Pierson's Puppeteer R.C.C.

When Pierson first met the Puppeteers there was a revival of the early 20th century's TV programming in vogue. Thus it was widely understood what he meant when he described the Puppeteers as "three-legged centaurs with no head and Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent puppets for arms." Of course, everyone thought he was drunk at the time. They found out very different a few days later when the Puppeteers again approached him and asked him to speak to his "Hindmost" (translated roughly as "leader") and open up trade negotiations. The Puppeteers have a vastly superior civilization to humanity, but all they wanted really was trade negotiations. The Puppeteer front company, General Products, set up shop in human space quickly and promptly began to set up a trade monopoly. The reason they were so widely accepted was two-fold. First, Puppeteers are amusing to look at; they have a strange rolling gait that seems unnaturally graceful. Add to that their beautiful contralto voices (a cross between Marilyn Monroe, Kathleen Turner, and Fiona Apple--all Puppeteers sound female) and their intriguingly bizarre looks and they seem completely harmless. The second reason is far more solid: Puppeteers are cowards, morally, socially, psychologically, and physically. They will never consciously or unconsciously place themselves in danger for any reason, no matter how good. Within a generation, General Products was the linchpin of the economy for Earth and most of its colonies. The General Products hull, available in four styles, is the safest spaceship hull in Known Space, being completely impervious to any attacks except antimatter (which will completely obliterate the hull), visible-light lasers (which will kill the crew and destroy machinery but leave the hull unharmed), and inertia/gravity (which will utterly crush the crew within but again leave the hull unharmed). Other General Products products were also staples of Earth's stock market. Puppeteers are known throughout the galaxy as shrewd businessmen whose favorite method of negotiation is blackmail. Puppeteers themselves were a major mystery until little more than a generation ago. They apparently evolved on an Earth-like planet with a G-type star, but no one could ever find it. This was because it long ago became a red giant! Puppeteers are the oldest sentient race in Known Space, with the exception of the Jinxian bandersnatchi and the sessile Grogs, having had a Space Age civilization before humanity had yet learned to use antelope thigh bones as clubs (over 500,000 years ago). They developed vast technologies and finally had to contend with the problem of overcrowding and, more importantly, overheating. The answer was simple to the Puppeteers: set up farm worlds on the other four planets of their system (all of which were terraformed for that express purpose) and then move all five planets! These five, in a stable Kemplerer Rosette pattern, began heading for the edge of space to stay away from any that might hurt them. Puppeteers are herbivores and herd animals that like each other's company, so they built close together and imported all their food, and finally decided to build a corporate empire to support themselves. Puppeteers cannot practice chemical birth control, so their only options are surgery

or abstinence; most pick abstinence--Puppeteers have incredible personal wills except where danger is concerned. Because no sane (cowardly) Puppeteer would ever risk their lives in a spaceship--even one as safe as their own General Products ships--the emissaries of the Puppeteers are always the insane of their race! Insane Puppeteers are occasionally dangerous to be around because of their drastic mood swings but are generally more amusing than dangerous. They also have a lot to gain or lose, because the mad are not permitted to breed except by the express permission of He-WhoLeads-From-Behind, the Hindmost of the Puppeteer race. If they do a major service to the Puppeteer race (protecting their system from invasion, finding a new technology, etc.) then they are given a set of mates. (The Puppeteer race has three genders, one of which is non-sentient, and none of which correspond exactly to human male or female. Puppeteers generally refer to themselves and all other members of their race as "he.") Puppeteer names are impossible for any other race to pronounce, as is the rest of their language, because of their unique vocal construction. Puppeteers can hit literally any note they wish, even ultra- and subsonic ones, and have beautiful singing voices when they wish to sing. Their language sounds like orchestral music focused in one place, creating an unreal sound. The Puppeteers' two heads (on the end of neck stalks, one eye to each, the brain is in the torso) can operate and even speak independently. The mouths, which are surrounded by dry, fleshy knobs, double as hands. Puppeteers have three hoofed legs, two under the torso and one behind. The natural instinct for a frightened or startled Puppeteer is to turn his back to the opponent, ostensibly to run. Upon seeing a mad Puppeteer kick a Kzinti in the ribs, breaking three, one human postulated that the turn was no to run away but to put the third leg in position for a killing blow. The Puppeteer told him no and added that since the rest of his race turned so they could run, he was the one who was wrong. Puppeteers have an even white coat of short fur over most of their bodies, except on the hump beneath which their brain rests. This hump sports a mane that is cut and dyed to designate status in Puppeteer society. Mad Puppeteers have straggly, brown manes which they are socially forbidden from grooming. Under the mane and hump is a thick plate of bone protecting a large, powerful brain. Despite their incredible intellects, Puppeteers (at least the sane ones) have no sense of humor. Puppeteer scientists have also run tests for thousands of years until they have determined that Puppeteers have no souls. This makes them even more terrified of death, knowing that there is nothing after it for them. They will not speak for humans, Kzinti, or any other species, because they have not known them long enough. Humans are their favorite sapient race because of their ingenuity and curiosity, as well as the drive to take risks that Puppeteers will not. From the Puppeteer standpoint, humans make good (albeit unpredictable) tools. For a while, they entertained the notion of secretly exterminating the Kzinti--too dangerous, too unstable--but dropped it when the Man-Kzin Wars began. Instead, they (secretly) supplied humans with a way to defeat the Kzinti and make them more docile. The

Puppeteers lured the Outsiders, another galactic trading race, to We Made It, where the Outsiders sold a hyperdrive to humankind, allowing them to win the war. (Note: The Kzinti still don't know about this. If they did, they would mindlessly attack the Puppeteers, who would completely exterminate their entire race--just to be safe.) Puppeteers decided that the survival factor of humanity was not intelligence (other species are smarter), cunning (animals have cunning too), strength (compared to the Kzinti? ha!), or speed (took 100,000 years to get out of the Stone Age!)--they decided it must be luck. Literally. Puppeteers believed that humans possessed an unconscious psychic ability to manipulate probability. They found this to be true after a generations-long breeding experiment in which most of humanity were the subjects. A young woman name Teela Brown was the end product (along with a few thousand others) of this hidden experiment. Her luck manipulated the Puppeteer Nessus and the crew of his ship, the Lying Bastard, like puppets on a string. As the other human crew member told Nessus later, "You've finally met a real puppeteer, and it is the luck of Teela Brown..." Nessus' agitation became a thousand times worse when he was reminded, "The laws of physics are just luck on the subatomic level..." The breeding experiment was dropped, along with the project to breed a more docile Kzin (the four Man-Kzin Wars were part of this scheme). About two centuries ago, the Puppeteers packed up and left Known Space, except for a few insane members of their race who stayed behind to finish business. This withdrawal and the sale of the secret of the General Products hull to the highest bidder caused Earth's stock market to collapse, paving the way for the luck breeding experiment (which was discontinued a generation ago). This withdrawal was due to the discovery that the galactic core had exploded and the radiation would eliminate all life in the Milky Way... in about thirty thousand years. The Puppeteers, great cowards that they are, started early because their rosette worlds can only move at about half the speed of light. They gave humans and the Kzinti the secret to a super-fast hyperdrive in exchange for services rendered in the discovery and exploration of the Ringworld. Which means that when the Puppeteers get to the Clouds of Magellan, they will have a market waiting for them. (Note: Because of the peculiar nature of the Puppeteer mentality, all player characters [if allowed] must be insane Puppeteers. These are the only ones that ever leave the Puppeteer homeworld.)

Pierson's Puppeteer RCC

Alignment: Any except Principled and Diabolic. Puppeteers do not have the moral courage to take a firm stand for good or evil. Most sane Puppeteers are Unprincipled; most insane Puppeteers are Anarchist. Attributes: IQ 3D6+15; ME 4D6; MA 3D6; PS 3D4; PP 4D6; PE 3D6; PB 2D6; Spd 1D4x10

Hit Points: Standard; PE +1D6 per level SDC: 3D6 Natural Armor Rating: 17 for the brain hump; none for the rest of the body. Magic: None. PPE: 1D6+1 Psionics: None. Horror Factor: 8; Puppeteers are more amusing than scary. Height: 3.5-4 feet at the shoulder Weight: 250-500 lbs. Description: Puppeteers are herbivorous entities with two flat, brainless heads at the ends of long, sinuous necks. Each head has a single eye, a mouth with square, heavy teeth, and a forked tongue. The mouths of the Puppeteer function as hands, aided by sensitive, finger-like knobs on the lips. The Puppeteer's brain is located in a bony hump between the two necks. This hump is covered by a thick mane of hair, which ranges in color from golden to dark brown. The rest of its body is covered with short, creamy-white fur that feels like suede. Enemies: No race would dream of killing a Puppeteer, however much animosity they have toward them. Any hostile race has trade relations cut off; while the Puppeteers don't trade much anymore, when they do it's best to be on their good side. Allies: None. The Puppeteers have no friends or allies, just trading partners. Average Life Span: With the processes Puppeteers have developed, a Puppeteer could theoretically live as long as a millennium. Habitat: The Puppeteer planet's location and climate was once the most jealously guarded secret in the universe. Now it is known that the Puppeteers come from an agrarian world that used to circle a G-type star, but has since moved off into space with the rest of the system's planets. Natural Abilities: Imitate voices (45% +5% per level). Imitate sound (55% +3% per level). Sing at professional quality (88%). Determine pitch, frequency, distance of sound, and decibel level (55% +5% per level). Excellent color vision; can read a road sign at a distance of one mile on a clear day (can change perspective far easier than humans because eyes are mounted on separate necks). Automatic dodge (may dodge without using up an attack). Puppeteers are so silly looking that it's impossible to mistrust them without prior knowledge, thus all Puppeteers are considered to have at least the base MA trust percentage (cannot intimidate). All Puppeteers have an incredible salesmanship ability; double the trust/intimidation percentage when attempting to sell something. Vulnerabilities/Penalties: All sane Puppeteers have an incredible phobia of danger. It is locked into their evolutionary makeup and nothing can prevent its effects. When threatened with danger or even the thought of danger, a sane Puppeteer will run for its life (double Spd attribute for duration of perceived threat) or curl into a fetal ball, its heads tucked beneath its torso. Insane Puppeteers are not paranoid like their sane brethren, but instead suffer from an incredibly severe form of manic depression. In the manic phase, the Puppeteer will take terrible risks to

achieve its goals and have all the standard bonuses of the manic phase (as described in the insanity section of the Rifts RPG). It is in this phase that a Puppeteer may actually attack a hostile force. In the depressive phase, the Puppeteer will be completely incapable of any action except feeling sorry for itself and being terrified unless actually threatened. Then the Puppeteer will take any and all measures to get as far away from the danger as possible (all the while being as careful as possible under the circumstances). Unless the Puppeteer is insane and in his manic stage, no hand to hand attacks may be used. The best hand to hand skill possible is Basic, and that is used only for dodging. Manic Puppeteers only have one attack per melee, and it must be a kick with the rear leg. All other actions are used for things other than attacking. RCC Bonuses: +1 to perception; +2 to initiative; +2 to parry; +5 to dodge; +1 vs. poison. Damage: Kick does 2D6 +PS bonus SDC. It is the only attack Puppeteers--even insane ones-will ever use. A weapon might be allowed, but it would take several minutes of "psyching up" to even pick it up; afterwards, the Puppeteer will suffer 1D4 weeks of depression, double if he actually killed anyone. RCC Skills: Language/Literacy: Puppeteer (98%) Language/Literacy: Interworld (equivalent to American/English; +25%) Language: three of choice (+15%) Basic Math (98%) Advanced Math (+15%) Basic Radio (+15%) Basic Electronics (+15%) Basic Mechanics (+10%) Detect Ambush (+25%) Paramedic (+10%) Running Prowl (+15%) Anthropology (+5%) Astronomy (+5%) Space Navigation (+5%) Computer Operation (+20%) Hand to Hand: Basic may be selected in place of four "other" skills. No other Hand to Hand skill may be chosen. RCC Related Skills: Select twelve other skills from the following list at first level. Gain an additional two at levels 3, 7, 10, and 14. Communications: Any (+5%) Domestic: Any Electrical: Any except Robot Electronics Espionage: Any except Sniper, Disguise, and Wilderness Survival Mechanical: Any except Robot Mechanics

Medical: Medical Doctor only Military: Strategy/Tactics only (+5%) Physical: None Pilot: Any (+10%) Pilot Related: Any (+5%) Rogue: Any except Streetwise Science: Any (+10%) Technical: Any (+5% to Literacy; +15% to Language) WP: None Wilderness: None Secondary Skills: Choose six from the above list. This are additional areas of knowledge that do not receive the bonuses in parentheses. Equipment: Virtually any non-offensive equipment that the character wants. Almost all insane Puppeteers have their own spaceship. This ship uses either a #2 or #3 General Products hull which is completely impervious to physical harm (except as listed above) and uses a second generation hyperdrive. This ship is stocked to the brim with sensors and defensive equipment (but nothing that is solely a weapon). The ship uses either a fusion reaction drive or a reactionless motive drive for real-space propulsion. Money: Every Puppeteer has a personal fortune of 1D4x100,000 credits. Cybernetics: Puppeteers don't need such primitive methods of physical restoration. For any but the most grievous injury, a Puppeteer's automated medical bay in his ship (or on the homeworld) can repair them. XP: Use the Techno-Wizard experience table