Shad

The Shad are an alien race in the CrossWorlds MMO. They are the descendants of the Ancients and the native inhabitants of Shadoon.

Appearance
The Shad are often described as bird aliens due to their appearance. They have beaks and feathery faces, and many of them have some form of hair or long feathers on the top of their head. The females have small horns, which seem to grow larger with age, while the males instead have spikes coming from their eyebrows. Their skin and feathers are typically various shades of green, brown and purple. They have clawed hands and feet, and naturally stand slightly crouched.

History
Although the Shad are descended from the Ancients, they have lost the use of their technology. Initial interactions between humans and Shad were hostile, due to the humans being intent on harvesting Shadoon's resources against the Shad's wishes. However, after the start of Operation Trackwalker, relationships between the two races improved. Trading between the two races is now common, with humans providing the Shad with technology in return for their experience with Shadoon and their limited knowledge of the Ancients' technologies. The largest Shad village seen so far, Ba'kii Kum, even has a sizeable human population.

Language
The Shad have their own language, although it is not seen much in-game except in place names (Ba'kii Kum, Faj'ro, Vr'da Vil, Zir'vitar, So'najiz, Krys'kajo). Most Shad are able to speak English, although they typically do so with very poor grammar.

Villages
Shad tend to live in isolated villages close to nature. So far, two such villages have been seen. Ba'kii Kum is a large regional hub in the desert with a strong human presence which has brought advanced technology. Vr'da Vil, by contrast, is small and insular due to the village's distrust of humans over a past incident. Both villages are governed by an elder female, known as the Eldress, which may be standard for Shad villages.

Notable Shad
See the NPC page for a list of notable Shad NPCs.