One of the hallmarks of space opera sci-fi, to me, is alien, non-human races. The races of Star Frontiers have always been a source of concern for me. On the one hand, I love the fact that they aren't just "humans with funny foreheads (a la Star Trek). On the other hand, many of the races are just... ugh. Yazirians - flying monkey-men? Dralasites - blobs. Ifshnits - dwarves! in! spaaace!! Humma - feisty kangaroos? Oh, you must be joking! Then it gets worse. Volturnus - we have desert-dwelling octopi (Ul-Mor), jungle monkeys (Kurubandi) and freakish crustaceans (Edestakai), all created by advanced, intelligent dinosaurs (Eorna), who also created a race of cold, intelligent robots (the cleverly named Mechanons). How about Sundown on Starmist? A freakishly aberrant race with purple skin called the Heliopes (heliope being a purplish color). Notui? Naked featherless bird-men. Sathar - psychic earthworms. Ppttthhhbbb!!!!!!!<br /><br />Why are the races of SF such reeking, steaming piles of excrement? True, it isn't easy to create interesting, imaginative alien races that aren't comparable to real-world examples. Additionally, many sci-fi movies and TV shows don't do much in the way of creating great, unique aliens either, and there are plenty of examples of silly or stupid creations out there. My own creations are perhaps a bit lackluster, but I work on culture to compensate for any failings in originality.<br /><br />I'm wondering what any one else has done (outside of the submissions in Star Frontiersman) in the way of alien races. Have you stuck to "humans with funny foreheads", anthropomorphosed animals, or adapted races from other sources? Have you created new races whole cloth? Have you revised/re-envisioned any existing races? In my own games, I have kept the four core races, although the dralasites have undergone a major revision (they are an aquatic race), and the ifshnits have been reinvented as a race called the byshinti. I've added others, and omitted some as well (there just are no humma, ul-mor, kurubandi, etc.). Please share your thoughts.
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