Rotund Characters

[Temotei]

Do you ever apply house rules to overweight characters? I was thinking maybe minor penalties and bonuses...like:

-1 Jump/50 lb. overweight
-1 Tumble/50 lb. overweight
-1 Hide/50 lb. overweight
+1 to resist bull rushes/50 lb. overweight
+1 to resist trip attempts/50 lb. overweight


What would you do, if anything?

[jiriku]

Nah. Character appearance is fluff. If a character really wants to mechanically play someone who is out of shape, he can allocate his point-buy accordingly. That can be described as fat, sickly, or whatever. Otherwise I use it as just part of a character's color and personality.

[Temotei]

Nah. Character appearance is fluff. If a character really wants to mechanically play someone who is out of shape, he can allocate his point-buy accordingly. That can be described as fat, sickly, or whatever. Otherwise I use it as just part of a character's color and personality.

Indeed. Actually, this is my first thought. My second thought is in the above post. I'll change that. :smallbiggrin:

[HCL]

There are traits for this. Musclebound, stout, things like that.

[Bob]

i wouldn't use an escalating penalty, mainly because it isn't a very good simulation: The first fifty pounds of excess is going to impede a person to a different proportion than another addition of fifty pounds. More over, the penalties you are suggesting are a little excessive in and of themselves, and don't take into consideration characters of different sizes.

my suggestion: use obese as a condition. Anything less isn't enough to measurably change a character's performance, and anything more would probably exclude a character from adventure.

Edit: adressing traits: Because weight is susceptible to change over a short period of time, and traits tend to be things that are a little more substantial, i do not believe a weight associated trait would be appropriate.

[Raewyn]

There's a feat called Deformity (Obese) in the BoVD [pg 48-49]. +2 Con, -2 Dex, +2 on Intimidate checks and on Fort Saves vs Poison. Not sure if the +2 to Intimidate makes sense, though it's a good start.

[Human Paragon 3]

I played an overweight character once and gave him the flaw that gives a - to all STR DEX and CON skills to help represent his out-of-shapeness. Later, instead of taking a feat, I removed the flaw to show that his physical conditioning and weight had improved.

[Sir_Ophiuchus]

Not sure if the +2 to Intimidate makes sense

Oh, it does. BoVD deformities are vile deformities. This is not "fat guy" or even "extremely, unpleasantly fat guy". This is "nauseatingly huge waddling bag of fat - can I call you Baron Harkonnen? - guy".

I'd be scared - wouldn't you?

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Oh, it does. BoVD deformities are vile deformities. This is not "fat guy" or even "extremely, unpleasantly fat guy". This is "nauseatingly huge waddling bag of fat - can I call you Baron Harkonnen? - guy".

I'd be scared - wouldn't you?I think more Kingpin. He's big because he can be. He's tough enough and powerful enough to not need to be in shape. And in a fantasy setting where 90% of the population lives on 1 SP per day, the ability to be massively overweight says a lot.

[Kantolin]

-1 Jump/50 lb. overweight
-1 Tumble/50 lb. overweight
-1 Hide/50 lb. overweight
+1 to resist bull rushes/50 lb. overweight
+1 to resist trip attempts/50 lb. overweight



Now amusingly, jump tumble and hide aren't very useful for a lot of characters (Certain lighter-armoured characters are the only people wo really use any of them), thus you'd end up with a group of incredibly obese people who have pseudo-free defenses against bull rushes and trips. :P

Which is admittedly an amusing mental picture.

Also, this particular list means someone who's over 200 lbs overweight (Which is admittedly quite a bit overweight for humans, but actually isn't too much comparable weight for a dwarf or half-orc), that is considerably harder to hide than an <i>ogre</i>... somehow.

[Temotei]

What I mean by overweight is that if the individual is overweight for their race and size. Maybe I should just do what someone suggested and make an obese template with LA +0.

Obese displacer beast! :smallbiggrin:

[BooNL]

I've always wanted to play a fat, lazy wizard who uses his magic to get around, floating on his own Tenser's Disk or using levitate for everything.

I should get around that one sometimes...

[UserClone]

You can't float on your own Tenser's disk, or rather you can, but you won't go anywhere, because it follows you around.

[Vorpalbob]

Originally posted by UserClone
You can't float on your own Tenser's disk, or rather you can, but you won't go anywhere, because it follows you around.

Could you not, theoreticaly, sit on the edge of your floating disk and pull yourself along the ground? Or have your familiar pull you? (having the familiar count as "you" might constitute spell sharing, at least under some DMs).

The first option, while still taking work, is at least easier than walking, but the second is just insulting to your familiar.
Which would Blackwing hate more; being ignored or used as a horse?

[Myrmex]

You could imbue your familiar with spell-like ability and have it cast it. Or have your familiar cast it from a scroll with UMD.

[Deth Muncher]

You'd have to stand on the edge of your Disk hanging over Leo DiCapprio style in order for you to go anywhere.

[Coidzor]

Could you not, theoreticaly, sit on the edge of your floating disk and pull yourself along the ground? Or have your familiar pull you? (having the familiar count as "you" might constitute spell sharing, at least under some DMs).

The first option, while still taking work, is at least easier than walking, but the second is just insulting to your familiar.
Which would Blackwing hate more; being ignored or used as a horse?

At least pole yourself across the ground like a real rafter!

horse, definitely horse.

[FerhagoRosewood]

There's a feat called Deformity (Obese) in the BoVD [pg 48-49]. +2 Con, -2 Dex, +2 on Intimidate checks and on Fort Saves vs Poison. Not sure if the +2 to Intimidate makes sense, though it's a good start.

Oddly enough, that's sorta how I'd picture an overweight person's stats. At least the plus in Con, though I'm not sure why that sticks out in my head.

[Prime32]

There's a famous build that goes something like

Warforged Fighter 1
Feats: Adamantine Body, Deformity (obese), Leap of the Heavens, Willing Deformity
Flaws: Obese, one other

You jump on people and crush them with your sheer weight. :smalltongue:


Oddly enough, that's sorta how I'd picture an overweight person's stats. At least the plus in Con, though I'm not sure why that sticks out in my head.More body mass means that the effects of poison are diluted.

[Keshay]

Do you ever apply house rules to overweight characters? I was thinking maybe minor penalties and bonuses...like:

-1 Jump/50 lb. overweight
-1 Tumble/50 lb. overweight
-1 Hide/50 lb. overweight
+1 to resist bull rushes/50 lb. overweight
+1 to resist trip attempts/50 lb. overweight


What would you do, if anything?

As a guy who's been in pretty good shape in the past, and who can now only be accurately described as overweight, I'll tell you that your mods are way off. I'd give the skill penalties a -1/10lbs, 20lbs minimum. My raquetball and tennis games went to hell within the first 20 extra pounds (which really didn't help prevent the downward spiral...)

As for the Trip and Bull Rush resistance, if anything they too should be penalties. Its way easier to knock me over now. I'm still as strong as I ever was (maybe a bit weaker) but now I can't win at Indian wrestling or block in football to save my life. I used to be pretty good at both. Now maybe I've spontaneously lost the skills, but I tend to think its the extra C-bill I'm carrying around.

If I were to apply any sort of houserules, I'd make any extra weight cost against encumberance, give an additional penalty to squeezing through tight places, and perhaps a -1 to initiave. No bonuses, there is no upside to being fat, ever (besides perhaps the aforementioned culturally-derived social modifiers). The most important is the weight to encumberance, that would be your source of the modifiers to skill checks. It would not perfectly or accurately model real life, but its the only mechanic I can think of that's already in place

[Temotei]

Oddly enough, that's sorta how I'd picture an overweight person's stats. At least the plus in Con, though I'm not sure why that sticks out in my head.

Actually, the reason I didn't just go with a +2 Con, -2 Dex (or -4 Dex, or whatever) was because getting Constitution bonuses would let you run longer, concentrate better, and hold your breath longer. Which...wouldn't be the case, I imagine.


skill penalties a -1/10lbs, 20lbs minimum...no bonuses...

I would, but then there would be almost no reason to be bigger, other than getting some Diplomacy bonuses in certain places. If this was 3.0, Innuendo could be included for some people...:smalleek:

I wanted something fairly balanced, where someone wouldn't necessarily want to be big, but it helps in some situations.

I've never really been over 125, so...yeah. I'm a light, light guy. I have little knowledge of the penalties of weight. And I'm not done growing. :smalleek:

[valadil]

I don't bother in D&D because weight is arbitrary. If there were penalties or bonuses, players would assign weight to min max. I know a guy whose characters are all 6'8" and up. He jokes that it's because it's a reasonable height for anyone (he's 6'10"), but really it's for some obscure jump bonus (this may have been 3.0 and the bonus may not exist anymore). If weight had similar effects, people would cheese those too.

[Thatguyoverther]

I like playing as obese characters, everyone does the skinny sickly type but there need to be more flaby Baron Harkonnen type characters.

Besides nothing says evil like being the only fat man in a land filled with half starved peasants.

[Grumman]

I would, but then there would be almost no reason to be bigger, other than getting some Diplomacy bonuses in certain places. If this was 3.0, Innuendo could be included for some people...:smalleek:

I wanted something fairly balanced, where someone wouldn't necessarily want to be big, but it helps in some situations.
It shouldn't be balanced. Unless you're playing as Chouji or a Gelatinous Cube, or someone who bypasses the limitations altogether with Polymorph or ranged magical combat, being overweight should be a bad thing.

[OracleofWuffing]

But being heavier than the average for your race doesn't mean you're fat... Muscle weighs more than fat and all...

...Well, I've been trying to drop some of that fat anyways...

[Signmaker]

And now I've been reminded of Bombur. Awesome.

And no.

[Demented]

It's the same as wearing heavy armor, but without the armor class bonus.

[Faleldir]

I know you can't ride your own TFD in 3e, but does 4e have that rule? It says the disk remains stationary when it's within 5 squares of you, but that's more likely to mean "the disk doesn't move of its own volition" than "the disk automatically stops". It doesn't say you can't command the disk at close range.

[Draz74]

I think fat characters should just be represented by having appropriate physical ability scores.

I had an extremely rotund character once. Because we rolled stats, and I got pretty decent ones, except for a 3. So I put it in Dexterity and described the character as both obese and klutzy. It was fun, and IMHO represented the issue pretty well mechanically.

[Demented]

What if you had taken the Run feat?

[Rixx]

What if you had taken the Run feat?

You'd rapidly roll around. Like a Katamari.

[Inhuman Bot]

I don't really think having a CON bonus makes sense.

I mean, being able to run/swim longer because you're fat? What? :smallconfused:

[Tyrmatt]

Somewhere back in my flat, there's half completed notes for a character/enemy type that was immensely fat and upon being attacked, it could manipulate it's flab to hold onto weapons that were struck against it. There was also a minion version that blew up like a Boomer. Oh the zombie campaign that would ensue.

@Anatharon : The fat guy can go longer between meals while marching and has to expend less energy to keep himself afloat in water. He also would be able to better endure extreme cold and standard poison dosages would be less effective against him due to increased mass.

Something else I would like to point out is that someone with natural 18 STR should basically look like Mr. Universe. And those kind of bodybuilders are about as nimble as a cow inside a three wheeled shopping trolley. DEX penalty! If you start imposing penalties based on what is a largely unaccounted for by the rules cosmetic thing, you're gonna have to start considering how stats actually implicate in cosmetics as well.

[Geddoe]

Actually, an 18 str should look like World's Strongest Man competitors. Bodybuilders train for looks, not strength.

[bosssmiley]

There are already rules for this. Encumbrance. Count the excess flab as carried dead weight.

3 stones overweight = 42 lb burden.

As an aside, I saw a thumbnail rule that a physically realistic human male character would typically weigh around 70 +Str x 10lbs. That gives you 96 lb Str 3 weaklings, 170lb Str 10 Joe Average, and 250lb Str 18 World's Strongest Man muscle monsters.

[Keshay]

Actually, an 18 str should look like World's Strongest Man competitors. Bodybuilders train for looks, not strength.

Ha! A 18 Str competetor in a WSM contest would get his butt kicked.

Out of curiosity I took a look, apparently the strongest competitive lifter would have had a 21 Strength. Record for deadlift (which pretty exactly describes "lift as much as double his or her maximum load off the ground, but he or she can only stagger around with it") is 939 lbs. A 22 Str could lift 1040lbs unassisted.

I guess that's pretty good for a natural strength score, or perhaps he was getting some sort of morale/circumstance/etc bonus to his strength at the tme of the lift.