Excerpts from GURPS Planet Krishna

Technology

Krishna is Tech Level 3 for most purposes, but advanced countries like Sotaspe are nearly TL4, while the tailed Krishnans of Fossanderan are TL1 at best.

From bitter experience, Terrans learned that the effects of suddenly giving advanced technology to primitive cultures are seldom good. Arms merchants could make Krishna's constant wars into incredibly bloody conflicts, and if the Krishnans ever got space travel themselves, the bellicose Krishnans might start the first interplanetary war. Though conquests across interstellar distances are almost impossible to hold, even a failed attempt at space-borne aggression could cost millions of lives and billions of dollars.

Therefore, the Interplanetary Council enacted the famous Regulation 368, the one rule all travelers to Krishna must obey. Regulation 368 of the Interplanetary Council rules, Section 4, subsection 26, paragraph 15 reads as follows:

"It is forbidden to communicate to any native resident of the planet Krishna any device, appliance, machine, tool, weapon, or invention representing an improvement upon the science and technics already in existence upon this planet."

Note that the regulation doesn't just prohibit bringing advanced technology to Krishna. It also makes it illegal to give Krishnans scientific or technical information. Enforcement of Regulation 368 is the primary concern of Viagens Interplanetarias security officers on Krishna.

All visitors to Krishna must know and understand the implications of Regulation 368. The penalties for violating it are severe. Offenders are locked up in Novorecife until they can be shipped back to Earth to serve their sentence. The security forces of the Viagens Interplanetarias and the diplomats of the World Federation are constantly on the lookout for violations, and will do their utmost to catch those who break the regulation.

Senses

Krishnans use their antennae for smelling, though they also have smell receptors in their noses like Terrans. The Krishnan sense of smell is much broader than the human - many substances which humans do not smell at all have a powerful odor to Krishnans. Water, for example, has a very particular scent for them. The natives of the lands south of the Triple Seas are known for their long and luxuriant antennae and acute sense of smell. Conversely, Krishnans do not have palates as sensitive as Terrans do (as anyone who has dined in a Krishnan restaurant will surely attest). In game terms, Krishnans get a +1 to all Sense rolls when trying to smell something, but a -1 penalty on taste rolls (a racial-trait tradeoff worth no points). A Krishnan who loses his antennae suffers the No Sense of Smell disadvantage.

It costs five points to play a Krishnan character on Krishna. Krishnans on other worlds must take a 10-point Involuntary Duty (may not repeat any technical knowledge back home), and varying levels of the Primitive disadvantage.

Pudamef

ST: 30-35    Move/Dodge: 7/5-6     Size: 3
DX: 10-12    PD/DR: 1/2            Weight: 800-1,000 lbs.
IQ: 4        Damage: 2d-1 cut      Habitat: Polar
HT: 16/25    Reach: C

The pudamef is a dangerous carnivore of the northern tundra. A relative of the shan, it has six legs, a long neck and a crocodile-like head with nasty teeth. Pudamefs are larger and stockier than their southern cousins, and are covered in thick white fur, which turns green in the spring and summer. Pudamef furs are much sought-after, and the pelt of an adult can bring 20 karda. Pudamefs generally live in mated pairs, controlling a large hunting range. They catch young bishtars, unhas and wild shaihans. In winter they sometimes move south into inhabited country. They bear live young, which are fed regurgitated food by both parents. Pudamefs have Night Vision, and have Camouflage-14 skill.

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