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Old 09-13-2019, 11:28 PM   #1
FictionXVI
 
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Default Skills for TL0 Aliens

I was wondering what kind of skills would an TL0 alien race have. They are a smaller race SM-2 of jungle dwelling insectoid gatherers. They can climb around the tree canopy, have telescopic vision and an acute sense of taste and smell. They are hard of hearing and have a poor sense of touch though. Eight limbed with stalked eyes giving them peripheral vision, as well as a barbed tail. They are playful, curious and are not easily frightened.

Sorry for the trait dump but yeah I'm just looking for ideas for skills that would be common in a race like this. So far I was thinking they need Brawler for the tail and Area Knowledge(Jungle) because it's their home. Other than that though idk what skills would be good general skills that most members would have or which ones, though fit the theme, are to specialized to be used species wide.
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Old 09-14-2019, 12:57 AM   #2
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Default Re: Skills for TL0 Aliens

Are they foragers, hunters, fishers, herders, gardeners, some combination, or something more exotic that doesn't have a human analog?
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Old 09-14-2019, 01:11 AM   #3
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Default Re: Skills for TL0 Aliens

Does the species have any predators? Dealing with something that is trying to kill you means they might develop a counter.

Consider how they eat, a fruit eating herbivore might have area knowledge or naturalist.

Survival (jungle) is likely either way.
They might have skills relating to construction if they have to build shelters.

Any tool use?
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Old 09-14-2019, 06:53 AM   #4
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Default Re: Skills for TL0 Aliens

Honestly, the short answer is that if a race has achieved TL10, they won't have a lot of holes, and they'll have a lot of specialists. Unless they have an exotic psychology, they're going to have scientists, engineers, builders, laborers, or some equivalent to fulfill those tasks. It's pretty necessary to achieve that level of sophistication.

Unless... They have a hive mind? They have an unusual lifespan and don't need to specialize? They make extensive use of cyberware and slot skills into their heads as needed? They've given control over to an AI? or... something else... Honestly, it's mostly about the TL.

Even the physical skills are pretty much going to run the gamut. Look at the crazy stuff that humans regularly do. We have no business with contortion, SCUBA, aerobatics, or lifting. But we do it anyway.
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Old 09-14-2019, 07:33 AM   #5
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Default Re: Skills for TL0 Aliens

I think the OP said TL 0, not TL 10.
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Old 09-14-2019, 07:40 AM   #6
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Default Re: Skills for TL0 Aliens

Climbing would seem like a natural choice.
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Old 09-14-2019, 07:46 AM   #7
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Default Re: Skills for TL0 Aliens

And if they live in the canopy but have a poor sense of touch, they're going to need Acrobatics or some other skill with breakfall to help survive the regular unplanned trips to the ground.
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Old 09-15-2019, 06:58 AM   #8
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Default Re: Skills for TL0 Aliens

Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl View Post
I think the OP said TL 0, not TL 10.
Darned reading. Let me try again.

Ok, if we're going to be gathering, we need...

Climbing
Survival
Navigation
First aid
Hiking
Stealth to avoid the predators.
Whatever skill that slingshot uses.
Probably some brawling/wrestling.
Traps? do they use them? Do they need to watch for them?

With the main group, At least one person will probably have:
social skills
Pharmacy (Herbal)
Physician
Diagnosis
History
Artist (various)
Craft skills (various)
Housekeeping
Maybe some primitive science skills?
Camouflage
A trade language

Other things for flavor:
Do they have sport? Most cultures do.
Long-distance communications. Smoke signals? Yodeling? Whistling? Drums? Cutting the right kind of trees to release stinky plant material they can smell for miles? something else? This seems to be a priority for most early cultures.

Note that I have an image of a central migratory troop with foraging parties sent out. That may not be how they do it. They may all stick together as a group or all disburse. I'm not sure how this might affect skills, but it will dramatically affect the encounter.
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Old 09-15-2019, 07:23 AM   #9
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Default Re: Skills for TL0 Aliens

Quote:
Originally Posted by khorboth View Post
Darned reading. Let me try again.

Ok, if we're going to be gathering, we need...

Climbing
Survival
Navigation
First aid
Hiking
Stealth to avoid the predators.
Whatever skill that slingshot uses.
Probably some brawling/wrestling.
Traps? do they use them? Do they need to watch for them?

With the main group, At least one person will probably have:
social skills
Pharmacy (Herbal)
Physician
Diagnosis
History
Artist (various)
Craft skills (various)
Housekeeping
Maybe some primitive science skills?
Camouflage
A trade language

Other things for flavor:
Do they have sport? Most cultures do.
Long-distance communications. Smoke signals? Yodeling? Whistling? Drums? Cutting the right kind of trees to release stinky plant material they can smell for miles? something else? This seems to be a priority for most early cultures.

Note that I have an image of a central migratory troop with foraging parties sent out. That may not be how they do it. They may all stick together as a group or all disburse. I'm not sure how this might affect skills, but it will dramatically affect the encounter.
Thank you for this! Perfect list of what I was looking for. I mean they are a fairly curious and playful species so they probably have many games and sports they play for fun. As for long distance communication I haven't really thought about it, but considering the telescopic vision some sort of visual tool is probably the most likely.

And yes they are a migratory kind of group. Moving from patch to patch in the large jungles to give trees time to regrow fruits.
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Old 09-15-2019, 07:39 AM   #10
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Default Re: Skills for TL0 Aliens

TL 0 would rule out Physician, they could have Esoteric Medicine instead.

What kind of setting is this ? There might be room for Herb Lore as well.

I'm also looking for something instead of History, which studies recorded history, and might not work with a TL0 culture.
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