Star Trek Cardassian

Name: Cardassian
Dice: 12D
Dexterity: 1D+2/3D+2
Knowledge: 2D/4D+1
Mechanical: 2D/4D
Perception: 2D/4D+1
Strength: 2D/4D+1
Technical: 2D/4D

Move: 10/12
Size: 1.5 - 2.0 m
Weight: 40 - 130 kg

Special Abilities:

• EIDETIC MEMORY: All Cardassians receive intense mental training during childhood.

• EFFECTS: Simple (Difficulty 5) academic tests are automatically successful. In academic tests with a Difficulty greater than 5, you gain a +2D bonus to your roll. This includes academic skills used as physical tests, and physical skills used as academic tests. For example, used to recall basic facts in a Life Science skill test (Difficulty 5), a character with this edge is automatically successful. When making a Difficulty 15 test to recall an obscure fact, or using Life Science to perform an experiment (a physical test) the character gains +2D.

• HIGH PAIN THRESHOLD: Cardassians' thick skin and tough bodies allow them to tolerate pain better than other species. Reduce Injury penalties by 2D.

• DEVIOUS: Even the most innocuous relationship with a Cardassian could be part of an elaborate plot. Cardassians gain a +2D species bonus to Con and Persuasion skill tests.

• PRYING: Cardassians are generally good at extracting information from others, through careful questioning, subterfuge, or interrogation. Cardassian characters receive a +2D species bonus to Investigation and Intimidation skill tests.

• VESALA: Corruption, influence peddling, graft, and nepotism afflict Cardassian society—often it's who a Cardassian knows, not what he knows, that matters. Every Cardassian has vesala, a vast and elaborate web of personal contacts, influence, and friends who help him get things done. Someone does a favor for him, he does a favor in return, and thus they use and exchange vesala.
  A Cardassian gains enhanced benefit from his Renown, improving his chances to persuade another Cardassian to assist him (because of his status) or intimidating a fellow Cardassian to provide secret information (because of his powerful connections). When making Bargain, Con, Intimidation, and Persuasion tests involving other Cardassians, the character adds his Renown modifier automatically to the skill test. A Cardassian's vesala modifies his social interactions with other Cardassians. (Renown in this situation is calculated by dividing the TOTAL Characters points earned by 30 to receive a "D" value. For example: 100 total character points earned would equal a Renown of 3.33 or 3D+1, rounding down to the nearest pip.)

Description

PERSONALITY: Most other species regard Cardassians as aggressive, harsh, and xenophobic; and capable of great cleverness, cunning, and eloquence. Cardassians prefer to deal with others from positions of strength whenever possible, whether that strength be military, intellectual, or social.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Descended from a species with reptilian and mammalian traits, Cardassians have gray skin and black hair. They are as tall as, but slightly heavier and broader than, Humans. Elongated vertebrae covered with scalelike plates support their necks. Segmented brow ridges almost encircle their eyes; they have slightly less pronounced unsegmented ridges along the nose, chin, and jaw line. A chufa, or spoon-shaped vertical protrusion, stands out from the center of the forehead.

HOMEWORLD: Cardassia Prime, the third of eight planets orbiting the star Cardassia.

CULTURE: The Cardassians once possessed a rich, vibrant culture, but because their world has few resources, they eventually found themselves ignoring loftier matters to concentrate on simple survival. The result was vereshvar, a gradual decline of Cardassian civilization that lasted for centuries. Art and religion were abandoned in a desperate struggle for survival that gave rise to a harsh military dictatorship. All Cardassians were expected to serve the needs of the state, from providing a molar for identification purposes to living under strict authoritarian laws.

By the 23rd and 24th centuries, the Central Command (the military) and the Obsidian Order f (the intelligence agency) dominated Cardassia. Necessarily harsh and aggressive, the Cardassians turned outward to solve their resource problems. Their first encounter with the Klingons led to an eighteen-year-long war. Similarly, they approached their early encounters with the Federation with suspicion and mistrust, perhaps seeing the Federation as a competitor for resources and hindrance on their ability to expand. The most infamous example of their ruthless exploitation of other worlds can best be seen on Bajor.

Although this militaristic culture lauded devotion to the state and purported to reward citizens based on merit, personal contacts and influence (vesala) were what really mattered. Among Cardassians, who you know is more important than what you know. Another Cardassian tradition to survive is devotion to one's family; Cardassians typically give preference to family members over outsiders, which sometimes leads to someone holding a position not because of their abilities, but rather because of a wellplaced relative. The price for failure, however, ranges from exile to death, so even the most undeserving officer quickly learns his job.

If After the Dominion War, which left over 800 million Cardassians dead, they may chart a newer, better course and leave vereshvar behind... or continue down the same terrible path.

COMMON NAMES: Cardassians place the given name first and the family name second.

FAMILY NAMES: Belor, Damar, Darhe'el, Dukat, Entek, Evek, Garak, Ghemor, Hadar, Jasad, Khoreth, Kovat, Lang, Madred, Makbar, Marratt, Marritza, Moset, Ocett, Pa'Dar, Rejal, Tain, Zarale.

MALE NAMES: Aamin, Crell, Elim, Enabran, Ghosar, Hogue, Mekor, Meros, Poren, Rugal, Talarn, Tekeny, Veroz.

FEMALE NAMES: Dejar, Gilora, Heena Iliana, Natima, Rekelen, Ulani.

Source:

• Memory Alpha: Cardassian
• Star Trek RPG Players Guide (Decipher) (pages 34-35)
• thedemonapostle