GURPS: Aliens 4e

[ULFGARD]

Did I miss the Aurora? I'm thinking of running an all Aurora campaign, set in a quasi-Trek universe, where they take on the role of the "R" (original, I know). They will compete to see how many starship captains they can drive completely mad.

[ericbsmith]

Aurora's are superbeings, even in the original book. You give them as many points as you want, and allow them to buy any abilities you feel like. They were intended to be like the Q from Star Trek, suitable as NPC's but not as PC's.

[ULFGARD]

Originally Posted by ericbsmith

Aurora's are superbeings, even in the original book. You give them as many points as you want, and allow them to buy any abilities you feel like. They were intended to be like the Q from Star Trek, suitable as NPC's but not as PC's.

Gosh. I guess I'll have to come up with a template myself. Shouldn't be too hard. What? 1500 points? Anyone think that Supers might help? I already have Powers.

[nerdvana]

Originally Posted by ULFGARD

Gosh. I guess I'll have to come up with a template myself. Shouldn't be too hard. What? 1500 points? Anyone think that Supers might help? I already have Powers.

Aliens recommends 4000 points as a starting point for Auorans

[nerdvana]

Back on the topic of Riders... (I'm working up my own re-write)

I'm thinking of keeping Permeation (Flesh) but adding Blood Agent to represent the fact that they can only permeate flesh if they can enter at mucous membranes or open wounds.

I'm also adding Telecommunication (Telesend; Racial only, -20%; Sense Based: Touch, -20%) [18] to my template... because they are permeating their host this would include the need to kiss or share blood to work.

I am also considering reduced size (SM -3 I'm thinking for a blobish shape with the longest dimension ~1') to represent the size of a colony, reduced ST, Invertebrate, No Legs (Slithers) and No Manipulators. Perhaps this is wrong but I'm curious why they weren't considered before (especially for Eric, but anyone please give input naturally)

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by nerdvana

Actually, I like the fact that the body and the infection controlling it aren't the same thing. Also, they can transfer by bite/kiss but also by blood transfusion. I don't believe Dominance allows non-attack options. Not a bad idea though, just doesn't seem to have the right feel for the species IMO.

Use a cyclic toxic Blood Agent with Dominance. The result is the infected person feels sickly for a while, and then they either get better, or seem to get to get better, and are really gone.

[nerdvana]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Use a cyclic toxic Blood Agent with Dominance. The result is the infected person feels sickly for a while, and then they either get better, or seem to get to get better, and are really gone.

There are two serious issues with Dominance: (a) supernatural and (b) enforced Slave Mentality. Neither are a fit for Riders.

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by ULFGARD

Gosh. I guess I'll have to come up with a template myself. Shouldn't be too hard. What? 1500 points? Anyone think that Supers might help? I already have Powers.

Supers might help, but it shouldn't be necessary. Give 'em godly stats and a suite of comparable advantages, then run it though the forum where it'll be criticized, dissected, optimized, and tweaked until you're tired of it :)

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by nerdvana

There are two serious issues with Dominance: (a) supernatural and (b) enforced Slave Mentality. Neither are a fit for Riders.

Then what about Infectious Attack? The supernatural part isn't terribly relevant, is it, it's just a label that's easily changed.

[nerdvana]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Then what about Infectious Attack? The supernatural part isn't terribly relevant, is it, it's just a label that's easily changed.

The Slave Mentality aspect of the Dominance advantage is still a sticking point for me. I could see considering it if there was a way to remove the Slave Mentality part. However, I really see the Riders as a colony creature that controls those it is in and duplicates itself to possess a new host. Also... if going with Dominance then its not going to be a separate creature that can have an alternate (dormant) form for existing outside of hosts... which is the next stage for my vision (and perhaps means I should go to a new thread as it is diverging from the original writeup somewhat...)