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CharPixie
2005-08-22, 02:36 PM
Anyone have ideas for additional low-level player races? Having brainstormed a few for Grey Watcher's thread (mistakenly), I thought to share them and see if anyone else has pet concepts for new pc races.

If you drop the resist energies to 5, and make the stats more like +0/+2/+2/-4/+0/-2, a race based off the Formian Worker might be a cool LA +1. Not to mention effective Small warriors.

Drop the racial HD of a Ghoul, reduce some of the stats, and you could have an interesting choice. I'm thinking of Fallout, but you could explain them any number of different ways.

Awakened Animals of all sorts appeal to me, however difficult they'd be in game (weapons anyone?).

Non-Psionic Half-Giants (XPH) could be interesting. They aren't very psionic to begin with, and they give players who like hulkers another choice.

Fiendish Orcs called Oni, without the Spell Resistance (LA +1)?

Selkies? Pretty humanoid characters, who transform into porpoises when they enter water? They could be LIKE lycanthropes, but there would be no hybrid form. Or, perhaps, even any silver DR.

Ghosts? Not the D&D, but some weaker version? Having PCs who are between worlds appeal to me (see the Ghoul entry).

This could be amusing: http://www.seventhsanctum.com/generate.php?Genname=fantasyrace

"Mr DM, can I play an Aerial Woodland Ogre?"


Anyone else find odd races attractive? Or do most of you stick the the tried and true (and balanced)?

Ayana
2005-08-22, 04:18 PM
I love unusual races, however I'm not too creative at making them. I'd really like having some truely original races and not ones that are based on existing ones

tape_measure
2005-08-22, 04:21 PM
i've been toying around with a titan ogre i stole...ahem borrowed from Dragonlance. I'm sure someone somewhere has beaten me to it. but oh well. I like thinking up new races. I love new dragons besides the true dragons. did they ever come up with the prismatic or whatever TSR called the dragons in 2nd ed?

Psiwave
2005-08-22, 04:39 PM
Awakened Animals of all sorts appeal to me, however difficult they'd be in game (weapons anyone?).


Awakened orangutang could be fun for any Pratchett fans out there

Leperflesh
2005-08-23, 03:14 AM
Hmm, I can make up a new race off the top of my head. Let's see how this fits.

Dolrii

The Dolri as a race are enigmatic and strange to many in the Known World. It is said that they originally inhabited a far-off archipelago of islands, but were discovered a few hundred years ago by far-sailing Human explorers. Since then, a few colonies of the peacful people have established themesleves in various Human lands.

Dolrii are very tall, having elongated limbs and necks, standing on average about 8 feet tall (females) or 8' 6" (males). Their completely bald, hairless heads are also tall and elongated, with high foreheads, giving them the appearance of having very large brains. The Dolrii have a deep grey-colored skin, the same color as slate or a dark storm-cloud. Some say they are giantkin, although they themselves make no such claim, and their native language has no clear similarity to giantish.

Dolrii have doleful, sad-looking eyes, deep voices, long, bony-looking fingers and toes, with thick black blunt fingernails and toenails.

Despite their tall stature, Dolrii move about slowly; in fact, everything they do seems to be a bit slow, including their speach and (some say) their thought processes, as well. Dolrii are very peaceful folk, apparently incapable of becoming angry under any situation. However, a few people have made the mistake of thinking them helpless; Dolrii are accomplished with the spear, javelin, and similar weapons.

On their native islands, Dolrii raise a large, shaggy ox-like creature they call Balrood, which grow thick, silky, luxurious wool. The Dolrii are perhaps the world's most consumate weavers, working on all manner of spinning devices and huge looms. They have a vast body of knowledge surrounding the making of dyes and treatment of Balrood-cloth, and can make incredibly vibrant colors, enchanting woven patterns, fabric capable of keeping a person warm on the highest snow-capped peaks of their island homes, and the lightest cloths for the warmest, muggiest weather to be found on the tropical beaches of their home.

As shepherds, fishermen, and islanders, the Dolrii favor a long spear-like weapon which they call a "Morlpike". A straight shaft, nine feet long, is tipped by an asymmetrical blade carved from a very hard type of bone, which is said to be the tooth of some large ocean-dwelling beast. The blade has a spear-like tip, with a large protrusion hanging down like one half of a hunting arrow to one side. It works well as a harpoon (for hunting very large sea creatures, it would seem), but also as a sort of shepherds-hook, when the blade is encased in the thick leather covering made especially for that purpose.

The Dolrii found in human lands are amicable and friendly. Although they do not show a great range of emotion, seeming most of the time to simply be content with whatever life brings, their skill with the loom makes them excellent trade partners. They have quickly adopted many fabrics previously unknown to them into their clothwork, now weaving complex combinations of wool, hemp, flax, cotton, silk, and of course Balrood-cloth.

Dolrii found in Human lands speak both Common and their native language fluently. Those who get to know them realize that despite their slow speech, slow movements, and lack of emotional response, they are keenly intelligent, capable, pragmatic, and adaptable. Many ascribe their contented attitude to a deep and profound wisdom, although others claim that this is actually just a sad form of apathy.

The Dolrii worship their own small pantheon of gods, mostly animal-gods, such as Aldoornet the orca-god, Drindut the monkey-god, and Krut the volcano-god. Each of these gods, according to their religion, has both a natural responsibility (bringing the power of the sea, being the trickster, and the mother-god of the earth, respectively), and a phsyical manifestation as some kind of powerful archetype of their respective animal or natural incarnation (an uber-orca, uber-monkey, or uber-volcano, respectively). Despite their native faith, however, the Dolrii appear to have accepted and embraced the existance of the other known gods, (pick your normal campaign pantheon here), finding no conflict between beliving in their own nature-gods and believing in these newly discovered gods. Although Dolrii priests of Ehlonna or Pelor are quite rare, those living in Human lands readily worship and pray to new and old gods alike, in a characteristically sanguine, sincere, and inoffensive way.
[hr]
Game rules:

Dolrii

Large Humanoid
size: Large (tall). As Large creatures, Dolrii have penalties to armor class, bonuses to carrying capacity, penalty to Hide checks, etc.
Space/Reach: 10' / 10'
Size modifier: -1 to attack bonus and AC
Dex -2
Wis +2
Free exotic weapon proficiency: Morlspike
Languages: Common, Dolrii
Free skill: +4 ranks in Craft: Weaving. All Dolrii have Craft: Weaving as a class skill.
Profession: Sailor is always a class skill for Dolrii.
Profession: Shepherd is always a class skill for Dolrii.
Doleful: due to their sad appearence, doleful expression, peaceful attitudes, and reputation as nonviolent, Dolrii have a -4 racial penalty to Intimidate.
Favored classes: cleric, druid
Move: 30'

Despite their low Dexterity (representing their slow movement and reflex) Dolrii have excellent accuracy and range with thrown weapons. They get a +2 bonus to hit with all thrown weapons.

Morlspike:
the Morlspike is a special kind of weapon, combining the qualities of a javelin, harpoon, and quaterstaff. It is a double-weapon: one end has the sharp, hard ivory blade, and the other is the blunt end of the thick shaft, acting like a quarterstaff end.

THe sharp end is like a Halberd: Piercing or Slashing damage (when used in melee); Piercing only when used as a ranged (thrown) weapon.

[hr]

I need help with weapon stats: I am thinking it has a range increment (for the Dolrii) of about 30', like a javelin does. It should be able to be used two-handed (like a quarterstaff) but also be thrown one-handed (like a javelin). I dunno if it'd be worth throwing in rules for using it as a hook or like a harpoon... the SRD doesn't seem to have stats for a harpoon weapon. Since Dolrii are Large, I assume this would be a Large or Huge weapon. Don't know how much damage it should do: probably the quarterstaff end is 1d6, the sharp end is 1d10, crit on 19-20 (x2). I am thinking since the blade is made of ivory, it should have a lower hardness than a normal steel weapon, making it somewhat more vulnerable to Sunder or whatever.

Someone familiar with the level-adjustment rules can tell me if the Dolrii would require a LA. I don't know how to calculate such a thing (I'm only familiar with 3.0 rules, really).

Thanks, and feel free to use this in your personal campaigns, but please do not steal and publish the flavor-text parts.

-Lep

edit: I made a picture using MS Paint of the head of a Morlspike as I'm imagining it. It's crappy, but here you go:
http://www.slyhatjones.com/allyourbase/Morlspike.GIF

Everyman
2005-08-23, 02:00 PM
I wouldn't think your race would need LA (no low-light vision!), though it is rather unusual to see a race with more than one prefered class. (I don't count humans and half-elfs when I say this).

Ashes
2005-08-23, 03:06 PM
I think I have around 20 lying on my computer. A friend and me are designing a very different world, and want nothing but new races. A few are a bit odd. Could probably post the best later on.

Xvos
2005-08-23, 03:08 PM
I'm working on a Half Drow race (In the Half Drow thread) and have come up with several different races for a game world I'm working on, they are basically humans with elemental abilities, sadly my laptop just broke or I would post the stats for you, but thought I'd jsut drop in the concept and add the stats when I get my machine fixed.

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-08-23, 03:28 PM
I've written up half-dwarves (http://plaza.ufl.edu/redwolf/halfdwarf.html) and Lalin (http://plaza.ufl.edu/redwolf/lalin.html). I have a few others I could find or rewrite as well.