A General Guide to Other Species & Cultures

[Akren Garkos]

Part I : Welcome, bold traveller, to the possibilities! :

Welcome to the general guide to the species & cultures of the STARGATE universe.

With at least four (4) known galaxies, each with billions of worlds home to as many myraid & different species, cultures from all walks of life, it is no wonder that the STARGATE universe has become such a large - & sometimes confusing - place.

In addition to old favourites like the Goa'uuld, Tok'Ra, the Asgard, Tollan, Unas, & the Replicators - as well as new villans & favourites like the Wraith, the Orii & others - the STARGATE universe holds the potential for contact with many strange, new & exciting - even dangerous - species & cultures.

With favourites old & new, the STARGATE universe offers both the Player(s) & the GM (or Dungeon Master, if you are fan of old school RPG's like AD&D) alike with the oppertunity to explore & develop Characters from any number of worlds located in any of the four galaxies established from the hit T.V. series/comics/game.

Alien allies with advanced technology under seige from an near-unstoppable enemy, tyrancial Goa'uuld System Lords, primitive near-Human cultures displaced from Earth & home-grown politicans hiding in shadows weaving their own agendas all help form the back-drop for the interstellar adventure, intrigue, humoreous situations - & yes, even romances - which make up the bigger picture of the STARGATE universe & which have helped make the STARGATE franchise such a massive hit with audiences world-wide.

No other sci-fi show has been as successful in capitivating audiences world-wide, & it is a testimony & credit to the dedicated & fabulous team of writings, directors, producers & actors - & all the people behind the scences - which has seen STARGATE go from a hit movie & then a T.V. series, which has since spawned a spin off series of it's own (STARGATE : Atlantis, or SGA for short), numereous books, comics, a computer game, a board game, various 'virtual' (on-line), fan-based spin off series, SIM's & the like. Perhaps the (dare we say it) most successful sci-fi show ever, it continues to captivate & enthrall; drawing more & more fans each & every year.

Perhaps one of the best-loved features of the STARGATE franchise is it's interguing mix of action/adventure, romance, suspense & drama - coupled with memorable characters, high-profile guest appearences & qoutable qoutes - all of which form a back-drop of exploring the universe (or is it universes; now? The STARGATE franchise has grown & evolved so much from it's origins we can't keep up half the time! ) & establishing contact with other cultures; many of which are based on the ancient cultures, religions & philosophies of Earth.

Here, in the Species & Other Cultures forum of the RPG System of the STARGATE : The RPG webboard, we have attempted to bring together some of those species & cultures for the role-playing enjoyment of our members, visitors & guests.

All major species & cultures (& a few 'minor' ones) from the hit TV. series/comics/game are (to the best of our working knowledge) covered; including those by AEG in their offical errata guides) introduced in here; including (where possible) detailed analysis of each species/cultures origins, history & planet-of-origin (some species, such as the Wraith & the Orii, whom are recent additions to the STARGATE franchise, have been interrupted to the best of our working knowledge).

Feel free to browse through the myraid collection of species, cultures & near-Human species presented here; & create your Character accordingly. Note that whilst not all those cultures mention on the STARGATE franchise/offical RPG errata are not necesserily mentioned here; we do welcome any suggestion you have for new ideas regarding the RPG, as we are always looking for way to improve & enhance everyone's role-playing enjoyment here at STARGATE : The RPG.

Perhaps the biggest advantage for Players is introduction of the Near-Human species, first presented in the offical STARGATE Roleplaying Game (Core Rulebook), by AEG; which allows a Player to pick virtually any planet, any culture, & create their character accordingly.

Since many of the Humans found on other worlds throughout the galaxy are (at least in the Milkyway Galaxy) the displaced descendants of the children of old Earth; a Character could conceivably be from any culture based on any race, religion or culture from throughout Earth's myraid & long history.

Your Character might be a Near-Human from the Land of Light, a 'primitive' descendant of the ancient Minoan culture; or they may be an advanced Near-Human from Orban, the displaced descedants of the Aztec Teotihuacan civilization; or perhaps your Character is descended from an entirely different, as yet unknown species/culture of Near-Humans not yet encountered by the S.G.C.?

All these possibilities & more await in a universe as big & diverse as real life itself, where almost anything is possible & new challenges, adventures, allies - & enemies - could be waiting on the other side of the Stargate!

[Akren Garkos]

Part II : Now it's serious. . . :

Keep in mind that whilst we have endevoured to do our best to include as much information on as many species, cultures & planets-of-origin as possible in this forum; some information may be be incomplete, or not available at time of print (baring in mind that we have to work with limited &/or incomplete knowledge of newer species - such as the Wraith & the Orii - & that there are ALOT of entries on this forum!) : errors do accour, & we are, after all, only Human (well, some of us are. . . *lol*); so please bare with us (feel free to help correct us -politely of course ! - if needs be, we welcome all positive & constructive feedback ;D).

Remember, also, that as with any RPG of this nature, you are expected to have a basic understanding, & adhere to at all times, the rules we have set out here; including those in regards to webboard ettiquete & Character creation/maintainence (this is especially important when dishing out XP & other such rewards, it helps enhance your Character & makes our jobs - managing the RPG - that much easier & allows us all to get on with the more important things in the RPG : like enjoying it! ;D).

So, without further adue we would like to offer some general guidelines in regards to Character ceation & maintainence :

1. Please makre sure you double check for intial Character profile BEFORE submitting it for approval by a Staff Member (preferrably the RPG SYSM OP [Ad. Min./GM] or the 2IC). Incomplete or incorrect Character profiles shall be rejected &/or sent back to their Player/Owner for fixing & re-approval (we will state reasons why we have rejected your Character application & what may need fixing if necessary).

Once all details have been varified as correct (i.e.: they fall within the RPG rules, do not clash with other establish Characters & meet all other necessary requirements for the kind of Character you wish to create) & the Character has the seal of approval from a member of Staff; you can begin to role-play your Character in the RPG immediately.

2. Be sure to back-up your work (including STATS sheets for your Character(s), IC posts & any other important information/data you may require or need) on a regular basis (we reccomend the interact pdf Offical Character Sheet, makes things nice & easy! ;D)! This is extremely important, as it helps us all keep track of where each individual Character is in the RPG, what skills, level, equipment & abilities they may posses; & how they tie into the overall story arc of the RPG.

Ideally, this should translate into posting an update at least once a week, or every time you make any major change/update. We also ask that you do one major post per calender month, stating your Character's full current STATS (including what planet/mission they are on & any relivant information you feel is perdinant or requested by members of Staff). We have set aside sticky threads in the OOC forum (refer OOC section of the webboard) expressly for this purpose to make it eaiser on all invovled, so feel free to post your STATS there when required.

3. Don't forget that you can only have a maximum of two (2) Characters to your name (not including any NPC's you may have created as supporting cast to suppliment your Character & their story in the RPG) at any one time; both of which must be approved, & are monitored by, a member of Staff. You may only transfer a precentage of one of your Character's STATS to the other after a minimum period of three (3) months; provided you have Ad. Min. approval.

4. Bare in mind that what you see in black & white - your Character's STATS - is only a reflection of the Character you are portraying : they are not the be-all & end-all of your Character, nor are we saying they should be. Whilst they are an extremely important part of your Character & help others identify whom & what your Character is & what they do; they should not be the defining attributes of your Character. Your Character, like you, is unique; & it is the ways in which you protray him, her (or it!) IC in the RPG which makes them memorable & a pleasure to role-play. In time, with skill, practice & dedication; a Character can grow to become apart of the rich & diverse history of the RPG, which will be remembered with fond delight & fascination for years to come.

5. Remember that whilst the rules, regulations, STATS & other pencil-paper-dice kind of material associated with technical side of the RPG are in place for a reason & are somewhat necessery in how we have chosen to run this RPG; they are certainly not the first, last & only method of role-playing available to our members, visitors & guests. At the end of the day, rules & other offical nonsense aside, we are all here to have fun & enjoy ourselves : remember that!

[Akren Garkos]

Part III : How to use this forum :

All entries in this forum are printed as they appear in the offical STARGATE Roleplaying Game (Core) Rulebook & errata; from first to last, in sequential order (meaning that if one were to read through the offical STARGATE RPG [core] rulebook & assoiated errata in order, it would appear in roughly the same order as we have endevoured to show it here).

All species entries (including sub-species, specality feats/skills & other updates) are listed together where possible, to save confusion & to offer our Players a chance to review, at a glance, all the possible abilities, skills, traits, feats & skills specifically associated with a given species at any one time; with the minimum of searching or fuss (e.g.:[/i] Both the primitive Unas shown in various episodes of various seasons of SG-1, as well as the K'kaan [Near-Unas] - a new sub-species of technologically-advanced Unas first introduced in AEG's offical STARGATE errata guides - are displayed under the same thread).

All Near-Human cultures are grouped under one thread, including a basic guide to creating your own, unique Near-Human Characters (from primitive, modern-day & advanced cultures); as well as some much-beloved favourites (like the Tollan); as well as a few new ones. This has been done to save confusion & free up space on the otherwise crowded forum one finds oneself in.

Please be sure to check back here regularly for updates & new additions to this forum (as well as any forum in the RPG SYSTEM section of the webboard); as the entries will be changing on a semi-regular basis, in order to keep the species/cultural descriptions in line & up-to-date with the most current happenings of the overall RPG.