Wacky Races

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...You Lost Me
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Post by ...You Lost Me »

Satyrs are super boring balls of numbers. I think you should at least add something to make players care about them.
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Post by Chamomile »

Looks like I forgot to mention that problem with Satyrs, so thank you for bringing it up. Merfolk have the same issue (just being aquatic isn't good enough when they're intended for use in aquatic campaigns alongside Sahuagin and Tritons and such). I am open to suggestions as to what to add to them to make them more interesting.
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Post by RadiantPhoenix »

Give them some minor spell-like abilities.

e.g.:
  • Satyrs with at least one rank in a Perform skill can cast the Daze and Summon Instrument cantrips at will.
  • Merfolk can cast Charm Person once per day.
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Post by Prak »

Hell, just give both straight up Bardic Music, or Spell Likes that otherwise follow the rules of Bardic Music.

I'd actually give Satyrs Charm Person (being the horn dogs they were in myth) and merfolk suggestion, since the line between merfolk and siren gets pretty blurred.
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Post by icyshadowlord »

Someone mentioned the Troglodyte earlier, and the issues of smelling worse than a pile of rotten fish layered in feces and vomit. I thought about it and the suggestions to fix it for a while, but why not give them a way of using that ability by turning it into a short ranged Touch Attack akin to a spitting cobra, except that instead of poison, they spit a stream of said liquid that happens to smell like a pile of rotten fish layered in feces and vomit?
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Post by Chamomile »

Is there any particular conceptual space that Troglodytes cover which Lizardfolk do not outside of their perpetual stench? While that is admittedly not a concept many players will want to play, my goal is not to make all races equally appealing conceptually. The only reason I can see why Troglodytes might need a targetable or toggleable stench ability is because they have a lot of difficulty interacting with towns otherwise, and I don't think there's enough races like that to make "social outcasts" a group the way aquatics are.

EDIT: And Half-Elf fix has been applied.

Half-Elf
-Medium size
-Humanoid (Elf)
-30 ft. move speed
-Bonus feat at first level
-Low-light vision: A Half-Elf can see twice as far as a Human in starlight, torchlight, or other poor lighting conditions.
-+2 racial bonus to Perception, Persuasion, and Investigation.

Currently working on next batch of wacky races, still considering which way I want to go with Merfolk and Satyrs.
Last edited by Chamomile on Fri Apr 11, 2014 9:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by icyshadowlord »

The Troglodyte can change scale color like a chameleon apparently, though it only gives them a +4 to Hide checks which turns into a +8 in rocky environments or underground. One could come up with interesting ways to use that ability instead of making it a "random bonus to skill X" which is boring as fuck. The Lizardfolk usually live in swamps while Troglodytes are a subterranean species, though both have Darkvision for some reason.

Edit: I had to fix a typo and generally make this post more eloquent.
Last edited by icyshadowlord on Fri Apr 11, 2014 9:28 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Post by Prak »

icyshadowlord wrote:Someone mentioned the Troglodyte earlier, and the issues of smelling worse than a pile of rotten fish layered in feces and vomit. I thought about it and the suggestions to fix it for a while, but why not give them a way of using that ability by turning it into a short ranged Touch Attack akin to a spitting cobra, except that instead of poison, they spit a stream of said liquid that happens to smell like a pile of rotten fish layered in feces and vomit?
Prak_Anima wrote:then either make the stench thing a feature of a paragon class, or give them a sort of directional stench spray that they can squirt at people to make them smell, and have their eyes water, rather than always smelling of it themselves. Or make the debuffing stench spray a feature of a paragon class.
As to their niche, Lizardfolk are the chill tribes that live in swamps that players could easily go to if they need help or advice, and they know enough to not be killed by the tribe's sentries. Kind of like elves of the swamp.

Troglodytes are the evil cave dwellers of Descent, except they also come out and raid human settlements at night. They're those guys who just won't get with the program, though the occasional troglodyte might leave his society and have to make his way in civilization.
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Post by Wiseman »

RadiantPhoenix wrote:Give them some minor spell-like abilities.

e.g.:
  • Satyrs with at least one rank in a Perform skill can cast the Daze and Summon Instrument cantrips at will.
  • Merfolk can cast Charm Person once per day.
Just give Merfolk a bonus feat and skill points like a human. That way they're basically the equivalent of underwater humans.
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Post by Chamomile »

Wiseman wrote:
RadiantPhoenix wrote:Give them some minor spell-like abilities.

e.g.:
  • Satyrs with at least one rank in a Perform skill can cast the Daze and Summon Instrument cantrips at will.
  • Merfolk can cast Charm Person once per day.
Just give Merfolk a bonus feat and skill points like a human. That way they're basically the equivalent of underwater humans.
I already did that for the Tritons. I decided it was easier to play on the "seductive Mermaid" angle than on the more vague flavor that Triton had going for them.
Last edited by Chamomile on Sat Apr 12, 2014 2:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by MGuy »

Gonna shove this here because.. I don't really know a better place and I don't think its worth its own thread. What's the difference between an Aberration and an Outsider?
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Post by RadiantPhoenix »

MGuy wrote:Gonna shove this here because.. I don't really know a better place and I don't think its worth its own thread. What's the difference between an Aberration and an Outsider?
Aberrations are tentacley, Outsiders are religious.
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Post by DSMatticus »

Outsiders have some specific connection to a non-prime plane. Aberrations (usually) don't. Devils have a connection with baator; illithid are just planar hopping squidfaces.
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Post by MGuy »

So just the background fluff? I honestly thought I was wrong about that 'cause that's what I said when asked. Thought I might've missed some kind of major difference in the mechanics.
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Post by Avoraciopoctules »

You can banish an outsider, or trap it in a binding circle.
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Post by Red_Rob »

MGuy wrote:So just the background fluff? I honestly thought I was wrong about that 'cause that's what I said when asked. Thought I might've missed some kind of major difference in the mechanics.
Do you mean rules-wise? Because this is straight from the SRD:
SRD wrote:Traits
An aberration possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature’s entry).

[*]Darkvision out to 60 feet.
[*]Proficient with its natural weapons. If generally humanoid in form, [*]proficient with all simple weapons and any weapon it is described as using.
[*]Proficient with whatever type of armor (light, medium, or heavy) it is described as wearing, as well as all lighter types. Aberrations not indicated as wearing armor are not proficient with armor. Aberrations are proficient with shields if they are proficient with any form of armor.
[*]Aberrations eat, sleep, and breathe.
SRD wrote:Traits
An outsider possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature’s entry).

[*]Darkvision out to 60 feet.
[*]Unlike most other living creatures, an outsider does not have a dual nature—its soul and body form one unit. When an outsider is slain, no soul is set loose. Spells that restore souls to their bodies, such as raise dead, reincarnate, and resurrection, don’t work on an outsider. It takes a different magical effect, such as limited wish, wish, miracle, or true resurrection to restore it to life. An outsider with the native subtype can be raised, reincarnated, or resurrected just as other living creatures can be.
[*]Proficient with all simple and martial weapons and any weapons mentioned in its entry.
[*]Proficient with whatever type of armor (light, medium, or heavy) it is described as wearing, as well as all lighter types. Outsiders not indicated as wearing armor are not proficient with armor. Outsiders are proficient with shields if they are proficient with any form of armor.
[*]Outsiders breathe, but do not need to eat or sleep (although they can do so if they wish). Native outsiders breathe, eat, and sleep
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Post by Chamomile »

And the next batch is ready!

Gith
+2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom
-Medium size
-Humanoid (Gith)
-30 ft. move speed
-Darkvision 60’

I also plan to give them something to do with psionics, which I will work out after I have figured out how psionics is even going to work in my house rules (do you still call stuff on the scale of the Tomes house rules, or do you call them like unofficial splats or amateur new edition or something? Because that's what mine are at this stage). That is obviously a pretty big deal so I am putting it off until after I have the easy stuff out of the way. So it doesn't especially bug me that this statblock is currently very boring, because the Gith's awesomeness comes from their psionics, so I can safely kick that problem down the road to my future self.

Gnolls
+2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma
-Medium size
-Humanoid (Gnoll)
-30 ft. move speed
-Darkvision 60’
-Scent 30’
-Inherent Strength: Gnolls receive a Strength bonus equal to ⅓ their level, rounded up. This taps a node just like an infusion or magic item would.

The Inherent Strength is basically just a free minor magic item. I'm worried that just that and Scent don't make Gnolls meaningfully distinct, and I'm also wondering about my decision to go with +2 STR and +2 CON rather than the Orc's +4 STR. I stripped out -2 INT, reasoning that laziness can account for Gnoll primitivity as easily as low intelligence and laziness is, I feel, better reflected by a Wisdom penalty (poor commitment to longterm solutions as opposed to poor problem solving). I'm not certain if that's a good idea either, though. Basically, not only am I worried that the Gnoll doesn't have enough neat abilities, I'm worried that the abilities it does have aren't balanced in the first place. Feedback on this one is much appreciated, even if it's just to say that I'm worrying over nothing.

Bugbear
+2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, -2 Charisma
-Humanoid (Goblinoid)
-30 ft. movement speed
-Darkvision 60’
-+4 racial bonus to Stealth
-Medium size
-Inherent Toughness: A Bugbear’s hide is thick, and gets thicker as he grows in strength. Bugbears gain a natural armor bonus equal to ⅓ their level, rounded up. This taps their second node just like a magic item or infusion would. Yes, it taps their second node specifically even though their first node is not occupied. There is no such thing as a 1st level Bugbear.

My balance concerns for the Gnoll go double for the Bugbear, although I'm less concerned about a lack of flavor.

Lizardfolk
+2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence
-Medium size
-30 ft. move speed
-Humanoid (Reptilian)
-Hold Breath: A Lizardfolk can hold his breath for a number of rounds equal to four times his Constitution score before he begins drowning.
-Natural weapons: A lizardfolk has a bite attack as a natural weapon which deals 1d4 damage.
-Thick Hide: A Lizardfolk’s scaly hide defends him from harm, and grows more resilient as he grows stronger. A Lizardfolk gains a Natural Armor bonus equal to ⅓ his level. This bonus taps a node just like an infusion or magic item.

I actually feel pretty good about this one, but then feeling good about it makes me worry that it has flaws which I am too poor a designer to even be aware of, much less fix. I think I'm worrying about this entirely more than I should be. One thing, though: Lizardfolk have a single bite attack dealing 1d4 damage because I didn't want to give them three attacks dealing 1d4 each like they get by default. On the one hand it is totally flavorful for Lizardfolk to rip people up with their claws, but on the other I do not want any playable race to have natural weapons significantly better than mundane weapons. Since getting +1 bonuses to your claws is totally a thing in my house rules, there's not really any point where this problem goes obsolete, either.

New Merfolk
+2 Charisma
-Medium Size
-5 ft. move speed
-40 ft. swim speed
-Humanoid (Aquatic)
-Low-light vision: A Merfolk can see twice as far as a Human in starlight, torchlight, or other conditions of poor illumination.
-Seductive: A Merfolk with a Charisma score of at least 11 may cast Charm Person 1/nexus.

New Satyrs
+2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma
-Medium size
-30 ft. move speed
-Fey
-Low-light vision: A Satyr can see twice as far as a Human in starlight, torchlight, or other conditions of poor illumination.
-Pan Pipes: A Satyr with the Perform skill trained can cast the cantrip create instrument at-will. A Satyr with the Perform skill trained and access to an instrument can cast daze at-will.

Troglodytes
+4 Constitution, -2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma
-Medium size
-30 ft. move speed
-Humanoid (Reptilian)
-90’ Darkvision
-Camouflage: A Troglodyte’s skin changes color to match the background, allowing them to hide in plain sight. If they are in a cavern environment, they also get a +2 racial bonus to Stealth.
-Natural Weapon: Troglodytes have a bite attack that deals 1d4 damage.
-+1 natural armor
-Stench: A Troglodyte may secrete a powerful stench at-will. All living non-Troglodytes within 30 feet capable of smell must make a Fort save against a DC equal to 10 plus half the Troglodyte’s character level plus his CON bonus or else be sickened. Creatures who make their save cannot be affected by the same Troglodyte’s stench for 24 hours. The stench counts as a poison for purposes of immunity, bonuses to saves, or spells which neutralize its effects.
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Post by Prak »

Lizardfolk should retain their tail-derived bonuses to Jump, Swim and Balance. Three natural daggers aren't a huge deal, especially given that they still need to take a feat to effectively use all three in a round.

I still say that Trog's should have their stench changed to something they spray at enemies, rather than exuding from their pores.
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Post by icyshadowlord »

Huh, I still find it odd me and Prak posted the same suggestion about the Troglodyte. Now that I think about it though, if the bad smell still exuded from the pores, wouldn't there be chances to harvest it or something, and make the ability at-will instead of being active any time combat is going on? You'd think a bottle of liquid that happens to have a strong smell (in the bad way) would have more applications than just making your enemies (and allies) throw up. I actually imagined someone using troglodyte stench to make an enemy's Scent ability useless if they were trying to Track a guy by smell, but then I realized that could very well backfire if they knew a troglodyte was involved.
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Post by Prak »

The main problem with Troglodytes is that no one will ever want to play one, because they smell terrible. People will put up with being ugly, tiny, physically weak or dumb, but no one wants to play a race whose primary feature is "smelling like a herd of pigs rotted in a zombie's outhouse." It's really hard to feel like a badass like that. It also is really hard to maintain party cohesion, unless everyone is a troglodyte, and thus not bothered by the scent.
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You should gain sanity for finding out that the problems of a region are because there are fucking monsters there.
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Post by icyshadowlord »

That's mainly the problem if they can't control when they wanna stink up the place. But are you saying it's a problem even when they can decide?
Last edited by icyshadowlord on Thu Apr 24, 2014 5:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by deaddmwalking »

Having the stench as an activated ability (like a skunk) would certainly appeal to some players. Opponents would fear you/respsect you because of your ability, well beyond your ability to actually inflict harm. At least, if they're roleplaying correctly.

Nobody messes with skunks - but most of the time, they're not a problem. Bambi and Thumper didn't mind hanging out with one as long as he didn't spray...

Playing on the skunk ability, making it something that automatically happens when you kill the Troglodyte could be interesting - especially if the smell 'clings' to people in the area and continues to affect them until cleaned... That would be reason enough not to 'kill on site' even if they have a generally unpleasant reputation.
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Post by Prak »

icyshadowlord wrote:That's mainly the problem if they can't control when they wanna stink up the place. But are you saying it's a problem even when they can decide?
No, i meant that as a justification for why players should be able to control the ability, and preferably project the scent rather than exude it.
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Post by Prak »

This seems like a good place for this question-

In talking about humans and warforged on this forum, people have suggested, separately, that both humans and warforged could take the dwarves' "tireless and hardy" niche.

This leaves the question of, if you take "race which is ridiculously resilient and possessed of high stamina" and give it to humans for reasons of SCIENCE or magical robots reasons of logic, what would people replace it with for dwarves?

Let's assume that we're making a new setting, and the key traits of humans is "hardy, high stamina, fast, and more than willing to build massive empires anywhere they can make more than a hut, even/especially if it means taking the land from others." Dwarves, obviously, aren't a requirement in fantasy, but I do think that if nothing is done with them, and they are instead jettisoned as certain board members would want to do, that players would just add them in, and probably make them stereotypical quaffing, crafting, hardy mcdwarves, even if it means stealing those traits from the race that they were given to.
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Post by MGuy »

I made dwarves a bunch of elemental people. Their key trait is that they each kind of dwarf is made from one part hard stuff (rock and stone/Ice from the tundra/coal from the sea) and one part soft stuff (Fire/Air/Water). Appearance wise they are dwarf like versions of the plane touched from faerun but they are about as different from each other as the various elemental giants are. Fire dwarves are more stocky as traditional. Ice dwarves are taller and more lean. Sea dwarves are the skinniest. All of'em grow beards and shit and its an all male race. If I recall the fluff I wrote correctly.
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