To Seek Out New Lifeforms...

[Michael Barratt]

There were dozens and dozens of aliens, creatures, and new species discovered during the runs of TOS, TNG, DS9 and Voyager (and also, one assumes, Enterprise will likewise discover some "new" species). I'm a big fan of returning to species we meet during the tv shows as a way to both give a sense of place to the Federation ("Gosh, I remember the Brekkans! Uh-oh, weren't they the ones that could zap you with their fingers?"), and to play catch-up with species that were likely left in a new-growth state from the episode in which they appeared.

ANYway, I figured a thread on said species involving templates might be in order. The TrekRPG site has a bunch, and I've sure perused them, but I'm thinking of more "they were on the show" aliens, species, and critters.

I'll post hereafter...

The Doc

[Michael Barratt]

Here's a rough take on the Brekkans...

Brekkan

Once the drug-dealers in a symbiotic relationship with the Onarans, Brekkans had a harsh reality to face after the interaction of their peoples with the USS Enterprise-D left them stranded on their own worlds. Brekkans, a somewhat hedonistic race who had allowed the Onarans to be the worker class of their star system for decades, found themselves scrambling to figure out how to do anything other then refine their previous "Felicium" - the drug they'd used to enslave the Onarans.

The Brekkans got an even harsher wake-up call when the Onarans lived through their withdrawl symptoms, and found that clear-headed, it didn't take them long to re-establish their space-capabilities. The Brekkans were invaded by the Onarans, and quickly became a subjugated race that is being forced to make reparations to the Onaran culture.

Attributes
Fitness 2 [5]
- Vitality +1
Coordination 2 [5]
Intellect 2 [5]
- Perception +1
Presence 2 [5]
Psi 0 [5]

Skills
Artistic Expression (Choose Specalization) 1 (2)
Charm (Influence) 1 (2)
Culture (Brekkan) 2 (3)
History (Brekkan) 1 (2)
Languages: Brekkan 2
Persuasion (Oratory) 1 (2)
World Knowledge (Brekka) 1 (2)

Typical Advantaves/Disadvantages
Energy Manipulation (special, worth about +4 or so)*, Species Enemy (Onarans; -3), Likely also Vengeful (Federation; -2) - balance this off with two points worth of advantages.

Notes
As time goes on, the Brekkans are likely to see their skill selections changing - they are being forced to work for the first time, with less time for their artistic and semi-hedonistic pursuits, and as such, they're going to be subject to change. As a people, they are now being punished, and there is likely starvation, ruin, and all the other horrors of the economic collapse, and later invasion of Brekka..

It is worthy of note that as people learn of the Brekkan and Onaran struggles, outsiders may become involved. Indeed, the Orion Syndicate would love to get its hands on a group of Brekkans willing to use thier electric attacks at their behest. Most Brekkans have a growing hatred of the Federation, who left them in this situation.

* Brekkans (and, in fact, Onarans) can affect electrical energy with their touch, producing a charge from their bodies that they use in grappling and attack. Their ability grants them extra resistance to energy based attacks (including that of phasors): one extra resistance vs. energy attacks per two points of regular resistance, and also grants them a general resistance to low-level energy and radiation. As an attack, the Brekkan needs to make a successful hand-to-hand attack as per usual, upon which they can choose to use electrical based damage instead of physical damage: 1+1d6 per bodily resistance of the Brekkan (thus, a Brekkan with Fitness 3 and Vitality +2 could manage to deal 5+5d6 points of damage with this ability on a succesful strike). This total is, however, lowered by 1+1d6 per wound level the Brekkan currently experiences, reflecting the bodily difficulty of channeling such energy attacks while hurt. This ability was born of their systems naturally high levels of radiation.

The Doc

[Michael Barratt]

Onarans

The once long-time victims of an extended "symbiosis" of drug dealing with the Brekkans, the Onarans found themselves without a method of gaining new supply of the drug they believed would temporarily cure them from their 'plague' after the intervention of the USS Enterprise-D. Left alone on their planet, they suffered horrible withdrawal pains - and did not die. As the weeks went by, and their society was rocked by the effects of drug withdrawal, they realized what had happened to them - there was no longer a plague, they had been, for all intents and purposes, changed into a production race enslaved by the Brekkans to provide the Brekkans with whatever they wanted, in return for the Felicium.

They took time to rebuild - and to help those of their people who didn't recover as well from the addiction as others (indeed, many just switched to new substances), and over time, they restored their capablilites to move between planets. Their ships, patchwork at best, allowed them to arrive on the similarly-confused Brekkan homeworld, and they demanded reparations.

None were made, and the Onaran's launched an offensive. It didn't take long, the more technically-minded Onarans swarmed the Brekkan world, imposed an order, and treat them as badly as they themselves were treated. From there, contact has been made with a variety of space-faring races, most notably the Orion Syndicate and the Ferengi, making the Onarans a slowly-growing presence in space.

Attributes
Fitness 2 [5]
- Vitality +1
Coordination 2 [5]
Intellect 2 [5]
Presence 2 [5]
- Empathy +1
- Willpower -1
Psi 0 [5]

Skills
Any Engineering Skill (Choose Specialization) 1 (2)
Craft (Choose Specialization) 2 (3)
Culture (Onaran) 2 (3)
History (Onaran) 1 (2)
Languages: Onaran 2
World Knowledge (Onara) 1 (2)

Typical Advantaves/Disadvantages
Energy Manipulation (special, worth about +4 or so)*, Species Enemy (Brekkans; -3), Quite a few Onarans also have an addiction disadvantage to substances including Felicium and substances other than Felicium.

* Onarans (and, in fact, Brekkans) can affect electrical energy with their touch, producing a charge from their bodies that they use in grappling and attack. Their ability grants them extra resistance to energy based attacks (including that of phasors): one extra resistance vs. energy attacks per two points of regular resistance, and also grants them a general resistance to low-level energy and radiation. As an attack, the Onaran needs to make a successful hand-to-hand attack as per usual, upon which they can choose to use electrical based damage instead of physical damage: 1+1d6 per bodily resistance of the Brekkan (thus, an Onaran with Fitness 3 and Vitality +2 could manage to deal 5+5d6 points of damage with this ability on a succesful strike). This total is, however, lowered by 1+1d6 per wound level the Brekkan currently experiences, reflecting the bodily difficulty of channeling such energy attacks while hurt. This ability was born of their systems naturally high levels of radiation.

[Michael Barratt]

J'Naii

The J'Naii are an androgynous race whose society has evolved into a genderless society. While they have a pronoun that is used within their own language, "he" or "she" is not considered correct, and "it" is impolite. (Narrator's note: borrowing from Peter David's words for the Hermats, in our campaign we use s'he, or, spoken sh-he, and hir.).

J'Naii are not a physically imposing race, and tend to be slender and shorter than human averages of both genders. They are at heart as passionate as human beings, which often suprises outsiders, who expect them to be emotionless as well as genderless. They are quite creative, have a variety of dances of great intricacy, and are consummate scientists.

Attributes
Fitness 2 [5]
- Strength -1
Coordination 2 [5]
- Dexterity +1
Intellect 2 [5]
- Perception +1
Presence 2 [5]
Psi 0 [5]

Skills
Any Science 1 (2)
Artistic Expression (Choose Specialization) 2 (3)
Culture (J'Naii) 2 (3)
History (J'Naii) 1 (2)
Language - J'Naii 2
World Knowledge (J'Naii) 1 (2)

* Note: Some J'Naii have gender, which makes them an outcast in their soceity, and they undergo psycho-tectic treatments to remove this "perversity." As a result, any gendered J'Naii in hiding also gains: Dark Secret (-3), and Streetwise (J'Naii) 1 (2) in order to make contact with others of their subpopulation.

The Doc

[Xylor]

Nice idea Mr. Barratt!
When I'll get some free time I will post some of my species templates I used in my campaigns.
Let's get back to creativity, let's get back to gaming!

[Michael Barratt]

This isn't one of the races from the various series, indeed, I'm not complete with it yet, but...

Aeuclan

A race with limited vocal capabilities, and a series of ridges that run from the back of their skull to the small of their back, the Aeuclan are a species who are born with access to the memories of some of their ancestors. They tend to form "family lines" of deep echoing potentials - one family lineage devoted to science, for example, or another devoted to medicine. It is rare to find an Aeuclan child that does not follow in the footsteps of one of his parents and that parents' family.

All Aeuclans also partake in a familial weaving - artful, but storytelling, beautiful hangings and weavings of the story of their family lines. They are quite complex.

Having only recently developed warp drive, the Aeuclans find the alien races of the galaxy to be disconcerting - they make the same mistakes over and over, and never seem to learn from history. For easily understood reasons, Starfleet has sent joined trill diplomats to ease the way to the stars for the Aeuclans.

Attributes
Fitness 2
Coordination 2
- Dexterity +1
Intellect 2
- Perception +1
Presence 2
Psi 0

Skills
Any Science 1 (2)
Artistic Expression (Weaving) 1 (2)
Culture (Aeuclan) 2 (3)
History (Aeuclan) 2 (3)
Languages - Aeuclan Semi-Signing 2 *
World Knowledge (Aeuclan Homeworld) 1 (2)

Much like Trill, Aeuclan individuals have access to skills from the lives of their family line. Basically, a Aeuclan, upon reaching puberty, gains access to the memories of one of his parents, and potentially others of that family line, one per generation (such as: his mother, his mother's father, his mother's grandmother, etc).

When a Aeuclan reaches the appropriate age, roll 1d6. This is the number of individuals' memories, one per generation previous to the child, to which the child has access. Select three skills per individual, just as Trill previous hosts select skills, with the same effects and costs for raising skills to 1 or higher.

It is important to note that the Aeuclan only gains memories up to the time that each individual passed their genetic material onward to the next generation: ie: the Aeuclan only gains memories of his mother (or father) up to the time of conception, not thereafter. Same for his grandparents, etc. Mature Aeuclans most often have the wisdom of many childhoods and young adulthoods and early adult life to draw on, but rare is the Aeuclan who has memories from an ancestor that go further than 30-35 years or so into their lifetime.

These memories are stored in the cranial/spinal ridges, and any attacks coming from behind the Aeuclan have a chance of hitting those ridges and causing significant brain damage to the memories and/or their retreival. The memory ridges have a resistance of only 2 beyond any armor worn to protect them, regardless of the regular resistance of the individual Aeuclan.

* The Aeuclan do have enough of a vocal range that they can have basic conversations, their true nuances and emotive capabilities of language only occur when speaking with signs as well. Verbally, they're capable of simple sentances such as: "I have good-feeling about you," but with signs, this turns into everything from, "You inspire trust in me," to "I love you deeply."

[Perrryyy]

I like what you've done here so far. Unfortunately, I'm not all that creative, but I'll take a shot at something later. I keep hoping that Don's species creation book will be out sooner rather than later. After that happens, watch out!

Keep up the good work!

[Michael Barratt]

Etaram

A race with great psionic potential, the Etaram are slender, graceful humanoids with an average height similar to human averages, but with less variation. Their colouring tends to be pale, except for the palms of their hands, feet, and their eyelids, which tend to be naturally pigmented with colours ranging throughout the purple-red-orange spectrum. Though somewhat frailer of body than humans, their psionic grasp on the world around them more than makes up for their "softer" nature.

Attributes
Fitness 1
- Vitality +1
Coordination 2
- Dexterity +1
Intellect 2
Presence 2
Psi 2
- Focus +1

Skills
Any Science 1 (2)
Culture (Etaram) 2 (3)
History (Etaram) 1 (2)
Languages - Etaram 2
Telekinesis 2 *
World Knowledge (Etara) 1 (2)

Typical Advantages/Disadvantages
Slow Healing (-2), Multitasking (+1) **

Etaram took a very long time to develop warp drive. As a society, although they were quite scientifically bent, they had a lack of tool development throughout their history. In a society where the mind is capable of lifting and moving things, this is perhaps not surprising. As time went by, however, and upward limits were reached with telekinetic abilities, some of the future-minded Etaram began to develop tools, and eventually, space travel.

Etaram has a history burdened by many conflicts. While all Etaram are telekinetic, skill and power with the psionic ability vary, and more than one dark chapter of Etaram history was written by the psionically strong overpowering the weak. While most of this history is just that - history - there are still those who feel wronged by the various clans or countries in Etaram's past.

The Etaram senate has been slow to formally ally with any particular race. They are somewhat removed from the immediate areas of most galactic powers, and tend to be isolationist in governmental policy. They simply don't trust the larger, stronger, species that make up the vast majority of the alpha and beta quadrants. That said, they do have good relations with both Ferengi traders and the Federation Merchant Marine.

* Etaram telekinetic abilities are a gift of the race, and tend to grow with the individual. Usually, after reaching the third level of accomplishment with the skill, most Etaram also develop the Telekinetic Manipulation skill as well.

** Etaram "multitasking" is a very specific sort: they can engage in an additional intellectual act per round with no penalties, as normal, but only when the original act is a telekinetic one. Hence the lowered cost for the advantage.

The Doc

[Michael Barratt]

Okay, from now on, when I add to this thread, I'm going to make sure I do the following:

Name the Race,
Attributes,
Skills,
Advantages/Disadvantages,
Description and brief planetary overview...
and
an adventure seed (or two) based on said race.

But, to backtrack for the races already mentioned:

Brekkan
A small piracy group seems to be managing to strip traders of their wares without actually damaging the ships at all. It turns out that it is a group of Brekkans who escaped Brekka by joining up with the Orion Syndicate, and they're now posing as a damaged ship, being beamed off for safety by unknowing passing trade ships, and then killing or subduing the crew of the trading vessels with their electrical generation abilities. Crew sent to investigate, and stop these attacks.

Onarans
Contacting the Federation for the first time since the Enterprise-D broke them from their horrible addiction to felicium, the Onarans wish to create some trade/treaty pacts with the Federation Merchant Marine, and the crew is sent to investigate. Ferengi, Orion, and other races are also present, as a planet suddenly cured of addiction and capable of providing all the needs of another class-M society is a rich prize...

J'Naii
The discovery of a new race that is also androgynous has a group of J'Naii diplomats/first contact specialists among the crew while en route to the first formal meetings with this new race. The J'Naii on board start to develop gender en route - is it a virus? A regression? An act of genetic terrorism from a rival who wishes to foul the formal meetings with the Federation?

Aeuclan
An Aeuclan shaman, an individual who is genetically atypical among the Aeuclan peoples in that he has a complete ancestral memory line that goes back many many generations, not just five or six, is aboard the crews ship helping them to uncover a strange archeological mystery - one of his ancient ancestors remembers visiting "sky-gods" that seem similar to ruins found on a variety of worlds - ruins that are slowly becoming active again. Are these "sky-gods" friends, or foes?

Etaram
A very powerfully gifted telekinetic youth has been kidnapped from the Etaram homeworld, and shortly thereafter, telekinetic asassinations occur in rapid succession. The crew must find out who is behind the kidnapping, how the child is being coerced (mind control? drugs? threats?), and rescue the child before more deaths occur.

That is all!

The Doc

[Michael Barratt]

An idea I had watching - of all things - "Earth: Final Conflict."

Ur'Vasan

A telepathic race that was once quite an advanced species with technology just shy of real interstellar travel (they had early warp engines, but nothing further than warp three), they suddenly suffered a governmental collapse, dropped into anarchy over the space of a generation, and ever since, the whole system has been declared off-limits. Their cities lie in near-ruins, each one home to various gangs and leaders of almost feudal territorial dictators. Violence rules, and it is not really known why.

The reality is this: a movement formed in the race to free their souls from their earthly bodies. And it succeeded. Unfortunately, the bodies lived on, and the people, en masse suddenly feeling nothing from each other telepathically, declined into barbarism pretty quickly as more and more of them "Evolved" to a new plane of being. The irony is that their "souls," really just telepathic duplicates of their original being, are still all around them, but unable to make contact due to the neurological changes that the physical bodies underwent during this migration.

Now, the physical forms call themselves Ur'Vasan, which basically means "Soulless Ones." They have nearly no connection to each other, feel they are nothing but flesh doomed to die and rot, and it is a place where strength rules and groups band together for survival.

Attributes
Fitness 2 [5]
- Vitality +1
Coordination 2 [5]
- Reaction +1
Intellect 2 [5]
Presence 2 [5]
- Empathy -2
Psi 0 [0]

Skills
Culture (Ur'Vasan) 2 (3)
History (Ur'Vasan) 1 (2)
Languages: Vasanic 2
Planetary Survival (Choose Specialization) 1 (2)
Primitive Weaponry (Knife) 1 (2)
Stealth (Choose Specialization) 1 (2)
World Knowledge (Vasan III) 1 (2)

Typical Advantages/Disadvantages
Telepathic Resistance (+4) (though they certainly don't consider it an advantage).

The physical form that was left when the Vasan moved on is a fairly hardy body, humanoid in appearance, with deep tan to dark brown skin, black hair, and eyes of a striking hue somewhere between violet and green. They have vestigal spines that run along both forearms, and their calves, and down their spine as well. These spines used to be aid in climbing and in physical defense, and serve neither purpose.

Depending on the particular gang the Ur'Vasan belongs to, their dress, attitude, training, abilities and health will vary.

Vasan

The Vasan, however, did not die, their telepathic transformation did in fact occur. It's just that the telepathic presence, in leaving hte physical form, changed the brain of the physical form in some way that left it telepathically inactive (and psi-blank). The Vasan, freed of physical form, collected in telepathic colonies far up in the magnetosphere, where they seemed drawn and seemed to gather sustenance, and rejoiced. It was not until later that they realized their telepathic evolution left their physical forms behind, but unable to communicate with the Ur'Vasan, the Vasan could do nothing but watch, noncoporeal, as who they were degenerated into barbarism. Now, with every birth, the Vasan arrive within days to pull the telepathic personality from newborns so they need not suffer in the horrible society that the Ur'Vasan would otherwise offer the child, raising the child's telepathic soul up in the magnetosphere.

Attributes
Fitness N/A
Coordination N/A (2, Reaction +1 for purposes of Initiative)
Intellect 2 [6]
- Perception +1
Presence 2 [6]
- Empathy +2
Psi 2 [6]
- Focus +2

Skills
Culture (Vasan) 2 (3)
History (Vasan) 1 (2)
Language - Vasanic 2 *
Projective Telepathy 2
Receptive Telepathy 2
World Knowledge (Vasan III) 1 (2)

Typical Advantages/Disadvantages
Psionically Gifted (+3), Guilt (-2)

As noncorporeal entities, the Vasan have no bodies, and cannot affect the world around them. Any other skills they know are either from their previous life as physical forms (they kept their memories), or are skills learned while bodiless, and are likely to suffer in the translation to physical reality if communicated. One thing is common, however, and that is the sense of guilt the Vasan feel over their coporeal "ancestors." Many feel they have abandoned their bodies to live in horror, and wish there was a way to fix the damage done to the bodies in transition. However, from their current state, there is not.

* Telepathic only, as a noncoporeal race, the Vasan cannot communicate out loud.

Adventure Seed
A Napean ship travelling past the Vasan system feels a terrible call to investigate the Vasan planet, even though it is off-limits. When they arrive in orbit, a feudal Ur'Vasan lord from below with access to technology blasts at their ship, and they crash land. The crew is sent to rescue the Napeans, but once there will find that the Napeans have all been "possessed" by Vasan, who are trying to make things right with the Ur'Vasan. Can the crew save the Napeans, survive the Ur'Vasan, and maybe, just maybe, begin the steps toward healing the Vasan/Ur'Vasan rift?

The Doc

[Diamond]

Michael Barratt, that's a GREAT plot! Pathos, resolvable by intelligence but leaving room for action, useable in any era... perfectly in theme with Star Trek. Thanks.

[Michael Barratt]

Originally posted by Diamond
Michael Barratt, that's a GREAT plot! Pathos, resolvable by intelligence but leaving room for action, useable in any era... perfectly in theme with Star Trek. Thanks.

You're gonna make me blush!

Seriously, thank you. It's always really a nice boost to hear that an idea I've had is worthwhile to someone. As someone said on another thread (and I whole-heartedly agree), we rarely compliment, and often criticize.

If you use the idea, let me know.

The Doc

[Michael Barratt]

From a toss-away line from Jean-Luc Picard in "Lessons." (TNG)

Kerelian

A race of humanoids with a keen sense of hearing that has turned them into musicians of incredible talent, the Kerelians are known for their tenors, their stunning compositions, and for musical pieces of exceptional quality.

Attributes
Fitness 2 [5]
Coordination 2 [5]
- Dexterity +1
Intellect 2 [5]
- Perception +1
Presence 2 [5]
Psi 0 [5]

Skills
Any Science (Choose Specialization) 1 (2)
Artistic Expression (Musical Instrument or Singing) 2 (3)
Culture (Kerelian) 2 (3)
History (Kerelian) 1 (2)
Languages: Kerelian 2
World Knowledge (Kerelia) 1 (2)

Typical Advantages/Disadvantages
Excellent Sense of Hearing (+2), Sense of Time (+1)

Kerelians tend to look typically humanoid, though they have larger, shell-shaped ears, about the size of a vulcan, which have a series of membranes within that account for their incredible hearing ability. They tend to vary in height as much as humans do, have varying skin tones much like humans, but their hair is nearly always a start, snow white, which loses its shine with age. Their eyes have the somewhat startling appearance of being somewhere on the scale of yellow, orange-yellow, or orange scale of colour.

Kerelians also have a particularly impressive ability to keep track of time, a skill they say comes from being able to hear the natural rythms of the world around them, and those of their own bodies.
Kerelian wedding ceremonies involve a fairly simple drum-beat mantra, while the two getting married use meditation to put their heartbeats in synch with the music and each other.

Kerelians tend to do well with the sciences, and have a strong series of universities on their homeworld. They are somewhat quiet, rarely raising their voices (and not really needing to), and find the "clash and clamour" of most humanoids frustrating. Kerelian engineers are somewhat prized, their ability to detect imperfections in systems through listening to the sounds around them is not undervalued by most captains. Likewise, in the early days of the Federation, a Kerelian communications officer was another highly valued commodity.

The Doc

[Perrryyy]

How about Gargoyles (ala the TV cartoon) for a species? How would you work out the "sleep during the day, awake during the night" for a species like that?

[Michael Barratt]

Originally posted by Perrryyy
How about Gargoyles (ala the TV cartoon) for a species? How would you work out the "sleep during the day, awake during the night" for a species like that?

Hrm. Nightly hibernation, maybe. They could be a species with a high metabolism, who have to have five or six major meals per day to keep up with their own systems, but at night fall into hibernation or they'd starve to death (like Hummingbirds).

Unless you really wanted a "secrete a stone shell through their skin at the sight of a star" type aliens...

The Doc