Races
Saiyans
This race is pretty much the predominant race throughout Dragonball Z. Unheard of though in DB, it was Raditz who revealed the shocking truth about Goku's origins in the second episode of Dragonball Z. Their history is littered with conflict, firstly in the tribal war against the Tsuru-jin (or Tuffles, in the dub! XP) and then as they became pirates, conquering planets and selling them to the highest bidder. Their ability to increase their power level is their main asset, by doing so in two ways.
1: Oozaru. The monkey transformation. A Saiyan must have his tail intact to achieve this transformation, which increases their power level ten-fold upon the sight of a full-moon. For the size they become, they don't lose an awful lot of speed, which Goku found out when he fought Vegeta on Earth the first time.
Advanced: Golden Oozaru (or Super Oozaru)
A mixture of Super Saiyan and Oozaru, this form can destroy planets with the batting of an eye-lid.
2: Super Saiyan. The inner-rage transformation. Only a Saiyan of pure heart can attain SSJ, evil, good, or otherwise. It takes true turmoil and desire to become a SSJ. For Goku, it was the sight of losing his best friend Krillin, and knowing that unless something happened, everyone he cared for would die. For Vegeta, his heritage and pride were hurt by Goku, and thus, trained dilligently to achieve the same level of success. Failing, he lost his mind for a moment, until he realised his moment of pure hatred for Goku had done what years in 200 times gravity could not. When a Saiyan transforms, his muscles expand and body radiates a golden energy. His hair spikes up and becomes golden, and the eyes turn green also.
Advanced: Ultra SSJ, SSJ2, SSJ3 & SSJ4
USSJ involves the muscles expanding to 150% normal capacity, and power increases also. Mirai Trunks became stronger than Perfect Cell with this transformation, but as he couldn't control it for a prolonged time, and also because the form is slow, he still lost.
SSJ2 and 3 are enhanced forms of the original, quicker and stronger. Bolts of electricity shoot around the fighter, and his hair becomes even longer and more spiked.
SSJ4 is the controlled form of Golden Oozaru. The Saiyans body resembles a monkey's, but the hair is black. The most powerful of all the transformations.
The Saiyans are not invincible. The cannot breath in space, and have no real special skills other than those related to strength. Their power level rises faster than any other race due to their DNA structure, which repairs the body when it has been wounded or has expended great deals of energy to be even stronger than before. Most of this race was wiped out when Furiza destroyed their homeworld Planet Vegeta with a single blast, as he feared the SSJ transformation. A race full of pride and honour, but not too full on what's in between the ears.
Humans
Few humans posess ki power, but those that have were strong in their time. Kamesennin had enough power to defeat Goku as a child in DB, and Krillin always tried to keep up. They are similar to Saiyans...only more normal, so to speak. Much weaker than any other race, they act merely as a vessel in the series for storylines to progress. Planet Earth is their home, where 3 of the 4 sagas took place. Earth had been ear-marked for destruction by both Furiza, Dr. Gero and Bibidi. The first two because of Goku, the last one thousands of years into the past, when the Supreme Kaio encased Buu before his path of destruction claimed Earth.
Nameks
The first of these to appear was the one named Piccolo, years before DB began, as he arrived on Earth, forced from Namek to improve his skills, and found the job as guardian appealing. To become the god of Earth, Piccolo rid himself of evil. Once he was pure of heart, he became named as Kami ('God'). From there, we saw Piccolo Daimaou, and then Ma Junior (Piccolo). Their story came to light when Ma Junior was defeated by Nappa as he protected Gohan. Without Earth's dragonballs to revive Ma Junior or Kami, the Z-Fighters went to the Planet Namek. A planet in constant daylight, lush grass grows, and the populace are mainly farmers. Seeing as how Namekians are in fact plants, they would have no purpose for eating anything! Green in appearance, they are a learned race, and seek to gain knowledge of the universe. Many a strong fighter has come from Namek, none as strong as the disciplined Piccolo though. They have a few tricks up their sleeves also to help them compete with the Saiyans.
1: Expansion. The mass transformation. A simple increase in size and strength, without any seemingly apparent drawbacks.
2: Regeneration. The recovery technique. When a Namek has lost a limb, it can grow it back by simply using energy. Piccolo, Nail and Cell all used this technique in the series. It does drain the users energy substantially though, and does look pretty gooey!
3: Fusion. The genetic combination technique. That was just a fancy of saying fusion...I'm honest! Anyways, two Nameks can choose to fuse together to increase their strength. One of which is the host, the other is absorbed. They can still have conscious thought, as they become inherant in the host. Nail and Kami all chose to be absorbed into Piccolo, and this left Piccolo wiser and more controlled. The host puts his hand on the absorbee's chest and waits for the absorbee to dematerialise. It's as simple as that. However...like the fusion of the Pottara Earrings...this is a permanent change, and is only used in dire circumstances.
The original Planet Namek was destroyed by Frieza, but thanks to Shen Long, the Earth Dragon, the Namekians were transported to Earth, and from there they wished themselves, through Porunga the Namek Dragon, to New Namek.
Androids
During the time of Dragonball, Goku came across the Red Ribbon Army. One of the leaders of Red Ribbon was Dr. Gero, the renowned scientist, who had used genetics to enhance his soldiers. One of these creations was the diabolical General Tao. After Goku destroyed the entire RRA single-handedly, Dr. Gero went into his mountain hide-away and swore revenge. Many years later, two androids appeared. The Z-Fighters fought them and won, thanks to Vegeta, but were unable to stop the other two androids, who went on to enslave the world. This was Mirai Trunks' reality. In 'our time', Dr. Gero created 21 androids. We see a few in the movies, but 6 we see in the series. 16-19, Dr. Gero is 20, and then there's Cell. Androids were made to destroy Goku. That was their sole mission. Destroying the world was simply a whim they had once that was done. Gero learnt how to create his demons by following Goku's progress using a small bug which tracked his power gain. They were made in one of two ways.
1: Pure. Mechanical androids. They androids are all 1-16 and 19-20. With the exception of 19 and 20, they have lifelong batteries, which never die, unless destroyed. 19-20 relied on absorbing ki energy from the Z-Fighters to become stronger. This was impractical, yet handy in 19's battle with Goku, after it absorbed a Kamehameha. These androids were not created to grow, and their power levels are set.
2: Bio-Mechanical. Mutant androids. 17-18 and Cell. Cell was composed of cells stolen from the Z-Fighters, and others, while 17-18 were once two youngsters who were kidnapped and subjected to experiments which led to them becoming everlasting machines. They probably were not the first two either to be killed by Gero. They also have batteries which never die unless destroyed. They can actually grow and become more powerful like humans can, as 18 proves when she develops later in the series and marries Krillin.
Majin
Not what I'd call a race, but they certainly are a different breed. The Majin are those who are controlled by either Bibidi or Babidi. They have the insignia of the Majin, which is a big letter M on their forehead. This indicates that the will of their master is in their minds. Majin are usually finely-honed to their full-potential. They cannot grow stronger though. To enslave a person to be Majin, Babidi looked into their hearts and found a shred of evil and amplifies it until it is overwhelming. It's unsure whether or not he truly possessed Vegeta or not. Yes, Vegeta had full control over himself, but he was also a slave to his own evil, which technically had been amplified by Babidi. Arguments on a postcard please. Majin are dedicated to reviving Buu, and any damage they inflict on a person they absorb. The energy is then transfered to Babidi to use for Buu's revival. No matter how strong you are, you can become Majin, as Vegeta and Dabura found out. Dabura, normally, would have told Babidi where to shove his meteor containing Majin Buu, but was converted to the cause easily, as he was the Demon King. Thus is the power of the sorceror kind.
Yardratians
Found on a small, desolet planet far out on the distant end of another solar system. This was the race that taught Goku Instant Transmission. These are usually small, but very intelligent. Dont let that fool you, they are a very strong race, but mainly focus their power on telepathic attacks instead of physical. All Yardratians are pure hearted and good. No Yardratians are evil.
Changlings
Frieza's race. This race is quite powerful. They have different forms and techniques that they can learn. They are normally bad tempered and evil, but some are good. Changelings have no obvious weakness apart from their cockiness, which in the end could be their demise.
Metamoru
Little is known about this nearly extint race, except for they have the amazing abilty to fuse by doing the Fusion Dance. Gokou learned this technique before traveling to Earth during the World Tournament/Babidi/Buu Saga.
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