silver spectre
2011-08-19, 01:30 PM
I'm a big fan of templates and bloodlines. I like having characters (as a player and DM) with an edge that is not overpowering or game breaking.
I'm pretty satisfied with these, but I'm not sure the level adjustment is quite right.
Thoughts..?
EXPLORER ENHANCEMENT
Explorers are people that continually seek new frontiers and often meet people and cultures they have no experience with. Throughout history these explorations have been fraught with perils off all types. Through disease, toxic creatures and plants, injury, misunderstandings with local cultures, lack of medical care, and simple lack of time the chance for a messy end to an explorer’s work is enormous. For that reason the Explorer Enhancement was designed. A way was found to enhance and reprogram human DNA to better enable an explorer to deal with most of the hazards of his work. “Explorer Enhancement” is an acquired template that can be added to any human or human blooded creature. The creature retains its original type, but gains the “enhanced” subtype. It uses all the normal statistics and special abilities except as noted.
Special Qualities: An explorer retains all the special qualities of the base creature and gains the additional special qualities described below.
• Enhanced Lowlight Vision (Ex): An explorer can see three times as far as a human can in dim light.
• Tireless: An explorer requires only half as much sleep or rest as normal per day to be fully rested. He is also immune to fatigue, and anything that would cause him to become exhausted makes him fatigued instead.
• Pack Mule: The explorer’s carrying capacity increases by fifty percent.
• Pressure Adjustment: The explorer may ascend or descend at any speed without suffering the effects of rapid pressurization or rapid depressurization, but is still subject to the pressure tolerance limitations of his race.
• Faster Healing (Ex): An explorer heals hit point (lethal and nonlethal) damage and ability score damage twice as fast as a normal member of his race.
• Immunities (Ex): The explorer is immune to non-magical disease and gains a +2 bonus to saves versus disease, infection, poison/toxin, and environmental effects (cold, heat, pressure, gravity, etc…).
• Digestive Efficiency (Ex): The explorer’s digestive system extracts more moisture and nutrition than normal. He requires only half as much food and water as a normal member of his race.
Challenge Rating: Same as base creature +0.
Level Adjustment: Same as base creature +1
SAVANT
Savants are creatures with intellectual capacity that far exceeds that of a normal creature of their base type. While they typically look no different than a normal member of their species they do tend to be set apart and somewhat uncomfortable with other members of their species as they can often have difficulty relating to them. “Savant” is an inherited template that can be added to any living creature with an Intelligence score of 6 or higher. The creature retains its original type and uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Special Qualities: The savant retains all the special qualities of the base creature and gains the additional special qualities described below.
• Hyper-cerebral (Ex): A unique facet of the savant is their ability to learn and understand almost anything. They always treat all skills as if they were class skills regardless of the normal skill lists for any class they are in.
• Linguistics (Ex): The savant is able to understand, read, and speak any language used by intelligent races. Whenever the savant is exposed to a language with he is not familiar, he automatically begins decoding it so that he can speak or read it. If exposed to a written language, he will learn to read and write it. If exposed to a spoken language, he will learn to speak it. Whenever the savant learns a language, he permanently acquires it. To decode a language, the explorer must successfully perform a DC 20 Intelligence check after a predetermined interval of exposure. If he fails the check, he can try again after the time interval passes, gaining a cumulative +1 bonus to the skill check. The time interval depends on familiarity with the language to which he is exposed. If the savant is learning the spoken version of a language he knows how to write or the written version of a language he knows how to speak, the time interval is ten minutes. To learn a language that is similar to one he already knows, the time interval is one hour. To learn an entirely new language, the interval is a day. To acquire a totally alien type of language (such as one based upon pheromones), the interval is 1d4 days. If the savant lacks the physical structures necessary to make noises or movements associated with a language, then he can understand the language, but cannot speak it.
• Savant’s knack (Ex): Their enhanced learning capacity gives savants an incredible knack for picking up new skills and applying what they know effectively in new ways. They are capable of accomplishing simple tasks with a wide variety of skills.
When making any mental (Int, Wis, or Cha based) skill check (including trained only skills), you can use ½ your character level (rounded up) in place of the number of ranks you have in the skill (even if that number is 0) but only for the purpose of making skill checks. You can’t take 10 on checks when you use savant’s knack (to take 10 you have to use your actual ranks). This ability does not apply to psychic skills or class unique skills.
Challenge Rating: Same as base creature +0.
Level Adjustment: Same as base creature +2
NEVER DEAD
The Never Dead are one of the strangest mysteries of the planes. They quite simply cannot die. Well, sort of. They can die, but they just don't tend to stay that way.
Aside from their restorative powers, Never Dead are quite normal. All Never Dead begin life as normal members of their race. At some point in their life, they "die" and then they begin to realize just how different they are. They are effectively immortal.
Special Qualities: The Never Dead retains all the special qualities of the base creature and gains the additional special qualities described below.
• Ability Scores: A Never Dead’s ability scores are unmodified.
• Healing: The Never Dead heal as normal for a member of their race.
• Restoration (Su): It is effectively impossible to destroy a Never Dead through simple combat: The “destroyed” Never Dead may restore itself in 2d4 days. Even the most powerful spells are usually only temporary solutions. A Never Dead that would otherwise be destroyed returns to life with a successful level check (1d20 + Never Dead’s HD) against DC 20 (a roll of one is not an automatic failure). The Never Dead is immediately restored to full hit points, vigor, health, and ability scores with body parts intact/restored. The Never Dead is also fully rested, but all spells per day, power points, and any “per day” abilities (from race, template, or class) are expended and must be recovered normally. If the never dead's "dies" in a place where he takes continuous per round damage (active volcano, under crushing weight, heart of a star, plane of fire, etc...) he may not reform until his remains are moved or the damaging effect is negated.
Additionally every time the never dead "dies" he permanently loses one level (never below first level and lost levels may be regained only through normal experience) and he may not be resurected by any means other than his own innate ability.
• Endless (Ex): The Never Dead never ages. He no longer suffers the penalties or enjoys the benefits of aging, is immune to any aging effects or powers, and cannot die of old age. Any bonuses or penalties gained prior to becoming Never Dead are retained.
Challenge Rating: Same as base creature +0.
Level Adjustment: +1.
I'm pretty satisfied with these, but I'm not sure the level adjustment is quite right.
Thoughts..?
EXPLORER ENHANCEMENT
Explorers are people that continually seek new frontiers and often meet people and cultures they have no experience with. Throughout history these explorations have been fraught with perils off all types. Through disease, toxic creatures and plants, injury, misunderstandings with local cultures, lack of medical care, and simple lack of time the chance for a messy end to an explorer’s work is enormous. For that reason the Explorer Enhancement was designed. A way was found to enhance and reprogram human DNA to better enable an explorer to deal with most of the hazards of his work. “Explorer Enhancement” is an acquired template that can be added to any human or human blooded creature. The creature retains its original type, but gains the “enhanced” subtype. It uses all the normal statistics and special abilities except as noted.
Special Qualities: An explorer retains all the special qualities of the base creature and gains the additional special qualities described below.
• Enhanced Lowlight Vision (Ex): An explorer can see three times as far as a human can in dim light.
• Tireless: An explorer requires only half as much sleep or rest as normal per day to be fully rested. He is also immune to fatigue, and anything that would cause him to become exhausted makes him fatigued instead.
• Pack Mule: The explorer’s carrying capacity increases by fifty percent.
• Pressure Adjustment: The explorer may ascend or descend at any speed without suffering the effects of rapid pressurization or rapid depressurization, but is still subject to the pressure tolerance limitations of his race.
• Faster Healing (Ex): An explorer heals hit point (lethal and nonlethal) damage and ability score damage twice as fast as a normal member of his race.
• Immunities (Ex): The explorer is immune to non-magical disease and gains a +2 bonus to saves versus disease, infection, poison/toxin, and environmental effects (cold, heat, pressure, gravity, etc…).
• Digestive Efficiency (Ex): The explorer’s digestive system extracts more moisture and nutrition than normal. He requires only half as much food and water as a normal member of his race.
Challenge Rating: Same as base creature +0.
Level Adjustment: Same as base creature +1
SAVANT
Savants are creatures with intellectual capacity that far exceeds that of a normal creature of their base type. While they typically look no different than a normal member of their species they do tend to be set apart and somewhat uncomfortable with other members of their species as they can often have difficulty relating to them. “Savant” is an inherited template that can be added to any living creature with an Intelligence score of 6 or higher. The creature retains its original type and uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Special Qualities: The savant retains all the special qualities of the base creature and gains the additional special qualities described below.
• Hyper-cerebral (Ex): A unique facet of the savant is their ability to learn and understand almost anything. They always treat all skills as if they were class skills regardless of the normal skill lists for any class they are in.
• Linguistics (Ex): The savant is able to understand, read, and speak any language used by intelligent races. Whenever the savant is exposed to a language with he is not familiar, he automatically begins decoding it so that he can speak or read it. If exposed to a written language, he will learn to read and write it. If exposed to a spoken language, he will learn to speak it. Whenever the savant learns a language, he permanently acquires it. To decode a language, the explorer must successfully perform a DC 20 Intelligence check after a predetermined interval of exposure. If he fails the check, he can try again after the time interval passes, gaining a cumulative +1 bonus to the skill check. The time interval depends on familiarity with the language to which he is exposed. If the savant is learning the spoken version of a language he knows how to write or the written version of a language he knows how to speak, the time interval is ten minutes. To learn a language that is similar to one he already knows, the time interval is one hour. To learn an entirely new language, the interval is a day. To acquire a totally alien type of language (such as one based upon pheromones), the interval is 1d4 days. If the savant lacks the physical structures necessary to make noises or movements associated with a language, then he can understand the language, but cannot speak it.
• Savant’s knack (Ex): Their enhanced learning capacity gives savants an incredible knack for picking up new skills and applying what they know effectively in new ways. They are capable of accomplishing simple tasks with a wide variety of skills.
When making any mental (Int, Wis, or Cha based) skill check (including trained only skills), you can use ½ your character level (rounded up) in place of the number of ranks you have in the skill (even if that number is 0) but only for the purpose of making skill checks. You can’t take 10 on checks when you use savant’s knack (to take 10 you have to use your actual ranks). This ability does not apply to psychic skills or class unique skills.
Challenge Rating: Same as base creature +0.
Level Adjustment: Same as base creature +2
NEVER DEAD
The Never Dead are one of the strangest mysteries of the planes. They quite simply cannot die. Well, sort of. They can die, but they just don't tend to stay that way.
Aside from their restorative powers, Never Dead are quite normal. All Never Dead begin life as normal members of their race. At some point in their life, they "die" and then they begin to realize just how different they are. They are effectively immortal.
Special Qualities: The Never Dead retains all the special qualities of the base creature and gains the additional special qualities described below.
• Ability Scores: A Never Dead’s ability scores are unmodified.
• Healing: The Never Dead heal as normal for a member of their race.
• Restoration (Su): It is effectively impossible to destroy a Never Dead through simple combat: The “destroyed” Never Dead may restore itself in 2d4 days. Even the most powerful spells are usually only temporary solutions. A Never Dead that would otherwise be destroyed returns to life with a successful level check (1d20 + Never Dead’s HD) against DC 20 (a roll of one is not an automatic failure). The Never Dead is immediately restored to full hit points, vigor, health, and ability scores with body parts intact/restored. The Never Dead is also fully rested, but all spells per day, power points, and any “per day” abilities (from race, template, or class) are expended and must be recovered normally. If the never dead's "dies" in a place where he takes continuous per round damage (active volcano, under crushing weight, heart of a star, plane of fire, etc...) he may not reform until his remains are moved or the damaging effect is negated.
Additionally every time the never dead "dies" he permanently loses one level (never below first level and lost levels may be regained only through normal experience) and he may not be resurected by any means other than his own innate ability.
• Endless (Ex): The Never Dead never ages. He no longer suffers the penalties or enjoys the benefits of aging, is immune to any aging effects or powers, and cannot die of old age. Any bonuses or penalties gained prior to becoming Never Dead are retained.
Challenge Rating: Same as base creature +0.
Level Adjustment: +1.