Date: Wed, 30 Aug 95 13:03:00 PDT From: David Elrick Subject: Alien Characters in TNE I wrote the following article to allow TNE referees to use Traveller aliens as player characters with the character generation rules given in the TNE rulebook. The article assumes that you have access to other material on the aliens you choose to use. This is not as detailed as Andy Lilly's Aslan article (which I understand has also been posted here), nor is it intended to be. It is meant to be a quick 'fix' to get people playing aliens. Note: This article appeared in full in the latest issue of Valkyrie magazine (which is a very fine read). The following article is copyright 1995, David Elrick and must not be reproduced without my express permission. --------------------------------------- Wearing The Furry Suit Alien Player Characters in Traveller: The New Era So far in Traveller: The New Era we have been given the chance to play humans from a wide variety of backgrounds - or one solitary alien race (the Schalli) - in the aftermath of the Virus. But that catastrophe affected all the sentients in the Traveller universe, not just humans (and, in any case, there was more than one branch of Humaniti present in the old Imperium). What of the irrepressible Vargr? The Aslan Ihatei endlessly reaching for the stars? The enigmatic Hivers? In fact, all the Traveller aliens? The answer, of course, was that there was just not enough space in the TNE rulebook to give aliens more than a passing mention as NPCs (and, even then, not all the aliens made it into the rulebook). GDW's plans for TNE include a series of books called 'Aliens of the Rim', which will cover most of the alien races found in Traveller - starting with the Hivers and their Ithklur mercenaries. As I write, that first book hasn't appeared yet (although it might have done by the time you read this). In the continued absence of that series, this article expands on and complements the descriptions given in the Traveller: The New Era rulebook and allows you to create playable alien player characters. The history briefly presented for some alien races is drawn from my own campaign, and may not completely mesh with future TNE releases. Use it as you see fit (after all, the object is to have fun). You may want to use the rules presented in Fusion, Fire & Steel to design alien equipment. Author's Note: Although the stats and attributes presented here are extrapolated from the original Traveller and MegaTraveller material, I have used the careers presented in the rulebook so that, armed with just the rulebook and this article, you can have playable alien characters. Hivers Without a doubt Hivers are the most 'alien' of all the Traveller aliens. Physically, they have a central body from which extends six limbs, each ending in six small appendages. One of the limbs contains the Hiver's eye stalks, and another contains the Hiver's reproductive organs (Hivers reproduce by exchanging genetic material in a process which humans have described as "...shaking hands..." - small wonder then that human dignitaries have been wary the first time they meet Hivers!). The remaining four limbs function as legs or arms, as the situation requires. Hivers are justifiably famous for their curiosity. In fact Hivers are like small human children: they crave knowledge of any kind, and will often go to quite extraordinary lengths to indulge their curiosity - even to tricking other races into performing unnecessary adventures just to see what happens! Hivers are also pacifists, but they do understand that it is an imperfect universe and not everyone else is. Although some very exceptional Hivers have been known to use violence to defend themselves (and is becoming more common in the aftermath of Virus), most Hivers depend entirely on the services of their subject races - primarily the Ithklur 'mercenaries'. Probably the main reason that Hivers are so enigmatic to other races is that they cannot speak - Hivers communicate between themselves by a form of 'sign language', and to other races through 'translators'. Hiver translators convert speech into ideograms which mimic Hiver sign language, and convert the Hiver's responses into digitised speech. The Hivers have tried (so far unsuccessfully) to make their translators mimic moods and personality, but, because of first impressions gained from their translators, Hivers still seem enigmatic and aloof to other races. Hivers use the rules given in the rulebook, except: the weight formula is [4x(STR-AGL)]+150 for all Hivers. Hivers have no psionic ability at all, so PSI is zero. Hivers can have a wide variety of careers, but most Hivers encountered outside Hiver space will be one of the following: Civil Engineer, Computer Operator, Diplomat, Mechanic, Medicine, Professor, Scientist or Trader. Generate the Hiver's Ithklur companion(s) as NPCs as described in the rulebook (page 69). Vargr Vargr are, without any doubt, the most widely scattered race in the New Era apart from humans. You can encounter Vargr in large numbers almost anywhere in the coreward end of the old Imperium, as well as the Regency and the Vargr states. As if that wasn't enough, individual Vargr can be found almost anywhere in the old Imperium, although very seldom any any other races' territory (except the Zhodani Consulate, which has a large native Vargr population). Vargr were originally genetically engineered by the ancients from Terran Canines and they still have many similarities with dogs: they don't sweat - all heat loss is through the mouth; they prefer to eat small amounts often and then snooze while the food is digested; they can only see in black and white, so Vargr tend to favour very 'loud' colours (in fact it has often been said that a Vargr's taste is entirely in his mouth!). In all, Vargr are brash and loud and they favour direct action over talk (this does not mean that they will avoid planning things though - Vargr aren't stupid). Finally, let's lay one common myth to a long-overdue rest. After three hundred thousand years of evolution Vargr no longer stick their heads out of the window when they're driving (and if you've seen a Vargr drive an air raft you'll know why)! Attributes: STR -1, AGL +1, CON -1. All other attributes are generated normally, except social standing. Charisma replaces social standing, and starting charisma is generated using 1D6+1. Vargr mass slightly more than Humans on average. The formulae are: Male [4x(STR-AGL)]+90; Female [4x(STR-AGL)]+70. All careers and skills are open to Vargr (subject to the homeworld restrictions described in the rulebook). Aslan Aslan fared better than most against Virus, although they did not escape unscathed. The Virus crossed the border from Imperial space into Solomani space as if it wasn't there - their computer systems were so alike in many ways. But the Aslan Hierate was split up into thousands of clans, each with their own computer systems, codes and procedures - and each with their own enclaves on Kusyu, the Aslan homeworld. The virus crossed the last eight parsecs to the Aslan/Solomani border in three months. It took four months to cross the one parsec to Kusyu, where it almost dead-ended. Now, almost seventy years later, Virus still ravages Kusyu and the subsectors immediately around it, but the rest of the Hierate remains relatively Virus-free. All Aslan know that the sacrifice of their homeworld bought them enough time to save the rest of the Hierate by instituting anti-Virus measures. Those measures, coupled with the enormous diversity in computer systems, managed to stop the spread of the Virus almost dead. But at a terrible, terrible price. Treatment of captured Virus strains vary from clan to clan: some isolate and study it; most destroy it along with the infected system; and some, mostly in Reaver's Deep and Daibei, have 'befriended' certain strains and are working with them to build new civilisations in that border area. Aslan treatment of Imperial remnants is another matter, however. Most Aslan view the Virus as a made thing - a weapon made by Imperials and released without thought. The fact that Virus was not designed to be used against the Aslan doesn't matter - they regard all remnant Imperials as culpable. Because Aslan honour views attacks on an unsuspecting enemy as cowardly, most Imperial remnants found by Aslan are revived before being spaced or hung. Some clans view the Imperials as being without any honour, however, and some remnants are blown up with their ships, never having been revived. In Aslan society, the first son is groomed to take over from his Father as head of the clan. All the other sons (called Ihatei - literally 'second son') are expected to leave home and make a new home and clan of their own. This has been the basis of Aslan expansion for hundreds of years and has barely changed in all that time. In the past, the majority of the Ihatei struck out Coreward and Trailing (towards the Imperium) - indeed, the Emperor Strephon had an honour guard of Aslan. Now, although there is some expansion into Daibei and towards the Regency, almost all Ihatei have turned their faces Spinward and Rimward, expanding away from the Virus. Attributes: STR +2, AGL -1, CON +1. All other attributes are generated normally. Aslan are physically much larger than Humans. The formulae are: Male [4x(STR-AGL)]+110; Female [4x(STR-AGL)]+85. Determine everything else normally as described in the rulebook, but add +1 to initiative. All characters use careers from the rulebook. Most Aslan females encountered outside the Hierate will follow one of the following careers: Belter, Bureaucrat, Civil Engineer, Diplomat, Mechanic, Scout or Trader. Aslan males will be one of: Barbarian, Bounty Hunter, Hunter, Civil Pilot, Mercenary, Scout or Wealthy Traveller. Military careers are open to both males and females. In Aslan society, there is a very strict demarcation of skills, with some skills being prohibited to one gender or another. Only Aslan females may have skills from the following skill clusters: Technician, Vice, Space Vessel, Space Tech, Medical, Interaction, Engineer, Economics, Charm, Aircraft. No skill clusters are specifically Aslan male only, the following skill clusters are most likely in all Aslan males: Determination, Explore, Melee, Perception. The remaining skill clusters can be used by either males or females. Droyne and Chirpers Droyne and Chirpers were once found on worlds widely scattered across the old Imperium. Sadly, of all the 'major' races they fared the worst during the rebellion and afterwards, being subjected to widespread racism on a massive scale. Where they were unable to get right away from human settlements, they suffered pogroms, slavery and genocide. Although their own technology was barely affected by Virus, they were too scattered and mistrusted to be allowed to offer assistance in all but a very small number of cases. What Imperial and other xenobiologists failed to realise was that Chirpers and Droyne are the same race. Chirpers are merely immature Droyne who have not been 'caste'. However, with the genocide visited upon the Droyne and the widespread destruction of anything resembling Droyne artifacts or culture, the caste system has all but vanished in many areas. As a consequence, 'true' Droyne communities are very rare - most communities that managed to survived to the present day are made up entirely of Chirpers. Droyne society comprises six castes: Workers, Warriors, Technicians, Drones, Leaders and Sports. There are three Droyne genders, designated (by Imperial Xenobiologists - nobody thought to actually ask the Droyne) Alpha Male, Beta Male and Female. Leaders, Sports and Warriors are Alpha Males; Workers and Technicians are Beta Males; Drones are Females. Chirpers appear to be all one gender, but gender differences must eventually surface, because Chirpers are able to reproduce. All Chirpers and Droyne roll 1D6+1 for STR and CON, and 1D6+2 for AGL. Social standing is only applicable in Chirper or Droyne communities, and is treated as zero for dealings with non-Droyne who are not familiar with Droyne or Chirpers. The weight formula for Droyne and Chirpers is [4x(STR-AGL)]+20. Careers details are only given for Leaders, Warriors and Sports. If your players want to play Technicians, Drones or Workers (both roles which are heavily involved in Droyne society, but rarely come into contact with outsiders) make no stat modifications and choose the closest career from the rulebook. Careers are directly related to caste (ignore stat minimum requirements given in the rulebook): Leaders add +2 to INT and +1 to initiative. Leaders take any career which enables them to lead, whether in a military or a civilian role. Warriors add +2 to STR, +1 to AGL and +1 to initiative. Warriors are trained purely for combat purposes (suitable careers include Bounty Hunter, Mercenary and Tough). Sports add +1 to AGL and +1 to EDU. Sports are the adventurers and explorers of Droyne society and the most likely caste to be found away from other Droyne (suitable careers include Diplomat, Scout and Tough). Chirpers have no stat modifications and use the Barbarian career from the rulebook. The branches of Humaniti No-one really knows how many worlds the Ancients seeded with Humans, the old Imperium catalogued 50 confirmed seeded worlds and over 300 more which required further investigation. The old Imperium was primarily made up of two 'branches' of Humaniti - Vilani and Solomani - and most Imperials were a mix of the two (although many claimed to be solely one or the other for political reasons). The other 'main' branches of Humaniti are the Zhodani and the Darrians. Solomani Solomani live rimward of the old Imperium. During the rebellion, the Solomani Confederation took the chance to regain some of the 'disputed' territory (disputed, at least, by the Solomani) from the Imperium, including Terra, before Virus overwhelmed them. Solomani believe themselves to be the only 'racially pure' branch of Humaniti. To create a Solomani, use the character generation rules presented in the rulebook without modifications. Zhodani Zhodani live spinward and coreward of the Regency. Because of the draconian anti-virus policies adopted by the Regency and the Zhodani Consulate, the Virus failed to get a hold within the Consulate (although many Zhodani 'protectorates' outside the Consulate borders suffered as badly as everywhere else). Zhodani society is split into three classes: Nobles (social standing 10+), Intendants (social standing 9) and Proles (social standing 8-). All Nobles are psionic (and all psionics are Noble - social advancement is purely a matter of ability) and Proles are not. To create a Zhodani, use the character generation rules presented in the rulebook without modifications. If a character has psionic ability, advance their social standing to 10 and treat them as psionics trained. Vilani Vilani consider themselves the only 'racially pure' Imperials and their part of space, centred on Vland, the 'Fourth Imperium' (sic). Unlike the Solomani, the Vilani withdrew into their own little enclave and prepared for the worst - it didn't save them. War-weary, ravaged by Virus and overrun by Vargr they barely survived at all. Vilani society is built on three principles: tradition, efficiency and community spirit. It was the Vilani who 'built' and ran the great megacorporations of the old Imperium, and it's not hard to see why. Most Vilani are patient and methodical, which comes back to the three prinicples. But Vilani can afford to be patient because Vilani, particularly pure-bred Vilani, age more slowly than other humans. To create a Vilani, use the character generation rules presented in the rulebook without modifications, except: for bloodline roll 1D20 and apply the following results. If the result is 1 to 15, the character is of mainly non-Vilani ancestry and applies aging effects normally (as described in the rulebook). If the result is 16 to 18, the character has some Vilani blood and applies +2 to all their aging rolls. If the result is 19, the character is almost pure Vilani and applies +3 to all their aging rolls. If the result is 20, the character is a pure-bred Vilani from one of the old Vilani families. These characters apply +4 to their aging rolls. Darrians Darrians live in a small group of worlds immediately spinward of the Regency. Without a doubt, their survival into the new era was entirely due to Norris' policies against the Virus. Such is the cosmopolitan nature of Darrian society that, within Darrian borders, you can find 'pure' Darrians, Aslan (mostly citizens of the Confederation, although a small number of Ihatei have been allowed to settle on Darrian worlds), Zhodani and 'Imperials'. Darrian Aslan are sympathetic to, but do not subscribe to, the feelings that Hierate Aslan have about Imperial remnants. Darrian Aslan are created using the Aslan character generation guidelines. Darrians are created as follows: Attributes: Darrians use the rules given in the rulebook, except: STR is generated using 1D6+1, CON is 1D6+1 and EDU is +2. Darrians speak Darrian and Anglic, Darrian Aslan also speak the Aslan language. Darrians use the social standing rules as presented in the rulebooks, because there is no stigma attached to nobility as there is within the old Imperium, use the titles and landhold rules unmodified. Darrians mass slightly less than other Humans on average. The formulae are: Male [4x(STR-AGL)]+86; Female [4x(STR-AGL)]+70. Darrian Aslan use the rules presented under Aslan, above. All careers and skills are open to Darrians, except where homeworld/region does not permit Darrian characters. Darrian Aslan use the career restrictions detailed for Aslan. Finally, use aliens sparingly in your Traveller games. If each player plays a different alien, they become just another character 'class'. Aliens should present some mystery in your games - their motives and ways of thinking are not the same as humans and they should not be played as just humans in furry suits. Not only that, each alien (PC or NPC) is an individual, and will behave differently to other members of their own race. Use the information in the rulebook (particularly the NPC motivation information), and the information from this article, to guide you when you first play an alien and always think about what it means to be a member of one of these races. If necessary, referees should present aliens as NPCs until their players know enough about them to portray them properly. From the haughty Aslan and the chaotic, impulsive Vargr to the mysterious Hivers, make each one different and your Traveller games will come alive. ----------------------------------------------- Enjoy, Dave Elrick