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2012-03-30, 01:14 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Apr 2011
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HELP! I need to fix some races! Non-Gambling thread! (WIP, PEACH))
Alright, so I've been preparing a campaign setting for a while now (first DM in a few years). I've got a lot of the history/mythology/sociopolitical background all laid out. While I'm also streamlining a few classes (3.5 with much homebrew like vitality points and such), I realized that I still needed to stat the various races. While some are similar enough to their 3.5 counterparts for me to crib some notes, most of these are somewhat whole-cloth.
Anyway, my point. I've never been good at Crunch. I like messing with it, but I just can't wrap my head around it in a practical sense. So I've written up the various races of the campaign (think Rome at its height for reference) and I hope someone can look at these and tell me what needs to be done to balance the setting. Thank you so much in advance.
The Races:
Spoiler
Humans
Spoiler
Taloran – Based off the Roman Empire. Defining trait is stubbornness.
Racial Traits- +2 Con
- -2 Dex
- Land Speed – 20 ft. Unaffected by armor weight or load weight
- Stability – +4 against being tripped or bull rushed
- Skill Points – add 4 at Lvl 1, and 1 extra at each Lvl Up
- Weapon Prof – Short Swords as Simple Weapons, Proficiency with all shield, including tower shield
Dannic – Gaelic Warriors, as the Romans saw them. Sneaky cutthroats and ambushers
Racial Traits- +2 Dex
- -2 Cha
- Land Speed – 30 ft
- +2 to AC while fighting without armor
- +2 to Move Silently, Listen
- Darkvision – Can see in the dark up to 60 ft. Black and White only
Bannorn – Vikings/Native Americans. Proud Warrior Race, lovers of stone and sea
Racial Traits- +2 Str
- -2 Int
- Land Speed – 30 ft
- +2 Balance, Use Rope and Profession (Sailor)
- Low-light vision – can see twice as far in low light situations as Talorans
- Weapon Prof – One Exotic Weapon treated as Martial or one Martial treated as Simple
Elves
Spoiler
Akhamari/Sharakor – Persian/Egyptian/Jewish Zealots. Slight magic, quickness
Racial Traits- +2 Int
- -2 Con
- Land Speed – 30 ft
- Spell-like Ability – Can cast Charm Person as the spell 1/day without cost
- Weapon Prof – Longswords and Bows
- +2 Listen, Search, Spot. If within 5 ft of secret door, auto search check
Xeloric – Hindu Vedic Monks (peripheral). Wise men limited by mortal bodies
Racial Traits- +2 Wis
- -2 Con
- Land Speed – 30 ft
- Spell-like Ability – Can cast Sanctuary as the spell 1/day without cost
- +2 Climb, Move Silently, Listen
- +2 save against illusions
Halhvannen
SpoilerHalhvannen – Greek Half-Elves. The Magic race. Half-breed and proud of it
Racial Traits- +2 Cha
- +2 Dex
- -2 Con
- -2 Wis
- Land Speed – 30 ft
- +2 save against Sleep spells
- +2 Listen, Search, Spot. If within 5 ft of secret door, auto search check
- 1 additional Feat at Lvl 1 (must still qualify)
Beastmen
SpoilerBrutum – Dog/Wolf themed Half-Orcs. Similar to Loyal Germans in Roman Legion
Racial Traits- +2 Str
- -2 Dex
- +2 Cha
- -2 Wis
- Land Speed – 40 ft
- +4 against Enchantments
- Cannot take Caster Levels
Canids – Same race, but Mongolian/Hun in culture. Savage Barbarians
Racial Traits- +2 Con
- -2 Int
- Land Speed – 40 ft
- +4 against Enchantments
- Cannot take Caster Levels
Hesh
SpoilerErrgiansk – Mesopotamian Lizardmen meet Eastern Orthodox
Racial Traits- +2 Int
- -2 Cha
- Land Speed – 20 ft
- Swim Speed – 40 ft
- + 2 Move Silently, Spot
- +2 save against poison
- Weapon Prof – Tridents, Nets, and Spears are treated as Martial Weapons
Huitzelopotal – Mesoamerican Lizardmen.
Racial Traits- +2 Dex
- -2 Str
- Land Speed – 20 ft
- Swim Speed – 40 ft
- +2 Diplomacy, Sense Motive, Appraise
- Weapon Prof – Bows
Last edited by Ninjadeadbeard; 2012-04-02 at 12:56 AM.
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2012-03-30, 09:05 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2005
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Re: HELP! I need to fix some races! Non-Gambling thread! (WIP, PEACH))
Odd ability score changes (all those -1 and +1 modifiers) are generally considered a bad idea. Because of the math behind ability score modifiers, half the time they don't matter.
Other than that, these look pretty good to me.Last edited by Thomar_of_Uointer; 2012-03-30 at 09:05 AM.
I make games.
"...I worry that modern gaming is gradually shrinking the wide spectrum of gameplay mechanics into a single narrow red bar with "KILL" written on it sideways. Exploration, navigation, puzzles, platforming, all gradually shrinking away until only one thing remains, being taken by the hand from room to room, moving on only when nothing remains alive in each one." - Yhatzee Crosshaw
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2012-03-30, 12:36 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Apr 2011
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Re: HELP! I need to fix some races! Non-Gambling thread! (WIP, PEACH))
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2012-03-30, 05:34 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jul 2005
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- U.S.A.
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2012-03-30, 05:48 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Apr 2011
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- Unknown
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Re: HELP! I need to fix some races! Non-Gambling thread! (WIP, PEACH))
I removed the bonus to resist enchantments and Weapon proficiency. I really want to keep the bonus feat at level 1, seeing as how I removed that from the Humans. Should I remove Sleep Immunity entirely for balance?
EDIT: Instead, I've gone ahead and given them a Con hit. I wanted to make them a good Sorcerer/Rogue race originally. I hope adding this makes them squishier and a little less likely to be used for every other class. Does anyone think this is a good move? Should I go back to a Strength hit?Last edited by Ninjadeadbeard; 2012-04-01 at 05:59 PM.
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2012-04-01, 06:20 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2011
- Location
- Therinos
- Gender
Re: HELP! I need to fix some races! Non-Gambling thread! (WIP, PEACH))
Even with the CON hit, Halhvannen are still really good. I would change the Sleep Immunity to something like "+x to save against Sleep spells" with x being 1 or 2. Everything else seems good in terms of balance.
...Except for one or two flavor issues: Why are the half-elf beings more magical than the full-elf beings, and why don't the Akhamari get an INT boost to contrast the Xeloric WIS boost?
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2012-04-01, 06:56 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Apr 2011
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Re: HELP! I need to fix some races! Non-Gambling thread! (WIP, PEACH))
I can't believe I didn't see the Sleep answer before. I basically did the same for the Beastmen before I posted, turning a Total Magic Immunity (good or bad) into a smaller bonus. I feel silly missing that here. You'll notice I also switched the Akhamari bonus from Dex to Int. I was awfully torn by that one, but I can see how the change might be better.
As to why I made the Half-elfs the Magic Race, that's a complicated answer. This was an idea in my head for a while so please bear with me:SpoilerWhat do you get when you go out and buy a Dog? Mutt or Pure-bred. For the longest time, I thought, "Naturally the Pure-bred. People make such a big deal about it, they must be better." The thing is though, Pure-breds are not better. In fact, a Pure-bred dog is generally less intelligent and more prone to health issues than a Mutt.
Mutts, as I've seen after owning many dogs and observing many others, are usually smarter, quicker to pick up skills, and healthier than their Pure-bred cousins. So when I think of Half-Elves, I don't see a race of people who have half the power of each parent (I think PHB Half-Elves are notorious for being fairly useless) I see a character who is a synthesis of the best qualities of each. For the Halhvannen I merely extended the metaphor to a more spiritual, magical plane.
TLDR: Halhvannen are best of both Parent races
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2012-04-02, 12:30 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Apr 2011
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- Plane of Science
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Re: HELP! I need to fix some races! Non-Gambling thread! (WIP, PEACH))
I like what you have so far except for the humans. Taloran are too powerful, I'd say weapon proficiency should work like the Bannorns. I feel like the Dannic could use a small flavor boost. Perhaps +1 to will saves vs. mind affecting spells or +10 speed or +1 ac when wearing no armor. Finally, give the Bannorn Cold resistance 3 or 5, or you could say they get +2 to Balance, Profession (Sailor), and Use Rope to reflect their sailing heritage.
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2012-04-02, 12:53 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Apr 2011
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Re: HELP! I need to fix some races! Non-Gambling thread! (WIP, PEACH))
Those...are seriously good suggestions. I think I'll give the Talorans Short swords as simple weapons and proficiency with all shields (based on Romans after all). Dannicans should get a +2 AC while fighting without armor. And I totally forgot about Cold Resistance, so Cold Resist 5 for the Bannorn, in addition to a +2 to Balance, Profession (Sailor) and Use Rope as you suggested, thank you. Anything else, you think?