Alien Species: Tzen
I am pretty sure one of my players submitted this race but I can not remember who. It was never used in my games.
(pronounced “Zen,”the “T” is silent.)
Physical Description
The Tzen are a race of cold-blooded reptilian bipeds, between 2-2.5m tall, with some as short as 1.75m and as tall as 3.1m. They range in weight from 90-240 kg. They are stocky, hairless, and covered in small, thick scales. Tzen have a moderate-length tail that barely reaches the ground when the Tzen stands fully upright. It is mainly used for balance.
Abil. Score mods
| Str/Sta | Dex/RS | Int/Log | Per/Ldr | |
| Warrior caste | +15 | +5 | -20 | 0 |
| Scientist caste | 0 | -20 | +20 | 0 |
| Technician Caste | 0 | -15 | +15 | 0 |
Historical Details
The Tzen evolved under the threat of a coalition of intelligent insects. They hid all signs of their intelligence from the Insects until they had acquired the necessary technology from an extinct ancient civilization known as “The first ones.” Eventually they emerged from their hiding to wage war on the Insect coalition. They eventually destroyed all of the members of the Coalition, but their home planet was made barren by Coalition forces. The majority of the race now exists in vast fleets of colony ships. More recently, the Tzen have had scattered skirmishes with the Kzin. This has made them very sensitive about the great similarity between the names of the two races.
Senses
Tzen have eyes mounted on the side of their heads with much wider field of view than that of humans. While they have a central vision area similar to that of humans, their peripheral vision extends almost 120 degrees to each side. Only 10 percent of all Tzen have color vision. They have telescopic vision, approximately 15x, but extended use produces headaches. Sense of smell is typically very dull Other senses are very close to human normal.
Speech & Lang
Native language is modulated hisses and grunts. They also communicate by telepathy.
Social structure and standards
The nuclear family as we know it does not exist with the Tzen. Tzen mate upon orders from a Selective Breeding Board. The parents then leave the eggs to communal nurseries for raising. Educational boards then channel the young into the caste they are most suited for. In most cases, the Tzen do not know, and do not desire to know, their biological parents. A Tzen holds their Case duty above all, including their life.
Attitudes
Tzen are not a deceitful or deceptive race, though they attack from surprise whenever possible. One of the basic tenets of their society is to hold the welfare of the group above that of the individual. They are warlike, but not belligerent. All of their military actions are defensive in purpose, though their favorite defense is to destroy that which threatens them.
Racial abilities
Telepathy (at least between tzen)
10 pts armor
Typical Names: Rahm, Mahz, Zur, Kor, Ahk, Ssah, Krah, Horc, Tzu
Typical Tzen weapons:
Tzen warriors are renowned for their skill with hand-to-hand weaponry. They do use fighter craft and light armored vehicles when strategically advantageous, but they prefer hand weapons when in personal combat.
Wedge Sword
A typical single-edge two-handed sword, unremarkable except for the thickness of the back of the blade.
Spring Javelin
A collapsible fin stabilized alloy javelin which instantly extends from 30cm to 2m with force equal to 75 strength. It has a hardened alloy tip allowing it moderate effectiveness against armor.
Flex-steel Whip
A series of short single-edged alloy blades, connected in a manner similar to a chainsaw chain. The links flex freely in all directions, but do not twist. A skilled user can cause horrible gaping wounds with the edge of the whip, or gently remove a person’s hat with the flat of the whip. More advanced versions are double-edged and include auto-coil mechanisms along the length of the whip.
Acid-spray belt
A defensive weapon designed primarily to counteract the pincer attacks of the giant insects of the Insect Coalition. When activated, either by manual control, or enough force on the belt itelf, it sprays a stream of concentrated acid to the front or rear.
Dueling stick
Dueling sticks are primarily ceremonial weapons, used mainly in duels between Tzen warriors. Assembled, it is merely a metal rod 40mm in diameter and 1. 5 meters in length, with a tapered point on one end. It is composed of several sections that fit into each other, allowing it to be dismantled and carried in a pouch. The segments can be assembled into many combinations. Tzen hold no special value on any one set of dueling sticks, but trying to deprive a Tzen of his pair of sticks is a severe insult.
Weighted, spiked hand armor
These are simply heavy gauntlets with reinforced and built-up areas around the knuckles and back of the fist. They are used mainly as a ready backup weapon in case of being disarmed in battle. There are, however, some warriors who choose the hand armor as a main weapon, frequently in conjunction with javelins or throwing balls.
Alter-mace
This is a standard mace with a not-so-standard twist: The rigid shaft can be made as flexible as desired at the touch of a control.
Hand burner
Personal beam weapons are a fairly recent trend with Tzen warriors. The weapons are similar to the Ke series, but have significantly more thermal effects. All sizes of lasers are produced, but pistol and SMG versions are most popular with the warriors.
Throwing balls
These simple projectiles are just steel balls, 60-1 OOmm in diameter. They are thrown with an overhand motion, like a baseball.
| TYPE, | DAM | CS | DEF | MASS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wedge sword | 30 | +2 | In | 3 |
| Spring javelin | 18AP | - | In | .5 |
| Flex-steel whip | 15 | -1 | In | 2 |
| Acid-spray belt | 30 | n/a | Sal | .5 |
| Dueling sticks | 15 | +1 | In | 1 |
| Hand armor | 10 | +1 | In | 1 |
| Alter-mace | 3 | |||
| rigid | 30 | 0 | In | |
| semi-rigid | 35 | -1 | In | |
| flexible | 40 | -2 | In | |
| Hand burner | {see above} | {see above} | {see above} | {see above} |
| Throwing balls | 15 | In | .5 |