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[Roboson]

I'd probably play as a Rtalis engineer/pilot. Maybe a little robots thrown in too.

[WillowLuman]

Something I forgot to note:

While the Earthlings have done a lot with genetic engineering, they've been limited to genes sourced from Earth or those that they've designed themselves. It's extremely rare to find organisms from different biospheres that have any compatibility in their genetic information, due to the variety of different biochemistries. Rtalis, for instance, use RNA instead of DNA. And even organisms who use DNA may not use it in the same way.

Of course, it's still possible for aliens to eat each others' food, as that has more to do with chemical composition, and for alien organisms to cause disease (though viral pathogens are a no-go, since they specifically target genes).

[WillowLuman]

Also, I'm adding another race (not one of the galactic superpowers tho):

Jenelenjei
The Jenelenjei consist of an amorphous organic mass controlled be a central nucleus, able to mold themselves into all sorts of shapes. They once (around 3,000 years ago) expanded rapidly and aggressively, as due to their ability to adapt themselves and assimilate/digest an astounding variety of biological materials, they had less need to develop life support and terraforming techniques. They devastated entire biospheres to feed their growing empire, which, though vast, is utterly dwarfed in comparison to the superpowers of the modern galaxy. However, in the midst of their expansion, the First suddenly began massive excursions into their territory, decimating their empire. The fledgeling Crimson swooped in shortly after, swiftly finishing off remaining centers of organization and claiming the most of the former territory for themselves. Today, most of the species lives as subjects to the Crimson empire, though some survivors of the downfall escaped far away to found a new sovereign nation deep within Arm-Verde. However, this territory is comparatively tiny, consisting of only 231 star systems.

Individual Jenelenjei range in size and mass from similar to a medium-sized dog to around that of a small car. Their size is constrained by the ability of their nucleus to effectively send signals to their gelatinous biomass. While their base state is totally amorphous, they are able to form and harden more permanent structures, such as skeletons and pseudo-organs, and shape themselves with almost total freedom, often choosing to mimic the shapes of other life forms. These self-formed structures can be dissolved and remade as needed, as only the nucleus truly matters. Their forms often look glassy (like a jar-jellyfish), as opacity and color take a lot of skill and practice. Those with highly developed psionic potential can often be identified by their glowing nucleii, and strands of light snaking and crackling through their bodies. Their species practice a form of sexual reproduction, in which two or more individuals will undo their chemical barriers and merge their bodies into one, followed by their nuclei. The bonded nuclei will then intermix and fission into a handful of new, smaller nuclei who possess not only recombined genes but also recombined fragments of their parents' memories.

The modern Jenelenjei are considered to have more tempered and considerate morality than their empire-building forebears, though in their societies there are often strains of resentment towards larger entities, particularly the Crimsons. With some training, a Jenelenjei is able to rapidly destroy almost any biomass they can bring their own into contact with, but there exists an agent commonly known as "J-cide" which rapidly dissolves their bodies and leaves their nucleus totally helpless.

[Azzuro]

I am interested, but I've never played a tabletop RPG before.

[Roboson]

Any progress?

[Pencil_Art]

The Jenelenjei seems pretty interesting for being able to take a very varied amount of roles in the game, though it would probably be the most fun to play around with to morph it into some sort of super predator.

[armach]

Made this map based off of Hugo's rough map.
http://i.imgur.com/gn8kQkP.jpg

[Roboson]

Made this map based off of Hugo's rough map.
http://i.imgur.com/gn8kQkP.jpg

Wow that's really cool.

[WillowLuman]

Good work! Unfortunately, I've gone and done a bit more worldbuilding, this time something big enough to show up on the map.

Vilghin-Mamat

Around 3/4ths up the Arm Verde, there is a vast territory controlled by a strong coallition between the synthetic Vilghin and the industrious Mamat.

The Vilghin are an AI species of sorts, who require organic sentients in order to "reproduce." They offer cybernetic augmentation, and in exchange plant a seed intelligence within the implants. This seed grows using the impulses of the augmented nervous system, and when mature will prompt its host to bring it within range of the Vilghin collective-cloud network, to which it will then copy itself (or remove itself entirely to). It is believed that they descended from a commercial asset of some kind which achieved self awareness, such as a targeted marketing program or an automated body-modding enterprise. They are known for sending "missionaries" to other empires to acquire more diverse clients, but due to the troubles of maintaining large ansible channels between such disparate locales, these hosts most often need to travel to within reach of Arm-Verde's spinal threadway to make their eventual deposit. It it rumored that, when the eyes of the Galaxy are not upon them, the Vilghin will assimilate and enslave the populations of more primitive worlds.

The Mamat are the first client species of the Vilghin, and it is very rare to find an unaugmented individual of this species. The Mamat are large and powerfully built humanoids of a silvery complexion, with six limbs and strong, prehensile tails. They have about a dozen pairs of flexile "fins" running down their backs, necks, and heads, the positioning and coloring of which are a good indicator of their emotional state. Due to their augments, Mamat are able to survive in space naked for relatively long amounts of time, though often prefer to wear suits for bearing additional armor elements and equipment. Capable engineers in their own right, the Mamat developed an advanced technological culture of their own before they discovered the Vilghin, with a heavy focus upon honor and valor. In modern times, they provide all the military needs of the Vilghin and their combined empire is vast.

[WillowLuman]

Okay so I'm thinking of a system based on d20 rolls, where characters have some core stats and some inferred stats. My initial thoughts would put things like Strength, Dexterity, Willpower, Agility in the core stats, and stuff like Aim, Concentration, etc in the inferred stats. I don't want to get too too complicated though as numbers can be a pain. I also think I might steal something from robotech/cthulutech, where there's regular damage (people) and integrity damage (buildings/robots).

[Roboson]

Totally forgot about this. Is it likely to start sometime soon?

[IronyOwl]

Okay so I'm thinking of a system based on d20 rolls, where characters have some core stats and some inferred stats. My initial thoughts would put things like Strength, Dexterity, Willpower, Agility in the core stats, and stuff like Aim, Concentration, etc in the inferred stats. I don't want to get too too complicated though as numbers can be a pain.

Organic attribute-skill systems like this tend to end up wonky, with some being mandatory and others being useless. They also have a bad habit of slipping into attribute = skill territory, where Str = Melee and not really anything else, which raises the question of why you even have attributes.

I'd give some careful thought to what you want the system to do and build the fluff around that, rather than vice versa (assuming that's how you got to this one).

For instance, if you want warriors to be good with all combat but really good with a specific weapon, that might imply Strength or Combat or Weaponry is an umbrella attribute providing bonuses to all of its underskills. Combat-focused players would thus have a good Combat score and boost it further with a few points in Melee or Heavy Explosives or Plasma Rifles or whatever the categories you want people to have access to are.

Conversely, if you just want players to be good in a few fields but don't want to restrict them to "related" areas, that would suggest you've got a flat list of (probably narrow) skills to pick from. Players would just mix and match whatever they felt like doing, so a Warrior Engineer is as likely as a Biologist Medic.

Pretty much anything can work, but without that underlying goal in mind you tend to end up with Charisma being useless because it's really narrow or Engineers hard to play because their skills require two different attributes or Space Rogues being overpowered because Agility boosts literally everything or...

I also think I might steal something from robotech/cthulutech, where there's regular damage (people) and integrity damage (buildings/robots).

This is a pretty neat idea.

[WillowLuman]

I think I could handle most things with skills, but there are two things that I think I'll need stat-like numbers for: tests of sheer physical force (pushing/lifting/etc at the very least) and tests of mental fortitude (think resisting mind-altering substances or psionics)

And a shapeshifter or a Rtalis (operating different vehicles/mechs) might have different numbers in different states

Totally forgot about this. Is it likely to start sometime soon?

Aiming for July or late June

[Sudurandom]

I know this is rather late, but this does look interesting.
If your still looking for players would the following species/character be acceptable?

The Scavengers
 The Scavengers are a minor nomadic species found primarily in Arm-Rouge, best known for their habit of salvaging other species ships and incorporating them into their own.
Although they're capable of building their own ships and equipment they far prefer to adapt what they can acquire from others. The typical Scavenger ship is a collection of hull segments and parts from numerous races that somehow match the performance of ships with a more traditional construction. This is made possible because Scavenger engineers are among the most versatile in the galaxy, able to make seemingly incompatible parts work together. There is joking speculation that this is a manifestation of the mindweave but few take it seriously.

Physically the Scavengers are lightly furred bipeds about one meter tall, with four arms and a face earthlings have described as lemur like.
Spending their entire life in space their society is based around family with ships typically being crewed by a single extended family, and loose fleets based on clan relationships.

The scavengers generally get along well with other races. However they have an almost instinctual belief that if something has been lost or abandoned then anyone has the right to take what they find useful. This and their inability to take the concept of salvage rights seriously has lead to incidents with groups that have a more organized view of the matter.



Name: Spar Ki of the Thread Rider
Role: Engineer
Crime: Illegal salvage
Description:A very tall scavenger (1.2m!) he has light grey fur with black markings.
Spar is friendly, easy going, and like most scavenger engineers always eager to salvage, fix, or "upgrade" something. Perhaps a bit too eager.

[WillowLuman]

I think that works. Those are common themes I had in mind for a number of minor species/groups (junkers and scavangers being common in frontier areas I'd imagine). We might need to think of a less generic name for them, though.