The Undine (also known as Species 8472 to the Borg) are one of the iconic villains of the Star Trek universe, featuring as antagonists in not just Voyager but games such as Star Trek Armada 2 and Star Trek Online. They are also highly xenophobic, perhaps more so than even the Tholians. Therefore, you might be wondering: Why offer them as a Player Species?
The answer stems from the Voyager episode “In the Flesh” (5×04). There we are introduced to the fact that there are several factions within Undine culture, some of which are not the warmongering type. Some factions have an appreciation and perhaps a fondness for the experiences of humanoid species such as art, literature, and music. This, combined with Starfleet’s core principles, means that an Undine crewmember from such a faction is entirely possible.
There is a caveat to all this, though. The Undine in their natural state are, for lack of a better term, “broken” in terms of mechanics. They have access to absurdly powerful Talents that have been paired down from their NPC entry in the Delta Quadrant supplement. They also can genetically engineer themselves to appear as any Humanoid within reason. This means that they should only be allowed in games where the Gamemaster is confident they can handle such a powerful package, and/or if the Player behind the Undine character can be trusted not to abuse the system.
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