Geeking out with Aliens!

[Mark Caliber]

I've gotten some REALLY good thoughtful feedback on the Aslan. Lots of really good points out there.

As a counter thought, I envision the Aslan having this overwhelming drive to acquire land for personal gratification. It is this drive that actually allowed them to expand and form a polity which is as large as, if not larger than, the Imperium. Indeed, the Aslan span from the Solomani Confederation all the way to the Zhodan Consulate. So to Rimward, I imagine the Aslan are going to be limited by the edge of the Galaxy, to coreward, the Zhodani are going to hedge them in and there's no real knowledge as to what limits the Aslan to Spinward. To Trailing, the Aslan have the Imperium and the Solomani Confederation to contend with.

This means that the Aslan (especially on the borders) have one of two recourses for acquiring new land. 1) Internecine clan fights or 2) invasion of neighbors.

And with the apparent high fertility rate of the Aslan, this is going to be an ongoing problem.

It is my assertion that the various clan leaders, in an effort to avoid usurpers, are going to encourage a certain amount of "exploration" if you catch my drift.


The finances are indeed a limiting factor now that you mention it, especially with ships costing in the millions, to produce and hundreds of thousands, to continue resupply. On the other hand, the Aslan appear to be Spartan enough that once you get them ON a habitable world, they are likely to be able to survive and grow quite nicely.

Now, if ANYthing, I could see the Imperium limiting it's reaction to the Aslan for the reason that the Aslan produce really effective soldiers. And the Aslan (individuals) are willing to serve the Imperium, in return for financing (with the hope of purchasing or finding arable land.)

With arguably more aggressive foes such as the Zhodani, Vargr, K'kree, and the Solies to Trailing, I could buy the arguement that Aslan mischief is tolerated.

(Looks like I just argued myself into a circle. AND I have to run now.)

[Hans Rancke-Madsen]

Originally Posted by Mark Caliber

As a counter thought, I envision the Aslan having this overwhelming drive to acquire land for personal gratification.

That they have a drive to acquire land is a matter of canon. But it can't be overwhelming. IIRC Alien Races 2 says that 28% of Aslans are social level 1 or higher, social level being determined by ownership or at least control of land. That means that 72% of all Aslan don't control land, and they still manage to live out their lives without running amuck.

I'd say that the landhunger cannot be stronger than the will to survive or the will to procreate. Yet many humans are capable of sublimating the will to procreate and some can overcome the will to survive. I don't think it is unreasonable to assume that an Aslan male can suck it up and live out his life landless if he has to.

This means that the Aslan (especially on the borders) have one of two recourses for acquiring new land. 1) Internecine clan fights or 2) invasion of neighbors.

That is so true (Well, they also have the option of 'creating' more land (in the sense of making wasteland arable, building space habitats, etc.) and some of them do just that.

And with the apparent high fertility rate of the Aslan, this is going to be an ongoing problem.

I don't think we have any solid information about Aslan growth rates. Personally I think that the Aslans practice some form of birth control.

It is my assertion that the various clan leaders, in an effort to avoid usurpers, are going to encourage a certain amount of "exploration" if you catch my drift.

Sure. The question is, how much is 'a certain amount'? Take two neighboring clans, Clan A and Clan B. They're of the same size and they can both afford to maintain, say, 100 ships. Clan A builds 50 warships and 50 transports and sends forth its 50 transports to go far, far away and find new lands to settle. Clan B builds 95 warships and 5 transports, invade Clan A's world and starts shuttling ihatei from World B to World A.


I submit that no clan lord can afford to spend too much on his ihatei. He has to spend something, I admit. It's tradition, and it's a social safety valve (and it's canon ;-). But from the point of view of a clan lord (the individual who controls the funds that is supposed to outfit the ihatei fleets) every credit spent on them is a dead loss to his primary purpose, that of safeguarding his own lands.



Hans

[DryaUnda]

So...what are your least favorite aliens?

For myself, it would have to be Humanati, especially the Solmani and Vilani. On one end, you get Luddism, on the other, Bigotry. Makes me glad Humanati population is declining due to (in most cases) total lack of sexual activity.

[LKW]

Originally Posted by DryaUnda

So...what are your least favorite aliens?

For myself, it would have to be Humanati, especially the Solmani and Vilani. On one end, you get Luddism, on the other, Bigotry. Makes me glad Humanati population is declining due to (in most cases) total lack of sexual activity.

Huh? Are you talking about Marc's policy of not dealing with sex in the games printed materials? Just cause we don't talk about it in print doesn't mean it doesen't go on. Someone at a con once asked Marc if there were prostitutes in the game universe, and he said yes, but they will never be mentioned in print -- it's left up to individual GMs to do with as they like.

[DryaUnda]

Originally Posted by LKW

Huh?

A joke I got from Ken Burnside (aka AdAstraGames in Chat).

Traveller: Save The Humans

Humanati has basically totally sublimated its' sex drive into tramp freighting. As a result, the population is declining. Since the humans are so useful moving stuff around, the aliens want to keep them around.

Personally, I'd like to Inyx to buy Humanati, a fitting justice for technological stagnation. ;)

[mcv]

I think the Imperium simply can't afford a full scale war with the Aslan. It would unite the bickering Aslan clans against the Imperium, and fighting a big war on two fronts would just cost a lot of money and resources. Dealing with just the Ihatei is a lot cheaper, and giving up the occasional bit of land isn't a big problem if you can then integrate those Aslan into Imperial society and create a breed of more gentle, less expansionistic Aslan. And they make good soldiers too.

What I'd like to know is what the Zhodani are doing about the Aslan. They have a history of pre-emptive strikes against expanding neighbours. According to the map there's a buffer of human client states between them, and I imagine the Zhodani fund them to defend themselves against invading Ihatei.

Back to the main topic: My favourite aliens? The Ithklur. I love these happy, philosophical maniacs. Friendly killers, gentle psychopaths. They're a contradiction that works. And they toy with the galaxy's finest manipulators.

I also like the Hivers a lot. Partly because they're tied to the Ithklur, and partly because they are they only _real_ alien. All the others are just humanoids in funny suits. Hivers are the only important invertebrate.

And that's exactly what I don't like about Traveller aliens. They're not alien enough. They're all vertebrate, and most of them are mammals. Most that aren't mammals are dinosaurs or lizardmen. And the invertebrates are too much like earth-based invertebrates. The description of the Hivers state clearly that their primitive physiology for such an intelligent race is a mystery, but why aren't there more advanced invertebrates? There's the Tobai, but they are basically just regular squids. Nothing alien about that. The Sheol are alien, but too exotic to be of any practical use. What I'd like to see, is something that took several hundred million years to evolve from squids. Something like what the simian squids from The Future Is Wild would look like after they moved out of the trees and developed tool use and intelligence.

That said, I do have a soft spot for the Vargr, who are certainly the least alien alien, but they have a good excuse for it. I also like the Virushi and the Tezcat.


mcv.

[Paul Drye]

Originally Posted by mcv

I also like the Visuhi and the Texcat.

Interesting. I'd say that the Virushi are my favorite aliens, and the Tezcat my least. The Virushi are fairly alien and their pacifism makes them an interesting challenge to play. On the other hand, it doesn't keep them from smashing up doors and things so their strength can be useful.

The Tezcat, on the other hand...do we really need another feline alien race? Bleah. I specifically put them into the adventure seeds for my "Sulliji" article on JTAS just because I knew the PCs would be shooting them.

The Ael Yael would be my favorites if it weren't for their backstory. If they were a relatively major minor, technologically advanced and part of Imperial society, they'd be great. But as post-genocidal primitives they're not as fun.

The Jgd-ll-Jagd are the best gas giant dwellers I've ever seen, including ones from straight SF not just games.

[Mike Wightman]

There's quite a lot of fun to be had by porting over the Traveller2300 Aliens to Traveller.
Working out their GT stats could be an interesting exercise ;-)

[mcv]

Originally Posted by Paul Drye

Interesting. I'd say that the Virushi are my favorite aliens, and the Tezcat my least. The Virushi are fairly alien and their pacifism makes them an interesting challenge to play. On the other hand, it doesn't keep them from smashing up doors and things so their strength can be useful.

The Tezcat, on the other hand...do we really need another feline alien race? Bleah. I specifically put them into the adventure seeds for my "Sulliji" article on JTAS just because I knew the PCs would be shooting them.

I like their completely over the top ambition. They're small and they're taking on the entire universe. I think the trick is to not make them too agressive, but make them cunning, subtle in a very mean way. I don't really see them as feline either. Perhaps a bit. Part feline, part weasel and part very, very human.

The Ael Yael would be my favorites if it weren't for their backstory. If they were a relatively major minor, technologically advanced and part of Imperial society, they'd be great. But as post-genocidal primitives they're not as fun.

I think I agree here. They never really struck me as very interesting, and the backstory doesn't help, but I could accept them as part of the Imperial mainstream, although I'd see them a bit too much as Star Wars senate or Star Trek VI council aliens.

The Jgd-ll-Jagd are the best gas giant dwellers I've ever seen, including ones from straight SF not just games.

Perhaps, but I really just don't like gas giant dwellers. Except for those from Star Control 2, but that's another story.


mcv.

[pnewman]

Originally Posted by Hans Rancke-Madsen

I submit that no clan lord can afford to spend too much on his ihatei. He has to spend something, I admit. It's tradition, and it's a social safety valve (and it's canon ;-). But from the point of view of a clan lord (the individual who controls the funds that is supposed to outfit the ihatei fleets) every credit spent on them is a dead loss to his primary purpose, that of safeguarding his own lands.

Hans

No, one of the threats to his own lands is other Aslan males with nothing to lose who might try to take the land. By outfitting the ihatei fleet he is getting rid of a bunch of threats. It's probably a good thing most Aslan are honorable or their would be a lot of ihatei fleets 'misjumping' when the bomb in the jump drive goes off.