[Pathfinder] Campaign Setting - Desecrated

[lowlevelowl]

I'm completely new to D20 and Pathfinder, but a veteran of other systems (Warhammer FRPG, Dark Heresy, Savage Worlds, Call of Cthulhu...). I've always felt that I needed to pay homage to the origins of role-playing by one day running a D20 setting though, and so I've taken my first steps. I've created a half-fleshed out campaign setting to run in Pathfinder, but it requires some mechanic-tweaking that I'm not yet comfortable enough to do. People have told me to come to the hallowed halls of the homebrew forums, so here I am, requesting your help.

I'll post the setting information below. If it intrigues you, feel free to help me flesh out the mechanics of this setting. You'll have my deepest thanks for it.

The initial backstory...


In the beginning, there was a great contradiction.

For an eternity it writhed against itself, pushing inward. Good fought evil, light banished darkness, water quenched fire, all within the same body. Its dim consciousness reeled and warped from the pain.

In desperation, it pushed away everything that it was, and a great cataclysm came to the blind void that was the unborn world. Elements and imaginings swirled around what was left of the great contradiction, the Soul of the World, trying to reform. A shell of earth and fire formed and cooled around it, and on that shell rested water and air. Life sprung forth from the barren ground, fragments of the great contradiction given form by its destruction, and gods arose from the strongest shards. An uneasy harmony formed between the great opposites of the world, now separated from the whole.

Thus was born the world, and everything in it.

There was once a king so bloodthirsty and cruel that even the lord of the demons cowered in his presence. Not satisfied with his own kingdom, he gathered an army of mercenaries and slaves to conquer the lands around him. His neighbors were strong and pushed back his invasions again and again, and each time the king grew more desperate, starving his people to feed his soldiers. When a rebellion came to his gates, he strode out unarmed; when the rebel leader’s sword pierced his heart, he laughed as though hell itself compelled him and ripped it from his chest. A darkness made the lands shudder that day, a chill that dashed hopes and buried dreams far out of sight. From them on, the king was known as the Mad Tyrant, and his evil power soon stretched into his neighbor’s lands.

Ten years passed, ten years of fire and war. The nations of the world fell one by one to the Mad Tyrant’s armies, made unstoppable by the sheer terror their leader inspired. Over time, they were twisted into monsters, changed things that had drowned their souls in blood. The mere sight of them caused many a valiant soldier to fall on his own sword rather than fall victim to their gnashing teeth and filthy claws. As the tenth year of the campaign drew to a close, the last desperate kingdom offered its surrender and was snuffed out. The Mad Tyrant stood unopposed.

Though the world was won, the war was not yet over. The Mad Tyrant’s armies never disbanded, and were ordered to pillage and burn the territories they had already conquered. Fighters from every nation were summoned to kill each other for their lord’s favor, stirring hatred between the enslaved kingdoms. For fifty years, the Mad Tyrant allowed his empire to consume and tear at itself, all while he laughed in his black palace.

When Death finally came to collect him, the Mad Tyrant was enraged. For forty days and nights he wrestled with his fate, his hatred festering like an infected wound and seeping into the very Soul of the World. Upon his death, his armies scattered and slipped into the shadows, allowing the weary kingdoms to rebuild. Half a century of torture and servitude scarred each of the once-proud races, however, leaving them twisted reflections of their former selves.

The real damage, however, had already been done: tainted by the Mad Tyrant’s insanity, the Soul of the World quietly plotted its suicide. Now, three hundred years later, that plot has been set in motion. Earth and fire intertwine as Hell itself creeps out from the Mad Tyrant’s crumbling necropolis, and in the deep places, his armies are once again on the move, preserved by the Soul of the World to be used as the instrument of its own annihilation. Hope is dying and faith has long since disappeared; it is up to mortals now to stop their world from ending.

And the races and their back-stories...

Dwarf Husks

The subterranean dwarven kingdoms posed a problem for the Mad Tyrant: his massive armies were too large to storm the dwarven tunnels en masse, and fighting underground in unfamiliar territory proved lethal to many of his troops. For years, the dwarves fought a guerilla war, striking out in small groups from their well-hidden underground passages to weaken the Tyrant's campaign in other lands. Frustrated, the Mad Tyrant began a massive project: a full quarter of his army worked tirelessly to divert the world's largest river into the dwarves' main tunnel, flooding their kingdoms and wiping them cleanly from the face of the earth. By the time the plot was discovered, the water was already rushing in. In desperation, the dwarves' patron spirit made a deal with a demon to keep its people alive and hide them from the Tyrant, at the terrible cost of its own life. After consuming their god, the demon watched the dwarves drown in their massive, glittering vaults... and years later, when the Tyrant was dead, raised them all as undead creatures. It had fulfilled the bargain: the dwarves lived, and were not bothered by the Tyrant during his reign. The once-vibrant dwarven halls are now murky, lightless catacombs, populated by the drowned Dwarf Husks. Though their strength remains intact, the sturdiness they were once famous for has rotted away with their flesh.

Feral Gnomes

As a trading culture, the gnomes seemed to pose little threat to the Mad Tyrant: their opulent domain had few defenses, and the gnomes themselves were physically small and frail. The small invasion force he sent, however, quickly found that the gnomes were far from defenseless: entire mansions walked out on spidery legs to greet them with cannonballs and arcane flame, wiping it out with minimal gnome losses. Spies were sent to the gnomish kingdoms, where they learned that the gnomes had long ago enslaved their god to harness its energy for their contraptions. It was a simple matter after that to free it from its bonds. Upon regaining consciousness, the deity raged against its betrayers, turning their devices on them and toppling their entire civilization in a matter of days. Even now, what machines have not broken down wander the wastes to search for the Feral Gnomes that still live there, scavenging what they can from their fallen glory.

Fungal Dryads

His domination of the world complete, the Mad Tyrant quickly squandered the resources of the kingdoms under his control to feed his war machine, which he kept occupied by allowing them to raid and pillage freely. He pushed his empire ever outward, exploring even untouched lands that no one had ever seen before. It was in one of these secluded places that the dryads were found: they were the stewards of a natural paradise free of civilized corruption, and totally defenseless against the Tyrant's forces. Once the land had been stripped of its valuable wood and ore, it was left to stagnate and rot as the pollution of an empire was dumped onto its fertile soil, turning the forest into a fetid swamp. As nature spirits tied to the land, the dryads nearly dies with their trees, but quickly replenished their numbers as the swamp brought forth algae and fungi in massive quantities. The new Fungal Dryads are gaunt, rotting creatures with writhing manes of algal growth, constantly expanding and dying to suit their needs. Instead of preserving the forest, the dryads are now agents of a different, darker kind of nature who try to recreate their putrid mire wherever they go, with no qualms about fertilizing their plants with spilt blood.

Noble Trolls

Trolls were formerly the scourge of the civilized world, hiding in mountain passes and under bridges to terrorize passerby. They lived in small, nomadic groups, using their impressive endurance and natural regenerative abilities to survive in the toughest environments. When the Mad Tyrant rose to power, their god pledged his race to his armies, looking forward to the chaos they would cause. Their god was not an evil one, however, and as the darkness of the Mad Tyrant's reign deepened, he was overcome with guilt. He left the world behind, leaving the trolls to shoulder the shame of their god. The once hedonistic raiders were transformed in an instant into ascetic penitents who blame themselves for the state of the world. Now, the Noble Trolls abuse their hardiness, bringing pain upon themselves in penance for their ancestors' crimes even as their enemies strike at them.

Once-Human

The Mad Tyrant himself was human, and as his evil spread across the land, so too did it spread from his heart to his body. He became a changed creature, the likes of which the world had never seen before: the first Once-Human. Not content with just one body, the evil within him slowly spread to his advisors and generals, changing them in the same way; eventually, the taint began to spread to innocents, and by the time his rule was over, the entire human race was infected. The bizarre mutants that collectively form the Once-Human show their condition in different ways: some are covered with tiny scales or hypnotic striations, while others have rotted from within and have acidic blood or stringy, writhing flesh that pulls itself together even as it is taken apart. The humans' patron god suffers the same fate as the Soul of the World, only more severe because of its closeness to the Tyrant's evil: it sits gibbering in some cosmic corner of divine space, only dimly aware of its own existence.

Steel Elves

When the Mad Tyrant's armies came to the Elves' forests, they called to their mother goddess to strengthen their armor and bend the trees to shield them from the danger outside. This she did, and for a while, it worked well; the army outside couldn't hack through the growth fast enough, and the elves were safe inside with years' worth of provisions. As the siege wore on, though, the Mad Tyrant focused more and more of his attention on penetrating the elven forests, and commanded that it be torched. The more fires were started, the weaker the goddess became as she struggled to keep the wooden shield vital. Inside, the elves' farmland withered, and their very life force began to wane as she poured more and more energy into the trees. After years of isolation, the starving, broken elves finally soiled their altars and killed their goddess, allowing the forest to be burnt so they could offer their surrender to the Tyrant. When he died and the elven kingdoms were free again, new growth began to appear on the blackened earth, but was quickly cut down; vowing never again to put their faith in fragile wood, the Steel Elves, as they began calling themselves, rebuilt a nation founded on industry and mechanization, taking up the very fires that had defeated them many years ago. Many Steel Elves are more machine than flesh, and while they have kept their grace and hunter's intuition, they have taken on an air of cold calculation and unnatural precision that often times makes them feel more dead than the dwarves.

My initial need is fixing the base races. I figure most of them could just use a switching around of the ability score modifiers and taking away or adding some abilities (the dwarves are undead and have an affinity with water, the gnomes need some sort of innate bite attack plus some tinkering skill of some kind, the elves are mostly constructs, the humans are mutated). Fungal dryads and noble trolls are going to be the most difficult part. I think I'll have to build a race from scratch with the dryads, while the noble trolls can be modified half-orcs with some kind of regeneration ability.

Thanks for helping, or even reading.

[monkman]

For the dwarfs,first you give them undead traits, those *Dwarfs* would resemble the drowned (Monster Manuel 3)
Undead Type: Undead are once-living creatures animated by
spiritual or supernatural forces.
Features: An undead creature has the following features.
—12-sided Hit Dice.
—Base attack bonus equal to 1/2 total Hit Dice (as wizard).
—Good Will saves.
—Skill points equal to (4 + Int modifier, minimum 1) per Hit
Die, with quadruple skill points for the first Hit Die, if the undead
creature has an Intelligence score. However, many undead are
mindless and gain no skill points or feats.
Traits: An undead creature possesses the following traits (unless
otherwise noted in a creature’s entry).
—No Constitution score.
—Darkvision out to 60 feet.
—Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions,
phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).
—Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease,
and death effects.
—Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, or
energy drain. Immune to damage to its physical ability scores
(Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution), as well as to fatigue and
exhaustion effects.
—Cannot heal damage on its own if it has no Intelligence
score, although it can be healed. Negative energy (such as an inflict
spell) can heal undead creatures. The fast healing special quality
works regardless of the creature’s Intelligence score.
—Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless
the effect also works on objects or is harmless).
—Uses its Charisma modifier for Concentration checks.
—Not at risk of death from massive damage, but when reduced
to 0 hit points or less, it is immediately destroyed.
—Not affected by raise dead and reincarnate spells or abilities.
Resurrection and true resurrection can affect undead creatures. These
spells turn undead creatures back into the living creatures they
were before becoming undead.
—Proficient with its natural weapons, all simple weapons, and
any weapons mentioned in its entry.
—Proficient with whatever type of armor (light, medium, or
heavy) it is described as wearing, as well as all lighter types. Undead
not indicated as wearing armor are not proficient with armor.
Undead are proficient with shields if they are proficient with any
form of armor.
—Undead do not breathe, eat, or sleep
Other things for the dwarfs
take out the stonecutting,no weapons profs, no stabillty or racial bonus against goblinoid and giants

keep or take out the cha penalty

give them a streght bonus, 2 slams, swim check, able to lurk in water and then pull someone down(grapple).

[Hawriel]

I've always felt that I needed to pay homage to the origins of role-playing by one day running a D20 setting though, and so I've taken my first steps. .

Playing D&D redbox (1st edition) would be paying homage to the origins of roleplaying. Or playing chianmail then D&D 1st ed. :smallwink:

[Kuma Kode]

I wouldn't suggest giving the undead dwarves d12's, not only because that's racial hit die (humans don't all have d8's despite humanoids having d8 racial hit die) but because, if I remember correctly, undead have d8's in Pathfinder and gain their Charisma to their hit points instead.

Unfortunately, undead comes with huge bonuses that will be extremely difficult to balance for a player race. Just reading that list of special qualities sends it way above even pathfinder's player races. I've never seen an undead LA +0 player race that actually worked and wasn't just a hand-wave (living dead type which takes away a lot of the problematic immunities, for example). My own attempt is so poorly balanced it's ridiculous.

[Rizeska]

For the dwarves, I think you should trade their Con bonus for a Str bonus, give them a swim speed, and I agree that the undead template gives too many bonuses... Do you want them to have hit points that can go into the negatives, or do you want to get rid of their Con score altogether?

[Bowerbird]

A couple of suggestions, though I am by no means an expert on homebrew.

For the Dwarves I'd either go with them not being true undead, as has been previously stated, or perhaps look at the Necropolitan (Libris Mortis). In 3.5 Necroplitan was effectively +1LA, but under Pathfinder may be less of a difference, I'm not too sure.

Feral Gnomes sound rather similar to Dragonlance Gully Dwarves just with slightly different abilities. I'm told there are stats for some kind of Savage Gnome in Forgotten Realms, so that might be worth a look (don't know where, unfortunately).

Not too sure on the Noble Trolls. Some sort of Monstrous Humanoid with relatively minor regen? Or maybe just use the Troll stats, if they're supposed to be that powerful.

For the Steel Elves, perhaps something based off of the Warforged from Eberron, if they have truly extensive modifications. Give them the Construct type with the Living Construct subtype, which mitigates a lot of the problems with balancing constructs. You could potentially also use something similar for the Fungal Dryads, modify the Plant type into something more like the Living Construct, either that or keep them as a Fey, with a charisma penalty of some sort and different spell-like abilities.

Once-Human are potentially the easiest. Just replace the bonus feat from human with a trait from a list of some sort, like the Heritage feats from 3.5, or maybe make them something similar to the Tiefling. A friend of mine mentioned they sound a lot like Tieflings did in 2nd Ed AD&D, that might yield some results.

The other thing is, how are you going to handle a lot of the higher level magics? For example there are quite a few spells that could have stopped things like the flooding of the Dwarves' tunnel system (Wall of Stone, etc), or the burning of the Elven forests (Ironwood, Quench Flame, Control Weather, etc). This can be mitigated somewhat if the Mad Tyrant's armies protected themselves with their own magic, but I think the best way to handle that is to limit magic in the world, with most casters being relatively low level.

Hope they help, sorry I couldn't post some more concrete stuff. That said, I really like your setting, it sounds really cool :smallbiggrin:

EDIT: Oh, and Pathfinder removes a lot of the benefits from undead (d8HD+Cha mod/Level, No longer immune to crits).

[lowlevelowl]

Thanks for all the suggestions, especially yours, Bowerbird. I'll hammer out some basic races during the next few days and post them. I've recently acquired a huge selection of 3.5 books so that should help.

And yes, I usually cling to low/scarce-magic settings, and didn't know how that would adapt to D&D. I figure without imposing any limitations on the PCs, I can imply that magic is relatively rare.

[Bowerbird]

Yeah, one of the best options is to have the primary spellcasting classes to be really rare in the world, and most of the important figures be fairly low level. This also helps to make the PCs seem more special.

[The Tygre]

I was going to suggest some kind of anti-magic plague. Maybe it activates once magi grow too powerful, or the chance of contamination increases with power. Either way, end result is death/horrible mutation.

[lowlevelowl]

I think I'll stick to magic is heavily stigmatized/rare. I figure that spellcasters were a big part of the Tyrant King's armies and any existing magic today would therefore have some kind of direct link to enforced spellcasting in the army that ruined the world, rendering you immediately powerful/immediately hated.

Anyways, I've finished two races - the dwarf husks and feral gnomes. Feel free to start building your characters off these stats if you were waiting on these races. The others will come soon. Both are fairly unchanged - I've swapped around ability scores and given the dwarf husks some undead bonuses without making them technically true undead, while the gnomes are for the most part unchanged except for a slight change to their 'gnome magic' and the addition of a bite attack, hehe.

Tell me if you see any problems!


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Dwarf Husk Racial Traits
+2 Strength, +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma: Dwarf Husks retain their strength and wisdom, but their rotting bodies display their state of half-death.
Medium: Dwarf Husks are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Slow and Steady: Dwarf Husks have a base speed of 20 feet, but their speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance.
Darkvision: Dwarf Husks can see in the dark up to 60 feet.
Defensive Training: Dwarf Husks get a +4 dodge bonus to AC against monsters of the giant subtype.
Greed: Dwarf Husks receive a +2 racial bonus on Appraise skill checks made to determine the price of nonmagical goods that contain precious metals or gemstones.
Hatred: Dwarf Husks receive a +1 bonus on attack rolls against humanoid creatures of the orc and goblinoid subtypes due to special training against these hated foes.
Hardened: Dwarf Husks receive a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poisons, mind-affecting effects, spells and spell-like abilities.
The Drowned: Dwarf Husks have no need to breathe, and can go far longer without rest, food, and water than living races. They are also immune to non-extreme water pressures and temperatures.
Stability: Dwarf Husks receive a +4 racial bonus to their Combat Maneuver Defense when resisting a bull rush or trip attempt while standing on the ground.
Stonecunning: Dwarf Husks receive a +2 bonus on Perception checks to potentially notice unusual stonework, such as traps and hidden doors located in stone walls or floors. They receive a check to notice such features whenever they pass within 10 feet of them, whether or not they are actively looking.
Weapon Familiarity: Dwarf Husks are proficient with battleaxes, heavy picks, and warhammers, and treat any weapon with the word “dwarven” in its name as a martial weapon.
Languages: Dwarf Husks begin play speaking Common and Dwarven. Dwarf Husks with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Giant, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Terran, and Undercommon


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Feral Gnome Racial Traits
+2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma, -2 Strength: Feral Gnomes are furiously intelligent and have strong, boisterous personalities, but their bodies are diminutive.
Small: Feral Gnomes are Small creatures and gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a -1 penalty to their Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
Small Steps: Feral Gnomes have a base speed of 20 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Feral Gnomes can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Defensive Training: Feral Gnomes get a +4 dodge bonus to AC against monsters of the giant subtype.
Gnome Gadgetry: Feral Gnomes add +1 to the DC of any saving throws against illusion spells that they cast. Feral Gnomes with a Charisma of 11 or higher also gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day – dancing lights, ghost sound, prestidigitation, and flare. The caster level for these effects is equal to the gnome’s level. The DC for these spells is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the gnome’s Charisma modifier.
Sharp Teeth: Feral Gnomes can attempt to bite an enemy for 1d4 dmg, or use their sharp teeth to chew their way free from bondage.
Hatred: Feral Gnomes receive a +1 bonus on attack rolls against humanoid creatures of the reptilian and goblinoid subtypes due to special training against these hated foes.
Illusion Resistance: Feral Gnomes get a +2 saving throw bonus against illusion spells or effects.
Keen Senses: Feral Gnomes receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks.
Obsessive: Feral Gnomes receive a +2 racial bonus on a Craft or Profession skill of their choice.
Weapon Familiarity: Feral Gnomes treat any weapon with the word “gnomish” in its name as a martial weapon.

[lowlevelowl]

Thinking of not giving Fungal Dryads Common as a starting language, unless they have a high Intelligence score. Assume they can understand it, but can't directly speak it? Thoughts? I'm thinking of these Fungal Dryads as being more shambling mound-esque and less beautiful-woman-whos-actually-a-tree, by the way.

[Bowerbird]

I think I'll stick to magic is heavily stigmatized/rare. I figure that spellcasters were a big part of the Tyrant King's armies and any existing magic today would therefore have some kind of direct link to enforced spellcasting in the army that ruined the world, rendering you immediately powerful/immediately hated.

Yeah, I think that'd fit better. Maybe the Mad Tyrant burned all but the official books of spells, etc. During the war I assume he used his own spellcasters or bound demons, etc, to mess with the patron spirit powers of the various races? The best way to go about a low-magic world without limiting the PCs, in my opinion, is to have very few spellcaster NPCs and even fewer high level ones.


Dwarf Race Stats

Suggestions: replacing the racial traits instead of adding new ones. it looks like Dwarf Husks have everything normal Dwarves get and more. I would suggest maybe getting rid of Defensive Training or Hatred, replace Hardened with the same immunities Duergar get (Paralysis, Phantasms, Poison, and +2 Racial save vs spells and spell-like abilities), maybe increasing their Darkvision range. Also consider Light Sensitivity, if they've now become withered rotting things that shun the sunlight.


Gnome Race Stats

Suggestions: replace the +2 Charisma with +2 Dex, 300 years of living in fear of the roaming machines of your god tends to make you a little paranoid. Switch defensive training to Constructs. Is there much point to Hatred anymore? Maybe alter the Gnome Gadgetry trait to be mroe focused on gadgetry, at the moment it's just the usual illusion bonuses and spell-likes that gnome get. Perhaps a +2 to Craft checks (Tinkering), +2 to Will saves?


For the Dryads, I'd think giving them Sylvan and the ability to understand Common to start with, with Common as a Bonus Language for those with a positive int bonus. Only the clever ones have figured out how to articulate Common with their unusual physiology. Are you thinking of them as lumbering brutes trying to spread the mire in the most direct way possible, or something more cunning? Obviously I'd go with giving them some sort of charisma penalty.

How's that? Helpful at all?

[lowlevelowl]

Helping a lot! Did the Noble Trolls and Fungal Dryads now. They might be a little messy because there was a lot of guesswork plus I'm fairly exhausted, so I might've gotten sloppy. The fungal dryads have a lot of little nature tricks but I think it suits their nature. That, and they get to pick from three feats/abilities that I think should prove neat. I don't know about the trolls...I kind of fumbled my way through their Large bonuses/penalties, natural weapons, and regeneration.

I touched up the dwarves and gnomes as per your suggestions.

I think I'll let dryads keep Common just out of practicality. I envision them as a roughly human-shaped and sized bundle of various plants and fungi. Humanize them however you want, but they will not appear as beautiful fey-esque creatures.

Anyways, posting up what I did and bedding in for the night.


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Dwarf Husk Racial Traits
+2 Strength, +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma: Dwarf Husks retain their strength and wisdom, but their rotting bodies display their state of half-death.
Medium: Dwarf Husks are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Slow and Steady: Dwarf Husks have a base speed of 20 feet, but their speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance.
Darkvision: Dwarf Husks can see in the dark up to 80 feet.
Greed: Dwarf Husks receive a +2 racial bonus on Appraise skill checks made to determine the price of nonmagical goods that contain precious metals or gemstones.
Hatred: Dwarf Husks receive a +1 bonus on attack rolls against humanoid creatures of the orc and goblinoid subtypes due to special training against these hated foes.
Dwarf Husk Immunities: Dwarf Husks are immune to paralysis, phantasms, and poison. They also gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like abilities.
The Drowned: Dwarf Husks have no need to breathe, and can go far longer without rest, food, and water than living races. They are also immune to non-extreme water pressures and temperatures.
Light Sensitivity: Dwarf Husks are dazzled as long as they remain in an area of bright light.
Stability: Dwarf Husks receive a +4 racial bonus to their Combat Maneuver Defense when resisting a bull rush or trip attempt while standing on the ground.
Stonecunning: Dwarf Husks receive a +2 bonus on Perception checks to potentially notice unusual stonework, such as traps and hidden doors located in stone walls or floors. They receive a check to notice such features whenever they pass within 10 feet of them, whether or not they are actively looking.
Weapon Familiarity: Dwarf Husks are proficient with battleaxes, heavy picks, and warhammers, and treat any weapon with the word “dwarven” in its name as a martial weapon.
Languages: Dwarf Husks begin play speaking Common and Dwarven. Dwarf Husks with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Giant, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Terran, and Undercommon


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Feral Gnome Racial Traits
+2 Intelligence, +2 Dexterity, -2 Strength: Feral Gnomes are furiously intelligent and nimble light-fingered hands, but their bodies are diminutive.
Small: Feral Gnomes are Small creatures and gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a -1 penalty to their Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
Small Steps: Feral Gnomes have a base speed of 20 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Feral Gnomes can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Defensive Training: Feral Gnomes get a +4 dodge bonus to AC against monsters of the giant subtype.
Gnome Gadgetry: Feral Gnomes with an Intelligence of 11 or higher also gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day – dancing lights, ghost sound, prestidigitation, and flare. The caster level for these effects is equal to the gnome’s level. The DC for these spells is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the gnome’s Charisma modifier. They also receive a +2 racial bonus to Craft skill checks and a +2 racial to Will saves.
Sharp Teeth: Feral Gnomes have natural weapons in the form of their double-rows of sharp teeth and can attempt to bite an enemy for 1d4 dmg, or chew their way free from bondage.
Hatred: Feral Gnomes receive a +1 bonus on attack rolls against humanoid creatures of the reptilian and goblinoid subtypes due to special training against these hated foes.
Illusion Resistance: Feral Gnomes get a +2 saving throw bonus against illusion spells or effects.
Keen Senses: Feral Gnomes receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks.
Obsessive: Feral Gnomes receive a +2 racial bonus on a Craft or Profession skill of their choice.
Weapon Familiarity: Feral Gnomes treat any weapon with the word “gnomish” in its name as a martial weapon.
Languages: Feral Gnomes begin play speaking Common, Gnome, and Artifice. Feral Gnomes with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Draconic, Dwarven, Steel, Giant, Goblin, and Orc


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Fungal Dryad Racial Traits
+2 Dexterity, +2 Strength, -2 Constitution: Fungal Dryads are wiry and strong, though they lack true bulk and mass.
Medium: Fungal Dryads are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Fungal Dryads have a base speed of 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Fungal Dryads can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Communion with the Green: Fungal Dryads are instinctively attuned to the essence of nature. They gain a +2 bonus to Charisma-based checks with plants and animals and gain the following spell-like abilities: at will – detect animals or plants, speak with plants, 1/day – barkskin, blight, command plants, diminish plants, entangle, goodberry, plant growth, 1/week – commune with nature. The caster level for these effects is equal to the dryad’s level. The DC for these spells is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the dryad’s Charisma modifier.
Force of Nature: Fungal Dryads are allowed to select one of the following feats/abilities.

- Fungal Behemoth: You are able to draw up available vegetation into your body mass and increase your size and strength.
Benefit: As a full-round action, you may draw additional vegetable matter into yourself and increase your size, strength, and durability as if using an animal growth spell. At the beginning of each turn, you must succeed at a Fortitude save to maintain your increased size. The save DC is 10 if in forest or jungle and 15 if in a swamp or underground, and increases by 1 for each round that passes. If you fail the save, you collapse back to your normal size and are fatigued for 8 hours.
Special: You must be in forest, jungle, swamp, or underground terrain to use this feat. You cannot use this feat when you are fatigued or exhausted.

- Bloodthirsty Vines: Vines whip out of your body and constrict your opponent, forcing the air out of his lungs and leaving him helpless and gasping for breath.
Benefit: By making a successful grapple check, you are able to coil your natural weapons around an opponent’s throat (or other breathing apparatus), crushing the breath out of him. The opponent cannot hold his breath and must immediately begin making Constitution checks at the end of his turn each round, starting at DC 10 and increasing by 1 each round. Failure indicates he falls unconscious at 0 hit points. Once the opponent is unconscious, you may choose to either damage him (requiring a grapple check) or continue to suffocate him (no check required); if you maintain the chokehold, on your next turn he drops to -1 hit points and is dying. If you maintain the chokehold on the following turn, he suffocates and dies. Creatures that do not need to breathe are unaffected by this ability.

- Compressible Form (Ex): These dryads are difficult to harm with piercing or bludgeoning attacks, gaining DR 10/slashing and taking half damage from falls. A compressible fungal dryad also never suffers penalties for squeezing into a 5-foot-wide space, and gains a +10 racial bonus to Escape Artist checks (+10 for squeezing through a tight space).

Dryad Immunities: Fungal Dryads are immune to magic sleep effects and get a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells and effects. They also don’t breathe through conventional means and cannot be strangled or drowned.
Languages: Fungal Dryads begin play speaking Sylvan. Fungal Dryads with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Draconic, Giant, Goblin, Orc, and Druidic


------------------------

Noble Troll Racial Traits
+2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence: Noble Trolls are monstrously powerful and tough, but their brain is more taxed by their dense physiology.
Large: Noble Trolls are Large creatures and gain a -1 penalty to their AC, a -1 penalty on attack rolls, a +1 bonus to their Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense, and a -2 penalty on Stealth checks.
Normal Speed: Noble Trolls have a base speed of 30 feet.
Intimidating: Noble Trolls receive a +2 racial bonus on Intimidate skill checks due to their fearsome nature.
Troll Asceticism: Once per day, when a noble troll is brought below 0 hit points but not killed, he can fight on for one more round as if disabled. At the end of his next turn, unless brought to above 0 hit points, he immediately falls unconscious and begins dying.
Troll Blood: Noble Trolls have Regeneration (Ex): regeneration 1 (fire, acid). They also have multiple natural weapons: 2 claws (1d6+3), bite (1d8+3)
Weapon Familiarity: Noble Trolls are proficient with greataxes, falchions, and warhammers, and treat any weapon with the word “troll” in its name as a martial weapon.
Languages: Noble Trolls begin play speaking Common and Giant. Noble Trolls with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Goblin, Orc, Terran, and Draconic

[Bowerbird]

Glad to be of service :smallbiggrin: I've never done much homebrew before, but I've seen some good ones and some bad ones, so I hopefully know what I'm doing :smalleek:
Dwarves are looking good, only thing I'd suggest changing is bumping the Darkvision up to 90ft, as I've noticed that they seem to award it in 30ft increments.

Gnomes, I stil suggest switching their Defensive Training bonus from Giant over to Construct, seeing as how the remaining machines now tend to be their biggest enemy. Gnome gadgetry seems a little messy, but I think that can be chalked up to tiredness, hmm let's see..


Spell-Like Abilities: Feral Gnomes with an Intelligence of 11 or higher also gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day – dancing lights, ghost sound, prestidigitation, and flare. The caster level for these effects is equal to the gnome’s level. The DC for these spells is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the gnome’s Charisma modifier.

Gnome Gadgetry: Gnomes have a knack for creating potent magical gadgets, magic items created by Gnomes have +1 to the DC to defend against their effects.

Didn't notice it before, but they get +2 to one Craft from Obsessive, so adding another one is a little redundant. Not 100%

Perhaps replace Hatred with:

Survivor: Thanks to all the horrors suffered by their race, and the general bleakness of their current existence, Gnomes possess a strong mental fortitude, giving them +2 bonus to Will Saves.

Glad to be of help. I'll post my thoughts on the Dryad and Noble Trolls shortly.

EDIT: Oh, and were you planning on having normal kinds of trolls in the world in addition to the Noble Trolls? Perhaps other tribes that severed their connection to their Patron Spirit so as not to feel the shame and reverted?

[Bowerbird]

Alrighty, now Dryads. First thing I noticed is that you forgot to include Common anywhere in their Languages section, chalking that up to tiredness as well.
Their racials seem a little all over the place, could possibly be better formatted.
Commune with the Green seems to have an awful lot of powers in it, if you want to balance them out with the other races I'd suggest cutting some of them back. Likewise the Force of Nature abilities. I'm thinking those might better be served as seperate feats not given free. Might want to amend the Immunities section to:

Dryad Immunities: Fungal Dryads are immune to magic sleep effects, non-magical forms of suffocation, and get a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells and effects.
I'm waiting on borrowing a friend's book that has it's own take on playable Trol races before delving into the Noble Trolls. Sorry this post probably isn't much help. I'll keep thinking on the Dryad stats and see if I can make any suggestions.

[Morph Bark]

Playing D&D redbox (1st edition) would be paying homage to the origins of roleplaying. Or playing chianmail then D&D 1st ed. :smallwink:

Playing cops and robbers would be even more fitting. :smallwink:

[Rizeska]

I agree with Bowerbird that Communion W/The Green has a lot of powers, but they all fit... So maybe give an option like: You can use three (or four) of these, each only once, per day?
So I could cast Goodberry, Blight, and Command Plants, but then I wouldn't be able to use Barkskin.

Personally, I think Fungal Behemoth seems underpowered compared to the other two abilities. I mean, you have awesome strangling vines, sweet DR/escape artist abilities, and then you have a power that requires a constant check to use and leaves you fatigued. It's a cool idea, but I'd say either increase the power of the Fungal Behemoth feature, or lower the power of the other two. (Also also, do those vines count as natural weapons? That would be awesome x10.)

As for the Trolls, do you think they might be able to move faster with their longer limbs? I think maybe a speed of 35 or 40 ft?

[Bowerbird]

Alright, I do't have too much constructiveness to add at this stage, but my current thoughts are as follows:

Dryads
- As Rizeska suggested, Commune with Green is flavour appropriate, but gives a few too many powers IMO. Maybe you can have them added to the spell list of any spellcasting class they take? Or have them: You have 3 spell-likes per day chosen from this list?
- Force of Nature, personally I don't really like this one. Perhaps make the three abilities on the list feats with Fungal Dryad as the prerequisite and include them in some trees? Not sure what to give them instead, I'll post if I think of something. Also maybe make Compressible Form something scalable with your level.
- What type are you thinking of making them? Original Dryads are Fey, which gives them some inherant abilities as well, which you may want to look into.

Trolls (Operating under the assumption that Noble Trolls have become more humanoid than base trolls)
- Drop their size down to Medium, but give them the Powerful Build trait, much like Goliaths from Races of Stone.
- Not sure about Troll Asceticism, seems a bit weak... I'll post up any suggestions for modifications I think of.
- For the regeneration, maybe something along the lines of: So many times per day you can activate a regenerative surge by tapping into your inner reserves of strength.

I think that perhaps the best way of balancing a lot of the powers is to have them scale up with your level.

Some additional random thoughts:

The Steel Elves, by far my favourite, I think at base they should be like normal Elves but replace the natureyness with industrialness. Have the cyborg upgrade as an optional feat tree, starting with some extra feature, eventually making you a Construct with the Living Construct subtype before, finally becoming a true construct. Either a feat tree for their race, or a prestige class. Perhaps a mix of both.

[lowlevelowl]

Dryads
I'm not super sure on how the whole spellcasting/magic thing works in Pathfinder/D&D so far yet, so I didn't want to make anything too involved. I'll probably just limit the 1/days to any 3 in a 24-hour period. Force of Nature seemed a little clumsy to me too, but it's flavour-appropriate, and again I don't want to add it into trees as I'm still more than a little clumsy with the system. Also, I don't really like the whole concept of fey and will probably drop it from my world. I picture my world as a low-magic world, with the death/insanity of the gods reason for the banishment/superstition/dwindling magic in the world, and fairy-creatures walking about would probably diminish that feeling.

Trolls
Will probably take your advice and shrink them down to medium but give them a quality. Troll Asceticism is stolen directly from the half-orc's rage or whatever it's called. I thought it was a bit weak too, but I like the concept. How would I strengthen that? Your advice on the troll regeneration seems fair, but I wouldn't know how to add that in, rules-wise.

I like the idea of things scaling up with level, but again, wouldn't know how to implement that.

I was thinking the same thing on the topic of Steel Elves. I like the way tech-priests are treated in Dark Heresy. It's a little too complicated for me mechanically though. I've given the rule-book a brief read but its complexity dazzles me, and it seems to be fundamentally different from almost every other RPG I've played, in the way it's organized and everything. I've never played a class-based RPG before.

On the Once-Humans, I'll probably have to generate a list of different racial feats/traits they can pick. Do you think it'd be too free-form to let them just make something up themselves? Or maybe they'd just get to pick yet another feat, and justify it by some bodily mutation?

Will be back on Friday to comment some more, hopefully with some stats by then.

[Rizeska]

Magic's pretty simple. You have a casting time, which is covered in combat, and either you roll to overcome their AC, or your opponent makes a save, the DC of which is 10+the spell level+the caster's ability score modifier.

Hm, here are a few mutations off of the top of my head:

Acid blood:
Whenever an opponent pierces or slashes a once-human with acid blood, they take 1d? acid damage.

Gills:
This once-human can breathe underwater

Keen senses:
+? Bonus to perception checks OR Darkvision OR Blindsense 60ft

Claws/Horns/Tentacles/Hooves/Bite
Add a natural attack of your choice!

[Bowerbird]

Alrighty, I was bored tonight and went through and did my interpretation of each of the races. I think they're balanced, but by all means criticise away, I'll be checking with the more experienced members of my IRL group tomorrow:

Dwarf Husks

Dwarf Husk Racial Traits
+2 Strength, +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma: Dwarf Husks retain their strength and wisdom, but their rotting bodies display their state of half-death.
Medium: Dwarf Husks are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Slow and Steady: Dwarf Husks have a base speed of 20 feet, but their speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance.
Darkvision: Dwarf Husks can see in the dark up to 90 feet.
Greed: Dwarf Husks receive a +2 racial bonus on Appraise skill checks made to determine the price of nonmagical goods that contain precious metals or gemstones.
Hatred: Dwarf Husks receive a +1 bonus on attack rolls against humanoid creatures of the orc and goblinoid subtypes due to special training against these hated foes.
Dwarf Husk Immunities: Dwarf Husks are immune to paralysis, phantasms, and poison. They also gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like abilities.
The Drowned: Dwarf Husks have no need to breathe, and can go far longer without rest, food, and water than living races. They are also immune to non-extreme water pressures and temperatures.
Light Sensitivity: Dwarf Husks are dazzled as long as they remain in an area of bright light.
Stability: Dwarf Husks receive a +4 racial bonus to their Combat Maneuver Defense when resisting a bull rush or trip attempt while standing on the ground.
Stonecunning: Dwarf Husks receive a +2 bonus on Perception checks to potentially notice unusual stonework, such as traps and hidden doors located in stone walls or floors. They receive a check to notice such features whenever they pass within 10 feet of them, whether or not they are actively looking.
Weapon Familiarity: Dwarf Husks are proficient with battle-axes, heavy picks, and war-hammers, and treat any weapon with the word “dwarven” in its name as a martial weapon.
Languages: Dwarf Husks begin play speaking Common and Dwarven. Dwarf Husks with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Giant, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Terran, and Undercommon

Notes: Bumped Darkvision up to 90ft. Thinking of just dropping Hatred, doesn't seem thematically appropriate anymore, and I'm concerned they may have a bit much.


Feral Gnomes

Feral Gnome Racial Traits
+2 Intelligence, +2 Dexterity, -2 Strength: Feral Gnomes are furiously intelligent and nimble light-fingered hands, but their bodies are diminutive.
Small: Feral Gnomes are Small creatures and gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a -1 penalty to their Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
Small Steps: Feral Gnomes have a base speed of 20 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Feral Gnomes can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Defensive Training: Feral Gnomes get a +4 dodge bonus to AC against monsters of the construct subtype.
Spell-Like Abilities: Feral Gnomes with an Intelligence of 11 or higher also gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day – dancing lights, ghost sound, prestidigitation, and flare. The caster level for these effects is equal to the gnome’s level. The DC for these spells is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the gnome’s Charisma modifier.
Gnome Gadgetry: Gnomes have a knack for creating potent magical gadgets, magic items created by Gnomes have +1 to the DC to defend against their effects.
Sharp Teeth: Feral Gnomes have natural weapons in the form of their double-rows of sharp teeth and can attempt to bite an enemy for 1d4 dmg, or chew their way free from bondage.
Survivor: Thanks to all the horrors suffered by their race, and the general bleakness of their current existence, Gnomes possess a strong mental fortitude, giving them +2 bonus to Will Saves.
Illusion Resistance: Feral Gnomes get a +2 saving throw bonus against illusion spells or effects.
Keen Senses: Feral Gnomes receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks.
Obsessive: Feral Gnomes receive a +2 racial bonus on a Craft or Profession skill of their choice.
Weapon Familiarity: Feral Gnomes treat any weapon with the word “gnomish” in its name as a martial weapon.
Languages: Feral Gnomes begin play speaking Common and Gnome. Feral Gnomes with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Artifice, Draconic, Dwarven, Steel, Giant, Goblin, and Orc

Notes: Changed Defensive Training bonus to Constructs, added in the traits I suggested earlier, switched Artifice from an automatic language to a bonus language.


Fungal Dryads

Fungal Dryad Racial Traits
+2 Dexterity, +2 Strength, -2 Constitution: Fungal Dryads are wiry and strong, though they lack true bulk and mass.
Medium: Fungal Dryads are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Fungal Dryads have a base speed of 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Fungal Dryads can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Fungal Anatomy: Due to their unusual physiology, Fungal Dryads are immune to spells that specify Humanoid as the target, however they are susceptible to spells that target Plants.
Communion with the Green: Fungal Dryads are instinctively attuned to the essence of nature. They gain a +2 bonus to Charisma-based checks with plants and animals and gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day – entangle, goodberry, detect animals or plants. The caster level for these effects is equal to the dryad’s level. The DC for these spells is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the dryad’s Charisma modifier.
Force of Nature: Fungal Dryads can extend tentacle-like vines from their body, giving them an extra 5ft of reach when making CMB checks to grapple an opponent.
Dryad Immunities: Fungal Dryads are immune to magic sleep effects, non-magical forms of suffocation, and get a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells and effects.
Languages: Fungal Dryads begin play speaking Sylvan and Common. Fungal Dryads with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Draconic, Giant, Goblin, and Orc

Notes: As it was written, Communion with the Green was really far to powerful for a starting racial. Any spell-like abilities should optimally be 0 or 1st level for balance purposes. Scratched the old version of Force of Nature, it seemed too unwieldy, and in places a little overpowered. I'll write them up as feats a bit later. Let me know what you think of the new one. Added Common to their starting languages. They may seem to have less racial abilities, but spell-like abilities are fairly powerful racials, when you consider that gives a first level Fungal Dryad the same amount of 1st level spells as a level 1 sorceror. They may need a bit more, suggestions welcome.


Noble Trolls

Noble Troll Racial Traits
+2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence: Noble Trolls are monstrously powerful and tough, but their brain is more taxed by their dense physiology.
Medium: Noble Trolls are are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Noble Trolls have a base speed of 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Noble Trolls can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Powerful Build: The physical stature of a Noble Troll lets him function in many ways as if he were one size category larger. Whenever a Noble Troll is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as during grapple checks, bull rush attempts, and trip attempts), the Noble Troll is treated as one size larger if doing so is advantageous to him. A Noble Troll is also considered to be one size larger when determining whether a creature’s special attacks based on size (such as improved grab or swallow whole) can affect him. A Noble Troll can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty. However, his space and reach remain those of a creature of his actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject’s size category.
Intimidating: Noble Trolls receive a +2 racial bonus on Intimidate skill checks due to their fearsome nature.
Troll Asceticism: When a noble troll's hit points are below 50% they gain a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls.
Troll Blood (Ex): Once per day Noble Trolls can tap into the primal power of their brutish ancestry to gain access to the healing power of their blood. This surge gives them +2 Strength, and Regeneration (fire, acid) equal to their Constitution modifier, entering this surge is a swift action and lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the Troll's Constitution modifier.
Weapon Familiarity: Noble Trolls are proficient with greataxes, falchions, and warhammers, and treat any weapon with the word “troll” in its name as a martial weapon.
Languages: Noble Trolls begin play speaking Common and Giant. Noble Trolls with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Goblin, Orc, Terran, and Draconic

Notes: Dropped their size down to mediuma nd gave them the Powerful build trait. Redid Troll Asceticism and Troll Blood, let me know what you think. The reason I didn't give them Regen constantly is then they are nearly impossible to kill. Unless you kill them with Fire or Acid they will always get back up again. Troll Blood as it is now will enable a heavily wounded troll to activate his healing surge to try and escape death.


Once-Humans

Once-Human Racial Traits
+2 to any One Ability Score: Despite the mutations that riddle their bodies, Once-Humans retain the versatility of true humans.
Medium: Once-Humans are are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Once-Humans have a base speed of 30ft
Dark Twist: All Once-Humans possess a mutation of some kind, choose one of the following traits:

- Acid Blood: You possess highly acidic blood. Whenever an opponent damages you with a natural weapon that deals Piercing or Slashing damage, they must make a reflex save (DC 10 + you Constitution modifier) or take 1d6 points of Acid damage.
- Keen Senses: You have unusually configured or enlarged sensory organs, you gain +2 to Perception.
- Flexible Limbs: Your limbs are unusually flexible, gain +2 to CMB for making Grapple checks.
- Slimy Skin: Your skin exudes a kind of lubricative oil, gain +4 to Escape Artist.
- Sticky Fingers: You have sticky pads or tiny grasping hooks on your hands, giving you +3 to Climb checks.
- Tail: You possess a non-prehensile tail, granting you +4 to Acrobatics checks to keep your balance.
- Webbed Hands: You possess webbed hands, giving you +4 to Swim checks.

Skilled: Once-Humans gain an additional skill rank at first level and one additional rank whenever they gain a level.
Languages: Once-Humans begin play speaking Common. Once-Humans with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages, such as Druidic).

Notes: I basically just gave them the same stats as regular humans, except with some kind of minor mutation instead of the bonus feat. I modelled the majority of the effects after the Aberrant Blood feat in Lords of Madness (D&D 3.5). Additional Dark Twists are welcomed, though none should be more powerful than any other.


Steel Elves

Steel Elf Racial Traits
+2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Constitution: Steel Elves are nimble, both in mind and body, but their form is frail.
Medium: Steel Elves are are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Steel Elves have a base speed of 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Steel Elves can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Mind of Steel: Steel Elves are immune to magic sleep effects and get a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells and effects.
Forge of Industry: Steel Elves receive a +1 bonus to their Caster Level for the purposes of creating magical items. In addition, Steel Elves receive a +2 racial bonus on Spellcraft skill checks made to identify the properties of magic items.
Steel Affinity: Steel Elves receive a +2 racial bonus on Craft (Mechanical) skill checks.
Weapon Familiarity: Steel Elves are proficient with all pistols (including double-barrelled pistols) muskets (including double-barrelled muskets), longswords, and rapiers, and treat any weapon with the word “elven” in it's name as a martial weapon.
Languages: Steel Elves begin play speaking Common and Steel. Steel Elves with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Artifice, Celestial, Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Sylvan.

Notes: Basically modelled them after normal elves. Tempted to switch their penalty from Constitution to Charisma. Replaced their bow proficiencies with proficiency in firearms, which admittedly I'm taking liberties with. Firearms can be found in Pathfinder: Tome of Secrets. They're listed as simple, but I've always thought they should be Martial. Let me know what you think.


I'm really enjoying the challenge of balancing these :smallcool: If you approve of the stats I'll post up some feats I've been thinking of. Hope you like :smallsmile:

[Bowerbird]

Ok, some changes I think are needed to the stats I posted last night:

Dwarf Husks: Either remove Hatred, or switch the bonus onto Once-Humans.

Fungal Dryads: Remove Goodberry from the list of spell-like abilities.

Noble Trolls: Remove the +2 Strength on Troll Blood.

Steel Elves: Change the -2 Constitution to -2 Charisma.

Let me know what you think of the races, I think with those changes they should be fairly balanced, but the ultimate decision lies with you, and whether you think they fit your theme. I plan to do up either a series of feats or a short class/prestige class to give the Steel Elves their mechanisation. Also some feats to expand upon Noble Trolls, Fungal Dryads, and Once Humans. Provided the stats fit your ideas.

[lowlevelowl]

OOPS, wrong thread. See the next post for what I meant to post.

[lowlevelowl]

Stats provided courtesy of Bowerbird, without who's help this campaign world would not have been realized.

Dwarf Husks
Dwarf Husk Racial Traits
+2 Strength, +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma: Dwarf Husks retain their strength and wisdom, but their rotting bodies show off their grotesque state of half-death.
Medium: Dwarf Husks are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Slow and Steady: Dwarf Husks have a base speed of 20 feet, but their speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance.
Darkvision: Dwarf Husks can see in the dark up to 90 feet.
Greed: Dwarf Husks receive a +2 racial bonus on Appraise skill checks made to determine the price of nonmagical goods that contain precious metals or gemstones.
Dwarf Husk Immunities: Dwarf Husks are immune to paralysis, phantasms, and poison. They also gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like abilities.
The Drowned: Dwarf Husks have no need to breathe, and can go far longer without rest, food, and water than living races. They are also immune to non-extreme water pressures and temperatures.
Light Sensitivity: Dwarf Husks are dazzled as long as they remain in an area of bright light.
Stability: Dwarf Husks receive a +4 racial bonus to their Combat Maneuver Defense when resisting a bull rush or trip attempt while standing on the ground.
Stonecunning: Dwarf Husks receive a +2 bonus on Perception checks to potentially notice unusual stonework, such as traps and hidden doors located in stone walls or floors. They receive a check to notice such features whenever they pass within 10 feet of them, whether or not they are actively looking.
Weapon Familiarity: Dwarf Husks are proficient with battle-axes, heavy picks, and war-hammers, and treat any weapon with the word “dwarven” in its name as a martial weapon.
Languages: Dwarf Husks begin play speaking Common and Dwarven. Dwarf Husks with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Giant, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Terran, and Undercommon

Feral Gnomes
Feral Gnome Racial Traits
+2 Intelligence, +2 Dexterity, -2 Strength: Feral Gnomes are furiously intelligent and possess nimble light-fingered hands, but their bodies are diminutive.
Small: Feral Gnomes are Small creatures and gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a -1 penalty to their Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
Small Steps: Feral Gnomes have a base speed of 20 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Feral Gnomes can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Defensive Training: Feral Gnomes get a +4 dodge bonus to AC against monsters of the construct subtype.
Spell-Like Abilities: Feral Gnomes with an Intelligence of 11 or higher also gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day – dancing lights, ghost sound, prestidigitation, and flare. The caster level for these effects is equal to the gnome’s level. The DC for these spells is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the gnome’s Charisma modifier.
Gnome Gadgetry: Gnomes have a knack for creating potent magical gadgets, magic items created by Gnomes have +1 to the DC to defend against their effects.
Sharp Teeth: Feral Gnomes have natural weapons in the form of their double-rows of sharp teeth and can attempt to bite an enemy for 1d4 dmg, or chew their way free from bondage.
Survivor: Thanks to all the horrors suffered by their race, and the general bleakness of their current existence, Gnomes possess a strong mental fortitude, giving them +2 bonus to Will Saves.
Illusion Resistance: Feral Gnomes get a +2 saving throw bonus against illusion spells or effects.
Keen Senses: Feral Gnomes receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks.
Obsessive: Feral Gnomes receive a +2 racial bonus on a Craft or Profession skill of their choice.
Weapon Familiarity: Feral Gnomes treat any weapon with the word “gnomish” in its name as a martial weapon.
Languages: Feral Gnomes begin play speaking Common and Gnome. Feral Gnomes with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Artifice, Draconic, Dwarven, Steel, Giant, Goblin, and Orc

Fungal Dryads
Fungal Dryad Racial Traits
+2 Dexterity, +2 Strength, -2 Constitution: Fungal Dryads are wiry and strong, though they lack true bulk and mass.
Medium: Fungal Dryads are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Fungal Dryads have a base speed of 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Fungal Dryads can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Fungal Anatomy: Due to their unusual physiology, Fungal Dryads are immune to spells that specify Humanoid as the target, however they are susceptible to spells that target Plants.
Communion with the Green: Fungal Dryads are instinctively attuned to the essence of nature. They gain a +2 bonus to Charisma-based checks with plants and animals and gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day – entangle, detect animals or plants, speak with plants. The caster level for these effects is equal to the dryad’s level. The DC for these spells is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the dryad’s Charisma modifier.
Force of Nature: Fungal Dryads can extend tentacle-like vines from their body, giving them an extra 5ft of reach when making CMB checks to grapple an opponent.
Dryad Immunities: Fungal Dryads are immune to magic sleep effects, non-magical forms of suffocation, and get a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells and effects.
Languages: Fungal Dryads begin play speaking Sylvan and Common. Fungal Dryads with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Draconic, Druidic, Giant, Goblin, and Orc

Noble Trolls
Noble Troll Racial Traits
+2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence: Noble Trolls are monstrously powerful and tough, but their brain is more taxed by their dense physiology.
Medium: Noble Trolls are are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Noble Trolls have a base speed of 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Noble Trolls can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Powerful Build: The physical stature of a Noble Troll lets him function in many ways as if he were one size category larger. Whenever a Noble Troll is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as during grapple checks, bull rush attempts, and trip attempts), the Noble Troll is treated as one size larger if doing so is advantageous to him. A Noble Troll is also considered to be one size larger when determining whether a creature’s special attacks based on size (such as improved grab or swallow whole) can affect him. A Noble Troll can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty. However, his space and reach remain those of a creature of his actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject’s size category.
Intimidating: Noble Trolls receive a +2 racial bonus on Intimidate skill checks due to their fearsome nature.
Troll Asceticism: When a noble troll's hit points are below 50% they gain a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls.
Troll Blood (Ex): Once per day Noble Trolls can tap into the primal power of their brutish ancestry to gain access to the healing power of their blood. This surge gives them Regeneration (fire, acid) equal to their Constitution modifier. Entering this surge is a swift action and lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the Troll's Constitution modifier.
Weapon Familiarity: Noble Trolls are proficient with greataxes, falchions, and warhammers, and treat any weapon with the word “troll” in its name as a martial weapon.
Languages: Noble Trolls begin play speaking Common and Giant. Noble Trolls with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Goblin, Orc, Terran, and Draconic

Once-Humans
Once-Human Racial Traits
+2 to any One Ability Score: Despite the mutations that riddle their bodies, Once-Humans retain or even surpass the versatility of true humans.
Medium: Once-Humans are are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Once-Humans have a base speed of 30 feet.
Twisted Ancestry: All Once-Humans possess a mutation of some kind, choose one of the following traits or create your own, along the same lines. Must be approved by the GM before play starts.

- Acid Blood: You possess highly acidic blood. Whenever an opponent damages you with a natural weapon that deals Piercing or Slashing damage, they must make a reflex save (DC 10 + you Constitution modifier) or take 1d6 points of Acid damage.
- Keen Senses: You have unusually configured or enlarged sensory organs, you gain +2 to Perception.
- Nocturnal: You have Darkvision for 60 feet and possess unusual sleeping patterns.
- Flexible Limbs: Your limbs are unusually flexible, gain +2 to CMB for making Grapple checks.
- Slimy Skin: Your skin exudes a kind of lubricative oil, gain +4 to Escape Artist.
- Sticky Fingers: You have sticky pads or tiny grasping hooks on your hands, giving you +3 to Climb checks.
- Tail: You possess a non-prehensile tail, granting you +4 to Acrobatics checks to keep your balance.
- Webbed Hands: You possess webbed hands, giving you +4 to Swim checks.

Skilled: Once-Humans gain an additional skill rank at first level and one additional rank whenever they gain a level.
Languages: Once-Humans begin play speaking Common. Once-Humans with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages, such as Druidic)

Steel Elves
Steel Elf Racial Traits
+2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma: Steel Elves are nimble, both in mind and body, but their reliance on industrialization has alienated them from society.
Medium: Steel Elves are are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Steel Elves have a base speed of 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Steel Elves can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Mind of Steel: Steel Elves are immune to magic sleep effects and get a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells and effects.
Forge of Industry: Steel Elves receive a +1 bonus to their Caster Level for the purposes of creating magical items. In addition, Steel Elves receive a +2 racial bonus on Spellcraft skill checks made to identify the properties of magic items.
Steel Affinity: Steel Elves receive a +2 racial bonus on Craft (Mechanical) skill checks.
Weapon Familiarity: Steel Elves are proficient with all firearms, longswords, and rapiers, and treat any weapon with the word “elven” in it's name as a martial weapon.
Languages: Steel Elves begin play speaking Common and Steel. Steel Elves with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Artifice, Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Druidic

Made your changes and posted them up in the recruitment thread so character creation could finally commence. Got a lot of interest in the setting, there'll probably be multiple player-groups playing at once in the same setting. Should be interesting to say the least.

Thank you indescribably for your efforts...couldn't have done this without you. I think after a little bit of gameplay I'll be able to create some racial feats that should brighten things up.

Some things...you don't think acid blood is too powerful for the once-humans? And +4 on a skill check? Fungal dryads seem a touch weak to me...the extra reach won't help all classes and the spells are minorly useful. I would like to add natural weapons to the trolls and perhaps the dryads, and make it open as a mutation option for the humans as well. Hell, even the elves if they mechanized their body in that matter.

I like the idea of fire-arms, but since I don't own that setting I'm making them significantly rarer. They exist, but it's mostly an artisan craft with two small followings, amongst the gnomes and amongst the elves. I figure this could work something like the opposing gnomish/goblin engineering schools in Warcraft. Gnomes I figure would go for big booms while elves would be more precise.

[Bowerbird]

Cool, thanks, glad to be of service :smallsmile: Though I'm pretty sure the Druidic language in Pathfinder and D&D is a magical language, that druids and only druids can speak. That said, if someone were to create a Dryad Druid, they would get Druidic (it's built into the class), but a Dryad Fighter shouldn't be able to get it. I will caution you about the Speak With Plants thing, as it's not a first level spell, however I don't think it's too powerful a spell, so I suppose it could work.
Oh yes, I meant to add, maybe make Acid Blood 1d4 instead of 1d6. The rest I took directly from a D&D 3.5 feat (Aberration Blood).
I too think Trolls should get natural weapons, but I think for balances sake they'd best be handled as feats. I'm thinking a feat to give them more uses of Trolls Blood, and a feat that gives them natural weapons while surging.
As for firearms, I can post the stats of them here if you like, I think they're also in the SRD. There's also stats for a Dwarven Revolver somewhere, which I thought would suit the Steel Elves.
I'll try and post a few feats for you, if you like. Help get the ball rolling for your game.:smallsmile:

[Bowerbird]

Something you may find helpful for divine classes: In Eberron, Cleric's, etc don't necessarily need a god, they can worship an idea, all they need is something to believe in, and that gives them power. So in your setting, something similar may be in order as most of the old gods are either dead or have gone mad.

[Rizeska]

One thing: If I were to use those vines as natural weapons, how much damage do you think they would do? 1d3, 1d4?

[Bowerbird]

Hmm, I would say 1d3 if any, that's how much damage a base unarmed strike is, since the vines aren't really designed for striking. I will, however, attempt to give you a feat to improve that.

[Bowerbird]

Alright, I think the easiest way to deal with Once-Human mutations is to add the following note to the Dark Twist racial feature:

Note: Dark Twist counts as the feat Aberration Blood (D&D 3.5: Lords of Madness) for the purposes of feat and class prerequisites.

[Bowerbird]

Note: The following feats are the first draft of a Work in Progress and may be subject to rewrites.


Whipping Vines [Racial]
Your fungal vines are stronger and capable of making whip-like attacks on enemies.
Prerequisite: Fungal Dryad
Benefit: You gain two vine natural attacks that each deal 1d4 plus your Strength modifier. The vine attacks are treated as Primary weapons. You can attack with weapons and also make vine attacks, but your vine attacks are treated as secondary weapons. The attacks are made with a -5 penalty on the attack roll and you add only 1/2 your Strength bonus to the damage roll.
You gain a +2 racial bonus on grapple checks.
Note: The above feat is a slight modification of the Deepspawn feat (Lords of Madness.)


Bloodthirsty Vines [Racial]
Your vines can whip out of your body and constrict your opponent, forcing the air out of his lungs and leaving him helpless and gasping for breath.
Prerequisite: Whipping Vines
Benefit: After successfully establishing a Pin you may make an additional CMB check to strangle your opponent. If you succeed your opponent must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + your Strength bonus) each round or be unable to hold his breath and immediately begins to suffocate, your victim may attempt opposed CMB checks to wrench himself free of the Pin. Creatures that do not need to breathe are unaffected by this ability.


Wow this is harder than I thought.. will post more when I can. Hope this helps for your character Rizeska :smallwink: pending lowlevelowl's approval of course.

[lowlevelowl]

Those look good to me! A little on the niche side, but being able to strangle someone at will would make a hell of a fungal dryad assassin, or even a surprisingly lethal caster of some sort.

I redid the Twisted Ancestry trait a touch, following your suggestions and after looking at Aberration Blood.


Twisted Ancestry: All Once-Humans possess a physical mutation of some kind, boosting one of the following skill checks. You must pick one out of the following list, though you may rename it as you please. This feat can be picked multiple times at character creation.

- Aberrant Senses: You have unusually configured or enlarged sensory organs, gaining you +2 to Perception.
- Twisted Limbs: Your limbs are unusually flexible, gaining you +2 to CMB for making Grapple checks.
- Slimy Skin: Your skin exudes a kind of lubricative oil, gaining you +4 to Escape Artist.
- Sticky Fingers: You have sticky pads or tiny grasping hooks on your hands, giving you +3 to Climb checks.
- Balanced Spine: You possess a strangely weighted bone structure, granting you +4 to Acrobatics checks to keep your balance.
- Webbed Hands: You possess webbed hands, giving you +4 to Swim checks.

As for the Druidic thing - I really didn't like D&D's system of different planes/dimensions and having lots of characters from them, so in this setting, archons, demons, and fey and the like are all something between extinct and a fairy-tale. Druidic, in my setting, is the secret language and druids and those close to the earth. Someone who understands Druidic can look at a patch of forest and see if any notes have been left there, something similar to the hobo-language of dense slum cities. Essentially, it replaces Sylvan, which no longer exists. Neither does Celestial, Infernal, or Abyssal.

[Bowerbird]

Looks good, might want to make it more clear that it's a feat. Can it be taken after first level? If not there's usually a note under the feat. The vines thing was me trying to convert at least one of your old dryad racial features into feats.
As for the planar thing, there's a lot of ways that can be handled. You've mentioned things like the lord of demons, the demon who "saved" the Dwarves, and the various gods and patron spirits. All these had to come from somewhere, and it's a little hard to believe they've all disappeared. The majority of the gods have died or gone insane, but where are the insane ones? Also, if you're worried about the fey, a great number of them would certainly fit. The thing to remember is that the characters all come from the Material plane, which is where the majority of this stuff happened. Usually you have demons/devils having their own plane(s) to live in, likewise the gods. These planes usually don't come into the game unless the GM wants to introduce something specific, or with high level magic.
Now, my line of thought would be that, if the gods did live somewhere when they weren't manifest on the material plane, by now it would be as barren as the Material world, possibly more so. Demons and Devils (The distinction being Demons are the crazy, chaotic kindof evil, whereas Devils are the ones that tempt and trick.) would likely be thriving in this time of strife. The fey, usually divided into Seele (The nicer ones) and Unseele (The nasty ones people tell stories about to scare children), I would assume that a lot of the nice ones would have been destroyed or corrupted along with the soul of the world, as if anything they would be representative of it. Now in Warhammer pretty much all this would be happning in the Warp, but D&D gives each branch of extraplanars their own realm. However, everything is tied to the physical realm.

Sylvan is generally the language of the Fey, whereas Druidic is the secret language only spoken by druids.

Now, of course it is your setting, and free to change whatever you like, but the less of the fundamentals you change, the less work involved for you.

[lowlevelowl]

Thanks for the explanation, that clears some things up. I think I'll keep it ambiguous, and stay clear of it until we cross that road.

I'm trying to make a Dwarf Husk Cleric to understand the system better, and am just totally confused with the whole Pathfinder/3.5 spell system. So I get a certain amount of spells each day, which I have to prepare ahead of time? And can I choose those from any on my class spell list, or did I have to know them somehow ahead of time? So a first level cleric can only cast 2 1st level spells once a day, and infinite 0 level spells, as long as they are spells he prepared ahead of time? God, this is dense stuff. D20 seems like a very inferior system right now, made for mathematicians and the insane. That's probably just me frustrated with myself for being unable to make a character.

Also, there's clearly not enough room on a character sheet to write down all of a character's racial abilities and his class abilities, let alone the feats and such that he'll gain in the future. Are you just supposed to remember the race/class abilities? Also, I can't tell if some things are supposed to be a spell or an ability. If they have Su, Ex, or Sp after them I suppose they are an ability? Like a cleric's Channel Energy? Can abilities be used infinite times every day?

[Bowerbird]

Alright, the thing to remember is spellcasting works differently for different class. All of them get a certain amount of spells per day, the spells they can choose from depends on their class. All classes have a general list of spells.

Clerics at the start of each day spend an hour in prayer preparing their spells, and these spells can be any from the cleric spell list. If they want to cast a spell more than opnce they prepare it multiple times. Once the spell is cast, barring maybe feats or special abilities, it is lost.
Wizards learn spells from their spell list, either by levelling up, or by reverse-engineering scrolls, have to spend an hour each day studying their spellbook and choosing which spells they think they'll need for the day.
Sorcerors learn spells from their spell list as they level up, but they don't need to prepare them, they cast spontaneously, meaning they don't need to choose them ahead of time, however they can still only do this so many times per day.

Now, assuming you're building a first level cleric. According to their class they'd get the following Class Abilities: Aura, Channel Energy (1d6), Domains, and orisons.
The important thing there is Domains. All clerics have domains, which represent what they're a cleric of. If you're a cleric of a Lawful Good God of battle you might choose Lawful and War, or Good and War, etc.
These domains give you special abilities as well as a small sub-list of spells. To use an example let's say you took the Lawful and War domains. They would grant you the following special abilities: Touch of Law and Battle Rage, these abilities and what they do are described under their entries in the book.
These domains also give you small lists of spells. Now, you may have noticed that the entry for your first level spells per day is 1 + 1. The reason for the +1 is that you get 1 spell from your cleric spell list, and 1 spell from one of your domain lists, of the appropriate level.

0 level spells, at first level you get 3. Meaning you prepare three 0 level spells from the list when you do your prayers, and you can cast each of them as many times as you want.

A potentially more concise summary of things is in the cleric section under Spells.

Now as for character sheets, the default ones can be a little cramped, try searching around for a fan-made one, they can often fit better.
As for your ability question, the suffices (Su), (Sp), and (Ex) help you learn what sort of ability it is.
- (Ex) means that it's an Extraordinary ability, meaning that it doesn't require magic, it's some natural property of the creature.
- (Sp) Means that it's a Spell-like ability, and follows many of the same rules as casting a spell.
- (Su) is somewhere in-between. it means that the ability is Supernatural, which means it's not exactly natural, but not exactly a spell-like ability either. The details can be found on page 555 of the Pathfinder Core Rulebook.

Unless it says otherwise then the ability can be used as many times as you want, however they usually state it specifically, unless it's a passive ability like Regeneration. For example, your Channel Energy it says that "a Cleric may channel energy a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier."

Did any of that help at all, or did I just make things worse? It takes a little bit of getting used to, but it's a fun system once you figure it out. I made so many mistakes when I was first starting out. The best way I found to learn was to build a few characters and ask a lot of questions.

[Bowerbird]

Oh, and if you'd like I can join one of your games to help you out with any rules questions etc. Been tempted to construct my own character to see how the races balance out.

[lowlevelowl]

That cleared a lot of it up. Thanks for bearing with me, I know I must seem juvenile in my understanding of this system.

How does preparing spells work then? At the start of a game day, you just go, hey, these are the spells I prepared, let's have at it? And what's the point of writing down spells on a character sheet if what you can do changes every day? And why would anyone be a wizard over a sorcerer if sorcerers don't need to prepare their spells?

Trying to build a 1st-level cleric named Matus Lubomir. I figured he would be a cleric of die Uls-Waldhar (the All-Father), which was the dwarves' patron spirit. I figured that dead gods would have clerics of every alignment all championing their cause and their twisted memory of the god, so there'd be no alignment to stick to, since the god himself/itself is dead. As for domains, clerics of dead gods could pick any they wanted, since again, they are just championing their personal views/memories of this deceased god.

In any case, Matus Lubomir is a chaotic good cleric whose domains are Leadership, a subdomain of Nobility, and Repose. I'm using Neceros' Modified Character Sheet (http://www.pathfinderdb.com/character-sheets). I've generated his ability scores, added in his racial and class traits, and am now supposed to be picking his skills, but I still don't understand what specifically I have to do after I've picked a class.

He's got his languages plus an extra for his intelligence modifier.
He's got his class' base saves. What's the BAB and Skills column in the Class Recorder section? When do we generate HP, and why haven't we done it yet? (I see that you're supposed to generate it later, but why not now? Also, I have a vague grasp on this whole hit-die concept, but it still seems strange to me.)
I've checked off his class skills. Again, a little fuzzy on the skills. The end skill modifier is composed of three things - ranks, ability, and trained? Ability is your ability score modifier, I get that. What's the difference between ranks and trained? Ranks is what you add to it when you level up/during character creation, I wager. What makes class skills relevant to your class, and are they easier to learn? I guess you just make up your own class and profession specialties?

And the whole Ability DCs section is just alien to me. What's the class bonus, what's the ability bonus, and what's the blank box to the right of those? And what's Total Known? I get the sense that this is where I write down how many spells I can cast per day.

What are the three boxes beside the ability score that say Inherent, Enhance, and Misc?

Okay, I've asked enough questions for a god to answer. I don't expect you to answer them all, if any, and I'm sure after some rereading I'll discover the answers myself. Thanks for what you can muster. :smallwink:

[Bowerbird]

OK, I'll answer those point by point:


How does preparing spells work then? At the start of a game day, you just go, hey, these are the spells I prepared, let's have at it?
Pretty much, yeah. It usually takes an hour of in-game time, which can be important.


And what's the point of writing down spells on a character sheet if what you can do changes every day?
Some game days can take a while to get through, it helps to keep a list of the spells you have prepared at the moment.. It's often best IRL to do this in pencil so that you can change them if you need to.


And why would anyone be a wizard over a sorcerer if sorcerers don't need to prepare their spells?
A common question. While a sorceror has the advantage of being able to cast spells on the fly, a Wizard gets a lot more spells to choose from, especially since he can learn new ones from scrolls, which a sorceror can't. I believe the wizard has the ability to memorise his spells a bit at a time, meaning he can add new ones with a little preparation. Also the wizard gets higher level spells faster.


Trying to build a 1st-level cleric named Matus Lubomir. I figured he would be a cleric of die Uls-Waldhar (the All-Father), which was the dwarves' patron spirit. I figured that dead gods would have clerics of every alignment all championing their cause and their twisted memory of the god, so there'd be no alignment to stick to, since the god himself/itself is dead. As for domains, clerics of dead gods could pick any they wanted, since again, they are just championing their personal views/memories of this deceased god.
Sounds good, clerics and churches basing their ideals off what they interpret their god to be.


What's the BAB and Skills column in the Class Recorder section?
Ah, I've seen that sheet before, it's pretty good. I believe that's just to keep track of any multiclassing you do. Not that important at this stage, but later on if you say, multiclassed into Fighter after 3 levels of cleric you'd put how many skill points and BAB you got as a cleric, and how many you got as a Fighter.


When do we generate HP, and why haven't we done it yet? (I see that you're supposed to generate it later, but why not now? Also, I have a vague grasp on this whole hit-die concept, but it still seems strange to me.)
Ok, generally you generate HP once per level. I've never had it come up as to what order to do it in, so at any point during character creation is fine. When you level up you roll your Hit Dice, as determined by your class, except first level where you get maximum.
Hit dice, is once again based off your character's class. It determines how much of a hit you can take, hence Wizards having a smaller Hit Dice than a Fighter, as the Fighter is more used to getting hit. It's like in Warhammer, some careers get more points to add to their Wounds.


Skills
Ok, your ability modifier is how good you are with that ability, your ranks represents the effort you've put into learning the skill, and the bonus you get from Trained only applies if the skill is a class skill. Hence a Wizard with 4 ranks in Spellcraft will have a higher spellcraft score than a fighter with the same intelligence and skill ranks. You get a number of skill ranks per level, you can use these to raise the ranks of any skill on the list. If you have at least one rank in a class skill then you get a +3 bonus for being trained.


And the whole Ability DCs section is just alien to me. What's the class bonus, what's the ability bonus, and what's the blank box to the right of those? And what's Total Known? I get the sense that this is where I write down how many spells I can cast per day.
Ah yes, you would be correct. Having not used the sheet yet myself I had to have a look and see what you meant. It looks like that's where you put the DCs for your spells, which is usually the same as other spells of that level. Class bonus looks like it's where you write down how many spells per day your class says you gte, while ability bonus is how many bonus spells you'd get for having a high casting score. in the case of a Cleric, that'll be your Wisdom. Check the table on page 17 of the Corebook you should get a couple of extra spells per day if you have a high wisdom.


What are the three boxes beside the ability score that say Inherent, Enhance, and Misc?
Ah, those would be there because the sheetmaker was thorough. That's to show how much of your current ability score is natural, since there are spells, magic items, etc, that can raise you ability score and it's usually helpful to remember what your base unenhanced scores are.


Okay, I've asked enough questions for a god to answer. I don't expect you to answer them all, if any, and I'm sure after some rereading I'll discover the answers myself. Thanks for what you can muster.
Heh, no problem. Gives me something to do :smallwink: Hope my answers help.

[Rizeska]

Thanks for all your help, BB! You should totally join a group! :D

[lowlevelowl]

Thank you, you are an incredible boon to this whole campaign. Forgot to mention, I'd be more than glad to have you join the actual game.

I'm switching to the D&D sheets version of the Pathfinder character sheet, which is nice because it's online. What I've got so far can be found here (http://www.dndsheets.net/view.php?id=9242), though I haven't worked on it since last night.

Still a little confused on filling out the whole spell section. Under 'Spell Saves', I would write 3 0-lvl spells a day, and 1+1 domain spell 1st lvl spell a day, plus a bonus 1st lvl spell a day thanks to my wisdom modifier, right? For that bonus spell, could I pick the other domain spell that I have?

And what do I write under spells/powers known, if clerics can choose from a communal pool of spells every day? Does this even apply to clerics?

Thanks.

[Rizeska]

Under save DC, you write 10+Wisdom modifier+spell level, so for level 0 spells the DC is 13, for level 1 spells it's 14, etc.

For that bonus spell, you can pick a domain spell, since it's part of the list you can cast. Think of it this way: Each day, you have a generic pool plus your domain spells to choose from. One of the spells you choose HAS to be a domain spell, but the rest can be anything in the pool, including your domain spells.

I would write down your known domain spells in one column, and in another column I would write which spells you've prepared for a given day, but that's my personal habits.

[Bowerbird]

Alright, so I'm thinking of either a short class, or series of feats for Steel Elves to become machines. Still in the concept stages though.. Depends.. a caster elf would potentially be penalised somewhat for taking a class other than their primary casting class, a series of feats might be better.. though I'm not sure how many feats it would be or if there'd be a level requirement. I'm guessing most NPCs will be relatively low-level and only the most experienced Elves are able to modify themselves extensively, so maybe a level requirement on the feats, starting with a minor feature, like a bionic arm, or eyes or something to that effect. Maybe the third feat they become a Living Construct.

Also, on another note, I found somewhere else that has both guns and a gunslinger class for Pathfinder. I thought that would fit the Steel Elves. Kobold Quarterly magazine #13. The class is called the Arquebusier. I'm thinking of trying it out, with your permission, for my character in the game.

[lowlevelowl]

Alright, so I'm thinking of either a short class, or series of feats for Steel Elves to become machines. Still in the concept stages though.. Depends.. a caster elf would potentially be penalised somewhat for taking a class other than their primary casting class, a series of feats might be better.. though I'm not sure how many feats it would be or if there'd be a level requirement. I'm guessing most NPCs will be relatively low-level and only the most experienced Elves are able to modify themselves extensively, so maybe a level requirement on the feats, starting with a minor feature, like a bionic arm, or eyes or something to that effect. Maybe the third feat they become a Living Construct.

Also, on another note, I found somewhere else that has both guns and a gunslinger class for Pathfinder. I thought that would fit the Steel Elves. Kobold Quarterly magazine #13. The class is called the Arquebusier. I'm thinking of trying it out, with your permission, for my character in the game.Sure, but it'd be nice if I could have a copy of that issue, or at least of the class information, to look at.

[Bowerbird]

Ok, well here's the product page (http://www.koboldquarterly.com/KQStore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=70), you can get the pdf here for about $6. I'm sure it's available elsewhere too. It's 69 pages and has a bunch of other stuff too.

It's got a much better system for firearms than Tome of Secrets IMO. In a nutshell it lists a bunch of different kinds of guns, which require the feat Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Firearms) (Which would be covered by the Elves' racial proficiencies.) there's 2 prices listed, one for where they're particularly rare, one for if they're not. For example on the table an ordinary one-shot pistol costs 200gp (Normal), or 1400gp (Exotic). I personally would say all but Steel Elves, and possibly Gnomes, would use the exotic prices. I don't see the gnomes as having the resources to produce many guns though.

[Bowerbird]

Alright, been working on some extra feats. This time for the Steel Elves. Here's the first draft of what I'm working on:


Mechanisation [Racial]
You have replaced the majority of your body with mechanical equivalents.
Prerequisite: Steel Elf
Benefit: Your type becomes Construct with the Living Construct subtype (See Eberron Campaign Setting p.23).

Gadget Slots [Racial]
You have stripped back nonessential components and rendered your implants more efficient, leaving space for additional features.
Prerequisite: Mechanisation
Benefit: You gain 3 gadget slots. (See Gadgets.)
Special: You may take this feat multiple times and it's effects stack.

Also, add Improved Grapple to the prerequisites of Bloodthirsty Vines.
Next update: Some example gadgets, plus some feats for Noble Trolls with any luck.

Battery's running low, gotta go :smallsmile:

[Maquise]

I'll wait to select my first level feat until you are finished your racial feats. Note that not all of us have the books, so you'll have to post everything here.

[Bowerbird]

Ok, though I'd rather not hold the game up very much. I'll post the details of Living Construct shortly. The Mechanisation feat was the only starting feat I was thinking of for now for the Steel Elves. After I post Gadgets and Living Construct I'll probably start on some Noble Troll feats.

EDIT: Suggestions are, of course, welcome.

[Bowerbird]

Alas, no gadgets yet, but here's the Living Construct definition (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/glossary&term=Glossary_dnd_livingconstructsubtype&alpha=). At the moment the gadget feat can't be taken at chargen anyway, so this should hopefully help you finish Maquise.

[Maquise]

Interesting, but I think I'll skip it for now.

[SlyJohnny]

I'm the troll player and would love a feat that gave me my trollish Scent ability back :) or even the darkvision, really.

Other then that, if you have anything flavorful or fluff-rich in mind, I'm interested too. I'd like more pegs to hang my character idea off, as the world isn't quite fleshed out yet and I've never played a noble troll before.

[Gwynfrid]

Dwarf Husk player here, seconding my Noble Troll colleague :smallsmile:

[lowlevelowl]

I'll post up more lore as I think of it/as it comes up. Feel free to contribute your own thoughts too, Desecrated is nothing if not a result of contributions.

[Maquise]

For the Steel Elves, what kind of style where you imagining? I always pictured my character as a Sotha-Sil appearance.

Images of Sotha-Sil (In case you didn't know)
http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs24/i/2008/032/e/b/Sotha_Sil_by_Badhead_Gadroon.jpg

Huh, that's the only good picture I found.

Bowerbird, can we get some gadgets for the Steel Elves?

[Bowerbird]

Sorry for the long quiet. having a bit of a case of writer's block. If you have access to any of the 3.5 Eberron books, the Warforged components are what I was going to base some of them off of. I'll try and do a bit of converting over the next day or so.

[Bowerbird]

Anyone still out there checking out this thread? I'm working on a list of example gadgets now, based off of the Warforged Components from Eberron. I'm about halfway through the flavour, then I gotta do a little bit of mechanical conversion. Should hopefully be done within a week.

@Lowlevelowl: If you're still out there and would like to post some setting flavour (if you've thought of any), then feel free, it may inspire me to add some extra crunch.

Also an important note, I'm going to be removing the Gadget Slot feat, and just making the Gadgets an item you can slot into your body if you've undergone Mechanisation. Not sure how to price them just yet, will use the Warforged components for inspiration.

After I get a bunch of these done I'll see about posting them all in one post for ease of finding.

[Maquise]

I'm here. I've been thinking about this, but haven't really come up with anything to post yet.

[The Tygre]

I'm still watching. I really like this Campaign Setting. :smallcool:

[Bowerbird]

Purely because this thread has been dead so long, I'll post my first three gadgets now, more to follow in other posts.

The following Gadgets are based on various Warforged Component items found in the Eberron Campaign Setting (Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 Edition). All original material is property of it's original designers and this is intended as an adaptation to fit the Desecrated Campaign setting for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Eberron is a fantastic Campaign Setting and I encourage all to check it out.

Note: The following Gadgets are intended as a guide only. People are encouraged to design their own gadgets and add them to the list.


Forearm Holdout
Cost: 1400gp
Description: This modification to the forearm of the Steel Elf's forearm involves installing a hidden firearm barrel and firing mechanism, with the bullet exiting through the palm of the hand. This firearm deals 1d8 damage and has a range of 40ft. Due to the nature of this upgrade, the firearm can only hold one bullet before a full-round action is required to reload.
Special: This Gadget counts as a firearm for the purposes of feats.
Build DC: 20

Weapon Mount
Cost: 300gp + Weapon Price
Description: This modification of the hand and forearm of the Steel Elf replaces the Elf's hand with that of any one-handed weapon. As a result, this weapon cannot be disarmed. However this hand cannot be used for anything else.
Build DC: 15

Steam Gauntlet
Cost: 700gp
Description: This gadget involves replacing the Steel Elf's hand with a much larger, piston powered fist. As a result, they deal unarmed damage as though they were one size category larger.
Special: Due to the unwieldy nature of this gauntlet the Steel Elf continues to provoke attacks of opportunity for untrained unarmed attacks.
Build DC: 18

Critiques welcome.

[Maquise]

I'm not sure how to stat this, but I'd go with a eye piece that enhanced range weapons.

[Bowerbird]

Hmm interesting.. so either a scope or a targeting system? I'll have to add that one to the list.

[Bowerbird]

After giving it some thought I believe I've found existing rules (D&D 3,5Ed) that suit Steel Elves better than anything I could make up myself. I'll see if I can update it to Pathfinder and post it up on here. I'm assuming that doesn't breach any homebrew thread rules or anything?
For those interested, I'm thinking of DragonMech, by Goodman Games.
Also, yes I am still here :smalltongue:

[Maquise]

I've come up with a couple of ideas.
1. Inspired by the Summoner Pf class, I'd like to make a class that's based on making a magic suit of armor and adding different stuff to it.
2. I was thinking about the Steel Elves, and I think fire would be an important motif in their culture. Probably something to do with purifying and removing weakness.

[Starbuck_II]

Dragonmech: so like Flamethrower (Flamer), Freeze guns, etc?

I like the Flamer (It is a ranged touch AC vs everyone in area, not a reflex like you normally assume area fire attacks would be).