ZeroGear
2013-06-14, 09:35 PM
I have recently picked up "The Noble Wild" a book by Skirmisher publishing that introduces a new type of playable character: the Noble Animal.
Essentially, it allows the addition of playable Animal Characters and the creation of games which include them, anywhere from Watership Down survival to Narnia style fantasy.
After giving the book a read, I have decided I would like to include these options in the setting I'm creating, but that brings with it some points I would like to have people's feedback on.
1) Language- The book says that Noble animals consider humans to have the same language but different dialects, and oddly excludes other humanoid languages from the bonus language list. Similarly, it divides animal languages by species. Question here is: would you rule that animals that select 'common' can understand ALL humanoid languages? Or, by contrast, would you change it so that Noble Animals all had a common language (in addition to speak to those of their own kind), but had to learn humanoid languages separately?
2) Society- The way I would like to present this is that Noble animals exist, but only the learned know of their existence. This includes: Rulers, advisors, sages, druids, mages, adventurers, and those the animals deem worthy to reveal themselves to (such as children of their owners or partners). What would be the best way to incorporate this into a given society? Would the king's spymaster have a cat general who commands the feline spies? Would Noble Birds serve as scouts and messengers? Are there laws in place that forbid certain actions to be taken against a particular kind of animal?
3) Shapechanging- Another idea that I wanted to use was the idea of humanoid characters becoming animals at particular points in the game, in a way similar to how Link becomes a wolf in Twilight Princess. However, Noble Animals, especially the bigger ones like Bears and Wolves, sometimes have something akin to 'racial class levels' that, while not absolutely mandatory, allow the character to reach his full size and power (aka, a Noble Bear starts out as a cub, but obtains his +3 Natural Armor at 6th level of his racial class. Noble Animals grow larger based on total HD, not the racial class). Would it be suggested that, should I use this concept, characters would track two versions of their character, the humanoid version and the animal version? Also, would xp be tracked separately for each form or would both versions level up at the same time (with each version having a similar, yet slightly altered class progression)?
This is mostly for Pathfinder, but ideas from other gaming systems are also all welcome. Please, let me know how you think this could be handled.
Essentially, it allows the addition of playable Animal Characters and the creation of games which include them, anywhere from Watership Down survival to Narnia style fantasy.
After giving the book a read, I have decided I would like to include these options in the setting I'm creating, but that brings with it some points I would like to have people's feedback on.
1) Language- The book says that Noble animals consider humans to have the same language but different dialects, and oddly excludes other humanoid languages from the bonus language list. Similarly, it divides animal languages by species. Question here is: would you rule that animals that select 'common' can understand ALL humanoid languages? Or, by contrast, would you change it so that Noble Animals all had a common language (in addition to speak to those of their own kind), but had to learn humanoid languages separately?
2) Society- The way I would like to present this is that Noble animals exist, but only the learned know of their existence. This includes: Rulers, advisors, sages, druids, mages, adventurers, and those the animals deem worthy to reveal themselves to (such as children of their owners or partners). What would be the best way to incorporate this into a given society? Would the king's spymaster have a cat general who commands the feline spies? Would Noble Birds serve as scouts and messengers? Are there laws in place that forbid certain actions to be taken against a particular kind of animal?
3) Shapechanging- Another idea that I wanted to use was the idea of humanoid characters becoming animals at particular points in the game, in a way similar to how Link becomes a wolf in Twilight Princess. However, Noble Animals, especially the bigger ones like Bears and Wolves, sometimes have something akin to 'racial class levels' that, while not absolutely mandatory, allow the character to reach his full size and power (aka, a Noble Bear starts out as a cub, but obtains his +3 Natural Armor at 6th level of his racial class. Noble Animals grow larger based on total HD, not the racial class). Would it be suggested that, should I use this concept, characters would track two versions of their character, the humanoid version and the animal version? Also, would xp be tracked separately for each form or would both versions level up at the same time (with each version having a similar, yet slightly altered class progression)?
This is mostly for Pathfinder, but ideas from other gaming systems are also all welcome. Please, let me know how you think this could be handled.