Falleen are reptilian humanoids that occupy the Falleen star system. They are a handsome species exotic in appearance with scaled, gray-green skin and a spiny, sharp ridge that extends down the center of each individual’s back. This ridge is indicatave of their reptilian nature, as is their ability to change skin color. Female Falleen look slightly different from their male counterparts, in that the spinal ridge is smaller, their skin is lighter, and the ability to change color is somewhat more limited.
Unlike most reptilian species, Falleen grow hair. The females like to wear it long and adorn it with combs and beads. The males wear their hair tied up in a single braid or topknot. In recent years, some females have taken to wearing topknots, in an effort to obtain the same elevated status as is enjoyed by the males.
The species is considered aesthetically pleasing by most humanoids. Although their physique is perceived as well defined and attractive, the widespread acceptance they enjoy is not solely based on appearance. They can exude pheromones at will, and these chemicals are used to control the perceptions of others – perceptions that the Falleen frequently manipulate to their advantage. Falleen pheromones are so powerful, they can produce an almost hypnotic effect, and the manipulations often take on lustful overtones. The Falleen are also a long-lived species, living 250 standard years on the average. Some healthy individuals have been known to live 400 years.
What also makes the Falleen attractive is the aura of mystery in which they have wrapped themselves. They are not a talkative species and tend to be pensive. They do not show emotion in public, and they maintain a great deal of control over their physiology. Culturally, they remain stoic and shun outward signs of passion and anger. They experience emotion, but simply don’t show it. As a result, the Falleen regard beings who do show their emotions to be inferior.
They have also harnessed the ability to control their skin color and have learned to use it as a covert weapon, reverting from their normal shades of gray-green to red or orange, for example, in order to exude an essence of confidence and mastery. They use their pheromones to enhance the effect and further make a subject susceptible to suggestion. Pheromones may also be used between Falleen as communication tools, although they always suspect duplicity and remain disciplined in order to resist suggestions that may be imposed on them by others.
While the Falleen have employed space travel technology for generations, they rarely venture to the stars. Because they consider the Falleen system to be the bastion of the galaxy’s greatest culture, they prefer to manage their own affairs on their homeworld, rather than deal with offworlders. Their music, sculpture, art, and architecture provide a source of great pride for them, although they rarely share them with offworlders.
Falleen society is feudal, with lower houses ruling lower classes of artisans, technical workers, general workers, and slaves. Monarch rulers govern their kingdoms, caring more for internal political intrigues and the display of their wealth, rather wasting resources in waging war against one other. These kings maintain commerce with one another and occasional arguments over boundary disputes are never taken to extremes. Young Falleen nobles will sometimes spend part of their adolescent years on what is called a pilgrimage, a tour of the galaxy that allows them to experience all it has to offer. Most of them return to employ what they have learned when the time comes for them to ascend to the throne.