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'Race characteristics' for each race : Star Fleet Universe
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DorianGray
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 6:20 pm    Post subject: 'Race characteristics' for each race : Star Fleet Universe Reply with quote

I'm generally wondering about each of the general sterotypes for each of the races in the SFU. Please let me know if the following is correct, and if not correct me and please add on to them if you can.

United Federation of Planets:
Diplomatic, 'The good guys', they have the best economy and the best science/research/survey ships. They have the best diplomatic relations with the minor alien races (that sometimes join the federation)

Klingon Empire:
Aggressive expansionist/imperialists. Enslaves other races, doesn't hestitate to commit genocide, Totalitarian regieme.

Romulan Empire:

-I have no idea, in the paramount universe they have extremely advanced technology/ships even better than the Federation is ruled by a Oligarchy (Romulan Senate/Praetor) and very secretive and have the best spy/intelligence network- (Is all of this true in the SFU?)

WYN: no idea (They are Hydrans basically I guess)

Lyrans:
Lighter slightly more softer versions of Klingons.
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djdood
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 6:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Feds - As you describe (and as seen on TOS tv show). The Fed government is a bit misguided sometimes (the Buckner administration, etc.).

Klingons - Pretty much what you say. However, they are not needlessly brutal. They're too poor to waste resources by committing genocide for no reason other than something trivial like "sport". However (as the Vergarians learned), if you try as a people to rise up against the Empire, then as a people you will pay a hefty price (nuclear bombardment back to the stone age in their case).
SFU Klingons are *nothing* like what came on tv later. They're interested in their personal honor, but won't waste themselves (and the Empire's property) in suicidal attacks unless there is something tangible to be gained from it.
What the Klingons have going for them, despite being despotic ,and brutal, and corrupt at times, is they do push to be efficient. What little resources and peoples they control, they use and don't waste.

Romulans - Almost the reverse of what you describe. Conniving. Sneaky. Underhanded. For much of the recorded SFU history they were technologically very backward, lacking warp drive until much later than the other empires, along with other key technologies (transporters, etc.). Their constant political house infighting also cripples things like their intelligence network and R&D. The Gorn intelligence network was able to detect and thwart the Romulan attempts to develop warp drive due to their distraction with each other.
If the Tholians hadn't shown up to distract and tick off the Klingons, the Romulans would have ended up yet another subject race of the Klingon Empire. As it turns out, the Klingons decided they didn't need another war to fight at that point and helped the Romulans complete their technological advances. With Klingon help, they became a true threat by the time of the General War. Their GW-era ships are second to none.

WYNs - There are only a token few Hydran rebels within the WYN cluster (if any). They WYNs are mainly Kzinti (the followers of the failed Usuper coup), along with quite a few Klingon rebels (ethnic Klingon and many subject race peoples), Lyran rebels on the losing end of their many civil conflicts, Orion pirates, and smatterings of outcasts and unconventionals from every spot in the galaxy.

Lyrans - Different than the Klingons, but similar enough that they eventually became formal allies. Lyrans have a reputation for brutality - they take prisoners, but only so they can *eat* them. Hydrans tend to be terrified of Lyrans as Hydrans seem to be considered a delicacy. IF the Lyrans weren't so obsessed with fighting each other in incessant clan wars (and with trying to blot out the Kzintis, whom they consider an abomination) they could have been as big of players as the Klingons or more.
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Mike
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 8:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

One thing that has always been interesting to me is how narrow the corridor is between the Klingon and Romulan empires. How could the Klingons either conquer or supply the Romulans very easily?
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djdood
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 8:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Once the Tholians showed up, it got even harder.
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Scoutdad
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 8:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mike wrote:
One thing that has always been interesting to me is how narrow the corridor is between the Klingon and Romulan empires. How could the Klingons either conquer or supply the Romulans very easily?

remember how large the F&E hexes are. That's a massive area to patrol and it well away from teh typical lanes of commerce for the Federation (and to get to it, you either go though -or around- the semi-independent Orion Enclave). With agressive Klingons and agressive Roms along the mid-line of your borders and nuetral (at best...) to semi-agressive Gorns and Kzinti along the upper reaches... the Klingo-Romulan corridor was definitely a backwater area.
Also, the klingons were not in a position to occupy and subjugate the Romulans and the Romulans were equally incapable of instigating anything themselves. I don't think anyone in the Federation ever considered what might ultimately become of a Klingo-Romulan alliance or they may have taken greater steps to prevent it.
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Dal Downing
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 3:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mike wrote:
One thing that has always been interesting to me is how narrow the corridor is between the Klingon and Romulan empires. How could the Klingons either conquer or supply the Romulans very easily?


Also remember at the time the Tholians moved in and stole/conqured the Klingons original Homeworld (Year 2479) the federation had not yet made the Boarder Declaration of 2502 so there was alot more open space at the bottom of the map for the Klingons to move in. Plus they had 3 other Colonies to stage thier invasion out of.

djdood wrote:
Feds - As you describe (and as seen on TOS tv show). The Fed government is a bit misguided sometimes (the Buckner administration, etc.).


But never forget there is a large segment of the Federation Economy that is still driven by Economics, and these Corperations have been know to been or break a occasional law or treaty in the name of profit even if the did not come from Orion.
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djdood
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 5:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Er, Dal, the Klingons never lost their homeworld (Klinzhai). The Tholians took some backwater colony worlds.
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DorianGray
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 4:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Can anyone fill us up on the Gorn Lyran DR and Hydrans?
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Scoutdad
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 4:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

DorianGray wrote:
Can anyone fill us up on the Gorn Lyran DR and Hydrans?

Hydrans: low-down, dirty-rotten, methane-breathing, trashcan-looking Hydrans....

I'm headed out for the last round of Xmas shopping with my better half, so no time for details, but I'll follow this up with a summary of Gorns, LDR, and Hydrans later today - if someone else doesn't beat me to it.
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Ravenhull
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 6:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

LDR are Comrade Lyrans. Think communism a'la the old USSR or Cuba.

Gorn tend to be 'We want peace, and like the Federation a lot, but tick us off and "GORN SMASH!"' (BTW, the Romulans managed to achieve perma tickoff generations ago. Shocked )

ISC: "We are here to bring peace to the galaxy... and we have the powerful battlefleet to do it with. Peace through superior firepower."

Tholians: We don't have a huge fleet, but boy can we defend what we got. Otherwise, why don't y'all 'discuss' things amongst yourselves.

Seltorians: Where are the Tholians?!? KILL!!!
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DorianGray
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 10:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Can anyone go into details of the Hydran and Gorn government system and characteristics?

Is Hydrans an repressive absolute monarchy or monarchy in name like the UK of today or a constitutional monarchy? How are the political parties arranged in Hydran politics?

Same with the Gorn, Lyrans and Kzinti, are they run by a senate, oligarchy, aristocracy? How stable are their governments, what is their economic system, and what is their foreign policy towards minor races.

Sorry for the esoteric specific questions but I'm genuinely curious and I also need to know in order for a total Star Fleet conversion for the space civilization game Twilight Imperium 3rd edition. I'm wondering what racial bonuses to assign to each race esp. for the Kzinti, Lyran, Hydran, and Romulans (Fed's get economic/diplomatic bonuses, Klingon's best military, etc)
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Scoutdad
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 11:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dorian - I'd recommend you get a copy of the Prime Directive rulebook - any system you prefer. It has lots of great background fluff on the various empires - including a smattering of what you're asking about.

You can also get a PDF copy of Module Prime Alpha from e23. Thisis a source book for the original, OOP Prime Directive (first edition). It has scads of detail about the Hydrans and their homeworld.
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DorianGray
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 12:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd appreciate any general info on the Empires just a paragraph or so.

I'd just want to be true to the canon and the brilliant SFUniverse. I'll definately get to those books eventually BUT right now I'm up to my neck in purchasing a LOT of starline 2400 minis in order to make this work. Think 12 Starbases, 12 Battlestations, 20 Large Auxilaries, and 24 CAs, 48 FFs, 18 BCrusiers ... Shocked I think that goes over $500 Confused Sad
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terryoc
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 1:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hydrans... the Hydrans are a monarchy, but a lot of political power is held by the Guilds. Guilds are sort of mega-corporations. Hydran politics tends to be somewhat chaotic. This has resulted in various boondoggles, like fact they operate fusion-beam ships side-by-side with the hellbore-armed ships, and why the command ships have both. If the Hydrans were able to get their act together economically, they could control a much larger area of space.

During the conquest of the Hydran Kingdom by the Klingons and Lyrans, a number of planets were colonised by the Klinks and Lyrans. The Hydrans don't need that real estate, they live on a completely different kind of planet, so they basically just leave them alone and do business with them. The residents of those planets have their own government. They are not allowed to operate warships, but they probably have their own planetary defenses like defense satellites and Commercial Platforms, maybe even civilian base stations. Enough to intimidate pirates, but not enough to be a threat to Hydran control.

Kzintis are ruled by the Patriarch, an absolute monarch (in theory). There are also other important nobles, such as the Marquis and the Duke. The nobility personally own warships, so the fleet is really the personal property of a bunch of nobles who are bound by feudal oaths to provide ships in time of war.

Lyrans are politically very similar to Kzintis, a lot of infighting and backstabbing. Politically, it's a Kingdom divided into counties, each run by a Count. The King maintains control by playing the counties off against each other. The LDR was particularly badly mismanaged by its count, and a bunch of revolutionaries overthrew them and instituted a democracy... but a rather primitive democracy. Only males get the vote, for example. And I'm not sure if there is more than one political party.

Gorns are actually three related species, seeded by the Lizard Kings (a spacefaring race mysteriously disappeared). They have few intelligent species in their space. For some reason, intelligent species up that end of the Alpha Octant are few and far between, for reasons that are still unknown. They tend to have a penchant for ground combat, where their physical size and toughness gives them an edge. The Gorn Senate is very reluctant to spend money on military matters, and the Federation is friendly while the Romulans are just not much of a threat throughout most of the SFU history, so there's no real incentive for a powerful military.

The two superpowers in the game, the Federation and Klingons, are politically unified and dominated by one species but encourage their component species to contribute. The Federation has the carrot approach, and the Klingons use a stick, but it's clear that in unity there is strength in the SFU.
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Jean
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 2:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you decide to get a PD book, I would suggest the PD20M book. We re-worked some of the information in it, squeezed a few facts in, and will be using it as the base text for most of the other basic RPG books. For example, males and females are equals in the Lyran and LDR empires (I cannot find anything in the RPGs except a statement that we determined was not correct in the original PD20 book: the -4 modifier to reactions to females was removed in PD20M).

If I might suggest, let's move this to the Prime Directive section. It sort of fits in there and I'd love for the RPGers to see this sort of discussion.

Thanks for starting this conversation!

Jean
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