New Species Template: The Aliens

Image Copyright yoshitoshi ABe 2003The Aliens featured in the world of NieA Under Sevenarrived on Earth two or three decades before the time of the series and quickly started integrating themselves into Earth’s cultures.
    Physically, the aliens tend to be slighter and a little shorter than humans of the same sex. They all have pointed ears that stick out from the sides of their heads.  They are a bit faster on their feet, which they can also use as a set of extra hands if they choose. All but a small minority of them possess small, natural antennas on the top of their heads. They show the range of skin and hair colors that humans do, although most of them seem to have dark-colored eyes. Curiously, their eyes seem to change color, although there is doesn’t seem to be a pattern as to why and when this occurs.  (NieA’s eyes, for example, are often a bright blue, but there are other occasions when are a washed-out pale blue or a smokey-gray, while Karna’s eyes are shown to vary between green and brown.)
    The differences between the sexes seem to be generally similar to those that exist among male and female humans, with males being larger in stature and more heavily muscled than females. The alien females all have red spots on their cheeks that no male aliens have.
    Intellect-wise, the aliens are equal to humans, although they often have strange (well, alien) ways of thinking about and approaching situations, which may make them seem somewhat dense. They are, however, in actuality no different than humans in their mental capacities, and just as many aliens are bright (or dim) mentally as humans.

 All typical Alien characters share the following traits:

 • Attributes: Heightened Senses Level 1+
 • Special Attributes: Antenna Level 1+, Pedextrous 1+, Speed Level 1+

 Some rare Aliens, like NieA, lack the Antenna special attribute.  These aliens possess the Marked Defect at Level 1.  Many of them also possess the Rejected by Society defect at Level 1 as they are forever condemned to exist at the very bottom of the alien caste system as part of the Under Seven caste.  However, the lack of an antenna does not necessarily mean anything to humans, so while they are on Earth, an Under Seven alien could in theory advance quite far in human society.
 

Alien Only Attributes

Antenna

Cost: 2 points/Level
Relevant Stat: Soul
Type: Racial

Most aliens sport these small antennas on the top of their heads.  They come in a variety of shapes and appearances, ranging from spirals to what appears to be old fashinoned TV antennas.
    Aliens can both receive and transmit broadcasts from a variety of sources; they can listen to their favorite radio stations, receive free cellular phone calls, and even communicate with one another over vast, interstellar distances.
    An alien can only send messages to other aliens that he or she knows, and if the target is within transmission range. For example, an alien with a receive/send range of 1 kilometer would not be able to send a message to her friend who is five kilometers away, but if the friend had an antenna with a 100 kilometer range, he would able to send a message to her. To successfully transmit a message, the alien must roll a Soul stat check.  Aliens are capable of blocking transmissions from other aliens with successful Soul stat checks rolls, with the level of their antennas applying as a bonus to the rolls.
    Aliens who wish to listen to radio broadcasts or receive other transmissions must also make Soul stat checks with the level of their antenna applying as a bonus to the rolls. If aliens know the frequency of the station they want to tune to, the roll is made with a -1 modifier. Failed rolls can be retried every six seconds. If they have to “scan the dial” to find the right frequency, the penalty suffered is ?3, with 2d6 x 10 seconds needed to locate the right frequency. 1d6 x10 seconds are added to the roll for each failed check.

Level One: Receive/send instant communications within a range of 1 kilometer.

Level Two: Receive/send instant communications within a range of 100 kilometers.

Level Three: Receive/send instant communications within a range of 10,000 kilometers.

Level Four: Receive/send instant communications from anywhere on a single planet.

Level Five: Receive/send instant communications within a single solar system via subspace.

Level Six: Receive/send instant communications over interstellar distances via subspace.
 

Pedextrous

Cost: 1 points/Level
Relevant Stat: None
Type: Racial

This attribute allows the character to use his or her feet as a second set of hands.  The basic function of this Special Attribute is similar to that of “Extra Arms” (page 93 of BESM2), but it is less powerful.  First, the alien cannot be walking while using his or feet to perform manipulations. Second, the manual dexterity provided by this attribute is never as precise as the character's hands.
    While all Aliens have this attribute, few ever develop it beyond Level One, and the vast majority have forsaken even using their feet for anything but standing and walking as they want to be more like humans.

Level One: The character can use his or her feet to perform simple manipulations, such as opening sliding doors, drinking from a cup, pushing single buttons, and holding small objects.

Level Two: The character can perform slightly more complex manipulations, such as operating the controls of a vehicle or a video game, use a screwdriver or a calculator, dial a telephone, write (although their penmenship leaves a lot to be desired when they use their feet for it), or pin a squirming cat or small child in place.
 

Alien Only Defect

Poor Reception Control

This Defect can only be possessed by Alien characters who have the Antenna attribute.  The alien with this defect has a less-than-perfect command of the signals received by their antenna.

1 BP: The character suffers a +1 penalty to all attempts to use his or her antenna.

2 BP: The character suffers a +1 penalty to all attempts to use his or her antenna. In addition, whenever the character is placed in an emotionally trying circumstance or is injured in combat, he or she must roll a Soul stat check. If the check fails, the character loses control of his or her antenna and the resulting flood of unfiltered signals throws him or her into a trance-like state.


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Page created by Steve Miller, March 13, 2002


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