Alpha Dawn - Star Frontiersman

small, medium, large and giant.
• TINY creatures weigh less than 5 kilograms. They
can be up to 25 centimeters long.
• SMALL creatures weigh from 5 to 20 kilograms and
may be 25 centimeters to 1 meter long.
• MEDIUM creatures weigh from 20 to 200 kilograms
and are between 1 and 3 meters long.
• LARGE creatures weigh from 200 to 1,500 kilograms
and are between 2 and 5 meters long.
• GIANT creatures weigh more than 1,500 kilograms
and are more than 5 meters long.
If the referee wants to create creatures that do not fit
into these general categories, such as parasites, waste
feeders and energy creatures, he should try to answer
the same questions about these creatures that he
would for regular creatures.
4
How Many are Found Together?
The referee should decide whether the creatures
travel alone or in groups. The number in a group
depends on the type of creature and the amount
of food each needs. Large carnivores usually hunt
alone or in small groups, while herbivores tend to
travel in herds for protection. The referee can control
the effect the creatures have in the adventure by
adjusting the number of creatures in a group. A small
carnivore is not much of a challenge, but a pack of 100
small carnivores is.
5
How Fast is the Creature?
The referee must decide how fast a creature is
and how it moves. Movement is a very
important part of combat. Creatures are
specially adapted for maximum speed in their native
terrain and are not affected by terrain movement
modifiers. There are five categories of movement for
creatures: very slow, slow, medium, fast and very fast.
Player characters fit in the slow category.
• VERY SLOW movement is 15 meters/turn or less.
The average very slow speed is 10 meters/turn.
• SLOW movement is 16 to 45 meters/turn. The
average slow speed is 30 meters/turn.
• MEDIUM movement is 16 to 75 meters/turn. The
average medium speed is 60 meters/turn.
• FAST movement is 76 to 105 meters/turn. The
average fast speed is 90 meters/turn.
• VERY FAST movement is more than 105
meters/turn. The average fast speed is 120
meters/turn.
90
The referee should decide how the creature moves and
whether it has any special way to move. For example,
a creature might have wings, fins, a prehensile tail or
many legs, allowing it to fly, swim, swing through trees
or burrow into the ground. The referee also should
note any limits on a creature's movement. For
example, some creatures might spend their entire lives
in one spot, waiting for their prey to come to them.
6
What Are the Creature's Ability Scores?
The referee must choose the creature's ability
scores. Only three of the scores used by
characters are needed for creatures: Stamina,
Reaction Speed and the Initiative modifier. When
selecting ability scores, the referee should be sure they
fit the purpose of the creature.
A good way to determine the scores is to consider how
a similar animal on Earth compares to a Human.
Intelligent alien creatures should be treated as nonplayer
characters. The referee should assign scores for
all eight of their abilities and for any special abilities.
7
How Does the Creature Attack?
The referee should decide how the creature
attacks, what its chance to hit is and how much
damage it causes. If the creature has an
unusual attack, the referee must decide its effects.
When deciding how a creature attacks, the referee
should consider the creature's type and its purpose. In
general, carnivores attack to kill, herbivores attack to
protect themselves and omnivores attack for both
reasons. Carnivores can have claws, teeth, horns and
other offensive weapons. Herbivores are more likely to
have weapons like quills, repulsive odors or horns.
Most creatures can attack only one target, so the
amount of damage a creature causes should be a
combination of all its attacks. The referee should
consider an animal's size, type and purpose in the
adventure when deciding how much damage it causes.
The referee must give the creature a basic chance to
hit, called its Attack score. This value should depend on
the creature's speed, size and purpose, and also on the
abilities of the player characters. A creature's Attack
score should never be greater than 100. If the creature
can attack several targets at once, this number is used
for all attacks.
If the creature has any unusual attacks the referee
should record what their effects and limitations are.
Unusual attacks include poison, acid, shooting darts
and electric shocks. If an attack shoots something, the
referee must assign ranges to the attack.
8
How Does the Creature Defend Itself?
The referee should decide whether the creature
has any defenses and how they affect combat.
Defenses should fit the creature's type and
purpose. Defenses are designed to escape or