I wrote this particular gennie as part of a collaborative project to produce a new Buck Rogers XXVc sourcebook. The original Sidhe gennie from No Humans Allowed breaks all three of the cardinal rules of creation in the Buck Rogers XXVc World Book. I figured I’d take the idea, clean it up a bit, and give it a new spin. I imagine them as sheltered savants, solving the problems that no-one else can find a solution to. A secret think tank in space, if you will.
SIDHE ( homo oberonan )
Conceived Purpose: Enhanced intelligence human
Climate: Terran standard / low gravity
Frequency: Uncommon on Oberon; Very Rare elsewhere
Organization: Scholastic units
Activity cycle: Diurnal
Intelligence: Average to Genius (10-21)
No. appearing: 8-12 (on Oberon), 1 (elsewhere)
Armor class: 1
Movement: 300
Hit dice: d4 (unless otherwise by career)
Thac0: 20
No. of attacks: 1 (unless otherwise by career)
Damage: By weapon
Special attacks: Nil
Special defenses: Nil
Genotype: The Sidhe, pronounced SHE, are the experiments of a Celtic-descendant group registered as the Oberon Genetic Engineering Group (OGEG). The Sidhe look human. They tend to bald early in life, often losing their hair while still in their teens. OGEG scientists have made no major modifications to the external appearance of their creations, meaning that they cannot be easily detected. Rumours abound that the Sidhe are possessed of supra-natural intelligence, although the truth is far more prosaic.
Physical / Cultural:
Physical Size: 5 to 6 feet tall, 100-160lbs
External covering: Smooth, pale skin frequently heavily freckled. Deliberate genotyping prevents any tanning response to solar exposure
Eyes: Human normal
Ears: Human normal
Mouth: Human normal
Nose: Human normal
Cultural: The Sidhe are divided into small groups, colloquially referred to as ‘Families’ with no more than 12 Sidhe. They are cared for on a day-to-day basis by a team of primary carers and will interact with a regular set of secondary care givers. While a handful of Sidhe have been lost since the genotype’s inception those currently alive live on Oberon where they work unwittingly as the key component of the Oberon Solutions Group.
Advantages/Disadvantages:
The Sidhe were engineered for genius intelligence by the OGEG. While initial results were promising it quickly became apparent that the quest to boost the native intelligence of homo solaris carried a major penalty; an unavoidable preponderence for cognitive dysfunction. Sidhe are among the smartest human-derived gennies in the solar system but suffer from extreme levels of mental instability; full-spectrum autisum, schizophrenia, disassosciatve personality disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and others are common among the Sidhe.
A deliberate trait sequenced into the Sidhe is nostomania, an irresistable desire to return home or to familiar surroundings. PC Sidhe will have developed some form of coping mechanism to allow them to function despite this desire, perhaps through repeated mantras, trinkets, or photographs.
The Sidhe were also engineered for life in low gravity. While repeated doses of Gravitol can prepare a Sidhe for gravity equivalent of that experienced on Earth they find the experience highly uncomfortable. Sidhe do not experience any loss of bone density or strength from prolongued exposure to low gravity environments and can tolerate zero gravity environments much longer than the Terran genotype.
Combat:
The Sidhe are mentally unequipped for violence, requiring a wisdom check to participate in any kind of combat. Should they be forced to defend themselves they can use any weapon, as well as their fists and feet. Sidhe punches and kicks cause 1d4 points of damage with every successful to-hit roll. (The Thac0 and attacks per round listed are for a standard Sidhe. Class and level can alter these numbers.)
Habitat/Terrain:
All but a handful of Sidhe live on Oberon. They live in tightly-knit groups under the care of their OGEG creators and caretakers, unaware of the outside world. Their daily routine, beyond that imposed upon them by their carers, is working to solve problems. The Oberon Solutions Group, for a fee, will take the parameters of a problem and produce a solution in exchange for a sizeable fee. The Sidhe have solved problems ranging from domestic disputes, to cultural clashes, to orbital mechanics and medical treatment distribution all without ever being truly aware that their work was anything more than an exciting puzzle to solve.
The connection between the Sidhe and the Oberon Solutions Group is unknown outside of Oberon.
Ecology:
A Sidhe is all but incapable of existing without the care of their handlers. While they are supremely intelligent in some regards they are also a danger to themselves in many others. They are well adapted to low gravity environments as noted elsewhere, and conversly ill-suited to life under standard Terran gravity. By design, all Sidhe are sterile. This is as much to protect themselves as it is to protect the investment undertaken by the Oberon Genetic Engineering Group
Attribue Modifiers:
Strength: -2 Dexterity: +1 Intelligence: +3
Wisdom: -1 Constitution: -1
Charisma: / Tech: /
Saving Throw Modifiers:
Explosion/Plasma: / Electrical Shock: /
Paralysis/Stun/Fall: / Toxic/Gas/Poison: +1
Suffocation: / Radiation: +1
Extreme Heat: / Extreme Cold: /
robotdungeon 