How's this for a new alien species? [SB619 players, this is another no-read]
My thread asking for help creating a new Alien Threat for the Starbase 619 game was not very forthcoming with info, so I sat down and created one myself rather than waiting for advice... and I'm pretty proud of what I've created. So here goes nothing...
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THE SHAU'KRI
Physical Description: The Shau'kri are a humanoid species with pale white or tan skin with tails, and brightly colored hair that can be normal "human" colors, green, purple, pink or just about anything else on the spectrum. Their eyes are almost always darkly colored. They tend to be very thin and on the short side in terms of height.
Homeworld: Shau'kriaarn, a once-Class M planet beyond the Cardassian Frontier.
Culture/Description: The Shau'kri are a proud an ancient civilization that has existed for a length comparable to that of the Bajoran and Cardassian peoples. They achieved warp drive about 500 years ago. Their civilization made great advances in space travel afterwards.
When they first began to explore space, the Shau'kri were a peaceful, benevolent culture that explored the galaxy with as much the same goals as the Federation does now: to make contact with other species and establish peaceful diplomacy and trade with them. However, their early first contacts with other races went extremely badly. The species they contacted were not so noble-minded, and saw in the Shau'kri only a weak race of pacifists whose ships did not even carry weapons. They launched immediate raids and open war on the Shau'kri.
This resulted in a radical upheaval of Shau'krian civilization. The Shau'kri slowly turned away from their ideals of peace. They armed their ships to the teeth, and became obsessed with defense of their homeworld and colonies. The surface of Shau'kri was completely devastated and flooded with radiation by planetary bombardment from another alien race, and the Shau'kri moved underground.
The Shau'kri now have an irrational, paranoid fear of other species that makes species such as the Malcorians and the Tholians (also known for xenophobic tendencies) look friendly and welcoming by comparison. The Shau'kri treat every species they meet as an enemy intent on destroying them, often launching preemptive strikes on those they perceive as making even the slightest threatening move.
This paranoia filters down to every level of their society. Although Shau'krian government is a democracy, citizens have restricted personal rights: they are subject to interrogation, surveillance by Counterintelligence, and so forth, without protection by law. Although peoples such as Humans consider this unjust and an invasion of privacy, a Shau'krian who rejects this system is very rare indeed: they are taught that utmost security and total control by government is the only thing preventing their civilization from falling overnight at the hands of their "enemies."
The Shau'krian Counterintelligence Agency is the largest single organization on their homeworld.
Their fleets are vast and huge, and their commanders are given the Shau'krian equivalent of a General Order #1: when meeting a new alien species, they are required to complete a detailed report to send to Shau'krian Fleet Command describing the potential threat posed by the new race, no matter how peaceful the contact goes. Shau'krian ships are small but heavily armed. They tend to use large racks of missiles similar to the original torpedoes used in the 22nd century on Starfleet's original NX-class ships, but with a lot more power. This means that their weapons are more powerful than those of the Federation, but they have limited ammunition- if a ship can survive until a Shau'krian ship runs out of missiles, it will win the day without question.
EDIT NOTE: Disregard the part about the missiles. As Owen points out below, it would be hard for them to measure up to the power of Federation starships with that kind of weaponry, so they tend to use pulse phasers similar to those used on Defiant-class ships, and photon torpedoes.
Language: Shau'kriaan.
Common Names: Shau'kriaan names tend to be gender-neutral; both men and women often have the same names. A curious Shau'krian custom is that it is considered good luck for a man and a woman who have the same first name to be wed. Example first names include: Kharialn, Shijall, Miursam, Krintall, Payevraein.
Family named follows similar linguistic characteristics.
Favored Profession: Soldier. Having been on a war footing since their initial journeys into the galaxy, the Shau'kri likely to be off their homeworld are almost exclusively soldiers.
Species Adjustments: +1 Perception, +1 Agility, -1 Strength, -1 Presence. Shau'kri are agile and alert, but their small frames make them weak, and their suspicion of outsiders makes them less diplomatic and persuasive than other species.
Species Abilities:
Bonus Edge: Alert. Shau'kri are particularly adept at reacting to danger.
Musical: The Shau'kri still retain their rich, ancient culture, despite their military-mindedness. The preferred Shau'kri art form is by far, music. Shau'kri receive a +2 bonus on Tests related to music, such as Perform checks with singing or musical instruments, or to test their knowledge of music. An interesting cultural note is that Shau'kri do not make recordings of their music as do other species: the beauty of a musician's performance is considered too beautiful and singular to be reproduced; each performance must be "live" and thereore be a unique experience each time.
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So there we have it! What do you all think? Ideas, suggestions, things to add?
BTW, this comment will hopefully not turn this into a political thread, but this species was inspired by my own personal fears about what I see our own society rapidly turning into, with its obsession with "protection from terrorism" and "internal security" in the day and age we live in. Just a note on my inspiration that I thought you might find interesting.
[b]
Last edited by erhershman; 03-04-2003 at 06:27 PM.
"Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens."
-Gimli, son of Gloin (The Fellowship of the Ring)
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