Malamundus (A 3.5 Campaign Setting)

[Gnorman]

Why do gravetouched get a charisma bonus. They are not very attractive and originally were not free willed. Maybe an intelligence bonus instead?

Cogs may be underpowered, maybe if you gave them stability to reflect the fact that they are made of more sturdy and heavy material than most beings.

1. This was kind of a legacy choice due to undead having bonuses to charisma (mainly to offset their lack of constitution), though I would disagree with your assessment that gravetouched are unattractive - vampires are undead, and yet are typically portrayed as urbane, pleasant to look at, and quite charming. Tangentially, I also don't believe in "charisma = attractiveness" - charisma, to me, represents magnetism, self-possession, and confidence. In that sense, a charisma bonus makes perfect sense to me. I'm not sure where you get that they were not originally free-willed (have I implied this somewhere in the document? If so, let me know and I will alter it). Gravetouched societies are actually quite liberal - the vampire barons and lich lords are usually unseen presences, present more as a constant subtle threat than anything else.

2. I gave stability to jotun already as they are descended from a duergar-frost dwarf mix, but I'll consider giving it to cogs as well - it makes a certain amount of sense.