NationStates Jolt Archive

After not actively doing anything on here, I'm thinking about starting over as a FT country. But at the moment I've grown a bit bored of all the humans and humanoids out there and was planning on making a more insectoid race for myself.

Now the question is as the title, would such a thing work? As being inhuman will become a problem both diplomatically as physical (I'm still having a hard time picturing how an insectoid would 'sit' in a vehicle or similar cases.) I still have doubts about this idea. Any suggestions/tips from your side?

Yes, it would, indeed it would, to sit in their own ships, they would design their seats to fit their own body, instead of human ones, so if their like ants, they would have forward facing ships or some such.

Basically just design the body, and design their ships and such. Diplomacy would be a problem at first, but you could eventually make some sort of Translator for your people. Anything could work dear.

You got MSN of any sort?

The main problem with that was that I never saw any kind of insect sitting down or something like that, and am not entirely sure how they would do such a thing. (Now I think about it, how do insects sleep? Lying or standing? Never saw that either.)

Communication wouldn't be that much of a problem in FT (And in dire cases, there could always be a drawing of symbols and stuff like that.) but I feared something along the lines of: "Eeek, big bugs! Shoot them!" as first contact.

(I'll TG you my MSN adress in a moment.)

An insect would just stand, not sit.
Also, "sleep" is insect slang for "the sweet release of death," i.e., they don't sleep, they die young.

After not actively doing anything on here, I'm thinking about starting over as a FT country. But at the moment I've grown a bit bored of all the humans and humanoids out there and was planning on making a more insectoid race for myself.

There's nothing wrong with playing humans or humanoids as long as the RP's are good that's what matters in the end.

Now the question is as the title, would such a thing work?

Yes, if you do it right.

As being inhuman will become a problem both diplomatically as physical (I'm still having a hard time picturing how an insectoid would 'sit' in a vehicle or similar cases.) I still have doubts about this idea. Any suggestions/tips from your side?

The Sskiss are non-humanoid, and their technologies, weapons and other devices etc. have evolved to suit their morphology. Everything about my race, from its language to its evolutionary heritage and its social structure was thought out long (as in about 3 decades) in advance. It was a thought experiment.

As for tips, play your race "from the inside out".... What does that mean? Well don't make the mistake of playing humans in bug suits if you know what I mean. Alien races should be alien not only of form, but also, to some extent at least, alien of mind and id.

erm tg me it to mine il tg u mine

Skiss, whats up man?

Well, I designed my alien races to be humanoid so I could have diversity of characters, seeing as my nation contains 3 completely different races.

Honestly, for insects they have the ability to sit down, much like spiders, by laying their body on a flat surface. I imagine that if they looked like an ant, their chairs might be sort of like human tables, and be sculpted to fit your bug-people's anatomy. If they are praying mantis-ish, they might be able to "sit" by placing their back end on a seat or somethign, and use their front arms to type or control things.

For sleep purposes, you may want them to crawl into cocoons, or into a sort of honeycomb sructure.

Bug aliens work just fine. Look at Alan Dean Foster's Thranx or Orson Scott Card's Formics, they're both making their creators a mint! Personally, I'd lean more towards the Formic side of things, as 1) hive minds are fun and 2) it gets more into the alien mindset.

As for seating for bugs, form-fitting couches for them to rest their abdomen on are the most probable idea, which I've seen used in quite a few settings.

I have a similar idea. I'm working on a non-human aquatic race. They're not exactly FT, but they'd work best in an FT setting, since they'd need some kind of translator to communicate with humanoids. It's still a work in progress, and I haven't figured out how they'll interact with land-dwelling races, but I'm guessing that they'd think very different from the land-dwellers.

@Skiss:
It's not that RPing as humans/humanoids is bad, it's just that almost everybody does so already. And the mindset won't be the average "We're going to eat you!" alien or an empire continuously conquering just because it can. With help of Naggeroth I devised something more original.(hopefully)

@Aegeus and Otagia:
That makes the most sense I suppose, although it still sounds a bit strange. (That probably has to do with me being human, and not an insectoid.) I do object against a single Hive Mind though, having the entire race depend on a single individual sounds bad. Perhaps a collective mind would work better?

@Everyone:
I'll try to work out the exact description of the creatures during the weekend, but for now you can picture the bodyparts of a Lobster(minus the tail) being re-arranged to look like a Praying Mantis.

Exodians, I have an FT non-humanoid race, the Aquamarinians. Their right of course, you should play your insect race from the inside out, and not make them humans in bug suits. I also have a Demi-human race of violent things called Gareens. It just takes imagination, that's all. If you'd like, our alien races could meet, I'm sure it would be intresting.

Oh yeah, Aquamarinians are highly intelligent octopi.

It sounds interesting indeed, but what are the goals in life of your species? My own race is after getting out of this universe to go to Gaia, as they believe all those warmongering species will eventually become the death of them if they stay here.

And another thing, don't Octopi and Squids eat Lobsters?

well really the sitting down thing..thats easy.

Basic Idea:-

Race A

Race A are a simple race, hive minded Insect race that are split into 3 castes, Worker, Warrior and Royal. All of race A look simular, 4 legs on a lower horizontal Torso, The upper Vertical torso has another pair of legs/Arms these can be used as legs when Race A sprits and lays its entire body horizontaly. The abdomen is a large sphere at the end, contains the reproductive (royal only) and other vital organs. The head has 2 antners, 2 large bug eye's and pincers at the mouth. The legs are 3 jointed and Race A are able to carry 6x there own wight.

Warrior class a large then workers (your advange worker is about 7f long layed out) at 8f long, there pincers around the mouth are larger and offten used as weapons, some warriors also have a venum sack.

Royal Class are the biggest, at 12f long, the Royals are the head of the hive, the most unque view of the royal class is the Crown like feture on the head.

thats just based off an ant, the best thing to do is first decide what you want your race to be then worry about all the other stuff. Decide how they act, are they hive or not, are they based more on spiders then Incests or are they a mix, are they aggssive or not etc etc etc.

There are many "insect" races available to play. The most famous one would be the Tyranids from warhammer 40k. Then there are the zerg (I know Mini Miehem played them at one point, not sure if he still does).

I personally use a mix of a Human/elf like race. Not many insectoids in my nation (both this nation, and my dark side nation).

There are many "insect" races available to play. The most famous one would be the Tyranids from warhammer 40k. Then there are the zerg (I know Mini Miehem played them at one point, not sure if he still does).

I personally use a mix of a Human/elf like race. Not many insectoids in my nation (both this nation, and my dark side nation).

I don't even us SC anymore, except for images on my "good" puppet.

Non humanoid races can be fun to play and fun to create provided you have both the time and the imagination. A good background in biology and related fields doesn't hurt either.

I don't even us SC anymore, except for images on my "good" puppet.

Heh. I thought for sure you still did.


Non humanoid races can be fun to play and fun to create provided you have both the time and the imagination. A good background in biology and related fields doesn't hurt either.


Good one. Some biological backround on your species would be a good idea. However, I only had a "B-" sophmore year for Bio.... I'm not a really good source.

Non humanoid races can be fun to play and fun to create provided you have both the time and the imagination. A good background in biology and related fields doesn't hurt either.

*failed Bio the first time, not doin so hot this time* There's several reasons I stopped using Zerg. THAT is one of them.

Heh. I thought for sure you still did.



Good one. Some biological backround on your species would be a good idea. However, I only had a "B-" sophmore year for Bio.... I'm not a really good source.

I have 7 "Terran" ships left. They're still floating around somewhere, ready to kill yo-I mean to be recommissioned.

I have 7 "Terran" ships left. They're still floating around somewhere, ready to kill yo-I mean to be recommissioned.

OOC: Har har.

Basically, Exodians, go for it. I haven't seen a good bug race in a long time. Actually.... Never.

OOC: Har har.

Basically, Exodians, go for it. I haven't seen a good bug race in a long time. Actually.... Never.

Sorry about minor derailing here Exodians:

Huntaer, check TGs, as HA, check GFFA Boards.

Wow, a lot of replies in a short time here.

I don't think I should take do too much serious thinking, as that will probably show me that the species I'm planning cannot physically exist at all. (First example that springs to mind is the relation between size, surface and volume.)

Multi-limbed creature Mk1 will be posted here soon.

Edit: @Mini Miehm: No problem, that happens to all threads eventually.

I've been nonhumanoid since 2003 (only one human character as far as I can remember), in PMT and FT settings, and have had a grand time of it so far. It's by no means for everyone, but if you enjoy it by all means give it a try. It's nice to have a nice change from all the bland clones of the USA filled with bland, unexceptional beaureaucrats.

Now I think about it, what should all be added in a description of the race? How they look on the outside obviously needs to be there, but how much else should I tell about the things that aren't immediatly visible?

Well, what I did was provide a visual description as soon as it's needed (i.e, as soon as another nation's character sees one) and then reveal personality, ethics, beliefs, etc through actions and dialogue rather than straight textual revelations. Now, you may be more comfortable with some other style, but that's the one I've used for the past few years.

Well, the idea was not to have to do that in each RP, by making some sort of "scientific" sheet containing all important things about the species to which I could refer people. What they believe in/how they think is still open for discussions.

well things like:-

Caste system (meny insect races have Castes but it differs on pref.)
mention if its hive minded or not
Religion always a good thing to mention
Are they Xenophobic?
Are they telepathic? (thats one way past the barriar of talking to aliens)

Anything you want really, the joys of making your own race, its all up to you, theres no right or wrong. Its just nice to give the basics and tell OOC anything special about them (maby i dont know, there gods in mortal form...testing us all...or want to eat our children...just for fun).

one word...fact book. the most basic fact book.

Well, I do have a fact book, but I rarely find the need to refer to it nowadays. You can look over it if you want and see if it gives you any ideas. It's an ancient piece of writing though, so it's probably below par and behind the times as far as style goes.

http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Wyrm

It's also severely incomplete, owing to my aforementioned policy of mentioning less tangible characteristics through IC interactions rather than factbooks and listings.

The progress untill now, comments, criticism, and suggestions are all totally welcome.

Race: Satyrians (After my national animal, the Satyr)
Classification: Multi-limbed Land Creature
Genetical Relations: Crustaceans, Insects
Planet of Origin:

Physical Description:
A Satyrian is a multi-limbed creature, much resembling a Praying Mantis, but with more limbs than it's genetical family. They walk on six segmented legs, each consisting of three segments, and ending in a three-pronged claw. These limbs are attached to a horizontal torso, with each pair of legs at a seperate body segment. On the front the torso goes over into a vertical one, to which two more pairs of limbs are attached. The lower two are the main manipulators, having evolved to end with a four-pronged claw with indepently moving 'fingers'. The upper pair is a lot bigger and stronger, ending in two large three-pronged claws, which are the primary self-defence of the Satyrians. On top of this torso, there is a narrow, more or less triangular head, starting with a beak at the front, and ending with four short antennas at the back. On the sides are two small red eyes pointing forward at an angle, facetted as with most insects.

The chitine-like exo-skeleton on the outside of a Satyrian is very tough and hard, as it needs to be able to carry the full weight of the creatures without breaking. Because of this, the exo-skeleton is strong enough to withstand almost any attacks made unarmed or with basic close combat weapons. Colours vary from a metallic blue, to dull red or even black.

@Khrrck: The factbook doesn't look bad, a bit small maybe, but certainly not bad.

An excellent beginning. ;)

I have to sign off now, but I shall take another look later and see how you've progressed. Nice to see another nonhuman around.

The last update for tonight, more to be made and posted somewhere tomorrow. Hope you like this so far.

Race: Satyrians (After my national animal, the Satyr)
Classification: Multi-limbed Land Creature
Genetical Relations: Crustaceans, Insects
Planet of Origin: Kholdan

Physical Description:
A Satyrian is a multi-limbed creature, much resembling a Praying Mantis, but with more limbs than it's genetical family. They walk on six segmented legs, each consisting of three segments, and ending in a three-pronged claw. The claws can only open or close to perform a simple grabbing function to hold on to surfaces, but the 'toes' aren't able to move seperatly. These limbs are attached to a horizontal torso, with each pair of legs at a seperate body segment. Inside these segments lay all of the vital organs, safely away from most dangers.

On the front the torso goes over into a vertical one, to which two more pairs of limbs are attached. It consists mostly of muscles to move the four limbs, and obviously also the organs and veins connecting the head to the other organs in the lower torso. The lower two limbs are the main manipulators, having evolved to end with a four-pronged claw with indepently moving 'fingers'. The upper pair is a lot bigger and stronger, ending in two large three-pronged claws, which are the primary self-defence of the Satyrians.

On top of this torso, there is a narrow, more or less triangular head, starting with a beak at the front, and ending with four short antenna at the back. On the sides are two small red eyes pointing forward at an angle, facetted as with most insects. There is also a set of horns in the middle of the head, growing larger the closer they are to the front. As with most species, the head also contains the primary nerve center, more commonly known as 'brain' of the Satyrians.

The chitine-like exo-skeleton on the outside of a Satyrian is very tough and hard, as it needs to be able to carry the full weight of the creatures without breaking. Because of this, the exo-skeleton is strong enough to withstand almost any attacks made unarmed or with basic close combat weapons. Colours vary from a metallic blue, to dull red or even black. These colours seem to be linked to the size of the Satyrians, the red being smaller than the black, and those being smaller then the blue ones, which are the biggest around.

Senses:
Smelling and hearing are the main senses of a Satyrian, vision coming in third. Smelling is done through the toungue in the same way snakes do, and the antenna on the head can pick up the vibrations of sound. Their vision is an infra-red one, picking up heat instead of light. Because of this, all of them are effectively colour-blind and are only able to see the shapes of objects. This difference also means that they see no differently in the dark than in the light, and that they can - to a certain degree - see 'through' solid objects.

Very good! I could almost see couple of Satyrians eating little children right in front of me.:D

Damn... This thread has actually made me to think I should go FT too, and come up with a new race of some sort. ModernTech and all those Earths are starting to appear just plain boring to me.

Good job on the description. When you actually get a RP up and running, drop me a link and I'll join in. ;)

This thread has actually made me to think I should go FT too, and come up with a new race of some sort. ModernTech and all those Earths are starting to appear just plain boring to me.

That's the reason I stick to FT nowadays. MT and PMT really have gone downhill over the years.

If y'want any advice with joining FT, I might be able to help.

Thanks, that would be greatly appreciated. I'll propably come up with a thread similar to this one when the FT Madnestan is founded, and wish to see you there. Have to finish few RP's first though, NS is already taking way too much of my time :rolleyes:

It sounds interesting indeed, but what are the goals in life of your species? My own race is after getting out of this universe to go to Gaia, as they believe all those warmongering species will eventually become the death of them if they stay here.

And another thing, don't Octopi and Squids eat Lobsters?
My Aquanmarianians eat a variety of things, lobsters, one of them. It comes with advanced intelligence. Their goal, is simple, and complex. They wish to understand and know ev everything. It is the pursuit of all knowledge. They are peaceful, and wish friendship.

The Gareens, are complete idiots, and their greatest aim in life is to smash more than everyone else. Usually with their bare fists. Gareens, are rather easily controlled. Its not really their fault, its in their blood, literally. Their DNA, and the structure of their minds,and brains, drives them to frequent Violent outbursts.

@Madnestan: Thanks, but Satyrians don't eat little children, they feed those to the larvae. ;) And good luck with making up a race of your own.

@Khrrck: Sure, will do. But that will be a while, as I'm not done yet when I have the race. Because of the physical differences, I need to design a version of every kind of equipment they will ever need as well.

@Ri-an: Sounds like a noble goal of those Octopi, reminds me of the Psilons(Race in one of my games.) Are those Gareens their servants, or more a seperate race somewhere?

@Everybody: I'll be gone this afternoon, but will try to get all of the physical stuff up today, and perhaps make a start at the other things about the race.

Well, this is the more or less final version of the Satyrians. I think I've mentioned all the biological aspects one could possibly want to know by now. Constructive criticism and comments about things I might have missed are still fully welcome. And now I can start on the intangible things and technology, should be amusing too. ;)

Race: Satyrians (After my national animal, the Satyr)
Classification: Multi-limbed Land Creature
Genetical Relations: Crustaceans, Insects
Planet of Origin: Kholdan

Physical Description:
A Satyrian is a multi-limbed creature, much resembling a Praying Mantis, but with more limbs than it's genetical family. They walk on six segmented legs, each consisting of three segments, and ending in a three-pronged claw. The claws can only open or close to perform a simple grabbing function to hold on to surfaces, but the 'toes' aren't able to move seperatly. These limbs are attached to a horizontal torso, with each pair of legs at a seperate body segment. Inside these segments lay all of the vital organs, safely away from most dangers.

At the front the torso goes over into a vertical one, to which two more pairs of limbs are attached. It consists mostly of muscles to move the four limbs, and obviously also the ingestines and veins connecting the head to the other organs in the lower torso. The lower two limbs are the main manipulators, having evolved to end with a four-pronged claw with indepently moving 'fingers'. The upper pair is a lot bigger and stronger, ending in two large three-pronged claws, which are the primary self-defence of the Satyrians.

On top of this torso, there is a narrow, more or less triangular head, starting with a beak at the front, and ending with four short antenna at the back. On both sides are two small red eyes pointing forward at an angle, facetted as with most insects. There is also a set of horns in the middle of the head, growing larger the closer they are to the front. As with most species, the head also contains the primary nerve center, more commonly known as 'brain' of the Satyrians. The beak is filled with a row of sharp teeth, used for both combat and feeding.

The chitine-like carapace on the outside of a Satyrian is very tough and hard, as it needs to be able to carry the full weight of the creatures without breaking. Because of that, this exo-skeleton is strong enough to withstand almost any attacks made unarmed or with basic close combat weapons. Colours vary from a metallic blue, to dull red or even black. These colours seem to be linked to the size of the Satyrians, the red being smaller than the black, and those being smaller then the blue ones, which are the biggest around.

Advanced physiology:
Senses:
Smelling and hearing are the main senses of a Satyrian, vision coming in third. Smelling is done through the toungue in the same way snakes do, and the antenna on the head can pick up the vibrations of sound. Their vision is an infra-red one, picking up heat instead of light. Because of this, all of them are effectively colour-blind and are only able to see the shapes of objects. This difference also means that they see no differently in the dark than in the light, and that they can - to a certain degree - see 'through' solid objects.

The Brain and Nerve-system:
A Satyrian's body is controlled by two main nerve centers. One in the head which is commonly referred to as their brain, and a second one in the horizontal torso, which controls the instinctive movement of the six legs and the internal organs there. A Satyrian is considered to be 'dead' as soon as both these centers stops functioning. However, if one of them stops, the other one will be likely to follow within several hours at the most if no medical treatment is received. Many independent nerves sprout at these centers, running in thin bundles to specific parts of the body.

Food-processing Organs:
Satyrians are omnivores, although their teeth may suggest otherwise. Anything they consume is first shredded to smaller bits by their teeth, and then swallowed. After moving down through the upper torso to the first stomach in the lower one, acids dissolve the food down to even smaller parts, after which they proceed to the second stomach, where bacterial colonies start their work. These colonies feed on a mix of the food and the acid from the first stomach, producing the the nutrients the Satyrians live on, which are filtered through the 'skin' of the stomach. What remains goes through the ingestines of the Satyrian, where all remaining fluids and nutrients are extracted. Whatever remains after all this leaves the body through a small opening at the underside of the Satyrian.

Breathing:
Like their genetical relations, Satyrians breath through microscopic pores in their skin, putting the oxygen directly into their system. Because of this, they can continue to 'breath' as long as a sizeable part of their body is able to do so. This also means that any gasses which are similar to oxygen are directly absorbed by the Satyrians when it touches their skin.

Hearts and Veins:
There are two hearts inside a Satyrian's lower torso. One is relatively small and pumps the blood around the other organs in the lower torso, while the other is larger and pumps blood through the upper torso and the head. Both are connected to veins near the skin and near the second stomach, where they pick up the needed oxygen and nutrients. The other veins run deeper inside the body, and follow two main veins - one left, one right - from which smaller ones split of to go to different parts of the body.

Immune System:
Because many microscopic vira or bacteria can directly enter the blood of a Satyrian through the pores in the skin, they need a well-developed immune system to keep them safe from these microscopic attacks. The main defence consists of a special type of cell, which litteraly tears apart and devours any type of strange micro-organism. This protects against almost all bacteria, but does not help against vira as they take over the Satyrian's own cells. To protect against these, there is another type of immune-cell. This cell attracts vira to itself, and then traps them in its adhesive membrane. Once enough vira are stuck to the cell, it will no longer look like a 'normal' cell, and will be consumed by the other cells in the immune system, killing the vira along with it.

Mental capabilities:
Satyrians have well-developed brains, capable of complicated functions like thoughts, conscience, and learning. There is a small amount of telepathic force in each of them, although this only allows them to mentally communicate with each other, not with other species. In certain individuals there may be a stronger psychic force in the brain, but those are rare breeds amongst the masses.

Lifecycle:
-4 - 0 months: Inside the 'mother'
At this stage, the Satyrian is still an egg growing inside the body of its 'mother'. Small groups of the bacteria colony are moved from the mother's stomach to the child, and a lot of nutrients go into the egg for the child's development. After these four months are over, the egg is moved out of the body, and left to develop and hatch.

0 - 18 months: Egg
The egg lies about, with no changes to the outside happening. Inside, a larva is developing, in which most of the important organs are already present. After 6 months, the brains begin to develop, although they are not large enough to form a real conscience at this point. Around the eigth month, the larva breaks out of its egg and enters the next stage.

18 - 54 months: Larva
Our Satyrian is now a larva, which is basically fat, squishy, and always hungry. The lower and upper torso are still one piece, there are no antenna on the head, the limbs are not long enough to reach the ground or be useful in any way, and most importantly, the protective carapace is still absent. All internal organs are already in place by now, but they are still a lot smaller than those of a full adult. Early in this stage a larva is totally dependent on adults to feed it, but after twelve months, the limbs have developed enough to become useful, allowing the larva to move about a bit and letting it feed itself from corpses or other things that don't fight back/flee. At the 54th month, the larva has become five times it former size, and starts spinning a cocoon around itself. In that cocoon it will make the neccesary changes to become an adult.

54 - 66 months: Cocoon
Inside the cocoon, the larva undergoes many physical changes, the two most noticable ones being that the Satyrian almost doubles in size again, and that it gains its carapace. The brains start developing again too, becoming large and sophisticated enough to form a conscience. When all organs and other body parts are fully grown, the Satyrian bursts out of its cocoon as an adult.

66 months - Death: Adult
The Satyrian is now an adult, and will not change its body again untill it dies many years later. Depending on its size and colour, it will become part of a caste and stay with it to the death. Twenty years later, it will become able to reproduce, and there the cycle will start at the beginning again.

@Ri-an: Sounds like a noble goal of those Octopi, reminds me of the Psilons(Race in one of my games.) Are those Gareens their servants, or more a seperate race somewhere?

Well, yes, and no. The gareens were there own seperate race, scratching out the bare essence of a life on their own planet. The Aquamarinians encountered them, and finding their great strength, but lack of intelligence, they controlled the Gareens with their minds, their psi powers, and made them their slaves.

I guess I should have worded the question a bit different but this works. So they're just glorified slaves in the end. Guess that's some bad luck on their side to be discovered by those Aquamarinians.

I guess I should have worded the question a bit different but this works. So they're just glorified slaves in the end. Guess that's some bad luck on their side to be discovered by those Aquamarinians.

Oh good heavens no. They were saved from self extinction. Their payed for labor and everything. Its just that they lack any form of intelligence.

*Thinks a bit further.*
I guess it's alright then, if they're just the 'dumber' layer of the population on those planets. Now they sound like some kind of Ogres to me, big, strong, and not very bright.

Exactly.