Major Redo of My Catian Race, please use this one.

[Emerald MoonSilver]

Major Redo of the Catian Race, from suggestions from other posters. Still no long history, feel free to add your own when using in your campaign.

Catian
By Emerald Moonsilver
Before his “unfortunate” death at the hands of his latest creations, the Gene Splicer and known pervert, Ataru Moroboshi, had been best known for creating a wide variety of usually cute races for sale. Some were servants, some were warriors, and some were…..just out there.

The Catians were one of his first experiments in creating a race of cat demi-humans that could be altered to fit a variety of roles. Unlike his later creations, both male and female Catians were created.

All Catians resemble humans for the most part, with the exception of a fine layer of fur covering their body, as well as small cat’s ears on top of their head, and a prehensile tail just above their rear end.

1st gens tend to be a light cream color, with the Cheetans being a light yellow with grey spots on their bodies.

The first “batch” of Catians did not have a formal name and are referred to as, “first gens”. They were, created to be servants for “elite ladies and gentleman”, i.e. rich perverts such as Ataru himself. They are of average intelligence, easily manipulated, but possessing a charisma and beauty that could persuade a true Naruni to sell things at a discount, and then some.

The second and most produced then bred “batch” are usually referred to as “Cheetans”, showing that dear Ataru has no originality when it comes to names. This group was first created to be athletes beyond compare, until poor Ataru was informed that genetically created beings could not participate in the 3 Galaxies Olympic Games.

Instead they were altered to make them the best scouts, military and otherwise, that could be hired, usually for very high fees. The Cheetans, most impressive ability is their incredible running speed of over 250 miles per hour, triple that when astral phased. (More on that later.)

Catian Race and optional NPC

Alignment:

1st Gen Catians: Principled (50%), Scrupulous)

Cheetans: Principled (25%), Scrupulous (50%), Unprincipled (25%)

As a note though, even the most jaded Cheetan would never allow a 1st gen to com to harm and they have a nasty tendency to grab a solid object and run past any offender at 200+ miles per hour while slamming said object into the offender. In Short don’t pick on the 1st Gens in from of a Cheetan.


1st Gen Catian Sub-Race:

Attributes: I.Q. 3d6, M.E. 2d6, M.A. 4d6, (cute and sweet), P.S. 3d6, P.P. 4d6, P.E. 3d6, P.B. 5d6, Min 20, Speed 3d6

Size: Males (6 feet), Females (4.5 to 5.5 feet)

Weight: Males (160-170 lbs.) Females (varies).

Hit Points: P.E. attribute at first level, and 1d6 at each new level.

SDC: 20 plus those gained from chosen skills

Awe Factor: 8 Due to their sweet personalities and beauty. Many beings are quite protective of their 1st Gens, be they servants, boy / girlfriends, mistresses, or in a few cases wives or husbands.

Average Life Span: 1st Gens are quite long lived, with some reaching the ripe old age of 300 years. They reach maturity by age 16 and are biologically compatible with many human and demi-human races. The amount of half Catian 1st Gens is creating something of a “baby boom” in the 3 Galaxies as of late.

Natural Abilities: 1st Gen Catians have excellent vision equal to 2-10 in humans and have night vision out to 600 feet.

Due to working in close quarters with their employers / masters, Ataru made sure the 1st Gens could not be turned against them. This means that all 1st gens are completely immune to all forms of transformation, including vampires, like the Atlanteans are. They also have a +8 bonus to save vs. any form of mind control or possession. Their positive outlook on life and general naivety give them a +8 to save vs. horror factor. They can walk up to an “Old One” and say hello or at least close to it.

P.P.E.: 2d6

R.C.C. Skills: Servant Class

Language (Native): 98%
Literacy (Native): +20%
Language (Other): +10%
Math Basic: +10%
Barter: +20%
Cooking (Professional): +30%
Housekeeping: +30%
4 domestic skills of choice: +25%
First Aid: +20%
Athletics (General)
Physical Labor
Swimming
No HTH skills at first. HTH basic (only)
May be chosen as a secondary skill.
Pilot Auto or Ground hovercraft
Appraise Goods: +20%
Recycling: +15%
W.P. blunt, W.P. Knife. Both taught in secret by the older servants.
Preserve Food: +30%
Identify Plants and Fruit: +30%

Secondary Skills: Can select 4 skills at level 1, and 1 more skill at level 4, 7, 10, and 12.

1st Gens who leave their servant class RCC and switch over to any scholar / adventurer class and receives the normal skills for that OCC. They may be somewhat naïve, but they are not dumb by any means.

They will also grow in self confidence as they explore the world adding +1 to their M.E. for each level of their new class for a maximum of +4.

Standard Equipment:

Mainly personal items and gifts from their employer. Those who leave their employers / masters tend to become vagabonds or in rare cases small business owners, especially cooks.
The exception to this relates to those who marry into their employer’s family.

Money: Usually a few hundred in credits stashed away as well as a few thousand credits in small items, unless they marry into the family, then a 1st Gen can become quite wealthy, much to the annoyance of the other family members.

Cybernetics: None, no Catian will ever use bionics or cybernetics except for medical reasons.


Cheetan Catian Sub-Race:

Attributes: I.Q. 4d6, M.E. 4d6, M.A. 3d6+6, P.S. 3d6, P.P. 5d6, Min 20, P.E. 4d6 (Supernatural), P.B. 4d6+6, Min 18. Speed: 250 M.P.H., plus bonus gained per level.

Size: Males and females are 6 feet tall.

Weight: Males: 190lbs average, Females 150lbs average, (All muscle).

Hit Points: P.E. x2, plus 1d6+3 per level.

S.D.C.: 1d6x100

M.D.C. : 100 +10 Per Level.

Average Life Span: Same as the 1st gens.

P.P.E. : 4d6

I.S.P. : 1d6x10 and 1d6 per level. Cheetans are major sensitive psychics with 6 chosen abilities from that section.

Natural Abilities: Amplified hearing, same as the implant, 20/10 vision, with night vision out to 1000 feet. Telescopic Vision 20x.

All Cheetans are completely immune to all forms of transformation, including vampires, like the Atlanteans are. They also have a +8 bonus to save vs. any form of mind control or possession.

Level 1: 250 M.P.H. running ability +50 M.P.H. per level for a maximum speed of 650 M.P.H., with an inertial shield. This shield allows the P.C. to make 90 degree turns without suffering from any g-force affects. This running ability is more equivalent to low level flight. The cheetan can not only run on level ground, but up and down solid and liquid surfaces at full speed and even while inverted. This shield only works while running. The character can run up to 2 hours before needing to stop to rest.

Energy Shield: To protect themselves while running the Cheetan can create and energy shield for 20.I.S.P. that gives them 100 MDC plus 10 per level, +50 MDC max. The shield lasts 30 minutes per level of experience for a 2 hour maximum, or until destroyed.

Level 2: Dust Blast. By running on loose ground the P.C. can cause a blinding cloud of dust and debris. Range 5’ radius per level of experience, up to 50’ max. Anyone in the cloud must make a save vs. dodge at -4 or suffer -10 to strike, parry, and dodge for 1 full melee round (15 seconds). Those with eye covering are unaffected.

Level 4: Character gains a +5 auto dodge ability that does not cause the character to lose an action dodging an attack.

The abilities mentioned above can be used when the character reaches the mentioned level in whatever O.C.C. he chooses to take.

Additional Skills:

Regardless of their chosen class, all Cheetans have these base skills:
Language (Native): 98%
Literacy (Native): +40%
Math Basic: +30%
General Athletics
Swimming
Prowl: +30%
W.P. Ancient of Choice.

Attacks per Melee: 3 plus those gained from any HTH and other physical skills.

Bonuses: +3 initiative, +4 to dodge, additional +3 dodge when running, +4 to roll with punch.

Psionics: Abilities mentioned earlier plus those from a possible chosen Psychic class.

Magic: None unless a magic O.C.C. is chosen.

Standard Equipment: Varies depending on chosen character class. Cheetans though, prefer to wear light non-restrictive armor such as NG Riding armor.

Money: Varies depending on what character class is chosen.

Cybernetics: None, no Catian will ever use bionics or cybernetics except for medical reasons.

As A side note the Catians, especially the Cheetans are designed to be a higher power race, not as tough as the mutant cats in South America, but not weak earlier. They and the earlier Vixen race I posted are heavily influenced by our group’s love of anime so they may seem a bit off kilter. This race is not for everyone. But this race is based mainly in the 3 Galaxies, with some, used in our group’s California Campaign. (A “little” OP, you don’t want to know.) :>

As another note, I recently came across a copy of Rifter #55 and found the modified NGR classes within, these could be modified to be used in NG or MercTown Campaigns using the Vixens or Cheetans, or any other race for that matter.

I hope you enjoy this race and let me know what you think when I post this to Palladium’s website.

Warning: Threads viewtopic.php?f=8&t=159321 and viewtopic.php?f=8&t=159326 are a violation of No Conversions rule of the Palladium forums.

[taalismn]

With Ataru out of the way now, what's/who's managing the reproduction and distributions of these high-end bio constructs?
Because if he created them as servants for nobility, controlling and limiting the supply would be to his advantage, otherwise the moment they were out of sight and reproducing on their own(or being bred by their owners), he loses his profits.
This would indicate that for a Gene Splicer, Ataru had the business sense of roadkill.

[Emerald MoonSilver]

With Ataru out of the way now, what's/who's managing the reproduction and distributions of these high-end bio constructs?
Because if he created them as servants for nobility, controlling and limiting the supply would be to his advantage, otherwise the moment they were out of sight and reproducing on their own(or being bred by their owners), he loses his profits.
This would indicate that for a Gene Splicer, Ataru had the business sense of roadkill.

Good question... It could go one of two ways. Either he was an idiot, like his anime name sake. The girls are not sterile and can breed with several demi-human races. Their could be someone one else like another Gene Splicer, or Dominator...... AH how about the evil dominator and pervert "Hap'Po'Sai....named after a Ranma 1/2 character if not not familiar with that manga.

[13eowulf]

Why create a whole separate thread instead of posting in the original thread here: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=159321 ?

[Emerald MoonSilver]

As an added note, like the vixens 1st gen catians are eligible for super powers if they use their servant class or change to another scholar / adventurer class. Cheetans technically are eligible as well, but that might make them a tad "too munchy", your decision of course.

[taalismn]

The first “batch” of Catians did not have a formal name and are referred to as, “first gens”. They were, created to be servants for “elite ladies and gentleman”, i.e. rich perverts such as Ataru himself. They are of average intelligence, easily manipulated, but possessing a charisma and beauty that could persuade a true Naruni to sell things at a discount, and then some.

The second and most produced then bred “batch” are usually referred to as “Cheetans”, showing that dear Ataru has no originality when it comes to names. This group was first created to be athletes beyond compare, until poor Ataru was informed that genetically created beings could not participate in the 3 Galaxies Olympic Games.

As a note though, even the most jaded Cheetan would never allow a 1st gen to com to harm and they have a nasty tendency to grab a solid object and run past any offender at 200+ miles per hour while slamming said object into the offender. In Short don’t pick on the 1st Gens in from of a Cheetan.



Awe Factor: 8 Due to their sweet personalities and beauty. Many beings are quite protective of their 1st Gens, be they servants, boy / girlfriends, mistresses, or in a few cases wives or husbands..

"I've grown quite fond of you and truly enjoyed our time together," the temporal mage said as he swung his servant around to catch the assassin's burst of fire, "But I acquired you to serve me, not the other way around," he continued as he leaned around the cover of his meat shield and caught the horrified gawking Cheetan with a disemboweling burst of fiendfyre. "Still, I imagine I'll name my next goldfish for you."

[Emerald MoonSilver]

snip


Awe Factor: 8 Due to their sweet personalities and beauty. Many beings are quite protective of their 1st Gens, be they servants, boy / girlfriends, mistresses, or in a few cases wives or husbands..[/quote]

"I've grown quite fond of you and truly enjoyed our time together," the temporal mage said as he swung his servant around to catch the assassin's burst of fire, "But I acquired you to serve me, not the other way around," he continued as he leaned around the cover of his meat shield and caught the horrified gawking Cheetan with a disemboweling burst of fiendfyre. "Still, I imagine I'll name my next goldfish for you."[/quote]


Well that's rather.......disturbing..... Bad weekend I guess....

[taalismn]

Nope. Merely an observation(and reminder) that there are characters out there who will be not be dazzled by these people.
Rich people who made their fortunes by NOT being nice, and who see their employees/underlings as expendable assets, especially if they paid for them.
Combat types who will use any advantage in combat if they know they're facing some super duper warrior species with a reputation for being ubered up. You know, the guys who fight dirty.
Beings that are less than impressed with the shiny perfect-teeth-smiling good-looks happy-attitude yupster species that just showed up, and in response feel obliged to key the shinys' car or show them what a fight REALLY is. Or who are just plain annoyed by CUTE(You wonder why My Little Pony doesn't show up in Palladium? The Terror Bears got them).
Bioborgs or other gritty super beings who want to drag the big, bold, and beautiful mutant down to their level.
Prankster species who see the new kids on the block just ASKING to be the next lesson in humility("Hmmmm...Cheetan Hairless? A new breed?" "Nope. Attack of the Razorbots." "AIIIEEEEEE!!! My eyebrows! They even got my eyebrows!")
Divine cat-lovers who regard efforts to make artificial human-feline hybrids as denigrating the already holy perfection that is the cat.
Hundreds of established predatory intelligent species who will see these guys as competition, sport, or obstacles.
Mutant flea breeders.

Disturbing? You ain't seen nothing yet.

Welcome to the jungle. The Megaversal jungle.

[Emerald MoonSilver]

Nope. Merely an observation(and reminder) that there are characters out there who will be not be dazzled by these people.
Rich people who made their fortunes by NOT being nice, and who see their employees/underlings as expendable assets, especially if they paid for them.
Combat types who will use any advantage in combat if they know they're facing some super duper warrior species with a reputation for being ubered up. You know, the guys who fight dirty.
Beings that are less than impressed with the shiny perfect-teeth-smiling good-looks happy-attitude yupster species that just showed up, and in response feel obliged to key the shinys' car or show them what a fight REALLY is. Or who are just plain annoyed by CUTE(You wonder why My Little Pony doesn't show up in Palladium? The Terror Bears got them).
Bioborgs or other gritty super beings who want to drag the big, bold, and beautiful mutant down to their level.
Prankster species who see the new kids on the block just ASKING to be the next lesson in humility("Hmmmm...Cheetan Hairless? A new breed?" "Nope. Attack of the Razorbots." "AIIIEEEEEE!!! My eyebrows! They even got my eyebrows!")
Divine cat-lovers who regard efforts to make artificial human-feline hybrids as denigrating the already holy perfection that is the cat.
Hundreds of established predatory intelligent species who will see these guys as competition, sport, or obstacles.
Mutant flea breeders.

Disturbing? You ain't seen nothing yet.

Welcome to the jungle. The Megaversal jungle.

Well if you wish to run your game like that go right ahead, I prefer to run a 1950 and 60's style black and white campaign where the bad guys lose in the end and the heroes win. No cynics, pessimists or grungy jealous bioborgs, well unless they learn their lesson and start behaving, if not they end up the saem way all villains do in the end.

[taalismn]

[
Well if you wish to run your game like that go right ahead, I prefer to run a 1950 and 60's style black and white campaign where the bad guys lose in the end and the heroes win. No cynics, pessimists or grungy jealous bioborgs, well unless they learn their lesson and start behaving, if not they end up the saem way all villains do in the end.

".....They really believe that?"
"They're test-tube babies. They probably learned their ethics listening to bad motivational videos "
"Shiny happy people-"
"'Learn their lesson'? Which one is that?"
"'Evil is stupid', I think."
"Define 'evil'?"
"Please, heads may explode."
"Am I really 'grungy'?"
"You bathe regularly enough. And you use deodorant under each of your eight arms. Must be your cologne they're talking about."
'And jealous? Of THAT?"
"Shhh...you don't want to hurt their feelings. Poor things-"


Please...Bioborgs have feelings too!

But seriously, if you've shined up your creations that much as paragons of goodness, charm and excellent behavior, then their challenges should be at least equal to them, and their villains should have the real possibility of beating them, especially when the stakes are high.....otherwise, victory becomes stale and unrewarding for the players if they know that they're going to win regardless.

Because face it, evil cheats. And the best villains are the ones have the players dreading running into them because the bad guys have read the Evil Overlord's List AND the Heroes Lists. And they come back. And even if you think they're dead, there's that niggling doubt whether they're really dead, plotting a comeback, or living like kings in Patagonia, laughing their posteriors off.


And as you've posted to the general forums, and asked for critical commentary, you can expect that if anybody uses your characters, they're going to face a lot more than 50s and 60s comic code threats thrown at them.


Anyways, regardless, when you're satisfied with the final product here, feel free to post them to the sticky'ed Fan Races thread, and I'll update the List(with authors) on pg 1.

[Hotrod]

I don't like your created races. Open the spoiler below for my specific criticisms if you want to read them. Or just skip to my advice below:

Spoiler:

They were, created to be servants for “elite ladies and gentleman”, i.e. rich perverts such as Ataru himself.

Why throw in this irrelevant detail if Ataru is already dead? You seem to really enjoy telling us about how some gene-splicer is a pervert, but by killing him off, you make him irrelevant.

Incidentally, do you realize what you may be inadvertently implying to the reader? You, the actual creator of this fictional species, are describing the in-universe creator of this fictional species as a pervert and a buffoon. I'll just... move on.

Alignment:

1st Gen Catians: Principled (50%), Scrupulous)

Cheetans: Principled (25%), Scrupulous (50%), Unprincipled (25%)

They were born out of test tubes with angelic moralities that persisted after they immediately went to work as slave prostitutes and slave mercenaries. WHAT?! No! That's not how believable characters work.

1st Gens who leave their servant class RCC and switch over to any scholar / adventurer class and receives the normal skills for that OCC. They may be somewhat naïve, but they are not dumb by any means.

So they get all their starting RCC skills, PLUS they get all the skills for their new OCC? You should be specific here about how this process works.

They will also grow in self confidence as they explore the world adding +1 to their M.E. for each level of their new class for a maximum of +4.

I'm not aware of any class or species in the Megaverse that increases its M.E. due to confidence/exploring the world. This takes their one drawback stat and turns it into average, and for what? Unless they already had exceptional M.E. to begin with, they're not getting any stat boosts from it.

Standard Equipment:

Mainly personal items and gifts from their employer.

Because people who buy slaves tend to lavish gifts upon them? No. In very rare cases, maybe, otherwise most of them are probably just going to be hoping that their owner likes them enough so they don't get raped as often or as brutally. Those that do get gifts lavished on them are likely to incur the wrath of their owner's family members and get murdered or abused in fits of jealousy.

1st Gen Catian Sub-Race:

Attributes: I.Q. 3d6, M.E. 2d6, M.A. 4d6, (cute and sweet), P.S. 3d6, P.P. 4d6, P.E. 3d6, P.B. 5d6, Min 20, Speed 3d6

Prettier than elves, extra P.P. and M.A. the low M.E. gets countered by the fact that it raises with level because "They will also grow in self confidence as they explore the world." These aren't crazy overpowered, merely somewhat superhuman. The M.A. text is just wrong. "Cute" would be P.B., not M.A., but that's beside the point. What if you roll an M.A. of 4? Not so sweet anymore, eh? They may TEND to be cute and sweet, but you don't KNOW they will unless you fudge the numbers like you did with P.B.

Awe Factor: 8 Due to their sweet personalities and beauty. Many beings are quite protective of their 1st Gens, be they servants, boy / girlfriends, mistresses, or in a few cases wives or husbands.

My feelings: No. NO! Kill it! Kill that abomination with fire! Launch the charred remains into the nearest sun!

They reach maturity by age 16 and are biologically compatible with many human and demi-human races. The amount of half Catian 1st Gens is creating something of a “baby boom” in the 3 Galaxies as of late.

So this anthropomorphized animal abomination is engineered to breed with anything that looks remotely human, and people actually want to mate with it. *BARF* Sounds like the premise of "Species," which is a horror flick.

Natural Abilities: 1st Gen Catians have excellent vision equal to 2-10 in humans and have night vision out to 600 feet.

They see better in the day than the most sharp-eyed human, and they see better in the dark than Kobolds who live underground.

all 1st gens are completely immune to all forms of transformation, including vampires, like the Atlanteans are. They also have a +8 bonus to save vs. any form of mind control or possession. Their positive outlook on life and general naivety give them a +8 to save vs. horror factor. They can walk up to an “Old One” and say hello or at least close to it.

You know what kids do during scary scenes in movies? They hide behind the couch. Being naive doesn't make you immune to horror. I would argue exactly the opposite.

The Cheetans are somewhat better. Take all my objections above and dial them up or down as appropriate. Their big problem is that they're totally un-workable in an actual game setting. How does combat work when you can ignore the laws of inertia and run at hundreds of miles per hour? I don't know, and you don't explain.

Overall, these creatures are idealized innocents in a grim, dark setting, and they suffer no consequences for it. They get all kinds of advantages and suffer no drawbacks. There's no price for their power. There's no interesting background to speak of and no interesting character traits to play with (Cuteness is not an interesting character trait). There's no conflict. They've earned nothing, yet have everything. Ever heard Star Wars fans complain about Rey in the sequel trilogy? You've basically created three races of Reys.

Roleplaying, at its core, is about interactive storytelling. Forget the stats and the super-powers. Close your eyes and think about a person whose life story you wanted to hear. Think about a premise that helped hook you into that story. Now build a race or group of people to whom that premise applies and use abilities and stats that fit their situations.

[Emerald MoonSilver]

Roleplaying, at its core, is about interactive storytelling. Forget the stats and the super-powers. Close your eyes and think about a person whose life story you wanted to hear. Think about a premise that helped hook you into that story. Now build a race or group of people to whom that premise applies and use abilities and stats that fit their situations.[/quote]


I'm sorry you don't like my races, but I don't see anything wrong with them. I guess we just like different things. A for humans or anyone not liking animal or monster girls, there are many different manga and anime that are built on this concept. If real catgirls existed humans would be more than willing to date them.

[taalismn]

If real catgirls existed humans would be more than willing to date them.

The snapper to that is: some people will sleep with ANYTHING.

Sadly, there would be an equal number of humans who'd want to make them extinct....more so if there was evidence that catgirl genetics were squeezing out humans. THAT makes them look like the insidious vanguard of an invading force by infiltration and their cute and attractive behavior a deliberate honeytrap. People would begin looking at those more than willing to date them (and more) as being more than just very tolerant nekochan-otakus...they'd be bakas at best, species-traitors sleeping with the enemy at worst.

And I wholly agree with Hotrod: the whole 'perverted GS creates and sells them as servants to people who fall in love with them' also rankles. There's simply not that many galactic Christian Greys out there wiling to deal with Gene Splicers, break any number of galactic laws about slavery and genetic engineering, and drop massive wads of credits on acquiring a living sentient being just so they can make them their waifus. Any self-respecting abolitionist movement wouldn't be feeding the system they find abhorrent; they'd be raising armies to kill the slave makers and traffickers.

A for humans or anyone not liking animal or monster girls, there are many different manga and anime that are built on this concept.

And those are typically set in universes where the critter-folk are of some ancient parallel line emerging from the shadows and trying to assimilate into a comfortably powerful and more numerous human society...or in ones where humans are a pushed off the side minority and out of the storyline for the most part....that's essentially Daily Life with Monster Girls and Hypercops for you in a nutshell).
Rifts is a setting where terrestrial humanity is on the ropes and tolerance of the Other is hotly contested with anti-armor weapons.
Phaseworld has multiple species trying to carve out stellar empires, and where Gene Splicers are galactic boogeymen who regularly practice body-horror on hapless captives or damnfool power-seekers. Anything coming from them is going to be looked at askance as a possible threat.

You want a universe where your species might work out? You might want to put in the extra effort to create an alternate universe from whole cloth where critter folk are the accepted norm, or an existing Palladium 'verse like a combination of After the Bomb and Heroes Unlimited.

[Emerald MoonSilver]

[
You want a universe where your species might work out? You might want to put in the extra effort to create an alternate universe from whole cloth where critter folk are the accepted norm, or an existing Palladium 'verse like a combination of After the Bomb and Heroes Unlimited.[/quote]


Perhaps I should have done a better explanation at the beginning, Ataru and the fox girls were done as a spoof base on an anime called those annoying aliens by Rumiko Takahashi. The fox girls are stand ins for the character Lum. The Catians build on this sillyness. I wrongly assumed everyone knew about this anime/manga. The slavery aspect wasn't to be taken seriously. In the future I guess I'll just stay away from parodies or just use them with my own group so no one gets offended.

[taalismn]

Perhaps I should have done a better explanation at the beginning, Ataru and the fox girls were done as a spoof base on an anime called Those Annoying Aliens by Rumiko Takahashi. The fox girls are stand ins for the character Lum. The Catians build on this sillyness. I wrongly assumed everyone knew about this anime/manga. The slavery aspect wasn't to be taken seriously. In the future I guess I'll just stay away from parodies or just use them with my own group so no one gets offended.

I fully recognized the series being used, and I had the feeling I was looking at an effort to adapt themed PCs into viable playable species. There WAS as part of a very convoluted Rifts fan-parody called Darkworld that was around maybe 20 years ago or so, that had some very scant and loose rules for creating 'Takahashi-verse' characters who were essentially superpowered mini-deities...or 'Toon characters,....... and there's the occasional effort to convert anime characters and powers like Ranma 1/2 and Dragonball Z , with power levels ranging from mild to obscene(and which, as conversions, cannot and will not be posted here).

As for parody? "Dying's never easier than when you're trying for comedy'. The fact of the matter is, there wasn't anything aside from the immediately deceased or ignored named Gene Splicers that suggested comedy or parody in your posts. It just seemed very rushed without looking at the bigger picture.

It IS possible to parody anime and lampoon other subjects in Rifts, even shock-comedy or surreal transposition of elements without slipping into illegal conversion territory, but you have to respect(and know) both sets of materials you're using)or just add lots and lots of Floopers). And some subject matter doesn't parody easily or at all if you're casual about it and don't consider the possible ramifications of your treatment of it.

[Hotrod]

I wrongly assumed everyone knew about this anime/manga. The slavery aspect wasn't to be taken seriously. In the future I guess I'll just stay away from parodies or just use them with my own group so no one gets offended.

I didn't know about that particular anime/manga. I could tell you were going for a furry/anime focus with a hefty side of yiffing, along with some suggestions of underage appetites, all packaged in a Mary Sue wrapper of stats, powers, and idealized descriptive text.

Parody imitates and exaggerates characteristics to highlight and lampoon them. Since I haven't watched those shows, I can't comment on how exaggerated they are; it seems like you're taking characters and statting them out as races in Rifts. Now, there is a classic way to do this as a parody: the fish out of water, where you watch the character in a different setting flop around awkwardly as things do not go as expected and hilarity ensues. That was the form of parody I assumed you were attempting.

Where you lost me is the notion that the setting would conform to and share your own feelings about how cute, adorable, and attractive these anthropomorphized animals are. They're a fish out of water, but somehow instead of flopping around, they are just so virtuous and cute that the air decides to start acting like water. That's not a fish out of water parody. That's just a fish in water. If you call that parody, I mean, you do you, but it seems like you're just wanting to roleplay some furry manga characters you like in a world that looks nothing like Rifts or the Three Galaxies.

You want to do parody that others will see as such? Try applying Manga rules to Rifts and let hilarity ensue. Try taking a Rifts concept, class, or character, put it in a Manga universe. Or, try doing some dark parody and subject your creations through a more setting-appropriate backstory where you do take the slavery aspects of them seriously, along with the forced prostitution, forced mercenary work, abuse/rape in domestic settings, et cetera. If they win their freedom, subject them to the kind of prejudice they'd actually have to face on Rifts Earth or the Three Galaxies. Then have them emerge from all that darkness as a united people with a firm morality that has been tempered and tested through abuse, conflict, rejection, and a collective racial identity crisis. You might wind up with a basis for characters who are far more interesting than they were in the Manga.


P.S. "In the future I guess I'll just stay away from parodies or just use them with my own group so no one gets offended" is a passive-aggressive way to dismiss criticism. I don't think anyone replying to you is offended by your creations. At worst, I found them creepy and gross in a few places. You know what else is creepy and gross? Bio-wizardry, Nxla, necromancy, human sacrifice, some varieties of cybernetics, most circle magic, witchcraft, Splugorth, zombies, and many, many, MANY other things in Rifts! I'm not offended by you sharing your creations. I am annoyed at you treating me like I'm some precious snowflake who can't emotionally deal with parodies.

[taalismn]

A good exercise when creating 'paladin-style' characters/species is 'If they moved in next door, how long would it be before I started avoiding them?'.
For example:
-They're better looking than you...like sexy/handsome gorgeous
-They're in better shape than you. All the evidence sez they'll have a longer life expectancy than you, too.
-They're smarter than you(and modest too!).
-They have better jobs and make more money than you.
-Their kids are smarter than you and yours. Their kids have also married into even more affluential and influential families.
-They keep bringing in fancier vehicles than you, or going to places more exotic the you can afford.
-Whatever happens to them, they seem to bounce back better than ever with no apparent effort. They can do no wrong and the law seems to bend for them.
-They hobnob with a better class of people than you're able to associate with.
-They're always so friendly and charming. However, when you talk to them, while they smile when you talk about yourself, you can't shake the feeling they're humoring you because they find some of your visible habits not 'pure' enough for their liking.
-Or, worse, they begin giving you lifestyle advice because of things they've noticed about you. Advice that makes it clear some of your favorite things they consider not 'good' enough.
-And all this is apparently because they won the genetic lottery and have been on a lucky winning streak of fortuitous breaks ever since, with no apparent effort exerted on their part.

How long before you start pushing your leaves into their yard?

[Emerald MoonSilver]

I have been looking over my older races and decided that the Catians needed some work. The 1st gens had their awe factor removed and were given a see the invisible ability that feline and canine animals seem to possess. The Cheetans were also changed including removing their psychic abilities which really didn't fit their roles as military scouts. The exact changes will be show below in color.





Catian Version 3
By Emerald Moonsilver
Before his “unfortunate” death at the hands of his latest creations, the Gene Splicer and known pervert, Ataru Moroboshi, had been best known for creating a wide variety of usually cute races for sale. Some were servants, some were warriors, and some were…..just out there.

The Catians were one of his first experiments in creating a race of cat demi-humans that could be altered to fit a variety of roles. Unlike his later creations, both male and female Catians were created.

All Catians resemble humans for the most part, with the exception of a fine layer of fur covering their body, as well as small cat’s ears on top of their head, and a prehensile tail just above their rear end.

1st gens tend to be a light cream color, with the Cheetans being a light yellow with grey spots on their bodies.

The first “batch” of Catians did not have a formal name and are referred to as, “first gens”. They were, created to be servants for “elite ladies and gentleman”, i.e. rich perverts such as Ataru himself. They are of average intelligence, easily manipulated, but possessing a charisma and beauty that could persuade a true Naruni to sell things at a discount, and then some.

The second and most produced then bred “batch” are usually referred to as “Cheetans”, showing that dear Ataru has no originality when it comes to names. This group was first created to be athletes beyond compare, until poor Ataru was informed that genetically created beings could not participate in the 3 Galaxies Olympic Games.

Instead they were altered to make them the best scouts, military and otherwise, that could be hired, usually for very high fees. The Cheetans, most impressive ability is their incredible running speed of over 250 miles per hour to start with.

Catian Race and optional NPC

Alignment:

1st Gen Catians: Principled (50%), Scrupulous)

Cheetans: Principled (25%), Scrupulous (50%), Unprincipled (25%)

As a note though, even the most jaded Cheetan would never allow a 1st gen to com to harm and they have a nasty tendency to grab a solid object and run past any offender at 200+ miles per hour while slamming said object into the offender. In Short don’t pick on the 1st Gens in from of a Cheetan.


1st Gen Catian Sub-Race:

Attributes: I.Q. 3d6, M.E. 2d6, M.A. 4d6, (cute and sweet), P.S. 3d6, P.P. 4d6, P.E. 3d6, P.B. 5d6, Min 20, Speed 3d6

Size: Males (6 feet), Females (4.5 to 5.5 feet)

Weight: Males (160-170 lbs.) Females (varies).

Hit Points: P.E. attribute at first level, and 1d6 at each new level.

SDC: 20 plus those gained from chosen skills

Average Life Span: 1st Gens are quite long lived, with some reaching the ripe old age of 300 years. They reach maturity by age 16 and are biologically compatible with many human and demi-human races. The amount of half Catian 1st Gens is creating something of a “baby boom” in the 3 Galaxies as of late.

Natural Abilities: 1st Gen Catians have excellent vision equal to 2-10 in humans and have night vision out to 600 feet.

See the invisible: Due to their feline heritage, they can sense and see invisible creatures such as ghosts, entities and astral travelers.

Due to working in close quarters with their employers / masters, Ataru made sure the 1st Gens could not be turned against them. This means that all 1st gens are completely immune to all forms of transformation, including vampires, like the Atlanteans are. They also have a +8 bonus to save vs. any form of mind control or possession. Their positive outlook on life and general naivety give them a +8 to save vs. horror factor. They can walk up to an “Old One” and say hello or at least close to it.

P.P.E.: 2d6

R.C.C. Skills: Servant Class

Language (Native): 98%
Literacy (Native): +20%
Language (Other): +10%
Math Basic: +10%
Barter: +20%
Cooking (Professional): +30%
Housekeeping: +30%
4 domestic skills of choice: +25%
First Aid: +20%
Athletics (General)
Physical Labor
Swimming
No HTH skills at first. HTH basic (only)
May be chosen as a secondary skill.
Pilot Auto or Ground hovercraft
Appraise Goods: +20%
Recycling: +15%
W.P. blunt, W.P. Knife. Both taught in secret by the older servants.
Preserve Food: +30%
Identify Plants and Fruit: +30%

O.C.C. Related Skills: Can select 4 other skills at level 1, with 1 more skill at level 3, 6, 9 and 12. All new skills start at level 1.

Communications: Radio basic, Language and literacy plus sign language only.
Cowboy: None
Domestic: Any (+25%)
Electrical: None
Espionage: None
Horsemanship: General only.
Mechanical: Basic only
Medical: Holistic Medicine: (+10%)
Military: None
Physical: No boxing, wrestling, kick boxing or scuba.
Pilot: No military, robots, or juicer flight systems.
Pilot Related: Navigation only
Rogue: None
Science: None
Technical: No programming, cybernetics, or firefighting.
W.P. : No quick draw, paired weapons, heavy weapons, flamethrowers, or heavy energy.
Wilderness: Any


Secondary Skills: Can select 3 skills at level 1, and 1 more skill at level 4, 7, 10, and 12.

1st Gens who leave their servant class RCC and switch over to any scholar / adventurer class and receives the normal skills for that OCC. They may be somewhat naïve, but they are not dumb by any means. There lack of psychic abilities makes it possible for them to acquire super powers if the g.m. allows it.

They will also grow in self confidence as they explore the world adding +1 to their M.E. for each level of their new class for a maximum of +4.

Standard Equipment:

Mainly personal items and gifts from their employer. Those who leave their employers / masters tend to become vagabonds or in rare cases small business owners, especially cooks.
The exception to this relates to those who marry into their employer’s family.

Money: Usually a few hundred in credits stashed away as well as a few thousand credits in small items, unless they marry into the family, then a 1st Gen can become quite wealthy, much to the annoyance of the other family members.

Cybernetics: None, no Catian will ever use bionics or cybernetics except for medical reasons.


Cheetan Catian Sub-Race:

Attributes: I.Q. 4d6, M.E. 4d6, M.A. 3d6+6, P.S. 3d6, P.P. 5d6, Min 20, P.E. 4d6 (Supernatural), P.B. 4d6+6, Min 18. Speed: 250 M.P.H., plus bonus gained per level.

Size: Males and females are 6 feet tall.

Weight: Males: 190lbs average, Females 150lbs average, (All muscle).

Hit Points: P.E. x2, plus 1d6+3 per level.

S.D.C.: 1d6x100

M.D.C. : 100 +10 Per Level.

Average Life Span: Same as the 1st gens.

P.P.E. : 4d6

Natural Abilities: Amplified hearing, same as the implant, 20/10 vision, with night vision out to 1000 feet. Telescopic Vision 20x.

See the invisible: Due to their feline heritage, they can sense and see invisible creatures such as ghosts, entities and astral travelers.

All Cheetans are completely immune to all forms of transformation, including vampires, like the Atlanteans are. They also have a +8 bonus to save vs. any form of mind control or possession.

Level 1: 250 M.P.H. running ability +50 M.P.H. per level for a maximum speed of 650 M.P.H., with an inertial shield. This shield allows the P.C. to make 90 degree turns without suffering from any g-force affects. This running ability is more equivalent to low level flight. The cheetan can not only run on level ground, but up and down solid and liquid surfaces at full speed and even while inverted. This shield only works while running. The character can run up to 2 hours before needing to stop to rest.

Energy Shield: To protect themselves while running the Cheetan can create and energy shield for 20.I.S.P. that gives them 100 MDC plus 10 per level, +50 MDC max. The shield lasts 30 minutes per level of experience for a 2 hour maximum, or until destroyed.

Level 3: Chameleon
This allows the Cheetan to blend into the terrain by having his skin and items he or she is wearing change to match the surrounding area. The chances of being seen are listed below:
90% undetectable in completely still.
70% undetectable if moving 2 feet per melee or less.
20% undetectable if moving 6 feet per melee.
Ineffective if moving faster.

Level 5: Character gains a +5 auto dodge ability that does not cause the character to lose an action dodging an attack.

The abilities mentioned above can be used when the character reaches the mentioned level in whatever O.C.C. he chooses to take.

Additional Skills:

Regardless of their chosen class, all Cheetans have these base skills:
Language (Native): 98%
Literacy (Native): +40%
Math Basic: +30%
General Athletics
Swimming
Prowl: +30%
W.P. Ancient of Choice.

Attacks per Melee: 3 plus those gained from any HTH and other physical skills.

Bonuses: +3 initiative, +4 to dodge, additional +3 dodge when running, +4 to roll with punch.

Magic: None unless a magic O.C.C. is chosen.

Standard Equipment: Varies depending on chosen character class. Cheetans though, prefer to wear light non-restrictive armor such as NG Riding armor.

Money: Varies depending on what character class is chosen.

Cybernetics: None, no Catian will ever use bionics or cybernetics except for medical reasons.

As A side note the Catians, especially the Cheetans are designed to be a higher power race, not as tough as the mutant cats in South America, but not weak earlier. They and the earlier Vixen race I posted are heavily influenced by our group’s love of anime so they may seem a bit off kilter. This race is not for everyone. But this race is based mainly in the 3 Galaxies, with some, used in our group’s California Campaign. (A “little” OP, you don’t want to know.) :>

As another note, I recently came across a copy of Rifter #55 and found the modified NGR classes within, these could be modified to be used in NG or MercTown Campaigns using the Vixens or Cheetans, or any other race for that matter.

I hope you enjoy this race and let me know what you think when I post this to Palladium’s website.

[Hotrod]

Where do you get that feline humanoids can see the invisible? RMB p114 gives that as one of the psionic abilities in some domesticated animals, but those are animals, not playable characters. Dog Boys don't get that power, nor do the engineered or imported supernatural Felinoids of South America 1, with the one exception of the Oracle Cat.

The big problem I see with these engineered species continues to be their backgrounds and underlying concepts in the text. Let's start with the Catians:

-You describe the creating Gene-Splicer as a "pervert." This is kind of like describing Stalin as a dude who cheated on his wife. I mean, yes, that might be true, but that's not why most people see Gene-Splicers or Stalin as terrible. Stalin murdered millions of people and plunged a huge chunk of humanity into decades of living in oppression, and Gene-Splicers are diabolical fiends who do horrific genetic experiments for the evulz. When I think of Gene splicer creations, I think of abominations who look plaintively up at the player characters and say "please, kill me."

-I'd adjust their alignments to "any." Being biologically engineered pleasure/house slaves isn't likely to make them better people.

+The attributes seem pretty good now. They support the theme of the first generation Catians as engineered house-servants/slaves who are supposed to be charming and easy on the eyes.

-I suggest you cut the "cute and sweet" bit out. Cuteness is P.B. and they may well have a low M.A., which would definitely not come across as sweet.

-I also suggest that you eliminate the bit about them being able to talk Naruni into discounts; Naive people aren't good bargainers; they are more likely to get fleeced.

-I would eliminate them having 20 spare S.D.C. In fact, it would be more fitting for them to be a bit on the frail side/delicate.

-I would eliminate the "can breed with anything that looks remotely human" bit. On the precedent side, inter-species breeding is a general no-no in Palladium's games. On the practical side, you'd have to come up with some rules about what the half-Catian offspring would come out as for essentially every type of breeding partner. On the thematic side, it seems unreasonable to assume that such a large chunk of people would want to breed with a furry feline humanoid. Yes, yiffing is a thing in some furry communities, but it seems like a stretch to think that so many humanoids would get into it so much, or that their offspring would be tolerated to such a degree that there would be a statistically detectable baby boom in the three galaxies.

-The "immune to all transformation, mind control, possession, and horror factor" is problematic; I would replace the immunity with high resistances. Immunity to transformation is a magic tattoo-driven quality of Atlanteans, not a genetic one. While resistance to mind control, possession, and horror factor might make them more useful to horrific masters or people who regularly entertain monstrous guests might be desirable, I wouldn't make it a total immunity, or if I did, I would introduce some significant drawbacks. When someone is effectively immune to fear/revulsion, that might help to deal with certain situations, but it creates other problems, such as impaired recognition of social cues, an inability to empathize with others who are afraid, no understanding of personal space, and an inability to sense or effectively avoid threatening situations. This would mean a very reduced M.A. and some combat penalties, especially to defensive rolls. Actually, that might make this race a lot more interesting, having them be utterly immune to fear as both a good and a bad thing. This could actually explain how they'd retain a good alignment through terrible abuse. I'd rewrite the entire 1st Gen description and explore this concept of a beautiful and tragic race that's engineered to be incapable of fear, along with the positives and negatives associated with it.

-You state that 1st Gens can change to any scholar/adventurer class, but you don't describe how that transition works in practice. You should do this.

-You state that their lack of psionics allow them to acquire superpowers. However, you state that they inherited the ability to see the invisible, which is an animal psionic power. Psionics and super-powers don't mix. Personally, I'd cut both the animal psionics (they're not animals) and the bit about them having superpowers with the GM's permission (redundant and pointless; applies to basically any un-powered race).

-No species in canon gains bonuses to their M.E. attribute due to growing "in self confidence as they explore the world." I'd ax it.

-I'd eliminate the presumption of lots of personal items and gifts from their employers/masters. Slave owners are rarely very nice to slaves as a rule, and if they do give their slave some nice things, those nice things are likely to be things that assist them in serving their masters: pretty clothes/accessories/cosmetics and little of practical value. Also, people who buy slaves don't generally marry them, and the ones who do... look, human trafficking is a crime for a good reason; it leads to disturbing and depressing situations for the trafficked people. Slavery is bad, mmkay?

-I'd remove the 1st Gen's "no bionics/cybernetics" rule. It seems vestigial if you're removing psionics.

Onto the Cheetans:

-Why have elevated mental stats in a species designed to be competitive athletes? I'd put them at human levels. Also, why not just give them straight-up supernatural physical stats (P.S. and intrinsic MDC)? Gene-Splicers are certainly capable of that.

-You still haven't described the mechanics of how their ability to alter Newton's Laws of Motion actually works in combat. Is this something where they have to "pre-program" a short burst of speed attack ahead of time like Negasonic Teenage Warhead in the Deadpool movies, or does time effectively slow down for them, allowing them to run in slow motion like Quicksilver from the X-Men movies?

-I would remove the Chameleon ability or replace it with something else. It doesn't make sense given their background of being developed to be competitive athletes.

Finally, I would introduce some kind of intrinsic drawback to the athletic awesomeness of the Cheetans. Here, I recommend you consider the hunting behavior of real-life cheetah as a model. Sure, cheetah can run at 70 mph, but these chases last less than a minute, after which they need to rest for 5-55 minutes. An effective approach to this might be to give the characters blazing speed, lots of attacks, and incredible bonuses, but give these bursts a very short time limit. After the burst ends, the character flops down, exhausted and unable to do much of anything for a significant rest period without major penalties. This gives the character a powerful ability to win fights quickly while forcing the player to be strategic about when to use this speed burst and how long to use it.

-I'd also make the Cheetans die. A lot. Building on this "short burst, then exhaustion" theme, the fact that the Cheetans have been pressed into service becomes all the more tragic, for while they make great shock troops in brief assaults, their vulnerability afterwards will make them very vulnerable to counterattacks, which will push their mortality way up, especially for young and inexperienced Cheetans who haven't learned to be careful (paralleling the very high mortality of young cheetah in real life).

With adjustments like these, I could see these species being viable inclusions in a Rifts or Three Galaxies setting.

[Hotrod]

Ok, so over the weekend, I decided to put some money where my mouth is and create what I was talking about. Here's the first result: a revamp of your 1st Gen Catian. I'm calling this:

The Attendian

Attendians are feline humanoids genetically engineered, conditioned, trained, and marketed to provide comfort and domestic services to wealthy masters in the Three Galaxies. The first species produced by a secretive partnership between the Splugorth Klynncryth of Phase World and a Gene-Splicer, Attendians have become a status symbol among the upper classes of many planets throughout the Three Galaxies. In societies where slavery is illegal, people tend to see them as something between tragic figures and twisted abominations in an attractive shell.

Physically, Attendians are beautiful and graceful, with a sculpted, appealing humanoid shape accentuated by a feline head, soft fur, a prehensile tail, and cat-like eyes. They move with fluid, dance-like grace, and speak with soft, velvet-smooth voices. Their grace often stands in contrast to hideous features of their masters, but that doesn’t bother Attendians in the slightest. Unless they are dealing with acute pain or loss, Attendians are always cheerful and friendly. Their happiness in the face of oppression and evil can seem strange and off-putting to those unfamiliar with their nature.

Attendians are biologically incapable of fear or revulsion. This allows them to serve horrific monsters without batting an eye and makes them well-suited to catering to the more disgusting appetites of their masters. Although they feel and will react to pain, they do not fear it, making torture, threats, or physical punishment meaningless.

Their inability to feel fear, ironically, makes Attendians terrible soldiers, agents, and negotiators, as they usually fail to recognize and avoid threats, cannot recognize or empathize with others’ fears, tend to misread many social cues, have no concept of respecting personal space, and do not understand most peoples’ fear-based motivations. Most Attendians have good alignments and are kind when left to their own devices. While they might not approve of what their masters do, it doesn’t bother them enough to defy their masters, and they aren’t generally motivated to fight or resist evil.

Attendians’ main motivation in life is pleasure, companionship, and social acceptance. All Attendians sold in Phase World come with a Bio-wizard implant that allows the master to control how and when the Attendian slave can experience pleasure and renders the Attendian otherwise incapable of truly enjoying an experience. Second-generation Attendians born from natural mating do not automatically receive this implant. Their masters either buy the implants or motivate these bred Attendians using rewards like better food, living conditions, and luxuries. Note that while Attendians are designed to be enthusiastic lovers to members of all humanoid species and uninhibited to servicing the desires of non-humanoids, they can only reproduce with other Attendians. There are no half-breeds.

A few Attendians have escaped slavery, though this is more out of a sense of curiosity and interest in other people than a desire to escape an abusive master. Most of these free Attendians are bred specimens without implants, not first-generation slaves sold in Phase World. Free to find their own paths to pleasure, they usually do so through companionship, becoming friends or lovers of people they find interesting and learning their trade. Thus, free Attendians can take a wide variety of occupational character classes.

Some free Attendians dedicate themselves to freeing other Attendians. This has nothing to do with revenge or justice; they don't seek to harm owners or slave traders. Revenge is an alien concept to them. In a sense, Attendians cannot ever lose their innocence, no matter how many times they get brutalized, humiliated, or violated. Rather, these free Attendians seek to build pleasant communities of their own species where they can enjoy close companionship and acceptance among their own kind without outsiders interfering. Attendian communities tend to be prosperous and grow rapidly, but they don't tend to last long, as they lack the will to defend themselves and are lucrative targets for slavers.

While some people find Attendians appealing and attractive, others see them as abhorrent perversions of nature. Attendians have difficulty recognizing these different reactions, treating almost everyone they meet with an uninhibited warmth and sweetness that some find appealing and some find repulsive. Attendians aren’t gullible, but they can come across that way, since it’s impossible for them to be afraid of getting conned, taken advantage of, or outright attacked. This outlook often fills their lives with tragedies, and while they are capable of sadness and anger over events, it’s very difficult for Attendians to learn from these tragedies. They might cry or rage, but then they’ll simply shrug off what happened and move on without fearing the thing, person, or force that hurt them.


Alignment: Good or Selfish. Attendians tend to broadly accept and work with people of any alignment.
Attributes: I.Q. 3D6, M.E. 3D6, M.A. 1D6+3, P.S. 3D6, P.P. 4D6, P.E. 3D6, P.B. 1D6+20, Spd 3D6
Size: Males: 5-6 feet, Females: 4.5-5.5 feet.
Weight: 130-170 lbs for males, 90-125 lbs for females
Hit Points: P.E. +1D6 per level
S.D.C.: Standard
Average Live Span: Attendians are designed to live 300 years on average and die quickly with no outwardly-visible signs of aging; when their internal organs go, they go fast to minimize any impact or drain on their masters’ lives.
Natural Abilities: Nightvision 60 feet, immune to horror factors, fear spells, fear psionics, torture, and any other technique, technology, or supernatural force that induces or relies on fear. Due to their incomplete brain function, they are also highly resistant (+8 to save) to mind control or possession.
Bonuses: +20% to all domestic, communications, and medical skills, even if taken as secondary skill selections. All selections in these categories are considered to be at the professional level.
Penalties: -4 to parry, dodge, and perception rolls to detect threats and -20% to Espionage skills. Combat skills such as weapon proficiencies and hand-to-hand skills cost two skill selections. If they come as O.C.C. skills, then reduce the available O.C.C. Related skills available by one for each weapon proficiency, hand-to-hand, or combative physical skill.
Psionics: None
P.P.E.: Equal to the P.E. attribute.
O.C.C.: Vat-grown Attendians sold at Phase World begin with the Attendian Servant R.C.C. (see below), and sometimes learn a new O.C.C. from their service. Free Attendians may start with the Servant R.C.C. or select an O.C.C., but cannot take occupations with a heavy focus on combat or espionage, or any O.C.C. that includes or requires any psionic powers (such as Mystic or Techno-Wizard).

Attendant Servant R.C.C.
R.C.C. Skills:
Language/Literacy: Elf/Dragonese 98%
Language/Literacy in their master’s native language: 98%
Math: Basic: +10%
Cooking: +30%
Preserve food: +25%
Identify Plants/Fruits: +25%
5 Domestic skills of choice: +25%
First Aid: +25%
1 pilot skill or horsemanship: exotic: +10%

O.C.C. Related: None! Any additional skills must be learned by training in a new O.C.C.
Secondary Skills: None! Any additional skills must be learned by training in a new O.C.C.

Special: Gain a new O.C.C.! An Attendian Servant may take on a new O.C.C., normally the O.C.C. of the Attendian’s master or someone the Attendian works with closely, like another slave or servant. When the Attendian gains enough experience to level up, the Attendian may take this new O.C.C. instead of leveling up. The Attendian gains all the O.C.C. abilities, O.C.C. skills, and O.C.C. Related Skills with their racial bonuses and penalties applied. However, they do not get the Secondary skills, money, or starting equipment. The Servant Skills will continue to develop once the Attendian’s new O.C.C. passes the old Servant skill level. For example: a Level 1 Attendian Servant gains enough experience to advance to Level 2. Instead, the Attendian takes on the O.C.C. of his master: Shifter. The Attendian Servant skills stay at level 1, and the Attendian gains all the O.C.C. abilities, O.C.C. skills, and O.C.C. Related skills of a Shifter. Since the Shifter comes with Hand-to-Hand: Basic, the Attendian gets only five O.C.C. skills instead of six. When the Attendian Shifter rises to level 2, all of the Attendian’s skills will advance to Level 2.

[taalismn]

[

Their inability to feel fear, ironically, makes Attendians terrible soldiers, agents, and negotiators, as they usually fail to recognize and avoid threats, cannot recognize or empathize with others’ fears, tend to misread many social cues, have no concept of respecting personal space, and do not understand most peoples’ fear-based motivations. Most Attendians have good alignments and are kind when left to their own devices. While they might not approve of what their masters do, it doesn’t bother them enough to defy their masters, and they aren’t generally motivated to fight or resist evil.]

"I see here on your resume you worked on the security staff for Emperor Caligula Tempus Dracul XXVII. Anything you'd like to say about that?"
"I can say nothing that is not covered by non-disclosure clause."

[Hotrod]

Since I couldn't just leave it alone, I decided to follow up with my own version of the Cheetah-based felinoids in the OP. I present:

The Cheetians

Cheetians are another tragic felinoid creation of the secretive Splugorth-Gene Splicer partnership on Center. Genetically engineered and marketed to win elite athletic competitions and breed rapidly (thus creating a market for breeders), they reigned supreme in many sports for a generation until sports organizations across the Three Galaxies banned them. However, Klynncryth discovered a new role for Cheetians as disposable light troops and assassins.

Much like the Cheetah of Earth, Cheetians are capable of incredible bursts of speed, power, and agility, and their genetic makeup has dialed this to an incredible degree, known as “The Rush.” In athletic competition, this Rush enables Cheetians to perform incredible feats of speed and strength for less than a minute. Applied in combat, the Rush empowers Cheetians to unleash a devastating barrage of attacks with a speed and quickness that far outstrips that of a Juicer. Unfortunately, this comes at a terrible cost.

The Rush can only last a short period of time. Once it ends, the Cheetian collapses and remains extremely debilitated and incapable of taking effective further actions. In many cases, the Cheetian can’t even stay conscious once the burst ends. This rest period can last up to an hour, after which the Cheetian recovers well enough to function without penalty and can start another Rush.

The Rush, and the rapid reproductive rate of Cheetians, give them a certain appeal to slave buyers as shock troops. Unfortunately, most young Cheetians don’t survive their first battle. The temptation to use the Rush is so strong that they tend to trigger it at the outset of a fight, and unless they win very quickly, surviving enemies have an easy time massacring the incapacitated rookies.

The few Cheetians who do survive their early battles learn to temper their instinctive urge to Rush and discipline themselves to fight without it most of the time. These veterans only unleash their full power when they need to, and they are careful to have a plan in advance to stay safe when they crash at the end of the Rush.

A few years ago, Klynncryth implemented new training programs for select Cheetians to market them as bodyguards and assassins. This training program teaches the young Cheetians from the start to be selective about when and how to use their burst ability. The first results were uneven; even with the training, many Cheetians cannot control themselves and use their burst mode at the outset of their first fight. To weed these impetuous types out, Klynncryth’s slavers have taken to sending them to fight as gladiators for a few months and selling those who survive at a premium.

As for the Cheetian slaves themselves, most have a fatalistic outlook, accepting their fate and seeking to go out in a blaze of glory. The few who survive and learn to temper their instincts often yearn for freedom. When they become free, these Cheetians often seek a less violent lifestyle. A small but growing number of free Cheetian groups are attempting to emancipate their feline brothers and sisters and find a safe home out in the Three Galaxies or the Megaverse, but forming stable societies of Cheetians is difficult, as their instincts drive them to be aggressive and violent for their first decade of life.

Alignment: Those raised in slavery tend to be selfish or evil. Free Cheetians can be of any alignment.
Attributes: I.Q. 3D6, M.E. 2D6, M.A. 2D6, P.S. 3D6+6, P.P. 3D6+12, P.E. 3D6, P.B. 3D6, Spd 5D6 +12
Note: Add 1D6 to M.E. and M.A. once the Cheetian reaches 5th level or age 10.
Size: Males: 5-6 feet, Females: 4.5-5.5 feet.
Weight: 190 lbs for males, 150 lbs for females on average.
Hit Points: P.E. +1D6 per level
S.D.C.: 50 plus those gained from O.C.C.
Average Live Span: Cheetians mature in four years, and most die in combat before they turn ten. Cheetians who don’t die in combat remain productive and healthy up to about 40 +2D6 years old, at which point their heart suddenly fails, and the Cheetian dies in a matter of moments. With a replacement/cybernetic heart, a Cheetian can live up to 300 years, but it’s very rare for a Cheetian to live long enough to need one. Cheetians reach sexual maturity at age 5 and females give birth to litters of up to six cubs after a six-month gestation.
Natural Abilities: Nightvision 60 feet, Claw Attack: 2D6+P.S. bonuses. Incredibly quick, fast, and strong.

The Rush: At the start of any melee round of combat, a Cheetian can trigger The Rush. While the Rush is active, the following bonuses apply:
+The Cheetian gets to take three actions/attacks every time the Cheetian’s turn to act comes up, tripling the character’s attacks
+All dodges, parries, and rolls with puch/fall/impact require no attacks and are automatic
+Strength becomes supernatural! The Cheetian’s claw attack now does 2D6+Supernatural Punch Damage.
+Speed, leaping height/length is quadrupled
+Effectively ignores pain, wounds, horror factors, and shocks/distractions, and will remain alive and fighting up to 50 hit points below zero, even if this would normally kill the Cheetian (in that case, the Cheetian dies when the Rush ends).

At the beginning of a new round, the Rushing Cheetian must roll to remain conscious. Cheetians have a base ability of 25% + any bonus to save vs coma/death +5% per level to stay conscious after each round of the Rush, up to a maximum of 100%. An unsuccessful roll means that the Cheetian immediately flops to the ground and will remain unconscious for 2D4 minutes. A successful roll allows the Cheetian to continue the Rush for another round or stop the Rush and remain conscious.

After the first melee round, the chance to stay awake drops by 30% per round. For example: a Level 6 Cheetian activates his Rush ability and fights through the first round of combat. He must roll under 65% to stay conscious and continue his Rush for a second round. After fighting through the second round, he must roll under 35% to continue his rush for a third round. After fighting through the third round, he must roll under 5% to continue through a fourth round. At the end of the fourth round, the Cheetian has no chance to remain awake and immediately flops to the ground, unconscious for 2D4 minutes.

Cheetians who end the Rush while still conscious, or who wake up after falling unconscious remain extremely debilitated: reduce movement speed to a limping walk, reduce actions per melee by half (rounding down), the Cheetian is -10 to Strike, Parry, and Dodge, and loses all automatic defensive actions (must spend actions to parry and dodge). The Cheetian remains in this state for 1D6x10 minutes (in addition to any unconscious time)

Psionics: Roll as per usual. However, Cheetians who are Major or Minor Psionics can only select Physical psionic powers.
P.P.E.: 2D6
O.C.C.: Slave Cheetians are usually trained as simple foot-soldier/infantry O.C.C.’s with an emphasis on close combat. Some slaves may be trained in O.C.C.’s that focus in assassination, bodyguard work, or gladiatorial combat. Free Cheetians may select almost any O.C.C.

[taalismn]

I'd take it a step even further.....To control breeding(and sales), Cheetans can only attain fertility with the application of certain drugs administered over a specific tine period prior to conception. This initially kept buyers going back to the original suppliers to obtain and thus maintain their own stables of warriors, but industrial espionage managed to eventually get the formula for the fertility unlocking drugs.
Unfortunately, the compounds involved are still very difficult to synthesize, and best results come from using the glandular secretions and/or plant extracts of certain species known to grow on Splugorth worlds. This has necessitated a second series of espionage efforts to acquire viable breeding/seed stock of these species and set up habitat-farms able to raise them.
This requires the Cheetan species to maintain a support apparatus of farms and the plant/animal populations they raise in order to insure their own future breeding.

[Emerald MoonSilver]

While I understand that not everyone likes my creations, Catians or otherwise, I ask that you do not post alterations without my permission. Its similar to altering someone else's fanfic for example, maybe not really rude, but no the most polite thing to do.

[taalismn]

While I understand that not everyone likes my creations, Catians or otherwise, I ask that you do not post alterations without my permission. Its similar to altering someone else's fanfic for example, maybe not really rude, but no the most polite thing to do.

I'm assuming Hotrod posted his extended revisions under the assumption your previous notation about 'adding your own history' was still in effect and extended to altering your posted material to fit the respective GM's game setting. Nor is he representing his suggested revisions for or as your work, nor the original concepts of your work as his own. There is no mistaking the differences between the two styles as posted here side by side. Nor are his suggested revisions derogatory or meant to portray the original material in an insulting or unflattering way, from what I read(though he doesn't seem to follow the corporate philosophies of modern day companies like Monsanto when it comes to marketing genetically-altered products).

Really, I'd be flattered if somebody went to the time and trouble to create such a detailed (re)constructive critique and suggested revision of my work*. It means people are taking the time to actually read and think about the material, and that it has generated interest.

(*Though, admittedly, there is an entire sub-genre of published parody short fiction dealing with market-driven editors revising submitted manuscripts to the point of the end product being virtually unrecognizable by the writer, who is sometimes revealed to be some known literary great like Herman Melville trying to sell 'Moby Dick'. Or, in the alternative, the original manuscript ultimately becomes what the reader knows is a literary classic, but only after the suggested revisions. "My Goldfish Ishmael', for instance, being rewritten into 'Moby Dick', with Herman kicking and screaming the whole way about the changes.)

[Emerald MoonSilver]

While I understand that not everyone likes my creations, Catians or otherwise, I ask that you do not post alterations without my permission. Its similar to altering someone else's fanfic for example, maybe not really rude, but no the most polite thing to do.

I'm assuming Hotrod posted his extended revisions under the assumption your previous notation about 'adding your own history' was still in effect and extended to altering your posted material to fit the respective GM's game setting. Nor is he representing his suggested revisions for or as your work, nor the original concepts of your work as his own. There is no mistaking the differences between the two styles as posted here side by side. Nor are his suggested revisions derogatory or meant to portray the original material in an insulting or unflattering way, from what I read(though he doesn't seem to follow the corporate philosophies of modern day companies like Monsanto when it comes to marketing genetically-altered products).

Really, I'd be flattered if somebody went to the time and trouble to create such a detailed (re)constructive critique and suggested revision of my work*. It means people are taking the time to actually read and think about the material, and that it has generated interest.

Snip...

I do appreciate both of your efforts, its just that in the past, I used to write a lot of fanfiction and there always seemed to be group of people who always tried to rewrite my and others efforts because it was not how they saw the characters in question. I suppose it still affects me somewhat. I am not mad at either of you, I just tend to get too sensitive at times for my own good. If anything I am surprised that he or anyone would go to such efforts. It is a little flattering now that I think about it, but my paranoid self would prefer that if someone wishes to change my original concepts perhaps it might be batter to just create a new race of your liking.

[taalismn]

[
I do appreciate both of your efforts, its just that in the past, I used to write a lot of fanfiction and there always seemed to be group of people who always tried to rewrite my and others efforts because it was not how they saw the characters in question. I suppose it still affects me somewhat. I am not mad at either of you, I just tend to get too sensitive at times for my own good. If anything I am surprised that he or anyone would go to such efforts. It is a little flattering now that I think about it, but my paranoid self would prefer that if someone wishes to change my original concepts perhaps it might be batter to just create a new race of your liking.

And I used to beta-read and edit a lot of fan fiction for people for free...until it got too annoying arguing with writers who didn't like seeing the holes in their supposedly perfect characters pointed out, or the utter inanity(or, in several cases, the sheer -boredom-) of their story lines pointed out. After I humorously Muppet-exploded Neelix (yes, it was a Star Trek Voyager fan fiction) by way of example of how a scene had played out tediously, the author exploded and accused me of all manner of crimes against his writing....a clear case of over-investiture in a franchise that wasn't even his to begin with. As that lab scene was the least of the problems with his (munchkin, thinly-disguised SI, harem, captive audience) story, I gave the fan fiction editing thing(for anybody who didn't have a proven sense of reality) up for better uses of my time.

And Hotrod DID effectively create a new species because he saw so much that was unworkable in the original material, but wanted to show how you could preserve a few basic concepts while making it leaner, meaner, and more dramatic. He's effectively crediting you with the original idea, while making the revisions a workshop lesson in making the ideas fit the darker, grimmer, and more dynamic canon setting.

That's way better than simply having your stuff ignored with NO feedback aside from implied 'Okay. That's a lot of big numbers. Have fun with your house rules. Let's go see what else is going on."

[Curbludgeon]

I like both sets of both species, mainly because they're not going for the same thing at all. I think the Cheetian Rush could almost just be represented as a Bio-Wizard Parasite that is fatal within days/months to every species but one, which need not be cheetah-based(acinonic?). Perhaps serving as an incubator for larval Heart Worms might afford the Helminthost resistance to the mature Adrenotode.

Similarly, Attendians could probably either drop the cat theme entirely or maybe give them some amount of Animal Psionics based on purring (induce sleep, deaden pain, increased healing, suppress fear, maybe sixth sense).

[Hotrod]

Emerald MoonSilver,

When you created this thread, you started by stating that you were posting a "Major redo" of the Catians. You've since done another revision, but with one exception (the removal of the HorrorCuteness Factor), most of your changes seemed focused on mechanics-driven factors like making the 1st Gens technically eligible for superpowers while also giving them special abilities like seeing the invisible. After your latest revision, I realized that most of my points didn't seem to be making any impression on you, to the point that they seemed substantively similar to what I said about your Vixen Fox Girls creation.

In general, when I post my creations on these forums, I do so in the hope of getting some comments and feedback, and the most-useful form of this feedback is when people point out what doesn't work for them and how I might do things better. While it feels good to read comments like "OMG, this is TEH BEST EVAR," I get so much more out of thoughtful criticisms, and my development as both a writer and an artist is very much a product of discussions on threads like this one. I yearn for fellow fans to go through my creations and tell me how I might make them better. I don't always agree with their points, but I always try to respect and address them, because almost any kind of feedback is useful to me. I try to give the kind of frank and thoughtful comments to other posters that I myself like to get, per the golden rule.

After I commented on your latest revision, I saw that my comments were substantively similar to two or three other posts I'd written about your creations, and I noticed that, rather than addressing the specific points, you indicated that we like different things and seemed to ignore almost everything I said. Having put some time and effort into my critiques, I felt dissatisfied. Two thoughts occurred to me at this point:

1. It's easier to critique than to create.
2. Showing is a lot more effective than telling (incidentally, a great axiom for writing and storytelling)

So I figured that I'd try my hand at a creative exercise: take the basic premise of these two species, and show you how I would recreate them as species that I'd find to be more interesting, compelling, and suited to the setting: species that I might actually want to play or include in a game that I GM. I don't plan on using either of these creations or submitting them to Palladium. I'm not interested in upstaging you or taking credit for your work, and I don't particularly care if you or anyone never uses the Attendian or the Cheetian. I wanted to share these with you and the other readers of this thread to show you what I meant in my critiques.

I had hoped that showing an example of a revamp that applies my comments and suggestions might help you see and understand them for what they are: an earnest effort to help you improve your creations. You seem to see my demonstration as some kind of plagiarism. Clearly, I have failed to help you in any meaningful way.

At this point, I don't think I have anything else of value to offer you about your creations, other than to wish you the best of luck and lots of fun in your games.

[Emerald MoonSilver]

Emerald MoonSilver,



I had hoped that showing an example of a revamp that applies my comments and suggestions might help you see and understand them for what they are: an earnest effort to help you improve your creations. You seem to see my demonstration as some kind of plagiarism. Clearly, I have failed to help you in any meaningful way.

At this point, I don't think I have anything else of value to offer you about your creations, other than to wish you the best of luck and lots of fun in your games.

Thats not true you gave me a few ideas Im working through. The original race was originally created a s joke for members of our gaming group who are big anime fans, but over time Ive been thinking of expanding then greatly. Im presently working as a far longer back story, almost a large fanfic in and of itself. Maybe Ill post a shortened version here when Im done. As a preview of it ill give you one spoiler. THe gene splicer just isn't named after Ataru, it is Ataru. How he came here you will see in time. Of course this means more rewrites of a new generation of vixens, ill keep the third gen catians though. The 3rd gen cheetans work fine as military scouts, their original athlete version was designed 1000 years ago by dear ataru so its a littel out of date.. OH well back to the new back story, when ever I have time to get it done.