TEXT: STAR TREK ROLEPLAYING GAME
  SPECIES PROFILE
  SPECIES NAME: CAIRN
  VISUAL REPRESENTATION
  SPECIES ADJUSTMENTS
  +1 Perception    (+2 to normal starting PSI score)
  PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
  Physiologically, Cairn are unremarkable humanoids. 
  Bony protrusions on both temples house their larger-
  than-average brains, which contain large areas for 
  storing and transmitting visual images. 
  Psychologically, Cairn differ significantly from most 
  humanoids. Because they don't use language, they 
  don't think in abstractions. The phrases "To be or not 
  to be, that is the question" or "We hold these truths to 
  be self-evident" simply wouldn't occur to a Cairn. 
  Without the ability to communicate abstract concepts, 
  they don't understand philosophy, theology, or a host 
  of other -ologies. If you can't see it, experience it, or 
  remember it, it might as well not exist. Cairn like to act 
  quickly and to seize on new ideas. They have excellent 
  memories.
  CULTURE
  Although Cairn do not maintain a written history - or 
  use any kind of writing at all for that matter - their 
  collective memories are long and accurate. They can 
  correctly state that they were non-sentient forest-
  crawling apes a mere two thousand years ago. (The 
  comparable development in the human species took 
  hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years.) The 
  Cairns' telepathic access to one another's minds not 
  only allowed good ideas to spread almost 
  instantaneously through the planet's entire 
  population, but also protected them from the violence 
  and warfare that typically accompanies a civilization's 
  early development. The concept of harmful struggle 
  between Cairn had never even occurred to them.
  Fourteen hundred years ago, however, a deranged 
  individual introduced images into society so horrible that 
  the act of receiving them was as traumatic to brain tissue as 
  a brutal physical beating. The ensuing wars burned 
  themselves out when the entire population of the planet was 
  reduced to a few thousand individuals. An innovator 
  developed mental disciplines to protect the mind from 
  harmful images, whether they came from another person or 
  from the darkest corners of one's own subconscious. They 
  even learned to heal those already affected by the 
  disturbing images.
  Cairn culture returned to progress. The population grew. 
  Rapid technological progress resumed. A thousand years 
  ago, the Cairn developed warp drive technology and began 
  to explore the stars. When they encountered other sentient 
  species, however, they were unable to communicate with 
  them. Invariably, these other races spoke through sounds 
  instead of mental images. They recorded their thoughts with 
  strange squiggles, rather than simply remembering them. 
  And Cairn vessels suffered attacks on more than one 
  occasion. Deciding they were truly alone in the universe, 
  the Cairn packed up their starships and retired to their 
  isolated, sparsely populated world to pronounce space 
  exploration a momentarily interesting, but ultimately futile, 
  dead end.
  In 2365, the USS Okinawa initiated first contact with the 
  Cairn, with the help of two telepathic officers, a Betazoid 
  and a Vulcan. Intermittent and frustrating contacts 
  continued for five years; nonetheless, the Cairn applied for 
  Federation membership in 2370. It was granted shortly 
  thereafter, leaving the Cairn and Federation with the difficult 
  challenge of integrating their means of communication to 
  allow each side to reap the maximum benefits from their 
  relationship. The Cairn use a MIC, a Mental Image 
  Communicator. A rudimentary holo-emitter instantaneously 
  projects the image sent by the user into the air about three 
  feet away, as if there were an invisible viewscreen, two feet 
  high and two and a half feet long, hanging in midair. The 
  image is two-dimensional, but can be viewed from either 
  side. The holo-emitter supports only limited image 
  movement. The MIC also takes spoken and written 
  expressions and translates them into images displayed on a 
  one-inch-square viewscreen for the Cairn user.
  Cairn society is young and vital, hungry for knowledge and 
  development. They value innovation over all. All young 
  Cairn are brought up with the desire to add their own 
  deathless images to the collective memory of their people. 
  Although eager to take part in the interchange of ideas, 
  goods, and technologies that comes with Federation 
  membership, the Cairn are used to being isolated. They 
  remain leery about contact with outsiders, and many folks 
  are prepared to be disappointed; a few worry about another 
  disaster like the Viral Image Wars.
  LANGUAGES
  The Cairn are only able to communicate through the use of 
  their telepathic ability and the projection of images. This is 
  as close to a language as these people have.
  The very few Cairn who have learned to speak using 
  prosthetic voice boxes speak Federation Standard; as that 
  
  is the language they were taught in and that is the 
  language the voice-boxes are programmed to 
  reproduce by default.
  COMMON NAMES
  Cairn have a single name – no family name. And male 
  and female names can often sound alike. This is 
  because the Cairn really do not care how their names 
  sound as much as how they look – that is how the 
  projected imagery with which each Cairn identifies 
  himself to other Cairn looks.
  Maques is one example of a male Cairn name, and 
  Hedril an example of a female.
  HOMEWORLD
  The Cairn live on the world they call Vair; a mysterious 
  worl of endless forsts and woodlands, Vair is the 
  fourth planet in the Visium system. 
  None of Visium's other planets can support humanoid 
  life. Vairite animal life evolved psi powers early in its 
  evolution. Even Vair's plankton is capable of reacting 
  with the mental energy of organisms around it in a 
  rudimentary way. 
  Only a tiny minority of Vairite species learned to 
  communicate through sound. Instead of the calls and 
  cries typical of most planets' fauna, Vairite animals 
  send simple, mental messages to one another when 
  they wish to mate, warn of approaching danger, or 
  signal the location of food. Vairite forests overwhelm 
  visitors with their eerie silence.
  The Cairn evolved from these silent, psi-active 
  animals. Where sapient species of other planets took 
  their first steps toward intelligence when their hominid 
  forebears developed spoken language, stimulating the 
  enlargement of their brains, the proto-Cairn developed 
  their minds when they became the first animals to 
  mentally transmit complex images instead of simply 
  instinctual cues. 
  Staggering quantities of brainpower were required to 
  summon up and receive detailed images. The Cairn 
  not only evolved much more quickly than hominids 
  elsewhere, but experienced extremely rapid social and 
  technological development thereafter. 
  FAVORED PROFESSION
  Despite their shortcomings in the area of personal 
  communication the Cairn make excellent Diplomats. 
  Scientist, and the Explorer elite profession are also 
  commonly favored by the Cairn.
  Some Cairn do serve in Starfleet. And in the decade 
  the Cairn have enjoyed membership in the Federation, 
  at least one Cairn officer has advanced in rank to 
  command his own Starship.
  The Cairn are an open and honest people, and are not 
  likely to be found in the role of Rogues. Also, since 
  they do not believe in religion, or understand theology, 
  mythology, or philosophy they tend to make terrible 
  Mystics despite their Psionic abilities.
  Most Cairn PCs will, likely, be Scientists or Starship 
  Officers, while NPCs will tend towards Explorers, and 
  Diplomats.
  SPECIES ABILITIES
  The Cairn are a very perceptive people and observe things 
  around them in their own unique way. But, one a Cairn has 
  formed a mental image of something they can communicate 
  this information on a level far more detailed than simple 
  verbal communication.
  Cairn receive a +1 species bonus to their Perception scores.
  They also have several traits individual to their species:
  Psionic: The Cairn are some of the most powerful telepaths 
  ever encountered by the Federation. While most Psions 
  begin with a starting level of 4 for their PSI attribute, a Cairn 
  begins at a level of 6. Cairn can advance their Psionic 
  attribute as a Favored Attribute. And their PSI score can 
  reach as high as 14.
  Mental Imagery: Due to their advanced form of Telepathy, 
  the Cairn do not project words with their minds, they 
  communicate in mental images. All Cairn begin with a level 
  of 6 in the Telepathy skill, with a Mental Imagery specialty. 
  And they may advance this one Psionic skill as a 
  Professional Skill. This may seem unusually high, but this 
  skill is as basic to a Cairn as speech is to most humanoids. 
  When a Cairn child projects his first images it is the 
  equivalent of a human baby speaking his first word.
  The Cairn can only project their images to other Cairn and 
  other Telepaths skilled in Receptive Telepathy. Any non-
  Cairn attempting to understand a Cairn image does so with 
  a -4 penalty to their Psionic skill roll. 
  CAIRN PSIONIC SKILLS
  The Carin can learn Psionic skills from among the 
  full range of those available. However, they can only 
  advance their Telepathy skill as a Professional Skill. 
  All other Psionic skills are advanced as non-
  Professional skills, at a cost of 2 advancement picks 
  per level.
  Ranged & Focused: Carin characters receive both the 
  Psionic Coverage and Psionic Focus edges as Species 
  Traits. (see pages 136-137 of the Player's Guide). The 
  Psionic skill effected by both edges is Telepathy. The Cairn 
  cannot be Ranged & Focused with any other Psionic skills.
  Mute: Cairn cannot speak, unless fitted with an artificial 
  voice-box and taught how to use it. They can only 
  communicate effectively using a Mental Image 
  Communicator, or MIC. But they are completely physically 
  mute. Cairn suffer a -4 species-based penalty when trying to 
  use a skill that requires speech (Debate (Oratory) for 
  example); in a situation where they are expected to speak, if 
  they do so without the benefit of the MIC. 
  Intolerant (non-Telepaths): This is an optional flaw and if 
  taken at character creation is balanced with a free edge. 
  Some Cairn have had bad experiences with non-Telepaths, 
  and attempts to communicate with them. As a result some 
  Cairn are wary, and even outright unfriendly to non-
  Telepaths. This is not the norm among these people; but a 
  
  few individuals have suffered the unfortunate 
  circumstances to have this flaw despite the Carin's 
  membership in the Federation and the galactic 
  community as a whole.
  MENTAL IMAGE COMMUNICATOR
  Specifications: 15 – 25 cm, length. 0.3 – 0.5kg 
  mass.
  Description: These devices come in a wide variety 
  of sizes and shapes. But all of them function as a 
  hand-held portable holographic emitter tuned to 
  project a Carin's telepathic imagery into the air as a 
  hologram. Each device also has a small viewing 
  screen that displays an image as a translation of 
  spoken or written impressions directed at the Cairn 
  using the device.
  Rules: All Cairn adults will have a skill in using this 
  device – Systems Operation (Mental Image 
  Communicator) – beginning the game with the skill 
  at level-6, as it is a very essential skill for Cairn to 
  know. Cairn children will have the same skill, at 
  level-4. Any use of the device is done with a +2 
  affinity from the Cairn's Telepathy skill.
  Duration / Energy: 750 hours of intermittent use; 
  48 hours of continuous use.
  Range: 3 / 6 / 12 / 20   +6
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Star Trek RPG/Decipher/Species/alien_Cairn.pdf