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Thread: Edosians in my series

  1. #1
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    Edosians in my series

    Well, I finally got around to doing my version of the Edosians (nee Edoans) from TAS for use with my The Razor's Edge series. My version is a bit of whole cloth, sewn together with stuff from the official Star Trek website regarding the series and some stuff from FASA. Notably absent is stuff from the novels, most of which I don't like that much (and the stuff I've read about the Edosians from the novels left me kind of cold). So, here they are, the semi-final draft (pending some vetting from you good people).

    Edosians

    PERSONALITY: Edosians are a quiet and extremely private people. They are very modest about their own accomplishments, which lends to their reputation as secretive. Their world has never been in a war; as a result, Edosians are a peaceful species with a great reverence for life.

    PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Edosians average about the same height as Humans, though they have a slighter build. Their body mass is about the same due to their extra limbs. Their skin ranges in color from pale orange to brick red. They have bony faces, yellow eyes, and no noticeable body hair. Their most striking feature, however, is the fact that they are tripedal. They have three legs and three arms; the third arm emerges from their chest. Each arm ends in a three-fingered hand.

    HOMEWORLD: Edos (Epsilon Minora III), a planet in the constellation Triangulum, near the energy barrier at the edge of the galaxy. It is a small class M world with a relatively small inhabitable land mass (approximately 83% of the surface is water).

    While just within Federation space, Edos is not a member of the Federation, choosing to remain independent. They have signed trade, science, and mutual aid treaties with the Federation, however. Their system is popular as a stopover for science teams seeking to explore and investigate the barrier.

    CULTURE: Edosian history goes back some 24,000 years. It was then, their religious records say, that their many gods crafted the first Edosian people out of the rich soil of their world. They molded them, and then breathed some of their own life into them, and wrote down the Laws for them.

    Over those millennia, the people of Edos heeded the Laws, and this has been the backbone of their society. All of their social mores stem from it. The Laws dictate, for example, that all the people are equal to one another. This lack of class levels has served to eliminate strife on their world, and is the primary reason that there has never been a war in 24 millennia of recorded history on Edos.

    The Edosian people are long-lived, another gift from their gods. This longevity, combined with the relatively small inhabitable surface area of Edos, has prompted the Edosians to practice their own form of population control. It is quite rare, though not unheard of, for there to be more than one child per family on their world. This is a conscious choice; there is nothing biological preventing an Edosian couple from having more than one child, and multiple births, while rare, do occur.

    A side-effect of their low birth rate is that all children are precious, not just to the family, but to their community at large. Families tend to be quite close, and ancestral records are kept in great detail and date back for centuries, in some cases even millennia.

    LANGUAGE: Edosian and Federation Standard.

    COMMON NAMES: Edosians typically use only their given name; though they do have a surname, it is used only in very formal situations, such as during religious ceremonies. This surname consists of the given names of the Edosian’s parents, preceded by the word “nal” (roughly meaning “child of”) and joined by the word “mi” (Edosian for “and”). Traditionally, a male places his mother’s name first while a female places her father’s name first. For example, a male Edosian called Bilar, whose father was Krex and whose mother was Erlan, would be Bilar nal Erlan mi Krex.

    As might be expected with their cultural philosophy of complete equality, Edosians do not have any gender distinctions in their names.

    Edosian Names: Ailix, Anex, Arex, Bilar, Deritan, Erlan, Huj, Jak, Kando, Krex, Maldek, Moblix, Preej, Rollex, Triffa, Xen.

    FAVORED PROFESSIONS: Scientist and Mystic. The Edosians are curious about the mysteries of the world around them; the best way to satisfy that curiosity is through the hard sciences. The social sciences are, for the most part, anathema to them because they are seen as a breach of privacy. Their deeply held religious convictions and the fact that they’re a polytheistic culture mean that more than a few of them become mystics, as well.

    SPECIES ADJUSTMENTS: +2 Agility, -1 Presence, -1 Strength. While they appear ungainly, the Edosians are actually remarkably quick and graceful, though their slight build renders them slightly weaker than other species. Their intense need for privacy is somewhat off-putting to many other races.

    SPECIES ABILITIES:
    • Artisan: Edosians are skilled craftsmen and tool-makers, whose wares are sought after throughout the Federation. They receive a +2 bonus to all Craft rolls.
    • Bonus Edge – Ambidextrous 2: Edosians can use all three of their hands with equal grace.
    • Bonus Edge – Multitasking: The same brain structure that allows the Edosians to effectively control their extra limbs allows them to perform many tasks at once without noticeable effort.
    • Extra Limbs: The Edosian race is tripedal, having three legs and three arms, each arm ending in a three-fingered hand. The extra limbs give them the advantage of +1 movement action and +1 standard action per round.
    • Extremely Private: The greatest virtue of the Edosian people is to respect the privacy of others, and they expect the same courtesy in return. As a result, they are not the most social of creatures. Edosians suffer a –2 penalty to all social tests made against any non-Edosian.

    NOTABLE EDOSIANS: Lieutenant Arex served as a navigator aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise in 2269. Sometime before that, he taught space navigation at Starfleet Academy, where one of his star pupils was a young Pavel Chekov. A long-time Starfleet veteran, he was not a product of Starfleet Academy. Rather, after a ten-year stint in the merchant space fleet, he enlisted in Starfleet as a technician and worked his way up into the officer ranks by way of a field commission during a battle with the Klingons. He was considered by many to be the best navigator in the fleet in his time. He was also decorated several times for bravery in the line of duty, even earning a Starfleet Citation for Conspicuous Valor. With typical Edosian modesty, however, he never speaks of these things.

    Pick Breakdown: Attributes +0, Artisan +2, Ambidexterity 2 +4, Multitasking +2, Extra Limbs +10, Extremely Private -4. Total Picks = +14.
    Patrick Goodman -- Tilting at Windmills

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    Beyond the Final Frontier: CODA Star Trek RPG Support

  2. #2
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  3. #3
    The +1 action thing seems weird. Since you can have any number of actions of either kind per round, that means that the first penalty can apply on the fifth action, if we assume a hard and fast difference between standard and movement actions in CODA. Sure, the character sheets look a little like d20, but it's not that similar...

    I suggest giving them a bonus to movement checks, and/or a +5 to the first extra action after the first two (which is essentially giving them an extra action).
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  4. #4
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    The +1 action thing is straight out of the Narrator's Guide.
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    Beyond the Final Frontier: CODA Star Trek RPG Support

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Tatterdemalion King View Post
    The +1 action thing seems weird. Since you can have any number of actions of either kind per round, that means that the first penalty can apply on the fifth action, if we assume a hard and fast difference between standard and movement actions in CODA. Sure, the character sheets look a little like d20, but it's not that similar...

    I suggest giving them a bonus to movement checks, and/or a +5 to the first extra action after the first two (which is essentially giving them an extra action).
    As patrick said, +1 action is straight from the NG section on Creatures.

    Also, you can normally take up to two actions in a round without penalty (barring any edges or professional abilities changing that number). This allows the Edosian to take three. As for "standard and movement" actions, those terms don't really apply. Unlike D20, CODA doesn't specify the type of actions you can take in a round...
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  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Burke View Post
    This allows the Edosian to take three. As for "standard and movement" actions, those terms don't really apply. Unlike D20, CODA doesn't specify the type of actions you can take in a round...
    Yeah, it's the phrasing that's unusual, which seems to be a problem even in the NG. Even weirder, it says "Standard (non-combat) action," which means they can't shoot with it? Also, it implies that +1 action isn't just giving them an extra action, it's pushing back the stacking penalties, so their sixth action is only at -15.

    I think you've stumbled onto something that needs an errata : P
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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Burke View Post
    Also, you can normally take up to two actions in a round without penalty (barring any edges or professional abilities changing that number). This allows the Edosian to take three. As for "standard and movement" actions, those terms don't really apply. Unlike D20, CODA doesn't specify the type of actions you can take in a round...
    The way I read that (and I could be wrong) was that the third arm would allow the Edosian a third action for free. I also read it that the leg would allow a fourth free action if that action was a movement action (sort of like some of the professional abilities allow conditional extra actions, like the soldier's Lightning Strike ability).

    So yeah, he gets three standard actions per round for free...plus a fourth freebie if it's a movement action. As I read it, anyway. Might be wrong; wouldn't be the first time. But it seems wrong to me not to give them that considering each extra limb cost 5 advancement picks....
    Patrick Goodman -- Tilting at Windmills

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    Beyond the Final Frontier: CODA Star Trek RPG Support

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    Quote Originally Posted by The Tatterdemalion King View Post
    Yeah, it's the phrasing that's unusual, which seems to be a problem even in the NG. Even weirder, it says "Standard (non-combat) action," which means they can't shoot with it? Also, it implies that +1 action isn't just giving them an extra action, it's pushing back the stacking penalties, so their sixth action is only at -15.

    I think you've stumbled onto something that needs an errata : P
    Perhaps. I'll look into it one of these days.
    Patrick Goodman -- Tilting at Windmills

    "I dare you to do better." -- Captain Christopher Pike

    Beyond the Final Frontier: CODA Star Trek RPG Support

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by PGoodman13 View Post
    The way I read that (and I could be wrong) was that the third arm would allow the Edosian a third action for free. I also read it that the leg would allow a fourth free action if that action was a movement action (sort of like some of the professional abilities allow conditional extra actions, like the soldier's Lightning Strike ability).
    This raises interesting questions about how he walks...

    So yeah, he gets three standard actions per round for free...plus a fourth freebie if it's a movement action. As I read it, anyway. Might be wrong; wouldn't be the first time. But it seems wrong to me not to give them that considering each extra limb cost 5 advancement picks....
    Well, it does say "Prehensile Limb" in the NG. I think that means the third leg is free and doesn't need a pick to represent it if you don't want to.

    I was looking at pictures of Arex and I realized he looks kind of like a grown-up ET.
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  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Tatterdemalion King View Post
    Well, it does say "Prehensile Limb" in the NG. I think that means the third leg is free and doesn't need a pick to represent it if you don't want to.
    I'm thinking it's just a lousy choice of name for the ability, since it specifies limbs aiding in locomotion, and there's a couple of critters in Creatures that I seem to remember having "Prehensile Limb" for legs. I need to go unbury that book from the landslide that is my office one of these days in my copious unstructured free time....
    Patrick Goodman -- Tilting at Windmills

    "I dare you to do better." -- Captain Christopher Pike

    Beyond the Final Frontier: CODA Star Trek RPG Support

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by PGoodman13 View Post
    I'm thinking it's just a lousy choice of name for the ability, since it specifies limbs aiding in locomotion, and there's a couple of critters in Creatures that I seem to remember having "Prehensile Limb" for legs. I need to go unbury that book from the landslide that is my office one of these days in my copious unstructured free time....
    I don't know, man, I haven't looked at that thing in years. Anyway, I was wondering how the third leg added an extra movement action–does that mean they're faster? Do they hop like kangaroos? Are they more stable when they walk?
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  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by PGoodman13 View Post
    So yeah, he gets three standard actions per round for free...plus a fourth freebie if it's a movement action. As I read it, anyway. Might be wrong; wouldn't be the first time. But it seems wrong to me not to give them that considering each extra limb cost 5 advancement picks....
    That works for me...
    Former Decipher RPG Net Rep

    "Doug, at the keyboard, his fingers bleeding" (with thanks to Moriarti)

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  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Burke View Post
    That works for me...
    Maybe the species ability could be edited to describe it that way?
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  14. #14
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    I've been thinking of not paying for the extra leg, and losing the extra move action it allegedly confers, because they weren't shown as being able to move any faster than a human could. That would save me 5 picks (I don't think you have to pay for something that doesn't do anything besides serve as window dressing).

    The arm stays paid for because, well, it does something.

    I'm considering giving them some sort of mild bonus to staying balanced and upright because of their third leg. Does that sound reasonable to anyone?
    Patrick Goodman -- Tilting at Windmills

    "I dare you to do better." -- Captain Christopher Pike

    Beyond the Final Frontier: CODA Star Trek RPG Support

  15. #15
    Stuff like ignoring negative situational modifiers for terrain?
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