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Alien Sex and Reproduction in Traveller 5

[m;]Marc does impose a PG rating decency standards equivalent standard.[/m;]

The topic itself is right on the very very edge of that.

I'd say it crossed the decency line some time ago. The topic, in my opinion, is more that just a bit weird. When I first read it I wondered "why this" of all things.
 
Lets shuffle back towards what the new genetics rules mean for populations and how they interact and draw a veil over the um mechanics.

Also these genetics rules have applications for disease control and surveillance and biological warfare. I recall reading about "Medical Scouts" but never found anything canon on them. IMTU they are a branch of IISS that carry doctors to Imperial worlds on CDC type missions (think Outbreak) and monitor general medical/mental health standards across the Imperium.

With the genetic rules (and the WMD rules for bio and chemical weapons) Medical Scouts now have something to test for in determining if a disease is a threat to the Imperium.
 
No verbose language, erotic alien text or even links to strange pics etc have been put up and the word 'sex' is PG. No bordering what so ever. Marc put that in from day 1 and I stand by it. It's simply a place to talk of hybrid beings, who may or may not have come about through acts of alien love. Nothing wrong with that.

As one poster on here has mentioned most are incompatible genetically, hence genetic engineering is required. Still it's a universe where anything goes and the social ramifications for the characters could be varied and extremely interesting.

There's nothing wrong with a Solomani falling in love with a Hiver(or perhaps being seriously manipulated who could say?). Well on some planets right? World dependent perhaps.

Obviously it's a part of Traveller your not going to game a 13 year old through for example. Far simpler to to just have the straight races and that's that. (Avoid 30+ years of Traveller evolution explanations)

However for more advanced players who have been playing Traveller for a long time and approach the subject with maturity and perhaps even a little tongue in cheek humor, is that really a big deal?

Personally I think it adds a nice spice to the game and is a welcome feature. After all the ancients where genetically manipulating races since the Traveller universe began. Who knows what else. ;)
 
I'd say it crossed the decency line some time ago. The topic, in my opinion, is more that just a bit weird. When I first read it I wondered "why this" of all things.

Disagree. Nothing said has been indecent to this Traveller by anyone.(apologies to those who blush at the word 'sex', it is PG though).

That's half the fun of some of the best SciFi ever written. It does touch on weird concepts you may not have thought about and perhaps even takes you into weird territory. This is what RPGing is all about. Exploring concepts you wouldn't normally think about in an adventure setting.

Who wouldn't want to sail across the stars with there attractive Darrian partner by there side?

Even the invisible man caused some controversy. The things that someone who is invisible could get away with. Thought provoking.
 
One more thing while I think of it. OK, not exactly Traveller related but perhaps could cause more women to get interested in Traveller.

The number of women I have met who absolutely love 'Spock' for reasons I would never post on this thread(even I was scared and I'm pretty open minded). Some women, really dig the qualities of alien characters.

The point here is that a lot of alien characters have extremely different qualities and social structure to human characters. This could have a dramatic effect on the characters in certain situations at space ports and frontier worlds etc. For example: I had an upstuck annoying character who was good at everything he knew. But he was ultimately a bit of a dork. Well he ended up falling in love with a strange furry yellow alien he met on a lab ship he was adventuring on. While there was attraction and it created some extremely funny gaming moments, there was never anything lewd or unsavoury. Sadly they were not meant to be together as she was a die hard medical scientist and he was a die hard pilot and there life together would never have worked out. In the end he wanted the space travel over the relationship.

Just an example but of course, no hybrid species would have resulted from this encounter and who knows if it could have? But perhaps that character now travels the stars wondering. What if? What would life have been like with a hybrid family? He'll never know now but that's one moment in the life of a space Traveller.

Oh and please, I beg you all, no one generate a table for calculating attraction between alien characters.
 
To late. :p I did this about a year ago before T5 came out. The reason, an all female crew and species mix. :devil:

"Are you suggesting that a group made up entirely of females will... breed?"
-Henry Wu
Jurassic Park

(Sorry, just watched the 3D a couple days ago. :p)
 
I found this insightful and well thought out:

There are 5 basic levels to consider:
Interfertile: the offspring can breed
Hybridizing: the offspring form a discrete profile.
Limited (Mule-Generating): Offspring can't breed, and usually have a discrete third phenotype.
Non-viable: offspring usually can't succeed in being carried to term
Non-conceptive: conception can't occur.
You could achieve a hybrid that cannot breed even with other hybrirds
 
Now that opens up some vast new vistas in the Traveller races Chuck. It's certainly exciting.

Imagine playing a charcter that's 1/3 Droyne, 1/3 Hiver and 1/3 Vargr for example. Sheesh, how would you go about role playing that individual? It would certainly make you think about the characters background and how it would come across to other species. (This type of character could also open some interesting controversy as the character jumps from one style of actions to the next(split personalities perhaps??).

VERY interesting new days ahead for Traveller. :)
 
I'd just like to remind everyone that the probability of interspecies breeding outside of the human related branches will be about the same chance as any one of us coming down with a case of Dutch Elm Blight.

And I second Aramis's decency reminder.
 
Disagree Jeff, I think Darians and humans for one would work.

Then there are humans that like.... animals(not saying anything more) but those people and Vargr could work out, then of course the Aslan but hey, let's stick to genetic manipulation(aka artificial engineeringation if you will) to assist those individuals in achieving there children for the strict purposes of maintaining a PG thread.
 
Disagree Jeff, I think Darians and humans for one would work.

Then there are humans that like.... animals(not saying anything more) but those people and Vargr could work out, then of course the Aslan but hey, let's stick to genetic manipulation(aka artificial engineeringation if you will) to assist those individuals in achieving there children for the strict purposes of maintaining a PG thread.

The Darrians are humans. So yes, they would work.

Any two individuals not of at least the same Genus are not going to be inter-compatible (or at least they will not be viable) w/o significant geneering/modification.

To be of the same Genus, the two individuals will have had to originate within the same primordial biosphere. Meaning that humans and all other life on Earth belong to a specific genetic lineage defined by the 5 Kingdoms: Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Protista, and Monera. These Kingdoms are (or would be) unique to Earth. The native "Animal" (or other) Kingdom of another planet will be a totally unrelated classification system and genetic tree, unless there was some type of transplantation from Earth or genetic manipulation (e.g. the Vargr).

In fact, the common taxonomic system that we use on Earth today would likely need to be modified to include an additional level ABOVE Domain/Kingdom: (e.g. Biosphere, Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species). Biosphere would be the name of the originating world.

A human has more in common, genetically, with a tomato plant than it does with an Aslan, unless there is something that the authors of Traveller have not revealed to us yet.
 
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I frankly think this is a weird topic, and I am not quite sure what the fascination with it is.

The genetics rules in T5 are clearly intended (I think) to detail the mechanics of geneering, not inter-species "affairs".
 
Enough is way beyound enough!

Hello all,
With the new hybrid rules now upon us, how do most fellow Travellers feel about Alien sex and genetic manipulation to create the new hybrid races? Could this be a strange spicing up of the game. Adventurers walk in on scenes not meant for public viewing etc?

Do you think this will create some rifts between the different races? Will some hybrid species be looked down upon? Or will it usher in a new age of inter species cross breading throughout the Imperium?

Myself, I think I'll stick to genetic experiments and breading within those new hybrid species. I've been curious how other fellow Travellers will handle this controversial issue.

I've also thought it could make for a very interesting bit of gaming in the new Cirque campaign due out in a few months or so. (The circus that genetically splices together, ecstatically entertains together or something like that. :) ).

On that note, could it perhaps result in some new Race books coming out to cover the hybrid possibilities or should they be covered with the major alien books in a cross breeding chapter?...



One more thing while I think of it. OK, not exactly Traveller related but perhaps could cause more women to get interested in Traveller.

The number of women I have met who absolutely love 'Spock' for reasons I would never post on this thread(even I was scared and I'm pretty open minded). Some women, really dig the qualities of alien characters.

The point here is that a lot of alien characters have extremely different qualities and social structure to human characters. This could have a dramatic effect on the characters in certain situations at space ports and frontier worlds etc. For example: I had an upstuck annoying character who was good at everything he knew. But he was ultimately a bit of a dork. Well he ended up falling in love with a strange furry yellow alien he met on a lab ship he was adventuring on. While there was attraction and it created some extremely funny gaming moments, there was never anything lewd or unsavoury. ...

You don't "fall in love" with a NPC during a RPG...other than consciously or unconsciously expressing unfulfilled desires that you can't achieve in real life.

...
Oh and please, I beg you all, no one generate a table for calculating attraction between alien characters.

Excellent advice, but, someone went and did it anyway.
To late. :p I did this about a year ago before T5 came out. The reason, an all female crew and species mix. :devil:


...
There's nothing wrong with a Solomani falling in love with a Hiver(or perhaps being seriously manipulated who could say?). Well on some planets right? World dependent perhaps.

Obviously it's a part of Traveller your not going to game a 13 year old through for example. Far simpler to to just have the straight races and that's that. (Avoid 30+ years of Traveller evolution explanations)

However for more advanced players who have been playing Traveller for a long time and approach the subject with maturity and perhaps even a little tongue in cheek humor, is that really a big deal?

Personally I think it adds a nice spice to the game and is a welcome feature. After all the ancients where genetically manipulating races since the Traveller universe began. Who knows what else. ;)

"or perhaps being seriously manipulated" Coerced or Raped?

"a part of Traveller your not going to game a 13 year old through" There are 13 year-olds reading this site. Some are younger and the children of CotI members.

"for more advanced players who have been playing Traveller for a long time and approach the subject with maturity" If we start discussing relative maturity one or both of us will possibly be banned.

As for "advanced players” who have been "playing Traveller for a long time" ... Get real. 1977 was the same year for everyone.

It's difficult to envision a K'Kree and a human engaging in intimate relations...

Apparently not for you?

... without gene splicing. I guess for characters that may have had an attraction for horses, K'Kree could be a natural attraction for them??

Disagree Jeff, I think Darians and humans for one would work.

Then there are humans that like.... animals(not saying anything more) but those people and Vargr could work out, then of course the Aslan but hey, let's stick to genetic manipulation(aka artificial engineeringation if you will) to assist those individuals in achieving there children for the strict purposes of maintaining a PG thread.

About time for PG!

Urban Dictionary: beastiality also referred to as "inter-species erotica". The art of performing a sexual act with a member of another species.

I'm personally finding this continual avocation to what amounts to bestiality pretty offensive. To the best of my knowledge it is illegal ALMOST anywhere on planet Earth. Those few places where it is legal it is still not the norm and is held repugnant by the majority of society.

I have no problem with the genetics issues, nor genetic manipulation, though I can't see to many PCs with the stats to be able, or rich enough, to actually do anything with it.

This discussion has little to do with plot, which is one thing, but goes heavily to gaming a scenario which is quite another.

I recall aramis stating that the thread alone was borderline. I see nothing here, or in the last several posts, that discuses this topic in terms of T5 rules, or any other Traveller rules set, just avocation for what amounts to inter species sex, better defined as bestiality.

Again:

Urban Dictionary: beastiality also referred to as "inter-species erotica". The art of performing a sexual act with a member of another species.

To Spaceresearcher;441384 IMO it appears the only thing you wish to do here is discuss abhorrent and deviate sex practices. I’d be happy for you to prove me wrong by your ceasing and desisting the continuing thereof. If this paragraph, or observation and request, gets me censured, or banned, then it’s become a site worth getting banned from.

I don't think I'm alone in thinking this thread has gone way to far:

[m;]Marc does impose a PG rating decency standards equivalent standard.[/m;]

The topic itself is right on the very very edge of that.

Lets shuffle back towards what the new genetics rules mean for populations and how they interact and draw a veil over the um mechanics...

I'd just like to remind everyone that the probability of interspecies breeding outside of the human related branches will be about the same chance as any one of us coming down with a case of Dutch Elm Blight.

And I second Aramis's decency reminder.

I frankly think this is a weird topic, and I am not quite sure what the fascination with it is.

The genetics rules in T5 are clearly intended (I think) to detail the mechanics of geneering, not inter-species "affairs".
 
Hello all,
With the new hybrid rules now upon us, how do most fellow Travellers feel about Alien sex and genetic manipulation to create the new hybrid races? Could this be a strange spicing up of the game. Adventurers walk in on scenes not meant for public viewing etc?

Do you think this will create some rifts between the different races? Will some hybrid species be looked down upon? Or will it usher in a new age of inter species cross breading throughout the Imperium?

Myself, I think I'll stick to genetic experiments and breading within those new hybrid species. I've been curious how other fellow Travellers will handle this controversial issue.

I've also thought it could make for a very interesting bit of gaming in the new Cirque campaign due out in a few months or so. (The circus that genetically splices together, ecstatically entertains together or something like that. :) ).

On that note, could it perhaps result in some new Race books coming out to cover the hybrid possibilities or should they be covered with the major alien books in a cross breeding chapter?

Who knows Rancke, maybe some of the Vargr will breed with dogs. ;)
I haven't read the whole thread. I don't intend to. I just think this is a little beyond the pale. Hank Green did a Youtube vid on this very subject, and I think I agree with is moral center on this.

Having said that, in the world of fantasy there're half elves, half orcs, though, strangely enough, no half-dwarves nor half-halflings.

Bruce Cameron and Ridley Scott had a couple of pics regarding aggressive aliens using humans as hosts, but no fusion of DNA (insofaras we know...thank goodness).

Then again I recall the story and movie (one with Michael York) entitled "The Island of Dr. Moreau", which, for the time, was a bit of a shocker. I haven't seen it in 30 years though.

I think typically it's a pretty bad idea. Going after a bad guy with such visions IYTU may be the thing to do.

Beyond that, I have no other comments.
 
Since you quoted me Vladika, let me just say that I don't have a problem discussing any aspect of human sexuality (even if its via the off center medium of science fiction alien love) but I am sensitive to the fact that this is a community and standards of public propriety must and should apply. Aramis made a moderator comment that the content of the thread was moving into non PG territory and I agreed.

Besides which I think the implications of being able to understand the genetic mix and interaction of planetary populations far more interesting than the possibility of recreating any of Captain Kirk's numerous prime time 1960's adventures with alien females and the likelihood his requiring a visit to Bones on the morning after. Anyway Futurama does it much better.
 
Since you quoted me Vladika, let me just say that I don't have a problem discussing any aspect of human sexuality (even if its via the off center medium of science fiction alien love) but I am sensitive to the fact that this is a community and standards of public propriety must and should apply. Aramis made a moderator comment that the content of the thread was moving into non PG territory and I agreed.

Besides which I think the implications of being able to understand the genetic mix and interaction of planetary populations far more interesting than the possibility of recreating any of Captain Kirk's numerous prime time 1960's adventures with alien females and the likelihood his requiring a visit to Bones on the morning after. Anyway Futurama does it much better.

I hope I didn't misquote, or misrepresent your position in any way. That was not my intent and I apologize in advance for any difficulty this may have caused you.

As I understood it you had some objections to the direction this thread was going and it was simply my intention to bring notice that I wasn't the only one with concerns.

To anyone else, the same apology, if needed, is given. I quoted, as originally written, and have made no assessment or value judgement on others complaints or reasons they were made.
 
As I understood it you had some objections to the direction this thread was going and it was simply my intention to bring notice that I wasn't the only one with concerns.

No need to apologize Vladika. I just wanted to note that I didn't object to the content of the thread, but since it was deemed close to crossing community standards I agreed that the discussion should be redirected.

Just a note on bestiality, as I understand it (and I use understand in a loose sense) it applies to actions between a human and a lower order of animal. While your definition is still valid I'm wary of applying it to actions between two sophont species (that is humans and an equivalent hypothetical lifeform of another planet). If there is ever a first contact situation I can imagine a little green lady being mighty offended by being called a beast. But I understand your concern and objection to discussion of it in an open forum.

On a more positive note I'd like to applaud Marc for including the genetic rules. Whether by design or accident T5 recognizes a range of genders and specifically makes reference to diversity in human sexual preference.

In my opinion this does what all good science fiction does by exploring the human condition in the modern world through the lens of the far future. It also reflects a theme emergent in modern RPGs such as Trans Human Space and Eclipse Phase.

Anyway I'm loath to draw a hard line under any discussion, except those that are specifically harmful and designed to cause offense but I do respect the need and requirement for a PG atmosphere in these forums.


[EDIT] Changed "two sentient species" for "two sophont species" to comply with T5 usage.
 
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