Changing PHB Races for Athas campaign - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Changing PHB Races for Athas campaign

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
GuruMaux
Aug 30, 2010 17:43:14 Hi there.

First of all, I think they did a pretty god job with both thri-kreen and the mul. But I realized how some of the core races should be mechanically changed for playing in Athas.

* Halflings: Mostly primal characters. Besides, "Halflings aren’t amiable riverfolk; they’re xenophobic headhunters and cannibals who hunt and kill trespassers in their mountain forests". This is the kind of stuff ppl do not get charisma bonuses for. I house-ruled Athasian halflings get +2dex, +2wis. Rule-wise, this really help them get along as Druids, Seekers and Shamans, even helping them as lifeblood/earthspirit wardens. Whirling Barbarians are waaaaay more viable wielding Alhulaks, so with this little change to abilities bonuses every primal class should be halfling-friendly. Also, skill-wise I cannot see how halflings would be gettin any bonus into Thievery. So I gave them Nature + Acrobatics as bonus skills.

* Elfs. Athasians elves are like... 4e halflings with a bad attitude. They should get NOTHING close to a bonus to wisdom. So I made them +2dex/+2cha like core halflings, and I choose Thievery + Bluff as skill bonuses. Also, they run a lot. So I add 2 to theirs overland speed and 'take 10', replacing Group Awareness.

* Dragonborn. Dray are really businessmen. Forget about militaristic core dragonborn. So, why not diplomacy, maybe even insight, instead of intimidate? I would mantain history, for their clans are more likely to spread historical knowledge trough generations than most templar-ruled races.

So, anyone else thought about house-ruling core races for his dark sun campaign?
#2
ian.thomson
Aug 30, 2010 19:37:20 The dray are slavers, which are pretty scary. They also have the "WHAT THE HELL'S THAT?!" factor.
#3
LordArchaon
Aug 30, 2010 20:10:13
Hi there.

First of all, I think they did a pretty god job with both thri-kreen and the mul. But I realized how some of the core races should be mechanically changed for playing in Athas.

* Halflings: Mostly primal characters. Besides, "Halflings aren’t amiable riverfolk; they’re xenophobic headhunters and cannibals who hunt and kill trespassers in their mountain forests". This is the kind of stuff ppl do not get charisma bonuses for. I house-ruled Athasian halflings get +2dex, +2wis. Rule-wise, this really help them get along as Druids, Seekers and Shamans, even helping them as lifeblood/earthspirit wardens. Whirling Barbarians are waaaaay more viable wielding Alhulaks, so with this little change to abilities bonuses every primal class should be halfling-friendly. Also, skill-wise I cannot see how halflings would be gettin any bonus into Thievery. So I gave them Nature + Acrobatics as bonus skills.

* Elfs. Athasians elves are like... 4e halflings with a bad attitude. They should get NOTHING close to a bonus to wisdom. So I made them +2dex/+2cha like core halflings, and I choose Thievery + Bluff as skill bonuses. Also, they run a lot. So I add 2 to theirs overland speed and 'take 10', replacing Group Awareness.

* Dragonborn. Dray are really businessmen. Forget about militaristic core dragonborn. So, why not diplomacy, maybe even insight, instead of intimidate? I would mantain history, for their clans are more likely to spread historical knowledge trough generations than most templar-ruled races.

So, anyone else thought about house-ruling core races for his dark sun campaign?

I see nothing inherently wrong in house-ruling races, but I think your base assumptions are not correct, because I think you have stereotyped the ability scores in a way that goes quite a bit against their intended meaning.

Charisma doesn't have anything to do with being nice. You receive Charisma bonus for both Diplomacy and Intimidate, two opposite skills. And it powers dreadful Warlock spells, the innate Sorcerer magic, as well as the inspired strikes of Ardents and Paladins and the flashy arcane moves of the Bard. It is force of personality. It can be channelled into being either very nice or very scary, inspired by righteousness or empowered by illusions. So I can see quite a bit of uses for Charisma even in Athasian Halflings, although I agree that to make them fit more with Primal classes they would need Wisdom (I for one am very upset with the nigh total absence of Charisma from Primal classes. I PRAYED for WotC to release a Cha-based Shaman).

Same goes for Wisdom and elves: the fact that they're cunning in a bad way could be exactly the result of their higher Wisdom: having great Insight and Perception, not withstanding Nature knowledge or Dungeoneering makes for a good advantage that can be exploited in any way. And if your culture makes you prone to exploit it at the damage of others, so be it: high Wisdom -> bad attitude.

That said, I stress the fact that there's nothing wrong in the changes you propose, since they don't alter the balance of the races in question. Although I'm with Ian about the Dray and I didn't understand what you meant with "taking 10" instead of Group Awareness for Elves.
#4
Guysery2k
Aug 31, 2010 12:29:36
Honestly, i hope WotC releases some Dragon article or campaign supplement to add Racial Paragon Paths for athasian character races, cause the PHB ones, most of them, are a bit too much inadequate for Dark Sun. The only one i like is the paragon path for Half Giants, that i like more than the Dark Sun alternate version :P
#5
FlashbackJon
Aug 31, 2010 12:44:52 Stoneblessed is pretty awesome by default.

Most of the core races should be getting standard "V-shaped" stat bonuses coming with Essentials. I've heard that Halflings are +Dex and +Cha/Con.

Note also that Halfling Whirling Barbarians CANNOT dual wield alhulaks, as they are versatile, but that carrikals are by far the best one-handed, military, non-versatile, non-off-hand weapon available to small characters.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 GuruMaux Aug 30, 2010 17:43:14	Hi there. First of all, I think they did a pretty god job with both thri-kreen and the mul. But I realized how some of the core races should be mechanically changed for playing in Athas. * Halflings: Mostly primal characters. Besides, "Halflings aren’t amiable riverfolk; they’re xenophobic headhunters and cannibals who hunt and kill trespassers in their mountain forests". This is the kind of stuff ppl do not get charisma bonuses for. I house-ruled Athasian halflings get +2dex, +2wis. Rule-wise, this really help them get along as Druids, Seekers and Shamans, even helping them as lifeblood/earthspirit wardens. Whirling Barbarians are waaaaay more viable wielding Alhulaks, so with this little change to abilities bonuses every primal class should be halfling-friendly. Also, skill-wise I cannot see how halflings would be gettin any bonus into Thievery. So I gave them Nature + Acrobatics as bonus skills. * Elfs. Athasians elves are like... 4e halflings with a bad attitude. They should get NOTHING close to a bonus to wisdom. So I made them +2dex/+2cha like core halflings, and I choose Thievery + Bluff as skill bonuses. Also, they run a lot. So I add 2 to theirs overland speed and 'take 10', replacing Group Awareness. * Dragonborn. Dray are really businessmen. Forget about militaristic core dragonborn. So, why not diplomacy, maybe even insight, instead of intimidate? I would mantain history, for their clans are more likely to spread historical knowledge trough generations than most templar-ruled races. So, anyone else thought about house-ruling core races for his dark sun campaign?
#2 ian.thomson Aug 30, 2010 19:37:20	The dray are slavers, which are pretty scary. They also have the "WHAT THE HELL'S THAT?!" factor.
#3 LordArchaon Aug 30, 2010 20:10:13	Hi there. First of all, I think they did a pretty god job with both thri-kreen and the mul. But I realized how some of the core races should be mechanically changed for playing in Athas. * Halflings: Mostly primal characters. Besides, "Halflings aren’t amiable riverfolk; they’re xenophobic headhunters and cannibals who hunt and kill trespassers in their mountain forests". This is the kind of stuff ppl do not get charisma bonuses for. I house-ruled Athasian halflings get +2dex, +2wis. Rule-wise, this really help them get along as Druids, Seekers and Shamans, even helping them as lifeblood/earthspirit wardens. Whirling Barbarians are waaaaay more viable wielding Alhulaks, so with this little change to abilities bonuses every primal class should be halfling-friendly. Also, skill-wise I cannot see how halflings would be gettin any bonus into Thievery. So I gave them Nature + Acrobatics as bonus skills. * Elfs. Athasians elves are like... 4e halflings with a bad attitude. They should get NOTHING close to a bonus to wisdom. So I made them +2dex/+2cha like core halflings, and I choose Thievery + Bluff as skill bonuses. Also, they run a lot. So I add 2 to theirs overland speed and 'take 10', replacing Group Awareness. * Dragonborn. Dray are really businessmen. Forget about militaristic core dragonborn. So, why not diplomacy, maybe even insight, instead of intimidate? I would mantain history, for their clans are more likely to spread historical knowledge trough generations than most templar-ruled races. So, anyone else thought about house-ruling core races for his dark sun campaign? I see nothing inherently wrong in house-ruling races, but I think your base assumptions are not correct, because I think you have stereotyped the ability scores in a way that goes quite a bit against their intended meaning. Charisma doesn't have anything to do with being nice. You receive Charisma bonus for both Diplomacy and Intimidate, two opposite skills. And it powers dreadful Warlock spells, the innate Sorcerer magic, as well as the inspired strikes of Ardents and Paladins and the flashy arcane moves of the Bard. It is force of personality. It can be channelled into being either very nice or very scary, inspired by righteousness or empowered by illusions. So I can see quite a bit of uses for Charisma even in Athasian Halflings, although I agree that to make them fit more with Primal classes they would need Wisdom (I for one am very upset with the nigh total absence of Charisma from Primal classes. I PRAYED for WotC to release a Cha-based Shaman). Same goes for Wisdom and elves: the fact that they're cunning in a bad way could be exactly the result of their higher Wisdom: having great Insight and Perception, not withstanding Nature knowledge or Dungeoneering makes for a good advantage that can be exploited in any way. And if your culture makes you prone to exploit it at the damage of others, so be it: high Wisdom -> bad attitude. That said, I stress the fact that there's nothing wrong in the changes you propose, since they don't alter the balance of the races in question. Although I'm with Ian about the Dray and I didn't understand what you meant with "taking 10" instead of Group Awareness for Elves.
#4 Guysery2k Aug 31, 2010 12:29:36	Honestly, i hope WotC releases some Dragon article or campaign supplement to add Racial Paragon Paths for athasian character races, cause the PHB ones, most of them, are a bit too much inadequate for Dark Sun. The only one i like is the paragon path for Half Giants, that i like more than the Dark Sun alternate version :P
#5 FlashbackJon Aug 31, 2010 12:44:52	Stoneblessed is pretty awesome by default. Most of the core races should be getting standard "V-shaped" stat bonuses coming with Essentials. I've heard that Halflings are +Dex and +Cha/Con. Note also that Halfling Whirling Barbarians CANNOT dual wield alhulaks, as they are versatile, but that carrikals are by far the best one-handed, military, non-versatile, non-off-hand weapon available to small characters.