A player of mine wants a tail.... [Archive] - Wizards Community

A player of mine wants a tail.... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
scarletice
02-27-08, 02:48 PM Ok, me and my friends are doing our very first ever DND campaign, and I'm the DM. I'm runnig the gate sof slaughtergaurde compaign and I had them start at lvl one. I'ts just the three of us. They're lvl 3 right now. A human fighter and a Human wizard.

Anyways, my problem is, the player who is the fighter has made it clear from the beginning that he would love to have a tail. (Like a monkey tail). I run a fairly casual game, mostly do to the fact that none of us know the rules well enough to strictly abide by them without slowing the campaign to a crawl. So I wanted to give him a tail through some sort of enchantment or something just for fuun. Like a monkey tail. I told him in the beginning that I might allow it and it would probably not be able to do anything really useful besides holding a small item or something.

I was thinking something along the lines of it granting a bonus to balance checks (Since thats what tails are for after all) and maybe being able to hold small items.... possibly being able to do cooler things later on. So are there any pre-existing rules on this subject? OR could anyone give me some advice as to how I should go about giving him a tail and how it should be ruled? (Cause I do want to let him have one)
RPJesus
02-27-08, 02:55 PM Oriental adventures has monkeyfolk. I'll check for any rules regarding their tails specifically.
Edit: nothing much. Says they have "Semiprehensile tails". I imagine a balance bonus makes sense as well.
CryoSilver
02-27-08, 02:56 PM Sounds like a feat to me.

Monkey Tail (general)
For whatever reason, you have a tail.
Benefits: You gain a +2 racial bonus on Balance checks. Your tail can be used to hold any item at least two size categories smaller than you (So a human could hold a tiny object, such as a torch, and a halfling could hold a diminuituve object like a... really small torch).
Normal: You don't have a tail. Duh.
HermitIX
02-27-08, 02:58 PM Have the group acquire as treasure a belt with a tail on it. Who ever wears the belt can move the tail like it was attached to them. The belt gives a bonus to balance and or tumble checks.
Lincoln Hills
02-27-08, 03:01 PM Something similar happened to a player of mine a couple years back, when he started drinking unlabelled substances in a dungeon complex. (Well, not terribly similar: he developed a hump, hunchback-style: but he might have mutated further if the campaign had continued.)

Examine the Monster Manual entries for creatures whose tails most resemble the additional appendage in question. (For instance, I believe monkeys in the MM get certain racial skill bonuses.) A +2 to Climb and Balance would probably be a reasonable baseline: after all, a feat could accomplish the same thing (if a PC ever wasted his time on skill-boosting feats), and those two skills aren't usually game-breakers. Oh, and remind him that all his clothing will have to be custom-tailored (tack an extra, oh, 20% on the cost of any clothing he purchases.) Armor also usually doesn't come with a tail-hole, but you only really have to be hard-core about that in the case of heavy armor.
I_roll_ones
02-27-08, 03:06 PM Wouldn't a tail actually be detrimental to a human? It's something in the back with nothing to balance it out in the front. Bipedal creatures with tails tend to seem to run with their head in front, lowered so it and their neck is parallel with the ground. A human bent over just looks silly and probably wouldn't work. (How much does his torso weigh in comparison to his tail?)

Tails are for balance, but remember, in primate evolution, it was probably advantageous to lose it.

The way I'd do it is that he has a tail, and it can pick up small objects (Under half a pound), but cannot manipulate them well and is sorta awkward. So it's just there for coolness factor, really.

Wait...How does he sit down and find pants to wear?

If he does want a balance or whatnot bonus, it should be a feat unless everyone else can have something crazy like that.

Could say he's a tiefling, if that suits the setting. Make him tiefling that loses their intelligence, resistance bonus, etc. And is suddenly an adaptable sort. With bonuses like a human. Or if he wants to be an elf, he's really agile, but the fiendish heritage affects his health. And so forth.
Krusk
02-27-08, 03:08 PM I wouldn't let him do anything special with his tail, but i would definatly let him have one.

Simply say "ok you have a tail". It gets no bonus' or drawbacks, aside from any obvious social situations. "Um, sir?... what is that?"
scarletice
02-27-08, 03:11 PM First of all, wow, thanks for all the quick responses.

Let me address a few things. First off, he only said he wanted a tail, it was my idea to give it cool effects for fun.

Second, the clothing thing is a great idea, but maybe I'll do the belt thing instead.

But my main concern is, if I give him an actual tail, in game, how should I go about doing it? and if it's a magic belt, how should I balance that? I mean, what should I make him go through to get his tail? Cause I want him to earn it, not just hand it to him.

P.S. I was thinking it would be really cool if in the case that they keep these characters long enough, I could eventually let him train to use his tail in combat. Later lvl of course. Suggestions?
RPJesus
02-27-08, 03:13 PM Maybe he has to do something to impress a tribe of vanara, who grant him the tail as an honorary thing.
AntiDjinn
02-27-08, 03:36 PM If he is going to be able to use it, then it should cost a feat. If it is just there, then it is just character background.

If you want to give +2 balance checks without charging a feat, then add a negative to such as -2 disguise checks (having a tail makes him fairly easy to pick out of a lineup and will get noticed).
I_roll_ones
02-27-08, 03:45 PM If he's using the tail in combat, make it a feat. Bonus to balance or it's prehensile or something.

Would multi-attack apply to a tail? It is a general feat...You'll have to fudge it to make the tail a hand, but I doubt that will make him over powered. I assume he's not holding a great sword in it. Over-sized weapon fighting might help if he's not dex-based.

However, tell your other players of this, and see if they have anything they want similar to this.
Legdiwena
02-27-08, 04:34 PM Just take your dagger and cut a hole in seat of pants, no need to increase cost of clothes (unless they are considered noble clothes and need to be in fashion, though how you could be fashionable with a vestigal tail? :uh-huh: ).
themocaw
02-27-08, 05:46 PM Here's a rather extreme concept: the tail is not in fact a pervert and a kleptomanic. It shouldn't ever do anything to get him in life-threatening or serious trouble (after all, if he dies, it dies) but it should do things to make his life "interesting" like, for instance, groping the barmaid or stealing from a random passer-by and hiding the loot in his pocket, or knocking over the beer of the guy sitting next to him. If you can get him to yell, "IT'S NOT ME, IT HAS A MIND OF IT'S OWN!" then you've succeeded :) And I get the feeling the player would like that more than if it were just a +2 to balance.

As for how to get one? There are, like, ten billion ways. Maybe he does a favor for the god of monkeys, does a favor for a wizard in exchange for an alter self and permanency spell, or gets a graft from a demon. Or you could even use it as the climax of an adventure that has nothing to do with the tail: he could dodge most of a polymorph spell and just get hit by the backlash (or get polymorphed into an animal and not be able to come all the way back), get hit by a wild magic surge, or kill a guy with a tail-shaped parasite and have the parasite leap hosts in order to survive.

If it's a magic belt, though, it should be pretty useful to make up for taking up his belt item slot.
Sinis
02-27-08, 05:52 PM Sounds like a feat to me.

Monkey Tail (general)
For whatever reason, you have a tail.
Benefits: You gain a +2 racial bonus on Balance checks. Your tail can be used to hold any item at least two size categories smaller than you (So a human could hold a tiny object, such as a torch, and a halfling could hold a diminuituve object like a... really small torch).
Normal: You don't have a tail. Duh.

:clap:
squidyak
02-27-08, 06:29 PM This might be a little drastic, but I'll give it a shot. First, a merchant in the city has a monkey for sale. This should draw the fighter's interest. If it doesn't, have the merchant mistreat the monkey. Hopefully the party will want to free the it from such treatment. If not, the monkey escapes and starts following the party. The party then falls into an adventure where they have to rescue a powerful druid who's powers are being suppressed. Arrange it so at the climax of the battle, the character that wants a tail dies. As thanks for the rescue, the Druid npc has a unique reincarnation spell. This spell acts as reincarnate, except the subject's consciousness awakens an already existing animal. The character's soul is transferred to the monkey's body. You now have a monkey-warrior. Allow him to change his character slightly to adjust to the new body. If he wants to drop feats and skills he no longer feels are appropriate let him, any new skills and feats he attains come from the merging of his mind with the monkey's. He of course keeps his personality due to the soul of a fully sentient creature being more powerful than an animal's.
Sildatorak
02-27-08, 06:35 PM Armor also usually doesn't come with a tail-hole, but you only really have to be hard-core about that in the case of heavy armor.
Most armor actually didn't cover the buttocks directly to enable horseback riding and pooping.

There are basically three ways you can go on this:

1) The tail confers no benefit and is simply another feature like hair color, etc.
2) Having a tail added on is part of a reward and basically stands in for some portion of treasure (if it is a +2 competence bonus on balance checks it would be worth about 400 gp, probably around 500-600 total if it can also carry small things but not actually fight). The exact nature of how that happens is up to you, though a wizard (especially one specializing in transmutation), a priesthood associated with monkeys, or some sort of fiend could all conceivably tack that on to an otherwise normal human.
3) Have it be a feat and all upside. CryoSilver's seems balanced enough. If you want to open up the option of him fighting with it later, then you'd probably just want to design a feat chain.
DraconsNighthawk
02-27-08, 07:20 PM See how he'll react if you tell him that on the light of a full moon, he turns into a really big ape because of his tail.
Frizko
02-27-08, 07:26 PM As has been pointed out, there are potentially limitless ways you could justify adding a tail where one didnt previously exist. For that matter, if the other players like the idea of it, you could just Rule 0 it: "He always had the tail, he was just hiding it until he felt more comfortable in front of you." Its a bit of a strain on the whole suspension of disbelief aspect of RPing the game, but it seems to me like the sort of thing the other players would forget in a couple sessions.

But if you really want more ideas, here are a couple i would have considered using if the same situation had come up in my last campaign:

With his last breath a vanquished foe curses the character with "a bestial disfigurment".
The character could come into contact with some kind of mutating agent being spread by an insane aberration worshipping cult(they want to rid the world of purity of form - or some other such nonsense... you could treat them as either serious foes for the group or some form of comic relief when they appear).
They could happen near a place where a rift was recently torn from Limbo(assuming standard cosmology) and the spot still radiates a bit of raw chaos.
The group could be approached by a Geomancer(i think this is the right PrC but my books arent here - most recently spotted in Complete Divine - these are spell casters who grow closer to nature by taking on bits of nature-themed mutation) who needs someone to help with some small errand that is difficult in his devolved form but easy for "normal" adventurers. He could offer the whole group minor animal bits by way of payment.
Dont explain it at all. One day when the character is waking up ask for a Fortitude save(or roll it for him behind the screen) and tell him that he notices a new tail as he goes about his morning routine. The quest to find out how/why this happened could lead your group in a whole new interesting direction.

Really, just about anything magical that fits the flavor of your world could theoretically make this type of alteration happen. Find a source you like and run with it. If you play it right, this has the potential to be the sort of odd occurance that totally shapes the way your players remember this campain long after its over("Remember the time Bob grew a tail for upsetting the monkey god?"), so best of luck!
ZiggZagg
02-27-08, 07:38 PM Somewhere in Savage Species, I believe, there is a feat to wield a weapon with a tail. You might give that later on
Igbutton
02-27-08, 07:49 PM I especially like Frizko's #5 option, making a quest out it appeals to me a lot for some reason.

On more personal quip I don't think a monkey tail is tough enough or strong enough to be used as a weapon, as a less adroit hand certainly but not really 'meaty' enough to be a threat.
MrCustomer
02-27-08, 07:58 PM You could just let him be a near-Human and allow him to have a tail in exchange for some of the human starting bonuses, humans have 4 skill points, + 1 skill point/level, 1 extra feat, and favored class anything, so you can pick and choose what you will trade from this for a tail, since it is small and would require some feats to make really useful, I would just take the the bonus skill points in exchange.

There are feats available in Savage Species for using a tail in combat.

Tail Attack, I think this applies to creatures who's tails can be used as a weapon (cats and monkeys really can't do damage with their puny tails) but you could give this to him for free, though it won't do any damage.

Prehensile Tail, req Str 13, Tail Attack, 2-weapon fighting. He can use his tail as a "third hand" to grasp melee weapons and use them in combat, with normal penalties for the off-hand weapon. and grants a +2 to grapple and climb checks. This would also allow him to use it to grab and use other items with the tail.

Multi-Dexterity, in the monster manual could be applied to the tail.

Two weapon fighting, improved 2-weapon fighting, greater two weapon fighting, all work with the tail attack as the off hand weapon, so he could be wielding a 2-Hand weapon and make an off hand attack with the tail.

Two-Weapon Defense, can be used with the tail holding a weapon defensively, giving the fighter a +1 Shield bonus to his AC.

MultiWeapon, Improved MultiWeapon and Greater MultiWeapon, same as two weapon fighting, but you gain attacks with both your off-hand and your tail.

Multitasking. Could be used so the fighter can perform other actions with the tail while doing something else with his hands. For example if he was using his Full-Round action to make additional attacks during his turn, he wouldn't be able to do any other action, not even with his tail. However with this feat his Tail would be able to take a seperate partial action seperate from what he is doing with his arms (such as retrieve a potion from his backpack for instance, or pick someone's pockets while using his hands openly to do something else)

Weapons for the Tail, such as a Tail Blade, can be attached to the end of the tail with a harness, as per normal all weapon feats could be applied to the tail weapon.
Krusk
02-27-08, 08:19 PM 1) The tail confers no benefit and is simply another feature like hair color, etc.

Best way i can think to do this. It keeps as much untested made up on the spot house rules out of the game as possible.

Houserules can be great, if well thought out and tested. If applied suddenly and on the fly, they usually end poorly.
Magrus
02-27-08, 11:58 PM There's a way to get a tail in the Races of the Dragon book if you are of the dragon or dragon-blood types. Just figured I'd throw that out, as it wasn't mentioned yet.
Legdiwena
02-28-08, 10:09 AM There's also the geomancer PrC from Complete Divine, unfortunately this guy is a non-caster.
HermitIX
02-28-08, 01:51 PM Assuming you are using the belt-tail idea.

Write up a little adventure where the main bad guy is a feral ranger type. When they defeat him then they get his loot, and part of that loot is the belt.

As for balancing, I don�t think you need to do much. Look at some other belts in the DMG or Magic Item Compendium and base its power level on that. As long as the belt take up the belt slot its all self balancing.
cjhobbitbane
02-28-08, 02:00 PM Id say the best idea is to just give him it as a cosmetic feature.

can i ask why he wants a tail?
RPJesus
02-28-08, 02:20 PM Cause every girl's crazy bout a sharp dressed man?
:D
Chaosepoch
02-28-08, 02:22 PM Didn't Races of the Dragon address kobold tails in a detailed fashion. Anyone got a copy to hand that can check?
EscherEnigma
02-28-08, 08:27 PM Hehe. This might work depending on the player...

Use the classic "you run into an old crone" set-up. But when she tries to curse him for being rude, or just cause she's ornery, she messes it up and instead of turning into a monkey, she just gives him a tail. Where it goes beyond that is up to you. But yeah, bestow curse should cover giving someone a tail.
scarletice
03-03-08, 12:24 PM Thanks guys, this has really helped. I think I'll have him get hit with a defective spell.... And I want to go with the feats idea for using the tail for cool things. Starting with simple actions like hllding really small objects and eventually working up to being able to use as a weapon and things like that... Does anyone have any suggested feat chains I could use for this?
Jagyr Ebonwood
03-03-08, 03:08 PM See how he'll react if you tell him that on the light of a full moon, he turns into a really big ape because of his tail.

Damn, you beat me to it. :P

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
scarletice 02-27-08, 02:48 PM	Ok, me and my friends are doing our very first ever DND campaign, and I'm the DM. I'm runnig the gate sof slaughtergaurde compaign and I had them start at lvl one. I'ts just the three of us. They're lvl 3 right now. A human fighter and a Human wizard. Anyways, my problem is, the player who is the fighter has made it clear from the beginning that he would love to have a tail. (Like a monkey tail). I run a fairly casual game, mostly do to the fact that none of us know the rules well enough to strictly abide by them without slowing the campaign to a crawl. So I wanted to give him a tail through some sort of enchantment or something just for fuun. Like a monkey tail. I told him in the beginning that I might allow it and it would probably not be able to do anything really useful besides holding a small item or something. I was thinking something along the lines of it granting a bonus to balance checks (Since thats what tails are for after all) and maybe being able to hold small items.... possibly being able to do cooler things later on. So are there any pre-existing rules on this subject? OR could anyone give me some advice as to how I should go about giving him a tail and how it should be ruled? (Cause I do want to let him have one)
RPJesus 02-27-08, 02:55 PM	Oriental adventures has monkeyfolk. I'll check for any rules regarding their tails specifically. Edit: nothing much. Says they have "Semiprehensile tails". I imagine a balance bonus makes sense as well.
CryoSilver 02-27-08, 02:56 PM	Sounds like a feat to me. Monkey Tail (general) For whatever reason, you have a tail. Benefits: You gain a +2 racial bonus on Balance checks. Your tail can be used to hold any item at least two size categories smaller than you (So a human could hold a tiny object, such as a torch, and a halfling could hold a diminuituve object like a... really small torch). Normal: You don't have a tail. Duh.
HermitIX 02-27-08, 02:58 PM	Have the group acquire as treasure a belt with a tail on it. Who ever wears the belt can move the tail like it was attached to them. The belt gives a bonus to balance and or tumble checks.
Lincoln Hills 02-27-08, 03:01 PM	Something similar happened to a player of mine a couple years back, when he started drinking unlabelled substances in a dungeon complex. (Well, not terribly similar: he developed a hump, hunchback-style: but he might have mutated further if the campaign had continued.) Examine the Monster Manual entries for creatures whose tails most resemble the additional appendage in question. (For instance, I believe monkeys in the MM get certain racial skill bonuses.) A +2 to Climb and Balance would probably be a reasonable baseline: after all, a feat could accomplish the same thing (if a PC ever wasted his time on skill-boosting feats), and those two skills aren't usually game-breakers. Oh, and remind him that all his clothing will have to be custom-tailored (tack an extra, oh, 20% on the cost of any clothing he purchases.) Armor also usually doesn't come with a tail-hole, but you only really have to be hard-core about that in the case of heavy armor.
I_roll_ones 02-27-08, 03:06 PM	Wouldn't a tail actually be detrimental to a human? It's something in the back with nothing to balance it out in the front. Bipedal creatures with tails tend to seem to run with their head in front, lowered so it and their neck is parallel with the ground. A human bent over just looks silly and probably wouldn't work. (How much does his torso weigh in comparison to his tail?) Tails are for balance, but remember, in primate evolution, it was probably advantageous to lose it. The way I'd do it is that he has a tail, and it can pick up small objects (Under half a pound), but cannot manipulate them well and is sorta awkward. So it's just there for coolness factor, really. Wait...How does he sit down and find pants to wear? If he does want a balance or whatnot bonus, it should be a feat unless everyone else can have something crazy like that. Could say he's a tiefling, if that suits the setting. Make him tiefling that loses their intelligence, resistance bonus, etc. And is suddenly an adaptable sort. With bonuses like a human. Or if he wants to be an elf, he's really agile, but the fiendish heritage affects his health. And so forth.
Krusk 02-27-08, 03:08 PM	I wouldn't let him do anything special with his tail, but i would definatly let him have one. Simply say "ok you have a tail". It gets no bonus' or drawbacks, aside from any obvious social situations. "Um, sir?... what is that?"
scarletice 02-27-08, 03:11 PM	First of all, wow, thanks for all the quick responses. Let me address a few things. First off, he only said he wanted a tail, it was my idea to give it cool effects for fun. Second, the clothing thing is a great idea, but maybe I'll do the belt thing instead. But my main concern is, if I give him an actual tail, in game, how should I go about doing it? and if it's a magic belt, how should I balance that? I mean, what should I make him go through to get his tail? Cause I want him to earn it, not just hand it to him. P.S. I was thinking it would be really cool if in the case that they keep these characters long enough, I could eventually let him train to use his tail in combat. Later lvl of course. Suggestions?
RPJesus 02-27-08, 03:13 PM	Maybe he has to do something to impress a tribe of vanara, who grant him the tail as an honorary thing.
AntiDjinn 02-27-08, 03:36 PM	If he is going to be able to use it, then it should cost a feat. If it is just there, then it is just character background. If you want to give +2 balance checks without charging a feat, then add a negative to such as -2 disguise checks (having a tail makes him fairly easy to pick out of a lineup and will get noticed).
I_roll_ones 02-27-08, 03:45 PM	If he's using the tail in combat, make it a feat. Bonus to balance or it's prehensile or something. Would multi-attack apply to a tail? It is a general feat...You'll have to fudge it to make the tail a hand, but I doubt that will make him over powered. I assume he's not holding a great sword in it. Over-sized weapon fighting might help if he's not dex-based. However, tell your other players of this, and see if they have anything they want similar to this.
Legdiwena 02-27-08, 04:34 PM	Just take your dagger and cut a hole in seat of pants, no need to increase cost of clothes (unless they are considered noble clothes and need to be in fashion, though how you could be fashionable with a vestigal tail? :uh-huh: ).
themocaw 02-27-08, 05:46 PM	Here's a rather extreme concept: the tail is not in fact a pervert and a kleptomanic. It shouldn't ever do anything to get him in life-threatening or serious trouble (after all, if he dies, it dies) but it should do things to make his life "interesting" like, for instance, groping the barmaid or stealing from a random passer-by and hiding the loot in his pocket, or knocking over the beer of the guy sitting next to him. If you can get him to yell, "IT'S NOT ME, IT HAS A MIND OF IT'S OWN!" then you've succeeded :) And I get the feeling the player would like that more than if it were just a +2 to balance. As for how to get one? There are, like, ten billion ways. Maybe he does a favor for the god of monkeys, does a favor for a wizard in exchange for an alter self and permanency spell, or gets a graft from a demon. Or you could even use it as the climax of an adventure that has nothing to do with the tail: he could dodge most of a polymorph spell and just get hit by the backlash (or get polymorphed into an animal and not be able to come all the way back), get hit by a wild magic surge, or kill a guy with a tail-shaped parasite and have the parasite leap hosts in order to survive. If it's a magic belt, though, it should be pretty useful to make up for taking up his belt item slot.
Sinis 02-27-08, 05:52 PM	Sounds like a feat to me. Monkey Tail (general) For whatever reason, you have a tail. Benefits: You gain a +2 racial bonus on Balance checks. Your tail can be used to hold any item at least two size categories smaller than you (So a human could hold a tiny object, such as a torch, and a halfling could hold a diminuituve object like a... really small torch). Normal: You don't have a tail. Duh. :clap:
squidyak 02-27-08, 06:29 PM	This might be a little drastic, but I'll give it a shot. First, a merchant in the city has a monkey for sale. This should draw the fighter's interest. If it doesn't, have the merchant mistreat the monkey. Hopefully the party will want to free the it from such treatment. If not, the monkey escapes and starts following the party. The party then falls into an adventure where they have to rescue a powerful druid who's powers are being suppressed. Arrange it so at the climax of the battle, the character that wants a tail dies. As thanks for the rescue, the Druid npc has a unique reincarnation spell. This spell acts as reincarnate, except the subject's consciousness awakens an already existing animal. The character's soul is transferred to the monkey's body. You now have a monkey-warrior. Allow him to change his character slightly to adjust to the new body. If he wants to drop feats and skills he no longer feels are appropriate let him, any new skills and feats he attains come from the merging of his mind with the monkey's. He of course keeps his personality due to the soul of a fully sentient creature being more powerful than an animal's.
Sildatorak 02-27-08, 06:35 PM	Armor also usually doesn't come with a tail-hole, but you only really have to be hard-core about that in the case of heavy armor. Most armor actually didn't cover the buttocks directly to enable horseback riding and pooping. There are basically three ways you can go on this: 1) The tail confers no benefit and is simply another feature like hair color, etc. 2) Having a tail added on is part of a reward and basically stands in for some portion of treasure (if it is a +2 competence bonus on balance checks it would be worth about 400 gp, probably around 500-600 total if it can also carry small things but not actually fight). The exact nature of how that happens is up to you, though a wizard (especially one specializing in transmutation), a priesthood associated with monkeys, or some sort of fiend could all conceivably tack that on to an otherwise normal human. 3) Have it be a feat and all upside. CryoSilver's seems balanced enough. If you want to open up the option of him fighting with it later, then you'd probably just want to design a feat chain.
DraconsNighthawk 02-27-08, 07:20 PM	See how he'll react if you tell him that on the light of a full moon, he turns into a really big ape because of his tail.
Frizko 02-27-08, 07:26 PM	As has been pointed out, there are potentially limitless ways you could justify adding a tail where one didnt previously exist. For that matter, if the other players like the idea of it, you could just Rule 0 it: "He always had the tail, he was just hiding it until he felt more comfortable in front of you." Its a bit of a strain on the whole suspension of disbelief aspect of RPing the game, but it seems to me like the sort of thing the other players would forget in a couple sessions. But if you really want more ideas, here are a couple i would have considered using if the same situation had come up in my last campaign: With his last breath a vanquished foe curses the character with "a bestial disfigurment". The character could come into contact with some kind of mutating agent being spread by an insane aberration worshipping cult(they want to rid the world of purity of form - or some other such nonsense... you could treat them as either serious foes for the group or some form of comic relief when they appear). They could happen near a place where a rift was recently torn from Limbo(assuming standard cosmology) and the spot still radiates a bit of raw chaos. The group could be approached by a Geomancer(i think this is the right PrC but my books arent here - most recently spotted in Complete Divine - these are spell casters who grow closer to nature by taking on bits of nature-themed mutation) who needs someone to help with some small errand that is difficult in his devolved form but easy for "normal" adventurers. He could offer the whole group minor animal bits by way of payment. Dont explain it at all. One day when the character is waking up ask for a Fortitude save(or roll it for him behind the screen) and tell him that he notices a new tail as he goes about his morning routine. The quest to find out how/why this happened could lead your group in a whole new interesting direction. Really, just about anything magical that fits the flavor of your world could theoretically make this type of alteration happen. Find a source you like and run with it. If you play it right, this has the potential to be the sort of odd occurance that totally shapes the way your players remember this campain long after its over("Remember the time Bob grew a tail for upsetting the monkey god?"), so best of luck!
ZiggZagg 02-27-08, 07:38 PM	Somewhere in Savage Species, I believe, there is a feat to wield a weapon with a tail. You might give that later on
Igbutton 02-27-08, 07:49 PM	I especially like Frizko's #5 option, making a quest out it appeals to me a lot for some reason. On more personal quip I don't think a monkey tail is tough enough or strong enough to be used as a weapon, as a less adroit hand certainly but not really 'meaty' enough to be a threat.
MrCustomer 02-27-08, 07:58 PM	You could just let him be a near-Human and allow him to have a tail in exchange for some of the human starting bonuses, humans have 4 skill points, + 1 skill point/level, 1 extra feat, and favored class anything, so you can pick and choose what you will trade from this for a tail, since it is small and would require some feats to make really useful, I would just take the the bonus skill points in exchange. There are feats available in Savage Species for using a tail in combat. Tail Attack, I think this applies to creatures who's tails can be used as a weapon (cats and monkeys really can't do damage with their puny tails) but you could give this to him for free, though it won't do any damage. Prehensile Tail, req Str 13, Tail Attack, 2-weapon fighting. He can use his tail as a "third hand" to grasp melee weapons and use them in combat, with normal penalties for the off-hand weapon. and grants a +2 to grapple and climb checks. This would also allow him to use it to grab and use other items with the tail. Multi-Dexterity, in the monster manual could be applied to the tail. Two weapon fighting, improved 2-weapon fighting, greater two weapon fighting, all work with the tail attack as the off hand weapon, so he could be wielding a 2-Hand weapon and make an off hand attack with the tail. Two-Weapon Defense, can be used with the tail holding a weapon defensively, giving the fighter a +1 Shield bonus to his AC. MultiWeapon, Improved MultiWeapon and Greater MultiWeapon, same as two weapon fighting, but you gain attacks with both your off-hand and your tail. Multitasking. Could be used so the fighter can perform other actions with the tail while doing something else with his hands. For example if he was using his Full-Round action to make additional attacks during his turn, he wouldn't be able to do any other action, not even with his tail. However with this feat his Tail would be able to take a seperate partial action seperate from what he is doing with his arms (such as retrieve a potion from his backpack for instance, or pick someone's pockets while using his hands openly to do something else) Weapons for the Tail, such as a Tail Blade, can be attached to the end of the tail with a harness, as per normal all weapon feats could be applied to the tail weapon.
Krusk 02-27-08, 08:19 PM	1) The tail confers no benefit and is simply another feature like hair color, etc. Best way i can think to do this. It keeps as much untested made up on the spot house rules out of the game as possible. Houserules can be great, if well thought out and tested. If applied suddenly and on the fly, they usually end poorly.
Magrus 02-27-08, 11:58 PM	There's a way to get a tail in the Races of the Dragon book if you are of the dragon or dragon-blood types. Just figured I'd throw that out, as it wasn't mentioned yet.
Legdiwena 02-28-08, 10:09 AM	There's also the geomancer PrC from Complete Divine, unfortunately this guy is a non-caster.
HermitIX 02-28-08, 01:51 PM	Assuming you are using the belt-tail idea. Write up a little adventure where the main bad guy is a feral ranger type. When they defeat him then they get his loot, and part of that loot is the belt. As for balancing, I don�t think you need to do much. Look at some other belts in the DMG or Magic Item Compendium and base its power level on that. As long as the belt take up the belt slot its all self balancing.
cjhobbitbane 02-28-08, 02:00 PM	Id say the best idea is to just give him it as a cosmetic feature. can i ask why he wants a tail?
RPJesus 02-28-08, 02:20 PM	Cause every girl's crazy bout a sharp dressed man? :D
Chaosepoch 02-28-08, 02:22 PM	Didn't Races of the Dragon address kobold tails in a detailed fashion. Anyone got a copy to hand that can check?
EscherEnigma 02-28-08, 08:27 PM	Hehe. This might work depending on the player... Use the classic "you run into an old crone" set-up. But when she tries to curse him for being rude, or just cause she's ornery, she messes it up and instead of turning into a monkey, she just gives him a tail. Where it goes beyond that is up to you. But yeah, bestow curse should cover giving someone a tail.
scarletice 03-03-08, 12:24 PM	Thanks guys, this has really helped. I think I'll have him get hit with a defective spell.... And I want to go with the feats idea for using the tail for cool things. Starting with simple actions like hllding really small objects and eventually working up to being able to use as a weapon and things like that... Does anyone have any suggested feat chains I could use for this?
Jagyr Ebonwood 03-03-08, 03:08 PM	See how he'll react if you tell him that on the light of a full moon, he turns into a really big ape because of his tail. Damn, you beat me to it. :P