Vulcans

Species Name: Vulcan
Homeworld: Vulcan (T’Khasi, 40 Eridani A system)
Physiology: Vulcans are humanoids evolved under harsh desert conditions. They possess extreme resistance to heat and dehydration, enhanced muscle density (approximately triple that of a Human of equal size), secondary eyelids to shield against intense light, and heightened auditory and olfactory acuity. Vulcans are innately telepathic, though telepathic abilities are consciously controlled and culturally restricted. Their neurological control enables limited regulation over pain, fatigue, immune responses, and even bleeding.

Cultural Overview:

• Logic over Emotion: Vulcans embrace Surak’s philosophy, which suppresses emotion through discipline, ritual, and meditation. This is not because they lack emotion—but because their emotional capacity is extreme, volatile, and potentially dangerous.
• Kolinar and Mental Conditioning: From early childhood, Vulcans train to master their impulses. Lapses in this control—due to fatigue, trauma, or environmental stress—can result in catastrophic emotional surges or psychic feedback.
• Telepathic Ethics: Mind melds, telepathic scanning, and memory access are treated with extreme reverence and consent protocols.
• Stoicism Misunderstood: Other species often misinterpret Vulcan demeanor as coldness or arrogance. In truth, Vulcans experience empathy, grief, and joy—but with deliberate, internalized focus.

Starfleet Roles:

• Frequently found in Science, Command, and Medical departments.
• Vulcans thrive in high-stress, high-precision roles where emotional control and logical analysis are paramount.
• Their cultural reputation as rational and detached sometimes strains interpersonal integration in diverse crews.

Species Mechanics (STA 2e RAW + Canon Expansion):

ATTRIBUTES: +1 Control, +1 Fitness, +1 Reason
TRAIT: Vulcan

• Naturally tolerant to heat, dehydration, and environmental extremes.
• Physically stronger than most humanoids: may gain Advantage or reduce Difficulty on strength-based physical tasks.
• Heightened hearing and smell: Perception-based tasks involving sound or scent may gain Advantage.
• Culturally and neurologically conditioned for emotional suppression—may gain Advantage or reduce Difficulty when resisting fear, rage, grief, etc.
• Naturally telepathic, but training (e.g., Mind Meld talent, p. 154) is required for reliable or safe use.

SPECIES ABILITY — MENTAL DISCIPLINE:

• Your maximum Stress is calculated using Control instead of Fitness.
• You may suffer 2 Stress to ignore any Trait that represents an emotional state (e.g., Fearful, Distracted, Furious).
• If you ever become Fatigued, the Potency of any emotion-based Trait increases by +1, reflecting catastrophic emotional loss of control under exhaustion or trauma.