Arioch
2007-12-03, 01:40 PM
I'm starting a new in-school campaign soon. The people are choosing their races and classes and regions of origin in a fortnight or less. Before then I need to finish the aforementioned features.
I'd like some help balancing these races. I'm worried that many of them are overpowered, perhaps seriously. No-one has characters with them yet, so they're easy to change.
Important things to consider:
1) The campaign is using a relative alignment system - one man's holy is another's evil. Because of this, the land is split into many seperate factions, many of whom are constantly at war or allied with a country that is.
2) Because of this, there is no Common language. Humans have starting languages depending on their region of origin.
3) Since I decided that most non-human races are inappropriate to this campaign, there are no elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings or orcs. The people of the world have legends about them (and they may exist elsewhere, or have existed) but they're not available as player races. thus, i need to make new ones. Most of the races are humanlike in form.
Race No. 1:
The erendi. Tall, thin humans with glowing yellow eyes. Tend to be bald. Follow the way of Erendar, which advocates the complete suppression of outwards emotion. Speak little and laugh less. Erendi that don't follow the way are just humans with -2 Con.
2 Int, +2 Wis, -2 Con, -2 Cha.
Medium, base land speed 30 ft, Low-Light Vision.
+2 on Spellcraft checks and all Knowledge checks. An erendi can use any Knowledge skill as though he were trained in that skill.
Disciple of Erendar (Ex): An erendi gets a +6 bonus on saves vs. any spell or effect that relies on strong emotion, such as crushing despair or rage, and cannot willingly use abilities that rely on emotions, such as a barbarian’s rage. He also gets a +4 bonus on saves vs. spells and effects that attempt to detect his thoughts or feelings.
And the biggy: An erendi’s eyes project a 10-foot globe of shadowy illumination in front of them at all times. He cannot suppress this ability except by closing his eyes. In addition, erendi can see magic. Magic items glimmer, and spell effects are visible and a glowing shape in the air. This even applies to normally invisible effects such as walls of force. A spell or item’s aura changes depending on the strength of the magic involved . An erendi cannot divine the school of magic of an aura by looking at it, nor can she see the precise caster level of the effect in question – she simply gets an aura power rating, such as Faint. Any effect that deceives or blocks detect magic will similarly affect an erendi’s Eyes of Erendar ability.
If an erendi looks at a magical aura which has a caster level five or more higher than the erendi’s character level, he must make a Fortitude save (DC equal to 5 + the aura’s CL) or be blinded for three rounds and dazed for a minute. A successful save negates the blindness and halves the duration of the dazed effect. If the save result is five or more higher than the DC, both the blindness and dazing are negated. An erendi who is blinded by an aura cannot be affected thus again unless the aura leaves his sight for more than an hour.
If an erendi looks at an aura whose level is at least 25 levels more than his own, he is permanently blinded (no save).
Automatic Languages: Sas’kar, any other two. Bonus Languages: Any.
Favoured class: Monk
Race No. 2:
The I'Chuul. Erendi who have turned away from the Way of Erendar and embraced their emotions and the power they bring. Similar in appearence to erendi, except that their eyes are pits of blackness. the blackness spreads from their eyes and down over their bodies in elaborate patterns. I'Chuul are very firendly and welcoming, always seeking new friends. They are quick to sulk or anger, however. Again, an I'Chuul who forsakes his powers is just a human with -2 Con.
+2 Int, +2 Cha, -2 Con, -2 Wis
Medium, base land speed 30 ft, Darkvision to 60 ft.
+2 on Hide checks.
Wild Mind (Su): Any being that attempts to divine an I’Chuul’s thoughts or emotions by mystical means must make a Will save (DC 10 + ½ the I’Chuul’s character level + the I’Chuul’s Cha bonus) or be stunned for 5 rounds. If he fails the save by 10 or more, he is driven insane, as the insanity spell.
Just as an erendi can see magic, so I'Chuul can see people's emotions as an aura around their heads. This gives them several bonuses. They get a +2 racial bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information and Perform checks and a +4 racial bonus on Sense Motive checks. In addition, the DC of any spell or effect the I’Chuul controls that affects the emotions is increased by 2, and they get a +2 bonus to caster level to overcome spell resistance against these effects. None of these bonuses apply versus erendi.
Automatic Languages: Sas’kar, any other one. Bonus Languages: Any.
Favoured class: Bard
Race No. 3:
The Askarti. These people used to be humans but have long since drifted away into their own distinct race. They are big and bulky, with very thick, purple-tinged skin. Magical tattoos are carved into this skin with enchanted knives, granting an askartus many of his abilities, but also make it difficult for them to use magic.
Askarti exist in a tribal society, overruled by their rare spellcasters, known as the Wise. They have a similar temperament to dwarves - slow to trust, fast to mistrust, holds gruges for a very long time - but can make stalwart friends eventually. An askarti won't tolerate insults, especially against the Wise. An insult to a Wise is an insult to all askarti listening.
+2 Str, -2 Dex.
Medium, base land speed 30 ft.
+2 natural armour bonus.
Spell resistence equal to 9 plus character level. Can't voluntarily lower this SR.
Siphon Energy (Su): Whenever the askartus is dealt energy damage he gains resistance 5 to that type of damage. Additional energy of the same type increases the resistance by 5 each time. This resistance lasts until the askartus is damaged by a different type of energy, whereupon he gains resistance 5 against that type instead. The energy types that this ability works against are: fire, cold, acid, sonic, electricity, positive and negative. Note that this means that repeated healing spells will become less and less effective on an askartus until he is damaged by another source of energy.
10% arcane and divine spell failure chance. Stacks with arcane failure chance from armour, shields, etc.
Automatic Languages: Askarti, regional human language. Bonus Languages: Arget, the Shining Tongue, Vash, Anarvan (the languages of various human nations).
Favoured class: Fighter
That'll do for now. I'll post the others in a day or two.
I'd like some help balancing these races. I'm worried that many of them are overpowered, perhaps seriously. No-one has characters with them yet, so they're easy to change.
Important things to consider:
1) The campaign is using a relative alignment system - one man's holy is another's evil. Because of this, the land is split into many seperate factions, many of whom are constantly at war or allied with a country that is.
2) Because of this, there is no Common language. Humans have starting languages depending on their region of origin.
3) Since I decided that most non-human races are inappropriate to this campaign, there are no elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings or orcs. The people of the world have legends about them (and they may exist elsewhere, or have existed) but they're not available as player races. thus, i need to make new ones. Most of the races are humanlike in form.
Race No. 1:
The erendi. Tall, thin humans with glowing yellow eyes. Tend to be bald. Follow the way of Erendar, which advocates the complete suppression of outwards emotion. Speak little and laugh less. Erendi that don't follow the way are just humans with -2 Con.
2 Int, +2 Wis, -2 Con, -2 Cha.
Medium, base land speed 30 ft, Low-Light Vision.
+2 on Spellcraft checks and all Knowledge checks. An erendi can use any Knowledge skill as though he were trained in that skill.
Disciple of Erendar (Ex): An erendi gets a +6 bonus on saves vs. any spell or effect that relies on strong emotion, such as crushing despair or rage, and cannot willingly use abilities that rely on emotions, such as a barbarian’s rage. He also gets a +4 bonus on saves vs. spells and effects that attempt to detect his thoughts or feelings.
And the biggy: An erendi’s eyes project a 10-foot globe of shadowy illumination in front of them at all times. He cannot suppress this ability except by closing his eyes. In addition, erendi can see magic. Magic items glimmer, and spell effects are visible and a glowing shape in the air. This even applies to normally invisible effects such as walls of force. A spell or item’s aura changes depending on the strength of the magic involved . An erendi cannot divine the school of magic of an aura by looking at it, nor can she see the precise caster level of the effect in question – she simply gets an aura power rating, such as Faint. Any effect that deceives or blocks detect magic will similarly affect an erendi’s Eyes of Erendar ability.
If an erendi looks at a magical aura which has a caster level five or more higher than the erendi’s character level, he must make a Fortitude save (DC equal to 5 + the aura’s CL) or be blinded for three rounds and dazed for a minute. A successful save negates the blindness and halves the duration of the dazed effect. If the save result is five or more higher than the DC, both the blindness and dazing are negated. An erendi who is blinded by an aura cannot be affected thus again unless the aura leaves his sight for more than an hour.
If an erendi looks at an aura whose level is at least 25 levels more than his own, he is permanently blinded (no save).
Automatic Languages: Sas’kar, any other two. Bonus Languages: Any.
Favoured class: Monk
Race No. 2:
The I'Chuul. Erendi who have turned away from the Way of Erendar and embraced their emotions and the power they bring. Similar in appearence to erendi, except that their eyes are pits of blackness. the blackness spreads from their eyes and down over their bodies in elaborate patterns. I'Chuul are very firendly and welcoming, always seeking new friends. They are quick to sulk or anger, however. Again, an I'Chuul who forsakes his powers is just a human with -2 Con.
+2 Int, +2 Cha, -2 Con, -2 Wis
Medium, base land speed 30 ft, Darkvision to 60 ft.
+2 on Hide checks.
Wild Mind (Su): Any being that attempts to divine an I’Chuul’s thoughts or emotions by mystical means must make a Will save (DC 10 + ½ the I’Chuul’s character level + the I’Chuul’s Cha bonus) or be stunned for 5 rounds. If he fails the save by 10 or more, he is driven insane, as the insanity spell.
Just as an erendi can see magic, so I'Chuul can see people's emotions as an aura around their heads. This gives them several bonuses. They get a +2 racial bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information and Perform checks and a +4 racial bonus on Sense Motive checks. In addition, the DC of any spell or effect the I’Chuul controls that affects the emotions is increased by 2, and they get a +2 bonus to caster level to overcome spell resistance against these effects. None of these bonuses apply versus erendi.
Automatic Languages: Sas’kar, any other one. Bonus Languages: Any.
Favoured class: Bard
Race No. 3:
The Askarti. These people used to be humans but have long since drifted away into their own distinct race. They are big and bulky, with very thick, purple-tinged skin. Magical tattoos are carved into this skin with enchanted knives, granting an askartus many of his abilities, but also make it difficult for them to use magic.
Askarti exist in a tribal society, overruled by their rare spellcasters, known as the Wise. They have a similar temperament to dwarves - slow to trust, fast to mistrust, holds gruges for a very long time - but can make stalwart friends eventually. An askarti won't tolerate insults, especially against the Wise. An insult to a Wise is an insult to all askarti listening.
+2 Str, -2 Dex.
Medium, base land speed 30 ft.
+2 natural armour bonus.
Spell resistence equal to 9 plus character level. Can't voluntarily lower this SR.
Siphon Energy (Su): Whenever the askartus is dealt energy damage he gains resistance 5 to that type of damage. Additional energy of the same type increases the resistance by 5 each time. This resistance lasts until the askartus is damaged by a different type of energy, whereupon he gains resistance 5 against that type instead. The energy types that this ability works against are: fire, cold, acid, sonic, electricity, positive and negative. Note that this means that repeated healing spells will become less and less effective on an askartus until he is damaged by another source of energy.
10% arcane and divine spell failure chance. Stacks with arcane failure chance from armour, shields, etc.
Automatic Languages: Askarti, regional human language. Bonus Languages: Arget, the Shining Tongue, Vash, Anarvan (the languages of various human nations).
Favoured class: Fighter
That'll do for now. I'll post the others in a day or two.