Fleshing Out Your Character
From Star Frontiers Network
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.
Contents |
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.
| Roll | Descriptor | Wgt | Dral* | Hmn** | Vrsk*** | Yaz |
| 01-05 | Tiny | -10kg | 1.10 | 1.50 | 1.25 | 1.80 |
| 06-15 | Short | -5kg | 1.20 | 1.60 | 1.40 | 1.90 |
| 16-35 | Below Avg | +0kg | 1.25 | 1.80 | 1.45 | 2.00 |
| 36-65 | Average | +0kg | 1.30 | 1.90 | 1.50 | 2.10 |
| 66-85 | Above Avg | +0kg | 1.35 | 2.00 | 1.55 | 2.20 |
| 86-95 | Tall | +5kg | 1.40 | 2.20 | 1.60 | 2.30 |
| 96-00 | Towering | +10kg | 1.50 | 2.30 | 1.75 | 2.40 |
| * Dralasites are 80% as wide as they are tall. | ||||||
| ** Human females are 0.15 meters shorter. | ||||||
| ***Vrusk are symmetrical: as long as they are tall. | ||||||
| Roll | Descriptor | Dral | Hmn* | Vrsk | Yaz** |
| 01-05 | Skinny | 50 | 50 | 55 | 35 |
| 06-15 | Thin | 55 | 60 | 65 | 40 |
| 16-35 | Lean | 60 | 70 | 75 | 45 |
| 36-65 | Average | 65 | 80 | 85 | 50 |
| 66-85 | Husky | 70 | 90 | 95 | 55 |
| 86-95 | Overweight | 80 | 100 | 115 | 60 |
| 96-00 | Obese | 90+ | 115+ | 130+ | 75+ |
| * Human females weigh 25% less than males. | |||||
| ** 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:
| Race | Starting Age* |
| Dralasite | 24 + 1d10 years |
| Human | 19 + 1d10 years |
| Vrusk | 17 + 1d10 years |
| Yazirian | 13 + 1d10 years |
| * 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. | |
| Race | Mature | Middle Aged | Old | Ancient up to...* |
| Dralasite | 25-75 | 76-115 | 116-175 | ...195+10d10 |
| Human | 20-60 | 61-90 | 91-140 | ...156+8d10 |
| Vrusk | 18-50 | 51-80 | 81-125 | ...136+7d10 |
| Yazirian | 14-40 | 41-60 | 61-100 | ...107+6d10 |
| * 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.
| Roll | Dralasite | Human | Vrusk | Yazirian |
| 01-15 | Near White | Black | Aquamarine | Brown |
| 16-30 | Light Gray | Pink | Light Green | Blond |
| 31-45 | Med Gray | Tan | Dark Green | Tan |
| 46-60 | Deep Gray | Olive | Gray-Green | Gold |
| 61-75 | Dark Gray | Dark Tan | Yellow-Green | Copper |
| 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
