Alpha Dawn - Star Frontiersman

Creating Creatures
When creating creatures for STAR FRONTIERS
adventures, the referee should give each creature a
purpose in the adventure, and should have a reason
for designing the creature in the form he gives it.
Referees may find a basic reference book on zoology or
biology a helpful source for making believable
creatures.
A step-by-step procedure is given below to help the
referee create new creatures.
1
What is the Creature's Purpose?
The referee should decide why the creature is
needed in the adventure. Is it to fight the player
characters? To mislead them? To be a nuisance to
them? To give them important information? To give
them a mystery to be solved? Or to set the stage for
future encounters? Knowing a creature's purpose will
make it easier for the referee to fill in the details about
a creature.
When deciding on a purpose for a creature, the referee
should consider these other questions:
• Where does the creature live, and where is its lair?
• What life form is the creature? (bird, reptile, worm,
etc.)
• How does the creature live? Does it have any special
habits? (living alone, moving only at night, hanging
upside down, shrieking at strangers, etc.)
• Does the creature have any special weaknesses?
(poor vision, slow movement, powerful natural
enemies, etc.)
2 3
What Type of Creature Is It?
A creature's type is determined by its size, what
it eats and how it obtains its food. Eating habits
can divide animals into three basic groups:
herbivores (plant eaters), carnivores (meat eaters) and
omnivores (plant and meat eaters). After placing the
animal in one of these groups, the referee should
decide what specific foods it eats and how it gets this
food. For example, a creature might eat small rodents
that it digs out of the ground with sharp claws.
• HERBIVORES are normally timid, but will protect
themselves if they are attacked. They usually are
adapted to avoid or repel attackers. Some, like bulls,
may even counter attack. Herbivores obtain their food
by grazing, harvesting, digging, filter-feeding or
growing their own. Examples: rabbits, squirrels,
small fish, sloths, sparrows, goats, deer, kangaroos,
horses, cattle, camels, tortoises, moths, elephants,
hippopotamuses and brontosaurs.
• CARNIVORES may eat any type of meat, but usually
prefer only one kind, such as fish or insects. They
almost always have effective natural weapons, such
as claws, fangs or poisons. These natural weapons
make them more dangerous than most herbivores.
They may catch their food by hunting, pouncing, or
luring prey into traps. Examples: frogs, piranhas,
shrews, owls, rattlesnakes, wolves, seals, tigers,
sharks, crocodiles, tyrannosaurs, squids, spiders and
sperm whales.
• OMNIVORES may or may not be dangerous, but
they usually are curious. Many have natural weapons,
but these are often less effective than the carnivores'
and are used mostly for catching small prey and
discouraging predators. Omnivores usually obtain
their food by foraging, hunting and scavenging. Most
intelligent life forms are omnivores. Examples: ants,
armadillos, porcupines, rats, monkeys, crows, turtles,
pigs, chimpanzees, ostriches, bears and whales.
How large is the Creature?
A creature's size effects how dangerous the
creature is. For game purposes. creatures are
divided into five different size groups -- tiny,
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