Post/Author/DateTime	Post
AtsuiShoto 08-18-07, 01:50 AM	Fimblywhatsit The reclusive fimblywhatsits live in the densest woods, where little can be learned of them by outsiders. Some say they were once not so different from elves, but over the centuries they used strange magic to distort their bodies into gaunt and unnatural forms. They dart through the forest's many shadows and patches of thick cover, preferring to be constantly on the move. Medium Size Humanoid 30ft movement -2 Con, -2 Wisdom Fimblywhatsits are thin and lightly built, and their borderline paranoia sometimes gets the best of their sensibility. Elven Senses: Lending some credance to rumors about their origins, fimblywhatsits share the elves' +2 racial bonus on Spot, Search, and Listen checks. They also share the elves' Low-Light Vision, seeing twice as far as humans in conditions of poor illumination. Quadrupedal: When wearing light or no armor, carrying nothing in its hands, and using its hands for nothing else, a fimblywhatsit may move on all four limbs to gain +20' base movement. Distend: When fighting unarmed or wielding a light weapon, and wearing light or no armor, a fimblywhatsit may stretch its gangly limbs to the fullest to extend its attacks. This ability grants a +5' bonus to reach on any melee attack. Applying the distend ability is a free action and does not increase the fimblywhatsit’s space or threat range. Shifty: A fimblywhatsit's lithe, constantly fidgeting and moving posture grants a +2 dodge bonus to armor class. Even Shiftier: Fimblywhatsits make it a point to escape from sticky situations, gaining a +4 racial bonus to Tumble checks, Escape Artist checks, and even to their initiative modifiers. Automatic Languages: Elven, Undercommon. Bonus Languages: Any. Favored Class: Scout. The few fimblywhatsists who take up a dedicated adventuring profession find that of the scout ideally suited to their race. LA: +0
sensestaker 08-19-07, 03:32 AM	To balance these with other races I'd probably give them a +2 to Dex, as their racial abilities Shifty and Even Shiftier and their favored class indicates that they have.
Sidivan 08-19-07, 01:26 PM	Reading the description makes me think that they might be paranoid and twitchy (Shifty). If that's the case, I would change the -2 CHA to -2 WIS. They could still be likeable in a cute twitchy sort of way. Of course, that takes away from their ability to scout a little.
AtsuiShoto 08-19-07, 01:36 PM	Well, if it needs a little more oomph I could add Dex or whatnot, but the reason I scrapped the Elven Dex bonus was because the Dex stat encompasses so much more than just AC. It also has alot to do with Dex-based skills, which I don't see as a particularly strong area for a Fimblywhatsit. Picking a lock? Tying a rope? Certainly he won't have any specific TROUBLE doing these things, but his race no longer concentrates on the finer manual labors. So, instead, how about a +2 to Initiative? That's a happy little boost, without straight-up giving a Dex bonus.
AtsuiShoto 08-19-07, 09:59 PM	Hmmm, Sidivin, you may be on to something. "Paranoid" was not a word that sprang to my mind, but it fits the image I've presented very well. Of course, I would think that someone with strong paranoid would fittingly have -2 Charisma and Wisdom. How about I bump that Initiative bonus to +4, to balance out the Wisdom. Someone who's paranoid works VERY hard to never let anything or anybody get the drop on them... ever. They may fail, but the effort counts for alot.
Sidivan 08-20-07, 04:13 PM	The reason I said to take off the -2 CHA was because players are very leary about playing races with too many negatives. There are plenty of good reasons an adjustment of 0 makes sense. I think you could take the -2 CHA off and leave the +4 initiative without a Level Adjustment. Of course, you are giving it a +2 permanent AC that stacks with everything. Depending on what type of charactor is interacting with somebody who is fidgety and paranoid, they are going to react differently. For instance, a charactor that has a good outlook on life and is very friendly runs across this creature he/she might think that it is "cute" in all it's little fidgets and comments about how everything is out to get him. On the flip side, a charactor would walk down the street and kick a puppy might find this behavior repulsive or annoying. Universally making it a -2 CHA is a little limiting in it's ability to appeal to different personalities. I like the reasoning behind the initiative bonus. That makes good sense.
AtsuiShoto 08-20-07, 10:49 PM	Yeah, I like the initiative. It reminds me of Jerry's beer bottle on the door knob in "Conspiracy Theory," which is the sort of thing that I hope a good roleplayer of a fimblywhatsit would try to think of :) With the loss of the Charisma penalty, and the retention of the +4 initiative, this is as loaded as I feel comfortable making a LA +0 PC race. Of course, I never intended that this should be a race played as a primary character in a "normal" campaign. It would likely be more applicable as a cohort. I'll apply the Feature Point system and see if it works out well-balanced according to that.
Xeres 08-21-07, 12:10 PM	I would change there name to something different, a little more serious. They are a very neat race overall I should think I would like to play one.