Into the Night - Random Aliens, part 3

    Welcome to the third and final part of my Random Alien tables for Numenera. This section has tables for generating random alien planets. As you are more than likely creating this planet with a specific usage in mind, these tables are probably the most subject to individual finagling. If you are trying to make a homeworld or colony for a specific alien species and you roll some results that make no sense, don't be afraid to just pick one that's better suited.

Random Alien Tables

1. Biology
2. Culture
3. Planet - You are here.

Planet

Table 16 – Size
1d6	Size
1	Tiny. Equatorial circumference <15k miles. Light gravity.
2	Small. Equatorial circumference 15-19k miles Light gravity.
3-4	Near Earth-like. Equatorial circumference 20-30k miles. Normal gravity.
5	Large. Equatorial circumference 31-35k miles. Heavy gravity.
6	Huge. Equatorial circumference >35k miles. Heavy gravity.

Table 17 – Temperature		Table 18 – Moisture
1d6	Average Surface Temperature	1d6	Percent surface water
1	Freezing. < 48 °F	1	Dry. No surface water
2	Cool. 49-53 °F	2	Parched. <30% water
3-4	Temperate. 54-62 °F	3	Moderate. 30-60% water
5	Warm. 63-73°F	4-5	Earth-like. 60-80% water
6	Scorching. > 73°F	6	Drowned. +80% water

Table 19 - Landmasses
1d6	Landmasses
1	Supercontinent
2	2-4
3-4	5-7
5	8-10
6	Countless islands

Table 20 – Atmosphere
1d6	Atmosphere
1	None/Thin. Bring air or risk suffocation.
2	Unbreathable. The atmosphere is inert, but unbreathable. Bring air or risk suffocation.
3-4	Breathable.
5	Thick. Special pressure mask needed, or take 1 Might damage per hour.
6	Poisonous. Take 1 Might damage per round of breathing this atmosphere.

Table 21 – Biosphere
1d6	Biosphere
1	Dead. No life worth noting.
2	Simple. Bacteria and algae.
3	Diverse. Plants, animals, etc. Earth-like.
4	Fecund. Extreme diversity, like the rainforest.
5	Hybrid. Mixture of multiple alien ecosystems.
6	Artificial. Carefully engineered for a desired effect.

Table 22 – Habitation		Table 23 – Traffic
1d6	Habitation	1d6	Traffic
1	Uninhabited. Possibly a few hermits.	1	Isolated. Nobody ever comes here.
2	Sparse. < 5 billion.	2	Rare. Once every few years.
3	Moderate. 5 to 10 billion.	3	Occasional. A few arrivals/departures a year.
4	Populous. 10 to 20 billion.	4	Often. A few arrivals/departures a month.
5	Congested. 20 to 50 billion.	5	Daily. People come and go every day.
6	Super-Metropolis. > 50 billion	6	Bustling transit hub. Constant coming and going.

Table 24 – History
1d6	History
1	Virgin. The people living here have always lived here.
2-3	Fresh. One or two previous worlds.
4-5	Used. Three to five previous worlds
6	Venerable. Several previous worlds, like Earth.

What's Next

    With these tables completed, I feel as though the only sensible thing to do would be to test them out. I think my next post will be some example aliens and their planets created with these tables, polished up and ready to go. Aside from that, I've got plenty of ideas just related to Into the Night:

• Expanded spaceship rules
• Rules for mass-produced technology
• A Galactic Federation-style organization
• A Mos Eisely-style shadowport
• Factions in space
• Homeworlds of established visitants

    If there's something else that you want to see, leave a comment and let me know. If I like your idea, I just might do it.