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Alien races: The Bizzarre form VS the vaguely humanoid form
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<blockquote data-quote="Thasmodious" data-source="post: 4515295" data-attributes="member: 63272"><p>I think it's not so much about the individual race, but the overall racial design for the game/campaign. If all aliens were human-like but with a metal eyebrow or something, it would be uninteresting. OTOH, if all the aliens were a Lovecraft-esque menagerie of forms, it might be too much. I think a good mix between the familiar and truly alien is ideal for sci-fi games. A levitating cephalopod telepath might not get as much play as the 10' tall bipedal race made of organic rock or the pointy eared, highly intelligent human-like race, but it would be the perfect pick for the player who wants to really go alien (I would be one such player).</p><p></p><p>If you're looking to create a race to fit into an existing game, go for the truly alien form to make something interesting and memorable. It's important, of course, to make sure the race is playable, not to much of a challenge. My floating cephalopod-like friend would be a challenge with no means of communication other than a complex series of squiggles. He doesn't require a mouth, but telepathy or some form of communication with the others is a must, even if its a piece of technology, a translator or implant or something.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Thasmodious, post: 4515295, member: 63272"] I think it's not so much about the individual race, but the overall racial design for the game/campaign. If all aliens were human-like but with a metal eyebrow or something, it would be uninteresting. OTOH, if all the aliens were a Lovecraft-esque menagerie of forms, it might be too much. I think a good mix between the familiar and truly alien is ideal for sci-fi games. A levitating cephalopod telepath might not get as much play as the 10' tall bipedal race made of organic rock or the pointy eared, highly intelligent human-like race, but it would be the perfect pick for the player who wants to really go alien (I would be one such player). If you're looking to create a race to fit into an existing game, go for the truly alien form to make something interesting and memorable. It's important, of course, to make sure the race is playable, not to much of a challenge. My floating cephalopod-like friend would be a challenge with no means of communication other than a complex series of squiggles. He doesn't require a mouth, but telepathy or some form of communication with the others is a must, even if its a piece of technology, a translator or implant or something. [/QUOTE]
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