[Race] Jumi (from Legend of Mana)

[Username]

The Jumi from Legend of Mana (a game for the PS1) struck me as a rather interesting race to convert to D&D terms.
Anyone else here even play Legend of Mana? It wasn't exactly the most well known game.

Jumi
Jumi are a hunted and dieing race, due to the immense value their cores hold as magical power sources. Non-good spellcasters (mainly evil ones, though an occasional neutral one) will kill a Jumi in order to obtain their core if they recognize one.

Physical Description:
Jumi look like normal Humans at first glance, but observant people will quickly note the difference:What one might mistake for a brooch or cloak clasp is in fact a gemstone embedded in the Jumi's chest. This is the Jumi's core, and it is vital to their survival. A Jumi cannot die unless their core is destroyed or removed.

A Jumi is basically immortal unless their core is damaged or removed and will not die of old age.

Other than their cores and lifespan, Jumi are identical to Humans physically.

Personality:
As a result of years of being hunted to near extinction, Jumi have become incredibly paranoid, they're always looking around, trying to make sure no one sneaks up on them. Other than this justifiable paranoia, Jumi are as varied as humans in terms of personality and generally relax a good bit when with people they trust.

Jumi Lands:
Jumi had to abandon their gemstone cities ages ago and take to a life on the run thanks to spellcasters hunting them for their cores. the cities still stand these days, eerie in their vasty empty majesty. Small portions of the city may be chipped and nicked, parts of it being taken by people who happened upon them and took some of the gemstone which was used to make the buildings to sell.

These days Jumi live as nomads, always traveling, always trying to avoid spellcasters.

Religion:
If the Jumi had a pantheon, it is long dead of neglect, as not nearly enough Jumi exist these days to provide enough worship. Jumi have taken to worshiping various gods from other cultures, although they dislike gods of magic due to their suffering at the hands of magic users.

Relations:
Jumi do not have any conflicts with other races, although races with a large number of spellcasters are generally avoided by Jumi if they can help it.

Alignment:
Jumi lean slightly towards lawful, but are otherwise all over the spectrum in terms of alignment.

Social Structure:
Although due to their life on the run they no longer have a social structure to speak of, before they became hunted they did. A Jumi's status in Jumi society was based off the quality of the gemstone that their core was comprised of. There was good reason for this, as the quality of a Jumi's core reflected their innate talent and ability. This made Jumi's of the Clarius (Clarius, rather than being a specific type of gemstone is when a core is perfect and completely without flaws, aka paragon template on a Jumi. If I remember correctly there was only one Clarius at any time) rank natural leaders.

Jumi would often work in pairs, one member of the pair being called a Knight and the other a Guardian. The Knight is generally a melee class while the Guardian is a spellcaster.

Language:
Jumi speak Common, if the Jumi had their own language it has been lost due to their life eternally on the run, rarely interacting with other Jumi.

Adventurers:
Jumi will often naturally graviate towards adventuring as a way to amass power and experience in order to better defend themselves from those who would hunt them. Most of the remaining Jumi have become adventurers of one sort or another.

It should also be noted that while Jumi are suspicious of spellcasters, this does not stop them from taking up the profession themselves. Jumi are in fact quite good at spellcasting, as they can harness the magical energy contained within their cores.

Stats
•Knight: +2 Str, +2 Con, -2 Cha
Guardian: -2 Str, +2 Int, +2 Wis
A Jumi is born as either a Knight or Guardian and their abilities reflect this.
• Medium:As medium creatures, Jumi have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
•Jumi base land speed is 30 feet.
•Core Regeneration:A Jumi has Regeneration 0 unless their core is destroyed/removed, nothing deals lethal damage. If the Regeneration is lost, all non-lethal damage the Jumi has sustained via Regeneration is converted to lethal damage.
*As a variant, you can opt for a +2 LA and a Regeneration 1*
•A variable ability based on whether the Jumi is a Guardian or a Knight and their core type. Consult the table for what ability is granted.
•Automatic Language:Common. Bonus Language:Any (other than secret languages, such as Druidic). Jumi meet a variety of cultures and people in their nomadic lifestyle.
•Favored Class:Fighter/Warblade (Warblade if you replaced fighters with them) if Knight, Wizard or Cleric if Guardian.
•+1 LA, +2 for non-negative regen variant.

Diamond-
Knight:
Guardian:
Ruby-
Knight:The Jumi can superheat a metallic weapon they wield, causing it to deal an additional 1 fire damage.
Guardian:Spells with the fire descriptor cast by the Jumi receive a +1 bonus to their spell DC.
Sapphire-
Knight:The Jumi can chill a metallic weapon they wield, causing it to deal an additional 1 cold damage.
Guardian:Spells with the cold descriptor cast by the Jumi receive a +1 bonus to their spell DC
Emerald-
Knight:
Guardian:
Lapis Lazuli-
Knight:
Guardian:
Pearl-
Knight:
Guardian:
Alexandrite-
Knight:
Guardian:


-----------------------

What do you think? Comments and criticisms are welcome! I can't think of abilities for the other gem types currently.

[StickMan]

Well I like the idea of them but they are not a Zero LA creature do to the regeneration. I would say they would have to be at least +2 LA Regeneration is an incredibly powerful ability they may be LA 1 but I think that would be pushing it. If you got rid of the Regeneration ability then I think they would be fine as a 0 level adjustment.

[Username]

I figured the ease of stopping the regeneration would balance it out, the core is in plain sight and fairly vulnerable. You could simply knock the Jumi out and remove the core. It's basically closer to fast healing, but the downside of having a vulnerable weakpoint like that balances it out in my opinion. I suppose they might qualify for a +1 LA, however.

[StickMan]

I figured the ease of stopping the regeneration would balance it out, the core is in plain sight and fairly vulnerable. You could simply knock the Jumi out and remove the core. It's basically closer to fast healing, but the downside of having a vulnerable weakpoint like that balances it out in my opinion. I suppose they might qualify for a +1 LA, however.

I don't see any rules as to how the core can be removed and nothing saying its in plain sight. If you manage to knock out an enemy in combat you normally kill them. Any PC would not have to worry about being knocked out in most games unless he is about to die he does not have to worry about that scenario. Also most PC would find some way to protect it from a combat strike. If they looked just like humans they could just wear a clothing item over it.

[Username]

The point is that they'll die in the exact same scenario as a human, you just have to take the extra step of removing the core. With trolls you'd need to have some fire or acid on hand.

I didn't put specific rules on how to target the core because I felt it would be best left up to individual interpretation, I'll quote some feedback I got from another message board that had a good idea for the core:

I would add a weakness regarding the core: any sunder attempt against the core (AC will be around 10 base, +4 to +8 for diminutive or tiny size, hardness depends on the material of the core, plus any bonus that might apply, such as having a deflection or natural armor bonus to AC affect the core too, since it's a living part of the Jumi's body) that successfully destroys it (HP should be a fraction of the Jumi's max HP, or a constant based on the material, multiplied by HD, for example, diamond cores being thougher than lapizlazuli cores) forces the Jumi to succeed on a Fort save. Success means the Jumi is stunned, failure means the Jumi drops to -1 HP, and no healing will work without the core being repaired. Since the core is a jewel, but also a part of the Jumi, I would rule that Cure and Repair spells cast on the Core have full effect.

[Jack_Simth]

I don't see any rules as to how the core can be removed and nothing saying its in plain sight. If you manage to knock out an enemy in combat you normally kill them. Any PC would not have to worry about being knocked out in most games unless he is about to die he does not have to worry about that scenario. Also most PC would find some way to protect it from a combat strike. If they looked just like humans they could just wear a clothing item over it.
Or armor, yes. You're not going to see it under fullplate.

This race will make be very effective in any class not based heavily on per-day abilities (Rogue, Fighter, Ranger, and so on) (especially at low-levels where healing is limited - "Just give me a minute to catch my breath...").

As a Charisma penalty is not going to slow a Wizard noticeably, and the Intelligence boost is going to help a Wizard, and the Regeneration is going to well offset the d4 HD, this race will make a very good wizard... at LA +0. Played to the racial strengths, it's about LA + 2.


The point is that they'll die in the exact same scenario as a human, you just have to take the extra step of removing the core. With trolls you'd need to have some fire or acid on hand.


No, they won't. There's two extra requirements for their deaths:
1) They must be known as a Jumi by someone who wants them dead.
2) The opponents must have the time to take advantage of their "weakness" once they are down.

This means that, for example, the 80 HP Jumi Fighter that takes 100 points of "damage" in melee will be fine if the party still wins (and can be returned to effectiveness with a spell that cures 21 HP). An 80 HP Human fighter that takes 100 points of damage in melee is simply dead, and can't readily be returned to full function (at least, not Core).

[Username]

I'd like to note that thanks to feedback from another board adjustments have been made. I had previously thought to do ability score adjustments by core type, however I have decided to have only minor abilities related to core type and have stat adjustments related to whether the Jumi is a Knight or a Guardian. Once again quoting the other board's feedback:

Knight: +2 Str, +2 Con, -2 Cha
Guardian: -2 Str, +2 Int, +2 Wis

I'd save the vulnerability the core provides would balance out the above stat adjustments for the most part, while a +1 LA would balance out the rest of the stat adjustments and the regeneration (which probably ought to only kick in once the Jumi hits negative HP, perhaps with a larger amount though, like Regeneration 3 when in the negatives. The Jumi never displayed any particular quick recovery in the game, they merely couldn't die unless the core was destroyed.)

[Jack_Simth]

The Jumi never displayed any particular quick recovery in the game, they merely couldn't die unless the core was destroyed.)

Ah, in that case you want Regeneration 0, not Regeneration 1.

Converts all damage to nonlethal, which you normally heal at the rate of "1 hit point per hour per character level", rather than at the X per-round rate of Regeneration - so that 1st level Fighter with 13 HP that went down to a Critical Hit from a Greatsword (which rolled max damage) for 26 points of damage won't be getting up on his own for 13 hours (so he'll still eat up party healing resources to remain effective).

[Username]

I didn't know there was a Regeneration 0, that sounds like just the thing to use then. Editing the post now to reflect that change and a bunch of other changes...

[jindra34]

So what powers are granted to a mage for having one of these 'core's?

[Username]

Also...

Jumi Core traits:

•A Jumi core has HP equal to 1/2 the HP of the Jumi it is attached to.

•A Jumi core possesses a hardness score equal to 1.5xHD of the Jumi it is attached to.

•A Jumi core takes no damage from cold, half damage from fire, electricity, acid, and full damage from sonic attacks. Area attacks can damage the core if it is exposed, use logic to determine whether a core counts as exposed or not for a given attack.

•A Jumi core can be targeted for a Sunder attempt if it is exposed (if it is covered by plate armor or the like, you're going to need to get through the armor first, a brilliant energy weapon works well as the core counts as living). If the Core is sundered and loses all it's HP, the Jumi must make a Fort save (DC 20) or drop to -1 HP, lose all regeneration, and cannot be healed or stabilized unless a replacement core is created (a custom spell can reform the core if there are pieces still available, a higher level custom spell is required if the core is completely gone). Even if the Jumi makes the save, they are still stunned and lose all regeneration until a replacement core can be obtained.

•A Jumi core can also be targeted for a disarm attempt, against which the Jumi receives a +10 bonus, as if wearing a locked gauntlet (This is because the core is part of the Jumi's body). If the core is disarmed, the Jumi must make a DC 15 fort save (save must be made every round, rises by 1 for every consecutive round) in order to keep acting, if they fail they must make the same DC 20 fort save as if the core was sundered.

[StickMan]

I like it a lot now. Hard to kill but, not impossible has some cool effects and i would say it is diffidently playable. I think LA of +1 is spot on for this new version and I like the Guardian Knight thing.


Over all great work so far.

[Username]

I owe a lot of the changes to a person who gave a ton of feedback on another board. I think the Jumi should now be a fun and fairly unique race to play. With interesting roleplaying implications as well because they're near-extinct and hunted. Their situation is pretty grim.

[Jack_Simth]

I didn't know there was a Regeneration 0, that sounds like just the thing to use then. Editing the post now to reflect that change and a bunch of other changes...

It's not used by WotC as far as I'm aware, but the rules support its existence; there is a distinction in many different places between a "0" and a "-"; a "0" means a score of 0, while "-" means "not applicable". If your friend has been ability damaged down to 0 Intelligence, a Fox's Cunning spell will get him talking (aleibeit poorly) for the duration (0+4=4); if you try the same thing on an Animated Object, the spell does nothing ("-" +4 = "-").

With the entry for regeneration ....


Regeneration (Ex): A creature with this ability is difficult to kill. Damage dealt to the creature is treated as nonlethal damage. The creature automatically heals nonlethal damage at a fixed rate per round, as given in the entry. Certain attack forms, typically fire and acid, deal lethal damage to the creature, which doesn’t go away. The creature’s descriptive text describes the details. A regenerating creature that has been rendered unconscious through nonlethal damage can be killed with a coup de grace. The attack cannot be of a type that automatically converts to nonlethal damage.

Attack forms that don’t deal hit point damage ignore regeneration. Regeneration also does not restore hit points lost from starvation, thirst, or suffocation. Regenerating creatures can regrow lost portions of their bodies and can reattach severed limbs or body parts; details are in the creature’s descriptive text. Severed parts that are not reattached wither and die normally.

A creature must have a Constitution score to have the regeneration ability.

Also see Regeneration under Special Abilities.(Emphasis added)

... automatically healing nonlethal damage at a rate of 0 points per round is fine.

[Username]

And here is the justification for why Spellcasters hunt Jumi down for their cores.

Jumi Core uses for spellcaster:
Jumi cores are basically lesser artifacts, they hold an immense amount of magical power. Normally, this energy is the Jumi's life force, it is what gives them their natural regenerative qualities.

When a Jumi core is used to power a spell, apply the Empower and Maximize Metamagic feats to the spell with no increase in spell level. Using a Jumi core in this manner consumes a portion of the energy within it and uses up a single charge from the core. Depending on the Jumi, a core can have anywhere from 10-50 charges. When a core loses all of its charges, it becomes an ordinary gemstone.

If the core is of Clarius quality, treat the spell as having every applicable metamagic feat applied to it once. A Clarius core is a major artifact. A Clarius core has unlimited charges.

That, folks, is why if you play a Jumi you will be hunted down like the delicious magic pinata that you are.

[powerdemon]

Thank you very much for making this. I've scoured the net for 2 years or more looking for something like this and was about to make one myself!

You did a fine job here and thank you again!

P.S. any idea what a jumi racial paragon would look like? (not physically)

[powerdemon]

I've been using this race for a bit and added the pearl abilities

Knight- +1 hp/lvl

Guardian- +1 caster level for healing spells