Anthro Displacer Beast {P.E.A.C.H.} [Archive] - Wizards Community

Anthro Displacer Beast {P.E.A.C.H.} [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Mr_Arcane
08-15-07, 01:10 PM Anthro Displacer Beast

An attempt at a new LA 0 “created” race. More on that in the Flavor/fluff section.
The explination= I was bored one night and whilst i was talking to a player of mine about his character (A wizard with a heavy russian accent) my mind wandered off. I remembered that some one (Whom, I don't know) said they had an Anthro Displacer Beast character and I though I might try my hand at race creation. The biggest problem was balancing the Displacment ability. I thank whom ever inspired my idea for an anthro Displacer Beast race, and Savage Species did help a little bit.

Racial Traits

*+2 DEX, +2 CON, -2 INT, -2 CHA. Anthro Displacer Beasts are dexterous and hardy but the magics that created them made them much less sociable and tactful.
*Anthro Displacer Beasts are Monstrous Humanoids.
*Medium size. Anthro Displacer Beasts have no special benefits or stigmas due to size.
*Base Land Speed 30 ft.
*+2 racial bonus to hide, move silently, and climb checks. Anthro Displacer Beasts are naturally dexterous.
*Starting Languages: Common. Bonus languages: Dragonic. Being creatures changed through magic, Anthro Displacer Beasts are prone to picking up the language of magic.
*Armor made for a Anthro Displacer Beasts is made at a 30% increase to cost. Tentacles make ordinary armor that isn’t specially made very uncomfortable and they suffer an additional -2 to DEX.
*Dark Vision to 60 ft. and lowlight vision.
*At 5 HD, Anthro Displacer Beasts get the ability to use the Displacement ability at will. Their miss chance at 5HD is 5% and increases 5% every other hit die after to a max of 25%. Ex. At 5 HD they have a 5% miss chance adn at 7 HD they have a 10% miss chance. It is a supernatural effect.
*When using their Displacement ability, Anthro Displacer Beasts gets a +2 resistance bonus to ranged attacks and ranged touch magical attacks that specifically target it and a +4 racial bonus to hide checks.
*Natural weapons: Tentacle attack (1d4 Damage).
*Favored Class: Fighter or Barbarian. An Anthro Displacer Beast can take levels in an arcane casting class and a -1 penalty to caster level (minimum of 1 CL).
*LA +0
LA +1 Variant
The LA +1 version of the Anthro Displacer Beast has the following addtional traits-
*Four Arms: With four arms, the LA +1 qualifies for the Multi-weapon Fighting feat
*Natural Armor Bonus +2

Flavor/Fluff Section
The Anthro Displacer Beast is not a natural race. All of the existing specimens are products of arcane experimentation. Many have vendettas sworn against their creators and will hunt down their Wizard or Sorcerer creators. Many are found in a wizard's tower strapped to a table or in a cage.
Personality- Anthro Displacer Beasts are normally very reserved and very moody. Many tend to be very confused when they enter humanoid society after being freed or breaking out on their own. The nuances of the humanoid world are sometimes lost on them. Many have a seething hatred for Wizards, whom they call “Book casters,” and many other arcane casters that feel the need to experiment on other creatures.
Physical Description- Anthro Displacer Beasts are roughly five feet and nine inches tall and bordering on eighty five pounds, a majority of it lean muscle, organs, and bone, covered in purple fur. They stand perfectly upright, have two arms with humanoid hands, hooked tentacles on their backs, thin frames, and panther-like heads. Some mutations have four arms.
Relations- Anthro Displacer Beasts are slightly antisocial at best and downright nasty at their worst. They keep everyone they meet at arms length and prefer to keep it that way. They feel a certain kinship with other created races like Warforged and lycanthropes that somehow maintain their normal alignments.
Alignment- With their normal counter parts, Anthro Displacer Beasts would normally be Lawful Evil, but the hatred for their creators can override their Evil tendencies causing them to be any Lawful. An average Anthro Displacer Beast would be Lawful Neutral.
Lands- Anthro Displacer Beasts are so few and far between, many live on humanoid lands. They sometimes reside in the homes of their natural counterparts, sometimes leading their packs.
Religion- Religion is lost on Anthro Displacer Beasts. If one does have a patron deity, it would most likely be a nature god such as Elhonna or Obad-hai, ones with revenge on the brain worship St. Cuthbert. They would never worship a god of magic.
Language- Displacer Beasts are naturally proficient with Common and so are the anthropomorphic cousins. During the rituals that created them, they sometimes pick up Dragonic, though they never use it themselves. They only learn Dragonic to learn the language of their creators, so the can identify them much more readily.
Names- Anthro Displacer Beasts have no natural naming schemes and generally receive names from either their creators or those that find them. They adopt names from the societies around them, as such, there are no typical male or female names.
Adventurers- Revenge is the prime motivator for any Anthro Displacer Beast. Many adventure to find their creators and either get revenge for the perceived injustice that they inflicted on them or to ask the simple question of “Why?” Many never take levels in arcane casting classes, as they perceive magic to be a corrupting element in the world, lest they become even more tainted.
Breeding- The magics gave them a humanoid form and the ability to breed with humanoids. Their genes are magically dominant to the point of what ever race they happen to breed with, the child will also be an Anthro Displacer Beast. The child will more than likely never have a normal life.
"Why?"- Wizards and other arcane casters sometimes adventure to gain arcane knowledge. Many Evil spell casters (And some chaotic neutral) find the urge to experiment on sentient beings to be an irresistible one. They might snag a base creature from nearby or have some bought in a market. When the creature is either gagged or sufficiently bound, the experiments begin. The more perverse Wizards get a kick out listening to their screams. Many of the magics used tend to be incomplete Transmutation spells. After all is said and done, Anthro Displacer Beasts are the results form a Displacer Beast base creature. Many are killed and experimented on further or locked in a cage and forgotten about- until they free themselves. Encounters with adventurers on a “kill the evil wizard” style of adventure tend to turn bloody out of fear and anger.
CannibalSmith
08-16-07, 01:55 AM Racial ability modifiers are always even numbers. It looks like a LA +1 race.
bobothechimp
08-16-07, 02:28 AM At least +1, if not more.
Thief_of_Hope
08-16-07, 03:11 AM I really like this idea. There's a lot of potential for good role-playing with such a character.

As mentioned already, ability adjustments are always even numbers, so that people with certain ability scores don't benefit more from the boost than others. Just have it be +2 Con.

As it stands, I agree that the race is +1 LA. While I can see the downside of having armor cost 10% more, it is easily overcome by the (IMO well done) scaled displacement, the additional pair of arms, and the multiple natural attacks. Quite honestly, I think you would be able to get away with adding a little more to it if you're fine with the +1 LA, like boosting their speed and/or giving them natural armor.

If you'd really like a +0 LA, I think you could do it by, first of all, getting rid of the extra arms. Those are a nice bonus. Possibly get rid of one of the natural attacks (maybe the bite), although I've never known the full effect of natural attacks on the game, so I'm not sure how much they factor into balance. Raise the price of the adjusted armor they have to pay. The bigger percent of the original price that anthro-armor costs, the more of a disadvantage it is, and the more it will factor into balancing the race (although I wouldn't raise it to more than 50%).

Anyone who thinks that it won't be a big deal isn't reading the part about how the anthro-displacers hate magic, thereby eliminating the classes most likely to go without armor (Sorcerers and Wizards). Sure, rogues might not care too much, and a monk won't have a problem, but it is a big deal, especially if you make their favored class fighter or barbarian (wink wink, nudge nudge), which seem like the most appropriate choices for the favored class if I'm reading the fluff right.

You may even go so far as to disallow the displacer anthros to take levels in an arcane casting class, if they have that much of a vendetta against it.

If anyone can come up with a good, catchy name for these guys, that would be easier than having to keep saying "displacer anthros", and would give a little more identity to the race.

If it were me, personally, I might make a +0 LA version and a +1 LA version, with the above suggestions. It stands to reason that if all currently existing anthro displacers are the results of experimentation, there would be variances between such individuals. Sort of like how there are mutant sahuagin that have extra arms and are a little tougher than normal sahuagin.

Wow! I must really like this race if I wrote so much to try and help out with them. Hope I helped in some way!
Mr_Arcane
08-16-07, 11:46 AM Thief_of_Hope, I really appreciate the help. I Like the idea of having the LA +1 and the LA +0 versions. I am really considering getting rid of the bite attack and having a four arm variant for the LA +1 version, which probably should get a little natural armor bonus. The scaled Displacement idea actually came from the Dragonborn in Races of the Dragon.

Earlier, before posting, they would have had full displacement advantages by fifth level so I am glad I picked up on that right away. As for the armor cost increase I was thinking about 30 to 40%?

A name right off the top of my head would be something like Azmarthi, I’m not really that good at naming. As for the Favored Class, Fighter and Barbarian were my initial choices, among Rogue and Monk.

Thanks a lot my friend!
Pinzer
08-16-07, 07:40 PM ------------------------------------------------------------
*+2 DEX, +2 CON, -2 INT, -2 CHA. Anthro Displacer Beasts are dexterous and hardy but the magics that created them made them much less sociable and tactful.
*Anthro Displacer Beasts are Monstrous Humanoids.
*Medium size. Anthro Displacer Beasts have no special benefits or stigmas due to size.
*Base Land Speed 30 ft.
*+2 racial bonus to hide, move silently, and climb checks. Anthro Displacer Beasts are naturally dexterous.
*Starting Languages: Common. Bonus languages: Dragonic. Being creatures changed through magic, Anthro Displacer Beasts are prone to picking up the language of magic.
*Armor made for a Anthro Displacer Beasts is made at a 30% increase to cost. Tentacles make ordinary armor that isn’t specially made very uncomfortable and they suffer an additional -2 to DEX.
*Dark Vision to 60 ft. and lowlight vision.
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That right there is a LA 0 class, a 30% increase to armor costs is not a significant disadvantage.

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*At 5 HD, Anthro Displacer Beasts get the ability to use the Displacement ability at will. Their miss chance is equal to their HD -4 x10% up to 50%. Ex. At 5 HD they have a 10% miss chance. It is a supernatural effect.
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This is a very, VERY powerful ability, easily as good, if not better then good natural spell resistance (all creatures melee, only some cast spells). +1 ECL

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*When using their Displacement ability, Anthro Displacer Beasts gets a +2 resistance bonus to ranged attacks and ranged touch magical attacks that specifically target it and a +4 racial bonus to hide checks.
*Natural weapons: 1d4 tentacle attacks.
-------------------------------------------
Definately a nice pair of abilities, I would change the displacement ability to start at 1st level at 5% and increase by 5% per level up to a max of 50% that gives it a smoother curve of power. How do the tentacle attacks work?

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*Four Arms: With four arms, the LA +1 qualifies for the Multi-weapon Fighting feat
*Natural Armor Bonus +2
-------------------------------------------
These 2 things right here are definitely worth another +1 ECL

Some added info for fluff, is the race sterile or can they reproduce with each other, or with other monstrous humanoids?

If you want to bar them from playing casters you should likely be more definitive about it, the penalties to casting stats and the fluff are a good start, but I came up with 2 reasonable reasons why one would want to be a caster anyway in about 5 minutes (rp reasons I mean).
Mr_Arcane
08-16-07, 11:31 PM "Definately a nice pair of abilities, I would change the displacement ability to start at 1st level at 5% and increase by 5% per level up to a max of 50% that gives it a smoother curve of power. How do the tentacle attacks work?"

I admit that the tentacle attack thing was a bit of a bonehead move on my part. It should be something more along the lines of "Tentacle attack (1d4 damage)."

I think a reasonable solution for the displacement ability would be to have it start a 5th level and go up 5% every level there after. This way, the ability has a nice curve to it and they don't have a full fifty percent dodge by 10th level . If anything, I should probably nerf it down to a twenty five or fifteen percent maximum.

The Favored class problem, I've been thinking that completely barring arcane casting classes seemed a bit too constricting, now that I've seen how many prestige classes that lack arcane requirements have some variety of arcane casting. Something like a -1 to caster level (to a minimum of 1) might be appropriate.

As for some of your fluff related concern, I haven’t given it much thought. The magics gave them a humanoid form and the ability to breed. Their genes are magically dominant to the point of what ever race they happen to breed with, the child will also be an ADB. Many are either killed off after they are created (because some Wizards like to “see if they can do it” and they more than likely die of neglect) though some do escape, by either their own hands or with the help of kind adventurers (thought most adventurers will more than likely kill them).

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Mr_Arcane 08-15-07, 01:10 PM	Anthro Displacer Beast An attempt at a new LA 0 “created” race. More on that in the Flavor/fluff section. The explination= I was bored one night and whilst i was talking to a player of mine about his character (A wizard with a heavy russian accent) my mind wandered off. I remembered that some one (Whom, I don't know) said they had an Anthro Displacer Beast character and I though I might try my hand at race creation. The biggest problem was balancing the Displacment ability. I thank whom ever inspired my idea for an anthro Displacer Beast race, and Savage Species did help a little bit. Racial Traits +2 DEX, +2 CON, -2 INT, -2 CHA. Anthro Displacer Beasts are dexterous and hardy but the magics that created them made them much less sociable and tactful. Anthro Displacer Beasts are Monstrous Humanoids. Medium size. Anthro Displacer Beasts have no special benefits or stigmas due to size. Base Land Speed 30 ft. +2 racial bonus to hide, move silently, and climb checks. Anthro Displacer Beasts are naturally dexterous. Starting Languages: Common. Bonus languages: Dragonic. Being creatures changed through magic, Anthro Displacer Beasts are prone to picking up the language of magic. Armor made for a Anthro Displacer Beasts is made at a 30% increase to cost. Tentacles make ordinary armor that isn’t specially made very uncomfortable and they suffer an additional -2 to DEX. Dark Vision to 60 ft. and lowlight vision. At 5 HD, Anthro Displacer Beasts get the ability to use the Displacement ability at will. Their miss chance at 5HD is 5% and increases 5% every other hit die after to a max of 25%. Ex. At 5 HD they have a 5% miss chance adn at 7 HD they have a 10% miss chance. It is a supernatural effect. When using their Displacement ability, Anthro Displacer Beasts gets a +2 resistance bonus to ranged attacks and ranged touch magical attacks that specifically target it and a +4 racial bonus to hide checks. Natural weapons: Tentacle attack (1d4 Damage). Favored Class: Fighter or Barbarian. An Anthro Displacer Beast can take levels in an arcane casting class and a -1 penalty to caster level (minimum of 1 CL). LA +0 LA +1 Variant The LA +1 version of the Anthro Displacer Beast has the following addtional traits- Four Arms: With four arms, the LA +1 qualifies for the Multi-weapon Fighting feat *Natural Armor Bonus +2 Flavor/Fluff Section The Anthro Displacer Beast is not a natural race. All of the existing specimens are products of arcane experimentation. Many have vendettas sworn against their creators and will hunt down their Wizard or Sorcerer creators. Many are found in a wizard's tower strapped to a table or in a cage. Personality- Anthro Displacer Beasts are normally very reserved and very moody. Many tend to be very confused when they enter humanoid society after being freed or breaking out on their own. The nuances of the humanoid world are sometimes lost on them. Many have a seething hatred for Wizards, whom they call “Book casters,” and many other arcane casters that feel the need to experiment on other creatures. Physical Description- Anthro Displacer Beasts are roughly five feet and nine inches tall and bordering on eighty five pounds, a majority of it lean muscle, organs, and bone, covered in purple fur. They stand perfectly upright, have two arms with humanoid hands, hooked tentacles on their backs, thin frames, and panther-like heads. Some mutations have four arms. Relations- Anthro Displacer Beasts are slightly antisocial at best and downright nasty at their worst. They keep everyone they meet at arms length and prefer to keep it that way. They feel a certain kinship with other created races like Warforged and lycanthropes that somehow maintain their normal alignments. Alignment- With their normal counter parts, Anthro Displacer Beasts would normally be Lawful Evil, but the hatred for their creators can override their Evil tendencies causing them to be any Lawful. An average Anthro Displacer Beast would be Lawful Neutral. Lands- Anthro Displacer Beasts are so few and far between, many live on humanoid lands. They sometimes reside in the homes of their natural counterparts, sometimes leading their packs. Religion- Religion is lost on Anthro Displacer Beasts. If one does have a patron deity, it would most likely be a nature god such as Elhonna or Obad-hai, ones with revenge on the brain worship St. Cuthbert. They would never worship a god of magic. Language- Displacer Beasts are naturally proficient with Common and so are the anthropomorphic cousins. During the rituals that created them, they sometimes pick up Dragonic, though they never use it themselves. They only learn Dragonic to learn the language of their creators, so the can identify them much more readily. Names- Anthro Displacer Beasts have no natural naming schemes and generally receive names from either their creators or those that find them. They adopt names from the societies around them, as such, there are no typical male or female names. Adventurers- Revenge is the prime motivator for any Anthro Displacer Beast. Many adventure to find their creators and either get revenge for the perceived injustice that they inflicted on them or to ask the simple question of “Why?” Many never take levels in arcane casting classes, as they perceive magic to be a corrupting element in the world, lest they become even more tainted. Breeding- The magics gave them a humanoid form and the ability to breed with humanoids. Their genes are magically dominant to the point of what ever race they happen to breed with, the child will also be an Anthro Displacer Beast. The child will more than likely never have a normal life. "Why?"- Wizards and other arcane casters sometimes adventure to gain arcane knowledge. Many Evil spell casters (And some chaotic neutral) find the urge to experiment on sentient beings to be an irresistible one. They might snag a base creature from nearby or have some bought in a market. When the creature is either gagged or sufficiently bound, the experiments begin. The more perverse Wizards get a kick out listening to their screams. Many of the magics used tend to be incomplete Transmutation spells. After all is said and done, Anthro Displacer Beasts are the results form a Displacer Beast base creature. Many are killed and experimented on further or locked in a cage and forgotten about- until they free themselves. Encounters with adventurers on a “kill the evil wizard” style of adventure tend to turn bloody out of fear and anger.
CannibalSmith 08-16-07, 01:55 AM	Racial ability modifiers are always even numbers. It looks like a LA +1 race.
bobothechimp 08-16-07, 02:28 AM	At least +1, if not more.
Thief_of_Hope 08-16-07, 03:11 AM	I really like this idea. There's a lot of potential for good role-playing with such a character. As mentioned already, ability adjustments are always even numbers, so that people with certain ability scores don't benefit more from the boost than others. Just have it be +2 Con. As it stands, I agree that the race is +1 LA. While I can see the downside of having armor cost 10% more, it is easily overcome by the (IMO well done) scaled displacement, the additional pair of arms, and the multiple natural attacks. Quite honestly, I think you would be able to get away with adding a little more to it if you're fine with the +1 LA, like boosting their speed and/or giving them natural armor. If you'd really like a +0 LA, I think you could do it by, first of all, getting rid of the extra arms. Those are a nice bonus. Possibly get rid of one of the natural attacks (maybe the bite), although I've never known the full effect of natural attacks on the game, so I'm not sure how much they factor into balance. Raise the price of the adjusted armor they have to pay. The bigger percent of the original price that anthro-armor costs, the more of a disadvantage it is, and the more it will factor into balancing the race (although I wouldn't raise it to more than 50%). Anyone who thinks that it won't be a big deal isn't reading the part about how the anthro-displacers hate magic, thereby eliminating the classes most likely to go without armor (Sorcerers and Wizards). Sure, rogues might not care too much, and a monk won't have a problem, but it is a big deal, especially if you make their favored class fighter or barbarian (wink wink, nudge nudge), which seem like the most appropriate choices for the favored class if I'm reading the fluff right. You may even go so far as to disallow the displacer anthros to take levels in an arcane casting class, if they have that much of a vendetta against it. If anyone can come up with a good, catchy name for these guys, that would be easier than having to keep saying "displacer anthros", and would give a little more identity to the race. If it were me, personally, I might make a +0 LA version and a +1 LA version, with the above suggestions. It stands to reason that if all currently existing anthro displacers are the results of experimentation, there would be variances between such individuals. Sort of like how there are mutant sahuagin that have extra arms and are a little tougher than normal sahuagin. Wow! I must really like this race if I wrote so much to try and help out with them. Hope I helped in some way!
Mr_Arcane 08-16-07, 11:46 AM	Thief_of_Hope, I really appreciate the help. I Like the idea of having the LA +1 and the LA +0 versions. I am really considering getting rid of the bite attack and having a four arm variant for the LA +1 version, which probably should get a little natural armor bonus. The scaled Displacement idea actually came from the Dragonborn in Races of the Dragon. Earlier, before posting, they would have had full displacement advantages by fifth level so I am glad I picked up on that right away. As for the armor cost increase I was thinking about 30 to 40%? A name right off the top of my head would be something like Azmarthi, I’m not really that good at naming. As for the Favored Class, Fighter and Barbarian were my initial choices, among Rogue and Monk. Thanks a lot my friend!
Pinzer 08-16-07, 07:40 PM	------------------------------------------------------------ +2 DEX, +2 CON, -2 INT, -2 CHA. Anthro Displacer Beasts are dexterous and hardy but the magics that created them made them much less sociable and tactful. Anthro Displacer Beasts are Monstrous Humanoids. Medium size. Anthro Displacer Beasts have no special benefits or stigmas due to size. Base Land Speed 30 ft. +2 racial bonus to hide, move silently, and climb checks. Anthro Displacer Beasts are naturally dexterous. Starting Languages: Common. Bonus languages: Dragonic. Being creatures changed through magic, Anthro Displacer Beasts are prone to picking up the language of magic. Armor made for a Anthro Displacer Beasts is made at a 30% increase to cost. Tentacles make ordinary armor that isn’t specially made very uncomfortable and they suffer an additional -2 to DEX. Dark Vision to 60 ft. and lowlight vision. ------------------------------------------- That right there is a LA 0 class, a 30% increase to armor costs is not a significant disadvantage. ------------------------------------------- At 5 HD, Anthro Displacer Beasts get the ability to use the Displacement ability at will. Their miss chance is equal to their HD -4 x10% up to 50%. Ex. At 5 HD they have a 10% miss chance. It is a supernatural effect. ------------------------------------------- This is a very, VERY powerful ability, easily as good, if not better then good natural spell resistance (all creatures melee, only some cast spells). +1 ECL ------------------------------------------- When using their Displacement ability, Anthro Displacer Beasts gets a +2 resistance bonus to ranged attacks and ranged touch magical attacks that specifically target it and a +4 racial bonus to hide checks. Natural weapons: 1d4 tentacle attacks. ------------------------------------------- Definately a nice pair of abilities, I would change the displacement ability to start at 1st level at 5% and increase by 5% per level up to a max of 50% that gives it a smoother curve of power. How do the tentacle attacks work? ------------------------------------------- Four Arms: With four arms, the LA +1 qualifies for the Multi-weapon Fighting feat *Natural Armor Bonus +2 ------------------------------------------- These 2 things right here are definitely worth another +1 ECL Some added info for fluff, is the race sterile or can they reproduce with each other, or with other monstrous humanoids? If you want to bar them from playing casters you should likely be more definitive about it, the penalties to casting stats and the fluff are a good start, but I came up with 2 reasonable reasons why one would want to be a caster anyway in about 5 minutes (rp reasons I mean).
Mr_Arcane 08-16-07, 11:31 PM	"Definately a nice pair of abilities, I would change the displacement ability to start at 1st level at 5% and increase by 5% per level up to a max of 50% that gives it a smoother curve of power. How do the tentacle attacks work?" I admit that the tentacle attack thing was a bit of a bonehead move on my part. It should be something more along the lines of "Tentacle attack (1d4 damage)." I think a reasonable solution for the displacement ability would be to have it start a 5th level and go up 5% every level there after. This way, the ability has a nice curve to it and they don't have a full fifty percent dodge by 10th level . If anything, I should probably nerf it down to a twenty five or fifteen percent maximum. The Favored class problem, I've been thinking that completely barring arcane casting classes seemed a bit too constricting, now that I've seen how many prestige classes that lack arcane requirements have some variety of arcane casting. Something like a -1 to caster level (to a minimum of 1) might be appropriate. As for some of your fluff related concern, I haven’t given it much thought. The magics gave them a humanoid form and the ability to breed. Their genes are magically dominant to the point of what ever race they happen to breed with, the child will also be an ADB. Many are either killed off after they are created (because some Wizards like to “see if they can do it” and they more than likely die of neglect) though some do escape, by either their own hands or with the help of kind adventurers (thought most adventurers will more than likely kill them).