Star Trek Tellarite

**Name**: Tellarite
**Dice**: 12D
**Dexterity**: 1D+1 / 4D+1
**Knowledge**: 1D / 3D+2
**Mechanical**: 1D / 4D
**Perception**: 1D / 3D+2
**Strength**: 1D+1 / 4D+1
**Technical**: 1D / 4D

**Move**: 10/12 (male); 11/14 (female)
**Size**: 1.6 - 2.0 m (male); 2.0 - 2.4 m (female)
**Weight**: 70 - 90 kilos (male) 130 - 170 kilos (female)
**Life Span**: 87 years (male); 93 years (female)

**Special Abilities**:

* **Argumentative**: Tellarites constantly play "devil's advocate" and rejoice when the chance for debate arises-they argue even when they agree with their adversary. The argument becomes a game, a strategic contest of wills. Tellarites must make a Difficult Willpower check or engage in argument for its own sake. GM's may force Tellarites to subtract one die from tests made to influence others. Tellarites do not see this ability as a flaw but as a virtue.
* **Infrared Vision**: Tellarites can see in the infrared spectrum, giving them the ability to see in complete darkness, provided there are heat sources to navigate by.

**Description**: *"Tellarites do not argue for a reason, they simply argue."*
– Sarek, 2268 ("Journey to Babel")

Tellarites were a warp-capable humanoid species from the planet Tellar Prime. In 2161, their homeworld became a founding member of the United Federation of Planets.

**Physiology**

Tellarites were a stout humanoid species with distinctive snouts. They wore beards and their hands were sometimes hoof-like in appearance.

On average, Tellarites were shorter than Humans.

Tellarites found Human room temperatures to be cold, indicative of a higher body temperature. (ENT: "Babel One")

Though the medical condition known as dyspnea is normally considered a symptom (i.e. the patient notices it him/herself) and not a sign (i.e. only a doctor notices the sign during a medical examination) in most species, it is regarded as a sign when present in Tellarites. (DS9: "Inquisition")

**Society**

Tellarites sometimes took mud baths. (ENT: "Babel One")

Tellarites were known to be an impatient people. (ENT: "United") They were also known for their "stubborn pride." (ENT: "The Forge") They had a propensity toward strong emotion. However, they enjoyed a good argument, and they even considered it (presumably in the form of debate) a sport on Tellar. (ENT: "Bounty") Tellarites often began an interaction with a series of complaints; this was how they started arguments with someone they had recently met. If they had nothing to complain about they would simply insult the person. Because of their ability to argue, Tellarites made excellent politicians. (ENT: "Babel One")

One of Elim Garak's suggested wedding dresses for Rom and Leeta was in the style of Tellarite modern. (DS9: "Call to Arms")

Although Tellarite cuisine seemed to be dominated by raw fruits and vegetables, canine was considered to be something of a delicacy. (ENT: "Babel One")

**History**

**Pre-Federation**

Tellarites were warp-capable and involved in inter-species communication by the 20th century. In 1957, a Tellarite freighter picked up the distress call of a Vulcan ship that had crash landed on Earth, near Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania. They passed this information onto the Vulcan High Command. (ENT: "Carbon Creek")

Some time before 2154, the Tellarites were in conflict with the Andorians. Ambassador Gral recalled being aboard a Tellarite cruiser as they drove "those blue demons" back into their own territory by force. (ENT: "Babel One")

In April 2152, a passing Tellarite vessel directed the Enterprise NX-01, suffering severe damage after an encounter in a Romulan minefield, to an automated repair facility. Sub-Commander T'Pol then stated that Tellarites were generally considered trustworthy. (ENT: "Dead Stop")

However, as of the 2150s, some Tellarites were also involved in dubious businesses. By 2151, a Tellarite merchant operating in the area around the Akaali homeworld was a competitor of the unscrupulous, covert mining entrepreneur Garos. In March 2153, the Tellarite bounty hunter Skalaar, working for the Klingons, captured the Human Jonathan Archer, captain of the Enterprise. However, he later helped him to escape from the Klingon ship. Skalaar's brother, Gaavrin, who worked on a space station at that time, used to run a freighter, the Tezra, together with him. In May 2154, a Tellarite was bidding at an Orion slave auction on Verex III in the Borderland. (ENT: "Civilization", "Bounty", "Borderland")

In November 2154, a Tellarite delegation led by Ambassador Gral was being transported to the planetoid Babel by the Enterprise to resolve a long standing trade dispute with the Andorians. However, the Romulan Star Empire had become aware of the threat posed by a closer partnership between Tellar, Andoria, and its neighbors. The Star Empire's attempts to destabilize the region led to the Babel Crisis, during which a secret mission by the Romulans involved the use of two Romulan drone ships, which were able to camouflage themselves as various other vessels. By destroying the Andorian vessel Kumari under the guise of a Tellarite cruiser, thereby causing the cancellation of the Babel conference and nearly escalating an old conflict between the two races, the Romulans nearly succeeded with their plans. However, Cpt. Archer of the Enterprise defused the tension between the Andorians and Tellarites by unexpectedly answering Cmdr. Shran's Ushaan challenge, thereby protecting Naarg of the Tellarite delegation and deliberately sparing Shran's life by incapacitating him. Archer subsequently allied the Tellarites, Andorians, Humans, and Vulcans to find and destroy the drone ships, thereby altering the result of this Romulan mission to the exact opposite of what it was intended to achieve. (ENT: "Babel One", "United", "The Aenar")

In 2155, a Tellarite delegation attended talks on Earth about forming a Coalition of Planets. Minister Nathan Samuels joked that the new universal translators were working a little too well when it came to talking to the Tellarites. During the conference, the Coridans also rejected the Tellarite proposal of a trade embargo against the Orion Syndicate. The Coridan representative claimed his people have been trading with the Orions for centuries and that the accusation of Orions attacking Tellarite freighters constituted slander. Despite subsequent terrorist acts by the xenophobic Terra Prime movement, which tried to drive all non-Humans out of the Sol system, the conference was eventually resumed with a passionate speech by Cpt. Archer, earning the applause of all attendees including the Tellarite delegation. (ENT: "Demons", "Terra Prime")

Several species represented at the Coalition of Planets conference became welded together when the conflict with the Romulan Star Empire escalated into the Earth-Romulan War. After the war between United Earth and the Star Empire began in 2156, a humiliating defeat of the Romulans by an alliance of Tellarite, Andorian, Vulcan, and Earth forces at the Battle of Cheron in 2160 effectively ended the conflict and led to the establishment of the Romulan Neutral Zone between the two power blocs. (ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II"; TOS: "Balance of Terror")

Some time prior to 2161, Shallash gained notoriety as the second Tellarite liberator. (ENT: "These Are the Voyages...")

**Federation**

In 2161, Tellar - along with its old war allies Earth, Andoria, and Vulcan - founded the United Federation of Planets in San Francisco on Earth and established a joint Starfleet. (ENT: "Zero Hour"; TNG: "The Outcast", "The First Duty"; DS9: "Inquisition") As a result, Tellar Prime held a seat on the Federation Council and Tellarites served as Starfleet officers. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home; DS9: "Apocalypse Rising")

In 2268, the planet Coridan sought admission to the United Federation of Planets. However, due to the wealth of dilithium available on Coridan and the presence of illegal mining operations, Coridan's admission was a controversial subject between Tellarites and Vulcans. The Babel Conference was convened to settle the matter and ultimately approved Coridan's admission. Tellarite Ambassador Gav was among the delegates to the Babel Conference, but Thelev, an Orion infiltrator in Andorian disguise on board the Federation starship USS Enterprise, assassinated him and unsuccessfully tried to frame Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan, who, at the conference itself, was ultimately credited with achieving the consensus towards admitting the planet to the Federation. (TOS: "Journey to Babel"; TNG: "Sarek")

A Tellarite served on the ruling council of the pocket dimension Elysia during the late 23rd century. It was unknown how long his species had been trapped in that universe. (TAS: "The Time Trap")

In 2286, at least one Tellarite was serving on the Federation Council. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) In 2293, at least two Tellarites were present at the Khitomer Conference. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)

By the late 24th century, Tellarites were serving in Starfleet. A drunken Klingon at the celebrations for the Order of the Bat'leth in 2373 bragged about having killed the Tellarite helmsman of Laporin's starship. (DS9: "Apocalypse Rising")

During the 2370s, Tellarite freighters occasionally conducted trade through starbase Deep Space 9. (DS9: "Shadowplay")

Following the fall of Betazed during the Dominion War, in 2374, many believed that Tellar could be the Dominion's next target. (DS9: "In the Pale Moonlight")

**Technology**

Sometime before the 2150s, the Tellarite freighter Tezra was the first of her class and able to haul one million metric tons of cargo at a maximum speed of warp 4.5. (ENT: "Bounty")

As of 2153, Skalaar considered force field emitters "the latest technology" aboard his shuttle. (ENT: "Bounty")

As of 2154, a Tellarite cruiser was considered to be no match for an Andorian vessel. (ENT: "Babel One")

**Source**:

* Memory Alpha: Tellarite
* Memory Beta: Tellarite
* Star Trek RPG Players Guide (LUG) (page 65)
* thedemonapostle