"New tactical solutions for alien platoon" Topic

I wish alien races army was truly alien.
Do every alien squad has to have NCO, SAW, grenadier and rifleman?
Do every alien platoon has to have medic, ECW operator and two officers?

It is cool to have some diversity both for figures and tactical solutions. Platoon structure is a result of tactics, which is a result of technology, culture and physiology of alien races. Perfect example are Predators.

Usually every "special" soldier has to be as effective in game terms as rifleman, but in different way, to avoid blah syndrome.

Some ideas, with historical examples:

1a. Squad forcefield bearer
They are weak, without any natural armour, due to physiology/culture cannot use artificial body armour. However one member of every squad is designated as forcefield bearer (wearing forcefield emitter, say similar to big umbrella). Tactically such umbrella serves as movable soft cover. Till sniper will shot such force field bearer.
Star Wars 1 Gungans have bigger versions.

1b. Shield bearer
Weaker version of above. Carry shield similar to used by police, but bigger, covering whole squad from one direction (remember "Lιon").

2a. Squad teleport bearer
Allows for jumping allover the battlefield in light of sight.

2b. Platoon gate bearers
Weaker version of above: in every squad there is a member whose only function is to carry and operate gate creating equipment. Two squad can open the temporary gate to move other members of squad around the battlefield, also into buildings. Enemy ECM may kill transfered soldiers.

3. Tactical Nuke Bearers.
Yes, those guy carry around tactical mininuke, and will not hesitate to use it, when their squad will be decimated.

4. Target markers.
Those members have special equipment (launchers of homing nanodevices) to mark targets, thus allowing for more precise barrage.

5. Political comissars/shamans
They may help improve morale, till they day, sometimes of hand of other squadmembers.

6. Storyteller/war correspondent/Al Jazeera cameraman
If such guy survive game, he double VPs gained in his line of sight.

7. Extra unequipped recruits
Serves as HitPoints/RedShirts for whole squad – they do not shoot, but absorb hits (take up weapons). Underindustrialized overpopulated alien race.
Remember "Enemy at the Gates" recruits sent to battle armed with five bullets (please leave aside, it is debatable if it was historically truth)?

8. Trophy bearers
They are acquiring and carrying body of fallen enemies for intelligence/xenophagia cult reasons/taxidermist. May acquire body of civilians.
Remember Aliens/Predators?

Have You got any ideas for our beloved sculptors?

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One example of my idea, it was proposed by me to Marcin from Oddzial Osmy as official rules for SpaceWorms, but he never officialy approved it:

FUBAR 15mm – Oddział Σsmy's Space Worms
This supplement to the FUBAR game system provides stats and options for Oddział Σsmy Space Worms. Important: As usually, when playing FUBAR at 15mm, infantry movement distances are adjusted as follows:
• Walk – 4"
• Duck & Weave or Assault – 6"
• Run – 8"
• Go to Ground – 2"
Vehicle movement and weapon ranges are unaffected.

Space Worms special rules:
• Nimble, tight and swift – Ignore intervening terrain during Walk, Duck & Weave or Assault.

• Run (in reality Roll by creating big hank or wheel with SpaceWorms' bodies) – 8", as normal.

• Little crawlers – Space Worms infantry count as being in Soft Cover at all times, with exception of Run (Roll).

• Penetrate – If at the start of Activation Unit is adjacent to non-military non-energetic wall, Unit may try to pass their Expertise to penetrate on the other side of the wall (by pressing through little vents, shafts, canals, making living ladder and rope, digging under wall etc).

• Short range telepathy of Collective Intelligence (Hive Mind) – Single SpaceWorm is unisexual, unintelligent, insentient (Leadership Value=4!) animal, which gains self-conscience and intelligence by short-range electromagnetic telepathy with other SpaceWorms. Gnothi seauton, by looking at yourself with other eyes. The more numerous swarm is, the more intelligent it is. SpaceWorms may manipulate and repair objects with their tails and tongues, the more the better, working in telepathic harmony.
Quantity of SpaceWorms in Unit dictates Activation, Expertise, as well as possible choices of Activation. There is no possibility to describe SpaceWorms squads in terms of "Levels".

SpaceWorms cannot have Independent Figures, Leaders nor Special Characters. Every SpaceWorm may replace another one, f.ex. lost member of Vehicle Crew may be replaced with Grunt (telepathically learning on-the-fly) by Regroup Action of Vehicle Crew. Yep, snipers will not help much against SpaceWorms. Since SpaceWorms do not have any Leaders, Activation and Expertise depends on quantity of Squad. The more numerous, the more intelligent it is and the better commanded. On the other side, the more numerous, the more cautious it is, more thinking and less confident. Squads above 14 SpaceWorms cannot attack, instead they are contemplating beauty of battlefield – you'd better Regroup them as soon as possible. Because Collective Minds control level of fear, there is no possibility to lower or raise by external factors. Because of that SpaceWorms unfortunately are never suppressed (take only casualties) and ignore all Alternative FUBAR Rules of Morale and Leadership.

# of Space Worms: Activation/Expertise/Abilities
1: -/-/Immediately will Gone to Ground, without any move. Immobile. Can't do anything, including defend in Close Combat. Catatonia & stupor.
2: 7+/6+/May only: Walk (no fire allowed) to closest Unit of SpaceWorms or to own side of map (retreat), Regroup, Gone to Ground, defend in Close Combat.
3: 6+/6+/As above or Walk (no fire allowed) or Duck&Weave or Penetrate.
4: 5+/6+/As above or Walk (and fire) or Run or On Guard or Assault (thus may initiate any combat)
5: 4+/6+/As above or Aimed Fire
6: 4+/5+/As above or any Action (including Calling For Artillery/Orbital Support) or Crew Vehicles (if Vehicles Crew counts less than 6, Vehicle immediately stop or, if Flying, land)
7: 4+/4+
8: 4+/4+
9: 3+/4+
10: 2+/4+
11: 2+/4+/ For each such Unit +1 to Initiative Roll
12: 3+/4+/ For each such Unit +1 to Initiative Roll
13: 4+/4+
14+: 5+/5+/Only Regroup Into Smaller Squads or Run to own side of map (retreat), may defend in Close Combat

All SpaceWorms are divided into Squads by rolling 2D6 for quantity of every Squad . F.ex. You start with 30 SpaceWorms, roll 2D6 to allocate such number of SpaceWorms to first Squad, then roll 2D6 do allocate to second Squad etc, up to the last squad which obviously consist of number of SpaceWorms equal to 2D6 or less. May reroll once 2D6.

• Regroup – If Unit is activated, it may be divided into two or more Units. If Unit is activated in 2" to other unactivated Unit, both Units may join into one activated Unit. In both cases, all SpaceWorms may be moved by 2".

• Sensibility to Electronic Warfare Jamming Regroups – SpaceWorms cannot use ECW nor ECM (if such optional rules are used).

• Equipment – Every SpaceWorm is usually equipped with Collar Light Laser Rifle (counterpart to Assault Rifle), in StormWormSquads also Assault Shotgun or Flamethrower. If Squad is more numerous, for every full four SpaceWorms there should be one Special SpaceWorm: Sniper or (very rare) Medic or Sapper/Engineer or (most often) Support Weapon Operator, usually Heavy Laser Rifle (SAW) but also Grenade Launcher, IAVR Launcher or GMS/P Missile System.

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Rules of SpaceWorms of Oddział Σsmy for StarGrunt 2 System
This supplement to the StarGrunt 2 game system provides stats and options for Oddział Σsmy SpaceWorms.

SpaceWorms special rules:
• Base Mobility Distance: 6" (as normal, human)

• Nimble, tight and swift – Ignore Terrain Modification to Base Mobility during Move and Assault.

??? • Little crawlers – SpaceWorms infantry count as being in Soft Cover at all times, with exception of Combat Movement and Assault (Roll). (big handicap)

• Combat Movement – Roll by creating big wheel with SpaceWorms' bodies, with jaws locked on the other tail: must take whole activation (two actions) – D6 x 5"

• Penetrate – When a Squad is Activated and adjacent to non-military non-energetic wall, Squad may use whole Activation (both Actions) to pass difficult (Threat Level 2) Reaction Test to penetrate on the other side of the wall (by pressing through little vents, shafts, canals, making living ladder and rope, digging under wall etc).

• Short range telepathy of Collective Intelligence (Hive Mind) – Single SpaceWorm is unisexual, unintelligent, insentient (Leadership Value=4!) animal, which gains self-conscience and intelligence by short-range electromagnetic telepathy with other SpaceWorms. Gnothi seauton, by looking at yourself with other eyes. The more numerous swarm is, the more intelligent it is. SpaceWorms may manipulate and repair objects with their tails and tongues, the more the better, working in telepathic harmony.
Quantity of SpaceWorms in Squad dictates Leadership Value, Quality, Confidence Level and possible choices of Actions. Actually there is no need for any chits!
SpaceWorms cannot have Independent Figures, Leaders nor Special Characters. Every SpaceWorm may replace another one, f.ex. lost member of Vehicle Crew may be replaced with Grunt (telepathically learning on-the-fly) by Regrouping Action of Vehicle. Yep, snipers will not help much against SpaceWorms. Since SpaceWorms do not have any Leaders, Leadership Level depends ONLY on quantity of Squad. The more numerous, the more intelligent it is and the better commanded. There is no HQ Squads, however every more numerous Squad may spend WHOLE ACTIVATION (not Action, as normally per SG2 rules page 16) trying to Communicate and Transfer his Activation to any less numerous Squad.
Number of SpaceWorms in Squad directly dictates dice Quality, rounded up, up to maximum D12. So Squad of 4 SpaceWorms will be using D4 dice, as well as Squad of 3 SpaceWorms. Single SpaceWorm may roll D2 (simulated either by coin or D4 divided by 2, rounded up). Squads equal or above 11 SpaceWorms will be using D12.
Level of Confidence of Squad depends ONLY on quantity of Squad. The more numerous, the more cautious it is, more thinking and less confident. Squads above 14 SpaceWorms cannot attack, instead they are contemplating beauty of battlefield – you'd better regroup them as soon as possible. Because Collective Minds control individual long-term level of fear, there is no possibility to lower/raise Confidence Level if quantity of Squad doesn't changed. Because of that SpaceWorms MAY NEVER BE ROUTED, also ignore rule of Rally, Panic, Last Stand, and never Surrender. However for the sake of gameplay, Collective Minds DO fear for themselves as a whole, thus Suppression and Terror Effect (especially Flamethrowers) works normally.

# of SpaceWorms: Colour and Quality/Leadership Value/Confidence Level/Possibly Actions:
1: :"White" D2/LV4!/Confident/None (catatonia,stupor)
2:"White" D2/LV3/Confident/Move To Closest Squad or Regroup or Reorganize or Retreat
3: Yellow Untrained D4/LV3/Confident/As above or Move or Penetrate or Go In Position
4: Yellow Untrained D4/LV3/Confident/As above or Combat Move or Close-Assault or Fire Small Arms
5: Green D6/LV3/Confident/As above or Fire Support/Heavy/GMSP Weapons
6: Green D6/LV2/Confident/As above or any Action (including Calling For Artillery/Orbital Support) or Crew Vehicles (if Vehicles Crew counts less than 6, Vehicle immediately stop or, if Flying, land)
7: Regular Blue D8/ LV2/Confident/As above
8: Regular Blue D8/ LV2/Confident/As above
9: Veteran Orange D10/LV2/Confident/As above
10: Veteran Orange D10/LV1/Steady/As above
11: Elite Red D12/LV1/Steady/As above
12: Elite Red D12/LV1/Shaken/As above
13: Elite Red D12/LV1/Shaken/As above
14+: Elite Red D12/LV1/Broken/Regroup Into Smaller Squads or Retreat

All SpaceWorms are divided into Squads by rolling 2D6 (+1/+2 Medium/High Mission Motivation; -1/-2 Tired/Exhausted Fatigue Level) for quantity of every Squad . F.ex. You start with 30 SpaceWorms, roll 2D6 to allocate such number of SpaceWorms to first Squad, then roll 2D6 do allocate to second Squad etc, up to the last squad which obviously consist of number of SpaceWorms equal to 2D6 or less. May reroll once 2D6.

• Operate – If SpaceWorms want to execute less complicated, but alien to SpaceWorms, Action f.ex. opening the human door, they need to pass very easy (negative Threat Level -1 to LV) Reaction Test. More complicated Actions, like setting explosives or repairing vehicle, need normal or even difficult (Threat Level +1 to LV) Reaction Test.

• Sensibility to Electronic Warfare Jamming Regroups – SpaceWorms cannot use ECW nor ECM. Opponents may use EW Marker to try to Jam Regrouping Actions, in the same mechanic as Jamming Communication (page 52 of SG2 rules), with the exception that of all regrouping Squads only biggest one roll its Quality dice.

• Equipment – Every SpaceWorm is usually equipped with Collar Light Laser Rifle (counterpart to Assault Rifle), in StormWormSquads also Assault Shotgun or Flamethrower. If Squad is more numerous, for every full four SpaceWorms there should be one special SpaceWorm: Sniper or (very rare) Medic or Sapper/Engineer or (most often) Support Weapon Operator, usually Heavy Laser Rifle (SAW) but also Grenade Launcher, IAVR Launcher or GMS/P Missile System. Just to clarify, GMS/P as usually needs separate Fire Action (page 34 of SG2 rules) because of necessary help of other tails.

Cool concepts. I thought that when and if I can procure some Epic Tyranids that I would have them in units of 12 or more. Not sure yet.

"6. Storyteller/war correspondent/Al Jazeera cameraman
If such guy survive game, he double VPs gained in his line of sight."

40K makes use of this concept to a degree with the Space Marines. Librarians are both historian and soldier.

Overall, a very good list. I'd like to see some of these idea implemented.

I absolutely love that FUBAR rules for the Space Worms! Any idea why that was that never submitted to the Forge Of War group?

As far as developing races outside of the typical WWII-to-Modern-TOE – I think it'll just take a few people trying it and showing it off for it to catch on. A few months ago, I suggested breaking the mold and simply finding different ways to organize figures. It's a good way to take advantage of smaller product lines – I used the Critical Mass Ygs for my example. link

To get even more alien – here was an idea I had for an "alien" heavy weapon concept. What if each individual weapon carried by a trooper functioned (essentially) as an assault rifle. However, several troopers could converge their weapons fire into a heavier shot. Example: three blasters could combine their fire to knock out a light vehicle, six could combine to knock out a tank or mech.

-Chris K.

Why do most aliens (non-40K, anyway) written up by most people tend to have more advantages than disadvantages (compared to humans)?

No, not a serious question--I think we all know the answer.

One thing that creature creators should also think about is game balance, which is why I generally disliked the write ups of the Kra'vak.

Let's take the Spaceworms above for an example--since I don't play FUBAR, I'll use the StarGrunt write up:

Advantages (A):
(1) Ignore terrain for movement, (2) count as in soft cover when making normal move, (3) combat move can be more than a vehicle or fast powered armor (much more for a good roll--and yes, pun intended), (4) can pass through walls, (5) ignore a bunch of morale items (including surrender), (6) largest squad can give activation to other squad, and (7) morale and quality based upon number of squad members.

Disadvantages (D):
(a) Takes two activations to prepare for combat move, (b) cannot have independent figures, (c) no more than one special weapon per four figs, (d) no command squad (but see 6), (e) takes separate activation to fire GMS/P, and (f) no offensive EW.

So, do the A balance with the D?

Rob

When I wrote up my Tonk race for Stargrunt ages ago, they were big and tough but suffered from poor eyesight, low motivation and a pack mentality that made them incapable of operating in small groups without suffering in the morale department.

Why do most aliens (non-40K, anyway) written up by most people tend to have more advantages than disadvantages (compared to humans)?

You know… I've wondered that same thing since watching Star Trek as a kid.

Klingons=physically stronger.
Vulcans=physically and mentally stronger and free of those pesky emotions.
Romulans=physically stronger.
Deltans=sexual tyrannosauruses.
Khan's eugenic humans=physically and mentally stronger.
Betazoids=telepathic.
Ferengi=resistant to Betazoids.

I think the first major Trek race introduced without any significant advantages were the Bajorans, and that's because were designed to be "the conquered."

-Chris K.

Why do most aliens (non-40K, anyway) written up by most people tend to have more advantages than disadvantages (compared to humans)?

No, not a serious question--I think we all know the answer.

That's bass-ackwards reasoning for a manufacturer. If you're trying to sell minis, you don't want an elite race of superbeings. If a squad of ten men can take on an opposing army and win, no one will ever buy more than ten of those models. No matter how much you gouge for them, you'll never make as much money as you would have if you were selling armies of regular Joes – or better yet, inferior troops that you need massive numbers of to be effective. You want your xenos to be different, but not really better than mankind – or if they are better, only en masse.

Well looking at 5150 this isn't the case there… Bugs have numbers but aren't intelligent so can't use weapons and armor, making them pretty vulnerable despite their toughness.

Hishen are weak unless in packs and even then, as cheap slave clones, they're pretty average at best.

Some of the others are tough but suffer from super low numbers, lack of adaptability (which generally means the best humans are better than the Grath can ever be) or really aren't that different from humans.

Personally I rarely play with aliens and when I do they're of the very alien variety or are more space opera and are basically just humans.

I think the first major Trek race introduced without any significant advantages were the Bajorans, and that's because were designed to be "the conquered."

Hardly. There are three in Journey to Babel alone.

Tellarites = fat obnoxious pig men with mittens for hands

Orions = sleazy green-skinned humans with a bad reputation

Andorians = fragile antenni not a plus for a warrior race

All are at least as important in canon as Deltans or Betazoids. We saw quite a bit of them in Enterprise too, and none of them grew magical racial abilities than made them better than humanity.

Alien troops could behave like Ants.

They have pheromones that allow for distant and temporal communications, and for the marking of targets.

They could have sensory modalities that make (some forms of) camouflage irrelevant (such as IR, UV or Passive Sonar that uses ambient sound (obviously at a disadvantage in a vacuum), or even radar or lidar – which isn't out of the realm of possible sensory modalities). This would affect how they operated. It would also make them immune to many types of visual distortions and cognitive illusions that humans typically suffer from.

I've been watching a lot of Stargate recently. The Jaffa and the Goa'ulds are good examples of aliens taking war very different.

On the surface it really was done because it makes good television but I can see some underlying reasons.

Lack of Defense. No one guards the gates. No cameras or other security in the buildings.
Well how do you explain to someone that they need to stand guard when they think your an all powerful god? "My lord will you not just tell us when the enemy approaches?"

Weapons. Their weapons are not as effective as Earth projectile weapons but last longer and are scarier. The Goa'uld rule through fear so no need to develop better killing tools.

I'm just giving some examples of how a basic cultural difference can alter military actions completely. Samurai are also a good example.

You can also take elements to and extreme. For instance, A race that has very small population will have tactics that favor saving lives over winning. On the flip side, someone who has to many people will feed them drugs and throw them at the enemy. That happened in the Korean War.

What about a race that moves in groups like a school of fish?

Lots of interesting possibilities.

Gentlemen these are great ideas as I'm just in the process of writing rules for the different Alien [not bugs and prawns] contingants for our 15mm large scale game at Salute .

Tomorrow's War gets into this a little bit in the main rulebook. Basically the writers postulate that, at the squad level, infantry troopers are going to fight and maneuver similarly, even if some might be bio-armored aliens while others are power-armored human marines. They're still individual guys with a weapon, trying to get in position to use that weapon effecively.

The TW writers go on to say that this is the reason they tend to eschew gobs of special rules for their alien races.

In Command Horizon one of the Alien races (the Centaurs?) use a completely different C3 system to everyone else, which means they play and operate very differently too (essentially they activate by ad-hoc group outside of a formal command structure but within certain limits, whereas the boring humans are marching around in companies, battalions etc).

Very clever mechanism and simple to do.

Fast & Dirty 4 incorporates some mechanics that allows differentiation between human military structures and alien ones, including rules for "hive mind" creatures and so forth.

The problem with assuming that an Alien is "Just a guy with a gun trying to kill you" is anthropomorphizing things to the extreme.

Have a look at an Octopus.

They are fascinating and intelligent as all hell.

They can even move on land.

If they lived 10x longer, odds are very likely that they would have long ago developed tool use and dominated the oceans (and maybe parts of the land as well).

Yet I doubt that they would act at all like a human (just a guy with a gun trying to kill you).

Odds are likely that the Octopus would favor traps over weapons, and that they would rarely take to the field as an "army" like humans do.

Or, take the Termite or Ant, where any individual life is worthless and where the primary sensory modality is NOT sight, but smell.

They aren't going to act at all like a human.

What about an electromagnetic plant that uses Trans-cranial Magnetic Stimulation to enslave motile species to fight for it?

You wouldn't even know who your enemy was, and you could find your own soldiers suddenly turning against you for no apparent reason.

Or, how about a life-form that has a transparent membrane and some sort of Chemical Laser as part of its sensory modalities that can create holograms by shining the lasers on the membrane (that can be manipulated via proteins in it to create diffraction patterns).

Such a life-form would have not only built in weapons, but built in camouflage, and it might not even be intelligent. It might just be a semi-intelligent fungus, or semi-plant like alien that uses it's abilities cooperatively with other members of its species to hide and forage or hunt for food. IT could all be a simple Cellular Autonomous Algorithm that drove their competitive behavior.

If you don't know the rule of the Automaton, then you get cremated by a bunch of pseudo-plant aliens, but if you know the rule of the automaton, then you can use it against the life-form itself (or use it as a weapon yourself against someone else).

Anthropomorphizing aliens is a really arrogant thing to do, as it assumes that humanity is the perfect creation and that all else will be like us. Not to mention that this is subtly racist as well.

I would caution you from doing the extreme opposite though. Assuming that aliens are somehow going to retain their animal natures as they evolve is in a way, and I may be making up a word here, zoomorphizng them.

I find it equally arrogant to somehow believe that the evolution of other animals from our world would somehow leave them posessed of more of their animal nature than we ended up with.

For all we know, octopi might have left the water entirely or built nuclear submarines and worn the aquatic equivelant of Guess jeans. Their fighting might have completely changed as they evolved tool use. Why spring traps when you can destroy your enemies with massive sonic cannons?

Really when it comes down to it any way it goes is as right as any other. We're not going to be th only animal to abaandon, master and then dominate its environment. We're not going to be the only creature in the universe to end up with disposable drinking cups, saturday morning cartoons and pay per view.

As for racist (really a ridiculous afterthought here) racism is about not accepting what something IS, regardless of what that is. If an octopus wears sneakers and drive a BMW, that's what it is, regardless of what we think and to believe it should be any other way than what it is would still be the racist angle.

Mind you, I am not calling you racist, just offering a counterpoint.

-Eli

Kinda talked about this on the other thread, but actually I think that you can basically have a couple of types of aliens that are 'interactive':

1) Animal level. Could be a plant or whatever (kinda meaningless if the DNA is all different, anyway, its just an analogy). Point is that its what an ancient human would recognize immediately as living but it can be whatever. It could be like Earthlike life or nothing like it, as long as its recognizable as life to the untrained eye ("lower" life like bacteria and stuff is important but outside this discussion).

2) Humanish. Not Human, but something we can vaguely think of as more or less like ourselves. This is not just intelligence, but also world view.
Now, I think for a species to develop technology, space tech, guns, etc, they almost have to be like this. Note that Humans aren't the only group like this on Earth, we're just the only ones (So far) who became intelligent and technological. Some birds, the other Apes, wolves, and perhaps some sea creatures (don't know enough about whales), perhaps some felines, are all vaguely on our level. Maybe you could even include most higher level mammals (so no things like chipmunks, probably, but anything large enough to have significant brain power). To develop at all like humans, to become at all like a possible foe in interplanetary war, they'd need to have a lot in common with us. They'd need to have society, specialization without loss of individuality and ability to switch careers, tech needs to develop fairly similarly…. Language would have to develop, and it'd help if they work similarly with their senses… not identical, but having a general ability to see vs. hear vs. smell vs. touch are all important to development.

3) Truly alien intelligence. Maybe intelligent, maybe not, but acts kinda like it in a few weird ways. But is far too alien to really think of as at all like a human player. Could be like the Predator, though that might be too familiar. I doubt these guys would really develop tech in the way we think of it, but their hyper intelligence could allow some minor communication if they are able to think at all like us. Kinda a catch all term for everything else.

I absolutely love that FUBAR rules for the Space Worms! Any idea why that was that never submitted to the Forge Of War group?

Thanks Eli – I just wanted to playtest it a bit more, but if You think it is all right…
No to say on polish forum (where a year ago I succeded to persuade Marcin to sculpting such figures as space worms) AWu said that rules of rolling are silly.
link
Even if they have strong physiology background.
link
YouTube link
Rolling is the most effective way of moving.
Small salamanders sometimes creat big wheel (tumbleweed) of dozens to roll faster.

How such evolutionary adaption would happens?
Sex and roll.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_dart

Hermaphroditic snails's ars amandi is based on fencing with love darts: how to fertilize and avoid being fertilized, because if you are already fertilized, other snails flee from you. Snails that most efficiently fencing (with the largest penises) reach evolutionary success fertilizing lesser fencers (hence sometimes penis is similar length to the cochlea!).

Lets assume that hermaphroditic Space Worms have penis near rostrum on head, while vagina and anus(cesspool) on the tail.
Space Worms Ars Amandi: how to bite the tail, not being bited. Probably the first sign of Space Worms's socialization (first act of confidence building) would be simultaneous copulation of two individuals (regular partners, monogamy). After generations of evolutionary succeses, to broaden the genetic material and develop group intelligence, the teams would joint. Tres faciunt collegium. Boosting the development of collective intelligence and stabilizing the social bonds. Larger (first horizontal) wheels = more genes = more understanding = more food = more kids willing to build even larger wheels. Because such wallowing in a horizontal circle is not the safest, and most species exchange of genetic material lasts much longer than humans, Space Worms began to strengthen their ties in the rolling race, making it easier to escape and chase. Sex and roll!
Currently Space Worms are emotionally dependent on the common biting tails, even in envirosiuts,such behavior calm them down. They feel safer in the circle.

I found it quite logic, don't You think?

One thing that creature creators should also think about is game balance, which is why I generally disliked the write ups of the Kra'vak.

Let's take the Spaceworms above for an example--since I don't play FUBAR, I'll use the StarGrunt write up:

Advantages (A):
(1) Ignore terrain for movement, (2) count as in soft cover when making normal move, (3) combat move can be more than a vehicle or fast powered armor (much more for a good roll--and yes, pun intended), (4) can pass through walls, (5) ignore a bunch of morale items (including surrender), (6) largest squad can give activation to other squad, and (7) morale and quality based upon number of squad members.

Disadvantages (D):
(a) Takes two activations to prepare for combat move, (b) cannot have independent figures, (c) no more than one special weapon per four figs, (d) no command squad (but see 6), (e) takes separate activation to fire GMS/P, and (f) no offensive EW.

So, do the A balance with the D?

I beg to differ.
6) Yes, largest squad can give activation to other squad, but there is no profit in it: one better (bigger group) activation is used to possibly transfer one worse activation, while human HQ squad spends one activation to gain two activations of more powerful squads. This Space Worms extremely rarely transfer activations.
You forget also about g) ECM can directly hit them by forbiding Regroups (in playtest there was often situation when extended space worms ubersquad was hit with grenade/mortar dividing squad into semiintelligent subsquads, and EC was effectively used to "pin" them).

Also You can see that (2) advantage is used as a handicap when scenario (common opinion of both player) allows such option: thus "?????".

Also penetrating is balanced by their usual inability to open door, not to say operate humans heavy equipment.

The most important IMVHO advantage of Space Worms on StarGrunt battlefield is no need for cluttering Command/Leadership Counters – instead You just count them and check with chart.

I do not think (after playtests) that "my" Space Worms are "broken" or uberrace, they may be better than human using handicap rules, are worse then human without such rule. However nobody's perfect, and I can be wrong, fortunately you may modify those rules as You like. :) That's the beauty of 15 mm sci-fi.

Surely they are very differ to play, which was my point creating this thread.

Thanks You for all input and I still hope for more ideas.

I (and surely I am not alone) dream of sculptors creating very different alien soldiers, allowing very different tactics and platoon structure.

I have some new ideas:

9)
Soldiers armed with elements of single platoon's dispersed weapons. Many squads – one weapon. It could be like TW AT/AA concentrated fire of laser rifles with the exception, that due to some reasons only one memebr of squad can be safely armed with such megaweapon.

9b) Tesla staffs – spaceopera.

In every squad there is soldier armed with long electrostaff. Every squad may initiate kind a electrostatic discharge/electric arc beetween any two electrostaff inflicting damage to every opponent between those staffs. Soldiers wear isolated/protected suits (Faraday's cages) which are automatically grounded during discharge by feet clamps burrowing into ground (kind a hiperconducting claws, working also as a close combat secondary weapons). TO effectively attack with discharge enemy has to be placed in the middle of two or more squads, thus maneuvering would be very important for soldiers.

9c) Tesla harmonic waves generators
The same as above, but with backpack harmonic generator needed to be place around the target in some system, when quantity of elements makes damage rise in logarithmic scale (f.ex. pentagram is twice as powerful as square, while squar is twice as powerful as triangle).

10) Neutral forces "harnessers"
Soldiers which are equipped and trained to harness neutral powers (f.ex. of nature) to inflict damage or gain tactical advantages.
Professor Henry Jones: "I suddenly remembered my Charlemagne. Let my armies be the rocks and the trees and the birds in the sky…"
Or civilians (TW irregular leaders can do, if they are armed with megaphones).
Or Ents.
Or living plantish/fungish/bioconstruct houses. Or winds (nanotech).
Or blizzards.
Or storms.
Or rays of sun (nanotech clouds, orbital mirrors).
Or rats.
Or herds of antelopes/buffaloes.
Or abyssal/swampish kraken, kind a guarding Moria "Watcher in the Water". I am quite sure that Yoda could ask for help Dagobah creature from pond.
Or whimsical superpowerful godlike entity, guardian of ROEs (Q from StaTrek, otherplane demons), which may or may not agree to humble petitions of chaplains/shamans/riddlemasters/

Or, finally, (beg pardon) THE God – I suppose St Maurice Order flagellantes would have a bit better chance to gain penance than commissars of Democratic People's Republic of KimIrSenia.

I have some new ideas:

9)
Soldiers armed with elements of single platoon's dispersed weapons. Many squads – one weapon. It could be like TW AT/AA concentrated fire of laser rifles with the exception, that due to some reasons only one memebr of squad can be safely armed with such megaweapon.

9b) Tesla staffs – spaceopera.

In every squad there is soldier armed with long electrostaff. Every squad may initiate kind a electrostatic discharge/electric arc beetween any two electrostaff inflicting damage to every opponent between those staffs. Soldiers wear isolated/protected suits (Faraday's cages) which are automatically grounded during discharge by feet clamps burrowing into ground (kind a hiperconducting claws, working also as a close combat secondary weapons). TO effectively attack with discharge enemy has to be placed in the middle of two or more squads, thus maneuvering would be very important for soldiers.

9c) Tesla harmonic waves generators
The same as above, but with backpack harmonic generator needed to be place around the target in some system, when quantity of elements makes damage rise in logarithmic scale (f.ex. pentagram is twice as powerful as square, while squar is twice as powerful as triangle).

10) Neutral forces "harnessers"
Soldiers which are equipped and trained to harness neutral powers (f.ex. of nature) to inflict damage or gain tactical advantages.
Professor Henry Jones: "I suddenly remembered my Charlemagne. Let my armies be the rocks and the trees and the birds in the sky…"
Or civilians (TW irregular leaders can do, if they are armed with megaphones).
Or Ents.
Or living plantish/fungish/bioconstruct houses.
Or winds (nanotech).
Or blizzards.
Or storms.
Or rays of sun (nanotech clouds, orbital mirrors).
Or rats.
Or herds of antelopes/buffaloes.
Or abyssal/swampish kraken, kind like guarding Moria "Watcher in the Water". I am quite sure that Yoda could ask for help Dagobah creature from pond.
Or whimsical superpowerful godlike entity, guardian of ROEs (Q from StaTrek, otherplane demons), which may or may not agree to humble petitions of chaplains/shamans/riddlemasters.

Or, finally, THE God – I suppose St Maurice Order flagellantes would have better chance to gain penance than commissars of Democratic People's Republic of Kim-Il-Sungia.