Since this is a hard sci-fi quest, I suppose it wasn't included because an insectoid sentient species just isn't possible. Their respiratory system is tracheal, which severely limits their size, as does their open circulation system. Basically, it's not the type of being that can really evolve.
There's no reason why on an alien world the "vertebrate" equivalents wouldn't have tracheoles and the "insect" equivalents wouldn't have lungs. Indeed, there is no reason why on an alien world there would be equivalents of vertebrate or insectoid life at all!
There's no reason why on an alien world the "vertebrate" equivalents wouldn't have tracheoles and the "insect" equivalents wouldn't have lungs. Indeed, there is no reason why on an alien world there would be equivalents of vertebrate or insectoid life at all!
Sure, but then they wouldn't be insectoids, they'd be something else. The options we have are 5: default Star Trek humanoid, mammalian, amphibian, avian and reptile. That's not to say you can't make such a species, just ask Blackstar beforehand and see if its allowed. Maybe they fit under the first definition? Idk
I really want to type up my own plan, but I'm at work on my phone so that'd be tough. If the vote is still open later I'll throw something together. If not I'm fine with whatever wins.
Since this is a hard sci-fi quest, I suppose it wasn't included because an insectoid sentient species just isn't possible. Their respiratory system is tracheal, which severely limits their size, as does their open circulation system. Basically, it's not the type of being that can really evolve.
Well yeah that's real insects on Earth, but this would be an alien that merely looks like an insect from Earth. It's physiology would be different. It's not a big deal. Just personal preference to spice things up.
I feel like we spend enough time performing triages in other plan quests that it'd be nice to have a more sedate pace.
Okay here's my plan. I wanted a lot of stuff and had to revise it a few times before posting it. I feel pretty good with this.
[X] Plan Socialist Lizards with too Much Industry
-[X]Species Name: Saurian
-[X]Homeworld Name: Dosha
-[X]History of International Cooperation (-2)
-[X]Radiation Resistant (-1)
-[X]Vegetarian (-1)
-[X]Politically Engaged (-1)
-[X]Reptilian (-1)
-[X]Confederative Unification (+3)
-[X]Continental World
-[X]Plentiful Hydrocarbons
-[X]Climatic Instability (+2)
-[X]Traumatic Industrialization (+3)
-[X]Single Party Democratic State (0)
-[X]Confederation
-[X]Market Socialist
Good news, workers of the world have peacefully united and the revolution has succeeded. Bad news is a century or two of rapid and widespread industrialization fueled by super cheap fossil fuels is about to fuck over our already erratic ecosystem. Continental has a smaller hydrosphere than Terran or Archipelago too, so that should make it more challenging. It's not the storms that can do us in but the droughts and poisoned watersheds. We might want to start mining comets or ice moons for water.
I went with single party democratic state over flawed democracy to show the influence of the various socialist/communist parties have across the world. Other parties are allowed to exist but they're small and ineffective, with those that might make headway usually getting absorbed or co-opted into the ruling party. Issues arising from that can hopefully be mitigated by having people genuinely believe in the revolution through political engagement. I picked market socialism for that juicy co-op dominated economy with a mix of state industries. The history international cooperation should hopefully make confederation easier to manage. Us potentially leading space efforts might let us play king maker by deciding which space program gets funding and prestige, and who will get first dibs on any resources we haul back from space. The rad resistance gives us more leeway with orbitals and spaceships too. Plus it'll help us survive the giant hole we've likely burned into the Ozone.
It should be appealing. It provides us with a challenge without starting with a nuclear war or death world. I was tempted to go with Party State to afford Multi-Planetary, but I figured that'd be too min-max-y and meta-gaming. So a Communist UN+ feels like a good middle ground. We gotta earn our wings.
Good news, workers of the world have peacefully united and the revolution has succeeded. Bad news is a century or two of rapid and widespread industrialization fueled by super cheap fossil fuels is about to fuck over our already erratic ecosystem.
No, they aren't. It's from plants compressed underground. I have a dislike for that joke.
Also the abundant hydrocarbons means we have plenty of chemical fertilizers, for better or worse. We can brute force those nutrients into the soil, but fuck over the watershed even more with the run off.
On Earth oil is dead algae, coal is dead trees. I could imagine on an alien world oil could conceivably be mostly formed from the corpses small animals with high fat content like Earth krill and coal instead be the remnants of giant symbiotic associations like Earth lichens...
And dinosaurs aren't lizards anyway, so even if it were dino juice, the lizard people wouldn't be burning any close relatives.
On another topic, I have an idea for a race of catfish girls, would people like to see it?
Yes, I went down the dark path of thinking how to weld together memes and excessively overthought alien biology.
-[X] Unification, Politics and Economics
--[X]The Final War: (10 Customization Points) (No Ecology or Biosphere options can be taken) (Cultural Trauma Taken) (Immediate Crisis Turns)
--[X]Unitary State
--[XRepresentative Democracy(Desired, in practice one-party state): (-1 Customization Points)
--[X]State Capitalist
The Final War: The term of final war is technically inaccurate as the actual end of war or even the current conflict, just a series of strikes between nuclear-armed states. The domestic leadership in Tir na Nog fired first as they saw the writing on the proverbial wall as tanks were preparing to shell the white palace and depose the government. The bastards knew that they had two choices, either fire to win the war or die to a coup and likely lose. They all chose the former, hoping to ride everything out in their little cozy government bunker. During the scramble for the bunkers in the wake of the launch, the previous government was tragically shot without trial as several tankers made their warning shots with canister instead of darts. -Database Entry
Species Subvote and Systems:
History of International Cooperation: Before the bombs fell, before the war even started, before the corporations ripped so much power away from states, international bodies dominated politics. Those long-lived enough to have wisdom and understanding and those with experience fighting in the last global war sought diplomacy between nations as a guiding force in politics rather than the backstabbing nature of alliances. To that end, several new organizations were born under a united banner. Globalized food aid, research, technology sharing, trade, and peacekeeping were all implemented and leaving their mark on the world. When the war came, though, there was little choice but to have these bureaus all shut down as all spending had to be transferred towards supporting the front, plus the organizations became practically useless during the war as bloc organizations took charge. Still, there is no shortage of old hands that can be brought back to the fore if our "government" is to have any chance at managing the immediate crisis, much less leading a global effort.
[]Send the Survivors into the Administration: While each and every one of these experienced personnel would be better served coordinating international efforts to help people, the fact that the current government is a set of unwashed colonels hunkering down in a bunker limits most options far more. Instead of using the cadre of politicians in any diplomatic or higher role, they can take over as the heads in a ministry-like system, providing some experienced leadership. This would provide critical experience during the most critical period of recovering from the war but would ensure that they cannot be used for anything else.
[]Utilize the Survivors for their Skills: There are likely thousands of still active personnel all around the capital with long and storied diplomatic histories. Instead of immediately transferring them into the general government structure, several diplomatic agencies can be formed. This should be a massive help in proving our legitimacy to the people and encouraging other governments to join into the current system to at least weather the storm. But, of course, if committed to such a task, they cannot be used to shore up the massive deficiencies of the current government, leaving us with whatever talent can be salvaged from the capital.
[]Send the Survivors into the Field: By transferring trustworthy and experienced personnel into leading administrative roles in the field, they can likely do the most good at ensuring that policies can be implemented. While some would argue that such commitments are a waste of the limited number of skilled administrators available, this represents the best chance at keeping at least something functioning and neatly avoids the risk of yet more over-promotions. Of course, they would then have to compensate for an inexperienced and likely incompetent administration, but that was the case before the war.
Memories of War: The war without an end or the fourth global conflict started over who owned a stretch of ocean in a contested trade zone between the Ban-Sidhe and Lugh Islands. Of course, the war rapidly escalated beyond the original participants' expectations as more and more personnel were called in to fight, and the global economy was reconfigured to fight the conflict. Before development occurred to bring something new to the market or improve a lot of the people, now everything was inherently tied to the front. Rear line civilian factories were converted to producing war material, currency controls were loosened, and the population mobilized to give everything for the conflict. Few expected how long the war would burn on when these decisions were made, and almost no one expected the world to burn from it. Old currency is mostly worthless, the economy was in shambles before the bombs, and most industry that could help the recovery effort has long been converted to produce just a few more missiles or planes.
[]Early Mobilization: You joined into the war effort early on, before everything escalated beyond all reason and far before all of the provisions for total war were implemented. The mobilization itself was reasonably smooth, with much of the civilian sector quickly brought into military production with only a moderate disruption in production due to a measured pace of mobilization. Of course, this has caused the industrial complex to have been thoroughly militarized, with an almost non-existent civilian sector by the end of the war.
[]Fast Mobilization: You joined the war during the middle phase as it just became the fourth global war and needed a massive commitment in manpower and machinery. While this has considerably disrupted industrial production and caused a number of knockdown effects from inadequate logistics, it has also resulted in certain civilian sectors being adapted rather than converted. These adaptions should be far more fixable than flat-out militarization and should be less damaged due to lower target prioritization.
[]Crash Mobilization: You did not join the war; the war found its way to you and made you enter into the slaughter. No resource was spared in salvaging what could be salvaged out of the civilian economy and pressing it into military service. This has caused a number of shortages on the home front, several logistical failures, and a series of consistent and costly domestic protest actions. Still, the mobilization has left a wealth of crudely adapted civilian industry that has only changed slightly from what it produced before the war.
Cultural Trauma:
[]Paranoia: The mistake of the war was clearly in the insufficient preparation on all sides to weather the war itself and the exchange. While changing government forms may prevent another such war from occurring, the chance of civil strife, terrorism, or possibly another species reaching us is too great to chance another event as damaging as the exchange. To that end, the army must become an important institution of the state and be preserved, as it is the best asset for guarding against possible internal and external issues.
[]Defensiveness: The mistake that came from the war was a lack of defensive preparations and an inability to shield the population from the worst of the effects of the exchange. To that end, defensive networks are necessary as growth happens along with a focus on both fortification and defensive depth all across the system. It may not save everyone, but sufficiently prepared systems to shield the population should ensure that such a problem isn't nearly as bad.
[]Agression: While the timing of the nuclear attack was a massive mistake on the part of the previous government, the sheer damage inflicted by the nuclear weapons on frontal formations has done a large part to justify their use. The old suite of CBRN weapons may have been banned by most treaties, but they each provide an effective response towards reducing enemy concentrations and operational pace in all sectors of the front. Such an aggressive and total response during the first few years of the war may have even worked, as it would have been possible to shrug off the measly few hundred devices launched against us while breaking the back of the enemy.
System(Am using HD designations/classifications, but they mean nothing for location):
[]HD 82175: A system that has developed in a fairly unconventional manner around an F1 V star, as only a minor amount of planetary formation has occurred, instead clouding much of the inner and outer system with asteroids. There are still six discrete large orbital bodies in the system, with all but the outermost too hot to sustain conventional life. Outside of this inner system, there is a massive amount of asteroids scattered both in belts and in a variety of orbits, offering a massive wealth of minerals and resources. Exploration of the system has thus focused entirely on the exploitation of the asteroid belts, taking advantage of thick ice formations to provide radiation shielding to work crews.
[]HD 129923: A relatively conventional system featuring an F5 V Star, with seven large orbital bodies around it. Three of these planets are far too close to the interior of the system to harbor any life. There is also a single massive gas giant in the system (HD 129923-VI), featuring a series of over fifty discrete moons, though most are just small rocky planets without any unique features. Dannan itself has two moons, both of which have been landed on and explored, helping to provide supplies to orbital efforts and providing the largest mines in the system, as there are only a minimal number of asteroids. In the outer system, there is a single word that has a confirmed presence of water ice and an interior liquid ocean, though drilling efforts have just started. The fifth planet itself is also fairly desirable as while it is colder than Dannan, there is a light carbon dioxide atmosphere and a crust that is heavily comprised of iron.
[]HD 23591: A massive series of bodies orbiting an A3 VI star, featuring a series of six gas giants and a series of two belts formed from the remnants of the stardust that formed the system. There are a total of eleven large bodies in various orbits around the system, with four inside far too hot to harbor any form of life. The fifth body is Danann, located in a strategic location near one of the belts, though without any moons. The first of the gas giants, HD 23591-VI, has almost fifteen moons, out of which one even has a Danann-like pressure neutral gas atmosphere. Of course, the star at the center of the system has proven itself to be the largest hindrance to any orbital mission, as its radiation means any craft exiting the protective magnetosphere must have a series of protected safe rooms for high solar activity periods, though more modern craft uses intense electromagnetic devices mounted in a whipple-like configuration.
Leadership: The person that leads the coup has become the pre-eminent political force in what remains of the government, and even with the most democratic of dreams, it'll likely take a decade before any form of transitional government can be formed. Assuming the democratization of the state isn't stillborn, the expectation of an average of twenty years or rule would be a safe one. (Capability ranges from Inept < Incompetent < Unfit < Acceptable < Decent < Capable < Exceptional)
[]Cynbel Dowda: A old colonel that grew into the rank before the war out of enlisted forces and failed to climb out of it due to political considerations. He is the most experienced in military affairs out of the colonels and has been in the military his entire life. While easily capable of leveraging any command staff and with sufficient staff experience to rise up the ranks rapidly, his entire adult life has been in the army in some form or another. The least capable civilian administrator of the bunch, his massive connections in the army allow for a solid base of support from the army and would minimize any officer infighting.
-Exceptional General
-Incompetent Civilian Administrator
-Staff Experience
-Politically connected
-Previously Enlisted
-Old(143)
[]Galchobhar Cu Ruih: A colonel with a middling experience base though with a storied history of front line service. He has seen the most combat out of anyone and is technically a young officer that only rose in the ranks during the dynamic environment of the war for his leadership of a number of special support brigades. While his youth makes him unpopular with the older officers, he is energetic and fairly dynamic, capable of learning, and willing to learn. Unlike most others that joined the army, though, he joined as an officer after graduating from the university system as a chemical engineer, providing a base of technological experience, if almost no governing experience.
-Exceptional General
-Unfit Civilian Administrator
-Capable of Improvement
-History of Front-Line service
-Idealistic
-Young Officer
-Little Conservative Support
[]Ebfinn dal Oig: A colonel who previously led the brigade set to guard Tir na Nog against any surprise enemy landing or political unrest. More of a politician than a military commander, he has schmoozed his way through politics repeatedly and formed several connections with various other departments. To that end, he is the most connected out of any of the possible candidates and the most politically capable, though not as competent in either civilian or military matters. Due to experiences with running his political web in the capital and the defacto issues in coordinating such a system simultaneously as leading a brigade of the country's best troops, he is the most willing to delegate out of all of the colonels.
-Acceptable General
-Incompetent Civilian Administrator
-Massive Political Experience
-Politician
-Delegator
-Conservative
[]Ferelmir Ilan Ralid: An unusual member of the coup forces that was far more involved in the army bureaucracy than in actual front-line service. He was just a single officer working to manage military procurement and supply deliveries and has a considerable degree of experience working with the economic aspects of the job. He is not much more than a jumped-up bureaucrat and is known for such skills rather than any specific military command, limiting his military support base considerably. More an opportunist rather than any genuine reformer and far more cynical than most, he still represents the best civilian administrator out of the upper leadership of the coup forces.
-Acceptable General
-Decent Civilian Administrator
-Cynical
-Opportunistic
-Limited Military Support
Here is a plan draft for something that keeps with the theme of the story: a young officer is fed up with his senior officers and tries to stop a nuclear apocalypse but is too late. This man has no delusions of grandeur and will be willing to hand off authority to the civilian government and support them as best he can.
As for the star and trauma, I am open to suggestions. I favor my current ones because they are fairly flexible and middle-of-the-road options.
=== []Plan: Keep to the Dream
-[]Send the Survivors into the Administration: While each and every one of these experienced personnel would be better served coordinating international efforts to help people, the fact that the current government is a set of unwashed colonels hunkering down in a bunker limits most options far more. Instead of using the cadre of politicians in any diplomatic or higher role, they can take over as the heads in a ministry-like system, providing some experienced leadership. This would provide critical experience during the most critical period of recovering from the war but would ensure that they cannot be used for anything else. -[]Early Mobilization: You joined into the war effort early on, before everything escalated beyond all reason and far before all of the provisions for total war were implemented. The mobilization itself was reasonably smooth, with much of the civilian sector quickly brought into military production with only a moderate disruption in production due to a measured pace of mobilization. Of course, this has caused the industrial complex to have been thoroughly militarized, with an almost non-existent civilian sector by the end of the war. -[]Defensiveness: The mistake that came from the war was a lack of defensive preparations and an inability to shield the population from the worst of the effects of the exchange. To that end, defensive networks are necessary as growth happens along with a focus on both fortification and defensive depth all across the system. It may not save everyone, but sufficiently prepared systems to shield the population should ensure that such a problem isn't nearly as bad.
-[]HD 129923: A relatively conventional system featuring a F5 Va Star, with seven large orbital bodies around it. Three of these planets are far too close to the interior of the system to harbor any life. There is also a single massive gas giant in the system (HD 129923-VI), featuring a series of over fifty discrete moons, though most are just small rocky planets without any unique features. Dannan itself has two moons, both of which have been landed on and explored, helping to provide supplies to orbital efforts and providing the largest mines in the system, as there are only a minimal number of asteroids. In the outer system, there is a single word that has a confirmed presence of water ice and an interior liquid ocean, though drilling efforts have just started. The fifth planet itself is also fairly desirable as while it is colder than Dannan, there is a light carbon dioxide atmosphere and a crust that is heavily comprised of iron. -[]Galchobhar Cu Ruih: A colonel with a middling experience base though with a storied history of front line service. He has seen the most combat out of anyone and is technically a young officer that only rose in the ranks during the dynamic environment of the war for his leadership of a number of special support brigades. While his youth makes him unpopular with the older officers, he is energetic and fairly dynamic, capable of learning, and willing to learn. Unlike most others that joined the army, though, he joined as an officer after graduating from the university system as a chemical engineer, providing a base of technological experience, if almost no governing experience.
-Exceptional General
-Unfit Civilian Administrator
-Capable of Improvement
-History of Front-Line service
-Idealistic
-Young Officer
-Little Conservative Support
== []Plan: On the Road to Survival
-[] Send the Survivors into the Administration: While each and every one of these experienced personnel would be better served coordinating international efforts to help people, the fact that the current government is a set of unwashed colonels hunkering down in a bunker limits most options far more. Instead of using the cadre of politicians in any diplomatic or higher role, they can take over as the heads in a ministry-like system, providing some experienced leadership. This would provide critical experience during the most critical period of recovering from the war but would ensure that they cannot be used for anything else. -[] Fast Mobilization: You joined the war during the middle phase as it just became the fourth global war and needed a massive commitment in manpower and machinery. While this has considerably disrupted industrial production and caused a number of knockdown effects from inadequate logistics, it has also resulted in certain civilian sectors being adapted rather than converted. These adaptions should be far more fixable than flat-out militarization and should be less damaged due to lower target prioritization. -[] Defensiveness: The mistake that came from the war was a lack of defensive preparations and an inability to shield the population from the worst of the effects of the exchange. To that end, defensive networks are necessary as growth happens along with a focus on both fortification and defensive depth all across the system. It may not save everyone, but sufficiently prepared systems to shield the population should ensure that such a problem isn't nearly as bad.
-[] HD 129923: A relatively conventional system featuring a F5 Va Star, with seven large orbital bodies around it. Three of these planets are far too close to the interior of the system to harbor any life. There is also a single massive gas giant in the system (HD 129923-VI), featuring a series of over fifty discrete moons, though most are just small rocky planets without any unique features. Dannan itself has two moons, both of which have been landed on and explored, helping to provide supplies to orbital efforts and providing the largest mines in the system, as there are only a minimal number of asteroids. In the outer system, there is a single word that has a confirmed presence of water ice and an interior liquid ocean, though drilling efforts have just started. The fifth planet itself is also fairly desirable as while it is colder than Dannan, there is a light carbon dioxide atmosphere and a crust that is heavily comprised of iron. -[] Galchobhar Cu Ruih: A colonel with a middling experience base though with a storied history of front line service. He has seen the most combat out of anyone and is technically a young officer that only rose in the ranks during the dynamic environment of the war for his leadership of a number of special support brigades. While his youth makes him unpopular with the older officers, he is energetic and fairly dynamic, capable of learning, and willing to learn. Unlike most others that joined the army, though, he joined as an officer after graduating from the university system as a chemical engineer, providing a base of technological experience, if almost no governing experience.
-Exceptional General
-Unfit Civilian Administrator
-Capable of Improvement
-History of Front-Line service
-Idealistic
-Young Officer
-Little Conservative Support
I think being able to convert factories from a military footing more easily will help us a lot, and the cadres from the international organizations would benefit us more in rebuilding the government. These first few months will be critical, and establishing production of essential goods and services will be key to survive thede trying times.
As for our leader, despite him being a war criminal, he is an idealist, which is important in transitioning from a military government later on. An exceptional general that is close to the soldiery will also be important in establishing control and winning the final conflict.
Defensiveness is clearly the best trauma to take. Paranoia hamstrings us, aggressiveness means the mods will eventually lock this thread, defensiveness means fun basebuilding.
Defensiveness is clearly the best trauma to take. Paranoia hamstrings us, aggressiveness means the mods will eventually lock this thread, defensiveness means fun basebuilding.
The other options mean a pretty much permanent military dictatorship, or an agressive first strike policy. I think that while Defensiveness may be expensive, it will at least not cause as many societal or diplomatic problems as the other two.
