"Khurasan's Four Nations part 1: the Stinkards" Topic

When the Ogoseffs fled Soriog invasion, they brought with them their subjects, the Stinkards.

The spartan Ogoseffs know little and care less for anything other than military operations, and had used other conquered species as slaves to attend to non-military affairs for millenia, but they had never conquered anyone quite like the Stinkards.

Of course, "Stinkards" is a name given to this race by the Ogoseffs, who have always ridiculed their subjects. No one other than the Stinkards themselves remembers how they referred to themselves before conquest, and they refuse to say, out of deference to the Ogoseffs. When these two races arrived as refugees in Alliance space (for the Four Nations referred to themselves as the "Alliance" before the Ogoseffs and Stinkards arrived), the Lagomors, the leadership caste of the Four Nations, immediately saw through the charade of the conqueror/subject dynamic, and understood that the so-called Stinkards were in truth more like the parents of unruly children than a slave race. Never had the Lagomors encountered a race so like themselves -- so intelligent, rational and community-oriented. It was clear as well that the Stinkards were an ancient and exceptionally learned race, and one that was far from devoid of martial prowess. While they had failed to defeat the Ogoseffs, so had everyone else the Ogoseffs had ever encountered … except, finally, the Soriogs.

The Lagomors saw that whilst Stinkards showed deference and feigned subordination, it was a ruse, and all of the higher functions of Ogoseff culture and society are actually controlled by the Stinkards. When the Four Nations was formed, the Stinkards joined the Lagomors in governing, conducting diplomacy and the other higher functions of their society, and the Lagomors never failed to be impressed by the humility of this highly gifted race.

Approximately man-height, the Stinkards are strong for their size (although again, not as strong as the Ogoseffs) and exceptionally brave -- their strong sense of logic prevents them from panicking easily. They have proven again and again to be masterful tacticians, and it's entirely common for one Stinkard to sacrifice his life for the good of the unit, or for entire units to do so for the sake of the mission.

The Stinkards were sculpted by PF and painted by Chris Yaro. I'll be previewing the other three nations soon and will then release them and the vehicles which the Federation manufactures for them as a client state and buffer against Soriog attack. As many of you know, the Four Nations prefer a certain type of ground effect vehicle and these were accordingly built for them, although using Federal tech, and models for these will be available as well.

Great looking aliens!

I mis-read the title as "Stinktards". Changes the connotation a little. I was expecting more gas masks.

Still, I like 'em.

Another very fine set, looking good! :D

look like they will fit well with rebel mins Brog or Vott aliens

The Stinkards were sculpted by PF and painted by Chris Yaro. I'll be previewing the other three nations soon and will then release them and the vehicles which the Federation manufactures for them as a client state and buffer against Soriog attack. As many of you know, the Four Nations prefer a certain type of ground effect vehicle and these were accordingly built for them, although using Federal tech, and models for these will be available as well.

Glory hallelujah….

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

I like the two ranges look like they might mix.

what do the other three races look like???

Excellent fluff! Theres only so much authority you can delegate before your slaves become TOO indispensable…

Purely out of curiosity, is there a reason we still stick to the bipedal humanoid form for so many aliens? The Jasmine Throne forces are pretty diverse as a counter example, but so many "aliens" are still basically people in rubber suits.

Two reasons. One, it's unlikely that a blob of tentacles that has become self-aware and perhaps uses some tools is going to engage in warfare the way we understand it/wargame it. Stephen Hawking and other scientists have mused that if we ever do run into another alien civilisation, they will probably look a lot more like us than many anticipate.

Two, they connect better with customers.

I really like how you geared them, esp the backpacks

It was mostly PF's work actually -- he made some aliens and I chose four of them to use as the Four Nations.

On a lot of designs I have a great deal of input, but in terms of appearance I usually just let PF do his thing.

"they connect better with customers"

I can respect an explanation that pays the bills ;)

Read a story once about first contact with a skunk like race. The humans were 'attacked' with various scents and smells. Many of the skunk creatures fled in panic because these strange humans were invulnerable to customary weapons.

I agree these guys look like kissing cousins to the vott. Similar but different.

Can anyone give a tip on how they did the bases w those stinkards. They look too good at the feet to have been clipped from an integral base.

Re: Aliens

It just gets weird for gaming too. If you're fighting hyper intelligent starfish that clear rooms by projecting their stomachs through the door, then it's hard to make the fit into a game system, vs simply differently balanced bipeds with guns.

Exactly.

More PF Goodness for all.
Excellent offerings, Mr. K.

Best,
JBR