Altair_the_Vexed
2010-07-23, 07:50 PM
Preamble
I've often felt that there isn't enough mechanical difference in the PC races in the 3.x D&D game. Sure, I like the role play to show how an elf is different to a dwarf, but the mechanics ought to make a real difference too.
My first thought was to have all non-human races carry enough awesome features to make them LA+1.
I decided not to, as LA gets a bad rap from lots of people, and I was looking to run an E6 game in particular.
So I looked into (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141602) what made the races iconic (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141615) in literature and popular opinion, and came up with a set of feats.
Note:
These feats were developed with the Wounds and Vitality variant in mind - if you're not using that, treat any use of "Wound Points" as ability damage, and "Vitality Points" as hit points.
(Vitality are replenished at 1 per hour - substitute the normal rate of healing for HP)
Note:
The setting I'm working on only has dwarves, elves, halflings and humans.
EDIT: added more fluff to explain why these are racial feats.
Racial feats
Halfling racial feats
Stealth feats
Evolving lower down the food chain than the larger races, Halflings are preternaturally stealthy - not least due to their small size.
Silent Dash
Prerequisites:
Halfling, Stealth 6 ranks, or 3 + class bonus
Benefit:
You dash quietly and quickly while your foes look the other way. As a standard action, you may use the Stealth skill without penalties to move up to your speed, or up to double your speed as a full round action. This special use of Stealth only makes you quiet - you are making no effort to hide from sight while you dash.
Normal:
It's impossible to use Stealth while running.
Unseen Dash
Prerequisites:
Halfling, Stealth 6 ranks, or 3 + class bonus
Benefit:
You desparately dash, quickly but noisily, between shadows and cover. As a standard action, you may use the Stealth skill without penalties to move up to your speed, or up to double your speed as a full round action. This special use of Stealth only keeps you hidden - you are making no effort to stay quiet while you dash.
Normal:
It's impossible to use Stealth while running.
Wink of an Eye
Prerequisites:
Halfling, Stealth 6 ranks or 3 + class bonus, Stealthy
Benefit:
Seizing the perfect moment you slip out of sight of one distracted enemy. As a readied action, you can use Stealth against one target without using the Bluff skill. You wait till they take their turn, and use their focused attention to hide. This use of Stealth only hides you from one target - other creatures may still perceive you.
Normal:
You must make a Bluff check to create a diversion to hide.
Hide in Plain Sight
Prerequisites:
Halfling, Stealth 6 ranks + class bonus, Stealthy, Wink of an Eye
Benefit:
Using the least of opportunities, you can slip into hiding even while being observed. As long as you are within 10 feet of some sort of cover (shadows, undergrowth, or similar) you may use the Stealth skill to hide yourself without actually having anything to hide behind. You cannot hide in your own shadow).
Special:
You cannot use Stealth while you are observed.
Throwing feats
Halflings are born to throw - with even a little practice, they are excellent at throwing with deadly accuracy.
Right on the Nose
Prerequisites:
Halfling, Dexterity 13+
Benefit:
You may apply your dexterity modifier to damage you deal with thrown weapons and slings, instead of your strength.
Normal:
You use your strength modifier on thrown weapon damage.
Lob
Prerequisites:
Halfling, Point blank shot, Precise shot, base attack bonus +4
Benefit:
You throw your weapon high up and over the cover your target is using. Provided there is a vertical clearance of at least one range increment both above your target and above the space between you and your target, you may attack at -2, ignoring up to total cover. You cannot add precision damage bonuses to your damage, such as from Sneak attack, or Weapon skill.
If you cannot see your target, you still have a 50% concealment miss chance.
Normal:
You cannot attack a target that has total cover.
Skip shot
Prerequisites:
Halfling, Point blank shot, Precise shot, base attack bonus +4
Benefit:
You bounce your thrown weapon off an adjacent surface to hit a target behind cover. Provided there is a hard surface (hardness at least 5) that both you and your target have line of sight to, within 10 feet of your target, you can attack at -2, but ignoring cover.
If you hit, all damage dice are reduced one step (so that 1d4 damage becomes 1d3, 2d4 damage become 2d3, etc).
If you cannot see your target, you still have a 50% concealment miss chance.
Normal:
You cannot attack a target that has total cover.
Resistance feats
Halflings are tougher than they look.
Slippery Mind
Prerequisites:
Halfling, base Will save 4+
Benefit:
If you fail a save against a mind affecting enchantment effect, you get another save one round later.
Halfling Resiliance
Prerequisites:
Halfling, base Fortitude save 4+
Benefit:
If you fail a save against the secondary effects of poison, disease or energy drain, you are not immediately affected. After the same interval as the secondary save, you get another save to overcome the effects.
Normal:
Secondary effects affect you if you fail the save.
Recovery feats
Halflings shrug off ill effects that would haunt others for longer.
Halfling Vitality
Prerequisites:
Halfling, Great Fortitude
Benefit:
You recover Vitality Points at a rate of 1 per half hour
Normal:
You recover Vitality at a rate of 1 per hour.
Halfling Recovery
Prerequisites:
Halfling, Great Fortitude, Halfling Vitality
Benefit:
You recover Wound Points at a rate of 2 points per character level, and ability damage at a rate of 2 points per night's rest. For each complete day of bed rest, you restore 3 points of Wound damage per character level, and 3 points of ability damage.
Indomitable Spirit
Prerequisites:
Halfling, Iron Will, Halfling Vitality
Benefit:
You recover from negative conditions that have a stated duration twice as fast as others. Any time you are effected by a negative condition that has a duration (whether a fixed duration or a randomly determined duration, but not an indeterminate duration such as "the rest of the encounter", or any permanent conditions), that duration is halved (rounding up).
Dwarven racial feats
Defender feats
Dwarves' short and powerful legs and relatively long arms make them extremely capable at defending a small area. Along side the traditional giant fighting training, many are trained in defending with utmost efficiency.
Block
Prerequisites:
Dwarf, Combat Reflexes
Benefit:
As an immediate action, you may take a five foot step to place yourself on or adjacent to an opponent's path at the same time as their movement. You may do this at least once per round, or a number of times equal to your Wisdom bonus, if any.
The opponent that you block in this manner is allowed to simply continue on their path (if possible, possibly provoking attacks of opportunity), elect to stop, attempt to overrun you, or attempt to bull rush you. The opponent may not change their path to avoid you. You may gain an attack of opportunity against the blocked opponent.
You must be aware of your opponent to attempt to block. You cannot block if you are flatfooted.
Dwarven Defender
Prerequisites:
Dwarf, Combat Reflexes, Combat Expertise, Defence bonus +3
Benefit:
On your turn, you may choose to defend an adjacent ally as a move action. This defence lasts until your next turn, when you can choose to defend another ally, or end the defence.
When defending an ally if you use the Assist Another action to aid your ally in defence, they add your Defence Bonus to theirs. Additionally, you may take attacks of opportunity against any creature you threaten who attacks your defended ally.
Normal:
Assisting another's defence grants a +2 bonus only.
Endurance feat
Dwarves are famous for their amazing capacity for toil and endurance.
Dwarven endurance
Prerequisites:
Dwarf, base Fortitude save 2+
Benefit:
You gain a new condition on the fatigue scale - Dwarven Normal. Any effect that would make you fatigued makes you lose this condition. An effect that would make you exhausted instead makes you fatigued. If you are fatigued or exhausted and subsequently returned to normal, you regain the Dwarven Normal condition after 8 hours of rest.
Dark sense feats
Dwarves are at home in the dark.
Blindsense
Prerequisites:
Dwarf, Blindfight, Perception 4 ranks or 1 + class bonus
Benefit:
You gain blindsense to 60 feet.
Blindsight
Prerequisites:
Dwarf, Blindfight, Blindsense, Perception 6 ranks or 3 + class bonus
Benefit:
You gain blindsight to 60 feet.
Elven racial feats
Foresight feats
Elves can see a glimpse of fate.
Uncanny Initiative
Prerequisites:
Elf, Improved Initiative
Benefit:
You may make a Will save (DC20) to avoid being surprised. A successful check allows you to act during the surprise round, even if you would otherwise be surprised.
Insightful Initiative
Prerequisites:
Elf, Improved Initiative, Uncanny Initiative, Charisma 12+
Benefit:
Once per round you may add your Charisma bonus to your initiative. This raised value becomes your new initiative result.
Fighting Insight
Prerequisites:
Elf, Improved Initiative, Uncanny Initiative, Wisdom 12+, Sense Motive 4 ranks or 1 + class bonus
Benefit:
You may make a Sense Motive check as a swift action to determine how an opponent is going to act during combat. If you succeed in a Sense Motive check (DC20, or the target's Bluff check +5 if they are actively trying to deceive), then you learn their intended actions for that round.
Elven Foresight
Prerequisites
Elf, Improved Initiative, Uncanny Initiative, Wisdom 12+, Sense Motive 4 ranks or 1 + class bonus, Fighting Insight
Benefit:
Once per day you may cast Augury as a spell like ability.
Elven senses
Elves can tell a sparrow from a finch a league off.
Elven Perception
Prerequisites:
Elf, Alertness
Benefit:
You get a +2 bonus to Perception skill checks.
Normal:
Elves get a +2 racial bonus to Perception.
Special:
The bonus from this feat stacks with the racial bonus.
Eyes of Starlight
Prerequisites:
Elf, Alertness, Elven Perception
Benefit:
Your low light vision improves. You can see three times as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Elven Alertness
Prerequisites:
Elf, Alertness, Elven Perception
Benefit:
Add 10 feet to the distance increment at which penalties are applied to Perception checks to notice something.
Normal:
For each 10 feet of distance you are away from something you might perceive, there is a -1 penalty to the check.
Special:
You can take this feat more than once. The increase in range stacks.
Elven Glamours
Elves can confuse the senses of other races.
Music of the Elves
Prerequisites:
Elf, Perform 4 ranks or 1 + class bonus
Benefit:
You can make magical sounds to confuse and affect those around you.
Up to three times a day you can cast any of the following cantrips as a spell like ability:
Ghost Sound, Lullaby, Message
Your effective caster level is 1st.
Lights of the Elves
Prerequisites:
Elf, Craft (alchemy) 4 ranks or 1 + class bonus
Benefit:
You can make magical lights to illuminate and dazzle those around you.
Up to three times a day you can cast any of the following cantrips as a spell like ability:
Dancing Lights, Flare, Light
Your effective caster level for these effects is 1st.
Lore of the Elves
Prerequisites:
Elf, Knowledge (any one) 4 ranks or 1 + class bonus
Benefit:
You can pierce the veils of the world and gain insight into hidden things.
Up to three times a day you can cast any of the following cantrips as a spell like ability:
Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Detect Undead, Know Direction, Read Magic
Your effective caster level for these effects is 1st.
I've often felt that there isn't enough mechanical difference in the PC races in the 3.x D&D game. Sure, I like the role play to show how an elf is different to a dwarf, but the mechanics ought to make a real difference too.
My first thought was to have all non-human races carry enough awesome features to make them LA+1.
I decided not to, as LA gets a bad rap from lots of people, and I was looking to run an E6 game in particular.
So I looked into (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141602) what made the races iconic (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141615) in literature and popular opinion, and came up with a set of feats.
Note:
These feats were developed with the Wounds and Vitality variant in mind - if you're not using that, treat any use of "Wound Points" as ability damage, and "Vitality Points" as hit points.
(Vitality are replenished at 1 per hour - substitute the normal rate of healing for HP)
Note:
The setting I'm working on only has dwarves, elves, halflings and humans.
EDIT: added more fluff to explain why these are racial feats.
Racial feats
Halfling racial feats
Stealth feats
Evolving lower down the food chain than the larger races, Halflings are preternaturally stealthy - not least due to their small size.
Silent Dash
Prerequisites:
Halfling, Stealth 6 ranks, or 3 + class bonus
Benefit:
You dash quietly and quickly while your foes look the other way. As a standard action, you may use the Stealth skill without penalties to move up to your speed, or up to double your speed as a full round action. This special use of Stealth only makes you quiet - you are making no effort to hide from sight while you dash.
Normal:
It's impossible to use Stealth while running.
Unseen Dash
Prerequisites:
Halfling, Stealth 6 ranks, or 3 + class bonus
Benefit:
You desparately dash, quickly but noisily, between shadows and cover. As a standard action, you may use the Stealth skill without penalties to move up to your speed, or up to double your speed as a full round action. This special use of Stealth only keeps you hidden - you are making no effort to stay quiet while you dash.
Normal:
It's impossible to use Stealth while running.
Wink of an Eye
Prerequisites:
Halfling, Stealth 6 ranks or 3 + class bonus, Stealthy
Benefit:
Seizing the perfect moment you slip out of sight of one distracted enemy. As a readied action, you can use Stealth against one target without using the Bluff skill. You wait till they take their turn, and use their focused attention to hide. This use of Stealth only hides you from one target - other creatures may still perceive you.
Normal:
You must make a Bluff check to create a diversion to hide.
Hide in Plain Sight
Prerequisites:
Halfling, Stealth 6 ranks + class bonus, Stealthy, Wink of an Eye
Benefit:
Using the least of opportunities, you can slip into hiding even while being observed. As long as you are within 10 feet of some sort of cover (shadows, undergrowth, or similar) you may use the Stealth skill to hide yourself without actually having anything to hide behind. You cannot hide in your own shadow).
Special:
You cannot use Stealth while you are observed.
Throwing feats
Halflings are born to throw - with even a little practice, they are excellent at throwing with deadly accuracy.
Right on the Nose
Prerequisites:
Halfling, Dexterity 13+
Benefit:
You may apply your dexterity modifier to damage you deal with thrown weapons and slings, instead of your strength.
Normal:
You use your strength modifier on thrown weapon damage.
Lob
Prerequisites:
Halfling, Point blank shot, Precise shot, base attack bonus +4
Benefit:
You throw your weapon high up and over the cover your target is using. Provided there is a vertical clearance of at least one range increment both above your target and above the space between you and your target, you may attack at -2, ignoring up to total cover. You cannot add precision damage bonuses to your damage, such as from Sneak attack, or Weapon skill.
If you cannot see your target, you still have a 50% concealment miss chance.
Normal:
You cannot attack a target that has total cover.
Skip shot
Prerequisites:
Halfling, Point blank shot, Precise shot, base attack bonus +4
Benefit:
You bounce your thrown weapon off an adjacent surface to hit a target behind cover. Provided there is a hard surface (hardness at least 5) that both you and your target have line of sight to, within 10 feet of your target, you can attack at -2, but ignoring cover.
If you hit, all damage dice are reduced one step (so that 1d4 damage becomes 1d3, 2d4 damage become 2d3, etc).
If you cannot see your target, you still have a 50% concealment miss chance.
Normal:
You cannot attack a target that has total cover.
Resistance feats
Halflings are tougher than they look.
Slippery Mind
Prerequisites:
Halfling, base Will save 4+
Benefit:
If you fail a save against a mind affecting enchantment effect, you get another save one round later.
Halfling Resiliance
Prerequisites:
Halfling, base Fortitude save 4+
Benefit:
If you fail a save against the secondary effects of poison, disease or energy drain, you are not immediately affected. After the same interval as the secondary save, you get another save to overcome the effects.
Normal:
Secondary effects affect you if you fail the save.
Recovery feats
Halflings shrug off ill effects that would haunt others for longer.
Halfling Vitality
Prerequisites:
Halfling, Great Fortitude
Benefit:
You recover Vitality Points at a rate of 1 per half hour
Normal:
You recover Vitality at a rate of 1 per hour.
Halfling Recovery
Prerequisites:
Halfling, Great Fortitude, Halfling Vitality
Benefit:
You recover Wound Points at a rate of 2 points per character level, and ability damage at a rate of 2 points per night's rest. For each complete day of bed rest, you restore 3 points of Wound damage per character level, and 3 points of ability damage.
Indomitable Spirit
Prerequisites:
Halfling, Iron Will, Halfling Vitality
Benefit:
You recover from negative conditions that have a stated duration twice as fast as others. Any time you are effected by a negative condition that has a duration (whether a fixed duration or a randomly determined duration, but not an indeterminate duration such as "the rest of the encounter", or any permanent conditions), that duration is halved (rounding up).
Dwarven racial feats
Defender feats
Dwarves' short and powerful legs and relatively long arms make them extremely capable at defending a small area. Along side the traditional giant fighting training, many are trained in defending with utmost efficiency.
Block
Prerequisites:
Dwarf, Combat Reflexes
Benefit:
As an immediate action, you may take a five foot step to place yourself on or adjacent to an opponent's path at the same time as their movement. You may do this at least once per round, or a number of times equal to your Wisdom bonus, if any.
The opponent that you block in this manner is allowed to simply continue on their path (if possible, possibly provoking attacks of opportunity), elect to stop, attempt to overrun you, or attempt to bull rush you. The opponent may not change their path to avoid you. You may gain an attack of opportunity against the blocked opponent.
You must be aware of your opponent to attempt to block. You cannot block if you are flatfooted.
Dwarven Defender
Prerequisites:
Dwarf, Combat Reflexes, Combat Expertise, Defence bonus +3
Benefit:
On your turn, you may choose to defend an adjacent ally as a move action. This defence lasts until your next turn, when you can choose to defend another ally, or end the defence.
When defending an ally if you use the Assist Another action to aid your ally in defence, they add your Defence Bonus to theirs. Additionally, you may take attacks of opportunity against any creature you threaten who attacks your defended ally.
Normal:
Assisting another's defence grants a +2 bonus only.
Endurance feat
Dwarves are famous for their amazing capacity for toil and endurance.
Dwarven endurance
Prerequisites:
Dwarf, base Fortitude save 2+
Benefit:
You gain a new condition on the fatigue scale - Dwarven Normal. Any effect that would make you fatigued makes you lose this condition. An effect that would make you exhausted instead makes you fatigued. If you are fatigued or exhausted and subsequently returned to normal, you regain the Dwarven Normal condition after 8 hours of rest.
Dark sense feats
Dwarves are at home in the dark.
Blindsense
Prerequisites:
Dwarf, Blindfight, Perception 4 ranks or 1 + class bonus
Benefit:
You gain blindsense to 60 feet.
Blindsight
Prerequisites:
Dwarf, Blindfight, Blindsense, Perception 6 ranks or 3 + class bonus
Benefit:
You gain blindsight to 60 feet.
Elven racial feats
Foresight feats
Elves can see a glimpse of fate.
Uncanny Initiative
Prerequisites:
Elf, Improved Initiative
Benefit:
You may make a Will save (DC20) to avoid being surprised. A successful check allows you to act during the surprise round, even if you would otherwise be surprised.
Insightful Initiative
Prerequisites:
Elf, Improved Initiative, Uncanny Initiative, Charisma 12+
Benefit:
Once per round you may add your Charisma bonus to your initiative. This raised value becomes your new initiative result.
Fighting Insight
Prerequisites:
Elf, Improved Initiative, Uncanny Initiative, Wisdom 12+, Sense Motive 4 ranks or 1 + class bonus
Benefit:
You may make a Sense Motive check as a swift action to determine how an opponent is going to act during combat. If you succeed in a Sense Motive check (DC20, or the target's Bluff check +5 if they are actively trying to deceive), then you learn their intended actions for that round.
Elven Foresight
Prerequisites
Elf, Improved Initiative, Uncanny Initiative, Wisdom 12+, Sense Motive 4 ranks or 1 + class bonus, Fighting Insight
Benefit:
Once per day you may cast Augury as a spell like ability.
Elven senses
Elves can tell a sparrow from a finch a league off.
Elven Perception
Prerequisites:
Elf, Alertness
Benefit:
You get a +2 bonus to Perception skill checks.
Normal:
Elves get a +2 racial bonus to Perception.
Special:
The bonus from this feat stacks with the racial bonus.
Eyes of Starlight
Prerequisites:
Elf, Alertness, Elven Perception
Benefit:
Your low light vision improves. You can see three times as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Elven Alertness
Prerequisites:
Elf, Alertness, Elven Perception
Benefit:
Add 10 feet to the distance increment at which penalties are applied to Perception checks to notice something.
Normal:
For each 10 feet of distance you are away from something you might perceive, there is a -1 penalty to the check.
Special:
You can take this feat more than once. The increase in range stacks.
Elven Glamours
Elves can confuse the senses of other races.
Music of the Elves
Prerequisites:
Elf, Perform 4 ranks or 1 + class bonus
Benefit:
You can make magical sounds to confuse and affect those around you.
Up to three times a day you can cast any of the following cantrips as a spell like ability:
Ghost Sound, Lullaby, Message
Your effective caster level is 1st.
Lights of the Elves
Prerequisites:
Elf, Craft (alchemy) 4 ranks or 1 + class bonus
Benefit:
You can make magical lights to illuminate and dazzle those around you.
Up to three times a day you can cast any of the following cantrips as a spell like ability:
Dancing Lights, Flare, Light
Your effective caster level for these effects is 1st.
Lore of the Elves
Prerequisites:
Elf, Knowledge (any one) 4 ranks or 1 + class bonus
Benefit:
You can pierce the veils of the world and gain insight into hidden things.
Up to three times a day you can cast any of the following cantrips as a spell like ability:
Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Detect Undead, Know Direction, Read Magic
Your effective caster level for these effects is 1st.