General I've blogged about science-fiction roleplaying

[Stei'awtliyrl]

This week I've ventured into Humaniti in Traveller, exploring how your standard Imperial Human can be stretched to satisfy a player's concept of who that character might be.

Only Human

Electric Head, Cannibal Core, the Television Said.. Most Tabletop Roleplaying Games feature humans as the dominant species in the setting. The reasoning is straightforward, Players, being humans th…

dezzy-parrish.com

 

[bookwyrm]

This week I've ventured into Humaniti in Traveller, exploring how your standard Imperial Human can be stretched to satisfy a player's concept of who that character might be.

Only Human

Electric Head, Cannibal Core, the Television Said.. Most Tabletop Roleplaying Games feature humans as the dominant species in the setting. The reasoning is straightforward, Players, being humans th…

dezzy-parrish.com

Why have aliens when you can tweak some humans a little so that they ARE the aliens!? Their differences could make them weaker or stronger than 'stock' humans or have weak/strong differences that are balanced.

I was thinking of making a Traveller universe where citizens of different worlds had a Feat from the Feat list in T20. One idea was making people on a world Lucky, which would give them a chance to make a bad roll good and have a bonus to Gambling and giving them a mindset of being risk takers for the moist part. I could even make a negative version of any Feat, like making the citizens of world a little unlucky.

With as much reading I've done, I consider this Blog just the tip of the iceberg of possibilities! Nice topic for ideas!

 

[Stei'awtliyrl]

Why have aliens when you can tweak some humans a little so that they ARE the aliens!? Their differences could make them weaker or stronger than 'stock' humans or have weak/strong differences that are balanced.

That's a debate that's been going on in Traveller for 50 years almost. But I think there is something telling that two Alien Modules are Zhodani and Solomani. That is to say. Humaniti is both the Alien and the Familiar all at once. Why have Aslan when you can take an "Imperial" (Solomani/Vilani) human and turn them into a catgirl or catboy?

Mainly because Aslan are distinctive in physiology, history and culture. Aslan are more than just fuzzy humans with dewclaws. They're a People that think differently than humans. Hence, the Aslan's Tolerance skill. Aslan culture is so bound up in their concepts of honor and face that they'll duel anyone and everyone because they smiled the wrong way at them. In he end, playing an Alien can be fun, which is really the only reason to have them as an option in a role-playing game.

My point in the essay though, being about humans, is that all-to-often I run into players who don't want to play as human for no other reason than they are perceived as boring, or lacking any special abilities or bonuses. In campaigns where humans are the majority species in the setting, having group after group of funky aliens starts to undermine the premise of the setting itself.

D&D had this problem since it's early days as well. Why play a human when elves and half-elves are superior in every way? or Dwarves get bonuses to their Constitution? or Dragonborn get to be... well, Freakin' DRAGONS y'all!?!

Of course, there is no right answer. Aliens, no-aliens, we are the aliens, it's all a matter of choice for each group at each table. I advocate keeping our options open, so when a player sits down and starts to whine about how "humans are booooooring" the GM can guide them to some options that helps the player find excitement in their character.

OH! and almost forgot!!! Thank you for the feedback! I really appreciate it!

 

[Grav_Moped]

Of course, there is no right answer. Aliens, no-aliens, we are the aliens, it's all a matter of choice for each group at each table. I advocate keeping our options open, so when a player sits down and starts to whine about how "humans are booooooring" the GM can guide them to some options that helps the player find excitement in their character.

An answer (not the answer) is to stat out aliens as "equal-capability" (for every advantge they have over humans, there's a corresponding equivalent disadvantge -- and that disadvantage has to have in-game consequences as played) but different personalities (A quick search doesn't bring up a source for "thinks as well as a human, but differently" -- Niven? Campbell?).

 

[Starglim]

Campbell https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/13554-write-me-a-creature-that-thinks-as-well-as-a

 

[bookwyrm]

"humans are booooooring"

Here's an idea.

For 300k years, the Ancients spread Humans all over 'Known Space' and have always had Humans 'under their thumbs', so no Humans are a Major Race (plus, no Ancients War). The Ancients even place Chirpers above Humans (because Chirpers are smarter than Humans). There might be some Humans raised up to be equal to Chirpers, but basically, life isn't easy for Humans.

Anyways, not only are there dozens & dozens of ways for Humans to not be boring, if you look around the internet enough or read enough fiction, even a straight up average & boring Human could be an unsung hero at least once in someone else's story, or even in their own story. Maybe someone boring like Alvin York (Sgt. York) or Ron Weasley (Harry Potter).

 

[Stei'awtliyrl]

I've been doing some Imperial Encyclopedia research on Psionics, and it looks like the Ancients may have had a hand (talon?) in developing the field of psionics as it's known today. Which implies that non-Ancient, non Droyne psionics may exist in forms defined differently than what the Zhodani or the Psionics Institutes may have taught.

 

[mike wightman]

My head canon.

Charted space is as experiment.

One of the first starfaring races (see MegaTraveller) seeded this region with life templates, including psionics. Worlds produced animal and plant specise, some displaying psionics. Intelligent races evolved on some worlds and had psionic potential. On one world in particular a race of reptilians learned to harness psionics, and from among them a genius level intellect was born.

He used psionics to modify himself, he used psionics to modify his race, he used psionics to create machines that could alter reality itself, in so doing he gave machines a limited ability to teleport, and then extended that by creating an interface with the psionic dimensions that allowed jump travel between worlds. later he or his offspring would invent jump gates, pocket universes.

Then grandfather found out. He found out this was all an experiment. He found out that psionics was just "clarketech" - advanced technology from an even more advanced race. And the race that initiated this experiment had reasons beyond his comprehension (see T5 galaxy map repeated in MgT Companion for the candidates to be this race or races)

He retreated to a pocket universe to consider how to interact with the "experimentalists"

So yes, psionics pre-dates the ancients, it is a technology far in advance of anything imaginable, conscious interaction and manipulation of dimensions beyond those the universe considers reality. Or it may even point the way towards the answers to the greatest questions of all...
why does a collection of quarks and electrons experience the universe with an illusion of self and consciousness

 

[Stei'awtliyrl]

Mysteries of the Mind

Psionic Potential Among Sentients In Traveller, there are mechanics for characters to realize Psionic Abilities. As a phenomenon, Psionics are widespread in charted space. It’s pretty safe to…

dezzy-parrish.com

This week Lore and Legends of the Dezzyverse dips the pinky toe into the vast oceans of the mind!

 

[Stei'awtliyrl]

This week I explore using the Setting Lore to enhance a character's life path in Lore and Legends of the Dezzyverse

Where Were You When…

Using Setting Events in Life Path Character Generation Many of my favorite Role Playing Games feature a Life Path character creation mechanic. I dig this because it creates characters with a backst…

dezzy-parrish.com

 

[Ulsyus]

O God, Thy Sea is so Great, and My Boat so Small

Space is BIG One common quirk of science-fiction roleplaying, whether it be Traveller, Star Trek, or Battletech is that the Universe starts to seem rather small. The characters jump from world to w…

dezzy-parrish.com

It's mostly informed by my long experience in Traveller, but there are some mentions of Star Trek, Star Wars, one Expanse call out and some Battletech. Please take a peek if you feel so inclined.

Reads well, great job ground-truthing things for your campaign and setting concepts in place.

 

[Spinward Scout]

This week I explore using the Setting Lore to enhance a character's life path in Lore and Legends of the Dezzyverse

Where Were You When…

Using Setting Events in Life Path Character Generation Many of my favorite Role Playing Games feature a Life Path character creation mechanic. I dig this because it creates characters with a backst…

dezzy-parrish.com

Sure.

It's like 'where were you when Kennedy was assassinated?"

Or "Where were you when the Challenger exploded?"

But we look at the Traveller timeline from a distant vantage point.

You could say:

"Where were you when the Fifth Frontier War broke out?"

or

"Where were you when Strephon was assassinated?"

But unless someone is using Anagathics, too many things we focus on as Gamers are too far apart for Players to have a lot of Events to relate to or live through.

Just one or two, probably.

In real life, something memorable happens about once or twice a decade. How do you simulate that in-game if nothing in the timeline shows up?

EDIT: I should have read your article before I responded.

 

[whartung]

"Where were you when the Fifth Frontier War broke out?"

The what?

"Where were you when Strephon was assassinated?"

Who?

The Imperium is REALLY BIG. There are likely billions of people that aren't aware of either of these.

 

[coliver988]

The what?

Who?

The Imperium is REALLY BIG. There are likely billions of people that aren't aware of either of these.

likely trillions

 

[kilemall]

The what?

Who?

The Imperium is REALLY BIG. There are likely billions of people that aren't aware of either of these.

Education check for interstellar history.

 

[Stei'awtliyrl]

My go-to example was the Assassination of Emperor Strephon, mostly because there's a map in the Rebellion Sourcebook that illustrates how that news spreads to the extents of Charted Space. In my opionion, it's more likely that a given citizen of Charted Space would have been exposed to news of this event than not. Sort of like how the Challenger Disaster, Chernobyl, and the 9/11 attacks went world-wide in our history. You'd have to have been fairly remote to not have learned of these events soon after they occurred. There are plenty of locations to where the news didn't spread, but those locations are the exception rather than the rule.

 

[Stei'awtliyrl]

I know, this article isn't about science fiction, or Traveller, but it is about Roleplaying!
This week on Lore and Legends of the Dezzyverse, I'm taking a little break from the Stars and digging down under the mountain to visit the setting I'm designing for my next D&D Campaign

Diggy out the Hole

The Rise an fall of Klaarg Tordenzme Dwarves in fantasy roleplaying, especially in the modern sense, have become stereotypes. Loosely based on Gimli from Lord of the Rings, it’s a common shor…

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