#gorlamites

[pluralsword]

so in our current ttrpg game, there's a species called the gorlamites who are in the ttrpg non-transforming robot-organic hybrids (in the comics some do transform and we will homage that), but there isn't a lot of art closeup of the organics or non transforming robots, and we wanted to have fun with aesthetic variation- so we bought and downloaded this pack on roll20 of these robots based off of lancer mechs because they're so cute and have size and proportion variety, thought it would be a good representation of a utopian future for these bots and will 100% be using these for games with og robots in other games https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/set/29529/whimsical-robots

and we realized that looking back at the Heart of Darkness #1 the art this isnt actually that far off for the robots so this is perfect (the narration in the comic panel shown is by IDW1 Galvatron who's more than a bit of a mechanoid and moreover transformer supremacist along with only favoring certain kinds of transformers)

ofc transformations are easy digitally if we want to give some of these gorlamites an altmode, just add more sides to a token, (if you're looking for rules for the gorlamites they're in the decepticon directive, we're going to be reapplying the modular attachments perks to other npc blocks from the core rulebook and that book and also our own npc blocks we'e made including stuff drawing on supplement books and gijoe and power ranger stuff since its all cross-compatible)

also the battletech fan in is amused that the scout robot (the green and teal one at the bottom right holding an smg sort of blaster) looks so much like a mix between a Commando and Urbanmech (for those of you not familiar with the Urbanmech it's slow and armored stats as a light urban defense mech mixed with having some of the heaviest weaponry of its class paired with a small laser has been the source of much humor and memes in the battletech community for years e.g. this hilarious video)

[askvectorprime]

Dear Vector prime: Ever encountered a data ghost?

Dear Ghost Gatherer,

Once, during my travels, I was summoned to the planet Gorlam Prime to assist the native Gorlamites with banishing a particularly malevolent data ghost who stalked the deepest levels of their planetary archives. In recent years, it had indeed evolved into a kind of “data poltergeist”: no longer content to simply lurk in the corners of their archives, it now rampaged across the network, and left a trail of corrupted files in its wake. Being quite unused to this kind of problem, I took the precaution of calling in a few Autobot specialists: Chromedome, Mainframe, and Ectronymous Diamatron.

It was quite a thrilling… “battle”, I suppose, although the conflict was entirely bloodless, as it raged across motherboards and servers. Mainframe was a formidable combatant once he’d plugged himself into the Gorlamite supercomputer—of our merry quartet, he was the only ‘bot able to meet the ghost on its own terms. Using his mnemosurgical tools, Chromedome was able to determine that this “ghost” was in fact a leftover of Gorlam Prime’s organic past: leftover brain scans from the great evolutionary leap from organic to machine, these corrupted copies had somehow fled into the deepest parts of the net, amalgamated with one another into a barely-sentient creature.

Fortunately, Ectronymous was able to improvise a digital “trap” that safely disconnected the ghost from the rest of the net and isolated it onto a single hard drive where it could do no harm.

[thenamesblurrito]

Are there any aliens that have a non hostile view towards cybertronians?

i literally winced when i read this hahaaaaaaa um. none? not because Cybertron is particularly hated, but because there aren't any aliens around who they know/have relations with. to quote this post:

Cybertron is isolationist, which is a good thing because their society is wildly xenophobic and organiphobic. No other petty species could possibly compare to them and their grand function divinely ordained! It’s been many megavorns since Cybertron has had confirmed contact with alien life, and even longer since it’s had diplomatic relations. They don’t know of any other species around their space currently, and they don’t care to know. Anything taught about xenospecies or organics is always done with a heavily condescending bent.

so the list of friends and enemies on alien planets is just nonexistent, at least that they know of

however

they did have contact with other species in their history! that much is plain in their records. the functionist dream might be to claim Cybertron never had dirty organics come to visit (apart from the rare deposits of fossil fuels or myths about demons and Dire Wraiths), but that's just not true. according to longstanding records put down prior to the invention of functionism (which was ~4.347.865 vorns prior to the beginning of SNAP, which is 360.872.795 Earth years), Cybertron had positive diplomatic relations with Nebulans, Gorlamites and Voin; had encountered the Vok, Akalouthans, Elonians, and Eurythmans; and at least knew of Quintessons and Prysmosians. these were all at varying times, hundreds of millions or even billions of years ago, and contact across solar systems is harder than you might think, so it's perfectly likely all these species have just... gone extinct. they don't know, and with Cybertron's current cultural climate, few people care to know. spacers out in the black keep an optic out, though, but no one has seen anything from an alien species in a very long time

regardless, the records of aliens are well documented. in fact, Exhaust teaches an optional class on historical xenorelations. Skyfire teaches xenobiology, which is less about people groups and more about science, as there are nonsapient organic species native to and flourishing on Eukaris alongside the cyberflora and fauna, and a few scattered organic ecologies on Carcer and Caminus. there are some exotic menageries in big cities elsewhere that keep organic species. Iacon has an organic-only zoo with transplanted biomes from the colonies, along with some preserved Nebulan and Voinish species. (the zoos only keep plants and animals, not people, don't worry). as you might imagine, the domestication and hobby breeding projects when working with organic species over millions of years get quite convoluted and fascinating

[dimorphodon-defect]

safe (quasar)

send ‘safe’ to learn about a moment where your muse made my muse feel safe.

The bar was filled with a mish-mash of patrons, from Cybertronians to Stentarians to Gorlamites. It wasn’t exactly the most reputable place to refuel within the port, but so long as one kept their weapons to themselves and minded their own business, the fragile peace was held.

At one table sat a pair of Cybertronians - one nursing a cube of some high grade, the other absorbed in some text on a datapad. Eventually, the winged femme leaned over slightly in her seat, and lightly nudged the one sitting next to her. She held out the datapad and pointed to something on the display, whispering a question beneath the dull roar of the bar floor.

Any who could read lips, and perhaps knew a bit about Terran languages, might have been able to make out the words ‘what does this word mean?’. The other femme leaned over slightly to read what had been pushed before her, and then raised her head to give an answer. She wore a mask, so there were no lips to be read, but the winged femme broke into a smile and straightened up, mouthing something - presumably the word - silently to herself.

Both turned back to their own thoughts, and gave observers no more entertainment.

[askvectorprime]

dear vector prime, do cybertronians have car engines? do they have some kind of function in robot mode?

Dear Earthly Engineer,

Yes, as part of their disguises, those Transformers who scan vehicles—Earthen, Nebulan, Gorlamite, or otherwise—mimic their power sources. Usually, these are just cosmetic, as our true systems that power us work away hidden inside our alt-modes. Their usage in robot mode often varies based on our individual body designs. Sometimes they split apart, becoming arms or legs or even a head that emerges from the hood of one's alt-mode. Sometimes they form into weapons. And sometimes they sequester themselves inside a body, revving up involuntarily during displays of anger.

[askvectorprime]

Dear Vector Prime. Are there any instances of Mircomasters (EG: Big Daddy, Roadhandler, Blackjack, Storm Cloud) being modified humans, like the Transhumans from Shattered Glass?

Dear Evolutionary Enquirer,

Though they were not themselves human, the Gorlamites of Gorlam Prime shared many key genetic markers with the human species through convergent evolution—and I speak of their genetic material in the past tense, as the ambitious Jhiaxus interfered with their social and technological development to evolve them into Micromasters.

[thenamesblurrito]

PFPGJGHJRFT 800 million years after losing contact with the Gorlamites, a relay satellite gets a datapacket of Gorlam origin that consists of just this image

more seriously, Cybertron lost relations and then all contact with alien species long before functionism was invented, so it’s unlikely they’re ghosting the functionist government. however, there have been other terrible governments in place and horrific wars to dodge, like the Triumvirate, the Council of Ancients, the Devil War, and so on. very possible their alien friends took one look at Cybertron going insane and ducked right on out of there, and then when Cybertronians finally sorted out their own issues they’d been left alone. really it’s the sheer time factor that makes extinction likely for organics

Are there any aliens that have a non hostile view towards cybertronians?

i literally winced when i read this hahaaaaaaa um. none? not because Cybertron is particularly hated, but because there aren't any aliens around who they know/have relations with. to quote this post:

Cybertron is isolationist, which is a good thing because their society is wildly xenophobic and organiphobic. No other petty species could possibly compare to them and their grand function divinely ordained! It’s been many megavorns since Cybertron has had confirmed contact with alien life, and even longer since it’s had diplomatic relations. They don’t know of any other species around their space currently, and they don’t care to know. Anything taught about xenospecies or organics is always done with a heavily condescending bent.

so the list of friends and enemies on alien planets is just nonexistent, at least that they know of

however

they did have contact with other species in their history! that much is plain in their records. the functionist dream might be to claim Cybertron never had dirty organics come to visit (apart from the rare deposits of fossil fuels or myths about demons and Dire Wraiths), but that's just not true. according to longstanding records put down prior to the invention of functionism (which was ~4.347.865 vorns prior to the beginning of SNAP, which is 360.872.795 Earth years), Cybertron had positive diplomatic relations with Nebulans, Gorlamites and Voin; had encountered the Vok, Akalouthans, Elonians, and Eurythmans; and at least knew of Quintessons and Prysmosians. these were all at varying times, hundreds of millions or even billions of years ago, and contact across solar systems is harder than you might think, so it's perfectly likely all these species have just... gone extinct. they don't know, and with Cybertron's current cultural climate, few people care to know. spacers out in the black keep an optic out, though, but no one has seen anything from an alien species in a very long time

regardless, the records of aliens are well documented. in fact, Exhaust teaches an optional class on historical xenorelations. Skyfire teaches xenobiology, which is less about people groups and more about science, as there are nonsapient organic species native to and flourishing on Eukaris alongside the cyberflora and fauna, and a few scattered organic ecologies on Carcer and Caminus. there are some exotic menageries in big cities elsewhere that keep organic species. Iacon has an organic-only zoo with transplanted biomes from the colonies, along with some preserved Nebulan and Voinish species. (the zoos only keep plants and animals, not people, don't worry). as you might imagine, the domestication and hobby breeding projects when working with organic species over millions of years get quite convoluted and fascinating