Orcs and goblins in the desert [Archive] - Wizards Community

Orcs and goblins in the desert [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Kostchtchie
04-01-07, 09:34 PM G'day, not a biggie ... but:
as far as I can make out Desert kobolds from unearthed arcana lose their light sensitivity but make no changes to vision, Desert Orcs on the other hand lose their dark vison but not their light sensitivity..
Is this just sloppy writing, a balance issue or errata never before picked up *cough*
any suggestions?
tos_shai_hulud
04-01-07, 09:39 PM Desert orcs gain Low-light vision instead, but apparently they are still sensitive to the light. Perhaps they still live beneath the sand and only emerge at nighttime.
Kostchtchie
04-01-07, 10:16 PM yeh, I can definately justify it, it's just whether it was intended. I sort of get the impression that rather than there being no errors in Unearthed Arcana, everything is optional so the DM "should" be house ruling the modifications anyway.
:confused:
maybe
tos_shai_hulud
04-01-07, 10:25 PM Well, arctic orcs no longer have light sensitivity, but they are described as herders, so they would need to be partially active during the day to ensure that their herd does not wander too far.

Desert and Jungle orcs, on the other hand, are not attributed with any activities that must require daylight. Perhaps that is the distinction?

I don't have Unearthed Arcana in front of me, but this might have modifications: SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/environmentalRacialVariants.htm).
Frugal
04-02-07, 09:55 AM On d20srd.org it describes them as participating in "night raids" so maybe they are still only active at night (a pretty sensible idea in the desert).

That said, I don't think it would be unbalancing to give them lowlight vision and lose the light sensitivity, I know that's what I'm doing for the orcs in my campaign world across the board as they are a nomadic herding race similar to the Mongols in my world.

Granted I'm also giving them weapon familiarity with orc double axes (I like the idea of races actually being able to use their racial weapons) and a +2 racial bonus to intimidate (nets a +1 after the hit to CHA, I figure that orcs may be crude, ferocious and lacking in subtlety and that should hurt other CHA-based skills but they should be able to intimidate people).

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Kostchtchie 04-01-07, 09:34 PM	G'day, not a biggie ... but: as far as I can make out Desert kobolds from unearthed arcana lose their light sensitivity but make no changes to vision, Desert Orcs on the other hand lose their dark vison but not their light sensitivity.. Is this just sloppy writing, a balance issue or errata never before picked up cough any suggestions?
tos_shai_hulud 04-01-07, 09:39 PM	Desert orcs gain Low-light vision instead, but apparently they are still sensitive to the light. Perhaps they still live beneath the sand and only emerge at nighttime.
Kostchtchie 04-01-07, 10:16 PM	yeh, I can definately justify it, it's just whether it was intended. I sort of get the impression that rather than there being no errors in Unearthed Arcana, everything is optional so the DM "should" be house ruling the modifications anyway. :confused: maybe
tos_shai_hulud 04-01-07, 10:25 PM	Well, arctic orcs no longer have light sensitivity, but they are described as herders, so they would need to be partially active during the day to ensure that their herd does not wander too far. Desert and Jungle orcs, on the other hand, are not attributed with any activities that must require daylight. Perhaps that is the distinction? I don't have Unearthed Arcana in front of me, but this might have modifications: SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/environmentalRacialVariants.htm).
Frugal 04-02-07, 09:55 AM	On d20srd.org it describes them as participating in "night raids" so maybe they are still only active at night (a pretty sensible idea in the desert). That said, I don't think it would be unbalancing to give them lowlight vision and lose the light sensitivity, I know that's what I'm doing for the orcs in my campaign world across the board as they are a nomadic herding race similar to the Mongols in my world. Granted I'm also giving them weapon familiarity with orc double axes (I like the idea of races actually being able to use their racial weapons) and a +2 racial bonus to intimidate (nets a +1 after the hit to CHA, I figure that orcs may be crude, ferocious and lacking in subtlety and that should hurt other CHA-based skills but they should be able to intimidate people).