Gorlians

AncientClikk's picture
AncientClikk
January 14, 2008 - 1:05pm
Hey folks! Long time lurker, former member of SFDT (my old account info was FUBAR, so I have reincarnated as the Ancient Clikk)...

I'm just...ASTONISHED...at all the amazing goodness in this place. It is almost overwhelming. The magazine is phenomenal, and everyone is so into this old game. Love it!

Anyhoo...I'll throw this topic out for discussion...anyone know what the heck a Gorlian is? Anyone have a write-up? If not, let's get to work...

Perhaps it's a sub-race of Yazirian? Or its a well-know clan/family/gang? Perhaps its like many of the flotsam races of the Frontier - a refugee from the Sathar or an ancient traveller with a bad attitude?

Discuss!
Comments:

Anonymous's picture
w00t (not verified)
January 14, 2008 - 2:49pm
Gorlian.... Undecided

Nothing rings a bell. You suggesting a new race?
I like the "ancient traveller with a bad attitude", or at least an attitude. Maybe it thinks it's /above/ the races of the Frontier...and a big bad Yaz puts him in his place.
Gorlian travels back to his Home system and wala! A new enemy for the Frontier.

Money mouth ...maybe.

Gilbert's picture
Gilbert
January 14, 2008 - 3:15pm
 It appears to be a race someone made from GURPS rules. Do a search and the clues will come from  http://www.black-tower-of-time.de/gorli/GURPS-WebWorld-statistics.html  this is the only spot that I have found for a description. As far as an SF race, nope not one of them. Somebody dreamed it up for their game I suppose.

Anonymous's picture
w00t (not verified)
January 14, 2008 - 4:17pm
I think he wants to create a new race.
Unless I'm wrong and just got the w00t knocked out of me! Yell

Gilbert's picture
Gilbert
January 14, 2008 - 4:37pm
  Or he is confused on what it is he was saying just like the rest of us get.  Surprised


No harm ment..  Innocent

Sargonarhes's picture
Sargonarhes
January 14, 2008 - 6:07pm
A new alien? Are these Gorlians like intelligent apes?

I'd introduce an alien race into SF, but the galaxy is not ready for another militant invasion force.
In every age, in every place, the deeds of men remain the same.

Procene's picture
Procene
January 14, 2008 - 6:40pm
There is a reference to Gorlians in the original SF rules as an example; I forgot the exact rule.  I remember a Gorlian punches a poor Vrusk.  Other than that, they're not fleshed out, but apparently they have very short tempers.  I once did a write-up of them; I imagined them as being a gorilla-type species.  I'll see if I can dig it out and post.

Rum Rogue's picture
Rum Rogue
January 14, 2008 - 8:29pm
Yeah. I believe that the Gorlian reference appears in the little comic at the start of the AD Basic booklet.
Time flies when your having rum.

Im a government employee, I dont goof-off. I constructively abuse my time.

CleanCutRogue's picture
CleanCutRogue
January 15, 2008 - 10:11am
I found this on my hard drive when I searched for Gorlian.  I think it's from the html version of the Expanded book:

EXAMPLE: Dreevale the Vrusk has just insulted a Gorlian thug by accidentally spilling a drink on him. The Gorlian is very mad. Dreevale decides to try talking his way out of the situation. "Oops, pardon me, my good fellow, how absolutely clumsy of me," the player says. "Here, let me buy you a drink and let's forget about it. Dreevale s Personality score is 40. The referee notes that the Gorlian is mad and wet and itching tor a fight. He tells Dreevale to subtract 20 from his score. Dreevale rolls 91, which is greater than his modified score of 20. The Gorlian punches Dreevale.
3. We wear sungoggles during the day. Not because the sun affects our vision, but when you're cool like us the sun shines all the time.

-top 11 reasons to be a Yazirian, ShadowShack


Star Lawman's picture
Star Lawman
January 15, 2008 - 11:20am

Perhaps as AncientClikk suggested they are a high-gee (gravity) variant of the Yazirians, perhaps from \\Scree Fron\Histran's pre-FTL colonization efforts?  The obvious change in terms of their Abilities, in this case, would be to subtract only 5 points from STR/STA and add it to INT/LOG same as always.  Adapting to a heavier gravity would make the Gorlians somewhat clumsy compared to their Yazirian cousins and would cause the build up of their musculature.  Also, these Gorlians would no longer have their glide membranes, atrophied from lack of use, except perhaps the occasional vestigial membrane running down the Gorlian's ribcage from his or her arms.

Battle Rage seems likely (from the example text above) to have remained intact, and Gorlian eyes might have adapted to a brighter source, unless we assume they are from \\Athor\Yast (the closest known/settled/explored high-gee world that the Yazirians might have tried colonizing at STL speeds; an Orange star only marginally brighter than \\Scree Fron's Orange-Red one).  Perhaps we could replace the Gliding Special Ability with Perfect Balance (Gorlians get a straight DEX roll to keep their footing where another character would slip and fall) from their maintaining the Yazirian arboreal lifestyle in the higher gravity.

Just some quick thoughts while I'm on my lunch.  What do you all think?

Star Lawman, over and out.

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."

-- George Bernard Shaw


rogueleader's picture
rogueleader
January 15, 2008 - 4:56pm
Or maybe it's the type of ship that has a flux capacitor. Wait maybe that's a Delorian. Wink

Imperial Lord's picture
Imperial Lord
January 15, 2008 - 5:14pm
That passage is odd, but it does not mean there is a whole other Race out there.

I would go with one of the previous interpretations that he is a tough Yazirian from a Warrior Clan.  Gorlian would seem to relate to a Clan or national identity as opposed to a whole new Race.

Yet another example of the SF guys dangling some upsupported thing out there and suddenly we have a whole new Race!  From an italicized box rules-example, no less!

Imperial Lord's picture
Imperial Lord
January 15, 2008 - 5:20pm
And welcome aboard, Ancient Clikk.

Anonymous's picture
Corjay (not verified)
January 15, 2008 - 9:28pm
Well remember that David Cook said that there were going to be 13 starfaring races (or was it 17?). The Gorlians could easily and likely (in my mind) have been one of those races.

Rum Rogue's picture
Rum Rogue
January 16, 2008 - 5:41am

I always liked the idea of turning them into a mafia type organization.

Time flies when your having rum.

Im a government employee, I dont goof-off. I constructively abuse my time.

Procene's picture
Procene
January 18, 2008 - 10:40am
I love the idea of the Gorlians being a heavy-gravity variant of Yazirians.  That's great!  It fits in perfectly with my vision of them; I had imagined them to be physically strong simians, like gorillas.  But I had nevered developed their origins.  Plus, it fits to have them be from a Warrior clan, and to have Battle Rage.  I also like Star Lawman's idea of them having Perfect Balance as a special ability.    So, tell you what, this weekend I will dig out my write up of them and rework it, adding in some of these ideas.  I know where it is now, I just haven't had time this week to post it. 

Procene's picture
Procene
January 18, 2008 - 10:54am
And yes, CleanCutRogue did find the passage from AD that I was thinking of, where the wet, angry Gorlian slugs a clumsy Vrusk!

AncientClikk's picture
AncientClikk
January 18, 2008 - 12:01pm
Heavy-grav Yazirian? Hmmm...not bad...

Procene's picture
Procene
January 21, 2008 - 6:39pm

Here is my original write-up of the Gorlians from years ago.  As much as I like the idea of them being a sub-species of Yazirians, I originally envisioned them as one of the 13 (or 17?) races in Frontier space.  So I also agree they could be their own species.  So, hey, who says we can't have both interpretations?  So here is the separate species version, and I'm going to see what I can come up with the simian version.  Actually, I forgot that I imagined them as more of a "bull" species, sort of like AD&D Minotaurs.  So here is that version.  This is very simplistic--my first attempt to create a SF species, so please forgive errors and otherwise novice writing!

The Gorlians--an NPC race for the Star Frontiers game


Physical Appearance and Structure

Gorlians are large (8 feet tall, or about 2.5 meters) mammals, and are muscular bipeds, with powerful arms and legs.  They have thickly padded hands, each with four fingers and a thumb.  Their feet are large and padded, ending in five clawed toes.  Their torsos are wide and muscular.  Gorlians have bullish facial features, with a snout that hangs low over their chests, and small horns projecting from their foreheads.   Short, course fur covers most of their bodies, with color ranging from light brown for females to dark black for males.  Males are generally slightly larger than females. 

Senses

A Gorlian's sense of touch, taste, sight, and hearing is very similar to Human's.  Their sense of smell, however, is much more highly developed than humans.  They can easily smell other beings nearby, even concealed ones, and make excellent trackers (see Special Abilities).

Speech

Gorlians produce sound through a larnyx.  Thier have a primitive language that sounds very gutteral.  They can learn Pan-Galactic, as well as Humans and Yarizian languages. 

Society and Customs

Gorlians have a society based on strength and honor.  Their society is a similar to a tribal one, with tribes being referred to as herds by other races.  In the past, positions of leadership, such as the "chieftain", were won by fighting in gladiator-like duels to the death.  In addition, mates were chosen and won through combat.  In more recent times, positions and mates are fought for though non-lethal contests of strength and physical prowess that are still considered brutal. Chieftain positions, however, are still fought for to the death.  Chieftains rule their herds with iron hands, and cannot show fear or weakness.  

Female Gorlians can participate in duels, and can win mates and positions.  Sometimes a female will become a chieftain; Gorlian custom does not prevent this, as long as she can defeat and kill her predecessor.  Gorlians mate for life, and will have many offspring.  All week, diseased, or deformed offspring are killed.  Gorlins give birth to live youngs, usually two at a time.  A Gorlian born without a (fraternal) twin is considered very special. 

Gorlians are not a scientifically or technologically advanced race.  They can learn to use technology, but as a whole, their native technology tends to be primitive.  Gorlians are now often hired as "muscle"'; they make very good guards and thugs, and their tracking ability has enabled some to become excellent bounty hunters.  Most Gorlians favor melee weapons such as axes, and some have begun using powered weapons.  Gorlians are not unintelligent, but as a whole, they are more primitive than other Frontier races.  Individual Gorlians can be very intelligent, and may be able to learn technological skills.  However, all Gorlians have an innate animal cunning that can make them very dangerous.

Attitudes

Gorlians seem to get along best other mammalian races, such as Humans and Yazirians.  Their respect of strength and combat ability has lead them to have some affinity with Yazirians in particular.  They are contemptous of Vrusk and Dralasites, since these species are so different.  They are not sure what to make of the Rim races, but do respect Humma's brawling and carousing attitudes. 

The Gorlians as a whole have not had much contact with the Sathar.  But they are also very contemptous of the worms, due to the threat they present, and have no problem fighting them if need be.  But Gorlians do not have a centralized government, and have not been invited to join the UPF and serve in Federation military forces. 

It must be remembered that Gorlians are very touchy beings to deal with.  They have very short tempers, enormous strength, and are easily offended.  Any slight or insult will result in a violent response.  Bothering them is not an advisible thing to do.

Special Abilities

Incredible Strength.  All Gorlians are capable of incredible acts of strength.  All Gorlians get a +20 bonus to their Strength/Stamina scores.  When making Strength or Stamina checks, Gorlains get a +20 bonus modifier.

Referee note: Gorlians are so strong because they come from a high-gravity world.  On such planets, Gorlians can function normally, and are not penalized.

Tracking Ability.  All Gorlians automatically have the Tracking Biosocial skill.  If using Zebulon's Guide rules, they have the Tracking Skill for wilderness areas, and Stealth skill for developed areas.  Treat their sense of smell the same as Osakar.

Characteristics

Average Size: 2.5 meters

Average mass: 120 kgs for males, 110 kgs for females

Average Lifespan: 100 years.

Reproduction: Heterosexual, Viviparous

Body Temperature: 38 degree celsius

Ability Scores

STR/STA: +20

DEX/RS: 0

INT/LOG: -20

PER/LDR 0

There they are...please feel free to comment, criticize, use, adapt, whatever.  Hope you like what I've worked up.  Oh, I'm no artist, so would someone like to do some artwork?







Anonymous's picture
w00t (not verified)
January 22, 2008 - 9:53am

Absolutely love it!
All is needed is a picture or two. :-D
Gorlians remotely remind me of Sapes found in SF5 "Bugs in the System".

Please consider submitting this in the next issue of

Procene's picture
Procene
January 24, 2008 - 7:06am
Thanks!  Glad you like it.  I will submit it.

Star Lawman's picture
Star Lawman
January 24, 2008 - 11:10am
Procene wrote:

So, hey, who says we can't have both interpretations?



Not me, the more ideas we toss around the greater the chance we'll end up with something we like!  Thanks for your comments on my quickie thought-experiment, btw.  Glad you like it and that it sparked some ideas.

Procene wrote:

So here is the separate species version, and I'm going to see what I can come up with the simian version.  Actually, I forgot that I imagined them as more of a "bull" species, sort of like AD&D Minotaurs.  So here is that version.


I enjoyed your write-up as well, the Society and Customs section really sets your Gorlians apart from the crowd, plus they feel right for the STAR FRONTIERS game I remember playing as a kid and could definitely find a place in the Frontier (I'm envisioning entire mercenary companies of Gorlians...Surprised).  Good work!

Star Lawman, over and out.

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."

-- George Bernard Shaw


Procene's picture
Procene
January 26, 2008 - 1:47pm

And I can see those companies whipped up into a killing frenzy!  Thanks--

I forgot to include movement rates for the Gorlians: let's say they move the same as humans and Yazirians--10 meters walk per turn, 30 meters run per turn, 5 km travel per hour.


Sergeant's picture
Sergeant
January 26, 2008 - 2:14pm
Sounds like a fun race to play--Cross between a Gorn form Star Trek and Minoatur from D&D. Suggest keeping this brute out of the hands of player that only play fighter types.
Sergeant

Procene's picture
Procene
February 13, 2008 - 2:40pm
Update: I have submitted the Gorlians to Bill Logan (who is back--yeah!) and he is going to see about getting some artwork done.  They may be in the next issue.  Sorry I haven't followed up on the "Yazirian-Gorlians"; just haven't had time.

fallensaviour's picture
fallensaviour
February 14, 2008 - 7:50pm
Very cool!!!
I really like that write up.
+20 is an extreme powerhouse.Not sure I would let a pc have more than a
+15 bonus though.I think another Idea you could add,would be their movement on normal g planets slightly faster than others due to their upbringing on High g planets(increased muscle mass) hence the strength bonus.Very awesome stuff though.I sure hope some art gets pinned to that write up so I can print it off like an official Race. Smile

Procene's picture
Procene
February 29, 2008 - 2:44pm
Thanks for the advice--definitely not a species that should be in the hands of PCs.  I hope they will be in the next issue of SF.

Anonymous's picture
Corjay (not verified)
February 29, 2008 - 2:55pm
I assume so, since I was requested to do the image.

fallensaviour's picture
fallensaviour
March 1, 2008 - 11:28am
Corjay wrote:
I assume so, since I was requested to do the image.


Thats totally awesome news guys.I'm really looking forward to this one.I love new races/species.

SmootRK's picture
SmootRK
March 1, 2008 - 8:16pm
Procene wrote:
Special Abilities

Incredible Strength. All Gorlians are capable of incredible acts of strength. All Gorlians get a +20 bonus to their Strength/Stamina scores. When making Strength or Stamina checks, Gorlains get a +20 bonus modifier.

Referee note: Gorlians are so strong because they come from a high-gravity world. On such planets, Gorlians can function normally, and are not penalized.

Am I understanding that not only do they have a +20 modifier to their actual STR/STA scores but they also have an additional +20 modifier to any STR/STA checks?

That really is a humungus defacto bonus, equivalent to something like +40 to STR/STA depending on the type of ability check... such as Melee attacks which would give 1/2 of this enhanced STR bonus plus an additional +20% chance to hit?!?  

Maybe I just misread, and the intent is (only) to have +20 to the stats and thus to the subsequent effects of  STR/STA being enhanced.  This would still be strong, but much more balanced.

Possibly if you want to demonstrate the effects of a high gravity or high density world, you could give them some sort of damage reduction due to their density (like a permanent Skeinsuit effect).
<insert witty comment here>

CleanCutRogue's picture
CleanCutRogue
March 2, 2008 - 4:54pm
I agree with you, Smoot. If that was what is intended, then it's too much. I playtested this race with my family in two sessions, and am publishing a refined version of it in Issue 8 (nearly complete). I do allow the +20 STR/STA, and also the -20 to INT/LOG, but I include a sidebar that suggests it should only be -10 to INT/LOG and -10 to DEX/RS (large bulky bodies). The +20 to STR/STA was a pretty defining characteristic of the species, but most defining was how terminally stupid they are with typical Intuition and Logic score of only 25. My family didn't believe they'd ever be able to learn new technology or understand other cultures sufficiently to ever coexist with other races in the Frontier.

I interpreted the special ability listing as simply stating that the +20 STR/STA is sufficiently powerful as to be considered nearly a "special ability" -- not that the race gets an ADDITIONAL +20 to rolls involving those stats. The resulting +40 that would come from it would be far too powerful.

I also translated the tracking ability into a percentage that can be increased with experience points, like all other racial abilities. I made the base percentage equal to a first level Environmentalist's Tracking subskill (40%).
3. We wear sungoggles during the day. Not because the sun affects our vision, but when you're cool like us the sun shines all the time.

-top 11 reasons to be a Yazirian, ShadowShack