Nietzscheans
(Homo sapiens invictus)

As instigators of the civil war which ultimately destroyed the Commonwealth, Nietzscheans aren't the most popular denizens of the current post-Fall landscape. The war itself proved devastating to the Nietzschean people, with untold millions killed in battle fighting on both sides. Many Nietzschean Alliance planets were on the front line of hostilities and suffered greatly in the war, while Nietzschean populations on many Commonwealth worlds were subjected to internment and mob attacks. And the clan wars and general strife that began with Pride Jaguar's betrayal of the Drago-Kazov and continue to this day have proved even more pernicious to the long -term health and survival of the Nietzschean people. Dozens of once powerful prides-Atreus, Kodiak, Al-Sharif, Three Rivers, and Banyamulenge to name but a few-have been all but exterminated by other Nietzscheans, while still others have fallen prey to Magog, Than, or other hostile powers. Meanwhile, those prides which remain powerful, such as Drago-Kazov, Sabra, and Jaguar, spend much of their time defending territory from each other or putting down revolts by restless subjects.

Physical Characteristics
Nietzscheans are bigger, faster and stronger than normal Humans. They are immune to most poisons and diseases. They can breathe chlorine gas without harm. They can eat a much wider variety of foods, survive in harsher environments, and pride themselves on thriving where normal humans wouldn't dare to tread.

Reproductive Method
Nietzscheans most commonly practice a modified pair bonding form of reproduction which various males compete to win the favor of reproductive-age females, who choose their consorts on the basis of genetic fitness more than emotional compatibility. It is not uncommon for a high status male to have more than one female consort.

Homeworld
The Nietzschean subspecies originated at Ayn Rand Station, a colony founded by Human geneticist Paul Museveni in a globular cluster near the Milky Way galaxy. Since then, Nietzscheans have spread throughout known space, reproducing rapidly until they now constitute 8 percent of the overall Human population.

Social Characteristics
The Human philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche believed that strife and conflict would inevitably reshape men into something better and stronger than what they once were. As a Human subspecies, Nietzscheans took his words to heart and used genetic engineering and nanotechnology to reshape themselves into the ultimate survivors.

Nietzscheans have built their culture on the twin pillars of social Darwinism and Dawkinite genetic competitiveness. Their single-minded devotion to self-improvement and the propagation of their own genes can strike other species (even their non-Nietzschean Human cousins) as selfish and arrogant, yet in practice the Nietzscheans' boundless energy and willpower have made them valued contributors to Commonwealth society.