[MUD-Dev] Re: Issues from the digests and Wout's list

[Nathan Yospe]

On Thu, 24 Apr 1997, Travis Casey wrote:

:> (1) Beware putting characters into roles based on character sex. 

:I'd agree with this... for humans.  Non-human races in fantasy or SF could
:have any kind of sex roles.  Indeed, different sexes might be physically
:different in major ways.  Also, don't forget that a race might have more
:or less than two different sexes.

>From Singularity 2's PC selectable races:

human - 2 sexes, male and female, physically/mentally equivalent
        bipedal mamalian, average int, poor sensory, high dex, med speed
        av strength
oblian - 3 sexes, male, female, catalyst, all equiv except coloration
        bipedal tail-balanced pseudo reptilian fungoidal, high int, av
        sensory, poor strength, poor speed, high percept, high resiliance
ghladrah - 3 sexes, male and female equiv, neuter stupider and stronger
        bipedal forefaced knee, mamalian, very large and hair covered,
        high strength, high sensory, poor percep, av int, high agress,
        high speed, low dex, low sustained
tre'laeci - 2 sexes, hermaphrodite and neuter, herm w/ better memory and
        sensory capacities, neuter faster and stronger, avian species,
        6 limbed, enhanced olfactory, organic technology
slipt - 1 sex (asexual/polinative reproduction) shapeshifting species, 
        no fixed form, resiliant, but never very strong
vrr(zzth)eng - swarm species, multiple sexes inherent in each "individual"
        reproduction by splitting swarm
remnant S#9 - sexless mechanical species, remnant of an organic species
        that died of plague. Capable of extreme structural self
        modification.

There are a few others.... some species have classes internal to the
species that actually matter... Tre'Laeci, for example, are marked by
class plumage, and a member of the military class is going to find combat
a much easier prospect, due to certain genetic adaptations, ranging from
special bone blades in the wing tips to a network of fiber optic
deflectors within their feathers. The Remnant S#9 have control nodes in
their 'brains' that allow members of certain castes to master certain
extensions, and humans have an extreme range of strength and dexterity,
almost completely independant of their sex, class, clan, etc. Each species
has a complex history and culture that the players are immersed in, as
each player begins life in the homeworld or closest equivalent of their
chosen species. Players may not even recognize other member species of the
Federation of Sapients (I particularly like the initial reaction of a
Remnent S#9 to a human... they see a soft, appendaged worm with clothes
on. The human sees a pile of junk that seems to have something moving
under it.)

   __    _   __  _   _   ,  ,  , ,  
  /_  / / ) /_  /_) / ) /| /| / /\            First Light of a Nova Dawn
 /   / / \ /_  /_) / \ /-|/ |/ /_/            Final Night of a World Gone
Nathan F. Yospe - University of Hawaii Dept of Physics - yospe at hawaii.edu