PDA

View Full Version : [PF] Spiker Conversion/Reimagining And A New Homebrew Race: Enkindlers



Makeitstop
2013-10-28, 02:05 PM
About these races
The following races have been in use in my current campaign for over a year and a half. My players and I have been quite happy with them, and I thought I'd share. I am including the setting specific parts of the flavor text for completeness.
About Spikers: Spikers were a 3.5 race featured in the planar handbook. While this is in many ways an expansion on the basic entry there, it should be noted that the flavor is a bit different, and that the type has changed from humanoid (extraplanar) to monstrous humanoid in order to fit the setting. If this bugs you, feel free to switch it back for your own purposes.
About Enkindlers: Enkindlers are a purely homebrew race designed using the race builder from the Advanced Race Guide. Technically, they violate the rules by being a medium sized quadruped, but that was what I wanted from the beginning, so screw the rules. Their build can be difficult to picture without visual aids, and is similar to that of the N'kul from Advent Rising, which for copyright reasons I will not post and instead let you google. And no, they have nothing to do with mass effect.[/table]


Spikers
Spikers are a warrior race from the lower regions of the tormented sea (home of the goblinoids and the base of operations for the dreaded Marauders). Despite sharing a common homeland with the goblinoids and even joining them on raids, Spikers are generally honorable warriors, and value knowledge and wisdom above all else. Those who serve with the marauders typically do so only to get a ride out of the tormented sea, and often turn on the marauders at the first opportunity.

Spikers who leave the tormented sea rarely associate with their own kind, preferring to wander and experience the world. Spikers are often looked upon with fear and suspicion, but are common enough that most people will tolerate them. Spiker mercenaries are highly prized in Arcadia.

Spikers have the following racial abilities and characteristics.

Ability Scores: +2 Con, +2 Wis, -2 Cha. Spikers are tough and insightful, but also tend to be reserved and standoffish.
Type: Monstrous Humanoid,
Medium: As Medium creatures, spikers have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Movement: A spiker's base land speed is 30 feet.
Senses: Spikers have darkvision out to 60 feet.
Natural Armor: A spiker's metallic hide offers protection from physical attacks in the form of a +1 bonus to natural armor.
Natural Spikes (Ex): A spiker's skin is replete with sharp, jagged spikes. A spiker can deal extra piercing damage on a successful grapple check, or deal piercing damage with a melee attack, as if she wore armor spikes.
Damage Reduction 2/Slashing or Piercing: A spiker's spiny skin grants resistance to bludgeoning attacks, though piercing or slashing attacks slip through normally.
Resistance to acid 5: Despite the metallic hue of their hide, spikers are not metallic in nature and suffer no special effect from rusting attacks and the like.
Weapon Proficiency: Spikers receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feat for armor spikes as a bonus feat. This allows them to use their natural spiked skin as a weapon without penalty (see below).
Climbing Spikes: Spikers gain a bonus +2 to climb checks when attempting to scale surfaces which are rough, cracked, or penetrable, such as cliffsides, Stone walls or wood.
Worldly Wisdom: Spikers gain a +1 racial bonus on all Knowledge and Profession checks, and may choose one Knowledge skill to be a class skill.
Ferocious Appearance: Spikers gain a +2 racial bonus on Intimidate checks against non-spikers.
Armor Interference: Because of their spiked skin, spikers have a difficult time wearing armor. The maximum Dexterity bonus of the armor is reduced by 1, and the armor check penalty is worsened by 2. For instance, a chain shirt worn by a spiker has a maximum Dexterity bonus of +3 (instead of +4) and an armor check penalty of -4 (rather than -2). These changes don't affect the armor's arcane spell failure chance, nor do they apply to shields used by the spiker.
Automatic Language: Common, Goblin.
Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Gnome, Halfling Orc, Tengu, Sylvan.



Alternate Racial Traits:

Steel Face: Gains a +2 Racial bonus to bluff checks against non-spikers. Replaces Ferocious Appearance.
Slender Spikes: Spiker's damage reduction is reduced from 2/Slashing or Piercing to 1/Slashing or Piercing, and may use spikes in place of tools when making disable device checks. When using spikes as tools, Spikers gain a +2 to their disable device skill and armor check penalties for disable device checks are reduced by 4 (minimum 0). This replaces Damage reduction and Climbing spikes.



{table=head]{colsp=2}Favored class alternate features.
Alchemist|Add +1/2 to bomb damage.
Barbarian|Add 1 to the spiker's base speed. In combat this has no effect unless the spiker has selected this reward 5 times (or another increment of 5); a speed of 34 feet is effectively the same as a speed of 30 feet, for example. This bonus stacks with a class’s fast movement feature and applies only under the same conditions as that ability.
Cleric|Select one domain power granted at 1st level that is normally usable for a number of times per day equal to 3 + the cleric’s Wisdom modifier. The cleric adds 1/2 to the number of uses per day of that domain power.
Inquisitor| Add +1/2 on Intimidate and sense motive checks.
Magus|Add +1/3 to the magus's arcane pool.
Monk|Add +1/4 to the monk’s ki pool.
Paladin|Add +1/2 hp to the paladin’s lay on hands ability (whether using it to heal or harm)
Ranger|Add +1 hit point to the ranger’s animal companion. If the spiker ever replaces his animal companion, the new animal companion gains these bonus hit points.
Rogue|The spiker gains +1/6 of a new rogue talent.
Summoner|Add +1/4 to the eidolon’s evolution pool.
Witch|Add one spell from the witch spell list to the witch’s familiar. This spell must be at least one level below the highest spell level she can cast. If the witch ever replaces her familiar, the new familiar knows these bonus spells.[/table]



Enkindlers
According to legend, the enkindlers were created by the wizard Nethys before he acended to a higher plane of existence. They were made to gather information and learn of the machines and magic employed in distant lands. Though versions of the myth vary greatly on whether they were a success or incredible disappointment, they all end the same way, with the ascent of Nethys, and the cataclysmic loss of their homeland, with the few survivors forever cursed to inhabit the world they were so curious about, but never able to return to their home.

Enkindlers are muscular humanoid creatures from the waist up, but have four legs instead of two. Their hands and feet have three digits each, and are perfectly suited for grasping and climbing. Their skin is dark grey, bluish grey, or golden brown, and is leathery with a layer of fine hairs that match their skin tone. They have ram-like spiraled horns on their heads and yellow, green or purple eyes and the males often have a wild mane of black, red, brown or white.

The creations of a twisted mind, the enkindlers are a mixture of animal ferocity and brilliant engineers. They are by nature curious about the world, particularly about how things work. They love nothing more than to take things apart and rebuild them. While some enkindlers study the arcane, many are happy just to create gadgets and wield magical objects.

Enkindlers are the only known natives of the southern polar region, inhabiting the one peninsula that juts out beyond the southern skyrifts. There they have a few small settelments on the surface, but many cities and villages in the caves on the sides and underbelly of the southern peninsula, including their capital of Ensaba Nuir. Those who leave their homeland typically settle in mountain villages or caves, though in the forests of Durag Hahn in southern Nasir, they built a whole city in the tree tops. Wherever they dwell, enkindlers are never too far from highways, ports and cities, which can provide trade, information and more importantly, new items to play with.

Enkindlers tend to be friendly with most races, and prefer to dwell in groups. They are prone however to becoming so focused on the tasks in front of them that they seem uninterested in socialization. This can lead to serious misunderstandings, and has given them a bit of a reputation for both coldness and foolishness, but deep down most enkindlers are actually quite sociable, just easily distracted by interesting things. That said, while enkindlers are typically slow to anger (if only because they are often unaware of subtle slights), once enraged they can be absolutely brutal, vicious, merciless opponents. Few people ever cross an enkindler twice.

Enkindler society still considers Nethys their patron, but they have no illusions about his unreliable nature. Enkindlers in foreign lands very often take up other religions, finding the notion of a god that actually responds in some way to be refreshing. Still, even they seem to maintain an instinctive respect for their creator.

Enkindlers have the following racial abilities and characteristics.

Ability Scores: +2 Dex, +2 int, -2 Wis
Type: Humanoid (enkindler)
Medium: As Medium creatures, spikers have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Movement: Enkindlers have a base speed of 40 ft, and a climb speed of 20ft. Enkindlers gain a +8 to climb checks.
Quadruped: Enkindlers can carry 50% more than bipeds, and recieve a +4 bonus to CMD against trip attempts.
Lowlight vision: Enkindlers can see twice as far as humans in dim light.
Skill training: Disable device and use magic device always class skills for enkindlers
Master Tinker: Enkindlers gain a +1 bonus on Disable Device and Knowledge (engineering) checks. Members of this race are also treated as proficient with any weapon they have personally crafted.
Envoy: Enkindlers with an Intelligence score of 11 or higher gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—comprehend languages, detect magic, detect poison, read magic. The caster level for these effects is equal to the user’s character level.
Natural attack: Gore 1d6
Powerful charge: Whenever an enkindler charges, it deals twice the number of damage dice with its gore attack plus 1-1/2 times its Strength bonus.
Automatic Languages: Common, Undercommon,

Bonus languages: Aklo, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Goblin, Orc, Sylvan

urkthegurk
2013-10-28, 03:00 PM
-2 Charisma feels to easy. What is it about a race that makes it less charismatic? Not just societal forms, since they also get the penalty with each other, which must make it difficult for them to have a society at all. It would certainly be cold and un-neighbourly. I think a line for each ability adjustment is in order, to explain what its there to represent.

Makeitstop
2013-10-28, 05:25 PM
Well, spiker society is a not so great place. They do much better when they are out on their own in other societies.

And they really don't like their own appearance any more than we would. A big reveal in my campaign was the revelation that the spikers were the descendants of humans from a lost civilization, who were given their current form as a curse. So while they aren't intimidated by each other, they don't naturally see each other as normal and attractive the way that other "hideous by human standards" races might.

But I added a line just to clarify.

urkthegurk
2013-10-29, 11:46 AM
Are they related to Bladelings, then, in your mythos? I ask because Bladelings and Spikers play a fairly major role in my mythos, many of them ending up on the material plane after signing on as mercenaries during a recent demonic invasion. I interpret them as different castes of the same race, along with bladeling-related tieflings who share the city with them. (These last are the lowest caste, essentially individuals who didn't qualify for the ritual to turn them into Bladelings. )

Just looking for your take on this :)

Makeitstop
2013-10-29, 11:15 PM
I didn't actually have bladelings in my mythos. I am currently runnning a campaign based on Skies of Arcadia, and the world is a heavily modified version of the one featured in the game. As such, everything is a bit off compared to how they usually are in DnD or PF. For example, the largest empire in the game is a nation of Elves and Orcs, and the Dwarves don't typically live underground, but rather in port cities on the edge of a vast desert.

Bladelings and other extraplanar beings were left out entirely, as a major plot point was the near impossibility of travel between planes (and the total ignorance of evil outsiders and dark hell-like planes). I included spikers because they've been one of my favorite races since I started playing, and they seemed like an interesting form for a curse to take.