[Aliens]"...solitary giant predator caterpillars. Civilization wasn't easy for us"

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Kissamies

I checked out those caterpillars, they are pretty cool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQt54x6KmK8

If the Ur-Quan are modelled after those things, they'll have one set of limbs on front for grabbing prey and another set in the back for clinging to whatever they use as base, probably tree trunks or branches. As they are much bigger than those caterpillars, they are likely to just hang upside down most of the time, and that is indeed what they seem to be doing in every official picture of them there is. Probably the most natural posture for them.

Nice video. There's a rather acceptable though unofficial image.

Originally Posted by Kissamies

SC1 manual says that the Dreadnoughts have roped ceilings for clinging on.

It does? I'll have to find that statement.

Originally Posted by Kissamies

Brachiator would seem to be minimum. Clinging with some sort of minor limitation would seem appropriate. Super Climbing probably not. I don't think they move fast even on the ground. Good Basic Speed, probably. Good Move, probably not.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to Brachiator, since Clinging can probably be replaced by TL9 equipment anyway.


More notes:
As stated in another thread, I think they canonically possess these traits too:

Quirk: Territorial. Loner effects also apply to a territory they consider 'personally theirs'. This is definitely their crew quarters rooms, and possibly their cockpits, unique workplaces etc.
Either limited Truthfulness, or a Quirk which heavily predisposes them against using lies.
A perk/quirk level of Racial Memory: the most significant events in the species' history seem to be ingrained to an almost instinctive level; notably, they have this ancestral fear of the Dnyarri, and the psychological trauma suffered by them during the slave revolts seem to have equally traumatized the modern generations.

[Gef]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

Size: Human descriptions put them at 10 yards long / 2 yards wide, but I think this can be written off as an exaggeration and/or misremembering one's moments of great fear. I think SM+0 to SM+2 is more manageable (Racial ST bonus in a space campaign? Looks like a waste of points to me, though I understand there are exceptions).

Not familiar with the source, but if the can coil like snakes or bunch up like terran caterpillars, go with Stretching, which involves no extra ST. Again, if like Terran caterpillars, maybe a racial ST bonus balanced by Invertebrate (remember, game mechanically it just means optimized for pulling not pushing). For extra legs, maybe a bonus to Lift ST limited with No Fine Manipulators. That is, they don't have any extra-strong limbs, but they have extra legs and each pair can support part of a load. Their arms are human strength. Therefore, they don't qualify for NFM as a disad, but they do get it on their extra load capacity. Whereas a strong man can stoop and hoist a huge duffle, this character must load himself a bit at a time, or get a mate to help.

GEF

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Gef

Not familiar with the source, but if the can coil like snakes or bunch up like terran caterpillars, go with Stretching, which involves no extra ST.

Stretching is probably a Stretch, but I keep forgetting to propose Flexibility/Double-Jointed/etc. Probably no point in having more than the 5-point Flexibility.

Originally Posted by Gef

Again, if like Terran caterpillars, maybe a racial ST bonus balanced by Invertebrate (remember, game mechanically it just means optimized for pulling not pushing). For extra legs, maybe a bonus to Lift ST limited with No Fine Manipulators. That is, they don't have any extra-strong limbs, but they have extra legs and each pair can support part of a load. Their arms are human strength. Therefore, they don't qualify for NFM as a disad, but they do get it on their extra load capacity. Whereas a strong man can stoop and hoist a huge duffle, this character must load himself a bit at a time, or get a mate to help.

GEF

NFM is right out. Lifting ST makes sense for the black (Kohr-Ah) strain, as they're supposed to be workers. Invertebrate is certainly possible, since I think there is no case where they needed to push stuff in their TL0 era - I'm wild-mass-guessing if they ever needed to move a carcass, they pulled it up into a tree. I'm still unsure between a modest exoskeleton and a hydrostatic skeleton.

[Kissamies]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

It does? I'll have to find that statement.

I could type out the entry on Ur-Quan, but of course someone has beat me to it, by several years looks like: http://www.star-control.com/hosted/s...ies/urquan.htm

[Gef]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

Stretching is probably a Stretch

The thing is, Stretching and "Compressing" are game-mechanically identical. If you have a long critter that can coil up or otherwise contract, then I'm guessing that the coiled size is a better basis for its strength.

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

NFM is right out.

So even with all those legs, they can carry in their arms most of whet their legs can support? I wasn't proposing NFM as a disad, only as a limitation on any racial ST bonus that exceed the arms. This approach keeps you from having to go with Weak Arms, which has some bizarre thresholds. Half ST Arms mean a quarter of the lifting ST, which may be a lot less arm ST than what you want.

GEF

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Kissamies

I could type out the entry on Ur-Quan, but of course someone has beat me to it, by several years looks like: http://www.star-control.com/hosted/s...ies/urquan.htm

Oh, I saw that before. Not sure how I missed the ropes/webs.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Gef

The thing is, Stretching and "Compressing" are game-mechanically identical. If you have a long critter that can coil up or otherwise contract, then I'm guessing that the coiled size is a better basis for its strength.

What's the point in compressing/stretching instead of bending like this?

Originally Posted by Gef

So even with all those legs, they can carry in their arms most of whet their legs can support? I wasn't proposing NFM as a disad, only as a limitation on any racial ST bonus that exceed the arms. This approach keeps you from having to go with Weak Arms, which has some bizarre thresholds. Half ST Arms mean a quarter of the lifting ST, which may be a lot less arm ST than what you want.

GEF

I think so. Being predators, having strong arms for trapping prey certainly helps. Brachiating also kinda demands strong arms.

[Gef]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

What's the point in compressing/stretching instead of bending like this?

That's exactly what I'm talking about; in the bent position they'd be a size category smaller than in the extended. -GEF

[Kissamies]

So those extremely flexible contortionists that can fold themselves up have Stretching too?

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Gef

That's exactly what I'm talking about; in the bent position they'd be a size category smaller than in the extended. -GEF

I don't think so. A reasonably flexible (probably not even always having a 5-point Flexibility) human can bend over in half and still do some stuff with her arms.