PDA

View Full Version : D&D 3.x Other Custom Race, the shadow born WIP



AnimusBane
2014-06-25, 04:21 AM
~ A mad wizard decided to try his hand at replicating the divine. He had already been able to mimic undead animation through his shadow manipulation so why not reach for a loftier goal, resurrection? The concept was simple, call back a spirit and bind it into a body woven of shadow but so the spirit would come he made the soul see what it most desired so it would be compelled to accept the offer. After only a handful of successes he turned his attention on a question that gnawed at him since his success. Can they breed?
When he discovered the creation of his breed true he was more than ecstatic for he had achieved a greater feat than he had meant. This mad wizard had brought a new race into existence! So he began to train his creations to be assassins so they may utilize their unique gifts. What he never anticipated was that these beings he wove from magic each had the natural talent of magic all because of his actions and they craved freedom. From there the story is predictable and now long after the shadow born wander in hope of finding a place they belong and a way to prove they are real. ~

Shadowborn
Description:
The shadowborn are a shadow creature(Lords of madness pg 167) that instead of being made of stable materiel from the plane of shadow are living illusions given form with a soul bound to their quasi real form. They do suffer from disbelief like other beings caused by spells like shadow conjurations(60%) and by sheer will they keep themselves stable. With their charisma they like a sorcerer rewrite reality but in this case they do so to solidify their own existence.
Mechanics:

Mimicked race(normally humanoid) for speed, size and appearance with the shadow creature template(LoM pg 167)[la+2] applied for the basic effect.
No constitution because they are maintained by their willful control of their own magical being. All con tests use cha instead *not immune to disease or poison their willful fight to be real allows such to still effect them* -1/2 or 1/4 cha bonus to hitpoints as a constitution bonus would apply-

Antimagic field 'suppresses' a shadow born who reforms like smoke filling a balloon (in this case clothes) when effect ends. Dispel does not dispel a shadowborn but it can harm one *Concentration test DC20(?) to resist or half damage*. Vulnerable to disbelief like any illusion magic (60% real shadow conjuration comparatively).

*Self illusion DC: 10 + [1 per 2 or 3 character levels (?)] OR [+X where x= highest spell an equal level sorcerer could cast( equal caster level not ELC)] + charisma bonus + Innate bonus + spell focus(illusion) if applicable*

Forfeits Mimicked race's benefits (no choice) but gains: -2 strg, +4 dex carry capacity as one size smaller(?)

Inate illusion bonus: increase the DC of any illusion spells or effects cast/done by the shadowborn by 1

Racial +2 bonus to hide checks because of needed to prevent risks of disbelief triggering.

Willful believer: can chose to fail an illusion disbelief will test "It is rude to make kin uncomfortable "

Favoured class: sorcerer

La total: +3 or +2 still (because of major drawbacks maybe even lower)

Breeding:
A) All shadowborn are capable of breeding with one another. it is a 50/50 chance which parent the child will take after if it is not of the same breed with the secondary adding minor subtle details.
B) Shadowborn can only breed with solid races it's form dictates *breeding in such manner risks disbelief and not all are above mind altering substances making things go smoother (imposed will save against illusion)*

Race specific feat: Shadow crafter
This feat allows a shadowborn to craft mundane items out of their own shadow essence/being. For each rank of size & each rank of durability the shadowborn sacrifices 1 point of health to gather the required shadows. The item is created through Craft(shadow) which shadow born do receive a +2 on and are still able to take ten on the test if situation permits (the crafting DC is similar to that of creating real items of the type).
These items can also be hidden within a shadowborn but at a limited amount (1/4 or 1/8 size or something). Like the shadow born these items suffer from disbelief (30% real or still 60% ? ). These items share the shadow born's Illusion DC but can be boosted by a willful temporary cha drain from the creator at a 2 points per +1. The duration each shadow object lasts in ideal conditions is one week per character level but if left in direct sunlight those weeks become hours (or minutes ? ).

tldr: A living [shadow] illusion that fights to prove it is real & that keeps itself real like a sorcerer casts an illusion but as reflex and instinct

Zale
2014-06-25, 04:45 AM
So, let's see if I've got this right.


-2 Strength, +4 Dexterity
Type: ???
Base speed ???
Self-Illusion: ???
Illusion: Winks out in anti-magic field, takes damage from dispel magic, can be disbelieved as illusion.
+1 to CL for Illusions.
+2 to Hide and Craft (Shadow) checks. May always take 10 on Craft (Shadow) checks.
Can always willingly fail saves versus Illusions.


So, I really have very little idea about what's going on with your race. You may want to improve the formatting, because right now I'm left with the impression that it's a semi-illusionary race that can look like other races. Am I correct?

AnimusBane
2014-06-25, 05:27 AM
yes it is an illusionary race. it is the size and speed of it's mimicked race(lets say human for simplicity). the shadow template from lords of madness provides most of the crunch with what youve seen as more added flavour. Just unsure if i could post the template word for word without issue. both of those issues were addressed in the first section(would have been bullets if i could have got that to work) of the Mechanics section. I do apologize for a format that doesn't seem to flow to you.

self based illusion is because it is acting as an illusion spell so requires DC that an opposed will save can challenge. if the test succeeds the shadowborn is effected as a shadow conjuration, only 60% real vs the one who passed the save. I was just unsure what variable to use as spell level so i put both of my best ideas in a way that i felt was clear that it was either or.

The race may not be geared towards optimization (beyond illusions) but to me it has a great flavour

AnimusBane
2014-06-28, 12:31 AM
Shadowborn racial traits

Type:Humanoid Illusion
-2 strg and +2 cha
Darkvision and low light vision
Racial skill bonuses: +2 to hide, +4 to move silently
Innate illusion talent: +1DC to any illusion spell or effect the shadowborn does.
Shadow blend(su): in conditions other than full daylight a shadowborn can disappear into the shadows giving it total concealment. Artificial illumination, a light spell or even continual flame does not cancel this but a daylight spell will.
Existence of will: Instead of having a constitution stat because they are maintained by their will their charisma score attempts to act in place of constitution (even if only a 1/3 as effective) allowing all things that affect a being with constitution to effect a shadowborn. *stat damage is not an exception, cha is their con*
Susceptible to disbelief: The true drawback of being a living illusion instead of a true being of the plane of shadow is that like an illusion spell cast a shadowborn can be affected by disbelief and so requires an acting DC for disbelief’s will check. *A shadowborn acts as a greater shadow conjuration on successful disbelief (60% real)
DC: 10 + X ( X = to highest spell a equal level sorcerer could cast(not elc) ) + cha bonus + innate bonus + spell focus(illusion)*if present. So a level 5 Shadowborn with a charisma of 16 would have an acting DC of 16 (10 + 2 + 3 + 1 + 0 )
Favoured class: sorcerer
La: ?


*Being a living illusion a shadow born is born mimics a humanoid race but gains no bonus from such mimicry beyond size, speed(1.5x base) and appearance (all shadowborn can mate freely(50/50 chance of appearance if different races) but it grows more complicated when they mate outside their race but in those cases are limited to their mimicked races' capacity and may have to contend with disbelief).

In the interest of making this idea easier to read i have integrated the 'shadow creature' template as needed and presented the race in a more standard format along with minor tweaks
Edit: minor spelling