[Psionics] [Space] Psi Trek - Worldbuilding

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by TGLS

I'll call this 3a: use the converted aliens from here. Still, for a Star Trek feel, most aliens should just be humans with bumpy foreheads and a planetary hat (maybe some stat pluses), so 1 or 2. Maybe add a couple from 3 for variety.

Forgot to say: Thank you, it's good to be reminded that GURPSland exists.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

Not being a big Traveller fan, I'm not sure what you mean by that?

I will say that the seeding did not take place billions of years ago, though. In most cases, it took place thousands to tens of thousands of years ago, and in some cases, hundreds of thousands to millions of years ago (tens of millions is rather less likely, but I'm not going to totally dismiss the possibility of surviving dinosaurs somewhere out there, or similar beings). I'm not totally certain that sapient life in this setting existed billions of years ago.

EDIT: It isn't just sophonts who were seeded, entire biomes (or significant portions thereof) were sampled and recreated on terraformed worlds, much like in the Orichalcum Universe mentioned in the OP, and a number of other settings. Not all were successful, of course, as important things might be missed and left out, but quite often, 'life, uh, finds a way.'

That really fits with what I know of Traveller, though I'm not super well versed in its lore.
Ancient humans and biomes were deposited on worlds across the galaxy. Some were modified to at least have a chance, but nevertheless many died out. Those that survived adapted to become unique and sometimes very different subspecies or outright species compared to those that remained on Earth.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Most, but not all, on screen aliens were humans in funny suits and nose bumps.
One could easily bring the or more of the inhuman ones to the front in a tabletop game without too much style divergence.
Though I suppose that may lead to one issue I always had with ST, that of them almost never using protective suits no matter how unknown the planet.
That might be more obvious with properly alien aliens.

Possibly. The Purulu from Aliens are a pretty good example of that. Mind you, the Tholians from TOS were themselves very alien biologically and environmentally, they were just a rare outlier.


So, I'm not seeing a clear consensus. Should I assume that focusing on #1 but occasionally using #2 or #3 (& 3a) when appropriate is acceptable?

[Flyndaran]

The Trek approach makes multiple aliens species interacting less problematic. But having a few properly non-humanoid species may add a dash of SPACE-ness to the setting, I think.
Though there's probably a balancing act that needs to be tread in order to avoid accidentally making the nose bump aliens seem silly by comparison.

[AlexanderHowl]

I would love seeing them retcon away nosebump aliens. A few aliens as offshoots of humanity transported by ancient aliens are acceptable, but they should be rare outside of a 500 ly radius.

[Flyndaran]

That depends on who, how, and why they were transported.
Perhaps the precursors used a strange and unique form of FTL that created way points in seemingly random points in the galaxy.

Having them all be modified Earth lifeforms at least modifies the issue. But without nose bump aliens, you end up with ships not plausibly having multiple species for that Trek style. Everyone or worse everyone but one species would have to wear protective suits 24/7.
Then again, Trek ships are usually 90%+ humans with a few token non-humans.

[Daigoro]

(I was just thinking this for one of Astromancer's ideas, but the post fits here just as well.)

Why be geocentric? Why would humanity be the root species, and not have us as an offshoot from some other world seeded across space?

To answer the standing question, I'd go for #2. As a setting building exercise, I gather you want to emulate Star Trek without copying it. That means you'd have a warrior race, a logical race, a merchant race and so on, but not exactly be Klingons, Vulcans and Ferenghi. This gives you more leeway in how to write their histories and psychic powers.

[Flyndaran]

Because that would contradict all the fossil evidence and fact that we're obviously related to all other Earth life.
I know it's been done in numerous fictional settings, but it's kind of not really done much anymore, I think.
It's akin to saying that dogs are aliens, but wolves are not. It's weird to my eyes, but of course YMMV.

[Daigoro]

Our DNA could've been edited to seamlessly fit into Earth's ecosystem, if you give the Precursors Genesis-like and Alien-like (i.e. from the Alien movies) biotech. And there are enough gaps in the fossil record to handwave that as well. Otherwise, it suggests a number of seeding missions.

I guess I'm just being resistant to making humans extra-special without some kind of worthwhile justification.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Daigoro

Our DNA could've been edited to seamlessly fit into Earth's ecosystem, if you give the Precursors Genesis-like and Alien-like (i.e. from the Alien movies) biotech.

If their biotech is that advanced, why are they bothering putting similar species on different planets? They can just make up species on the fly with those capabilities.