Terl obar at 17:30, 10 March 2010

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	by [[Bill Logan]]		by [[Bill Logan]]

Terl obar at 21:29, 8 March 2010

Terl obar — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:29:48 GMT

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Terl obar: Created page with 'by Bill Logan The Alpha Dawn book has all kinds of details on how a character looks... each race has a “Physical Structure” section that describes basic coloration and a…'

Terl obar — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:02:47 GMT

Created page with 'by Bill Logan The Alpha Dawn book has all kinds of details on how a character looks... each race has a “Physical Structure” section that describes basic coloration and a…'

New page

by [[Bill Logan]]

The Alpha Dawn book has all kinds of details on how
a character looks... each race has a “Physical
Structure” section that describes basic coloration
and appearance, pictures give examples, and the
“Characteristics” blocks under the main pictures give
everything necessary – including body temperature.
But there are aspects of a character that require
additional detail, and that’s what this article
attempts to provide.

==Height and Weight==
Each race shows an average height and weight, but
what are the minimums and maximums? This
system breaks down character size into two tables.
You can record your height and weight numerically
on your character sheet, or for simplicity you might
wish to simply write a descriptor.

'''Descriptor.''' You can simply use the verbal
category to designate your height and weight on
your character sheet. For example, you might be a
short, husky Yazirian, or a tall, thin Human. This
provides enough role-playing depth.

'''Numbers.''' Those of you that prefer numbers can
list the numeric values from the tables. When you
roll your height, you’ll see a column called “Wgt.”
Modify your rolled weight numerically by adding this
offset, in kilograms.

For example, a Tall Lean Vrusk would be 1.6 meters
tall and would weigh 80 kilograms (75kg for being
“Lean” and an added 5kg for being Tall).

On the tables below, all heights are in meters, and
all weights are in kilograms.

{|
|+
'''HEIGHT TABLE'''
|- style="background:navy; color:white; font-weight:bold;" align="center"
|Roll
|align="left"| Descriptor|| Wgt|| Dral*|| Hmn**|| Vrsk***|| Yaz
|- align="center"
|01-05
|align="left"| Tiny|| -10kg|| 1.10|| 1.50|| 1.25|| 1.80
|- align="center" style="background:#eeeeee;"
|06-15
|align="left"| Short|| -5kg|| 1.20|| 1.60|| 1.40|| 1.90
|- align="center"
|16-35
|align="left"| Below Avg|| +0kg|| 1.25|| 1.80|| 1.45|| 2.00
|- align="center" style="background:#eeeeee;"
|36-65
|align="left"| Average|| +0kg|| 1.30|| 1.90|| 1.50|| 2.10
|- align="center"
|66-85
|align="left"| Above Avg|| +0kg|| 1.35|| 2.00|| 1.55|| 2.20
|- align="center" style="background:#eeeeee;"
|86-95
|align="left"| Tall|| +5kg|| 1.40|| 2.20|| 1.60|| 2.30
|- align="center"
|96-00
|align="left"| Towering|| +10kg|| 1.50|| 2.30|| 1.75|| 2.40
|-
|colspan="6"|* Dralasites are 80% as wide as they are tall.
|-
|colspan="6"|** Human females are 0.15 meters shorter.
|-
|colspan="6"|***Vrusk are symmetrical: as long as they are tall.
|}

{|
|+
'''WEIGHT TABLE'''
|- style="background:navy; color:white; font-weight:bold;" align="center"
|Roll
|align="left"| Descriptor|| Dral|| Hmn*|| Vrsk|| Yaz**
|- align="center"
|01-05
|align="left"| Skinny|| 50|| 50|| 55|| 35
|- align="center" style="background:#eeeeee;"
|06-15
|align="left"| Thin|| 55|| 60|| 65|| 40
|- align="center"
|16-35
|align="left"| Lean|| 60|| 70|| 75|| 45
|- align="center" style="background:#eeeeee;"
|36-65
|align="left"| Average|| 65|| 80|| 85|| 50
|- align="center"
|66-85
|align="left"| Husky|| 70|| 90|| 95|| 55
|- align="center" style="background:#eeeeee;"
|86-95
|align="left"| Overweight|| 80|| 100|| 115|| 60
|- align="center"
|96-00
|align="left"| Obese|| 90+|| 115+|| 130+|| 75+
|-
|colspan="6"|* Human females weigh 25% less than males.
|-
|colspan="6"|** Yazirian females weigh 20% more than males.
|}

==Age==
Character maximum age is shown on the tables in
the race description, but at what point are they
considered mature? Old? Ancient? This information
was printed in a similar form in the April
issue Dragon Magazine in 1986, and is modified and
provided here for help flesh out your character:

{| style="width:300px"
|+
'''STARTING AGE TABLE'''
|- style="background:navy; color:white; font-weight:bold;"
|Race || Starting Age*
|-
|Dralasite|| 24 + 1d10 years
|- style="background:#eeeeee;"
|Human|| 19 + 1d10 years
|-
|Vrusk|| 17 + 1d10 years
|- style="background:#eeeeee;"
|Yazirian|| 13 + 1d10 years
|-
|colspan="2"|* At the Referee’s discretion, this roll can be made openended: when a 10 is rolled, add 10 to your character’s age and roll again. If you roll another 10, do the same. Continue rolling and adding until a non 10 is rolled.
|}

{|
|+
'''AGE CLASSIFICATION TABLE'''
|- style="background:navy; color:white; font-weight:bold;" align="center"
|align="left"|Race|| Mature||Middle Aged|| Old|| Ancient up to...*
|- align="center"
|align="left"|Dralasite|| 25-75|| 76-115|| 116-175|| ...195+10d10
|- align="center" style="background:#eeeeee;"
|align="left"|Human|| 20-60|| 61-90|| 91-140|| ...156+8d10
|- align="center"
|align="left"|Vrusk|| 18-50|| 51-80|| 81-125|| ...136+7d10
|- align="center" style="background:#eeeeee;"
|align="left"|Yazirian|| 14-40|| 41-60|| 61-100|| ...107+6d10
|-
|colspan="5" style="width:300px;"|* a character is Ancient if he’s older than the “Old” category, up to his maximum age (rolled).
|}

==Color==
Is your character a blond or a brunette? And just
what color options exist for a Yazirian anyway?
What color are the wings? How about a Vrusk’s
antennae? It’s hard to assess possible colors to all
the races, but general coloration can be found in the
main book and also in character descriptions from
various published sources. The tables below can be
used to generate basic coloration. Basic coloration
means skin for a Dralasite or Human, but for a
Yazirian or Vrusk it refers to the dominant overall
coloration. Vrusks have different colored joings
(typically orangish) and Yazirians have a slightly
darker coloration to their manes and hair tufts at
the shoulder and elsewhere.

{| style="width:400px;"
|+
'''BASIC COLORATION TABLE'''
|- style="background:navy; color:white; font-weight:bold;"
|Roll|| Dralasite|| Human|| Vrusk|| Yazirian
|-
|01-15|| Near White|| Black|| Aquamarine|| Brown
|- style="background:#eeeeee;"
|16-30|| Light Gray|| Pink|| Light Green|| Blond
|-
|31-45|| Med Gray|| Tan|| Dark Green|| Tan
|- style="background:#eeeeee;"
|46-60|| Deep Gray|| Olive|| Gray-Green|| Gold
|-
|61-75|| Dark Gray|| Dark Tan|| Yellow-Green|| Copper
|- style="background:#eeeeee;"
|76-90|| Near Black|| Brown|| Gray|| Reddish
|-
|91-00|| Black|| Porcelain|| Pale Lime|| Black
|}

==Effects on Characteristics==
This section is optional. It provides a little bit more
complexity to the rules, so some Referees may wish
to ignore the effects provided here.
Now that you know your general size and age, how
do these things affect your character? Certainly
being ancient makes someone move about slower,
and probably lowers some physical ability scores.
Being Tiny should help you with your general
dexterity but might make you a little less mighty.
But how exactly does all this work together?
The Characteristic Effects Table summarizes all of
this. Apply the modifiers for your character’s
Height, Weight, and Age. Note that STA generally
refers to durability and ability to take damage more
than overall health and fitness where this table is
concerned. When making STA checks relating to
general fitness, the modifier may not apply.
CHARACTERISTIC EFFECT SUMMARY
Age
STR/
STA
DEX/
RS
INT/
LOG
PER/
LDR
Move
Height:
Tiny -10/-10 +10/+10 --/-- --/-- -10%
Short -5/-5 +5/+5 --/-- --/-- -5%
Below Avg --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --
Average --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --
Above Avg --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --
Tall +5/+5 -5/-5 --/-- --/-- +5%
Towering +10/+10 -10/-10 --/-- --/-- +10%
Weight:
Skinny -10/-10 +10/+10 --/-- --/-- --
Thin -5/-5 +5/+5 --/-- --/-- --
Lean --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --
Average --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --
Husky --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --
Overweight +5/+5 -5/-5 --/-- --/-- -5%
Obese +10/+10 -10/-10 --/-- --/-- -10%
Age:
Youth -5/-5 +5/+5 -5/-5 --/-5 --
Mature --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --
Mdl-Aged -5/-5 --/-- +5/+5 --/+5 --
Old -10/-10 -5/-5 +10/+10 --/+10 -25%
Ancient -15/-15 -10/-10 +15/+15 --/-- -50%
These effects are categorically cumulative. An Old,
Tiny, Obese person would have a total of -10 to STR
and STA, for example: -10 for being Tiny, +10 for
being Obese, and -10 for being Old. That same
person’s movement rate would be -10% (for height)
+ -10% (for weight) + -25% (for age)... poor old
little fat guy doesn’t get around as well as he used
to: -45% to his movement rates!
Age Descriptions
Height and weight carry with them their own
explanation, just by looking at their descriptors.
Age, on the other hand, may require some
explanation:
Youth: Characters who are below the age shown for
“Mature” are considered Youth. Youth have a
penalty of at least 5 applied to STR, STA, INT, LOG,
and LDR, but often a bonus of at least 5 applied to
DEX and RS.
Mature: these characters are the assumed ages of
the characters at the start of the game, no attribute
modifiers.
Middle-Aged: Subtract 5 from STR and STA to
represent the reduced fitness of the slightly aged.
Add 5 to INT and LOG scores to represent acquired
wisdom and insight. Hair becomes grayed if Human
or Yazirian, metabolism slower. Middle aged
Yazirians can only glide 75% as far as they used to.
In most cultures of most races, add 5 to LDR but not
to PER to represent the respect given to the middleaged.
Old: Subtract 5 more from STR and STA, 5 from
DEX, and RS to represent the continued degrading
of physical fitness. Add 5 more to INT and LOG to
represent the knowledge and forethought that
comes with age, and the patience that is required to
apply it. Characters at this age often have white or
silver hair (if Human or Yazirian) or have dull or
muted external colors (if Vrusk or Dralasite). Old
Yazirians cut their gliding distances in half.
Movement rates for all Old characters are reduced
by 25%. In most cultures of most races, add 5
more to LDR to represent added respect.
Ancient: Characters this old subtract another 5
from STR, STA, DEX, and RS and add 5 to INT and
LOG scores. They probably have little hair
remaining (if Human or Yazirian). If Vrusk or
Dralasite, their skin coloration loses all hue, dulling
to a neutral gray. Ancient Yazirians can glide only in
theory... if they must try, they can manage to land
without being hurt but cannot glide much more than
that. Movement rates for Ancient characters are cut
in half.
Other Races
When considering playing races other than the
core ones from Alpha Dawn, you may adapt
these tables quite easily. Here’s a basic
guideline (of course, individual races vary
dramatically from these percentages):
OTHER RACE HEIGHT TABLE
Height
Percent of
“Average Size”
Tiny 75%
Short 85%
Below Average 95%
Average 100%
Above Average 105%
Tall 115%
Towering 120%
OTHER RACE WEIGHT TABLE
Weight
Percent of
“Average Mass”
Skinny 65%
Thin 75%
Lean 90%
Average 100%
Husky 110%
Overweight 125%
Obese 150%
OTHER RACE AGE TABLE
Age
Percent of
“Average Lifespan”
Youth ...10%
Mature ...30%
Middle-Aged ...45%
Old ...70%
Ancient ...80%+8d10
Additional Details
As an option, characters may roll twice on the
following table. This helps determine random
information about your character that might
help fill in blanks in his background, morals,
general appearance, or demeanor.
If you roll 99 or 00, you will be instructed to
roll additional times. If you continue to roll 99
or 00 you can end up with a large list of traits.
If you roll two or more traits that seem
contradictive, either try to come up with a rationale
behind it, or simply ignore one of them (whichever
one you’d rather not use). Rolls that would make
absolutely no sense, such as “Very long
hair/antennae” for a Dralasite, are re-rolled or
ignored, at the player’s option.
Remember, the idea behind this table is to get your
imagination flowing, and to make characters have
an appearance and personality that will be fun and
playable. Don’t be a slave to this table and end up
with a characteristic you really wouldn’t like your
character to have.
For example, if you roll a 25 and a 98 then your
character smells of exotic spices, perhaps from the
food of his homeland or from some favored cologne
or perfume, and is world-weary, perhaps because
he’s traveled a great deal or hates layovers. He
sighs and rolls his eyes at the prospect of long trips.
This helps build an image of a character who’s exotic
and has been everywhere, perhaps has friends or
enemies on some worlds.

Random Trait Table (Roll twice)
01 Allergic to something
02 Always listens to music
03 Always serious/severe
04 Believed dead
05 Birthmark
06 Bully/Aggressive
07 Can’t be serious
08 Clean Cut
09 Cocky/smart-ass
10 Collector
11 Composed, collected
12 Corny
13 Cut & dried, matter-of-fact
14 Cynical
15 Dead stare, look of a killer
16 Debonair
17 Deceitful
18 Dignified
19 Dirt poor family
20 Distinctive equipment
21 Distinctive facial feature
22 Dorky hobbies
23 Dusty/dirty
24 Enunciates clearly
25 Exotic scent
26 Fashionable
27 Fiddles & fidgets
28 Flamboyant dress
29 Flips a coin/believes in fate
30 Foppish
31 Friendly
32 Gambles
33 Gentle
34 Hand shakes
35 Hard of hearing
36 Has a criminal record
37 Has a secret
38 Has a twin
39 Heavy drinker
40 High voice
41 Honest
42 Honorable
43 Hooded
44 Illegitimate
45 Likes to eat
46 Likes to run
47 Likes to wear some color
48 Limp
49 Lisp
50 Loud
51 Low voice
52 Member of a Cult
53 Missing eye (wears patch)
54 Near-sighted
55 Nervous eye twitch
56 Oblivious
57 Outcast
58 Outgoing
59 Overconfident
60 Paranoid
61 Polite
62 Prejudiced against a race
63 Professional
64 Quiet
65 Religious
66 Reserved
67 Romantic
68 Scar(s)
69 Serves a master
70 Sexy as hell
71 Shallow
72 Short-tempered
73 Sings/Whistles
74 Skilled entertainer
75 Skilled farmer
76 Slurs words/talks lazy
77 Smart, or convinced he is
78 Slouches, Bad posture
79 Stressed
80 Stutters
81 Superior
82 Superstitious
83 Suspicious
84 Sweaty
85 Tattoo(s)
86 Total jerk
87 Trembles/ combat shakes
88 Unattractive
89 Uncommon walk
90 Unkempt
91 Unremarkable
92 Unusual blood type
93 Very long hair/antennae
94 Vigilante
95 Wealthy
96 Wears hats
97 Weirdness magnet
98 World-weary
99 Roll Two More Times
00 Roll Three More Times

Fleshing Out Your Character - Revision history

Terl obar at 17:30, 10 March 2010

Terl obar at 21:29, 8 March 2010

Terl obar: Created page with 'by Bill Logan The Alpha Dawn book has all kinds of details on how a character looks... each race has a “Physical Structure” section that describes basic coloration and a…'