Species

A visit to any of the great cities in the worlds of Star Wars overwhelms the senses. Voices chatter in countless different languages. The smells of cooking in dozens of different cuisines mingle with the odors of crowded streets and poor sanitation. Buildings in myriad architectural styles display the diverse origins of their inhabitants.

And the people themselves-people of varying size, shape, and color, dressed in a dazzling spectrum of styles and hues-represent many different species, from diminutive bothans and stalwart cereans to majestic twi'leks and towering wookiees, mingling among a variety of human ethnicities.

Scattered among the members of these more common species are the true exotics: a hulking besalisk here, pushing his way through the crowd, and a sly chiss there, lurking in the shadows with mischief in her eyes. A group of jawas chatters as one of them activates a clever mechanical toy that moves of its own accord. Zabraks and devaronians live and work alongside humans, without fully belonging. And there, well out of the sunlight, is a lone dros-a fugitive from the the Galactic Republic, trying to make his way in a world.

Humans are the most common people in the worlds of Star Wars, but they live and work alongside ithorians, kiffar, mirialan, and countless other fantastic species. Your character belongs to one of these peoples.

Your choice of species affects many different aspects of your character. It establishes fundamental qualities that exist throughout your character's adventuring career. When making this decision, keep in mind the kind of character you want to play. For example, a bothan can be a good choice for a sneaky operative, a wookiee makes a tough berserker, and a twi'lek can be a master of the Force.

Your character species not only affects your ability scores and traits but also provides the cues for building your character's story. Each species' description in this chapter includes information to help you roleplay a character of that species, including personality, physical appearance, features of society, and special alignment tendencies. These details are suggestions to help you think about your character; adventurers can deviate widely from the norm for their species. It's worthwhile to consider why your character is different, as a helpful way to think about your character's background and personality.

The description of each species includes special traits that are common to members of that species. The following entries appear among the traits of most species.

Ability Score Increase#

Every species increases one or more of a character's ability scores.

Age#

The age entry notes the age when a member of the species is considered an adult, as well as the species' expected lifespan. This information can help you decide how old your character is at the start of the game. You can choose any age for your character, which could provide an explanation for some of your ability scores. For example, if you play a young or very old character, your age could explain a particularly low Strength or Constitution score, while advanced age could account for a high Intelligence or Wisdom.

Alignment#

Most species have tendencies toward certain alignments, described in this entry. These are not binding for player characters, but considering why your sith pureblood follows the light side, for example, in defiance of the Sith Empire can help you better define your character.

Size#

Characters of most species are Medium, a size category including creatures that are roughly 4 to 8 feet tall. Members of a few species are Small (between 2 and 4 feet tall), which means that certain rules of the game affect them differently. The most important of these rules is that Small characters have trouble wielding heavy weapons and heavy shields, as explained in chapter 6.

Speed#

Your speed determines how far you can move when traveling (chapter 8) and fighting (chapter 9).

Languages#

By virtue of your species, your character can speak, read, and write certain languages. Each species typically speaks, or at least understands, Galactic Basic as well as having a unique language of their own. Chapter 4 lists the most common languages of the Star Wars universe.