Question about specific scifi race....

[Lloyd Dupont]

I am tidying up my Master of Orion ruleset.. And I am thinking, let's add the other race I skipped.... 

Most race are more or less similar to human template with each a little something extra (arguably, human are the less special of the lot, I did give them 3 "advantage rolls" a session, but that is all)

I am looking at that race:
Trilarian - Official Master of Orion Wiki (fandom.com)

In canon MoO lore, they do not have any particular bonus except for being Aquatic (which I think might be a problem to interact with other ground based species, and also a problem to master technology, which often start with fire, or even electricity) and "transdimensional" (their spaceship have faster warp and normal speed)

In "BRP" term I am not sure how a race could improve its spaceship in ways that are unique and not reproduceable by other races (we are talking science and industry here, not magic!) but anyway... as a personal level, if they can speed up superluminal speed of their ship, I though it reasonable to give them natural teleport and levitation ability.....
But that would be a big advantage in combat! However.. They have no combat bonus!
So.. any other idea or comment, please?! 🙂 

Edited April 6, 2021 by Lloyd Dupont

[Questbird]

Quote

The water-born and -faring Trilarians thrive in open seas and skies. Their tentacles and many eyes make them strangers in a humanoid seeming universe, but their strangeness sets them apart in more ways than one. The Trilarians take to the skies as naturally as they do to the seas, unafraid of unknown depths and heights. They are gifted pilots, diplomats, and educators in a savage and wild universe.

Their society was molded by an ancient race of Old Ones which they now regard as gods. These Old Ones gave them early technology and artifacts that set their society on track to reach the stars. The Trilarians now advocate the spread the goodwill and education across the universe, continuing the beneficial legacy that the gods bestowed on them.

Their affinity for peace and constructive dialogue should never be interpreted as weakness, as the Trilarians are deadly when threatened. Once angered, they will strike out with the total confidence in their righteousness, answering to no one but the gods. Athletic, agile, and highly educated, they will fight to the death with the conviction that they are the chosen messengers of the Old Ones.

 

From this I get:

Access to certain 'magic' (in the Arthur C. Clarke sense) artifacts from their Old Ones; these could do all sorts of effects

'Trans Dimensional' sounds a bit like the Guild from Dune. Maybe it comes from their artifacts. Maybe allow a teleport to a known or strongly visualised location. Or maybe that power requires a group effort from a number of Trilarians, so it wouldn't be something they could do in combat.

"gifted pilots, diplomats, and educators" -- you could give them skill bonuses for those without being too much of a combat nerf

Obviously, able to breathe under water indefinitely; maybe even in space?

[Lloyd Dupont]

You know what? I should confess that, shame on me, I didn't even read the lore that I linked, so confident I was in my already acquired MoO lore from other sources... But it is quite good informative! 

And you also came with an excellent idea, which I haven't entertained so far, the "group powers" concept... this is an excellent idea I have to dwell on a bit more... 😮 🙂 

Other than that, I later realized I already gave Elerian psionic powers, which are, arguably, a combat advantage, so I should not fear give the Trilarians something similar..
 

Edited April 12, 2021 by Lloyd Dupont

[Joerg]

In the X-universe (which debuted in 1999), the Borons are another pacifist squid-like water dweller species which builds (or partially grows) space ships different from most other species in the setting. Their stations are designed for water, including their shipyards (in X3:TC and X3:AP at least) which have water bubbles held together by forcefields as mooring for their capital units.

Their psychology is pretty similar, although the Borons are extremely gregarious. The physiology maybe a bit weirder, with an ammonia-rich atmosphere (and presumably hydrosphere). In the game, they speak an affectated, somewhat Victorian English, and their queendom uses a few such memes as well. (Actually "lar-dom", a hermaphroditic sex, which is rare but creates some sort of nobility.)

Their nemesis (other than the rogue terraformer AIs that escaped Terran oversight and that serve as one of the universal opponents) is a piscivore, somewhat shark-like species of warlike humanoids (whose brutality is mitigated by their squeaky voices).

Physically the weakest of the species engaging in a commercial commonwealth, they are dependent on environmental suits when leaving their tailored habitats and interacting with other species. Other species visiting their stations will have access to dry but nontheless smelly, rather cramped quarters.

[Lloyd Dupont]

1 hour ago, Joerg said:

Their nemesis (other than the rogue terraformer AIs that escaped Terran oversight and that serve as one of the universal opponents)

That hit on a problem I have trying to write adventure in general (and even more so for my work in progress MoO setting), I don't like "universal opponent", but hey, adventurer gotta fight something right? I am not very happy with whatever I come up with most time either... 🤔

[svensson]

The Traveller RPG deals with aquatic races [including the Uplifted Dolphins, Schalli, and Githsiakio races] in two ways

- Firstly they are dealt with on their own terms. Humans interact with them in their own environments via interface devices and are subject to their laws and cultural mores while visiting. This includes wet suits /dive gear, undersea cities that have specific interface pools, and so on. When the aquatic races construct spacefaring ships, it is with their atmospheric requirements in mind, including the necessarily more robust L/S systems.

- The second is the aquatics being 'visitors' to dry cultures. The aquatics use 'dry suits' that provide their necessary atmosphere along with waldoes for manipulating objects or operating systems. Some species also require 'gravitic' support [using anti-gravity technology] because their internal organs and body structure cannot survive outside of their aquatic home.

In the Traveller universe there are several intelligent aquatic species, but only a few of these have achieved significance on the galactic stage because of their environmental requirements. Most aquatic sophonts are isolationist societies focused on their own issues and oftentimes resent the intrusion of air-breathers.

[Baron Wulfraed]

7 hours ago, svensson said:

 Most aquatic sophonts are isolationist societies focused on their own issues and oftentimes resent the intrusion of air-breathers.

Brings to mind an old sketch (drawing, not acting) I once did on a boring day at work. A play on the stereotyped gangster "disposal" method...

"Nut'in' personal, Bassie, but da boss says youse got a big mouth -- so youse got to sleep wit' da birdies"

(minions tying a helium filled balloon around the tail of a large-mouth bass)

 

[Lloyd Dupont]

Actually, speaking of aquatic space culture, it's too much disbelieving for me and (industry as underwater culture goes against my vision of technological evolution, often starting with fire, and maybe smelting metals), while I want to follow MoO lore, well Trillarian have aquatic as an option, so I'll jump on it.. 🙂

[svensson]

22 hours ago, Baron Wulfraed said:

Brings to mind an old sketch (drawing, not acting) I once did on a boring day at work. A play on the stereotyped gangster "disposal" method...

"Nut'in' personal, Bassie, but da boss says youse got a big mouth -- so youse got to sleep wit' da birdies"

(minions tying a helium filled balloon around the tail of a large-mouth bass)

 

That has the makings of a proper 'Far Side' 'toon 😁

[Joerg]

On 4/18/2021 at 7:59 PM, Lloyd Dupont said:

That hit on a problem I have trying to write adventure in general (and even more so for my work in progress MoO setting), I don't like "universal opponent", but hey, adventurer gotta fight something right? I am not very happy with whatever I come up with most time either... 🤔

Universal opponent as in having goals contradictory to all player species options.

The Terraformers in the X series are basically von Neumann probes gone rogue, targeting any possible life form as an infection. A few of the higher power AIs start to develop something of a culture beyond a material culture, but that's a different setting and a different outcome.

Most of the X-series plays away from the planetary gravity wells. Except for a few special cut scenes and missions, the entire experience is on orbital or asteroid stations, or in your vessels.

 

Effectively, such a faction acts like large predators, possibly as an invasive species, in lower technology settings.

 

I found an article on Medium which prompted me to think about sophonts from an all water planet which resulted in a short thread where I would expound on those ideas.