Race construction sources?

[Byrons_Ghost]

I'm currently trying to make some alien races for a d20 sci-fi game. But I'm having trouble deciding what the different races should get and what would be balanced between them. Does anyone know of any books or sites that go into this topic? Thanks.

 

[Alzrius]

Is Savage Species a good idea, since its all about monster construction (albeit as PCs)?

Dragon #276 or so (I may be wrong in the number) had an article "How to Create a Monster" that got into the basics of creating monsters (not for PC use either). The article has since been uploaded (with permission) here. It might be of help, even if it is slightly dated.

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

I have seen the article, though it's good to have the link. I should be more specific, it's PC races that I'm working on. That's where the balance factor really comes into play, getting all the attribute adjustments worked out with skill bonuses, etc.

 

[maransreth]

Try this site http://www.custoscogitatum.com/racecalc.cfm as you can calculate races with the generator in it.

And from this page http://www.dcrouzet.net/nboscifi/ you can download a draft copy of a netbook dealing with sci-fi which has some sci-fi races in it. Just go to Downloads and the draft from there.

 

[Dave Blewer]

Monster's Handbook from Fantasy Flight Games, written by the D20 meister Mike Mearls would be a superb tool for this project.