I know they are reptilians, but a "mating call" is going to far... XD
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This brings up a question. I'm going to guess there is no difference in the sound of each genders voice? Both gruff and intimidating or?
Well, its difficult to tell from alien reptiles, but if we go by earth reptile noises its either one of following:
1) they don't really make sounds 2) that noise when you empty your lungs 3) that high pitched sound geckos make 4) that thing alligators do
And yes, I just wanted an excuse to post cute reptiles
LOL...the turtle one was was disturbing!
The alligator one sounded a bit scary.
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was disappointed gecko one was just audio so here is video too
I think I have a problem. Its like watching too many cat videos. Need to sleep
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LOL...the turtle one was was disturbing!
The alligator one sounded a bit scary.
Having been to an alligator exhibit (here in SW Florida) as a elementary school kid, it is scary. If you're close enough to the bellowing gator, you can also feel the infrasound through your feet. If vesk can do it or something similar, I imagine it'd definitely feel intimidating to many humanoids.
Having been to an alligator exhibit (here in SW Florida) as a elementary school kid, it is scary. If you're close enough to the bellowing gator, you can also feel the infrasound through your feet. If vesk can do it or something similar, I imagine it'd definitely feel intimidating to many humanoids.LOL...the turtle one was was disturbing!
The alligator one sounded a bit scary.
I bet. I think it's hardwired into our nervous systems to get ready to run when you hear a big animal make noise. A lion's roar is scary I can only imagine how much more scary it would be from 20 ft away. :)
Cool vid.
I think they're pretty fun. Not the most out-there races but I have enough fond memories of the AAnn and similar races that this seems pretty fun.
I was wondering at first if they were actually the real name of the reptoids but it seems like they would scorn the sneaky subversion that reptoids seem to adopt, which makes me suspect they would both hate each other...though I suppose they could still be related. Presuming reptoids are even canonically a part of the Starfinder universe, anyways...
Vulcans vs. Romulans?
Not mentioned that I've seen so far, but perhaps they can have something like 'At Character Creation' character Feats? (in general, not just the Vesk)Heavy-Worlder: +2 STR/-2 DEX, living in a higher gravity environment has made one stronger, but not as agile?
Light-Worlder/Orbital: +2 DEX/-2 STR, living in a less than standard gravity has made one more agile, but at the cost of muscle strength?
Heavy Radiation Environment: +2 CON/-2 INT, living in a place with hard radiation and surviving has done wonders for one's durability, but at a cost of mental bandwidth?
Highly Technical Environment: +2 INT/-2 CON, living in a world with computational devices and not needing to do much in the way of physical labor has dramatically impaired one's health with the benefit of an increase to one's mental capabilities?
I like these.
Authoritarian Society: +2 WIS/-2 CHA, living under an oppressive government has helped you develop your inner intuition and streetwise, but also encouraged you to avoid opening up socially so that interacting freely with others is foreign to you.
Permissive Society: -2 WIS/+2 CHA, living in a society where emotional and artistic expression is highly encouraged leads to you being exceptionally comfortable wearing your heart on your sleeve, but this also leaves you somewhat naive and trusting to a fault.
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I... am just going to go giggle in the corner about the name.
(Vesk doesn't mean anything in Finnish, but conjugation is a thing in Finnish, "veski" is a colloquialism for bathroom, and "veska" is another for handbag. Puns will abound.)
Get this walking 'luggage' out of my way, ratboy...
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I myself am pleased with this new reptilian race. Vesk aren't mere lizardfolks and I'm sure rules will prove it.
I agree totally.
Humans, halflings, and elves are fairly similar to each other in general appearance, but no one has ever seriously called halflings 'mini-humans' or compared humans and elves as ripoffs/variants of each other--and these latter two races can even interbreed. So why should anyone be too quick to fault similar races for being too similar when that kind of thing has already happened without objection? How far does it need to go? Do all future PC races need to abandon the head/torso/two arms/two legs body plan?
It's silly to think of Vesk as lizardfolk variants, or re-skinned reptoids, or kobolds with overactive growth glands. 'Scaly' is just a descriptor that no one race has a monopoly on, any more than 'facial hair' or 'pointy ears' or 'can mate with anything'.
Have to say when I saw the new race name my mind immediately went to Vrusk. Ah the old frontiers...
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Because I couldn't help myself, I just spent a number of hours over the last couple of days looking for a compatible figure, as a Vesk WILL be my first character for Starfinder. Every repilian race I have found a mini for has a pronounced muzzle....anyone else had any luck ?? If there is nothing out there, I hope Paizo get a license with Reaper ASAP ;)
Well, we're getting official Starfinder miniatures. I'm sure the Core races will be represented. ^_^
We also getting official SF pawns; a great relief for many gaming budgets I am sure. :)
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Because I couldn't help myself, I just spent a number of hours over the last couple of days looking for a compatible figure, as a Vesk WILL be my first character for Starfinder. Every repilian race I have found a mini for has a pronounced muzzle....anyone else had any luck ?? If there is nothing out there, I hope Paizo get a license with Reaper ASAP ;)I'm sure you looked into them but the Lizardmen from Warhammer Fantasy, now Seraphon, might have something for you. The armor would be fairly primitive for Starfinder though. If you don't want to wait for official figures that is.
Get some green stuff and other sci fi models and kit bash them together, and you've got yourself a lizard man alien.
Behold, the Bug People.
The other Core race?
Lukewarm on this race. Seems too much like the Jem'Hadar.
The art is good, especially the skirt. Not too crazy about the mid-riff armour as that makes little sense to me. Otherwise well done.
Is there much difference between males and females? I'm going to assume we are looking at two males?
TerminalArtiste mentioned variants...I think that might make me more interested.
Awaiting the final race. :)
Midriff armor is how you know that it's female.
I like them. I see that a number here do not, but I like them. One reason being, that I already have minis for them. They are even already painted.
My wife was disappointed that they're tall though, she has a short lizard alien mini with a big gun that want's to play at some point.
Who says that the one with the Midriff Armor is female? Who says they have the same cultural gender denominations for apparel? For all we know the midriff baring armor is used as a taunt to weaker opponents "We are so confident, we'll even expose our vitals while fighting weaklings like you." Maybe the Mechanic is female, maybe the obvious warrior-type is male, maybe they're both male.
Point is we won't know until all the fluff hits the shelf and not just a couple of pictures.
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Lukewarm on this race. Seems too much like the Jem'Hadar.
The art is good, especially the skirt. Not too crazy about the mid-riff armour as that makes little sense to me. Otherwise well done.
Is there much difference between males and females? I'm going to assume we are looking at two males?
TerminalArtiste mentioned variants...I think that might make me more interested.
Awaiting the final race. :)
Midriff armor is how you know that it's female.
I like them. I see that a number here do not, but I like them. One reason being, that I already have minis for them. They are even already painted.
My wife was disappointed that they're tall though, she has a short lizard alien mini with a big gun that want's to play at some point.
Who says that the one with the Midriff Armor is female? Who says they have the same cultural gender denominations for apparel? For all we know the midriff baring armor is used as a taunt to weaker opponents "We are so confident, we'll even expose our vitals while fighting weaklings like you." Maybe the Mechanic is female, maybe the obvious warrior-type is male, maybe they're both male.
Point is we won't know until all the fluff hits the shelf and not just a couple of pictures.
Mechanic was confirmed to be female one few posts ago, apparently female vesk have brighter colors
Edit: Agh, you beat me to it.
Pretty sure one of the devs confirmed the one with the midriff is a male, and the more brightly colored one is a female.
Mechanic was confirmed to be female one few posts ago, apparently female vesk have brighter colorsLukewarm on this race. Seems too much like the Jem'Hadar.
The art is good, especially the skirt. Not too crazy about the mid-riff armour as that makes little sense to me. Otherwise well done.
Is there much difference between males and females? I'm going to assume we are looking at two males?
TerminalArtiste mentioned variants...I think that might make me more interested.
Awaiting the final race. :)
Midriff armor is how you know that it's female.
I like them. I see that a number here do not, but I like them. One reason being, that I already have minis for them. They are even already painted.
My wife was disappointed that they're tall though, she has a short lizard alien mini with a big gun that want's to play at some point.
Who says that the one with the Midriff Armor is female? Who says they have the same cultural gender denominations for apparel? For all we know the midriff baring armor is used as a taunt to weaker opponents "We are so confident, we'll even expose our vitals while fighting weaklings like you." Maybe the Mechanic is female, maybe the obvious warrior-type is male, maybe they're both male.
Point is we won't know until all the fluff hits the shelf and not just a couple of pictures.
Found James's post after I replied.
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Also Eviljames was joking.
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I can already see many amusing situations arising when a Vesk guesses the gender of a non-Vesk incorrectly (and possibly vice versa).
"Males... am I right, sister?"
"I'm a guy.""Wait, seriously? But you're so colorful and have a deep voice!"
"I'm wearing a salmon colored button down, it cost three hundred credits, and I'm a guy."
"But what about your voice?"
"I'm human, human males have deep voices."
"...well that's just disgusting."
"Didn't I see you eat a mouse earlier?"
"Don't mock my table manners."
If they're anything like Klingons, they'll definitely be all about practicing their Vesk t'ai-chi ch'üan.
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Why would a Vesk imagine that aliens would be just like them in terms of biology and in this case fashion? And for that matter, why is fashion in Starfinder-verse assumed to be like modern western fashion?
I can already see many amusing situations arising when a Vesk guesses the gender of a non-Vesk incorrectly (and possibly vice versa).
"Males... am I right, sister?"
"I'm a guy."
"Wait, seriously? But you're so colorful and have a deep voice!"
"I'm wearing a salmon colored button down, it cost three hundred credits, and I'm a guy."
"But what about your voice?"
"I'm human, human males have deep voices."
"...well that's just disgusting."
"Didn't I see you eat a mouse earlier?"
"Don't mock my table manners."
I don't know about Vesk, but humans do it all the time. You take a step into the sci fi genre without seeing an attractive blue skinned alien woman.
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Why would a Vesk imagine that aliens would be just like them in terms of biology and in this case fashion? And for that matter, why is fashion in Starfinder-verse assumed to be like modern western fashion?
I bet you are an absolute DE-LIGHT at parties.
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The beautiful alien woman doesn't have to be blue, they can be green, red, violet, yellow, or orange;)
I am pleased by these reptilian space-warriors.
Cliches are cliches for a reason, and I can't wait to see what these guys make of kobolds (snacks, most likely).
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I am pleased by these reptilian space-warriors.
Cliches are cliches for a reason, and I can't wait to see what these guys make of kobolds (snacks, most likely).
At this point, I see the mere existence of humans and near humans in a fantasy story despite how unlikely that is, to be a cliché in itself. So I'd say you've got a point there.
Granted, I think the reason clichés are clichés like this, is mostly because it serves as a starting point. A point, usually intended to be quickly diverged from.
From a pen and paper game design standpoint, its practical to write cliché races, because players already have a habit of taking "normal" races, and then creating characters from them that go against type. (At least when they're not intentionally building from a stats perspective.)
As for Kobolds... There's a distinct lack of mention of "operatives" in the Vesk's description; while literally every other Class was mentioned. In light of that, they may see Kobolds as good hands to leave that job in... Assuming they're not the kind to dismiss it altogether. Which I'm fairly sure they wouldn't: combat infiltration is just as valuable a part in a military society as a warrior is, and just as likely to be involved in fights as a soldier is.
I can't say the Vesk won't see Soldiers as more honourable, or superior to operatives; since their society may favour honourable combat over pragmatic combat. But we already have historical examples of "honourable warrior cultures" employing the use of spies liberally, even while looking down on them. Most notably, japan. Heck, ninjas became the royal guard at some point.
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As for my opinion on the Vesk themselves... I have no strong feelings. Kobolds were a unique take on a "reptilian race", and judging the Vesk by that standard is unfair. I also can't hold them to my own creative standards, since that would likely be unpractical (in the case of any "quadruped" races I could come up with, regardless of if its centaur like or not.)
Really, they're basically "Orcs on a Plane". Which honestly is probably a good baseline flavour for a race when your game is "Fantasy IN SPACE".
The way I see it, judging but what we see here and elsewhere
The iconics will be:
Human envoy
Vesk soldier
Ysoki mechanic
Android operative
Kasatha technomancer
Lashunta mystic
And the yet known race as a solarion
You should probably take a look at this post here and you should find out that the "yet known" race is called Shirren and that the mystic iconic is probably going to be one of this insect like creatures.
Vesk. I like it but... Needs more Krogan.
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This brings up a question. I'm going to guess there is no difference in the sound of each genders voice? Both gruff and intimidating or?Well, its difficult to tell from alien reptiles, but if we go by earth reptile noises its either one of following:
1) they don't really make sounds 2) that noise when you empty your lungs 3) that high pitched sound geckos make 4) that thing alligators do
And yes, I just wanted an excuse to post cute reptiles
Weird anecdote we have a pet turtle who is allowed to wander about the house. Normally the only noise you hear from her is a hiss if she thinks you are blundering to close to her suddenly but once in a while she hums. It is by strange and really cute to see a little turtle wandering about the living room making a very distinctive humming sound. She only does it when its really sunny and she is in an active cycle.
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Weird anecdote we have a pet turtle who is allowed to wander about the house. Normally the only noise you hear from her is a hiss if she thinks you are blundering to close to her suddenly but once in a while she hums. It is by strange and really cute to see a little turtle wandering about the living room making a very distinctive humming sound. She only does it when its really sunny and she is in an active cycle.
Funny, I also hum when it's really sunny and I'm feeling active...
"Resembling 7-foot-tall humanoid lizards with beards of spiky bone" Say no more, fam. I'm in.
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I wonder why aren't the male Vesk the gender that has the natural colorings, similar to how the males of some species like peafowl, mallards, guppies, and mandrills are more brightly colored to stand out and 'impress' the females. So that a male Vesk may 'strut his stuff' or even exaggerate his colorings as a show of intimidation against other male Vesk or to show off in front of the ladies, even if these behaviors don't impress non-Vesk or even make sense.
Having this flipped around makes the race feel more anthropocentric, and less alien.
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I wonder why aren't the male Vesk the gender that has the natural colorings, similar to how the males of some species like peafowl, mallards, guppies, and mandrills are more brightly colored to stand out and 'impress' the females. So that a male Vesk may 'strut his stuff' or even exaggerate his colorings as a show of intimidation against other male Vesk or to show off in front of the ladies, even if these behaviors don't impress non-Vesk or even make sense.
Having this flipped around makes the race feel more anthropocentric, and less alien.
I would argue the contrary; having them be more like animals on earth makes them seem less alien to me. Being alien means that they do not have to conform to what you might expect.
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I would argue the contrary; having them be more like animals on earth makes them seem less alien to me. Being alien means that they do not have to conform to what you might expect.I wonder why aren't the male Vesk the gender that has the natural colorings, similar to how the males of some species like peafowl, mallards, guppies, and mandrills are more brightly colored to stand out and 'impress' the females. So that a male Vesk may 'strut his stuff' or even exaggerate his colorings as a show of intimidation against other male Vesk or to show off in front of the ladies, even if these behaviors don't impress non-Vesk or even make sense.
Having this flipped around makes the race feel more anthropocentric, and less alien.
Okay, so let's tell a biological story:
Once upon a time, on the Vesk homeworld, there were these terribly clever lizards, the species that becomes the Vesk. They're fast and smart and strong but their eyes are terrible, they see movement and color and that's about it. Now normally this isn't much of a problem but the lizards live separately with males in one social group and females in another social group with their kids. The males are really territorial and they protect what's theirs from rival troops of males. But wait, how do you determine who is the mother of your child/potential mate and who is an interloper drinking from the streams around your land. All of those bright stripes instantly told these rival lizards that the person currently foraging for food was a female who might help you pass on some genes if you're nice to them. Bright colors got a fast pass to come and go as they pleased. Now millions of years later, the eyes have improved and the social structure has changed but lady reptiles with bright, sexy skin is still very much something that Vesk males really, really like. Some "less bright" females now use skin creams to shine up their scales.
This is an example but just one of many possible ways evolution could work this out.