Unique Races (mechanically interesting)

[petermcleod117]

Anyone know of any unique, mechanically interesting races from D&D 3.5 or pathfinder? (the races for both are so functionally similar it doesn't matter which system it's from). Both homebrew and official sources are acceptable.

the best examples I know of in terms of official content are the Mechamorphs from Mechamorphosis (really sold the idea of living, adaptable, almost organic machines, even though they are essentially off brand transformers) and the Angel races from Anger of Angels (also really sold me on the idea of spirits inhabiting artificial bodies).

The most interesting thing I saw both source books do is change up the resurrection mechanic. For mechamorphs it's skill based (but requires very particular components to be undamaged), and for the Angels they can't be resurrected but they can have back-up bodies. I think the change of the resurrection mechanic really sold me on them being truly non-human entities, rather than humans with slightly different stats or special abilities.

so anyways, I don't know if what I'm looking for exists, or even what it would be called, but I want to see more of it if possible.

An elf which reincarnates somehow would be a nice touch, if it could be balanced.

I dunno. Just wanting to see what's out there.

[nonsi]

.
Warforged from forgotten realms are half man half machine.
Volodni from Unapproachable east are plant people, but they also carry a +2 LA.

[khadgar567]

depends on how much unique you want if you want i can post or pm you couple of intresting homebrewed races from my budding setting.

[Aniikinis]

I'm gonna do a shameless plug for a few of my homebrew races for various reasons:

Parasite: (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?533434-Parasite-Neurax-Worm-on-streoids) A race that requires the bodies of others to move, feed, and exist and each one can choose an ability from a list of parasite powers that modify the posession ability, new/modified special abilities, new/modified special qualities, and new/modified natural attacks. There's a racial class that allows for more parasite powers to be obtained.

Dunewalkers: (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?532814-Dunewalkers-(Sandworm-taur-race-inspired-by-Tremors-and-Dune)&p=22274270#post22274270) A race of sand worm taurics that have adapted to heat and sand, with extreme cold weather vulnerability and a few subracial feats along with feats that add on to their natural abilities. They also use a small mechanic that allows them to only be able to attack from one of the two squares(instead of the 4 that large creatures normally take up) that they occupy.

Unicorn Scions: (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?532815-No-words-just-broken-unicorn-PCs&p=22274290#post22274290) A race of human/unicorn hybrids with two special qualities. The first is a horn which gives them a natural gore attack but deals double recoil damage back on them when used. The second is the ability to buff up their spells immensely, for a high price.

Children of Ozoi: (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?535468-Children-of-Ozoi-(Ozodrin-Spec-d-race-of-Native-Outsiders)-PEACH) This one is a race I'm happy with but is kind of a skub. There are things that should probably be changed, but I find are too core to the concept to be changed. It's a race of child-like... things along the lines of Aasamar and Tieflings(though they should probably be Aberrations anyways) that come in three varieties with different LA. The main mechanical strangeness is a sort of Non-Euclidean Space ability that makes them take up significantly less space than they should, given their sizes.

Porcelain Souls: (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?549434-Porcelain-Souls) Porcelain dolls are creepy. Porcelain dolls that spontaneously generated souls and life are creepier. Porcelain dolls with souls, life, a mind, and free will along with some PC levels and a racial class are even more creepy. Their main racial features are along the lines of mimicking the dolls that they once were: fragility, a general feeling of unease, and an unreadable face. Each of the three subraces, however, has even more features that make them quite interesting: a mini Warforged, an empty vessel that traps gazes, and a tiny shard slinger. Along with a racial class that grants even stranger abilities and a small capstone based upon which subrace(or none) you chose.

Black Eyed Children: (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?545007-Black-Eyed-Children-a-small-unseelie-fey-race&p=22673265#post22673265) A small race that is exactly what it sounds like. They have a gaze attack, a racial restriction on travel and entering certain places, a scaling DR/Cold Iron, and racial feats and a racial class that enhances and/or gives abilities.

[aimlessPolymath]

Weird races you say? I have a bookmarks folder exactly for this purpose!

I have multiple (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?422599-The-Ilth-3-x-Race) kinds (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?342843-Zannu-3-5-Race-Symbiotic-aberration)of parasites (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?342362-Sslak-3-5-Race-Feats-Slimes-borrowing-skeletons), two (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?215512-Tsora-3-5-Race-Constructive-Criticism-Only) robots (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?388884-Build-Your-Own-Robot-Body!-Play-an-A-I-in-Robot-Dragon-or-Tank-and-More!), plants (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?342038-Tenaxi-3-5-race-feats-Crabgrass-People), multiple races (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?245202-Gibberlings-three-in-one-race!-PEACH!) with more than one (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?537288-PEACH-Dvati-Race-Rework-Conversion-to-PF) body, sword-people (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?338514-GitP-Pathfinder-Grab-Bag-Competition-Competition-XXIV-Taste-My-Steel!&p=17455709&viewfull=1#post17455709), angels (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?386641-quot-Angels-Aren-t-Real-quot-Race-Incarnum-PEACH) and aliens (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?385402), races big (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?368070-Vgilmat-A-Race-of-Little-Giants-(P-E-A-C-H-))and small (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?348181-Little-Folk-Crossroads-Tiny-Fey-Race), ghostly (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?388748-quot-Made-From-Dreamstuff-and-Moonbeams-quot-Race-Incarnum-PEACH)spirits (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?373316-Coatl-Playable-Feathered-Snake-Dragons-w-ghost-powers!-Crossroads), and more.

Oh, and look at this guy (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?324076-Kazyan-s-Bucket-of-D-amp-D-3-5-Races)'s stuff, too.

Edit: To be clear, none of these are mine. These are from my bookmarks folder.

[petermcleod117]

.
Warforged from forgotten realms are half man half machine.
Volodni from Unapproachable east are plant people, but they also carry a +2 LA.

Warforged are from Eberron though?

[Goaty14]

Warforged are from Eberron though?

Warforged are also from MMIII, so not exactly setting specific...

[Morphic tide]

Given that you posted this in Homebrew Design, you're not going to get much in the way of listing what exists. To answer your question of reincarnating Elves, the only such thing I know of is Baelnorns, a Lich variant that I'm pretty sure wound up as one of the Deathless varieties (which have literally no reason to exist mechanically because you can just leave out the Always Evil line from the creature entry. At most, subtyping is needed to switch to Positive Energy, like Warforged did to work around Construct issues). Oh, also, Mechamorphosis is second-party, at best, having been made by Fantasy Flight Games, not Wizards of the Coast or Pazio. And is actually a separate system built on the d20 core. Same with Anger of Angels, actually, though it's an addon to Swords and Sorcery instead and by a different studio.

The best way to handle self-reviving Elves, in my opinion, is to have outright Fae Elves. Sort of an alternate Baelnorn based on the old tales of ageless child-thieves who lack comprehension of the mortal world, owing to alien perspective. Only more Vampire than Lich, owing to the process for doing it from scratch being lost, so they change others into more of themselves. The self-revival could be related to an option based on 5e's subraces or PF's alternate features, with a "default" of some manner of possession.

[Blondie Jo]

Don't know if this is unique but i had the idea of having a race for which the males and the females get two different stats bonus/malus or two different basic ability. I made mine (for now called Qyrsy) so that the male have +2 in dex and the female +2 in dex, both with -2 cha (or -4 still working on it); it is like for hyenas where normaly the female is bigger than the male (think of The Lion King hyenas trio where the female is in command). Or another (still nameless) for which the male has natural +2 in deception and the female +2 in sense motive.


Unicorn Scions: A race of human/unicorn hybrids with two special qualities. The first is a horn which gives them a natural gore attack but deals double recoil damage back on them when used. The second is the ability to buff up their spells immensely, for a high price. I'm stealing that :smallbiggrin:

Side question: do you think it is necessary to apply a level modifier if the race is bigger than medium size?

[Morphic tide]

Don't know if this is unique but i had the idea of having a race for which the males and the females get two different stats bonus/malus or two different basic ability. I made mine (for now called Qyrsy) so that the male have +2 in dex and the female +2 in dex, both with -2 cha (or -4 still working on it); it is like for hyenas where normaly the female is bigger than the male (think of The Lion King hyenas trio where the female is in command). Or another (still nameless) for which the male has natural +2 in deception and the female +2 in sense motive.

With abnormal sexual dimorphism, I'd honestly see it tied to an obvious caste bias. Intelligence for males, Wisdom for females, leading to magocracies among them naturally having female Priests and male Wizards, as an example.

[Aniikinis]

Don't know if this is unique but i had the idea of having a race for which the males and the females get two different stats bonus/malus or two different basic ability. I made mine (for now called Qyrsy) so that the male have +2 in dex and the female +2 in dex, both with -2 cha (or -4 still working on it); it is like for hyenas where normaly the female is bigger than the male (think of The Lion King hyenas trio where the female is in command). Or another (still nameless) for which the male has natural +2 in deception and the female +2 in sense motive.

It's not unique, but it's something that you don't see too often.


I'm stealing that :smallbiggrin:

Is it still stealing it permission is given? :smallwink:


Side question: do you think it is necessary to apply a level modifier if the race is bigger than medium size?

Honestly, no, being bigger is more of a hindrance in general and doesn't really help balance out the damage you'll be dealing. You're a bigger target and easier to hit, you're also gonna find it harder to fit into most places and have an even harder time dealing with dungeons.

If a race is gonna need an LA, it better have something other than just a slightly bigger size than normal.

[petermcleod117]

Don't know if this is unique but i had the idea of having a race for which the males and the females get two different stats bonus/malus or two different basic ability. I made mine (for now called Qyrsy) so that the male have +2 in dex and the female +2 in dex, both with -2 cha (or -4 still working on it); it is like for hyenas where normaly the female is bigger than the male (think of The Lion King hyenas trio where the female is in command). Or another (still nameless) for which the male has natural +2 in deception and the female +2 in sense motive.

mythic vistas: eternal rome actually has that. they explicitly state that satyrs and dryads are the same species, but dryads have i think 3 times the level adjustment.

[khadgar567]

mythic vistas: eternal rome actually has that. they explicitly state that satyrs and dryads are the same species, but dryads have i think 3 times the level adjustment.
or 1e pathfinder lashunta

[rferries]

I volunteer my own homebrew as tribute! (see sig, especially the various "__folk" and Pentavisages)

However, I'm man enough to admit Aniikinis and aimlessPolymath are far more creative, you'll definitely find something you like amongst their material.