Semi-OT "Ask The Alien", Background Development.

[HP Delron]

After making a post like this at various non-SE related forums, i suddenly came to me I should try it here.

The basic point of this thread is to help me develop background information for a race I have ongoing when I play space empires. By this I mean that sort of background flavor information that has no bearing on the game at all. It's just something I personally have fun coming up with, a fictional culture and world. But, I find it helps if I have people push me along. Thats where these threads I make come in.

People simply pose questions to me, and I answer them as a member of that alien race. Looking to for mostly background questions and nothing directly related to game mechanics (hence, semi-OT).

To give a starting point for this I'll provide the following basic information:

The name of the race is the "Groth" and they call their home planet "Lenthos". Lenthos is pretty earthlike so any questions on their biology or that of the other animals/plants there can be asked from that prespective.

Thanks for your help if you post, and have fun with it.

[geoschmo]

How do you prefer we refer to people of your race? Groths, Grothians, something else?

What sort of governmental system do you have on Lenthros?

[HP Delron]

geoschmo said:
How do you prefer we refer to people of your race? Groths, Grothians, something else?

"Groth" or "The Groth" is fine when reffering to use. Something created of or by us can be "Grothan". Also if you like "Lenthosian" could apply in the same context as "Earthling" or "Terran" would to you.

What sort of governmental system do you have on Lenthros?

Hmm a complex question. To put it very simply, I suppose you could call it a militaristic democracy if you wanted. Generally speaking there is a direct hierarchy that makes most government decisions. However in the cast public disagreement, a direct vote on specific issues can be held. The right to call this vote can be called on by any citizen. However It's honestly rare that it happens. Policy change in generally is pretty rare.

[Renegade 13]

Are your people united, or are they similar to people on Earth (for example, different nations, vying for dominance)?

What is the physical appearance of your race?

[Kamog]

What does the people of your race do for fun?

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Can you yodel?

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

Have you had other intelligent and/or sentient races present on your planet as of yet? I do not only mean UFO sightings, abductions and the other male cow excrement that people say are alien, but also; did another intelligent and/or sentient race evolve on Lenthos next to you? If so, are they still present or are they gone, be it due to cause of diseases, war with themselves, war with you, their taking off to another planet in a cryogenic tank-equipped interplanetary/interstellar space ship?

[HP Delron]

Renegade 13 said:
Are your people united, or are they similar to people on Earth (for example, different nations, vying for dominance)?

We do now have a large government that controls rules the entirety of Lenthos, and all of our colonies. However for the vast majority of our history this was not the case. It has only been like this for a little over one hundred of your years.

What is the physical appearance of your race?

We have four legs and two arms. Our front legs are somewhat longer than our back legs. The two sets of legs are close together and we stand in an upright position. Our hands actually have a different a number of digits, our left hands have 3 fingers and a single thumb. While our right hands have two thumbs. Now I use human terms to refer to these things, the thumb being the opposable digit but it actually looks somewhat different, but it is a close enough comparison. Coarse hair grows down the entire length of our back, and has colorations most in the dark brown to dark red range. Our skin varies from dark red to purple and almost blue. Also, we have a tail. Our faces have an elongated shape, not unlike that of your dogs. However we have no large external ears. I'm honestly probably leaving quite a bit out, but that covers the basics.

Kamog said:
What does the people of your race do for fun?

A vague question. We have come up with a wide variety of sports and games, as well as forms of literary and performance entertainment. Everyone has different personal preferences of course.

narf poit chez BOOM said:
Can you yodel?

I'm sure we are physically capable of yodeling. However after looking up what it was, I can't think of any culture in our history that really practices something exactly like that.

Strategia_In_Ultima said:
Have you had other intelligent and/or sentient races present on your planet as of yet? I do not only mean UFO sightings, abductions and the other male cow excrement that people say are alien, but also; did another intelligent and/or sentient race evolve on Lenthos next to you? If so, are they still present or are they gone, be it due to cause of diseases, war with themselves, war with you, their taking off to another planet in a cryogenic tank-equipped interplanetary/interstellar space ship?

Yes we have, starting since about one hundred and fifty or so of your years ago. We discovered a phenomenon that at certain points allowed instant travel between set points in the galaxy.

As for our relations with them, it is a long story. We actually got dragged into the middle someone else conflict, however given the facts as we know them now we probably would have gotten caught up anyway.

[rdouglass]

Interesting thread. As to your statement:

Our hands actually have a different a number of digits, our left hands have 3 fingers and a single thumb. While our right hands have two thumbs.

Is there some environmental or evolutionary reason for this? Virtually all advanced animals on this planet Earth are more or less symetrical (plants no, but animals yes). Why is your species not? (Or has just one of your fingers evolved into a thumb?)

What about "left-handedness"? Are they considered handicapped, lower class citizens, slaves, or anything like that? IOW are they social outcasts?

(Remember the 3rd arm in The Mote In God's Eye?)

[HP Delron]

rdouglass said:
Interesting thread. As to your statement:

Is there some environmental or evolutionary reason for this? Virtually all advanced animals on this planet Earth are more or less symetrical (plants no, but animals yes). Why is your species not? (Or has just one of your fingers evolved into a thumb?)

What about "left-handedness"? Are they considered handicapped, lower class citizens, slaves, or anything like that? IOW are they social outcasts?

(Remember the 3rd arm in The Mote In God's Eye?)

Well evolultionarly, as far as we can tell at points along the line we came from a creature that had more claw like structers on it's appendages. They tended have an extra point on one side, probably used for intimidating others. Sort of a less sever version of what appears in the fiddler crab on your planet, only in both genders. Over time as hands were developing tool development, that extra digit became another opposable "thumb" of sorts.

We have dominate hand like humans. All of our motor functions are grouped rather tightly in one area of our brain and so the dexterity and control is reasonbly uniform.