Physical Description

Zantli are long torsoed hexipedal forward hinge kneed felines who have evolved to walk on their hind legs with long thin tails.  Zantli have two sets of arms, stacked one set atop the other in the upper torso region.  The Otlian torso is described as separating into three portions, the lowest being the abdomen, the middle chest and the upper chest.  The torso is roughly V-shaped with the upper chest expanding out far enough in relation to the mid-chest to allow the upper arms to hang past the lower arms without touching them. These Nitrogen breathers are covered in short course fur of various colors.  Males have thick facial fur and light manes where females have thinner facial fur and thick mane that extends halfway down their back.

The Zantli have four slit-pupil eyes, with two in front and two more on the side of their head behind their ears giving them over 300 degree fields of view.  Below the forward set of eyes is a short snout that features a narrow mouth with two U shaped rows of teeth, one mounted on the jaw and the other to the roof of the mouth. Short ear flaps are low on the head in line with the  jaw. 

Zantli have five digits on their feet and hands.  The digits on Zantli feet are short but posses a good grasping ability, and in length are on average one quarter the length of their feet.  The hand digits however are approximately half to the same length as their palms and are comprised of four primary fingers and a single opposable thumb mounted to the side of the hand at the base of the palm.

Genitals on the males are external, while females house their reproductive organs internally.  Zantli females typically have six fertile cycles every standard year and release a mature egg for fertilization during each cycle.

History 

Early Zantli history is filled stories of great hunts across their world’s many biomes.  Hunters were held in the highest regards in Zantli society and kept the most important positions as they aged.  Over time the various Zantli groups came into contact, sometimes peaceful, other times with great wars breaking out.  Technological advancement considered apace and the Zantli achieved a the level of “dieselpunk” when a Sirian ship, escaping one of their civil wars, crash landed on Pummon.  Most of the crew were killed in the impact, but the Zantli, realizing they were not alone in the universe rebuilt the ship and formed a small space fleet.
This led to a great expansion into their solar system where old tensions rearrose and new wars began.  Splinter groups in the Zantli colonies eventually attacked Pummon, devastating the world with numerous asteroid impacts.

In the aftermath of these attacks and their near extermination, the Zantli created a new united government.  This government decided that the lack of voice amongst the people was the biggest issue and is what led to their numerous wars.  Therefore all adult Zantli were issued primative interweave connected macomm like devices and all governmental issues from the local to the planetary level were voted on by all peoples.  This soon became compulsory and failure to vote without acceptable reason would result in incarceration.

This led to decades of peace, but also societal stagnation and the voting in of numerous entitlements that threatened to cripple their economy.  Scapegoats were sought and “lesser” Zantli, those with smaller populations found themselves targetted to have their rights and entitlements removed or lessened.  THis again led to tensions until Zantli explorer ships made contact with the Galactic Federation.

Seeing that the Zantli had ships based on Sirian Tech and finding out that they kept a small population of Sirian and Thal on reservations on Pummon, the Galactic Federation demanded their release.  This led to a short war where the Zantli’s insistence that all of their number have a voice, and with no clear leadership chain, led to numerous losses despite numerical superiority and finally to them losing their war.
The Zantli were formally inducted into the Galactic Federation on CD 747.377 (ED 2338.007) as a servitor race where they still remain, though Zantli have a higher chance of achieving freeman status then most others.

Culture

Zantli culture is largely based on independence and having one’s voice heard.  While the majority may rule, solo Zantli are still commonplace in that they forge their own path.  Music, much of which is highly individualistic is common to find.

Major Religions/Philosophies

Zantli see themselves as descended from a great Feline God, though the name of that God varies by region and led to many early holy wars.
“I don’t care if I’m wrong you will hear what I have to say.”

Population

30 Billion as of last GF Census

Notables

Zantli have excellent night vision, and high Zantli freemen are often allowed to hunt enemy POWs and lesser slave races for sport.

Psionicism:  Zantli have a small but growing psionic population, especially in some of the “lesser” Zantli races.

Sub-Species

There are well over a dozen different Zantli sub species, most of which are differentiated primarily by size and fur coloring. Some limited interbreeding is possible between he sub-species, but often results in sterile offspring, therefore it is not commonly done or found. The major Zantli subspecies is the one after which the Zantli are named, with Zanto being the next largest group, differentiated by the presence of colorful stripes and spots, and the Zangi, a smaller sub-species that inhabit the colder regions of the planet. The remaining sub-species are much smaller, with some being far less intelligent, but no less wily.