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View Full Version : D&D 4E Finning and Blackgill Races - PEACH



SovelsAtaask
2014-08-09, 05:48 PM
The other day I created two races for use in my pirate themed D&D 4e campaign, finnings and blackgills. Could someone look over them for me? I haven't made custom races before, so I'm not sure how good these are. In my setting, Melora flooded the world and different people did different things to survive. Most just evacuated to mountain peaks or built boats, but some elves used rituals to change their physiology to survive. Over years, finnings and blackgills evolved from the aquatic elves.
Finning
Average Height: 5´ 4˝–6´ 0˝
Average Weight: 130–170 lb.
Ability Scores: +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma
Size: Medium
Speed: 7, swim 5
Vision: Low-light
Languages: Common, Elven
Skill Bonuses: +2 Athletics, +2 Diplomacy
Aquatic: A finning can breathe normally in water and ignores rough water while swimming. Finnings never need to make Athletics checks to swim.
Finning Weapon Proficiency: You gain proficiency with tridents.
Fey Origin: Your ancestors were native to the Feywild, so you are considered a fey creature for the purpose of effects that relate to creature origin.
Swimmer's Friend: You grant non-finning allies within 5 squares of you a +2 racial bonus to Athletic checks to swim.
Siren Song: You can use Siren Song once per encounter.

Siren Song
I shall sing you the the song of my people.
Encounter
Minor Action Range 15
Target: One creature
Effect: You slide the target squares equal to your Charisma or Intelligence modifier.

Physical Qualities
Finnings have the same range of height and weight as their land dwelling cousins. They are almost always slender and athletic, both from their biology and primal lifestyle. Also like land elves, they have long, pointed ears. Instead of normal skin, finnings have smooth scales covering their bodies that typically come in shades of blue and green, although finnings have been observed with scales of other colors. Most have long, flowing hair that has the same color as their scales. Also, their eyes are slightly larger than most other humanoids'. On their forearms and calves are fins and gills on their ribs.

Finnings mature at roughly the same rate as humans, but their ageing seems to stop after age 20. In fact, finnings seem to live even longer than the average elf. The oldest finning recorded claimed to be 632 years old.

Playing a Finning
Finnings are slightly xenophobic but mischievious tribal folk of the sea. Most finnings stick with their tribes and are fiercely loyal to them, but they can be drawn to the surface by things such as curiousity or boredom. Compared to finnings, normal elves seem calm. Finnings are extremely impulsive, being moved to action by the slightest whim. They tend to spend their mind even when they shouldn't, but something about them makes it difficult to stay angry at them.

Finnings boast quick relfexes and a voice like honey. They weave beautiful, mesmerizing songs that enchant the listener and are often implemented in pranks. More sinister finnings draw ships into crashing on rocks, but the sea tricksters usually do no worse than minor theft. Finnings do have one rule on the use of their Siren Songs though; no charming the rest of your tribe. Violators are banished without trial.

The tribe isn't the only group finnings hold loyalty to. Close friends and companions are referred to as soul scales, a term coming from the finning belief that all life is connected together like their scales. Soul scales are effectively a second tribe to a finning, any decent finning will fight tooth and fin in defense of their tribe or soul scales.

Feats
Fin Fighter
Prerequisite: Finning
Benefit: You gain a +2 racial bonus to attack and damage rolls when unarmed.

Blackgill
Average Height: 4´ 10˝– 5' 8˝
Average Weight: 110–150 lb.
Ability Scores: +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence
Size: Medium
Speed: 6 squares, swim 6
Vision: Darkvision
Languages: Common, Elven
Skill Bonuses: +2 Stealth, +2 Intimidate
Blackgill Weapon Proficiency: You gain proficiency with nets.
Fey Origin: Your ancestors were native to the Feywild, so you are considered a fey creature for the purpose of effects that relate to creature origin.
Aquatic: An aquatic creature can breathe normally in water and ignores rough water while swimming. It never needs to make Athletics checks to swim.
Trance: Rather than sleep, blackgills enter a meditative state known as trance. You need to spend 4 hours in this state to gain the same benefits other races gain from taking a 6-hour extended rest. While in a trance, you are fully aware of your surroundings and notice approaching enemies and other events as normal.
Glowfish: Once per encounter, you can use the Glowfish power once per encounter.

Glowfish
Your body produces phosphorescent slime that you have learned to utilize against both prey and predators.
Encounter
Minor action Area burst 1 within 10 squares
Effect: The burst creature a zone of bright light that lasts until the end of your next turn. The zone blinds any creatures that start their turn in or enter the zone until the end of your next turn.

Physical Qualities

Blackgills are shorter and thinner than humans and elves, but they are capable of equaling them nonetheless. Because they live in total darkness of areas like the Sea of Pitch and deep sea trenches, blackgills evolved different than their more common cousins, finnings. Like most other fey, blackgills have long pointed ears. Gills have silver, grey, or black scales for skin that are always slick from a naturally produced phosphorescent slime, which doesn't glow bright enough to provide any helpful light except under distress. Instead of hair, they have fin-like ridges or tendrils similar in appearance to those of an anemone and their dully shining black eyes are much larger than a normal humanoid's. Blackgills have gills just below their collarbones and have fins on the back of their hands and on their Achilles tendons. Coin sized dots of feint glow run down the side of their arms and legs, which is where their slime is produced.*

They mature at roughly the same rate as humans, but their bodies seem to remain in the same state from age 20 until 350. After this, they start to slowly age and eventually feel the effects of old age.

Playing as a Blackgill
Blackgills are territorial, greedy, and vicious beings. They take what they want and don't care who they mow down to get it. Blackgills live in tribal communities, but there's no sense of loyalty or family at all. Tribe mates are merely tools to be used. However, blackgills are rare and have no intention of going extinct, so they mainly bully weaker beings. Blackgills think out their plans thoroughly, sometimes plotting out minor raids months in advance.

With quick wits and just as quick reflexes, blackgills are a force to be reckoned with. Anyone who foolishly sails into the Sea of Pitch or delves into underwater abysses quickly learn this. Due to their habit of attempting to never leave survivors, most air breathers are either completely unaware of the existence of blackgills or see them as myths.

Long ago, finnings and blackgills were part of one race. Their shared ancestors were elves that magically modified themselves to survive Melora's flood. For unknown reasons, the aquatic elves split into two groups during the Lost Era, creating the different races. The lack of surface contact caused the two new species to revert to a tribal society, producing the creatures Foremene has today.