I would _really_ like to see some plant articles. It's an area where I'm skimpy, and I'd really like to know more. Please, Timothy? And , thank you - there were no responses on my post, I was worrying it hadn't sent (grin) On Thu, Jul 21, 2016 at 5:28 PM, Timothy Collinson <xxxxxx@port.ac.uk> wrote: > I was going to try and respond to Jeff and say, yes, it is hard to come up > with a memorable *new* animal. Partly because nature has such an incredible > way of coming up with weird and wonderful without my help and partly because > I'm not that great a biologist (or botanist) to know much about what would > work/not work, what's plausible, not plausible etc. I feel my efforts thus > far have been a tad derivative. And I have tried - both because, like you, > I feel it's a bit neglected and because I want to come up with interesting > things! One snag is that the Keith brothers set such a high bar for both > design and illustration - it's a bit disheartening. > > And don't get me started on plants - here we have an SF game, wonderful > opportunities for world design, planet after planet and across 10 editions > of Traveller next to *nothing* bar a paragraph or two on plants or > vegetation. One of the reasons I populated a space station in the second > game I ran at TravCon with "the hidden gardens" and more plants you could > shake a stick at. (I think I've probably mentioned here or in the pages of > Freelance Traveller that one player took a look at my 4 page 'Selected Guide > to the Flora of Anther' and reckoned I'd just supplied his Traveller > vegetation needs for the rest of his life.) A supplement would be nice, but > even just a short section in a world building book or an article from > someone who knows something about the possibilities of alien flora would be > wonderful. As it happens I've currently borrowed my Mum's encyclopedia of > plants while she's on holiday, but it's a bit 'garden flower' orientated so > its not helping as much as I'd hoped. > > Then just to cap it all Jeffrey comes along with the above... and, well, I > might as well just fold. My hat's off to you sir. Brilliant. > > tc > > > On 19 July 2016 at 15:39, Jeffrey Schwartz <xxxxxx@gmail.com> > wrote: >> >> The old Scout leaned back in big overstuffed chair, enjoying the rich >> leather and the comfort almost as much as he was enjoying the fine >> brandy in the elegant glass in his hand. The "Danger Club" had offered >> him a cr50 honorarium - and free drinks! - to come chat with the >> members about some of the creatures he'd seen over the years. >> >> "The magni-pie is very dangerous, albeit accidentally. Ran into them >> during the Fourth Frontier War...." >> "They're kinda like a beaker with wings, capable of gliding more than >> flying. Call it a flying-squirell-monkey. They have a magnetic sense >> that lets them navigate, but that sense is also used in evaluating the >> gifts a male offers a female during courtship. The purer the magnetic >> signature, the more attractive the gift." >> "Since the colonization of _______ , the little buggers have a habit >> of stealing any small bits of metal - nuts, bolts, nails - that >> aren't...uh.. nailed down. So to speak." >> He paused and took a sip of the brandy,"During the war, the bastards >> would swarm over battle fields, picking up the empty shell cases, >> magazines, all the expendable stuff used up in a modern battle. An in >> the course of this, they discovered that the ring from a grenade pin >> was just the right size to go around the foot and rest on the leg of a >> female, like a pretty bracelet." >> "The females discovered jewelry." >> "Nature being what it is, the males of course locked on to the best >> gift to gain a mate... which was ok as long as they contented >> themselves to sweeping through after a battle and picking up the >> dropped grenade pins." >> "When they began sneaking in on bivouac sights and stealing them, it >> got dangerous." >> The Scout leaned forward a bit, his voice drawing the listeners in, >> "It's 0200. You're trying to run a silent camp as part of an >> infiltration mission. There's the normal animal sounds, a little >> rattle of the tree branches above the camp. Nothing out of the >> ordinary, and the sentries are on watch with thermal and lowlight... >> One of the little critters you've been seeing all day runs down a tree >> trunk, but who cares? You lose it in the underbrush and camo around >> your sleeping teammates... a few moments later it scampers back up >> another tree trunk. " >> The Scout held his breath for a dramatic pause,"Then ... Boom!" >> It wasn't a yelled "Boom!" - it was a sad, maudlin way of saying it. >> "Dave, the same Dave that you've been marching with for a month, >> explodes. Yeah, I know, the restraining loop over the spoon on the >> grenade... but from the times a soldier woke up before the magni-pie >> stole the pin, they snip through the strap with their beak so they can >> get to the pin easier. " >> >> The Scout took another sip, savoring the brandy. "Dangerous, but they >> don't intend to be, and if you're not carrying grenades then the >> problem isn't there. I think the real topic on the table is creatures >> that are intentionally dangerous" >> >> "On _________, in the highland mountains, the natives hunt the >> Trellkatan. Picture a sort of arboreal mountain goat... like goat with >> the hands and feet of an ape. About 1.5 meters tall when they stand on >> their hind legs, about 60cm running on all fours. The backs of the >> hands are covered with ... like turtle shell, or super thick >> sharkskin, so when they fold the fingers into the palm the hand works >> like a hoof." >> >> "The natives hunt them for the pelts - they grow long, thick coats >> that are chemically really similar to spider silk or kevlar. There's a >> couple companies that pay nicely for them and make really elegant >> Cloth armor from the stuff." >> >> "The problem is the fur gets twisted, tangled and matted, like a >> sheep's... and three to four centimeter thick tangled mats tend to >> stop a lot of incoming fire. It's hard to cut, it's hard to stab >> through it, bullets tend to hit strand after strand and slow down. >> Gauss needles work, and energy weapons. But hitting them with energy >> weapons ruins the pelt, which is the whole point of the hunt." >> >> "The locals use a kind of a long spear, with a thin stiletto head to >> it. About a third of a meter of needle, with a crossbar like a boar >> spear, and then about another meter and a half of metal rod." >> >> "The Trellkatan have a very powerful grip, and if they get a hand on >> you they'll crush your throat. Or the bones in your arm. Or pull the >> arm out of it's socket. Their main weapon, though, are the curved >> horns, like a goat's, except the outside and inside of the curve of >> the horn is razor thin and very sharp. It won't cut deep, but the >> creatures are very big on hitting in the face and neck with the horns. >> When they hunt , they hold their prey down and slit its throat with >> the horn-edge." >> >> "That's the other difference between them and goats - or apes. They're >> extremely territorial, irrationally so. No other animal can live >> within about 1500 meters of their lair. They'll hunt and kill >> everything the find there. Another 5 km or so is hunting range, where >> they'll let things live but go through hunting for food. " >> >> "They are like goats in that they're a herd animal or a pack animal, >> depending on how you look at it. The hunting parties are between 4 and >> 24 of them, usually all males. Maybe a couple young near-adult >> females" >> >> "The Lairs are mountain caves, or cave complexes, where dozens of them >> live. The females have a nursing organ that is like a tap that >> branches off where the stomach and the intestines join. A tube from >> the tummy that the young nurse semi-digested food from. They have >> litters of 2 to 5 kids every spring, and all the males hunt like crazy >> to feed them. They mate in the fall, and gestate all winter, deep in >> the cave where the temperature is the same year round. They gorge all >> summer, and the females are sort of hibernating while gestating." >> >> "Trying to hunt them in the lair is... dangerous. They climb up into >> the tops of the cave, find niches. They hear really well, and will >> tap their hoof-hands on the rock to make a clicking sound that they >> range-find on in the dark. Not as good as a bat's sonar, but good >> enough they can find their way around even in the deep-dark. And that >> hearing lets them know you're coming, so they can get to the side, or >> above, the opening between one part of the cave and another. As the >> hunter crawls through, they just snatch him and slash." >> >> "Some people will gas the cave - smoke grenades work, or riot gas - >> but the twists, niches, and occasional water filled tunnel stop that. >> Mostly they throw the smoke in so that more Trellkatan come out - >> although that isn't usually a problem. Get within 500 meters or so of >> the cave, and every adult male will mob you since you're in their >> exclusion zone." >> >> The Scout noticed his brandy snifter was empty - and the noticing was >> because of the well groomed and dressed waiter who had held off >> filling it until there was a pause in the story telling. The tall man >> poured another helping, the amber liquid making the cut crystal >> sparkle in the light of the elegant fireplace behind and to the left >> of the old man's chair. >> >> "The Trellkatan... they're dangerous, but we hunt them. By we I mean >> sophonts, humanati. We make the choice to go up in the mountains and >> hunt them. It could be worse. " >> >> "I was doing a survey on... well. It's a Red Zone, and I'm not going >> to name it. It's Red Zoned for a reason." >> >> "We landed in badlands - not desert, not mountain, not a nearly-dry >> riverbed canyon, but some kind of hellish mix of the worst qualities >> of all three. Strange regoliths worn by wind and rain and, once upon a >> time when the river was more than a trickle of a stream, by rushing >> waters. " >> >> "Binary system, a pair of .... no, I think mentioning spectral types >> would be bad. Let's just leave it at a pair of dim stars, so there was >> never really night, and never really day. Fast rotational period, less >> than 14 hours, which contributed to the winds that whistled through >> the rocks, and made ever shifting patterns of light and shadow that >> tricked your eye and made you see things that weren't there. Or, >> worse, made you ignore things that were there." >> >> "Radiation was fairly high, both from the stars and from radioactive >> cobalt dust in the atmosphere. Yeah. Not naturally occurring, and from >> the half-life about 50 years back, the civilization nuked itself. Long >> Night colony that everybody forgot about. We found some wreckage, >> bits and pieces of documents." >> >> "They'd broken with their parent world because of a dispute over >> genetic engineering ethics. The parent world subscribed to views >> similar to the enlightened, sensible, dare I say SANE! kind of >> thoughts that are common in the Imperium as a whole. Praise the >> Emperor and all his predecessors for wisdom. " >> >> With that toast, the Old Scout raised his glass and took a sip, and >> the listeners echoed the sentiment. >> >> "The ... freethinkers... no, that is too weak a word. "Fanatical >> whackjobs" is closer, but lacks the dispassionate social >> professionalism so prized by the Scout Service, so I'll avoid that >> term. Let's just go with 'people'." >> >> "The people who colonized wanted to make ... well... Von Neuman >> machines. But they wanted biological Von Neuman Terraforming Servitor >> Creatures. At first, this was just peachy. There was enough land they >> could all spread out, grow some landscaping slave-critters, and have >> their own little gardens of eden. " >> >> "Until there got to be too many people. And then they started to argue >> over the choicest bits of land. And arguing turned to duels, but that >> wasn't enough, so there were skirmishes and then custom-built fighting >> critters in arena combats. Then there were the sore losers who decided >> not to go along with the arena trial by combat's result, and there >> were battles between estates. And then estates banded together, and >> ....and someone decided that they were going escalate, and 'win', and >> they dusted off the old physics books and made nukes." >> >> "Which shattered the infrastructure enough that the people were no >> longer in their manicured estates, and the fighting critters were >> loose across the world." >> >> "The really big ones weren't so bad. About 15 metric tons mass, three >> to four meters at the shoulder. Scales? Plates? I don't know what to >> call them. Size of a dinner plate, thick as your thumb and overlapping >> like a shark's teeth. Ablative to energy weapon fire, and HEAP would >> just blow that one plate off. Trunk like an elephant, tail like a >> scorpion - with a stinger!, and six big legs like an alligator that >> let it move while keeping the soft belly near the ground. Claws that >> let it climb the soft limestone rock of the badlands. Eight tentacles >> off a mound in the middle of the back, each ending in a stinger like >> the one on the tail. " >> >> "Those weren't so bad, because at least you could see them coming. >> Well, no, you could hear them coming as they crunched up the terrain. >> In the shifting shadows and twisty regoliths, they could actually >> sneak up on you, because your eyes would sometimes think they were >> just a big, weird shaped rock. They'd stalk in nice and slow, crawling >> just a little at a time, until they were close enough. " >> >> "The Big Ones would dig down into the mud in the stream bed, and just >> let all the water run through their mouths - filter feeding like >> whales. They could sit still, waiting like that, until they noticed >> something to kill. The shape of their mouths was such they couldn't >> even eat animals they killed - they'd toss the bodies in the stream, >> and filter up bits that came off or the little minnow-sized fish that >> came to eat the carrion." >> >> "Worse were the bunnies. Little fluffy bunny rabbit things, with soft >> fur and cute bunny bodies. " >> >> The Scout shuddered, looking off into space, and took a swig of his >> drink. Then steadied himself, whispered a couple words, and said more >> clearly, "Absent friends" and raised his drink in a toast, before >> sipping again. A few other people echoed the toast. >> >> "The bunnies would roll in the dust, their fur picking it up and >> camouflaging them near perfectly. They were small - shoe box sized - >> and fast as all hell when they sprinted. Inside 100 meters, they'd be >> on you in a heartbeat." >> >> "Two long, sharp incisors. Two long, sharp claws per paw... and the >> belly has a thing like the Hunter's organ in an electric eel, with >> specialized conductors to the incisors and paws. If it could get >> through the HazMat suits we were wearing because of the cobalt, it >> could zap hard enough to stun you. " [Roll vs END] >> >> "When nothing was there to hunt, they moved like a herd of herbivores, >> eating the lichen and bits of plant that grew between the rocks, or >> digging out insects. Like watching a flock of chickens sweeping the >> area, nibbling here and there, while the ones on the edge of the flock >> keep watch. They'd go slow, stay stealthy and quiet, and feed.... >> until the ones on the edge caught sight of real prey." >> >> "Then the whole flock would go into stalk mode, and when they got >> close enough sprint and pounce. Thirty or forty of them hitting almost >> at once, like land piranha. Stop one, and another is ducking around to >> stab at your heel, the back of your calf.... and once those little >> needles get through, down you go. The bastard would shock and shock >> and shock and make sure you couldn't get up to push its friends off." >> >> The Old Scout paused a bit, staring down into his glass,and then >> gulped the brandy down in one swallow before asking,"How about a >> little break? Maybe some cards?" >> ----- >> The Traveller Mailing List >> Archives at http://archives.simplelists.com/tml >> Report problems to xxxxxx@simplelists.com >> To unsubscribe from this list please goto >> http://archives.simplelists.com > > > ----- > The Traveller Mailing List > Archives at http://archives.simplelists.com/tml > Report problems to xxxxxx@simplelists.com > To unsubscribe from this list please goto > http://www.simplelists.com/confirm.php?u=vSy3NFQJMSbZKrzPfC3XucFBsUCMtKrI
