Species Template:
Zalkonians
By Kurt McCoy
A highly advanced and militant
species from the fringes of Federation space, the Zalkonians were once great
explorers and travelers. Unfortunately, when their species began to evolve into
a higher form of life with enormous psionic potential, their conservative
government pulled back to the homeworld and instituted a repressive effort to
prevent this evolutionary "next step" from taking place. Zalkonians
who evidenced signs of "transfiguration" were segregated from the
general population and treated as "infected" or dangerously criminal
aberrants. The government focused increasingly on controlling the burgeoning
evolutionary crisis and became isolationist and xenophobic. Zalkonians are very
humanoid with rippled dermal layers on their cheeks and foreheads, in many ways
reminiscent of the Zakdorn, but with less stout physiques and more attractive
features.
Attributes
Fitness 3 [6]
Vitality +1
Coordination 2 [5]
Intellect 2 [6]
Logic -1
Perception +1
Presence 3 [6]
Will +2
Empathy +1
Psi 1 [6]
Focus +2
Skills
Athletics (choose any specialization) 1 (2)
Administration (choose any specialization) 1 (2)
Culture (Zalkonian) 2 (3)
Language, Zalkonian (3)
Law (Zalkonian) 1 (2)
World Knowledge (Zalkonia) 1 (2)
Typical Advantages & Disadvantages
Evolutionary Potential (Zalkonians have the potential to evolve into Pure Energy
Beings of immense psionic ability); Strong Willed; Rapid Healing; Intolerance
(-1 to outsiders, -3 to those showing signs of imminent
"transfiguration"); Arrogant
Zalkonians who are on the verge of making the evolutionary leap that their government
is so frightened of first show signs of the impending change by an increase in
their Presence, often up to the species maximum, in very little time. Psi
potential also begins to rise at a less observable pace. The evolving individual
will begin to manifest psionic skills, even without any training at all.
Receptive and Projective Empathy come first along with prodigious healing
abilities soon thereafter. Full Telepathic powers manifest as the
"Transfiguration" takes place as well as Teleportation and the ability
to directly affect energy fields. Evolved Zalkonians do not appear to possess
"Q" or Doud level abilities, but their maximum potential has yet to be
revealed.
Zalkonians to not possess a default
Skill in History (Zalkonian) because the government wants to obscure the true
nature of their evolutionary condition and wants the populace focused on the
present, on Zalkonia, rather than on past glories that may prove dangerously
stimulating. Athletics may well be used as a kind of safe cultural distraction.
Even Art may prove too dangerously provocative to be freely indulged in.
Zalkonians almost certainly live with significant levels of censorship and media
control by the government.
Author's Notes
The similarity between the Zalkonian and Zakdorn appearance, along with
linguistic similarities in their names and a general tendency toward rigid militancy
in both cultures leads me to speculate that there may be an, as yet unrevealed,
connection between the two species. In my own campaigns, I am speculating that
their relationship is similar to that between the Vulcans and the Romulans. The Zakdorn
represent a segment of Zalkonian society that broke away at some point before
the mass withdrawal back to the homeworld occurred. The Zakdorn are more
cerebral, but less physically inclined and less interested in interpersonal
skills than the parent culture. There are no signs of emergent evolution among
the Zakdorn, so they may represent a more "primitive" version of the
Zalkonian genotype. Both species possess formidable military capabilities, but,
despite their shared arrogance, neither seems to be interested in expansionism.
The Zakdorn are content to be arm-chair generals par excellence, while the
Zalkonians are obsessed with preserving their traditional culture and avoiding
outside influences which may destabilize them.
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