So, what Xenos have you created? I’m playing around with the idea of an Uplifted, Gene-modded Cephalopod (Octopus).
Independent Society.
There are a couple paths I could go here, if they have Telepathy and Telekinetic Flight, that would help them communicate and get around in the air. Alternatively, the could rely on tech and wear an outfit which grants them mobility. I like the idea of the more hard science version, but their camouflage ability would be lost inside the suit…
What are the assumptions made when you make Xenos? Do they default to human-like abilities? In other words, do I need to buy Locomotion Swim and assume they can now walk? Or they can obviously swim, and I need to buy the ability to walk?
I’m curious about any ideas for this ‘Xeno’ you might have, and I’d be interested in hearing of other Xenos you’ve played with.
Our uplifted octopi use robotic suits when out of water. They look like light bulbs with mechanical tentacles. They were supposedly uplifted by the uplifted goldfish in order to perform manual labour. However, the players have found a few clues indicating that they may be part of a bigger conspiracy and controlling the goldfish government. The last octopi they met were a space pirate gang called Black Sprut Bois. (Octopus is blekksprut in Norwegian, so ha ha)
My motivation for making xenos is usually to create a narrative asset or problem for the group. My players have encountered a symbiotic biomechanical hivemind now called “knirp”, consisting of flexible metal machinelike segments with organic components. They assemble to become anything from a big laser cutter to a bridge to a monowheel transport vehicle. An AI managed to establish communication with the hive after a physical misunderstanding – one player wanted to cut down a strange, mechanical tree. During this conversation the AI character gave them data on gravity drives, space flight and battleships. Detailed plans. The Knirp said it had work to do and shut the conversation down.
Octopi do a decent job getting around on land IRL, look them up on youtube. They’ve been filmed hunting crabs on land! Uplifted octopi could use tentacle gestures or colour-pattern changes to communicate.
Alberto Colombo Found a BBC Earth youtube video showing an ocotpus adapted to moving across land. I wouldn’t say it’s very fast or agile on land, so I’m confident they’d appreciate the robotic suit, if they’d been uplifted 🙂