GURPS Star Trek - Canon Vulcans

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by naloth

Vulcan females are notably weaker than males.

Agreed on most of your points.

Take a look at my PC Vulcan template that makes many of the attribute changes you've suggested.

I chose ST 12 + Lifting ST 5 for the Vulcan male template because that gives you 3x Basic Lift vs. ST 10, but that's just the baseline. ST and Lifting ST could be much lower for sedentary Vulcans. HP get knocked down to 10.

Females get ST 11 + Lifting ST 3, to give them 2x BL vs. ST 10.

Given that T'Pol had combat training and a prior career as the Vulcan equivalent of a bounty hunter, I'd put her on the strong side. A smaller and more sedentary female (e.g., mid-23rd century T'Pau) would certainly be ST 9-10 with just Lifting ST 1-2. Strong for a little old lady, but a featherweight by Vulcan standards.

Originally Posted by naloth

Vulcans don't seem more Dexterous than humans in any of the series. I'd suggest that any difference isn't racial, but from personal training.

Agreed. I reinterpreted the "faster than human" line as a 0.25 bonus to Basic Speed.

Edit: Thinking about it, I dropped the Speed bonus and increased HT. That gives a +0.25 boost to Basic Speed and is more in line with the way the species is presented. Not that fast, but tough.

Originally Posted by naloth

I'd say that what makes Vulcans seem smart initially is better, refined education with a highly focused training.

On the other hand, you get all sorts of well-founded claims that the Vulcan mind is more disciplined, plus the sort of intensive individualized schooling that kids go through at the Vulcan Learning Center (assuming that all Vulcan children get the same schooling and the VLC isn't just an academy for especially gifted kids).

Likely superior age, plus superior schooling, plus constant need for meditation and an emphasis on mental pursuits makes IQ 11 appropriate as average. Note that Per gets knocked down to 10, while Will goes up to 12.

Originally Posted by naloth

Vulcans are incredibly hidebound, almost stagnant before Star Fleet came along and forced them to adapt.

I agree that Hidebound is a very common disadvantage among Vulcans, but they're already heavily constrained by their Code of Honor.

CoH is a pure roleplaying disadvantage, while Hidebound has game mechanical effects that many players won't want. For that reason, I've listed Hidebound as an optional trait.

Originally Posted by naloth

Vulcans are more hardy and can survive longer without resources. A HT bonus is reasonable, but they certainly are a good candidate for multiple extra fatigue.

I interpreted this as Reduced Consumption (Water) and Fit. I might remove the limitation to Fit, however. It's only two points and it suits the species. Extra FP is an optional trait. Again, quite common and suitable for individuals, but not universal.

Edit: Limitations on Fit removed.

Originally Posted by naloth

Metabolism Control is another good candidate, but it may be a trained ability rather than an innate racial ability.

Both Metabolism Control and Overconfidence are listed as optional traits. Overconfidence is certainly common and could represent an unhealthy ability to suppress fear.

Originally Posted by naloth

You put a lot of work into the various philosophies, but I would have simplified. Most Vulcans have Disciplines of Faith: Vulcan Logic [-5] plus Callous [-5]. Vulcans that don't follow this instead have Bad Temper [-10].

Disciplines of Faith is effectively a time use and roleplaying disadvantage. Again, a common but not universal trait. The sort of Vulcan ritualism associated with DoF would also cut into meditation time to control disadvantages.

Callous messes with Diplomacy skill, gives unwarranted bad reactions from empaths, and goes against general Vulcan respect for life. It's an extremely appropriate trait for ancient Vulcans, however, and a valid optional disadvantage.

Edit: Bad Temper with Maintenance Mitigator moved to Required Disadvantages. All the Vulcans in the series start to get testy when they can't meditate.

Originally Posted by naloth

Vulcans usually have quirk level Truthfulness. Truthfulness is quirk level because they are quite comfortable with omissions and misleading statements.

This is another borderline required trait and I debated adding it. There are plenty of Vulcans who show themselves to be excellent liars, however.

I think that Truthfulness with a Self-Control number of 15 suits most Vulcans, but Quirk-level Truthfulness is appropriate for politicians and adventurers.

I'll add Truthfulness and Controllable Disadvantage as optional Quirks.

Edit: Truthfulness added as required Quirk.

Originally Posted by naloth

Vulcans have better hearing for snooping, but it's not obvious they have better alertness. I'd suggest a level or two of Parabolic Hearing.

Per is dropped to 10 by default.

I went with Acute Hearing because there are scenes where Spock or another Vulcan main character are just a couple of beats ahead of their human counterparts when detecting sounds (e.g., Spock notices the sound of an overloading phaser a few seconds before Kirk does) but they don't seem to have longer-ranged hearing or hearing above or below human thresholds.

Parabolic Hearing is a good call as an optional advantage, however, as are Ultrasonic Hearing or Subsonic Hearing.

Originally Posted by naloth

Vulcans seem to have similar Vision, but it's harder to damage. I'd call that a perk.

That's the Inner Eyelid perk and the limited Protected Vision advantage. Essentially, built in tinted sand goggles which don't give DR.

Originally Posted by naloth

Vulcans profess to have a better sense of smell, but it only seems to manifest as a sensitivity to some odors.

Acute Smell is a borderline trait, but I assumed that they'd need a level of it for the same reason they need a level of Acute Hearing - to have human equivalent senses in an almost Thin atmosphere.

Edit: Added a limitation to Acute Smell/Taste (Smell Only), -50%.

Originally Posted by naloth

Given that it doesn't seem to have any game effect, I'd call it a feature.

I certainly need to add some sort of sensitivity to smells as a feature.

Many Vulcans appear to have extreme sensitivity to strong aromas and flavors, so that should be an optional Quirk.

Originally Posted by naloth

If you want to suggest that most Vulcans react poorly to other races due to smell, you can call it a quirk intolerance instead.

Quirk-level or full-blown Intolerance is a common Vulcan trait, but I don't want to stick the whole species that that problem. I figure that distaste for alien body odor is part of the Vulcan distaste for emotional displays, on the assumption that many body odors convey emotions.

Originally Posted by naloth

Vulcans are usually assumed to be honest because Vulcans usually tell unfiltered (even hurtful) truth. I'd call this a +1 reaction perk anytime you're convincing someone you're telling the truth.

Good call. I'll fold this into the good Racial Reputation.

Originally Posted by naloth

The Vulcan nerve pinch seems to be a ST-based maneuver as most of those that use it have a high ST - Vulcans, Data, Khan, the Doctor, Odo. It provided a good reason why T'Pol used it very sparingly since she was notably weaker. Of course, conversely Picard pulled it off once as well...

The Vulcan Nerve Pinch is an entirely different kettle of fish.

Some interpretations I've seen turn it into an Affliction or maneuver that costs upwards of 20 points to be effective. That's a waste of points in a game where phasers are the weapon of choice.

My version is just a simple Targeted Attack based on Pressure Points skill, with ST bonuses to inflict knockout. How you learn the Vulcan Nerve Pinch is a mystery. Effectively, it requires Vulcan martial arts training or Unusual Background (Badass Omnicompetent Bridge Crew with a passing familiarity with Vulcan culture).

Originally Posted by naloth

There's probably a lot more, but that's just off the top of my head. Feel free to ignore as you want.

Actually, really useful feedback. Thanks!

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by doctorevilbrain

Why do you think that Vulcan women are noticeably] weaker?

Supported by on-screen action in a lot of scenes. Vulcan women (at least T'Pol) appear to be able to hold their own in a wrestling match against a human male, but can be thrown around by Vulcan males.

Originally Posted by doctorevilbrain

Why do you think that Odo and the doctor could do the Vulcan nerve pinch?

Odo demonstrated the use of the Vulcan nerve pinch on two occasions.
I'm not certain that The Doctor ever used the technique outside of a holographic environment.

In any case, the technique is hard for non-Vulcans to learn.

[Pursuivant]

Extensive edits to my original template, per feedback.

I'm much happier with the result since the point cost is now in the two digit range.

With the Vulcan PC lens, it's possible to have a competent Vulcan character, even a psionic adept, based on 100 points or less.

Given overlap between Vulcan physical traits and minimum requirements for various Starfleet training templates, it's possible to produce a Vulcan Starfleet character on a 125 point budget or a Vulcan Starfleet officer with limited psi powers for 250 points. They'll have no extracurricular skills, but then Vulcans aren't exactly known for their wild social lives.

[SydneyFreedberg]

Really cool templates here. I'm not enough of a Trekpert to offer much of a critique, but I especially like treating Vulcans' repressed emotions as disadvantages with Mitigator: Meditation. That's very clever and right on.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by SydneyFreedberg

I especially like treating Vulcans' repressed emotions as disadvantages with Mitigator: Meditation. That's very clever and right on.

Not my idea. The basic idea was Captain Joy's (as are a lot of other ideas for GURPS Star Trek). I just stole it and modified it.

The Maintenance Mitigator idea works for a lot of other disadvantages, especially those based on Gadgets or built-in electronics. For example, if you have faulty cybernetic eyeballs, you'd have Blindness (Maintenance Mitigator: Electronics Repair (Sensors)).

In a Star Trek setting, many ex-Borg drones have Terminally Ill (Maintenance Mitigator: Electronics Repair (Physician and Robotics)). That's a bit different from Dependency, since their bodies work fine right up to the point that they die.

[jason taylor]

Philosophy/Theology: Logic

This is closer to stoicism but is pacifist as well. It would include ascetic suppression of emotions. Pacifism is treated in various degrees and some Vulcan's do serve in military forces (including the don't-look-at-the-military-behind-the-curtain, Starfleet). Treat it like Muslim teetotalism which does not include Raki. It is not "logic" as humans know; that is it has nothing to do with the Fallacies or the Law of Non-contradiction. For instance on the gangster planet Spock said that "logic did not apply here". Of course logic applies everywhere someone wishes to secure an objective. What this was was the logic of tribal conflict which every intelligent race including Vulcans either knew or once knew. What he meant was Vulcan stoicism especially pacifism did not apply.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

This is closer to stoicism but is pacifist as well.

I take inconsistencies in "Vulcan Logic" more as failures by script writers who have minimal training in philosophy or formal logic than as failures of the concept itself.

Vulcan society clearly has a lot of ritualism and a certain amount of mysticism, which might be ancient Vulcan religions repurposed to encompass Surak's philosophy. That's at odds with pure rationalism, but completely in keeping with the high degree of social control that Vulcans insist upon.

I included both Theology and Philosophy in the Vulcan template because I take Theology to cover the mystical and historical aspects of Surak's Way, while Philosophy covers the social and moral philosophical elements. Since Vulcans (at least the children of the elite) get intensive training in advanced mathematics, Mathematics covers Boolean and formal logic. Meditation covers practical use of the other skills for purposes of focusing the mind and controlling emotions.

I'd certainly allow Mathematics or Philosophy skill to be Complementary skills for any Vulcan attempting to suppress emotions on the fly, perhaps as a Perk. (You know things are bad when nearby Vulcans start giving you astronomical odds of failure for a particular task. This isn't so much because their calculations are correct - they might have pulled their initial numbers out of a hat - but rather because the situation is so scary that Vulcans have to distract themselves to avoid feeling fear.)

Originally Posted by jason taylor

It would include ascetic suppression of emotions. Pacifism is treated in various degrees and some Vulcan's do serve in military forces (including the don't-look-at-the-military-behind-the-curtain, Starfleet).

That's the reason that some Vulcans disparage Vulcans who join Starfleet or even have dealings with "emotional races." Surak's ideal of complete pacifism is in tension with Vulcans' inherently violent nature and the ongoing need for soldiers and police in a dangerous universe.

Vulcans in such positions clearly prioritize the philosophical principal of, "The Needs of the Many Outweigh the Needs of the Few," over the philosophical ideal of complete pacifism. They make a moral choice to be less faithful to Surak's teachings, at least for a time, so that others have the safety and relative freedom to be more faithful to them. It's not unlike human soldiers who are nominally followers of pacifist faiths.

[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by Pursuivant

I take inconsistencies in "Vulcan Logic" more as failures by script writers who have minimal training in philosophy or formal logic than as failures of the concept itself.

Vulcan society clearly has a lot of ritualism and a certain amount of mysticism, which might be ancient Vulcan religions repurposed to encompass Surak's philosophy. That's at odds with pure rationalism, but completely in keeping with the high degree of social control that Vulcans insist upon.

Also, the definition of 'rational' depends on what is objectively true. In the Trek universe, some of the Vulcan mystical stuff works. So it might not actually be 'mystical' in the common Terran sense of the word.

The social control part, yes.

The original TOS Trek concept of the Vulcans was not that they don't feel, it was that they feel too much. By their innate biological nature, they are much more passionate and emotional than humans, quicker to anger or joy, more lustful, more wrathful, more likely to indulge an impulse. Even their positive emotions had a threatening side, a Vulcan might love more easily and harder than a human, but would also be quicker to angry jealousy, quicker to murder a rival, quicker for love to turn to hate if things go sour.

Combine that nature with advanced technology, esp. nucleonics, and it became necessary to adopt Surak's way to survive. A lot of the strict social ritual and traditional behaviors would be mechanisms to help keep that emotional nature under control.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2

The original TOS Trek concept of the Vulcans was not that they don't feel, it was that they feel too much. By their innate biological nature, they are much more passionate and emotional than humans, quicker to anger or joy, more lustful, more wrathful, more likely to indulge an impulse. Even their positive emotions had a threatening side, a Vulcan might love more easily and harder than a human, but would also be quicker to angry jealousy, quicker to murder a rival, quicker for love to turn to hate if things go sour.

This is a very good way of describing Vulcan emotions.

I think of Vulcans as being sort of like recovering addicts. Other species can handle their emotions without too much trouble, but Vulcans can't. Therefore, they must actively suppress their emotions and avoid emotional situations lest they backslide.

T'Pol's ill-advised Trellium-D experiments in Enterprise (because she liked having dreams when she slept) is an example of what can happen when an otherwise well-trained Vulcan "falls off the wagon."

[Inky]

The Romulans, who are genetically Vulcans (mostly) (possibly) but don't do that, seem at first sight to contradict that, but in fact their society is more murderous than most, and also they have their own pretty strict system going on, the mnei'sahe code. They're still murderous, but at least it's in a fairly predictable way with pre-defined ways of retrieving things before they go too far.
And then there's the V'tosh ka'tur, who do it a different way again.
It's implied that all three systems are somewhat unhealthy in their different ways but work to some extent.