10-23-2019, 09:17 AM | #1 |
Join Date: Feb 2016
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Alien Genetic Engineering [Biotech/Space]
A question, have you ever used or faced aliens that have benefitted from extreme genetic engineering? For example, TL12 genetic engineering allows for IQ+4, Per+2, and Will+2, while the alien creation rules in Space allow for up to IQ 13 racial averages, meaning that an alien species that benefitted from TL12 genetic engineering could have an average IQ 17, Per 19, and Will 19.
If you have, how was the experience? Was it challenging? Overwhelming? Unfair? |
10-23-2019, 10:16 AM | #2 |
Untagged
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
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Re: Alien Genetic Engineering [Biotech/Space]
That makes a few assumptions that may not be true.
That aliens have human defaults, and that they choose to have a host of possibly contradictory yet perfectly engineered boosts. To me, all those superhuman abilities sound closer to a plot alien than one that really needs a proper write up.
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Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check. |
10-23-2019, 10:25 AM | #3 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Alien Genetic Engineering [Biotech/Space]
TL 12 is plenty unfair with or without genetic engineering, but I would not assume high racial averages stack with genetic engineering (i.e. TL 12 doesn't actually allow IQ+4, it allows racial IQ 14).
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10-23-2019, 02:42 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Feb 2016
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Re: Alien Genetic Engineering [Biotech/Space]
Why not? It is genetic engineering based on the alien's foundation, not a human foundation. You cannot use TL10 genetic engineering to give a horse IQ 12, just IQ 5.
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10-23-2019, 02:49 PM | #5 | |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Alien Genetic Engineering [Biotech/Space]
Quote:
Eh, I'd be perfectly willing to let TL 10 genetic engineering give a horse IQ 12. A horse brain is slightly smaller than human and is controlling a larger body, so you'd need to do a bit of skull restructuring, but putting human-level intelligence in just about any SM-1 or larger animal is plausibly TL 10. |
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10-23-2019, 04:49 PM | #6 |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: 100 hurricane swamp
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Re: Alien Genetic Engineering [Biotech/Space]
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10-23-2019, 05:06 PM | #7 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Alien Genetic Engineering [Biotech/Space]
By the time you're engineering for +4 IQ, you've completely discarded the original brain structure and are just installing a custom biocomputer, with stats that are 100% determined by size and TL.
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10-23-2019, 05:24 PM | #8 |
Join Date: Feb 2016
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Re: Alien Genetic Engineering [Biotech/Space]
That assumes that all brain tissue is equal, which is patently false. A genius biocomputer is 100× as capable as a normal biocomputer.
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10-23-2019, 05:42 PM | #9 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Alien Genetic Engineering [Biotech/Space]
Well, honestly, genius computers shouldn't exist (in fact, none of Slow, Fast, and Genius should exist; the realistic range of computer performance at a given size and time is less than a single point of GURPS complexity), but ignoring that, all you're arguing for is that it's not just TL and size, price also matters. The original structure still doesn't matter.
Last edited by Anthony; 10-23-2019 at 05:45 PM. |
10-23-2019, 07:04 PM | #10 |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: 100 hurricane swamp
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Re: Alien Genetic Engineering [Biotech/Space]
Those are some interesting presumptions, now try it with only biotech.
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