MrHemlocks
Mongoose
I will soon be buying the Traveller core rule book, DM screen and 3rd Imp campaign setting. One thing that I do not care for are dwarves/elves/orcs in space. So, which races can players choose to become?
With the core rule book what races can tou be?
- Thread starter MrHemlocks
- Start date
GypsyComet
Emperor Mongoose
The core book has very basic stats for the so-called Major Races: Vargr, Aslan, Droyne, K'kree, Hivers, and Zhodani, as well as the default mixture of the last two (Solomani and Vilani) who are both Humans (as are the Zhodani, who change up things enough to have their own entry).
The same section also has a list of alien "characteristics" that can be mixed in other ways.
Note that Traveller's standard setting does have both Elf and Dwarf "analogs" in the Darrians and Geonee, but both are highly localized, only meet a few of the fantasy tropes, and are cool in their own ways that have nothing to do with pointy ears or being short.
Looking at the other books in the Mongoose line, you'll find full books on the Vargr, Aslan/Ftierle, Solomani (which is to say, Terrans) and Zhodani. Books for the other Major races are on the way, though Matthew has said that K'kree is a ways off. There are also books for the Darrians, Luriani, and Sword Worlders. The Luriani are another branch of Humaniti dispersed by the same methods that led to the Vilani, Zhodani, Darrians, and Geonee, while the Sword Worlders are a bunch of northern European types who left Earth after contact with others and settled as far away as they could manage.
The Solomani book also includes basic rules for uplifted Dolphins and Apes.
There are many other alien races available, and many spots to fit your own in.
An important note: "Balance" is that concept that has been plaguing D&D for the past decade. It has much less of a grip on Traveller. Yes, some races are going to be better than others.
The same section also has a list of alien "characteristics" that can be mixed in other ways.
Note that Traveller's standard setting does have both Elf and Dwarf "analogs" in the Darrians and Geonee, but both are highly localized, only meet a few of the fantasy tropes, and are cool in their own ways that have nothing to do with pointy ears or being short.
Looking at the other books in the Mongoose line, you'll find full books on the Vargr, Aslan/Ftierle, Solomani (which is to say, Terrans) and Zhodani. Books for the other Major races are on the way, though Matthew has said that K'kree is a ways off. There are also books for the Darrians, Luriani, and Sword Worlders. The Luriani are another branch of Humaniti dispersed by the same methods that led to the Vilani, Zhodani, Darrians, and Geonee, while the Sword Worlders are a bunch of northern European types who left Earth after contact with others and settled as far away as they could manage.
The Solomani book also includes basic rules for uplifted Dolphins and Apes.
There are many other alien races available, and many spots to fit your own in.
An important note: "Balance" is that concept that has been plaguing D&D for the past decade. It has much less of a grip on Traveller. Yes, some races are going to be better than others.
Nathan Brazil
Banded Mongoose
MrHemlocks, do you have a copy of the rules? I am asking because your posts imply that don't or you may be trying to stir general discussion. I am trying to tailor my answer
As GypsyComet stated, there is a sandbox which allows you to describe aliens with traits which describe in-game effects. A referee can design others to suit the campaign. There is no point buy or play balance or design. Add traits as desired.
The Core Rulebook mentions 8 alien races. The uplifts receive no description of psychology or culture. Just traits.
Uplifted dolphins
Uplifted apes
The others described in the Core Rulebook are integral to the Third Imperium campaign setting. In the Core book, they are all described in only 5 pages, which does not do them real justice as character generation does not address THEIR cultures. My hasty general descriptions are even worse. Think along these line:
Aslan - Lion looking (but thats all), obsessed to own land, honor a BIG deal, careers are based on gender (males lead and fight, females think and manage) due to culture.
Droyne - Psionic with 6 subspecies, can fly (on some planets), careers based on genetics. Insular
Hivers - Manipulate other races and each other via psychology. Look like 6 sided starfish (sort of). Not good fighters.
K'Kree - Militant vegetarians, large, look like horses with arms (centaurs without the human looking top half), hate/fear all meat eaters (including humans), lonely in family groups of less than say 50
Vargr - Canines transplanted to another planet by aliens 300000 years ago and made sentient. Intelligent but still thinking in pack mentality to some extent.
Zhodani - Humans also transplanted to another planet by aliens 300000 years ago. Psionic. Culture does thought/mind control to make unhappy people happy.
As GypsyComet stated, there is a sandbox which allows you to describe aliens with traits which describe in-game effects. A referee can design others to suit the campaign. There is no point buy or play balance or design. Add traits as desired.
The Core Rulebook mentions 8 alien races. The uplifts receive no description of psychology or culture. Just traits.
Uplifted dolphins
Uplifted apes
The others described in the Core Rulebook are integral to the Third Imperium campaign setting. In the Core book, they are all described in only 5 pages, which does not do them real justice as character generation does not address THEIR cultures. My hasty general descriptions are even worse. Think along these line:
Aslan - Lion looking (but thats all), obsessed to own land, honor a BIG deal, careers are based on gender (males lead and fight, females think and manage) due to culture.
Droyne - Psionic with 6 subspecies, can fly (on some planets), careers based on genetics. Insular
Hivers - Manipulate other races and each other via psychology. Look like 6 sided starfish (sort of). Not good fighters.
K'Kree - Militant vegetarians, large, look like horses with arms (centaurs without the human looking top half), hate/fear all meat eaters (including humans), lonely in family groups of less than say 50
Vargr - Canines transplanted to another planet by aliens 300000 years ago and made sentient. Intelligent but still thinking in pack mentality to some extent.
Zhodani - Humans also transplanted to another planet by aliens 300000 years ago. Psionic. Culture does thought/mind control to make unhappy people happy.
The Zhodani book also has rules for the Addaxar, which are armadillos IN SPACE! The Aslan book has rules for two sub-species of humans, and one of the books, I can't remember which, has at least one alien species tucked away in one of the planet sections without a sidebar but has character rules. The book 1,001 Characters has four NPCs of unknown race in the second-to-last section and if you look closely they have the species rules in their write-ups.
Nathan Brazil
Banded Mongoose
From a roleplaying point of view, each of the aliens is playable if you can get into their mindset. However two problems playing them
Not all play well with humans on a regular basis due racial/cultural issues. Not gonna happen. As simple as that. They mix less well together than in fantasy trope settings. Aliens must be conforming to human standards or the Imperium will slap them down till they do. And some are less likely to do so.
Due to astronomic distances and your campaign location some aliens may not be available. The Third Imperium takes years to to get from one end to the other. Outside the edges of the Imperium are the alien's empires. If you are on the edges of the Imperium, some aliens are more more likely but others much less so.
Not all play well with humans on a regular basis due racial/cultural issues. Not gonna happen. As simple as that. They mix less well together than in fantasy trope settings. Aliens must be conforming to human standards or the Imperium will slap them down till they do. And some are less likely to do so.
Due to astronomic distances and your campaign location some aliens may not be available. The Third Imperium takes years to to get from one end to the other. Outside the edges of the Imperium are the alien's empires. If you are on the edges of the Imperium, some aliens are more more likely but others much less so.
K'Kree offer the biggest challenge, IMO. They actually die if they aren't around other K'Kree and they hate space travel. Matt has said that they are working on a way to make them cool. Hivers are a little hard, as are Droyne.
Vargr and Aslan mix well enough, as a huge percent of the Imperium population is Vargr and a good chunk is Aslan. Strangely enough, a decent amount of the population of the Aslan Hierate is human, with some even viewed as equal to Aslan.
Vargr and Aslan mix well enough, as a huge percent of the Imperium population is Vargr and a good chunk is Aslan. Strangely enough, a decent amount of the population of the Aslan Hierate is human, with some even viewed as equal to Aslan.
Nathan Brazil
Banded Mongoose
Some aliens are easier to get into than others. Once you understand their psychology, they may be playable. Playable does not mean get along well with others species. In some cases, the circumstances pigeonhole the roleplaying for the player, but that's the way it goes.
The K'kree example: In the original module, the herd mentality is so dominant that the play style was to roll up the entire family (patriarch, guards, merchants, techs and so on along with their females and children) and then players as a group play the family as a group! Their fear/hate of all meat eaters (even part timer omnivores like humans) as instinct (they killed ALL the carnivore species on their homeworld), prevents them from playing with humans in an ongoing campaign.
The Droyne example: The Droyne caste system is genetic and very hard to break. Droyne Leaders lead, other castes listen to the Leaders. In play with Droyne only, you listen and do what your betters tell you. Period. Only one caste, the Sports (with roles of Prospectors, Surveyors, Brokers, Drivers, Representatives, Diplomats, Ambassadors, Emissaries, Scouts, Spies, Special Agents, Explorers, Pilots) acts as intermediaries between castes and have sufficient individualism. When Droyne are no longer useful to their group, they retire by willing themselves to death. In mixed play, Droyne are those who have resisted dying, willing outcasts from their group who likely will not be thought of as "friends", or Sports on longterm missions.
The K'kree example: In the original module, the herd mentality is so dominant that the play style was to roll up the entire family (patriarch, guards, merchants, techs and so on along with their females and children) and then players as a group play the family as a group! Their fear/hate of all meat eaters (even part timer omnivores like humans) as instinct (they killed ALL the carnivore species on their homeworld), prevents them from playing with humans in an ongoing campaign.
The Droyne example: The Droyne caste system is genetic and very hard to break. Droyne Leaders lead, other castes listen to the Leaders. In play with Droyne only, you listen and do what your betters tell you. Period. Only one caste, the Sports (with roles of Prospectors, Surveyors, Brokers, Drivers, Representatives, Diplomats, Ambassadors, Emissaries, Scouts, Spies, Special Agents, Explorers, Pilots) acts as intermediaries between castes and have sufficient individualism. When Droyne are no longer useful to their group, they retire by willing themselves to death. In mixed play, Droyne are those who have resisted dying, willing outcasts from their group who likely will not be thought of as "friends", or Sports on longterm missions.
ShawnDriscoll
Cosmic Mongoose
You can create your own lifeform/races also, since Traveller handles generic sci-fi very well.
Nathan Brazil
Banded Mongoose
The Zhodani example: Psionics and/or excellent civil service form the primary basis between nobles and non-nobles. From our 21st century perspective, the lower social classes have no privacy as the higher ups are obligated to mind read members. Disgruntled members of society are collected by the "Thought Police" (that is the Imperial translation of the word), sent to "hospitals" to teach them that they are being selfish and petty and retrain them (via thought control) to be happy again before a more serious crime ever occurs. So the lower classes are all painfully honest. The higher ups enjoy some privacy, but obligation and track records keep excesses in line. In Zhodani only play, things are more normal, except everyone is more honest with each other. All the time.
In mixed play, non-nobles Zhos are almost never found. If they are found, there are led by psionic nobles. Lower classes take everything at face value. This means liars and cheats ARE BELIEVED by Zhodani. Only if the lies are so great are they not believed and then confusion ensues (why did he say something that is obviously not a fact?). Psionic nobles know how evil, secretive and selfish we regular humans are.
In mixed play, non-nobles Zhos are almost never found. If they are found, there are led by psionic nobles. Lower classes take everything at face value. This means liars and cheats ARE BELIEVED by Zhodani. Only if the lies are so great are they not believed and then confusion ensues (why did he say something that is obviously not a fact?). Psionic nobles know how evil, secretive and selfish we regular humans are.
Nathan Brazil
Banded Mongoose
The Hiver example: The hardest to play because they outright have emotions which do not coincide with humans, except for parental instinct and curiosity. The original module does not detail how they "feel" mostly because they are truly alien. Just their behaviors and are outright described as emotionless and "weird". By following the behaviors, you are correctly playing a Hiver (even if the player does not get it). The behaviors allow for general interaction with humans.
The Aslan example: There are two kinds of types of Aslan: cultural Aslan and barbarians. Cultural Aslan are those (the Aslan species, humans, and other aliens) who follow traditional Aslan society, behaviors and actions. There is also honor, traditional gender roles and land (Think old samurai culture except everyone is a samurai). Humans who follow correct behavior are treated as any other Aslan. However as all humans "look alike" your job or role defines your gender and are treated appropriately. Barbarians are racial Aslan, humans and others who do not follow traditional Aslan culture.
Duels and other hilarity occurs when cultural Aslan and barbarians mix.
The Aslan example: There are two kinds of types of Aslan: cultural Aslan and barbarians. Cultural Aslan are those (the Aslan species, humans, and other aliens) who follow traditional Aslan society, behaviors and actions. There is also honor, traditional gender roles and land (Think old samurai culture except everyone is a samurai). Humans who follow correct behavior are treated as any other Aslan. However as all humans "look alike" your job or role defines your gender and are treated appropriately. Barbarians are racial Aslan, humans and others who do not follow traditional Aslan culture.
Duels and other hilarity occurs when cultural Aslan and barbarians mix.
Nathan Brazil
Banded Mongoose
The Vargr example: The easiest to play. Think like an intelligent person with traces of wolf. No, seriously. Your band of adventurers is your pack. If the leader leads well and rewards your efforts, follow faithfully. They are doing right by you and should be in charge. Still you might not like being led or outright have an ego. Show by example to the pack you should be in charge! If you get to be in charge, flaunt it baby, flaunt it! Don't forget who supported you so they continue to do so and don't forget that someone else might want to be top dog and take care of them to show everyone you are a better alpha-male...er....leader. Still for good or bad, you are all a pack and the pack takes care of itself. Easy-peasey.
JRoss said:
Surely there are exceptions? For example, K'Kree with a mental disorder that makes them antisocial to the point they can be away from their own kind? I'm thinking Nessus from Ringworld as an example from sci-fi literature. I'm assuming the die-thing is a mental/psychological issue, and that there isn't a biological reason why they simply MUST be around other K'Kree.
Yeah, a player would need a well-thought rationale, but it could make an interesting character!
MrHemlocks
Mongoose
Just so long as there are no pointy eared elves, bearded dwarves and Lord of the Rings orc types I am fine witht the other races. 8)
GypsyComet
Emperor Mongoose
I don't think the Geonee do beards, though they are mercantile and tinkerish. The Darrians do have slightly pointed ears, did grow up with strong forest affinities, and had a very high tech society that they managed to blow up, but they are not "in decline", immortal, prone to singing, or overly smug about themselves.
No orcs, though warrior cultures are rather common. The role of "Oh, has it been ten years already?" raiders was originally filled by the Vargr, for whom space pirate was and is a highly charismatic calling. They don't do that nearly as much any more, though.
No orcs, though warrior cultures are rather common. The role of "Oh, has it been ten years already?" raiders was originally filled by the Vargr, for whom space pirate was and is a highly charismatic calling. They don't do that nearly as much any more, though.
Nathan Brazil
Banded Mongoose
MrHemlocks said:
Nope not those guys. I gave examples to show how the aliens interact with humans in the Original Traveller Universe campaign setting. There, the aliens are not buddy-buddy with humans as the various races are in a fantasy setting. The writeups in the Core Rules make them much more generic and more useful (i.e. play well with humans) due to a lack of information than the original campaign modules presented them.
Some gamers actually WANT their aliens to get along with each other. People in funny suits I believe is the term.
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