Minor races in Imperial Naval Intelligence

[Prodromoi]

I'm writing an adventure se on the frontier of the Imperium which features a group of Imperial Naval Intelligence agents. While there are plenty of alien races in the Third Imperium, I always get the impression that the TI, and particularly the Intelligence Service is heavily human-oriented. This can bring some interesting tensions to an adventure anyway.

I'm giving consideration to including one (or more) agents in the INI 'local office' as non-humans; a minor alien race. If I do, it's going to be a minor race (not Aslan, not Vargr etc). And probably not Bwap either - while their administrative ability would be a boon, I've recently used Bwap elsewhere, so would want to bring in someone different.

What minor races might you expect to find working in a INI local office? And why?

 

[CordwainerFish]

I've always thought the Vegans were underutilized.

 

[Varulv]

Llellewyloly

In the MgT1 version of Secret of the Ancients there where an excellent description of a Llellewyloly and its administrative capabilities. Hopefully Mongoose kept it in the new edition.

 

[Geir]

If set in or new the Spinward Marches, you could also use an Amindii
Beyond the wiki-referenced articles, they're also in MgT JTAS#9 (okay, so I wrote that article, but still...)

 

[G'Naakbusters]

A Gl'lu. Who thinks up every possible disastrous outcome and probable mishap, and grimly lists all potential consequences of the mission going wrong (but also how to get back on track in the aftermath). The strategists at the office love hir, the people on the ground hate hir.

 

[GabrielGABFonseca]

I'm writing an adventure se on the frontier of the Imperium which features a group of Imperial Naval Intelligence agents. While there are plenty of alien races in the Third Imperium, I always get the impression that the TI, and particularly the Intelligence Service is heavily human-oriented. This can bring some interesting tensions to an adventure anyway.

I'm giving consideration to including one (or more) agents in the INI 'local office' as non-humans; a minor alien race. If I do, it's going to be a minor race (not Aslan, not Vargr etc). And probably not Bwap either - while their administrative ability would be a boon, I've recently used Bwap elsewhere, so would want to bring in someone different.

What minor races might you expect to find working in a INI local office? And why?

Depending on which frontier of the Imperium you choose to go with, you can leverage different Minor Non-Human Races. I've written a Python script that pulls data from Travellermap so I can run Statistics™ on it, including population census.

In the Third Imperium's territory in the Spinward Marches sector, the most populous Non-Human Races are:

1. Llellewyloly: 7.113% of the region's total population
2. Ebokin: 0.2736% of the region's total population
3. Aslan: 0.08868% of the region's total population
4. Amindi: 0.05472% of the region's total population
5. Droyne: 0.02697% of the region's total population
6. ... Etc.

I included the Aslan and Droyne too just as points of comparison.

For the Solomani Rim, we have:

1. Vegans: 11.0954% of the Region's total population
2. Aslan: 0.09856% of the region's total population
3. Gurungans: 0.0302147% of the region's total population
4. Dolphins: 0.007554% of the region's total population
5. Cymbeline Chips: 0.00043164% of the region's total population

If you have any specific sector in mind, let me know and I'll pull up the relevant data for it and neighbouring sectors!

 

[G'Naakbusters]

^ A Gurungan might be fun, given their solipsistic attitude and "talking past you" style of communication. Imagining one giving a mission briefing is amusing. Oh so cloak-and-dagger, implicit and indirect. Like she's playing up some odd form of plausible deniability.

Ebokin would be fun too. All activities and operations must be in accordance with The Law. So everyone in the office spins their reports to ensure it fits, which is tolerated/justified as an exercise in on-the-job training in propaganda tactics.

 

[Condottiere]

If you want a good investigator, pick a Vargr.

They can sniff out intelligence.

 

[rinku]

I have always loved the Virushi.

If you want someone that probably should NOT be working in a small office environment, or trying to blend in while on assignment, it's hard to imagine a worse fit... on the surface.

But they are patient. Methodical. Reliable.

No one would likely think of them as an undercover spook. People tend to equate big with dumb, but they are as smart as normal.

And when it comes down to getting heavy... they bring all that.

Another type to consider... android versions of aliens. There's a perennial issue with intelligence in recruiting trustworthy members of a target population you want to monitor or infiltrate, or who are in a group that would be able to easier monitor or infiltrate the enemy.

So why not make your own? TL15 androids may not be technically self-aware, but they're close enough for government work. Especially for use against lower tech societies, where detection may not be a big problem. And if they're made to mimic a locally uncommon species, they're unlikely to rumbled for not acting quite right.

You could make them animals too. Robodog.

 

[Terry Mixon]

I have always loved the Virushi.

If you want someone that probably should NOT be working in a small office environment, or trying to blend in while on assignment, it's hard to imagine a worse fit... on the surface.

But they are patient. Methodical. Reliable.

No one would likely think of them as an undercover spook. People tend to equate big with dumb, but they are as smart as normal.

And when it comes down to getting heavy... they bring all that.

Another type to consider... android versions of aliens. There's a perennial issue with intelligence in recruiting trustworthy members of a target population you want to monitor or infiltrate, or who are in a group that would be able to easier monitor or infiltrate the enemy.

So why not make your own? TL15 androids may not be technically self-aware, but they're close enough for government work. Especially for use against lower tech societies, where detection may not be a big problem. And if they're made to mimic a locally uncommon species, they're unlikely to rumbled for not acting quite right.

You could make them animals too. Robodog.

Tech level 15 androids can be self-aware. They aren't conscious, but close enough to argue the distinctions with you.

 

[rinku]

Oh, yeah. It was conscious that I was thinking of - you have to import them from Vincennes for that

There's some species you'd not bother with though. I imagine a RoboVargr or CyberDroyne would get rumbled almost immediately. Anything that's either psychic or extra-social. And I'd not rely on getting anything much past the Hivers.

Conversely, I imagine there might be asocial species that actually not be able to spot a sophisticated fake.

 

[GypsyComet]

The answer is going to be regional, since Minor races don't wander too much as a "rule".

 

[Prodromoi]

Depending on which frontier of the Imperium you choose to go with, you can leverage different Minor Non-Human Races. I've written a Python script that pulls data from Travellermap so I can run Statistics™ on it, including population census.

That's very cool, and I would be interested in seeing the whole list for Spinward Marches (beyond the etc. tail-off!) please. The campaign I'm running is in the Marches so it would be useful data for that.

I'd also be interested to see the percentage against the total population of the Imperium too (which will be a tiny percentage of course!).


The Llellewyloly were top of my list for potential candidates already for various reasons.

• Their homeworld is not far from where this will be set (less than 10 J-2 jumps).
• They're quite known and widely-travelled in the Marches (as your data confirms).
• They've been mentioned in the ongoing campaign without any actual focus on them yet.
• They can function around humans without needing any life-support equipment.

So if I do include a minor race, it will probably be a Dandie. Not attracting particular attention is important, in the role of the field operatives, so a lot of the 'rare' minor races aren't suitable as they simple stand out too much to keep a low profile. (One can argue that standing out can be a useful misdirection in some cases!) Additionally to most humans, telling one Llellewyloly from another is probably a challenge unless they specifically interact a lot.

 

[Prodromoi]

A general 'thank you' for other input (rather than adding lots of individual replies). I had two likely contenders in mind (if I include a minor race agent at all), but it's always interesting to see other points of view.

Gl'lu - second choice. Not that distant from the area of operations, and their native planet's atmosphere would be somewhat similar. Downsides - very rare, and would need constant life-support equipment on while operating in a human environment.

Vegan and Virushi - very far from the action, so would be a rarity. They have other interesting traits, but not sure they make the cut.

Amindii - there's a lot in T5 about them, and they're already a feature in the campaign, so would like a different race. Also quite rare, especially beyond the Regina locale.

Gurungan - an deep-sea dweller would not fare well in the oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere of humans, and might draw quite some attention.

 

[G'Naakbusters]

Gurungan - an deep-sea dweller would not fare well in the oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere of humans, and might draw quite some attention.

Also, since you've confirmed this is set in the Spinward Marches, it's a long way from Gurungan territory. They don't really travel beyond the Solomani Rim, it seems.

 

[boggo2300]

canI point out that in the Marches, the Sword Worlds infiltration desk would probably be filled by Sword Worlders, who are a minor race... Humaniti is the only race that fills both the Major and Minor race labels... (though I suppose the Aslan sort of do, they do CLAIM to be major)

 

[Saladman]

Long shot: a pod of Threep. You'd then get their full functionality, rather than the inherently outlier status of a single isolated threep. "More agile than they look" if they ever have to go active, but I'm picturing them mainly as office/support, maybe analysts with a different outlook. Threep aren't truly and fully psionic, but can sense mental presence and general disposition, which could be handy. And are from a 3I member world so should theoretically be loyal.

Same logic could apply to a small oytrip of Droyne. More functionality than a single outcast sport, with the benefit of possibly better psionic ability. Loyalty would be more suspect though.

 

[GypsyComet]

canI point out that in the Marches, the Sword Worlds infiltration desk would probably be filled by Sword Worlders, who are a minor race... Humaniti is the only race that fills both the Major and Minor race labels... (though I suppose the Aslan sort of do, they do CLAIM to be major)

Sword Worlders are more of a cultural group. Their separation from the Solomani is only a couple thousand years along, if that, with no geneering or millennia-long environmental adaption.
Compare that to the Darrians, Suerrat, Geonee, Vilani, etc (300,000 years), or the Nexxies and Jonkeereen (geneering for environmental adaption).

 

[Prodromoi]

Sword Worlders are more of a cultural group. Their separation from the Solomani is only a couple thousand years along, if that, with no geneering or millennia-long environmental adaption.
Compare that to the Darrians, Suerrat, Geonee, Vilani, etc (300,000 years), or the Nexxies and Jonkeereen (geneering for environmental adaption).

Indeed. I am considering an Imperial-aligned minor race for inclusion in the Imperial Naval Intelligence unit. Including a national of a semi-hostile polity would be... unlikely.

 

[GabrielGABFonseca]

That's very cool, and I would be interested in seeing the whole list for Spinward Marches (beyond the etc. tail-off!) please. The campaign I'm running is in the Marches so it would be useful data for that.

But of course! For the Imperial territories in Spinward Marches sector, the table is as follows:



A couple of disclaimers: these are raw data from Travellermap – Charted Space demographics are a bit of a can of worms with lots of 'ifs' and 'buts' (UWPs only cover mainworlds, only one significant digit of resolution, etc. etc.), so these are better seen as guidelines rather than The Truth™.
On that table, 'mino' stands for unspecified Minor Races, meaning Travellermap makes note of their presence but does not specify their species – most likely the world was mentioned to have natives in one supplement or another but those were never specified. In the Marches those worlds are Tionale (Spin 1511), 457-973 (Spin 3019), 769-422 (Spin 0240), and Nakege (Spin 1305).

And again, the above is counting only Imperial worlds in the Marches, not all worlds in the Marches.

I'd also be interested to see the percentage against the total population of the Imperium too (which will be a tiny percentage of course!).

This would sadly require a lot of manual data cleanup on my part, but I can tell you that the Imperium's population (taking into account the aforementioned caveats) is 18,049,040,749,210 Sophonts. So the subset of Humans who live in the Spinward Marches sector represents 236347230590/18049040749210 ≈ 1.3095% of the Imperium's total population.
Obviously humans as a whole represent much, much more than just that, but the data on the above table is considering the Spinward Marches exclusively.