How do the senses vary among different races?

[Enoki]

This is a question worth answering in some detail as it would have a profound effect on the way various races do and respond to 'stuff.'

For example, are K'kree color blind? Most herbivores are. If so, how does that affect what they see and what they make?

Or, Aslan or Vargr might have keen senses of smell. Again, it could make a big difference in terms of how they act and react. Maybe they can only see certain colors and are color blind to others?

Do Vilani have different taste buds compared to say, Solomani?

 

[coliver988]

The T5 version has a lot to say about this in terms of what they can sense. Sadly it did not make a lot of sense to me but I only read over it in review mode. The common trope of Vargr being colorblind and wearing a cacophony of colorful clothing comes to mind.

And somewhere in the forums there was some discussion on even control colors: humans red = bad, but it may be an entirely different color for other species.

So yes, there is room for a LOT of discussion on this!

As for the taste buds of Vilani vs Solomomani, I'd say yes after 300k years of entirely different worlds and foods. Even with just Earth:

The average adult has anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 taste buds. We lose taste buds as we age, which means that children have more taste buds than adults. Sizes and numbers of taste buds vary from person to person. These differences mean that, although everyone detects the same five tastes, perceptions and experiences of these tastes vary.

 

[whulorigan]

Or, Aslan or Vargr might have keen senses of smell. Again, it could make a big difference in terms of how they act and react.

T5 has the Senses section (T5.10 Book 1, p.186-199), which details how the senses respond per species, as well as two additional standard senses that humans do not possess. Each species has a sense constant that determines how sensitive that particular sense is for the species as a whole, as well as its operational range, so that when using it to detect/notice something, those with a higher species-constant will be more likely to notice. Hearing range is species specific, and sight-range is relative to the light peak-frequency of the home-star of the species origin world.

Maybe they can only see certain colors and are color blind to others?

The T5 version has a lot to say about this in terms of what they can sense. Sadly it did not make a lot of sense to me but I only read over it in review mode. The common trope of Vargr being colorblind and wearing a cacophony of colorful clothing comes to mind.

In T5 the Droyne sight range is shifted to the Near-Ultra-Violet ("Sparkle") to Orange-Red range (peak at Blue) and cannot see certain dark-reds (Cerise) due to their likely F-Type original home star as compared to humans whose sight peaks at Green peak frequencies (G2 V star).

Vargr sight range and peak are the same as human, but like the canids from which they derive, their vision is dichromatic, seeing violets, blues, and yellows well, but having trouble with reds and greens (a good analogy for Vargr is that they are like humans with Red-Green colorblindness).

I like to think it would be fun if I were creating a Vargr character to come up with a cool "outfit" for him using one of those web-applications that simulates Red-Green colorblindness while I am choosing the coloration of a set of clothes from a palette, get it just the way I like it (and save it), and then turn off the colorblindness filter and see what I came up with, and then save that too. Then I have a version that I record for myself and show to other Vargr PCs, and another version that I show to everyone else's PCs.

And somewhere in the forums there was some discussion on even control colors: humans red = bad, but it may be an entirely different color for other species.

During WWII, the Germans used "Red"-light for trouble, and "White" for normal (as opposed to Green) in their U-Boats. Other cultures may use something entirely different. Or even worse, what if the "trouble" alarm for a species that uses visual cues for controls is in infra-red or ultra-violet? Better hope you have those goggles or that Vacc-suit helmet on with the PRIS option.

 

[bookwyrm]

Vision - what colors are visible vs. sensitivity to motion and/or light.

Smell - dull to sensitive, maybe some things can't be sensed or are overwhelming.

Hearing - hears everything to a limited range of frequencies.

Touch - sensitive to atmospheric or ground vibrations/disturbances, or can sense things by touch that most others can't.

Taste - taste what you eat, or can sense things in the air, maybe a reduced sense of taste.

Danger Sense - your senses give you an awareness of your surroundings that others don't, either naturally or through training.

Psionic - might be able to sense someone/something bearing you ill will. maybe ill will towards others to a greater or lesser extent. could have range/time limitations.

Others - I'm sure there are others, but I can't think of them at the moment.

Higher or lower senses to human norm, or vargr, k'kree, or the alien of your choice, would add some interesting flavor to pretty much any part of a campaign.

 

[Enoki]

Now, with the Vilani, I could see them having senses of taste and smell that are attuned to food that has been preserved, pickled, or otherwise treated to make it edible. Imagine that this has led to where a Vilani finds the smell and taste of stuff like harkarl, sturstromming, and gelfish highly appetizing and delectable. Or, something like salted fish, pork, etc., tasty and edible in their unwashed and salted forms.

Now, imagine a mixed Vilani - human crew on a ship eating in the galley...

 

[kilemall]

I’ve moved to thinking of smell and I suppose taste as particle detection. That might translate into more exotic senses like say detecting proton showers, or some Horta like miner creature that detects and eats your radioactive mineral bonanza.

 

[whulorigan]

Smell - dull to sensitive, maybe some things can't be sensed or are overwhelming.

Taste - taste what you eat, or can sense things in the air, maybe a reduced sense of taste.

These are actually the same sense (Olfactory). One detects airborne chemicals, the other chemicals already in fluid solution.

Danger Sense - your senses give you an awareness of your surroundings that others don't, either naturally or through training.

Psionic - might be able to sense someone/something bearing you ill will. maybe ill will towards others to a greater or lesser extent. could have range/time limitations.

These both would work well via a psionic mechanism. But they could also work via Perception (see below), which includes a potential communication medium called "Poice".

Others - I'm sure there are others, but I can't think of them at the moment.

In T5, the two additional senses are:

• Awareness: Detection of Electric & Magnetic Fields (Lek & Mag)
• Perception: Detection of Biological and/or Sentient Life Auras (through presence of Life and/or Thought)

 

[Enoki]

Sturstromming... Imagine the Vilani on your crew casually opens a can of it in the crew common area which is occupied by several humans, and starts eating this "delicacy..."

The Vargr doesn't seem to mind however...

 

[whulorigan]

Sturstromming... Imagine the Vilani on your crew casually opens a can of it in the crew common area which is occupied by several humans, and starts eating this "delicacy..."

...

The Vargr doesn't seem to mind however...

Oh that's simple enough. I call all of the non-Vilani crew to report the bridge concerning a maintenance/custodial issue and air the Common Area out by ventilating with the outside . . .

 

[mike wightman]

May explain the lingering smell on the type S...

 

[Grav_Moped]

"Ham Slice MRE? Ugh. Can't see how you Solmani types can eat raw food like that. Wait, you've got the Lutefisk and Kimchee one? Trade you for it!"

Just gotta be flexible. Something for everyone, you know.

 

[Condottiere]

 

[Enoki]

May explain the lingering smell on the type S...

You find them on every old scout ship...

 

[Kakistocrat]

You find them on every old scout ship…

…in different varieties to please a wide range of olfactory and vomerolfactory organs …

 

[aramis]

This is a question worth answering in some detail as it would have a profound effect on the way various races do and respond to 'stuff.'

For example, are K'kree color blind? Most herbivores are. If so, how does that affect what they see and what they make?

Not accurate.
Most herbivores, explicitly including most bovids (cattle and sheep), and many carnivores, too, are dichromats; in fact, most mammals have dichromacy. Some carnivores are up to pentechromatic; the Mantis Shrimp is a hexidecimacromatic... yes, 16 different spectral sensitivity ranges. Mantis Shrimp are carnivores. Most feline species are dichromats, most canids are, too. Most old world monkeys are trichromatic; under the modern methodology, that includes the apes, as well, and apes includes the great apes, and that includes the Humans (both extant and extinct)...
Some humans have been documented as tetrachromatic - 4 receptors - and about 1 in 20 is dichromatic, some missing the red, some missing the blue, some missing the green; a very scant few have one or no kinds of cone (monochromatic and achromatic). Most mammals outside the primates are dichramtic; cetaceans are achromatic. Most lizards are tetrachromatic, including a UV receptor. Many birds are likewise tetrachromatic, with a UV receptor. Pidgeons are pentechromat...

There's an awful lot of "common wisdom" that's just plain WRONG. That animals are color blind is pretty much bupkis; most persons labeled color blind are not truly blind to color; they have a reduced range of perceived colors. I've met a person with monochrmatic vision - they could tell red items from blue/green/purple of the same intensity, but not distinguish blue, green, nor purple from each other. They also could often tell grayscale from color images. The Achromacy sufferers cannot distinguish color from grayscale at all.

5% of humans (and presumably, chimps and bonobos, and probably gorillas) have dichromacy. It's the same set of color cone cell genes... But many New World monkeys are dichromacy sufferers.

 

[aramis]

These are actually the same sense (Olfactory). One detects airborne chemicals, the other chemicals already in fluid solution.

Most of taste is actually the volatiles detected in the nose...

 

[Enoki]

Not accurate.
Most herbivores, explicitly including most bovids (cattle and sheep), and many carnivores, too, are dichromats; in fact, most mammals have dichromacy. Some carnivores are up to pentechromatic; the Mantis Shrimp is a hexidecimacromatic... yes, 16 different spectral sensitivity ranges. Mantis Shrimp are carnivores. Most feline species are dichromats, most canids are, too. Most old world monkeys are trichromatic; under the modern methodology, that includes the apes, as well, and apes includes the great apes, and that includes the Humans (both extant and extinct)...
Some humans have been documented as tetrachromatic - 4 receptors - and about 1 in 20 is dichromatic, some missing the red, some missing the blue, some missing the green; a very scant few have one or no kinds of cone (monochromatic and achromatic). Most mammals outside the primates are dichramtic; cetaceans are achromatic. Most lizards are tetrachromatic, including a UV receptor. Many birds are likewise tetrachromatic, with a UV receptor. Pidgeons are pentechromat...

There's an awful lot of "common wisdom" that's just plain WRONG. That animals are color blind is pretty much bupkis; most persons labeled color blind are not truly blind to color; they have a reduced range of perceived colors. I've met a person with monochrmatic vision - they could tell red items from blue/green/purple of the same intensity, but not distinguish blue, green, nor purple from each other. They also could often tell grayscale from color images. The Achromacy sufferers cannot distinguish color from grayscale at all.

5% of humans (and presumably, chimps and bonobos, and probably gorillas) have dichromacy. It's the same set of color cone cell genes... But many New World monkeys are dichromacy sufferers.

It's a game, have fun with it!

 

[Grav_Moped]

It's a game, have fun with it!

In the end, that's what it comes down to.

This is a game. You can handwave or lampshade-hang whatever you need to, as long as it doesn't break suspension of disbelief or unbalance the system to a point of appearing unfair (which also breaks suspension of disbelief).

 

[whartung]

There's also those rare humans that have a 4th color cone capability. "Tetrachromats".

And those creatures that can see higher or lower into the spectrum.

 

[aramis]

It's a game, have fun with it!

Getting basic facts wrong snaps me out of verisimilitude. "It's a game" doesn't prevent that, and is one of those areas where, as a player, I pack up and leave if the GM uses that excuse in play.