Stars Without Number Alien Generator

Welcome to my first (only?) post. I always thought, "it sure would be cool to have a generator to make my own stupid alien species to play as in Stars Without Number or whatever." Unfortunately, all I could find was people's well-thought-out, deliberately designed aliens. To that end, I present to you: MY STARS WITHOUT NUMBER STUPID ALIEN RACE GENERATOR.

Here's how it works. Just roll once on the "base species" table for a starting inspiration. You don't have to literally make your alien that animal, but it can be inspired by it- like if I got "a bear" I could start with Chewbacca rather than "Space Bear." Probably you should assume everything is bipedal at first, but hey it's your alien. Then roll twice on the "traits" table to make your creature a little weirder and more alien. Finally, roll twice on the "abilities" table. Your two abilities together make up your starting foci. As an optional last step, roll on the "lenses" table in the SWN book to get an idea of what your alien's society is like. Finally, combine all of these to get a somewhat-coherent and very unique alien species. Several entries here (and the idea to do this in general) were inspired by Moonhop.

Optionally, you could also roll a 1d6 for each alien race to grant a +1 modifier to one stat, and one stat to get a -1 modifier to. This would more closely mimic the usual dynamic in sci-fi where some races are just "strong" and some are "smart." You could also roll 1d40 (a d4 and a d10) for one or both rolls on the special abilities table to only get stat bonuses, attack bonuses, and starting skills. As fun as it is to get weird powers, an alien race with the abilities "Intelligent and good at healing" is certainly easier to find a place for in the galaxy than "Secretes rope and talks to ghosts."

Here are five examples I generated on the spot, then tried to elaborate on slightly (names stolen from my favorite blog ever.

1. You are a Rogotaud. You have the appearance of a large vegetable with tentacle-like roots coming out of the top. You have cybernetic limbs allowing you to walk around and manipulate objects in a surprisingly agile manner. The Rogotaudare known throughout the galaxy for two things: Their advanced healing techniques, and their utter cowardice in the face of any danger.

2. You are a Tabra. The Tabra are a race of wealthy aliens; although they are supremely intelligent they are mostly focused around finding new and exciting foods to devour, and to this end have jaws capable of completely unhinging to allow them to swallow entire animals at once. They look like slugs with long, elephantine trunks and a small pair of horns on their head.

3. You are a Tolemenaster. The Tolemenaster are composed of a goat-like alien and a symbiotic moss covering them that allows them to telepathically communicate with each other. They form a hive mind in the service of great mother trees that exists on their home planet. They have an extremely flexible, boneless body and can squeeze into incredibly small spaces.

4. You are a Blucket. The Blucket are a race dispersed from their home planet, and now travel across the galaxy. They are resilient, with the ability to regrow limbs and regenerate quickly, and they can climb, swim, and jump far better than humans. They each have six arms and have mantis-like insectoid faces. Also you smell absolutely awful so good luck.

5. You are a Lastibal. The Lastibal have bumpy, starfish-like heads with no eyes, and an eternally burning flame at the top. They have an extremely hot temperature, and by touching metal they can cause it to become red-hot. They are naturally good at manipulating other species, but unbeknownst to everyone but themselves they absolutely loathe all alien life, and their goal is to annihilate everyone but themselves.

1d100 BASE INSPIRATION
d10	d10	Species
0		HUMANLIKE
	0	Gray-skinned Humanoid
	1	Red Humanoid
	2	Yellow Humanoid
	3	Green Humanoid
	4	Blue Humanoid
	5	Purple Humanoid
	6	Clear-skinned Humanoid
	7	Normal skin-tone Humanoid, but with a weird forehead
	8	Normal skin-tone Humanoid, but with tentacles for hair
	9	Normal skin-tone Humanoid
1		MAMMALIAN
	0	Armadillo
	1	Bat
	2	Bear
	3	Camel
	4	Feline
	5	Deer
	6	Canine
	7	Elephant
	8	Giraffe
	9	Hippo
2
	0	Horse/Rhino
	1	Kangaroo
	2	Koala
	3	Mole
	4	Walrus
	5	Primate
	6	Rodent
	7	Caprinae (Goat/Sheep)
	8	Weasel
	9	Cetacean (Whale/Dolphin)
3		REPTILIAN
	0	Snake
	1	Iguana
	2	Chameleon
	3	Misc. Lizard
	4	Alligator
	5	Turtle
	6	Tyrannosaurus
	7	Stegosaurus
	8	Triceratops
	9	Pterodactyl
4		BIRDLIKE
	0	Owl
	1	Parrot
	2	Pigeon
	3	Crow
	4	Duck
	5	Hawk
	6	Kiwi
	7	Ratite (Ostrich/Emu)
	8	Hummingbird
	9	Vulture
5		ARTHROPOID
	0	Spider
	1	Crab
	2	Ant
	3	Wasp/Bee
	4	Butterfly
	5	Fly
	6	Beetle
	7	Praying Mantis
	8	Mosquito
	9	Dragonfly
6		AMPHIBIAN OR FISHLIKE
	0	Frog
	1	Salamander
	2	Hammerhead Shark
	3	Hagfish
	4	Shark
	5	Manta Ray
	6	Piranha
	7	Anglerfish
	8	Eel
	9	Tuna
7		MISC. ANIMALS
	0	Octopus
	1	Squid
	2	Slug
	3	Shrimp
	4	Earthworm
	5	Clam
	6	Barnacle
	7	Starfish
	8	Coral
	9	Jellyfish
8		PLANTOID
	0	Flower
	1	Flytrap
	2	Pitcher Plant
	3	Vegetable/Fruit
	4	Leafless Tree
	5	Leafy Tree
	6	Pine Tree
	7	Fern
	8	Cactus
	9	Vine
9		FUNGOID/EXOTIC
	0-2	Mushroom
	3-5	Moldy Fungus thing
	6	Rocklike Being
	7	Entirely gaseous creature in a humanoid suit
	8	Gas-Sack Form
	9	Amorphous Blob Thing

2x TRAITS
d10	d10	Species
0		EYES
	0	Compound Eyes
	1	Giant pale eyes
	2	Eyes at the end of eye stalks
	3	Swivel-y eyes like a chameleon
	4	Just one giant cyclops eye
	5	Multiple pupils per eye socket
	6	Extra three eyes
	7	Extra 1d4 pairs of eyes
	8-9	No eyes
1		MOUTH
	0	Ant-like chewing mandibles
	1	Mosquito-like blood-sucking proboscis
	2	Lamprey-like jawless toothy mouth
	3	Extra 1d3 mouths
	4-5	Abnormally long tongue
	6-7	Mouth of giant shark teeth
	8-9	Tentacle-y zoidberg mouth
2		SKIN
	0	Red skin
	1	Blue Skin
	2	Green Skin
	3	Yellow Skin
	4	Gray Skin
	5	Transparent skin, visible skeleton
	6	Slimy shiny skin, like a frog
	7	Cool patterned two-color skin
	8	Rocky, craggy skin
	9	Super wrinkly skin
3		LIMBS
	0	One super long finger on each hand
	1	Hooved feet
	2	Bird-talon feet
	3	No legs, move around on a snake-like tail
	4	No legs, move around on a slug-like foot
	5	Really long legs
	6-7	Extra pair of arms
	8-9	Extra pair of legs (like a centaur)
4	0	2d4 pairs of limbs
	1	Membranous wings (like a bat) - gain flight as your first ability if you want
	2	Feathery wings (like a bird) - gain flight as your first ability if you want
	3	Dragonfly Wings - gain flight as your first ability if you want
	4	Butterfly Wings - gain flight as your first ability if you want
	5	You roll around on wheels instead of feet
	6	You have 2d10 tentacles in addition to/instead of arms and legs
	7	One of your arms is a big, crushing crab claw
	8	Sharp claws (scratch for 1d6)
	9	Tentacles for arms
5		BODY
	0	Covered in shaggy fur
	1	Covered in spikes
	2	Porcupine quills
	3	Radially symmetric, 5 ways- you have 5 of everything instead of pairs, equally distributed around your body in a circle
	4,5,6	Small - 1 meter or shorter. Gain +1 DEX mod, -1 STR mod.
	7,8,9	Large- 2.5 meters or taller. Gain +1 STR mod, -1 DEX mod.
6		HEAD
	0	Membranous neck-frill
	1	You have an extra head
	2	You have three heads
	3	Anglerfish-like lure on head
	4	Abnormally long neck
	5	Antlers
	6	Antennae
	7	Bull-horns
	8	Giant pair of sheep horns
	9	Human-like hair
7	0	Tentacles for hair
	1	Long beak-y nose
	2	Elephant trunk
	3	Really big pointy ears
	4	Droopy rabbit ears
	5	Slits for nose
	6	No nose
	7	Enormous underbite
	8	Enormous overbite
	9	Long Unicorn horn
8		MISCELLANOUS
	0	Some part of you (blood/fruit) is a powerful drug or poison
	1	Your flesh is made of a valuable commodity (gold/uranium/something) and everyone wants to kill you to get them
	2	You communicate through flashing different colors
	3	You can emit a noxious scent
	4	You have a prehensile tail that you can use to manipulate objects
	5	Part of you is on fire all the time
	6	You have a scary decoy face
	7	Actually a mindless animal piloted by a parasitic mushroom on its head
	8	Symbiotic relationship with a plant (maybe a moss) on your body
	9	You have a tiny animal (either a tiny mouse or a swarm of bugs) that lives on/in your body
9	0	You are a swarm/colonial entity made up of smaller creatures
	1	You have a really sexy mustache
	2	Partially cybernetic
	3	You wear a Jawa-like cloak with only eyes visible
	4	You wear a weird creepy mask all the time
	5	Long tail with an Anklyosaurus club on it
	6	Two necks, both connect to your head (like Mewtwo)
	7	Snail-like feelers on your face.
	8	You reproduce asexually by budding. It takes a week's rations worth of energy to do so.
	9	You are constantly shifting. Reroll on this table once per day to get a new trait.

2x SPECIAL ABILITIES
d10	d10	Ability
0	0-2	+1 strength modifier
	3-5	+1 dexterity modifier
	6-8	+1 constitution modifier
	9	Aptitude for Violence: +1 to attack bonus
1	0-2	+1 intelligence modifier
	3-5	+1 wisdom modifier
	6-8	+1 charisma modifier
	9	Aptitude for Violence: +1 to attack bonus
2	0	Gain "Administer" as an origin skill
	1	Gain "Connect" as an origin skill
	2	Gain "Exert" as an origin skill
	3	Gain "Fix" as an origin skill
	4	Gain "Heal" as an origin skill
	5	Gain "Know" as an origin skill
	6	Gain "Lead" as an origin skill
	7	Gain "Notice" as an origin skill
	8	Gain "Perform" as an origin skill
	9	Gain "Pilot" as an origin skill
3	0	Gain "Program" as an origin skill
	1	Gain "Punch" as an origin skill
	2	Gain "Shoot" as an origin skill
	3	Gain "Sneak" as an origin skill
	4	Gain "Stab" as an origin skill
	5	Gain "Survive" as an origin skill
	6	Gain "Talk" as an origin skill
	7	Gain "Trade" as an origin skill
	8	Gain "Work" as an origin skill
	9	Gain any combat skill as an origin skill
4	0	Natural Fighters: Gain a +1 to normal attack bonus
	1	Armored Hide: Base Armor class of 15
	2	Metallic Skin: Base Armor class of 15
	3	Giant Shell: Base Armor class of 15
	4	Rocklike Hide: First hit die is always treated as full value (as "tough" ability in SWN)
	5	Resilient: First hit die is always treated as full value (as "tough" ability in SWN)
	6	Redundant Organs: First hit die is always treated as full value (as "tough" ability in SWN)
	7	Ferocious: Even if dropped to zero Hit Points, you can remain active, and can stay alive for ten more rounds instead of 6. You will still die instantly if you take any further damage, however.
	8	Shrink: As a main action you can shrink, reducing your overall size by 2/3rds. While shrunken you get a +1 to your dexterity mod and a -1 to your strength mod. You can return to normal size as a main action.
	9	Growth: As a main action, you can grow in size, increasing your size by 50%. This grants you a +1 to your strength mod and a -1 to your dexterity mod. Spend a main action to shrink back down.
5	0	Electroreception: Sense electrical signals (including living creatures) within 20 meters
	1	You have magnetoreception and are slightly magnetic. You can sense metal shapes within 5 meters, and metal objects can stick to you like a fridge magnet.
	2	Infravision: You can see heat, which can be used to sense living creatures within 20 meters
	3	Super Hearing: Can hear 4x as well as a human, granting +2 on notice checks.
	4	Super Sight: Can see 4x as well as a human, granting +2 on notice checks.
	5	Super Smell: Can smell 4x as well as a human, granting +2 on notice checks.
	6	Burrowing: You can burrow through earth or rubble. In Earth you can dig a human-sized hole 1 meter deep in one minute.
	7	Flight: You can fly at 5 meters per move action.
	8	Swimming: You can swim at 10 meters per move action and breathe underwater/hold breath while underwater.
	9	Jumping: You can jump 10 meters in the air.
6	0	You can use Psychic Succor and get an effort point as the level 0 Biopsionic power (you are treated as having biopsionic-0, but can only improve this skill if you take a psychic class).
	1	You can detect psychic powers and get +2 vs psychic powers, as the level 0 Metapsionics power (you are treated as having metapsionic-0, but can only improve this skill if you take a psychic class).
	2	You can use oracle and get an effort point, as the level 0 Precognition power (you are treated as having precognition-0, but can only improve this skill if you take a psychic class).
	3	You can use Telekinetic Manipulation and get an effort point, as the telekinesis level 0 power (you are treated as having telekinesis-0, but can only improve this skill if you take a psychic class).
	4	You can use telepathic contact and get an effort point, as the telepathy level 0 power (you are treated as having telepathy-0, but can only improve this skill if you take a psychic class)
	5	You can use personal apportation and get an effort point, as the teleportation level 0 power (you are treated as having teleportation-0, but can only improve this skill if you take a psychic class)
	6	You can use Sense the Need and get an effort point, as the precognition level 1 power (If you take a psychic class and gain the precognition skill at level 0, you may improve it freely to level 1.)
	7	You can use Terminal Reflection and get an effort point, as the precognition level 1 power (If you take a psychic class and gain the precognition skill at level 0, you may improve it freely to level 1)
	8	Life Transfer: You can transfer your HP to another by touch; sacrifice 2 HP to heal them by 1. This does not count as a psychic skill.
	9	Shapeshifting: You can shapeshift into any form, as the biopsionic Metamorph power. This does not count as a psychic skill.
7	0	Clinging: You can cling to walls like a gecko. This allows you to "walk" across any vertical surface capable of supporting your weight.
	1	Necromancy: You an talk to ghosts of recently-deceased creatures (within the past week). Doing this causes one point of system shock.
	2	You can very convincingly play dead- you stop moving and vital signs stop.
	3	Your species is wide-spread and loyal to each other. Anywhere you go that is inhabited and not-entirely-hostile, you can find other members of your species who will be willing to do a mild favor for you. You can call in one favor per day.
	4	You can survive a fall from any height; if the total damage for the fall is less than your current HP you are fine, otherwise you land on your feet but are stunned and can take no actions for (fall damage / current HP) rounds.
	5	You are afflicted with bloodlust. Anytime you kill a creature in combat you get a free attack.
	6	Lucky: Once per day you can reroll a single d20 or 2d6 roll.
	7	Fast: You run extremely fast. You run at 20 meters per round instead of 10.
	8	Sneaky: You can use the "fighting withdrawal" action as an instant action, meaning you can always freely disengage from enemies without giving them a free melee attack.
	9	Heat Metal: You can heat metal with your touch. It takes 1d4 rounds, after which anything touching it takes 1d4 damage.
8	0	Spark: You can summon a flame the size of a candle on the tip of one of your fingers, and are immune to fire.
	1	Plant Growth: You can cause plants to grow at your touch, even dead ones.
	2	Extremophile: You are able to survive in the cold of space, or in extremely hot or cold environments.
	3	Photosynthesis: You can survive without eating, needing only an hour of sunlight a day. You can store sunlight for up to a week (you can still eat to survive normally)
	4	Mimicry: You can perfectly repeat any sound you have heard, like a parrot.
	5	Animal Empathy: You can touch an animal to establish telepathic contact with it, during which you can communicate basic thoughts with it. Animals are still animal-level intelligence, and may not be that useful.
	6	Squeeze: You can squeeze through any space 20 cm/8" wide
	7	Camouflage: You can change colors at-will. You can use this as camouflage to get +2 to sneak if you're naked.
	8	Regeneration: You can regrow any lost limbs, and heal 1 hit point per hour instead of per day.
	9	Acidic blood. Anything that causes you to bleed must save vs 1d6 acid damage as your blood splashes on them
9	0	You have a long, sticky tongue that can pick up objects or attempt to grab foes within 7 meters.
	1	Your jaw can unhinge to swallow anything your size or smaller and store it in your stomach like a boa constrictor.
	2	You can secrete 10 meters of sticky web per day, it can be used as rope and is slightly sticky like a spiderweb.
	3	You constantly secrete a lubricating oil. It makes you hard to grab, and lets you slip out of small spaces.
	4	You have a natural weapon (sharp claws, teeth, a stinging tail). They deal 1d10 + punch skill damage, and have Shock damage 2/13.
	5	You can spit acid, which deals 3d4 + shoot skill damage. Range of 0
	6	Always Aware: You are never surprised in combat.
	7	You form a hive mind with others of your species. You can automatically know the thoughts of any others of your species within 100 kilometers, and they can know yours. This only works while you are awake.
	8	You can lift 4x the weight a human can, and have twice the carrying capacity.
	9	Minor Time Travel: You can rewind time by ten minutes. Once used, you can never use this power again ever. If time travel is common in your game you might let this power be used 1/day for 1 minute instead.