Hello Taccom peeps,
I'm planning on releasing a ruleset and possibly a starter set in the fall/winter. I've been thinking hard about the Onslaught universe, and the "feel" it should have. One major part of any sci-fi setting are all the cool alien races running around - how they look, their culture, and in the case of wargames - how they fight.
One thing I'd like to try, is to make the aliens of the Onslaught universe more, well, ALIEN. It's typical to see aliens that are just a variation on our own human forms to one degree or another. Even species with multiple limbs usually stick to the same basic setup in regards to where all the anatomy is placed on the body. I'd imagine that creatures from a completely different world would look radically different to ourselves - and that's what I'd like to push for. Something interesting, relatable, yet wholly different from humans.
I sketched for quite a while to come up with something - it was incredibly difficult to break out of the design box I feel so comfortable in when coming up with new aliens, but in the end I managed to come up with a few cool concepts. This is my favorite:
As you can see, there's some familiarity here - but its certainly not a humanoid. It's body is protected by an exoskeleton, especially it's large head which is packed with sensory organs. It has a single "arm" with two fingers - capable of delicate manipulations. This arm is flanked by two corded tentacles that protrude from the exoskeleton. These tentacles are very strong, and can extend quite a distance - it's these tentacles that are generally used to lift and carry things, leaving the arm to manipulate buttons, triggers, and the like. The "Legs" of the creature are positioned high on its torso, and are long and powerful, allowing for great strides and bursts of speed when needed. Each leg also ends in an exposed, but thickly skinned Tentacle. These tentacles are flat like a tapeworm, and are incredibly strong. These too are able to extend and grasp things as the creatures moves - and can even be used to deliver powerful blows and constricting holds when in desperate situations. While fully capable of walking on the ground, this creature is more at home hanging from structures overhead.
So I thought it would be fun to take this basic outline to the Taccom community and brainstorm the rest of the details about this alien race and see what we can come up with. I'm curious what ideas will present themselves!
Examples:
- What type of society do these creatures have? Is it unified, or are there factions among the population?
- How does it communicate?
- Is it psychic or possess any otherworldly powers?
- Is it religious? If so - what does it believe?
- How does it perceieve the world around it?
- What level of technology does it possess? Can it travel through space? If so - how, and to what degree?
- What is this creatures native environment like?
- How would this creature wage war?
- What is this creatures life cycle like?
- How did humans come into contact with this species, and what is the status of current relations?
I'd love to hear your ideas!
