- #1
Meluxia
Hello everyone,
A while ago I played XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and, at some point, I carried out an autopsy on a "Thin Man". Now, one of results of the discoveries of the autopsy is that a "Thin Man" has a segmented skeleton, rather like the serpent, which is supposed to be reason for their "spectacular range of motion in combat". See Thin Man Autopsy for for more information
I find the concept rather intriguing, and so I plan to incorporate as a trait of a character. That said, the information XCOM supplies is minimal...and, of course, I'm wondering if it really works like that. Naturally, I understand Fantasy/Sci-Fi tend to take liberties with reality, but I'm curious to what extent in this regard
So, in other words, I have a number of questions about this topic. And yes, I should note that biology was never my strong point, so be prepared for potential novice questions. Plus, English is not my native language so I might be unaware of certain scientific terms.
Anyway, my questions are the following:
- Is it actually remotely feasible for a human-like entity to have a segmented skeleton to begin with, or is this anatomically impossible and solely part of the realm of fantasy?
- Are there any "special" requirements for a human to have a segmented skeleton, and, if they are, what are they? That is to say, could a segmented skeleton be a single trait, or would a part of a "package deal" in the sense that a segmented skeleton in itself requires other anatomy changes?
- What would be the advantages and drawbacks of possessing such a skeleton compared to a normal human's?
A while ago I played XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and, at some point, I carried out an autopsy on a "Thin Man". Now, one of results of the discoveries of the autopsy is that a "Thin Man" has a segmented skeleton, rather like the serpent, which is supposed to be reason for their "spectacular range of motion in combat". See Thin Man Autopsy for for more information
I find the concept rather intriguing, and so I plan to incorporate as a trait of a character. That said, the information XCOM supplies is minimal...and, of course, I'm wondering if it really works like that. Naturally, I understand Fantasy/Sci-Fi tend to take liberties with reality, but I'm curious to what extent in this regard
So, in other words, I have a number of questions about this topic. And yes, I should note that biology was never my strong point, so be prepared for potential novice questions. Plus, English is not my native language so I might be unaware of certain scientific terms.
Anyway, my questions are the following:
- Is it actually remotely feasible for a human-like entity to have a segmented skeleton to begin with, or is this anatomically impossible and solely part of the realm of fantasy?
- Are there any "special" requirements for a human to have a segmented skeleton, and, if they are, what are they? That is to say, could a segmented skeleton be a single trait, or would a part of a "package deal" in the sense that a segmented skeleton in itself requires other anatomy changes?
- What would be the advantages and drawbacks of possessing such a skeleton compared to a normal human's?