 | The Goa'uld are the scourge of our galaxy. They have technology superior to most of our galaxy. in reality they are weak and can survive for only a short time out of water or a host. They can take complete control of their host, which are usually humanoids although they may take other hosts. One example of this is when Marduk took a strange spider/octopus as his host when it killed his original host. They are power-hungry and often appear as gods or at least heros. They are also arrogant and consider humans and other hosts as insuperior animals, as we think of cows, yet it seems they cannot even communicate properly without hosts.. It is thought that their sarcophagus is a large factor in what makes them so evil. This is the reason why the Tok'Ra do not use sarcophagi. Their thirst for power means they fight amongst themselves and ally with other Goa'uld only in times of diffuculty. One exception to this rule is Anubis, who returns from his exile to reunite the Goa'uld to strengthen their overall power and protect it from powers outside the galazy. As the Tok'Ra constantly reiterate it is easier to fight many Goa'uld than one all-powerful one. The Goa'uld do not share technology. |
The Goa'uld originally evolved in the water as predators. They are snake-like in appearance. Daniel Jackson found many of their ancestors on that planet. Eventually they took the parasitism and can leap out of the water and into a Unas's mouth. The Unas now wear protective armour on their necks and drink by cupping their hands together and putting that to their mouth, rather than simply sipping to water.
 | The Goa'uld retain all knowledge of the Goa'uld who lived before them, genetic knowledge. Daniel Jackson originally wanted this knowledge after his quest for Sha're ended but Shifu taught him that the genetic knowledge of the Goa'uld would corrupt him. A human who is born from the hosts of two Goa'uld is called a harcesis, Shifu and Heru-ur are both harcesi. They also retain the genetic knowledge. It is forbidden for Goa'uld to mate as such. |
The Goa'uld invented very little of the technology they currently possess. They have either stolen it from other races or found it. According to Teal'c they understand very little of their technology. If a Goa'uld takes over a host the Goa'uld steals all his/her or its knowledge. One Goa'uld who seems to actually research her own technology is Nurrti who has an offworld lab and is trying to create a superior host who has psychic powers.
The Goa'uld generally do not reproduce. They require a queen Goa'uld such as Hathor. The queen takes a small blood sample of the host and assimilates it into the new Goa'uld's genes, so they match. This creates a bit of a plothole since the Tok'ra claim the Goa'uld have no sex, therefore Osiris is not male-he only chooses to have male hosts (up until Sarah of course). To date we know of only a few queens, Hathor, Amonet and Egeria, the Tok'ra queen. The Queens have a vast amount of knowledge about genetics-they can alter the genes of their offspring by passing on paticular genes. They also pass on all their memories (a concious thing-a queen can choose not to do it, like Egeria of the Tok'ra. In this way larval Goa'uld do not develop their personalities like humans, rather they build onto existing personalities allowing them to control hosts immediately upon blending.
Larval Goa'uld are stored inside pouches in Jaffa. The Jaffa have no immune system and are totally dependant apon the Goa'uld. If a Goa'uld matures and there is no other host they will take the jaffa as their host. Other Goa'uld can't take jaffas as hosts as long as there is a Goa'uld within their pouch. The larval Goa'uld acts as the jaffas immune system. Jaffas live up to 150 years before any larval Goa'uld put into them would reject them and the jaffa would die.The Jaffa were once normal humans but were altered to have the X shaped pouch and the lack of an immune system. This was done as before the invention of jaffa-making technology the first blending between a host and symbiote only had a one in two chance of success-if it failed both would die.
Jaffa once thought of the Goa'uld as gods, although Bra'tac and Teal'c have begun to plant seeds of suspicion and rebellion amongst the jaffa. Apophis now has installed a device that sends any death gliders stolen from him by rebel jaffa to return to him, he has also stopped jaffa priests from owning larval Goa'uld in a tank in case they steal or kill them. He may also have aided towards Kytano's failed rebellion. Bra'tac, Teal'c and Kytano all believe that without the jaffa they would be nothing.
 | The Goa'uld originally chose humans as their hosts because they were versatile with their hands and their bodies could easily be healed in sarcophagi. Though the Unas were stronger Ra took the body of a human because he was dying. However apparently (I'm not quite sure on this one), the Unas can be healed more easily by a symbiote, an Unas was shot and he survived somehow (Thor's Hammer, Season 1) |
The Goa'uld are constantly bickering for power and do not share except in necessity. They deal with other races only when forced to and even then do not always submit, especially not to humans. They have a feudal group of Goa'uld called the System Lords who fight constantly amongst themselves. They squable over territory and plot against common enemies such as Earth, the Tok'Ra and forces outside the galaxy-such as the Asgard.
The System Lord have a deal with the Asgard called the Protected Planets Treaty. The treaty protects the planets from the System Lords who must in turn enforce this treaty amongst all Goa'uld, including outcasts such as Nurrti and Apophis, even Anubis. However the problem is the treaty isn't strictly enforced by the Asgard as they are tied up in the war against the replicators. The Asgard act as moderators (if the race knows of their real identity-not gods) during the discussion between the Goa'uld and the race who inhabits the planet. Both the Asgard and the race in question must make large sacrifices. In Earth's case the Asgard allowed the Goa'uld access to the Passage of Nylor and the humans were to give up Stargate travel. Fortunately Nurrti attacked Cronus and they managed to prove it so now they are allowed to keep and use the Stargates but any Tau'ru caught travelling on other planets will not be protected by the treaty. According to treaty law, section 326, no protected human planet may advance technologically to the point where it poses a threat to the Goa'uld, this threat is determined by the Goa'uld. Also the treaty recognises the human race exists for the purpose of serving as slaves and hosts for the Goa'uld. According to subsection 424 (long treaty huh?) the Asgard cannot artificially advance the races on the planet, this includes protecting it from a natural disaster, doing so would nullify the entire treaty allowing the Goa'uld to attack any and all Protected Planets.