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bue52
2008-09-28, 09:45 AM
I have a player who is playing a gnoll, and he is going to use the new Gnoll article, and use the "Claw Fighter" feat as his base weapon, I have agreed to ignore the the no enchantments rule, and allow him to "upgrade" his erm.. nails, in this case we will use nail polish as the enchantment, though I am not sure if this current homebrew and its restrictions are balanced.
By the way, this is a 4th edition game.
So here is how it goes....

Homebrew of Gnoll Claws
Other than what is in the feat itself, Gnolls can further upgrade their weapon by painting their nails with a specific oil that would enchant their claws and gain special effects, it requires a short/long rest to paint or remove and change the paint. Depending on bottle size (Not too sure what should be the appropriate size either), this can be done a number of times.
Formulas for these oil can be bought or found throughout the campaign, and it requires an alchemist feat user to create. Specific details for the weapons are not out yet.
In addition, being made with oil, the nail polish can be washed away, thereby losing its effectiveness.

Please point out the flaws and what can be improved on. Constructive criticism only please.

Credit to: Jokes, Ixious and Shhhh! for helping out.

Lappy9000
2008-09-28, 11:06 AM
I have a character who is going to use the new Gnoll article, and use the "Claw Fighter" feat as his base weapon, I have agreed to ignore the the no enchantments rule, and allow him to "upgrade" his erm.. nails, in this case we will use nail polish as the enchantment, though I am not sure if this current homebrew and its restrictions are balanced.

O_o


Seriously, though, are you talking about stuff like poison nails, like from Holes? If they're assorted buffs, I suppose you could probably just accomplish the same thing with an oil of Magic Fang...

bue52
2008-09-28, 11:18 AM
Oops did I say my character?! Sorry, I meant that one of my players, or at least would be players if everything goes well, wants to use a gnoll using the claws as his weapon. So yeah, any flaws or potential abuses?

Shadow_Elf
2008-09-28, 11:40 AM
Just out of curiosity, is this 3.X or 4e?

Lappy9000
2008-09-28, 11:41 AM
Oops did I say my character?! Sorry, I meant that one of my players, or at least would be players if everything goes well, wants to use a gnoll using the claws as his weapon. So yeah, any flaws or potential abuses?

Well at this point, the description doesn't give enough information to go off off. Couple of things that will clear it up for me: first off, is this 3.5 or 4e?

Also, it kind of seems needlessly complicated. From what I can tell, a gnoll would be required to craft a oil of sorts (which a Brew Potion feat could work for as a catch-all), and then apply it onto their claws (the feats could instead simply upgrade the claws themselves. Like increasing the damage die of the natural weapon, or adding a +X bonus).

bue52
2008-09-28, 11:41 AM
Its 4e, based on the latest Dragon article.

Shadow_Elf
2008-09-28, 12:34 PM
Enchantments on their claws could take the form of magic applied to them that they can turn off and on mentally. (so they aren't thundering or dueling their provisions)

Mechanically, make it work the same as other enchants.

Fluffily, make it whatever you want.

Asbestos
2008-09-28, 02:16 PM
Hmm... in 3.5 you couldn't enchant your natural weapons either, besides from specific spells, but! Savage Species gave you an item that could.
In Savage Species there's an 'amulet of natural weapons' or something. I imagine that it wouldn't be too hard to introduce the exact same thing in 4e, just make it a bracelet or something else if you don't want to take up a neck slot. Said item could be enchanted as if it were a weapon and said enchantments would apply to natural weapons. The issue is that it would have to be what... about 2x as expensive as a single magical weapon since its applying to both clawed hands. Though, if it were bracelets, I can see them only applying the enhancement to the right or left claws, depending on which arm they were worn.

Nail polish... I see villains whipping bottles of Universal Solvent at the gnoll's hands.

bue52
2008-09-28, 08:49 PM
Enchantments on their claws could take the form of magic applied to them that they can turn off and on mentally. (so they aren't thundering or dueling their provisions)

Mechanically, make it work the same as other enchants.

Fluffily, make it whatever you want.

Well, the thing is, if we are able to make on and off at a moment's notice, it would not be fair for other players, who use normal weapons, that have specific powers. Would it?

Shadow_Elf
2008-09-28, 09:00 PM
Well, the thing is, if we are able to make on and off at a moment's notice, it would not be fair for other players, who use normal weapons, that have specific powers. Would it?

I don't mean multiple enchantments you switch between, I just don't think +6 Vorpal Claws are necessary to eat a hamburger.

bue52
2008-09-28, 09:12 PM
I don't mean multiple enchantments you switch between, I just don't think +6 Vorpal Claws are necessary to eat a hamburger.

Lol, I guess so. Just another question, would it be considered an advantage to have claws, especially since the claws themselves are considered light blades, and the chances of it breaking, well, I feel that there is a less likely chance the weapon will break, so I am not too sure if the claw feat which was meant to be a weapon that is only use when you have nothing more effective, should just have an enchantment at anytime, then happily go on slashing monsters.

Sorry if this is not what you meant, if so, please explain a little slower, sorry for being so stupid:smallredface:

Jokes
2008-09-29, 03:54 AM
Hi, I am the player who wants to ravage stuff with claws.

I suggested this item-


{table=head]Gloves of Natural Attacks | Level 3+
Lvl 3 +1 680 | Lvl 18 +4 85,000
Lvl 8 +2 3,400 | Lvl 23 +5 425,000
Lvl 13 +3 17,000 |lvl 28 +6 2,125,000[/table]
Slot: Hands
Enhancement: Attacks and Damage rolls
Critical: 1d6 damage per plus
Properties: Enhancement only applies to unnarmed and natural attacks*

as a way of getting around the "can't enchant claws" thing. This item also means they cannot be further enhanced, so no +6 vorpal claws. I plan on using whetstones for situational combat (ie trolls). The item is costed as being the same as Paired Weapons.

*Added now, I thought I should make this clear though.

KKL
2008-09-29, 12:32 PM
You can't make Vorpal Claws anywyas, as the claws are considered light blades.

Yakk
2008-09-29, 01:19 PM
Enhanced gloves.
Amulets that enchant your claws.
Gauntlets with built-in claws that your Gnoll can use.
Drinking the blood of a Dragon, which strengthens your claws, and gives them an elemental enchantment.
Dipping your claws in the poison of a Medusa's snake fangs.

There is little need to be particular about which one you pick. They might not be fungible (ie, you can't sell them afterwards) in some cases, but that is (quite honestly) a minor issue.

All of these can be 'treasure drops' provided by the DM. In some cases, they can be rewards for quests (your gnoll knows about it before hand), and in other cases they can be the result of a skill roll at-the-time (with failure meaning that maybe you have to invest additional resources, because you forgot you had to drink from the still beating heart -- which means you now need to add some residuum to the blood you took with you to get it to work...)

Mando Knight
2008-09-29, 03:02 PM
Or... you could, with the good will of your DM, do as I did here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91928)... make the natural weapons enchantable together, but take up the hands slot. I got the idea from the Adventurer's Vault, which has the Spiked Gauntlet that takes up the hands slot when enchanted.