Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Maeglin_Dubh 02-25-08, 01:32 AM	Well, the Kelikerans are going quite well, and I'd like to start hammering out the next race. I have three ideas I'd like to work on, and since I can't decide what to do next, I figured I'd ask here, since the best way to get help is to work on something people are interested in helping with. So I have these three concepts, see.... Enhydrans - A race of amphibious mammalian humanoids, based conceptually on otters, but not strictly anthro otters. Looking for decent swimming bonuses within an LA of +0, and abilities will -probably- remain unchanged, unless a compelling case comes up to the contrary. Bonuses to craft personal watercraft are also an idea for the race. Xiphosrans - Humanoid horseshoe crabs. Probaby very tanky, and not very fast-moving, some similarities to dwarves at first glance, but having the equivalent of a tower shield on your back allows for some interesting possibilities as far as possible bonuses. Armor probably cannot be worn, so a challenge is presented as to how to balance it without the Warforged's ability to become enchanted. Speaking of Warforged... (Unnamed as of yet) - My least fleshed out concept, I'd like to make some sort of artificial construct race. I'm thinking the spot may already be fairly well-held by the Warforged, but I'd like to look at my options and see what might be done differently. This is the race most likely to wind up with a positive LA modifier, despite my best efforts to keep everything at 0. Ideas have included the ability to stabilize to extend weapon ranges, weapons as part of the body, and the like... basically sentient war machines, which I realize sounds a -lot- like Warforged, but... I don't know. I'd like to try something different with the idea of an artificial player race, and I hope some part of the concept comes across here. So, which would you most like to see developed next?
Grimgrin 02-25-08, 01:33 PM	The Xiphosrans seem the most interesting to me so..... Xiphosrans: No Armor: The classes most comfortable with no armor are arcane spellcasters and monks. So the favored class will likely be one of those. Size: The Xiphosran is a Medium Sized Humanoid Towershield Back (Ex): Provides the equipment bonus of a tower shield but leaves the hands free. The crab can use its back to provide "cover" like a tower shield. Additionally, the crab gains "light fortification" against critical hits. The crab does not require shield proficiency to weild its tower shield back. Penalty: The crab can not wear any other type of armor (A constant -2 AB penalty may be too much for a LA 0 class). Exact Benefits: (AC:+4, Max Dex:+2, Armor Check:-0 to -10, Arcane Spellfailure: 0% or 10%, Weight: NA) Exact Stats to be balanced out for a LA 0. A constant 10% chance of spell failure seems more fair than a permanent -10 Armor Check penalty. I reduced the spell failure down from 50% since both hands/pinchers are free. Shield, Tower: This massive wooden shield is nearly as tall as you are. In most situations, it provides the indicated shield bonus to your AC. However, you can instead use it as total cover, though you must give up your attacks to do so. The shield does not, however, provide cover against targeted spells; a spellcaster can cast a spell on you by targeting the shield you are holding. You cannot bash with a tower shield, nor can you use your shield hand for anything else. When employing a tower shield in combat, you take a –2 penalty on attack rolls because of the shield’s encumbrance. http://rydberg.biology.colostate.edu/Dissections/Horseshoe%20crab/HScrab%20ventral.jpg Does the Xephosran stand on two legs or four (or 6, 8, or all 10)? Horseshoe crabs use their feet to eat which will severely affects their ability to hold objects, cast spells, perform, etc. My idea is that they develop a pair of arms ending in pinchers but retain 4 legs and a hunched over body. By lying flat that can provide themselves "total cover" with their black and brown back plates. Four Leg Stance: +4 racial bonus on all balance checks. Penalty: 20ft land speed. Can't swim but can walk along the bottom of most bodies of water. Hold Breath: Hold breath for a number of minutes equal to its CON score before suffocation. Xiphosran Racial Feats: (Must Be Purchased) Spell Shell: (General) Prerequisite: Ability to cast spells. Benefit: The Xiphosran can enchant its shell with any of the Magic Armor Enchantments at the same cost to apply to MW armor. The Xiphosran does not need the Craft Arms and Armor Magic Item creation feat to enchant its own shell but must personally "know" the spell it will use. Spiny Antennae: (General) Prerequisite: Blind Fight Benefit: The long whip-like antennae of the Xiphosran allow the creature to feel coporeal opponents within 15ft of the creature. This feat functions similar to "Blind Sight" but is dependant on the sense of touch. This feat is more appropriate for lobsters since horseshoe crabs don't have antennae. Medial Eye: (General) Prerequisite: Xiphosran, ECL: 6th Benefit: The crab has a third eye that increases the range of vision of the crab. This third eye allows the crab to "See the Invisible" as the permanent version of the spell. Telson Lash: (General) Prerequisite: Xiphosran Benefit: The telson can be used as a natural weapon. It inflicts 1d6 slashing damage plus the full STR modifier as a primary attack. If used in conjunction with a hand held weapon the Telson Lash is considered a "off hand" weapon. All natural weapons are considered "light".
Maeglin_Dubh 02-25-08, 03:29 PM	Some more ideas... -=- Limbs -=- * 8 limbs - four legs, four arms. The secondary arms have an effective strength score equal to half the normal strength score. Very hunched. * 6 limbs (quad) - four legs, two arms. * 6 limbs (varies) - Can stand on two legs, or drop to four legs. The secondary arm/legs would have the same stipulation as above for an 8 limbed creature, or perhaps simply a penalty to most tasks based on them being less developed. -=- Ability Scores -=- Con may be advanced, Wisdom could be justified either way, Dex will probably be penalized. There's not much argument for advancing Strength, Intelligence, or Charisma, and maybe Charisma would go down, but I refuse to make Charisma the dump stat for all my races. Strength could maybe go up, them being conditioned to carrying loads by having a tower shield on their back all their lives. Leaving them all at a flat 0 isn't bad, either, but these are some options. I'm not sure if I should write up a whole thing, like I did with the Kelikera, since you seem to be on your way towards it and I don't want to steal your thunder, but in that case I won't claim it in my sig as one of my creations.
Grimgrin 02-25-08, 03:52 PM	Four Arms is a major mathematical headache especially when you incorporate "double weapons", two handed weapons, bastard weapons, and all the TWF feats available. If the limbs are at half strength already then that would mean quarter strength for off hand weapons and in general weaken the utility of a High STR score. I would recommend only two arms and no more than 8 legs. A multi-armed creature definately deserves at least a +1 LA bonus even if the limbs are at half strength. I believe that each pair of legs beyond four adds a +2 bonus to all balance checks. I don't know if that is an "official" rule or not. As for attribute scores, a "0" bonus seems fine to me. As a monsterous humanoid (which seems apropriate) the creature automatically has Darkvision (60ft) and I believe is still vulnerable to Charm Person/Dominate Person effects. Do you think the towershield back should inflict all the penalties of a tower shield or not? Should it have a racial weapon? Do you like my racial feats? Is their any biological/historical/or mythical ability of horseshoe crabs that has been overlooked?
Maeglin_Dubh 02-25-08, 04:15 PM	The feats are great. All the penalties of a towershield are rather hefty... Maybe some sort of penalty, but not the full -10; that's something that will haunt the character for a while. Although, an armor check penalty makes more sense than an Arcane Failure Rate - the shell doesn't really interfere with somatic components, although I guess it still could from the same standpoint that a leather gambeson does. They can regenerate lost limbs - some sort of Fast Healing? And the Median Eye seems like it should be a trait from the start, not necessarily a feat. Depends on balance.
Maeglin_Dubh 02-25-08, 04:57 PM	* Monstrous Humanoid (Horseshoe Crab): A six-legged tauric horseshoe crab best known for their slow, methodical diligence and persistence. * Medium: As Medium creatures, Xiphosrans have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size. * Xiphosran base land speed is 20 ft. They can walk underwater at a speed of 20, but do not have a base swim speed. * Book Gills: Xiphosrans can breathe underwater, and can also breathe on land, provided their gills remain moist. They can continue to breath out of water for a number of minutes equal to their Constitution score. * Shell: The shell of a Xiphosran gives it benefits similar to carrying a tower shield. This gives a +4 equipment bonus to AC, can be used to provide full cover as a tower shield, and imposes a -2 armor check penalty. The shield requires no proficiency to wield. By going prone and 'turtling', a Xiphosran gains an additional +4 to AC in addition to full cover. Because of this structure on their back, Xiphosrans cannot wear armor. * Alien Physiology: Due to their highly unusual physical structure, and their protective shell, Xiphosrans have light fortification against critical hits. * Stability: Their six legs give Xiphosrans greater ability to resist bull rushes and trip attacks, and aid in balance. Xiphosrans have a +4 to resist a bull rush or trip, and a +2 racial bonus to Balance. Additionally, Xiphosrans can carry loads as if they are one size category larger than normal. * Racial bonus of +4 to Spot and Search. Compound eyes and an arrangement of visual organs capable of perception into the ultraviolet ranges make Xiphrosans very aware of their surroundings. * Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages: Xiphosran * Favored Class: Wizard Xiphosran Gilljacket A heavy leather belt that secures a pouch of breathable water on the gills, under the shell. Water must be replaced or somehow aerated once every 1+con mod hours, minimum of one. This allows Xiphosrans to spend more time on the surface than would otherwise be possible.
AtsuiShoto 02-25-08, 05:38 PM	Hm, very interesting... I think the carapace shouldn't be named after the tower shield, even though it took inspiration from there. "Towershield back" just sounds silly :P That said, the bonus maybe should be an armor bonus instead of an equipment bonus, because it completely replaces the ability to wear armor. Otherwise, I like the +4 AC (it's the best affordable armor bonus at 1st level), and the armor check penalty seems fair at -2. It even seems to impose a speed penalty, as the base land speed is 20 feet; still fair for free armor. I like the sound of 6 or 8 limbs the best. Either way, only two of those would be dexterous enough to "hold" or "wield" objects. Those two would be arms, and the other 4 or 6 would be legs. There need not be an actual advantage to having 6 legs over having 4 legs, though, just an aesthetic difference. A feat for self-enchantment seems like a very good idea, but provision should likely be made for de-chantment. Perhaps an enchantment must be replaced instead of downright eliminated, subtracting half of its original gp cost and all of its original XP cost from the new enchantment. After all, you can't just get a new carapace if you realize the enchantments on yours are not serving you well. Also, the wording for the feat probably should be very specific about whether it allows ALL enchantments that "Craft Arms And Armor" would allow, or simply one enchantment chosen when the feat is taken. The antennae don't fit a horseshoe crab, but this race could EASILY have antennae, because it's obviously only similar to a horseshoe crab, not directly related (6 legs compared to 10, for one obvious difference, and opposable digits being another huge one). I'm not sure if the reliance on sense of touch is totally necessary, though, as often antennae are scent-sensitive (even directionally so!). Remember, though, to keep in mind that senses beyond the normal human 5 can be quite potent racial boosts.
ciaran 02-25-08, 06:16 PM	I agree with the classification of defense. It doesn't make sense to grant a free sgield that denies armor bonus. Just call it Armor. I like the idea of some of the qualities of the tower shield though. Maybe you could grant some additional bonus when using the total defense action or something when no movement is made during the course of its turn.
Maeglin_Dubh 02-25-08, 06:26 PM	I agree with the classification of defense. It doesn't make sense to grant a free sgield that denies armor bonus. Just call it Armor. I like the idea of some of the qualities of the tower shield though. Maybe you could grant some additional bonus when using the total defense action or something when no movement is made during the course of its turn. I think that last bit is covered by the 'turtling' action, since the additional +4 given won't help it when being hammered at close range (+4 to attack a prone target, so it's a wash) while making it worth using to escape heavy ranged attacks. I'll change the notation of the Shell based on what I'm reading here...
Maeglin_Dubh 02-25-08, 06:42 PM	* Monstrous Humanoid (Horseshoe Crab): A six-legged tauric horseshoe crab best known for their slow, methodical diligence and persistence. * Medium: As Medium creatures, Xiphosrans have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size. * Xiphosran base land speed is 20 ft. They can walk underwater at a speed of 20, but do not have a base swim speed. * Book Gills: Xiphosrans can breathe underwater, and can also breathe on land, provided their gills remain moist. They can continue to breathe out of water for a number of minutes equal to their Constitution score. * Shell: The shell of a Xiphosran provides all the armor it requires for most of its adventuring career. This gives a +4 armor bonus to AC, can be used to provide full cover as a tower shield, and imposes a -2 armor check penalty. A Xiphosran automatically has proficiency with its own armor. By going prone and 'turtling', a Xiphosran gains an additional +4 to AC in addition to full cover. Because of this structure on their back, Xiphosrans cannot wear additional armor. * Alien Physiology: Due to their highly unusual physical structure, and their protective shell, Xiphosrans have light fortification against critical hits. * Stability: Their six legs give Xiphosrans greater ability to resist bull rushes and trip attacks, and aid in balance. Xiphosrans have a +4 to resist a bull rush or trip, and a +2 racial bonus to Balance. Additionally, Xiphosrans can carry loads as if they are one size category larger than normal. * Racial bonus of +4 to Spot and Search. Compound eyes and an arrangement of visual organs capable of perception into the ultraviolet ranges make Xiphrosans very aware of their surroundings. * Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages: Xiphosran * Favored Class: Wizard Xiphosran Gilljacket A heavy leather belt that secures a pouch of breathable water on the gills, under the shell. Water must be replaced or somehow aerated once every 1+con mod hours, minimum of one. This allows Xiphosrans to spend more time on the surface than would otherwise be possible. Does that address some of your points?
Grimgrin 02-26-08, 06:46 PM	http://www.freewebs.com/grimgrin4488/Xiphosran%20copy.jpg
Maeglin_Dubh 02-27-08, 02:27 AM	Any more corrections to make with these guys, or should I write them up proper like I did with the Kelikera?
AtsuiShoto 02-27-08, 08:41 PM	Sure, go ahead. Looks playable :)
Maeglin_Dubh 03-21-08, 10:42 PM	Xiphosrans http://www.freewebs.com/grimgrin4488/Xiphosran%20copy.jpg Time for a pleasant stroll beneath the waves. Xiphosrans are sentient, crab-like creatures with a slightly tauric build and a durable shell over their back. They are best known for their slow, methodical diligence and persistence. XIPHOSRAN RACIAL TRAITS · Xiphosrans have no ability score adjustments. · Xiphosrans are medium, and have no bonuses or penalties due to size. · Type (and any Subtypes) [Suggestions? They're not really humanoids...] · Xiphosran base land speed is 20 ft. They can walk underwater at a speed of 20, but do not have a base swim speed. · Book Gills: Xiphosrans can breathe underwater, and can also breathe on land, provided their gills remain moist. They can continue to breathe out of water for a number of minutes equal to their Constitution score. · Shell: The shell of a Xiphosran provides all the armor it requires for most of its adventuring career. This gives a +4 armor bonus to AC, can be used to provide full cover as a tower shield, and imposes a -2 armor check penalty. A Xiphosran automatically has proficiency with its own armor. By going prone and 'turtling', a Xiphosran gains an additional +4 to AC in addition to full cover. Because of this structure on their back, Xiphosrans cannot wear additional armor. · Alien Physiology: Due to their highly unusual physical structure, and their protective shell, Xiphosrans have light fortification against critical hits. · Stability: Their six legs give Xiphosrans greater ability to resist bull rushes and trip attacks, and aid in balance. Xiphosrans have a +4 to resist a bull rush or trip, and a +2 racial bonus to Balance. Additionally, Xiphosrans can carry loads as if they are one size category larger than normal. · Racial bonus of +4 to Spot and Search. Compound eyes and an arrangement of visual organs capable of perception into the ultraviolet ranges make Xiphrosans very aware of their surroundings. · Automatic Languages: Common, Xiphosran. Bonus Languages: Any · Favored Class: Wizard STARTING AGE Adulthood: 17 Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer: +1d6 Bard, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger: +2d8 Cleric, Druid, Monk, Wizard: +3d10 AGING EFFECTS Middle Age: 45 Old: 80 Venerable: 100 Maximum Age: 150+2d8 . HEIGHT AND WEIGHT Base Length: 5'8" Length Modifier: +2d10" Base Weight: 200 Weight Modifier: +- 6d12 lbs XIPHOSRAN CHARACTERS Xiphosrans make good wizards, being able to take cover behind their shell while preparing spells. They are stubborn, sturdy, and hard to knock down, known for carrying great weights over long distances, through forests and rivers, lakes and swamps. Xiphosrans wizards have found a use for the cantrip Create Water, to keep their gilljackets full of clean water while journeying overland. Adventuring Race: Xiphosrans adventure for various reasons, including seeking new sources of knowledge, or scouting the area around a Xiphosran settlement. Character Development: Xiphosrans tend to patiently find ways around their obstacles. If something prevents you from reaching your goal, that's quite alright. Just keep working at it and eventually it will sucumb. Character Names: Xiphosrans tend to take one a series of names as they age, and an elder Xiphosran may have any number of names from any number of cultures, depending on his travels. They do, however, have a single given name from birth. Male: Darl, Kevan, Sullan. Female: Elera, Tija, Orla. ROLEPLAYING A XIPHOSRAN Quick generalization about playing a member of this race. Personality: Xiphosrans are patient and pragmatic. They live beneath the waves and know that all things change. This doesn't stop them from working their own change. They work diligently at all they set their hand to, whether the art of the sword or arcane studies, although their love of study leads to many shoreside settlements built around dry-land libraries with underwater living quarters. Behaviors: When wandering through a Xiphosran settlement, the most common activity to be observed is kelp harvesting. Mainly because all the scholars are on dry land, in their libraries. Some books are printed on paper made from seaweed that can resist degrading in water, but the ink used tends not to last. Language: Xiphosrans can speak like other races, but prefer to speak their own tongue, a very quiet language of rasps and scrapings of the mandibles that carries well underwater. XIPHOSRAN SOCIETY Description of this races society, culture, and civilization. Alignment : Xiphorans tend towards law, being comfortable with the discipline required. Lands : Where do they normally live. Settlements : Xiphosran settlements are usually along a shoreline, with dry land holding most of the libraries, and living and farming beneath the waves. Xiphosrans who need to come on land often wear gilljackets to keep their breath while out of the water. Beliefs : Xiphosrans tend to serve gods of the sea, or of knowledge or magic, depending on class. Relations: Xiphosrans get along well with those able to get past their appearance, but have little respect for lazy or chaotic individuals. I still need some help with the racial feats, so if anyone has any suggestions, feel free.
thefishcometh 03-24-08, 02:47 AM	Here's a racial feat: Barnacle Shell: Your shell has become home to a large number of barnacles. While their added bulk makes you somewhat more clumsy, their own calcified shells improves your natural armor. Prerequisites: Xiphosran Benefit: The armor bonus provided by your shell improves to +6, but your armor check penalty is increased to -4 and you gain a maximum dexterity bonus of +4. Your barnacles must spend at least 1 minute per day immersed in water or they will die, and their shells will slough off in 1d4 days. It takes another 1d4 days to grow back dead barnacles after spending one hour immersed in water.
AtsuiShoto 03-31-08, 11:09 PM	I think that the "turtling" maneuver should be better explained. As is, it is suggested that being prone is the only requirement for gaining the cover and +8 total armor. Movement would be restricted as normal for being prone, but otherwise there would be no restrictions to actions, and there would be an additional +4 AC against ranged attacks (for +12 before Dex/Shield/Dodge bonuses), again as normal for being prone. Also, some details about how to "maintain" the book gills outside of the water would be nice. There is a hint about moistening them, and a time frame for breathing air similar to holding one's breath, but how moistening the gills is accomplished and how doing so affects the breathing time can only be guessed at. Well, like I said a few weeks ago: this race looks great so far. :)