Ok with that long college lesson over, here are the tables for randomly generating a star system. This is not a “quick” roll process, so it really should be done ahead of time.
If a roll makes no sense based on information above, reroll. If there are options not available in some combinations, it will be noted below. If the GM does not wish to go with chance, they can simple pick what results they want and adjust as needed.
This section may change as I study more about stellar mechanics. This list is by no means exhaustive, and the GM can find more stars here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Star_types The Star
The first step is determining the type of star or stars in the system. Based on real observations by astronomers, approximately 80% of the stars in the Milky Way are believed to be red dwarf stars. Furthermore, it is believed that 30% to 50% of all star systems are binary stars. Star systems with multiple stars may still have planets, although
the more stars a system has, the less likely planets are going to exist since they are more likely to be ejected from a system. Systems of three stars are quite common, although four or more becomes more rare (they throw one or more out of the group).
Table 1: System Type [roll table 2 for each star]
d100
1-55 Single star 56-94 Binary star 95-97 Trinary star 98-00 Star cluster
Star Cluster contains 1d6+3 stars, typically in binary/trinary groups orbiting each other (such as the Alcyone system or Gamma Velorum).
Table 2: Star Type
This should be rolled for each star in a multiple-star system. It is not implausible for a red dwarf to be paired to a blue giant.
Oddities can include things such as Wolf-Rayet stars or any other type of extremely rare or currently (as of 2009) theoretical stars.
Table 3: Main Sequence Stars
89-00 Subgiant
A barium star is binary with a carbon star. If this result is rolled, count the two stars as a single
“slot” on the original chart roll.
A subgiant star is between a dwarf and giant star in size/mass.
Table 7: Supergiant Stars
A bright giant is between a supergiant and giant in size/mass.
Table 8: Hypergiant Stars
A dying star is one that has started fusing iron and has 3d10 hours until it goes nova.
The Planets
To determine how many planets are in a star system, roll 2d6 and apply the following modifiers (if the result becomes 0 or lower, there are no planets):
-2 for each star beyond the first -5 if there is even one compact star +1 if the original roll was a single star
Table 1: Planet Type (roll once for each planet) d100
If an eccentric Jupiter is rolled, no planets in the system will be Earth-mass or smaller.
Some Example Star Systems Alcyone
Alcyone is a complex quintuple (5) star system. The primary, Alcyone-A, is a blue-white B-type giant binary star separated by 0.031 arcseconds (the distance between Sol and Jupiter). Alcyone-B and Alcyone-C are a pair of 8th magnitude white dwarf stars (Alcyone-C is a Delta Scuti type variable star) separated from Alcyone-A by 117 and 181 arcseconds, respectively. Alcyone-D is yellow-white dwarf star at 191 arcseconds from the primary.
Such a complex system is unlikely to have any planets, since the contradicting gravitic pull would most likely eject any planets from the system. If it does have any planets, they are well beyond the range to support life.
Gamma Velorum
This system consists of no less than six stars. The primary star γ Velorum A is a spectroscopic binary consisting of a blue supergiant class O9 (30 solar masses) and a massive Wolf-Rayet star (approximately 10 solar masses) separated at about 1 AU. The second brightest is γ Velorum B, which is a blue-white B-type subgiant, which can only be differentiated from the primary with use of binoculars or better. Next out is γ Velorum C, a white A-type star 62.3 arcseconds from the primary. The next is another binary star consisting of γ Velorum D (white A-type star) and γ Velorum E (a 13th magnitude star) separated by 1.8 arcseconds.
Capella
Capella is a pair of binary stars. The primary is a spectroscopic binary consisting of two G-class giants separated by only 100 million km. The other is a binary pair of two M-class red dwarf stars about 1 LY away.
Rho Cassiopeiae
This is a yellow hypergiant star in the Cassipoeiae constellation. In the year 2000, it was observed to have dropped in temperature from 7000K to 4000K over the course of a few months and had ejected approximately 3% of its solar mass. It seems to have these eruptions every 50 or so years, meaning another such would have likely occurred by 2050. Considering the star is 8150 LY away from earth, it may have already gone supernova by the time of the campaign setting.
Gliese 581c
This planet is believed to be the first extrasolar “near earth” planet within a star’s habitable zone. It orbits a red dwarf planet Gliese 581, which is 20.4 lightyears from earth towards the constellation Libra. Discovered on April 24, 2007.
The planet is measured (at the time of discovery) to be 5.03 earth masses. If the planet is rocky with an iron core, then it would be approximately 50% larger than earth and have 2.24G. If the planet is icy or watery, then it would be around twice the size of earth and have 1.25G.
Gliese 581 c has an orbital period ("year") of 13 Earth days and its orbital radius is only about 7% that of the Earth, about 11 million km, while the Earth is 150 million
kilometers from the Sun. Since the host star is smaller and colder than the Sun - and thus less luminous - this distance places the planet on the "warm" edge of the habitable zone around the star according to Udry's team . A typical radius for an M0 star of Gliese 581's age and metallicity is 0.00128 AU, against the sun's 0.00465 AU. This proximity means that the primary star should appear 3.75 times wider and 14 times larger in area for an observer on the planet's surface looking at the sky than the Sun appears to be from Earth's surface.
Chapter 14 – Aliens
For the most part, Macross is all about Protoculture; humans and Zentraedi share the same genetic structure, so they can be considered one race. The only other aliens to show up in Macross have been the Protoculture (human progenitor?), Zentraedi (human variant), Zolans (likely another Protoculture link), the Protodeviln (extra-universe) and the Vajra (intergalactic). However, the NUNS has only explored a small fraction of the Milky Way galaxy. Who knows what else is hiding out there?
Additionally, the aliens rules can also be used in Robotech, which is host to nearly a dozen species already.
Building an Alien
The first thing to keep in mind is whether or not the alien race will be available for PCs to play as. In Macross, PCs may be Zentraedi and Zolan, but not Vajra. If the alien race is going to be purely NPC, you can make them as powerful as you like (Q from Star Trek anyone?). However, if you want to allow them for PCs, you need to make sure they are roughly the same power level as other PC races.
Modifications
Aliens are set apart from humans by Boons and Flaws. Humans could be considered to be "middle of the road", therefore any Boon would make the alien better than a human while any Flaw would make them weaker than a human.
For every rank of Boon, the alien race must have equal ranks of Flaws. If they have a Major Boon, they could have a Major Flaw or three Minor Flaws.
In addition to the Boons and Flaws below, an alien race can have Talents and Complications found in the basebook. For instance, a warrior race might all have High Pain Threshold but suffer from the Berserker complication.
Boons
Inhuman Stats: The alien race has stats higher than humans.
Minor: Up to 3 stats may have a limit of 12 Greater: Up to 5 stats may have a limit of 15 Major: Any number of stats may have a limit of 20
Flight: The alien race is capable of self-propelled flight. The MA uses Mekton scale.
Minor: MA up to 2 Greater: MA up to 6 Major: MA up to 12
Armor: Through dense skin, chitinous exoskeleton or natural forcefield, the alien race can shrug off damage. All SP is in human scale and applies to all body locations.
Minor: SP 5 Greater: SP 10 Major: SP 15
Natural Weapons: The alien race possesses claws, fangs, bladed tails or other features.
All weapons inflict Hits damage.
Minor: Melee weapons up to 1d6 damage Greater: Melee weapons up to 2d6 damage
Major: Melee or ranged weapons up to 3d6 damage or "shock" weapons Psychic Power: The alien race has natural psionic talents.
Minor: Up to 3 powers Greater: Up to 6 powers Major: Up to 10 powers
Environmental Protection: The alien race is immune or highly resistant to a particular environmental hazard.
Minor: Immune to heat or cold
Greater: Immune to vacuum and explosive decompression Major: Immune to radiation
Flaws
Inhuman Stats: The alien race has lower stats than humans.
Minor: Up to 3 stats have a limit of 7.
Greater: Up to 5 stats have a limit of 5.
Major: Up to 7 stats have a limit of 3.
Racial Prejudice: The alien race has an adverse reputation.
Minor: Some other races dislike this race and will avoid them.
Greater: Most other races dislike this race and will avoid them.
Major: All races seem to universally hate this race and will react with violence.
Environmental/Special Needs: The alien race has non-human needs that must be kept up.
Minor: Breathes an uncommon atmosphere and requires a respirator off their homeworld.
Greater: Needs a special or rare food/liquid to survive.
Major: Can only survive in a specialized environment or diet and must have a full environmental habitat wherever they go.
Social Restrictions: The alien race has different moral codes than is common, and strictly adhere to them.
Minor: Pacifist. The alien race will not harm others.
Greater: Arrogant. Any insult is met with combat to the death.
Major: Inscrutable. The alien race is just so "alien" that they are incomprehensible to other races.
Skill Restriction: The alien race has trouble with some human skills due to their
"inhuman" nature. For instance, a race of energy beings may not understand physical skills, while a warrior race may have "weeded out" Empathy based skills for being weak.
Minor: -2 penalty to one skill group Greater: -4 penalty to one skill group Major: -8 penalty to one skill group
Cultural Attitudes
The last step is to determine the attitude of the "average" member of the society.
Borrowing from Robotech, the Praxians are a race of all-female amazon-like warriors.
The average Praxian is a proud, strong warrior with a sense of martial honor. They value strength and combat prowess.
God-like Aliens
So your campaign needs a "godlike" alien of such unimaginable power that they seem to be magical. First off, figure out what you want your alien to do. Then have them do it. If they are that powerful, they don't need to roll dice.
Isn't being a GM fun?
Non-Human Aliens
The vast majority of aliens in anime are near-human or even human. Oftentimes the "alien" race is a lost colony of humans or were transplanted from Earth long ago.
Why is this?
First off, anime is a Japanese invention, and the Japanese are big on getting the pathos points for empathizing with the "enemy". A common plot is that the unidentified
"alien" invaders are only seen for their mecha and capital ships until 1/3 to 1/2 way into the series, then they are revealed as humans or near-humans. This makes the heroes have to face the fact they are fighting what they see as themselves. Remember how the heroes felt in Macross and Southern Cross when they discovered who the "enemy" was.
The second main reason is plain old sex. Another anime staple is one of the heroes becoming romantically attached with one of the "aliens". In Macross, Max was instantly smitten with Millia's exotic beauty, and in Southern Cross, Bowie became attached to Musika. It's hard to get it on with a giant slug. Yuk..