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 Ex.pngClick to collapse Check.png
    Name Description Metabolism Complexity Exclude
    Strong immunity
    Gene StrongImmunity.png
    Carriers of this gene gain immunity to diseases faster than normal.
    −1 1 Immunity
    Slow runner
    Gene SlowMovespeed.png
    Carriers of this gene move more slowly than normal.
    +3 1 MoveSpeed
    Cold tolerant
    Gene MinTemperatureSmallDecrease.png
    Carriers of this gene are slightly more comfortable in cold temperatures.
    −1 1 MinTemperature
    Heat tolerant
    Gene MaxTemperatureSmallIncrease.png
    Carriers of this gene are slightly more comfortable in warm temperatures.
    −1 1 MaxTemperature
    Strong melee damage
    Gene StrongMeleeDamage.png
    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
    Gene Tough.png
    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.
    • Incoming damage multiplier ×75%
    −2 1 Toughness
    Reduced pain
    Gene PainReduced.png
    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.
    • Pain ×50%
    −1 1 Pain
    Slow study
    Gene SlowLearning.png
    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
    Gene Aggressive.png
    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.
    • Effects:
      • Social fight chance factor ×200%
      • Chance mental break is violent ×200%
      • Prison break interval factor ×60%
    +2 1 Aggression
    Aggressive
    Heavy jaw
    Gene JawHeavy.png
    Carriers of this gene have large jaws. 0 0 Jaw
    Heavy brow
    Gene HeavyBrow.png
    Carriers of this gene have a prominent brow. 0 0 -
    Hulk body
    Gene BodyHulk.png
    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
    Gene BodyStandard.png
    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
    Gene BodyFat.png
    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
    Gene PoorShooting.png
    The carrier's aptitude in Shooting is reduced by 4. Aptitude acts like an offset on skill level.
    • Shooting: −4. Note: Experience gain and decay applies as if this offset did not exist.
    +1 1 -
    Poor Social
    Gene PoorSocial.png
    The carrier's aptitude in Social is reduced by 4. Aptitude acts like an offset on skill level.
    • Social: −4. Note: Experience gain and decay applies as if this offset did not exist.
    +1 1 -
    Poor Intellectual
    Gene PoorIntellectual.png
    The carrier's aptitude in Intellectual is reduced by 4. Aptitude acts like an offset on skill level.
    • Intellectual: −4. Note: Experience gain and decay applies as if this offset did not exist.
    +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.