Homeworld: The first of many mysteries surrounding the
Urcasian people is the location of their homeworld. A precise location has never been determined,
and only a variety of theories exist as substitutes. The frequency with which Urcasians appear
near Cardassian space has led some Starfleet personnel to assume their planet lies outside known
space, beyond Cardassian territory. Their presence in the Alpha Quadrant predates the existence
of the Bajoran Wormhole.
A more recent theory developed by Federation anthropologists is that the Urcasians
are an ancient people, long ago separated from their world. This might make them interstellar nomads,
searching for their own homeworld, or perhaps refugees from some cataclysm. Recently, Starfleet
Intelligence speculated that the existence of Urcasians in the Alpha Quadrant may be directly related
to their incredible and unquantified psionic abilities. Coupled with state-of-the-art technology, the
Urcasians might well originate from any distant location in space-time.
Home region or sovereign territory: The few Urcasians that have held lengthy conversations with
Federation representatives have referred to their people as possessing a sizeable paramilitary force.
If this force is for planetary defense or part of a larger political union is unclear. They do, at
least in part, regard themselves as explorers.
Suggested Attribute and Edge Ranges:
Fitness 2 [5]
Coordination 2 [5]
Intellect 2 [5]
Perception +1
Presence 2 [5]
Empathy +1
Psi 3 [6]
Range +1
Focus +1
Special or Unique Skills
The Urcasian mind possesses powerful psionic abilities thought to affect a broad
variety of alien species. Some of these abilities can affect matter on the cellular level. It is the
belief of Starfleet Intelligence that some of these powers are natural, and some engineered.
Size
All Urcasians encountered are believed to be adults or young adults. Each has
displayed mass within 10% of human standards.
Traits Common to The Species
Urcasians are humanoid, with brown, white, or reddish skin. Their ears are somewhat
small and sit almost flat against their skulls. Most Urcasians develop dark-colored spots across their
dorsal surfaces into adulthood. Urcasians have round eyes of a clay-like red. Although they can grow a
head of hair, most Urcasians shave their heads very close to display their skulls. Across the skull,
segments of bone grow beyond the surface tissue to form rough, ash-colored plates. Typically this
occurs at the temples and near the top of the head.
A series of oddly-textured ridges run out from the skull, beneath the flesh, on the
back of the Urcasian skull. It has been assumed that these are related to their species' unusual psionic
range, but recent studies suggest these may be some sort of artificial implant.
Some Urcasians develop a small cavity near the front of the skull, about a hand's
width above the eyebrows. The process is quite painful, but the result is harmless.
Story Notes
The Urcasians are designed as a prolonged mystery. A few possible answers are provided
below, but as a people they should not be wrapped up in a single episode. They are typically friendly,
but not forthcoming. If challenged, however, they have formidable psionic powers and modern technology
with which to defend themselves. Occassionally, a group of Urcasians may come across Starfleet or
Cardassian personnel while on one of their secret missions. If this is the case, they may attempt to
utilize the opposing crew for their own purposes, but they will not abort their mission for any price.
For information on roleplaying the Urcasians, see "Secrets for Narrators," below.
Description
It is difficult to make any confident analyses of this species. Starfleet Intelligence
regards them somewhat cautiously, following a pair of unusual encounters with Federation member races.
The motives of the Urcasians are not thought to be hostile, but they do not display much regard for other
species in relation to themselves.
A Vulcan vessel -- among the first to report an encounter with Urcasians -- suffered
the loss of crew members as a result of their encounter. The Urcasians displayed strong psychic
infiltration abilities and appeared to be interested in Vulcan psionic capabilities. Weeks after the
encounter, the Vulcan crew began behaving in strange ways. First one crewman, then two, and eventually
all hands were performing odd sensor scans, transmitting unusual messages, and displaying personality
traits more in common with Urcasians than with unfeeling Vulcans. The situation resulted in some sort
of engine accident and all but three crewmen were killed. The survivors are currently under examination
by Starfleet Intelligence.
More recently, Starfleet became aware of an officer in their own organization who is
reportedly descended from a Human and Urcasian mating. The exact context of this coupling is unclear,
but the officer is currently serving aboard the USS Churchill and has exhibited no signs of distress.
While visibly of Urcasian descent and gifted with rudimentary psi ability, he has no ties to his people
and has provided no leads to Starfleet Intelligence as yet.
It is possible that the Cardassians or Klingons have had further encounters with
the Urcasians, but no evidence of such an encounter has been presented by either government as yet.
Regarding the Urcasian Template
No template is provided for the Urcasians because they are largely unsuited as a
player character race. A character might take advantage of the Urcasian-Human compatability, however.
In this case, the character must take the "Mixed Species Heritage" advantage and be ready to supply a
good back story. The character is almost certainly going to grow up without an Urcasian parent, and
will have very little information regarding his Urcasion ancestry.
The Urcasian genes are likely to be recessive. At first.
Secrets for Narrators (Author's Notes)
What follows are the answers to some Urcasian mysteries according to the author.
These are suggestions. Take what you or your Crew will find intriguing and don't worry about the rest.
Either way, it is a good idea to sprinkle any answers out over time and leave yourself some wiggle room.
The exact limits of Urcasian Psi powers are left to the individual Narrator. What
makes an alien race threatening or mysterious in one campaign might render them gods in another. A few
psionic traits are core to their characters however. First, where they come from psionics are used in
conjunction with detailed sensor maps for navigation. Urcasian sentries posted on outpost worlds respond
to psionic messages and guide Urcasian spacecraft. If necessary, Urcasians can even steer by the planets
full of alien minds in their path.
Second, the Urcasians have a good grasp of mind-controlling psi abilities. They can
impress their mission onto other minds as a means of "putting more men on the job." This ability is
substantial. It operates as a kind of "fire and forget" psionic weapon. The Urcasians can simply activate
a psionic change, typically in the form of Urcasian behaviors (and sometimes by copying their
consciousness), within an alien mind and be on their way. In time, without intervention, that mind could
begin to function as an Urcasian mind. It may even display an Urcasian personality. This is a good
motivator for an episode where the Crew behaves strangely and gets to solve a distinctly science-fiction
mystery.
Their profound range and volume of psionic energy is designed to keep the Urcasians
from being simply torpedoed by an angry Crew. More to the point, it is meant to suggest something larger,
beyond immediate understanding. Although largely benevolent, the Urcasians should be tense, then
suspenseful, then frightening.
The Urcasians present in Federation space are an elite group of explorers, stranded
in our space-time and unsure of how to proceed. They believe they are a substantial distance in their
own past. Some day, Urcasians will travel freely through this space. Until then, these Urcasians intend
to procreate their culture and species psionically. Some will just transplant themselves into other
bodies and rewrite the cells over time. Others will enjoy the trip in an alien body. If their Urcasian
selves won't survive the 1,000 years (or whatever) between them and home, at least their minds will.
This temporal displacement (which the Urcasians are only pretty sure about) makes
them somewhat cold. Everyone they meet had been dead for centuries when the Urcasians began their
mission. What's worse, if they make too many friends, they could grow attached to their new space-time.
That means acknowledging their terrible situation and the potential that they are forever lost from
their people. In short, they are afraid.
What if your Crew discovers the Urcasians are actually 2,000 years in their future?
What has become of the ancient Urcasians? Why hasn't anyone else heard of them? Or maybe the Urcasians
are in the right time, but the wrong part of the galaxy altogether. Maybe the Urcasians already know
about the Borg or the Dominion.
Or the Urcasians could be lying completely. They might be the sole survivors of a
doomed race, eliminated by their own temporal tampering. Now they want to start over, and for that they
need two things: a planet and a population.
For some added complexity, your Crew might get their hands on the implanted technology
which accentuates Urcasian psionic abilities. The amplifiers coded into their DNA aren't really
obtainable, but the Psionic Exciters wired into their heads are. These may add +3 to the Psi rating of
someone motivated to apply one, or perhaps supply a rating of 4 in a wide array of Psi skills. If the
Cardassians got their hands on one, it could mean trouble for Starfleet. If a Starfleet crew got their
hands on one, it could generate some great shipboard tension.
In the case of the Human/Urcasian Starfleet officer: as he matures, two distinct
minds are developing within his single brain. It's only a matter of time until their goals begin to
clash. Which will dominate: his powerful Urcasian mind, or the willful spirit of his humanity?
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