PDA

View Full Version : Opinions needed on some minor house-rules and new races. Paying in Pleasure!*



Delta Nu Delta
2007-11-27, 12:22 PM
*OP will not honor "pleasure" payment under any circumstance.

I'm DMing my first game soon and wanted to tweak a few things and add some new races to get away from Tolkeinishness. I just want to make sure I haven't stepped too far out of line. I left out most of the fluff - and just put in the crunchy bits. Without further ado...

Class:
Sorcerers get eschew materials free and 4 skill points/level. They also get use magic device, sense motive, and intimidate as part of their skill list.
Druids use the PHBII variant but retain their animal companion.

Feats:
Short-Haft: Allows players to treat a specific reach weapon as a spiked chain – ie they threaten 5 and 10 foot squares at the same time.
Toughness: grants 3 hp or 1 extra hp/level, whichever is greater.
Dodge: Is a static +1 AC bonus.

Resurrection will be handled differently than RAW. Upon being resurrected, characters lose ½ of an experience level. This may drop them down a level, it may not. Also, in addition to the costly materiel component, the caster must pay 200 XP per level of the character. This may be shared by up to 5 people in a resurrection ritual. Coming back from the dead is very rare – only truly exceptional people can make it back from beyond, and even they must be uniquely motivated to return to an imperfect world.

Newer Races: these are largely taken from one race with some minor tweaks - do I need to buff or nerf any of them?

Dhemell:. (halflings that look like dromites)
+ 2 Dex, -2 Str Dhemell are quick, agile, and coordinated, but not nearly as strong as the larger races.
Small: 3-4ft. +1 to attack rolls, +4 to hide. Small weapons. 3/4 carrying capacity.
+2 climb, jump, move silently. Dhemell are natural sneaks and extremely athletic.
+1 all saving throws. Dhemell have survived this long, they’ll probably keep doing so.
+2 vs fear. Living lives amongst people much larger than themselves gives Dhemell an inoculation against frightening things and being intimidated.
Compound eyes: Dhemeell’s compound eyes give them keen vision. They get low light vision and a +2 racial bonus on spot checks. Man, them peepers is pimp!

Thaoch: (basically half-giants)
+2 Str, +2 Con, -2 Dex. Thaoch are larger, tougher, and a bit clumsier than Humans.
Focused mind: a long history of contemplation and psychic energy have infused the Thaoch with preternatural clarity. They are immune to charm and dominate.
Medium, 30 ft. 6 – 7 ft tall.
Powerful build: Exceptionally large and strong, Thaoch may use weapons one size larger than their size. Additionally, for opposed rolls in which a size modifier is used, Thaoch are counted as large. This ability stacks with other abilites that increase the Thaoch’s size modifier.
Naturally Psionic: 2 power points at first level.
Mind over matter: Long periods of meditation allow Thaoch to keep their bodies comfortable in extreme temperatures. By spending one power point, she can activate the Endure Elements ability (as spell) for 2 hrs/level. Alternatively, she may spend a power point to gain a +2 to a saving throw vs elemental damage of any kind.
+ 1 level adjustment

Jotun: (basically dwarves)
+2 Con, -2 Charisma. Jotun have been hardened by their harsh life in the mountains, but their inclination for social grace has been blunted as well.
Medium. 4ft-5ft.
Base land speed: 20ft. Can move this speed in heavy armor.
Jotun climb at full speed, not half. Additionally, they have a +4 modifier to climb checks. Jotun spend their lives in the mountains and are natural climbers.
Darkvision: 60ft
Weapon Familiarity: Jotun Brand (1D10 1h exotic bludgeon weapon treated as martial)
Stability: +4 vs trip or bull-rush, but only when standing on the ground.
+4 AC vs Giant types – Jotun aren’t the only denizens of the mountains and grow up dodging boulders.
+2 racial bonus on appraise stone and jewels.
+2 vs poison.

Thoughts?

Dustfinger
2007-11-28, 04:02 PM
Overall, you look like you did very well. I don't see any major problems. Mind if i use some of this stuff in campaigns i'm running?

Charlie Kemek
2007-11-28, 04:54 PM
Toughness: grants 3 hp or 1 extra hp/level, whichever is greater.

There's a feat called Improved toughness that does the second option.
Also, why do socerers need use magic device? They already can use magic items.

puppyavenger
2007-11-28, 05:56 PM
There's a feat called Improved toughness that does the second option.
Also, why do socerers need use magic device? They already can use magic items.

divine majic items.

Delta Nu Delta
2007-11-28, 07:23 PM
Thanks for the feedback guys. There hasn't been much response, so I assume that's a good thing. No one has read it and was disgusted...

Knock yourself out Dustfinger - I'd be honored if you used any of it.

I wanted to give Sorcerers the ability to use divine magic items to reflect their innate connection to all things magical. In this campaign setting, Psionics, divine magic, and normal magic will be different ways of accessing the same power source. Also, they always seemed to be lower on the power scale and use magic device gives them a bit more versatility.

I wanted to buff toughness because it seems like, due to power creep and D and D's basic mechanics, damage scales way faster than hit points in our games. I thought allowing one feat that boosted HP was a good option to help offset it.