GURPS Star Trek - Canon Vulcans

[Pursuivant]

This thread is my take on CANON Vulcans, as presented in just about every Star Trek franchise since 1965. That is, Vulcans as actually presented and described on screen. No slight intended to folks who have designed stripped-down, lower cost Vulcan templates.

My template is based on viewing every Star Trek movie or TV episode where Vulcans have appeared and obsessive consultation with the appropriate Memory Alpha entries. Yes, that's a lot of Star Trek.

If you offer feedback, be prepared to back up you suggestions with canon.

That caveat isn't meant to stifle criticism, or turn into chest thumping contests over ST lore, however. If you think that there's something that I've missed or gotten wrong, based on your recollections of the shows or movies, point it out. No need to cite canon if you're just pointing out math errors or similar problems.

Vulcans suffer very badly from "protagonist syndrome," with loads of inherent racial abilities. That makes the racial template way too expensive for my liking. Ideally, it wouldn't cost more than about 50 points. I've included a very limited Vulcanoid variation to cover "Vulcan-like" characters.

Description

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Vulcans are natives of a hot desert with higher gravity and thinner atmosphere than Earth. They are renowned as diplomats, engineers, mediators, musicians, physicians, philosophers, and scientists.

They usually resemble tall, somewhat slender, long-faced, Caucasian humans of European or Eurasian descent, but with pointed ears and thick upswept eyebrows. A very few have heavy, V-shaped forehead ridges, as well as eyebrow ridges which bifurcate at the temples, giving them a more “Romulan” appearance. The skull might have a slightly larger braincase than in humans, with slight bulges at the temples. Height and mass is similar to humans, but whether due to genetics or strict discipline, obesity is rare. Some older or very sedentary individuals might be Overweight, but Fat or Very Fat Vulcans are extremely rare, to the point that their obesity counts as a Distinctive Feature.

Eyes are usually dark, but there are exceptions with rarer eye colors ranging from hazel to blue. Skin tone usually ranges from very pale with a slightly greenish cast to olive (medium brown with a slight yellow-green tint). Populations of Vulcans with medium brown skin and appearance reminiscent of Black humans also exist, as do populations with features more reminiscent of Asian humans.

Hair is usually dark brown or black, glossy and straight, although some individuals have sandy brown hair. Some individuals shave their hair or are naturally bald. Darker-skinned Vulcans can have tightly curled dark hair. In almost all cases, hair is worn short and straight, plastered against the head in a severe “pageboy” or “bobbed” haircut with straight bangs stopping halfway down the forehead and “sideburns” which end in a point just above the ear. In some eras, civilians might wear their hair longer, with women sometimes wearing very long hair arranged in elaborate hairstyles. Vulcan rebels or ascetics might wear their hair longer, usually loose and uncombed.

Males are capable of growing facial hair but usually keep their faces shaved. Males (and presumably females) can also have body hair similar to that of humans.

Civilian clothing generally consists of solid-colored robes in somber colors. Blacks, grays, browns, tans, and white predominate, with some subdued tints of red, green, or blue. While never formally stated in canon, it is possible that Vulcan civilian dress is based on societal position, with more senior officials and leaders wearing richer, more complex clothing.

On ceremonial or formal occasions, high officials and religious leaders wear loosely fitted robes marked with Vulcan script embroidered vertically down the lapels of the garment in gold, silver, or yellow. Additionally, they will sometimes wear flowing, peaked headdresses.

Vulcans serving in the military typically wear more tightly fitted garments; either jackets and trousers made from heavy leather-like material or flexible, form-fitting jumpsuits. In all cases, fabrics are somber solid colors - black, brown, or gray - or printed with fine geometrical patterns in those colors. Unusual individuals, particularly dissidents and rebels, might choose clothing that varies from these norms. Even so, the most fashion-conscious and radical Vulcan is likely to have conservative tastes as compared to members of “emotional species.”

Physiology

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Internal biology is radically different from human biology. For example, Vulcans possess teeth that humans do not have, lack an appendix, and have their hearts are located where a human’s liver would be. Their hearts beat very quickly – several hundred times per minute under normal conditions, but blood pressure is lower than that of a human.

Vulcans cells have mitochondria, but their bodies use a salt other than sodium chloride to maintain osmotic balance within their cells. Their blood is copper-based; oxygenated blood is vivid to dull yellow-green while deoxygenated blood is copper- or rust-colored. Their bruises and abrasions have a greenish tinge.

In part because of the harsh desert environment and thinner atmosphere of their home planet, Vulcans are physically superior to individuals most other species. The average Vulcan is faster, fitter, smarter, and tougher than the average human. They can live for over 200 years, particularly when aided by ultratech medicine. A male Vulcan is three times as strong as a human male. They can dent starship interior bulkheads with a punch, pry open bulkhead doors with their bare hands, and throw a full-grown human male at least two yards. Female Vulcans are strong enough that they can wrestle human males on equal terms, and can carry adult human males for at least short distances.

In order to extract the oxygen they needed from Vulcan’s thin atmosphere, their respiratory system is highly efficient. They are also capable of briefly operating in Very Thin atmospheres, such as a planet’s stratosphere. Possibly due to their thinner atmosphere, they have slightly superior senses of hearing and smell. Vulcans females have a superior sense of smell and find the smell of humans to be unpleasant.

Additionally, Vulcans have eyes adapted to bright light, the ability to go without water for long periods, and the ability to function comfortably in a broader range of temperatures than humans do. Using advanced body control techniques, some Vulcans can go without food or sleep for weeks.

At least to Andorian senses, most Vulcans smell of dust. Compared to other species, however, they seem to have little body odor.

Their brains are adapted to use a variety of psionic powers and are more resilient than human brains in some ways, but much more vulnerable in others. In particular, Vulcans can suffer brain damage from severe psychological stress, as well as certain psionic techniques, or exposure to rare chemical compounds.

Contrary to popular opinion, most Vulcans are not emotionless. Instead, they are actually a highly volatile species who use meditation and logic to control and suppress emotions. As a result, Vulcans are actually quite good at detecting subtle emotional nuances, although they find overt emotional displays to be distressing or offensive. A Vulcan who is unable to meditate will eventually revert to their "true" nature, which is often bad tempered and intolerant.

Federation Status: Founding member of Federation in 6161. Made first alien contact with humans April 5, 2063 at Bozeman, Montana. (Only 41 years from now, assuming that we're on the same timeline as the ST timeline, and you don't mind a Third World War which kills billions of people and wipes out 60% of Earth's species in the meantime.)