rgazley

Fall ’39 – Axis Turn

The Axis move first and begin with a free Offensive Option on the East Front. I take an Attrition Option in the West Front and Italy takes a Pass Option and sits tight. The US-Axis Tension table goes up from 0 to 3 (+1 for every game turn, +1 for Germans moving first, and +1 for each offensive option by an Axis major power).

I send 3 German air factors to counterair the Polish air force and destroy them for the loss of 1 air factor. Then I have an infantry and an armor unit supported by 5 air factors attack the Polish 2-3 infantry south of Warsaw across the San River. The odds are 12 to 6 or 2:1 and the roll is a 5, which on the AWAW CRT is an “d” result, meaning the defender loses half their factors (not accounting for Defensive Modifiers “DM”), so the Poles would lose 1 factor, but since they are a single unit, they are destroyed. I take the hex and then place a Breakthrough counter on it and place the other three armor units in the hex to attack Warsaw during the Exploitation Phase. The three 4-6 tanks units, supported by 12 factors of aircraft will attack the two 2-3 Poles at 24:8 or 3:1 (note that normally infantry aren’t double against exploiting armor, but they are in their capital, so they get the DM normally). The die roll is another 5, which is a “D” result, eliminating all the defenders. That ends the Polish campaign.

On the West Front, I scoot one of the 3-3 infantry down a couple of hexes to make sure they are all touching French units across the Rhine. That gives me 12 factors, so I roll on the 11-20 column of the Attrition Table with a +1 from the difference in Combat Training Levels (CTL) [in AWAW Germany starts with a CTL of 2 and everyone else starts with a CTL of 1, so I will use that and probably raise them throughout the war, starting in Spring ’42 and then again in Spring ’44, since I’m not using Research rules]. The attrition result is a 1 modified to a 2 for a result of 1C, and the French lose a Replacement unit from Lorient.

The Italians don’t really have anything to do, so they just remain in place.

Time to purchase units. Germany spends her maximum 75 BRP’s on (5) 4-6 armor, (8) Replacements, (1) 3-3 infantry, (1) 3-3 paratrooper, and (1) 5-4 air wing.

Italy buys all the ground units she has available for 18 BRP’s, (6) Replacements, (4) 2-3 infantry, and (1) 2-5 armor.

I deploy the Germans mostly on the West Front to get ready for the fight with France. Italy deploys the Replacement units on all her beaches and in Rome with the armor and two of the infantry getting shipped down to Libya to beef up the frontier with Egypt.

Next up, the Allies!

Setup and preparing to play

I have decided to play the campaign game because why not jump right into the deep end? Besides, the campaign game gives you chance to see the ebb and flow of the war in its entirety, which I think makes for a more compelling narrative.

I’ve decided to play with 5 variants for each side. I will have to just pretend that I don’t know what the Allied variants are, since I can’t think of a way to do it secretly.

Axis Variants

12 – Italians locate flaws in British harbor defenses in Med. Make a single attack on a fleet using the 28-30 column.

13 – Gain a +2 for this year only for diplomatic rolls for Iraq, Persia & Egypt.

18 – Free Russians from varied occupation policies, allows building Free Russian troops on the East Front.

19 – East Front Winter rolls are at -2 from better winter preparations.

20 – Germany gets +5 added to her BRPs & Base each turn during ’42.

Allied Variants

3 – Better French pre-war prep, all Infantry & Replacement units are available At Start and add (4) 2-3 to Allowable Builds.

6 – Successful 5 Year Plan, Russia Gets BRP base in ’40

7 – Full Anglo-French cooperation, diplomatic die roll -1 when France falls

20 – Add an American 9 factor fleet for free in Spring ’43

27 – Nazi atrocities made public US – Axis Tension +3 Spring ’41

This gives an interesting range of possibilities for me. Being able to build Free Russian troops (1 factor for every 10 Russian factors destroyed since the last build phase) could be very handy once war with Russia occurs. The free surprise attack allowed by the Italians on the Royal Navy could be very handy when festivities start in Med, as could the bonuses given to diplomatic rolls for Iraq, Persia & Egypt.

The two French variants could really be a pain. They get to deploy all their Allowable Build infantry and replacement units at start, and then get 4 extra 2-3 infantry in Allowable Builds, and the English can stack with them and provide Defensive Air Support for French units. Boo
The other variants seem like they will not be earth shaking. having an extra American fleet will probably suck for me, however.

Diplomatic Stuff

At the start of the game all the countries get there basic allotment of Diplomatic Points (DP), as follows:

Germany: 3
Italy: 2
Britain: 3
France: 2
Russia: 2
USA: 3 (but she can’t use any until the US – Axis Tension table rises to a certain level)

For 1939 I allocated the DP’s as follows:

Germany: 2 in Belgium, 1 in Egypt
Italy: 1 in Belgium, 1 in Egypt

I figure that I can cause some mischief for Britain if I can get a couple of Wafdist partisans to pop up in Egypt, and I thought I’d see if intimidating Belgium/Luxembourg might be useful. I opted against putting any DP into Poland because having them as a minor ally doesn’t seem that useful, it’s also a long shot with the small amount of DP available.

For the Allies I rolled randomly and then chose whatever country seemed most useful/realistic that was near the random result (if the actual rolled results was impractical, etc).

So the Allied allocation is as follows:
            Britain: 2 in Poland (oops, maybe I should have put some there!), 1 in Greece
            France: 1 in Iraq, 1 in Ireland
            Russia: 1 in Yugoslavia, 1 in Turkey

I know some of these choices seem useless for the Allies (Iraq, Ireland), but that is part of what makes this interesting (for me at least, hopefully any readers as well).

Ok, so the results of the pre-game diplomacy rolls are as follows.

I chose to roll for Egypt (mainly because I am not in a position to take advantage of a good result in Belgium) and get a 2 modified to a 4 for “No Effect”, I guess that the Wafdists are holding out to see how things develop.

For the Western Allies I roll for Ireland and get a 1 modified to a 0 which results in Ireland being tranquil for the rest of the war. No chance for bonuses for my U-boats later on… poop. Finally, Russia rolls for Turkey and gets a 4 modified to 3 for no effect, clearly the Turks are unimpressed.

Next up: Fall ’39 turn

Advanced Third Reich solo Campaign Game

I have recently been revisiting Avalon Hill’s Advanced Third Reich (A3R) after 25 odd years, and thought I would document a solo game. I have started it about 4 times prior to this as I relearned the rules with an older brain that evidently doesn’t absorb game rules as well as it did in my 30’s.

One of the issues even going into playing it again was the difficulty (for me) of playing solitaire. I didn’t want to deprive myself of the joy of the unexpected. There are so many things going on in the game and decisions to make, that I didn’t want it to turn into a tic-tac-to sort of “set up attack – set up perfect defense against it” that a straight playing would (probably) provide. So I decided on the unconventional decision to try and use a tarot deck to guide the strategy of the opponent side on a turn by turn basis. I have used a tarot deck previously as an aid for role playing game plot creation and NPC goals.

I decided to play the Axis since they set the tone/pace for the early part of the game. So am playing them to the best of my ability and drawing a card for England, France, Russia and when they get into the war, the USA. I don’t know how to read tarot cards so I rely on a wonderful book (again, I only use it for a creativity starter for RPG’s) called 1-2-3 Tarot: Answers in an Instant by Donald Tyson. Using this method allows me to not know what the Allies are going to do during a given turn, which makes the game turn into an entertaining narrative. I am using a couple of things from Empire of the Rising Sun, the extra variants and the rules providing the extra Diplomatic Points (DP’s) each year with no cost (one extra DP per full 100 BRP the country starts the year with). I am using the VASSAL map for playing Third Reich on the A World at War (GMT’s monster version of Third Reich) map. And finally I am using the Combat Results Table and the Attrition Table from A World at War (AWAW) which are different from straight A3R, the CRT being very different. That decision also led me to borrow the idea of Combat Training Levels (CTR) from AWAW, which modify attrition results and allow follow up attacks if the first doesn’t succeed (I will elaborate as this goes forward). What I am not using are the research rules, which look cool, but look like they will add a ton of paperwork to my game… maybe at a later date I’ll try them out.

Triple the Fun!

I am a big fan of the article The Last Gasp by Douglas Cole which expands the rules for fatigue and adds the concept of Action Points to provide action with a sort of ebb & flow. Theoretically, I really like the concept of Action Points, however, in reality, I found them to be a bit too “fiddly”. The one game that I used them in found the players managing them in what felt was an unrealistic way. They were trying to avoid an enormous cave lion that was running towards them, and they were counting hexes so they wouldn’t have to run fast enough to risk losing a Fatigue point, rather than risk their characters being out of breath when they reached safety. Now I realize that isn’t a particularly strenuous test case, but it left me somewhat dissatisfied with Action Points.

So came up with what seems like a workable and easy to use (if somewhat gamey) alternative. Whenever you roll triples in combat or a stressful non-combat situation, there is a chance you will accumulate a Fatigue Point.

Physical (includes psionics) rolls:

3 = No Fatigue lost, on a successful HT (modified for Fatigue) roll you regain a FP.

6, 9, 12, 15 = If roll succeeded then make a HT roll (modified for Fatigue), on a successful HT roll no FP are lost. On a failed HT roll you must spend 1d rounds taking either Do Nothing, Evaluate or Wait actions; or you lose 1 FP.
If the original roll was a failure you must spend 1d rounds taking either Do Nothing, Evaluate or Wait actions; or you lose a FP.

18 = You automatically lose 1 FP and make a HT roll (modified for Fatigue), on a successful HT roll no extra FP are lost. On a failed HT roll you must spend 1d rounds taking either Do Nothing, Evaluate or Wait actions; or you lose a extra FP.

Non-Physical rolls:

3 = No Fatigue lost, on a successful HT (modified for Fatigue) roll you regain a FP.

6, 9, 12, 15 = If roll succeeded then there is no effect. If the original roll was a failure you must spend 1d rounds taking either Do Nothing, Evaluate or Wait actions if in combat rounds, or 1d minutes resting if not in combat rounds; or you lose 1 FP.

Why I like low-powered games

I wanted to take a few moments to try and explain why I enjoy lower-point campaigns. Perhaps that is the wrong way to start. What I actually enjoy are campaigns where real-world style threats are actually threatening, like a pistol, or even a knife. I like stat “normalization” with a cap of around 13 to 14, because characters with more realistic-feeling attributes seem easier for players to get into, more so in modern day era settings. I want the players to feel like they can’t take any encounter for granted, and they have to use smart tactics and planning to get the upper hand on the bad guys. Now, to some extent I have to create bad guys that are somewhat on par with the PC’s (my dimension hopping campaign has an average point value of 120 with 30 points in disads (not counting lower than average attributes) and 5 Quirks). But on par doesn’t necessarily mean that all the NPC’s are equal to the PC’s, there are plenty of powerful bad guys, but the players know this (usually) and plan accordingly. Either ambushing the baddies, or negotiating if possible, finding an ally, or just coming up with a clever plan. Having characters that are grounded in what feel like realistic skill levels and attributes gives them a real sense of accomplishment when they do get the better of a serious bad guy.

Many great TV shows feature pretty normal folks dealing with a variety of RPG style adventures. Examples include Lost, Deadwood, Sons of Anarchy or Rome. All of those rely on [clever scriptwriters] the characters working hard to overcome various obstacles. None involve the protagonists wading into a firefight with a pistol skill of 25+ and a massive Dodge from their DX & HT of 18 and taking aimed shots at the eyes. The characters in these shows never seem optimized, or “efficient”, and they seem more believable and sympathetic as a result.

Domibian Races 9f: Sperm Whales

The K’t’so are a group of six different species that were all created by the same god. The name is a human-pronouncable version of “” which is difficult for human mouths to reproduce. The six different species are Bottlenose Dolphins, River Dolphin, Narwhals, Beluga Whales, Orcas, and Sperm Whales. These are the only marine mammals on Domibia (except for unintelligent seals and otters) and they all are of human level intellect.

The K’t’so spend their lives much as their Earth counterparts do, swimming, eating, mating and avoiding predators. but they also have a fairly rich history of oral literature. The stories are rather odd to human(oid) ears and seem rather alien. The smaller K’t’so (the two dolphin species) interact regularly with humans and will form alliances with some maritime cultures. These alliances usually consist of food sharing arrangements, “we help you catch a bunch of fish in your nets and you dump a bunch overboard afterwards for us to eat without chasing”. They tend to have good relations with the Klombasi and often will provide them with information they have collected from fishermen and sailors.

Unlike on Earth, nobody eats the K’t’so or uses their oil for lamps (at least no more than humans are eaten).

Each of the six species have their own spawning grounds in different parts of the world, and while they range all over, they do return home to give birth and raise the children to a safe age for travel.

SAFUG stats

The Sperm Whales average about 93,500 lbs and are 56′ long (females are 31,100 lbs and 43′ long). The have a Strength of 118 (females a 79) and a Health of 11. Their Dexterity is a fixed 3 (due to having no hands) they have an intellegence of 11 and they have an Education of 4.

I’m going to keep the ST attributes at 118 and 79, with the males getting SM +6 and the females +5. The Health of 11 seems unneccessary, so I will give them the default HT of 10. They should get the +1 IQ, DX is going to be 10 (with No Fine Manipulators) and finally they will have the usual Illiterate & Social Stigma: Uneducated to represent a cultural lack of formal schooling.

There are quite a few Advantages and I tried to make them real-world based, so they aren’t “optimized” and occasionally have non-canonical values.

The Sperm Whales are fairly reclusive and don’t socialize too much with the smaller subspecies.

K’t’so (Sperm Whale) male [270 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +108 [*216], IQ +1 [20]
(* -80% for SM+6 and No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Advantages: Breath Holding 6 (length x64) {leisurely dive ≈ 47 min} [12]
Damage Resistance 4 (Can’t Wear Armor, Tough Skin) [4]
Enhanced Move 1.5: Water x3 (average Move 9 with “sprints” up to 11 (22 mph)) [30]
Pressure Support 3 (10,500 feet) [15]
Racial Skill: Breath Control (HLT +0) [4]
Scanning Sense (Sonar) [20]
Sharp Teeth [1]
Striker: Tail (crushing) Cannot parry, Clumsy-1 [2] sperm-whale

Disadvantages: Basic Move -2 [-10]
Congenial [-1]
Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: SM +6.

*********************************************
K’t’so (Sperm Whale) female [192 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +69 [*138], IQ +1 [20]
(* -80% for SM+5 and No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Disadvantages: Basic Move -2 [-10]
Congenial [-1]
Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: SM +5

Italicized disadvantages are cultural or just common rather than racial, so they may not be universal.

What do I do with them?

The K’t’so aren’t a major force in the world, they just kind of go about their lives. But occasionally they can be helpful if you can find something that they want (magic most likely). They can assist survivors from wrecked ships, help locate wrecked ships and possibly assist in recovering loot from the wreckage and act as scouts for humans that they are friendly with.
The Sperm Whales travel all around but try and keep to themselves. They are sometimes sought out by other K’t’so as they have a reputation for wisdom.

Other Racial Write-Ups

#9f Sperm Whales
#9e K’t’so Orcas
#9d K’t’so Beluga
#9c K’t’so Narwhals
#9b K’t’so River Dolphins
#9a K’t’so Bottlenose Dolphins
#8 Idshus
#7 ZHEE!
#6 Zarugiza
#5 Vormade
#4 The Ready
#3 M’rrr
#2 Spawn of Enegala
#1a Feral Arajay
#1 Arajay

Domibian Races 9e: K’t’so Orca

Unlike on Earth, nobody eats the K’t’so or uses their oil for lamps (at least no more than humans are eaten).

SAFUG stats

The Orca average about 14,450 lbs and are 25′ long (females are 7500 lbs and 21′ long). The have a Strength of 58 (females a 45) and a Health of 11. Their Dexterity is a fixed 3 (due to having no hands) and they have an Education of 4.

I’m going to keep the ST attributes at 58 and 45, with the males getting SM +4 and the females +3. The Health of 11 seems unneccessary, so I will give them the default HT of 10. DX is going to be 10 (with No Fine Manipulators) and finally they will have the usual Illiterate & Social Stigma: Uneducated to represent a cultural lack of formal schooling.

There are quite a few Advantages and I tried to make them real-world based, so they aren’t “optimized” and occasionally have non-canonical values.

The Orca are more aggressive than the other subspecies and they are usually the ones called on if fighting is needed. Most humans think carefully before harming any K’t’so for fear of the wrath of a pod of Orcas.

K’t’so (Orca) male [126 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +48 [*96]
(* -80% for SM+4 and No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Advantages: Breath Holding 3 (length x8) {leisurely dive ≈ 6 min} [6]
Damage Resistance 3 (Can’t Wear Armor, Tough Skin) [3]
Enhanced Move 1.5: Water x3 (average Move 15 with “sprints” up to 18 (37 mph)) [30]
Pressure Support 1.5* (900 feet) [8] *non-canonical
Racial Skill: Breath Control (HLT +0) [4]
Scanning Sense (Sonar) [20]
Sharp Teeth [1]
Striker: Tail (crushing) Cannot parry, Clumsy-1 [2]

Disadvantages: Congenial [-1]
Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: SM +4.

*********************************************
K’t’so (Orca) female [135 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +35 [*105]
(* -70% for SM+3 and No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Disadvantages: Congenial [-1]
Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: SM +3

Italicized disadvantages are cultural or just common rather than racial, so they may not be universal.

What do I do with them?

The K’t’so aren’t a major force in the world, they just kind of go about their lives. But occasionally they can be helpful if you can find something that they want (magic most likely). They can assist survivors from wrecked ships, help locate wrecked ships and possibly assist in recovering loot from the wreckage and act as scouts for humans that they are friendly with.
The Orcas travel all around and are very gregarious. As I stated previously they are used as sort of the enforcement arm of the K’t’so culture.

Other Racial Write-Ups

#9e K’t’so Orcas
#9d K’t’so Beluga
#9c K’t’so Narwhals
#9b K’t’so River Dolphins
#9a K’t’so Bottlenose Dolphins
#8 Idshus
#7 ZHEE!
#6 Zarugiza
#5 Vormade
#4 The Ready
#3 M’rrr
#2 Spawn of Enegala
#1a Feral Arajay
#1 Arajay

Domibian Races #9d: K’t’so Beluga

Unlike on Earth, nobody eats the K’t’so or uses their oil for lamps (at least no more than humans are eaten).

SAFUG stats

The Beluga average about 3300 lbs and are 13′5″ long (females are 2975 lbs and 12′ long). The have a Strength of 33 (females a 32) and a Health of 11. Their Dexterity is a fixed 3 (due to having no hands) and they have an Education of 4.

I’m going to keep the ST attributes at 33 and 32, with both getting SM +2. The Health of 11 seems unneccessary, so I will give them the default HT of 10. DX is going to be 10 (with No Fine Manipulators) and finally they will have the usual Illiterate & Social Stigma: Uneducated to represent a cultural lack of formal schooling. They swim slower than the other K’t’so and so have a -2 to Basic Move (offset somewhat by Enhanced Move)

There are quite a few Advantages and I tried to make them real-world based, so they aren’t “optimized” and occasionally have non-canonical values.

The Beluga tend to be more spiritual than the other K’t’so and are more often either Blessed or have Divine Favor than the other subspecies.

K’t’so (Beluga) male [96 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +23 [*92]
(* -60% for SM+2 and No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Advantages:
Breath Holding 4 (length x16) {leisurely dive ≈ 12 min} [8]
Damage Resistance 3 (Can’t Wear Armor, Tough Skin) [3]
Enhanced Move 1/2: Water x1.5 (average Move 5 with “sprints” up to 6 (13 mph)) [10]
Pressure Support 2 (2150 feet) [10]
Racial Skill: Breath Control (HLT +0) [4]
Scanning Sense (Sonar) [20]
Sharp Teeth [1]
Striker: Tail (crushing) Cannot parry, Clumsy-1 [2]

Disadvantages: Congenial [-1]
Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Basic Move -2 [-10]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: SM +2.

*********************************************
K’t’so (Beluga) female [92 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +22 [*88]
(* -60% for SM+2 and No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Advantages: Breath Holding 4 (length x16) {leisurely dive ≈ 12 min} [8]
Damage Resistance 3 (Can’t Wear Armor, Tough Skin) [3]
Enhanced Move 1/2: Water x1.5 (average Move 5 with “sprints” up to 6 (13 mph)) [10]
Pressure Support 2 (2150 feet) [10]
Racial Skill: Breath Control (HLT +0) [4]
Scanning Sense (Sonar) [20]
Sharp Teeth [1]
Striker: Tail (crushing) Cannot parry, Clumsy-1 [2]

Disadvantages: Congenial [-1]
Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Basic Move -2 [-10]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: SM +2

Italicized disadvantages are cultural or just common rather than racial, so they may not be universal.

What do I do with them?

The K’t’so aren’t a major force in the world, they just kind of go about their lives. But occasionally they can be helpful if you can find something that they want (magic most likely). They can assist survivors from wrecked ships, help locate wrecked ships and possibly assist in recovering loot from the wreckage and act as scouts for humans that they are friendly with.
The Narwhals keep to themselves mostly and stay in the colder northern waters.

Other Racial Write-Ups

#9d K’t’so Beluga
#9c K’t’so Narwhals
#9b K’t’so River Dolphins
#9a K’t’so Bottlenose Dolphins
#8 Idshus
#7 ZHEE!
#6 Zarugiza
#5 Vormade
#4 The Ready
#3 M’rrr
#2 Spawn of Enegala
#1a Feral Arajay
#1 Arajay

Domibian Races #9c: Narwhals

Unlike on Earth, nobody eats the K’t’so or uses their oil for lamps (at least no more than humans are eaten).

SAFUG stats

The Narwhals average about 3525 lbs and are 15′5″ long (females are 1985 lbs and 13′1″ long). The have a Strength of 33 (females a 28) and a Health of 11. Their Dexterity is a fixed 3 (due to having no hands) and they have an Education of 4.

I’m going to keep the ST attributes at 33 and 28, with both getting SM +2. The Health of 11 seems unneccessary, so I will give them the default HT of 10. DX is going to be 10 (with No Fine Manipulators) and finally they will have the usual Illiterate & Social Stigma: Uneducated to represent a cultural lack of formal schooling.

There are quite a few Advantages and I tried to make them real-world based, so they aren’t “optimized” and occasionally have non-canonical values. The Narwhals rarely interact with humans and tend to avoid them when possible. They live in colder waters near the northern polar area. The tusk is actually a tooth, so they are somewhat hesitant about trying to lance things with it (also, while all males have a tusk, 15% of females have one as well).

K’t’so (Narwhal) male [127 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +23 [*92]
(* -60% for SM+2 and No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Advantages:
Breath Holding 4.5* (length x24) {leisurely dive ≈ 24 min} [9] *non-canonical
Damage Resistance 3 (Can’t Wear Armor, Tough Skin) [3]
Enhanced Move 1/2: Water x1.5 (average Move 7.5 with “sprints” up to 9 (18 mph)) [10]
Pressure Support 2.5* (4500 feet) [13] *non-canonical
Racial Skill: Breath Control (HLT +0) [4]
Scanning Sense (Sonar) [20]
Striker: Tusk; Impaling, cannot parry, long (+2 SM for reach only) [17]
Striker: Tail (crushing) Cannot parry, Clumsy-1 [2]

Disadvantages: Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: SM +2.

*********************************************
K’t’so (Narwhal) female [90 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +18 [*72]
(* -60% for SM+2 and No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Disadvantages: Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: SM +2

Italicized disadvantages are cultural or just common rather than racial, so they may not be universal.

What do I do with them?

The K’t’so aren’t a major force in the world, they just kind of go about their lives. But occasionally they can be helpful if you can find something that they want (magic most likely). They can assist survivors from wrecked ships, help locate wrecked ships and possibly assist in recovering loot from the wreckage and act as scouts for humans that they are friendly with.
The Narwhals keep to themselves mostly and stay in the colder northern waters.

Other Racial Write-Ups

#9c: K’t’so Narwhals
#9b K’t’so River Dolphins
#9a K’t’so Bottlenose Dolphins
#8 Idshus
#7 ZHEE!
#6 Zarugiza
#5 Vormade
#4 The Ready
#3 M’rrr
#2 Spawn of Enegala
#1a Feral Arajay
#1 Arajay

Domibian Races 9b: K’t’so River Dolphin

Unlike on Earth, nobody eats the K’t’so or uses their oil for lamps (at least no more than humans are eaten).

SAFUG stats

The River Dolphins average about 350 lbs and are 7′7″ long (females are 450 lbs and 8′2″ long). The have a Strength of 15 (females a 16) and a Health of 11. Their Dexterity is a fixed 3 (due to having no hands) and they have an Education of 4.

I’m going to keep the ST attributes at 15 and 16, with both getting SM +1. The Health of 11 seems unneccessary, so I will give them the default HT of 10. DX is going to be 10 (with No Fine Manipulators) and finally they will have the usual Illiterate & Social Stigma: Uneducated to represent a cultural lack of formal schooling.

There are quite a few Advantages and I tried to make them real-world based, so they aren’t “optimized”. Unlike the Bottlenose Dolphins the River Dolphins live mostly in a fairly shallow ocean called The Smoking Sea due to its volcanic activity. Because they live in more shallow waters they don’t have the same ability to hold their breath for long dives. They also do a lot of hunting in rivers where visibility is limited. Because of this they have keener sonar sense that the other K’t’so. They also can live comfortably in much hotter waters than the other subspecies.

K’t’so (River Dolphin) male [38 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +5 [*25]
(* -50% for SM+1 and No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Advantages:
Acute Sense: Sonar +2 [4]
Enhanced Move 1: Water x2 (average Move 10 with “sprints” up to 12 (24 mph)) [20]
Pressure Support 1/2 * (130 feet) [3] *non-canonical
Racial Skill: Breath Control (HLT +0) [4]
Scanning Sense (Sonar) [20]
Sharp Teeth [1]
Striker: Tail (crushing) Cannot parry, Clumsy-1 [2]
Temperature Tolerance 2 (can be comfortable in water from 20° up to 95°) [2]

Disadvantages: Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: SM +1.

*********************************************
K’t’so (River Dolphin) female [43 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +6 [*30]
(* -50% for SM+1 and No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Advantages:
Acute Sense: Sonar +2 [4]
Enhanced Move 1: Water x2 (average Move 10 with “sprints” up to 12 (24 mph)) [20]
Pressure Support 1/2* (130 feet) [3] *non-canonical
Racial Skill: Breath Control (HLT +0) [4]
Scanning Sense (Sonar) [20]
Sharp Teeth [1]
Striker: Tail (crushing) Cannot parry, Clumsy-1 [2]
Temperature Tolerance 2 (can be comfortable in water from 20° up to 95°) [2]

Disadvantages: Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: SM +1

Italicized disadvantages are cultural or just common rather than racial, so they may not be universal.

What do I do with them?

The K’t’so aren’t a major force in the world, they just kind of go about their lives. But occasionally they can be helpful if you can find something that they want (magic most likely). They can assist survivors from wrecked ships, help locate wrecked ships and possibly assist in recovering loot from the wreckage and act as scouts for humans that they are friendly with.
The River Dolphins have more contact with humans that the other K’t’so because they live in fairly shallow coastal waters. They are likely to be on speaking terms with all the friendly humans who travel through the Smoking Sea.

Other Racial Write-Ups

#9b K’t’so River Dolphins
#9a K’t’so Bottlenose Dolphins
#8 Idshus
#7 ZHEE!
#6 Zarugiza
#5 Vormade
#4 The Ready
#3 M’rrr
#2 Spawn of Enegala
#1a Feral Arajay
#1 Arajay