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Races
Dec 29, 2009 2:51:49 GMT -5
Post by Falconer on Dec 29, 2009 2:51:49 GMT -5
The primary Star Trek races would seem to me to be: Federation: Hostile:
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Dec 29, 2009 14:19:31 GMT -5
Post by Falconer on Dec 29, 2009 14:19:31 GMT -5
Of course, there are many more races, humanoid and non-humanoid, which have been shown in the show, and theoretically as many more as you could possibly imagine yourself. So I’m not proposing a closed canonical list of races to be used in a Star Trek RPG, but rather a list of known, “recurring” races.
I would think a usual party of PCs would be all human with only one exception (one non-human PC). If the group gets very large you might consider a second exception. These exceptions should be from familiar and friendly races. I realize this is a matter of personal taste, but bear with me. I see Star Trek as being to a large extent about humans encountering that which is alien. The presence of one half-alien aboard the Enterprise is very much a big deal in the show, as the entire human crew grapples with his way of thinking and his unique abilities. But that human crew, with all of its common experience and history and approach and ability is what defines the Enterprise. Most of the stories have to do with the humans meeting aliens on other planets and what that exchange of ideas and values comes to. Spock is sometimes a wildcard in these exchanges, but most often essentially is a part of “team human”. Without this general dynamic, that is, if each member of the party is of a different race, then either you have a “Journey to Babel” situation where it’s a constant clash between too many different cultures, or the differences between the races “even out” and you’re left with something bland and unexciting.
This is possibly a topic that could have its own sub-forum to discuss the particular advantages, disadvantages, and special abilities of each race, not to mention details of their home worlds and ships and empires and customs and all that junk.
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Dec 29, 2009 21:35:20 GMT -5
Post by algolei on Dec 29, 2009 21:35:20 GMT -5
I thought the Orions were big on appearing neutral? Or do they still qualify as "hostile" because there are no Orions in Star Fleet?
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Dec 29, 2009 22:56:56 GMT -5
Post by Falconer on Dec 29, 2009 22:56:56 GMT -5
They damned near destroyed the Enterprise in “Journey to Babel”, and again in “The Pirates of Orion”. I suppose they could be considered de jure neutral, but de facto I’d say they’re nothing but trouble!
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Dec 30, 2009 0:32:46 GMT -5
Post by theredpriest on Dec 30, 2009 0:32:46 GMT -5
I'm not that familiar with the animated series, but I think that I understand you're including the gorn and kzinti as primary races based on that series. However, I don't see the tholians as a primary race. They were definitely fringe beings in the original series.
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Races
Dec 30, 2009 12:42:11 GMT -5
Post by Falconer on Dec 30, 2009 12:42:11 GMT -5
It is true that several of the races I named appear in only one episode. Tellarite: Journey to Babel (TOS)Gorn: The Arena (TOS)Tholian: The Tholian Web (TOS)Kzinti: The Slaver Weapon (TAS)In addition, the Elysian Council in The Time Trap (TAS) includes an Orion, a Vulcan, a Klingon, a Kzinti, an Andorian, a Tellarite, a Human and a Gorn (plus some unknown races). So, obviously Vulcans and Klingons and Romulans and Andorians (in about that order) are the most prominent alien races in the show, but I think a few more additions to the list can’t hurt. The reason for my choices is that they are races that are capable of building comparable starships, they command empires or federations rival to the Federation or the Klingons or Romulans, and they are all *roughly* on the same level of technological advancement and evolution as a species. I mean, the Enterprise encounters some pretty godlike races from time to time, for example Balok and the First Federation from The Corbomite Maneuver (TOS). Hope that makes sense. Regards.
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Dec 30, 2009 18:02:44 GMT -5
Post by algolei on Dec 30, 2009 18:02:44 GMT -5
They damned near destroyed the Enterprise in “Journey to Babel”, and again in “The Pirates of Orion”. I suppose they could be considered de jure neutral, but de facto I’d say they’re nothing but trouble! Oh, sure, but name a race that hasn't darn near destroyed the Enterprise at one time or another!
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Dec 30, 2009 19:14:23 GMT -5
Post by thedungeondelver on Dec 30, 2009 19:14:23 GMT -5
I think you could put humans in both lists!
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Jan 6, 2010 20:52:54 GMT -5
Post by Gorn Again on Jan 6, 2010 20:52:54 GMT -5
Didn't ST:TAS also include a couple of new races not seen in the original series? I think it was a feline alien "Caitian" and tri-laterally torsoed alien "Edoan".
-Eli
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Jan 6, 2010 21:26:10 GMT -5
Post by Falconer on Jan 6, 2010 21:26:10 GMT -5
Yeah, and I have nothing against them. I just wouldn’t call them “major races” since they only had one representative each, and they never really talked about their species or culture or home planet or anything.
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Jan 6, 2010 21:38:25 GMT -5
Post by Gorn Again on Jan 6, 2010 21:38:25 GMT -5
Good point. I must have missed that we were discussing major races.
BTW, love the project!
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Jan 15, 2010 0:39:08 GMT -5
Post by Falconer on Jan 15, 2010 0:39:08 GMT -5
I just felt I should articulate a little better what I think about this. To me, although to some extent you want to see recurring races and planets, good and bad (Vulcan and Klingon, for example), because you build up an emotional attachment to them, that is the exception not the rule. Star Trek is about ever-new races and ever-new planets, and we should never feel locked into existing Star Trek “lore”.
Specifically with regard to PCs, I think a Star Trek RPG should be very humanocentric. Certainly a matter of personal preference, but to me Star Trek is about meeting the unknown, and it could get very bogged down if the PCs themselves were all unknowns. That said, one or two non-human PCs can certainly be interesting.
I view the four “Journey to Babel” races (Human, Vulcan, Andorian, Tellarite) as sufficient “sample” races to be provided as PC options, but create-your-own is as viable an option, if not more so. That is kind of how I view Arex and M’Ress of TAS—like they were weird races that were just rolled up or imagined from scratch just for those two “PCs” rather than drawn from some existing lore. If that makes any sense.
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Jan 15, 2010 9:21:27 GMT -5
Post by Ronin84 on Jan 15, 2010 9:21:27 GMT -5
Falconer,
Interesting thought there but if you are focusing on TOS then really what do you know about Andorians as compared to Caitians and Edoans?
We only see the Andorians in Journey to Babel and in the animated series Time Trap and Yesteryear.
Now if you are looking at the series Enterprise which really defines the Andorians then I see why you would include them.
Just throwing my 2 cents in!
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Jan 15, 2010 9:52:44 GMT -5
Post by Ronin84 on Jan 15, 2010 9:52:44 GMT -5
Needed to correct myself, we see Andorians in these episodes of TOS.
* "Journey to Babel" * "The Gamesters of Triskelion" * "Whom Gods Destroy" * "The Lights of Zetar"
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Jan 15, 2010 13:11:08 GMT -5
Post by Falconer on Jan 15, 2010 13:11:08 GMT -5
Yeah, Thelin in Yesteryear, and Shras and Thelev in Journey to Babel (even though Thelev is actually an Orion in disguise) give us enough to go by, plus the repeated appearance of Andorians as background characters in several episodes makes it a rather iconic race. The “Enterprise” TV series is kind of like an example of what a TOS-based campaign could come out like. (They didn’t invent Andorians!)
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