[ShatterZone] Favorite Alien Race?

[Havard]

Out of the Aliens of the ShatterZone universe, which do you find the most interesting/fun to play?

A quick reminder:

Alien Races

In Shatterzone there are three classes of race: Citizens, which only Humans, Glahns, and Ishantras have the right to become; Allied, which consist of races who have signed nonaggression pacts with the Consortium, but which have no rights to representation; and Hostile/Unidentified, which are considered suspicious and are treated with caution.

* Glahns - one of the three ruling races in the galaxy, blue skinned humanoids organized into clans
* Ishantras - another ruling race, bipedal aliens who lost their homeworld in an ancient cataclysm
* Armagons - an incredibly powerful alien empire of various races which rule from beyond the Shatterzone, pillaging and destroying one world after another
* Yithras - a violent race whose bodies emanate chill rather than warmth
* Kestarians - primitive four-armed matriarchical humanoids
* Rednas - reptilian humanoids whose pre-spacefaring civilization is prized for its metalwork.
* Veronians - shapeshifters from an unidentified homeworld
* Reavers- aggressive humanoids allied with the Armagons as shock troops

Taken from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shatterzone

[Havard]

Noone likes aliens huh? Damn biggots! ;)

Havard

[Rerun941]

Never played or read ShatterZone, sorry. :(

[Whill]

Noone likes aliens huh?

I've had a lot come up lately, but I will hopefully be printing out my Shatterzone Universe Guide PDF soon, and when I do I'll read over the aliens. Always on the lookout for new aliens to use for my game!

[Kansas Jim]

The few times I ran SZ I didn't allow any alien PCs, I can't remember if there were no aliens at all or if I just didn't want to deal with them while we were testing the game out. I think it might have been the former so that's the way I voted.

[Havard]

Rerun, I provided quick descriptions of the aliens so you can vote without ever having played the game.

Kestarians and Ishantrans are the only aliens which appeared as PCs in our games. Kestarians are my favorites, though they tend to get a bit stereotyped. I do like a race with four arms though.

Ishantrans were annoying because of the numerous prhases about no Ishantrans being alike. I didn't really like their long necks either. I would have preferred having them more like the B5 Centauri or Marvel's Shi'ar...

Havard

[The Game Guy]

As long as the reavers arent like the ones from Firefly/Serenity.... :)

[Havard]

As long as the reavers arent like the ones from Firefly/Serenity.... :)

Actually, they might not be too different. Ofcourse SZ predates Firefly by a long way...

Havard

[The Game Guy]

Actually, they might not be too different. Ofcourse SZ predates Firefly by a long way...

Havard

That's a scary thought, scary indeed

[Stormchild]

There is not much info about the Reavers in Shatterzone. They are depicted as strange, not necessarily crazy but they cut away body parts from their victims and attach them to their own bodies or kill their victims out of sheer bloodlust. And they come from the other side of the 'zone. It is not clear if they are some kind of stormtroops of the Armagons or a race that fled from them. As we learned in the Firefly movie, the Reavers there are human that are changed by a virus. But their actions are very close to the Reavers in Shatterzone.
(Correct me if I am wrong, it is some time since I read the Shatterzone books)

[The Game Guy]

Well I was reviewing the Reavers (I pulled out my boxset and looked at the various races) and it seems like the Reavers in Shatterzone while beig guncrazy are a bit more social (not by much) then the Reavers in Firefly/Serenity

[The Game Guy]

true be told I think I prefer the Kestarians more. Less psychotic.

[Stormchild]

So you are the other one. I like the Kestarians because they tend to be movers in the background. I never played one though, as I never play females (I think it is too difficult and tends to become comical when someone tries to play a member of the opposite sex). 4 arms, primitive mindset and strong pheromones what a treat. I love Kest women as NPCs. The men have the pheromones too but with far less effect and I often toyed with the idea of playing one but never did yet.

[The Game Guy]

So you are the other one. I like the Kestarians because they tend to be movers in the background. I never played one though, as I never play females (I think it is too difficult and tends to become comical when someone tries to play a member of the opposite sex). 4 arms, primitive mindset and strong pheromones what a treat. I love Kest women as NPCs. The men have the pheromones too but with far less effect and I often toyed with the idea of playing one but never did yet.

That's not who I voted for, but after pulling out my Shatterzone box set and looking over the different races, I think I prefer the Kestarians over The Reavers

[Havard]

I also voted Kestarians. It is interesting to see that some of you voted Ishantrans. They are an interesting race, but I really don't like their looks...

Havard

[The Game Guy]

I also voted Kestarians. It is interesting to see that some of you voted Ishantrans. They are an interesting race, but I really don't like their looks...

Havard

This poll almost makes me want to try to run Shatterzone. Seriously, I am for some reason really wanting to run this.

[Whill]

This poll almost makes me want to try to run Shatterzone. Seriously, I am for some reason really wanting to run this.

I guess that's because you're The Game Guy.

[The Game Guy]

I guess that's because you're The Game Guy.

Could be. I would try doing it via PBP but I am not sure there would be enough interest

[Whill]

Out of the Aliens of the ShatterZone universe, which do you find the most interesting/fun to play?

A quick reminder:

Alien Races

In Shatterzone there are three classes of race: Citizens, which only Humans, Glahns, and Ishantras have the right to become; Allied, which consist of races who have signed nonaggression pacts with the Consortium, but which have no rights to representation; and Hostile/Unidentified, which are considered suspicious and are treated with caution.

* Glahns - one of the three ruling races in the galaxy, blue skinned humanoids organized into clans
* Ishantras - another ruling race, bipedal aliens who lost their homeworld in an ancient cataclysm
* Armagons - an incredibly powerful alien empire of various races which rule from beyond the Shatterzone, pillaging and destroying one world after another
* Yithras - a violent race whose bodies emanate chill rather than warmth
* Kestarians - primitive four-armed matriarchical humanoids
* Rednas - reptilian humanoids whose pre-spacefaring civilization is prized for its metalwork.
* Veronians - shapeshifters from an unidentified homeworld
* Reavers- aggressive humanoids allied with the Armagons as shock troops

Taken from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shatterzone (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shatterzone)


I've had a lot come up lately, but I will hopefully be printing out my Shatterzone Universe Guide PDF soon, and when I do I'll read over the aliens. Always on the lookout for new aliens to use for my game!

I know it's two months later, but I always strive to keep my word...


There is not much info about the Reavers in Shatterzone. They are depicted as strange, not necessarily crazy but they cut away body parts from their victims and attach them to their own bodies or kill their victims out of sheer bloodlust. And they come from the other side of the 'zone. It is not clear if they are some kind of stormtroops of the Armagons or a race that fled from them. As we learned in the Firefly movie, the Reavers there are human that are changed by a virus. But their actions are very close to the Reavers in Shatterzone.
(Correct me if I am wrong, it is some time since I read the Shatterzone books)


Well I was reviewing the Reavers (I pulled out my boxset and looked at the various races) and it seems like the Reavers in Shatterzone while beig guncrazy are a bit more social (not by much) then the Reavers in Firefly/Serenity

Armagons and Reavers are not supposed to be PC races anyway. It's the Armagons who attach limbs of their victims to their bodies, not Reavers.

But yes, the Reavers are bloodthirsty and even cannibalistic. The Sz Reavers do seem to be a bit more capable of semi-functional social organization and not completely insane, but the Reavers in Firefly Serenity were not too far off. What I don't like about the book is that for their physical appearance, it only describes Reavers as "bestial". That's very vague. I guess it's up to each GM to decide what they look like.


Kestarians are my favorites, though they tend to get a bit stereotyped. I do like a race with four arms though.


I like the Kestarians because they tend to be movers in the background. I never played one though, as I never play females (I think it is too difficult and tends to become comical when someone tries to play a member of the opposite sex). 4 arms, primitive mindset and strong pheromones what a treat. I love Kest women as NPCs. The men have the pheromones too but with far less effect and I often toyed with the idea of playing one but never did yet.

Kestarians are ok. The four-armed aspect really doesn't do anything for me for this race though.


It is interesting to see that some of you voted Ishantrans. They are an interesting race, but I really don't like their looks...


Ishantrans were annoying because of the numerous prhases about no Ishantrans being alike. I didn't really like their long necks either. I would have preferred having them more like the B5 Centauri or Marvel's Shi'ar...

The first sentence seem to contradict the last two in the above quote. No two Ishantrans look alike because there is such an extremely wide variety of possible appearances. I saw a picture of what I think you are referring to about long necks, but the species capsule's text does not have a single statement about neck length or appearance whatsoever.

So that means all Ishantrans do not have long necks. And since they comes in so many possible shapes and sizes, you can have some looking like Centauri and Shi'ar if you want.

I think it's interesting that the race reproduces through genetic engineering. It doesn't really bother me that the race has no standard appearance.

The rest:

Glahns - I like how they have a very detailed species capsule. Fairly interesting species.

Yithras - Stony stick guys emanating cold? These aren't that interesting to me.

Rednas - Reptilian humanoids who can regenerate limbs? Cool. A tradition of attempting to rip an arm off an honored guest? Not so cool.

Veronians - Shapeshifters that change to appear as other species but can't imitate specific individuals or even the opposite gender? I like that idea.

So I voted for Veronians, but Ishantrans would be my 2nd choice and Glahns would probably be my 3rd.

[Havard]

But yes, the Reavers are bloodthirsty and even cannibalistic. The Sz Reavers do seem to be a bit more capable of semi-functional social organization and not completely insane, but the Reavers in Firefly Serenity were not too far off. What I don't like about the book is that for their physical appearance, it only describes Reavers as "bestial". That's very vague. I guess it's up to each GM to decide what they look like.

Vague isn't neccessarily a bad thing, but this seems to be a trend in the Shatterzone book. I would have liked to see at least some of the races defined a bit more. I think the Reavers will appear very similar to the Firefly ones from now on :)



The first sentence seem to contradict the last two in the above quote. No two Ishantrans look alike because there is such an extremely wide variety of possible appearances. I saw a picture of what I think you are referring to about long necks, but the species capsule's text does not have a single statement about neck length or appearance whatsoever.

So that means all Ishantrans do not have long necks. And since they comes in so many possible shapes and sizes, you can have some looking like Centauri and Shi'ar if you want.

Its just that every illustration of this race shows a fairly stocky looking figure with a long neck. But as you say, they can look like anything.



I think it's interesting that the race reproduces through genetic engineering. It doesn't really bother me that the race has no standard appearance.

It bothers me at least a little. IMO it would have been better if at least some common variants could be identified. From a story-telling point of view I find them hard to use the way they are presented at the moment.




Yithras - Stony stick guys emanating cold? These aren't that interesting to me.

I see what you mean. I still think they have some potential.



Rednas - Reptilian humanoids who can regenerate limbs? Cool. A tradition of attempting to rip an arm off an honored guest? Not so cool.

I like these guys. I agree that the last part can be problematic. I would just treat it as them having a nasty reputation. There could be such a tradition, but probably not widely practiced these days. Maybe this was more common when they first encountered humans..and so the legend grows... :)


Veronians- Shapeshifters that change to appear as other species but can't imitate specific individuals or even the opposite gender? I like that idea.

Ditto. Every Sci Fi setting needs shapeshifters!


Are there certain niches that Aliens should fill in a game?

Like Wookies being the big and strong ones...
Mabe some quick and nimble race, like elves...
maybe a very attractive/charismatic race...
And one that is very intelligent/advanced...
How about a small and cute one...like Ewoks or Halfings... *ducks*


Havard

[Havard]

*bump*
I'm getting back to Shatterzone again. One of the things I am doing is looking at the Mass Effect universe for inspiration when it comes to the alien races.
Like this one for Rednas:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSx_yrmMwQo&feature=related

What do you think? :)

-Havard