I need some ideas on different types of aliens and what they would look like and what they could and couldnt do. this is for a story that i would like to do so any ideas no matter how nutty please submit. any animals or creatures are usable. Thanks alot. and if i use ur alien i will give u credit on my story.

First things first: find a book called "Extraterrestrials: A Field Guide For Earthlings" by Terence Dickinson. It may be in your library. It has tons of information on what realistic aliens could be like, including senses, intelligence, and most importantly it has information on what different general charecteristics different types of planets, and the general characteristics of life on those planets (with plenty of specific examples). He discusses low gravity worlds, high gravity worlds, ice worlds, jungle worlds, ocean worlds, even life in gas giants. It also discusses life as we don't know it, such as silicon based life, pure energy life, intelligent comets, macronuclei life, and then extrattestrial intelligence. Very good book. It is also pretty concise, (about 60 pages, you could probably finish it in one sitting).

Another book I strongly recommend is "After Man: A Zoology of the Future" by Dougal Dixon (not Douglas, Dougal). It will likely be in any large library, especially a college or junior college one. It basically takes current creatures, wipes out a some currently common groups (including humans, whales, and most common mammal grazing animals and predators), then
guesses what creatures might have evolved into by 50 million years in the future (including changes to the landscape due to plate tectonics). Excapt for humans, the groups that were wiped out have been replaced with other creatures from very different lineages but which fill the same niche, such as predatory rats replacing pretty much every carnivore, and rabbucks (giant deer-like rabbits) replacing most grazing animals. Very ingenious, and although they are based on earth creatures they might give you some ideas as to what other creatures might be possible. The author is a prominanty archeologist, so he knows what he is talking about.

Alright, as for my life-forms that I have come up with:

The leaper: especially useful if you have humans in the story, as these creatures can be domesticated and ridden very easily. They are about 12 feet tall. They are bipedal (2 legs), built sort of like an ostrich, except their body is a bit longer an more lightly built. They have long rear legs, with the "backwards knee" of most birds (which is actually their ankle, what looks like their shin is part of their foot and they stand on their tiptoes). Their front legs are atrophied so much that they are no longer visible. They have beaks, but they also have fur not feathers. They are grazing animals, designed to live on plains and feed on grasses. They live in small herds. They have long kneck so they can spot predators from a range, and also so they can graze without bending down. They can lower themselves directly down on their legs so they can lay on their belly and stand up again without repositioning their feet or legs. This makes it easy for humans to climb on. They are capable of running very fast if they spot a predator, and like horses are very nervous animals. Running is effective over short distances or if they spot a predator at a range. If they need realy speed, though, they are capable of leaping like a kangaroo, with very long, fast, low leaps. This makes them able to cover distance much more quickly than running animals. They give birth to live young, but they do not nurse their young, the young can feed on grass from birth. They have a long prehensile tounge, and they eat by using their tounge to rip up large chucks of grass wich they then chew up with their beaks.

Spiny ape: they look nothing like apes, more like giant hedgehogs. Even so, they are only the size of small dogs. They are omnivores, but they most often eat the fruit of the occasional fruiting trees found scattered around the plains. They can climb trees, and have grasping hands and feet. They generally walk on all fours, but can awkwardly walk on two legs if they want to. They live in close family groups of 3 or 4. They are very intelligent, similar to earth chimpanzees. They easily imprint on a human family if raised from childhood, so they make great pets. They have spines, but the spines are normally hidden under thick fur so to keep from injuring family members (this also makes them very safe to handle). If they feel threatened, they can roll into a ball and extend their spines. They have flexible spinal columns, and so are capable of wrapping themselves around a branch when they roll up, so they can even protect themselves in trees. The spines serve another purpose. To move quickly between distant trees in the dangerous plains, they can get a running start, leap, then roll into a ball while airborn. By doing this, they can roll along the ground like bolling balls. By shifting their weight as they roll, they can roll for long distances in relative safety and with little expenditure of energy. Their spines serve to give them traction. They have sensetive magnetic field detection ability, which allow them to navigate over long distances without gaving to expose themselves to danger by taking a look. They emit squeeks as they roll to keep the family group together. When they arrive, they unroll just a tiny bit so they can smell for predators without being in danger, and if all is clear they unroll completely. They are very clever, and can easily break out of cages or open containers.

I have some more, but I have to go right now. I'll get back to you with more later.

Ahh I'm good at this I've created these myself
Kamar'
Av height: 2 1/2 meters
Av weight: 220 lbs
looks like: large sauser shaped chest with very wide shoulders that come down to knees. have two toes three fingers. long komodo dragon like head with horn coming out forehead and ridges above eyes like birds.
usually blue grey in color.
Info: they live on a forested planet called odepi (o dep eye) in the orion nebula, long ago a race called Karcu lived in a nearby system. In a war that lasted 7 years the Kamar destroyed the Karcu homeworld. The Kamar are now in the equivalent of midevil ages on their planet. The Kamar are known for their fluent and fast ninjitsu skills that they are seemingly born with. Most Kamar do not even have the technology of a crossbow nor do they wish to have, they believe on the most part technology is evil. they for the most part are very peaceful and live in nomatic tribes across the face of the planet. The few occasional Kamar that get off the planet usually hire out as "super" assassins.

I have five more original species send me a private message with your e-mail and I'll send you my others!

Are you interested in "stupid animals" or creatures approaching human intelligence? I am more interested in stupid animals. Also, knowing the general landscape (preferanly the specific geography, if possible) of the planet, as well as whether the planet is supposed to have earth-level gravity, higher than earth gravity, or lower than earth gravity, would be immensly helpful in coming up with creatures that fit your ecosystem. Also, knowing whether ther eare humans, or some other intelligent species, on the planet would be very helpful as well.

being the gm for a future rpg i have gotten quite good at inventing aliens (if i do say so myself ).

all right, i admit... i usually just adapt creatures from books ive read. but i do make some up myself...

my secret is out...

anywayz. some of the more interesting ones ive made (or stolen) are really quite good (i think). but as asked earlier... what state of intelligence do you want, what is their habitat... a bit of background knowledge of what you ned you make this answer a lot easier to answer.

or are you just after creatures in general?

People sry for the confusion i ment aliens as in Xeno Morph Aliens not all these other ones sry. i just needed some ideas on different adaptations you thought a Xeno Morph would have if it face hugged different animals like a snake or a bull.
Sorry
Alien Lord

a pretty easy mistake to make. just kind of think about different creatures. think about their characteristics compared to other animals. eg, a rhino has its nose horn and really thick skin. so a rhino alien might have thicker carapace, possibly a nose horn at least a ram attack. birds are very light framed and obviously most can fly. a bird alien would be very small and fragile, but very fast and winged. do you get it? it gets simpler after a while of practise.

Go onto eBay and type 'kenner aliens' into the search, it should bring up all sorts of their alien toys which should give you a few ideas - I have a few of these in my large collection of Alien stuff. They did a whole range including queens, scorpion aliens, bull aliens, etc - some real weird ones in there! There was even a winged queen.

Maybe there could be a god alien who facehugged a god like being and now its the ultimate creature in the universe.
BWAHHAAHHAAHHAAHHAA!

Hmm that reminds me I have a King alien toy/model whatever he has a BIG head. and he's very very ugly.
hmm hey Lord how bout a skaarj chestburter hmmm. that would be nasty.

A Skaarj alien would be awesome! Maybe I should do an Unreal/Aliens crossover thing!

Skaarj are big, strong and agile with a bad temper - they are also sentient which would make for a pretty mean alien!

i love that idea on the alien. but i have never played unreal turnament i am more of a XenoMorph gamer only. but thank you all for the ideas the more i get the better my stories hophelly will be. and i will credit you in my stories

I'll have to get you a screenshot of a skaarj - if he doesn't kill me first! They look a bit predator like - think the pred was the inspiration for them!

Quote:

i ment aliens as in Xeno Morph Aliens not all these other ones sry

Well your new here and all but I think this topic should have been in the Aliens Universe Stories Forum.

Anyway I don't have a clue about what DNA characteristics the alien takes so I can't really help you.

Da big green guy in the middle ^ iz a skaarj

Yep, that's the dude! Looks a bit like a pred!

cool. i think i like it. TY
Everbody. and sry about putting it here but i was in a rush to post this. i only had a little bit of time so i just picked a random forum. i am really sry.

Well your new here mistakes happens.

Now what characteristics would a alien receive form a skaarj? A alien with those tusk things mmm that would be interesting

Hows this...
Aliens have adopted a Patriarchal society insted of Matriarchal
(Ya know ruling KING instead of QUEEN)
But what do I know?