I don't. I play with uplifted proto-wolves, vaguely felinoid aliens, and intelligent hexapodal herbivores (all tried and true SF tropes). Elves and dwarves have no place in that company.
Hans
Minor Human races
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I don't. I play with uplifted proto-wolves, vaguely felinoid aliens, and intelligent hexapodal herbivores (all tried and true SF tropes). Elves and dwarves have no place in that company.
Hans
As a base point for further discussion: Have you read Tolkein's The Silmarillion ?
GypsyComet
SOC-14 1K
And yet the question keeps coming up. Those two cultural and behavioral "packages" resonate with enough people, even if only as handy RP shortcuts, that I doubt we will ever be free of the question.
At least we don't have High Darrians and Wood Darrians, or a lost Geonee outpost named Moria...
I don't see them as handy packages for Traveller (that is, for SF settings), nor do I see them coming up all the time. The claim that pointy ears mean elves and dwarfish build means dwarfs and Aslans being cats, etc., etc., do come up occasionally, but I don't see those claims as being... um... well supported.
Admittedly, the claim that this and that Traveller race doesn't really act like this and that fantasy race does have the problem that it's hard to define just how this and that fantasy race acts, each of them having been rendered in quite a few different ways.
Hans
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kilemall
SOC-14 5K
Okey doke.
But must say, those T2300 aliens are far more alien and NOT inclined to cultural tropes, even ones as canon as the pack behavior of the Vargr.
Woof!
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
Archetypes and stereotypes are easier to understand.
Even traditional racial views are subject to evolution.
I now view Vargr a lot more differently than just a pack of wolves going a-viking.
Even traditional racial views are subject to evolution.
I now view Vargr a lot more differently than just a pack of wolves going a-viking.
TravellerX7
SOC-1
As the author of that article, I must point out that the Gashiini were indeed Ancient-geneered, but the original stock was Gigantopithecus, a species of giant ape. I wanted to do a twist on the Ancients-uplift-baseline-human trope. Cheers!
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/scien...gantopithecus-became-extinct-16649201/?no-ist
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigantopithecus
One of my side hobbies for years has been a compilation of the tropes of fictional aliens.
One of the earliest common tropes I noticed was just how many sci-fi races fit the classic Tolkien "Five Races" roles. Eventually I discarded the idea as not keeping enough in the sci-fi genre.
The Tropes wiki records it as thus: [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FiveRaces ]
Traveller: Traveller has numerous sapient species, but one can make an effort
◦ Mundane (Human)= Solomani and Vilani
◦ High Men (Taller Elf/Human)= Zhodani
◦ Stout (Dwarf)= Aslan, Vargr
◦ Fairy (Elf/Fairy/Angel)= Ancients and Hivers. The Ancients are closer to Eldritch Abominations.
◦ Cute (Hobbit or Gnome)= Maybe Droyne, despite being descended from the Ancients
◦ Mundane (Human)= Solomani and Vilani
◦ High Men (Taller Elf/Human)= Zhodani
◦ Stout (Dwarf)= Aslan, Vargr
◦ Fairy (Elf/Fairy/Angel)= Ancients and Hivers. The Ancients are closer to Eldritch Abominations.
◦ Cute (Hobbit or Gnome)= Maybe Droyne, despite being descended from the Ancients
It certainly has its issues... I think the earlier-mentioned Geonee much better fit the Dwarf typology. And the Darrians got skipped in the above list. There are plenty of other sophonts that near-perfectly fit the Tolkien fantasy tropes. Most of them, are non-canon according to what I've read.
Hopefully Don's alien review list will eventually flesh out some of this material.
Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.
And the updated review is posted here... http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=34778
By the way, Jim AKA Gypsy Comet, the Darrian background also says they Darrian's first dwellings were in giant trees... LOL ;-)
Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.
Patron Zero
SOC-13
I'm just curious if there's a humanoid star-faring race 'based' upon orcs in Traveller ?
Star Trek went with the Klingons and the Cardassians, uncertain what happened in Star Wars.
Star Trek went with the Klingons and the Cardassians, uncertain what happened in Star Wars.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
GypsyComet
SOC-14 1K
I'm aware, though as Hans (I think) has pointed out in the past, that was a very long time ago. If you want modern tree-dwellers you look at the Suerrat.
Patron Zero
SOC-13
Hadn't thought much about it before but a 'mixed' crew drawn from the variety of human 'genotypes' could prove interesting.
Would a 'dwarish' engineer be too much a cliche though ?
Would a 'dwarish' engineer be too much a cliche though ?
Maybe a dwarish engineer of russian or scottish decent *grin*
Patron Zero
SOC-13
I'm detecting a thick brogue mixed with some occasional curses in Gaelic.
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