Minor Races

[somewhattwisted]

Okay, so the Zhodani book lists several worlds with minor races, and spends a good deal of history discussing Chirpers.

I realize that it leaves room for GMs to insert their own favorite races if no descriptions are given, but are there any plans to detail any of the minor races?

Where can I find stats for Chirpers, as any Zhodani game would be lacking with introducing them, imo?

 

[DFW]

http://traveller.wikia.com/wiki/Chirpers

 

[GypsyComet]

The Wiki has stats?

None of the original Zhdant Chirpers survive, and the Zhodani don't tend to let subsequently discovered Chirpers wander around freely. Full Droyne intimidate *them* (and are covered in basic form in the CRB, I think).

A Zhodani game would reasonably include Addaxur and possibly Vargr. With the Addaxur now properly defined, their GURPS surrogates the Clotho are also a decent placement in Consulate space... As the Clotho.

The central Rimward area of Consulate space has a significant genetic mixture of another Minor Human Race, the Vlazhdumecta. At this late date, the Vlazhdumecta inside the Consulate have been part of it for several thousand years and have all but vanished genetically. The Vlazhdumecta beyond the Consulate are another matter.

As even the broad picture of the Third Imperium is a huge task, I doubt Mongoose is going to go out of their way to detail every minor race mentioned. We might see a minor race detailed in S&P or as a sidebar in an adventure, however, and this forum is also a good spot.

Got anything specific aside from Chirpers?

 

[Reynard]

I have a source book from 1979 called Spacefarer's Guide to Alien Races (Phoenix Games) containing 100 races and usable with Traveller as well as charts for a few other games popular at the time. They range from humanoid to "what is that?!".

The stat mechanics isn't so great but there is a wealth of background details plus what planetary conditions best suited to each species.

 

[somewhattwisted]

Now that would be an awesome MT book. IMO, of course.

 

[GypsyComet]

The problem with such books, especially when developed as a creative blok, is that you get a lot of "why is this race different?" that devolves into either silly, repugnant, or both.

I'd love to see a book, or a return of "Contact!" to S&P, that addresses the existing Minor Races. There are already a shedload of them, and only a couple are obviously "take this other race and tweak one small thing" (the Hlannsai are more Vargr than the Vargr, for example). There are also a few that are bad fits, or incomplete fits, into the Third Imperium setting. The Valkyrie (of GT) and several of the races from T4 come to mind here.

There are a number that are barely beyond a name and place, or which are simply too wierd to use as PCs. The Jgd, J'sia, and those ambulatory plants in Aslan space are in this category. Nice for NPCs, but really, who wants to run a 4-meter-long soft worm?

Then there are the majority with *almost* enough information to run well as PCs or NPCs. Most of the Human Minor Races that are more than a name fit here, as do the Virushi, Ael Yael, Shriekers, and Llellewyloly (in print), to name a few.

Only a very few have had enough written on them, or are coming from easily grokkable fundamentals, to be easily playable. I put the Newts and Ithklur in this category.

Hit up the Chirper link above and dig around in the listed Minor Races. Lots of fun to be had there.

 

[Liam Devlin]

Excellent point Mr GypsyComet! I second the motion for S & P (when they resume) to continue that Contact! series once again.

Point of reference, the Hiver Federation, with its 700-member race interstellar polity, yet we know mostly of the Hivers, & Ithklur, & Humans absorbed druing the Long Night...the other 697x sentient species? scarcely more than names.

 

[locarno24]

the other 697x sentient species? scarcely more than names.

Just the Hivers in a selection of wigs and false noses, I reckon. It's all some sort of fiendish deception.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

So, may I suggest that you/we write up an S&P Article or ten to start up the Contact! section again?

Without submissions, the section will not likely exist. WE can create that section ourselves.

Detail up one of the Minor Races and submit it. You even get paid!

The races don't even have to be OTU, any alien race in Traveller stats could work.

With the new Traveller: Prime Directive - you even get to include some Star Trek aliens (although not the "official" ones from the series').

WE can make this happen people, we don't need Mongoose to feed them to us.

The Traveller WIKI gives you a good place to start for OTU races, it has at least SOME information that has been published about a race and you can expand from there.

 

[rust]

Just the Hivers in a selection of wigs and false noses, I reckon.

Yep, just a number of subraces, the Hiver DNA is prone to mutations. The
IISS has catalogued Aerial Hivers (using hydrogen as lifting gas and as a
propellant), Aquatic Hivers (with an organic hydrojet drive), Seafloor Hi-
vers (with hooked arms to drag themselves along the seafloor), Triphibi-
an Hivers (a cross breed of aerial and aquatic hivers - somewhat rare be-
cause the parent subspecies do not meet that often), Space Hivers (with
a very thick protective skin which doubles as a solar panel), Cave Hivers
(two arms mutated into claws for digging tunnels) ... 8)

 

[Sevya]

So, may I suggest that you/we write up an S&P Article or ten to start up the Contact! section again?

Without submissions, the section will not likely exist. WE can create that section ourselves.

Detail up one of the Minor Races and submit it. You even get paid!

The races don't even have to be OTU, any alien race in Traveller stats could work.

With the new Traveller: Prime Directive - you even get to include some Star Trek aliens (although not the "official" ones from the series').

WE can make this happen people, we don't need Mongoose to feed them to us.

The Traveller WIKI gives you a good place to start for OTU races, it has at least SOME information that has been published about a race and you can expand from there.

If it's from older Traveller material, you'd probably get the original author's permission, first. I'm not trying to shoot this down. I think it's a great idea, and have put thought to it myself. I just want to make sure one stumbling point is covered.

Sevya