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Thread: Caitians for Coda

  1. #1
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    Caitians for Coda

    As promised, now that I have the Narrator's Guide in my hands (and it is sweet fellas, excellent work!), I will represent the Caitians, Axanari and Tiburonese. I will also provide the "picks" breakdown for the abilities.

    The Caitians as I present them are based on my description of the race, as presented on the TrekRPG website.
    ---------------------------------------------
    Caitians
    Caitians are graceful, cat-like humanoids who inhabit the lush jungle world of Cait. Having few primal competitors or predators, Caitians developed an aesthetic lifestyle and unified early in their history.

    Description: Caitians stand slightly shorter than most humans, but weigh about the same as a human of their height. They have lion-like heads, replete with rounded ears, a ridged snout and long whiskers on their upper "lip."

    Caitian fur colorings are as varied as human felines (large and small). Their tails are not prehensile, but they do figure prominently in Caitian emotional expression -- the felinoids mirror their Terran cousins in their mannerisms (i.e., ear positions, tail movement, subtle body language, few facial expressions). Caitian tails are about 60 percent as long as a cat is tall.

    Languages: Caitian, Federation Standard

    Preferred Professions: Any. Caitian interests are broad and diverse, and favored professions are often determined by a Caitian's clan. Many Caitians gravitate toward the Starfleet Officer profession to satisfy their wanderlust and curiosity.

    Attribute Modifiers: +2 Agility, -1 Intellect, -1 Presence. Caitians are naturally graceful, but sometimes come across as aloof and simplistic in their views of the world.

    Species Abilities
    Cat's Grace: Caitians receive a +1 to all Quickness tests, and an additional +2 to all dodge tests (total of +3 reaction on Dodge tests).

    Natural Weapons -- Claws: Caitians have sharp retractable claws on their hands and feet. The claws cause an additional 1d6 damage in unarmed combat. Caitians also receive +1 to Unarmed Combat tests with their natural weaponry.

    Traditional Weapons: Part of the Caitian artistic tradition includes a personal combat style similar to Terran fencing. This style focuses on the "Rakun" (which is also the name of the style), a matched pair of a thin rapier-like sword (rakgr'n) and a dagger (raksir) that is often concealed in the fur of a Caitian's forearm. All Caitians receive training in these national weapons, earning a rank of 1 in the Armed Combat skill Rakun.

    Bonus Edge -- Night Vision: Caitians have superior night vision, and receive the edge at no cost.

    Bonus Flaw -- Reckless: Caitians tend to jump in where angels fear to tread.

    Artistic: Caitians have a long and glorious aesthetic tradition. As such, they receive a +1 bonus to all Craft or Entertain tests (choose one).

    Editors Note: I play a Caitian character in a FFRPG, where I've extensively developed the race's culture. I've added a little warrior-poet mentality to the race, furthering their romantic view of the galaxy (contributing to their -1 Intellect and explaining the presence of their national weapons). I've also produced the Caitian language, which includes a limited vocabulary and even drawings of Caitian letter and number symbology. Feel free to talk to me offline about it.

    Point breakdown -- Attributes: 0. Cat's Grace: 9 (combines 2 applications of the Evasion ability and +1 quickness). Night Vision: 2. Reckless: -2. Artistic: 2. Natural Weapons: 3. Traditional Caitian Weapons: 2. Total Picks: 16.
    Last edited by Sea Tyger; 12-28-2009 at 03:38 PM. Reason: Fixing a typo
    Davy Jones

    "Frightened? My dear, you are looking at a man who has laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe! I was petrified."
    -- The Wizard of Oz

  2. #2
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    Re: Caitians for Coda

    Looks nice, make sure you submit it to Don when he's taking Coda stuff for the main site!

    Originally posted by Sea Tyger
    This is the first of three races I'll present to the board. I will post the Axanari and Tiburonese later. Of course, this is only a temporary take, as I will rework each race when I receive the NG.
    The Caitians are probably the most important of those three, as officially they are not a canon race, being from the Animated Trek. It is possible Axanari and Tibuornese will appear in the Aliens book, although I can see a need for them before then, since some people are running PC's...

    On the TAS front, anyone planning on doing the Edoans or Kzinti?
    Jon

    "There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea is asleep and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song.
    Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do."
    THE DOCTOR, "Survival" (Doctor Who)

  3. #3
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    Edited and bumped. I updated the Caitian template using the NG rules.
    Davy Jones

    "Frightened? My dear, you are looking at a man who has laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe! I was petrified."
    -- The Wizard of Oz

  4. #4
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    Just a short question: Are the Rakun a standard sword and dagger from the rulebooks or are there any differences in damage and/or parry modifier?

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    Caitian Rakun
    The Rakun, or "matched pair," is the traditional weapon of the Caitians. The two blades, called the rakgr'n and raksir, are forged from the same piece of steel, separated, then shaped into the sword-and-dagger combination that forms the core of the Caitian fencing art of Rakun.

    Rakun hilts are always inlaid with a stone or wood that identifies the owner's clan. Members of Clan Fekiista Kalir (Karlinarsti's clan), for instance, can be identified by their flint-handled Rakun. Honored offworlders are allowed to have a sword made, using a jade-like stone that is native to Cait.

    Rakgr'n
    Specifications: 75-80 cm long, 1.5 kg
    Description: A traditional Caitian fencing weapon, the rakgr'n is often seen matched with a raksir.
    Parry Modifier: -1 (+2 when used in conjunction with a raksir in the Rakun fencing art)
    Damage: 2d6+2

    Raksir
    Specifications: 20-23 cm long, 0.1 kg
    Description: A traditional Caitian fencing weapon, the raksir is the second weapon of the Rakun "matched pair." This weapon is often concealed in the fur of a Caitian's forearm
    Parry Modifier: -2 (+2 when used in conjunction with a raksir in the Rakun fencing art)
    Damage: 1d6+2

    Armed Combat -- Rakun
    Rakun is a fast-moving, flowing art similar to Terran fencing. Always performed with the rakgr'n and raksir (also called the Rakun when used together), the art emphasizes thrusts, feints, parries and ripostes and flourishes of steel and fur that are designed to confuse an opponent's defense. Two Rakun masters engaged in swordplay often appear like a blur to the untrained eye.

    When a Rakun practitioner has both his raksir and rakgr'n free, he receives a +2 parry modifier, instead of the modifiers of the individual weapons.
    Last edited by Sea Tyger; 03-08-2003 at 10:50 AM.
    Davy Jones

    "Frightened? My dear, you are looking at a man who has laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe! I was petrified."
    -- The Wizard of Oz

  6. #6
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    I see you have really put some work into this. Great stuff!

    How about some more info on Caitian culture next? My characters background includes a Caitian roommate from the academy and I always wanted to flesh her out a little more. What you have here might be just the sort of information I would need for that.

    BTW, maybe you can edit the original post again to include an average length for a Caitians tail.

  7. #7
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    You asked, I performed. Got the Caitian tail thing on the original post.

    I'll try to get something out this weekend on Caitian culture.
    Davy Jones

    "Frightened? My dear, you are looking at a man who has laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe! I was petrified."
    -- The Wizard of Oz

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    A Small Treatise on Caitians, Part I

    As I'm writing this in the morning, still trying to wake up, I thought I'd mention that, yes, Caitians have developed a fondness for Terran coffee, and have adapted the word to their language...kafe, anyone?

    Khytanun ta Kayt: The Children of Cait
    The planet Cait offered no real predatory competition for ancient proto-Caitians, which allowed them to concentrate less on survival and more on culture. They developed their civilization early, and nations were forged around the clans on the southern jungles and northern deserts of the tropical world. (Also note that Caitians seriously dislike the cold. They can tolerate it -- hey, they have fur, you know -- but they certainly will avoid it when possible.)

    Their territorial nature produced many conflicts, although Caitian history is also littered with examples of nations uniting to form vast empires that covered the globe under one leader. The last war was fought hundreds of years ago, and have purposefully never been named. The death toll of the war was catastrophic; nearly a third of the population died in the thousand-day-long conflagration.

    The survivors were so devastated by the effects of the war, they immediately began a process that resulted in the unification of the entire planet under a single constitutional monarchy, and in a generation (which is about 15 years on Cait) had brought about a peace that lasts to this day.

    Every one thousand days, Caitians follow a day-long ritual called Uhar Kirokar, the Blood Atonement. It is sometimes called the Day of the Blood Sun, as legend states that the Caitian sun (also called Cait, btw) shone red on the last day of the war, as Mother Cait wept for the loss of so many children.

    On the Blood Atonement, a Caitian is not allowed to eat or speak from sun up to sun down. At sundown, they meet with others where the sunset can be clearly seen and recite a ritual prayer of confession to Mother Cait. Once the sky is completely dark, the clans go home and prepare a spartan meal, always setting an extra plate for their deceased ancestors.

    Government
    Caitian still have the same parliamentary system developed after the last war. The leader of the Royal clan is considered the Head of State, but has few real powers. The government is led by a Prime Minister, who heads the Clans Assembly, but is selected from the ranks of the CA by the monarch (although the assembly has veto power over the Royal selection). Each of the 326 clans are represented in the Assembly, and have one vote each. Clan power is often measured by their influence in the Assembly. Only the monarch can accept or expel clans in the assembly. The procedure involves a lengthy judiciary review to determine the validity of the application or charges.

    Local and Provincial governments follow the same model, with local clans within the region participating in the legislature. A provincial leader is called a Governor, and local leaders are called by a number of titles, depending on local traditions.

    Cait has been a Federation member since 2260, and many Caitians serve in Starfleet both in the TOS and TNG eras.

    Culture
    As I've stated above, Caitians are a peaceful people, bordering on hedonistic, with an often optimistic view of the universe around them. They follow the romantic ideals of "warrior-poets," and many leave Cait to satisfy their innate curiosity and wanderlust.

    Clan ties are all important, as they often determine a Caitian's career and standing in society. (i.e, Members of Clan Fekiista Kalir of Vastayn Province are traditionally engineers and technicians, and are one of the most prominent clans in Starfleet. One Fekiista Kalir clan son was one of the first Caitians in starfleet and served on James Kirk's USS Enterprise in the 2260's and 70's. Originally a security officer, Karlinarsti eventually rose to the rank of Admiral in the 2290's, commanding Starfleet's Frontier Exploration Command at the time of the Enterprise-B incident.)

    Part Two to follow, focusing on Caitian philosophy and physiology, planetary geology and system astrography, and a quick look at a day in the life in the capital city of Rorgr'zz.
    Last edited by Sea Tyger; 11-30-2007 at 11:01 AM.
    Davy Jones

    "Frightened? My dear, you are looking at a man who has laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe! I was petrified."
    -- The Wizard of Oz

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    A Small Treatise on Caitians, Part II

    Physiology
    Average male and female Caitians stand about 175 cm, and weigh 80-82 and 60-62 kg respectively. An average Caitian's tail is about 60 percent of his/her height, or about a meter long (although a certain utlra-religious clan in northern Ssalat Province bob their tails at birth). Caitian skin is covered by fur, the color and length of which is as broad and diverse as Terran domestic and great cats.

    Caitians have lion-like heads and manes; male manes encircle the face, while female manes do not cover the jaw and chin. Caitians style their manes in a variety of ways, although the "flat-top" has only become popular since Caitians entered Starfleet.

    They have retractable claws on their hands and feet, which they use in unarmed combat with lethal efficiency. A Caitian is never truly considered unarmed. Their legs are digitigrade, with the tarsal bones extending up a third of the length of the Caitian's leg (like a Terran cat's hind legs). This contributes to Caitian agility and quickness; when sprinting, Caitians often drop to all fours. This is a natural thing that most Caitian's don't even think about.

    Also, many Caitians have an innate aversion to arachnids of all kinds. Many believe that this is because the only creature proto-Caitians truly feared was a rare 10-legged, six-meter high "spider" that hunted them. The creature has been extinct for several millenia.

    Caitians are born in small litters; it is common for a Caitian to be a triplet or quadruplet, and quints are not rare at all. An average Caitian family has between eight and 12 kittens in two to three litters. Caitians reach the age of majority at 15, and have a life expectancy of just under 90 years.

    Caitians have different sleep patterns from most humanoids. They still get in 6-8 hours a night, but it is broken up into a main sleep period and a few "cat naps" throughout the day.

    Philosophy and Religion
    Caitians follow a nature-based religion. Mother Cait is their sole deity, and is represented as "star and planet, earth and sun, life and death, body and spirit. She is within the rock we stand on, and in the air we breathe. Her voice calls to us on the wind, and her tapestry guides us at night. And it is our duty to take care of her as she takes care of us."

    All Caitians are considered equal, regardless of career, clan or gender. The more prestigious and influential clans are always considered "first among equals," which is probably the only remaining tie to the ancient caste structure.

    Caitian life revolves around the tenets of their faith; cities are built as part of the surrounding ecology, not in place of it. There are no great farms cutting a swath across the land. What is grown is grown within the existing natural landcape. Homes are often built in the steel-like trees of the jungles themselves -- almost literally grown -- virtually invisible from above and below, but spacious and comfortable wihin the canopy.

    The nucleus of Caitian life is the clan and the family. Clans are often tightly knit, with regular assemblies and get-togethers to share stories, enjoy feasts and decide the clan's political strategy in upcoming votes. "The individual family is the bond that holds Cait herself together," an ancient philospher once said. While kittens attend public schools for their academic learning, all of the "important" learning is done at home. Respect, loyalty, clan history and equality are all passed down from parent to kitten

    As the clan is such a strong part of a Caitian's identity, she always wears clan colors or emblems on her clothing (although Caitians in Starfleet are not required to do so, since they have essentially made Starfleet their "adopted" clan for the length of their service). Formal clan outfits are reserved for special occasions, and are always very colorful (and sometimes mesmerizing to off-worlders). Semi-formal occasions (like the Blood Atonement) require the wearing of the clan sash.

    As Caitians have always been predators, "The Hunt" is a quasi-religious experience. All Caitians hunt, although never for sport; everything a Caitian kills, he uses (even bones are bleached and ground down, to be used for various purposes). However, the hunt is part of the bonding between parent and kitten, and is often used to teach the younger lessons that can be used later in life.

    Kayt-no-Kayt: Heaven and Earth
    Cait is a lush, tropical moonless planet that is the second in orbit around the star of the same name. Slightly smaller than Earth, Cait is dominated by a single super continent, with two small island continents, and a variety of island chains dotting the rest of the ocean.

    Gravity is Earth normal, and the oxygen rich atmosphere is also very similar to Terra.

    The supercontinent covers almost the entire longitude of the planet in one hemisphere. The central area is a super-tropical region that is dominated by sweeping jungles teeming with life.

    A massive mountain chain rises up along the west coast of the continent, just south of the super-tropical region. The Caitian capital of Rorgr'zz sits at the base of inland side of the mountains, near Karn't, the tallest mountain on the planet (some 9,000 meters high). Just northeast of Vastayn Province (where Rorgr'zz sits) lies a tropical savannah and desert region that forms the bulk of Utsat Province. The southern sub-tropical zones are dominated by light jungles, giving way to forests and great plains in the polar "antemperate" zone.

    The northern part of the continent includes a vast inland sea that dominates the western half of the tropical and subtropical regions; savannahs and scrub plains in the east give way to a great temperate desert in the polar region.

    A Day in the Life of Rorgr'zz
    Rorgr'zz is a bustling city that would be considered a mid-sized metropolis on 23rd Century Earth. It is the largest city on the planet, boasting a population of seven million Caitians and alien residents, and is the center of commerce and entertainment.

    The average Caitian awakes just before dawn, hops in the sonic shower (a Caitian invention from the early 2230's -- water is for drinking, not dowsing oneself in....at least that's what civilized beings think ), spends about a half-hour grooming himself, then heads off to town.

    On the flitter ride into town, he is greeted by the merchant district, the shopowners selling their wares inside buildings that are colored in a special electrosensitive paint that allows the owner to program his own personal designs in. As Caitians see motion better than color, the paint schemes are often swirls of impossible combinations of colors that spin and dance about, catching the Caitian's eye...it's enough to make a human ill just looking at it (and enterprising merchants make good money at the spaceport selling goggles that tones the images down into something not so stomach churning for off-worlders).

    The Caitian passes into the Corporate District, the nerve center of trade and commerce for many Caitian and several interstellar corporations. From some of the taller buildings, he could look over at the Assembly District and the government at work.

    Further to the Southwest and some 6,000 meters above the canopy of the jungle, priests and monks of the First Temple of Cait look down upon the city. Off-worlders would have a hard time distinguishing the city from the surrounding jungle, and the Caitians prefer it that way. The monks go about their business of caring for the ancient temple, including the breathtaking balcony that sits "on top of the world." From this vantage point only 1,546 meters from the summit of Karn't, the Caitian is reminded of how close he is to Mother Cait as he stands "between Heaven and Earth." Of course, to climb any higher would cause the Caitian to be burnt by the Mother's glory, according to ancient legend.

    The balcony is reached by a long, ancient staircase. The stairs themselves have a religious significance, and the Caitian ascending them sings an old prayer asking for clarity of vision to find what he seeks when rising to "meet Cait." At the top of the stairs, a priest sprinkles holy water on the visitor, which is an oily compound that also serves to counter the effects of the high altitude.

    About three times a day, the city comes to a standstill as Caitians take hour-long "cat naps" at mid-morning, just after lunch, and mid-afternoon. Caitian's generally head home about an hour before sunset to prepare for the evening.

    Rorgr'zz by night is just as busy, as artistic exhibits and performances dominate evening activities. Many Caitians will often take in an exhibit just before dusk, then head off to dinner in one of the many specialty restaurants and take in a theatrical or holo-vid performance, or finding their way to the arena for the nightly Rakun competition (they use blunts on the end of the blades to prevent injury....it's not a bloodsport by any means) or other sporting event (baseball became popular on Cait in the mid-2360's, brought over from Cestus III, and the first planet-wide league started up in 2374). The evenings end just before midnight as most Caitians head to bed for their lengthy sleep period, although, naturally, after-hours clubs cater to the night owls.

    There it is, as comprehensive of a write up on Caitians as I can come up with in 3+ hours. Feel free to use it for your campaigns, although if anyone puts it onto a website, please credit Davy Jones. Thanks. Also, if anyone wants the lastest version of my Caitian Language write up, please PM me with your email addy and I'll be happy to send it out.
    Last edited by Sea Tyger; 06-08-2002 at 06:26 PM.
    Davy Jones

    "Frightened? My dear, you are looking at a man who has laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe! I was petrified."
    -- The Wizard of Oz

  10. #10
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    Dude I am so impressed I am going to create an award and give it to you

    Great stuff!

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    I was never altogether taken with the Caitians, Davy, but I have to agree with Aslan here. This is some wonderful work, and even if I never plan to use them in my game, I think it would be just plain wrong not to tell you what a fine piece of kit this is.
    Patrick Goodman -- Tilting at Windmills

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    Beyond the Final Frontier: CODA Star Trek RPG Support

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    Superb!

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    The caitians is now on the web

    with the permission of Davy Jones, the CoDA Caitians is "On-LINE" at

    www.simsherbrooke.com/strpg in the "Close encounter section"

    A 4 pages document with arts and Lcars design ... ready to print

    Theko
    <EMBED src="http://www.simsherbrooke.com/strpg/signature.swf" quality=high bgcolor=#000000 WIDTH="260" HEIGHT="60" NAME="signature" >

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    Smile More C. stuff...

    This is great work Davy, but just curiously; have read any of the current ‘New Frontiers’ work by Peter David? In one novel (STAR TREK: Gateways Book#6 New Frontier "Cold Wars") he brought ‘back’ Lt. M’Ress (I say ‘back’ as, how do you resurrect a character that the ‘big P’ says is non-continuity anyway?). In the same, we find out more interesting stuff w/Caitains: they’re fickle (they’ve joined and quit the UFP several times during the time that M’Ress was missing ‘in time’). And they HATE cat references (“I haven’t been killed by my curiosity, my native form of self-defense is not ‘cat boxing’…”…read the book, it’s hilarious ). We also learn about their life span (can’t recall it off the top of my head…it’s comparable to humans though).
    ...and that's about the time it hit the fan...

    Truisms I know:
    1) Marvel is NOT better than DC (nor should EVERYTHING be ‘ULTIMITED’),
    2) D20 is NOT the best gaming system out there (nor should EVERYTHING be ‘crammed’ into it),
    3) And No matter how ‘THEY’ dress it up, Regardless of how ‘THEY’ title it, and even if ‘THEY’ say “BASED ON…”; “ENTERPRISE” IS NOT STAR TREK!!!
    4) 'Reality' T.V. ain't 'Real'

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    I've always had Caitians in my game - and this is great stuff.

    For our first PC Caitian we needed a little something extra to give a new player (and character) a crutch in the game, so she got a free "trivia role" - a chance that the character would have read/heard/seen/etc. something about whatever had the PC's stumped.

    Turned into a great narrator tool and a hillarious running gag as she always got *something* when she rolled - just not always something really useful. Sort of grew into a Cait-trait of them being a bit flighty socially - always after the next "really popular" thing/movie/etc. then moving on to a new hobby/passion the next day.

    Played as very, very, very (did I say very) loyal to their clan/crew mates and sought after shipmates though.

    And when faced with an upset Caitian - JUST DON'T RUN!
    TK

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