The Cosmos

For every advantage you give your character, you need equal disadvantages and limitations in order to be fair to other players.

Example of balanced sci-fi shapeshifters from K.A. Applegate:

Advantages:

• Animorphs can physically but grotesquely transform into any creature that has DNA. Called morphing. The science behind it has as much explanation as possible.
• (Notice that they don’t shapeshift because of a magical ability and automatically turn into the shape they want.)
• Animorphs can use thought-speak to communicate while in a morph.

Disadvantages:

• 2 hour time limit: Their main drawback. They have to morph back to their original form before the time is up or else they get stuck in that form permanently, unable to morph anymore.
• They have to also be able to keep track of time while in their morph in order to avoid being stuck in it.
• The more dangerous the creature, the harder it is to collect their DNA via touch.
• They have to deal with the strong instincts of whatever creature they morph into.

Limitations:

• Animorphs had to come across and use complex technology to gain both of these abilities. The tech has a nanobiology explanation in how it moves molecules around.
• In order to morph at all, they must first collect DNA by absorbing it through touch as their original self.
• When they morph back to their original form, they are extremely tired and can’t morph again for quite some time.

This includes both hybrids of different races, as well as hybrids of similar racial species. Interracial mating is fine- if different alien races want to exchange chemicals, we aren’t here to put a damper on that, though it may mean running into potential biochemical issues.

Why no hybrids or hybrid children? If humans and chimpanzees, so close genetically, can’t even produce offspring, don’t expect entirely different species or races to create children organically.

Alternative: Have Dr Domo create your character as a hybrid-looking android, or a hybrid-looking android to serve as your child for a fee (and that’s not creepy at all).

Try to imagine sci-fi alternatives to magic, such as advanced technology or even specialized alien biology. If you need help with particular ideas, we're happy to chat!

While characters and their races must be original in terms of backstory and family connections, players are free to incorporate various elements from existing media. In other words, you are free to draw on existing works for inspiration, but please do not make your character a carbon copy of an existing character, or race, from another canon.

For example, a humanoid character may use Luke Skywalker as a name and have the same appearance, as well as be a soldier for a revolutionary group. That group cannot exactly be the Rebel Alliance from Star Wars, however, and the character cannot be from Tatooine.

The race of your character must also not be a carbon copy from existing media. The race may look similar to one that's preexisting (for example a Wookiee, Tusken Raider, or Twi'lek), but the race's history and home planet cannot be the same, nor can the name of the race itself.

ALLOWABLE CHARACTERS


Before making/roleplaying anything, please read through ALL sections under Roleplay, NOT just these bullet points!

We especially welcome androids!

• You can easily reboot any existing character using the Dr Domo android concept. This means you won't have to deal with all the headaches Biochemical Barriers cause with interplanetary travel!

Bermuda Pyramid Galaxy natives are also highly encouraged! Feel free to design your own native alien species, too! And here is a list of some well known native options you are also welcome to make your character into or even incorporate into their backstory. Their appearances are all intentionally vague so that you can detail your character how you like (as long as they overall fit the description).

Note that original aliens you make of any variety are wonderful, though if we see an overpowered one we may ask you to make more disadvantages and limitations.

Regarding humans and any variation of them:

• While Earth is currently set in the present day for this universe, humans have been inadvertently transported to the Bermuda Pyramid Galaxy for centuries.
• This means you can play any of the following:
  • Historical humans: Those in stasis for all this time due to some kind of alien interference and are only just now waking up. (This formula will let you keep the backstory of a character from, say, a traditionally medieval setting.)
  • Modern humans: Those of today's world.
  • Descendants of humans: Those whose ancestors eventually settled one of the Terran colony worlds in the Bermuda Pyramid Galaxy and are therefore familiar with the futuristic worlds and space travel already.
• Technologically advanced humanoids: You may also choose to design your own original non-Earth origin humanoids (similar to the humanoid aliens in Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.) and develop your own unique backstories for them, their homeworlds, and cultures. These characters can look similar to humans from Earth, or have their own unique features (such as unusual skin colors, horns, etc).

Regarding characters borrowed from material of other canons: all characters must be original in terms of backstory and family connections, however players are free to incorporate various elements from existing media.


CHARACTER LIMITATIONS

This is sci-fi, not fantasy. We want it to be fun but we also want to promote creativity in ways that keep the feel we’re going for. It’s okay to handwave some of the more difficult complications that alien interaction would have for the sake of Fun, but we have to draw the line somewhere to maintain a sci-fi atmosphere.

That said, here’s our lines in the sand:









TECHNOLOGY

Badges

Every sapient creature in the galaxy has a badge that indicates that person’s skills, and can be easily updated by the wearer on the fly. It’s like a visual resume. They also have a badge reader attached to their body somewhere (or for androids, it’s programmed automatically)



The Federation mandates everyone have one to maintain order and it is enforced galaxy-wide. It also is used for monetary transactions -- credits (the currency) are transferred through badges.

Arrivals to the galaxy are always presented an ID badge -- if anyone is found without their badge and there's evidence they're not a new arrival, they can be arrested. In other words, having no badge is like driving a car without a license plate except enforced much more. Denizens are scanned regularly by the drones throughout the galaxy. After facing jail time, they will be given another badge but their biographic info is documented thoroughly. Repeat offenders get longer jail time each time progressively. Read this page if you're wanting to make a character who doesn't always wear a badge.

Dr Domo & Day-to-day tech







Other tech (not issued by Dr Domo)









CURRENCY

The standard currency issued by the Galaxy Federation is called Credits.

This money exists mostly as digital currency that characters can transfer using their identification badges, but it’s possible to obtain hard cash as well (especially if you’re planning on doing some under-the-table business).

Roughly correspond to U.S. dollars in terms of units and purchasing power. In other words, 1 credit has roughly the same purchasing power as 1 dollar.

Small shuttles cost about as much as a real life car, while medium-sized ships would take the same investment as a house. Larger ships are virtually impossible for anything but the affluent to afford, and are impractical to own unless used for a business purpose.

BIOCHEMICAL BARRIERS

Main point of consideration: Sapient aliens are not just weird humans from another country, and alien animals are not just exotic new species. So please don’t treat them that way in your design or in RP.

Take it from Tropes:
Food
Alien food is not human food, and human food is not alien food.

• Therefore, don’t have your characters share food or attempt to eat random shit on alien planets and expect to survive unscathed. How we handle what characters safely can eat is through tech. Technology section below covers the deets.
• Note that this also applies to aliens who you want to have eat humans or other aliens. There would be the same biochemical barrier applying to them, and they wouldn’t be able to safely eat them. Therefore, predators should still only prey on their own fellow planetary creatures for consumption .. but that doesn’t mean you can’t still have hunting characters!
• Androids can’t safely consume food/drink, but do need to have parts repaired / updated over time.

Disease
Diseases/pathogens simply cannot easily pass cross species.

• Even on Earth, most diseases do not ever cross species (barring livestock which are kept in close proximity over long periods of time). It takes a long time before pathogens can adapt to the physiology of another species.
• Androids can get technological viruses, but not organic ones.

Atmosphere / Radiation
Without having protective gear on when going outside stabilized environments, if you’re still an organic being.. You will probably be harmed from exposure over time, even if the planet is oxygen rich, because no planet is the same. It will have had differing OTHER atmospheric gases, radiation, gravity, and air pressure.

• Therefore, organic aliens often live segregated, though they can enter each others’ stabilized environments with protective gear.
• If aliens are entering similar environments to the ones they come from, they can probably handle it without gear, but not for a long time without being harmed.
• Androids are immune to most "normal" planetary conditions, barring any extreme ones. Characters with organic bodies native to the planet they're on will be fine.
• If your character isn't able to convey the composition of their own original planet in detail enough for Dr Domo to create protective gear, they will eventually die and have to be remade into either an android OR a newly native planet organic being.