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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Orc in the Playground
     
    TabletopNuke's Avatar

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    Default Psibers (3.5 Breakdown Race, Fluff is still WIP)

    Here's another race from my Breakdown setting. The good people over at the Sci-Fi thread critiqued the balance already, and I modified the race accordingly. I think it should be okay now, but let me know if you feel otherwise. What I'd really like is help with fluff. The world government needs a name.

    Psibers are humans implanted with cybernetic devices that allow them to develop psychic powers. Originally a tiny, experimental unit of the U.S. armed forces, psibers now serve the united world government. Their numbers have swelled to 200, but they are still a well-kept secret, even within the ranks of government officials and military officers.

    Psiber:
    • Medium Humanoid (Cybernetic, Human, Psionic)
    • Base Land Speed: 30 feet.
    • Naturally Psionic: Psibers gain 2 bonus power points at 1st level. This benefit does not grant them the ability to manifest powers unless they gain that ability through another source, such as levels in a psionic class.
    • Resistance (Su): Psibers can bolster their mental and physical resilience with psychic energy. As an immediate action, a psiber can spend 1 power point to gain a +4 resistance bonus on saving throws until the beginning of his next action.
    • Resilience (Su): A psiber can reinforce his body with psionic energy, reducing the severity of injury. As an immediate action, he can reduce the damage he is about to take by 2 hit points for every 1 power point he spends.
    • Repletion (Su): A psiber can sustain his body on psychic energy alone, eliminating the need for food or water. If he spends 1 power point, a psiber does not need to eat or drink for 24 hours.
    • Restorative Trance (Su): Psibers do not sleep as humans do. Instead, they enter a psychic trance for 4 hours a day. Resting in this fashion grants a psiber the same benefits as a human gains from 8 hours of sleep. While in this trance, a psiber concentrates on suffusing his flesh with psionic energy, healing and restoring his mind and body.
    • Self-Destruct (Ex): To prevent the cybernetic technology used to turn humans into psibers from falling into other hands, the psiber implants are designed to self-destruct upon the psiber's death (reduced to -10 hit points or below). This also damages the deceased psiber's brain beyond recovery. As a result, a psiber's corpse is treated as missing vital parts of it's body for the purpose of bringing them back from the dead. Therefore, a raise dead spell would be ineffective, but an effect such as resurrection or true resurrection would work.
    • Automatic Languages: English, Bonus Languages: Any Human Language
    • Favored Class: At 1st level, a psiber character chooses one of the following as a favored class: Lurk, Psion, Psychic Hunter, Psychic Rogue, or Psychic Warrior. Once chosen, this decision cannot be changed.
    • Level Adjustment: +0


    Starting Age:
    {table=head]Adulthood|Simple|Intermediate|Complex

    18 Years
    |
    +1d3
    |
    +1d4
    |
    +1d6
    [/table]

    Age Categories
    {table=head]Middle Age|
    Old
    |Venerable|Maximum Age

    72 Years
    |
    108 Years
    |
    150 Years
    |
    +1d% Years
    [/table]

    Height and Weight:
    {table=head]Race and Sex|Base Height|Height Mod|Base Weight|Weight Mod

    Psiber, M|
    4'10"
    |
    +2d10"
    |
    120 lb.
    |
    x(2d4)

    Psiber, F|
    4'5"
    |
    +2d10"
    |
    85 lb.
    |
    x(2d4)
    [/table]

    Here's the fluff (I'll be adding more, someday):
    Physical Description:
    Spoiler
    Show
    Psibers are physically indistinguishable from the humans they once were, save for the scar. The cybernetics implantation process used to turn humans into psibers leaves a semicircular, 6-inch surgical scar, centered near the base of the skull. If properly cared for after surgery, this scar is hair-thin and virtually invisible under a psiber’s hair. However, in order to fully conceal the scar, psibers are required by the military to keep their hair at least three inches long, rather than wear the standard buzz-cut.

    Due to the fact that psibers originate from a military background, they tend to be physically impressive beings, hardy and at least somewhat muscular. However, some psibers originally served the military as mechanics, computer programmers, spies, or some other noncombatant role, and dodged much of the grueling training required to be a field soldier.

    Alignment:
    Spoiler
    Show
    Potential psibers are carefully analyzed before being invited to join the ranks of psychic soldiers. Adherence to rules is absolutely necessary, and only the most disciplined, responsible people are recruited as potential psibers. Any sign of mental instability or sociopathic behavior is an instant disqualification. Psibers are usually lawful, and almost never evil. Sacrificing personal life and safety to serve a cause generally requires a considerable amount of altruism, but being repeated called upon to perform actions one finds brutal or draconian can leave a person jaded and cynical.

    Names:
    Spoiler
    Show
    Once they agree to become psibers, applicants are declared dead (usually casualties of war), forever renouncing their old names, friends, and families. Psibers receive codenames once they leave their original identity behind. Names are assigned randomly from dangerous aspects of nature; terrain, destructive weather, and toxic plants and animals.
    Sample Names: Asp, Boomslang, Deathstalker, Delta, Derecho, Dune, Fattail, Manchineel, Laburnum, Redback, Savannah, Stonefish, Taipan, Tundra

    Classes:
    Spoiler
    Show
    Created specifically to provide the government with a reliable source of psychic firepower, psibers take psionic classes almost exclusively. However, psychic powers are still unpredictable and difficult to master. Even within the ranks of psibers, members of the less psionically-skilled classes (lurk, psychic hunter, psychic rogue, and psychic warrior), still outnumber psions three-to-one. Wilders are very rare, and their powers are viewed as unpredictable and unreliable. There are no known psiber soulknives or mindscourges.
    Last edited by TabletopNuke; 2010-06-26 at 07:56 PM.
    Keep 3.5 alive!
    Creepy psychics, shark dogs, and whatever else I feel like drawing.
    Sci-Fi/Fantasy Homebrew Setting: Breakdown

    I am willing and able to critique 3.5 homebrews. I'm still learning though, and I may not be able to help with unfamiliar material. PM me if you are having trouble getting your work reviewed.

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Orc in the Playground
    Join Date
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    Default Re: Psibers (3.5 Breakdown Race, Fluff is still WIP)

    You have "Naturally Psionic" listed twice, and sometimes refer to them as Destroyers. Does Resilience have a limit?

    It's nicely balanced with the core races, I think.

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Firbolg in the Playground
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    Default Re: Psibers (3.5 Breakdown Race, Fluff is still WIP)

    They need a penalty to one stat or other. See the race 'Elan' (from one of the psionics books, which I'm sure you've seen, judging be the class abilities). They had a -2 penalty to charisma, and less abilities. Try applying the penalty to strength or constitution, to demonstrate their lack of combat ability.

  4. - Top - End - #4
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Kiren's Avatar

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    Default Re: Psibers (3.5 Breakdown Race, Fluff is still WIP)

    • Naturally Psionic: Destroyer gain 2 bonus power points at 1st level. This benefit does not grant them the ability to manifest powers unless they gain that ability through another source, such as levels in a psionic class.
    • Preprogrammed Knowledge (Ex): Destroyers receive most of their education during incubation, through cybernetic implants. They are always literate.
    The Destroyers have infiltrated! Arm the lightbulbs!

  5. - Top - End - #5
    Orc in the Playground
     
    TabletopNuke's Avatar

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    Default Re: Psibers (3.5 Breakdown Race, Fluff is still WIP)

    Quote Originally Posted by Merk View Post
    You have "Naturally Psionic" listed twice, and sometimes refer to them as Destroyers. Does Resilience have a limit?

    It's nicely balanced with the core races, I think.
    Oops, I c/ped the destroyer html as a template and forgot to take that out. Fixed now.

    I should hope so! We spent quite a while fiddling with it.
    Quote Originally Posted by DMofDarkness View Post
    They need a penalty to one stat or other. See the race 'Elan' (from one of the psionics books, which I'm sure you've seen, judging be the class abilities). They had a -2 penalty to charisma, and less abilities. Try applying the penalty to strength or constitution, to demonstrate their lack of combat ability.
    Yeah, I did base it on elans (if you have suggestions for making it seem less like a repainted elan I'm eager to hear). We had a long discussion on the sci-fi thread about the ability penalty. We came to the conclusion that removing the aberration type and adding the self-destruct trait balanced it. I haven't playtested yet to be sure, though.
    Quote Originally Posted by Kiren View Post
    The Destroyers have infiltrated! Arm the lightbulbs!
    OH SHI-
    Your puny lightbulbs are useless against the might of the destroyers!
    Keep 3.5 alive!
    Creepy psychics, shark dogs, and whatever else I feel like drawing.
    Sci-Fi/Fantasy Homebrew Setting: Breakdown

    I am willing and able to critique 3.5 homebrews. I'm still learning though, and I may not be able to help with unfamiliar material. PM me if you are having trouble getting your work reviewed.

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