Dawning Star: Helios Rising print version

[Justin D. Jacobson]

The psionic turtles who are hippies with their "Red Truth drug". At least they looked like turtles to me and they are said to derive from the original plant people.

I think I may be on to what you're referring to. Sounds like you're talking about the yaom. They have wrinkled skin that could lead one to describe them as vaguely turtle-like. (When you said turtle, I was thinking more about the shells, which led me to think of the saurian shellbacks.) I think you're reading too much into this sentence: "The yaom are an offspring species of the Star Confederation genetic seeding program, bearing a strong genetic influence from the dosai." The dosai are, in turn, described as "the sentient seeds of an immense plant called the Mind Tree." The yaom are not direct descendants of the dosai--just the product of the Star Confederation program, using some of the dosai's genetic material as their base. In retrospect, "offspring" probably implies more of a direct lineage than was intended; it was used in the more generic sense to simply say "output". I'll point Lee Hammock to this thread for a more detailed explanation.

Yes, there is. I wrote a rather scathing review of the xenomorphs Terraformer relating to the same issue I have with HR. Is there any chance to rectify that in the next collection of xenomorphs?

Well, I wouldn't call it scathing--again, just different expectations for what you want your xenomorphs to look like. I've said many times, when it comes to TERRAFORMER, I take requests! Pretend you own the company, what kind of xenomorphs do you want to see in the next issue? If you tell us what you're looking for, we'll do it. It's just that simple.

 

[LeeHammock]

Initially in developing HR we went more non-humanoid in terms of aliens. The elgie were originally a species of sentient jellyfish kept aloft by lighter than air gases that relied on changing the color of their skin to communicate, but then someone pointed out very few people want to play color changing jellyfish, or really inhuman races in general, and how hard that character would be to integrate with other species. From a game design perspective I prefer to give people species that they have some frame of reference on since all my players are human and we are inherently limited to a mostly human point of view. Also if every species is drastically different in form and mindset, as real aliens are likely to be, party cohesion and equipment becomes a nightmare. It's hard to have a party when some characters don't breathe the same atmosphere, are completely unable to communicate, or don't even recognize the concepts valued by different species. It'd be sort of like having the vaasi in a party with other species; the vaasi aren't innately evil, but their mindset is so completely different from that of the other species that they cannot effectively live together.

We could have made the setting such that all the other species were nothing like humans, but in that case I would be inclined to not make them PC races, and in my mind that's just not as fun. People like playing aliens, but not the real sorts of aliens we're likely to run into in space. So fun trumps science.

So because of all this we came up with the idea of the Star Confederation genetic seeding program, which was supposed to be something of a "genetic blender" of Star Confederation traits that were then seeded on different worlds. So the yaom ended up with some reptilian genetic information, some information from the dosai, etc. Basically each planet was seeded with a combination of genetic traits from the Star Confederation member species that were thought best for its ecosystem. Desert/barren world = reptiles. So there is an explanation why all the species have a similar humanoid appearance, mindsets, etc.

 

[Justin D. Jacobson]

Yeah, what he said.

So fun trumps science.

This goes back to our "Two Rules" from OQL.

1) It must be fun.
2) It must be believable.

Apropos of this conversation is the comment after Rule 2:

Among the first people brought in on the project was our technical advisor, Robert J. Grady. He played an instrumental role in shaping the back story for the setting to ensure a level of versimilitude necessary to a science-fiction setting. Everything in this book is theoretically possible. Some of it may seem wild or even far-fetched, but it is, in fact, the result of studied reasoning. You may have heard the term "hard science." This normally refers to a setting that is utterly grounded in science. Unfortunately, strict adherence to the iron grip of science can make role-playing tedious. That's why we refer to Dawning Star as a "firm science" setting. It's hard science up until it encroaches on Rule 1; then, we take a step back. The result, we are confident, is a science-fiction setting that will provide you with years of role-playing enjoyment

So, yeah, fun trumps science. But, when that happens, we put Lee, RJ, and the rest of the DS team back to work to find a way to maximize both.

 

[Wycen]

You are probably referring to my Terraformer with the aquatic xenomorphs. For those who don't know, xenomorph is the DS teams word for monsters, creatures, alien critters, etc. I certainly didn't consider the review scathing, however my frame of mind is different than others. I thought to myself, "Wait, all of these critters have traits found in Earth species, which one is not a close analog?"

The thing is, I want to stay true to the team's vision, which I think Justin and Lee have explained well enough above and with Robert J. Grady as technical advisor, I think we have done what we set out to do.

Some people might be interested in some of the things that didn't make it into the books. Giant radioactive mutant worms didn't get past first blush, and I know Lee rewrote a whole section about certain mechs for the Haimedians

Future Terraformers could have more freaky xenomorphs. As the saying goes, Have a hand in the birth of a brand new Earth.

 

[pawsplay]

The yaom are not direct descendants of the dosai--just the product of the Star Confederation program, using some of the dosai's genetic material as their base. In retrospect, "offspring" probably implies more of a direct lineage than was intended; it was used in the more generic sense to simply say "output".

I argued against several places where such language was used, for precisely that reason. Nonetheless, the races in DS do have some genetic inheritence from the Star Confederation races, and many points of similarity to their forebears are not accidental.

In the review referenced earlier in this thread, I would like to point out some inaccuracies.

While mecha and gravity guns are available, the reader will find little in the way of A.I. and gene manipulation.

There are at least two AIs I recall, off-hand, and there was a lot of discussion between myself and the writers on some points concerning AI and memory. There is a LOT of gene manipulation; it is the Vaasi's primary industrial technology, it plays into the origins of the presented races, and it is part of the Republic's terraforming project.

Insectoid and reptilian races tend to be the bad guys, plant and mineral races are strange and alien, and mammalian races tend to be friendly and similar.

The "insectoid" race (presumably the Vaasi) are the most alien. The reptilian races are not, in my view, particularly "bad guys," except from the standpoint of the humans on Eos. All the aliens have some substantially nonhuman traits, and none are simply anthropomorphized animals. The "wolves," for instance, do not have a culture that resembles the pack dynamics of Earth's wolves. The "dinosaurs" are themselves a multi-species society.

While the touches are subtle, to the greatest extent possible, the species are tailored to be unique and exotic. Any one species could be the foundation for an entire game, and each is also written to allow for true individuals (with the obvious exception of hive-controlled creatures).

It is true, the setting does not feature a lot of "transhumanist" sci-fi, at least at the outset. Rather, the science-fiction mainly falls into the following categories:

- It is a near future setting, with technology of necessity having been developed in a very short period of time, for the former Earthers.
- It is a setting of material scarcity. For the residents of Eos and the other planets, they are contending with a new environment, and do not enjoy the full benefits of a massively industrial, massively high tech society. For the Tentari and Vaasi, the are cut off from their ancient sources of power.
- Anything that is very advanced and powerful is also very rare.
- A lot of the dynamics have to do with ancient projects begun by the Star Confederation. Events are, however, taking an unpredictable course.

In short, from the Eos standpoint, this is a story of modern humans meeting an astounding advanced civilization, but rather than assimilating to it, they must discover and master its secrets. The Helios Rising book brings to the fore a struggle for supremacy amongst various races, some friendly, some less so. There is no reason any race in the system couldn't be a friend, or an enemy, to any other, under the right circumstances. Even the Vaasi could be accomodated by humans, if the right bargaining chip were brought to the table, and even the most unassuming people could be come custodians of a technology that granted them rulership over the others.

- RJ

 

[DMH]

So because of all this we came up with the idea of the Star Confederation genetic seeding program, which was supposed to be something of a "genetic blender" of Star Confederation traits that were then seeded on different worlds. So the yaom ended up with some reptilian genetic information, some information from the dosai, etc. Basically each planet was seeded with a combination of genetic traits from the Star Confederation member species that were thought best for its ecosystem. Desert/barren world = reptiles. So there is an explanation why all the species have a similar humanoid appearance, mindsets, etc.

This is a snag I have. How much life on Earth is based on the program? Where did the other organisms come from? The abundance of life even in deserts in pretty astounding, so why just reptiles?

And, unless this is a setting secret important to future works, how much of life in the galaxy is directly related to the seeding program?

 

[pawsplay]

This is a snag I have. How much life on Earth is based on the program? Where did the other organisms come from?

This hasn't been set in stone, but the working hypothesis I've used is that genetic manipulation may have contributed to, and been partially camouflaged by, the Cambrian explosion.

The abundance of life even in deserts in pretty astounding, so why just reptiles?

Each world has its own ecosystem with a variety of life forms. Each world visited by the SC received contributions from primarily one SC homeworld. One of those worlds received genetic gifts that enhanced the likelihood of spawning a reptiloid race.

Incidentally, although the terms are used descriptively and freely in the books, terms such as "reptile" don't strictly apply.

Keep in mind that strictly speaking, none of the new races is a "descendent" of a SC race any more than humans and parrots are cousins. Some resemblances are the result of genetic seeding, others of convergent evolution. And some of the new races have markedly different traits than their "ancestor" race.

And, unless this is a setting secret important to future works, how much of life in the galaxy is directly related to the seeding program?

Not so much. Each SC race would have seeded one or more worlds. In some cases, the seeding project may have been fruitless, or diverged on different lines, or simply has not yet resulted in an advanced civilization. There could conceivably be either SC projects out there, orphaned civilizations who owe their roots to the same genetic seeding project.

 

[Tetsubo]

Since we are now discussing content... I have a question about the Terran home system...

Does the game setting background ever deal with the Off World Terran colonies? By the late 22nd Century there should be many, many people living off Earth but still in the Sol system. Millions in fact. Most of them wouldn't be bothered by the death of Earth... You could also terraform Earth after the impact. It is in the perfect orbit after all...

 

[Voadam]

In addition to the print book there is also the pdf available at www.rpgnow.com. That's how I got my copy of the book.

I'm using Helios Rising as a sourcebook in my Wildwood D&D game that has some Sci-Fi elements. HR has a lot of neat races within it.

As for requests, more xenomorphs please. Go for the NonPC alien races and the hazardous predators.

 

[Khairn]

Completely off topic, but I love reading questions about a setting and seeing involved answers from the designers. Understanding what was going on "under the hood" of the product is really fascinating.