Post/Author/DateTime	Post
gooru 12-05-03, 04:07 PM	I have a character, a cleric/mage hybrid(Mystic Theurge, will be taking loremaster and archmage ranks later on..) and would like to either build an alien-like construct, create the race, or find the race out in the astral(or some other plane). I'm not sure how the DM would like to handle it(or if he would) but I'd like to come at him with some ideas. The angle I am thinking of taking would be to use a Formian Worker as a psuedo-template and then beef it up. Perhaps even using magic to alter the formian worker to better fit my goals But I am not the best with game mechanics and how numbers are actuallly crunched out, so I'd like some help with ideas for how to tackle this or just comments on what a quack I am but, I've really hit a wall: I've not built a critter from the ground up...
ante_up 12-05-03, 05:29 PM	Urban Arcana (for d20 modern) has an Alien rip-off race in it. I forget what they are called though...
Pennywise 12-05-03, 07:33 PM	Mess around with the genetics of a Kython (BoVD) and you have a pretty good alien. The only real thing missing is the acid blood.
Vaalingrade Ashland 12-05-03, 09:24 PM	Once you get to Epic, bust out with Origin of the Species. Don't forget to make them intellegent and ludicrusly destructive :devil:
gooru 12-06-03, 09:21 AM	duh... silly me, lol... it wasn't going to be constructed until epic anyways, heh... now then... can a Lawful Neutral mystic theurge(follower of the goddes of magic) create this critter... We don't follow BoVD or BoED so much as use it for a reference... so could I make them lawful... they might have to be evil, but I could give them a reason, a set of structure for their destruction... any chance of getting them lawful neutral? I'm not so familiar with the spell Origin of Species...
bjorntfh 12-06-03, 10:54 AM	Give the majority of them Int of 1, but a Wisdom of 15. They're not smart individually, but they're cunning and good trackers. The higher up members of the hive (Queen's Guards, King, Queen) would harder to justify, but Formians are LN, even though they're very similar (only without the parasitic breeding.) Of course the Queen and King (male version of the king, needed to start the colony initially most of the time, read the novels/Gieger's notes for LOTS of useful info) would be intelligent individuals instead of being bound to the hive.
kcgallum 12-06-03, 11:12 AM	There are stats already out for the aliens from the movies if thats what your looking for. some websites got a pdf file which u can download and its got everything on it except the king which i dont think exists. anyways the queens self fertile so doesnt need him.
bjorntfh 12-06-03, 12:19 PM	The king is in a couple of the novels, and (unfortunately for him) is kept around long enough to guard the queen until the first brood is gestated (thus giving the queen's guard.) Yup, watch the queen, then get iced by the queen's guards as a threat once you're no longer needed. Poor guy.
Jontg 12-06-03, 01:10 PM	Ooh, where can I find that PDF?
Edymnion 12-06-03, 01:24 PM	Xenomorph. The name of the alien race is "Xenomorph".
Jontg 12-06-03, 01:37 PM	Ack! How could I have forgotten to mention that?! I'm a Xenomaniac!
(Psi)SeveredHead 12-06-03, 03:51 PM	Anyone know the name of the Urban Arcana "rip-off" race?
Jontg 12-06-03, 04:11 PM	Or the site with the pdf?
kcgallum 12-06-03, 07:08 PM	I'll try to find it but its on a thread in the sci-fi thinktank on this site. edit : found it . dont know if this will link to it or not but the address is http://members.toast.net/talien/michael/aliens.html
Arc 12-08-03, 03:29 PM	If you look on page 259 of the 3.5 MM, you will find the XILL. The Xill are largely based of of the xenomorphs from the Alien movies.
Sulaco 12-08-03, 06:31 PM	Originally posted by Edymnion Xenomorph. The name of the alien race is "Xenomorph". Xenomorph isn't a name, it is a description/classification. It essentially means "unknown organism". The Aliens have no species name that we know of.
primemover003 12-08-03, 06:50 PM	The Kython is the Alien rip-off from BoVD.
Jontg 12-08-03, 10:08 PM	Originally posted by Sulaco Xenomorph isn't a name, it is a description/classification. It essentially means "unknown organism". The Aliens have no species name that we know of. Still, everyone calls them that--even if it was just a blanket term originally, the word 'Xenomorph' has become inextricably linked with the ultimate killing machine. Dear Jeebus, that sounded like the end of a documentary.:embarrass
Shemeska the Marauder 12-09-03, 12:18 AM	Originally posted by Arc If you look on page 259 of the 3.5 MM, you will find the XILL. The Xill are largely based of of the xenomorphs from the Alien movies. Aside from them using humans to gestate their young is there any other reason to think that they're based on the Xenomorphs? I mean the Slaadi do the exact same thing for their own lifecycle, among some of their subtypes. The Xill don't really resemble the Xenomorphs superficially either. Only way I might buy the argument is if one of the original designers of the Xill had actually said something similar at some point. And then there's the Kythons in the BoVD, either an homage to, or a blatant rip-off of the Xenomorphs, depending on how cynical you're feeling. ;)
Teh Lurv 12-09-03, 12:29 AM	Originally posted by kcgallum I'll try to find it but its on a thread in the sci-fi thinktank on this site. edit : found it . dont know if this will link to it or not but the address is http://members.toast.net/talien/michael/aliens.html wow! I know what game I'll be running this spring! :ayyyy!:
Arc 12-09-03, 03:00 AM	Originally posted by Shemeska the Marauder Only way I might buy the argument is if one of the original designers of the Xill had actually said something similar at some point. Its something like that. If I remember correctly, the Aliens and the Xill were both derived from the same source. I can't remember the source, unfortunately.
Jontg 12-09-03, 11:23 AM	H.R. Geiger drew a Xill?!
Arilou_skiff 12-09-03, 11:40 AM	Xenomorph... Doesen't it mean something like "Alien shape"? Xeno means alien and Morph means "shape, form". Both are from greek. Morph is also used to designate: morph2 ( P ) Pronunciation Key (môrf) n. One of various distinct forms of an organism or species
Edymnion 12-09-03, 12:44 PM	Originally posted by Arilou_skiff Xenomorph... Doesen't it mean something like "Alien shape"? Xeno means alien and Morph means "shape, form". Both are from greek. Yes, that is what it means. It can also be translated as Differant Shape (example is Xenophobia, the fear of that which is differant from yourself), in referance to the fact that the Xenomorph will change it's bodily structure to roughly match that of it's original host. Aka, a Xenomorph that incubated in a human will be humanoid, will stand erect, etc. A Xenomorph that incubated in a dog would go around on all fours, while a Xenomorph that incubated in a bird would gain wings and the power of flight. Given this tendancy to change based on it's host, I would say Xenomorph should be a template, not a race.
Sulaco 12-09-03, 07:33 PM	Originally posted by Jontg Still, everyone calls them that--even if it was just a blanket term originally, I am part of "everyone" and I don't call them that.
Sulaco 12-09-03, 07:38 PM	Originally posted by Edymnion Yes, that is what it means. It can also be translated as Differant Shape (example is Xenophobia, the fear of that which is differant from yourself), in referance to the fact that the Xenomorph will change it's bodily structure to roughly match that of it's original host. Aka, a Xenomorph that incubated in a human will be humanoid, will stand erect, etc. A Xenomorph that incubated in a dog would go around on all fours, while a Xenomorph that incubated in a bird would gain wings and the power of flight. Given this tendancy to change based on it's host, I would say Xenomorph should be a template, not a race. Because I am such a huge fan of the original Giger design, and the subsequent modified design by Cameron's crew, I never liked the adaptive-physiology aspect of the creature myself, but thanks to the god-awful Alien 3 it is now irrevocably part of the Aliens canon. As such I agree with Edymnion that it should be a template rather than a creature. Creating such a template is one of the many things that I have been meaning to do for a very long time now... ;)
Lord Deadite 12-11-03, 04:50 AM	Nobody mentioned the steel predator? It's in the fiend folio and looks like a xenomorph. It also has a sonic attack and it's hide is, that's right, made of steel.
Mithral Icesilver 12-14-03, 02:34 PM	Originally posted by Lord Deadite Nobody mentioned the steel predator? It's in the fiend folio and looks like a xenomorph. It also has a sonic attack and it's hide is, that's right, made of steel. Yeah, but it's neutral, native to Acheron, and DEAF AS A -17 CURSED BACKBITING BASTARD SWORD OF DEAFNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or the proverbial post, whichever you prefer.
(Psi)SeveredHead 12-15-03, 04:59 PM	I found it. They're called Grendelspawn. IMO you should change their type from magical beast to "alien beast".