Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Ashism 10-30-07, 05:19 PM	Here are a couple of the retrofitted races for my new campaing world. I'm still working on fluff, well on getting it typed up since I tend to work out of notebooks in longhand. There is a brief description for each followed by their game stats. Every four levels each race will gain another ability along with the standard +1 to any stat. There are no racial paragon levels nor are there any LA penalties. There are also no multiclass penalties, the favored classes exist solely as flavor and as a general definition for what the majority of NPC's of that race might choose to be. HUMANS Humans: a crumbling empire that spanned the world at one point. In their early history the core of the empire was defended by and taught by the Hobs (hobgoblins). They have come far in the great span of years since then and now and have spread across creation, adapting and changing to every part of it. They are the future of this world and all their petty cruelties and noble sacrafices will determine the course of history yet to come. Humans Med / Base Speed 30 Bonus Feat 4 extra skill points / +1 skill point per lvl Weapon Familiarity: Bastard Sword (one handed) is martial Maximum Rank in any skill is increased by 1 Favored Classes: any 2 4th lvl: Jack of all Trades 8th lvl: Bonus Feat 12th lvl: +2 to any ability score 16th lvl: Bonus Feat 20th lvl: +2 to any ability score HALF-ELVES Half Elves: the half fey, distrusted and cast out of both societies, they have no home to call their own. The elves sometimes like having them in their courts for amusement and to witness the spectacle and beauty of human and fey blood mingled in one being. They try to make their homes where they can and make their way in the world. They are never in one place long, and find a kinship with the halflings. They look up to half-orcs in a way and resent their ability to strut and be so proud of what they are, they dont let the simple prejudices of society bother them...something thats not so easy for the half fey. Half Elves Med / Base Speed 30 Any 1 bonus feat chosen from the +2/+2 skill feats 4 extra skill points Low Light Vision +2 to Cha based skills Elven Blood +1 bonus to perception (spot and listen) Favored Classes: any 1 and bard 4th lvl:+2 bonus resist enchantment and illusion spells, immunity to insanity 8th lvl:bonus feat chosen from the +2/+2 skill feats 12th lvl:+2 to any ability score 16th lvl: bonus feat 20th lvl: +2 to any ability score HALF ORCS Half-Orcs: the joining of the savage horde-like orcs and the humans of the empire have produced a fierce warrior race. Proud and arrogant,half orcs thrive on the battlefield. Never cutting their long flowing hair they pray to elemental godlings and spirits of the world, and they fight. Fight well. Half Orcs +2 str -2 int Med/ Base Speed 30 Darkvision 60' Bonus feat (from fighter list) +2 to intimidate and survival Orc Blood Favored Classes: Barbarian and any 1 4th lvl: +2 to intimidate and use str as the ability mod for intimidate checks 8th lvl: +2 NA 12th lvl: Berserker Strength 16th lvl:Scent and +2 survival 20th lvl: +2 bonus to any ability score DWARVES Dwarves: bound in the order and strength of the earth the dwarves have always been, they were here before the coming of the fey and here they remain, they have vast empires beneath the world and everyday is a battle to hold their borders against the horrors of the deeps. They have a world spanning empire deep below the light of the sun and for most of their history have been in a constant battle against the hordes of the underdark. Their foes are abberations and aliens most of whome have never seen the light of day, and through the vigilance of the dwarves hopefully never will. Dwarves +2 Con -2 Dex Med/ Base speed 20 (but not impaired by med or hvy armor / loads) Darkvision 60' +2 bonus to saves vs. all magic +1 atk bonus against abberations and oozes +2 save bonus vs. poisons +2 racial bonus to appraise and craft (any stone metal or gem objects) Stability Stonecunning Weapon Familiarity: Dwarven Waraxe and Urgrosh are martial Favored Classes: Fighter and Cleric 4th lvl: craft expertise(1/2 char level to craft checks) and improved stonecunning (+2/+10') 8th lvl:Abberations and oozes become favored enemy (as ranger) 12th lvl: +2 bonus to Con or Str 16th lvl: Improved darvision +60' and Tremorsense 120' 20th lvl: +2 bonus to Str or Con HALFLINGS Halflings:Nomads and vagabonds, they have domesticated wolves and drakes and ride their mounts throughout creation. They have a hidden city in the cloads which only their drakes know the way to. Trade caravans and traveling towns are their only landbound homes. They are the friends of little gods and spirits thoughout creation. Their bond with their animal companions is unparalled in creation and only they have the friendship and command of the drakes. Halflings +2 dex -2 str small/ base speed 20 +2 morale bonus vs fear +1 bonus to all saves +4 bonus to handle animal and ride sharp eyes: see twice as far as a human +2 bonus to perception bonus feat: mounted combat Favored classes: druid and ranger 4th lvl: speak with animals (cha mod / day) 8th lvl: animal companion (as ranger) if the halfling already has an animal companion gain +2 to its level 12th lvl: + 2 bonus to Dex or Wis 16th lvl: Call the wild drake: Cha mod/per week can call a flight of drakes to aid her and her companions. The drakes are of a kind accorded to the halflings clan. 1D4-3 + wis mod drakes will answer the call and it takes them 1D4 hours per drake minus the halflings cha mod 20th lvl: +2 bonis to Dex or Wis GOBLIN Gobs: The slaves of the elves, a race bred to give their dreams and lives to the endless hunger of the fey. They have huge jungle, cave, swamp and hill warrens...ever vigilant against the elves,their first instinct is to run away at the first signs of a raid. Run,hide and live another day. Countless goblins toil under elven rule, but countless more hide throughout creation. Goblin +2 dex or con -2 str small/ base speed 30 low light vision weapon proficiency (kukri, blowgun, net) +2 bonus to hide and move silently Weapon Finnese Strong Back: use con not str to determine carrying capacity Favored classes: ranger and rogue 4th lvl:Venomist: +2 craft (poison) cannot poison themselves by accident 8th lvl: +2 bonus to Dex or Con 12th lvl: fast movement +10 16th lvl: +2 bonus to resist enchantment and illusion spells +4 bonus vs. elf cast spells 20th lvl:+2 bonus to Dex or Con ELVES Elves: the fey, chaos incarnate. They sprang from the wellsprings of chaos at the edges of creation and invaded the world. They wiped out all prior civilizations and enslaved the hobs. Only the dwarves escaped them. They are now diminished to a few hundred courts scattered thoughout creation, with 5 major ones. They have enslaved the goblins and still prey on any who enter their haunts, feeding on the dreams and emotions of mortals. Racial Traits • +2 Dexterity +2 Charisma -2 Constitution: Elves are graceful and quick, and their presence is said to be able to rob mortals of their senses. But elves are not of thios world, and their bodies are rooted in the chaotic wellsprings from which they came. • Fey: Elves are of the fey subtype, meaning they are not mortals and cannot be affected by spells that only affect humanoids. • Medium: As medium creatures elves have no special penalties or bonuses for their size. • Elf base land speed is 30 feet. • Low Light Vision: Elves can see twice as far as mortals under conditions of limited visibility such as moonlight, starlight, torchlight and similar effects of poor illumination. • Dream Eaters: An elf need not ever sleep, she is replenished each morning at dawn or each evening at twilight (players choice, once made cannot be undone). However an elf must feed, and the only thing from which an elf can draw true sustenance is the matter of dreams. She must go into a reverie every 2 days (or nights depending on the elf’s choice of twilight or dawn) which lasts for 2 hours plus an additional hour for every 5 character levels the elf possesses, more powerful elves must seek out more rarified dreams. In order to find dreams upon which to feast an elf must be within 25 miles of mortals from whom she can feed, once this condition is met an elf must make a DC 10 Charisma check adding half her character level to the roll. Upon a success the elf finds and consumes enough dream matter to sustain her for another two days. Each failed roll adds an hour to the elf’s reverie, the elf remains in her reverie until she can successfully feed. An elf can only feed from humanoid mortals, not including Hobs (they are immune to the ravishes of the elves). An elf usually feeds from many different sources at a given time, taking a taste here and there from this dream or that. This does not harm the victim apart from leaving them with a mild sense of euphoria and longing, as if they dreamed of their one true love or their one great victory. Some mortals come to savor and crave this after feeling and go seeking out elven princes to pledge their dreams to for just one more taste of bliss. If an elf wishes she can feed exclusively upon one mortal, this adds 5 to the DC for every character level the mortal possesses (NPC classes add nothing). Once an elf has fed upon this mortal more times than the mortals charisma score, the victim becomes mindless. A mindless mortal is only capable of the most basic motor skills and can only follow orders, it has no will of its own and nothing short of a miracle spell can bring their minds back. • +4 racial saving throw bonus against any mind affecting spells and illusions. Elves are masters of enchantment and illusion and thus any such spells cast upon them are subject to failure. • +2 bonus to Perception, elves have keen senses and little escapes their scrutiny. • Natural Entertainers: Elves love to entertain and enchant, they are known as the worlds premier performers of the arts and many a mortal has been enraptured by the performance of an elf and never seen in mortal lands again. Elves receive a +2 bonus to any perform check, they commonly earn their keep in mortal lands by the power of their performances, and even more often use their beauty and skill to lure mortals into their unearthly realms. • Weapon Proficiency: 2 weapons by court. • Automatic Languages: Elven and Trade Common • Bonus Languages: Goblin, Hob, Gnoll, Orc, Yuan-Ti, Sylvan, Regional human dialects and Halfling • Favored Classes: Beguiler and Bard • 4th level ability: As elves grow in power they can harness and release the natural essence of the world as spell-like abilities. An elf with at least a Charisma score of 10 can cast each of the following a number of times per day equal to their Charisma bonus using their character level as caster level: Disguise Self (elves often alter their appearance to suit their needs) Faerie Fire ( a favorite opening tactic of elven hunting parties) Hypnotism (elves will often enrapt those around them) • 8th level ability: An elf’s senses grow even keener and she gains an additional +2 racial bonus to Perception checks. At this point she may also attract followers as per the leadership feat, however no cohorts may be gained only followers and all followers must be of a race which the elves currently enslave en masse, with goblins being the most common type. These followers are actually slaves not willing followers. • 12th level ability: +2 Dexterity or Charisma: Elves grow even more graceful and their presence soon starts to outshine all but the most kingly of mortals as they grow more powerful. • 16th level ability: Undying: elves become essentially immortal and at this point they no longer age, however they still receive the beneficial bonuses from aging as the tale of years passes, but none of the penalties. If killed in combat through any means whatsoever, even if their body is utterly destroyed, the elf returns to life in a new body. The new body can have any appearance the elf desires as long as it is not an exact duplicate of another elf. The elf retains all abilities and character levels and memories of their life before they died. It takes 2D4 weeks for the elf to return to life, and upon returning to life the elf does suffer a negative 1 to their permanent constitution score. Once an elf has died enough times for her Constitution to reach zero, she dies forever. What passes for her soul returns to the formless maelstroms of chaos from which she sprang. Additionally magics which return characters to life do not work upon elves, the gods have no interest in aiding the enemies of creation. • 20th level ability: +2 Dexterity or Charisma: Elves grow even more graceful and their presence soon starts to outshine all but the most kingly of mortals as they grow more powerful. HOBS Hobs: they formerly were a slave race of the elves, dream-eaten husks used for the pleasure of the fey. They broke these mental chains and fought for their freedom. In their prime they defended the emerging humans and taught them the arts of warfare and religion. They have retreated to their mountain monesteries now and are spread throughout creation. They still have travelling monks and have academies of war and tactics Hobs +2 con -2 cha med/ base speed 30 low light vision weapon familiarity: all exotix weapons are martial +2 bonus to jump, tumble,and balance bonus feat: endurance favored classes: monk and fighter 4th lvl:Grace: Hobs use their dex Mod for climb, swim, and jump checks. They also can always take 10 on balance checks and are never flat-footed when climbing or balancing. 8th lvl:Will of the Free: Hobs gain a +3 unamed bonus to will saves, and when within 30 feet of an ally may inspire them and bolster their willpower granting a +1 bonus/6 char level 12th lvl:+2 bonus to dex or wis or con 16th lvl:blindsense (5' +1/2 char lvl) 20th lvl:+2 bonus to wis and dex or con
Lokathor 10-31-07, 09:02 AM	Max ranks +1 is potentially powerful unless you watch to not allow feats and classes earlier than normal. Half-elf by Level 12 seems significantly weaker than Human by level 12. I like the Half-Orc. Is "Berserker Strength" like the PHB2 barbarian variant? I like Dwarves, and the new thing against Ooze and Abberations is cool. "Call the wild drake" seems strange. They arrive over 1d4 hours per drake, and just stick around until they're not needed? Also, is there an assurance that a Halfling with wisdom 10 can always get at least 1 drake? Even then, most conflicts are resolved one way or another within 1d4 hours. Goblins are cool, and "Strong Back" is interesting. Elves are... way powerful. For hobgoblins, it seems strange that they can bolster an ally to have a +5 bonus at level 15, when they themselves only get +4. Maybe put a cap on that or have the self bonus go up too. Is it an "aura" type ability that's always on, or do they have to take an action to yell and shout and get pumped up?
Ashism 11-02-07, 12:18 PM	Thanks for the reply Lokathor! Well the +1 to max ranks as far as I can tell would affect very little in the way of getting prestige classes earlier...and either way in my own campaing prestige classes are kind of regulated so its more than "just" meeting the reqs in order to qualify. I feel comfortable with it overall. The Half-Elves I thought were on par, but perhaps giving them a bit of an extra boost on the 4th level ability might help...maybe a bonus against all mind affecting spells and immunity to elf cast mind affecting spells? Yes the Berserker Strength is just like the variant in PHB2. Honestly the Call the Wild drake thing was more flavor than anything else and I was considering lowering the time it took..it basically lets a halfling call mounts for his party for a short while...and yeah the drakes stick for the duration of one task (ie take us here or there) or until released...they could also be used when you know for a fact that your going into a battle soon. I kind of added it last minute in lue (sp?) of anything else to give halflings as an ability for that level. Yeah the Hobs were a mistype on my part, it should be a +5 for them base and then their aura would give allies +1/4 char levels. And yes it has to be activated as a free action and lasts until the end of the encounter. I realize Elves are a bit powerful but I really wanted to evoke a fey and dangerous/ alien quality to them...if anyone has suggestions in order to tone them down a bit to be on par with the other races then I'm all ears. I was thinking of maybe powering down some of their spell-like abilities and perhaps get rid of weapon proficiencies altogether...that was a throwback to classic D&D elves anyway.
Lokathor 11-02-07, 03:25 PM	Well do a direct comparison: (more greater-than or less-than means more of a difference) Half Elves || Humans Med / Base Speed 30 == Med / Base Speed 30 Any 1 bonus feat chosen from the +2/+2 skill feats <<<< Bonus Feat 4 extra skill points <<< 4 extra skill points / +1 skill point per lvl Low Light Vision > Weapon Familiarity: Bastard Sword (one handed) is martial Elven Blood ?? Human Blood +1 bonus to perception (spot and listen) <<< Maximum Rank in any skill is increased by 1 4th lvl:+2 bonus resist enchantment and illusion spells, immunity to insanity >> Jack of all Trades 8th lvl:bonus feat chosen from the +2/+2 skill feats <<<< Bonus Feat 12th lvl:+2 to Cha based skills <<<<<<<<<< +2 to any ability score 16th lvl: bonus feat == Bonus Feat 20th lvl: +2 to any ability score == +2 to any ability score As for the elves... damn man. They're not just a little good. Immune to mind affecting spells is amazing, throw in a free +2 Cha just because you can, Fey type gives them immunity to some of the lower level spells, they're rockin. And the 20th level ability isn't strong compared to other 20th level abilities, but it makes me wonder how the world isn't just controlled by a just few powerful elves. They resurrect each time and gain 4 more levels to make up for the lost con point. They could probably live forever.
Ashism 11-02-07, 05:27 PM	Alright hows this look for the half elves? Half Elves Med / Base Speed 30 Any 1 bonus feat chosen from the +2/+2 skill feats 4 extra skill points Low Light Vision +2 to Cha based skills Elven Blood +1 bonus to perception (spot and listen) Favored Classes: any 1 and bard 4th lvl:+2 bonus resist enchantment and illusion spells, immunity to insanity 8th lvl:bonus feat chosen from the +2/+2 skill feats 12th lvl:+2 to any ability score 16th lvl: bonus feat 20th lvl: +2 to any ability score And here are a slightly revamped elves I put in italics where I've made changes. Elves +2 Dex -2 Con removed Cha bonus Med Base Speed 30 Fey Low Light Vision Dreameater: An elf need not sleep, she is refreshed every morning at dawn or every evening at twilight (elfs choice). HOWEVER, an elf must go into a trance like state each night and feed. This state lasts for 3 hours +1 hour every 5 char levels, as an elf grows more powerful she must feed more. An elf feeds on dreams, she must enter the trance within 25 miles of mortals and once in the trance she must roll a Cha or Wis check against DC 15 plus her character level (more powerful elves need mroe refined dreams)...a failure adds an hour to her trance. A success means she finds a sutable dream to devour and can have her nightly feast. An elf CANNOT devour the dreams of hobgoblins nor can they devour the dreams of any non-humanoid nor of any sort of abberation or outsider. There are a few fates available to the victims of elves, the dreameaten...they can awake with a headache that will last for a full day and no memory of their dreams....they can awake with full memories of having their dreams violated and stolen by the fey, giving them nightmares and recurring headaches for a week.....they can awake with the knowledge of being dreameaten and come to like the feeling, becoming addicts and willing participants of the elves....or they can awake as ravaged mindless beings with glassy eyes stares and no memory of what or who they are, they are akin to living zombies and nothing short of a miracle or wish can restore them to themselves. In order for the last of these fates to happen the elf must will it and succeed on a DC 20 Cha check, the DC rises by 5 for each character level the victim has, the victim also has a chance to roll a will save to keep themselves whole and fight off the fey. +4 bonus to saves against mind affecting spells +2 bonus to perception (spot and listen) +2 bonus to perform Weapon Proficiency: 2 weapons according to court the elf belongs to Auto Languages: Fey(elf), common Bonus Languages: goblin, hob, orc, sylvan, ancient common Favored Classes: Beguiler and Ranger 4th lvl. : Disguise Self, Faerie Fire, Hypnotism (cha mod/day) 8th lvl. : +2 bonus to perception and may attract followers as the leadership feat (no cohorts) all followers are actually goblin slaves. 12th lvl: +2 Dex or Cha 16th lvl: Charm Person, Suggestion, Confusion (cha mod/day) 20th lvl: +2 Dex or Cha and Undying: If killed an elf will return to life in a new body in 2D4 weeks all abilites and powers remain the same, however the elf takes a permanent -1 to Con. If the Elf has died anough times to bring her Con to 0 she is dead forever and returns to the planes of madness from which she was spawned. Spells to return life do not work on her. The Undying feature doesn't give the elf 4 extra levels...it merely drains one point of Con and the elf retains all his levels/abilities. Which at this point in the game with access to spells like True Ressurection should not matter much...its just a free res with a con penalty. I was actually thinking of giving this feature to elves alot earlier so it can actually come into play. Oh and elves dont rule the world because they dont want to...and their nature would probably prohibit them from actually organizing and taking any sort of control.They like just living in it and playing at being mortals and feasting on the dreams and desires of mortals.
Ashism 11-03-07, 01:00 PM	so any thoughts? anyone?
imakuni67 11-03-07, 01:52 PM	;) You scalled the elves back properly, and I like the flavor you give them in this campaign world. For the undying feature, I'd say make it so they take the physical abilities but keep the mental ones (kindof like reincarnation). All in all I like the abilities you've given all the races. Supposedly they are going to do something akin to what you've planned in 4E, but you are ahead of the game in I respect that. With the abilities, I'm assuming the challenges are going to be scaled up a CR or two though. One bonus that's too strong is the hob's bonus to will saves. I'd say just give them iron will or die hard. I'd probably move the dwarves favored enemy bonus to an earlier level. You forgot the Goblins favored classes? Rogue and Ranger perhaps? You should probably put in regular orcs if you have half-orcs too. No gnomes? :weep: hehehe...well it's your world not mine!
Ashism 11-04-07, 04:25 PM	thanks for the comments imakuni67, I'm glad you mentioned the dwarven favored enemy..its something thats been bugging me but i wasn't sure if I wanted just imp darkvision as a 16th level ability..so i added tremorsense as well at 12th hopefully its not too overpowered. But i think it fits their flavor well. oh and ya the goblins favored classes are ranger and rogue. I also scaled back the Hobs ability to +3 and +1/6 levels to their allies but left it unnamed so that iron will would be able to be taken as a feat and therefore stack. oh and orcs, gnolls, warforged and gnomes are coming...but I may have the gnomes be an npc race only (in my world they can no longer reproduce and the only gnomes left are all age category old or worse)
imakuni67 11-05-07, 06:09 PM	Wow. your campaign world sounds really interesting! Please make some interesting abilities for gnolls...they don't really get any abilities as wizards doesn't like you to play anything other than the standard races most of the time...I'll help you out when you update.
Ashism 11-11-07, 01:58 AM	here are the Gnolls and Orcs, I've also changed some of the features of the other races, which I'll post at a point when I'm not falling asleep. I dont have much fluff for these guys (well not written out) I'll give a quick decriptor of the race then the physical descriptors and stats. Gnolls: The gnolls of the southern plains live in large holds, which are build into the flinty stones of the hills they call their homes. They have for countless generations kept the wild invasions by the human barbarians of the southlands at bay. The gnolls were long ago commisioned by one of the first human emperors for this task and maintain their duty to this day, although now there are large merchant trains with coffers full of gems and trade goods that keeps the tribute to the gnolls and the living wall against the barbarians in place. The gnolls are led by their females who are often larger than their males and keep the large holds in relative order. Gnolls Personality: Physical Description: Gnolls stand anywhere from 7 to 8 feet tall, and weigh upwards of 300 pounds, with females often being larger. They tend to be lanky and lean, their muscles corded beneath the thick fur which covers their bodies. The fur which covers a gnolls body can range anywhere from a deep black to an almost amber colored yellow, it is often spotted upon their flanks and shoulders leading up to their thick necks. The spot pattern on every gnoll is unique and many gnolls identify eachother via these spots. They appear like a cross between a lanky ogre and a hyena, and there burns a keen intelligence in their eyes. Their eyes are usually a burning green or blue which glow in the dark of night. Their hands are equipped with cruel and razor sharp claws, which grow in black like obsidian shards. They wear intricate armor made of horn and bone and often weave plaited grasses and small bones into their manes. A gnoll always wears an intricate and well made harness on their bodies used to carry weapons and items and make sure that they can remain completely mobile. Relations: Alignment: Lands: Religion: Language: Names: Adventurers: Racial Traits • males:+4 Strength or +4 Dexterity -2 Intelligence -2 Charisma: Gnolls tend to either be inhumanely strong or quick, however they are not as smart as men and care not for the social graces known to other races. • Medium: As medium creatures gnolls have no special penalties or bonuses for their size. • Gnoll base land speed is 30 feet • Thermalvision: Gnolls can see in complete darkness up to 60 feet. Thermalvision only registers heat patterns, and thus is only useful against living or warm-blooded creatures, it can make out the landscape via residual heat but details are lost. • Scent: Gnolls can track down and identify many varied smells, they often use this ability not only as an aid to the hunt, but also as a form of intra-hold communication, much as a human might use body language to help them communicate. • Lope: Gnolls are comfortable using all four limbs to help them move; when they drop onto all fours they add 10 to their movement rate. The gnoll must be unarmed and have already moved 30 feet in that round before he can build up the speed necessary to lope. • Natural Attacks: Claws (1D2dmg; x2 crit; s/p) Bite (1D4dmg; x3 crit; s/p/b) • Automatic Languages: Gnoll and trade common • Bonus Languages: Orc, Halfling, Elf, Giant, and Hob • Favored Classes: Crusader and Dragon Shaman • 4th level ability: Bonus Feat: Track (if already possessed via ranger levels, add +2 to Survival checks when tracking) Gnoll subpack leaders are often the trackers of the groups, they use their impressive scent abilities to find and neutralize their quarry. • 8th level ability: Bonus Feat: Improved Natural Attack: (Bite) A gnolls ferocious bite will get stronger as they become stronger themselves. • 12th level ability: +2 Strength or Constitution or Dexterity: As a gnoll grows in power he becomes physically stronger or quicker or tougher. • 16th level ability: Leader of the Pack: A gnoll who has reached this level of power will have garnered respect and fear among many holds, and his ability to fight when surrounded by allies’ increases. When in combat and among allies, a gnoll adds +2 to all saves, attack rolls, AC, and damage rolls his allies gain a competence bonus to of +1 to any 2 of the above rolls. • 20th level ability: +2 Strength or Constitution or Dexterity: As a gnoll grows in power he becomes physically stronger or quicker or tougher. Orcs: the orcs are a chaotic and savage race, they follow demonic gods and pour forth from the holes in the earth to terrorize and plunder. They live for one thing, killing. There is no order in the things they do and their society is merely a kill, eat, breed, sleep, and worship (usually in that order) cycle. They have nothing redeeming about them, for they do not wish to be redeemed in any way, they are fanatics and dangerous but will probably never be able to organize enough to pose a true and overwhelming danger. Orcs Personality: Physical Description: Orcs are large and brutish, standing between 5 ½ and 6 ½ feet tall and powerfully built with slabs of muscle making them weigh more than they would seem, somewhere in the 300 to 375lb range. They have tough skin which they scar in frenzied rituals giving them a callused and bumpy appearance although upon closer inspection one can make out the detailed and complex patterns upon the orcs’ hides. Their skin color can be anywhere from a mottled olive green to a sickly gray and their eyes burn with the fires of their rage and glow and inhuman red, much like the pits of the hells wherein their foul demonic gods rule. Their hair is matted and dreadlocked in tangled skein upon their slope browed heads, with deep reds and black the most common color. They have prominent tusks and extremely scarred ears, which might be long but instead most often end in ragged strips of flesh. They are unclean and unwashed and they will never wash off the blood of an enemy they’ve killed. Orc women however are surprisingly beautiful; they have smooth skin with intricate patterns of scarification, and a fine bone structure that elegantly displays their alluring and exotic features. They are smaller and slighter than their male counterparts. Their eyes are large and glitter a dangerous red like the embers of a dying fire and their tusks are much less pronounced. Their hair is worn in long thick braids and is fine and often red or midnight blue. One can see why there is such a proliferation of half orcs in the world when looking upon an orc female. Relations: Alignment: Lands: Religion: Language: Names: Adventurers: Racial Traits • Male:+4 Strength +2 Constitution -2 Intelligence -2 Wisdom -4 Charisma, orc males are huge brutish creatures, strong beyond any human and incredibly tough. They however lack the cunning, insight and social presence of other races. • Female: +2 Strength +2 Charisma -2 Intelligence -2 Wisdom, orc females are still strong but not as big or tough as their male counterparts, what they lack in physical power the make up for in sheer beauty and presence. • Medium: As medium creatures orcs have no special penalties or bonuses for their size. • Orc base land speed is 30 feet, however orcs can move at this speed even when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load. • Darkvision: Orcs can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and dwarves can function with no light at all. • Intimidate checks use Strength in place of Charisma, orcs bully those around them by sheer force of strength and power. • Light Sensitivity: Orcs are dazzled in bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell. • Automatic Languages: Orc and Undercommon • Bonus Languages: Trade Common, Goblin, Hob, Gnoll, Dwarf, Giant, Demonic • Favored Classes: Barbarian and Fighter • 4th level ability: +2 Natural Armor, an orcs skin thickens and through rituals of scarification takes on a leathery texture and toughness. • 8th level ability: Rage (cha mod/day min 1) An orc can harness its inner conflict and rage and use that strength to bring about swift death to his enemies. • 12th level ability: Improved Darvision, an orcs eyes learn to make out more detail and adjust even more to the darkness letting him add another 60 feet to his Darkvision range. • 16th level ability: Powerful Build: The physical stature of Orcs lets them function in many ways as if they were one size category larger. Whenever an orc is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as during grapple checks, bull rush attempts, and trip attempts), the orc is treated as one size larger if doing so is advantageous to him. An orc is also considered to be one size larger when determining whether a creature’s special attacks based on size (such as improved grab or swallow whole) can affect him. An orc can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty. However, his space and reach remain those of a creature of his actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject’s size category • 20th level ability: +2 Strength or Constitution, an orc at this point becomes an object meant only to hurt and maim and kill, he gets tougher or even more inhumanely strong. hope ya'll like. I'll post some more stuff soon.
Ashism 11-11-07, 07:39 PM	any comments on gnolls or orcs? balanced? work? don't work? any improvements I can make to either?
DragonicHeritage 11-12-07, 12:02 AM	Hey, I just love your ideas here for racial tweaking, keep up the good work! Gnolls -You gave the gnolls claw attack at 1d2 damage. This is weaker than unarmed strike(1d3), so I think you should change it to 1d3, or 1d4, maybe. -I think that an option of STR or DEX is a little over powered. I think +2 STR and +2 DEX would perhaps be better, as it provides the option of taking either track. Orcs -I don't believe an extra -2 CHA balances out +2 CON. They are already screwed in that department, and add that to the fact that they use STR instead of CHA for intimidate, they no longer even need a CHA score. I suggest -2 DEX instead. This is because they are berserkers-they don't care for bows, dodging stuff, ect. Spell like abilities -You need to lable their caster level I thinks it's pretty great how you have provided so many benefits to each race that you don't even need favoured classes anymore, as they would just choose them by themselves. Although that said, I will suggest that the half-orcs favoured classes be fighter and ranger. This is because they pray to spirits-rangers get spells, could be explanation why. Barbarian does fit just as well as Fighters though, however your description doesn't allow me to figure out which would be better. Wow, I hope you get through this rambling, and I hope it helps!
Ashism 11-12-07, 01:44 PM	hey thanks for the reply DragonicHeritage! your comments are really appreciated and pointed out some things I missed. Gnolls Your right on the claw dmg, I'll change it to 1D3 and improve it as well as the bite via the Imp. Natural Attack feat at 8th level. I though people might have a problem with the Str AND Dex bonus since they only lose intel and charisma, but I agree that I was wary of giving a +4 to them. I'm still up in the air here, I don't want to give them any more penalties at this point...perhaps I'll add a penalty that due to their body shape and desire for mobility all their equipment (worn) has to be gnoll made or custom made. Orcs Hmm a -2 dex really does make sense. Not sure why I didn't think of that...I'll reduce the cha penalty to just -2 and add the dex penalty. By the way what did you think of the orc female stats? I want them to be exotic and very very alluring, hence explaining the population of half orcs without neccessarily saying they were products of the rape of humans by orcs (although thats still a viable way to produce half orcs), plus I just love the idea of them being so beautiful. Spell like abilities: on the final Elves I edited in the first post I put in that their caster level is their character levels. For the half orc favored class I liked warblade because they are going to be an extremely proud group who are very martial and just generally very good warriors. Your right that ranger fits though since they do pray to spirits but not enough to warrant a non warrior class.
Tequila_Sunrise 11-12-07, 04:34 PM	I just have a few nitpicks: If you only use favored classes as guidelines, don't even mention them. Players are smart and will combine whatever races and classes they want to. Likewise with DMs: if you already have in your head what each race is appropriate for which class, you'll follow those guidelines. Human max ranks +1: This is cool, but I would probably end up ignoring it. I'm one of those players who likes to choose a minimum number of skills and then max them out. So without gaining bonus skill points at first level equal to (class' base skill points) + Int, the balance is thrown off which makes it easier to just ignore this little goodie. Half Elf +4 SP: Similar complaint here. 4 SP at 1st level? I can max out a skill for one level...whoopdy-do. I also feel like this ability is stepping on the human's feet. Half Orc Bonus Feat: Again, stepping the human's feet. Half Orc Stats: +2 Str, -2 Int is too good. From playing with you, I know that you value skill points highly but in a standard game Str far outweighs Int. Gob Sneak Bonuses: As a small race gobs already get +4 Hide, which means they end up with +6 Hide and +2 MS. Since sneaking is usually a matter of "the weakest link", I'd prefer a simple +4 racial to MS. Elf Stats: A net +2 is too good, even if Con is penalized. Maybe make it "+2 Dex or +2 Cha, -2 Con"? Gnoll Stats: Too good. +4 Str or +4 Dex is the awesome of awesome, I suggest at least giving gnolls a net -2 to balance this out. Orc Rage: Why is this based on Cha? I'd either make it a flat 1/day or base it on Con. Also, does this rage stack with barb rage? I think stacking would be a bit much.
Ashism 11-13-07, 01:23 PM	Hey thanks for the reply Tequila, I appreciate your comments, I'll try to answer each one. If you only use favored classes as guidelines, don't even mention them. Players are smart and will combine whatever races and classes they want to. Likewise with DMs: if you already have in your head what each race is appropriate for which class, you'll follow those guidelines. These are more guidelines for me when designing an adventure using these races, just a quick reminder that hey this race excels at "this". I was also considering giving players a small bonus for when they choose to play or dip into a favored class. Maybe a small bonus to skills or some other small boost. Human max ranks +1: This is cool, but I would probably end up ignoring it. I'm one of those players who likes to choose a minimum number of skills and then max them out. So without gaining bonus skill points at first level equal to (class' base skill points) + Int, the balance is thrown off which makes it easier to just ignore this little goodie. Heh, I'm sure alot of people will remember to use this...synergy at 1st level ftw :) Half Elf +4 SP: Similar complaint here. 4 SP at 1st level? I can max out a skill for one level...whoopdy-do. I also feel like this ability is stepping on the human's feet. Half Orc Bonus Feat: Again, stepping the human's feet. Half elves and orcs need to gain something from their human side, just cause their half-races doesn't mean they should be mediocre (as they currently are in the PHB) Half Orc Stats: +2 Str, -2 Int is too good. From playing with you, I know that you value skill points highly but in a standard game Str far outweighs Int. I can't justify a reason to give half orcs a penalty to charisma, considering that they are more often than not the by-product of humans and half orc females (who have a cha bonus). Plus I want them to be a proud race full of presence, they might not be pretty but they sure are confidant. Gob Sneak Bonuses: As a small race gobs already get +4 Hide, which means they end up with +6 Hide and +2 MS. Since sneaking is usually a matter of "the weakest link", I'd prefer a simple +4 racial to MS. This is a great point, I'm going to change their bonus to +4 MS and perhaps change one of their later abilities to give them the Stealth feat. Elf Stats: A net +2 is too good, even if Con is penalized. Maybe make it "+2 Dex or +2 Cha, -2 Con"? I've been debating this one back and forth for a while now. I think that I'm just going to end up giving them a bonus to using Cha based skills and not neccesarily a flat bonus to cha. Gnoll Stats: Too good. +4 Str or +4 Dex is the awesome of awesome, I suggest at least giving gnolls a net -2 to balance this out. This is another one I'm changing, I'm going to give them +2 Str and +2 Dex, but otherwise I think it works. Orc Rage: Why is this based on Cha? I'd either make it a flat 1/day or base it on Con. Also, does this rage stack with barb rage? I think stacking would be a bit much. Another good point...it should be based on Con, and I might change it to Beserker Strength like the half orcs get later on. Keep the comments rolling in! every little bit helps me out a ton!
DragonicHeritage 11-14-07, 12:33 AM	I must say I really do love your Viking-style(From christian POV, e.g. Tolkien) Orcs you have. However, I find the females ability scores unbalanced. I guess they simply need to be play tested, personally I am just loath to give out cambat skill with sorcerous talent. Although, I guess the females have a very 'Behind the curtain' type flavour, somewhat akin to the pagan priestess, and reminds me very much of the sorceress off Scorpian King. Maybe you could lable to female's favoured classes bard and sorceror. All other races ability scores will be in balance after the changes various forum members have pointed out to you though. I believe this is so because even if one race has slightly powerful ability adjustments, there is another race providing other benfits for that same class, so the choice between races for the class becomes even. Take the fighter class as an example. Half-orcs gain a STR boost with only -2 INT to balance, and a fighter bonus feat to boot. The Human on the other hand essentially gets Bastard sword proficientcy for free, and so many extra skill points and feats so that they are free to pursue any other profession they want. Further more, the dwarf makes a great Dungeoneer-type fighter. A similar situation occurs with the ranger between the half-orc, gnoll, goblin, halfing, and dwarf. In fact, most of your races excell at melee type rolls! That's awesome in my opinion. Just as a flavour suggestion, maybe at level 16, instead of a bonus feat, the halfelf could gain one of the elf's SLA's? I suppose hynotism or charm person would fit the best. This is to remind the half-elf of their fey nature, and a bonus feat at that level seems relatively inconsequencial anyway. As a closing note, I noticed all your races have +2 stat increase at levels 16 and 20, save those of Orcish blood. Any particular reason for this? I hope my suggestions help, and when these races are complete, I may have to borrow 'em@! :P I would love to see your campaign world sometime, and even an adventure log of your upcoming game!