carriers can have fat bodies. A person can have more than one body type gene; one body type will be chosen among those that are allowed. | 0 | 0 | BodyType |
Poor Shooting
|
The carrier's aptitude in Shooting is reduced by 4. Aptitude acts like an offset on skill level.
|
+1 | 1 | - |
Poor Social
|
The carrier's aptitude in Social is reduced by 4. Aptitude acts like an offset on skill level.
|
+1 | 1 | - |
Poor Intellectual
|
The carrier's aptitude in Intellectual is reduced by 4. Aptitude acts like an offset on skill level.
|
+1 | 1 | - |
Their genetic complexity is 12. Metabolic efficiency is +2, giving them a hunger rate of x80%.
Origins
Neanderthals have banded together to form a touchy, fierce Neanderthal Tribe. With a lot of work you may get on good terms with them. There is also a small chance for them to show up with Empire parties, and a slight chance they will appear with outlanders or pirate bands. You may also see Neanderthals with unaffiliated groups of travelers or during quests.
Analysis
Neanderthal tribes
Despite using tribal technology, neanderthals enemies should not be underestimated in combat. With reduced pain, neanderthals take twice as much damage before being downed by pain shock. Pain shock is, by far, the most common way to down enemies in combat. This is further multiplied by the robust gene, which effectively gives another ×133% health in any situation. If they get into melee range, they are brutes due to strong melee damage and the aforementioned factors.
Due to their melee focus, low tech, and slow runner gene, kiting tactics can be effective. But kiting isn't the end-all solution. Neanderthals aren't that slow; at 4.40 c/s, they are nearly 96% as fast as a baseliner. Just wearing a flak vest will reduce a baseliner's speed to 4.48 c/s, which is very close to a neanderthal's speed. Factors like terrain, light, and injury can lead to neanderthals catching up quickly.
Thankfully, neanderthal raids will be smaller than usual. Each neanderthal raider counts as 1.6 baseline raiders.[Verify] So for a neanderthal tribe, raids will be 62.5% as large.
Neanderthal colonists
As colonists, neanderthals retain all of their strengths: reduced pain, reduced damage, and high melee damage. Neanderthals are also resistant to both disease and temperature. In return, you'll have to account for their weaknesses. Slow study results in x50% skill XP, which ends up being a large penalty for any skill. They are even worse at Shooting, Social, and Intellectual. And aggressive results in more social fights. With strong melee, social fights can easily result in lost limbs.
Overall, neanderthals are great melee colonists, though come with a few notable downsides. It may be wise to extract neanderthal genes and implant them on other colonists. This allows you to make xenotypes just as strong as a neanderthal, without the severe negative from the slow study gene.
Gene extraction
Some of the more valuable genes neanderthals have to extract are:
- Robust - Reduces damage globally. A globally positive trait.
- Poor <Skill> - If a pawn won't use these skills, poor skill genes are a net positive.
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Nonchalance Toxifier generator