 November 21, 2013 - 10:18pm | I understand that the Void is supposed to be disorientating to beings transversing it... but I cannot seem to find much on this. I have been pondering how disorientating? Are different races affected differently? I am thinking even though it is only seconds, a single second of disorientation (say for example a bright blinding light flashed in a persons face) can cause diminished RS and failure to recognize a hazard/problem while the person reorientates (eyes readjusting to normal light and the brain then processing actually what is really happening around the person and then the person being able to take action). So thinking about this I remembered a sci-fi book The Pride of Chanur and if I am remembering correctly when they entered FTL Space it was also disorientating and even physically taxing, some species had to be unconscious before entering, I think one species was suspected of being immune. It makes sense that different species would react differently. I could see a Dralasite being affected totally differently than a Human or a Vrusk for instance. At the minimum it seems like there would be a slight lag in reacting to or recognize new information upon reentering Normal Space. What do you guys think? The same book also presented the idea that ships where different inside because the various species are different, different physical shapes, different social and psychological needs. So a ship's interior designs might reflect a specific race's living and working needs. Vrusk body shape is way different from a humans for instance. Thoughts? "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
 November 21, 2013 - 10:45pm | I'm always annoyed that vrusks in nearly all the pictures are usually just head or upper body shots that and it seems like everything would need to be designed with their legs in mind. I gather they can squeeze the legs body to be able to fit in human sized spaces About the void. I'm sure they're would be differences but I might be inclinded to make them superficial among the PC races but you could have an unusual alien who maybe can function perfectly in the void as a villian/thief ----------------------------------------------- |
 November 22, 2013 - 12:03am | We've discussed void disorientation before but we have never focused on species specific effects. I wrote a story about a yazirian who saw voidlings. So I will offer that yazirians can "see things" and leave it as a mysterious thing that science and medicine is really confused about and ignores the existence off. I have also discussed a story line for an Alex Stone article where he meets a dralasite pilot who creatively uses the heighted sense of taste dralasites experience in and near the void to gauge ship acceleration. I'd love to hear other ideas for void effects on beings. My two are plot specific and for fun. There could be some more established medical effects for each race. -iggy |
 November 22, 2013 - 3:51am | RE: vrusk and chairs, much like we have chairs that let us pull a level and recline it Frontier multispecies chairs have a level that lets you rotate the whole chair so that the seat is nearly upright and the back of the chair becomes a seat of sufficient length for a vrusk to rest his abdomen on. The former seat part that is now upright is pressed against the front of the abdomen. Acceleration couches have an L shaped piece that comes down from the ceiling and conforms to the vrusk's back and top of the abdomen. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 November 22, 2013 - 3:05pm | Or in some cases, it could cause people to suffer from... ...SPACE MADNESS!!! |
November 23, 2013 - 9:09am | Good ideas, thanks for the info on how Vrusk sit. I wonder how they sleep? Can you imagine one trying to get into a hammock? Dralasites would have their sense of smell messed up for sure and have weird black and white effects happening, maybe dark things appear light and vice a versa. Humans something akin to an acid trip, colours trailing, sounds are weird. Vrusk might hear colours or taste them in the Void and also acid trip like. I like the idea of Yazirian seeing things, very Twilight Zone. And no one gets sick. No one knows for sure what the Sathar experience. I might have them be immune or at least have NPC's that debate the scientific possibility of that, conspiracy theories about it, like maybe races targeted for extermination is based on their ability to sustain G forces and the Void. Got to keep the worms scary, scary. But what if things go wrong? I am thinking about the possibilities of Void Sickness and Void Psychosis and other related ideas. Void Sickness would be like Car/Air/Sea Sickness, might make you queazy or even up chuck but it will not kill you, but would maybe effect you a little. Plenty of people ride in planes, cars and boats that get Motion Sickness and the travel folks do fine. Plus I could come up with a few cures for it that if you take in advance decreases or nullifies the affect. "You notice the Void Sickness Bag and remember that you forgot to take your Void-Away AKA Akyrosamine." "You realize maybe you should have bought the overpriced Void Sickness Band at the Space Station as you try to grab the Puke Bag, but the disorientation makes it hard to tell which of the three bags is the real one!" Void Psychosis could be temporary or permanent or a myth: I would be more inclined to have a NPC develop the permanent. Could be a considered a Spacer's Myth by most people in the Frontier, but actually a real possibility say if the ship is in the Void too long or maybe some people (very few) get Space Madness and some Spacers think it is one too many long jumps. I may make one of the introduced races needing to be sedated before a jump or this is a real possibility for them. You could also have a passenger on the ship with Akyrosphobia (Fear of the Void) freaking the heck out right before the ship starts to enter Void. The passenger could do all sorts of crazy things that could be a danger to themselves and others. I am figuring a Stamina Check with maybe a modifier for trained Spacers in their favor. So if a PC fails the check they are sick and have a negative -5 to -10 to their RS and LOG while recovering, depending on how bad of a fail and a roll for the number of turns affected. Maybe a possible random emotional response if real bad failure (overwhelmed with a feeling of 1-2 love, 3-4 fear, 5-6 anger, 7-8 sadness, 9-10 nothing). Not sure about this idea but could be interesting and would make the PCs wonder if one could really lose their marbles, even if Void Psychosis is really a Spacer's Myth. "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
 November 23, 2013 - 10:00am | I've been considering making void jumping slowly debilitating over the long term. The first time you make a void jump, you make a STA check with a +20 bonus to your STA. If you make the check, you're fine and your "Void Stamina" is your STA+20. If you fail the check you suffer minor effects (TBD) and your "Void Stamina" is just your STA. And if you "fumble" (i.e. roll a 96-100) then your "Void Stamina" is your STA-20, you just weren't meant for space. From then on when you make a void jump, you make a Void STA check. If you pass, nothing happens. You made the jump without issue. If you fail, you suffer some effects (based on how badly you failed) and your Void STA is reduced by one. Thus if you have a high Void STA to start, you'll usually make your rolls and no effects will occur except the occasional issue and you can probably make hundreds or thousands of jumps before you really start to suffer effects. But eventually, everyone would get to the point that jumps are so uncomforatable that they just don't want to do it an retire. Plus you can have NPC's that are very void jump sensitive to add flavor. Ad Astra Per Ardua! My blog - Expanding Frontier Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine |
November 23, 2013 - 3:52pm | @TerlObar, I like your void stamina idea. @Tchklinxa, I like the description of the void sickness bag and the space stations selling medcations. This would go well with the motion sickness new space voyagers go through with a high G blast-off followed by zero G. Add in the nerves of leaving home and old school memories of when rockets blew up and a minor case of motion sickness gets compounded. -iggy |
November 24, 2013 - 9:31am | @TerlObar I like your idea too. Thanks iggy, I was thinking there would be stuff for passengers just like we have today at airports or the ship's store, and some people might handle space travel better simply because of experience too. Like my kids rarely get sea sick or any kind of motion sickness because they spent part of their childhood at sea in a very small craft. They also do not have the problems newbies to sea travel have when coming back on land. My daughter has been called "inhuman" by crew-mates because she simply isn't phased on the big ships at all even in storms. "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
November 25, 2013 - 8:22am | I like this idea too, of void stamina. Add to that the possibility of the ship's doctor knocking out those with a low stamina for void transition and we got something I think. Kind of funny if the pilot has a low void stamina and he cant be kno ked out. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 November 25, 2013 - 4:57pm | OK jumping in on Vrusk and sitting. First Vrusk are supposed to have internal and external skeletons. This makes them very rigid so not very able to squeeze into anything very well. Second you must remember that their "breathing holes are located on their lower abdomen. The very act of sitting would restrict their breathing. So the first question we should ask is "Do Vrusk even sit?" It could be possible that they do not need to "take a load off" like Humans and Yazirians (Dralasites are a whole other category) and can stay on their feet without the need to rest. Sleeping is another concern of course but that would be if Vrusk actually sleep like the other races. Given their cultural similarity to the Japanese Business model of the 80s I image them doing deep meditation instead of the Human and Yazirian sleep. Oh and to the original question. Vrusk do not suffer from Void effects. The Novoikproklec Trade House long ago discovered the cure for Void sickness and have many treatments available including temporary medications to full surgical procedures. If only the silly Humans, Yazirians, Dralasites and Vimh would learn to embrace the true Vrusk work ethic and stop being so lazy. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
November 26, 2013 - 5:20am | I like the idea of making vrusk immune to void sickness for the simple reason that they are the least played of the PC species. as to sitting, it depends on the chair and the structural placement of the spiracles under the abdomen I would go with them sitting as the art on the referee screen shows one sitting but good points on their rigidity. Perhaps they lock their knees like horses and sleep/meditate standing up. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 November 26, 2013 - 2:28pm | interesting info on Vrusks. Thank you, |
November 27, 2013 - 12:58am | Check out Ice Planet 2001 about 16 minutes into the movie for a jump sequence that gives a good rendition of what a void jump might look like. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fjl-pYFUOQ -iggy |
 November 27, 2013 - 8:20pm | Regarding Void travel, As per its minimal description in the book, I play passage through the Void as a psychedelic experience very similar to the experience of Dave Bowman in 2001: A Space Odyssey, or what the characters experience at the end of the movie The Black Hole (minus the Heaven & Hell stuff). Lots of unfamiliar colors & sounds, and the sense of touch seems to disappear completely. It is extremely disorienting, and can cause a number of unpleasant side effects, such as dizziness, vertigo, nausea, vomiting, tinnitis, hallucinations, paranoia, or a sense of dread or malaise. In the worst cases, people succumb to complete incurable madness. For those who are potentially susceptible to the negative effects of the Void, it is strongly recommended that they use cryogenic suspension for that portion of the trip, since that has been proven to protect travelers from Void madness. It is assumed that space pilots are immune to the Void (or else how did they get to be pilots?), but ordinary civilians must be tested before boarding. I have always had people establish whether of not they are immune to the negative effects of the Void when they first create their characters. A character is either "Void-tolerant" or not. Some species are automatically Void-tolerant, such as Sathar/S'sessu or Humma. In general, the more delicate & sensitive you are, the more likely you are to going to be affected by the Void. People who are mentally & emotionally tougher are more likely to be Void-tolerant. So you could be a big, tough, scary hombre with a heart of gold, and get ripped to shreds by the Void. A tiny, frail-looking woman who is as tough as nails inside might be completely immune to the Void. Regarding Vrusk anatomy, I do have them sit & lie down. Their spiracles (insectoid breathing orifices) are along each side of their lower abdomen, allowing them to sit down without blocking their breathing at all. Public seating always includes plenty of backless benches for Vrusk, who sit on them longways. In multi-species vehicles, human seats always fold down & lock in place to create Vrusk benches. Just like modern car seating, these seats can be moved forward or back, raised, lowered or inclined to be made more comfortable. Although they are capable of sleeping standing up, like a horse, they are also able to lie down, and do have beds (rather large ones) in their homes. They are able to bend forward at the waist, so they can be stretched out in a prone position when sleeping. Another species with odd seating requirements would be the Osakar. Since they have 4 legs, spaced equidistantly around the central body, they cannot sit in a normal human chair. However, they have no trouble with barstools, and most Osakar seating resembles a barstool or a tall footstool or ottoman. In multi-species ships, the back of the seat can fold down even further than it does for Vrusk, so that the seat back is out of the way, allowing the osakar to straddle the seat. In Ifshnit vehicles, everything is scaled to their small size, and larger species cannot use Ifshnit vehicles at all. Ifshnit are able to use human seats, but they look like small children when they do so. Also, Ifshnit cannot use most human-size weapons, and vice versa. Humma seating is also unusual. In my campaign, the Humma evolved from arboreal predators, and do not normally sit or lie down the way humans do. They lay on their stomachs, and so their relaxed seating is made for them to incline forward, not backward, like on a flit board. Humma "chairs" are similar to Eorna resting frames. In a Humma vehicle, the Humma is lying on its stomach with the steering wheel in front of & slightly below it, the pedals behind it, and the gear shift in the ceiling (operated by the prehensile tail). Although Humma chairs & vehicles are made this way, Humma are also very much like cats, and will lounge around in just about any position. Within Humma space, the seating comes in a staggering variety, including carpeted resting "trees" that almost look like cat furniture. They also have lots of precarious-looking ledges & shelves up high, where they like to nap or have a good view of their surroundings. Humans, Vrusk & Dralasites cannot reach these nooks, but the Humma have no trouble leaping that high. |
