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MattKatt
2008-01-02, 09:20 AM
A few weeks ago, I decided to try my hand at DMing. I wanted to run the game in my own world but I knew that building it from scratch would take a while, so I decided to take the basic world and change the races and added a new one, add a new class (a changed old one), changed the politics and changed the flavour of magic. My players give the changes a general 4 out of 5, but I was wondering what you lot think. Any comments will be gladly accepted as this is the first time Iv tried this and Iv only been playing D&D for a year.

RACES:
Cahlail is home to 9 major races, though there are many other species in the world, these are the ones that hold the major seats on the world council.

Dopplegangers
Due to their lack of physical features, Dopplegangers are seen as alien to other races, even thought they belong on Cahlail probably more than any other Humanoid. Unemotional and logical in nature, their personal outlooks on life and religion is unwavering yet flexible.
Alignment: Dopplegangers are almost all true neutral, making them natural arbiters and judges, and finding ones along the good/evil or lawful/chaotic axis is not unusual. However very few take to the extremes of the alignments (chaotic-evil for example)
Language: Dopplegangers have their own vocal language that other races cannot seem to understand, and their ability to read minds means they have no reason to learn languages other than Common.
Class: Dopplegangers as a whole are relatively pacifist, but some tend towards fighters or rogues, taking advantage of their natural dexterity. They do not often become clerics or paladins and a Bard Doppleganger is extremely rare.
DOPPLEGANGER RACIAL TRAITS
+2 Dex, -2 Con, +2 Cha
Medium
Base land speed: 30 feet
Low-light vision
Immune to sleep and Charm Effects
Racial Skills: Diplomacy, Disguise
+2 Racial Bonus on Spot and Diplomacy
Detect Thoughts (Su): A Doppleganger can cast detect thought a number of times per day equal to its level + Charisma Modifier.
Change Shape (Su): A Doppleganger can assume the shape of any Small or Medium humanoid. A Doppleganger can remain in this form for a number of hours equal to its level + Wisdom Modifier.
Favored Class: None
Level Adjustment: +1

Dwarves
Dwarves are the most prominent race in Cahlail. Hundreds of generations ago, they shunned their homes under the mountains and took to life on the surface. Now, they can be found anywhere and everywhere that people may settle.
Alignment: Dwarves are naturally lawful creatures, tending towards good. However, their race is large in number and divides in ideas and actions are not uncommon.
Languages: Over the last few thousand years, the Dwarven language has mutated into non-existence and become the new Common. Most dwarves take it upon themselves to learn other languages out of courtesy
Class: Dwarves can be found in all parts of society and the world. A dwarf of a certain class is never a rare sight.
DWARF RACIAL TRAITS
Dwarves are the same as standard except with the following changes:
Ability Modifiers: +1 Con, -1 Wis, +1 Cha. Dwarves have adapted to life above ground, so they are not as sturdy or careful as their ancestors.
Low-light vision
Dwarves no longer have Stonecunning, but retain all other racial traits, such as resistance to poisons
Racial Skills: None
Dwaves gain a +2 racial bonus to any social skill when dealing with another race (for example, Diplomacy, Intimidate)
Favored Class: Any

Elves
Elves have fallen from grace over the centuries and have degraded mainly into wandering bands of mercenaries, rogues and bandits. Usually treated with mistrust, elves have a bad rep for sneaking into homes at night and eating peoples babies. A rumor with they do not support, nor deny.
Alignment: Most elves are chaotic in nature, and whether any live to follow the good/evil axis is yet to be seen.
Languages: Elves still speak their native Sylvan, and generally learn other languages to help with negotiations and threats.
ELF RACIAL TRAITS
Elves are the same as standard except with the following changes:
Ability Modifiers: +2 Dex, -4 Cha. Elves retain their natural grace, but have become right bastards.
Elves retain all other racial traits, such as resistance to sleep and charm effects.
Racial Skills: Forgery, Bluff
Elves gain a +4 racial bonus to Intimidate
Favored Class: Rogue

Gnomes
Gnomes are seen as the analytical mathemagicians of the world, studying Arcane magics in their labs on top of tall towers. Most Gnomes however don't bother with Mathematics and chose to live out their lives peacefully. These, of course, are the Gnomes that most don't hear about.
Alignment: Gnomes mostly hover around the chaotic-good end of the axes, though there are some that follow lawful codes.
Languages: Gnomes all speak Gnomish, which is so similar to Common that it is more of a dialect, rather than a separate language.
GNOME RACIAL TRAITS
Gnomes are the same as standard except with the following changes:
Ability Modifiers: -1 Str, +2 Int. Gnomes are small but naturally intelligent.
Gnomes loose Weapon Familiarity with the gnome hooked hammer
Racial Skills: Concentration, Hide
Gnomes gain a +2 racial bonus to Knowledge(Maths)
Favored Class: Wizard

Halflings
Across the world, no race is as hated as much as the Halflings. Their religious zeal and disdain for all other races is legendary. All Halflings are taught at a young age how much better and more righteous they are than other races, and all of them are taught the way of the Barrakah Paladin. The Church of Barrakah runs its nation like a military and expects all its residents to serve at least one year in the army.
Alignment: All Halflings that live in the Halfling country are lawful evil, through and through. Outsider Halflings can be other alignments but this is rare
Languages: Halflings don't have their own spoken language, but they do have their own written language, and it is used explicitly for holy scripture.
HALFLING RACIAL TRAITS
Halflings are the same as standard except with the following changes:
Ability Modifiers: +1 Str, +1 Con, -1 Int, -1 Cha. Halflings are military trained from an early age by their church, but not allowed much in the way of personal development.
Racial Skills: Knowledge (Religion), Ride
Halflings get a +2 Racial bonus to Sense Motive
Special: If a Halfling character does not have at least one level in Barrakah Paladin, then they receive a 25% exp penalty from level 5 onwards.
Almost all Halflings are Jingoistic.
Favored Class: Barrakah Paladin

Humans
Humans are naturally adaptable and versatile creatures. It is for this reason that, for centuries, they have been used as slaves by other races. 500 years ago, a coalition of Dwarves and other races campaigned, fought, and won for the right of freedom for humans, releasing them from generations of slavery. In some places, however, humans are still treated like cattle.
Alignment: Humans tend towards good, but most will be of any alignment.
Languages: Humans speak Common, but have the capacity to learn most other languages
HUMAN RACIAL TRAITS
Humans are the same as standard except with the following changes:
Racial Skills: Survival
Humans get a +1 racial bonus to all Craft skills
Favored Class: Bard

Kizard
Kizard are vicious, brutal and anarchistic as a whole. Yet from this, they have developed some kind of hodge-podge government, more akin to a revolving-door-dictatorship crossed with a chinese feudal system. The most powerful is in charge until he gets killed by someone better. Most Kizard live in small wandering tribes in lands controlled by one lord, but they are free to travel within all kizard lands.
Alignment: Kizards are seen as Chaotic-Evil. Nearly all are defiantly Chaotic, but they see the difference between Good and Evil as a moot point.
Languages: Salamandarin and Common.
KIZARD RACIAL TRAITS
Kizard are the same as standard lizardfolk except with the following changes
Ability Modifiers: +2 Str, - 2 Int, -2 Cha.
Kizard gain no Racial Hit die, racial skill points, racial feats or weapon and armour proficiencies
+2 natural armour bonus
Natural Weapons: 2 claws (1d4, 19-20/x2) and bite (1d4, x3)
Racial Skills: Swim, Jump
Kizards gain a +2 racial bonus to Balance, Climb and Tumble
Favored Class: Fighter

Mephalites
Each of the 9 major races was created by one of the 9 Higher Gods, and each God gave their race a name. But there is a race on Cahlail that have no name, a race that spawn from pools of pure evil and malice. Those are the chosen of Mephisto, the Dragon God. They are the ones known as the Mephalites.
The Mephalites split themselves into 2 casts. Those of the warrior cast are trained to be pure fighters, while those of the learner cast are taught magic and diplomacy. No Mephalite can escape this cast system.
Description:
Warrior: Those of the warrior cast stand at about 6' to 6'5'', weighing in at close to 200lb. Extremely muscular and with a jutting jaw that reveals a row of sharp, pointed teeth, with scales that extrude from their noses to their hairline and along their strong brows. There skin is usually dark shades of gray, close to almost black. On their backs are rows upon rows of long, ebony spines that they have trained to use as defensive weapons. These spines tend to be anywhere from 6inches to a whole foot long. The majority of this cast are Males.
Learner: The learner cast are more frail than their warrior brothers, and due to this rarely range above 6'2'' or more than 110lb. Their muscle is less but still toned and their faces are slightly more dragon-like and pointed. The spines on their backs are seen more as decoration than defense, so they lay partially flat along their backs and are usually only 5-8 inches long. Their skin is also lighter in shade, going from mid to light gray. This cast seems evenly split among males and females.
Adventures: Mephalites rarely travel outside their own lands. When they do, its usually as part of a raiding party or diplomatic convoy. Sometimes, non-evil Mephalites travel to seek acceptance outside their own boarders.
Alignment: Though the race is created by Mephisto, and is seen usually as evil, some Mephalites float between evil and neutral, and hardly any display tendencies toward good. Members of the warrior cast are usually chaotic, while learners are mostly lawful.
Languages: All Mephalites speak Draconic and Common. Learners usually take it upon themselves to learn other languages, but warriors hardly ever do.
MEPHALITE RACIAL TRAITS: (warrior / learner)
Str: ( +2 / -2 )
Dex: ( +2 / +1 )
Con: ( +1 / -2 )
Int: ( -2 / +2 )
Wis: ( -2 / +3 )
Cha: ( -3 / -1 )
Height: ( 5 foot 11+1d6 inches / 5 foot 8+1d6 inches )
Weight: ( 180+2d20 lb / 100+1d20 lb )
Medium
Base land speed: 30ft
Darkvision
Warriors gain +2 racial bonus to poison and fear effect saves
Learners gain +2 racial bonus to resist spell effects
Natural Defense: When grappled or attacked from behind, Warrior Mephalites can use their natural spines to do 1d6+1/2 str damage as a free action. Learners do 1d3
Toughened Skin: Warriors gain DR 4/B. Learners gain DR2/B + P
Racial Skills: ( Survival / Use Magic Device )
Mephalite warriors gain +1 racial bonus to their unarmed and melee attack. Learners gain +2 racial bonus to Appraise, Knowledge(Maths), Knowledge(Religion) and Spellcraft.
Favored Class: ( Barbarian / Sorcerer )
Level Adjustment: ( +2 / +1 )

Orcs
One of the most benevolent races, the Orcs are seen as a beacon of morality and wisdom. As the oldest race, Orcs have taken it upon themselves to attempt guide the other races of the world away from self-destruction and war. Though they haven't fully succeeded in that task, they would be the last to admit it.
Alignment: Orcs are, for the majority, Lawful-Good. Few Orcs step neutrally on one axis or the other, and it is extremely rare to find one either chaotic or evil, and never both
Languages: High-Orcen and Common. All Orcs speak both these languages, and most attempt to learn others.
ORC RACIAL TRAITS
Orcs are the same as standard Half-Orcs with the following exceptions
Ability Modifiers: +1 Str, +1 Wis, -1 Dex.
Low-light vision
Orcs lose the Orc Blood trait
Racial Skills: Sense Motive, Spot
Orcs gain a +2 racial bonus to Diplomacy and Sense Motive.
Favored Class: Cleric

MattKatt
2008-01-02, 09:29 AM
NEW CLASS
Barrakah Paladin
The Barrakah Paladin (Bpd) is a class restricted to Halflings. They are the law enforcers and army of the Halfling nation, spreading the word of Barrakah and the Halflings superiority of other races. The Halfling government forces all its populace to serve at least one year in the army before reaching a certain age. Anyone who breeches this law is branded, exiled and forbidden to return under penalty of death.
GAME RULE INFORMATION
Barrakah Paladins are the same as regular paladins with the following exceptions:
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Race: Only Halflings can be Barrakah Paladins
Class Features:
Aura of Evil (Ex): This replaces the paladins Aura of Good. It functions the same.
Detect Good (Sp): This replaces the paladins Detect Good. It functions the same.
Smite Good (Su): This replaces the paladins Smite Evil. It functions the same.
Lay on Hands (Su): This functions the same as usual, only a halfling is reluctant to use it on anyone not a halfling. If they do, the recipient only receives half the healing they usualy would. (So if she could heal 21 hit points a day, it would cost her 2 hit points to heal 1 of a non-halfling)
Aura of Fear (Su): This replaces the paladins Aura of Courage. The Barrakah Paladin is immune to fear. Each enemy within a 10ft radius automatically fails all saving throws against fear effects.
Rebuke Undead (Su): This replaces the paladins Turn Undead. It functions the same.
Spells: Swich all Evil and Good spells for their opposites, and add Inflict wounds
Code of Conduct: A Barrakah Paladin can never be good or chaotic and can never commit an act against the Halfling nation, or she will lose all her powers. She must respect authority, regardless of race.
Levels: Unlike regular paladins, Barrakah Paladins can still gain levels after multiclassing.

GODS AND MAGIC
Arcane Magic: Arcane magic functions a little differently in Cahlail. Here, it is all based on a mix of mathematics and runes, known as Mathamagic. This works on the theory that the entire universe, as well as all objects and creatures within work on magical “formula”, and that these formulas can be manipulated and new formula created. If a wizard (or Mathamagician as they're widely called) wants to cast a spell, she must have that spells formula in her spellbook. Sorcerers act like natural calculators and, as such, gain the skill Knowledge (Maths) and gain a +4 class bonus to it.
RULES:
If someone wants to try and recognize a spell, they may use Knowledge (Maths) instead of Spellcraft, but only if they have more Ranks in it
Material Components: Material Components are sometimes expensive. If a wizard wishes, she may spend time studying a component in order to learn its formula. The time required to do this is equal to the (components cost/10) hours. Once a wizard knows an items formula, she may attempt to incorporate it into a spells existing formula. This new spell takes up a slot in the wizards spellbook, requires 10x the spells level in hours to create, requires a successful Spellcraft or Knowledge (Maths) roll (DC 15+ the spells level) and costs XP equal to twice the material components cost to create. The spell itself is considered a different spell to the base spell used.

Divine Magic: Divine magic functions the same as usual. All beings know that the 9 Gods exist, and its up to each individual if they wish to actively worship one of these gods. All gods are represented physically as their associated race, except Mephisto, The Dragon God
RULES:
If someone wants to try and recognize a spell, they may use Knowledge (Religion) instead of Spellcraft, but only if they have more Ranks in it.
Cleric Domains: Unlike normal, the 9 gods do not hold individual domains, but allow their clerics to learn any domain they wish. However, each god has a preferred domain, and if a cleric choses the preferred domain of their god, they may cast any domain spell they prepare from that domain twice a day instead of the usual one. This only applies to their gods chosen domain spells and not the domain spells a cleric gains from his other domain.
The 9 Gods: Each god is associated with a specific race, alignment and has a preferred domain and favored weapon;
{table]NAME|RACE|ALIGNMENT|PREFFERED DOMAIN|FAVORED WEAPON
Carrin|Human|N-G|Nature|Heavy Flail
Neflu|Gnome|C-G|Magic|Light Mace
Firis|Elf|C-N|Trickery|Longsword
Vadd|Kizard|C-E|Fire|Trident
Mephisto|Mephalite|N-E|Destruction|Morningstar
Barrakah|Halfling|L-E|War|Scimitar
Aminir|Dwarf|L-N|Healing|Battleaxe
Ikitith|Orc|L-G|Protection|Longspear
J'ahr|Doppleganger|N-N|Knowledge|Quarterstaff[/table]

Umarth
2008-01-02, 11:37 AM
I did a quick read through and had a couple items to point out:

1) Dwarves the ability bonuses shouldn't be in odd increments. Having ability scores as +1/+1 or +3/-3 let's players tweak the characters in ways they shouldn't be able to.
For example if I'm a Dwarf with these ability scores: 15, 14, 13 I'll put the 15 into con (16) the 14 into Wis (13) and the 13 into Cha (14). Now I've got a bonus to two ability scores and a penalty to none.

2) A +2 dex isn't worth a -4 cha penalty. The +4 racial bonus to Intimidate is also odd because it conflicts with the cha penalty. Elves overall are rather underpowered. I'd say rather than using a cha penalty to represent the fact people think they are baby eaters I'd give them a Diplomacy penalty or have all NPCs one catagory worse when determining the initial reactions.

3) Gnomes: again a -1 penalty to str isn't a good idea otherwise it's not a penalty at all.
Also Know: (Maths) isn't a skill. I'd probably change this to Spell Craft or Know (Arcana).

4) Halflings: odd ability modifiers againi. I'm also not a fan of the exp penalty. I'd look for another way to encourage halflings to take levels in Barrakah Paladin. Perhaps a Gease is placed on them at birth (or by the gods as a race) that will punish those who don't take a level. Exp penalties I've found are mostly just a pain in the rear to track and make players grumpy.

5) Kizards: The chaotic lizard? Or perhaps a chicken gizard? I'd probably change the name. It just seems kinda funny to me. The comment about Kizards gaining no racial Hit die, skill points, ect seems odd. Do the other races?
Natural weapons (especially ones that arn't 20/x2 for crits) normally require a +1 LA.

6) Mephalites: Ability scores again. I don't understand why the Learners DR is harder to bypass than the Warriors. As written you need to deal bludgoning and piercing damage to ignore the DR.
I also think the Mephalite warriors are a bit weak for a +2 LA race.

7) Orcs: Ability scores. Half-orcs are already considered way underpowered these guys are even worse. They need to be bumped up some.

MattKatt
2008-01-02, 12:15 PM
1) Dwarves the ability bonuses shouldn't be in odd increments. Having ability scores as +1/+1 or +3/-3 let's players tweak the characters in ways they shouldn't be able to.
For example if I'm a Dwarf with these ability scores: 15, 14, 13 I'll put the 15 into con (16) the 14 into Wis (13) and the 13 into Cha (14). Now I've got a bonus to two ability scores and a penalty to none.

I wanted to make it so that the dwarves still had some kind of bonus, but not one as good as proper dwarves. aside from odd increments, I wasnt sure of an effective way of doing it



2) A +2 dex isn't worth a -4 cha penalty. The +4 racial bonus to Intimidate is also odd because it conflicts with the cha penalty. Elves overall are rather underpowered. I'd say rather than using a cha penalty to represent the fact people think they are baby eaters I'd give them a Diplomacy penalty or have all NPCs one catagory worse when determining the initial reactions.

Originaly, the cha penalty was -2, but someone pointed out that this didnt match the +2 dex. I like the idea of a diplomacy penalty but how would I balance that out properly without modifying the ability bonuses too much?



3) Gnomes: again a -1 penalty to str isn't a good idea otherwise it's not a penalty at all.
Also Know: (Maths) isn't a skill. I'd probably change this to Spell Craft or Know (Arcana).

I agree. I think the penalty should be -2. I dont know why I only said 1.
Also, if you read my section about Gods and Magic, Know: (Maths) is pretty much a cross between Know: (Arcana) and Spellcraft



4) Halflings: odd ability modifiers againi. I'm also not a fan of the exp penalty. I'd look for another way to encourage halflings to take levels in Barrakah Paladin. Perhaps a Gease is placed on them at birth (or by the gods as a race) that will punish those who don't take a level. Exp penalties I've found are mostly just a pain in the rear to track and make players grumpy.

Again, I wasnt sure sure how to do the pentalty. I wanted to find a way of gently suggesting to players that its a good idea to take levels of BPl but without the idea of NOT taking a level be completly out of the question.



5) Kizards: The chaotic lizard? Or perhaps a chicken gizard? I'd probably change the name. It just seems kinda funny to me. The comment about Kizards gaining no racial Hit die, skill points, ect seems odd. Do the other races?
Natural weapons (especially ones that arn't 20/x2 for crits) normally require a +1 LA.

The comment about racial hit die is with reguards to the fact that I based these of the lizardmen in the Monster Manual, which says that they naturaly have hit dice. I wanted to remove this as a way to balance out the natural weapons without incuring the +1 LA



6) Mephalites: Ability scores again. I don't understand why the Learners DR is harder to bypass than the Warriors. As written you need to deal bludgoning and piercing damage to ignore the DR.
I also think the Mephalite warriors are a bit weak for a +2 LA race.

Oh, I ment to write it so that the warriors have a damage reduction to slashing and peircing, but the learners only get the reduction to peircing. sorry.
This is my first try at a completly-from-scratch race. How would you suggest I change the ability scores?



7) Orcs: Ability scores. Half-orcs are already considered way underpowered these guys are even worse. They need to be bumped up some.

I admit, I wasnt 100% on the orcs. I wanted them to be more scholars than fighters though.

Thank you so much for the comments and critique. Ill take it all to heart and hope you can suggest some alterations I could make :smallsmile:

Umarth
2008-01-02, 12:48 PM
Sure here are some suggestions on how I'd change a couple things. Feel free to use my suggestions or come up with your own changes:

Dwarves: I'd go with

-2 Wis, +2 Cha
Low-Light Vision
+4 skill points at first level and +1 skill point at each level after first.
+2 racial bonus to Diplomacy
Dwarves start knowing 2 more languages than normal.


That's a decent race that's focused on interactions with other races. I'd also keep in mind the Cha bonus means you'll see a decent number of Dwarf Sorcerers and bards.

Elves: I'd probably leave the ability scores the way you orginally had them. I've never worried overly much about people saying cha is the weakest of the ability scores.

+2 Dex, -2 Cha
Normal elf traits
All NPCs treat the elf as though they where one catagory more hostile than would otherwise be expected. Thus individuals that would normally be Indifferent will be Unfriendly and individuals that would be unfriendly will be openly hostile and are likely to attack.


Know (Maths): Are you actually replacing spell craft or Know Arcana with Know (Maths). It should also be spelled out exactly what Know (Maths) covers somewhere. Keep in mind to that adding in new skills overall weakens characters as they now have to spend skill points in more areas.

Halflings: How about:
Cursed by the gods: Halfling gods are jelious and spitefull. Any halfling who advances to 6th level or higher with out having taken at least 1 level in Barrakah Paladin suffers a -2 penalty on all attack, damage, and skill checks. A halfling may avoid this curse by preforming a sacrifice every level with a cost equal to 500gp x the characters level.

Kizards: The racial Hit die and such are actually part of the penalty of being a lizardman as racial hit die are almost always inferior to class levels. Which would you rather have at ECL 3, 2HD of a Fighter or 2HD of lizardman? You've actually made them more powerful rather than less by removing the racial HD.

The real problem with natural weapons is that you get to attack with them normally in addition to any itterative attacks granted by weapons.

If you wanted them to not have a level adjustment I'd probably stat them as follows:
Reptile subtype

+2 Str, -2 Int, -2 Cha
Natural Weapons: 2 claws (1d3, x2) and bite (1d4, x2)
Civilized: Kizards generally find it socially unacceptable to fight with thier claws or bite and thus are considered non-proficicent with them unless they take Weapon Proficiency (Claw) and/or Weapon proficiency (Bite). A Kizard who is not proficient in thier natural weapons can not utalize them as part of a full attack action.


Mephalites I'll come back to these later today.

Orcs: Maybe make them equal to one of the Lvl adj 0 assimar races running arround.

JackMage666
2008-01-02, 12:59 PM
As said before, the odd abilities scores aren't really used in 3.5.

The only one that really jumped out at me, though, was the Gnome. For -1 Str (which may or may not get you -1 check penalty, depending on the base score), you get +2 Int, which does get you +1 DC to wizard spells, an extra wizard spell of per day (the level of the spell varies), 1 extra skill point per level, and extra language, +1 to a number of skill checks, ect.

Most importantly, though, is it gives you a wizard with almost no drawback (an 11 is almost the same as a 10 in 3.5, so it's not hard to sacrifice 1 point of an ability for 2 points in another, more important, stat).

MattKatt
2008-01-02, 10:12 PM
Umarth: I really like those changes youve made. I would still like to keep the dwarves +1 con as its a remnant of their ancestors. I could of course change this so that instead, they gain an extra hit point every level, leaving their con scores alone. I especialy like the alternative of the halfling drawback. I also like the changes to the kizards though I would like to know of a way to keep their natural AC. Maybe I should re-institute the base creature HD and have a +1 LA for it?

I suppose Know: (Maths) replaces Know (Arcana) and functions like Spellcraft aswell. Only if the spellcraft effect is used on Divine magic, it will have no effect.

JackMage666: I think I will increase the str penatly to -2, after both you and Umarth have commented on it

Umarth
2008-01-03, 09:42 AM
Okay got some time to post again.

For the Dwarves if you want to give them the feeling of having once been a sturdy race I'd probably give them toughness (+3hps) as a bonus feat and keep the dwarves +2 bonus on saves vs. poison and +2 on saves vs. spells.

Giving them an extra hit point per level is really just giving them a +2 con which would mean unbalanced stats and that would "require" a level adjustment penalty. ("Require" if you wanted to follow the normal guidelines)

Kizards: If we're willing to give kizards a level adjustment we have quite a bit more room to play with them. I'd still steer away from racial hit die since any racial HD will typically make players never want to play that race.

How about this:
Kizard:

Reptilian subtype
+2 Str, -2 Int, -2 Cha
Natural Weapons: 2 claws (1d4, x2) and bite (1d6, x2)
Natural Armor: 2
Hold breath: A Kizard can hold it's breath for a number of rounds equal to four times its Constitution score before it risks drowning.
LA +1


Know (Maths): Okay those changes sound reasonable. I'd defiantly make sure you spell it out for your players though so you don't have someone spending skill points on something that your world doesn't use.

Mephalites: I'm a big fan of races with sexual dimorphism (sexes are different shapes/sizes) so here's may take on the Mephalites. I'm also switching the male/female rolls so that the females are bigger and tougher just to make the race a bit more unique but feel free to change that around as you like.

Mephalite Female: Mephalite females are terrible creatures that dwarf the males of their species. They are happiest when causing pain. It is commonly believed that they regularly breed with demons and devils.


Size: Large
Str: +4, Dex-2, Con +2
Darkvision
Thorny: Mephalite Females thorny skin allows them to attack as though they had spiked armor on during grapples.
Enjoy Death: A Mephalite Female that kills a creature in combat gains a +2 bonus to all attacks and damage until the start of her next round. Killing multiple creatures in one round does not increase or extend the duration of this ability.
Racial Skills: Survival is always considered a class skill.
LA: +1


I left off the DR as these gals are already pushing only having a LA of +1.

Mephalite Male: Mephalite males are small loathsome creatures that like the larger females delight in causing pain and suffering. Where a female will simply punch your face in and toss you around the room a male mephalite is more likely to dominate your mind forcing you to commit horrible deeds. While magic comes naturally to male Mephalites and most are sorcerers they make skilled wizards as well. Wizardly Mephalites normally specialize in enchantment.


Size: Small
-2 Str, +2 Cha
Darkvision
Slimy Skin: Mephalite male’s skin constantly produces a thin layer of slime, much like a slug, that makes them hard to grapple or damage. They gain a +2 bonus on grapple and escape artist checks and DR 2/P or S.
Foul Domination: Mephalite males are natural enchanters and all enchantment spells cast by Mephalite males have the DR to resist them increased by 2.


I toned these down (stat wise especially) from what you had originally so that we could keep them at a level adjustment of 0. Any level adjustment in a class that's going to be a casting class is a bad idea. I also made charisma their strong stat to push them toward sorcerers to reflect their chaotic nature. Just keep in mind that Cha is typically better thought of as your ability to force changes on reality through force of will than how much people like you.

Anyway let me know what you think. I'd be happy to take another stab at them if they aren’t what you’re looking for.

SomethingElse
2008-01-03, 10:52 PM
Overall it's not bad, but I'd like to see more about how the flavor of the world has changed and why the "core" races were modified at all... I agree, by the way, that elves shouldn't get a charisma penalty just because people think they're evil. Demons, after all, are highly charismatic, and everyone hates them.

How can someone be "unwavering yet flexible"? Also, doppelgangers in general have never fit with my conception of "true neutral". They seem both chaotic and evil to me, and I think to most people's minds. I know D&D in general says they're TN, but that's something I'd consider changing if I were you.

MattKatt
2008-01-04, 12:31 PM
Overall it's not bad, but I'd like to see more about how the flavor of the world has changed and why the "core" races were modified at all... I agree, by the way, that elves shouldn't get a charisma penalty just because people think they're evil. Demons, after all, are highly charismatic, and everyone hates them.

Theres a specific reason why I havent added so much flavour in that respect. Its because all my players started the game with no memories. I didnt want to add to much so as to encourage power-gaming.

Learnedguy
2008-01-04, 01:42 PM
So you like, got nazi halflings:smallamused: ?

MattKatt
2008-01-04, 01:53 PM
So you like, got nazi halflings:smallamused: ?

Not really. Just imagine the catholic church back during the inquisition and now imagine it has a big sword

Umarth
2008-01-04, 03:26 PM
One more note: Aura of Fear (Su): This replaces the paladins Aura of Courage. The Barrakah Paladin is immune to fear. Each enemy within a 10ft radius automatically fails all saving throws against fear effects.

That seems a bit over powered to me. I'd probably make it apply a -4 to -6 penalty on saves vs fear.

Kiren
2008-01-04, 04:09 PM
Nice, thought you have a hole where you took out the elves as being graceful, You should add something to fill the whole of the once High elves.

A cool nickname for the fallen elves would be the wow race of blood elf

MattKatt
2008-01-05, 08:48 PM
One more note: Aura of Fear (Su): This replaces the paladins Aura of Courage. The Barrakah Paladin is immune to fear. Each enemy within a 10ft radius automatically fails all saving throws against fear effects.

That seems a bit over powered to me. I'd probably make it apply a -4 to -6 penalty on saves vs fear.

Wow, your pretty good at this, Umarth. Coming up with ideas I'd have never thought of.


A cool nickname for the fallen elves would be the wow race of blood elf

Shh! You want me to get sued??


I plan to update this with the changes in the coming week

Umarth
2008-01-06, 04:54 PM
Wow, your pretty good at this, Umarth. Coming up with ideas I'd have never thought of.


Eh, I just stole it form the D&D Minis game.