Oh, so you've added Klingons

[Rechan]

Well I meant that I'm just tired of humans. As a psych major with a love of anthropology/sociology, I get my 'humans are quite rich and different' fix regularly.

 

[Gargoyle]

Well I meant that I'm just tired of humans. As a psych major with a love of anthropology/sociology, I get my 'humans are quite rich and different' fix regularly.

Ah. Yeah, I think I'd be tired of humans too if I had that background. I deal far too much with technology day to day, and I'm not sick of humans yet. Sick of certain people for sure, but I'm not positive those individuals are human...

 

[Gargoyle]

Unfortunately, you'll see this more frequently as time goes on. Just about every combination of racial traits has been done in TV and movies so far. So no matter what "original" idea you come up with it's probably been done before. It's the nature of the beast

But, you didn't base them on klingons. They were original to you. So I say stand up and be proud of your Orcs that coincidentally look like something someone else may have done somewhere on TV.

And Dragonborn look pretty darn cool to me. More wandering mercenaries with honor than klingons though. Do Nichians (Andromida) come close.

Yeah, I think I'm over my consternation over my orcs not being very "original". The campaign as a whole was fairly unique, even though it combined lots of stock ideas. It's the way you combine things that makes things interesting, and what keeps us coming back to the movies, TV, and to D&D.

 

[Jhulae]

The ST:TOS Klingon Empire was really modelled after Communist USSR. Only in TNG did they start with this 'warrior and honor' stuff. The TOS Klingons were much more interesting, honestly. Star Fleet Universe has kept Klingons modelled after TOS, and its so much better.

Frankly, I don't think TNG Klingons were all that original anyway (just so widely known), so any supposed similarity is really inconsequential. After all, isn't it mostly true that "there are no original ideas"? Even good movies/TV/books copy things from the past.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Wow, my Nerd Meter just pegged out.

ROFL!!

 

[RigaMortus2]

Who would wn in a battle between Klingons and Wookies?

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

Wookie vs Klingon?

Klingons. Wookies seem to have some sort of racial curse that keeps them in the excellent and honorable loosers category.

Klingons don't.

 

[Goblyn]

I suppose it wouldn't be too terribly difficult to come up with a 4E Star Trek D20 game. For the races, right off the top of my head:

Humans --> Well, humans of course.
Vulcans --> Eladrin
Klingons --> Half-orcs/Dragonborn
Ferengi --> Goblins
Cardassians --> Tieflings
Romulans --> Drow
Borg --> Warforged
Changelings --> Changelings (naturally)
Betazoids --> Human psions

Wow, my Nerd Meter just pegged out.

Huh. I always equated ferengi with kobolds, and cardassians with hobgoblins. The rest, though, totally the same. Except klingons. HTey seem more of a mix between dwarves and orcs more to me.

 

[Wormwood]

I've run orcs as Klingons ever since I saw Warcraft 3.

A race of mindless bags of XP is a sacred cow worth killing.

 

[vulcan_idic]

Huh. I always equated ferengi with kobolds, and cardassians with hobgoblins. The rest, though, totally the same. Except klingons. HTey seem more of a mix between dwarves and orcs more to me.

Maybe it's just their ever so prominent neck ridges but I always associated Cardassians with Lizardfolk.

As for the whole "originality" issue I have not problem with "unoriginal" concepts or story lines - there are a limited number of concepts, character interrelationships, plot elements and so on. What is important is not the originality of your elements but the quality of the story you tell with them. A story can be entirely unoriginal - i.e. a retelling of another famous story (as the retelling of the Wizard of Oz in the 200th episode of Stargate SG-1) but if you tell the story well it matters not at all.