Fudge Invasion GM Sourcebook by Russ Brown (brownr@mei.com) May 1, 1995 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FUDGE INVASION GM Sourcebook ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OVERVIEW Fudge Invasion is a near future Fudge world where player characters are humans trying to survive and fight back while being hunted by alien invaders. The player sourcebook supplements the basic Fudge game system and provides the players with the background, skills, attributes and other information needed to generate a Fudge Invasion character. This book provides information about the aliens, their plans, and their technology. It should not be made available to the players. If you plan on being a player in a Fudge Invasion campaign, reading further could seriously limit your fun, so stop. Note that Fudge Invasion was not written to support Alien Race player characters, though it could be adapted with a little extra work. COPYRIGHT NOTICE Fudge is copyright 1992, 1993 by Steffan O'Sullivan. It may be freely copied, subject to the restrictions presented in the first section of the basic Fudge Rules. Additional Fudge rules, options, and background material presented in this document are copyright 1995 by Russ Brown (brownr@mei.com). They may be freely copied and distributed as long as this copyright notice is included with each copy. No charge may be made for this material without written permission from the author. CONTENTS 1. ALIEN ORIGINS 2. ALIENS AND EARTH 3. ALIEN SOCIETY/COMMUNICATION 4. ALIEN DESCRIPTIONS 5. ALIEN TECHNOLOGY 6. ALIEN GOALS 7. ABDUCTION/INVASION TIMETABLE 8. EFFECTS OF THE INVASION 9. CAPTURING TECHNOLOGY/LEARNING ALIEN SKILLS 10. GENERIC HUMAN NPCS 11. COMBAT AND HEALING 12. HUMAN WEAPONS AND ARMOR 13. CAMPAIGN IDEAS GLOSSARY 1. ALIEN ORIGINS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The progenitors of the Alien Race evolved in the dense, swirling, volatile-rich, internally warmed cloud layers of a gas giant slightly smaller than Jupiter. They were bulbous, fragile, and about the size of a human hand. The gas environment provided a vast, truly three-dimensional biosphere with radically different chemical composition and resulting ecosystems at different layers of the atmosphere. Mutations and behavioral adaptations sometimes allowed species and symbionts to cross over and thrive in different bio-layers. On multiple occasions, life forms in the upper atmosphere of the gas giant were tossed violently enough by the meteorological forces of the planet to be thrown clear of the atmosphere into low orbit. Already equiped to survive in the rare atmosphere, many of these survived to reach the gas giant's terrestrial inner moons and establish life there. The ancestors of the Alien Race were among the largest, and the most complex to make and survive such a journey. They had adapted to the upper atmosphere through a symbiotic relationship with a large, gas-filled filter feeder which migrated to denser layers to reproduce. The ancestors of the Alien Race learned to predict and ride the currents in the upper atmosphere to escape predators and soon were riding the filter feeders higher than they had gone before. This desire to escape higher and higher resulted consciously or unconsciously, in the breeding of higher riding filter feeders which could assume a protective spore-like state in the near vacuum. The trip into orbit was not a piecemeal launching of individual symbionts, but a series of unexplained mass migrations during times of exceptional atmospheric activity. The ancestors of The Race arrived on the second moon of the gas giant, which was already saturated with diverse, but very passive and mostly immobile life forms. The light, relatively fragile filter feeders did not survive on the new world, but many of their riders did. As waves of the new, more intelligent, more mobile creatures arrived, they became the root of an explosively diverse evolutionary tree. Most of the resulting species maintained their propensity for symbiotic relationships and merged with native species of the moon. This symbiosis with other life resulted in a technology and a set of capabilities very different than that of humans. Flight came not through machines, but through exploiting and joining with flying creatures. Intelligence developed, not due to pressure to understand things, but through the necessity to control life itself. All the while a deep respect remained for the living partners in these activities. If man's machines could become uncooperative or die when mistreated, they would be much better cared for. Diversity was also key to the Alien Race's development, as advances in technology came only through new or as yet unrecognized life forms. On Earth we can look back and say that a given human skull or skeleton is close enough to modern humans to be considered human also, so we can date our "arrival" on Earth. For the Alien Race there is no such point, because the variation among members of the Alien Race is far greater than that among any species on Earth. Through most of the early development of the race, non-living tools were regarded with deep-seated revulsion. Who would consciously choose a dead symbiotic partner? Recently, their are groups within the Alien Race who have adapted to dead tools and are making some progress in human-like technology. They are, in a sense, outcasts to the rest, but accepted by many simply because they are different and increase the diversity of the whole Alien Race. Space travel came to the Alien race millions of years ago through a very conscious multi-generational symbiosis and breeding program which led to the development of living ships working on a combination of electrolysis and combustion. They set out from their moon to other moons, some of them rich with life ejected from the giant mother planet, and eventually back to explore and join with the life of the gas giant itself. Interstellar travel came after thousands of years of spacecreature and Alien Race breeding. The spread to the stars was slow at first, fueled by chemical reactions. Eventually, space creatures were found which could concentrate and refine fissionable materials, then control fusion reactions. The Alien Race moved out among the stars, studying and harvesting living diversity wherever they found it. 2. ALIENS AND EARTH ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Millions of years ago, the aliens discovered a wet terrestrial planet orbiting a yellow sun approximately two thousand light-years from their homeworld. Since the world already had life, they did not colonize the system for fear of contaminating the world with their own life systems. They carefully retrieved specimens from the planet as the basis for breeding a set of creatures which could visit the planet and gather data and further specimens without fear of contamination. The most mobile and intelligent creatures in each of Earth's biospheres became the seed for a wide range of what human's would later consider "alien" visitors. The Alien Race became both the exploiters and protectors of the Earth's ecosystems, as well as meny other living systems in nearby space. They also colonized many of the systems nearby, bringing dead worlds to life. Over the past millions of years, they have fought off invasion attempts by other life forms and harvested life from earth as it changed gradually over time. The Alien Race now sees humans, the descendant of one of the same ape-like creature used by the Alien Race to create it's indigenous workforce, as a threat to the overall diversity of the planet. Human's themselves are amazingly homogenous to the Alien Race, and seem intent on wiping out all other large creatures which resemble them in any way. The destruction of living ecosystems to create and power dead tools is repulsive to even the most materialistic of the Alien Race. As the industrial revolution began on Earth and the impact of humans became measurable on a global scale, a call for help went out from the indigenous visitors to their Alien Race creators in nearby colonized systems. Efforts increased to acquire human specimens and study their habits without further disturbing the ecosystem. By the mid 1900's the human population was in a bewildering exponential expansion and the human's ability to destroy the environment had increased dramatically with the development of atomic weapons. And their horrifying dead rockets would soon allow them to escape into space and spread to other planets. 1947 was a year of unprecedented UFO activity around the world, as the indigenous visitors poured down to search for a solution. Abductions and hypnotic suggestion proved useful but not enough. The decision was made to observe for a few decades and hope the humans would see the damage and reverse the process. In the mean time, humans were abducted and adapted to life on a moon prepared for them in a system twenty light years from Earth. In 1908, as tensions rose between older, richer northern countries and the rising industrial nations of the south, the first anti-matter bomb was tested by the South American alliance, twenty miles off the coast of South Georgia Island. Though only the size of a soup can, it's blast was a powerful as any thermonuclear warhead in existence, and it got the attention of the Alien Race. The decision to surgically remove the human race from Earth's ecosystems was made by the Alien Race in spring of 1908. They had indigenous visitors, as well as an array of Earth-compatible symbiotic technology to use. In addition, they could resort to human diseases and, if necessary, the perverted inventions of the Alien Race's own Dead Tool users. 3. ALIEN SOCIETY/COMMUNICATION ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3.1 TYPES OF ALIENS The Alien Race has a specialist-based society. There are no jack-of-all-trades. There is no pressure to conform, only to perform. Instead there is a pressure to diverge all through life. This is not always true among indigenous visitor races, who are heavily influenced by the genetic tendencies of their original stock. There are aliens who, recognized for their leadership and organizational abilities, are charged with planning the activities of the diverse members and symbionts of the Alien Race. They must have a general understanding of all tasks they control and must be more flexible than most members of the Race. They have no inherent superiority to the aliens who act out their plans - the diversified specialist simply defers to the leader on matters of planning, and the leader defers to the specialist for execution. Specialists never "work their way up" to become leaders, and planners and leaders never dig too far into specific tasks. This makes five classes of "alien" life forms: 1) Alien Race Specialists 2) Alien Race Planners 3) Alien Race Symbionts (tools) 4) Indigenous Visitors (from local stock) 5) Visitor Symbionts (tools from local stock) The Alien Race and its symbionts rarely, if ever, land on earth. Players will generally encounter only visitors. Although there is no formal hierarchy in Alien Race society, symbionts are definitely subservient and too stupid to protest. Visitor races are seen as something more than a symbiont, but definitely subservient to and a tool of the Alien Race. 3.2 COMMUNICATION The Alien Race communicates using, VISUAL signals (VIS) body CHEMISTRY (CHM) TOUCH (TCH) body VIBRATIONS (VIB) ELECTRICAL sense(ELE) All of these are used to communicate with and control symbionts. An unaided human might be able to mimic visual signals, and with some practice, the vibrations and touch, but will never be able to reproduce the chemical and electrical signatures. Even within the Alien Race and it's visitor species there is so much diversity that often only a particular sub-group can communicate and join with a given symbiont. Among members of the Alien Race, there is one "language" for each of the basic communication modes, some requiring small amounts of activity in other modes. This is similar to human use of body language (visual) to accompany and accent our primarily verbal (vibration) language. Assume each alien can communicate concepts related to it's specialty at the level of it's attribute in each type of communication (see below). For example, an alien tender of humanoid visitors with a Good electrical attribute would have a Good skill in electrical communication with other members of the race, but only in matters regarding it's own survival and tending of humanoids. Note that the aliens have no equivalent of "technological" communication devices like printing or radio transmission. Throughout their history they have bred symbionts to store information for them. Long distance communication is achieved through combinations of translators and visual or electrical concentrators. Note that aliens with a strong ELE attribute have the ability to "hear" strong radio signals. 4. ALIEN DESCRIPTIONS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Alien Race individuals and visitors have attributes representing their sensitivity in each of the five sense areas. These influence their skills in joining with specific symbionts, just as human attributes effect human skills. There is a wide variety of alien life forms, from the diversity of the Alien Race, to it's indigenous visitors, to it's wide range of symbionts. This section does not deal with symbiont life forms unless they are capable of a great deal of independent action. Most symbionts are covered in ALIEN TECHNOLOGY, section 5. 4.1 BIOLOGY All members of the Alien Race are carbon-based, methane breathing, with a genetic encoding/messenger scheme similar to simple viral systems on Earth, with different base molecules. They ingest other life forms for nutrients, breaking them down in a series of layered digestion sacks which surround three other internal organs. Outside the digestion sacks, just below the outer surface of the body, is a layer of respiration sacks which pull in the methane. Methane metabolism, including production of more complex, benzene ring structures for energy storage, occurs in long, individual cells, and in a specialized organ. If unmodified members of the alien race breathed Earth atmosphere, they would die of oxygen poisoning long before they suffocated from lack of methane. 4.2 MORPHOLOGIES Most of the Alien Race members, and some of the symbionts, descended from a one of three basic morphologies - Quad, Base, and Biped - which in turn descended from a single species which made the trip from the gas giant to the second moon. All three morphologies have primary senses of chemistry (smell/taste), vision and gross vibration (crude hearing/motion sensing) mounted on a bulb of some sort at the top of their bodies. Chemistry senses appear as thin films which double as filters for respiration/filling of gas sacks. Vibration sensors are small bulges, generally darker then the surrounding tissue, with relatively large cilia dangling inside. More sensitive chemical, electrical, and vibrational senses may appear in the extremities, depending on specialty. 4.2.1 QUAD The most common morphology is that of a plump quadruped, or "quad" with two long, thin, spiny arm appendages, usually tipped with broad sensitive "fingers". Variations on this morphology include thin appendages which split halfway down, resulting in four "hands", and variations in posture from low and straight with a bend at the "neck" to straight up and down like a four-engine rocket. Quads typically excel in chemical and electrical interaction, and are visually weak or blind. 4.2.2 BASE The second most common morphology is distinguished by a large, wide base, which actually contains the fused remains of two appendages. There are four other appendages which vary in size, shape and function, and which may be used occasionally to assist in locomotion. This morphology will be referred to as "Base". Bases movement is some combination of rocking, gliding and slithering. Base aliens, due to their limited mobility, are generally large, well defended, and excel in remote senses like visual, chemical and vibration. 4.2.3 BIPED The least common morphology, more prevalent among leaders and dead tool users is two armed, and bipedal. It is capable of moving faster by bending and using its "arms" as legs. A relatively long neck places the basic senses up high. Bipeds are primarily dependent on vision, touch, and electrical senses. 4.3 REPRODUCTION Most of the Alien Race range in size from a half meter to well over four meters, with quads dominating both extremes. The Alien Race is sexual in nature, but without defined sexes. Most individuals can mate with almost any other individual of appropriate size, and generally in accordance with the genetic plans of a tender. Matings do occur, and are encouraged, across morphologies. 4.4 DESCRIPTIONS The statistics listed below are for very specific sub-species within the Alien Race. They by no means represent the large variation among individuals. Most Earth visitor species are far less diverse, and the statistics give are fairly representative of all individuals. 4.4.1 LEADERS 4.4.1.1 TYPE ONE PLANNER These are the broad masterminds of the Alien Race and it's operation on Earth. They are the conscious keepers of the Alien Race's goals and vision. They are generally surrounded by a small army of Type Two Planners, storage symbionts, translators, and their tenders. It might appear to a human like a queen bee, or a spider inside a web. To a human, with little or no Electric sensing capability, a type one planner may appear to be using some form of telepathy or telekinesis to control the symbionts around it. Biped, 1.2 meters tall, moves 1-5 m/s (12 m/s on all fours) Distinguished by pear-shaped "head" and large number of fingers at the end of the two arm appendages. Legs appear to have more joints than human legs. CHM Poor, TCH Great, ELE Great, VIS Fair, VIB Mediocre PLANNING Great, ANALYSIS Good, MEMORY Great, LEARN Good. TCH-CHM TRANSL Good, VIS-ELE TRANSL Good, VIS CONCENTR Fair, VIS STORE Good, ELE STORE Fair SCALE -1, STR Mediocre, TOU Poor, AGI Good ~ ~ ~ 4.4.1.2 TYPE TWO PLANNER These are cross-over planners, generally with some remnants of a specialty. They are sometimes used in new situations because they have the specialty skills, as well as the analysis ability to adapt them. They work closely with specialists and symbiont tenders in their specialties. Type Two Planners are the source of most innovation, adaptation and change within their specialties. They also provide assistance to Type One Planners. Because Type Two Planners exist partially within specialties, Their size and appearance varies widely, sometimes closely matching that of the corresponding specialist. The Following is an example: Quad, 2.5 meters long/tall, moves 1-4 m/s Distinguished by four legs descending together to form a cone-like shape. Spiny appendages are not split, and contain only three claw-like fingers on each. Sensory organs are arrayed along a short stalk, like a neck with no head. Type Twos can fold the stalk down into a crevice in their chest, between the shoulders of the two appendages, for protection in times of danger. Type Two Planners are visually blind, and often carry a closely-joined VIS-TCH Translator. CHM Fair, TCH Great, ELE Good, VIS None, VIB Poor PLANNING Fair, ANALYSIS Good, MEMORY Good, LEARN Fair, TEND TCH-VIS TRANSL Good, TEND TCH STORE Good TCH-VIS TRANSL Good, TCH CONCENTR Fair, TCH STORE Good SCALE 0, STR Mediocre, TOU Mediocre, AGI Mediocre 4.4.2 SPECIALISTS Describing a representative subset of the specialists within the Alien Race would require thousands of descriptions. This section only provides statistics for a handful. This section also contains a table to help with generation of new specialist types. Specialists can be divided into broad categories of Tenders, Symbiont Users, and Dead Tool Users. Tenders take care of symbionts, visitors and members of the Alien Race. They understand the needs of their adopted life forms and make sure they are met. They also help insure increasing diversity through controlled breeding programs and genetic modification. Symbiont Users are specially trained to join with a specific symbiont or class of symbionts to carry out some task. Note that symbiont users may be required to support the efforts of a tender, and the results of the tenders work is a well-functioning symbiont, possibly with unique capabilities. Good tenders tend to attract good specialists and vice versa. Dead Tool Users scare off all but the strangest of tenders, which they still need to take care of themselves and the special symbionts they use to produce raw materials. ~ ~ ~ 4.4.2.1 TOUCH-ELECTRIC TRANSLATOR TENDER Quad, 1.6m long, moves 3-14 m/s True Quad with four relatively equal legs and a raised "neck" for sense organs. When resting, body's central axis hangs low, below the highest of the two knees in each leg. These aliens are sleek and quick, often skittering back and forth to retrieve items they could have carried all in one trip. CHM Good, TCH Superb, ELE Great, VIS Terrible, VIB Poor PLANNING Terrible, ANALYSIS Poor, MEMORY Fair, LEARN Terrible, TEND TCH-ELE TRANSL Great, TCH-CHM TRANSL Great, ELE-VIS TRANSL Fair, TCH STORE Good, ELE STORE Fair, ELE CONCENTR Fair SCALE -1, STR Good, TOU Fair, AGI Superb ~ ~ ~ 4.4.2.2 VISUAL STORE TENDER Base, 1.2 meters tall, moves 0.3-1.5 m/s Smaller than most Bases, but typically slow. Among the most visually adept creatures in the Alien Race, and surprisingly adaptable for a specialist. Top two arm appendages are nearly a meter long and have crude grasping digits at the end. Lower arms are much shorter and used to manipulate objects under close inspection. Four visual sensor films sit on four bulges of the "head" and do not focus, but constantly pulsate to provide directional queues. CHM Fair, TCH Poor, ELE Mediocre, VIS Superb, VIB Good PLANNING Fair, ANALYSIS Fair, MEMORY Good, LEARN Poor TEND VIS STORE Superb, VIS-TCH TRANSL Fair, VIS-ELE TRANSL Good, VIS CONCENTR Good, VIS STORE Good SCALE -1, STR Good, TOU Good, AGI Poor ~ ~ ~ 4.4.2.3 QUAD TENDER Quad, 2.4 meters tall, moves 1-10m/s This quad is rather tall, but it's bulbous gut is relatively low and small. It is agile and appears thin, yet it is relatively strong. It is bred to serve quads without interrupting their behavior patterns, and to move smoothly within an active work environment. Tenders of the Alien Race not only provide basic bodily needs, but may also provide what could loosely be termed entertainment, or distraction, which seems to have some positive physiological effect. Quad Tenders don't plan their own activities ahead, they merely respond to chemical and touch signals from quads in their care. CHM Good, TCH Great, ELE Med, VIS Terr, VIB Poor PLANNING Poor, ANALYSIS Poor, MEMORY Mediocre, LEARN Poor TEND QUAD Superb, QUAD FOOD (symbiont) Great, TCH-ELE TRANSL Fair, QUAD CLEANER (symbiont) Great SCALE 0, STR Great, TOU Poor, AGI Great ~ ~ ~ 4.4.2.4 SPACECREATURE TENDER Spacecreatures, or spaceships, are among the most bizarre and least life-like of the symbionts used by the Alien Race, as are their tenders. Quad, 2.8 meters long, move 0.5m/s These are very thin quads, with long, willowy limbs designed for mobility and manipulation in zero G. They are very good electrical communicators, as are spacecreatures and most of the symbionts required to maintain them. These quads are nearly immobile in full Earth gravity. They are capable of curling up into a compact bundle and entering a spore state similar to that used by the spacecreature itself to cross harsh space. The tender uses it's spore state to cut down on resources used on long journeys, help it tolerate high-G environments, and to allow it to work for short periods in a vacuum. CHM Good, TCH Fair, ELE Great, VIS Terrible, VIB Poor PLANNING Poor, ANALYSIS Mediocre, MEMORY Poor, LEARN Mediocre TEND SPACECREATURE Superb, SPACECREATURE MAINTAINERS (symbionts) Great, VIS-ELE TRANSLATOR Good SCALE 0, STR Mediocre, TOU Poor (Good in spore), AGI Terrible (Great in zero G) ~ ~ ~ 4.4.2.5 TOXIC DART WEAPON USER Quad, 3.4 meters long, moves 2-14 m/s This is a large, bulbous quad which is specialized to control a touch sensitive Toxic Dart Weapon. It locates and follows it's prey using electrical sense. It's external senses, which are pretty poor, are located on the underside of it's torso. It has no obvious vital area and is covered with thick hide to protect it from other darts. CHM Good, TCH Great, ELE Great, VIS Terrible, VIB Poor PLANNING Terrible, ANALYSIS Poor, MEMORY Fair, LEARN Poor TOXIC DART WEAPON Great, VIB-ELE TRANSL Good, ELE CONCENTR Good SCALE 1, STR Great, TOU Great ~ ~ ~ 4.4.2.6 SPACECREATURE USER Biped, 1.4 meters, moves 1-6 m/s This is the Alien Race version of a starship pilot/navigator. He shares his task with the spacecreature itself, which is joined with stores and translators to keep navigation data, memory of strange gravitational effects, etc. The spacecreature is a "natural" at flying between the stars, but does not always choose the optimal path, or know where it should go. The roles of the Spacecreature User, the Spacecreature, and the Spacecreature Tender and very similar to those of a human rider, horse and groom. The main difference is the spacecreatures ability to join with symbionts to expand it's natural abilities. Both the user and the Spacecreature orient themselves in space through their electromagnetic senses and have very poor vision. The User itself is the classic Alien Race biped, with large, muscular legs and thin, strong arms. CHM Poor, TCH Great, ELE Superb, VIS Fair, VIB Terrible PLANNING Fair, ANALYSIS Poor, MEMORY Fair, LEARN Poor SPACECREATURE Great, ELE STORE Good, ELE CONCENTR Good, VIS-ELE TRANSL Fair SCALE 0, STR Fair, TOU Good, AGI Mediocre ~ ~ ~ 4.4.2.7 HUMANOID VISITOR TENDER Base, 1.6 meters, moves 0.5-2 m/s These tenders have a wide base, and have smooth, relatively slow movements like the humanoids they tend. They have little direct physical contact with the humanoids, which prefer a buffer space which is normally free of other creatures, including large symbionts. Humanoid Visitor Tender sense organs are located on a stubby stalk which it is constantly turning in all directions. The Humanoid Visitor Tenders both take care of the physical and social needs of the Alien Race's Humanoid Visitors, but also acts as a translator and liaison between them and the rest of the Alien Race. These tenders have a difficult task because the genetic impulses and urges of the humanoids are very different from those of the Alien Race. And there is always the threat of planners deciding to destroy the Humanoid Visitors along with the human race, making the tender expendable. CHM Mediocre, TCH Poor, ELE Poor, VIS Great, VIB Great PLANNING Fair, ANALYSIS Poor, MEMORY Good, LEARN Fair TEND HUMANOIDS Great, VIB-ELE TRANSL Good, TEND HUMANOID FOOD Good, VIB STORE Good ~ ~ ~ 4.4.2.8 DEAD TOOL USER Biped, 1.6 meters, moves 2-8 m/s If any subgroup of the alien race is closest in appearance, dexterity and mobility to humans, it is probably the Dead Tool Users. This is perhaps why they, among all in the Alien Race, were drawn to the dead tool technology of the early humans and have continued to study human technology. Their arms are shorter and thicker than most bipeds, and their legs are shorter and stockier. They are a very visually and touch dependent group because their dead tools give no other biological feedback. They have two large and two small eye patches on their head bump, and have a large electrical organ inside their chest which they use for communication among themselves. CHM Terr, TCH Great, ELE Good, VIS Good, VIB Poor PLANNING Fair, ANALYSIS Poor, MEMORY Fair, LEARN Good DEAD TOOL (varies), TCH-VIB TRANSL Good, TCH STORE Good, VIS CONCENTR Good. SCALE 0, STR Mediocre, TOU Fair, AGI Mediocre (TEC Fair, DEX Great) ~ ~ ~ 4.4.2.9 DEAD TOOL MAKER Biped, 1.4 meters, moves 2-8 m/s Almost identical in appearance to Dead Tool Users, Dead Tool Makers differ in the ability to create and even invent dead tools. They rival Planners in their ability to handle abstractions and plan for the future. CHM Poor, TCH Superb, ELE Good, VIS Good, VIB Poor PLANNING Good, ANALYSIS Great, MEMORY Fair, LEARN Good MAKE DEAD TOOL Great (single type), TCH-VIB TRANSL Good, TCH STORE Good, VIS CONCENTR Good, DEAD MATERIAL MAKER Good, MODIFY DEAD TOOL Fair SCALE 0, STR Poor, TOU Mediocre, AGI Mediocre (TEC Fair, DEX Superb) ~ ~ ~ 4.4.2.10 DEAD TOOL TENDER Dead Tool Tenders are very similar to Dead Tool Makers, but they have Superb TCH and a Good TEND DEAD TOOL skill which allows them to do do maintenance on dead tools. A close human equivalent is a field technician. 4.5 GENERATING NEW ALIENS With the variety of specialists in the Alien Race, the GM will have to come up with new alien types at some point. The following charts and tables may help with this task by providing ranges of sensory skill, size and mobility for each of the three common alien morphologies. Quad Base Biped --------- --------- -------- CHM Good-Sup Med-Good Terr-Med TCH Good-Sup Terr-Poor Fair-Sup ELE Med-Great Terr-Fair Fair-Sup VIS None-Poor Fair-Sup Poor-Grt VIB Terr-Fair Good-Sup Terr-Med Size 0.5-4m 1-3m 1-2m Max Speed 20m/s 3m/s 15m/s TOU Poor-Good Med-Great Poor-Good AGI Med-Superb Terr-Fair Fair-Good Distinguishing features within a morphology can include posture, size and shape of appendages, placement and prominence of sensory organs, color, texture, inseparable symbionts, etc. Skills should be almost entirely based on what is needed to support the specialty. If you're designing a VIB-CHM Translator Tender, it should have acceptable VIB and CHM attributes (almost certainly Base morphology) and will have skills dealing with VIB and CHM symbionts. 4.6 VISITORS 4.6.1 HUMANOIDS 1.6 meters, moves 1-10 m/s Humanoid Visitors are descendents of abducted members of a hominid species from nearly two million years ago - possibly Homo Habilis or Australopithecus Afarensis. Since that time they have lost all body hair and become blue-grey in color. Their head has retained it's size, with the eyes enlarged and the nose reduced, but their bodies are relatively thin. Humanoid Visitors are typically competent in more than one symbiont. Some Humanoid symbionts are tended by members of the Alien Race, but most are tended by Humanoids. There is more variation among Humanoid Visitors than among humans, but compared to the diversity of the Alien Race, it is insignificant. Eye sizes vary considerably, as does skin tone, build, size, arm length and face shape. The strangest Humanoid Visitor is probably the partly finished Spacecreature Tenders. They have extremely long limbs, like their Alien Race counterparts, and are also adapted for zero G. CHM Poor, TCH Good, ELE None, VIS Great, VIB Fair PLANNING Fair, ANALYSIS Mediocre, MEMORY Fair, LEARN Good TCH-ELE TRANSL Good, VIB STORE Good, VIS CONCENTR Fair, Two Great Symbiont, or one Great Symbiont and a Tender skill. SCALE 0, STR Mediocre, TOU Fair, AGI Fair (TEC Mediocre, DEX Good) ~ ~ ~ 4.6.2 DOLPHOIDS 2.2 meters long, moves 1-18 m/s Derived from captured marine mammals, these are the only visitor species which lives permanently on Earth. There are thousands in the Earth's oceans, collecting sample life forms and ecosystem data from rivers and oceans and sending it to Humanoid Visitors or their ships in orbit. Dolphoids are thicker than modern dolphins and have reduced fins and flippers. Most manipulation is done with the snout, or with a TCH-VIB Translator, The Alien Race saw the practicality of VIB as the primary sense underwater and bred the Dolphoids for increased VIB capability, as well as improved intelligence. CHM Great, TCH Fair, ELE Terrible, VIS Good, VIB Poor PLANNING Fair, ANALYSIS Poor, MEMORY Good, LEARN Fair TCH-ELE TRANSL Good, CHM STORE Good One Great Symbiont skill. SCALE 0, STR Good, TOU Great, AGI Great (TEC Poor, DEX Poor) ~ ~ ~ 4.6.3 URSOIDS 2.4 meters tall, move 1-6 m/s Ursoids are descendents of early bears, retaining both their bulk and fur, while trading the long bear snout for a shorter one, and gaining improved TOU aptitude. Ursoids are often used by Humanoids as scouts or guards. They are effective spotters and fighters, but must have clear, simple instructions. It is possible that these creatures are the root of yeti/bigfoot legends. CHM Fair, TCH Poor, ELE Poor, VIS Poor, VIB Superb PLANNING Fair, ANALYSIS Poor, MEMORY Good, LEARN Fair TCH-VIB TRANSL Good, VIB STORE Good, VIB CONCENTR, Two Great Symbiont, or one Great Symbiont and a Tender skill. SCALE 1, STR Good, TOU Great, AGI Good (TEC Poor, DEX Mediocre) 4.7 ALIENS AND HUMAN ATTRIBUTES It may be necessary to determine how a member of the Alien Race or one of it's visitors stack up on human attribute scales. This sections covers each of the human attributes with respect to the aliens. Don't forget to take SCALE into account for STR and TOU. Also note that these races are diverse, so variations of one or two levels on this scale for a given individual would not be surprising. Note that many human attributes are, at least in part, a measure of the person's ability to adapt and learn. Alien Race specialists will be extremely limited in most of these, since their adaptation is primarily long-term and genetic. ACA Specialists Terrible Planners Fair Humanoids Fair Other Visitors Terrible-Poor SOC Tenders Fair Planners Good Other Spec. Terrible Humanoids Mediocre Other Visitors Poor TEC Dead Tech User Fair Planners Poor Specialists Terrible Humanoids Poor Other Visitors Terrible PER See sense attributes with individual alien descriptions. DEX Assume this is the same level as TOUCH sense. APP Alien Race Terrible-2 Visitors Terrible-2 - Poor (some Great??) Alien Race Appearance is less than Terrible on the human scale. To the Alien Race themselves, appearance is less important than degree of success and diversity. Within visitor species, derived from Earth stock, there may be some remnant of sexual attraction and visual success queues. Some of the humanoid visitors may even climb up into the human Poor rating. It also seems that people who have encountered visitors in the past have sometimes mistaken them for heavenly creatures, possibly suggesting that they were bred specifically to amplify attractive features. STR See individual alien descriptions. TOU See individual alien descriptions. WIL Specialists Poor Planners Fair Visitors Fair AGI See individual alien descriptions. 4.8 HUMANS AND ALIEN ATTRIBUTES Average attributes for humans in the five alien sense areas areas follows: CHM Perception POOR (MEDIOCRE if PER Good or better) Control NONE TCH Perception MEDIOCRE Control DEX ELE Perception TERRIBLE-1 Control NONE VIS Perception FAIR (GOOD if PER Good or better) Control FAIR VIB Perception FAIR Control MEDIOCRE