Tornado

I was going to make this exact point. Lifting strength and squeezing, crushing strength are probably going to be the same. But your ability to punch something is based as much on how fast you can accelerate your fist as how strong you are. Force = Mass X Acceleration. A very slow punch isn't going to do as much damage no matter how strong you are. Unless you can crush the target against a solid wall.

 

Think of being in zero-g in orbit. A fully loaded railroad boxcar is moving toward you at a fraction of an inch a second. If you're in open space, it's just going to push you along in front of it. If you're caught between that boxcar and another solid, heavy object, you're going to be slowly crushed by it.

Right, but isn't lifting power in gravity also determined by the force you can bring to bear?  I mean, if I lift a car over my head, I have to apply more force to it than gravity is already.  Right?

Okay, thinking about it again, the damage is probably related to the force from deceleration, which is not necessarily 1:1 correlated to the force from acceleration.  Is that correct?  If so, what is the maximum reasonable relationship?

Is the idea of a character who can lift a lot but can't punch super hard sensible?  It seems like to lift something requires you to apply a level of force greater than that of gravity (i.e. 9.8 m/s^2 * its mass in kg), which is a very substantial.  So in order to lift a 2000 kg object, you need to apply at least (preferably substantially more, if you want to do it in any reasonable amount of time) 19,600 newtons of force to it.  The human fist has a surface area of ~110 cm^2, according to some googling.  Even assuming you can only apply half that force per hand, that's about 130 psi or 2,000 lbs of force.  For comparison, the hardest punches the best boxers can manage are around ~1000 lbs of force.  The amount of damage becomes more ridiculous the more you can lift.

Am I not understanding something?

I want a character who can lift a tank but not necessarily kill someone in a single punch.  Is this even physically plausible?  Yes, yes, it's an RPG not real life, but I need to know.

Re: The (possible) dearth of habitable terrestrial worlds explained!

... You mean' date=' for every dollar bet, you lost fifty-six cent?[/quote']No. Profit is revenue less cost. For every dollar bet, you got back $1.44. A 56% loss rate would be much higher than roulette's natural behavior.

Re: The (possible) dearth of habitable terrestrial worlds explained!

Really? I know a casino that would love a demonstration.

 

Seriously, ONLY way a computer is going to give you better than chance results is if the wheel is crooked. If the wheel is truely random, computer will not spot a pattern.

Re: The (possible) dearth of habitable terrestrial worlds explained!

All the Vegas casinos absolutely love anyone who places their bets based on a computer model. Come in' date=' sit down, what would you like to drink? On the house![/quote']

You do realize that playing roulette can have a positive expected value pretty easily if you use an appropriate computer, right?

Re: Sentients native to low-gravity worlds operating on "normal" gravity worlds?

About what differences in Gravity are we talkign about? (I have no idea, there is no value on Wikipedia)

And is this really an aquatic species like Clonus asumes, or does the "depths of about 20 km" means something different?

Yeah, it's an aquatic species, the gravity on Titan is .14g (this moon's gravity is .16g).

Is neutral buoyancy going to mean they can operate in any environment as long as they're still suspended in the appropriate density of liquid? It seems like there would be other problems.

How does this work out? I have a species that's native to depths of about 20km on a moon quite similar to Titan. If they wanted to interact with humans and other species native to more Earthlike environments, would there be any way for them to do so personally? Some sort of suit could easily compensate for the pressure, temperature, and their aquatic nature, but is there any way to deal with the gravity?

The only thing I can think of that works would be telecommuting from LEO, which kind of reduces the amount you can threaten such a character.

Re: Personal Companion Bots. and a months long voyage....

I could ask if it's possible to dehumanize something that isn't human without having humanized it first' date=' but I suspect that would be a futile question.[/quote']

You have humanized your sexbot already. You've given it sexual characteristics, human appearance, conversational abilities, etc.

Re: Personal Companion Bots. and a months long voyage....

I believe I pointed out that one of the benefits of such artificial companions on the kind of voyage described in the original post' date=' is the facilitation of uncomplicated relationships among the Human crew. This way they aren't asking[i'] one another [/i]for blowjobs.

Re: Personal Companion Bots. and a months long voyage....

The palindromedary isn't sure what this means

Sexbots reflect some bizarre mésalliance between futurism and regressivism. It simultaneously involves technologies far in advance of the present (effective simulation of most every element of personhood) and the most backwards idea of how relationships should work (cook, clean, give me a blowjob).

Re: Campaign Setting: Age of Avarice

Have I reputized you yet for all this?

Still strikes me as something that should be in the package somehow...or maybe it should be Cramming?

You've obviously given it considerable thought. I'd still say that in this context Persistent and Concentrate both make sense.

In other news:

* Adjusted speeds of spacecraft (from 10 m/s^2 to 1 m/s^2)

* Added Transhuman entry on species page.

* Added Organizations page, which currently includes the structure of the IEU (to be filled out some, with more suborganizations), as well as a basic idea of what its members and the public think of it.

Suppose we have a quite advanced civilization that has managed to get a decent clip going with genetic engineering and social science. They've been going over the human genome for decades, comparing and contrasting to animal genes, etc. They've isolated and uncovered various human mental peculiarities in terms of genetics. They've got an excellent understanding of in utero effects and childrearing. They carefully tailor a specific, homegrown individual's genetic code and youth to predispose them towards a specific activity, say, assassination.

Legally, this individual is an adult, capable of making all their own decisions. They don't have to do their job if they don't want to. They completely understand that they were specifically created and tailored for this purpose.

But, in 99% of all cases, they will do their job until they die or are retired.

Is this a form of slavery? Legally, it obviously isn't - the individual has given informed consent - but morally?

Re: Near-human genetics

In Hero terms' date=' how would you portray an immunity to human-only diseases but could still be affected by diseases that are not human-specific?[/quote']You probably wouldn't. I seem to recall a quote about how sometimes people get overzealous with Life Support (the example was that even robots age, lose functionality after significant time underwater, etc). The alien would be immune to human diseases, but they wouldn't be immune to alien diseases, which probably evens out.

Re: I need cheap(-ish) liftoff.

I agree -- fuel costs aren't the biggest factor. There's also all the maintenance between flights a re-usable spacecraft requires; lift-off and re-entry both deal out a lot of punishment, so re-certifying the beast for its next flight is a big job which can't be shirked. (or else stuff blows up.)

 

Now that you've put some hard numbers on the mass of the spacecraft, the question is what kind of propulsion system will do the job? The fueled mass is 900 mtons; 'dry' mass (inc. payload) is 260 tons; which gives you a ratio of ~3.5. I'm assuming this is a 'single stage' craft, to keep things simple. (But that leaves no modern-day point of comparison, so bear with me....) It'll need something with an absolute minimum exhaust velocity of 5.5 to 6 kps, but probably more than that: it not only needs the delta-V to reach orbital velocity, but also to overcome Earth's gravity until it reaches orbit.

 

In theory, cryogenic H2/O2 rockets 'max out' at 5.5kps, in practice they deliver more like 4.5kps. So you'll have to assume something new has come along. Here are some interesting possibilites:

 

Tri-propellant rockets: Beryllium/Oxygen/Hydrogen or Lithium/Fluorine/Hydrogen, both have a (theoretical) exhaust velocity over 7kps.

 

Monatomic hydrogen: 6.5kps.

 

Metallic hydrogen: 17.7kps.

 

Metastable helium: 31kps.

 

See here or here for more details.

 

Alternately, you could 'go nuclear.' From a technical standpoint, this is less far-fetched than some of the ideas above, but from a socio-political angle, it'll be a non-starter well into the foreseeable future.*

 

Forgot to add: yes, once it reaches orbit, the spacecraft can use a lower-thrust higher-efficiency drive to change its orbit / leave orbit.

 

 

*"Foreseeable future" = until Rex Mundi takes over the world and very sensibly legalizes the launch of nuclear spacecraft from Earth's surface.

Okay, I should probably clarify: the 900 metric ton mass is the space craft's "final stage." Its delta v is for moving between planets (it has a high efficiency D-T fusion drive), not for reaching orbit. A "normal" launch (with SRBs, railguns, or whatever else excess mass) is used to actually get to orbit, and its mass in this stage can be as large as necessary.

Recalculating some numbers based on a noticed economic problem, I'm turning the calculation into: total cost $550M for two liftoffs, one lifting 900 mt, the other lifting 150 mt.

Re: I need cheap(-ish) liftoff.

This is a huge reduction in cost compared to current tech. However' date=' the best way to reduce costs is by [i']economy of scale[/i]; the unit cost for boosters would be less if more were built. So aside from being more advanced than current-day tech, is ground-to-orbit travel more common in your campaign than it is today? If this 900 metric ton spacecraft is a one-off, it's going to be more expensive than if there were a fleet of them making regular flights.

It's definitely not a one-off, there's "plenty" of Earth-to-space movement.

I don't think the main problem with getting into space is actual fuel requirements. The fuel supply for a single SRB is about 80 metric tons of aluminum (http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/technology/sts-newsref/srb.html), which costs about $200,000. Significant to us, but compared to the cost of one SRB ($60M), very little.

That 900 metric tons ... does that include one or more live humans as part of the payload' date=' or is it "just" hardware?[/quote']

It includes humans (+LS, food, etc). 60,000 kg ship, 200,000 kg cargo, and the remainder is reaction mass/fuel.

And I assume your "orbit" is just the easiest LEO you can get to' date=' nothing higher altitude, funny orbital inclination, etc.[/quote']I think...? If I'm in LEO, and I have some kind of slow (less acceleration than gravity) drive, I can use that to leave Earth, right?

I need a piece of technology that can provide sufficient thrust to move a spacecraft with mass of 900,000 kg (this includes everything for the spacecraft itself) into orbit at a per use cost of less than $280M. Preferably much less. Industrial tech is significantly (but not exponentially) better than modern industrial technology. I would prefer methods with actually quantified volumes of cash involved. Any recommendations?

Re: Zero-Point Energy Field Manipulator

Shouldn't the Throw be 22 points? I mean, it's telekinetic strength, right? So it has a base cost of 60 points, not 40.

Re: Campaign Setting: Age of Avarice

The Libid were first encountered in 2139. The campaign is set to begin in 2146. Hardly time for a member of a hunter-gatherer culture to have become a pilot' date=' navigation officer, or engineer.[/quote']It is worth noting that seven years is a full generation for Libids, and they're fairly quick learners. But yeah, there aren't a lot of schools on Armab or anything.

They are more likely to act as interpreters/translators (I note that Linguist is NOT part of their templates' date=' but ought to be based on the description of them) or as specialized scouts (they have senses Humans lack and natural affinities for the kind of terrain they're adapted to)[/quote']Linguist isn't a part of the package because certain character builds would be prejudiced against by that: namely, any Libid speaking fewer than four languages (native + three extras) would be effectively losing points for no gain. A Libid who speaks 4+ languages should buy Linguist, just like every other character who speaks 4+ languages.

By the way' date=' Tornado, about that hibernation ability - any reason not to use Simulate Death?[/quote']It requires a skill roll, and it doesn't confer any life support. It just makes you look dead.

Also - why would hibernation include "Does not Sleep?" Seems almost paradoxical there...

It's non-persistent' date=' so if the Libid goes to sleep (or is knocked unconscious) it won't work. Applying Concentrate (Throughout) to a Persistent power seems... wrong, though I'm not sure it's actually [i']illegal[/i].

Re: Campaign Setting: Age of Avarice

So, no scouting or exploring missions. No chance of finding advanced life forms beyond what are already known to exist.

 

That is, no scouting completely uncharted systems; exploring in detail worlds that have been identified but not completely surveyed is still possible.

With a physical limitation forcing them to expend extra END in higher gravity' date=' or somewhat more complexly, by having REC, Running, etc partially limited so they're not at full value except at Mars normal gravity. Also, consider reduced BOD because their bones are probably not as strong.[/quote']Done.

edit: just a comment' date=' but unless there's genetic engineering involved, has Mars actually been colonized long enough for the Marsmen to be that distinct from the parent stock?[/quote']Martian genetic variation is slightly darker skin and slightly higher IQ. There is no genetic component to the expanded chest or extra height, it's all developmental.

Clarification about the Etochi and Mazkai:

 

Is Etochi "sacrifice" common, or is the normal attrition (death by natural causes, accident, etc) enough to keep the Mazkei alive?

Etachi sacrifice is the primary method, since diseases that can leap from Etachi to Mazkai are very common. Accidents and combat fatalities are also used.

Does the normal Etochi funeral involve being consumed?

It used to involve it, but then the IEU clamped down on it (some Etachi were basically killing themselves prematurely to be consumed in the funerary right). Nowadays the funeral is largely reproduced but without the actual consumption. The "meat" is cut up and the pieces are burned instead of eaten.

While I'm at it' date=' are the Etochi remains utilized in other ways - the hide for garb, the bones for ritual implements of their religion, etc?[/quote']Not really.

Re: Zero-Point Energy Field Manipulator

As for IPE... I was thinking since there's no visible TK "beam" then it might qualify.

Actually' date=' Persistent would allow you to affect things if your unconscious, but there might need to be some sort of Limitation that you can only lift one object at a time.[/quote']

Uncontrolled, 6E: "But unlike an ordinary Constant Power, if he’s Stunned or Knocked Out, or loses Line Of Sight on the target, the power does not cease working — it continues to function as intended." Uncontrolled is for, like... setting people on fire. Not sure what you were shooting for, using it here.

Re: Zero-Point Energy Field Manipulator

Under "Edged Object Throw" you have it as "Must Have Blunt Object". Telekinesis is already sufficiently Indirect to represent the Gravity Gun. Do you need to buy Invisible Power Effects for Telekinesis? I mean, people can see the thing you're moving, and the gravity gun glows. Also, did you intend for the Gravity Gun to be able to work on more than one thing at a time, and after you are knocked unconscious (it doesn't do that in HL2)? Because that's what Uncontrolled does.

e: Also, maybe want to put a limitation on the Burst, to represent that you can't use it while holding an object in the field.

Re: Campaign Setting: Age of Avarice

Then the IEU probably has. If they don't someone else will. Those Warke points are too important and valuable to be left unguarded.

 

Heck, if no else has, my player character will, and set himself up as emperor of the local system when no one gets in or out without his say so.

And how is this prevented?

So there are four systems linked directly to Sol. These will be very important systems even if only for the traffic crossing them.

Uh....what? My question was' date=' how many Warke points are in a typical system that's known to have any at all. "yes" is not a number.[/quote']Oh, damn, I misread that as "Is it a typical system?" Three to five is typical; atypical range from as low as one to as many as nine.

All? So they've already reached the limit of the network and there is no further exploration possible?

Well, they haven't mapped the entire network out, but everything that a person can access was explored by probes first. The probes do all the exploration, both because it's rather efficient (cheaper than sending people, anyways), and because it prevents a repeat of the Ozto Conflict (i.e. civilians discover a planet full of aliens, their eyes do that cartoon thing where they turn into little dollar signs, and they screw up an entire planet and start a war as a consequence).

So from any given system' date=' there are only a very limited number of places to go to.[/quote']Yes.

I assume that this is a misprint and the adjustments are meant to be positive' date=' reflecting increased lung capacity?[/quote']The idea is that Martians have reduced CON, REC and END to represent that they are physically exerting themselves a lot just by being alive on ~1 g worlds. I don't know how else to really represent that.

Re: Campaign Setting: Age of Avarice

I'll add to the Warke point question-

 

What sort of ways are there to defend them? You said they have a velocity relative to the star of (near) zero.... but do they otherwise move? Could I set up a minefield or a picket of vessels and turrets to guard them?

What happens if I try to park something permanently on top of it? Or if I park several objects on top of it and nearby it (derelict ships' date=' many small asteroids or several medium to large ones)..... or, if I'm transitioning OUT of system via a Warke point while another ship is arriving IN system via the same point.... essentially, what happens when two bits of matter try to occupy the same space?[/quote']Bad stuff. The masses are transposed over eachother, killing any humans caught inside, basically destroying the ships, and generating significant background radiation.

The modern firearm is a solid propellant without a casing' date=' thus obviating the need for a slide... yet the force of recoil is still what's used to chamber the next round. How does that work? I'm trying to figure it out in my head, but am having trouble since I am not an engineer type or extremely fluent on guns. As a player, I'd like a mental image so I can cinematically imagine how bad ass my character looks after tossing out a one liner and then blowing someone away.[/quote']I'm not really an engineer type either, but the Heckler & Koch G11 is an example of a gun that fires caseless ammunition, and as you can see in the following video, the only part that moves is the magazine (and the gun itself due to recoil, naturally).

Plastic pistols- Don't we currently make plastic pistols that can fire multiple rounds and are about as reliable as other automatic pistols? I'm asking here' date=' but that was my impression. Aren't they also available on the civilian market? (The answer to both of these questions based upon my very brief research is yes)[/quote']We do make pistols with significant plastic components, but not pistols made solely of plastic. The Glock is "mostly" plastic, but its barrel and trigger mechanism are metal.

Gauss rifle- it seems incongrous that something moving so fast' date=' even if it were fragile, could be so easily thwarted by soft cover. Why don't the change the round out for a compact "ball"/pellet slug? (Something I seem to recall being referenced in other sci-fi mediums)[/quote']The long, thin design gives the projectile a small diameter allowing much higher mass than a spherical design. Gauss rifles, being relatively recent miniaturizations, are still fairly large and clunky, and the projectile's diameter can't be very large and keep the gun man-portable. I think I did overexaggerate the negative effects of this, though (which I have now corrected).

Also' date=' I'm assuming that the note about FoF targetting and how user confirmation instead of purely electronic FoF ID systems for target confirmation prevents a general resentment of the IEU is... the ideal? Since I'm sure that even if that is their intention (and it's smart)... it won't always work. It might not even work most of the time. All you have to do is look at the U.S. military in the Middle East to see how that very often is not how it plays out.[/quote']Absolutely, there are problems with the system, it's not ideal but it is more effective for counterinsurgency. To use your example, when you look at Iraq and Afghanistan, sometimes US troops will kill someone or commit some war crime or whatever, and their superiors will cover it up (e.g. those Reuters photographers and civilians who got killed in 2007). This means the locals get (rightfully) angry, not just at the troops in question, but also at the upper order that shields them. The IEU's military is very much willing to throw such troops to the wind, which reduces this problem.

 

Plus it's an excuse to obey Burnside's Zeroth Law.

I would love to see a couple of blurbs about various organizations and groups and how they are perceived by the masses or at least specific groups. For instance' date=' does the IEU really have a "casual disregard for local life?" How do humans/settlers/Libids etc perceive the IEU, each other, etc? Even though you mention there is racism against aliens, could you give some more specifics in feel? Is it paternalistic? Are they considered subhuman? Etc.[/quote']It's pretty much standard stereotyping you'd expect, combined with expectations of criminality, poverty, thick accents and minimal comprehension of the local language (not for Libids, though), racism, etc. Etachi are all brain-dead slaves. Mazkai are all domineering. Libids have sex all the time and don't understand technology. It's very much that subconscious kind of racism that is predominant now that self-identifying as racist is no longer socially acceptable. I have now made more detailed notes on exactly what kind of discrimination exists! I imagine I will soon start actually writing up the IEU (or other human subraces).

Regarding the interstellar drive:

 

How many Warke points exist in Sol system?

Four.

In a typical system?

Yes.

How easy or otherwise is it to detect them?

Fairly easy. A Warke Point creates a slight infrared distortion that can be detected. Most spacecraft just use maps, though, since all systems have been explored by probes.

Does each point allow travel to ONE other point' date=' or to multiple points?[/quote']One-to-one.

Are there systems people would like to get to but can't because they either have no points' date=' or none have been identified?[/quote']"Like to get to" is a relative term. Optimally, absolutely. Warke Points only connect about a sixth of all yellow dwarfs that aren't part of binary systems. Red dwarfs, brown dwarfs, etc, can't be reached through Warke Points, at least not without going through a point and then slogging through relativistic distances.

 

For all intents and purposes? Pretty much nowhere. While checking out neutron stars and brown dwarfs might be a scientist's dream job, there's plenty of raw resources in asteroid belts and on terrestrial planets to do everything you need, and there's a more-or-less infinite supply of such things. No radio signals has its upsides.

 

Unless he's the pilot, or the navigation officer, or the engineer, or the person who modifies/checks everyone's weapons.

 

No, they usually work longer hours. PCs have highly irregular, highly dangerous, highly stressful jobs. Typically the kind of personalities you see exhibited in a PC group are eccentric because it is going to be the fringes of society that actually WANT to do the dangerous, dirty, boom and bust jobs like that

 

It's not typically necessary but I would argue that most GM's would begin to raise eyebrows at 36 hours of continuous activity without rest and put his foot down at 48. Most PCs share similar sleep cycles or have reduced need to sleep, thus the issue rarely comes up. I would definitely keep track of whether the group was pushing well beyond what could be expected of their bodies because that's part of the adventure. How do they manage to rest and recuperate in the middle of such hostile surroundings? Does the enemy attack while they have to take shelter?.

True enough. I pumped up the Libid sleep cycle disad to "Frequently."

 

Absolutely agreed' date=' I was just pointing out that it was an assumption to say that they deliberately captured the PC and wanted him or her alive. It is easy to imagine a callous opponent who might say "Well, since I managed to capture you, I'll take you with me.... but I really don't care if you live or die. If you give me too much trouble I'll just toss you out the airlock." On one occasion I managed to accidentally capture a PC when he unexpectedly surrendered. I enjoyed what developed out of that, but there could be times where a PC manages to get captured repeatedly and it would strain the suspension of disbelief to say that EVERY group that did so had facilities to care for his or her special needs.[/quote']All that a Libid really needs is a window.

These aren't criticisms' date=' merely attempts at helpful feedback.[/quote']All good criticism is helpful feedback, and all helpful feedback is good criticism! Death to my darlings!

Well, according to researchers such as: Grant T. Harris, PhD; Marnie E. Rice, PhD; N. Zoe Hilton, PhD; Martin L. Lalumiere, PhD; and Vernon L. Quinsey, PhD, as expressed in their paper a few years ago

 

http://psycserver.psyc.queensu.ca/quinsey/pdf/Psychopathy/Harrisetal2007JPD-PsychopathicSexuality.pdf

 

It would seem to be a genetic trait that perpetuates itself because it has some value in an evolutionary sense, in that it's linked to behaviors that result in frequent reproductive success.

Well, I'd assume that undomesticated Etachi tend to be more sexually successful due to operating outside of the norms of Etachi relations (i.e. careful breeding) too.

Re: Campaign Setting: Age of Avarice

Sorry if this response is a bit laconic, it's been eaten twice by Windows Auto Update restarting my computer.

Actually' date=' I'd say that it's incredibly likely no matter how you slice it. The average citizen today is usually up for well over 8 hours in a given day; and you don't need to be active for 8 hours continuously but rather have 8 or more hours where you don't have the luxury of falling asleep. For example, imagine crew of adventurers on a job. Morning briefing over breakfast at 0730, arrival at spaceport 0815, meeting with contact regarding job 0830, traveling several hundred miles (via crew's vessel, or skimmer if most spaceships are not atmosphere capable) to an isolated outpost or town...let's say.....1235. Lack of radio contact upon arrival, performing several flybys or a general aerial survey to precisely locate the place/landing area/see what's up.....1250. Landing and discovering that the place is a burned out wreck, with bodies everywhere.... 1315. Picking threw the debris, searching for clues, survivors, and the individual you were supposed to deliver the cargo to.....1345. Discovery of something of interest, analyzing/interviewing it and then group talk discussing what to do next/the implications of whatever was learned....at least 1400..... Getting ambushed by whoever did this and being forced to take cover in the ruins and engage in a firefight....1415....evading capture as they bring in reinforcements and cut you off from your ship, engaging in a game of cat and mouse or trying to locate a force multiplier/active communication link up to call for help/find another ship.....1500. That leaves just a 30 minute window to try to take back the ship or escape before the Libid begins to hallucinate, and what if they need to wake until dark to do so?[/quote']Sleep during the four hour trip.

 

You said it yourself' date=' most investors are leery of getting involved with a potential workforce that is incapable of working even 10 hours a day.[/quote']PCs don't work 9-5 jobs.

 

This isn't surmountable' date=' and the more I think about it the more I discover that I actually kind of like it FOR the difficulties it presents. Perhaps the Libid needs to take a nap while they're hiding out.... which means one less PC alert for someone sneaking up on them, and an additional potential liability. He has to be protected by the PCs, and it could be difficult to wake or move him in a hurry if an attack occurs. But regardless, the issue DOES exist, and I'd say more than Infrequently. Personally.[/quote']It would depend, I guess, on the campaign & GM style. It's not like people really keep track of how much sleep their human character gets.

Well' date=' not really, and maybe they aren't.[/quote']I suppose, though killing someone is a lot easier than taking and keeping someone captive.

Thanks' date=' I found those really useful. Do the Mazaki and Libids normally forgo clothing?[/quote']Libids do, though I should probably have put a loincloth on the Mazkai (I have now).

So they would serve one or both of two evolutionary purposes.

 

Either they would be the "natural" pack leaders, and "domestication" was basically the Mazkai eliminating these individuals and, in effect, taking their place.

 

Or they are the species' "scouts," driven to leave the group and seek out new territory to colonize, either by linking up with others like themselves for breeding (and the second generation, due to "regression towards the mean" would be more typical) or by persuading a portion of the more suggestible herd to follow them.

What's the evolutionary purpose of sociopathy? Similar thing. It's basically a screw-up in the Etachi's brain where all his domesticated bits don't work right.

I take it by the way that Mazkai and Etachi are not crossfertile and are incompatible as far as mating and breeding goes?

Completely incompatible.

The palindromedary wonders how often Mazkai have resorted to eating Mazkai

Rarely, similar to human cannibalism. Etachi are far more common, and easier to get your hands on even if you don't have your own.

Re: Campaign Setting: Age of Avarice

If Etachi normally live in large communities' date=' being a solitary exile sounds like a lonely existance. Why wouldn't they form mutally supportive large groups like they were used to, perhaps around a nucleus of a Human or Human small group instead of a Mazkai family - hey, these people won't eat you, pay you for your work and let you own your own stuff, and won't stop you if you decide to leave for some reason![/quote']Well, because then they're on bottom again. An undomesticated Etachi hates to be on the receiving end of orders, and that's the main reason they generally run away from Mazkai.

I can imagine a trading company with a few merchant ships' date=' officered by Humans but crewed by Etachi...[/quote']This calls to mind, vividly, certain modern scenarios (mainly the national composition of merchant shipping), so I have to say it's an altogether likely scenario.

I can also imagine' date=' given that Age of Avarice is a "capitalist utopia," Human/Etachi conversations where a glimpse of the Etachi's outside perspective leaves the Humans wondering what the distinction really is between "domestication" and "employment." [/quote']Employees form unions (hopefully).

How does an Etachi come to be "undomesticated?"

Literally can't believe I didn't write this down on the site (until now), but it's basically biological. Etachi-related biology is a bit sketchy, so it might be genetic or it might be some in-utero effect, but they're just born that way.

I suppose that there may be "wild" Etachi on the homeworld. I wonder' date=' in small bands like the Mazkai (suggesting that was the pattern of their common ancestor) or large groups? And with what level of culture? If they are hunter-gatherers that may suggest one sort of narrative, but if some of them are agricultural and have (relatively) sophisticated technology like bronze working or written language, the question arises of how much Mazkai culture may have been originally Etachi.[/quote']Etachi naturally operate in large groups. Their common ancestor probably did too.

There may be "feral" bands who were abandoned (perhaps their owners died? or were killed?) or escaped' date=' and are self-perpetuating; these may exist instead of or in addition to Etachi who were always independent.[/quote']These "feral" bands would either snake out (difficult, given their domestication, but stray dogs manage), become lead by an undomesticated Etachi, or be reabsorbed into some other Mazkai's herd.

Incidentally' date=' I haven't run the numbers, but how quickly do the Etachi need to reproduce to keep the Mazkai fed? And where they're free of their natural predator, isn't overpopulation a potential problem?[/quote']With Mazkai and Etachi populations matching each other at a 1:50 ratio, Etachi's population growth (excepting Mazkai consumption) must be 3% per year more than the Mazkai's population growth. A significant effect, but not too serious.

 

The far more deleterious effect leading to population growth is the short generational cycles of the Etachi and the fact that they are effectively going through what developing countries went through. Over the 1928-89 period (~3 generations), the populations of some developing countries increased fivefold or more. Since Etachi have shorter growth and gestation cycles, the effect nearly doubles. Then there's the question that the reason population growth eventually declined for humans may not hold true for Etachi.

 

In any case, the problem lies decades ahead. Ozto has more land and fewer people than Earth, so it's not a huge worry at the moment.