Machinations: Races – Part Two

So you’ve seen the kind of breadth we’re talking about but there’s a few base assumptions about the races to be taken into account too.

1. Most species are – broadly – humanoid.
2. The more ‘weird’ and unusual the alien the less attractive and charismatic they are.

Making up your race is just as variable and interesting as choosing your skills and other character customisations. You get two ‘free’ choices, but after that you’re leaving the ‘humanoid’ assumption and becoming more alien, taking penalties to Charisma and Comliness.

You can take three choices from ‘humanoid’ but the bonus will mean you’re a socially awkward or otherwise ‘peculiar’ savant.

Examples:

Humanoid

• Adaptable: +1 Skill Point. Humanoids can be found everywhere, adapting to every situation and circumstance.
• Charming: +1 Charisma. Humanoids are gregarious, community builders.
• Sexy: +1 Comliness. Humanoids are ‘unusual’ in that they are always ‘up for it’ while other species have mating seasons or limited sexual influence.

Feline

• Teeth & Claws: 1d4 damage, 1d6 if taken twice, 1d8 if taken three times.
• Advanced Hearing: Felines can hear over great distances and wide ranges.
• Advanced Scent: Felines can sense and track subtle smells. Their skills in Bushcraft etc are considered one higher when this applies.
• Cat-Like Agility: +1 Dexterity.
• Nightvision: Felines can see in the night as well as in the day, provided there is even a little light.

So if you were combining these for a felinoid character you might choose…

Adaptable
Teeth & Claws

You can take as many cosmetic things as you like, fur, whiskers, even a tail but they don’t have any game effect.

If you wanted to push it and be more felinoid than humanoid you could choose another trait: Nightvision, but this would impact your Charisma by -4 due to your unsettling appearance.

In the final iteration of the rules you may also be able to take a fourth, with a similar impact to your Comliness.