I don't think the "Host" gender is intended to be another female (or male) Shirren or a female or male of any other race either. From what I understand from reading the CRB, the "host" gender is unlike the male and female genders entirely. The shirren are bug people, so think of an Ant or Bee colony. You have drones and workers, and a Queen. The Queen is unlike drones and workers entirely. I think that is what the host gender is intended to be like. A matriarch of some sort, and for all we know a single host may incubate dozens or even hundreds of larvae at a time. The host may not even look like a typical male or female shirren and could be an order of magnitude larger even!
*sigh* That is more likely the case. I really wanted a Kasatha father/mother fer my little Shirren lol
It seems to me that having a third gender, while interesting, would be inefficient in breeding unless it stems from some form of reproduction method that required a need for a third gender, such as a host. *shurgs*
Yes..... So why are you trying to remove the host gender's purpose from the reproductive method of the race and shove elves and humans in?
It seems to me that having a third gender, while interesting, would be inefficient in breeding unless it stems from some form of reproduction method that required a need for a third gender, such as a host. *shurgs*Yes..... So why are you trying to remove the host gender's purpose from the reproductive method of the race and shove elves and humans in?
lol Not human, Kasatha :D
EDIT: Whoops, hit enter too early. Story was two Shirrens got with a Kasatha and had child, etc. Kasatha ends up raising em. It would also explain why my Shirren would lack that "option junkie" trait. Instead, his neurotrasmitters are more inline to his kasatha sensibilities. So instead of getting pleasure from options, he gets pleasure from zen practices and such.
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It seems to me that having a third gender, while interesting, would be inefficient in breeding unless it stems from some form of reproduction method that required a need for a third gender, such as a host. *shurgs*
EDIT: Whoops, hit enter too early. Story was two Shirrens got with a Kasatha and had child, etc. Kasatha ends up raising em. It would also explain why my Shirren would lack that "option junkie" trait. Instead, his neurotrasmitters are more inline to his kasatha sensibilities. So instead of getting pleasure from options, he gets pleasure from zen practices and such.
The original Swarm seem to be a typical single queen, many multiple worker-drones setup, with a few males for fertilization purposes. The progenitor shirren (and/or the alien fungus) may have done some not-insignificant tinkering to their race to arrive at the present three-sex solution. It's possible that the host sex may not contribute DNA, but instead influences which gene sequences are activated or left dormant, maybe by hormones or enzymes (or the presence/lacks of specific shirren DNA sequences). Shirren larvae are also telepathic, so it's possible their brain/mind is shaped, at least in part, by the hosts' mind; a telepathic host might not even be required, so long as it as a sentient intelligent humanoid.
Yes..... So why are you trying to remove the host gender's purpose from the reproductive method of the race and shove elves and humans in?
To me, it isn't about making the shirren host less necessary; it's about giving shirren parents and possible non-shirren partners more family options.
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I don't think the "Host" gender is intended to be another female (or male) Shirren or a female or male of any other race either. From what I understand from reading the CRB, the "host" gender is unlike the male and female genders entirely. The shirren are bug people, so think of an Ant or Bee colony. You have drones and workers, and a Queen. The Queen is unlike drones and workers entirely. I think that is what the host gender is intended to be like. A matriarch of some sort, and for all we know a single host may incubate dozens or even hundreds of larvae at a time. The host may not even look like a typical male or female shirren and could be an order of magnitude larger even!
Actually, Insects still have Male and female sexes. Whatever is going on with the Shirren, it's entirely new.
As to how it looks? There was a Host shirren in some of the fiction, and they seemed like any other shirren.