abomination
SOC-12
Imagine the scene.....
....all is quiet, 3rd officer Kennady is on watch alone on the bridge, while the rest of the ship sleeps. Sudden the peace is shredded by a sound combining alien cattle mutilation & fingernails being dragged down a black board.
The passengers fall out of bed terrified, wondering of the stories of monsters that inhabit jump space were true after all. The crew are halfway into their vacc suits to deal with the emergency before they realise. Kennady is playing those damned vargr bagpipes again.
Bagpipes are the traditional musical instrument of the vargr, they are a complicated mixture of pipes & valves which can be connected in several differnt ways. The whole affair is powered by a foot bellows.
3rd officer kennady is a rarity among humans in his enjoyment of this instrument. Which after all was designed for ears capable of hearing a broader frequency range. As such he finds listening to & playing them enjoyable & relaxing giving him a tempory raise in Int & End. However they have the opposite effect on those who aren't fans.
While the vargr themselves can generally take or leave this instrument, they will require a reaction roll on hearing a human (who can't possibly tell what sounds they are inflicting on Vargr ears) attempt to play them. At best they will regard it as an effort to embrace Vargr culture, at worst a mortal insult.
Vargr bagpipes are usually about the size of an accordian but may be as large as a couple of grand pianos, pumped by a couple of enthusiastic volunteers. Examples of this size are capable of being heard several kilometres away and were originally used in pre space flight days as a warning of approaching raiders. Anyone close to one of these being played indoors faces a real risk of long term damage to their hearing & sanity.
A wise man once said "the definition of a gentleman, is someone who knows how to play the bagpipes but refrains from doing so."
....all is quiet, 3rd officer Kennady is on watch alone on the bridge, while the rest of the ship sleeps. Sudden the peace is shredded by a sound combining alien cattle mutilation & fingernails being dragged down a black board.
The passengers fall out of bed terrified, wondering of the stories of monsters that inhabit jump space were true after all. The crew are halfway into their vacc suits to deal with the emergency before they realise. Kennady is playing those damned vargr bagpipes again.
Bagpipes are the traditional musical instrument of the vargr, they are a complicated mixture of pipes & valves which can be connected in several differnt ways. The whole affair is powered by a foot bellows.
3rd officer kennady is a rarity among humans in his enjoyment of this instrument. Which after all was designed for ears capable of hearing a broader frequency range. As such he finds listening to & playing them enjoyable & relaxing giving him a tempory raise in Int & End. However they have the opposite effect on those who aren't fans.
While the vargr themselves can generally take or leave this instrument, they will require a reaction roll on hearing a human (who can't possibly tell what sounds they are inflicting on Vargr ears) attempt to play them. At best they will regard it as an effort to embrace Vargr culture, at worst a mortal insult.
Vargr bagpipes are usually about the size of an accordian but may be as large as a couple of grand pianos, pumped by a couple of enthusiastic volunteers. Examples of this size are capable of being heard several kilometres away and were originally used in pre space flight days as a warning of approaching raiders. Anyone close to one of these being played indoors faces a real risk of long term damage to their hearing & sanity.
A wise man once said "the definition of a gentleman, is someone who knows how to play the bagpipes but refrains from doing so."
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