General Best non-Human races to play as part of a crew?

[Spinward Scout]

If you had to pick, what would be the best non-Human races to play as part of a crew? I'm thinking about working these up in RPGSuite.

Llellewyloly Engineer? - 5 usable appendages, but can it stand the gravity?

Aslan Gunner and Ship Security - isn't that just about a cliché?

Vegan Medic - we've seen pics of this, but is that all they can do?

Vargr Pilot and Navigator - wasn't this typical in Classic Traveller?

Which races can you think of to best play as ship's crew?

 

[Grav_Moped]

Vargr engineer on a high performance ship. Good for self-esteem (CHA).

Aslan female in a logistics position. Steward, loadmaster. (That's her cargo hold, and don't you forget it!)

 

[McPerth]

Vargr engineer on a high performance ship. Good for self-esteem (CHA).

Mostly if it has scrounging skill...

 

[Condottiere]

Redshirt.

 

[whulorigan]

If you had to pick, what would be the best non-Human races to play as part of a crew? I'm thinking about working these up in RPGSuite. . . . .

Vegan Medic - we've seen pics of this, but is that all they can do? . . . .

Well, for an NPC crewman, if you want a Ship's Medic, go with a Virushi. Best doctors in Charted Space (and they don't leave the ship to go on adventures - they just take care of you when you get back). Just make sure you have an extra-large stateroom.

 

[whulorigan]

If you had to pick, what would be the best non-Human races to play as part of a crew? I'm thinking about working these up in RPGSuite.


Aslan Gunner and Ship Security - isn't that just about a cliché?


Which races can you think of to best play as ship's crew?

It may be cliché, but an Aslan is what I would probably pick. For an ongoing campaign that I am invested in, I generally want a species that is similar enough to Humaiti that I can identify with it personally and "submerge" myself in the role.

In general, I have found that the most believable and interesting "aliens" are the least interesting to play as a PC for a long-term campaign character simply because I end up playing them more like a puppeteer than a role, moving them about more like a chessboard-piece because their personality, motivations, and biology are so alien. I lose the personal-investment element of the role-playing experience with the character. I know others will disagree, but that is just me.

 

[Spinward Flow]

Aslan Gunner and Ship Security - isn't that just about a cliché?

Natively, that would be a male only position ... but if you've got a "non-native culture" Aslan, you could have a female Aslan in those roles.

what would be the best non-Human races to play as part of a crew?

Droyne Sport caste.
Alien enough to be (obviously) ALIEN ... but also with potentially interesting insights and motivations. Also, Sports can "keep it together solo" if they don't have the rest of the castes around them in a family group structure, so if you're looking for a solo alien, a Droyne Sport is a mildly compelling option. Best yet, they aren't going to necessarily be tied to a specific part of Charted Space.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Mostly if it has scrounging skill...

"I am responsible for the Shugushaag's Jump-5 drive. Don't look so surprised, we've been through here before. The drive needs a Mark Q Mod 30 Vang Induction Coil, and it needs it now. I shall be back at 1650 local, and I expect you will have it for me then. Your assistance will be appreciated, and success will reflect well upon both of us."

Note: for clarity, this is not the NPC engineer of the Albatross from my PbP. That fellow's got CHA 2 by choice (it's a religion thing with him).

 

[mike wightman]

Hiver engineer
Bwap navigator
Droyne sport pilot
Ithklur steward

 

[Kakistocrat]

If you had to pick, what would be the best non-Human races to play as part of a crew?

By “best”, do you mean the most suitable race for a particular crew position, or do you mean the most enjoyable combination of race and crew position from the perspective of a player or referee?

If you’d meant the latter, then I like mike wightman’s choice of an Ithklur steward, but my own choice would be a Hiver steward — for the potential opportunities to manipulate paying passengers in various ways.

 

[whulorigan]

. . .
Ithklur steward

THAT I would love to see played . . .

 

[Spinward Scout]

By “best”, do you mean the most suitable race for a particular crew position, or do you mean the most enjoyable combination of race and crew position from the perspective of a player or referee?

Both, if you'd like.

 

[mike wightman]

THAT I would love to see played . . .

His name was/still is Eh*gor.
He began as an NPC that hung out with the PCs from time to time. Upon the death of a PC the player was given him to play out the scenario.

He has had many adventures since.

 

[punkrabbitt]

Droyne Sport was my favorite. Really trying to wrap my head around what was going on in that INT-4 brain and responding accordingly, as well as a complete lack of social awareness. It was far more successful than trying to play a Caste 8 Well Born K'Kree merchant/spy (17 individuals including wives and children, I had a handwritten spreadsheet to keep track of their activities every game round.) Also good was the human from the Vargr world, rolled up as a Vargr for stats but looked human. Very aggressive.

 

[Kakistocrat]

His name was/still is Eh*gor.

Now you’ve really piqued my curiosity: how is the asterisk in his name pronounced?

 

[GypsyComet]

Llellewyloly Engineer? - 5 usable appendages, but can it stand the gravity?

The gravity would just require using more limbs to walk and stand. The heavy atmosphere would be a bigger issue. A standard atmosphere's partial pressure of oxygen would likely be toxic.

 

[GypsyComet]

a Caste 8 Well Born K'Kree merchant/spy (17 individuals including wives and children, I had a handwritten spreadsheet to keep track of their activities every game round.)

Which is why the easiest K'kree to play is the Soc 2 or 3 Merchant Caste, unmarried. Instead of a small village you have three total. Play the Merchant as a bit dim (for a Patriarch) but inspired and either the Servant or Bodyguard as relatively bright, and you have the K'kree equivalent of Jeeves and Wooster, or Wimsey and Bunter.

 

[mike wightman]

Let's see if this works

 

[Nathan Brazil]

If you had to pick, what would be the best non-Human races to play as part of a crew? I'm thinking about working these up in RPGSuite.

I would say the one easiest for you to play the "role".
That said, The Mongoose write ups and Alien Modules lead me to think this way
In order of easy to do the role

1. An Imperial "Barbarian" (non-Hierate culture) Female Aslan.
2. An Imperial "Barbarian" (non-Hierate culture) Male Aslan.
Why? Because the write up, especially in MgT1e, indicates only the male drive for land is instinctive/genetic. Everything else is cultural including the separation of gender roles. So females first since they have no instinctive urges forcing a role. Then males as they are obsessed with getting their "retirement planet".

3. Most other Humaniti races, except the Zhodani. Since the main thing is to reflect their specific culture, plenty of room for many of them. Swordies, Darrians, Solomani, even the Vilani all just have point of views that are easier to roleplay than the other aliens. And yes, not as easy IMHO as "Barbarian" Aslan.

4.Vargr - They are always gonna look for personal glory, but in a multi-sophont crew with no other Vargr will have a harder time to impress those who do not follow Charisma status. Once you add more Vargr, you may just want take over the ship. Cow the other Vargr into sumission with your obvious brilliant plans for riches and glory and they may just do it...

 

[whulorigan]

I would say the one easiest for you to play the "role".
That said, The Mongoose write ups and Alien Modules lead me to think this way
In order of easy to do the role

1. An Imperial "Barbarian" (non-Hierate culture) Female Aslan.
2. An Imperial "Barbarian" (non-Hierate culture) Male Aslan.
Why? Because the write up, especially in MgT1e, indicates only the male drive for land is instinctive/genetic. Everything else is cultural including the separation of gender roles. So females first since they have no instinctive urges forcing a role. Then males as they are obsessed with getting their "retirement planet".

3. Most other Humaniti races, except the Zhodani. Since the main thing is to reflect their specific culture, plenty of room for many of them. Swordies, Darrians, Solomani, even the Vilani all just have point of views that are easier to roleplay than the other aliens. And yes, not as easy IMHO as "Barbarian" Aslan.

4.Vargr - They are always gonna look for personal glory, but in a multi-sophont crew with no other Vargr will have a harder time to impress those who do not follow Charisma status. Once you add more Vargr, you may just want take over the ship. Cow the other Vargr into sumission with your obvious brilliant plans for riches and glory and they may just do it...

Hmm... Seems to me the order for easiest to hardest should be 3-4-1-2. I think most members of Humaniti will always be easier to play than any alien species due to simple differences of ingrained hardwired psychology and instinct that we take for granted (even among humans).

Vargr we at least have somewhat of a pattern for in that we are familiar with actual Canid/Canine patterns of behavior to base our basic "instinctual" and psychological reactions on when role-playing them.

Aslan, while having many tropes in common with Terran human analogues, if played properly are going to have alien responses that we are not familiar with. And as tempting as it may be to say that we have "feline" behavior to model them on, the fact is that we really don't because the Aslan have absolutely no connection to Terran Felids at all, or any other Terran species for that matter. Any species with no connection to Terra would have certain truly alien components to its psychological makeup, having not been a part of our biological evolutionary history.