[Space] [Templates] Really Alien Aliens II: Empire of Pain

[SydneyFreedberg]

Some really good suggestions from Pursuivant -- thanks!

My thoughts on his thoughts:

Fomori:

Lots of good ideas here on how to make their psychology truly alien. "Reluctant Killer" is probably too strong a penalty, but I really like optional Indomitable (Not against Torture, -20%) and Intolerance (people who inflict high collateral damage), as well as elaborating "Fomori Torture" and "Slave Overseer" as their primary social skills (eek).

As I conceive them, you can talk to the average Fomorian and use conventional means of persuasion such as rational argument, bribery, and charm... but it won't hit their instinctual buttons the same way as physically inflicting or receiving pain. Err, actually Torture for Fomori is kind of like Sex Appeal and Erotic Art for humans (double eek).

On a lighter note, since Fomori are denser than water (Quirk: cannot float), it makes sense for a Common Optional Trait to be a phobia of water....


Teceti

I'll definitely lower their Reputation to +2/-2 and tweak their vision from "Night Vision +9" (which is meant to cancel out the maximum darkness penalty" to "Feature: no darkness penalties to vision (short of absolute darkness) but takes penalties in daylight." I also like your suggestions for Common Optional Traits.

I've looked at Clinging and been tempted but as written it makes you Spider-Man -- you can basically climb up sheer walls and walk on ceilings -- which feels overdone for most real-world climbers bigger than a gecko.


Spitsplugs

They do have Invertebrate, actually (although the Invertebrate disadvantage in GURPS is kinda weird, as it mostly plays with Basic Lift). They're not cold-blooded or slimy, actually -- although people might assume they are! -- because I find it hard to imagine a truly cold-blooded animal having a high enough metabolism to sustain levels of intelligence and activity sufficient to compete on an interstellar scale.

And yeah, that acid-spitting thing is pretty nasty (and expensive points-wise). I might require a longer recharge, but I'm hesitant to limit uses per day, because I figure they produce acid continually and that's how they digest their food, kind of like flies... which is gross.

Poor guys, they're actually pretty nice as a species. They just have no bones and no luck.