Species Generation

There are over a million known worlds in the galaxy, and thousands of known intelligent alien species. The players and the gamemaster can always make up new aliens to populate the Star Wars universe.

When inventing new alien species, an important factor is game balance—don’t design aliens that are so powerful that they overshadow all of the other species. Humans are carefully balanced to have attributes between 2D and 4D; aliens should seldom be spectacularly superior to humans, and if they are, there should be a counterbalancing limitation.

Concept

When making up new alien species, the creator has to determine the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the alien species. These basic issues govern biology, culture, psychology, and many other factors, which help develop the new species into an interesting element of your Star Wars game.

This section presents an alien generation system and reviews some of the basic factors involved in designing believable new alien species.

There are many aliens presented in this volume—many of them are fairly esoteric. Chances are, if you crave a new alien species for your campaign, you’ll find one within these pages neither you nor your players have ever heard of.

However, many gamemasters like to put their own imprint on the Star Wars galaxy by creating new worlds, creatures, and aliens. If you prefer to create your own alien species, probably the simplest solution is to base your new alien on an existing chassis: take an established alien and change its attributes and special abilities around a bit to create a new being.

If you’d like to produce detailed original aliens, try out the alien generation system in this section. This system does one thing: generate game stats and appearances for carbon-breathing species—the predominant form of sentient life in the Star Wars universe. You can use these rules to generate more exotic aliens—like silicon lifeforms or energy beings which thrive in ammonia seas—with a little additional work, but the system is not intended to produce such results.

We recommend using the system as a guideline in developing your own species rather than as a random alien generator (though the system is set up to produce random results if you prefer to work that way). The process of creating a new alien species should be done with great care, especially if the species will be made available to players as character templates: take the time to think most of the aspects of the species through to assure that the creature is balanced, reasonable, and interesting.

That all said, let’s get rolling.

Don Your Thinking Cap

The first step in alien creation is sitting down and thinking about your alien. You don’t need to settle on details right now—that’s what the creation system is for. But you should frame in your mind the objectives you want to accomplish by asking yourself a few questions.

How prominent will the new aliens be in your campaign? The amount of time you spend detailing your alien depends largely on how much you plan to feature it in your adventures. Again, if all you need is a walk-on, you probably don’t need to generate a complete alien civilization. Simple game stats and a general description should be enough. On the other hand, if the characters are traveling to the aliens’ homeworld to bring it into the Alliance, you need to know a lot more about your new species and its culture.

Do you already have any ideas about your aliens—how they look, what their society is like, what environment they live in? Will your alien be a squat amphibian or a tall, burly primate? Does it hail from a low-gravity world of grassy plains or from the undersea reefs of a waterworld? Is it a herbivore or scavenger? Does it honk really loud when it’s scared? Does it read datapads or try to eat them?

If you are designing a new alien to play a specific role in an adventure, your adventure requirements might dictate or influence your design. For example, if you need a species of cowardly lemurs or if the big Imperial governor’s hacienda is on a marshy world, you already know your aliens will be little hyper mammals or swamp-dwellers.

The more you can define your alien now, the better. As you go through the system, you’ll have the opportunity to go with your original ideas, or set off in a new direction. But it is always best to have a goal in mind before you start.

Of course, it can also be a fun creative exercise to randomly generate a species and come up with creative solutions to each apparent contradiction. Work the way you feel most comfortable.

Environment

Begin your alien generation process by selecting an environment your alien species evolved in. Either roll 2D or pick one of the following as the primary species habitat:

Dice Roll (2D) — Terrain Result • 11–13: Barren • 14–16: Desert • 21–23: Forest • 24–26: Glacier • 31–33: Jungle • 34–36: Mountain • 41–43: Ocean • 44–46: Plains • 51–53: Wetlands • 54–56, 61–63: Mixed • 64–66: Exotic

Barren

Barren environments are typically arid ones, possibly with hostile environments. The ground is extremely hard, dry, and cannot sustain most forms of life. The atmosphere is likely to be intolerable to humans. Aliens who thrive in a barren environment may not find human-standard environments hospitable without breath masks or other life-support aids.

Desert

Deserts are marked by a lack of plant cover with large stretches of bare ground. These are harsh, dry ecosystems and both the plants and animals found here will be very hardy and able to survive a long time without food or water. The ground on the desert may be rocky or sandy. Mountaintops can also be deserts due to the infertile ground and lack of rain.

Temperatures in the desert are not moderated by any humidity and will be hot in the day and cold at night. Very cold deserts are called tundras; the ground stays frozen all year long, although the surface may thaw during a warm season and allow plants to grow.

Forest

Forests occur most commonly in temperate zones, but they can also occur in very cold or warm areas (see the “Jungle” entry for tropical forests). In great forest ecosystems, the trees will probably be the most prevalent forms of life—or at least the most obvious. Small plants do not survive well in large forests, though tiny ones thrive by living off the decay and the refuse of the trees. Animals flourish in forests, most of which are herbivores that subsist on the trees almost entirely. Carnivores keep the population of the herbivores under control, and they tend to be larger and stronger than carnivores in other areas.

Glacier

Glaciers are huge frozen sheets of ice that can be several kilometers thick. Some places are permanently locked into a frigid environment (such as polar regions and planets far from their stars’ warming rays), while others are simply passing through an ice age. In the former case, life will have evolved to thrive in this environment and have suitable protection against the cold. In an ice age scenario, the dominant species may not be entirely adapted to the environment, but is hardy or clever enough to survive.

Jungle

Tropical forests that receive a great deal of precipitation are called jungles or rain forests. These ecosystems support different subsystems at different heights in the trees. These may be so separated that there is no contact between the creatures in the canopy and those on the forest floor.

Mountain

Mountainous planets have been (or still are) home to a great deal of geologic activity. The mountains may range from small hills to huge alps, but if they characterize a species’ main environment, they are probably fairly large. Many lifeforms live in mountainous environments. They are usually hardy, sure of foot, and accustomed to thriving in rarefied atmospheres.

Ocean

A species from an ocean environment may be a marine life form or live primarily on the surface (like seabirds). Oceans may be very deep or merely large and shallow, depending upon whether or not geologic activity has created great mountainous regions on the ocean floor.

Ocean depths are sparsely inhabited and will have strange creatures unused to any light and living off the heat of volcanic vents. Coastal waters are the richest ecosystems with plenty of light and minerals and many forms of plant and animal life. On worlds with a large moon or those which circle a gas giant, coastal areas will be subject to tides that leave some land exposed part of the day. Such conditions often give rise to amphibious creatures.

Plains

Plains get less rainfall than forests and this keeps the plants from reaching great heights. Plains (or grasslands) may feature a tree or two, but they are few in number with a lot of space in between. Plains animals are often accustomed to traveling great distances in search of food or water.

Veldts (plains located in hot climates) have more types of life forms than cool grasslands. Herbivores and insects live on the plains, and the carnivores that prey on them tend to be speed-oriented. There aren’t as many places to hide in the grasslands, so the animal life must be fast, strong, or both.

Wetlands

Wetlands can take the form of ponds, marshes, or swamps. Most wetlands are in warm climates, but this is not a prerequisite (bogs and fens are as likely to be found on highland moors as tropical river deltas). Wetlands support a vast array of lifeforms of every type.

Mixed

The environment is a combination of two other terrain types. Roll twice on this table. You can discard contradictory results if you like, but it may be a fun challenge to invent an explanation for a desert–wetlands combination. Note that some apparently contradictory combinations are perfectly plausible. A glacier–plains combination, for example, describes a tundra perfectly.

Exotic

Exotic environments can encompass all sorts of unusual conditions, from volcano worlds riddled with underground caves, to rarefied strata of gas giant atmospheres (you can find some additional ideas in the “Planets” chapter). If you like, roll on this table again, ignoring this result. Use whatever is rolled as a “basis” for an alien ecosystem, then go from there. For example, if you roll “Forest,” the forest might be made of magnesium and heavy metal “trees” and have animals that feed on these compounds in it.

Species Origin

With your environment in mind, it’s time to select a basic origin for your species. The following categories are not all-inclusive, and to streamline things some disparate species are grouped together. Feel free to further specialize the system if you’d like to get more specific.

Select one of the following or roll 2D to get the basic biological form of your species (the values are weighed in favor of species types common in the Star Wars galaxy, namely mammals, reptiles, and insects). Disregard any obvious clashes between environment and origin (unless you really want to explain aquatic aliens living in a desert).

Dice Roll (2D) — Origin Result • 2: Plant • 3: Soft Invertebrate • 4–5: Insect • 6–7: Reptile • 8–9: Mammal • 10: Hard Invertebrate • 11: Aquatic • 12: Avian

Plant

Plants synthesize energy from water, nutrients in soil, and sunlight. They are the lowest and most common niche in an ecosystem. They tend to be immobile and typically possess only passive natural defenses such as burrs.

Sentient plant species are usually immobile, but some species can move about in search of better soil, light, or nutrients. They can be very difficult to communicate with since their entire existence is based upon a life where food is present every day and they lack many concepts humans and other animals find natural.

Soft Invertebrate

Soft invertebrates include species descended from soft-bodied creatures without bones, such as worms, slugs or snails, or octopus. These creatures may eat either plants or animals and can form colonies or stay independent. They can take many forms, and some species are able to change form as necessary. They usually move about using muscles, and some creatures have very unusual internal structures that give them some of the rigidity necessary to enable swift movement.

Insect

Insects are arthropods (for simplicity’s sake, arachnids are lumped in with insects). Most have well-defined segmented bodies consisting of a head, thorax, and abdomen. Others have evolved into other forms (there are some humanoid insect species out there). Insects may have any number of jointed legs, usually have exoskeletons, and some have wings. Sentient insects may be carnivores, omnivores, herbivores, or scavengers.

Reptile

Reptiles are cold-blooded vertebrates which usually have a bony skeleton and a body covered in scales or bony plates—species like snakes, lizards, turtles, or crocodiles. Most reptile species live on land and lay eggs. These species may be carnivores, omnivores, herbivores, or scavengers.

Mammal

Mammals are warm-blooded vertebrates who nourish their young with milk secreted from mammary glands. Most mammals are covered in hair or fur (though like humans, body hair might be extremely fine). A great many sentient species in the Star Wars galaxy are mammals. Mammals may be carnivores, omnivores, herbivores, or scavengers.

Hard Invertebrate

Hard invertebrates have hard outer bodies and no internal skeleton. They often have jointed legs. Examples include crustaceans and some flying creatures. These species can be very diverse. Technically, insects are also hard invertebrates, but they get their own category above. Most hard invertebrates are carnivorous or scavengers, but some may be herbivores.

Aquatic

This category includes species descended from creatures that lived in marine environments. While these beings may be amphibian, mammalian, reptilian, or fish-like, they are grouped into this one category to make indexing easier. These species may be carnivores, omnivores, herbivores, or scavengers.

Sentient marine beings may breathe air instead of water if desired—or both.

Avian

This category includes species descended from warm-blooded, feathered, winged creatures. The species may still be able to fly, or might have evolved to live on the ground. Fliers normally have light bones or incredibly powerful muscles so that they can stay aloft. These species may be carnivores, omnivores, herbivores, or scavengers.

Ecological Niche

With your species origin in mind, you can consider what role it played or continues to play in its ecology. Are your aliens herbivores or carnivores? Deciding what niche of the ecosystem your new species springs from goes a long way toward defining that species.

Determine the ecological niche of your species by either rolling 1D or picking one. Omnivores and carnivores are given a better chance of occurring because their dining habits encourage both aggression and innovation—presumably important factors in developing sentience.

Die Roll (1D) — Niche Result • 1: Herbivore • 2–3: Carnivore • 4–5: Omnivore • 6: Scavenger

If your new alien is a plant life form, you can skip this step. Only if your plant is carnivorous or otherwise unusual (aside from being mobile and sentient) do you need to worry about its ecological habits.

Herbivore

Herbivores are plant-eaters. Natural defenses can include acute senses, high movement speeds, armor, and natural weapons that can be used in combat.

Sentient herbivores may be skittish, oriented toward large groups, and not as aggressive as species descended from carnivores and omnivores. Herbivores tend to have speed or passive defenses (armor or camouflage, for example) to protect themselves from predators.

Carnivore

Carnivores are meat-eaters, normally preying on herbivores or smaller and weaker carnivores. They often compete with one another, although carnivores in the same ecosystem will often evolve unique abilities that differentiate them from other carnivore species.

There are few standard characteristics of carnivores: some are solitary while others are highly social and hunt in packs. Some carnivores are active only during daytime, others only at night; some are highly territorial, while others are migratory. In general, like most animals, carnivores will adopt behaviors most likely to preserve and continue the species.

Sentient carnivores are descended from hunters, and may be cunning, aggressive, and violent. They may have special adaptations, such as claws, poisonous bites, or other traits that enable them to attack and kill prey. Since the species has evolved intelligence and has probably begun using tools, the species may have lost these adaptations. Carnivores may also move fast, though others might lie in wait for prey instead.

Omnivore

Omnivores are creatures that eat both plants and animals. They usually compete with carnivores for prey, and often hunt some of the carnivores themselves. These creatures are highly variable, adopting whatever behaviors and evolving whatever traits are most likely to enable them to survive (those that don’t evolve die out).

Sentient omnivores can be competitive and aggressive, but may also be curious, eager for contact with new and unknown beings and cultures. They may have natural defensive abilities or offensive ones.

Scavenger

Scavengers are the final primary niche in ecosystems. Scavengers survive by feeding off the remains of animals or plants after they have been killed. They are seldom as strong or dangerous as the hunters that made the kill, but do often have formidable natural defenses. (We count scavengers as omnivores in the tables included later in this chapter.)

Because of the varied nature of homeworlds, there are no hard and fast characteristics of this species, except that because it evolved from a scavenger, it is clearly not the most dangerous or powerful form of life on the planet.

Appearance

The physical appearance of an alien will follow directly from the environment and evolutionary stock, so now that you have established these aspects of your alien, refine its physical appearance. Just knowing whether the alien is a reptile or insect gives you a big head-start.

Most Star Wars aliens are humanoids, so we can start there if we like by giving our alien two arms and two legs (or tentacles, maybe). Sentient beings need a way to manipulate their environment, so they should have hands, pincers, suction cups, or something at the end of at least one of these appendages. They also have heads in the usual place, though the appearance of the head and the number of sensory organs located in it are for you to determine.

The other features of an intelligent species are likewise open to the imagination. If a species does not have a special need for camouflage, it can be any color you like. Keep in mind that most creatures evolve toward efficiency and not away from it, so there shouldn’t be too many contrasting features on one creature.

You can take this opportunity to develop some of the biological and cultural details of the species. How do the aliens reproduce, for example? Are there more (or less) than two sexes?

By the way, you might want to revisit this step after assigning special abilities to your alien. Some special abilities can have a big impact on appearance. For example, if you give your species the ability to fly, it should have at least one pair of wings.

Technological Development

As intelligent species begin to develop, they form societies with a distinct culture. One measure of the development is the technological level achieved by the most advanced group of the species. Most newly discovered species in the frontier region of space have low technology levels. This is because as a species’ technology improves, the species is more likely to have already contacted galactic civilization. As one ventures further into the unexplored wilderness, the probability of discovering a high technology species, while not great, does increase.

Bear in mind that not all cultures develop at the same pace, and that technological breakthroughs may come in a different order than they did on Earth (our own real-world model). For example, one society may develop computers without having first developed printing presses, or continue to use steam-powered vehicles while developing space-worthy craft.

Dice Roll (2D) — Tech Result • 2–5: Stone • 6–8: Feudal • 9: Industrial • 10: Atomic • 11: Information • 12: Space

By the way, the reason we’re determining technological level now is so we know whether or not we need to add special skills to the alien’s stats. If the culture is at a Stone or Feudal level, we’ll probably have to include some specialized primitive weapons skills.

Stone

Stone-level civilizations are marked by small social groups, the use of simple tools, and primitive agriculture. The tools are usually able to be made by anyone in the society and there is little need for trade. Food can be provided through hunting (if carnivorous) or gathering wild foods (if herbivorous) or through early methods of cultivation. Transportation is by foot, with no organized road network. Communication is by storytelling and pictures.

Feudal

Feudal-level civilizations are distinguished by extensive social contact on a regional basis and simple manufactured goods. The most advanced tools must be made by specialized workers and factories. Agriculture occupies most of the society and consists of herding bred animals or farming planted crops. Transportation is by harnessing animal, wind, or water power; road networks do exist. Communication includes the use of a hand-written language.

Industrial

Industrial-level civilizations have the population split between agriculture and manufacturing, as society interacts at a continental level. Mass production is used to create the most advanced tools. Transportation and agriculture become motorized and electricity from burning fuels is the common source of power. Communication includes the mass production of written text and simple electrical messages like the telegraph.

Atomic

Atomic-level civilizations see more efficient mass production, and manufactured goods become available on almost all societal levels. Advanced alloys and plastics are produced, space travel begins, and transportation, communication, medicine, and business fields continue to grow.

Information

Information-level civilizations have a global community, marked by rapid dispersal of information to all inhabited parts of the world. Automation dramatically increases efficiency in factories and agriculture. Atomic power and solar power are understood and used for large energy demands, while more advanced energy sources are being explored. In-system space travel is common and colony ships are possible. Early droids and energy weapons appear; repulsorlift is likely to be discovered soon.

Space

The Old Republic, Empire, New Republic, and Galactic Alliance are all Space-level civilizations. These civilizations are characterized by extra-system colonization, hyperspace travel, droids, personal energy weapons, and very efficient industry. Multiple planets may be economically interdependent.

Creating Stats

Having established a background and appearance for your alien, we need to move into generating some game stats for it. Here’s what a blank alien template looks like. To create your alien, you need to fill each of these slots:

ALIEN STAT TEMPLATE

•	Attribute Dice:
•	DEXTERITY
•	KNOWLEDGE
•	MECHANICAL
•	PERCEPTION
•	STRENGTH
•	TECHNICAL
•	Special Skills:
•	Special Abilities:
•	Story Factors:
•	Move:
•	Size:

Attribute Dice

Attribute dice are the building blocks of your species. The value in this slot determines how many dice and pips can be distributed among the attributes when creating a new representative of this species.

A value of 12D is considered average in the Star Wars game system, so most gamemaster characters should be in that range (some species will be somewhat more or less capable than the norm, of course). Add 6D to that base level for player characters and key gamemaster characters to represent their superior hero/villain status.

Use this table if you’d like to generate random results:

Roll (2D) — Attribute Dice • 2: 8D • 3: 9D • 4: 10D • 5–6: 11D • 7–9: 12D • 10–11: 13D • 12: 14D

Attribute Die Ranges

Each species has a separate listing for each attribute (Dexterity, Knowledge, Mechanical, Perception, Strength, and Technical) that looks something like this: 1D/4D+2. This value is your die range: in allocating attribute dice to attributes, you cannot go below the first number or above the second number.

Humans, representing the default average in the Star Wars rules, have a 2D/4D minimum/maximum in all attributes. Aliens vary more because they have particular strengths and weaknesses humans do not have; one species may be extremely strong but also poor in mechanical skills while another is highly perceptive but clumsy.

You can allocate die ranges however you like. Often, decisions you have already made about your species will guide you toward certain ranges. For example, if you have already decided that your species is fast and small, you may well assign a higher die range to Dexterity and a lower range to Strength to reflect both the alien’s speed in combat and its overall weakness (in general, small beings possess less physical strength than big ones).

Be reluctant to go below 1D or above 6D without good reason (in the latter case remember that players using your alien will start off with 6D in every skill under the relevant attribute before allocating attribute dice—a potentially game-wrecking situation).

If you haven’t made these decisions, you can either make them now or roll 3D on the following table for each attribute:

Roll (3D) — Attribute Range • 3: 1D/2D • 4: 1D/2D+1 • 5: 1D/2D+2 • 6: 1D+1/3D • 7: 1D+1/3D • 8: 1D+1/3D+1 • 9: 1D+2/3D+1 • 10: 1D+2/3D+2 • 11: 1D+2/3D+2 • 12: 2D/4D • 13: 2D/4D • 14: 2D/4D • 15: 2D+1/4D+1 • 16: 2D+2/4D+2 • 17: 3D/5D • 18: 4D/6D

When you’ve finished determining your die ranges, add up your minimums to make sure they are equal to or below the attribute dice. Then add up the maximums to ensure they are at least 6D above the attribute dice. If something is amiss, tweak the ranges until everything squares up.

Special Skills

By now you should have a good idea of what sort of alien is taking shape. Here is where it starts to take on personality in terms of game stats. If your species has any unique or specialized skills, list them here.

Most special skills reflect knowledge picked up living lifestyles different from the galactic norm. Now that you know the tech level of your species, decide if new skills are warranted. In general, the closer the species is to the Space tech level, the less need there is for special skills. (An exception is a species which has developed an alternative advanced technology which has no direct counterpart in galactic society.)

Primitive cultures, on the other hand, rely on skills long discarded by more advanced societies. A member of a primitive culture may be adept at using a bow or spear, farming, crafting war chariots, or using banthas for transportation. You may either give the alien the option of taking these new skills or compel him to do so (giving an alien a beginning bonus in taking certain skills is a special ability—see below).

Other special skills reflect differences in an alien’s physiology that make performing new tasks possible. Flight is a common special skill based on a physical attribute—that of possessing wings and a light aerodynamic body. Other possibilities include telepathy or a fighting style dependent on having a certain number of limbs. Particular alien species may actually be so different they must have new skills to replace the normal ones. For example, a gelatinous species may use aversion instead of dodge because they can actually change shape fast enough to avoid blaster bolts.

Note that special skills of this type merely reflect the use of a unique physiological trait. The trait itself is listed under special abilities (which we’ll get to in just a moment). For example, an alien cannot have a special skill of flight unless he also has wings and a corresponding ability to fly—a special ability.

(Don’t get confused if you find a few aliens published in other Star Wars D6 books that seem inconsistent with the instructions in this paragraph—over the years, some inconsistent applications of this rule have crept into the game. It isn’t a serious problem; we just mention it so you know that there are exceptions floating around.)

Don’t feel that you simply must generate special skills for your alien, by the way. If a compelling justification for including them isn’t suggesting itself to you, you can probably skip this step and not lose any sleep about it. The majority of aliens in this book lack special skills, including most of those from primitive societies.

Because special skills are not often used in designing a new alien, we’re not offering an exhaustive list of random solutions. If you’re randomly generating an alien, either skip this step entirely or pick one of the samples listed below:

Sample Special Skills

•	Dexterity skills:

Thrown Weapons: bows, rocks, sling, spear. Time to use: one round. The character may take the base skill and/or any of the specializations. • Knowledge skills: Agriculture: Time to use: at least one standard week. The character has a good working knowledge of crops and animal herds, and can suggest appropriate crops for a type of soil, or explain why crop yields have been affected. • Mechanical skills: Beast riding (bantha): Beginning characters must allocate a minimum of 1D to this beast riding specialization. • Strength skills: Flight: Time to use: one round. Use this skill when the character flies. The character begins with a flying speed of 30 and may improve his flying speed as described in the “Movement & Chases” chapter.

Special Abilities

Special abilities are species-wide traits which help the alien thrive in its natural environment. These are generally physiological traits, such as natural weapons and armor (claws, barbed tails, tough hides, and the like), but can also indicate special aptitudes such as a talent for picking up alien languages.

What is true of all special abilities is that they are specific to the species in question; they cannot be learned by members of other species. This is the biggest difference between special skills and special abilities.

There are a couple of ways to approach this section. You can simply peruse the lists of aliens provided in various Star Wars D6 supplements, picking and choosing whichever special abilities appeal to you. You can also obtain random results if you prefer—just be sure that the special abilities you wind up with work with your alien (desert-dwelling mammals with the ability to breathe underwater might excite some comment among your players).

Alternatively, you can buy attributes at a cost of 1D, using dice from your pool of attribute dice (you get 1D back for every penalty you buy). This method is a good one to use if you are letting your players design their own new species, since it encourages economy.

Naturally, this section just scratches the surface when it comes to special abilities. If you don’t see a special ability here you’d like to use for your alien, find an alien from another Star Wars D6 resource who does have it and borrow it, or make up your own.

If you want help in determining how many special abilities your alien has, roll on the following table:

Roll (3D) — Number of Special Abilities • 3: 4 • 4–6: 3 • 7–9: 2 • 10–14: 1 • 15–18: 0

Natural Weapons

Does your alien have natural weapons? If so, you’ll need to determine what sort it has. Remember that your alien doesn’t need to be a predator in order to have weapons like claws or sharp teeth; many herbivores have defensive weapons as well.

The default damage done by natural weapons on the Weapons Table is STR+1D. To generate another value, either pick one or roll on the table below:

Roll (2D) — Natural Weapon Damage • 1–3: STR damage • 4–5: STR+1 damage • 6–7: STR+2 damage • 8–9: STR+1D damage • 10: STR+1D+2 damage • 11: STR+2D damage • 12: STR+3D damage

Natural Armor

Does your alien have some sort of natural protection against its enemies? If so, you need to decide what sort of armor it is and how much protection it affords. Armor can be anything from a thick layer of blubber to scales to chitinous armor plating.

The default armor bonus on the Natural Armor Table is +1D (and +2D in cases where a contrast is needed). Replace it if you like by rolling on the table below:

Roll (1D) — Default Armor Bonus • 1: +1 • 2: +2 • 3: +1D • 4: +1D+1 • 5: +1D+2 • 6: +2D

Weapons Table

Natural Armor Table

Other Special Abilities

Aside from weapons and natural armor, there are several other types of special abilities. These are tackled in the next few sections. You probably won’t use all of the sections for one species unless you want to decorate your alien like a Christmas tree.

Again, you can browse the lists at your leisure or let the dice decide using the table below:

Roll (1D) — Result • 1–2: Skill Bonus • 3–4: Constant Ability • 5–6: Beginning Character Ability

Skill Bonus: Some special abilities add a bonus to a certain skill at all times. For example, Noghri have natural stealth; whenever they use hide and sneak skills, they receive a +2D bonus. You can easily modify many of these choices by substituting new skills.

Beginning Character Abilities: Still other special abilities provide a bonus at the time a character is created. New Ewok characters receive 2D for every 1D they spend on hide, search

Skill Bonus Table

---

Beginning Character Abilities Table

Note: Sluissi receive an extra 4D for beginning skill dice which must be applied to Technical skills, and may also place up to 4D in a beginning Technical skill instead of the normal 2D limit.

---

Constant Abilities

Other special abilities do not directly impact the mechanics of the game; they simply allow an alien to do things other aliens can’t. The bird-like Shashay can use their wings to glide through the air. Balinaka can see in the dark. Quarren can breathe both water and air with no penalties.

Penalties

Aliens are not all advantages and no disadvantages—there are downsides too. If some sort of penalty makes sense to you, either for play balance or because the alien’s background demands it, you can find a good sampling of negative special abilities in the Special Abilities tables above.

---

Constant Abilities Table

---

Penalty Abilities Table

---

Story Factors

Story factors affect most, if not all, members of a given species. Story factors include notes on the alien’s culture, life cycle, or beliefs other people hold about the species in general.

Examples include the Wookiee’s reputation for ferocity, the fact that all Noghri are sworn to serve Darth Vader and his family, and that Rodians are often bounty hunters and therefore feared by other species.

Story factors are usually very specific to the culture and situation of the species. You should develop them to fit the alien rather than the other way around. The Story Factors table provides a few examples you can use as a basis for your own story factors.

Story Factors Table

---

Move and Size

We’re almost at the bottom of the list. Roll on the following table twice (once for Move and once for Height), and you’re finished.

If your alien is not a humanoid, you might have to play around with the height a bit. Move also doesn’t take into account special abilities such as swimming or flying (add 3–5 points to Move in these cases).

---

Wrap-Up

At this point, you probably have a jumble of notes and some stats for your alien. Now you need to finish fleshing out the culture and society of your species. Use the stats and results you’ve gotten thus far as raw material for developing your aliens. You might need to make adjustments.

What is the basic psychological profile of the species? Are they quick to anger, or are they cunning and crafty? How do these aliens behave in the face of danger?

The creator must decide how the alien species’ society is structured, and how this structure has been modified by the presence of the Imperial and New Republic governments. Do the aliens still have their own government, or were they subjugated by the Empire? (As an aside, the Empire very rarely toppled the native power structure—as long as the government was subservient to Emperor Palpatine, the local governors seldom saw the need to replace the existing bureaucrats.) If you are playing in the New Republic setting, are the aliens allied with the New Republic, the Empire, or are they staying neutral?

What kind of government do the aliens have? Do they elect officials, have tribal representatives, or is the whole species run by a giant corporation? Is the government answerable to the people, or does it control the behavior of citizens? Do the aliens even have a government?

Are the aliens strictly hierarchical, or are members of the society individualistic, preferring to personally make choices about things like their career and mate?

What does the species value: wealth, family ties, exploration, scientific discovery, or something else? What kinds of careers do the aliens pursue—traders, scientists, adventurers, or a variety of things? Do the aliens pick one career and stick with it, or do they change careers, jobs, homes, and even mates with amazing swiftness?

How much contact has the species had with the galaxy? Have they traveled the starlanes for thousands of years, or were they discovered and subjugated by the Empire in the past few decades? How much technology did the species develop on its own, and how well are the people adapting to any new technology introduced by traders and explorers?

Have the aliens spread from their homeworld to other planets? Do they have colonies, or have large numbers emigrated to other planets in search of employment, wealth, adventure, or something else?

During the process, if you see a new direction you’d like to go in, go for it. Don’t be afraid to go back and change things just because you’ve already decided an issue. Creation is a malleable and fluctuating process. Go with it and have fun!

---

Source: REUP:308