[Space] Insufficiently Advanced

[Frost]

I have another couple of questions. First of all I am thinking of taking a lead from the alien generation system in Space and giving humans Playful as a species quirk (I think it fits the concept). I have a few ideas about the impact of this but if anybody has any suggestions, feel free to share?

Secondly does anybody have any suggestions for more pregenerated species that might play well with the setting? My target is nine or ten species (as you may have gathered I have four at the moment with two more I am not sure about) and I want to see if I am missing anything interesting before I generate species in bulk.

The kind of thing I am looking for is non-humanoid, not psychic, and able to interact with humans without too much technological intervention but the weirder the better.

[ericthered]

We built a bunch of aliens a while back. An index is in post #2.

Dang, that was 10 years ago!

I made the hawfax a while back, and I find it kind of fun. You may need to redo the culture section though: they have an intentionally modern culture, as they're meant to contrast with the humans of 1910.

The designer's notes for Gurps Space includes stats for the alien species in the vignettes of that book. Not all of them are non-humanoid, but most of them are.

I'll see if I can remember any other good aliens we've got.

[Frost]

Originally Posted by ericthered

We built a bunch of aliens a while back. An index is in post #2.

Dang, that was 10 years ago!
...

I'll see if I can remember any other good aliens we've got.

These links are a little goldmine, especially the first one, I already have another three possible species at least. I will put up my current list in a bit.

I had forgotten that first one, despite contributing to it so thankyou so much for the reminder.

[Frost]

My current list of species (links will follow at some point- where possible):

Rhee Tul, homebrew. Your friendly neighborhood elder species.

Darhani, homebrew. High gravity dwellers with a strong sense of hierarchy.

Memer, Aliens. Reclusive oddballs with a resentment for the Rhee Tul. (I am in the process of modifying the template to make them less xenophobic and a bit less robust).

Jisa, GT Aliens 4. Gentle inquisitive worms.

Eshua, Diomedes. Conservative, community minded pyrophobes (Originally presented as humanoid but they were too good not to use so I am tweaking the template).

Xahi, Combatmedic. Something like a deer with a prehensile nose, but smarter.

Thronts, Combatmedic. Squat, chummy, tough, and violent when drunk (Originally presented as humanoid but again I am tweaking the template).

Tenders, Flyndaran. Bizarre-looking creatures who farm and require their tree like female's sap.

I am still not sure about the Pechekki for the ninth spot, the make a good token humanoid and I like the idea behind them but do they fit?

[mburr0003]

Originally Posted by Frost

I am still not sure about the Pechekki for the ninth spot, the make a good token humanoid and I like the idea behind them but do they fit?

I don't see why they wouldn't.

I also like to include what I call "sessile aliens", that is aliens that don't get out much off their homeworld, either because they can't (sentient rocks) or it's a lumping massive pain to accommodate them (advanced biotech using sophont whales).

Of course they really only work in settings where the PCs will be far travelling, so they'd likely encounter either the lone weirdo from that race, or their planet.

Of course relooking over your list, you've got that in the Tenders, so that's covered. (Are those influenced by the Rimworld's Gauranlen dryads perchance?) And you also have the Memer who prefer to hangout in space just to non-social... so they also kind of count towards this.


AS well I enjoy including "problematic" aliens. These are aliens that generally "get along" (even if tersely or 'because they have to'), but things can go terrible quickly. Think along the lines of Psychic Vampires, who may have there own vaguely non-sentient thralls to fed off of (or a completely sentient "servant" race they have handy - for it's own moral problems), but what happens when the Star Vamp diplobrat's thralls are murdered and they are starving before the big diplomatic meeting? Which PC will let it consume their precious IQ or Will points?

Or one I played once which was similar to a lamprey eel, but they didn't just need a host for nutrition, but had also long ago evolved to burrow tendrils into the hosts nervous system and control them like a puppet. The first encounter between them and humanity was a tiny bit of a disaster... but in the game I played them they had non-sentient vat-grown cloned hosts to ride. Of course there was the mission where the host I was riding was killed and my character had to attach to a fellow PC to survive...

[ericthered]

Pechekki are fine. You don't even have to make them humanoid: the essense of the race isn't about its limb count. You can roll up the limbs and locomotion and such on the alien generator.



That said, having the empire already have a mostly humanoid species can be really nice, because it lets them have thought about humanoid accommodations before. Bonus points for all the accommodations being designed for people who get sopping wet all the time.

[Frost]

Originally Posted by mburr0003

I also like to include what I call "sessile aliens", that is aliens that don't get out much off their homeworld, either because they can't (sentient rocks) or it's a lumping massive pain to accommodate them (advanced biotech using sophont whales).

Of course they really only work in settings where the PCs will be far travelling, so they'd likely encounter either the lone weirdo from that race, or their planet.

Of course relooking over your list, you've got that in the Tenders, so that's covered. (Are those influenced by the Rimworld's Gauranlen dryads perchance?)

I couldn't say you would have to ask Flyndaran who came up with them for the VUASO thread back in the day.

Originally Posted by mburr0003

And you also have the Memer who prefer to hangout in space just to non-social... so they also kind of count towards this.

I like that kind of species too which is why I thought of the Memer. I am working on an alternative template that plays it down a bit, but having them hiding out in remote places or playing nomad in bulky clumsy looking ships should give them a bit of charm.

[Frost]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Pechekki are fine. You don't even have to make them humanoid: the essense of the race isn't about its limb count. You can roll up the limbs and locomotion and such on the alien generator.



That said, having the empire already have a mostly humanoid species can be really nice, because it lets them have thought about humanoid accommodations before. Bonus points for all the accommodations being designed for people who get sopping wet all the time.

My thoughts exactly, so now we have the Pechekki on the list and I have my nine species. Now I guess I can't put off finishing my human write up.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by mburr0003

I also like to include what I call "sessile aliens", that is aliens that don't get out much off their homeworld, either because they can't (sentient rocks) or it's a lumping massive pain to accommodate them (advanced biotech using sophont whales).

Of course they really only work in settings where the PCs will be far travelling, so they'd likely encounter either the lone weirdo from that race, or their planet.

One idea I've often revisited (but have never had a chance to use) was an alien species that didn't often take to space travel because they usually started a family and put down roots. Literally. Their reproductive cycle involves some extreme generational dimorphism where their "offspring" are actually grandchildren that bud off of a sessile and non-sapient generation in between (which can only be born/planted in a narrow window of fertility). So any space travelers are either weirdos that have rejected their own society or individuals that have suffered a deep personal tragedy.

[Frost]

Sorry it has taken so long, I gave had a busy few days but here it is:

Humanity Continued

Human [-1 points]

Playful [-1]

Taboo Traits (genetic defects) [0]

Humans remain generally recognisable to a twenty first century reader which should not be particularly surprising given the lack of intensive reengineering over the past century.

The human population of Los Despordados is drawn from various western (or westernised persons from non-western) states, primarily the so called D-14 an alliance of older and more affluent democratic nations.

With only two decades of divergence society and politics in Los Despordados still closely resembles their terrestrial parents. This in turn is not in broad strokes dissimilar to, or at least fairly predictable by, twenty first century society.

Socially the headline changes are that society is heavily urbanised to the point that adaption to the habitats of Los Despordados required few (if still important) changes, far less religious, and more accepting of specific differences while being somewhat less tolerant overall.

Politically the combination of democracy and market economy remains solidly entrenched although the preferred flavour is now (semi) parliamentary government and a mixed economy with some distributist undertones.

The big change from the early twenty first century is the political realignments that followed the so called 'culture wars' which saw the decline of the religious right, which despite temporary successes ultimately lost on most hot button issues. In the aftermath of that defeat religious political group intensified their drift to the left in matters of economics. Often reframing their opposition as a response to 'big business manipulation' and slowly forming links with left wing parties that were themselves becoming increasingly puritanical.

The current political spectrum in Los Despordados runs from centre right (in US terms moderate economic conservatives/ moderate social liberals) to two different strands of left wing thought (both socialist/ social conservatives, for a certain value of the term) a quasi anarchist strain favouring direct democracy and decentralisation, and a second formed from old school state socialists.

Views on Commonality relations tend to align with this spectrum, most colonials are centre to centre right, accomidationists tend to the centre or centre left, while groundsiders lean to the (religious) left.