Cold-blooded fighting (3.5 race)[PEACH]

[Prince Zahn]

Hey, looking for P.E.A.C.Hes, all opinions welcome, and don't be shy, lurkers...

GATORFOLK

Noone really knows what lies At the darker parts of the swamps, inside the secret caverns underneath the riverbank, of the terrain hazards that are a deathwish to all but the worthy - better than the boldly d/evolved warriors who cause it all. Whether they crusade the lands or defend their homes, The Gatorfolk are definitely a vicious force to rival with.

Physical Appearance: Gatorfolk measure between 9 ft and 12 ft tall, and weighing roughly between 300-400 lbs. a gatorfolk has a dark skin color that, depending on the gatorfolk, ranges from green to dark brown. They also have long and thin mouths that are about 1.25 meters long, and can spread out to an 80 degree angle. Although they have tails Like their Alligator brethren, They are not long enough to use as a weapon.

personality: Gatorfolk are a selfish, agressive breed, they are a carnivorous and sometimes cannibalistic people that take survival of the fittest as their highest belief, as well as a philosophy that the best serenity is the accomplishment following a challenging victory.
despite their agressive nature, Gatorfolk are openly trusting those who can prove their worth, be them friend or rival, it is not uncommon a competitive Gatorfolk to make a lot of allies and "frienemies" with those who pose him a fair challenge.

Relations: A Gatorfolk judges people not by Their origin or appearance, but by their potential to her personally, She does not value those who are of no assistance or benefit to her, but a gatorfolk would be outraged to find out that somebody doesn't respect or value her. Humans, elvenkind, and dwarvenkind do not tend to be uncomfortable around them, seeing them as uncivilized, barbaric, and/or "filthy". Gnomes and halflings don't need to be wise to fear these people, and nearly never feel safe with a Gatorfolk in their eyesight. Regardless of race, it is common knowledge for Rascally characters to hold their tongues and keep their fingers in sight when confronting a Gatorfolk.

Alignment: Gatorfolk tend to be agressive and hardy,and appropriately lean towards chaotic alignments. As for good and evil, the majority of Gatorfolk lean towards neutral, though they are not uncommon from either side of the axis.

adventures: Gatorfolk adventure to seek glory, and oftentimes the will to achieve the serenity (ot at least their version of it).Occasionally Gatorfolk also tend take vengeance on those who wronged her (though not neccesarily another) or simply grow stronger.
they care little of gold and glittering gems unless in one way or another they see a way to become stronger by collecting them, for example, a Gatorfolk wouldn't care for the shiny, little round things other humanoids lust for. But might try to gather a few of those gold coins to afford a bargaining warrior's blade, a suit of armor, a magic item, or even a full healthy meal if the brawny innkeeper woudn't take death threats.*

Gatorfolk racial traits:
+4 strength, +2 constitution,-2 dexterity,-2 charisma:
gatorfolk are naturally strong and well-built, but they are not very quick on their feet, and their intimidating nature makes those more civilized people uncomfortable.

*Monstrous humanoid: Gatorfolk are monstrous humanoids, and are immune to magical effects that only affect humanoids(such as, but not limited to, Charm Person).
[Thanks to Neoseraphi for the suggestion.]
*large creature:as large creatures, Gatorfolk take a -1 size penalty on attack and a -1 penalty to AC, they also have a reach of 10 feet.

Spoiler

Show

co-homebrewer notes:this probably goes without saying but obviously they can use larger weapons than medium sized characters, we decided to give him a d10 bite attack rather than d8 because, really, gators have a tendency to break human bones with that mouth when they try to, and, overall, biting your opponent is fun!

*+4 racial bonus to intimidate checks: The Gatorfolk's dangerous appearance gives him a slight edge at scaring what he needs out of people.

*+4 circumstance bonus hide checks when in swampy terrain or while fully immersed in murky water.

*+2 circumstance bonus to survival checks made to survive difficult terrain: Gatorfolk take pride from what they endure, and that goes to their surroundings as well.

+8 bonus to swim checks: Gatorfolk are naturally good swimmers. In addition, a Gatorfolk can choose to take 10 on her swim checks.

*land speed 20 ft, swim speed 40 ft.

*Bite: a Gatorfolk bite attack that is a natural weapon that deals 1d10 plus Strength modifier.

*short-sighted: Gatorfolk have poor eyesight, and can only see to half the distance of a human.

*low light vision: a Gatorfolk can see twice as far as a human in shadowy illumination.

*immunity to poisons and diseases(both magical and mundane).

*Strong swimmer(ex): Gatorfolk do not count armor check penalty to swim checks when wearing light armor, and they take normal armor check penalty(x1) to such checks *when wearing medium or heavy armor.

*Death Roll(ex): Once a gatorfolk reaches 6HD, he developes this ability, while prone(or feinting) on her turn, a Gatorfolk with this ability may initiate a bite attack with any one enemy within range as a standard action, if the bite attack is successful, she may initiate a trip attack on the bitten enemy as a free action. dealing an additional 2d8 Whether or not the trip attempt was successful.

*favored class: barbarian
*Level Adjustment:+1

Looking for honest evaluations:U/OP, what's wrong,what can be corrected, un/playable, etc. but all comments appreciated.

[NeoSeraphi]

Creatures with the humanoid type are never larger than Medium nor smaller than Small, to avoid enlarge/reduce person shenanigans. I would make the gatorfolk a monstrous humanoid instead. (This grants them immunity to charm person, hold person, and dominate person, so you still get a nice boon from it)

Bite Attacks generally use 1d6 as a base from the Medium line, so it would be 1d8 for a Large creature. However, I can see why, from a flavor standpoint, you would want it a little more than that, as a gator has a lot more teeth than the average creature with a bite attack.

Large Size: You mean -1 to attack and -1 to AC here. Damage is definitely not penalized for being 12 feet tall.

Also, creatures with a racial swim speed receive a +8 racial bonus on Swim checks and can always Take 10 when they make a Swim check.

[Howler Dagger]

Creatures with the humanoid type are never larger than Medium nor smaller than Small, to avoid enlarge/reduce person shenanigans. I would make the gatorfolk a monstrous humanoid instead. (This grants them immunity to charm person, hold person, and dominate person, so you still get a nice boon from it)

Or you could make them medium with Powerful build, like half-giants.

[togapika]

SCREW POWERFUL BUILD! Go large or go home!


Why the 20ft move speed as a large sized race?

[NeoSeraphi]

Or you could make them medium with Powerful build, like half-giants.

Not if they're 9-12 feet tall. I think 10 feet is the cut-off for Medium creatures.

[Prince Zahn]

Thank you all for your opinions! I hope to hear some more too!

@Seraphi:Those are nice ideas, changed to monstrous humanoid, gave him the swim bonus and the take 10 thing(maybe +6 instead? Idk), but I don't know about d8 bite attack, one of the average gator's biggest traits is their bite strength, they can tear our limbs off way to easily, of course if I wrote he could cripple enemies like that it would be far too much...

@Togapika: YEAH! +1!
As for 20 ft movement rate, I dunno, aren't gators sluggish on land or something? I'm not sure if should that apply to them or not?

[NeoSeraphi]

@Seraphi:Those are nice ideas, changed to monstrous humanoid, gave him the swim bonus and the take 10 thing(maybe +6 instead? Idk), but I don't know about d8 bite attack, one of the average gator's biggest traits is their bite strength, they can tear our limbs off way to easily, of course if I wrote he could cripple enemies like that it would be far too much...

It's not a question of balance. It is an automatic benefit that comes with having a natural swim speed. All creatures who have a swim speed receive the same +8 racial bonus on it. No exceptions.

And if you want to keep the bite attack high, that is of course your decision. I was just letting you know what the normal thing is. Most creatures who have a bite attack are only using 20-30 teeth, instead of a huge gaping maw, so personally I think it makes sense.

Also, I like the Death Roll ability. Nothing to say other than I like it.

[MesiDoomstalker]

@Togapika: YEAH! +1!
As for 20 ft movement rate, I dunno, aren't gators sluggish on land or something? I'm not sure if should that apply to them or not?

This is somewhat of a myth. They are not particularly fast on land on average but can have short bursts of (relatively fast) speeds. Something of like being able to lunge forward at 40 mph and close 20 feet in a matter of seconds. Which is actaually exactly what you have but I'd say put some kind of charge ability to move x3 for a charge and get an extra benefit such as extra damage or a damage multiplier. That may push them into LA +2 territory unless you create a limit, such as once per hour or once per encounter or limiting it to its natural bite attack.

[Cirrylius]

Killer Croc's gonna be mad you're on his turf

[Prince Zahn]

This is somewhat of a myth. They are not particularly fast on land on average but can have short bursts of (relatively fast) speeds. Something of like being able to lunge forward at 40 mph and close 20 feet in a matter of seconds. Which is actaually exactly what you have but I'd say put some kind of charge ability to move x3 for a charge and get an extra benefit such as extra damage or a damage multiplier.

*nods* mhmm, mhmm... I thought about the lunging thing, see 2nd part of this post.

That may push them into LA +2 territory unless you create a limit, such as once per hour or once per encounter or limiting it to its natural bite attack.

Ahh, see, that was my dealbreaker, the goal here is to make him a good potential candidate, but 2LA is bigger league for a race, sure, a long distance charge would be a fun thing to give him, but so is natural armor, hit dice, swallow whole, and possibly other things that, in the end, would make him applicable for his own monster class...
Out of everything, The death roll seemed like the most suitable thing to take from the gators and crocs.

@Seraphi: thanks for informing me, I guess it's no biggy anyway since swim is one of the skills that don't spell the end of the world to player nor DM if they're high... Glad you like the death roll, but in general I'd be frightened to have my characters fight with a improved feint+trip+DTR character, in general I'm picturing a Tekken-style fight against the kind of guy who kicks your behind while laying on the floor, getting up only to knock you prone, then attacking you whle you're down... It's probably just my imagination running wild, what with the d&d easyness of hitting prone enemies(most of 'em, anyway) but it's a wacky, frustrating similarity nonetheless, no?

[GuesssWho]

Poison/disease immunity seems to be overpowered to me.

[Debihuman]

Immunity to poisons magical and mundane diseases is definitely worth LA by itself. Furthermore, PC races shouldn't have features that are gained by classes as that dilutes the classes. Certainly there are exceptions, but generally unless a creature has a poison attack, there is no cause for it to be immune to poisons.

Immunity to poison as it is a feature of the druid class at 9th level and immunity to disease is a paladin class feature at 3rd level.

If you have your heart set on giving them a bonus, give the gatorfolk Disease Resistance and a racial bonus +2 to Fortitude saves made to prevent infection of magical and mundane diseases.

Debby