Species-Based Insults for the Starfinder Roleplaying Game

In a podcast I was doing, someone claimed they’d throw Patreon money my way if I’d post 1d6 (each) curse words for Androids, Ysoki, Shirren, and Humans. Not one to pass up a writing challenge that involves making money, I here I am doing that.

But.

I’ve talked about fictional cursewords before and, while I wish it went without saying, it seems prudent to mention that there are pales fictional swearing shouldn’t go. Yes, people cuss. Yes, that can be a useful and interesting part of roleplaying. But especially when looking at species-based cussing, never bring gender, real-world ethnicity, socio-political position, religion, or anything else rooted in reality into it. We should be roleplaying to have fun, and that needs to stay away from language that uses real differences between us as insults or stand-ins for bad language.

No one should be so attached to fictional deity Klono that explaining Holy—Klono’s—Iridium—Intestines!” is going to upset anybody. But as soon as you use any real-world (or even thinly veiled from real world) elements in your cussing, you are risking other people’s feelings in the name of a drop of color for a not-real person, and that’s not cool.

With that said, here’s four d6 lists of:

Species-Based Insults

Androids
1. Piece of Synth
2. Circuitface
3. Custom-built slave labor
4. Milk-for-guts*
5. Rent-a-soul**
6. Digi-brain
*Assuming the android leaks white goo like the ones from Aline/Aliens do. This doesn’t have to be true, just a common cultural opinion.
**Based on dislike of the android renewal process

Shirren
1. Boneless wonder*
2. Spiderbait
3. Hiveless drone
4. Fangneck
5. Chitten-butt
6. Buffet-stuffer**
*Assuming they have exoskeletons
**A suggestion that the shirren is food, and belongs on a buffet.

Humans
1. Mindblind lashunta
2. Worldless
3. Breeder
4. Sweat factory
5. Clawless/toothless/tailless
6. Spunthole

Ysoki
1. Rat-tailed
2. Fleabag
3. Scavenger
4. Hairball
5. Plaguemouth
6. Junk-waffle

And then four 1d6 lists of:
Species-Specific Exclamations!

Androids
1. Slaver
2. Meatbags
3. Genebait
4. Glitching (or) Son-of-Glich
5. Sparks
6. Sagging (or) Wrinkled*
*Since androids don’t show signs of age.

Shirren
1. Swarming (or) Swarmed (or) Swarm-mind
2. Repetitive (or) Predictable (or) just Reps!
3. Thoughtless
4. Parasites!
5. Compound Stupid*
6. Webbing! (or) Webhole (or) Webtastic
*As in, stupid seen through a hundred compound eyes

Humans
1. Frudd
2. Godsdammerung
3. Lose it! (or) Lost!
4. Genejoke
5. Twist (or) Twist You (or) This is twisted!
6. Spunthole

Ysoki
1. Traps!
2. Fleabag
3. Itches (or) Itch-laden (or) Son-of-an-Itch!
4. Hairballs
5. Matted
6. Pinkies

Patreon

Even more directly than most, this post is brought to you by the backers of my Patreon! Why not join us?
Jooooooooooin uuuuuuuussssss….

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About Owen K.C. Stephens

Owen K.C. Stephens Owen Kirker Clifford Stephens is a full-time ttRPG Writer, designer, developer, publisher, and consultant. He's the publisher for Rogue Genius Games, and has served as the Starfinder Design Lead for Paizo Publishing, the Freeport and Pathfinder RPG developer for Green Ronin, a developer for Rite Publishing, and the Editor-in-Chief for Evil Genius Games. Owen has written game material for numerous other companies, including Wizards of the Coast, Kobold Press, White Wolf, Steve Jackson Games and Upper Deck. He also consults, freelances, and in the off season, sleeps. He has a Pateon which supports his online work. You can find it at https://www.patreon.com/OwenKCStephens

Posted on March 14, 2018, in Musings, Silliness and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.

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