Discovering New Creatures Creature Traits

Roll a six-sided die to determine what biome you are traveling to: Types of Elemental Magic:

A solo roleplaying game about discovering fantastic creatures. 1. Aquatic – a biome filled primarily with water.
by Storm Aurora 2. Desert – a hot, dry biome.
3. Forest – a biome filled primarily with trees.
You are the zoologist on a research team tasked with gathering infor- 4. Grassland – a biome dominated by grassy plains.
mation about an alien planet. From the initial exploration team’s re- 5. Tundra – a cold biome filled with rocks and ice.
ports, you know that the environments on this planet are not unlike
6. Mountain – a rocky biome with steep changes in elevation.
those on your homeworld, but it is filled with strange and fantastical
creatures. Many of these creatures have demonstrated the ability to When you arrive in the biome, roll a six-sided die and place cards face
control a natural element, much like the benders of your homeworld. down equal to the number rolled.
You are curious to see how these creatures use their elemental magic
Roll a six-sided die and flip over a card to discover a creature. The
in their daily lives.
rolled on the die tells you the kind of the
You travel from biome to biome, observing and collecting data about creature can use, the of the card tells you the of the crea-
as many different creatures as you can find. These creatures are repre- ture, and the of the card tells you what the creature’s
sented by cards from , placed face down. is. In your , describe your encounter
with the creature. Consider recording some of the following details:
Before you set out, make sure you have to
serve as your to the  How do you encounter the creature? Are you far away or up
creatures you discover, and . close? Does it notice you first? Is the encounter accidental or in-
tentional?
 How do you feel upon seeing the creature? Frightened? Awed? Ex-
cited? Surprised? Does it remind you of something familiar?
1. Normal – the creature cannot control any elements.
2. Fire – the creature can create and control fire.
3. Water – the creature can create and control water and, in cold
environments, ice.
4. Earth – the creature can create rocks and move the earth.
5. Air – the creature can float in the air and control the winds.
6. Nature – the creature can control and accelerate the growth
of plants.
Size of the Creature:
Hearts: A small creature. You could comfortably carry it in your
hands or arms.
Diamonds: A medium-sized creature. It is smaller than the aver-
age human, but too large to be carried around – if it’s light
enough to be picked up at all.
Spades: A large creature. Human-sized or larger, it’s probably big
enough to carry you.
Clubs: A colossal creature. You’re a dwarf in comparison to it; it
might even be large enough to crush you without noticing.
Most Notable Characteristic:

 How does the creature interact with its environment? With others A. eyes
of its kind? With other species? Or is there no interaction at all? 2. horns
3. hair/fur
 How does the creature utilize its elemental magic? To show off?
To fight? For protection? For survival? Is it a hindrance or a help? 4. wings
5. tail
Next, add that creature to your . In a catalog entry, give the 6. tentacles
creature a , and then record any other information 7. legs
about the creature you deem pertinent. This may include the creature’s 8. has a long body
traits, biome, or behaviors observed in your encounter with it.
9. is a predator
Once you have cataloged the creature, roll to discover a new creature. 10. lives in a group
Once you have discovered all the creatures in your current biome, roll J. jumps around
to travel to a new one. Q. is bioluminescent
K. can camouflage itself
Ending the Game
Play until you are tired and would like to return to the research team’s
camp. Feel free to share the creatures you have cataloged with your
fellows. If your scientific curiosity has not yet been satisfied, keep
Thanks to Jacob Khanuk for playtesting the game. your catalog to add to on another excursion. If you believe you have
Based on Alone Among The Stars by Takuma Okada. a complete enough catalog, stay at camp and relax. You’ll be able to
Fonts used: , Alice, SciFly, and . return to your homeworld soon.