Fudge Invasion GM Sourcebook
by Russ Brown (brownr@mei.com)
May 1, 1995
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FUDGE INVASION
GM Sourcebook
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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