Selecting an Appearance
Zekirans come in a full rainbow of skintones, hair shades and eye colors.
Far from being simply melanin-driven, their skin contains color cells
rather like those found in Earthly squid and octopods, which can change
color, expand and overlap in some cases. Certain colors are slightly
more dominant than others, reds and oranges, browns and yellow-white
do dominate other shades, but as long as there are people with preferences
and Breeders with the ability, there will always be a full compliment
of blues, greens, periwinkles and ebony. In many cases, colors
of offspring are either a mix of their parents’ tones, or tempered by
one or the other.
An example: Mirage has strongly toned white skin,
rich black hair, and pale violet eyes; Aern has strong blue skin, two-toned
blue and white hair, and striking blue eyes. Their daughter Shatter
has pale blue skin, two-toned deep blue and silver-grey hair, and pale
blue-violet eyes.
Patterns on skin and hair carry for a time, usually about three generations,
before they revert to either a mixed color scheme or have slowly transformed
to another pattern.
An example: someone with green skin marked with
yellow spots has a child with light green skin, their fingers and “soft
parts” might be colored yellow, or their spots may be of their other
parent’s coloration. That child’s offspring might still have patterned
skin, but only in faint ways resembling their grandparents.
All colors mix similarly to a color wheel of paint, but with an added
depth of color value which can also be both tempered and inherited.
Common patterns include the mentioned “soft parts” contrast, spots resembling
beads of water over the skin, siamese patterning on hands, feet and
ears/face; more exotic and Bred features include stripes, animal-style
spots (with rings or open interior to the base color), or other more
complex patterns.
Colors are likely to remain within certain families (reds with oranges
and violets, blues with greens and whites) but there are many which
contrast openly (BeastMistress Jherita’s green skin, orange hair and
blue eyes for instance).
Breeders are able to either select for a color or pattern or produce
it if they are of high enough Degree (6th), so if the character is highly
Bred, they may also have highly-bred-looking skin and hair colors (or
even eyes!). As has been mentioned before, “tanning” or slight
color shifts in conditions saves many field workers from overheating
and burning, but there are people whose colors can shift with their
thoughts or even with their moods.
As is indicated in some of the Mutation descriptions, there can be variety
to the texture and look of skin, hair and eyes, including everything
from fur, gross hair, lumpy growths, open wounds, armor plates, etc.
Sometimes it’s best to decide actual appearance last, after any Mutations
or Powers are rolled, because of their strong effects on appearance.
Perhaps the keen eyesight of a character is aided with the reflective
retina, so their eyes seem to “glow” in the dark? If they have
a tail perhaps it’s poorly cared for, or so lotioned up it shines?
The Paveh line carries the mutation of body or facial hair, and that
hair is always in the same color as the head hair, and is always kept
perfectly trimmed and styled: they pay special attention to it so that
others don’t become offended by it.
Hair is an artform, on Zekira, so the complexity of a style is very
important to certain folks. Others don’t seem to care if they
have a brush handy, or if they’ve been to a salon in the past decade.
Some lines carry distinct hair styles (Kshau and their stiff-topped
fluffy bottomed style, Sengihr with extremely thick straight dark and
widow’s peaked hairline, the Raanatani “Big” hairdo...) so if the character
is part of an established clan, they may take their hair style or even
all their colorations directly from there. Dyes and cuts can seriously
alter the way a character looks, it’s always a matter of personal taste
if they are going to extremes on their style. “None” is a perfectly
valid hair style, but it’s probably good to still roll for the color
anyway. (Baldness is not rare, but is considered an “old person’s”
trait, unless it’s obviously shaved in origin.)
Zekiran eyes are noticeably different from Humans. Though they
have the same function, with the pupil expanding and contracting to
let in or shut out light, surrounded by an iris with color.
Very often the “whites” of a Zekiran’s eyes are a lighter shade of color
as the iris, or even of their skin tone, or a completely different color.
When two eye colors are rolled, optionally, this may be the case.
An example: Ksai and Amaranth’s daughter Shadow has bright green irises
over a pale violet background, mixing her parents’ colors. Eyes
are the most commonly changeable feature of Zekiran coloration, other
than tanning. The shape of a Zekiran’s eyes are usually narrow
to almond-shaped, but there are numbers of those with huge, round eyes
(think anime...). With certain Breeding, slit-pupils, horizontal
or vertical, can be found.
Appearance Chart
Roll first Roll for the group of color, next for the individual shade
within it, and then for the intensity. If Mixed or Changeable
is indicated, start from the beginning — and continue again if another
Mix or Change is indicated! It is rare, and unlikely to roll,
but it happens. Mixes are frequently patterned, that’s up to the
player to decide. When going from Skin to Hair use the first color’'s
chart, if there is more than one, the same with Hair to Eyes. I recommend printing this out.
Group = 1d8; as below, then Shade = 1d4; as below
Intensity = 1d8; 1=Deep 2=Dark 3=Strong
4=Medium 5=Light 6=Pale 7=Mixed
(roll twice random) 8=Changes (roll again)
Then roll d% on chart beside color to determine the next feature's color
(roll Skin first, then Hair, then Eyes!)...
Color Group/Shade Skin To Hair/Eye
Color Groups...
Group Color
To G1 To G2
To G3 To G4
To G5 To G6
To G7 To G8
1 GREYS
1-Black
01-30 31-40
41-45 46-60
61-70 71-75
76-85 86-100
2-Cool Grey
01-10
11-20 21-30
41-55 56-70
71-80 81-90
91-100
3-Warm Grey 01-15
16-30 31-45
46-55 56-65
66-75 76-90
91-100
4-White
01-25 26-35
36-40 41-50
51-65 66-75
76-85 86-100
2 YELLOWS
1-Beige
01-15 16-30
31-40 41-45
46-50 51-65
66-85 86-100
2-Cream
01-10 11-30
31-40 41-45
46-50 51-70
71-90 91-100
3-Yellow
01-10 11-35
36-50 51-55
56-60 61-75
76-90 91-100
4-Goldenrod
01-05 06-30
31-55 56-60
61-65 66-75
76-85 86-100
3 ORANGES
1-Orange
01-05 06-25
26-45 46-55
56-60 61-65
66-85 86-100
2-Strawberry
01-05 06-20
21-45 46-60
61-70 71-80
81-95 96-100
3-Vermilion
01-05 06-15
16-35 36-55
56-65 66-70
71-85 86-100
4-Red
01-05 06-20
21-40 41-60
61-70 71-75
76-90 91-100
4 REDS/VIOLETS
1-Lavender
01-10 11-15
16-35 36-60
61-75 76-80
81-85 86-100
2-Crimson
01-05 06-15
16-40 41-60
61-75 76-80
81-90 91-100
3-Purple
01-10 11-15
16-35 36-50
51-75 76-80
81-85 86-100
4-VioletBlue
01-15 16-20
21-30 31-50
51-70 71-85
86-90 91-100
5 BLUES
1-Indigo Blue 01-10
11-15 16-25
26-45 46-60
61-75 76-85
86-100
2-Blue
01-15 16-20
21-30 31-45
46-65 66-80
81-90 91-100
3-Teal
01-05 06-15
16-20 21-30
31-55 56-75
76-90 91-100
4-Aqua
01-05 06-15
16-20 21-25
26-50 51-75
76-85 86-100
6 GREENS
1-Green
01-05 06-20
21-25 26-30
31-55 56-80
81-95 96-100
2-HazelGreen
01-05
06-25 26-35
36-40 41-50
51-75 76-90
91-100
3-YellowGrn
01-10 11-30
31-40 41-45
46-50 51-70
71-90 91-100
4-Gold-Green
01-10 11-25
26-35 36-40
41-45 46-65
66-85 86-100
7 BROWNS
1-Brown
01-10 11-25
26-35 36-45
46-50 51-65
66-85 86-100
2-Tan
01-15 16-35
36-45 46-50
51-55 56-70
71-85 86-100
3-Red-brown
01-10 11-20
21-40 41-50
51-55 56-65
66-85 86-100
4-Peach
01-10 11-20
21-45 46-55
56-60 61-65
66-90 91-100
8 METALLICS
1-Silver Met
01-30 31-35
36-45 46-55
56-70 71-80
81-86 87-100
2-Gold Met
01-10 11-25
26-40 41-45
46-55 56-70
71-90 91-100
3-Bronze Met
01-10 11-30
31-45 46-50
51-55 56-65
66-85 86-100
4-Metallic
roll again and apply "metallic" to the description!
Continuing the Appearance information...
Hair and Clothing styles...
Hair can be as simple as “none” or as complex as the aforementioned
Magnetic Stunt Hair. A pretty simple roll of 1d8 will do:
1- Natural (1d6 for Straight to Curly; 1d6 for Very Short to Very Long)
2- Simple Style (a nice cut, brief style or barrettes, daily gel)
3- Moderate Style (complex cut, braids or combs, monthly Salon work)
4- Complex Style (strange cut, shaves or added falls/curls)
5- Extreme Style (weekly appearances at Salons, Hair You Dare Not Sleep
Upon)
6- Usually Covered (by veils, hats, or other clothing)
7- Dye job with Style (roll for a new color to go over or mix with original
one)
8- None? Other? Make something up, combine them.
Clothing is a little more suited to choosing per Status: how much can
you afford? Do you actually care what the latest texture is or
how many layers of silk go into that new Dramo Desert wear?
1- Poor for Status, inappropriately so (anything from ripped or nonexistent,
to smelly and shabby)
2- Simple for Status, nothing special but not underrated either
3- Work clothing, typically worn everywhere, perhaps not at parties
4- Good for Status, entirely appropriate for the job, party or appearance
5- Stylish, over the Status level for Slaves or Bonds, someone’s paying
them too much
6- Impressive, great for parties but really not for sweeping stables
out, inappropriate for Low status
7- Complex, it’s hard to tell who it is under all that fashion
8- Impossible, no one wears things this ostentatious or avant garde,
except you
Note well that mutations and powers may change your idea of the appearance
of a character! Ever try decorating a tail? How about polishing
those horns, buster! Keeping up ones appearance is hard enough
for those normal folk, but for anyone of even slightly different physiology
it can be a nightmare. Some mutants show off their differences,
many try to hid them, most likely factor in your Courage or Aggression
score to emulate this.
Fashion and hair are also great story hooks: your new stylist is a talkative
Lord with way too much time on his hands, and with your hair in them
too it seems you get in on all the best dirt before anyone else... Did
you know that BeastMistress what’s-her-name was actually hiding a second
set of arms under that big old dress she had on at that last party?