Protoss

File:Protoss portrait.jpg

Artanis, a young Protoss "Praetor" in the StarCraft universe.

Template:StarCraft storyline The Protoss are a fictional race in Blizzard Entertainment's real-time strategy computer game, StarCraft universe. They are described as technologically advanced and rely on cybernetics in battle and have mastered their powerful psionic abilities. They are the primary opponents of the Zerg. The Protoss are also described as highly religious and follow a strict code known as the Khala. During the game, they are engaged in a devastating war with the Zerg; they have recently had to deal with a civil war within their ranks.

Protos in Greek means 'first'. This name is supposedly given because the Protoss were the first semi-successful Xel'Naga creation. They (the Protoss) were later deemed a failure by the greater species, leading to the engineering of the Zerg.

Physiology

Protoss are about three meters tall and have two luminous eyes, digitigrade legs, four digits on each of their hands (of which two are opposable), toes, broad chests and shoulders, and narrow waists with slim midsections. Their skin is smooth and becomes rough and cracked with age. Extending back from the crown of the head, Protoss have a bony crest. Otherwise the head of a Protoss may be subtly different varying on which tribe they are descended from. Their eyes are typically blue, yellow, orange or red, with the latter two colors more common (but not exclusive) for Dark Templar. As only one female Protoss is seen, and not in detail, the physical differences (if any) between males and females are unknown, as are the Protoss reproductive systems.

Protoss do not have any visible mouths, noses, or ears. Two of the Protoss portraits (namely those of Aldaris and the Arbiter unit) appear to have mouths, but these "mouths" do not ever open. Though it is unknown how their senses of hearing or chemoreception operate, they are widely believed to possess such sensitivities. They can communicate telepathically with each other, especially over long distances. A Protoss' average life expectancy is several hundred years, as the Protoss Artanis, who is 262 years old, is considered young; Raszagal, nearly 1100 years old, is considered elderly. Protoss have a psionic pulse encased within their physical body. Once that body is destroyed, the psionic pulse dissipates, flaring with a pale, blue light.

Society

Protoss religion

Protoss religion takes its roots from the wars that plagued Aiur following the retreat of the Xel'Naga. United under the teachings of Khas after several generations of warfare, the Protoss began to adhere to Khas's teachings of the "Khala", or Path to Ascension. When Protoss warriors die in battle it is believed that they have reached the "Khala's End." There are many similarities between the Protoss Khala and current or historical religious and philosophical movements. The most obvious parallel is with ancient (pre-Christian) Rome. The Khala's tenets of courage, duty and selflessness are reminiscient of the Stoicism of Marcus Aurelius and many "Protoss" titles such as Executor, Judicator, Arbiter, Praetor and even Templar as well as names like Antioch are derived from Latin. The Khala possesses a caste system which bears a striking resemblance to modern day Hinduism even including a group of "Untouchables" considered outside of the caste system (the Dark Templar). The strictness of Protoss hierarchy is reminiscent of Medieval Catholicism and the Aristotlean Chain of Being ideology that influenced the Catholic views on authority. It is likely that the Templar caste got its name from the Templar Knights, a holy order that took part in the Crusades. Another resemblance to Catholicism is the name of the Conclave, which is the same as the name of the high Vatican.

• Khala ("Path of Ascension")
• Dae'Uhl ("Great Stewardship")

Religious figures in Protoss society

• Khas — A prominent figure in Protoss society, he was the charismatic and spiritual leader who brought an end to the Aeon of Strife by using ancient Xel'Naga artifacts, the Khaydarin Crystals, to unite the warring tribes by calling them into a communal telepathic matrix. The belief that this was necessary for the Protoss to survive became known as the Khala, and it is followed by almost all Protoss factions. The Path of Khala is the sole and dominant religion in Protoss society, and societal rank (for example, Templar, or Judicator) and honour are linked with Khala.
• Adun — Another well-known figure in Protoss culture, he is honored by Khalai and Dark Templar alike. A powerful warrior in his time, he was charged with the extermination of the Rogue Tribes by the Conclave. Unable to bring themselves to slaughter their kin, Adun and his troops attempted to hide the heretics. Though he failed, he would be known as a saviour to the Dark Templar, and would gain similar status on Aiur after the myth of the heretics spread, revealing that he "saved" Aiur from the heretics and their "anarchist" ways. The phrase "En Taro Adun" (translating roughly to "In honor of Adun") is used by the Protoss as a formal greeting or farewell, and also serves as a battlecry, although Dark Templar often use "Adun Toridas" instead of "En Taro Adun". "Adun Toridas" translates roughly as "Adun Delivered us".

History

Aiur is one of many worlds engineered by the Xel'Naga, a race of extragalactic geneticists, obsessed with creating the perfect race that would be marked by a distinct purity of form. The Xel'Naga, after innumerable failures to create such a race, turned towards Aiur.

They watched over a particular species of hunters and warriors and discerned that they indeed had a purity of form, as they were incredibly adaptable and had unmatched strength and speed. However, they found the most intriguing ability of the species to be a psionic link shared by the entire race. This link, a form of instinctive telepathy, enables them to communicate with one another, so that even large groups could work together efficiently.

The Xel'Naga altered them to some extent with their Khaydarin Crystals, but were content to remain unseen for many generations. The Xel'Naga felt they had achieved their goal, and gave the new race the name of Protoss, which loosely translates as 'the First Born'. Aiur was eventually covered with civilized Protoss, and so the Xel'Naga descended onto Aiur in order to more closely study the evolution of their charges. A Temple marks where they first set down upon Aiur.

The Xel'Naga were initially revered as gods, as the Protoss looked towards their creators with respect and a lust for knowledge. However, as the understanding and personal awareness of the young Protoss grew, they began to place greater pride in individual achievements rather than the benefit of the community. The various Tribes sought to distance themselves from one another, seeking their role not only within their immediate society, but the universe as a whole.

The tribes began to fear treachery from their masters, and in seeking to sever themselves from the rest of their race, attempted to lose the psychic link that they shared. This dissolved whatever remnants of brotherhood or unity that the Protoss had shared. Feeling that the greatest attribute of the Protoss was lost, the Xel'Naga began withdrawing from Aiur. However, the suspicious Protoss responded with an attack that destroyed a number of Xel'Naga Worldships. The Xel'Naga Worldships fended off the hasty attack and left the system. The Protoss Tribes then turned against each other, beginning the Aeon of Strife, the most devastating civil war in recorded galactic history.

The Aeon of Strife

During the Aeon of Strife, Protoss advancement slowed, and the tribes waged a massive war with each other, lasting hundreds of years. Little is known from this time, but it is known that the Protoss lost their psionic link with each other. The Aeon of Strife was the longest, most devastating civil war to ever strike any currently known species. The most famous Tribe from this time period is the Akilae Tribe, which are to this day renowned as the Protoss' finest psionic warriors.

During this time, the Protoss maintained colonies on other planets, but these too quickly became gripped with the Strife.

He Who Brings Order

The mystic Khas (a word meaning "He who brings order") eventually brought about the end of the Strife. He had studied the "forbidden" teachings of the Xel'Naga and unearthed the Khaydarin Crystals. With these crystals he was able to amplify the psionic link, which had submerged itself in Protoss egos, and recreate the link.

With this power, he traveled across Aiur, teaching the Protoss he encountered how to join the psionic link; this became a philosophy called the Khala. Eventually he reunited the majority of the Protoss, forming three castes and a new Tribe.

The very first group of warriors and students to surround him became the Ara Tribe, and joined the Judicator Caste. The other Tribes to quickly join also became members of this caste.

The next group of Tribes became the Templar Caste (the warriors), and the majority of the Protoss became the Khalai Caste (workers and artisans), ending the civil war.

The philosophy known as the Khala brought on the Second Age for the Protoss. The Tribal society evolved into three Castes: the Judicator Caste (led by the Conclave), the Khalai Caste and the Templar Caste.

Rogues

Unknown to the majority of Protoss at this time, some Protoss refused to join the Khala, yet did not act on the violent emotions of the Strife. Adun and his Templar refused to exterminate them as ordered by the Protoss Conclave. Instead, Adun taught them how to hide themselves from the Conclave and to create psionic storms. He hoped that the Tribes would see the folly in resisting and join the Khala. The latter lesson backfired, as later they found that without the discipline of the Khala, the storms could not be controlled properly. The storms spiraled over Aiur, revealing the presence of the Rogue Tribes to the Protoss.

The barely reunited tribes began to fight once more. Old vendettas and ancient prejudices were reborn as the Protoss who refused the way of Khala were branded as traitors and hunted down.

Eventually the Conclave devised a way to impose order on the Protoss once more. The Rogue Tribes were secretly placed on board a Xel'Naga Freighter and exiled from Aiur. Their fate was kept a secret from the other Protoss. Eventually they became known, in legend, as the Dark Templar. These Protoss, forced to draw on cosmic energies to power their psionic abilities, ceremonially severed the nerve cords that linked them to the Protoss telepathic community.

Dark Templar

The Rogue Templar journeyed through the stars for hundreds of years. During this time the creation of the Dark Archon was banned, and the habit of cutting off their psionic appendages became common. In order to use psionic powers, they were forced to draw energy from the void. They also developed their fleet of Corsairs, vessels designed to defend themselves as they had travelled through the stars. Over time, they learned how to control their power, strong as that of the Khala but without its limitations.

During these journeys the Rogue Tribes had encountered Char, probably early in their journey. While the Zerg had not yet reached Char, the Rogue Tribes somehow lost the Khalis crystal on the planet. The Rogue Tribes eventually discovered the dark planet, Shakuras, during their journeys and remained, due to the presence of a Xel'Naga Temple. On the planet, they either found or created a Warp Gate, which they could use to travel to Aiur. However, they did not use that Gate to connect to Aiur for a long time.

Struggling to adapt to their harsh and nearly lightless environment, the Rogue Tribes altered their skills and even their biology to cope. Eventually Matriarch Raszagal, aged 1046 at the time of StarCraft: Brood War, and the only Dark Templar who was old enough to clearly remember the exile from Aiur, became the leader of the Dark Templar.

Expansion and Discovery

The Protoss conquered hundreds of worlds within their corner of the galaxy, spreading civilization to many of the less advanced races that they encountered.

The Protoss follow the Dae'uhl (Stewardship) of the planets once claimed by the Xel'Naga. They started supervising and protecting the lesser life forms, but they rarely interfered.

When the Terrans arrived in the Koprulu Sector, colonizing over a dozen worlds within Protoss space, the Protoss observed silently. They put the humans under their Stewardship.

The Protoss suffered disastrous contact with the Zerg. The Protoss discovered Zerg drones on the edge of Protoss space and discovered their true purpose: to conquer the Protoss and absorb their psionic abilities into the gene pool. They realized that the Zerg had secretly been infesting the Terran planets, so they began to liquidate these planets as a means of controlling the infestation. The Protoss destroyed their first targets without warning nor mercy.

The Fall of Aiur

After the destruction of the first Terran planet (Chau Sara), Tassadar would wait until the Terrans had left the planet before he attacked, but he would scour the surfaces clean of all Zerg. Tassadar, the leader of the force sent to scour the planets of the Zerg, enlisted the aid of the Dark Templar on Char without the permission of the Protoss Conclave after he discovered that they could be used to defeat the Zerg. Normally, a Zerg Cerebrate, a Zerg Brood commander, would be reincarnated if slain; however, the energies of the Dark Templar were able to cut off the reincarnation power. Unfortunately, when the Dark Templar led by Zeratul destroyed the first Cerebrate, the Zerg Overmind unexpectedly linked its mind with Zeratul. Their secrets were exposed to one another, and as a consequence, the Overmind discovered the location of Aiur. After a long battle, the Zerg finally managed to conquer the planet. Meanwhile, Tassadar was trapped on a space platform above Char, while Zeratul was captured in an installation by Infested Kerrigan, who had remained behind.

The Overmind itself landed on Aiur, but after a long, stalemated battle, Protoss forces slew several Cerebrates as a distraction tactic. Taking advantage of the confusion that followed, Tassadar, with the aid of Terran forces led by Jim Raynor, combined the energies of Dark and High Templar and sacrificed himself to destroy the Overmind. Even then, in the aftermath, most of the Protoss population (about 70%) was slain, Zerg were running loose on Aiur, and the Conclave had fallen. It is interesting to note that before the battle with the Overmind begins, the Conclave, realizing that Tassadar, Zeratul, and Jim Raynor had done much more than the Conclave could have hoped to accomplish, repented their past blind adherence to tradition. Aldaris remarks that they "...represent what is greatest in us all..."

Survival

With Zerg running loose across Aiur, Zeratul, a prominent Dark Templar leader, suggested that they flee to Shakuras, the homeworld of the Dark Templar. Despite protests from Aldaris, the leader of the remaining Judicators, they did so. However, it was soon discovered that the Zerg had followed them there, and that they had manifested themselves around the Xel'Naga Temple. The Matriarch of the Dark Templar, Raszagal, noted that they would need two crystals, the Uraj and the Khalis, each containing the powers of either Khala or Dark Templar (respectively), to defeat the Zerg.

However, Sarah Kerrigan, a Terran Ghost operative that had been infested by the Zerg into a ruthless servant of the Overmind, came to them and told them that there was a new Overmind growing on the planet Char. She claimed that she was free from the Overmind's control and that she didn't want to come under its influence again. So, when they agreed to help cripple the maturation of the Overmind, Kerrigan agreed, in turn, to help with the collection of the two crystals.

After the two crystals had been discovered and the Overmind was crippled, Aldaris and his followers declared civil war with the Protoss under the command of Artanis, Zeratul, Fenix, and their Terran allies (notably James Raynor). Aldaris's forces were defeated, and while Zeratul and Artanis were interrogating him, Kerrigan intervened and killed Aldaris. Zeratul was outraged, and banished Kerrigan from Shakuras. The Protoss proceeded to secure the Xel'Naga temple and combine the powers of the two crystals. This purged the surface of Shakuras of all Zerg. The Protoss, therefore, defeated the Zerg force.

In spite of her banishment, Kerrigan did return to Shakuras (much later), and with the aid of Samir Duran, her Zerg armies assaulted the Protoss settlement of Telematros. Duran blew up a large pylon cluster and under cover from the great explosion, Kerrigan and her Zerg forces kidnapped Raszagal, the Dark Templar matriarch. This led Zeratul to confront Kerrigan, demanding the release of the matriarch. Kerrigan claimed that if Zeratul killed the new Overmind on Char, she would allow Razsagal to return to her tribe. Raszagal, whose mind had secretly been infested by Kerrigan, convinced Zeratul to go with her plan. The UED (United Earth Directorate) on Char were defeated and Zeratul arrived as promised and killed the Overmind. Raszagal was allowed to return to the Protoss, but under the nefarious influence of the Zerg, she wanted to stay at Kerrigan's side. Zeratul was outraged and "stole" Raszagal back, hoping to cure her. But before Zeratul could cure Raszagal and return to Shakuras in a dimensional warp, Kerrigan's forces had ruined his Protoss settlement. Facing defeat, Zeratul was forced to kill Raszagal so that she would not live as Kerrigan's slave. Surprisingly, Kerrigan allowed Zeratul to leave after that, thinking that he would never forgive himself for killing his own matriarch.

Later, when Kerrigan had gathered her forces above Char, the remaining Protoss under Artanis (as well as forces commanded by the United Earth Directorate and the Terran Dominion), attempted to stop Kerrigan. However, Kerrigan defeated all three forces, and the remaining Protoss commanded by Artanis (Fenix had been killed and Zeratul had disappeared) retreated to Shakuras to begin "rebuilding their once-glorious civilization".

Heroes and other notable Protoss

• Aldaris
• Artanis
• Fenix
• Matriarch Raszagal
• Taldarin
• Tassadar
• Zeratul

Protoss units

Land units

• Probe — the Protoss worker unit, capable of warping in buildings, gathering resources, and attacking if absolutely necessary.
• Zealot — the bread and butter of a Protoss army, Zealots pack a powerful punch as a land unit. Their main weakness is lack of a ranged attack for air units.
• Dragoon — powerful support unit with a phase disruptor cannon. Dragoons, especially with range upgrades, constitute part of the formidable Protoss army.
• High Templar — though the high templar have no physical attack, their psionic abilities more than compensate for it. Psionic storm, their primary ability, deals huge area of effect damage, demolishing armies. Other abilities, such as hallucination, make them a necessary support for any professional Protoss player.
• Dark Templar — unlike their High Templar counterparts, the dark templar have no psionic ability but possess a devastating warp blade attack. Permanently cloaked, these units are powerful assassins.
• Archon — the ultimate Protoss melee unit. An Archon is formed by combining two high templar in an irreversible and deadly process. The archon has an incredibly powerful splash damage attack, capable of wiping out waves of enemies. It has high shields, but low actual hitpoints, making it very vulnerable to Terran EMP shockwaves.
• Dark Archon — the counterpart of the Archon, the Dark Archon is formed from two Dark Templar. It cannot attack, but can take control of enemy units. This ability is extremely powerful when used to control high tier units, such as the Battlecruiser or Carrier or transports of full of units as taking control of the vessel gains control of all of the units. Controlling enemy workers is fun but ultimatly not worth it in the short term. Like the Archon, the Dark Archon is easily destroyed by EMP Shockwave.
• Reaver — a slow moving, very vulnerable siege unit. The Reaver has a splash attack which can quickly reduce an enemy base and light units to rubble...if it is not overwhelmed by a quick counter attack.

Air units

• Scout — the basic Protoss air unit, the Scout stays true to its name, zipping around the map. It has a powerful anti-air attack, making it effective against all but the largest enemy air units.
• Observer — though it cannot attack, the observer is a must for true Protoss map control. It is a permanently cloaked unit which is useful for avoiding surprise attacks.
• Arbiter — possessing a weak attack, but great destructive capabilities, the Arbiter is a unit to watch out for. It cloaks all units within a large radius of itself (excluding other arbiters for balance reasons). When upgraded, an Arbiter can make a unit immune to attack (putting it in Stasis) and even teleport other Protoss units to its location.
• Corsair — very quick, the Corsair is a light but tactical air unit. Its disruption web ability, which prevents enemy ranged units from attacking, can turn the tide of a battle.
• Carrier — widely considered to be the most powerful unit in Starcraft, the behemoth Carrier is capable of laying siege to entire enemy bases. While it does not have an attack itself, it can carry up to eight "interceptors" when fully upgraded. Each interceptor is a light air unit which will attack and, if not destroyed, return to the carrier, coming back out fully repaired. In large numbers, Carriers generally signal the end of a Starcraft match.

External links

• Battle.Net: Protoss