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Time Lord Game Additions

By Justin Reynolds

CHELONIANS

The Chelonians are a vicious, acquisitive race of hermaphrodite reptiles. Despite being herbivores, they have absolutely no regard for other life forms. Even other intelligent beings are considered to be nothing more than parasites infesting potential Chelonian feeding grounds. However, a small minority of Chelonians are more enlightened - the Respect for Life Brigade. This group believes that alien intelligences are the equals of the Chelonians, and encourages more peaceful activities such as flower arranging. Unfortunately they are very few and have no real power. Chelonian society is controlled by the expansionist, bureaucratic military.

Unlike most technologically advanced species, the Chelonians are quadrupeds. They have longer limbs and more dexterous digits, but otherwise resemble giant tortoises remarkably closely. Their bodies are protected by tough, horny shells, with rank insignia painted on in red. Their dark green skins are wrinkled and scaly. All Chelonians have a variety of cybernetic implants. These enable them to move rapidly for long distances without tiring, and increase their strength. Various drugs can be released into their bodies at will, to alleviate pain or increase alertness.

Although the Chelonians have an advanced technology, they lack imagination and creativity. Their lives are essentially simple; just feeding, breeding and wiping out anything that stands in the way of the glorious Chelonian Empire. The growth of their empire is the prime goal of the Chelonians, and hence fertility is extremely important to them. Pregnancy during war is looked on very favourably. Chelonians lay a large number of eggs in each brood cycle. Their wars are mainly to acquire new feeding grounds for their ever growing population.

Weapons
Chelonians usually fight their battles with large tanks, equipped with devastating weapons. When forced to leave their vehicles they use footguns, disintegrators which emit pink energy bolts inflicting 6 Wounds. They have never seen any point in having stun settings. A footgun can be set to overload, and thrown as a grenade which inflicts 8 Wounds in the primary zone.

Armour
Body Armour 6. The tough, horny shell of a Chelonian provides most of its body with Armour 6. Unlike its testudinal ancestors, it is unable to withdraw completely into the shell's protection. The exposed limbs are unarmored, and present Size 6 targets.

Weaknesses
Chelonians are heavily reliant on their cybernetic implants; if these devices can be disabled in some way, they are helpless. Aside from that, they have no particular physical weaknesses, but their personalities have some rather serious flaws. Chelonians regard almost all other life forms as barely sentient parasites. As a result, they can seriously underestimate their opponents, and are very reluctant to consider the possibility that any alien could be of use to them. Also, they have a great deal of trouble coping with anything out of the ordinary. They are virtually incapable of innovation or unpredictability. No matter what the situation, they always react by attempting to destroy their enemies. The only reason they have been so successful is their advanced military technology.

[Chelonian Game Sheet]

THE MARA

The Mara is a powerful entity of great evil. It does not have a true physical form, though it is capable of creating a body when doing so suits its purposes. Instead, it inhabits the Dark Places of the Inside, an alternate dimension in which only thought exists. There is no direct link between our universe and the Mara's dimension, but occasionally a path is opened. This usually happens through dreams. In particular, if an individual sleeps in a place specially designed for telepaths to share dreams, the unconscious mind is likely to wander far further than is safe. This is what happened many times on Deva Loka. When it actually enters our world corporeally, it takes the form of a huge snake.

The nature of the Mara is uncertain. It often takes on several forms simultaneously while in its own realm, and it is able to control the bodies of more than one person at a time in our world. However, it is not known whether it is actually a gestalt of several minds, a single entity trying to disconcert its victims, or simply insane. But if it does have multiple personalities, they all share an overwhelming desire to cause pain, suffering and destruction. All its actions are directed towards this goal.

It is believed that the Mara originated on the planet Manussa. The Manussans were once a highly advanced race, but their investigations into the powers of the mind lead to disaster. They created the Great Crystal, which was capable of transforming mental energy into matter. Unfortunately, it did not work as expected. Only the evil in their minds was absorbed, and given substance in the form of the Mara. Whether the Great Crystal actually created the Mara or just allowed it to enter this universe is unknown. Either way, the Manussan civilization was destroyed and a reign of cruelty and terror began. The Sumaran Empire lasted for 300 years before the Federation destroyed the Mara's body, banishing it back to the Dark Places of the Inside.

Weapons
The snake form of the Mara can lash out with its tail for 3 Wounds, and its bite inflicts 7 Wounds. However, the main weapon of the Mara is its ability to affect the mind. It is at its strongest in the realm of dreams. Very few people are capable of resisting the Mara's control within a dream. The dreamer will find himself trapped in an infinite black void, with only the illusions of the Mara for company. If the dreamer doesn't agree to let the Mara take his body, the Mara's torments will eventually drive him to insanity and death.

If the Mara gains control of someone's body, a snake design appears on their arm - the mark of the Mara. The level of control the Mara exerts varies. If possible, it just provides subconscious suggestions to accomplish its desires, but if the victim is uncooperative it can suppress the original personality altogether. It is often difficult to tell who is in control, as the Mara can convincingly imitate the voice and mannerisms of its host.

The gaze of the Mara can hypnotise almost any number of people, when it exists in our world. When working through a human host, only one person can be hypnotised at a time. The effect of the hypnotism is limited - it only prevents people from acting, and does not give the Mara much control. If the Mara or one of its hosts is touching the victim, a successful hypnotism allows the Mara to take over the person completely. The Mara can communicate telepathically, though it does not often choose to do so.

Armour
The scales of the Mara provide it with Full Armour 9, and killing its physical form will not destroy the entity.

Weaknesses
The Mara is extremely arrogant. It will seldom even contemplate the possibility of losing, which is an advantage to its enemies. Unfortunately, it will always seek to destroy them anyway out of sheer spite, even if it doesn't take them seriously as a threat.

As the Mara does not usually exist in our universe, it is forced to work by influencing peoples' minds. The slaves of the Mara do not gain any special physical powers, and in some cases the control can be blocked.

[Mara Game Sheet]

This item appeared in TSV 36 (November 1993).

Index nodes: Time Lord Additions, The Highest Science, Kinda, Snakedance