- to play a hero with a mysterious racial origin and racial obstacles to overcome
- to be good at using technology and magic
- to be a member of a race that favors the artificer, engineer, rogue, or wizard classes.
They are hardy and intelligent. They don't look like the rest of the world. They have strange habits. This is a combination of attributes not seen in other races.
They are basically aliens, though noone knows it, including their own kind. Their ancestors travelled through the Astral Sea on air-encapsulated flying ships to the planet, and colonized in the harshest-climate areas to ensure the survival of the race. Only, they didn't bother to tell the little ones their origin, out of fear that the already-present inhabitants of this planet might pry that knowledge out of them, and one day travel to the other planet and kill them to get their secret technology. One day, the race plans to reunite their people.
I wanted them to be tough and smart, as they invented gunpowder and steam power, and they dohappen to have their cities located in places such as: at the peak of the highest, most inhospitable mountain on one continent; and on a beach area that is isolated, very hot, and riddled with giant crocodiles and other of the most dangerous creatures in the world...
Extra skill there, Engineering, is Int-based. Campaign-specific, but could be replaced with Dungeoneering for evaluation purposes I suppose.
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Statistics
Ability Scores: +2 Int, +2 Con
Size: Medium
Speed: 6 squares
Vision: Normal
Languages: Common, Praetorian, plus one additional language of choice
Skill Bonus: +2 Engineering (or change to Dungeoneering if your campaign doesn't use this skill), +2 Arcana
Weapon Training: You are proficient with the crossbow and hand crossbow.
Cutting Edge: praetorians are well aware of the latest advances in technology and alchemy, and how best to make such attacks. You gain a +1 bonus to attack with the Item and Technology keyword. You also gain a +1 bonus to all defenses against attacks from creatures with the Construct and Mechanical subtypes.
Instinctual Knowledge: A trait of your race that is, thus far, unexplained is a sort of knowledge bank you can tap into, to know facts about things which you haven't actually learned. You gain a +1 bonus to all untrained knowledge checks.
Praetorian Endurance: praetorians are accustomed to living in the harshest of climate on a regular basis. You gain a +5 bonus to Endurance checks to endure severe climates, hunger, or thirst.
Advanced Method: You may use the racial encounter power Advanced Method.
Advanced Method
Praetorian Racial Power
You are borne of a long line of skilled alchemists and transmuters. Using your race's advanced methods you empower your ranged attacks.
Encounter * Alchemy
Free Action Personal
Effect: With the next ranged attack power you use this turn, one attack roll gains a +2 power bonus, and damage rolls gain a +2 power bonus.
Increase to +4 damage at level 11, and +6 damage at level 21.
Racial Feats
Heroic Tier
Praetorian Weapon Training
You have focused on training with the praetorian's favorite weapon, the crossbow (and guns in my campaign).
Prerequisites: Praetorian.
Benefit: You gain proficiency with crossbows and a +2 feat bonus to damage rolls with crossbows.
Praetorian Battle Alchemist
You have a knack for using basic alchemy consumables to hurt your foes.
Prerequisites: Praetorian.
Benefit: When you use alchemist's acid, fire, or frost, it gains the brutal 2 property and its range increases to 10/20 squares.
Methodical Push
Your ranged attacks aim to control the battlefield as well.
Prerequisites: Praetorian.
Benefit: When you use the Advanced Method power and hit with an attack, you can push the target 1 square in addition to any damage you deal.
Stellar Progeny
Through exceptional lineage, you possess a stronger will and hardiness than fellow members of your race.
Prerequisites: Praetorian.
Benefit: You gain a +1 feat bonus to your Will and Fort defenses.
If you want explanations..read:
The Fluff
Roughly 2000 years ago, written history began its record of praetorians. It is still a mystery today how this race actually came to be. They are an usually truthful race, seemingly bound to some common precept to be honest, but sometimes are unusually modest with their inventions and stories. It was understood then, during their first meetings with exploring dwarves, that even they didn't know their origin. It's not uncommon for a praetorian to tell you his steam jetpack is just some old thing he'd been working on.
Resourceful and hardy, they have chosen to live in inhospitable regions to make their homes. They are cunning and have a mind like a steel trap, making them natural engineers and students of magic.
Play a Praetorian if You Want...
Physical Traits
Their build is much like a human's, but their skin is much paler, ranging from a ghostly white to a dark gray. Their average life span is 110 years, but some have been known to live for 150 years. To commemorate adulthood at 50 years old, he or she gets half-sleeves of intricate designs on their skin. This is merely an expression of art form, but ends up being more like a fingerprint.
They were dwellers of the harshest environments, true survivors, and remain so to this day.
Playing a Praetorian
They are known for being a spiteful bunch, prone to anger, but remaining the perfect image of calm to bystanders. Praetorians are haughty and rightfully so, being the leading pioneers of steam, powder, and magic technologies since The Silence began. They are reclusive, slow to trust, but then become very loyal after a short time. They make close bonds with foreigners, usually because he or she is dedicated to the life of the traveler, as much as they were a hermit prior to adulthood.
They have three areas to their claim, none of which anyone delights in visiting. Their buildings are of a strange architecture style. It is characterized by rounded edges formed of bricks and a complicated ceiling support. These same cities exist today, like little collections of marbles laid on the desolate shores of Tarpon, locked in a shoal-laden lagoon far west of Windfall, and in the freezing mountains of northern Falkrun, north even from Balthazar.
Praetorian Traits: cool, calm, aloof, fickle, resourceful, mistrustful, trustworthy, hardy, smart, and proud; young praetorians are very reclusive, and older vary from reclusive to adventurerous
Male Names: Arder, Dredge, Jeder, Sulter, Proter, Veter (usually have 'd' or 'g' in them and end with a hard consonant, a 'j' sound, or 'er')
Female Names: Berjia, Dreje, Greega, Miciela, Prada, Protia, Satizia, Toije (usually have multiple syllables, a variety of letters, and end in 'a' or 'e')
More Details
Praetorians are haughty, and rightfully so. They often posses a keen sense of memory, almost photographic. The Praetorians have establishments primarily in Tarpon and Falkrun. They are a race of strange custom, tattooing their hands upon adulthood, but wearing flashy-colored clothing and hairstyles.
Historically, they hold themselves in high regard over the other races. Their origin is as yet unknown, as they seemingly appeared out of nowhere over almost two thousand years ago. During The Silence this changed somewhat, as they seemed to be better at tapping into arcane studies than the rest of the world, while still out-thinking the most inventive minds in mundane technological development. They turned inventing into a useful and sometimes dangerous artform. Building mechanically enhanced weaponry that matched up with magical weaponry of before The Silence.
When gunpowder and steam was discovered by the Praetorians shortly before The Silence ended, they initially shared this technology only with certain races they felt could appreciate it: dwarves and gnomes. There are only three major Praetorian cities, two in Falkrun (Vicarious and Backlash, both rather isolated in high elevation areas) and one in Tarpon (Floodwatch, located on the shores farthest from any other civilization). All three are small in comparison to those of the other races, and all three are closest to a major city location for the gnomes and dwarves.
Gnomes and dwarves are the most liked by Praetorians because of their shared interest in crafting, alchemy, and engineering. While the Praetorians are attributed with the invention of both steam and gunpowder, it was the dwarves that perfected the means to use such technology. For example, the best gunsmiths are gnomish, and the best steam technicians are dwarven. The capital cities of the gnomes and dwarves are hence the best place to find such technology.
Despite the contributions of the Praetorians, they ended up getting used mostly for their great minds, and after The Silence had officially ended, they were still too haughty and reserved for the rest of the world to be accepted, which suited them just fine. They seem to care little for what the rest of the world is up to.
The once quiet and noble praetorians will tattoo their arms with wild designs, at least a half-sleeve full of good ol' ink. Perhaps the ornate garb and markings are their ways of livening things up a bit, but it doesn't mean praetorians have lived a boring life. After the ceremonial tattooing of adulthood, they likely either become a scientist or act on the impulse they've always had to be well-known worldwide..for being better than everyone else.
When a praetorian is about 90 he or she will usually retire and hope to go travelling the world; this is commonplace, and the most likely time a praetorian is seen outside of their 3 cities.
Roughly 2000 years ago, written history began its record of praetorians. It is still a mystery today how this race actually came to be. They are an usually truthful race, seemingly bound to some common precept to be honest, but sometimes are unusually modest with their inventions and stories. It was understood then, during their first meetings with exploring dwarves, that even they didn't know their origin. It's not uncommon for a praetorian to tell you his steam jetpack is just some old thing he'd been working on.
Resourceful and hardy, they have chosen to live in inhospitable regions to make their homes. They are cunning and have a mind like a steel trap, making them natural engineers and students of magic.
Play a Praetorian if You Want...
- to play a hero with a mysterious racial origin and racial obstacles to overcome
- to be good at using technology and magic
- to be a member of a race that favors the artificer, engineer, rogue, or wizard classes.
Physical Traits
Their build is much like a human's, but their skin is much paler, ranging from a ghostly white to a dark gray. Their average life span is 110 years, but some have been known to live for 150 years. To commemorate adulthood at 50 years old, he or she gets half-sleeves of intricate designs on their skin. This is merely an expression of art form, but ends up being more like a fingerprint.
They were dwellers of the harshest environments, true survivors, and remain so to this day.
Playing a Praetorian
They are known for being a spiteful bunch, prone to anger, but remaining the perfect image of calm to bystanders. Praetorians are haughty and rightfully so, being the leading pioneers of steam, powder, and magic technologies since The Silence began. They are reclusive, slow to trust, but then become very loyal after a short time. They make close bonds with foreigners, usually because he or she is dedicated to the life of the traveler, as much as they were a hermit prior to adulthood.
They have three areas to their claim, none of which anyone delights in visiting. Their buildings are of a strange architecture style. It is characterized by rounded edges formed of bricks and a complicated ceiling support. These same cities exist today, like little collections of marbles laid on the desolate shores of Tarpon, locked in a shoal-laden lagoon far west of Windfall, and in the freezing mountains of northern Falkrun, north even from Balthazar.
Praetorian Traits: cool, calm, aloof, fickle, resourceful, mistrustful, trustworthy, hardy, smart, and proud; young praetorians are very reclusive, and older vary from reclusive to adventurerous
Male Names: Arder, Dredge, Jeder, Sulter, Proter, Veter (usually have 'd' or 'g' in them and end with a hard consonant, a 'j' sound, or 'er')
Female Names: Berjia, Dreje, Greega, Miciela, Prada, Protia, Satizia, Toije (usually have multiple syllables, a variety of letters, and end in 'a' or 'e')
More Details
Praetorians are haughty, and rightfully so. They often posses a keen sense of memory, almost photographic. The Praetorians have establishments primarily in Tarpon and Falkrun. They are a race of strange custom, tattooing their hands upon adulthood, but wearing flashy-colored clothing and hairstyles.
Historically, they hold themselves in high regard over the other races. Their origin is as yet unknown, as they seemingly appeared out of nowhere over almost two thousand years ago. During The Silence this changed somewhat, as they seemed to be better at tapping into arcane studies than the rest of the world, while still out-thinking the most inventive minds in mundane technological development. They turned inventing into a useful and sometimes dangerous artform. Building mechanically enhanced weaponry that matched up with magical weaponry of before The Silence.
When gunpowder and steam was discovered by the Praetorians shortly before The Silence ended, they initially shared this technology only with certain races they felt could appreciate it: dwarves and gnomes. There are only three major Praetorian cities, two in Falkrun (Vicarious and Backlash, both rather isolated in high elevation areas) and one in Tarpon (Floodwatch, located on the shores farthest from any other civilization). All three are small in comparison to those of the other races, and all three are closest to a major city location for the gnomes and dwarves.
Gnomes and dwarves are the most liked by Praetorians because of their shared interest in crafting, alchemy, and engineering. While the Praetorians are attributed with the invention of both steam and gunpowder, it was the dwarves that perfected the means to use such technology. For example, the best gunsmiths are gnomish, and the best steam technicians are dwarven. The capital cities of the gnomes and dwarves are hence the best place to find such technology.
Despite the contributions of the Praetorians, they ended up getting used mostly for their great minds, and after The Silence had officially ended, they were still too haughty and reserved for the rest of the world to be accepted, which suited them just fine. They seem to care little for what the rest of the world is up to.
Phases of Life
The once quiet and noble praetorians will tattoo their arms with wild designs, at least a half-sleeve full of good ol' ink. Perhaps the ornate garb and markings are their ways of livening things up a bit, but it doesn't mean praetorians have lived a boring life. After the ceremonial tattooing of adulthood, they likely either become a scientist or act on the impulse they've always had to be well-known worldwide..for being better than everyone else.
When a praetorian is about 90 he or she will usually retire and hope to go travelling the world; this is commonplace, and the most likely time a praetorian is seen outside of their 3 cities.
The problem you get with a bonus on saves vs. Alchemy or Technology, is that monster powers don't usually have those key words. A monster that tosses fire bottles, or an alchemical golem is still using normal attacks, not item attacks. This ability can only trigger against customized monsters with specific items.
You may have to go offensive and convert it into a feat that improves your item attacks.
I'd make the proficiency apply to one or two specific crossbows since that seems to be the preferred method for racial profs.
I modified Wpn Prof to apply to two of the most basic guns-from-reflavored-crossbows in my game. The one-handed, simple ranged, pocket pistol (a hand crossbow), and the two-handed, simple ranged, musket (a heavy crossbow).
The problem you get with a bonus on saves vs. Alchemy or Technology, is that monster powers don't usually have those key words. A monster that tosses fire bottles, or an alchemical golem is still using normal attacks, not item attacks. This ability can only trigger against customized monsters with specific items.
Rewrote Cutting Edge (which had a bonus to saves) to work with Item keyword and also Construct keyword monsters. I had added Tech to the mix for would-be engineer class characters of praetorian background, since they otherwise have nothing which relates to them. Now its an attack bonus for them - since they are a somewhat MultAttrDep class (only sources of keyword Item are alchemy items, and magic items so far that I know of, and my Engineer class is the only source of the Tech keyword).
You may have to go offensive and convert it into a feat that improves your item attacks.
Didn't want to since I have one already: Battle Alchemist
Do you think the new stuff is more to the point and fair?
I think the racial ability is too specialized (and money draining)
The new version is a little less flavorful than I wanted, but you were right. So the new version includes the racial ability which has been rewritten and named Advanced Method, to work with ranged attack powers, and give the same +2/+1. The feat for its improvement is also reworded and renamed to Methodical Push to reflect this change.
What do you think? Is +2 to attack for one attack even balanced?? I am looking now at Tiefling who get +1 only against someone who just hit them so I am guessing not? or is ok since I restrict to ranged?