T5 Sophont Review update

[Nathan Brazil]

As of now I have it narrowed down to 55 candidates. I will do the tracing back on J1 routes in a bit. The text says they live in a system with a "bright star" in the northern continent with snow. Since our northern snowy cultures did not get spots around the eyes, time to check systems with stars whose luminosity is greater than ours.

 

[Nathan Brazil]

OK that was quick! I am down to 6 systems.

310	Styge	D655699-6		Ag Ni Ga		613	ImDs	G0 V
1605	Krupp	C588736-7		Ag Ri		102	ImDs	G0 V
715	Ilm		B662946-C		Hi Pr		715	ImDs	G0 V
936	Spires	X894654-5		Ag Ni Fo	R	903	ImDs	G0 V M4 V
512	Waroh	A789846-D	NS	Ri Ph RsB		820	ImDs	G0 V M4 V M4 V
913	Dahlec	C786643-8	S	Ag Ni Ga Ri		902	ImDs	G1 V

 

[Nathan Brazil]

Done checking the J1 route factor, this leaves 4. These systems are accessible through a J1 main back into Diaspora sector. If the 1248 UPP data is acceptable (not the stellar data, it is all different), these last 4 candidates DO NOT become Virus Boneyards in case someone brings that up...

So the Anakundu homeworld MIGHT be here:
310 Styge D655699-6 Ag Ni Ga 613 ImDs G0 V
512 Waroh A789846-D NS Ri Ph RsB 820 ImDs G0 V M4 V M4 V
715 Ilm B662946-C Hi Pr 715 ImDs G0 V
913 Dahlec C786643-8 S Ag Ni Ga Ri 902 ImDs G1 V

If there other particulars or restrictions, please bring them up, if possible with a book and page reference. Otherwise, pick 1. Soup's ready!

 

[SanDragon]

Dahlec?!

DALEK?!?!?!

 

[aramis]

Dahlec?!

DALEK?!?!?!

There are a lot of such homages in Traveller's maps. The Spinward Marches has at least 20.

 

[DonM]

The aslan reverse engineered from a Terran ship.
The Vilani reverse engineered from relics.

Marc hasn't "revoked their major status"...

Actually, Marc never gave them major status, and his orders preclude new ones... so the Yaskoydri aren't major status.

 

[Garnfellow]

The T5 Core Rules (ver 5.09) provide a couple of additional minor races on page 546:

• The Urdushkha, homeworld Irdi (location unknown). Irdi orbits Irluush, an F4 V star in orbit 5. As far as I can tell, this is the first and only reference. There is an unofficial Irdi at Leonidae 1902, but this is a barren world with a corrosive atmosphere, so an unlikely homeworld candidate.
• The Cassilldans, homeworld Ambemsham, which orbits Krof, an M3 V star in orbit 0. The Cassilldans are a minor human race illustrated in the DGP's Solomani and Aslan book, but otherwise undetailed. The T5 Core Rules actually has several sly references to this sophont, though the name of the race is variously spelled Casilldan and Cassildan. The T5SS has a Ambemshan (Antares 0216) which has the exact same UWP and matching stellar data as T5's Ambesham.

 

[DonM]

I need to post an update. The Cassilldans (Quesadians for jokesters) are in that already. After I finish the JTAS Online index.

 

[DonM]

Done checking the J1 route factor, this leaves 4. These systems are accessible through a J1 main back into Diaspora sector. If the 1248 UPP data is acceptable (not the stellar data, it is all different), these last 4 candidates DO NOT become Virus Boneyards in case someone brings that up...

So the Anakundu homeworld MIGHT be here:
310 Styge D655699-6 Ag Ni Ga 613 ImDs G0 V
512 Waroh A789846-D NS Ri Ph RsB 820 ImDs G0 V M4 V M4 V
715 Ilm B662946-C Hi Pr 715 ImDs G0 V
913 Dahlec C786643-8 S Ag Ni Ga Ri 902 ImDs G1 V

If there other particulars or restrictions, please bring them up, if possible with a book and page reference. Otherwise, pick 1. Soup's ready!

For a variety of reasons, at the moment we're leaning towards Waroh, 0512...

 

[Nathan Brazil]

inexorabletash, DonM (wherever you are now), I see you have given the Anakundu their homeworld in T5SS. Thank you, thank you very much!

 

[Garnfellow]

In reviewing T5's section on chimeras, I'm not sure Don usage of this term was quite right in his spreadsheet. He appears to be using chimera for "any new species produced through geneering."

In T5, though, "A chimera is a hybrid of two or more distinct [sophont] species, produced naturally or through geneering."

If I wanted to create an Aquamorph (water breathing human), I could try to find a fishman sophont with a Genetic Profile identical to human and Nucleic Acid, and then mix and max genes. Or I could just turn on some atavistic fish genes already in humans for gills and other fishy characteristics. Or mix in a couple of missing fish genes. This doesn't quite fit T5's description of chimera.

The Wuans are another case, a race "self-geneered" during the Long Night through a eugenics program that created several specialized genotypes. Maybe there was genetic manipulation, but it doesn't sound like there was significant hybridization with another sophont. (And if there was, the Solomanis never would have let them in the Confederation.)

 

[The Pakkrat]

A chimera should not require one or more 'sophonts' per the definition of sophont found earlier in the book. Sentient or not, traveling or not, a chimera definition should include all organisms. That is, unless this game desires to continue separating sophont from other beings.

From the Lexicon Department, this is the Pakkrat

 

[GypsyComet]

Sentient or not, traveling or not, a chimera definition should include all organisms.

Since T5 is explicitly defining classes of sophont, the definition included starts and ends with sophonts. Using the term for non-sophonts just requires proper sentence structure.