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Roga
2010-08-14, 01:42 PM
Hey guys, I'm going to be running my own take on Expedition to the Barrier Peaks soon, and would like ideas on how to take existing mechanics/Classes and change their flavor to make really interesting Sci-fi concepts.

Examples:
Base: Warforged Druid with Wild Feats to grow wings, claws, etc
Becomes: Cyborg that transforms his hands into blades, or unfolds mechanical wings.

Base: Soulblade/Soulbow
Becomes: Cyber arms with energy blades/Lasor cannons.

I'll try to come up with more ideas and post them, but I'd love to hear your ideas!

hamishspence
2010-08-14, 01:44 PM
"genetically spliced" can cover a wide range of mix and match monsters.

Roga
2010-08-14, 02:38 PM
Effigy Creatures are also good.

As for Genetic Splicing, I did think of using the Symbiotic Template to cross a halfling with a golem or a warforged to make a gnarly kind of cyber-brute.

Roga
2010-08-14, 07:19 PM
I'd consider half golem if it had a true Level Adjustment. C'mon guys, I know you got some ideas.

StoryKeeper
2010-08-14, 07:26 PM
Well, magic can be psychic powers or any of a number of devices depending on effect. Same with psionics (which are psychic powers to begin with.)

Burning Hands and other flame spells are actually arm-mounted weapons. Same with most energy attacks.

Illussion spells like displacement are hologram-projecting fields that make you appear slightly to the left. That spell (Mirror Image?) that lets you make illusory duplicates of yourself could work in a similar way. Maybe tiny robotic drones hover around and project an image of you or something.

You can do similar stuff with lots of different spells.

Randel
2010-08-15, 01:56 AM
I've been into the new episodes of Doctor Who lately and I can think of a few ways to put them into DnD.

Cybermen - warforged. Give them some armbows, ranged attacks, and maybe some sort of an electric attack and they are good. Warforged really lend themselves to sci-fi refluffing.


The Autons/Nestene Conciousnees - Changelings, Dopplegangers, Mimics. You can say that alot of DnD shape shifters are made out of alien "living plastics" that let them change their shape. A BBEG could have a big vat of "plastic" and use it to make mimics in the shape of various objects or things. Then, put them all over the place and have then attack his enemies or suddenly 'activate' at signal and swarm the heroes. Have a big room full or treasure or seeming junk and then it all turns into mimics.


Again, genetic engineering or mutations could account for alot of creatures. Perhaps the various goblins, orcs, dark elves and whatnot are actually offshoots of the 'fairer' races who were mutated by exposure to toxins or corruptive magic. (I got this from a thread on the Stardestroyer.net forums)

The dark elves were once the same as regular elves but were members of the working class and had to work with toxic materials or such so that the elven economy could work at the level it did. However, exposure mutated them so they were prevented from being members of the elite of society. This resulted in a schism where eventually the Dark Elves rebelled and left the elven empire in shambles and swore their eternal hatred for the 'uncorrupted' elves and their decendents who benefited from the work that mutated them.

Simliar things could go with the goblins/halflings or orcs/dwarves or whatever combination of races you want. The dungeons could in fact be the ancient remains of factories or complexes where the 'unclean' races worked and rebelled from the others. Or they could be filled with countless treasures of a bygone age where the treasure is infact machine parts, equipment, or refined materials created by the same polluting machines that mutated the goblins to begin with.

Their lairs are filled with refined metals, gems, and materials which were created using polluting machines. While these materials can be used to create wonderful devices or 'magic items' their creation had resulted in mutation, sickness, and corruption of the workers who made it and their decedents. The goblins hoarding this material may try to make use of it or they may not... to break down this material for their own use would be using the very thing their ancestors had died from, to sell it to the 'fair' races would be spitting on the sacrifices of their parents and giving these things to their hated enemies, instead they often find themselves just hoarding it up and looking at it... just remembering what these gems had done to their families and unable to either use it or to destroy it.

And so, a band of humans, elves, halflings, or what have you can get their powerful weapons and march right into those ancient factories, slaughter the 'mutant inhabitants', grab up all the ancient treasures and technology in these places and head back to their crystal palaces and turn all those old bits of refined ore the mutants weren't using into cool weapons and technology. Or just sell it for money.



And... the various planes could be either other planets or alternate universes accessable via warp gates or whatnot. Undead could be corpses animated via cybernetics, incomplete cloning, alien parasites, viruses, or something similar to Doctor Victor Frankensteins life energy generator that converts lightening into an animating life force. Or the undead could be animated via some mutagenic toxic byproduct of the various healing potions commonly used by people. The factory that creates wonderful medicines might have some nasty medical waste they dump in the sewers where it gets into the water tables and creates monsters or undead.


Illusions could be holograms... and druid summonings of Natures Allies and animal companions could rely on mind-control chips implanted into an animals brain.

Ichneumon
2010-08-15, 05:19 AM
Elves are vulcans and romulans.
Orcs are klingons.