CaerieD, what you don’t mention is what role you want them to play in the story. The players are going to interact with them; will this be a one-time thing, or ongoing? Will they be helpers or antagonists? For me, things like this will often influence the design of a nonhuman race; do I want them to seem like fearsome foes, possible allies or hapless innocents?
I like many of the ideas presented here, especially the communication through microwaves – while the chromoluminescence sounds neat, it wouldn’t useful for signaling across distances. Perhaps combining it with another method – markings on the skin and subsonics, for example.
I’d consider giving them big, round eyes, way out of proportion to their head (for us). Like this, that way they can venture deep down into the caves with very little light.
The Hexapod idea sounds cool, because they could have good purchase on the sheer faces of the cliff, and if they needed to manipulate something (or carry young) they would have a spare set of limbs to do so with.
180 degree digits still seems rather important for a specie that will make its living on the cliff face. I assume they’re warm blooded, because… well… that just seems like it would make the most sense for a nocturnal animal.
If they’re omnivorous, I assume they only have one stomach, mostly because I’ve never heard of a meat eating specie with more than one, and I’m not really sure how that’d work (queue someone with a link to the contrary… ?).
Also, big giant beer guts would be awesome (for hydration, because they are going to be dealing with subsaharan climates…). Nothing is cooler than two meter tall, a 6 limb, giant eye, muscle bound, beer belly alien climbing up a 300 meter sheer cliff face!
Geez, you guys have given me more ideas than I could ever use in a hundred games, let alone one. I took a bunch of different ideas here to combine into this currently unnamed cutie (yes, my players get cartoon visual aids).
It has radial symmetry with a bone carapace protecting the body and nervous system. Aside from the carapace, the skin is tough and leathery for additional protection, with the skeletal system being internal though it lacks a true spine, due to its radial form. There are six legs, each with two claws and one opposable digit that can be used to manipulate objects and tools. The hip joint of each leg actually involves three joints so that it can be rotated similarly to a human shoulder for ease of climbing. The carapace protects six eyes, which are spaced between the legs, though vision is extremely poor. Communication is based off of pheromones (longer range and lingering) and modulation of the body’s electromagnetic field (requiring very close proximity). The underside of the body holds the scent organs, a beaked mouth, and an eliminatory tract. Pheromones are released through small holes towards the top of the carapace. These holes also serve for cooling the creature, as a thin, watery mucus is ejected through them to run down the carapace and legs and take away heat as it evaporates. If the legs were fully extended, it would have a diameter of eight feet, with the carapace roughly two feet across.
Interactions between the aliens and the players will be ongoing, as a human settlement will be encroaching on alien territory. They will initially be confused by, but neutral to, humans. If the players antagonize, they will be enemies.
I’m still deciding details, particularly about society and breeding. Any further suggestions are more than welcome. Thanks everyone!
Many sea creatures get trace elements from the water around them, filtering them from the sea water. You might posit that a such a sentient but not tool-using creature, in an attempt to get a large dose of some organic chemical that it likes, soaks the source of the chemical in water, then filters the water, getting a large jolt of the chemical. Getting a large jolt of the chemical could drastically affect behavior, maybe behaving as an intoxicant. If a group of these guys dumped a tree that’s the source of the chemicals into the water, then filtered the water, they could very easily become intoxicated, changing their interaction with the players. A previously friendly but tentative alien might become aggressive, panicky, or even prone to hallucinations. And that might be a fun thing for your players to figure out- that this complex group effort at dumping a tree in the river, then swimming in it, actually gets them high.
It doesn’t look like an animal that reproduces with a womb (rigid outer shell prohibits human-like pregnancy, I’d think?), are you thinking live-birth or external?
Along the lines suggested by appleciders, I strongly suggest you read Joe Haldeman’s short story “Seasons,” in the collection Dealing in Futures. It’s about a xenosociology mission that goes very badly because the Stone Age aliens are very easygoing and pleasant in one season, but not at all nice in the next one. I forget what the reason was for their drastic change in behavior; something biochemical, IIRC. In any event, a well-written and chilling story.
You could give them chemical secretions that when smelled/otherwise picked up by other species members it conveys a message, but they have potential for vocal sounds as well. As such maybe certain sound could alter the message, for example as an intensifier. The chemical message for “like” could become “love” if they say “ugh” after the specific message is secreted. This could lead to humans possibly “wondering what that smell is” for one. But more importantly it allows for a little “misdirection” because they’re also making vocal sounds, leading the players to wonder how exactly they’re communicating all that information with just one or two sounds here and there. It could also make relationships interesting if they befriend the humans and learn to speak English, because they may come off incredibly monotone and emotionless because even though they know the language they have trouble conveying emotion well without the chemical aids they usually use.
As for their society it should be very tight and trusting, they may even have trouble grasping the concepts of “lying” if they end up learning the human’s language. The reason for this (based on my model) is because since they’re emitting chemicals it’s very difficult to “whisper” and very, very easy to eavesdrop (accidentally or otherwise), possibly even from the next room. They may also lack total control over their communications (if they’re extremely sad they may “broadcast” a sad message) so it’s hard to keep secrets because if something is bugging them it will be “broadcast” for all to see. Because of these hindrances in keeping things to themselves, while not having a hive mind they may be incredibly understanding of one another and perhaps gullible because of the lack of “secret” thoughts. If you want to go this route, you could also have a few more disreputable members of the leadership structure having really good control over the mechanism so they appear perfect to the unassuming villagers.
As for breeding, I like Trihs’ idea about the pod/tree thing. I would also like to add on that a vast importance on what a specific pod “eats.” If a certain tree is fertilized exclusively with plants (for instance) certain traits may emerge in the “hatched” offspring. If they feel threatened, for instance, they may begin fertilizing less pods with wood from the local tree (which may develop tools and limbs for building) and more with meat (which may trigger the “hunter” limbs to grow). This could lead to an interesting adventure if they befriend the humans and learn their language where one doesn’t want to be what he was born as, your choice to decide whether something like this would end up being a dead end quest, possible but requiring really arcane ingredients, require coping with a non-ideal skillset, or whatever else.
I was thinking external, possibly with the fertilization itself taking place outside of the body. Der Trihs’s idea for external wombs in some symbiotic relationship with a plant greatly appeals. Particularly since I’m thinking I could trick my players into unwittingly destroying said plants.
Elendil’s Heir, thanks for the story recommendation. That does sound interesting!
This whole honest alien idea is really interesting. OTOH, if you wanted to give them something more like language as we know it, you could have a system where bursts of pheromones are more like phonemes and the olfactory system is fast enough and sensitive enough that it can adjust to changing levels of smells in real time. Then, when somebody stumbles upon a conversation, what she “hears” isn’t <curiosity> <fear> <strangers> <funny-looking> but simply alphabet soup.
But jragon’s scenario seems like a better one for the purpose of novelty and mystery. How are these things communicating? Why are the elders living downwind of everyone else? How can we talk to them? Do you smell…bacon?
Not to mention the social stigma when the critters start decide to give you a friendly welcome in the form of an intense whiff of putrescine. :eek: (Pretend that’s a puking smiley.)
In all seriousness, though, can’t they just exude any chemicals they want for pheromones, just as long as they’re not using it for a biological function already? What if one of their pheromones is ricin or heroin or THC?
Obviously, the rectum pops back in when not in use. That’s what makes it so handy.
As for pheromones, it simply depends on what they’ve developed to release into the air. Humans may not even be aware of them, or they could have effects on humans. Things that make humans sick to their stomachs could be the alien equivalent of a sensual perfume.
I honestly missed the pheromone thing in your post Caerie :smack:. Anyway, pretend I didn’t miss it and I simply elaborated on it with the vocal sound idea (and the idea that they communicate “concepts” rather than “words”). So… yeah.
I assumed you were just elaborating on the idea, Jragon! I do like the idea of them having a difficult time lying. Having a “language” so closely related to their bodies like that might make it impossible for them to comprehend anything but the most literal of truths.
So far, these sound like a combination of the crab-like qheuen and the pheromone-using traeki from David Brin’s 2nd Uplift trilogy. That man designs good aliens, IMO. Not Wayne Barlowe-level good, but good.
Consider how ants leave a trail of formic acid as a path indicator for other ants. A reasonably complex chemical communication system could do similar things: this chemical signals where the road is, this corner of the cave is where all the shameful scents are, this cave is exposed to the tides so our secret conversation will be washed away. How do your critters react to rain? Do they have to re-emerge from their caves and mark their trails again? What about, heaven forbid, acid rain? Human-created pollution might have a terrible effect on their communication.
You said seaside cliffs: saltwater or fresh? Would the salinity of the sea be essential to their pheremone communication or could they be transplanted to a freshwater environment? Maybe “saltwater” is a whole different language than “freshwater…”
How sensitive are these things to the kilowatts of radio frequency noise generated by most human equipment? Imagine hordes of these things clambering up the pylons, tearing out the power cables (uh-oh, mynocks). How do they react to sunspots?
If these things can generate an electromagnetic field, can they themselves be magnetized? Do they have some kind of ferrometallic substance which would be permanently altered by, let’s say, a powerful ambient magnetic field?
