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Conners
2007-12-30, 11:46 AM
How they came to be, no one is certain. Perhaps a mighty sorcerer sought to make the ultimate warrior race, editing the human gene.
Perhaps it was done through breeding the strongest men and women, by the order of a king on an unstable seat of power.
Perhaps human children were simply trained from the day they could walk, the weaker ones dying off... Regardless, the fact remains that the Darkhunters reign the supreme warrior race.

This thread is for working on my homebrew race: The Darkhunters.

Male Darkhunter Statistics:


Medium size.
30ft. base speed.
+1 BAB to melee attacks, +1 dodge bonus to AC, +1 to initiative; Darkhunters have a thorough understanding of battle from intense training.
Simple and Martial weapon proficiency, proficiency with all armour and shields.
+2 on Ride checks; Darkhunters are taught to ride at a young age.
Darkness Obsession: +2 bonus to skill checks related to black animals. -4 penalty to skill checks related to white animals. +2 to Move Silently and Hide checks when used in the dark; Most Darkhunter Legions worship the dark, thinking of white things as unlucky.
+2 Morale bonus to saves against fear; Most darkhunters would sooner die a torturous death than runaway from battle.
Code of Honour: When acting to defend your honour or that of your Legion, family or friends--gain a +1 morale bonus to attacks; None fight more desperately for their honour than a Darkhunter warrior.
Take a -2 penalty to attack rolls-- unless the attack is non-lethal --against female humanoid creatures, unless the Darkhunter Legion considers them too foreign or abhors them (goblins, kobolds and sea hags for example).
-4 to leathal attacks against humanoid children, lest they be considered unintelligent (a baby troglodyte or lizardfolk is fair game).
+4 FORT, +3 WIL, +2 REF; Darkhunter men go through rigorous training from the age of four, both physical and mental.
-2 to Diplomacy and Bluff checks; Darkhunters are prideful and confident in their power. After all, why should they have to lie or flatter someone when they are superior in every way?
+2 LA.

As you can see, they have powerful statistics. They are, however, intended to be the most powerful humanoid race in the world. Still, I'll take out anything that most definitely must be removed.

Abjurer
2007-12-30, 02:46 PM
+1 BAB?? That's huge. That's saying that a first-level darkhunter sorcerer is as good with a weapon as a first-level human fighter. Or that a darkhunter fighter gets his second attack at fifth level.

Make it a +1 inherent bonus to all attacks with melee weapons, and it's at least reasonable. Still big, but reasonable. You might consider giving them outsider hit dice too...

JackMage666
2007-12-30, 05:14 PM
It would probably be better to give the 2 racial HD and a +1 LA. Outsider HD would be a good choice, as it seems to match the proficiencies, BAB, and Saves the best. Outsider (Native) even makes it so they're not all that cheesy (IE, they need to sleep, eat, and breath)

EvilElitest
2007-12-30, 10:01 PM
no offense, but aren't there more powerful humoids in the world, like those who have LA 3 and up:smallconfused:
from,
EE

Conners
2007-12-31, 07:18 AM
+1 BAB?? That's huge. That's saying that a first-level darkhunter sorcerer is as good with a weapon as a first-level human fighter. Or that a darkhunter fighter gets his second attack at fifth level.

Make it a +1 inherent bonus to all attacks with melee weapons, and it's at least reasonable. Still big, but reasonable. You might consider giving them outsider hit dice too... Darkhunters generally dislike the arcane, but that's beside the point. It certainly does show how proficient a Darkhunter is with combat, though :smallbiggrin:. As I say, they are meant to be the ultimate warriors.

What is an "inherent" bonus? I'll have to look into Outsider hitdice... never paid much attention to them before.


It would probably be better to give the 2 racial HD and a +1 LA. Outsider HD would be a good choice, as it seems to match the proficiencies, BAB, and Saves the best. Outsider (Native) even makes it so they're not all that cheesy (IE, they need to sleep, eat, and breath) I thought racial hitdice were for more monster-like races, such as gnolls. I'll make sure to look into these Outsider hitdice.


no offense, but aren't there more powerful humoids in the world, like those who have LA 3 and up:smallconfused:
from,
EE Those are only the racial statistics, and I was thinking about adding in a couple of things. Your average adult Darkhunter Soldier is a 5th level fighter, with 16 str, 14 dex, 15 con, 11 int, 12 wis and 13 chr. Sergeants tend to be something around 7th level, while leaders and generals are around 10th.
The super elites of the Darkhunter race include: The Dark Maiden (a 16th level Drow Cleric), 2 to 5 Spirits of Battle (12th to 14th level Darkhunter Fighter/Barbarian/Berserker), the Essence of Darkness (A Black Dragon: Very old to Great Wyrm), and the two Kings of the Darkhunters (20th level Darkhunter, usually fighter class).
As I said, they're the best in the world. Luckily, they are in no hurry to conquer it--though some have little interest in the idea whatsoever.

Should I still change them around a bit?


Note: A darkhunter raised in a normal society has these statistics:

Medium size.
30ft. base speed.
+1 BAB to melee attacks, +1 dodge bonus to AC, +1 to initiative; Darkhunters have a thorough understanding of battle.
+2 Morale bonus to saves against fear; Most darkhunters would sooner die a torturous death than runaway from battle.
Code of Honour: When acting to defend your honour or that of your Legion, family or friends--gain a +1 morale bonus to attacks; None fight more desperately for their honour than a Darkhunter warrior.
Take a -1 penalty to attack rolls-- unless the attack is non-lethal --against female humanoid creatures, unless the Darkhunter Legion considers them too foreign or abhors them (goblins, kobolds and sea hags for example).
-1 to leathal attacks against humanoid children, lest they be considered unintelligent (a baby troglodyte or lizardfolk is fair game): Some of the
+2 FORT, +2 WIL, +1 REF; So long have the darkhunters gone through
Favoured Class: Fighter, Barbarian, Monk or Ranger; Darkhunters are naturally drawn to fighting on the front-lines--though how becomes vague without the strict fighter training of their society.

ZeroNumerous
2007-12-31, 07:27 AM
+1 BAB is a big deal. A +1 untyped bonus to attack rolls would fit the bill without giving that nice BAB increase.

+1 BAB is the difference between a +5 and an iterative attack.

JackMage666
2007-12-31, 08:05 AM
Considering you generally need it OK'ed to use LA'ed raced, Racial HD are just fine to use. 2 Outsider HD and a +1 LA seems balanced enough, but you'd end up taking about the bonus to saves and BAB (Because the Racial HD provide these). It's considerable more balanced.

So, you're stat tray will look more like....


Male Darkhunter Statistics:

* Medium size.
* Outsider (native) type.
* 30ft. base speed.
* Darkvision out to 60 feet.
* Racial Hit Dice: A Darkhunter begins with two levels of outsider, which provide 2d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +1, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +3, Ref +3, and Will +3.
* Racial Skills: A Darkhunter’s outsider levels give it skill points equal to 5 × (8 + Int modifier). Its class skills are Handle Animal, Intimidate, Knowledge (History), and Ride.
* Racial Feats: A Darkhunter’s outsider levels give it one feat.
* Reflexive Combatant. Darkhunters receive a +1 dodge bonus to AC and a +1 to initiative checks; Darkhunters have a thorough understanding of battle from intense training.
* Darkhunters are proficient with all Simple and Martial Weapons, as well as light, medium, and heavy armor, and shields.
* +2 on Ride checks; Darkhunters are taught to ride at a young age.
* Darkness Obsession: +2 bonus to skill checks related to black animals. -4 penalty to skill checks related to white animals. +2 to Move Silently and Hide checks when used in the dark; Most Darkhunter Legions worship the dark, thinking of white things as unlucky.
* +2 Morale bonus to saves against fear; Most darkhunters would sooner die a torturous death than runaway from battle.
* Code of Honour: When acting to defend your honour or that of your Legion, family or friends--gain a +1 morale bonus to attacks; None fight more desperately for their honour than a Darkhunter warrior.
* Take a -2 penalty to attack rolls-- unless the attack is non-lethal --against female humanoid creatures, unless the Darkhunter Legion considers them too foreign or abhors them (goblins, kobolds and sea hags for example).
* -4 to leathal attacks against humanoid children, lest they be considered unintelligent (a baby troglodyte or lizardfolk is fair game).
* -2 to Diplomacy and Bluff checks; Darkhunters are prideful and confident in their power. After all, why should they have to lie or flatter someone when they are superior in every way?
* +1 LA.

Conners
2008-01-02, 08:01 PM
Considering you generally need it OK'ed to use LA'ed raced, Racial HD are just fine to use. 2 Outsider HD and a +1 LA seems balanced enough, but you'd end up taking about the bonus to saves and BAB (Because the Racial HD provide these). It's considerable more balanced.

So, you're stat tray will look more like.... That looks perfect! The only thing I'd worry about is the Darkvision... although Darkhunters are obsessed with darkness and very powerful, they are still human for the most part. I was planning on them getting Darkvision through a prestige class specifically for them. It's still good, though :smallbiggrin:.
Sorry for not replying for so long... I was incredibly sick yesterday, and am still sick today to a large extent.

JackMage666
2008-01-02, 10:13 PM
Well, the Outsider type comes with Darkvision.. You could make an exception, but it's pretty fitting for the race anyway.

EDIT - Did I seriously put obsession, not exception?

Conners
2008-01-04, 08:03 AM
Well, the Outsider type comes with Darkvision.. You could make an obsession, but it's pretty fitting for the race anyway. Yeah, I guess it's fine :smallbiggrin:.

Another thing which puts the Darkhunter race on top is their armour and weapons--even dwarves marvel at their dark-steel. Weapons get a +1 bonus to damage. Armour gets a +1 bonus to Max Dex and AC, along with -2 to the armour check penalty of that armour type (minimum of 0). All Darkhunter-made weapons and armour are masterwork.
No one knows how they make Darksteel, though it is most likely related to the Darkhunter deity, Lashaynero (pronounced: "lah-sh*ay-nay-row". *: Some pronounce it "say", omitting the "h".). His/her name literally means "Divine Essence of Darkness".

Lashaynero is the head of the small, but increasingly powerful, Darkhunter pantheon. The deity is said to be made out of an essence, rather than a powerful being as other pantheon's gods are. Essence is the basis of all Darkhunter religion.

The Darkhunter Legacy of Creation: Back when the world was new, humans fought with one-and-other--willingly killing their brother or father over the slightest quarrel. These humans looked up to the mighty sun in the sky, claiming it their god with primitive rituals, saying, "Our God justifies us! For why should he rise if our actions are wrong?"
When a man was killed, his wives and daughters were taken and forced upon. Their children were butchered so that the victorious, cowardly men, who win through strength of numbers and ambush, would be the only ones to reproduce. They said, "If what we did was wrong, would not our God strike the resulting children dead? Would he not blind them, so they would always fear the dark and never know the light of him, or fire?"
Having primitive tools – and little mind – humans made war through trickery, savagery and cowardice; fighting only when they were far stronger, as in the ways of the disgusting goblins. And they loudly proclaimed, "If our actions are evil, then why has our God given us the moon and stars to light our stalking? He would strike down the moon, and have all men fight in the brightness of day, if that was his wish. But no, he lights our footsteps so that we may sneak upon his enemies unaware, taking their blasphemous hearts from their breast."
Long have these humans been obsessed with their warring among their own, taking women against their will, killing children, and having no honour or decency!--.... All of these they stupidly claim righteous, because of a star which lights the day. The Gods watched from their paradise in the clouds of heaven, toasting the humans for their achievements--for their evils. Well, Lashaynero did not toast the humans...

Nero, the father-half of Lashaynero, saw the humans and the gods, and grew furious with them!--The humans for acting like demons of the nine hells, and the gods for allowing, and even encouraging, them. He brought forth Lashay, the mother-half, and had her bear a child. They named the child, “Chlardeo” (dark seed of hope), and sent Chlardeo immediately to the humans.
There, Chlardeo found a man forcing himself upon a pregnant woman, despite her screams to desist. The god-child killed the man, comforting the maiden as best as could be done. Seeing her pained-- both from the man and her pregnancy closing to its last days --Chlardeo blessed her, promising great things for the children that would be born.
Three children were born: Chlardeo was born a second time, as a human male and the woman’s child—though still with the honour, strength, and beauty he had as a god. He became the first of the Darkhunter race, and those of his bloodline ruled as the kings of the race. The next two children were daughters, Galadria (beautiful dawn) and, Gladoria (beautiful night)—both more beautiful than anything else on the Earth. These sisters would begin the Elven race.
--To be continued-- Gotta stop, there's a lightning storm and we have to turn off the computers! (Please leave your feedback)