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The Vorpal Tribble
2006-12-10, 03:29 PM
Bitterborn

http://www.9news.com/9slideshows/Dogs%20of%20Colorado%20weather%20the%202005%20Apri l%20Blizzard/Shaman-the-wolf-from-Rist-Canyon-Wolf-Sanctuary-is-32-inches-tall.jpg

To some the numbing chill and gusting wind is all they have ever known. Though few may survive it others are capable of adapting and surviving. This life can be find in even the most vicious frostfell, eeking out their life within the consistent blizzards and howling winds.

Bitterborn tend to have skin dark as midnight with platinum or white hair or feathers. Even creatures that do not normally possess such coverings gain a thick yet fine fuzz over their entire bodies. Their eyes are regularly an icey blue and deep set with enormous lashes to aid them in seeing through the driving snow.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Sample Bitterborn


Umbra
Bitterborn Wild Elf Druid 3
Medium Humanoid (elf)
Hit Dice: 3d8+12 (25 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), burrow 15 ft. (snow only)
Armor Class: 16 (+2 armor, +1 competence, +3 dex), touch 14, flat-footed
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+3
Attack: Iuak +7 melee (1d6/19-20x2)
Full Attack: Iuak +7 melee (1d6/19-20x2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Spells
Special Qualities: Blindsense 10 ft., duck under the wind, elven traits, icesure, low-light vision, resistance to cold 5, snowsight, trackless step, woodland stride
Saves: Fort +7, Ref +4, Will +6
Abilities: Str 11, Dex 16, Con 18, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 9
Skills: Hide +12, Knowledge (nature) +11, Listen +9, Search +1, Spot +5, Survival +17
Feats: Endurance, Primitive Caster (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Primitive_Caster,Fr), Weapon Finesse
Environment: Cold Forest
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 3
Alignment: True Neutral
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +1

Umbra is a slightly short, sleekly muscled young man with dark brown skin with an underlying red tone. His hair is a dull white and hangs in frosty dreadlocks that have been tied together behind his head with leather ties. His face is thin and angular, with a nose that is consistently flaring in and out as he keeps nasal awareness of his surroundings. His blue eyes eyes are quite large and nocturnal, larger than one would expect from even an elf, appearing almost as a deformity. The gaze that comes from them are wholey feral, seeming more animal than sentient. Patches of scars all over his body show signs of struggle with nature and beasts of claw, tooth and beak.

He wears a hooded, wrap-around cloak of some white furred beast and a leather loin cloth. Around his waist is a hemp belt with a couple leather pouches hanging from it. Attached tightly to his upper thigh, but padded with fur, is a leather sheath holding an iuak crafted of thick bone.

Umbra speaks Common and Elven.

Combat

Bittercasting (Ex): Umbra may cast spells with the cold descriptor as if he had applied the Piercing Cold (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Piercing_Cold,Fr) metamagic feat to the spell. This spell does not take up a higher spell slot than normal.

As well, he may cast in high winds and blizzard conditions without having to make concentration checks.

Druid Spells: Spells Per Day (4/3/2; caster level 3rd; Save DC 13 + spell level):
0 - Flare, Know Direction, Purify Food and Drink, Resistance
1st - Faerie Fire, Goodberry, *Ivory Flesh
2nd - *Blood Snow, *Numbing Sphere
* Found in Frostburn.

Duck Under The Wind (Ex): Umbra has long become accostomed to fierce blizzards and has since childhood learned to move within even the worst gusts. He is treated as a huge creature for the effects of strong winds. He may also drop prone and move at half his base speed without being checked or blown away. While in the prone position to fight against the winds, he may stand up without provoking an attack of opportunity by allowing the gusts to lift him. Once standing he must again make a fortitude save against the wind affects. Umbra gain a +4 bonus to fortitude saves against wind affects.

Icesure (Ex): Umbra takes no penalties to any movement type or skill, such as climbing or balancing, because of icy surfaces. As well, he can instinctively estimate the thickness and strength of nearby ice and always know if such a surface will support his next step.

Skins (Ex): Umbra treats fur clothing as no different than normal garments and take no armor check penalty from its wearing. He knows how to get the most out of the protection of fur clothing and cold weather outfits, which grant him a +1 competence bonus to AC and an additional +1 bonus to fortitude saving throws against cold weather.

Snowsight (Ex): Umbra can see in snow as per the snowsight spell.

Trackless Step (Ex): Umbra leaves no trail in natural surroundings and cannot be tracked. He may choose to leave a trail if so desired.

Woodland Stride (Ex): Umbra may move through any sort of undergrowth (such as natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain) at his normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment. However, thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that have been magically manipulated to impede motion still affect him.

Possessions: Fur Clothing, Masterwork Iuak, Mistletoe and Holly, Pouch

-=-=-=-=-=-

Creating a Bitterborn
Bitterborn is an inherited template that can be added to any living creature without the fire subtype, hereafter referred to as the base creature. A bitterborn uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Size and Type: Size and type is unchanged.
Speed: A bitterborn's speed is unchanged. They gain a burrow speed half that of their land speed to tunnel through snow, though not ice or any other substance. As well, the bitterborn's size is considered to be two larger for determining their snow-impeded movement.
Armor Class: A bitterborn creature's natural armor, if it possesses any, increases by +4.
Attack: A bitterborn retain all the natural attacks, manufactered attacks, and weapon proficiencies of the base creature. Weapon-wielding bitterborn such as humanoids gain proficiency with the ice axe, iuak, glot, and razor skipdisk.
Special Qualities: An bitterborn retains all qualities of the base creature plus the following qualities.
Blindsense (Ex): Bitterborn gain blindsense out to ten feet.
Bittercasting(Ex): Bitterborn that learn the ways of spellcasting may cast spells with the cold descriptor as if they had applied the Piercing Cold (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Piercing_Cold,Fr) metamagic feat to the spell. This spell does not take up a higher spell slot than normal.
As well, a bitterborn may cast in high winds and blizzard conditions without having to make concentration checks.
Duck Under The Wind (Ex): A bitterborn has long become accostomed to fierce blizzards and have since childhood learned to move within even the worst gusts. They are treated as two size categories larger than they actually are for the effects of strong winds. A bitterborn may also drop prone and move at half their base speed without being checked or blown away. While in the prone position to fight against the winds a bitterborn may stand up without provoking an attack of opportunity by allowing the gusts to lift them. Once standing they must again make a fortitude save against wind affects. Bitterborn gain a +4 bonus to fortitude saves against wind affects.
Icesure (Ex): A bitterborn takes no penalties to any movement type or skill, such as climbing or balancing, because of icy surfaces. As well, a bitterborn can instinctively estimate the thickness and strength of nearby ice and always know if such a surface will support their next step.
Resistances (Ex): A bitterborn gains resistance to cold 5.
Skins (Ex): Bitterborn treat fur clothing as no different than normal garments and take no armor check penalty from its wearing. The bitterborn know how to get the most out of the protection of fur clothing and cold weather outfits, which grant them a +1 competence bonus to AC and an additional +1 bonus to fortitude saving throws against cold weather.
Snowsight (Ex): A bitterborn can see in snow as per the snowsight spell.

Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Dex +2, Con +4, Wis +2.
Skills: A bitterborn gains a +6 bonus on survival and hide checks in cold climes. They also gain a +4 bonus to listen checks. A bitterborn gains survival as a class skill. Otherwise same as the base creature.
Feats: A bitterborn gains Endurance as a bonus feat. Otherwise same as the base creature.
Environment: Any cold
Challenge Rating: Same as base creature +1.
Level Adjustment: +2

magic8BALL
2006-12-10, 09:27 PM
no increase to CR?
only LA +1?

AC: +6 (+4 Nat, +1 competence, +1 Dex)
HP: +2/level
Spells: free metamagic template.
Sences: listen +5 (+4 bonus, +1 Wis), spot +1, blindsence
Cold Resistance 5

should be CR +1, LA +2.

...and a pack of Bitter Born Wolves in high winds is way more deadly than a pack of wolves in a forrest.

The Vorpal Tribble
2006-12-10, 10:01 PM
Go take a look at the Spellwarped Template in the MM III. I would certainly not say Bitterborn is any more powerful.

magic8BALL
2006-12-10, 10:06 PM
MM III = one broken source book. I question it's motives...

Mephibosheth
2006-12-10, 10:11 PM
Plus, the Spellwarped template has a +3 LA for similar (if slightly more powerful) abilities. I agree with Magic8Ball on this one. This template is way too powerful for a +1 LA. Blindsense, +6 to AC, at least 2 bonus feats, cold resistance and bonuses against cold weather, and pretty good stat bonuses make for more than a +1 LA. Though I'm no expert, I'd say +2 at least.

I like it a lot, though. I'm especially fond of the Duck Under the Wind and Skins abilities, which are both quite flavorful and useful. Fix the LA/CR adjustments, and I'd say you've got a solid template.

Mephibosheth

The Vorpal Tribble
2006-12-10, 10:17 PM
MM III = one broken source book.Since when?


BlindsenseKeep in mind this is sense, not sight. They can sense 'something' is around within 10 feet.


+6 to AC+5 if you have natural armor
+2 if you don't 'and' are wearing protective clothing


at least 2 bonus featsOne of which is only useful if you are a spellcaster AND only applies to spells with the cold descriptor. Most beings around here are likely to have the cold subtype, negating it, or immunity and still take only half damage from cold with this feat.

If you don't like spellwarped, look at the half-dragon. This is NOWHERE near as powerful as that.

magic8BALL
2006-12-10, 10:38 PM
...closer to Half Dragon (LA +3) than Fiendish (LA +2)

MM III has been broken since it give Undead a Cha/HD bonus to hit points. I'd rattle off a few more reasons, but the group member who owns it actually took that book home for once.

The Vorpal Tribble
2006-12-11, 08:44 AM
MM III has been broken since it give Undead a Cha/HD bonus to hit points.
Example of this?

But please, because a couple monsters might not be to your liking all are unbalanced? I've yet to find a problem with it when using creatures from it.

magic8BALL
2006-12-12, 02:14 AM
...you're kidding?

1/2 the undead in MMIII have Unholy Toughness, I think they called it.

1/2 the non undead have wiped out entire well rested parties levels ABOVE the monster. MMIII has ended several champaigns at my table with a simple random encounter. I trust it not.

That said, some of the monsters I do like: warfoged (all three) have good flavour and are balanced, the walking plant garden things (i forget) again have nice flavour and versitility. Goatfolk, Armen (i think), the 'fists of adimantine sonic guys from the elemental place of earth', all good. SOme of the side bars are sooo cool for a DM.

The undead, the templates, and the new dragons (i think that was MMIII, could have been Draconium, may well have been both) ar unbalanced and should be reworked. Hell, why do we need yet another type of undead/dragon on top of all the rest?



Hey, I like the template you're presenting here, just it needs to be balanced a little: add a little more LA and CR, or scale back a few bonuses. Or even add negs for hot climets...

The Vorpal Tribble
2006-12-13, 10:43 AM
1/2 the undead in MMIII have Unholy Toughness, I think they called it.
I'm all for this. Undead are normally WAY too easy to take out.



1/2 the non undead have wiped out entire well rested parties levels ABOVE the monster. MMIII has ended several champaigns at my table with a simple random encounter. I trust it not.
The Drowned is the only instance of this I've heard about, and I believe its been fixed in the Errata.



The undead, the templates, and the new dragons (i think that was MMIII, could have been Draconium, may well have been both) ar unbalanced and should be reworked. Hell, why do we need yet another type of undead/dragon on top of all the rest?
Draconimicon I believe is what you are referring to.

However, I've not noticed a problem with the templates and I've used them before.


Hey, I like the template you're presenting here, just it needs to be balanced a little: add a little more LA and CR, or scale back a few bonuses. Or even add negs for hot climets...
Increased the LA to +2, but honestly there is nothing here that warrants a CR increase comparable to most other templates I see.

The Vorpal Tribble
2007-12-22, 11:20 AM
First day of winter bump :smallbiggrin: