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Just a little practice. Unfortunately, this page alone probably adds about 20% to all known droyne drawings I'm aware of, including over 30 years of official Traveller artwork >.<.
Want to get better so I can compose something a bit more interesting.
Want to get better so I can compose something a bit more interesting.
Category All / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 1025 x 1024px
File Size 161.3 kB
You know, Droyne practically 'whittle' their spaceships? Well, not out of wood perse', but its odd that a race that is known to be star travelling seems so incredibly ... unambitious.
Most colonies of Droyne encountered by any given empire are skipped over as a non-starfaring minor race. Only, when they seem to want to go somewhere, the leaders explain their needs to the technicians, who hand-craft and engineer only exactly what is needed to get from point A to B. A 1950's tech society with limited resources will overnight retool to the community's needs (as dictated by the Leader with the vision), and long abandoned jump drive tech, etc. will become available again. In a few years, a moderately low-tech, but still serviceable FTL vessel can be crafted.
'Major Race' empire scouts may return to a cataloged Droyne world and find the entire population (if it was small) missing, or a sudden explosion of tech industry and a functioning orbital starport where a simple agrarian society had been previously. These are, of course, seemingly uncommon anomalies - most of the Droyne worlds contacted will carry on as before, ignoring the outside universe as best they can - but any advanced correlation of all Droyne world contacts on record shows enough of a spike of Droyne activity to show that interstellar contact is some kind of catalyst for this otherwise stoic race.
Most colonies of Droyne encountered by any given empire are skipped over as a non-starfaring minor race. Only, when they seem to want to go somewhere, the leaders explain their needs to the technicians, who hand-craft and engineer only exactly what is needed to get from point A to B. A 1950's tech society with limited resources will overnight retool to the community's needs (as dictated by the Leader with the vision), and long abandoned jump drive tech, etc. will become available again. In a few years, a moderately low-tech, but still serviceable FTL vessel can be crafted.
'Major Race' empire scouts may return to a cataloged Droyne world and find the entire population (if it was small) missing, or a sudden explosion of tech industry and a functioning orbital starport where a simple agrarian society had been previously. These are, of course, seemingly uncommon anomalies - most of the Droyne worlds contacted will carry on as before, ignoring the outside universe as best they can - but any advanced correlation of all Droyne world contacts on record shows enough of a spike of Droyne activity to show that interstellar contact is some kind of catalyst for this otherwise stoic race.
Well, Droyne are originally from the RPG Traveller - I'm merely taking what was written before and expanding and interpreting it a bit. For a 'Major Race', there's relatively little material with 'meat' in it on the Droyne - mostly because over 50% of what's usually written on them is actually about the Ancients, who they're secretly the remnants of, over a quarter of a million years since their fall.
Its neat gaming material - but it does mean every time a new 'Droyne' supplement or article comes out, its primarily concerned with uncovering Ancients technology, swindling negotiating, or fighting the droyne for access to their worlds/technology, etc. Sadly, this tends to be about the ~only~ defining factor that gets covered in gaming materials on the race, leaving who or what the Droyne are now relatively fuzzy. Everything looks back, nothing looks toward the future with these guys - despite them being both psionic and not really being a 'dying race'.
They're usually relegated to a mcguffin, a plot device, standing in the way of the player characters rather than really being explored very well as a playable race or a very interesting one to deal with.
There are a few good reasons for this, as biologically and psychologically, they're complicated - A family unit always is of 6 different castes - only 3 or 4 of which are really viable player character choices. Everything they do is for the collective - ritual (psionically induced) suicide is expected for those that have outlasted their ability to contribute to their society, or even for those that get separated from their family with little hope of recovery. They average quite a bit smaller than humans (though their Warrior caste -can- get into the 6 foot range), and they aren't driven by the same common emotions and motives most other races in the game have.
Official (not mine, but Traveller the RPG) details follow:
Castes are Leader, Warrior and Sport (Alpha males), Workers and Technicians (Beta males or Enablers), and Drones (Females).
Leaders set the agenda, usually based on interpretations of the spiritual and teaching caste, the Drones, psionic augury (casting coynes to 'predict' the future - its about as accurate and detailed as say, using the Tarot for humans, depending on belief system). Sports are the scouts and emissaries between Droyne nations or with non-Droyne entities - Sports are also about the only caste capable of operating without their family members for long stretches at a time. Most Droyne players pick Sports for your traditional mixed race gaming party. Technicians are lower level admin to the planners, engineers, technicians etc. Workers do anything else from light clerical to heavy lifting and farming, depending on their community's needs.
Note that the caste system is biological, not merely societal, equipping the individual with all the prejudices and tolerances he needs to fit into his role. Casting occurs at adolescence and is partly guided through psionics, partly guided through divination by the Drones and once completed is irreversible.
Its neat gaming material - but it does mean every time a new 'Droyne' supplement or article comes out, its primarily concerned with uncovering Ancients technology, swindling negotiating, or fighting the droyne for access to their worlds/technology, etc. Sadly, this tends to be about the ~only~ defining factor that gets covered in gaming materials on the race, leaving who or what the Droyne are now relatively fuzzy. Everything looks back, nothing looks toward the future with these guys - despite them being both psionic and not really being a 'dying race'.
They're usually relegated to a mcguffin, a plot device, standing in the way of the player characters rather than really being explored very well as a playable race or a very interesting one to deal with.
There are a few good reasons for this, as biologically and psychologically, they're complicated - A family unit always is of 6 different castes - only 3 or 4 of which are really viable player character choices. Everything they do is for the collective - ritual (psionically induced) suicide is expected for those that have outlasted their ability to contribute to their society, or even for those that get separated from their family with little hope of recovery. They average quite a bit smaller than humans (though their Warrior caste -can- get into the 6 foot range), and they aren't driven by the same common emotions and motives most other races in the game have.
Official (not mine, but Traveller the RPG) details follow:
Castes are Leader, Warrior and Sport (Alpha males), Workers and Technicians (Beta males or Enablers), and Drones (Females).
Leaders set the agenda, usually based on interpretations of the spiritual and teaching caste, the Drones, psionic augury (casting coynes to 'predict' the future - its about as accurate and detailed as say, using the Tarot for humans, depending on belief system). Sports are the scouts and emissaries between Droyne nations or with non-Droyne entities - Sports are also about the only caste capable of operating without their family members for long stretches at a time. Most Droyne players pick Sports for your traditional mixed race gaming party. Technicians are lower level admin to the planners, engineers, technicians etc. Workers do anything else from light clerical to heavy lifting and farming, depending on their community's needs.
Note that the caste system is biological, not merely societal, equipping the individual with all the prejudices and tolerances he needs to fit into his role. Casting occurs at adolescence and is partly guided through psionics, partly guided through divination by the Drones and once completed is irreversible.
Yeah, just trying out one of their handcrafted 'whittled' starships. This one's a bit more symmetrical than what I'll try for in the future. Its streamlined, but not an aeroframe, held aloft and propelled -slowly- in an atmosphere by null-grav, hence the fins and ailerons for a modicum of maneuvering control in high winds.
*hee* Happy Droyne - something I'd like very much to explore, along with all other forms of emotion - They've always seemed so ... blank, so stoic, even when fighting, they seem emotionless - maybe from those huge black eyes with no discernible pupils o.O. Expression will have to be in the mouth and body language.
*hee* Happy Droyne - something I'd like very much to explore, along with all other forms of emotion - They've always seemed so ... blank, so stoic, even when fighting, they seem emotionless - maybe from those huge black eyes with no discernible pupils o.O. Expression will have to be in the mouth and body language.
I'm guessing that's a pinnace or something on top?
Yeah, the challenge with alien characters is making them readable without seeming like rubber-forehead humans. I like your happy expression because it's the same expression my pet lizard makes when he's happy ^^
Have you read The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle? It's one of the two books that are supposed to have inspired the Droyne. I find all the human characters detestable XD but the aliens are fascinating, and so is the technology. It's also the source of Traveller's Black Globe generators.
(The other book is Serpent's Reach by C.J. Cherryh)
(Sorry if you know all this already XD )
Yeah, the challenge with alien characters is making them readable without seeming like rubber-forehead humans. I like your happy expression because it's the same expression my pet lizard makes when he's happy ^^
Have you read The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle? It's one of the two books that are supposed to have inspired the Droyne. I find all the human characters detestable XD but the aliens are fascinating, and so is the technology. It's also the source of Traveller's Black Globe generators.
(The other book is Serpent's Reach by C.J. Cherryh)
(Sorry if you know all this already XD )
Read it, and yeah - but I didn't realize it predated Traveller - not by much *peeks* 1974 - but yeah, striking similarity in ship defenses and weaponry. Didn't realize the moties though were supposed to be Droyne O.O, but I do see the caste and stoicism - That actually -does- help characterize them a bit more - though truth be told, Moties creep me out waaaaay more than these little guys. Especially the watchmakers *Kill it! Kill it with FIRE!!*
Sequel's pretty good.
Ohgods, I haven't read Serpent's Reach and I absolutely adore Cherryh! (Been tied up in rereading Downbelow, Cyteen, and Chanur series again.) I try to make a lot of my games -feel- like the Chanur style merchanters, just plus gravity generators ... and one week waits in wibbly wobbly J-Space. Been thinking about making Jump instantaneous (or Cherryh space dream-state) from the traveller's perspective, thus making frequent star travellers fast forward in their time-line a week each jump - Makes an interesting alternative (or addition) to anagathics.
Sequel's pretty good.
Ohgods, I haven't read Serpent's Reach and I absolutely adore Cherryh! (Been tied up in rereading Downbelow, Cyteen, and Chanur series again.) I try to make a lot of my games -feel- like the Chanur style merchanters, just plus gravity generators ... and one week waits in wibbly wobbly J-Space. Been thinking about making Jump instantaneous (or Cherryh space dream-state) from the traveller's perspective, thus making frequent star travellers fast forward in their time-line a week each jump - Makes an interesting alternative (or addition) to anagathics.
I adore Cherryh too, both her fantasy and her sf - well, the older stuff anyway. I haven't followed her newer books. Downbelow Station's a favourite, so's Hunter of Worlds. Merchanter's Luck. I recently read Wave Without A Shore and it blew my mind as a portrait of an alien, human society. Serpent's Reach is like that too.
For some reason though, I've never been able to get through even the first book of Cyteen. I think it's because I just don't find Ariane a compelling character.
I don't think the Droyne are supposed to be Moties, but the inspiration is there. I really like the Moties' improvised tech, and I think that's how I'd present the Droyne. I love the idea of them constantly taking their ship apart and reconfiguring it in flight - imagine being a human passenger and not knowing what to expect! XD
For some reason though, I've never been able to get through even the first book of Cyteen. I think it's because I just don't find Ariane a compelling character.
I don't think the Droyne are supposed to be Moties, but the inspiration is there. I really like the Moties' improvised tech, and I think that's how I'd present the Droyne. I love the idea of them constantly taking their ship apart and reconfiguring it in flight - imagine being a human passenger and not knowing what to expect! XD
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