Announcing: Flynn's Guide To Alien Creation...

[kristof65]

I can't purchase this til next payday, but this sounds like what I'm looking for - a quick, generic guide to help me build aliens for Traveller.

As for the more involved stuff about biology, etc, I've read a couple of different books on the topic lately, and I'm now of the opinion that no single gaming guide should even try - better off to merely include links to a couple of decent references on the matter, like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Aliens-Societies-Science-Fiction-Writing/dp/0898797063/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I177QM2SHK99F1&colid=1SR8EMYDBZGUL

Some decent world building books for MGT would actually benefit alien design, as it's really become apparent to me that to adequately design an alien, you really have to know the environment it evolved from. Once you have a decent, and 'accurate' world building book, alien design becomes more of a matter of figuring out what MGT stats to apply than anything else.

 

[EDG]

in all seriousness, your JTAS articles on Brown dwarves was an excellent info piece written for laymen gamers -and I'm not being sarcastic, either.

Thank you .

Though I am a firm believer in offering the reader as many options as possible and letting them figure out what to discard, and that's what I aimed to do with my JTAS articles. I view myself as a filter - I take all that science stuff and distill it into something that laymen can understand and can use, while sacrificing as little realism as possible to make it usable. I guess you can say that I work from the "bottom up", really.

I don't like the opposite approach, which I guess is to treat it more as a game engine or game mechanic and then worry about the fluff side of it and how it all actually works in practise - that's a "top down" approach, I guess, but it's the opposite to my own. Maybe it's a "simulationist vs gamist" approach, I dunno.

Its just not clear to me that corresponding with the authors about what they should have included in published works, or how they should have writtent it, even, is the best way to adress your concerns, and this is said in all seriousness.

I guess it's down to expectation. I've got a perfectly good alien race generation system already in GURPS Uplift, which this is similar to. I know there's a similar sort of system in T5 too. I was hoping that Flynn's system would offer something more indepth and details than either of those, but it's really just offered more of the same.

(as a complete tangent: Unlike yourself, I DO think of RPGs as a way to educate people - they're a viable medium to teach people about how things work after all, or to encourage them to do further reading.

Just look at world generation - I'm sure people here wouldn't know half the things they know about it if they didn't see the generation systems in the books and listen to and take part in discussions about them, or didn't go look some stuff up that they were curious about. I'm not kidding when I say that I wouldn't be so into planetary science if it wasn't for the fact that CT's worldgen seemed so wrong to me that I spent a lot of time researching how it was wrong and learning about it! And unlike "pure science", using RPGs for that sort of thing actually gives people some kind of hands-on understanding of the processes involved (be they economics, world building, alien evolution, biological adaptation, engineering or whatever). I know I've asked questions because of my worldbuilding that have baffled my old PhD supervisor because he wouldn't even have thought of them himself, because scientists tend to model what's in front of them, and rarely do they extend their models elsewhere.

So I think that this sort of "generation system" (for whatever purpose) actually encourage conjecture and research - moreso even than observation and analysis.)

 

[captainjack23]

in all seriousness, your JTAS articles on Brown dwarves was an excellent info piece written for laymen gamers -and I'm not being sarcastic, either.

Thank you .

You are certainly welcome !

As to the rest, fair enough.
Expectations are tough to meet, especially Post Hoc, even more so when done by a second party. (subtle hypnotic matra: "do an OGL article....do an article....do not waste intellectual passion on the smallest possible audience; the signal does not transmit itself... )


One actual quibble:

(as a complete tangent: Unlike yourself, I DO think of RPGs as a way to educate people - they're a viable medium to teach people about how things work after all, or to encourage them to do further reading.

Actually what I said is :

Plus, I almost never rely on an RPG text to educate me IRL...but thats me, and I remember the masive to-hit tables that forgot to include the spleen..

In other words, I haven't seen enough good stuff in most RPG's to encourage me to trust the research: which is all the more reason for you to try and change that in actual products with a wider circulation.

I'd love for RPGs to inspire and educate - rather than (as is often the case, and I'm not pointing at anyone here) an example to be slagged off on by educators and experts .

 

[kristof65]

I'm not kidding when I say that I wouldn't be so into planetary science... <snip>
...So I think that this sort of "generation system" (for whatever purpose) actually encourage conjecture and research - moreso even than observation and analysis.)

Like you, my love of RPGs has inspired a _lot_ of research into a _lot_ of various topics. I wouldn't know half the stuff I know if not for researching it for RPGs. But I don't know that I want the RPG authors to really try and be a one stop shop for all of that. I's much rather they try and keep things as simple as possible (yet beleivable), give me a taste of the complexity possible, and then point me toward appropriate resources. I'll elucidate on that in a moment...

In other words, I haven't seen enough good stuff in most RPG's to encourage me to trust the research:

It's not even that their research can't be trusted - a large part of it is design decisions that have to be made. FREX, I know quite a bit about servicing, troubleshooting and repairing electronic & electromechanical devices - enough that I could write a good 30-60 page book detailing it into MGT rules. From a game standpoint though, I don't need to do that - if someone really wanted to go beyond the simple Task check mechanic already presented, I could sum it up in a 1-3 page document (3 pages means using lots of pictures and flow charts).

So I expect when someone takes a real world situation and breaks it down to game terms that they are making design decisions. They may have the most trustworthy data and up-to date research available to them, they may be complete experts in their field, and yet, to fit that knowledge into a usable game supplement, they have to make compromises that mean I can't take their book as any more than a starting point. So instead of trying to be the expert book in the field, I really appreciate it when those type of books have a section at the end that says "For further reading..."

Now some games do try and be ultra-realistic - but many of them break down when it comes to playability. Which brings me to my final point -

The beauty of the OGL is that we don't have to rely on a few game designers and a couple dozen article writers to shove everything someone may want into the system. It mean that we can pick and choose what we want, and sometimes we even get multiple choices for the same thing - IE, I have 3 different books on flying magical ships for my D&D 3.5e game to choose from. In Traveller terms, we may well get to teh day where we have multiple world building and alien building design guides to choose from - all it takes is someone to write them.



Now, to bring this back to topic:

I'm torn between buying the PDF version of this now, or waiting until I can purchase the hardcopy. What are the bindings on the Lulu printed copies like? Is it worth the extra $5, or would using my company's comb binder on laser printed copies be just as good?

 

[Flynn]

I'm torn between buying the PDF version of this now, or waiting until I can purchase the hardcopy. What are the bindings on the Lulu printed copies like? Is it worth the extra $5, or would using my company's comb binder on laser printed copies be just as good?

From all reports I've heard, Lulu does very well with their Print On Demand products, since that's pretty much their bread and butter. Either one is fine for me (in fact, I make more from a PDF sale, but I think the POD is cooler because I like having a hard copy in hand, and at only $5 more; it's hard to find print products at that price any more.) Ultimately, it's up to you.

Hope This Helps,
Flynn

 

[Emperor Herdan]

.

<Big editing snip>
Plus, I almost never rely on an RPG text to educate me IRL...but thats me, and I remember the masive to-hit tables that forgot to include the spleen..

And without a spleen to produce bile, what would one do on the internet ? :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

<Nother big snip>

No no.. One vents ones' spleen (needed for ones' immune system amongst other tasks...)... Bile is produced by the Liver, stored in the gallbladder (smile)

This Medical snippet brought to you by Idle hands Corp

Take care
E. Herdan

 

[towerwarlock]

A quick question for you Flynn. I do not know if you remember the Star Frontiers RPG, but how would you do the races from it using your book to do them up for Traveller?

 

[Flynn]

I've never played the Star Frontiers RPG, so I sadly would not be able to help you in those regards.

I would suggest that you read through the section on Alien Traits and choose the ones that reflect the capacities of those races. If you find that Star Frontiers describes a special ability for your alien species that I did not include (which could very well happen in some cases), feel free to make up your own alien trait along the same lines as those described in the book, and assign it to your converted species.

Even if you don't use the system to generate your aliens, the section on Alien Traits will help you out a lot in codifying your aliens in a manner that works well with OGL Traveller.

Oh, and if you haven't picked the Guide up yet and want 10% off your purchase, just enter "JUNECONTEST10" in the coupon/special offer field during your purchase.

Hope This Helps,
Flynn

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

I have bought this book and I want to add my admiration.

It is well thought out, VERY fitting with the Traveller rules and leaves lots of room for the Referee to be inventive.

Even if you never roll an alien using his system, the book gives you lots of great ideas for your aliens.

Good Job Flynn!

 

[Flynn]

If you have picked up this book and you have enjoyed it, please feel free to leave a review on the site. It helps out a lot.

If you picked up this book and DIDN'T enjoy it, please feel free to leave a review on the site, because it not only gives me feedback but may help others in making their own purchasing decisions.

I just want to say "Thank you" to everyone that picked up Flynn's Guide to Alien Creation over the last month. You guys are great! I appreciate your feedback and your enthusiasm. I'm already hard at work on the next two releases I've got planned, and I hope that you will enjoy reading them as much as I am in creating them.

With Regards,
Flynn

 

[Stofsk]

What are the next two releases you've got planned?

 

[rust]

If you have picked up this book and you have enjoyed it, please feel free to leave a review on the site.

Well, not a review, just a remark.

I have just used your guide to determine the basic common traits of the
creatures of our new desert world setting. It was quick and easy, and the
results are a good common theme for most of the life forms of the planet
(I will of course introduce some "exceptions" to surprise the players):

Alden Creatures

Basic Traits (all life forms)
Armoured
Atmospheric Requirements
Desert Adaptation
Hibernation
Radiation Resistance

Description (typical life forms only)
Warm-Blooded
Two Genders / Gendermorphic
Live-Bearing
Bilateral Body Symmetry (6 limbs / 3 pairs)
Slow Movement / Burst of Speed

Senses (typical life forms only)
Low-Light Vision
Acute Hearing
Poor Scent
Vibration Sense

Using this as a base, I will now use your guide to create some of the crea-
tures, as well as to adapt interesting creatures from other sources to this
"template".

Working with you guide is both easy and fun, and I like the results.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

Rust, I hadn't thought about using the Guide to create the traits for the lifeforms on a planet other than the intelligent life.

That is a GREAT idea and makes the book that much more valuable!

Now I am off to populate MTU with fun and interesting life forms.

 

[Vile]

So would anyone care to post a review of their experience(s) with Samardan Press in the SFRPG Publisher Feedback Forum? :wink:

http://www.sfrpg.org.uk/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=52

 

[rust]

I have a little problem with that ...

I have bought Traveller material from almost all of the publishers on
EDG's list, and without exception (including even QLI) this was quite
uneventful: Good quality of the product, good service (if required be-
yond a simple purchase), no shadow of a problem worth mentioning.

So, what could I write as a review, except that all went well and I am
a happy and satisfied customer - and that would be boring, I think.

 

[EDG]

It's for good reviews as well . Especially so for the small publishers, so that people know if they are reliable.

 

[Stuie]

So.... would this guide be good if I already have a basic idea for an alien species, and just want to flesh it out?

 

[rust]

So.... would this guide be good if I already have a basic idea for an alien species, and just want to flesh it out?

It would depend on the degree of detail you want to add, but normally it
would be quite helpful to get from a basic idea to a complete set of Tra-
veller stats plus some useful "fluff".

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

I have used it for just that. I had a general idea of an alien race. I went through the guide and if what I envisioned was on the table I picked it, but if I hadn't really thought about something, then I rolled randomly.

I ended up learning a lot about my alien race by doing it that way.

The system is very flexible. Even if you know EVERYTHING about your alien race, the system allows you to quantify them in a standard format.

 

[Stuie]

Cool - thanks for the responses. I'll buy the d/l version when I get home.