Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread

[Kage Sama]

So, one way to look at it is pyrokinesis is simply using psychokinesis to speed up the molecules/atoms of a target to the point they begin generating heat. Exciting the molecules/atoms of a target is probably a simpler task than retarding the same set of molecules/atoms to produce a cryokinetic effect. Not to say it couldn't be done, but I suspect the control required to retard movement would make it a less combat-oriented skill and also one requiring a very-talented psychokineticist.

That's more or less my thought... that it's probably easier to increase disorder in a system than it is to make it more ordered.

Which, carrying this out to its logical conclusion, would make a combat cryokineticist, (if one existed), an extremely powerful Loroi and someone you probably don't want to screw around with.

[Bamax]

So, one way to look at it is pyrokinesis is simply using psychokinesis to speed up the molecules/atoms of a target to the point they begin generating heat. Exciting the molecules/atoms of a target is probably a simpler task than retarding the same set of molecules/atoms to produce a cryokinetic effect. Not to say it couldn't be done, but I suspect the control required to retard movement would make it a less combat-oriented skill and also one requiring a very-talented psychokineticist.

That's more or less my thought... that it's probably easier to increase disorder in a system than it is to make it more ordered.

Which, carrying this out to its logical conclusion, would make a combat cryokineticist, (if one existed), an extremely powerful Loroi and someone you probably don't want to screw around with.

Generally speaking it's foolish to mess with the Loroi at all... since they are it is not obvious to an alien rather a Loroi is average or uber just by looking at them.

With humans you can at least see a muscle bound guy and realize picking a fight with them is likely not a good idea... with the Loroi their body has no corrolation with their powers so it is impossible to know.

The Umiak are an exception since they are willing to and can take heavy losses for provoking the Loroi.... but most either cannot or won't.

[kfcroc18]

What are the Loroi warship naming conventions? Like how all U.S. carriers post-ww2 are named after presidents.

[Arioch]

What are the Loroi warship naming conventions? Like how all U.S. carriers post-ww2 are named after presidents.

Most Loroi warships are mostly named after weapons or meteorological phenomena. Some are named after legendary heroes, who are themselves mostly named after weapons or meteorological phenomena.

The presidential naming convention for American carriers didn't really start until the 1970's with the Nimitz class (Nimitz himself being an admiral and not a president). Prior to that, carriers were mostly named after famous battles, especially of the Revolution. (Also, the two newest American carriers do not follow this convention, with a new Enterprise and the latest being Doris Miller, named for the Messman Second Class who shot down several Japanese aircraft during the attack on Peal Harbor.)

[Sweforce]

Does "meteorological phenomena" include weather in space such as solar storms?

[GeoModder]

Well, there's this old Halberd class battleship named "Nova Burst"...

[Arioch]

Does "meteorological phenomena" include weather in space such as solar storms?

It can, as it's not a hard rule... just that many ships will be named after pre-starflight traditional heroes, weapons or vessels. Most references to astronomical objects are those things that they could see from the ground.

Here's the current list of named vessels:

loroi ship list 2022-3-22 copy.png (70.96 KiB) Viewed 18448 times

[avatar576]

"Blind Guardian"

Inspired by the band of the same name?

[Arioch]

"Blind Guardian"

Inspired by the band of the same name?

Nope.

[gaerzi]

Curious about the color coding. Best guess is that it's assignation to fleets/groups, due to how the various ships from Strike Group 51 get to share the same color, regardless of ship class or status.

[Quickdraw101]

Because I've been pulling midnight CQ shifts the last two weeks, I've been rereading the comic and looking over various character designs and such out of boredom. I got to thinking of something when I was looking at the Tempest Bridge Layout. Since Loroi are telepathic, and only need to speak verbally to other aliens, or over communication networks, why do they have skullcaps? And why is it just Soroin who wear them?

[Arioch]

Because I've been pulling midnight CQ shifts the last two weeks, I've been rereading the comic and looking over various character designs and such out of boredom. I got to thinking of something when I was looking at the Tempest Bridge Layout. Since Loroi are telepathic, and only need to speak verbally to other aliens, or over communication networks, why do they have skullcaps? And why is it just Soroin who wear them?

Telepathy has limited range and can't be either artificially recorded or produced, so Loroi still need audio communication for a variety of tasks.

With the exception of the NAV section, all of the gallery positions are manned by Soroin. They're the generic crewmembers.

The main reason that I added the skullcaps was so that I didn't have to come up with unique hairstyles for everyone. I wasn't terribly concerned about what they were for.

[GeoModder]

Am I the first to notice there's an Umiak Strike Cruiser in this named vessels list?

[gaerzi]

Am I the first to notice there's an Umiak Strike Cruiser in this named vessels list?

I noticed when trying to puzzle out the color coding. There's also a Historian ship. And quite interestingly a colony ship. On the other hand, no human ship in that list.

[Keklas Rekobah]

@ARIOCH: Those ship classes seem to have abbreviations that follow standard American Navy ship class abbreviations.  Do they?

[Arioch]

On the other hand, no human ship in that list.

The source file is the Loroi Trade master file, which in addition to the lexicon has lists for names of characters, ships, etc. Human ships don't have Loroi Trade names.

Curious about the color coding. Best guess is that it's assignation to fleets/groups, due to how the various ships from Strike Group 51 get to share the same color, regardless of ship class or status.

SpoilerShow

ship list color key.png (5.08 KiB) Viewed 18231 times

@ARIOCH: Those ship classes seem to have abbreviations that follow standard American Navy ship class abbreviations.  Do they?

For the most part. It's just an easy shorthand to describe the general type. Though some of them are derived from Star Fleet Battles and Starfire.

[Keklas Rekobah]

@ARIOCH: From where did you obtain the blank GURPS character sheet you used for Beryl, Fireblade, and Tempo? It does not seem to be anywhere on the SJGames or Warehouse23 websites.

[Arioch]

@ARIOCH: From where did you obtain the blank GURPS character sheet you used for Beryl, Fireblade, and Tempo? It does not seem to be anywhere on the SJGames or Warehouse23 websites.

It's an excel spreadsheet that I made myself.

Here is a blank sheet: https://well-of-souls.com/temp/gurps_blank.xls

[Bamax]

I am aware that the inspiration for the Loroi is based on real life AND fiction.

Namely Master of Orion and Japanese warrior culture and Amazon warriors.

My question is regarding Loroi music. I am aware that you said that instrumental music is popular (no doubt because speaking is something they do not need to do unless at range).

There is one example in history I am familiar with in high school.... the sparta vs athens conflict. History books attest that athens was more culturalky advanced in everyway.... including musically, whereas Sparta, in no small part due to a focus on being warrriors above all else, was less culturally advanced.

By advanced perhaps I mean open to influence from other cultures. Since Athens was a known trading hub it certainly was a bastion of international culture at it's heyday.

Sparta from what I recall subsisted on tribute from nearby conquered lands and slaves.... whereas Athens had a more international reach.

In light of all this, I do not know what styles pf Loroi instrumental music are popular per caste, but I presume Loroi instrumental music likely has an emphasis on classical and dance music.

Why? Because that is what instrumental is for! You either enjoy it or you dsnce.

Likely used for ceremony as well.

[Arioch]

It is a well-worn trope that warrior societies are not as cultured as more "civilized" ones (the word "Spartan" itself has become a synonym for austerity), but warrior societies can become as obsessed with culture and the arts as more "peaceful" societies, especially in an era when there aren't any wars to fight. One only has to look at Edo Period Japan to see a clear example of this: warrior-poets spending their days in contemplation of Buddhist ideals and attending performances of Noh and dancing geisha, and master weaponsmiths turning their skills to works of pure aesthetic. Like Japan, Sparta also had an artisan middle class, and especially in the pre-Classical age Sparta produced many great works of art.

I think there is less surviving evidence of what music was like in Sparta and Athens, but it seems to have at least been an important part of preamble for battle, and the Greek epic poems like the Odyssey and Iliad were sung accompanied to music, probably similarly in all the Greek subcultures. I think this is a common element between many warrior cultures, from the singing skalds of Norse mythology to the throat-singing of the Mongols to the storytelling music of Native American songscapes.

However, the Loroi are not a "single-city species," so there is a wide variety of appreciation of different music types, the common themes being mostly martial or mythological subject matter, conservatism in styles (as opposed to styles that change every generation), and a general absence of vocals.