PDA

View Full Version : (Pathfinder) New cultural "race"



Naomi Li
2013-11-26, 11:04 PM
The following is created under the "create a race" rule system with a focus on fluff instead of power. A few things are still unnamed due to me being really bad at coming up with ones I think are good enough. This "race" isn't limited to a single kind, but instead represents all who live within the culture, followed by one of the cultural weapons they're proficient with.

() Culture
When generating a character, use the character's kind to determine type, subtype(s), ability score bonuses, senses, natural armor, base speed, and weakness traits. Additionally, they may have other traits tied directly to physiology. The preserved racial traits cannot have a sum greater than +2 RP. Use the following statistics instead of all other racial traits.


Type - As normal for kind
Base Speed - As normal for kind
Ability score modifier - As normal for kind
Language - Linguist (Draconic + Common (Taldane)) (1 RP)

Defensive
Greater Defensive Training (4 RP)

Feat/Skill
Static Bonus Feat - Shake it Off (Teamwork) (2 RP)

Offensive
Weapon Familiarity - Bolas and padded staves (1 RP)

Padded staff
Martial, one-handed
10 gp, 1d6 (S), 1d8 (M), Critical *2, 5 lbs, B, nonlethal - Hardness 5, HP 10/10

So, looking at the core "races", the following traits are preserved. (Only ones with an RP value other than 0 are noted)
Dwarf - Slow and steady, darkvision 60 ft, stability
Elf - Low-light vision
Gnome - Slow speed, low-light vision
Half-elf - Low-light vision
Half-orc - Darkvision 60 ft
Halfling - Fearless, halfling luck
Human - Nothing

A few others that are fairly likely to live there... (Some more than a few of the core races)
Kobold - Greater weakness (–4 Str, +2 Dex, –2 Con), natural armor, darkvision 60 ft, light sensitivity, MAYBE one of the craft/profession bonuses
Orc - Paragon (+4 strength, -2 mental ability scores), darkvision 60 ft, light sensitivity


A bit of fluff: Located near the outer boundaries of Andoran, the semi-independent citystate of (insert name here) exists almost entirely in the form of an enormous citadel and surrounding farmland. Founded with a strong influence from the church of Shelyn, this martial city trains extensively in non-lethal combat and teamwork in addition to rehabilitation of prisoners, creation of art, and the crafting of potent tools. The government has very little power and notably cannot compel anyone to perform any action, including pay taxes, and is responsible for duties only so long as the populace believes it is the best choice to fulfil those duties. The primary exports are resurrection type spellcasting and magical shields and armour, primarily constructed from darkwood and darkleaf cloth.



Anyway, do the mechanics seem overpowered or otherwise flawed to anyone? Any questions relating to fluff or the mechanics? General comments?

ngilop
2013-12-01, 11:29 PM
You are missing the stat modifiers for this race

I can see them maybe getting +2 to wisdom.. but as for the other stats.. i am not sure.

BUt this is pretty balanced I think. though I am not getting why a paddes staff does more damage than a staff.. even if it is non lethal.

Naomi Li
2013-12-01, 11:34 PM
First of all, thank you for the review.

The weapon is designed for striking hard in combat, like other martial weapons that are one-handed. More care goes into their construction to make them effective weapons as well.

The ability score modifiers are based off of the creature's physical kind, rather than the culture they're located in. So an elf from this city will still have +2 intelligence, +2 dexterity, and -2 constitution along with low-light vision, but have the traits of the culture instead of everything else.

Ethereal Gears
2013-12-03, 06:02 PM
This seems balanced, I think. Hardly anything about the racial traits strikes me as over-the-top. I mean, anyone'd love to get their hands on Greater Defensive Training and a free teamwork feat, but in the greater scheme of things that's generally more likely to benefit martial types than casters. I don't play in Golarion, so I can't comment too much on the fluff. I know it's not a standard Race Builder ability, but possibly it'd be neat to give 'em the ability to deal nonlethal damage with a limited range of weapons without eating the -4 attack roll penalty. I know there's a religion trait (as in, the sort of traits introduced in the Advanced Player's Guide) that lets followers of some Golarionese god do that with all bladed weapons. My point is it'd not be overpowered, and it'd fit the fluff I think. The standard nonlethal weapons are a bit boring, and although the padded staff is a nice addition, being able to hit folks with the pommel of a sword etc. without penalty might be nice. If it's too good I suppose you could downgrade the Greater Defensive Training to just Defensive Training. Er...just a thought, though. All in all I think the mechanics seem balanced and befitting the fluff, even though I am reading the latter somewhat out of context.

Naomi Li
2013-12-03, 06:55 PM
Thank you very much for the review, Ethereal Gears. It's appreciated.

There's a feat that allows non-lethal damage to be inflicted with bludgeoning weapons without penalty called bludgeoner, but feats are rather expensive and I felt the teamwork feat was far more in keeping with the culture I wanted to express.

Creating a new race builder option for inflicting nonlethal damage with lethal weapons is certainly possible, but I didn't want to try and introduce too many things that would need GM approval, especially one that is far and away more effective at doing something than all other traits, feats, etc.

Also, I have a rather different interpretation of what inflicting nonlethal damage means. Instead of changing which part of the weapon you're striking with, you're changing which part of the target's body you're hitting. You're still slashing with a sword but aiming to keep it relatively shallow and away from major arteries. This is why sneak attack damage (and possibly all precision damage, not certain) cannot be applied like that: sneak attack is hitting areas that are especially vulnerable to damage, but striking nonlethally is hitting areas that are less vulnerable.

However, with a weapon that inflicts nonlethal damage by default, you need to strike hard at vital spots just to inflict the "standard" damage of other weapons. Doing either of these tasks is notably more difficult than striking wherever you have a good opportunity, hence the -4 penalty to attack rolls.

Ethereal Gears
2013-12-03, 07:27 PM
No problem. Happy to help, however slightly.

Yeah, no, I think your interpretation of nonlethal damage is correct. That's what the rules are normally meant to represent. Yeah, I'm aware of Bludgeoner. Although...not all feats are equal, and like I said there's a trait that does basically the same thing, but for slashing weapons. Now, one could argue it's the trait that's overpowered, rather than the other way around.

Anyway, not trying to force any radical changes upon you. It was just an idle musing considering the fluff. My thought, regarding hitting people with the pommel and what not, would probably result in some sort of custom ability whereby you can deal nonlethal damage with any melee weapon, but it changes the damage type to blunt or something. However, that might be a whole custom feat or feat chain, possibly. Too big a thing to edge into this project, arguably. As things stand your current mechanics seem to already express the fluff well enough, in my view, so it's hardly something the race is lacking, either. I do like the idea of representing cultures via the race builder like this. Might look into doing that for our custom campaign setting.
Cheers!/
- Gears