[ct] new alien race: Stick-men

[ShapeShifter]

This is my first attempt at an "alien build", so be gentle!

NEW ALIEN RACE: "STICK-MEN" ("STICK INSECT MEN")(LOW GRAVITY JUNGLE WORLD)

STRENGTH -3
DEXTERITY -1
ENDURANCE -3
INTELLIGENCE +5
EDUCATION +3
SOCIAL STANDING +/-0

TYPICAL ALIEN EXAMPLE: 464CA7
OPTIMAL ALIEN EXAMPLE: 9B9HF7

* No discernable eyes, nose, mouth, ears: featureless "head"
* 4 arms
* 2 legs
* bilateral symmetry
* Peaceful race.
* males: dark green; females: light green
* reproduction via 1-3 (1 or 2 = 1; 3 or 4 = 2; 5 or 6 = 3) acorn-like seeds after fertilization. Young grow in ground until c. 12 weeks old, then uproot becoming mobile. Reaches adult dimensions after 24 weeks.
* average lifespan: 1D * 100 years
* 7 - 8 ft tall. (2.1336 m - 2.4384 m)
* ultra-intelligent.
* telepathic communication
* sustenance via photo-synthesis
* can communicate audibly with other species via electronic translator bands attached to body.
* FTL capable species
* No. of worlds inhabited: 3

A...10
B...11
C...12
D...13
E...14
F...15
G...16
H...17

 

[BlackBat242]

I'd call them ambulatory plants, myself... seeds that grow in the ground... and the young are rooted until a certain age? Photosynthesis?

Definitely "Stick-men" = "plant-men", not "insect-men".

They do have to worry about herbivorous insects, though.

 

[Supplement Four]

STRENGTH -3
DEXTERITY -1
ENDURANCE -3
INTELLIGENCE +5
EDUCATION +3
SOCIAL STANDING +/-0

Don't be afraid to change stats to what you need them to be. Remember, those original six attributes are what is needed to define a being in the Imperium.

SOC means the being's SOC in the Imperium. So, it may be meaningless on this alien's world (or, it may mean the SOC between the aliens only, always having a low number, maybe 0, when considering offworlders).

EDU, same thing, if the aliens have no formal education in their culture.

You may want to replace these stats as has been done with other Traveller aliens in the past.

I'd call them ambulatory plants, myself... seeds that grow in the ground... and the young are rooted until a certain age? Photosynthesis?

Definitely "Stick-men" = "plant-men", not "insect-men".

My first thought, when reading about them, was the flying stick--the insect that basically looks like a stick.

So, I thought "insect-based".

 

[ShapeShifter]

The name "stick insect" was to evoke a certain image. My only encounter with one was as a teenager: I had passed under a tree and it fell out of the tree and went down the back of my shirt! o: Ick!

When it comes to alien creation EDU and SOC cause me to stumble. In a WD article (#47) a "crab-like" alien (Phulgk'k'k'k. DO NOT ask me to pronounce it! ) had an EDU, but in the sense of a pool of skills, or skill-set, IIRC.

The article says to take the base EDU and add a dice-roll to get a number which then is the number of times one may roll on a list of skills for the critter. Pretty neat idea, IMHO! I like this mechanic, but will have to tinker to fit it to my build.

As for SOC, I don't yet know how to grapple with that one.

 

[Thoth-Amon]

This is my first attempt at an "alien build", so be gentle!

NEW ALIEN RACE: "STICK-MEN" ("STICK INSECT MEN")(LOW GRAVITY JUNGLE WORLD)

STRENGTH -3
DEXTERITY -1
ENDURANCE -3
INTELLIGENCE +5
EDUCATION +3
SOCIAL STANDING +/-0

TYPICAL ALIEN EXAMPLE: 464CA7
OPTIMAL ALIEN EXAMPLE: 9B9HF7

* No discernable eyes, nose, mouth, ears: featureless "head"
* 4 arms
* 2 legs
* bilateral symmetry
* Peaceful race.
* males: dark green; females: light green
* reproduction via 1-3 (1 or 2 = 1; 3 or 4 = 2; 5 or 6 = 3) acorn-like seeds after fertilization. Young grow in ground until c. 12 weeks old, then uproot becoming mobile. Reaches adult dimensions after 24 weeks.
* average lifespan: 1D * 100 years
* 7 - 8 ft tall. (2.1336 m - 2.4384 m)
* ultra-intelligent.
* telepathic communication
* sustenance via photo-synthesis
* can communicate audibly with other species via electronic translator bands attached to body.
* FTL capable species
* No. of worlds inhabited: 3

A...10
B...11
C...12
D...13
E...14
F...15
G...16
H...17

Very cool idea, you using the walking stick as inspiration for a race. If you dont mind, i'd love to use it in an upcoming campaign,all credit given to you, of course.

 

[Whipsnade]

I'd call them Sentient Kudzu.

We've got an alien race that:

- is smarter than average due to the +5 DM to INT.
- is better educated than average due to the +3 DM to EDU.
- grows to maturity in 24 weeks.
- lives for an average of 300 years.
- reproduces via triplets as often as it does via singles.
- requires only sunlight, water, and trace minerals for photosynthesis.
- and has jump drive.

So, what in hell has kept them from exploding through Chartered Space like Moties?

If you take their many advantages in intelligence, reproductive abilities, speed of maturation, and lifespan coupled with their limited need for resources the result should be humanity living in a Sentient Kudzu Imperium not the other way around.

Yes, yes, I know you've roped in that tired old sci-fi trope of them being a "peaceful" race. That's lazy thinking however. You can be peaceful and still be aggressive. You can be peaceful and`still be evil too. Let me point out the example of the Hivers. They're a race of physical cowards who rule a "federation" chocked full of "lesser" species all "manipulated" into neat pigeon holes.

Your "Sentient Kudzu" are just another version of "mary sue"(1). They need to be more realistic and less perfect. Give them real flaws and foibles so they'll seem less of a cardboard cutout.


Regards,
Bill

1 - That's a literary term describing a protagonist who is too good to be true, always does the right thing, and always wins in the end. Weber's cringe-worthy creation Honor Harrington is an excellent example of a "mary sue".

 

[Supplement Four]

The name "stick insect" was to evoke a certain image.

Yep, that's what I was thinking of when I read the original description.

I guess I thought "flying" because these things are always dropping from trees. The once or twice I encountered them, they fell from a tree (or was scuttling along a branch).

We probably see much more of them than we realize because of their ability to blend in with their surroundings.

When it comes to alien creation EDU and SOC cause me to stumble. In a WD article (#47) a "crab-like" alien (Phulgk'k'k'k. DO NOT ask me to pronounce it! ) had an EDU, but in the sense of a pool of skills, or skill-set, IIRC.

The article says to take the base EDU and add a dice-roll to get a number which then is the number of times one may roll on a list of skills for the critter. Pretty neat idea, IMHO! I like this mechanic, but will have to tinker to fit it to my build.

As for SOC, I don't yet know how to grapple with that one.

As I said above, you can keep EDU and SOC, if it applies to the alien (the ones in WD were probably star-fairers who interacted with the galactic community, thus their EDU and SOC were on the same scale).

Look at what your stick aliens do. Are they tribal? Or, probably insect-like, hive-minded, but not space-capable? Maybe their Tech Level is low?

If so, then maybe modern species encounter them and think of them as alien bugs. When, in reality, they're sentient.

Remember,the Vargr don't have a SOC characteristic. They have CHR. Other Traveller aliens are like that, too.

So, change SOC to something that you need it to be...or keep SOC but change it to what it means within the stick-alien community.

Hive mind? How about changing EDU to PSY and making this a psionic race? With their thin bodies, they're not going to be much of a threat to most beings. So, why not give them an equilizing weapon--psionics.

So, your stats may be: STR, DEX, END, INT, PSY, SOC.

Or something like that.

Just a thought.





I picture a scene where some scounts land on the planet. They notice some of these stick-aliens around. They're just sitting there, non-moving (natural survival technique), and the scouts think they're like cattle.

Unknown to the scouts, the ship actually landed on one when it touched down.

This is where the GM steps in and starts screwing with the players' heads. What's happening is that the stick-aliens are using their psionics on the "invaders", but we don't want the players to even think in that direction yet. We want to present it as a mystery.

Something like this happens...

GM: (Speaking of one of the NPCs aboard with the scouts) "You look up from your rock sample and see Jam'mes has wandered off, almost out of sight, into the thin foilage. You comm him, but there is no response. And, then he disappears, in the direction of West, local."



What if the stick-aliens get more powerful psionically the more there are of them? One is just like a normal human with psioncis. Two, doubles that, etc.

Several, working together, using a combined PSY stat, can effectively posses a human? Make him fight for them?

That's interesting.

And, the players have to make the connection that every time this happens, those stick-alien cattle things are around. They seem harmless. They just sit there. Sometimes, you'll see one move, but most of the time, it just looks like another stick.

And, their ability to blend in is amazing.

What's causing all this wierdness on this world?

Can it be the bugs?



Just a thought...my GM side of me coming out.

 

[rancke]

1 - That's a literary term describing a protagonist who is too good to be true, always does the right thing, and always wins in the end. Weber's cringe-worthy creation Honor Harrington is an excellent example of a "mary sue".

You've just described a whole lot of excellent heroes from excellent books. Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin, every Alistair Maclean hero, practically every Louis Lamour and J.T. Edson hero. I particularly like the "always wins in the end" bit. Can you think of any main character that didn't win in the end? well, OK, I know they exist, but they're rarer than hens' teeth.



Hans

 

[Whipsnade]

You've just described a whole lot of excellent heroes from excellent books.

Hans,

It is a difference of degree and not kind.

Here are two quotes that explain "Mary Sue" better than I do:

"Mary Sue, sometimes shortened simply to Sue, is a pejorative term used to describe a fictional character who plays a major role in the plot and is particularly characterized by overly idealized and hackneyed mannerisms, lacking noteworthy flaws, or having too many, and primarily functioning as wish-fulfillment fantasies for their authors or readers. Perhaps the single underlying feature of all characters described as "Mary Sues" is that they are too ostentatious for the audience's taste, or that the author seems to favor the character too highly. The author may seem to push how exceptional and wonderful the "Mary Sue" character is on his or her audience, sometimes leading the audience to dislike or even resent the character fairly quickly; such a character could be described as an "author's pet".

"These characters confront very few significant problems while attempting to achieve their goals. "Everything goes her way" is a common criticism regarding "Mary Sues", the implication being that the character is not sufficiently humanized or challenged to be genuinely interesting and sympathetic."

Please notice the first sentence in the second quote. That's where my "always wins in the end" criticism comes from.

The term itself is a relatively old one. It dates, IIRC, from the early 1970s when rabid Trekkies were composing fan-fic on typewriters and mimeographing it to each other. The term has since been borrowed and applied to other writing genres and other genres entirely.

I first came across it in a creative writing course in the mid-1980s and have lately seen in used more often more in criticism dealing with films, gaming, and other activities beyond writing.

Naturally, there are different levels of "Mary Sue-ness". Good authors can handle such characters without much difficulty while bad authors rely too much on them. Pratchett's Captain Carrot Ironfounderson is a great example of what a good author does with a "mary sue" while Weber's Honor Harrington is a great example of what a hack typist does with the same concept.

James Bond and James Kirk are each a "mary sue" too. In some of their exploits, their nature works to heighten our enjoyment and in others their nature is obnoxious.

ShapeShifter's "Sentient Kudzu" are a "mary sue" race for Traveller. Their "flaws" are wholly physical and thus nearly inconsequential in a setting with advanced technology. Their "virtues" on the other hand are completely out of scale for the setting. The +5 DM for intelligence for example means that the stupidest member of the Sentient Kudzu race is as smart as the average members of the other Majors.

Think about that for a moment. Sentient Kudzu morons are as smart as you and I.

Does anyone find that balanced? Anyone? Bueller?

When you factor in their reproductive rate, speed of maturation, lifespan, and other attributes the Sentient Kudzu should rule, or will soon rule, Chartered Space.

They can breed like something that belongs under a microscope, they're full grown adults in 24 weeks, they live on photosynthesis and so only require light, CO2, water, and trace minerals, they're on average smarter than everyone else, they're on average better educated than everyone else, they live on average for three centuries, and they're FTL capable.

And the only thing balancing all this is the fact that they're "peaceful". Yeah, right, pull the other one.

Sentient Kudzu aren't a race, they're an intelligent plague and a completely unbalanced design.

They're "Mary Sue".


Regards,
Bill

 

[rancke]

It is a difference of degree and not kind.

That was sort of my point.

"These characters confront very few significant problems while attempting to achieve their goals. "Everything goes her way" is a common criticism regarding "Mary Sues", the implication being that the character is not sufficiently humanized or challenged to be genuinely interesting and sympathetic."

Please notice the first sentence in the second quote. That's where my "always wins in the end" criticism comes from.

Which is why the examples I mentioned aren't Mary Sues. But I submit that the same is the case for Honor Harrington. I'm not saying that the HH books are great literature, and I'd bring along a Modesty Blaise book instead of a HH book any time I had to choose. But they're not nearly as bad as you make them out to be (IMO, of course). In fact, they're fairly decent, and I might even bring one instead of an Alistair Maclean .

Naturally, there are different levels of "Mary Sue-ness". Good authors can handle such characters without much difficulty while bad authors rely too much on them. Pratchett's Captain Carrot Ironfounderson is a great example of what a good author does with a "mary sue" while Weber's Honor Harrington is a great example of what a hack typist does with the same concept.

Don't be coy, Bill. Tell us what you really think. .

ShapeShifter's "Sentient Kudzu" are a "mary sue" race for Traveller.

No argument there.

They're "Mary Sue".

Unless there's something Shapeshifter isn't telling us, they lack the wish-fulfillment element :devil:. Maybe they're just ill-considered?


Hans

 

[Whipsnade]

Unless there's something Shapeshifter isn't telling us, they lack the wish-fulfillment element :devil:. Maybe they're just ill-considered?

Hans,

They could be an example of wish-fulfillment or they could be simply ill-considered. The two cases are not mutually exclusive however and quite often adversely effect each other. Take Landgrabs for example.

IMHO, creating a landgrab is one of the best ways Traveller can be played alone. You select a barebones UWP from some list, dig out the sysgen of your choice, and begin to lovingly detail the system and its people.

"Lovingly" is where the problems usually occur.

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our creation we forget to make it "fit". The landgrab system is now "our" system. We feel possessive, we want it to be interesting, and we it to stand out among all the others. So, we began to add aspects to our landgrab that are all out of proportion to the original world. We forget that "no system is an island" and fail to consider how our landgrab's seemingly parochial details will naturally effect the worlds nearby, the local subsector, or even the sector or Imperium. Our landgrab first grows into a canon bender, next a canon wrecker, and finally a setting wrecker and all with the best of intentions.

Our desire to fulfill our wishes leads us to fail to consider the ramifications of our work. It's very easy for both of these human failings feed upon or buttress each other, and canon is littered with examples.

Look at MT's IRIS. IRIS started out as a variant article in the Challenge, then there was a mention in a TNS report and, before you could blink, they were one step below being an honest-to-ghu faction in the Rebellion.

Did Charles Gannon deliberately set out to create a canonical organization full of psionic James Bonds who choose who gets to be Emperor? Certainly not. He simply wrote up a variant for those Travellers who wanted a basis for high powered campaigns. The wheels came off when he then took the opportunity to put them in the OTU whether they belonged there or not.

He "loved" IRIS as his creation. His wish that they somehow become part of the OTU then led him to make ill-considered choices. All in all, perfectly human.

We're in the middle of a similar process with the Avalar Consulate. That polity in the Foreven Sector was written up in the late-MT fanzine Imperiallines and from the beginning it's size and location were troublesome. Skip forward a few decades and one of the creators of that polity is now part of the T5 group. While FFE doesn't list Imperiallines as a canonical publication, the Avalar Consulate will be part of the T5 setting(1) because the wish that it be included means that the problems the Avalar Consulate raises have have been ill-considered. (If they've been considered at all!)

Shapeshifter didn't mean to create a super race of stick insects who could easily out breed and out think every other species in Chartered Space. What he did was create an alien race that was the "best" it could be and he then forgot to see whether it fit the setting.


Regards,
Bill

1 - And the MgT setting when Hells Creek begins publishing.

 

[rancke]

We're in the middle of a similar process with the Avalar Consulate. That polity in the Foreven Sector was written up in the late-MT fanzine Imperiallines and from the beginning it's size and location were troublesome. Skip forward a few decades and one of the creators of that polity is now part of the T5 group. While FFE doesn't list Imperiallines as a canonical publication, the Avalar Consulate will be part of the T5 setting(1) because the wish that it be included means that the problems the Avalar Consulate raises have have been ill-considered. (If they've been considered at all!)

Hey, I came up with a suggestion that would solve that problem. Never did get a response, though.

Shapeshifter didn't mean to create a super race of stick insects who could easily out breed and out think every other species in Chartered Space. What he did was create an alien race that was the "best" it could be and he then forgot to see whether it fit the setting.

They'd make a good race for an interdicted world. They'd represent a threat similar to the Moties, but no one can accuse them of being Motie derived. A first contact adventure where the PCs first find out how peaceful they are, then slowly figure out what a huge threat they are. Though the peacefulness really need an explanation. Either the Sticks are capable of lowering their reproductive rates voluntarily or it happens automatically once a certain population density is reached, or there was an extinction event in the not too distant past and they haven't bred up to the struggle for lebensraum level yet.

Another possible adventure would be a rescue mission to pick up survivors of a shipwreck.



Hans

 

[Whipsnade]

Hey, I came up with a suggestion that would solve that problem. Never did get a response, though.

Hans,

Tell me about it.

I've asked questions and made suggestions for nearly a year now. All I've got in return is either non-answers, studied silence, or variations on hurr durr it was in Imperiallines.

They'd make a good race for an interdicted world. They'd represent a threat similar to the Moties, but no one can accuse them of being Motie derived.

Agreed. They definitely should interdicted. Sadly, Shapeshifter says they're already on three worlds so that would have to be changed.

A first contact adventure where the PCs first find out how peaceful they are, then slowly figure out what a huge thread they are.

That would make for a great campaign. The Sentient Kudzu have FTL capabilities already though, so that would have to be changed.

Though the peacefulness really need an explanation.

Explained? More like thrown out. It's "one trick pony" thinking like Tatooine is entirely covered with desert!.

Either the Sticks are capable of lowering their reproductive rates voluntarily or it happens automatically once a certain population density is reached...

Agreed. Sentient Kudzu either practice casual infanticide like the Hivers and have definite ideas on optimal populations levels or they only reproduce once in a lifetime.

... or there was an extinction event in the not too distant past and they haven't bred up to the struggle for lebensraum level yet.

Given that they mature in 24 weeks, it shouldn't take too long for them to breed back up to any population level. In a dark setting that "extinction event" could have been the Ziru Sirka, Rule of Man, or Third Imperium. When I read the original post the first word that popped in my mind was Brinn.

Another possible adventure would be a rescue mission to pick up survivors of a shipwreck.

That's another very interesting idea!


Regards,
Bill

 

[rancke]

Agreed. Sentient Kudzu either practice casual infanticide like the Hivers and have definite ideas on optimal populations levels or they only reproduce once in a lifetime.

Once in a lifetime and only after death. The fertilized seeds germinate in the decaying body of the dead parent. A 50% population increase every three centuries is a lot less than humans can achieve.

Edit: Sorry, misread the number of offspring. I thought it was three every time. Shapeshifter, if you go with the reproduction after death idea, I'd suggest making it 2-4 if half the population fertilizes and the other half germinates. If they all germinate, 1-3 would work fine. A doubling every 300 years will still be considerably slower than what humans can achieve. And it would make for a very non-standard society.


Hans

 

[ShapeShifter]

Thanks for the ideas, all!
I had no idea that my brainy peace-nik kudzu poofter sissies would generate so much angsty posting! :rofl:

Oh, and when not in the midst of a delectable photosynthesized meal, they prefer the tasty flesh of vegetarians!!! o:

SOC to CHA??? I don't think my precious bean-sprouts would be able to charm the masses during election time, nor lead the Grande Armee into the teeth of battle against Welly and Blucher.

ADDENDUM:

Perhaps they can travel whithersoever they desire, but can only grow their saplings in their native soil. Perhaps that would cut back on the Salad Bar Mary Sues' take-over-the-Imperium-threat everyone's so worried about.
And that they could only inhabit worlds on the inside third of the Goldy Locks Zone otherwise they won't be able to survive.
And why do they have to be threatening?

*Runs off back to the greenhouse to re-pot his new race*

 

[Whipsnade]

Now it has been interesting reading back and forth the ideas but you all have forgotten at least one strong possibility with the birth rate numbers. Surviviability. Maybe the weather is so bad that young ones have a hard time making past the first few weeks (not my preferred way.)

Dave,

That's the Hiver model of casual infanticide I wrote about earlier. The Hivers transplant predators to their colony worlds in order to thin out the number of Hiver younglings scrambling around. They even routinely fumigate their starships before landing on a planet so that the larvae scuttling inside don't make their way out into the wilds.

Beavers, insects, bears (scratching and such), Birds, or even nature it's self like forest fires, or lightening. The moblie adults can seek shelter under other trees but the young ones must be planted in a place that gives lots of sun, water and air or they die.

Remember, all those mechanisms only have 24 weeks in which to "thin the herd". Sentient Kudzu are full adults and (presumably) mobile after that.

As for how their FTL works, consider this option: (snip)

No. There is only one type of FTL drive in the Official Traveller Universe and it is jump drive. While there are slight variations of that drive like the Hiver's J1 meltdown drive, the Vargr barium drive, and the early Solomani fuel-hog drive, they are all jump drives under the hood(1).

Don't let my ideas bog you down, if you don't like them, their just opinions any way.

Your ideas are quite welcome and they won't bog the thread down, so please pitch some more!

Just to make things clear: What Hans and I are nattering on about is how to fit Shapeshifter's Sentient Kudzu into the Official Traveller Universe. They're a great idea and would be a great addition to the OTU IF they can be tweaked to fit. We want to add to canon and not wreck canon.

Of course, the Sentient Kudzu can be added to anyone's personal TU without any tweaks at all. It's just that, if they can be made to fit into the OTU, they'll be more usable for more people.


Regards,
Bill

1 - I could add the Annic Nova drive to that list but I don't want to open up that particular can of worms.

 

[Whipsnade]

I had no idea that my brainy peace-nik kudzu poofter sissies would generate so much angsty posting! :rofl:

Shapeshifter,

Angsty? We're trying to make your idea work in the Official Traveller Universe so that more people can use it. That's not angst, that's constructive criticism.

SOC to CHA??? I don't think my precious bean-sprouts would be able to charm the masses during election time, nor lead the Grande Armee into the teeth of battle against Welly and Blucher.

S4 was using the Vargrs' CHA stat as an example, he wasn't suggesting you use it.

Many Traveller aliens have replacements for the SOC stat. The Solomani have a party membership rating instead of SOC for example. The Sentient Kudzu should have a SOC-like stat specific to themselves.

And why do they have to be threatening?

Because they breed like something that belongs in a petri dish, grow astoundingly fast, live for centuries, require little in the way of resources, are smarter than everyone else, and are better educated too.

The question we should be asking here is why you don't see them as the threat. Can it be that they're your "mary sue"?


Regards,
Bill

 

[rancke]

I had no idea that my brainy peace-nik kudzu poofter sissies would generate so much angsty posting!

There's nothing angsty about it. Bill and I just enjoy exploring ramifications of ideas and fitting new ideas into the OTU. The latter is because doing so increases the number of people who can use the ideas -- and whose further ideas we can use.

Perhaps they can travel whithersoever they desire, but can only grow their saplings in their native soil. Perhaps that would cut back on the Salad Bar Mary Sues' take-over-the-Imperium-threat everyone's so worried about.

We're not worried. After all, we already know that they haven't taken over the Imperium. We'd just like to know how come they haven't. Plant life in the OTU tends to be quite robust, and the fact that they've managed to find two other worlds where they thrive suggests that they might not be all that finicky. But it's certainly an option that's worth considering. If you do go that way, odds are that those three worlds are located very far from each other and that the Sticks would be VERY interested in finding more.

And that they could only inhabit worlds on the inside third of the Goldy Locks Zone otherwise they won't be able to survive.
And why do they have to be threatening?

They don't. But there a certain amount of meta-thinking to be done about every new alien species introduced to the OTU. The most basic question is, what role are they going to play in RPG campaigns set in the OTU? What niche are they going to fill? What's their narrative purpose? At least it doesn't look like it'll be that of an honorable warrior culture...


Hans

 

[Whipsnade]

Ah, Bill, On the FTL drive (or modified Jump drive), its still a jump drive, it would still used water for its fuel.

Dave,

Hydrogen. Jump drive uses hydrogen, which is often refined from water.

Its just that the ship/creature can not jump until it has had time to rest and suck up a years' worth of solar energy. It is living after all and it does not get solar energy while jumping.

Run through this Thought Experiment: You're the captain of the Sentient Kudzu version of Starleaper One or NX-01. Your species has been flying "organic" spaceships around you home system for centuries and, after decades of experimentation, you have grown/bred an organic ship with an organic jump drive. It charges up for the lengthy period your post suggests, you throw the switch, and reappear 168 hours later in a system one parsec away...

... where you immediately meet other sentients from either the Ziru Sirka, Rule of Man, Imperium, Zhodani Consulate, Aslan Heirate, 2000 Worlds(1), Hive Federation, Solomani Confederarion, or any one of the hundred of other FTL polities and worlds in OTU history.

These strangers fly even stranger non-organic ships that have jump drives too. The real shock comes when you learn that the strangers' jump drive only needs 20 minutes to work while your version needed days/months/years to charge.

Tell me, how much longer are you going to be using your organic jump drive?

The answer to that question naturally is only about 2 nanoseconds after you build your first copy of the non-organic jump drive from the plans you either bought or otherwise acquired.

No technological species worth it's salt is going to pass up such an upgrade.

I was only pointing out about survival because in the real world that is an issue. Most creatures that produce lots of offspring do so because there is some other element (nature or living) that beats it down and kills many. Sea Turtles come to mind as a good example.

Sea turtles aren't tool users.

The Hivers constantly produce offspring, but their numbers don't explode because they care nothing for those larvae until they find their way back to a nest. Nearly all those larvae get gobbled up, just like sea turtles, and they get gobbled up over years.

The offspring of Sentient Kudzu aren't in the wild for years however. They grow to maturity in 24 weeks. And we don't know if the adult version ignore their offspring like the Hivers do.

And it sounds like this race would not tolerate, weak versions of it's self.

Why not? It's "peaceful" remember?

After all it has learned to adapt and develop by overcoming and would probably continue that in its caring for the race as a whole. Part racial attitude toward things.

That could very well be true but, until Shapeshifter tells us it is so, we don't know.


Regards,
Bill

1 - Somewhere along the edges of K'Kree space would be a good location for the Sentient Kudzu homeworld. They're "vegetarians" so the K'Kree won't simply nuke them from orbit and, once their Motie-like reproductive nature is revealed (perhaps after settling their first colony world), the Centaurs would be bloody minded enough to keep the Kudzu under their hooves. Imagine Sentient Kudzu jump-generation ships ala Sky Raiders ghosting into the trailing edge of the Imperium as they try to escape the control of the K'Kree and expand!

 

[rancke]

So what sort of society might you get if an individual didn't reproduce until it died? I'm referring to my suggestion above that 1-3 new individuals germinate in the decaying body of the dead parent (Heh - no burial and no cremation for one thing).

Would there be a desire to protect one's own progeny and to pass on personal possessions to them? If so, you'd need some sort of proxy. You wouldn't be able to raise or protect your own children, so you'd raise someone else who in turn would raise your children. How would a family, or the social equal of a family, be organized?

Young may reach adult size in 24 weeks, but maybe they won't reach maturity that fast. Their brains might still need to grow/mature.

What happens to the progeny of individuals that die in the wilderness? Do they become feral?

Any other ideas/questions/suggestions?



Hans