TEXT: STAR TREK ROLEPLAYING GAME
  SPECIES PROFILE
  SPECIES NAME: VAKLURAN
  VISUAL REPRESENTATION
  SPECIES ADJUSTMENTS
  +1 Strength, -1 Presence, +1 Intellect
  PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
  The Vakluran are a Vulcan off-shoot race very similar to 
  the Romulans. And yet there appears to be no 
  documented record of them in Vulcan culture, or history.
  When the original Romulans broke away from Vulcan and 
  left to establish their own civilization, which later became 
  the Romulan Empire, the records of the earliest in that 
  chain of events were kept, meticulously, on Vulcan as one 
  would expect.
  And yet there appears to be no such record regarding the 
  Vakluran.
  It is possible that they are either an off-shoot of the 
  original Romulans, rather than descending directly from 
  Vulcan stock.
  Vaklurans physically resemble Romulans, but they do not 
  have the slight forehead ridge that distinguishes the 
  Romulan people from their Vulcan cousins.
  Vaklurans do have the same upswept eyebrows, and 
  pointed ears of both the Romulan and Vulcan people. 
  Vakluran men shave their heads bald, however, which 
  creates a stark difference.
  In addition, all Vakluran have some sort of tattooing on 
  their heads, faces, foreheads and even some parts of 
  their upper bodies. This tattooing serves as a designation 
  of social rank and importance and a skilled Vakluran can 
  read the tattoos as if reading a printed biography of the 
  individual. The Vakluran tattoos can serve a function 
  similar to a fingerprint when it comes to identifying an 
  individual Vakluran. And it is against Vakluran law to 
  tamper with the tattooing once it has been applied.
  Because the tattoos serve to tell a life story of sorts, this 
  means it is very hard for a Vakluran to live down an event 
  in their life they may regret if it was also significant 
  enough to be included in the symbolism of their personal 
  tattooing.
  Vakluran women do not shave their heads, and instead 
  wear their dark hair long. But they still have the required 
  ritual tattooing, on their foreheads, faces, backs, and 
  upper bodies.
  All Vakluran have dark eyes.
  CULTURE
  Vakluran culture is very similar to Romulan culture, but it 
  also has some major differences. Whereas Romulans are 
  known for being warlike, and achieved their status as an 
  imperial power by military conquest, the Vakluran have a 
  very different way of gaining influence and expanding 
  their power-base.
  Essentially a capitalist culture, with a strong value placed 
  on business and on monetary worth, the Vakluran have 
  built up a large empire consisting of several semi-
  independent worlds that have either allied themselves 
  with the Vaklurans or have become subjugated under 
  Vakluran government.
  Those worlds who are allied with the Vaklurans form the 
  official governing body of the Vakluran Coalition, with the 
  Vakluran planetary government acting as the seat of 
  power for this coalition.
  There are between 12 and 20 worlds who are voluntary 
  members of the Vakluran Coalition, and they include 
  some of the more powerful peoples of the region of the 
  Alpha Quadrant where the Vakluran Coalition is a 
  dominant force.
  But there are many other worlds that are part of this 
  coalition unwillingly, or because they had no other choice 
  but to place themselves under Vakluran rule.
  The Vaklurans do not invade a world, or take control of 
  another planet with hostile military action, however. 
  Vaklurans gain control of a planet in a method similar to 
  what was once known on Earth as a “protection racket”.
  The Vaklurans, when choosing a world to annex, will 
  choose a world that is already under some difficulty. 
  Perhaps the planet's agricultural capabilities have been 
  decimated by some natural disaster, or the world has 
  suffered a recent military defeat and is in the midst of 
  reconstruction, or of rebuilding their basic society.
  It is at this point the Vaklurans move in. They begin their 
  conquest by hiring mercenaries, usually from among 
  privateers and underworld groups in the Alpha Quadrant. 
  And these mercenaries will carry out whatever 
  aggression the Vakluran see as required to overwhelm 
  the people of their target world.
  Sometimes this involves direct military aggression, 
  
  sometimes it can be quiet, and devious, as the Vakluran's 
  hired agents manipulate the target world socially, or 
  politically. In any case the result is the same. The target 
  world is made vulnerable to the next step of the process.
  This next step involves the Vaklurans coming to the aid of 
  the target world; either by volunteering diplomats to 
  resolve any political difficulties the mercenaries created – 
  perhaps the planet was nearly plunged into a war with a 
  neighboring world – or, in some cases the Vaklurans will 
  even send their military to “remove” the “invading” 
  mercenaries from the planet.
  And all the target world must do to benefit from not only 
  the initial support of the Vakluran people, but to continue 
  receiving their help is to become a member of the 
  Vakluran Coalition.
  Once under Vakluran control, the planet is then governed 
  by a Vakluran regent. A contingent of Vakluran soldiers 
  are stationed on the planet to prevent revolt ad to see to it 
  that the new coalition member fulfills whatever further 
  arrangements were agreed to in the initial treaty of 
  membership. And any visits to the planet by ships, or by 
  personnel representing outside governments is strictly 
  regulated.
  In this way the Vaklurans have amassed an impressive 
  empire, easily the rival of the Romulan or Klingon 
  empires. But Vakluran space is located on what could be 
  described as the “opposite side” of the quadrant from 
  those other two galactic powers.
  Vakluran culture itself can seem very similar to that of 
  both the Cardassians and the Romulans. Vakluran are a 
  proud people. They have all the technological 
  advancements and amenities of their Romulan cousins. 
  And they have a strong military, and a large and powerful 
  starfleet.
  But, their devotion to a more capitalist, business and 
  industry based society has lead to the Vaklurans being 
  less militarily aggressive than the Romulans, or 
  Cardassians. And yet they are more devious and 
  deceptive in their dealings with other species.
  As a result the Vaklurans have remained a largely 
  unknown power, only encountered by the Federation on a 
  few occasions over the past two centuries. And none of 
  these encounters ever resulted in any meaningful first 
  contact procedures, or any direct conflict.
  It was not until 2386, when the Vaklurans attempted to 
  annex, or subjugate Cardassia that the Federation, or the 
  rest of Alpha Quadrant society came into general conflict 
  with the Vaklurans.
  As a result, the military might of the Coalition, and its 
  several voluntary member worlds is beginning to be felt 
  in Federation space, and beyond.
  LANGUAGES
  The Vakluran language has some strong similarities to 
  both Romulan and Vulcan, indicating a common root-
  language. But some elements of Vakluran dialect are also 
  similar in tone and structure to Cardassian. The Vakluran 
  language is as easy, or as hard, to learn as Romulan.
  Most Vaklurans encountered will speak their own 
  language. They will also be functional in the native 
  languages of at least two or three other Coalition member 
  worlds, depending on which planets in the Coalition the 
  individual Vakluran interacts with most commonly.
  Few Vakluran speak Federation Standard, unless they 
  have been required to operate in Federation space for 
  whatever reason.
  COMMON NAMES
  Vakluran will have both a family name, or surname, and a 
  proper name. Like their language in general, Vakluran 
  names sound like a mix of Romulan and Cardassian 
  linguistic elements.
  Family Names: Borak, Volshar, Pintaris, Ashrak, Minar
  Male Names: Vitan, Opitak, Tenarak, Silvar, Morshar
  Female Names: Bilan, Tinarif, Silaris, Vinta, Asha, Milara
  HOMEWORLD
  The Vakluran homeworld of Vakul is a large class-M 
  planet in orbit around a dark blue class-O star.
  Vakul is located at the heart of the Vakluran Coalition, an 
  interstellar empire that dominates at least seven sectors 
  of space sandwiched neatly between the regions 
  controlled by the Breen, the Tholians, and the Cardassian 
  Union.
  The Vakluran are on a technological plane equal to that of 
  Romulus, or Cardassia. But most of their technology – 
  weapons, warp-drive, etc., seems to be based on phased 
  energy, and matter-antimatter conversion configured 
  similarly to that of the Klingons. 
  The Vaklurans have a very large and capable star navy, 
  but choose not to use military might in conquering 
  planets they wish to add to their Coalition.
  In some cases worlds will actually volunteer to become 
  members of the Coalition. These voluntary members then 
  become members of the ruling body, and their governing 
  officials are allowed to participate in Vakluran elections, 
  and to select high-ranking figures from among their own 
  people to serve as regents of the Coalition, governing 
  neighboring planets who have been subjugated into the 
  Coalition.
  Physically, Vakul is a beautiful world. There are three 
  large continents, and several smaller ones. And the 
  Vakluran landscape is almost paradisaical.
  The Vakluran maintain their environment, despite their 
  industrialized culture, by outsourcing the labor required 
  to maintain such a culture to other worlds in the 
  Coalition. As a result, many worlds in the Vakluran 
  Coalition are as environmentally unstable as Vakul is 
  stable. 
  FAVORED PROFESSION
  Vakluran can be found in almost any profession 
  throughout their Coalition. The most notable exception 
  are Vakluran Mystics.
  A Vakluran Mystic is the equivalent of a philosopher. A 
  wizened teacher who will be an expert in the history of the 
  
  Vakluran people. And it is from a well-taught Vakluran 
  Mystic that one might learn more of the origins of the 
  Vakluran people, and of their connections to Romulans 
  and Vulcans beyond the physical similarities.
  Most Vaklurans will be Diplomats, Merchants, Soldiers, or 
  Rogues. 
  There are also a large number of Vakluran serving as 
  Starship Officers in their own starfleet.
  SPECIES ABILITIES
  Vaklurans are easily as strong as Romulans, but not as 
  powerful as Vulcans. This works out to a +1 to their 
  Strength attribute. They also have a -1 penalty to their 
  Presence, due to their coarse, often impersonal  way 
  dealing with others. And even though they do not have 
  the psionic abilities inherent to Vulcans, and possible for 
  some Romulan people, Vakluran are exceptionally 
  intelligent, giving them a +1 to their Intellect attribute 
  score.
  In addition, Vaklurans will have the following distinctive 
  species traits and abilities.
  Bonus Edge: Keen Hearing. Like Romulans and Vulcans, 
  Vakluran have especially keen hearing and they receive 
  the edge Skill Focus (Keen Hearing), and its benefits for 
  free.
  Prepared: All Vaklurans are trained, from an early age, to 
  be able to handle any task they undertake. They are very 
  precise and organized in how they approach even the 
  most menial of jobs. Vaklurans receive a +1 bonus to all 
  extended and combined tests in which they participate. In 
  addition they are not easily distracted, and d not suffer 
  penalties for distractions during Academic tests.
  Devious: Vakluran culture requires all Vaklurans to be 
  able to manipulate, connive, and deceive for the purpose 
  of advancing the Vakluran Coalition beyond its current 
  borders. As a result, Vakluran learn these skills from an 
  early age and receive a +2 species bonus to all Influence 
  skill tests.
  Prying: Vaklurans are naturally curious individuals, and 
  usually use whatever information they are able to extract 
  by means of even the most casual conversation to further 
  whatever personal goal they may have. As a result, 
  Vaklurans gain a +2 species bonus to all Inquire skill 
  tests.
  Underworld Connections: Due to their extensive use of 
  mercenaries, and their habit of hiring privateers to 
  establish their claims to worlds they wish to absorb into 
  their Coalition, most Vaklurans will develop a few 
  connections among the criminal elements of the Alpha 
  Quadrant. They receive a +2 to all Enterprise (Streetwise) 
  skill tests as a result of these connections.
  Bonus Edges: Meticulous. Multitasking.
  Species Flaws: Arrogant. Proud
  The symbol of the Vakluran people, and their homeworld of 
  Vakul, as displayed on most of their banners, as well as their 
  primary computer displays.
  The inclusion of ancient Vulcan script does indicate some 
  connection to the Vulcan people in what has become obscured 
  Vakluran history.
  VAKLURAN WEAPONS
  The Vakluran have a variety of weapons used by their 
  soldiers to enforce the directives of the Vakluran 
  Coalition upon subjugated worlds.
  Mercenaries working for the Coalition do not use 
  Vakluran issued weapons, however, they will use 
  weapons of their own design, from the technology of their 
  own culture, or bought off of the black market, as is usual 
  among mercenaries and private soldiers-for-hire.
  VAKLURAN DISRUPTOR RIFLE
     Specifications: 75cm long, 2.5L in volume, 2.3kg
     Description: A shoulder weapon of an elaborate 
  and ornate design that has a decorative, and 
  intimidating look.  The weapon is surprisingly 
  easy to use, and is not nearly as unwieldy as it 
  looks.
     Settings: 2, 5, 7, 9, 11, 14, 15, and 16
     Duration/Energy: 3,000 charges
     Range: 5 / 50 / 100 / 200 +50 meters
  VAKLURAN PISTOL SIDEARM
     Specifications: 20cm long, 0.8L in volume, 0.7kg
     Description: The sidearm of all Vakluran military 
  
  personnel, including both shipboard officers and 
  planetside enforcement troops. Less elaborate in 
  its construction than the disruptor rifle, but still 
  one of the most powerful energy pistols available.
     Settings: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, and 16
     Duration/Energy: 1,200 charges
     Range: 5 / 20 / 50 / 100 +20 meters
  Given that Vakluran energy weapons bear a striking 
  resemblance in look and function to Reman weapons it is 
  almost inevitable that the Vakluran either supplied the 
  designs of these weapons, or the weapons themselves to 
  the Remans prior to the Reman revolt against Romulus. 
  The same can be said of Vakluran starships, and their 
  similarities in design, and capability to Reman warbirds.
  VAKLURAN DAGGER
     Specifications: 35cm long
     Description: An oddly shaped knife with a very 
  sharp point and yet very dull edges, designed to 
  cause excruciating pain when used as a stabbing 
  weapon. The weapon is carried as a sidearm, for 
  use in hand-to-hand combat, by Vakluran starship 
  officers and enforcement soldiers.
     Parry Modifier: +1
     Damage: 1d6+4
     Rules: Does an additional 1d6 damage when 
  pulled from a wound – does double damage when 
  inserted into the wound up to the ring on the hilt, 
  and an additional 1d6+4 when pulled from the 
  wound at this depth. 
  Inserting the dagger to its full length requires a 
  successful initial attack, followed by another 
  successful attack, which receives, as a bonus, the 
  degree of success of the previous attack.
  eg.: if the attacker scored a Complete success then he would 
  receive a bonus of 1-5 on his followup attack. A Superior 
  Success would net a bonus of 6-10.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Star Trek RPG/Decipher/Species/alien_Vakluran.pdf