Nintendo D20 character races

[md20gm]

Lest I further invoke the ire of the almighty moderators, I have chosen to create a new thread.

For use in my own ongoing Mario D20 campaign, I've created the following races. They are in 3.5 format- anyone who likes may convert them to 4th ed, but I will not be doing so.

So, without further ado, I present:

Spiny Small vermin

Spiny racial traits:

+2 Str, +2 Con. Spinies are well known as dangerous melee combatants.
Unlike most Vermin, Spinies have an intelligence score.
Low-light vision
Shell: All Spinies begin play with a spiked, soft shell that grants defense 2, a spell failure chance of 5%, no armor penalty, and no maximum Dex bonus. A Spiny cannot wear any armor, robes, or any other item that occupies the body slot.
Quadruped: Spinies' stable stance grants them a +4 bonus to AC to avoid being bull rushed or tripped. In addition, a Spiny can carry half again as much as a two-legged character with the same Strength score.
Tuck: As long as a Spiny is not flat-footed, he has +2 Cover bonus to AC and Reflex saves. This bonus is effective against ranged touch and ray attacks.
Shell Slam: A Spiny has a natural slam attack that deals 1d4+2 bludgeoning and piercing damage. In addition, a Spiny's shell is automatically considered a Masterwork weapon (+1 to hit.)
Spiny Egg A Spiny can, by tucking into its shell, turn itself into a spiked ball that is difficult to attack. It cover bonus increases to +4, and any opponent that hits with an unarmed attack takes 1d2 piercing damage (this damage is doubled if the attacker was charging.) This is a move-equivalent action.
Unsteady Spinies and other shelled characters have a hard time getting up when knocked onto their back and must use a standard action to get back on their feet. A Spiny with at least 5 ranks in Tumble can attempt a DC 20 Acrobatics check to reduce this to a move action. If this attempt succeeds by 5 or more it only costs a swift action.

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

+2 Str, +2 Con. Spinies are well known as dangerous melee combatants.
Unlike most Vermin, Spinies have an intelligence score.
Do they have level adjustment? They probably should, assuming you want this race to be usable alone in other peoples' D20 games.


Shell: All Spinies begin play with a spiked, soft shell that grants defense 2, a spell failure chance of 5%, no armor penalty, and no maximum Dex bonus. A Spiny cannot wear any armor, robes, or any other item that occupies the body slot.
Giving a race a piece of equipment as one of their abilities is an odd way to do race design. The equipment will eventually be outclassed, making it useless at higher levels. Also, the defensive bonuses are so slight that even level 1 characters will look for something better. (This is assuming that you're using the 3.5 D&D equipment rules. If you drastically change the equipment rules then it could make more sense).


Tuck: As long as a Spiny is not flat-footed, he has +2 Cover bonus to AC and Reflex saves. This bonus is effective against ranged touch and ray attacks.
I see nothing wrong with that. Note: I wrote this racial trait, which makes that statement shamelessly narcissistic.


Shell Slam: A Spiny has a natural slam attack that deals 1d4+2 bludgeoning and piercing damage. In addition, a Spiny's shell is automatically considered a Masterwork weapon (+1 to hit.)
That is a significant ability. You've basically given this small-sized race an extremely accurate Medium-sized longsword at first level, in addition to a racial Strength bonus. Compared to a human this is extremely overpowered in melee at low levels.


Spiny Egg A Spiny can, by tucking into its shell, turn itself into a spiked ball that is difficult to attack. It cover bonus increases to +4, and any opponent that hits with an unarmed attack takes 1d2 piercing damage (this damage is doubled if the attacker was charging.) This is a move-equivalent action.
Not the best ability if it only grants a bonus against ranged attacks (which I assume it would inherit from Tuck). I could see it being used by a character who is in danger of being knocked unconscious, so it's not that bad of an ability. I think this ability is somewhat boring, and could benefit from small, flavorful additions to make it more useful.


Unsteady Spinies and other shelled characters have a hard time getting up when knocked onto their back and must use a standard action to get back on their feet. A Spiny with at least 5 ranks in Tumble can attempt a DC 20 Acrobatics check to reduce this to a move action. If this attempt succeeds by 5 or more it only costs a swift action.
That means falling prone, right? In the long run this ability is actually pretty nice, since it lets a character invest in Tumble to eventually be able to rise from prone as a swift action. Even at lower levels, I think the racial bonus to avoid being tripped overshadows the weakness of this trait.

[md20gm]

Do they have level adjustment? They probably should, assuming you want this race to be usable alone in other peoples' D20 games.

I had considered it, and was hoping to get some advice on the matter. I did try to weaken the race somewhat, using the Koopa race as a sort of starting point, but maybe I didn't go far enough. Perhaps I'll make the Con into a -2 instead of +2, and I could even reduce one of the 'mental' stats to reflect a Spartan-esque focus on battle over brains. I had originally designed them with a +2 to Dex instead of Str, partially to reflect their smaller size and partially to nudge them in the Bandit direction.



Giving a race a piece of equipment as one of their abilities is an odd way to do race design. The equipment will eventually be outclassed, making it useless at higher levels. Also, the defensive bonuses are so slight that even level 1 characters will look for something better. (This is assuming that you're using the 3.5 D&D equipment rules. If you drastically change the equipment rules then it could make more sense).

I guess that could be a problem... but is this not also the case with Koopas? I have been running a Spiny NPC and he's kept up nicely by upgrading his shell and having the spikes enchanted (I consider the spikes as separate equipment to the shell itself). Another option, I guess, would be to make the shell a Legacy item, but that seems kind of crazy to do to each and every shell, it would kind of take away from the awesomeness of a Leg item IMO.



I see nothing wrong with that. Note: I wrote this racial trait, which makes that statement shamelessly narcissistic.

I didn't think you would! :smallbiggrin:



That is a significant ability. You've basically given this small-sized race an extremely accurate Medium-sized longsword at first level, in addition to a racial Strength bonus. Compared to a human this is extremely overpowered in melee at low levels.

You may be right- I could remove the MW component, but I feel that the extra damage from the spikes is appropriate and true to the Mario universe. I think I was substituting for either the Koopa's Endurance racial feat, the +2 to Climb and Jump, or the elemental resistance, when I originally statted this race.



Not the best ability if it only grants a bonus against ranged attacks (which I assume it would inherit from Tuck). I could see it being used by a character who is in danger of being knocked unconscious, so it's not that bad of an ability. I think this ability is somewhat boring, and could benefit from small, flavorful additions to make it more useful.

Perhaps it could be tweaked to provide the +2 vs. melee as well- just remove the 'cover' descriptor and voila, right? Also, again referencing my NPC, he ended up prestiging as a Shell Warrior (with a brief stopoff as a Natural Warrior), so he got all the Shell Stance stuff, plus he took Blindfight- he would basically fight like the Spinies from Paper Mario in that he'd tuck into a spiked ball and just roll on through, with the added benefit that he could knock people over as he went. So I think creative character design provides *some* flavor. Additionally, I'm considering giving him something similar to the Drunken Master's Corkscrew Charge if he makes it past Shell Warrior.

Do you have any suggestions as to ways to give this ability more zazz?



That means falling prone, right? In the long run this ability is actually pretty nice, since it lets a character invest in Tumble to eventually be able to rise from prone as a swift action. Even at lower levels, I think the racial bonus to avoid being tripped overshadows the weakness of this trait.

I thought a lot about this one, and yes, I like it a lot. It also explains why the Koopa at the beginning of the game took a long time to get up once knocked over (I think they actually took two rounds!) whereas some (much later in the game) could 'kip up' and then attack in the same round. I simply took it to mean that the badder Koopa had trained in getting up faster.
With the ability to reduce the time, it may even be appropriate to require a full-round action to start with, but that might unbalance things... so much to consider!

Thanks for the input!

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

Do you have any suggestions as to ways to give this ability more zazz?

DR 5/- would make it much more viable as a "I'm gonna sit this one out and let the rest of the party handle it" ability.

Make special note that it grants a cover bonus, which includes protection against touch attacks and area spells that allow Reflex saves. (Already done in Tuck, by the way.)

Half fall damage. That would make it get used more often.

Make its use a swift action that leaves you prone (so it eventually will cost a move action to stand back up). Also improve the armor bonus to compensate for being prone (prone is a -4 penalty to AC).

Retaining the ability to move and make charge attacks with your natural weapon, but only downhill. You'll need to note exceptions if the ability leaves you prone.

[md20gm]

Spiny Small vermin

Spiny racial traits:

+2 Dex, -2 Con. Spinies are less hardy than other races, but quite spry despite their shells.

Unlike most Vermin, Spinies have an intelligence score.
Low-light vision
Move speed 20'
LA +1
Shell: All Spinies begin play with a spiked, soft shell that grants defense 2, a spell failure chance of 5%, no armor penalty, and no maximum Dex bonus. A Spiny cannot wear any armor, robes, or any other item that occupies the body slot.
Quadruped: Spinies' stable stance grants them a +4 bonus to AC to avoid being bull rushed or tripped. In addition, a Spiny can carry half again as much as a two-legged character with the same Strength score.
Tuck: As long as a Spiny is not flat-footed, he has +2 Cover bonus to AC and Reflex saves. This bonus is effective against ranged touch and ray attacks.
Shell Slam: A Spiny has a natural slam attack that deals 1d4+2 bludgeoning and piercing damage. The +2 increases to +4 if the Spiny is charging. This counts as a two-handed weapon.

Spiny Egg: A Spiny can, by tucking into its shell, turn itself into a spiked ball that is difficult to attack. This is a swift action that causes the Spiny to fall prone and provokes AoO.
While tucked, a Spiny gains:
*A +4 bonus to Defense
*A +8 Cover bonus to AC and Reflex saves(effectively this is only a +4 as it cancels out the -4 for being prone.)
*Treat all falls as though they were 20' less for the purpose of determining damage.
*Any opponent that hits with an unarmed attack takes 1d2 piercing damage (this damage is doubled if the attacker was charging.) This ability ignores defense unless the striking part is specifically protected (boots, gauntlets, or any natural armor would be examples of such protection.)
*A spiny using Spiny Egg grants total concealment to its opponents, giving it a 50% chance to miss even on a successful attack roll.
*A spiny using Spiny Egg can only attack adjacent opponents, and cannot use any weapon other than its shell to do so. Note: certain talents and/or feats can alter this restriction.

Unsteady: Spinies and other shelled characters have a hard time getting up when knocked onto their back and must use a standard action to get back on their feet. A Spiny with at least 5 ranks in Tumble can attempt a DC 20 Acrobatics check to reduce this to a move action. If this attempt succeeds by 5 or more it only costs a swift action.
Low Center of Gravity Spinies, due to their body construction, have an easier time knocking others over. They receive a +2 competence bonus to Strength checks made to trip another character.

This should be a bit better balanced, plus taking into consideration some of the excellent suggestions I was given. I think the +1 LA is sufficient...?

I'm also thinking of starting a racial feat 'tree' that opens up as the Spiny levels up- something that will grant better movement/nastier spines/a tougher shell (with increasing monetary costs involved of course)/less of a miss chance. However, a lot of this stuff is covered in the Shell Warrior class and therefore might be kind of redundant a little bit.

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

Being prone does not make you flat-footed. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/conditionSummary.htm#prone)

[md20gm]

D'oh! Thanks for the correction.

[scarmiglionne4]

I did a Mario campaign once. My spinies were called red rollers originally and they were magically augmented kappa. Magical augmentation was a theme in my game. I went for a gritty dark fantasy retelling of the Mushroom Kingdom. I had a character called Genca-il (Kamek) who unlocked the secrets of soul transfer and found a way through the use of a cult (Shyguys) to empower Gourga-Uul, the Lord of the Kappa (Bowser Jr.). With this power he began experimenting on Kappa and made several augmented types.

The magical augmentation that made spinies made them lose their intelligence, making them little more than animals and thus not a playable race. They often accompanied the Cloudwalkers (Lakitu), which were a race of kappa who were ethereal from the waste down, which looked like mist or a cloud to those on the material plane. They could conjure spinies.

[md20gm]

That's an interesting variation- I like it!

Funny enough, my Mario universe also depends on an evil ritual to change Bowser into his current form- it's darkly alluded to in a short story I'm writing about how one of the NPC's, a Spiny, escaped Dark Land -a place very similar to North Korea, sociopolitically speaking- get caught speaking out and you're boned, and propaganda about how the war is going "Fine... JUST FINE!" and how walking off of cliffs is "The Right Thing to Do" if you're a green Koopa is part of daily life.

Basically Kamek Koopa found a way to turn someone into a half-dragon- up until that point, Bowser was just an evil and ambitious Koopa prince. (The reason he wants green Koopa to walk off of cliffs? To eliminate potential rivals- their royal line is almost entirely green-shelled.) He got himself Titan-ified, got a spiked shell, and turned half red dragon- thus the red hair, fire breath, claws, fangs, and tail. He picked up some fire resistance as well, though luckily for Mario he's not totally immune. Also he'll live for thousands of years.

Oh, and 'my' Lakitu are just fat Koopa, part of Bowser's air force, A.K.A. the Sky Troopas. They can summon the clouds with a spell similar to Mount, but after about a minute out of contact with their Lakitu they melt away. This lines up with how they work in Super Mario World. And they carry Bags of Holding to keep all of the Spinies in, so killing a Lakitu is a very good idea for an adventurer/party who's strong enough to do so- free BOH!

[scarmiglionne4]

Marius (Mario) was a dwarven hero in my game, killed long ago fighting Wevros-Uul (Bowser). Lycurgus still lives but is hated because he came back without the beloved hero. He was accused of murdering him out of jealousy and nearly hanged but was pardoned by the gnome Queen (Peach).

[md20gm]

It sounds like you've either done some work to 'file off the serial numbers' for the sake of originality- either that or you're covering your posterior for legal reasons. I am not a hundred percent sure, but I'm fairly certain that my fan fiction, produced for entertainment purposes and not for profit, is covered under fair use in U.S. law.

[scarmiglionne4]

I was going for originality so to speak. It was more inspired by than a conversion of SMB into D20.

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

It sounds like you've either done some work to 'file off the serial numbers' for the sake of originality- either that or you're covering your posterior for legal reasons. I am not a hundred percent sure, but I'm fairly certain that my fan fiction, produced for entertainment purposes and not for profit, is covered under fair use in U.S. law.

I've found that it's more about rulesets. People like the characters, so they try to adapt them to whatever campaign they're running at the time.


I was going for originality so to speak. It was more inspired by than a conversion of SMB into D20.
In my opinion, the Risus RPG is the best system available for doing Mario.

[md20gm]

Absolutely true! I heard of so many people putting elements of Super Mario in D&D games that it just made sense to try and do it as a system.... then I thought, 'man, that'll be a metric crapton of work.' Then I found the source document online- holy grail, man, holy grail.

The idea is also intriguing, though, of a general ND20 where you could find Link and the Battletoads fighting side by side, where Kirby and Pac-Man can finally have a competitive eating contest, where Simon Belmont goes vampire hunting with the Contra soldiers and Megaman- such possibilities! So many different villains to choose from and different characters that could make appearances!

[md20gm]

In my opinion, the Risus RPG is the best system available for doing Mario.

I'll check it out. I've also found that some elements of BESM/Mecha D20 fit fairly well, though that is still based on 3ed.

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

I'll check it out. I've also found that some elements of BESM/Mecha D20 fit fairly well, though that is still based on 3ed.

If you use Risus, also look up the optional and community rules. You'll definitely want to consider these:


Double pump dice
Evens up
Lucky shots
Fortifying foes
When the cure is worse than the disease
Lethal risus (this cuts both ways, you may want to make PCs and bosses immune to it)
Bouncing off the walls
Risus magic

[md20gm]

I'll do so. The core system seems pretty well suited to the genre- though I'm fairly well entrenched in my goofy hybridized system to be honest and may not make the change.

Still, the Risus system is intriguing. It explains how two Koopas with levels in Pastry Chef could provide a challenge to Mario and his friends, that's for sure! (Referencing Super Mario RPG where Torte and Blintz (?) bake Bundt)
And it seems to open things up to a lot more creative gameplay which seems to be a weakness of my current campaign (way too much move-attack-move-attack going on on the players' part).

I also enjoy the D6 system that requires no more in the way of dice than you could scavenge from a few board games or a Yahtzee set. Anything that removes obstacles is more likely to get people playing, after all.

{EDIT} Wow, this reminds me a lot of White Wolf systems in some ways.