AmadeusWindfall
2007-09-01, 11:50 AM
I've been working on my own campaign setting recently (not the same silly one I mentioned in my last thread), and I want to know if three races I created are balanced for LA +0. The first is designed to be one of the magic-oriented races after I removed elves (they're in a completely different part of the world), the second is because I wanted an alchemist race since I plan on alchemy being significant in the world, and the third was because I wanted to try and make an Undead equivalent of Warforged (mechanics-wise).
Children of Medusa
About the Children of Medusa: Eons ago, as the stories say, there was a mysterious sorceress called Medusa, discoverer of some of the first mortal magic. She had venomous snakes for hair, and could turn all that she gazed at into stone. Feared across the land, she worried that there would be none to continue her legacy. Using her spells, she created herself five children, and though they resembled her they had little of her natural power.
Today, their descendents, known as the Children of Medusa, live amongst humans, and to this day still have natural talent for magic. A Child of Medusa can interbreed with humans and halflings, and such unions will always produce a Child of Medusa.
Common Base Classes: Sorcerer, Warmage, Cleric, Hexblade, Fighter.
Common Prestige Classes: Animal (Snake) Lord, Wild Mage, Assassin, Archmage, Mystic Theurge.
Child of Medusa Racial Stats
Medium: As Medium creatures, Children of Medusa have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Child of Medusa base land speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision: Children of Medusa can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and Children of Medusa can function just fine with no light at all.
+2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison.
+2 racial bonus on Spellcraft checks.
Natural Weapons: Children of Medusa have two primary bite attacks that deal 1d2 points of piercing damage plus Strength bonus. The snakes that compose a Child of Medusa’s hair can strike out at their enemies.
Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, Terran, and Sylvan.
Spell-Like Abilities – Colour Spray 1/day. Caster level 1st.Rather than a spray of colours from the hand, this medusan ability is a grey beam fired from their eyes, and is believed to be a heavily diluted version of Medusa’s stone gaze.
Gremlins
About the Gremlins: Possibly the strangest citizens of the Lands of Blood, the gremlins are the last surviving intelligent species native to the Lands of Blood. They are in body little more than simple primates, weak and small, but their minds are some of the greatest in the Lands of Blood. The gremlins are master inventors, as well as being the pioneers of alchemy, and it was their alchemical artillery that helped turn the tides in the War of Banishment. Even now, few seem to have better alchemical skills than the gremlins, and they were inventors of the Everburning Engine that is used to power the trains. Gremlins are also renowned for their ability to dismantle things, and many a tale tells of greedy men who created huge and mighty traps to stop people from getting what they saw unrightfully as theirs, only for it to be sabotaged by gremlins.
Common Base Classes: Rogue, Scout, Wizard, Warlock.
Common Prestige Classes: Maester, Effigy Master, Geometer, Dungeon Delver, Exemplar, Eldritch Theurge, Mystic Theurge.
Gremlin Racial Traits
+2 Intelligence, -4 Constitution.
Magical Beast: Gremlins are not subject to spells or effects that affect humanoids only, such as charm person or dominate person.
Small: As a Small creature, a gremlin gains a +1 size bonus to Armour Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but he uses smaller weapons than humans use, and his lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.
Gremlin base land speed is 20 feet.
Slight Build: The physical stature of gremlins lets them function in many ways as if they were one size category smaller. Whenever a gremlin is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as Hide), the gremlin is treated as one size smaller if doing so is advantageous to the character. A gremlin is also considered to be one size smaller when "squeezing" through a restrictive space. A gremlin can use weapons designed for a creature one size smaller without penalty. However, the space and reach of a gremlin remain those of a creature of their actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject's size category.
Low-Light Vision: A gremlin can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. He retains the ability to distinguish colour and detail under these conditions.
+2 racial bonus on Craft (Alchemy) and Disable Device checks.
Automatic Languages: Common and Sylvan. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Gnome, Goblin and Halfling.
Necrites
About the Necrites: In the Lands of Blood, the death of children is common amongst the poorer people. Some of them, however, are born in with innate magic power, and while this power does not normally manifest until puberty, there are times when it will suddenly burst into action as the child dies, filling their body with what could be best described as half-life. These people, known as necrites, resemble undead in many ways, but are not quite the same, and still show qualities of living things in many ways- for example, necrites can reproduce biologically with one another, and they still have the free-thinking living mind of a living creature. They are treated differently from family to family – some see it as a miracle that their child has survived, whereas others shun them, believe that the necrite is nothing more than a monster after their resurrection. While necrites have duller senses than fully living creatures, their body’s significantly different biology makes them tougher than many living creatures.
Common Classes: Due to their multiracial origins, there are no classes that are common amongst necrites. However, they are almost never sorcerers, as most lose their magical abilities during their rebirth.
Necrite Racial Traits
+2 Constitution, -2 Wisdom
Necrite base land speed is 30 feet.
Medium: As Medium creatures, necrites have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Undead: Necrites are not subject to spells or effects that affect humanoids only, such as charm person or dominate person.
Half-Dead Subtype: Necrites are neither fully undead nor fully living, and as a result, exhibit the following qualities rather than those of the Undead type:
Has a constitution score.
Immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, and disease.
Healed by positive energy and harmed by negative energy - this also means that they are turned by Rebuke Undead and rebuked by Turn Undead.
Affected by effects that only affect living creatures.
Does not naturally heal.
At 0 hp, is disabled (as usual). From –1 to –9 hp, is inert (i.e., unconscious, but stable)
Use Constitution for Concentration checks.
Does not eat, sleep, or breathe.
Darkvision: Necrites can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and Necrites can function just fine with no light at all.
+2 turn resistance.
Automatic Languages: Common.
Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling.
Children of Medusa
About the Children of Medusa: Eons ago, as the stories say, there was a mysterious sorceress called Medusa, discoverer of some of the first mortal magic. She had venomous snakes for hair, and could turn all that she gazed at into stone. Feared across the land, she worried that there would be none to continue her legacy. Using her spells, she created herself five children, and though they resembled her they had little of her natural power.
Today, their descendents, known as the Children of Medusa, live amongst humans, and to this day still have natural talent for magic. A Child of Medusa can interbreed with humans and halflings, and such unions will always produce a Child of Medusa.
Common Base Classes: Sorcerer, Warmage, Cleric, Hexblade, Fighter.
Common Prestige Classes: Animal (Snake) Lord, Wild Mage, Assassin, Archmage, Mystic Theurge.
Child of Medusa Racial Stats
Medium: As Medium creatures, Children of Medusa have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Child of Medusa base land speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision: Children of Medusa can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and Children of Medusa can function just fine with no light at all.
+2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison.
+2 racial bonus on Spellcraft checks.
Natural Weapons: Children of Medusa have two primary bite attacks that deal 1d2 points of piercing damage plus Strength bonus. The snakes that compose a Child of Medusa’s hair can strike out at their enemies.
Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, Terran, and Sylvan.
Spell-Like Abilities – Colour Spray 1/day. Caster level 1st.Rather than a spray of colours from the hand, this medusan ability is a grey beam fired from their eyes, and is believed to be a heavily diluted version of Medusa’s stone gaze.
Gremlins
About the Gremlins: Possibly the strangest citizens of the Lands of Blood, the gremlins are the last surviving intelligent species native to the Lands of Blood. They are in body little more than simple primates, weak and small, but their minds are some of the greatest in the Lands of Blood. The gremlins are master inventors, as well as being the pioneers of alchemy, and it was their alchemical artillery that helped turn the tides in the War of Banishment. Even now, few seem to have better alchemical skills than the gremlins, and they were inventors of the Everburning Engine that is used to power the trains. Gremlins are also renowned for their ability to dismantle things, and many a tale tells of greedy men who created huge and mighty traps to stop people from getting what they saw unrightfully as theirs, only for it to be sabotaged by gremlins.
Common Base Classes: Rogue, Scout, Wizard, Warlock.
Common Prestige Classes: Maester, Effigy Master, Geometer, Dungeon Delver, Exemplar, Eldritch Theurge, Mystic Theurge.
Gremlin Racial Traits
+2 Intelligence, -4 Constitution.
Magical Beast: Gremlins are not subject to spells or effects that affect humanoids only, such as charm person or dominate person.
Small: As a Small creature, a gremlin gains a +1 size bonus to Armour Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but he uses smaller weapons than humans use, and his lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.
Gremlin base land speed is 20 feet.
Slight Build: The physical stature of gremlins lets them function in many ways as if they were one size category smaller. Whenever a gremlin is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as Hide), the gremlin is treated as one size smaller if doing so is advantageous to the character. A gremlin is also considered to be one size smaller when "squeezing" through a restrictive space. A gremlin can use weapons designed for a creature one size smaller without penalty. However, the space and reach of a gremlin remain those of a creature of their actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject's size category.
Low-Light Vision: A gremlin can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. He retains the ability to distinguish colour and detail under these conditions.
+2 racial bonus on Craft (Alchemy) and Disable Device checks.
Automatic Languages: Common and Sylvan. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Gnome, Goblin and Halfling.
Necrites
About the Necrites: In the Lands of Blood, the death of children is common amongst the poorer people. Some of them, however, are born in with innate magic power, and while this power does not normally manifest until puberty, there are times when it will suddenly burst into action as the child dies, filling their body with what could be best described as half-life. These people, known as necrites, resemble undead in many ways, but are not quite the same, and still show qualities of living things in many ways- for example, necrites can reproduce biologically with one another, and they still have the free-thinking living mind of a living creature. They are treated differently from family to family – some see it as a miracle that their child has survived, whereas others shun them, believe that the necrite is nothing more than a monster after their resurrection. While necrites have duller senses than fully living creatures, their body’s significantly different biology makes them tougher than many living creatures.
Common Classes: Due to their multiracial origins, there are no classes that are common amongst necrites. However, they are almost never sorcerers, as most lose their magical abilities during their rebirth.
Necrite Racial Traits
+2 Constitution, -2 Wisdom
Necrite base land speed is 30 feet.
Medium: As Medium creatures, necrites have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Undead: Necrites are not subject to spells or effects that affect humanoids only, such as charm person or dominate person.
Half-Dead Subtype: Necrites are neither fully undead nor fully living, and as a result, exhibit the following qualities rather than those of the Undead type:
Has a constitution score.
Immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, and disease.
Healed by positive energy and harmed by negative energy - this also means that they are turned by Rebuke Undead and rebuked by Turn Undead.
Affected by effects that only affect living creatures.
Does not naturally heal.
At 0 hp, is disabled (as usual). From –1 to –9 hp, is inert (i.e., unconscious, but stable)
Use Constitution for Concentration checks.
Does not eat, sleep, or breathe.
Darkvision: Necrites can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and Necrites can function just fine with no light at all.
+2 turn resistance.
Automatic Languages: Common.
Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling.