[ct] new alien race: Stick-men

[rancke]

Well other than the violence of the act (which we really know nothing of the how to's) what you describe sounds very similar to what GURPS did with the Lithkind. The male dies in the act of 'love' and the female now sleeps until the young burst out of her. (GT Alien Races #3 pg 134)

Um, I don't think it is anything alike. In this case the death can happen at the end of a long life. The death triggers the germination, not the other way around.

Hm... what if the number of progeny depends on how long the individual has been alive?


Hans

 

[BlackBat242]

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.

Why not? That's the perfect example of what Shapeshifter is talking about.

Its just that the ship/solar sails are grown, not built.


I like the death/germinate model... with clans/social clubs raising each others' offspring.

I seem to remember Orsen Scott Card doing something like that in Speaker of the Dead.

 

[ShapeShifter]

Would I be avoiding a great deal of controversy by changing a few things?

As, for example, stating that

a) they do NOT have interplanetary abilities (and thus no STL nor FTL capabilities), and

b) their young mature at a much slower rate, and only the fittest specimens are kept and not destroyed (a la the historical Spartans committing infanticide, or, to cite a SciFi example, the Tharks of Barsoom who destroy the eggs which look too meek and only keep the hearty eggs), and

c) dropping their intelligence to a more human 7.

d) exchanging communication via telepathy to some type of airborne (pheromone-like) system, and/or somatic or aural components.

I have not considered the essential details of fitting them into a plausible ecosystem. They may have all manner of predators to cope with...


I should state, perhaps belatedly, that my RPG experience (both in fantasy and SciFi) is balanced by a healthy amount of whimsy and light on the hard science, as many may have thus far noticed.

Thanks for all the great ideas thus far!

 

[ShapeShifter]

NEW ALIEN RACE:

the
STICK-MEN

[REVISED VERSION 2]

(LOW GRAVITY JUNGLE WORLD)

STRENGTH -3
DEXTERITY +0*
ENDURANCE -2
INTELLIGENCE +1
EDUCATION +1
SOCIAL STANDING +0

* see Locomotion below.

Typical Stick-Man: 475887

* By anthropomorphic standards no discernable eyes, nose, mouth, ears: id est, a featureless "head". In fact, thousands of minute pore-like features over the creatures "head" region are primitive optical, olfactory and auditory receptors, which, when functioning in unison are most effective.

* Individuals over 30 years of age have a "hair-like" growth on the uppermost portion ("head") of their anatomy, similar to fern-fronds (males) or tendrils of spanish moss (females). This "hair" is, in fact, an additional sensory organ heightening their ability to perceive and interact with their environment. Length of this "hair" is an indication of status within a given social group.

* 4 arms, each terminating in three finger-like tendrils.

* Bilateral symmetry.

* Non-belligerent race. Exception: when defending their rooted young.

* Colouration: dark green (males); light green (females).

* Locomotion: 2 legs. The Stick-Men move sluggishly in the nocturnal hours and suffer a -1 penalty to their DEX per each hour after sunset. A Stick-Man whose Dexterity is reduced to zero (0) is immobile until after the first hour of daylight when his Dexterity returns to normal.

* Communication: air-borne chemical emission, movement (postures and limb configurations suggestive of dance and sign language).

* Society: known communities are arranged into family, clan and tribe.

* Funerary Customs: Dead members of a social group are taken to the periphery of the group's territory and placed upright as a kind of 'memorial palisade' to protect the living.

* sustenance via photo-synthesis and absorption of fresh water through "feet". Minimum requirements: 1 litre of water per week; at least 1 hour per day of direct sunlight, or failing that, 3 hours of indirect sunlight. If an individual does not receive sunlight for a period of seven consecutive days death occurs. If an individual has no access to fresh water for two weeks death also occurs.

* Reproduction via 1-3 (a roll of 1 or 2 = one seed; 3 or 4 = two seeds; 5 or 6 = three seeds) acorn-like seeds after fertilization. One male and one female mate for life. Every five years the females are fertile and can produce the seeds for planting. Young grow in ground until 36 months old, then uproot becoming mobile. Young in this non-ambulatory state are very vulnerable to some herbivorous fauna, and must be guarded by mature, mobile individuals. In any given three-year period a number of young from a 'nursery bed' are lost to predation.

Roll 2D:

2 05% lost.
3 10% "
4 20% "
5 30% "
6 40% "
7 50% "
8 60% "
9 70% "
10 80% "
11 90% "
12 All "

Apply a DM of -1 for every 5 adults guarding the 'nursery bed' (25 maximum).

Roll 2D:

2 5 guards
3 5 "
4 10 "
5 10 "
6 15 "
7 15 "
8 15 "
9 20 "
10 20 "
11 25 "
12 25 "

Males and females share equally the 'Nursery Guard' duties.

* Average lifespan: 1D * 20 years. Individuals over 70 years old receive +1 to INT, EDU and SOC, and a further +1 if over 100 years old. However, over 70 they suffer a -1 penalty to STR, DEX and END, and a further, identical deduction if older than a century.

* Height: 1D meters tall (males); 1D-1 meters tall (females).


* they have no interplanetary capabilities.

* No. of worlds inhabited: 1 (homeworld)

ADVENTURE IDEAS:

* Can serve as guides to explorers, through the deep, hazardous, pathless jungles of the planet.

* Population (estimated): unknown.

 

[Whipsnade]

Gents,

Various and sundry comments:

Shapeshifter - Interesting changes. I'll mull them over. Also, you're not witnessing controversy in this thread. You're witnessing the creative process. You posted new material that we all found intriguing and we've been busily batting ideas back and forth that are based on that material. The creative process is always messy and chaotic. May I suggest you read Connie Willis' book Bellweather for a quick primer on the subject?

Reproduction via death - I really, really, really want to use Han's idea about new Kudzu sprouting from the dead bodies of old Kudzu. How about this twist? The attributes of the children are somewhat dependent on how old the parent was when they died.

Shapeshifter suggested a nice 1D6 lifespan; 1 to 6 centuries. We can cut that easily in thirds. How about children germinated from a 0 to 200 year old parent get a chance at a DEX and END boost, chidren germinated from 201 to 400 get no bonuses, and children germinated from 401 to 600 get a chance at an INT boost?

I'd strongly suggest that Kudzu not normally use parthogenesis as sexual reproduction provides so many evolutionary benefits. The number of Kudzu necessary for reproduction wouldn't matter, just as long as it's two or above.

Dave - re: Kudzu jump drive. I think making the Kudzu "allergic" to standard jump drives somehow or saying all their technology is "biological" in some manner makes them little more than a Pentapod rip-off. It also makes them too "twee"; that is different merely for the sake of being different.

Every - as in EVERY - major and minor race in the OTU uses jump drive regardless of how it actually operates or what it is actually made of. Even those sentient gas giant barrage balloons, the Jgd-il-jgd, who eschew jump space for philosophical and/or psychological reasons travel by jump drive when their STL technology can't get the job done.

Every - as in EVERY - minor race also adopted jump drive when able to do so regardless of their culture, history, chauvinism, technological biases, or any other handwave or excuse not to do so. Jump drive is one of the very few things that makes Traveller Traveller. There is only one way to do FTL in Traveller and that way is jump drive. Mercifully, we don't have to deal with the headaches a "Different species, different FTL methods" trope would bring to the game.

Now, a glacially charging "organic" jump drive operated by a species that is "allergic" to standard jump drive could be a nifty addition to anyone's personal Traveller universe. It would not be a good addition to the Official Traveller Universe however.


Regards,
Bill

 

[rancke]

I didn't realize that you just wanted every race to just be the same, just because of canon issues.

Not every race the same. Just every race in the OTU using the substantially same star drive.

Personally, unless ShapeShifter is trying to produce an adventure for print/sale as official Traveller, he can use whatever he would like.

Of course he can. Who ever said otherwise? But if he wants his race to be of use the the lowest common denominator of Traveller fans () it is a good idea to stay inside the boundaries set by canon. I mean, why bother to have a shared universe if we don't use it?

And since we are talking OTU, are you including some of the other OR even going to mention some of the other 'official' FTL drives listed in Traveller cannon like:
Stutter Warp
Wormholes
Jump/Star Gates
Psionic Transfer Drives

Stutterwarp is for the 2300AD universe which is most emphatically not the OTU. Wormholes is not in general use in the OTU (IIRC it has been used as a plot device in one adventure (and promptly selfdestructed to make sure it wouldn't work again)). There has been no canonical mention of jump gates as far as I know. Psionic Transfer Drives are new to me (Well, I've used one in my own TU, but I'm pretty sure nothing like that is canon).

I don't mind a passion behind a reason. But be care listing what is official with out listing what version you are talking about.

There is only one OTU. Different versions speak of the same universe. Some versions just get some things wrong while other versions get other things wrong.

And we don't know with MgT what all types of 'official' tech there will be yet.

No, but if it introduces radically different technology, it will be wrong, wrong, wrong. Hopefully Marc Miller will make sure they don't. (Alternatively, of course, every previous version could turn out to be wrong :devil.



Hans

 

[ShapeShifter]

Let me get this straight: every single major and minor race has to have access to FTL in order to be deemed legit in the OTU? o: That seems a bit harsh: "Either nick yourself a jump drive, Junior, or you're out of the picture!" Who's to say that there are many species which have not yet invented/discovered that technology. By that harsh yardstick, we are currently not in the OTU. :rofl:

Why is the rather morbid idea of progeny springing from the mouldering remains of the progenitor (nekrogenesis? thanatogenesis?) so appealing. Most intelligent species (as we define the word intelligent) require older individuals to instruct the laddies and lassies in how to survive their environment, that is, when they are not equipped conveniently with "instinct." (I know fully well that I'm opening up a can of worms by using terms like intelligent and instinct!) I think I'll just simplify it by saying that the little ones come from a stork!

 

[Whipsnade]

Let me get this straight: every single major and minor race has to have access to FTL in order to be deemed legit in the OTU?

Shapeshifter,

NO.

Every race with FTL uses jump drive because jump drive is the only FTL method in the Official Traveller Universe setting.

What you do in your setting is your own business (And please tell us about it!) but in the OTU jump drive is the only FTL method. Period. If a species ever travels FTL in the OTU, they do so with jump drives.

The Major/Minor race distinctions are another story entirely. Allegedly, you have to have developed jump drive on your own to be a Major Race. Actually, you merely have to have a big enough "empire" to be a Major Race. It's all about politics and population numbers.


Regards,
Bill

P.S. I know someone is going to bring up the Baddies From The Core, so let me address that squawk now. They are a third party creation, they never appeared in an adventure or sourcebook, and they were only discussed in a "What If/This Is What We Would Have Done" article in said third party's final publication.

 

[rancke]

Let me get this straight: every single major and minor race has to have access to FTL in order to be deemed legit in the OTU? o: That seems a bit harsh: "Either nick yourself a jump drive, Junior, or you're out of the picture!" Who's to say that there are many species which have not yet invented/discovered that technology. By that harsh yardstick, we are currently not in the OTU. :rofl:

It's another example of the "We're the Best" syndrome. Like "One Englisman can fight off three Frenchmen" (when the French have executed all their old officers and their men are led by inexperienced new officers), "Our Culture is Better than Their Culture" (when our culture has a three TL advantage over theirs), etc.

Long story short, there's a big correlation between inventing the jump drive yourself and spreading out to cover a big area of space. The reason is simple; if you get the jump drive from someone else, odds are that they're already firmly established in your stellar neighborhood, so your opportunities to glom onto a slice for yourself is limited. But those who did discover the jump drive like to think thet there's more to it than that, that they're somehow inherently superior.

Even the paltry eight examples of major species in Charted Space show several discrepancies, but when have facts ever bothered 99% of the human race?

Why is the rather morbid idea of progeny springing from the mouldering remains of the progenitor (nekrogenesis? thanatogenesis?) so appealing.

Because it's different.

Most intelligent species (as we define the word intelligent) require older individuals to instruct the laddies and lassies in how to survive their environment, that is, when they are not equipped conveniently with "instinct."

Precisely my point. Most intelligent species solve that problem by having the parents (or grandparents) instruct the wee ones. Here we have an idea for one where there are no parents available. So here's an opportunity to explore a different setup.


Hans

 

[Whipsnade]

Unless you use the Ancient Adventure (just to mention one) that moves you around planets and systems with out the Jump Drive. :rofl:

Dave,

SotA uses teleportation portals. It also explains how such portals are linked through pocket universes. You should remember that the PCs are taken to the deep space teleportation gateway to Grandfather's universe aboard a relic Ancient vessel that uses jump drive.

The execrable T4 adventure The Long Way Home and it's marginally better BITS forebearer do use a wormhole of sorts. However, both adventures are apocryphal and the wormhole technology used in each is more of a mcguffin or plot device than an actual FTL drive.

Traveller is full of similar apocryphal bits. There are technical items, library entries, dates, descriptions, and scads of other stuff that were published by GDW or third parties and were subsequently disowned or otherwise excised from canon.

This is the main reason for using FTL drives in my mind, if you are trying to stay core to OTU. Why, because of the pressures placed on races to be part of the group or seen as TL savy. Its a internal PC game reason, but it is a good one.

You still quite don't understand, do you?

Hans and I have tried to explain in this thread, I've tried to explain in a private message, and the point is still lost. Jump drive is the only possible FTL method in the OTU. Not one of many possible ones, the only possible one. Every race uses jump drive because it is the only option and not because of some mythical peer pressure or a desire to be seen as tech savvy.

Jump drive is the only way to go FTL in the OTU. Period. That is the fact that makes the OTU the OTU.


Regards,
Bill

 

[rancke]

You don't get it either. The Jump Drive, takes one week is the thing that Makes Traveller unique, without a doubt. Period as you say with out the big stick of bold letters.

But in the official Traveller Universe other drives do exist. Maybe not in the Imperium and maybe not in the current known space. But they are there (in the past and present) and they are coming with their own rules when T5 comes. Period.

Can yuo provide any canonical references to other drives that exist in the OTU? I take it you're not referring to any of the 'baby step' drives used by the Hivers and the Humans before they got their hands on the ubiquitous one?

And until I see an official list besides the DGP being listed as non Canon, I will treat CT, T4, TNE and much of MT along with the MgT stuff as Canon.

I treat them all as canon, Dave, but I don't think that every single statement made in them are "true" (for the OTU). A statement can be canonical and still be wrong. For example, I don't think the Darrian sun exploded in -927, -925, AND in -924. I think that two of those three canonical dates are wrong. Yes, there are canonical references to all three dates.


Hans

 

[Gray Lensman]

Please

Now, if you have anything more to say about what is official or Jump Drives, then lets take it either to a PM or another thread. and leave this fine Alien system alone.

And now we return to "Creation of The Stick-Men" on the Discovery Channel