 December 8, 2010 - 7:41pm | So there's a decent article in the SF-Man dealing with an Ifshnit revamp and Jedion is working on the Humma revamp...that only leaves the E.T.-ish Osakar left to deal with. I also entertained the idea of ambidexterity...but considering the additional attacks I figured it would get too imbalanced. |
December 8, 2010 - 8:23pm | P.S. with opposing thumbs on symetric hands, I also figured they could use "double weapon" pistols & rifles mated to a common butt/grip with over/under barrel/trigger assemblies, squeezing each trigger separately or in unison. I have a pic of one with such a pistol on my SF webpage --- |
 December 8, 2010 - 9:07pm | Here's my thoughts on shadow's proposals: 1. extra martial arts attacks- IIRC the rules state that a being gets one unarmed attack per hand/foot combination (why a vrusk, human, and yaz will only get 2 and a dralasite could get more) that said I could entertain shadow's proposal and give the osakar 3 unarmed attacks. And Yet the Remaster Zebs says on page 12 under # of attacks that osakar like humans, vrusk, sathar and etc get only 2 attacks- you could explain that as an inability to concentrate 2. I'd think a limit in the number of fire arms that can be fired aught to be called for here lest we set up a situation where one character could unballance the game. I can see shadow's proposal causing a headache for GMs. despite what their anatomy might be capable of there is no guarrentee that they can focus effectively on that many things. Plus you throw in the double weapons and they become a walking battery weapon. But if we revamp the number of fire arms they can shoot then I think it sould be halted at 3 and that the 3rd weapon should have a double off hand penalty I'm just not sure this is a good idea to allow this much weapon use. The double weapon is an interesting idea that could qualify as a racial weapon for them (I think that thread went cold) no doubt we should finish hashing out the benefits for a racial weapon and detail what they are and write up a comprehensive rule for them that cover all races. I dont think we should give them ambidexerity I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
December 8, 2010 - 11:20pm | With two arms and four legs, I can see restricting them to two attacks (one per arm/leg pairing) as fair. Even so, using two rifles would be a standing or seated only affair in any regard...at least as far as how many legs the Osakar can use to support themselves that I laid out (re: no movement and RS check needed if standing on two, half movement for three, and full for all four). As far as double weapons is concerned, I permit that for any race. Theirs are simply designed differently and permit separate firing as well as simultaneous firing, as opposed to my multi-weapon ruling of all barrels firing simultaneously. |
May 29, 2011 - 4:47am | Thinking further on the Osakar- given that they have 4 legs this would give them a solid platform from which to leverage or to put it differently they'd have an advantage in wrestling. Perhaps a naturnal +10% bonus to hand to hand whether wrestling or martial arts but not for melee weapons combine this with the bonus for tracking due to enhanced sense of smell, the language bonus and perhaps this race might tempt someone to play it. EDIT: I've spent some time thinking about the society description in Zebs and Frankly nothing occurs to me for expanding or revamping that portion of the racial description. Other then the work I've done on Frontier religions with an eye toward making the osakar playable. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 May 29, 2011 - 1:44pm | Hands on all limbs sounds like a tree or cliff dwelling culture. I like the Osakar, they are the most "Alien" of the aliens. I agree that ZG could have done a much better job with them though. Reasonable men adapt to the world around them; unreasonable men make the world adapt to them. The world is changed by unreasonable men. Edwin Louis Cole |
May 29, 2011 - 8:09pm | With hands on his feet can an osakar martial artist really give you an Arse kicking? Wouldn't it be more properly called an arse slapping? I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 May 30, 2011 - 10:02am | I imagine the Osakar homeworld likely had dense tangles vegetative growth. Imagine giant vines and creepers as the normal growth. large trees are non existent. Throw in fungal spires for these vines and creepers to crawl and tangle over and you have a very messy environment for which the Osakar anatomy is ideally suited. This kind of environment would encourage the development of so many limbs and hands. A dense environment also encourages vocal communication as you don't get to see each other all the time. I imagine their world is a symphony of sounds from all the creatures and the osakar. This is also not a copy of some other Earth environment but rather the start of a truly alien environment for the Osakar to call home. -iggy |
May 30, 2011 - 10:48am | @iggy I whole heartedly agree. You have obviously thought about this. Tell us more... Reasonable men adapt to the world around them; unreasonable men make the world adapt to them. The world is changed by unreasonable men. Edwin Louis Cole |
May 30, 2011 - 5:05pm | I imagine the Osakar homeworld likely had dense tangles vegetative growth. Imagine giant vines and creepers as the normal growth. large trees are non existent. Throw in fungal spires for these vines and creepers to crawl and tangle over and you have a very messy environment for which the Osakar anatomy is ideally suited. This kind of environment would encourage the development of so many limbs and hands. A dense environment also encourages vocal communication as you don't get to see each other all the time. I imagine their world is a symphony of sounds from all the creatures and the osakar. This is also not a copy of some other Earth environment but rather the start of a truly alien environment for the Osakar to call home. IGGY ROCKS!!!!! you know that I'm going to run with this. and you've inspired me to develop a handful of creatures to populate Ozak based of the evolutionary pattern that fits the environment. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
May 30, 2011 - 8:07pm | RE: the osakar evolutionary environment North America has 30 distinct environments- its not neccessary to detail that many for an alien planet- at most if you detail 5 environments you have enough for a referee to set up a series of encounters for an rpg adventure. So I like Iggy's 1 environment that he detailed and I'd like to create 2 variations off of that if the planet Osaka does not have significant bodies of water. If there is significant bodies of water then it should be 4-5 detailed environments. The big question is should Osaka have significant bodies of water? fungal spires- those sound like there is a significant hydrosphere or cycle going on. BTW, Iggy, I'd really appreciate you downloading a copy of your brain to an external hard drive and sending me a copy. Post Scrip: iggy's environment sounds like a jungle environment but it wont dominate the whole planet I like the micro environment of a Sphagnum bog as a model as an alternative http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphagnum Also we could develop the osaka version of a temperate forest and for mountainous terrain as well. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
May 31, 2011 - 6:31pm | @Jedion I have been doing spring gardening and looking at small stuff. Your Sphagnum bog is a great example. As for downloading my brain, that might hurt (me). Go check out some Alan Dean Foster novels. I'd recommend Midworld for this one and just pick the level of the forest that matches. We should also schedule a chat session where we can get the juices flowing and log the chat. I really have to schedule my time lately due to work, family, and scouting commitments so I don't get to play as much on the site. I have a slew of backlog threads to read. I do love world building. -iggy |
May 31, 2011 - 6:56pm | @Jedion I have been doing spring gardening and looking at small stuff. Your Sphagnum bog is a great example. As for downloading my brain, that might hurt (me). Go check out some Alan Dean Foster novels. I'd recommend Midworld for this one and just pick the level of the forest that matches. We should also schedule a chat session where we can get the juices flowing and log the chat. I really have to schedule my time lately due to work, family, and scouting commitments so I don't get to play as much on the site. I have a slew of backlog threads to read. I do love world building. Been a while since I read A.D. Foster, perhaps it time to revisit him. When it comes to family and scouting, be prepared and do your best. Re: world building- I'm surprised how much I've enjoyed the collaboration works in the various projects. Your post on Osaka caught my imagination. as for scheduling- I have to plan ahead but usually I could free up a mid week late evening- 8, 9 or 10 ish just need to plan for it. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
August 14, 2011 - 10:08am | New idea on the osakar: the fact that they are all the same by virtue of the reproductive system has more or less prevented war while not preventing murder. Its hard to look at the mirror image of yourself and shoot it but not impossible. Plus everyone in the same iniform- eerie! But in situations where osakar have lived closely and one has felt the other was copying her has resulted in some murders. These individuals are largely seen as abberant and when the evidence is conclusive, capitol punishment is usually applied- if she can kill a copy of me then she can kill me. There have been a few famous cases of osakar serial killers. Thus we see the motive to be different, with ornamentation, dress, religion, hobbies, speech patterns etc. its a defense against loosing their mind in all the sameness. It turns out that the Flight allows discreet jewelry while on duty and is considerably more relaxed then Space Fleet for its off duty personnel. With relatively few osakar in space fleet similar allowances have not been made yet though they we're considered. EDIT: post edited to fix the autocorrections my smart phone made that buggered my original post. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
August 14, 2011 - 10:25am | The osakar also have hermits that withdraw into the wilderness, pursuing obscure religious practices. Some of these individuals keenly feel the underlying discomfort with their whole race and find solace in loneliness. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
August 14, 2011 - 9:18pm | I would think tattooos and/or make-up would be a big thing for them as well, up to and including "war paint". |
August 15, 2011 - 5:28am | I would think tattooos and/or make-up would be a big thing for them as well, up to and including "war paint".
I was thinking of tattoos too but the description of their skin made me think that it might not be something they discovered on the own. When they first meet a human with one it sparks intense curriousity and eventually someone figures out how to do it even if its a holographic tattoo. Come to think of it my holo tattoo implant that I invented would be right up their alley. They'd be able to change the tattoo for any occasions. Another bit of tech that would be of interest to them is a holo screen but the light shift stealth program would only be a secondary consideration. They'd have disks with programs to turn their skin different colors and distort their body features as well as wacky out fits.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
August 15, 2011 - 5:35am | Double post fun I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 August 20, 2011 - 11:59am | Ah, the poor beleaguered Osakar... I love this race because of their "alien-ness". Some of my thoughts: the multiple limbs and obvious flexibility should allow multiple attacks, but there should be limits, much like dralasites (base it off their DEX scores). Although they reproduce asexually, they can still have variation, like the Drac from Enemy Mine (an innate genetic twist causes each generation to be slightly different). The fact that the Osakar inhabit five planets and three moons in the Osak star system suggests they are perhaps more physically adaptable (either naturally or artificially) than humans, or at least very hardy, and able to withstand a wide variety of habitats. With no information given on Osaka, it is very possible to create any imagined environment. I like the ideas iggy presents; I like the idea of fungi as the primary non-animalian life form. Perhaps something in the Osaka environments allowed fungi (or fungi-like organisms) to develop faster than plants, and overcome their light-aversion to become the dominant flora. It really makes for an alien environment. This also could go far to explain the Osakar adaptability/hardiness: fungi isn't as useful to animal life in the way of creating oxygen, moisture or temperature regulation. While Osaka may be a paradise for the Osakar, it would likely be barely habitable for most other races. Of all the Zeb's races, the Osakar are the ones I've most thought about doing serious work on. Keep this going, gang. I'd love to see what we can do with them! Long live the Frontier! |
August 20, 2011 - 3:49pm | I am going to out on a limb and posit that the osakar may not even be animals, but plants or even fungal. Look at the description of their skin -"...which is made up of thousands of large, white, hard, plate-like cells that are shingled downward all over the body. They resemble a huge, white plant more than any animal." If we were to move forward with the idea that fungus (or fungi-like lifeforms) became the dominant form on Osaka, then could it be possible that the Osakar themselves are intelligent, motile fungi? After all, fungus is comprised of chitin, the same material as insect, crustacean and arachnid carapaces. Wouldn't that be unusual? On the six limbs of the Osakar: on Earth, all vertabrate life has 4 limbs, even if they aren't immediately evident. The six limbs of the Osakar may be an abberation, or it may indicate that most life on Osaka is also six-limbed. Just something to think about in regard to other life on the planet. Long live the Frontier! |
August 20, 2011 - 4:28pm | On Osakar parthenogenesis: I read up the wikipedia entry on parthenogenesis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenogenesis). I am leaning toward making the Osakar thus either plant/fungal or reptilian/saurian. Just some more food for thought... Long live the Frontier! |
August 22, 2011 - 3:38am | By jove, I believe you are onto something there. Good catch and great analysis. |
December 1, 2011 - 11:45am | Just an update: with the CFM/RIM, instalment of ZG going into the Zine in issue 18, and the humma hitting in 19, there is no real pressure to kick out material for the osakar till next year. The upside of that is that the review of the material will be with fresh eyes. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
August 11, 2012 - 7:33pm | A couple of thoughts inspired from the posts above. The homeworld Osaka should be hostile to the other races. I see the Osaka biology as dominated by fungal/plant hybrids. The "animal" life is itself fungal/plant hybrid. All of this different biology leads me to see the atmosphere as full of microbial and fungal life. The fact that fungal/plant hybrids are dominant has changed the mix of elemental gasses. I see all of the other races other than the dralasites as needing filters and assisted breathing apparatus when on the surface. This also leads me to believe that the Osaka survive in other environments much easier than their appearance suggests. They respiratory system filters out contaminants and can operate efficiently on lower levels of oxygen. An osaka may even be able to climb Everest without supplemental oxygen. Six limb geometry of Osaka lifeforms is very common but the real catch for the biologists is that it is actually 4-2. Lifeforms sport 4 lower limbs and 2 upper limbs. The lifeforms that walk on all 6 limbs have 2 fore limbs and four hind limbs. Seven fingers, five fingers and two thumbs, is very common. Many of the lifeforms that walk on all six limbs even have discernible and functional fingers as the environment encourages their use to get through the tangle. Other environments on Osaka would be larger polar caps and a milder equator which aids the planet in suppressing the creation of desert regions that the fungal/plant hybrids do not develop in. Also Osaka does not have deep oceans. The water percentage is a high 80% but is overgrown with fungalant (fungal/plant) growths that by nature filter the water capturing the salts and minerals creating a constant supply of fresh water world wide. The equatorial temperatures are still a driver of a strong hydro-cycle providing rain and snow and the axial tilt of the world is enough to provide four seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres, but the snow in the peak of winter reaches nearly to the tropics. Winter in the equatorial regions is pronounced by cool rains. There is no wet and dry season in the equator, but rather warm and cold rains based on the seasons. -iggy |
August 11, 2012 - 8:47pm | I like the idea of most characters requiring either a gas mask or oxygen tank or an oxygen concentrator. I think, though that the dralasite by be more sensitive to environmental contaminents. since their entire skin is their lung. Nice analysis of the environment I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
August 11, 2012 - 9:29pm | I don't see the native dralasite environment that clean either. They reproduce by spores. Their native world must be filled with spore releasing lifeforms. Their skin would have to be designed to accept the good spores and reject the bad. Those things that are spore size or smaller would likewise be rejected. However, I don't see all of the dralasite environment being that way all the time. There are seasons when the "plants" and "animals" spore. Then, the dralasite homeworld also has oceans and deserts where the air will be free of the spore material. So, a dralasite has some natural adaptation and resistance to contaminated air. Maybe a dralasite on Osaka my go for protective clothing to add some filtering but not to the degree that the other races would need. -iggy |
August 12, 2012 - 5:40am | @ Iggy: ok I could buy that, I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
August 12, 2012 - 6:11pm | OK Here is an inspirational picture of what the tangles and funglants could be climbing to reach great heights. -iggy |
August 12, 2012 - 10:36pm | The Zeb's write-up states, "new individuals are developed from unfertilized eggs." Then it also states that they are, "like clones." With a previous statement in a paragraph above noting that, "They resemble a huge, white plant more than any animal", I could see the statement of resembling a plant and the use of the word egg as proof that the article was written by a scientist trained in biology rather than botany. The scientist stops short of saying they are a plant. In fact I could see frontier scientists fighting over how to approach osakar life, from biology or botany. The botanists of the frontier would be quick to claim osakar as sentient plants and would work to classify their reproduction as by seeds. Of course neither is correct as osakar life belongs in a category between botany and biology. This leads me to an idea that osakar lay their seeds and the new osakar grows limbs out of the seed or pod as it develops. The osakar skull is the remnant of the casing of this pod. I then think of coconuts and how the nut is full of the water it needs to sprout, start a tap root, and break the shell. This allows coconuts to sprout at sea and travel to distant shores to spread. Perhaps the osakar pod has all that it needs to grow into a young osakar capable of foraging for itself. Then I am prompted with the question, do the osakar leaver their pods to develop unattended by the parent and allow for the next passing osakar who chooses to take the young under its' wing for parenting? -iggy |
August 13, 2012 - 4:11am | Interesting question Iggy as now you are moving from the meager facts to extrapolating culture. Would a osakar value raising its own young? There is a certain ammount of self/ race hate going on where they do damn near anything to distinguish themselves from one another- the crazy clothing and religious expressions chosen to be different. Plants drop seed all the time with little care for what happens after that so I'm voting that they dont care. As a society they will need to round up the sprouts and educate them thus someone will care but that someone will be paid to care and what does it matter anyway, Maury Provitch isn't going to have a show with DNA testing and say, "You are the plant!" They are all identical DNA wise. Side thought: organ and limb transplantation is probably more like grafting. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
October 28, 2012 - 3:54am | Hhhmmm, despite the fact that both Zebs and fan art of the osakar both demonstrate an underlying assumption of skeletal structure. Clearly you can see and extrapolate a skeleton based on the surface presentation of musculature in any of the osakar pictures that exist. I'm led to question this. I guess its just that plants with skeletons are an alien concept to me but then we've taken this in a fungal direction and not a "woody" direction. RE: planetary environments - I'd like to propose some names Fungal Forests- dominated by fungal spires and tangles of vines as described by iggy Fungal Bogs- I micro environment- basically a fungal/osakar version of an earth bog Fungal tundra- closer to the polar caps the fungal spires give way to shorter hardier fungal growths, other species, with perhaps the exception of dralasites, find the fungal tundra the most hospitable climate on Osak. I dont know that you would chart rivers on Osak but there seems to be a slow moving river like envrionment on Osak, at least from what we've discussed. RE: osakar evolution and four legs, I think these may have been roots at some point but with the transition of their function to locomotion the osakar or some creature in the evolutionary tree developed an alternate method of obtaining sustenance. perhaps the fingers were simply roots that an osakar missing link wrapped around/grasped a vine and or fungal spire to draw sustenance from it. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
