New Race: Gremlins [Archive] - Wizards Community

New Race: Gremlins [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Gentlemanic
05-29-07, 06:48 AM Hello everybody.

I have worked out this race some time ago, and since I finally took the step and started posting on this forum I wondered what you guys think about it. Please let me know if you think it's balanced!

Gremlins

In holes, under beds and in cupboards the Gremlins live. The Gremlin is a pest to mechanics and those with keep lots of items, shop keepers for example. Once you’ve got a Gremlin it’s hard to convince it to leave its new home. They have been known to live inside stores for years without being noticed though, as Gremlins are quiet and crafty creatures. Gremlins can eat almost everything since they have a strong digestive system, but never eat meat of any kind unless they are forced to do so. To researchers it remains a mystery why the creatures dislike it so much.

Personality:
The personality of a Gremlin may vary greatly depending on the individual Gremlin. Some of them are very shy and may hide for bigger creatures for years, others are cheeky and enjoy the company of creatures of the same height as they are, and sometimes even the bigger ones.

Description:
Standing a little over than 3 feet tall, the Gremlin is a stocked, furry creature with beady black eyes and an innocent face. Its legs are relatively short compared to the legs of other races, and its arms slightly longer. The hand of the Gremlin is covered in thin fur and has long, slender fingers with nails. It has feet with two thick toes, each covered in thick shaggy fur, meant for life in the outdoors, where their ancestors lived in small villages in the snow. Gremlins have huge ears that hang over their shoulders and which often adorned with piercing, and valued by them greatly. They weigh about 30 pounds.

Relations:
Most Gremlins are shy and hide from other creatures when they encounter them, or live in their rubbish for years. Some might see them as pests, and creeps from children’s bedtime stories, but the adventuring Gremlin usually tries to show his good will.

Alignment:
Gremlins tend to be either neutral or chaotic neutral, since they love pulling pranks on the bigger folks, but they are hardly ever truly evil. Good individuals also exist, but these can be found mostly with adventurer parties.

Gremlin lands:
The Gremlins used to live on the snowy tops of mountains, but when people came they migrated to live in old warehouses and soon new warehouses as well. Nowadays Gremlins can be found in every large city... If one searches well enough.

Religion:
Gremlins have no religion of their own, but they have been known to adopt the religion of the people they live with, or travel with. Some worships Gods of weather and travel, but these are exceptional.

Language:
Gremlins speak their own language: Grem. This is composed of a large number of snorting sounds and hand gestures. Most of them also speak common or any other language of their native lands.

Names:
Gremlins delight in easy to pronounce names and strangely enough can’t pronounce names in Grem, not even their own.

Male Gremlin names: Puck, Bassy, Maks, Tort, Murk, Manny, Shuf, Sham, Olly, Ped.
Female Gremline names: Elly, Uhy, Fesi, Kirr, Kirra, Vus, Gil, Hytty, Uf, Axi.

Adventurers:
A Gremlin could take up adventuring for a number of reasons. Firstly because it was expelled from its home by the owner of the store or house and it has nowhere else to go. Secondly because Gremlins enjoy the fresh air (and especially snowy mountains), and they love to travel and go on adventures. They make a great addition to any party that needs a sneaky trap finder. Thirdly because they might have grown up and have nowhere to live. When young Gremlins leave the nest, they usually have no home of their own yet, and they may spend years finding a suitable one.

Gremlin racial traits:
Gremlins tend to be rogues, as they are small, stealthy and crafty. Gremlin clerics love chaos and trickery domains. Gremlin arcane spell casters are rare.

• -4 strength, -2 int, +4 dex, Gremlins aren’t very intelligent, but very nimble.
• Tiny size (+2 attack and AC, +8 hide, -8 grapple, lifting limits 1/2)
• Gremlin base speed is 20 feet.
• Darkvision out to 60 feet.
• +2 racial bonus on disable device, move silently and search checks.
• Automatic languages: Common, Grem. Bonus languages: Any.
• Favored class: Rogue
Dark1ord
05-29-07, 07:48 AM they're actually worse than goblins aren't they? http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/goblin.htm
Gentlemanic
05-29-07, 05:41 PM Ah come on guys? No comments? :eek:
Disciple_of_Juiblex
05-29-07, 06:08 PM Well ok, some things off the top of my head.

1. Should they have the goblinoid subtype?
2. Bonus language any seems kind of wrong. All of the other races that im familar with that have that shown themselves to be atleast of normal Int wise.
3. Being tiny means they have to get into an opponets square to attack right? If so i wouldent think they would make the best rogues...
4. If its offered this race makes a much better arcane caster (sorcerer) than anything else (though it can be a just fine divine caster in its own right). the basic +4 to ac (size and dex) is huge at early levels
5. If they are over three feet tall they wouldent be tiny sized. if im remembering right an example of tiny is a house cat.
6. A little cutesy lore wise dont you think? who is the race marketed too? (Perhaps i just like the darker races)
Thief_of_Hope
05-29-07, 08:06 PM I like 'em. It's a unique backstory, it's got support for the backstory in its mechanics, and it sounds fun to roleplay.

I think the bonus language of any makes sense, particularly since it sounds like they are found mostly in cities, where you're likely to have all sorts of racial and ethnic representation.

Rogue does seem appropriate (although a spellcasting one of these guys would definitely be pretty good too), especially with how sneaky they are, and how they're so good at messing with people's stuff. Plus, sneak attack goes a little way in balancing the horrible damage they would otherwise have in an attack.

And I don't think they can be compared all that well to goblins, since they have different sizes, speeds, skill bonuses, and ability bonuses. I'm no pro at race balance, but I personally like this race.

Nice job.
Gentlemanic
05-30-07, 11:17 AM Thanks all of you for your reactions. I have made some changes to the race.

Gremlins

In holes, under beds and in cupboards the Gremlins live. The Gremlin is a pest to mechanics and those with keep lots of items, shop keepers for example. Once you’ve got a Gremlin it’s hard to convince it to leave its new home. They have been known to live inside stores for years without being noticed though, as Gremlins are quiet and crafty creatures. Gremlins can eat almost everything since they have a strong digestive system, but never eat meat of any kind unless they are forced to do so. To researchers it remains a mystery why the creatures dislike it so much.

Personality:
The personality of a Gremlin may vary greatly depending on the individual Gremlin. Some of them are very shy and may hide for bigger creatures for years, others are cheeky and enjoy the company of creatures of the same height as they are, and sometimes even the bigger ones.

Description:
Standing a little over than 1 foot tall, the Gremlin is a stocked, furry creature with beady black eyes and an innocent face. Its legs are relatively short compared to the legs of other races, and its arms slightly longer. The hand of the Gremlin is covered in thin fur and has long, slender fingers with nails. It has feet with two thick toes, each covered in thick shaggy fur, meant for life in the outdoors, where their ancestors lived in small villages in the snow. Gremlins have huge ears that hang over their shoulders and which often adorned with piercing, and valued by them greatly. They weigh about 30 pounds.

Relations:
Most Gremlins are shy and hide from other creatures when they encounter them, or live in their rubbish for years. Some might see them as pests, and creeps from children’s bedtime stories, but the adventuring Gremlin usually tries to show his good will.

Alignment:
Gremlins tend to be either neutral or chaotic neutral, since they love pulling pranks on the bigger folks, but they are hardly ever truly evil. Good individuals also exist, but these can be found mostly with adventurer parties.

Gremlin lands:
The Gremlins used to live on the snowy tops of mountains, but when people came they migrated to live in old warehouses and soon new warehouses as well. Nowadays Gremlins can be found in every large city... If one searches well enough.

Religion:
Gremlins have no religion of their own, but they have been known to adopt the religion of the people they live with, or travel with. Some worships Gods of weather and travel, but these are exceptional.

Language:
Gremlins speak their own language: Grem. This is composed of a large number of snorting sounds and hand gestures. Most of them also speak common or any other language of their native lands.

Names:
Gremlins delight in easy to pronounce names and strangely enough can’t pronounce names in Grem, not even their own.

Male Gremlin names: Puck, Bassy, Maks, Tort, Murk, Manny, Shuf, Sham, Olly, Ped.
Female Gremline names: Elly, Uhy, Fesi, Kirr, Kirra, Vus, Gil, Hytty, Uf, Axi.

Adventurers:
A Gremlin could take up adventuring for a number of reasons. Firstly because it was expelled from its home by the owner of the store or house and it has nowhere else to go. Secondly because Gremlins enjoy the fresh air (and especially snowy mountains), and they love to travel and go on adventures. They make a great addition to any party that needs a sneaky trap finder. Thirdly because they might have grown up and have nowhere to live. When young Gremlins leave the nest, they usually have no home of their own yet, and they may spend years finding a suitable one.

Gremlin racial traits:
Gremlins tend to be rogues, as they are small, stealthy and crafty. Gremlin clerics love chaos and trickery domains. Gremlin arcane spell casters are rare, but some take levels in the sorcerer class.

• -4 strength, -2 int, +4 dex, Gremlins aren’t very intelligent, but very nimble.
• Small size (+2 attack and AC, +8 hide, -8 grapple, lifting limits 1/2)
• Gremlin base speed is 20 feet.
• Darkvision out to 60 feet.
• +2 racial bonus on disable device, move silently and search checks.
• Gremlins get a +4 on hiding checks in areas with rubble or garbage.
• Automatic languages: Common, Grem. Bonus languages: Any.
• Favored class: Rogue.
• Level adjustment: +1.
Nathreet
05-30-07, 11:44 AM When you change the size to small, please adjust the bonuses/penalties to match. If you still want to keep the old bonuses, just tack on some racial bonuses.
Gentlemanic
05-30-07, 01:36 PM Ah, my bad, it's supposed to be tiny still. ;)
Sul_Zain_Aserbet
05-31-07, 11:22 AM AWWWWW! I was really hoping to see a converted gremlin from second edition, or even a fremlin. Still, nice idea though
abraham
05-31-07, 03:46 PM maybe this person was trying for the gremilins from the movie of the same name?
Grizzled Gryphon
05-31-07, 04:36 PM There is no way that this creature is a LA+1 race. they are a fairly weak LA 0 race as is. If you want them to be a LA+1 race, then give them a large bonus to Cha, and make there favored class Sorcerer. The bonus to Cha would make sense, as they are cute, right? So, give them around a +4 or so, and then you have your LA+1 race. Maybe.

Cool idea, though. Nice backgorund fluff.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Gentlemanic 05-29-07, 06:48 AM	Hello everybody. I have worked out this race some time ago, and since I finally took the step and started posting on this forum I wondered what you guys think about it. Please let me know if you think it's balanced! Gremlins In holes, under beds and in cupboards the Gremlins live. The Gremlin is a pest to mechanics and those with keep lots of items, shop keepers for example. Once you’ve got a Gremlin it’s hard to convince it to leave its new home. They have been known to live inside stores for years without being noticed though, as Gremlins are quiet and crafty creatures. Gremlins can eat almost everything since they have a strong digestive system, but never eat meat of any kind unless they are forced to do so. To researchers it remains a mystery why the creatures dislike it so much. Personality: The personality of a Gremlin may vary greatly depending on the individual Gremlin. Some of them are very shy and may hide for bigger creatures for years, others are cheeky and enjoy the company of creatures of the same height as they are, and sometimes even the bigger ones. Description: Standing a little over than 3 feet tall, the Gremlin is a stocked, furry creature with beady black eyes and an innocent face. Its legs are relatively short compared to the legs of other races, and its arms slightly longer. The hand of the Gremlin is covered in thin fur and has long, slender fingers with nails. It has feet with two thick toes, each covered in thick shaggy fur, meant for life in the outdoors, where their ancestors lived in small villages in the snow. Gremlins have huge ears that hang over their shoulders and which often adorned with piercing, and valued by them greatly. They weigh about 30 pounds. Relations: Most Gremlins are shy and hide from other creatures when they encounter them, or live in their rubbish for years. Some might see them as pests, and creeps from children’s bedtime stories, but the adventuring Gremlin usually tries to show his good will. Alignment: Gremlins tend to be either neutral or chaotic neutral, since they love pulling pranks on the bigger folks, but they are hardly ever truly evil. Good individuals also exist, but these can be found mostly with adventurer parties. Gremlin lands: The Gremlins used to live on the snowy tops of mountains, but when people came they migrated to live in old warehouses and soon new warehouses as well. Nowadays Gremlins can be found in every large city... If one searches well enough. Religion: Gremlins have no religion of their own, but they have been known to adopt the religion of the people they live with, or travel with. Some worships Gods of weather and travel, but these are exceptional. Language: Gremlins speak their own language: Grem. This is composed of a large number of snorting sounds and hand gestures. Most of them also speak common or any other language of their native lands. Names: Gremlins delight in easy to pronounce names and strangely enough can’t pronounce names in Grem, not even their own. Male Gremlin names: Puck, Bassy, Maks, Tort, Murk, Manny, Shuf, Sham, Olly, Ped. Female Gremline names: Elly, Uhy, Fesi, Kirr, Kirra, Vus, Gil, Hytty, Uf, Axi. Adventurers: A Gremlin could take up adventuring for a number of reasons. Firstly because it was expelled from its home by the owner of the store or house and it has nowhere else to go. Secondly because Gremlins enjoy the fresh air (and especially snowy mountains), and they love to travel and go on adventures. They make a great addition to any party that needs a sneaky trap finder. Thirdly because they might have grown up and have nowhere to live. When young Gremlins leave the nest, they usually have no home of their own yet, and they may spend years finding a suitable one. Gremlin racial traits: Gremlins tend to be rogues, as they are small, stealthy and crafty. Gremlin clerics love chaos and trickery domains. Gremlin arcane spell casters are rare. • -4 strength, -2 int, +4 dex, Gremlins aren’t very intelligent, but very nimble. • Tiny size (+2 attack and AC, +8 hide, -8 grapple, lifting limits 1/2) • Gremlin base speed is 20 feet. • Darkvision out to 60 feet. • +2 racial bonus on disable device, move silently and search checks. • Automatic languages: Common, Grem. Bonus languages: Any. • Favored class: Rogue
Dark1ord 05-29-07, 07:48 AM	they're actually worse than goblins aren't they? http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/goblin.htm
Gentlemanic 05-29-07, 05:41 PM	Ah come on guys? No comments? :eek:
Disciple_of_Juiblex 05-29-07, 06:08 PM	Well ok, some things off the top of my head. 1. Should they have the goblinoid subtype? 2. Bonus language any seems kind of wrong. All of the other races that im familar with that have that shown themselves to be atleast of normal Int wise. 3. Being tiny means they have to get into an opponets square to attack right? If so i wouldent think they would make the best rogues... 4. If its offered this race makes a much better arcane caster (sorcerer) than anything else (though it can be a just fine divine caster in its own right). the basic +4 to ac (size and dex) is huge at early levels 5. If they are over three feet tall they wouldent be tiny sized. if im remembering right an example of tiny is a house cat. 6. A little cutesy lore wise dont you think? who is the race marketed too? (Perhaps i just like the darker races)
Thief_of_Hope 05-29-07, 08:06 PM	I like 'em. It's a unique backstory, it's got support for the backstory in its mechanics, and it sounds fun to roleplay. I think the bonus language of any makes sense, particularly since it sounds like they are found mostly in cities, where you're likely to have all sorts of racial and ethnic representation. Rogue does seem appropriate (although a spellcasting one of these guys would definitely be pretty good too), especially with how sneaky they are, and how they're so good at messing with people's stuff. Plus, sneak attack goes a little way in balancing the horrible damage they would otherwise have in an attack. And I don't think they can be compared all that well to goblins, since they have different sizes, speeds, skill bonuses, and ability bonuses. I'm no pro at race balance, but I personally like this race. Nice job.
Gentlemanic 05-30-07, 11:17 AM	Thanks all of you for your reactions. I have made some changes to the race. Gremlins In holes, under beds and in cupboards the Gremlins live. The Gremlin is a pest to mechanics and those with keep lots of items, shop keepers for example. Once you’ve got a Gremlin it’s hard to convince it to leave its new home. They have been known to live inside stores for years without being noticed though, as Gremlins are quiet and crafty creatures. Gremlins can eat almost everything since they have a strong digestive system, but never eat meat of any kind unless they are forced to do so. To researchers it remains a mystery why the creatures dislike it so much. Personality: The personality of a Gremlin may vary greatly depending on the individual Gremlin. Some of them are very shy and may hide for bigger creatures for years, others are cheeky and enjoy the company of creatures of the same height as they are, and sometimes even the bigger ones. Description: Standing a little over than 1 foot tall, the Gremlin is a stocked, furry creature with beady black eyes and an innocent face. Its legs are relatively short compared to the legs of other races, and its arms slightly longer. The hand of the Gremlin is covered in thin fur and has long, slender fingers with nails. It has feet with two thick toes, each covered in thick shaggy fur, meant for life in the outdoors, where their ancestors lived in small villages in the snow. Gremlins have huge ears that hang over their shoulders and which often adorned with piercing, and valued by them greatly. They weigh about 30 pounds. Relations: Most Gremlins are shy and hide from other creatures when they encounter them, or live in their rubbish for years. Some might see them as pests, and creeps from children’s bedtime stories, but the adventuring Gremlin usually tries to show his good will. Alignment: Gremlins tend to be either neutral or chaotic neutral, since they love pulling pranks on the bigger folks, but they are hardly ever truly evil. Good individuals also exist, but these can be found mostly with adventurer parties. Gremlin lands: The Gremlins used to live on the snowy tops of mountains, but when people came they migrated to live in old warehouses and soon new warehouses as well. Nowadays Gremlins can be found in every large city... If one searches well enough. Religion: Gremlins have no religion of their own, but they have been known to adopt the religion of the people they live with, or travel with. Some worships Gods of weather and travel, but these are exceptional. Language: Gremlins speak their own language: Grem. This is composed of a large number of snorting sounds and hand gestures. Most of them also speak common or any other language of their native lands. Names: Gremlins delight in easy to pronounce names and strangely enough can’t pronounce names in Grem, not even their own. Male Gremlin names: Puck, Bassy, Maks, Tort, Murk, Manny, Shuf, Sham, Olly, Ped. Female Gremline names: Elly, Uhy, Fesi, Kirr, Kirra, Vus, Gil, Hytty, Uf, Axi. Adventurers: A Gremlin could take up adventuring for a number of reasons. Firstly because it was expelled from its home by the owner of the store or house and it has nowhere else to go. Secondly because Gremlins enjoy the fresh air (and especially snowy mountains), and they love to travel and go on adventures. They make a great addition to any party that needs a sneaky trap finder. Thirdly because they might have grown up and have nowhere to live. When young Gremlins leave the nest, they usually have no home of their own yet, and they may spend years finding a suitable one. Gremlin racial traits: Gremlins tend to be rogues, as they are small, stealthy and crafty. Gremlin clerics love chaos and trickery domains. Gremlin arcane spell casters are rare, but some take levels in the sorcerer class. • -4 strength, -2 int, +4 dex, Gremlins aren’t very intelligent, but very nimble. • Small size (+2 attack and AC, +8 hide, -8 grapple, lifting limits 1/2) • Gremlin base speed is 20 feet. • Darkvision out to 60 feet. • +2 racial bonus on disable device, move silently and search checks. • Gremlins get a +4 on hiding checks in areas with rubble or garbage. • Automatic languages: Common, Grem. Bonus languages: Any. • Favored class: Rogue. • Level adjustment: +1.
Nathreet 05-30-07, 11:44 AM	When you change the size to small, please adjust the bonuses/penalties to match. If you still want to keep the old bonuses, just tack on some racial bonuses.
Gentlemanic 05-30-07, 01:36 PM	Ah, my bad, it's supposed to be tiny still. ;)
Sul_Zain_Aserbet 05-31-07, 11:22 AM	AWWWWW! I was really hoping to see a converted gremlin from second edition, or even a fremlin. Still, nice idea though
abraham 05-31-07, 03:46 PM	maybe this person was trying for the gremilins from the movie of the same name?
Grizzled Gryphon 05-31-07, 04:36 PM	There is no way that this creature is a LA+1 race. they are a fairly weak LA 0 race as is. If you want them to be a LA+1 race, then give them a large bonus to Cha, and make there favored class Sorcerer. The bonus to Cha would make sense, as they are cute, right? So, give them around a +4 or so, and then you have your LA+1 race. Maybe. Cool idea, though. Nice backgorund fluff.