Near-Human Alien Appearance

by Jargogle Bamboozle Science fiction media is full of examples of alien races that are essen-
M-SPACE tially human, differing only in skin colour or an odd feature or two. They
seldom differ in terms of ability ranges or size from humans either, often
behave much like humans, and are typically able to sur vive in the sor ts of
climates humans can also sur vive. Creating such near-human aliens fol-
lows exactly the same process as that used for standard characters in M-
Space, with the addition that you can use the following tables to select or
roll a few ways in which your near-human species differs physically from
humans. Note that none of these traits actually modif y the character’s
abilities in any way; they are all purely cosmetic.

You should, of course, also feel free to create an appropriate planet and
culture from which you hail, bearing in mind it should be one in which
normal human physiology could thrive and sur vive. A given near-human
species should rarely have more than 1d3 of these traits.

1d100 Near-Human Trait Description

Your species has a pair of antennae on the top of their
1-2 Antennae
head.
3 Ears – Fins Your species has ears that are shaped like fins.
4 Ears – Hidden Your species has no visible ears at all, not even holes.
Ears –
5-9 Your species has long or shor t pointed ears.
Pointed
Eyes – Your species has a single larger eye in the middle of
10-11
Cyclopean their forehead instead of a pair of eyes.
Eyes – Your species has three eyes; t wo normal ones and a
12-14
Triclopean third in the centre of their forehead.
Your species has t wo broader fingers and a thumb and
Fingers/ Toes –
15 three broader toes instead of the normal human five
Combined
digits.
Fingers/ Toes – Your species has elongated fingers and/or toes,
16-17
Elongated possibly due to an extra joint.
Fingers/ Toes – Your species has 1-2 extra digits on their fingers and/
18
Extra Digits or toes.

1 A L IE N A P P E A R A N C E
 Random Colours
Your species has strange bumps, ridges, or whorls on
19-22 Forehead – Ridged
its forehead. If you want to roll for a random colour
Your species has a shor t, sof t, furr y pelt covering their for skin, eyes, fur or the like, you can
23-26 Fur – Felt-Like Pelt
whole body. use this table:
Fur –
27-30 Your species has long fur covering their whole body. 1d100 Colour
Shaggy Hide
31-34 Hairless Your species is completely beref t of hair or fur. 1-5 Black

Your species has one or more small horns adoring 6-10 Blue
35-42 Horns their head, possibly even forming a crown. These are 11-15 Brown
not ef fective weapons.
16-20 Copper
Your species has a crest of hair somewhat reminiscent
43-45 Mane – Crest 21-25 Cyan
of an equine.
26-30 Gold
Mane –
46-48 Your species has a lion-like mane of hair. 31-35 Grey
Lionesque
Your species has no visible outer nose, not even slits 36-40 Green
49-50 Nose – Hidden
for nostrils. 41-45 Indigo
Your species has odd bumps, ridges, or whorls on its 46-50 Magenta
51-52 Nose – Ridged
nose or just the bridge of the nose. 51-55 Orange
53-54 Nose – Slits Your species only has t wo small nostril slits for a nose.
56-60 Pink
Your species has light, supple scales of a single
55-56 Scales – Basic 61-65 Purple
unusual colour.
66-70 Red
Your species has light, supple scales of a single
57-58 Scales – Edged 71-75 Silver
unusual colour edged with another colour.
59-68 Skin Colour – Basic Your species has skin of a single unusual colour. 76-80 Violet

Your species has skin of a single unusual colour that 81-85 White
Skin Colour –
69-70 changes gradually to another colour at the hands, feet, 86-90 Yellow
Shaded
and head.
Metallic – Roll again; the
Skin Colour – Your species has skin of a single unusual colour that is
91-95
71-73 new colour is metallic.
Spotted spotted with another colour.
Opalescent – Roll again;
Skin Colour – Your species has skin of a single unusual colour that is 96-00 the new colour has a rain-
74-76
Striped striped with another colour.
bow sheen.
Tail –
77-84 Your species has a long, slender tail.
Long and Slender
Your species has somewhat longer canine teeth than
85-86 Teeth – Fangs
humans.
87-88 Teeth – Pointed All of your species’ teeth are small and pointed.
Your species has t wo small tusks in their lower jaw or
89-90 Teeth – Tusks
protruding from their chin.
Instead of hair, your species has one or more fleshy
91-00 Tendril Hair
tendrils.

A L IE N A P P E A R A N C E 2