PDA

View Full Version : [Race] Psionic Race (not yet finished) [PEACH]



Sir_Chivalry
2009-05-26, 11:46 PM
Hello everyone. In advance I would like to thank anyone who reads through this. I was sitting around the other day, and I thought to myself, "Wow, wouldn't the Pokemon Gardevoir and Gallade make interesting races?" Now I know what you're thinking, "Pokemon, really?", but I merely used the idea of psychic humanoids who are different depending on gender as a jumping point. After a few days of work, and some inspiration to tie them to the neogi (Starjammer or Lords of Madness), I have this much to give. I'd like so feedback both crunch and fluff-wise, as my players are eager to see a well-made finished product.

Forerunners
The aberrations known as neogi are well known for their engineering of the mighty umber hulks, and for their aggressive dealings with races and peoples they come into contact with, but they have another lesser known legacy. The neogi crafted a more subtle and humanoid race of creatures to use in their attacks on frontiers and towns, a race implanted with a heightened sensitivity to emotions and a budding psionic power, so that when they came to maturity they would be able to deceive and outwit the prey of the neogi. When this plan became evident to the opponent, the neogi changed the race a second time, turning all future male specimens into warriors, still psionically gifted but built for warfare.
Now, centuries later, the Forerunners, as they came to be called, have broken off from the neogi, led by five now deceased legendary leaders to their freedom. Though most of this race have turned to peaceful co-existance, some Forerunners still work under the yoke of the neogi, and it is unclear whether they are there because they are forced to be, or because they enjoy it.

Personality: (Female) Calm, Manipulative, Assertive (Male) Direct, Stubborn, Traditional, to be expanded later
Physical Description: Green Hair, White Skin, Reddish-Brown Eyes, to be expanded later
Relations: Humans generally regard these quiet and sometimes aloof creatures with the same suspicion placed on any creature openly capable of reading your mind, a.k.a. lots of it. Dwarves get along well with male forerunners, mainly due to a similarly militaristic view on life. Elves hold both genders of the forerunners as fascinating and likeable neighbours, and enjoy their similar long-term outlook. Halflings don’t quite know what to make of this race, due to their nomadic lifestyle rarely bringing them into contact with either the forerunners or their aberrant masters. Oddly enough, this race is given a wide berth by the savage humanoids, many of whom still remember clearly the neogi who engineered them. Interestingly, it is the goblinoids who originally coined the term “forerunners” for these people, due to the tendency of them to foreshadow a coming invasion by the neogi.
Alignment: Male forerunners generally lean towards a lawful alignment, though chaotic individuals do appear from time to time, mainly due to either separation from a clan or desire to distance themselves from a heritage of servitude. Females tend to favour neutrality.
Race Lands: The forerunners do not have countries of their own, instead settling inside abandoned areas of land and quiet stretches of forest and hilly terrain in order to raise their overly-sensitive young. Once a forerunner is out on its own, it generally seeks out urban areas however. Within these nest areas though, the atmosphere is always calm and serene, as far from a city or town as could be, in order to protect the young.
Religion: Forerunners revere The Venerable, a now deceased group of five forerunners, two male, three female, who secured the race’s freedom from slavery. The Venerable achieved godhood as a collective shortly after and now grant spells to the few clerics among the forerunners. The Venerable allow access to the domains Community, Family and Mind.
Language: Forerunners learn to speak Common as soon as they leave the nest area, so that they can communicate with the citizens of the cities and towns they are inevitably drawn to. Among their own kind, and when speaking to a young one, the forerunners instead speak their own language, a soothing melodious language containing dozens of words for each type of emotion. The language has no written form, and instead the forerunners use Common to write. Besides these languages, the forerunners learn the languages of their former foes and recent allies.
Names: To be created
Male Names: To be created
Female Names: To be created
Adventures: To be created
Forerunner Racial Traits
• (Female) -2 Str, -2 Con, +2 Int, +2 Cha
• (Male) +2 Dex, -2 Con
• Humanoid (psionic)
• Medium: As Medium creatures, forerunners have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Forerunner base land speed 30 feet
• Low-Light Vision: A forerunner can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• Naturally Psionic: Forerunners gain 1 bonus power point at 1st level. This benefit does not grant them the ability to manifest powers unless they gain that ability through another source, such as levels in a psionic class.
• +2 racial bonus on Autohypnosis, Knowledge (psionics), Psicraft
• +4 racial bonus on Sense Motive checks
• Psi-Like Abilities: 3/day— missive, 1/day— empathy (both), read thoughts (female). Manifester level is equal to ½ Hit Dice (minimum 1st). The save DC is Charisma-based.
• +2 bonus to saves against enchantment spells or effect
• Automatic Languages: Common, Forerunner. Bonus Languages: (Male) Dwaven, Elven, Goblin, Military Sign Language, Terran (Female) Aquan, Auran, Draconic, Elven, Goblin, Ignan, Sylvan, Undercommon
• Favoured Class: (Female) Psion, (Male) Soulknife

Hope to get some good stuff, thanks again.

Tibbaerrohwen
2010-05-15, 03:16 PM
You already know I liek the race. I do find the name lacking character and engenuity, which I usually credit you with.
I saw no distinction as whether they were to be used as a player specific race or a monstrous race. Either way, they require a CR or LA to balance them, considering the mass of additional abilities and languages.
I find they are farely balanced with each other, considering the stat bonuses and psionic abilities. I do not understand why their starting languages would differ so greatly. Considering how you described their laguages and how they are learned in the language section, I would imagine more similarities in automatic languages.
While dividing the female and male sexes of the race creates a nice juxtoposition and interesting character play, it may become a little too convoluted for common use, considering the extensive differences between the two. These two sexes of the same creature differ more than many races from their opposites. I am not saying it is a bad idea, or even complicated, simply convoluted.
Considering the nature of their mother language and the inspiration likely taken from names and words of other races through empathic conrespondence, I look forward to the names.
I also look forward to further information on their culture and history.
Keep it up.

Thomar_of_Uointer
2010-05-15, 05:33 PM
• (Female) -2 Str, -2 Con, +2 Int, +2 Cha
• (Male) +2 Dex, -2 Con
• Humanoid (psionic)
• Medium: As Medium creatures, forerunners have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Forerunner base land speed 30 feet
• Low-Light Vision: A forerunner can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• Naturally Psionic: Forerunners gain 1 bonus power point at 1st level. This benefit does not grant them the ability to manifest powers unless they gain that ability through another source, such as levels in a psionic class.
• +2 racial bonus on Autohypnosis, Knowledge (psionics), Psicraft
• +4 racial bonus on Sense Motive checks
• Psi-Like Abilities: 3/day— missive, 1/day— empathy (both), read thoughts (female). Manifester level is equal to ½ Hit Dice (minimum 1st). The save DC is Charisma-based.
• +2 bonus to saves against enchantment spells or effect
• Automatic Languages: Common, Forerunner. Bonus Languages: (Male) Dwaven, Elven, Goblin, Military Sign Language, Terran (Female) Aquan, Auran, Draconic, Elven, Goblin, Ignan, Sylvan, Undercommon
• Favoured Class: (Female) Psion, (Male) Soulknife

Hope to get some good stuff, thanks again.

Females are LA +1, males are LA +0...

And aren't they supposed to be able to generate artificial black holes or something?