Gallivespian [Race]

[ishbo]

Anyone familiar with the Golden Compass series will be familiar with the concept of the Gallivespians. What I am trying to create is a balanced race which incorporates all of their unique abilities.

Gallivespians are a small, proud people standing between four to six inches in height. Both genders have spurs on the heel of each foot which injects a lethal or paralyzing poison depending on the wish of the Gallivespian. This poison accumulates over time, and so cannot be used with frequency.

• -6 Strength, +6 Dexterity, -8 Constitution
• Humanoid(Gallivespian)
• Diminutive Size: +4 bonus to Armor Class, +4 bonus on attack rolls, +12 bonus on Hide checks, -12 penalty on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits ¼ those of Medium characters.
• A Gallivespian’s base land speed is 5 feet.
• Low-Light Vision
• A pixie receives Dodge and Weapon Finesse as bonus feats.
• Natural Weapon: Spur (1d2) + poison.
• Poison: Gallivespian poison is very potent. Even if one fights off its’ effects it is still very painful to have it in ones system.
Intent: Paralyze (Fort DC 15 + HD – 5/use), Initial Damage: 1d6 Dex, Secondary Damage: Paralysis for 1d4 hours.
Intent: Death (Fort DC 15 + HD – 5/use), Initial Damage: Paralysis, Secondary Damage: Death.
• Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Halfling, Orc.
• Favorite Class: Ranger.
• Level Adjustment: ?

[Kaelaroth]

Replace the word pixie with Gallivespian. Maybe give them some kind of proficiency with riding giant dragonflies? Oh, and an Intelligence bonus might be in order. They were considered very clever.

[Hazkali]

Firstly, it the Dark Materials series.

Secondly, what is meant by the "use" variable in the poison DC? Is that the number of times that the poison has been used that day, or does it mean something else? That should be clarified.

Thirdly, tiny and smaller races are very hard to attach a level adjustment to. Essentially, the problem is that they make great casters whilst not being very good choices for anything else. Essentially, despite the +4 bonus to AC, the -8 Con penalty makes your character as fragile as glass.

Personally, I would scrap this as a playable race and turn them into a monster instead. They'll be a lot easier to balance.

[ishbo]

Maybe give them some kind of proficiency with riding giant dragonflies? Oh, and an Intelligence bonus might be in order. They were considered very clever.

I was going to try and work that part out later. I did try to imply it somewhat with the favorite class being ranger. I also didn’t want to limit a player to a giant dragonfly if they wanted to use a hawk or owl or something else instead.


what is meant by the "use" variable in the poison DC? Is that the number of times that the poison has been used that day, or does it mean something else?

Use is supposed to imply that with each use per day the next save is reduced by five or ten (misprint on the intent: death save), sorry for the confusion.


tiny and smaller races are very hard to attach a level adjustment to. Essentially, the problem is that they make great casters whilst not being very good choices for anything else. Essentially, despite the +4 bonus to AC, the -8 Con penalty makes your character as fragile as glass.

I was trying to make them fragile; it would be kind of overpowering to give them an instant kill poison without something to try to balance it out.


Personally, I would scrap this as a playable race and turn them into a monster instead. They'll be a lot easier to balance.

I agree, it would be much easier to balance if they were a monster but I for one would be quite interested in playing something like this (maybe I’m just weird). At this point I am leaning towards a level adjustment of about +2, but that is just a guess.

[jagadaishio]

According to the SRD, creatures shorter than 6 in. are considered fine sizes. Diminutive is 6 in. to 1 ft.