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GameMastery Guide / Creating a World / The Cosmos

Extraterrestrials

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 165
When creating alien races, first decide how alien you want them to be. Strangely colored humanoids serve their purpose, but given the biodiversity on even one world, why not try something bizarre? Are they blobs of floating protoplasm, built for grazing on gas giants? Sentient viruses? Bug-like cyborgs? Once you’ve come up with a basic idea, consider how the aliens’ evolution informs their society and thought processes. Do they have a sense of right and wrong, or life and death? Do they have a sense of property? Are they part of a hive mind, and if so, are they capable of understanding free will and individual culpability? Most importantly, what are their intentions toward your PCs’ world—are they benevolent “angels,” or planet-killing Old Ones? By making your aliens different from the races of your base world, you create a chance for your players—and yourself—to boldly go where you’ve never gone before.

Archives of Nethys

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Extraterrestrials