Terrans

Terran

Name: Confederation Terran
Attribute Dice: 12D
Dexterity: 2D / 4D
Knowledge: 2D / 4D
Mechanical: 2D / 4D
Perception: 2D / 4D
Strength: 2D / 4D
Technical: 2D / 4D

Move: 10 / 12
Size: 1.4 - 2.0 m
Weight: 30 - 140 kg
Life Span: 120 years

Special Abilities:

• None.

Complex Origins: Terran characters may use one of the following "templates" if approved by both the GM and the player involved:

• Colonial Terran
• Pilgrim Descent Terran
• Lancer Terran

Colonial Terran

The character is a citizen of the Union of Border Worlds, Free Republic of the Landreich or Grovsner Colonies. They are generally treated as foreign citizens in the Confederation and mistrust that group.

Name: Colonial Terran
Attribute Dice: 12D
Dexterity: 2D / 4D
Knowledge: 2D / 4D
Mechanical: 2D / 4D
Perception: 2D / 4D
Strength: 2D / 4D
Technical: 2D / 4D

Move: 10 / 12
Size: 1.4 - 2.0 m
Weight: 30 - 140 kg
Life Span: 120 years

Special Abilities:

• Social Status: Colonial Terrans suffer a -1D to all social interactions with any member from the Confederation.
• Intolerant: Colonial Terrans are, in general, intolerant of the Confederation and if they must interact with the Confederation, they take a 1 pip penalty to the Difficulty of all Checks involving the Confederation. A character may choose to attempt to control their intolerance with a willpower Check at -1 pip; success cancels the penalty for the current situation only.

Pilgrim Descent Terran

The character has Pilgrim ancestry. They are very adept at space navigation but are generally hated by the Confederation populace (particularly early in the Terran-Kilrathi War).

Name: Pilgrim Descent Terran
Attribute Dice: 12D
Dexterity: 2D / 4D
Knowledge: 2D / 4D
Mechanical: 2D / 4D
Perception: 2D / 4D
Strength: 2D / 4D
Technical: 2D / 4D

Move: 10 / 12
Size: 1.4 - 2.0 m
Weight: 30 - 140 kg
Life Span: 120 years

Special Abilities:

• Navigational Sense: During character creation the character gets 3D extra skill dice to spend on Astrogation, Capital Ship Pilot, Space Transports, Starfighter Pilot, and Sneak. These dice are in addition to the regular starting character dice.
• Hunted: Pilgrim descended Terrans are generally hated by the Confederation populace and most Pilgrim Terrans, once found, have minor bounties placed upon them by Confederation Citizens. GM's should note that Pilgrim descended Terrans should start game play with a bounty ranging from 1,000 credits to no more than 6,000 credits. (1D x 1,000 credits)

Lancer Terran

The character is either a genetically-enhanced member of an illegal top secret Confederation black ops program or a descendant of such a person. Lancers have a full array of modifications:

Name: Lancer Terran
Attribute Dice: 16D
Dexterity: 3D+1 / 6D+2
Knowledge: 2D+1 / 4D+1
Mechanical: 2D+1 / 5D
Perception: 2D+1 / 4D+1
Strength: 3D+1 / 6D+2
Technical: 2D+1 / 4D+2

Move: 10 / 12
Size: 1.4 - 2.0 m
Weight: 30 - 140 kg
Life Span: 120 years

Special Abilities:

• Discipline: The Discipline Trait reflects how well a character has trained their mind and body to resist external stimuli, particularly to situations that would either trigger a strong flight reaction or result in severe physical pain. The character's Discipline score applies to any situation wherein their force of will or resistance to pain will help to determine the outcome. Lancers receive a +2D to willpower rolls.
• Nerves: Lancers are exceptionally calm and courageous in the face of danger; something has to be seriously wrong for them to become rattled. Lancers receive a +2D to resist a fearful situation.
• Memory: Lancers are are very good at remembering minor details about things that have happened to them; they can be counted on as a viable source of information about the past. Lancers gain +2D to remember any specific detail from their past.
• Health: Lancers are remarkably healthy (despite any other indications to the contrary); they are always the last member in a group to contract a disease and usually recover from any diseases they do catch very quickly. Lancers receive a +2D to resist any disease or toxin
• Reputation: Starting Lancers have a negative reputation. When dealing with anyone that knows the character is a Lancer, the character receives a -2D to all social interaction rolls.
• Hunted: Lancers are generally hated by the opponents of the organization that made them and most Lancers, once found, have minor bounties placed upon them. GM's should note that Lancers start game play with a bounty ranging from a 2,000 credits to no more than 12,000 credits. (2D x 1,000 credits)
• Intolerant: Lancers are typically intolerant of the opponents of the organization that made them. If a character with this Complication must interact with someone or something to which they are ordinarily intolerant, they take a penalty to the Difficulty of all Checks involving the object of their disgust at -2D. A character may choose to attempt to control their intolerance with a willpower Check; success cancels the penalty for the current situation only.
• Overconfident: Characters with the Overconfident Complication tend to overestimate the strength of their position in crucial situations; they have a tendency to not prepare for those situations as well as they should, sometimes leading to disastrous consequences. If a character with this Complication is faced with a situation wherein they need to reconsider whether or not they’ve made adequate preparations and the outcome of the situation may be crucial, the character may choose to make a willpower Check at -2D. Failure of the Check will lead them to believe they can overcome the situation whether they actually can or not.

Notes

• Characters may not use this template for adventures dating prior to 2665.

Description

Terrans (also known as Humans; Homo sapiens sapiens) are an intelligent, highly social, bipedal carbon-based species that originated on the planet Earth (Sol System, Terra Quadrant, Sol Sector). While technically only those Humans who are native to Earth are properly called Terrans, the appellation is usually applied to all of Homo sapiens sapiens by members of other species. In the five centuries that the species has been starfaring, the various factions of humanity have established several large states that collectively cover the majority of six whole Sectors (with significant populations in another three). The largest of these factions by far is the Terran Confederation, though other important Earth-origin groups include the Union of Border Worlds, the Free Republic of the Landreich and the Grovsner Colonies.

• Personality: Terrans in general have a strong need to explore and gather knowledge. They are clever, inventive, aggressive, tenacious, mildly territorial and possessive. Most Terrans care deeply for their families and will go to great lengths to protect their youth, often to the point of laying down their lives. These traits in general have enabled the spread of the species far beyond their homeworld and have ensured their survival despite countless bloody conflicts (not the least of which has been the ongoing conflict with the neighboring Kilrathi).
• Physical Description: Terrans are a bipedal omnivorous species with smooth skin and a characteristic mat of scalp hair. They are 1.5 to 2 meters in height and their skin ranges from light beige to dark brown in color. They have the highest body hair density of any Earth-origin primate but their hair is so fine that it is often invisible at all but the closest visual range (with the exception of the aforementioned scalp mat). Terrans have an internal skeleton and two small, narrow-set eyes that allow for binocular vision. While moderately weak physically, Terrans are highly flexible mentally and are particularly adept at theoretical modeling and in applications of logic and inference. Terrans are tetrapods, having a pair of motor and propulsive appendages that each exhibit five digits on their respective distal ends; the opposable thumbs on their hands has in particular granted the species a high degree of manual dexterity. As a cultural norm, they usually eat three times a day, though the species can go a maximum of about two weeks without food and four days without water under normal circumstances. Most adult Terrans require between seven and eight hours of sleep per standard twenty-four hour period; both younger and elderly Terrans may require up to twelve hours of sleep. Although there is a degree of sexual dimorphism in this species, the differences are generally insignificant. Reproduction is performed sexually; Terran females typically produce one offspring via live birth after a 40-week gestation period.

• Motor Appendages: 2
• Visual Organs: 2

• Field of Vision: Optimal 120 degrees forward, Peripheral 200 degrees forward.

• Auditory Organs: 2
• Olfactory Organs: 1
• Gustatory Organs: 1
• Propulsive Appendages: 2
• Reproductive Organs: 1

• Relations with Other Races: As a rule, Terrans are open to the notion establishing friendships with many different peoples. The Firekkan people were members of the Confederation for close to a decade, until the race withdrew prior to the False Armistice in 2668; they still remain major allies of the Human factions. Kilrathi slave races such as the Varni and Wu are also generally welcome (if rare) within the Terran spheres. Terrans are neutral towards underdeveloped races such as the Mopoks, Dolosians and Oasians, and are diplomatically neutral towards minor starfaring races such as the Hagarin, Haggans and Jarma. Contact with the Double Helix has been limited to date mainly due to their mode of communication; attempts at communication have actually been fatal to the researchers involved, though Terran scientists and diplomats still hold out hope for peaceful co-existence with the enigmatic race. Terrans have had no contact with the Mantu to date. By far the race that has shown the most belligerency towards the Terran race is the Kilrathi, along with the few satellite races they have deigned to allow to freely exist (such as the Dioscuri). The Nephilim have also presented themselves as a major threat to the Terran spheres. The Confederation ultimately went to war with both of these races; the wars lasted for the bulk of the latter two-thirds of the 27th Century. The major Terran factions also have had mixed relations with one another; while nominally allies, the war-torn Union of Border Worlds and the stubborn, independently-minded Landreich have both on occasion been the subject of disdain and apathy by the Confederation government, a policy which has led to general distrust (the UBW and Landreich meanwhile are have very strong ties with one another).
• Territory: As previously mentioned, there are several sovereign Terran factions. The largest of these factions by far is the Terran Confederation, which holds the vast majority of the Sol, Argent, Avalon and Hawking Sectors (including all of the worlds of the former Pilgrim Alliance), all but a few systems of the Gemini Sector, a good chunk of the Enigma Sector (all but Isaac Quadrant is considered Confederation space), the Deneb Quadrant of Epsilon Sector, the Douglas and Day Quadrants of the Vega Sector and a small number of systems in the Landreich and Trk'Pahn Sector. The Union of Border Worlds is situated in a long "strip" along the border between the Terran Confederation and the Kilrathi Empire (hence its name), from the Roberts and Downing Quadrants in Vega Sector, through the Deneb and Antares Quadrants in Epsilon Sector (with some territory in Sa'Khan Quadrant) and into parts of the Isaac and Roddenberry Quadrants of Enigma Sector. The Cabrea System (Grills Quadrant, Enigma Sector) and New Plains System (Gonwyn Quadrant, Landreich Sector) are also part of the UBW. The Free Republic of the Landreich is confined to the Gonwyn and Tara Quadrants of Landreich Sector. A smaller Terran faction is the outlying Grovsner Colonies, consisting of the Grovsner and Etruria systems on the border of Confederation and Kilrathi space in the Tr'k Hara Quadrant of Trk'Pahn Sector. Finally, the Tri-System Confederation is a starfaring Terran faction located in the Isaac, Hom and Irrulan systems, none of which are connected to the same network of Akwende jumps as the other Terran factions.
• Onomastikon: The nature of Terran onomastics varies depending upon the regional culture of origin. For the most part, a Terran name consists of a forename and a surname. Major deviations from this norm include names of Middle Eastern origin (which can include elements such as names of ancestors, descendants, places of origin and so on), names of Far Eastern origin (where the name structure is generally reversed) and names from a few cultures that previously assigned mononyms to individuals. Terran forenames are generally assigned to individuals upon birth by the individual's parents along with any meso-names. Most forenames have an underlying concept or meaning, though the importance of this concept has been lost in most Terran cultures over the centuries. Surnames are generally passed down through generations and were chosen by the families involved centuries ago based upon their location, occupation or a noteworthy family patriarch; to this day, the vast majority of Terran surnames are patronymic in origin. A full Terran onomastikon would be exceptionally large; the following sets of names should be considered as examples.

• Male Given Names: Ali, Chris, Dan, Denis, Domingo, Evan, Faruq, Fenris, George, Glen, Herman, Ian, James, Jeff, John, Joseph, Keith, Kenji, Kien, Kiyoshi, Michael, Paul, Peter, Raphael, Rashid, Stephen, Todd, Vasili, Warren, William.
• Female Given Names: Adele, Amanda, Andrea, Anne, Arianne, Bernice, Beverley, Camilla, Chuki, Clarice, Danielle, Della, Devika, Elizabeth, Fatima, Gabriella, Hawa, Helen, Hermione, Iola, Jeanette, Kristi, Madeline, Mariko, Naomi, Padma, Sabine, Tamara, Ursula, Wendy.
• Family Names: Berdak, Blair, Bourbonnais, Casey, Chun, Clemenceau, Devereaux, Fukushima, Gagarin, George, Halcyon, Hausmann, Hideyoshi, Isaac, Johnson, Khumalo, Knudsen, Kwetche, Lee, Loubet, Marshall, McConnell, Melekhin, Miles, Miller, Muchow, Muller, Ndango, Newman, Ngidhe, Oberhammer, Ono, Putin, Rimbaud, Roberts, Rogers, Sanger, Spector, St. John, Taggart, Tanaka.

• Motivation: Terrans tend to be quite daring and ambitious; they will go on adventures simply for the experience. They are also a very inquisitive and curious people as a rule, and the drive to explore the universe is one of the major reasons why they have such a prominent interstellar presence. Other Terrans are driven solely by the lure of a fast buck, the prestige involved and the machismo that comes from adventuring. Finally, many of them see their role in Terran society as defender of the future of the species from enslavement or extinction; many Terrans travel far from their homes simply to aid in their defense.

Source

• Wing Commander RPG Wikia: Terrans
• Wing Commander Information center: Terrans
• The Wing Commander Role Playing Game (pages 11-14)
• thedemonapostle