Stone Age Campaign - Races

[continuumg]

I'm currently running a campaign set in a homebrew setting populated primarily by dinosaurs and stone-age humanoids. I figured I might as well post some of my resources here in case anyone is interested. I'm going to be starting with races, as this is something fairly universal and easily adapted for use in other settings.
The world (Sauria) is inhabited by only two intelligent species, and their hybrid.

The first, Humans, are much like their Golarian counterparts, although their racial features do differ somewhat in order to better contrast the other races. Humans are widespread across the Saurian mainland.

The second are the Stouts, based loosely on Neanderthals, who are more squat than humans, have a sloped forehead, large noses, and lack a chin. Stouts tend to be somewhat Stronger and more Intelligent than humans, but also slower, and more passive. They hail from the far north, where Megafauna dominate a land too cold for most dinosaurs.

Half-Stouts have large colonies on the mountain range that seperates the north and south halves of the continent, but live nearly everywhere except along the coasts.

Without further ado, the stats!

Ability Score Racial Traits: Human characters gain a +2 racial bonus to one ability score of their choice at creation to represent their varied nature.
Size: Humans are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Base Speed: Humans have a base speed of 30 feet.
Languages: Humans begin play speaking their tribal tongue. Humans with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages from their region. (More on regions in a later post)
Skill Focus: Humans tend to specialize in a few areas. They get Skill Focus as a bonus feat at 1st, 8th, and 16th levels
Varied: Humankind is a diverse people group. Each human gets their choice of one of the traits listed below.

Awareness: Humans raised within communities that encourage mindfulness seem to shrug off many dangers more easily than other humans. They gain a +1 racial bonus on all will and reflex throws and concentration checks.

Heart of the Mountains: Humans born in the mountains are skilled at negotiating heights and precipices. They gain a +2 racial bonus on Climb checks and Acrobatics checks to move on narrow surfaces and uneven ground. Furthermore, they are considered acclimated to the effects of high altitude.

Heart of the Sea: Humans born near the sea are always drawn to it. They gain a +2 racial bonus on Profession (sailor) and Swim checks, and these are always class skills for them. They can hold their breath twice as long as normal, and spellcasters gain a +4 racial bonus on concentration checks when attempting to cast spells underwater.

Heart of the Snows: Humans born in chilly climates gain a +2 racial bonus on Fortitude saving throws against the effects of cold climates, on any check or saving throw to avoid slipping and falling, and to CMD against trip combat maneuvers.

Heart of the Sun: Humans born in tropical climates gain a +2 racial bonus on Fortitude saving throws against the effects of a hot climates and against poison.

Industrious: Humans are known for their drive and work ethic. Humans with this racial trait gain a +2 racial bonus on concentration checks and checks with their choice of one Craft or Profession skill.

Piety: Humans with this trait receive a +2 racial bonus on Knowledge (religion) checks and Knowledge (religion) is always a class skill for them. In addition, they select one domain of their deity that has a domain power normally usable a number of times per day equal to 3+WIS. They may use that first level power as a supernatural ability once per day, with an effective cleric level equal to 1/2 their character level.

Practiced Hunter: Members of some human cultures train from youth to find and follow the trails of vital game and at the same time hide the evidence of their own passage. These humans gain a +2 racial bonus on Stealth and Survival checks in familiar regions, and treat other regions as one step more familiar when determining modifiers to their Survival skill.

Silver Tongued: Human are often adept at subtle manipulation and putting even sworn foes at ease. Humans with this trait gain a +2 bonus on Diplomacy and Bluff checks. In addition, when they use Diplomacy to shift a creature’s attitude, they can shift up to three steps up rather than just two.

Wayfarer: Humans maintain the largest trade networks, putting them in contact with a huge number of cultures. Humans with this racial trait start with three uncertain regions, rather than three unfamiliar, and these need not be adjacent to their home region. Humans with this trait and a high intelligence can pick any languages. (More on regional familiarity in a future post)




Ability Score Racial Traits: Stouts are strong and smart, but a bit clumsy. They gain +2 Strength, +2 Intelligence, -2 Dexterity (Note that Intelligence is a less important stat in my campaign, as it does not feature arcane casters)
Size: Stouts are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Base Speed: Stouts have a base speed of 20 feet, but their speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance. Stouts also have a climb speed of 10 feet.
Languages: Stouts begin play speaking Stout. Stouts with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages.
Cold Adapted: Stouts gain a +4 racial bonus to Fortitude saves against environmental cold
Stability: Stouts gain a +4 racial bonus to their Combat Maneuver Defense when resisting a bull rush or trip attempt while standing on the ground.
Scent: Stouts favor a keen sense of smell over sensitive sight. They have the scent ability. (30 Ft Range)
Perfect Recall: Stouts have near-perfect memories. They gain all Intelligence based skills as class skills, and they gain a +1 racial bonus on skill checks for each such skill that they gain as a class skill from their class levels. (Note that in my campaign, I have removed many such skills. This affects 6 skills total.)



Ability Score Racial Traits: Half-stout characters gain a +2 racial bonus to one ability score of their choice at creation to represent their varied nature.
Size: Half-stouts are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Base Speed: 30 feet
Languages: Half-stouts begin play speaking their tribal tongue. Half-stouts with high Intelligence scores can choose Stout, or any languages from their region.
Stout Blood: Half-Stouts count as both Stouts and Humans for any effect related to race
Proficient Climber: Half stouts gain a +4 racial bonus to Climb checks
Smeller: Half-Stouts have a limited scent ability with half the normal range. (15 Ft)
Skilled: Half-Stouts gain an additional skill rank at first level and one additional rank whenever they gain a level.


I also have the favored class bonuses for the Stout race. Half-Stouts can choose Stout or Human bonuses as normal.

Barbarian: Add 1 to the stout’s total number of rage rounds per day.
Bard: Add +1 to the stout’s total number of bardic performance rounds per day. (Note that Bard is restricted to some homebrew archetypes in my campaign)
Bloodrager: Add +½ to the bloodrager’s bonus to Will saving throws while raging. (Note that Bloodrager is restricted to some homebrew archetypes in my campaign)
Brawler: Add ¼ to the brawler’s effective level to determine her unarmed strike damage.
Cavalier: Add +1 hit point to the cavalier’s mount. If the cavalier ever replaces this mount, the new mount gains these bonus hit points.
Challenger: Add 1 to the stout's total number of adrenaline rush rounds per day.
Cleric: Select one domain power granted at 1st level that is normally usable a number of times per day equal to 3 + the cleric’s Wisdom modifier. The cleric adds +½ to the number of uses per day of that domain power.
Druid: Add +1/3 to the druid’s natural armor bonus when using wild shape.
Fighter: Add +1 to the fighter’s CMD when resisting a bull rush or trip attempt.
Hunter: Increase the range of the stout’s scent ability by 2 feet.
Inquisitor: Add +½ on Intimidate checks and Knowledge checks to identify creatures.
Investigator: Increase the total number of points in the stout’s inspiration pool by ⅓. (Note that Investigator is restricted to some homebrew archetypes in my campaign)
Kineticist: Treat the kineticist as ¼ levels higher for the purpose of his elemental defense
Oracle: Add +⅙ to the oracle’s level for the purpose of determining the effects of one revelation.
Paladin: Add a +1 bonus on concentration checks when casting paladin spells.
Ranger: Increase the range of the stout’s scent ability by 2 feet.
Rogue: Add ½ a rank to a skill of the rogue’s choice for the purposes of skill unlocks
Slayer: Increase the range of the stout’s scent ability by 2 feet.
Swashbuckler: Increase the number of times per day the swashbuckler can use charmed life by ¼.
Warpriest: Gain a +⅓ bonus on the damage dealt or healed with the warpriest’s channel energy and fervor abilities.

[rferries]

Interesting to see the Stouts have an Int bonus - one would expect a penalty!

Right now the human Awareness, Piety, and Silver-Tongued traits seem much better than the others, though obviously that depends on how important different terrains are in the campaign.

[raygun goth]

Interesting to see the Stouts have an Int bonus - one would expect a penalty!

Neanderthals were smarter than us. We were physically tougher, able to walk for longer without resting, and better able to handle wider degrees of temperature - in short, we were more generalized and adaptable.

Having had some specialized training in this area, it's important to figure out "when" in the "Stone Age" you want to put things. If you're talking anything after knapping, you're looking at cultures that are actually growing crops and brewing alcohol (which is almost universal in every single culture - there are monkeys that eat rotten fruit to get drunk) and possibly even building cities. You're looking at potentially megalithic builders if you're talking about the neolithic or the chalcolithic (it turns out most of the cultures we label "stone age" had access to copper - it's something you can potentially collect while you're collecting flint).

[continuumg]

The setting takes place on a fairly large continent. The area my players are starting in is a vast rainforest just south of the centre of the landmass.
The technological level of the inhabitants does vary somewhat. There is widespread knapping and leatherworking, but the apex predators make agriculture somewhat difficult. There are very few permanent settlements, though they do exist, primarily along the eastern coast and the great lakes in the south.
As for the trait balance, fortitude saves are a lot more prevalent than will and reflex in this setting, which lacks arcane casters. The piety trait is a bit stronger than the rest, but it adds flavour to the character, and I wanted to put a heavy emphasis on this setting’s pantheon (which I intend to post today or tomorrow). Additionally; since it won’t be the same each time it’s picked, multiple players can take it without them feeling “samey”.

[raygun goth]

That sounds awesome!

It's also important to remember that when I say "cities" I mean "communities of about a thousand," most typically stuff like Lachish or Cahokia, Los Millares, and the like.

Large predators tend to avoid settlements and fire, mostly because they die a lot when they approach groups of people - that's the benefit of moving in groups, and if you can stack rocks, you can protect your town, you can grow crops. It won't be ideal, but you can do it.

[Mechalich]

Neanderthals were smarter than us.

This is an extremely contentious statement. Evidence for Neanderthal intelligence versus contemporary humans is complex, varied, and moves along multiple lines of evidence. Current thinking suggest neanderthals had certain advantages compared to their cro-magnon contemporaries, but also other disadvantages. While modern evidence certainly supports the conclusion that Neanderthals were significantly more intelligent than they were initially believed to be, flatly stating that they were more intelligent than cro-magnon humans is not well supported.

[rferries]

I read through your deities list - very nice. Are you definitely only going with the 3 mammalian races so far? A dinosaur-themed lizardfolk (with various subraces) seems like it'd fit in perfectly.

[continuumg]

I had, in fact, considered either introducing a race of reptilians or increasing the intelligence of velociraptors to the level of humanoids.
As for the intelligence bonus, it is important to remember that the Stouts are loosely based on Neanderthals. It isn’t meant to be an accurate historical portrayal. Neanderthal skulls do have a slightly larger brain case than humans, on average, but remember that there are plenty of humans around with a bonus to Int as well. The Neanderthals, or rather stouts, in my setting are renowned for their excellent memories, whereas the humans tend to be the most versatile as a group, and the hybrids the most versatile as individuals.
Or at least that’s wha I was going for.

Oh! There is also a certain religious reverence for the nine deific species of saurians; most tribes would hesitate to hunt one of these creatures.